The Frederick Marathon

Well, I can cross off Marathon #6.

Today was the Frederick Marathon. I'll try to give a good recap.

This was the goal race for the running group I've been coaching since January. There were about 35 people in the group, a nice mix of men and women. About half the group was training for the full marathon and the other half was training for the half marathon. It was a good group and we all had a lot of fun training together.

Friday night, we had about 25 people from the group over for a pre-race potluck. It was a great evening of getting out some of the anxiety before the race and hanging out in regular clothes instead of sweaty running clothes.

Saturday, we went to the zoo with the Gies family for a Dancing with the Animals class and a walk through the zoo. It was a lot of fun. Keller and Noah made a tambourine, they learned about the animals in the zoo, and sang some songs. Then we walked through the zoo and saw the cheetahs, zebra, emu, pandas, sloth bears, orangutan, elephants, and the hippo! Keller absolutely loves the zoo, so it was a lot of fun seeing him get excited over the animals.

After we got back from the zoo, I went up to get my packet. The expo was kind of lame. But it's a small race, so there really isn't much you can do about that. After I got back, we hung out and rested. Then we went over to the Gies' house for dinner. That was nice.

When we got home, our neighbors were having a party. The music was insane. I swear, if they don't stop with the music rattling the walls, I think I'm going to lose my mind. Anyway, I was able to get to sleep relatively early. I woke up at 1:00 AM to the sound of 800 kids outside. Thankfully I was able to fall back to sleep.

I got up at 4:00 so I'd have time to get things together so we can leave at 5:00. Kanayo, my assistant coach, came over at 5:00 and we were off. We got to the race at 5:30 and then just got ready for the race. We found most of our runners and were able to wish everyone luck.

Then the race started. I felt good from the start, though I was running a little faster than I wanted. I think I was averaging about 9 min/miles. And then...my stomach went berserk. I don't know what happened, really. I just started having cramps and needed to make a couple of stops. I think it all started around mile 6 or 7. I don't remember. I saw John and Keller at mile 14 and I seriously wanted to get into the car and go home. But John encouraged me to keep going (Keller just wanted my Gatorade) and I was running again. But by 16, I accepted the fact that I wasn't having the race I had originally hoped. So, I stopped at 16 and waited to see my runners. I was there a while before one of my runners came by, Karolina. She was also having a hard time. So we ran together for the rest of the race. I felt better after a little while, but I didn't want to leave Karolina. I know all too well how hard it is to get through a race when you're sick.

The second half of the course sucked. Really, it was so hilly. I couldn't believe someone thought this was a good idea. I think it was much hillier than other courses I've run. But, the other factors, such as the weather, were better than originally expected. Thunderstorms were in the forecast but it never rained. It was humid and windy (though not as windy as last year). But it could have been a lot worse.

I was really happy with how my group did. As far as I know, everyone but Karolina had a good race. And Karolina did great for not feeling well. I'm so proud of all of them!

And now it's some time off, then training for Chicago. I have to say I'm a little discouraged about my whole stomach issue as I try to qualify for Boston. I'm making an appointment with the doctor this week to see if we can get this figured out before Chicago.

Pike's Peek 10K

Today was Pike's Peek. I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised with how this race went.

This week was pretty rough. Work was busy, Keller was demanding, and then I got sick later in the week. I had been having allergy problems all week. Actually for the last two weeks or so. But my stomach starting acting up Friday. I felt really nauseous and I thought I had come down with the stomach virus that has been going around. Thankfully, I never got physically sick. But I was definitely worried about the race on Sunday.

We spent most of Saturday shopping. My stomach finally settled and I was feeling much better. So we went shopping! We went up to the Hagerstown outlets to drop some cash. And we did. We got caught in a terrible thunderstorm on the way home. It was pretty scary. But we made it and all was well.

Race morning, I felt pretty good. I didn't really sleep all that well. Keller had woken up around 2 AM and needed some love. Thankfully I was able to fall back to sleep. When I finally got up, I got ready, had my mini bagel and peanut butter and a banana, and headed out.

It was pretty chilly when I got to the race start. But it was a good chilly. I knew it wouldn't be too warm. I bumped into a few friends, which is always nice. I saw my coach, Mike, which I didn't know I would. He gave me few words of advice for the race and then I was off to warm up.

After I warmed up, I was walking towards the race start and ran into my friend, Sarah, from Mom's Club and Girls on the Run. We hadn't seen each other in a while, so we caught up before the race started. We decided to run together since we were both trying to run the same pace.

Once the race started, I was feeling pretty good. The course is relatively down hill, though there are definitely some hills they don't tell you about. But overall, I was pretty happy with how the race went. Especially the post-race kisses from Keller!

Most of all, I'm pretty happy with my time. I ran a 51:44, which is about an 8:19 minute mile. I was pretty excited when I finished. I definitely felt like I was working and I was running hard. I was happy that my stomach never acted up and my body felt good as well. Considering I have a marathon to do next Sunday, I was definitely concerned about hurting myself.

It looks like with the work set out for me this summer, I have a good shot at qualifying for Boston. I believe I have to run an 8:25/mile marathon to qualify, so we'll see. I feel confident and I think I'll at least either break 4 hours or be close to it. We'll see...

What do people 'blog' about?

I started this blog for some reason, though now I'm wondering why. What do people generally write in their blogs? Is it like a diary? Should I begin each post with "Dear Diary..."? I guess I'll just do what I do best...blab.

I made the stupid decision to try and qualify for the Boston Marathon. I'm hiring a good friend, and fellow RRCA Running Coach, Mike Broderick (check him out here), to train me over the summer so I can run the Chicago Marathon and qualify for Boston. I'm taking the summer off from coaching running groups through Fleet Feet Sports (of Gaithersburg!) and will focus on my training.

Am I nuts? Why did I think this was a good idea? I haven't even started yet and I'm already nervous about it. I have a race this weekend (a 10K) that Mike wants me to "race" so we can determine what my training paces should be. I haven't raced since high school. That was a long time ago. I feel nauseous just thinking about it. I feel like if I'm too slow, Mike won't want to coach me.

Before I can start training for Chicago, I am finishing up my current training group. I'm coaching a group to run the Frederick Marathon and Half Marathon on May 4th. That's in 9 days. I'm excited for them. For most, this is their first marathon or half, depending on who you're asking. They're so nervous, it's cute. I remember being so nervous for my first marathon. I'm really glad to be a part of everyone's goal. It's nice to know I helped them.

In addition to all this craziness of running Frederick and then trying to qualify for Boston, I'm also trying to become a certified yoga instructor. My original training program was postponed, so now I'm going to take it in bits and pieces throughout the summer and fall, and into next year. But I'm hoping to hold a class sometime over the summer. I think it will be so much fun!

In true stream-of-consciousness fashion, I'm now changing the subject completely to Keller. He's two and a half going on teenager. This morning he was playing on the floor and I got down there with him. He told me to leave him alone and "go do something." Can you believe this? What is he going to do when he's 16? He'll probably have burnt the house down by then, so it won't matter.