Richmond marathon.

Friday, November 9 (the 2 hour trip that took 5 hours)
James and I were wheels up in College Park, Maryland at 3:00 p.m. What should have been a two hour trip took five (yes, FIVE) hours. An overturned mobile home was cleared from 95 South a couple of hours before we even left, but the sheer volume of traffic kept us crawling at a 2-4 miles per hour. The expo closed at 8:00, and we missed it by about five minutes. When we were checking into the hotel, I heard someone say “Tricia?” and I turned around to see Alan! (a member of a running website where I log my runs and talk running with people who understand body glide, 20 milers on Sunday mornings, and carb loading) James and I dumped our stuff off in our room, and then went to get dinner. After waiting an insanely long time for our take out, we paid for our food and headed back to the hotel. We turned on the TV, plopped down on the bed, and started eating our dinner (at 9:30) … and then .. WAH! WAH! WAH! The fire alarm! Are you effing kidding me? Threw on socks and flip flops and a sweatshirt and headed downstairs. We were only outside for 10ish minutes, which wasn’t bad. Oh, and the reason for the fire alarm? Someone smoking in the elevator. Nice. Ate our lukewarm food and went to sleep.

Saturday, November 10 (race day!)
5:45 a.m. // Because we missed the expo, I had to go to packet pick up the morning of the race. I ate breakfast (brought my own oatmeal, honey, peanut butter, and almonds) and walked down the Omhi hotel. Got my tshirt, hat, poster (gotta love anniversary races!), and chip and number. Walked back to the hotel.

6:20 a.m. // Got dressed — first in shorts and a long sleeved tech shirt, then into a tshirt, and then back into the long sleeved … and then .. back into the tshirt. The weather was 45ish and overcast, and was supposed to be in the low 50s at the finish. I couldn’t decide what to wear, but finally just settled on the tshirt, shorts, and throw away gloves.

6:50 a.m. // James and I met Alan in the lobby, who, by the way, is the nicest guy ever. We all walked down to the start and met up with some of Alan’s friends at the Marriott. Used the bathrooms at the hotel (so much better than a por-a-potti!) and then headed to the start.

7:55 a.m. // Anxiously awaiting the start. The five folks who have run ALL THIRTY Richmond Marathons were honored, which was very cool. Alan offered to stay with me and help me keep my pace, which was very, very cool. And then … we’re off! My main concern was keeping a steady pace and not burning out around mile 20.

8:00 a.m. // Headed through downtown Richmond — a charming city. Alan and I ran together at around an 8:55 pace and talked about races, his adorable three year old son, Glen, where we live, etc. Running with a newly found friend was a great way to spend the race. We then headed toward the James River, which was beautiful. It was much more scenic than I imagined for a city marathon. The folks were very friendly — lots of signs, smiles, cheers, little kids’ hands to high five. Alan and I both wore our Garmins, and kept a close watch on our pace.
We ran on a bridge/ highway around mile 14, which really sucked. It was ugly, it was cold, and it was WINDY. I got a kiss from James at mile 15 . There were some hills — actually, more than the elevation chart would have you believe . One of my GUs fell off of my shorts, but I had one chocolate outrage GU, and one raspberry and one vanilla of whatever was on the course. Alan’s hamstring started acting up around mile 17, so he told me to go ahead. The pain really set in around then.

I was thrilled to hit mile 20 … after that, I kept talking myself through to the next mile. Whenever I started to think in terms of time - oh lordy, I have 45 more minutes of this pain — I stopped myself and thought, okay, focus on getting to mile 21. I looked forward to the water stops — not to hydrate, but to walk! Haha. I was warm for the first half the race, but was chilly for the second half. It was that type of weather — nothing would have been totally comfortable, temperature wise. Hitting mile 24 was great — I was thinking, okay, very, very close now. My pace slowed, but not by too much. I saw James around mile 25 1/2 and he was cheering. Once I passed our hotel (it was on the race route), I knew I was 1/2 mile away. I kicked it up and ran from mile 25-26 in 8:22. The crowd was going NUTS at the finish, and I gave it everything I had and kicked it to the finish!

12:00 p.m. // A woman at the end looked at me and said, are you okay? Lady, I just ran 26.2 miles … do ya think I’m okay? I got my medal (yay!) and solar blanket, and headed inside to the Omni to find James. I’m certain I left it all on the course, because I felt like absolute shit. I convinced a woman at the hotel to give me a banana for free (the food at the end was a block from the finish, and I was cold and could barely walk). James found me and we sat down. I was hurtin’! Alan found us and after warming up for a bit, we walked shuffled back to the hotel.

2:00 p.m. // First: an ice bath. Brrrrr. Then, a hot shower. Ahhhhhh. I felt a lot better after that, and I ate an apple and string cheese while watching a Sex and the City re run. Excellent. James took a nap. C’mon, the boy watched a marathon that morning!

3:00 p.m. // James, Alan, and I walked to an Irish pub for lunch/ dinner. We ate, laughed, had a few beers, and massaged our sore legs. Alan showed us pictures of his adorable son on his cell phone. We walked back to the hotel, full and happy.

5:00 p.m. // Changed into comfy clothes and read and relaxed. Watched some football and fell asleep pretty early. Oh, and Maryland beat Boston! Go Terps!

Sunday, November 11 (back to Baltimore)
9:00 a.m. // Up to finish packing and check out. Said goodbye to Alan and drove back. We still hit some traffic (damn you, 95!) but made it home in about 2 1/2 hours. Cats are happy to see us (maybe ) and James is napping (like I said, it was an exhausting weekend for him ).

The stats:
Finish Chip Time: 3:53:13

Finish Gun Time: 3:55:01

Pace: 8:54/ mile.
Overall Place: 1151 (out of 3,682)

Gender Place: 301 (out of 1,462)

Age Place: 68 (out of 296)

Splits:

Mile 1: 8:55

Mile 2: 8:50

Mile 3: 8:51

Mile 4: 8:46

Mile 5: 8:53

Mile 6: 8:53

Mile 7: 8:48

Mile 8: 8:49

Mile 9: 8:40

Mile 10: 8:33

Mile 11: 8:59

Mile 12: 8:37

Mile 13: 8:51

Mile 14: 8:25

Mile 15: 8:45

Mile 16: 8:56

Mile 17: 9:02

Mile 18: 8:47

Mile 19: 8:52

Mile 20: 8:47

Mile 21: 9:03

Mile 22: 8:55

Mile 23: 9:06

Mile 24: 9:00

Mile 25: 9:14 (slowest)

Mile 26: 8:22 (fastest)

Baltimore Half.

I didn’t think I’d PR this race. My PR for a half is was 1:49:14, and that was on a flat and fast course. Baltimore, while not deadly, has its share of hills. Still, I looked at this race as good prep for Richmond.

I woke up at 7:30 a.m. to eat my pre-race breakfast (of oatmeal, honey, almonds, and peanut butter), get dressed and then walked with my husband to the race start (the race start was about 2.5 mi from our house). The half didn’t start until 9:45, so we saw some of the leaders, which is always cool. I met up with my friend Sarah and we watched her mom finish the 5K. Then, to the starting line! The weather was low 60s and sunny at the start.

The course:



I took off really fast (for me ) … my first mile was a 7:56. It was really neat to race through the city where I do all of my runs — in fact, the first hill was I hill I run often, so I was prepared. The next few miles were uneventful (although I did get some gummy sharks at mile 3, which were fantastic). Mile 7 went around Lake Montebello, which was under construction whenI ran the Baltimore Marathon a couple years ago — the city did a great job re-doing the area. Mile 8 … I started feeling kind of beat up. I hadn’t had anything for fuel, so I had a chocolate GU, and that really helped — I’m not sure if helped psychologically or physically, but my guess is probably a little of both. When I hit mile 10 I yelled “JUST A 5K LEFT!” The spectators were really into it in the last couple miles, which was really cool. The finish goes through Camden Yards (according to the race booklet, it’s “an inspiring finish through the stadium” ), so I REALLY picked it up when we turned into the stadium. The last stretch felt so much longer than the 1/3 of mile it was, but I gave it my all.

Crossed the finish line, according to my Garmin, at 1:46:56 – an average pace of 8:10! (and PRing by about two and a half minutes!)

Splits:
Mile 1: 7:56
Mile 2: 8:12
Mile 3 7:55
Mile 4: 8:07
Mile 5: 8:03
Mile 6: 8:14
Mile 7: 8:17
Mile 8: 8:17
Mile 9: 8:19
Mile 10: 8:09
Mile 11: 7:50
Mile 12: 8:21
Mile 13: 7:41

Overall place: 606 out of 5049

Sex place: 170 out of 2865

Division place: 70 out of 712

Indian tapas for lunch (yum!) and now, here I am.
Oh, and Catone likes my medal so much, she is thinking of running a marathon.


Wait, no, she decided a nap would be a better idea.

B&A Half Marathon.

B&A Half Marathon.

I was worried about how I would do in this race. I ran a 1:49:14 (and PRed) at my last 1/2 (the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll half), but that was in the middle of marathon training, and I was putting in many more miles. I told myself I’d be happy with anything under two hours — especially since my training has been off a bit during the move.

Up very early (6:00 a.m.) to shower (don’t ask, it’s just this thing I have to do before a race) and stuff some bread down my throat. My friend L. picked me up at 6:30 and we drove to the start, stopping twice: once at Dunkin’ Donuts (bagel for her), and once at 7-11 (bathroom for me). We got to the start at 7:15 a.m., perfect timing for a 7:30 race.

… and we’re off! The B&A half is on a trial (the baltimore/annapolis trail), but the word “trail” is misleading: it’s completely paved. The first couple of miles go through a neighborhood, then turns onto the trail. The race was much more crowded than last year, but that was okay — it made it easier to find some friends to chat with for a bit I did the first few miles at an 8:30ish pace, I think. At mile 6 we left the trail to run downhill (love it), turn around (love it), and then run up the hill (not so much love). I passed some friends coming back, which was nice, and headed toward the home stretch. I really picked it up for the last three or four miles, running about an 8:10-8:20 pace. I was atempting to do the math to see if I could PR, and thought I probably would come close, but would miss it (I was right).

We split from the marathoners (have fun with another 13.1 miles, guys!) and ran the last half mile toward the finish. I pulled together everything I had left and hit the finish pad at 1:50:01// 8:24 pace (by my watch, still waiting for my chip time) … missing a pr by less than a minute! Oh well … still a good race, and I’m happy with my time

31st Annual Marine Corps Marathon.

31st Annual Marine Corps Marathon.

Time: 4:02:10
Pace: 9:14
Overall place: 4,564 out of 20,855
Gender finish: 1,061 out of 8,096
Division: 172 out of 891

Packet Pick Up.

James and I left Baltimore around 2:00 on Saturday afternoon, only to get lost in the District and have my dad dictate directions by telephone. Whoever says D.C. is easy to get around by car is lying. The line to get into the D.C. Armory was crazy! We waited in line for about 35 minutes to get into the building… then another 10 in a line inside. It was like an amusement park — you wait in line for an hour and think that you’re in… and then… another line. I picked up my chip and number, tshirt (mock turtleneck, so ugly), and got my back sign for the ClifBar pace team. Then — to my parents’ house in Silver Spring.

The Night Before.

James, my parents, and I watched the Maryland game (GO TERPS!) and I did laundry and relaxed… well, tried to relax. My mom made pasta and apple crisp. Yummy. Went to sleep around midnight.The Morning Of.I woke up at 5:30 (oh so early) to get dressed (in layers) and eat (oatmeal with sugar) and drink (water). We left for the Metro at around 6:00. The Metro ride was uneventful, and our trains weren’t that crowded.Arriving.We got to the Runner’s Village at 7:15ish — enough time to meet up with a couple friends and use the port o potties (twice). Then — it was time to find the 4:00 pace group in the second wave and start the race!

The Race: the start.

The start was really crowded. A medical emergency (heart attack) delayed my wave (scarlet) about 15 minutes. We started at about 9:00 a.m. The first couple of miles were really crowded. I stayed with the 4:00 pace group for the first 3-4 miles, and then started pulling ahead. I found some people to chat with along the way. Was I the only one who wanted to stop running and start shopping when we passed Steve Madden and Urban Outfitters? Weather was perfect, crowd support great. I was running at about an 8:45-8:55 pace … which felt great (and turned out to not be so great. more on that later). I hit mile five at 44:23The Race: feeling great.This was a really beautiful course — I highly recommend it. Running around the mall, seeing all the monuments, the high school marching bands, the Marines passing out water and saying “looking good, ma’am,” the signs (runners have great butts! I made this sign just for you!)… awesome. I gave high fives to little kids, down a line of high school kids… running makes me feel like a rock star, a superstar athlete. I saw James a couple of times and got some kisses, which kept me going. I hit mile 10 at 1:28:01 and mile 13. 1 at 1:55:02 … putting me on track for a 3:50 finish (ha.)

The Race: a little downhill.

(and not in the good way)

I hit mile 15 at 2:15:55. I was having a grand time meeting people, high fiveing strangers, taking in the view, appreciating the weather… until about mile 16-17. I noticed my mile time slowing down to about a 10 minute pace. The stretch around Hains Point was long, slow, and boring. I just wanted to hit mile 20 and know that I only (ha!) had a 10K left. I still thought I could come in under 4 hours. I saw a tshirt that said “at mile 18 you wonder why you’re doing this. at mile 26.2 it becomes clear.” I kept that in my head.The Race: so close.I hit mile 20 at (3:00:36) with both a sense of relief and dread. Relief: 6.2 miles left. Dread: 6.2 miles left. Miles 21ish-23ish were on the bridge, which was boring. I was tired, but what really killed me was the pain — in my legs, shoulders, and feet… especially my feet. I saw a sign that said “your feet hurt because you’re kicking so much butt!” That made me smile but it didn’t stop the pain in my feet. I got off of the bridge (on an uphill, awesome) and knew I only had a few more miles. Unfortunantly, each mile felt like four. The crowd really picked up when I got off of the bridge, but at that point, the cowbells were annoying and the “you’re looking strong!!”s were a clear lie. Cranky? Yes. I hit mile 23.5 at 3:29:25 and knew, then, that I probably wouldn’t finish in under 4 hours. Oddly enough though, I was at peace with it (until the pace group, who didn’t go out too fast and didn’t run out steam… passed me!). The end was excruciating. I just thought “each step gets me closer, each step gets me closer to the finish line”. I also wondered why, exactly, I was doing this.

The Race: the finish!

I knew the finish was uphill. I just didn’t know how uphill. I saw James at mile 25ish but could barely manage a smile and a wave. At that point I was so happy — 10 more minutes of running and I could stop. At that point I didn’t stop running - ONCE - except to drink water and gatorade and suck down my GU. The .2 end of the 26.2 was super steep. Seriously, it wasn’t a hill, it was a mountain. I just put one foot in front of the other and plodded ahead. Finally, I saw the arc of balloons over the finish mat. I tried to sprint but I probably wasn’t very fast at this point. I crossed over the mat, stopped my watch, and got in line to get my metal. My watch read 4:02:08, 2 seconds off of my official finish time. Slighly dissapointed that I didn’t break four hours but too tired to be too upset.The Race: finishing up.I got into the corral to accept my metal from a marine, who put it around my neck with a “congratulations, ma’am” and gave me a space blanket. I felt like crying — partially from pain and partially from joy, but I didn’t have enough fluid left in my body. Really crowded at the finish which was frustrating with cramped legs. I got a candy bar and some pretzels, some water and some powerade. I found James at UPS truck 20 and got my finishers coin. Met up with Andi and John and got the sweetest present from my twinnie — a mug she made at Our Name is Mudd with the marathon, date, and our names… and a Lush marathon massage bar! So sweet! We went to Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch but I couldn’t really eat much.

Back to Baltimore

Bubble bath, new issue of In Syle and a few glasses of ice water. I’m actually feeling okay today — a little sore but really not too sore. I am a little dissapointed that I didn’t break 4 hours, but that doesn’t overshadow how proud I am of this accomplishment. Not only did I finish a marathon, but I shaved 41 minutes off of my time from last year (!) and came in at a very respectable pace. AND — my name is in the Washington Post (the top 1100ish men and women are listed!!). My snail coach had a great piece of wisdom: dissapoint just means that you’ll have to do another one. Agreed!This week I’m relaxing and letting my body heal. I feel pretty good physically, but I know my muscles and joints need time to repair.

Your placing in the entire field:

4566th place with 16368 finishers behind. About 22% of finishers ahead.

Your placing in Gender (Female):

1060th place with 7077 finishers behind. About 13% of finishers ahead.

Your placing in Division (F20-24):

172nd place with 724 finishers behind. About 19% of finishers ahead.

Army 10 Miler - 2006.

Army 10 Miler - 2006.

Overall place: 3312

Division (F 20-24)/ Total: 80/551

Sex Place/Total: 581/6619

Chip Time: 1:21:46

Pace: 8:10.6

What a morning. Woke up at 5:15 a.m. and had a bowl of oatmeal. Dressed, teeth brushed, bag packed with watch, visor, body glide, etc. James and I left Baltimore at 5:50 a.m. (do I have the best husband, or what?) — still totally dark outside — to get to Andrea’s place in NoVa. We got there around 7:00 a.m., parked, and walked to the Metro (which opened an hour earlier than normal). It was a little chilly at around 50* F. The Metro was sort of crowded with runners and some (very loving!) spectators at 7:15 a.m.

We arrived at the Pentagon at 7:40ish a.m. … thought we had plenty of time to wait in line and use the port-o-potties. Wave one (the fast people) started at 8:00 … the rest of us started at 8:10. It was 8:00 a.m. and we hadn’t moved very far in line. Not going wasn’t an option, so we waited. Wave one started. Okay, it was okay, we still had 10 minutes. Wave 2 started… and there were still a couple of people in front of us. I was, as you can imagine, stressing majorly! Because this was a chip race, it really didn’t matter when we crossed the start line, but the rush was still frustrating. Andi waited for me to go because she’s my twinnie like that <3.>

Anyhow, my watch time was 1:21:47, a second off of my actual chip time. My goal was to come in under 1:23:00 so I’m happy with my time. I keep thinking … if I didn’t have to dodge all of those people, I could have come in under 1:20:00, but that’s silly. I have many more races in my future (a marathon, in fact, in less than three weeks, and a marathon relay the Saturday after Thanksgiving) and several chances to make new goals and meet ‘em.Went through the runner’s chute, turned in my chip, got my finishers coin, water, and chocolate chip cookie (yum). I met James and John (Andi’s boyfriend) at the finish. We saw Andi finish (who met her goal - yay twinnie-a!) , then took the Metro back to the cars. Silver Diner for brunch (pecan pancakes — excellent reward). Back to Bawlmor, Hon, and I napped most of the way.