I Am a Runner

Two years ago I took a dive into Couch to 5K for the first time.  I had never, ever run a step in my life.  Since then, I've run several races, finished a half-marathon, and run hundreds of miles. But finally, last Thursday, for the first time, I felt like a real runner.

Did I go fast?  No, in fact, the heat and humidity is starting to slow me down.

Did I finish without stopping?  No, I still had to stop once to catch my breath and recoup.

Was it suddenly easy?  No, it was still hard to finish those last few minutes.

So what changed?  I'm not exactly sure, but I think it was that, for the first time, I didn't question whether or not I would be able to go the distance, to finish the run.  I didn't have to bargain with myself as to how many times I would stop, and I didn't worry about being too slow or running too fast.  I barely glanced at my Garmin, except to not go out too fast and to time Mark through his intervals.  I just went out and ran, and at the end, I felt LIKE A RUNNER!

Is it September already?

There's nothing like 6 month old race recaps, right?  While I'm sure reading about my 30 second run intervals has been fascinating, I think y'all probably would like some more interesting content and I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here.  But the Saints Back to Football 5K last September IS my standing 5K PR, so why not give y'all a recap?

There was no expo or anything, but we did run in to one of our favorite friends in New Orleans, George at packet pick up.

We went all out showing our support for the Saints.  Like I've mentioned in an earlier post, I've visited the Who Dat Nation and I'm not sure I want citizenship there, but we do like the team.

What attracted us to this race: A medal for a 5K (you know I love the bling!), and getting to finish on the 50 yard line of the Super Dome.  The down side to this race: running in NOLA in early September.  It was super hot and humid, even though we're used to the heat and humidity and had been training in it all summer long.  The lack of shade coming back up Poydras and around the Dome didn't help this at all.  There was little course support, with only 1 water stop and no sports drinks to replenish all that lost salt.  I know it was only a 5K, but it was SO hot they really needed one more water stop.  

Mark and I did our Galloway intervals from the start, and we picked up a friend along the way.  A man and woman were running together in the first mile.  She was an experienced runner, but this was his first race, and he was really struggling. When we told him we were doing the run/walk method, he announced loudly to his partner "I'm running with them!"  He stuck with us the whole way, and helping him along motivated me when I started to struggle with the heat. 

Oddest thing on course:  Passing the guy who was taking a walk break at mile 2.5 because he was also taking a smoke break.  Really!?

Even with the heat I broke 45 minutes to get a half PR of 44:16 (hey, I never claimed to be speedy!).  I really believe that I would've broken 40:00 had there been a second aid station, but oh well, I was still happy with my time, and it really was a fun race.

My New Toy

Last year Mark got tired of me constantly asking "How much furrrrtherrrrr" and bought me the Garmin 410.  And I was in LUUUVVVV!  It told me how fast I was running, how fast I just ran, how far I had run, baked chocolate chip cookies and gave me a pedicure.  Garmie fed me all the data my geeky science mind wanted and charted and graphed it on a website.  Perfect!

And then, one day, I saw it.  A new Garmie.  A better, lighter weight, color-screened Garmie with more data than I could ever use for my 15 and a half minute miles.  And I wanted it.  Bad.

Fast forward to pre-Black Friday.  I found a great deal on gift cards to a running store that would give me $50 off a Garmin 220 and I jumped on it.  So did everybody else, so it was backordered for a few weeks.  And finally, FINALLY, it came.

Hopefully someday soon I will be boot-free and able to actually test out Garmie fully.  Until then, it will just look pretty on my wrist and I'll GPS track every car trip we take.  As for my first Garmie, Mark's 205 is giving him trouble and no longer downloads data, so he's taking the 410.  What an awesome hubby.

I Knew I Was Slow, But...

In a vane attempt to get a higher corral placement for the Wine and Dine Half, Mark and I decided to get in a little more local race experience and signed up for the Senior Bowl Charity 10K a week before going to Disney.  

Up until this point, we'd done probably two local races, both 5Ks.  We knew to expect a smaller race with intermittent water stops and no real crowd support.  Well, we got that right, but we didn't account for one thing:  people around here are FAST!

See, we're used to 5Ks and Disney races where there are people of every running level, plenty of leisurely walkers and even some kids.  And we saw plenty of those walking to the line.  But when we got to the start line, we thought "Uh oh."  These people did not look like our people.  They looked like serious runners.  Even the guy with the backpack with a six-pack of Budweiser stored in it looked like he'd be running 7 minute miles. All of our people were running the 5K.

There were no corrals, so we snuck into the back of the start line crowd.  Nearly precisely at 8:30 ish, the start gun went and we were off.  Or should I say, they were off.  Even though mark and I ran the fastest mile of our lives, the bulk of the pack took off like shot!  Mercifully there were a handful of other turtles like us so we didn't feel completely alone.  It was pretty warm for October and I started to feel the humidity, so around mile 3 I sent Mark along on his merry way.  Even then, I ran some of my fastest paces so far, beating my 5K PR and hitting 4 miles under 1 hour.  And I wasn't last.  Which I let every policeman and person waiting for the road to open know.

Oh, and even though the road was closed, I almost got hit by a car.  I mean, I felt something right on my left hip and turned and IT WAS A CAR!  I don't know how she got there, but one of Mobile's finest was not doing their job at that point.

Oh, and I chicked a 70 year old man who shuffled the entire way.  Race accomplishment!

For the record, 500 or the 700 runners finished in less than 1 hour.  See?  Fast.

So even though I didn't do well enough to move up a corral and finished last in my AG, I was really proud of my race.

And then, the next day, the local newspaper website captured my moment of glory for everyone I know to see.  I guess that's what happens when you dress like a walking glow stick.

Tower of Terror 10-Miler 2013

Mark and I trained all summer for the Tower of Terror 10-Miler. It was our longest distance race ever, and, let's face it, we did it for the medal.  My sister tagged along for the weekend.  She's a much faster runner than us, but she's happy doing her own thing.

Mark and I had done the 5K Trail run in 2012, so we knew what to expect from the expo.

Being the planners that we are, Beth and I decided we would dress up like Alice in Wonderland characters. She was the Cheshire Cat, Mark was a card, and I was Alice, of course (thanks to Raw Threads, Bondi Bands and Sparkle Skirts).  

I have terrible race anxiety and was just sick with nerves for the week before the race.  It did not help that somehow Mark ended up in the corral behind mine and I wouldn't have my cheerleader and running buddy. And Mark had the handheld so I wouldn't have access to extra water.

The weather was pretty cool but still humid in early October in Orlando.  I'd hoped that it would let up as we got closer to the 10 pm start, but of course it didn't.

I'd also heard horror stories from the 2012 race that the course was boring with little entertainment, but Disney listened and really stepped up their game.  The first character was less than a mile into the race, and it seemed there was a character or something at least once a mile.  This helped the long, lonely run up Osceola Parkway to Animal Kingdom. And there were lights and special effects (fireballs!) all over the place.

For the first couple of miles I did pretty well.  My shin splints didn't bother me and I kept to my 1/1 run/walk intervals.  In fact, I was running faster than I probably should've.  The worst part was that, once we turned onto Osceola Parkway, the breeze completely died, making the humidity really bad. We ran through the autoplaza for Animal Kingdom and everybody grumbled that runDisney shouldn't tease us by letting us be that close but not run through the park.  It sure would be better than the portion that goes through Wide World of Sports.

After the water stop at mile 3, I felt a presence at my left shoulder.  It was Mark!  He had hauled butt to catch up with me, and I was so glad to see him.  He was feeling great and looking forward to getting his picture made with the gravediggers.  I, on the other hand, was starting to feel really nauseous.  My fingers we swelling and I had been taking some Power Aid with my water at the stations, but it and the humidity didn't agree with my stomach.  I started walking more than I wanted to.

The absolutely worse part of the race for me came about mile 3.5, when I looked at the other side of Osceola Parkway and saw the balloon ladies and sweepers.  I just panicked, even though I knew they were three miles behind me, I was convinced I was going to get swept.  It wasn't pretty.  But Mark got me calmed down and we made it to Wide World of Sports and the horrible gravel trail.  The entire portion was really tight and crowded and we had to walk most of it because there was no way to get around anyone to run.  My feet didn't love the changing surfaces: gravel, small gravel, track, cement sidewalk.  But WWOS had the one photo stop Mark and I had agreed on: the Haunted Mansion gravediggers.

I was pretty much done by the time we left WWOS.  I knew the turn back onto Osceola Parkway at mile 8 was the last sweeping point, so getting past that was a relief.  Mark really wanted to run though, so when we got to Hollywood Studios he took off.  It took everything I had to make myself run some through the park, but I was determined.

I saw my sister who had just killed it and that gave me a boost.  So I gave it my (very slow) all.  The volunteers were wonderful and I began to hear we had less than a mile to go.  Then that the finish line was just around the corner.  I rounded the building corner and ran as fast as I could.  I high fived Goofy and crossed the finish line.  I was SO proud even though I wasn't terribly pleased with my effort.

Time: 2:44:22.

I felt really nauseous afterwards and sat on a bench for a couple of hours while Mark and Beth rode the rides.  I was really disappointed that I couldn't celebrate by riding the Tower of Terror with them, but I also didn't want to vomit all over them either.  By the time we got back home, I'd already decided that I want to go back next year and redeem myself.  My goals for the next year will be to figure out what I need to do to avoid heat exhaustion, get into a higher corral, and run longer intervals, not so much to improve my time, but so I'm not so worried about getting swept and that I have time to stop for a couple of more pictures.

Overall I thought it was a good race, but crowded if you are in the back. A lot of fun.

New Gear is the Best!

So what's the best thing to do when you can't run?  Buy running gear, of course!  Over the past couple of weeks I've added to the ol' gear collection because, hey, I need to treat myself, right? I mean, I'm going through an ordeal here.  Andplusalso the amazing pre Black Friday/Black Friday/pre Christmas sales going on.  So I splurged a little.  But think of all the cash I saved from buying on sale!

A new addition to my beloved SparkleSkirts collection, this time in Bourdeax Peacock.  I love all of the pockets and built in compression shorts, and of course the sparkly glittery-ness that these skirts have.

A couple of new Oiselle shirts on a great sale.  I'm not sure about the short sleeve one, but I haven't taken the 13.1 one off since I got it.  It has thumbholes y'all.

Raw Threads, another favorite.  I have LOTS of their Disney themed shirts and I couldn't resist adding these to my collection.  I haven't tried their running skirts before, and I'm not sure about the bamboo fabric on my thighs in an Alabama summer, but it might be great for every day wear.

Gotta hydrate, ya know?

Between all that and what's on my Christmas list, I should be set for at least 18 running seasons.  The Girl Scouts taught me all about being prepared!

Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2013 Part 2

See part 1 here.

Finally, 22 minutes after the first corral gun went off, it was our turn.  I was strangely calm and excited when our fireworks went off.  Our strategy was to run for the first 3 minutes until we got out of traffic, then take up our planned 1:30/1:00 intervals, with hopes to finish in 3:15.  I don't remember much about the first mile except losing the arm warmers in the first 10 minutes.  It was cool for Orlando, but still pretty humid.  I train in south Alabama, I know humidity, so why does it affect my running so much??

We turned onto Osceola Parkway and by mile 3 I was ready to take my clothes off.  I really started to hit the wall very early.  In mile 4 I did what I thought would never happen:  I hit up the on-course portalet.  Add 5+ minutes to our time there.  The added time really beat me down, and we started running a 1/1 interval, but we were running through the Animal Kingdom, which was awesome.  Then we ran on a very narrow ring road around the Animal Kingdom parking lot that went on forever and ever.  But I was kinda pulling it together at this point and was ready to go.

Around mile 6 I felt like the tongue of my right shoe had moved and I fiddled with it, but felt it again a few minutes later. We stopped and I looked down, but nothing seemed wrong.  So off we went, back onto the long boring Osceola Parkway (note to runDisney:  You did a great job beefing up the course entertainment for the Tower of Terror 10-miler.  You should carry that over to the Wine and Dine).  We hit the 10K mat, and then mile 7.  Nearly half way!

And then it happened.  It felt like the toes on my right foot severely cramped.  I couldn't do much to stretch them with my shoes on, but I stopped and tried.  We walked for a bit to try to walk out the cramp, and tried to run some, but running was really painful.  I asked Mark if he thought I should drop out at the mile 8 Med Tent and he thought I should keep going, but I was going to have to walk as much as possible.  He stayed with me the entire way. I decided to try to run some more when we got into Hollywood Studios after mile 9.  We spent a lot of time backstage trying to fit 3+ miles into Hollywood Studios.  At some point we both said we were just ready to be out of this park!

courtesy The Affordable Mouse

One thing happened in Hollywood Studios that I really wanted to share.  Just before the Osborne Lights, where there were no employees or volunteers, there was a runner with a Team in Training coach shirt and a very low digit bib number.  She had stopped and was cheering on every single runner by name or character ("Let's go, Figment!").  At this point we were pretty close to the back of the pack so she had been there quite a while.  This lady had stopped her race to cheer on all those behind her, and it was really touching.  If you're out there Coach, thank you.  You are a shining example of the runner's spirit.

When we made it out of Hollywood Studios I realized that if I really tried, I could finish in under a 16:00 mm pace by my Garmin (which was measuring the course as long), so we started walking faster than I ever thought I could.  I ran a couple of more times when we got to EPCOT.  Another highlight: finding out Alabama had beat LSU from a bystander.  Roll Tide!

We heard our names announced at the finish line, and we were half-marathoners!  And our finish time?  3:31:XX.  What??  Damn you, portalet break in mile 4! I can't imagine our time if I'd been able to run.  I was really proud of the accomplishment.

We got margaritas at the afterparty before my foot really started to hurt.  It didn't swell until the next day.  When we got back into town I went right to the doctor, thinking it was some kind of sprain.  Oh no, no.  Broken 3rd metatarsal.  6 weeks in a boot.  But I finished the race!  I'm still petitioning runDisney to award me a special medal.

Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2013 Part 1

So what does a running blogger blog about when she can't run?  Past glory, of course!  In my case, race recaps.  And let's start with the one that got me into the boot for 6 weeks, shall we?

First, allow me to point out that I had run exactly 2 5Ks and done the Expedition Everest Challenge when I was, um, persuaded to sign up for the 2013 Wine and Dine Half Marathon.  That being said, I fully embraced the challenge and started my Galloway/Higdon training plan mash-up all the way back in June.

After weeks of training the big day was finally here.  If you've ever participated in a Disney race, you know that you have to get to the start early, so get to the start early we did.  There was lots of entertainment and portalets, but never enough portalets I discovered later.  We dropped the bag and went through the portalet line twice because there was no wait.  And then, we waited.  And waited.  Sat on the grass and waited.  Found our running buddies (all much faster than us) and sat and waited some more.  Portalet'ed again.  And then it was almost time to head to the corrals.  And I wanted to portalet just one more time, but so did every one of the 14,000 other people at that race and I couldn't wait in a 45 minute line.  It would come back to haunt me.

I'm gonna stop right here and say that whenever possible I run in costume.  I love coming up with them and putting them together.  Because the Wine and Dine finishes at the Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT I dressed like Figment. It was totally worth it because I got tons of comments and cheers and people wanted to take their picture with me.  Mark didn't dress up and was jealous.

I cut the feet out of a pair of socks for the arm warmers that I could toss and not feel guilty.  Mark (my husband, guess I haven't introduced him yet) thought I was a genius for this.

So back to the corrals.  For the first time in a race, I felt cramped and claustrophobic in the corral.  We were in K (out of A-L), so our corral did have more people, but it was really cramped and once you were in, you were in.  And then we sat down some more, because we waited probably 45 minutes before corral A moved to the start line.  Forty-five long, crowded minutes with no way to stretch or keep warm.  But all was forgotten when we started moving...