How to Find the Perfect Training Partner

January 21, 2013 by 15 Comments

North Face Great Falls
When my running partner moved to California I was at a loss. We had spent countless hours running together, mostly on the trail, talking about everything but running. What we discussed and what made our runs so rich and fulfilling was our lives and the trials and tribulations that we faced as mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, friends, ourselves. We weren’t solving the world’s problems, but sometimes we did solve our own, or one another’s.

I knew it would be impossible to replace a running partner like Lisa and so I didn’t even try. I didn’t even run on the trails. I took to the roads which, for me, is a far different experience from trail-running and one where I can feel numb. The trails literally make me want to pour out my heart and soul. I’m not an earthy or flowery person as those who know me would agree, but trail-running evokes a visceral, emotional response in me. I actually feel the connection as soon as my feet make contact with the dirt; I feel a change occur from within. It’s hard to describe but it’s like happiness, weightlessness, and complete absorption in the moment. I guess it’s like meditation, although I’ve never tried that so can’t really say for sure.

Manassas Battlefield deep cut

I’ve had some good runs, though, with great friends. I’ve been back to the trails where I feel the familiar pull and enjoy chatting with whomever I’m running alongside. But it hasn’t felt the same. Until last Saturday.

Funnily enough, it was a road run, not a trail run, where I found the connection to running that I thought I’d lost. And I realized it was all about having the right training partner. I was with a running partner I’ve known for years and run with many times, but in this instance we took a wrong turn (I was in charge of the directions…) and found ourselves separated from the group. Once we got back on track we had tacked on a mile and so were far behind everyone else. We ended up running the rest of the 11.5 miles alone, together (like Frog and Toad…love those books).

It was a wonderful hour and 45 minutes. We talked about our families and discovered that we have a lot in common. We kept running and found out all sorts of interesting things about each other, things that define us and things we feel strongly about, experiences we’ve had and events we wish we could change.

I still miss my runs with Lisa but I am glad to have found another training partner (who also loves trails!) with whom I have a similar connection. I can now look forward to my long Boston Marathon training runs!

Here are five ways to find a running partner:

  1. Run with your local running club. There are always a lot of runners at club runs and you can usually find someone your pace. If it doesn’t work out the first time, keep going back. The good thing is that most clubs don’t require you to join right away so you can try them out for a few runs before deciding if it’s a good fit for you.
  2. See if your local running store has group runs. Potomac River Running has organized runs from each of its stores once a week; a great way to meet new running friends!
  3. Local gyms often have running programs.
  4. Sign up for a race. After the race, talk to the people you finished with (your pace!) about where they run.
  5. Just go out and run! While running hill repeats at Manassas Battlefield yesterday, thinking I was the only crazy person running in 18 degree weather, along comes another runner, doing the same hill as me! Turns out she’s training for Boston, too. Now we have a standing date with that hill!

Do you have a training partner?

Do you have a preference for road or trail?

 

 

 

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Seven Things that ROCK

October 1, 2012 by 7 Comments

Yippee. I can run again. Good thing, too, because the weather is now too cold for biking (I am a warm weather biker for sure) but perfect for running. I am probably overdoing it but here was my first week back running:

Sunday – 3 miles

Tuesday 3.5 miles

Thursday 5.5 miles

Saturday 6.75 miles

Monday (today) 7 miles

Now, before you scream “You’re nuts! You tore a calf muscle and had to take 3 weeks off!” I am running all of these miles super slow. We’re talking 9:00 – 9:30 pace which for me feels like no effort at all. Which means I’ve really been enjoying running…imagine that. No sufferfests. Anyway, the calf doesn’t hurt when I run and I wear compression socks just to give it a little support. Which reminds me, here’s my list of THINGS THAT ROCK for me right now:

1. Compression socks (can’t live without them right now)

2. Fall weather. Delicious. I could literally stay outside all day. Unfortunately I’m also allergic to Fall (and Spring) so can only take it in small doses.

3. Athleta. OK, you know I like Athleta but now I like them twice as much because I found out that, if you’re a certified coach, you get 30% off in stores. No kidding. Just take in proof that you’re a certified coach (I took a pic of my RRCA Coaching certificate) to any Athleta store, fill out a form and voila! 30% off. They don’t advertise this so not sure if it’s super secret or not, but I figure sharing this info with my 3 loyal blog readers isn’t a big deal.

4. Online yard sales. So someone in my community started an online yard sale page on facebook. Freaking genius. You have to live in the local area, obviously, and once you’re approved you post pics of what you want to sell, how much you want for it, and people respond if they’re interested. It is so much better than hauling all your unwanted items out onto the driveway, putting up signs and standing around until it rains and you have to drag everything back inside. Granted, I spent my entire Sunday at home as I had a lot of people coming by to collect stuff, but I got to stay in my pjs most of the day – until I realized I’d been so busy selling I hadn’t planned anything for my family to eat and had to put clothes on to go to Red Robin.

5. Potomac River Running. This is my local running store as well as my sponsor. I am running on one of their teams for Marine Corps Marathon. When I told them I had injured my calf they were nice as could be and told me to do what I needed to do. I am still gonna run MCM because the team needs my body count, but I don’t have to run it fast, just finish. I’m actually looking forward to it! So on Saturday I volunteered at packet pickup for one of their races and had a fantastic time meeting other runners, many of whom I know from facebook but hadn’t met in person! I was thrilled to meet Jessica from Pace of Me who was using the 10 miler aspart of an 18-mile marathon-pace training run…all I can say is if that’s her marathon pace (7:22!) she’s gonna ROCK MCM.

6. Halloween. I absolutely love Halloween. It is my favorite holiday ever. And not just for the candy, although that is a big bonus. My husband and I have a great couples costume idea for this year’s Halloween party…can’t give it away but there are gonna be some funny pics out in a month! Here’s a pic of us last year (we were trophies in case you couldn’t guess):

7. The ability to run. Enough said. :)

Right, time to go sell stuff online and put up Halloween decorations…

Are you a yard-sale lover or loather?

When do you put up Halloween decorations? I can’t do it before October 1st. Doesn’t feel right.

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Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K Loses Pukefest Status

July 22, 2012 by 13 Comments

I used to hear stories about this race. About how you didn’t want to work the finish chute because of all the puking. How there would be ambulances everywhere. About how the race was always being downgraded to a “Fun Run” because of the heat. Yeah, I stayed away from that race.

And then last year I decided to run the Rockville Rotary Twilight Runfest 8K. I could deal with the heat. I’d run plenty of hot races, having long since gotten over my “no racing in July or August” policy. Last year it wasn’t all that hot. Sure, it was warm, but the excessive heat they’d experienced in years past was gone. I signed up again this year. And up until a few days ago, when we had temps soaring into the triple digits, it looked as if the heat would be back. I steeled (stole?) myself for the conditions. I’d been training at 9am…I could do this.

And then the rain came. All day Saturday. Temps were in the 60s…almost chilly. My youngest son had a swim meet in the morning, after which we headed home and I put on my 2XU compression tights and put my feet up. I watched a movie, focused on trying to eat the foods that wouldn’t bother my stomach, and tried to while away the time until the race. Around 3:30 my son asked to go to the pool and I figured it might be a good time to start waking my body up. While he practiced his starts and strokes for divisionals next Saturday (yes, the swimming continues), I swam a nice, easy 1000m. We were the only people in the pool; the lifeguards were just delighted to have to come out of the nice, warm pool house and sit in the chairs, shivering under umbrellas. Really.

I drove up to Rockville in my husband’s car, since the transmission in my car decided to stop cooperating on the way back from the swim meet. I can’t figure out my husband’s satellite radio. He has a bunch of preset stations, which seem to fall under the categories of Sports Radio, Talk Radio, or 80s Music. So I listened to Billy Idol on the drive. Good music for race preparation…kinda.

Parking in downtown Rockville on a Saturday night is a nightmare. Last year I parked in the first lot I came to, which turned out to be about 5 miles from the race…not even sure it was IN Rockville. This year I decided to go straight to the downtown area and park in the open lot I’d seen. Except it was full. But there was a garage right across the street so I wrangled my way in there and found a spot for the bargain price of $1.

I wandered through downtown, trying to avoid all the cigarette smoke, and found my way to Potomac River Running, where the other runners were. Packet pickup for this race is a cinch…once you know what you’re doing. You look at the list of runners posted on the store window and find your name and bib number. Then you go over to the stage in the square and get your bib and bag of goodies. They have a billion volunteers so no humungous wait, although the fact that they’re standing on a stage and you’re on the ground makes things a little awkward. No matter. Then you head into the store to get your shirt. Bit of a squeeze here, since the store is small and 3000 people are racing. Still, the volunteers are plentiful and I was able to get my shirt and a wire tie for my IPICO timing chip (I was wearing shoes with lock laces and so couldn’t tie my chip on like normal people) with relative ease. I thought about looking through the 50% off rack but it was just too crowded.

I stood outside the door and attached my chip to my shoe. Chatted to a guy for a bit who happened to be from New Zealand and thought I “look fast.” Told him looks can be deceptive and the fact that I was wearing a =PR= singlet was just because they took pity on me. Then Miss Zippy (Amanda) showed up. We’ve been chatting on Twitter and reading one another’s blogs (check hers out, very informative posts unlike the drivel you find here) for some time but this was our first face-to-face meeting. We instantly clicked and found out we were parked in the same garage, so we headed there together to dump our bags. Once inside the garage we realized we hadn’t asked anyone to take a picture of us, so I grabbed a random runner guy and asked him to do the honors. The pic he took with my phone looked total crap so here’s the one he took with Amanda’s, which is still crap but in focus:

We've started a new trend...parking garage pictures

Possibly the worst pre-race photo ever but it’s the only one I’ve got because after that I put my phone in my car. That proved to be a problem because when I went to find Amanda, I couldn’t. It was like the old days before cell phones, you know, when you had to communicate verbally. I wandered around yelling “Amanda!” but didn’t get a response. I wondered if maybe she’d done a runner after meeting the weird British chick and so I went outside. I started to jog toward the race area as it was now about 40 mins to race start and I was getting antsy, and then I remembered Amanda telling me on the walk to the garage about some crazy dude who had yelled profanities at her as she took a few extra seconds finding change to pay the parking attendant, and I got worried that maybe she’d bumped into him. So I doubled back to the garage to look for her again. Thankfully she saw me just as she was looking for the exit.

We jogged back over to the race start. Amanda asked me if I was doing my race warmup now as she would do a proper one at 8:30. She was starting to find out just how antsy I get before races. We met up with some of her friends and, after finding a bathroom (well, some bushes that I pointed out), we all warmed up together. Then we got in the corral and waited for what seemed like an eternity for the race to start at 8:45. As usual there was a very smelly guy near me…why can’t some people wear deodorant?…which made me more anxious for the race to start.

Which, in due course, it did. With all the rain and continuing drizzle we were cautioned to watch our step, and I was careful to avoid running on the painted lines, which tend to get slippery. Although it was dark, the course is relatively well-lit and it’s not too hard to avoid the odd pothole. The course undulates around the neighborhood for the first couple of miles and I concentrated on running comfortably, leaning into the downhills and easing through the uphills. When we reached Montgomery College for the parking lot loops (shout out to the band “Throwing Wenches” who were performing here), we were at about 3 miles and I was in need of some help. There were two guys running in front of me, one with a swinging left arm and the other in a very baggy shirt. I named them Tweedledee and Tweedledum (not in a nasty way, just for distraction purposes) and decided to try to pass them both. I got Tweedledee (arm swinger) quite quickly but Tweedledum was proving pretty fast. I hung on.

At mile 4 you turn onto Rockville Pike. I don’t like this part of the course. You’re running in a coned-off area with cars whizzing by and it’s like some sort of bad dream where any moment you’re going to wake up and find yourself in the middle of the road in your pajamas. I had lied to Amanda before the race and told her it was all downhill from mile 4 when in truth it’s only downhill for the last .2. I thought about how she’d be cursing me when she was on this stretch…heck, I was cursing myself. Tweedledum was still ahead and passing people. I tried to look at my Garmin. For some reason the button I press to turn on the backlight was changing the display instead so I could only read it under streetlights. Shows how much early morning running I’ve done lately…zilch. I saw 4:26 and was not happy to still have three quarters of a mile to go. Then I reminded myself that was less than a mile and I should be pushing it. With a quarter mile left I really wanted to see that finish line, but you don’t see it until the last minute. I turned a corner and there it was, and saw a photographer and thought I’d smile for my finish pic, but then someone started yelling, “Come on PR! Kick it in!” because obviously you can’t work hard and smile at the same time…tell that to Chrissie Wellington. :)

I crossed the line in 35:16 and realized that was faster than last year and quite possibly a new 8K PR. After getting a nice volunteer to cut the wire tie off my shoe I kept walking and found my way to the post-race food. Bumped into speedster Karsten Brown and chatted for a moment, then saw fellow =PR= Team mate Tanya, whom I’d met at the start. It was then that I realized just how tired I was. I decided to grab some food and head home, considering I had a 45 minute drive ahead of me and it was about 9:30. I hate late races. The food was plentiful and varied (fruit, granola bars, chips n salsa, donuts, pizza) and I grabbed what I could carry and headed home.

Oh, and I never did catch Tweedledum.

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(Almost) Famous

April 26, 2012 by 8 Comments

It all started in March. I was standing at the start of the Shamrock 8K in Virginia Beach, trying not to look conspicuous in my Potomac River Running race team singlet, when I heard “Hey Alison Gittelman! Brenda Barrera, Washington Running Report!” I turned around and there was the familiar face that I’ve seen inside the cover of every Washington Running Report. Of course everyone else turned around to look, too. I felt a bit like a celebrity. Brenda and I chatted for a minute about whether there were other =PR= team members racing – I told her I didn’t think so – and the fact that it was too hot for arm warmers, although Brenda suggested I keep hold of them to wipe off the sweat – very glad I heeded her advice.

And then last month my good friend Lisa decided I should model some running clothes for her blog…despite the fact that I’m 5′ 1″ and clearly don’t have model proportions. And again, I almost felt famous.

But the icing on the cake has to be the Shenandoah County Parks and Rec Spring 2012 Program Guide! My friend and training partner Lester sent me an image of the cover via facebook, saying I was on it. I looked long and hard at the runners featured and didn’t see myself. Then I looked further up the page and realized that was me dismounting my bike at last year’s Strasburg Duathlon (at which I won the women’s division)!

You may need binoculars to see properly but that's me next to "Spring 2012"

What has all this taught me? Absolutely nothing. Except maybe make sure you look good when racing…

When/where were you (almost) famous? How do you make sure you look good at races? I really didn’t care until now, but I guess I might start brushing my hair. 

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Cherry Blossom 13 Years Later

March 29, 2012 by 7 Comments

So I’m running Cherry Blossom 10 mile (#CUCB) on Sunday. The last time I ran this race was in 1999. I was 26 years old and 6 months away from getting married. I ran a PR – 1:15 – which I actually held until last year, when I ran 1:11 at Army Ten Miler (#ATM)! Here I am in the final mile…this was back in the day when heel striking was good for you. ;)

Nice heel strike and short shorts

I don’t have huge aspirations of besting my ATM time, since I’ve had a little glute and hammy trouble lately, but I really hope I run faster than 1:15. :)

Why haven’t I run CUCB in 13 years? I actually ran it 3 years in a row, and each year it seemed to get more crowded and more difficult to get to. I decided I was done with crowds and big races for a while. But since then, the start has moved from Ohio Drive to a more accessible location near the Mall and wave starts (6 starts of 2,500 runners, 3 – 5 minutes apart) have been implemented. Back when I ran the race there weren’t even corrals. So I’m hoping for a better experience, although I realize it will still be crowded. Mind you, I had an awesome ATM experience last October and I think there were 20,000 runners there.

I was just reading the race instructions and thought I should point out that “There will be 180 porta-johns throughout the staging area. Please do not urinate anywhere else. We are guests in a National Park. Several years ago runners “relieved themselves” on the FDR Memorial which was an embarrassment to the race organizers and nearly caused our permit to be revoked.” That is an outrage! I really can’t believe that they only have 180 porta-johns for 15,000 runners!  One advantage of the old start was that you could just “go” along the Potomac, although one time I realized I was right under a bridge and all the people on the bridge were looking down at me…

OK, moving on swiftly…

This will be my first time running Cherry Blossom as a member of Potomac River Running’s Racing Team, although I’ve been a team member for just over a year. I was in VA Beach for Shamrock Marathon last year when I got an e-mail from Cathy Pugsley (Thanks to Ecris Williams, who recommended me) inviting me to join the team. At first I thought it was a mistake and responded that I wasn’t sure I was PR race team caliber, but Cathy asked to see my PRs and told me I was good enough to join the Age Group Team! I was on cloud nine and ran a PR in the marathon that weekend!

Potomac River Running is an incredibly supportive and generous sponsor, and asks for little in return. In addition, they’re a great supporter of races in our community. In fact, there will be an offer from PRR on the back of the Cherry Blossom bib, so if you’re running the race, check your bib. (While you’re there, fill out the medical information. You wouldn’t believe how few people complete this, and how critically important it can be.)

I’m very proud to wear the =PR= singlet! (Apologies to PRR for sometimes looking like a dork in it…at least I don’t heel strike any more!)

With Claudia Centeno and =PR= Coach Tracy Endo

 

Are you running Cherry Blossom? First timer? Multiple-timer?

What do you love/hate about this race?

What do you think about the porta-potty situation? 

 

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Army Ten Miler Expo: Crazier than a Stock Market Trading Floor (especially with me there)

October 7, 2011 by 7 Comments

I spent four hours today selling running gear. Shoes, shirts, shorts, tights, bras, accessories, you name it, I hawked it. And I loved it. I know that in a previous post I mentioned how I loathed trying to get sponsors for Stone Ridge 5K because I hate the hard sell, but this was different. First, because it was a soft cell sell (anyone else thinking of Tainted Love right now?) and second because I was talking about running, which I’ve discovered I could do all day without getting even remotely bored.

I was volunteering for Potomac River Running at their booth at the Army Ten Miler Expo. (A requirement of my “deal” as a member of their racing team is to volunteer now and then. Since I had to pick up my packet for the race anyway, I figured I may as well stick around and help out.) The Expo takes place at the DC Armory next to RFK Stadium, a notoriously difficult place to get to. I left the house at 8:20, giving myself 70 minutes to make the 40 mile trip. Traffic was amazingly light on the Toll Rd and I would have reached 66 inside the Beltway before 9am. Since that part of 66 is restricted to HOV-2 before 9am, I had a choice to sit on the shoulder until 9am or exit in McLean and take the GW Parkway. Since I’m impatient, I chose the Parkway. I’m glad I did because I rarely take the road and the view of Georgetown was spectacular. Plus, there was no traffic! I breezed onto 395, then 295, and exited at the Navy Yard. Then I remembered why I hate driving to the Armory. You have to wind your way through the Capitol Hill streets and it’s slow-going, with stop lights and stop signs everywhere. I think it would be faster to stay on 295 and cross the Anacostia, then exit and cross back over to come in behind RFK. Anyone ever tried that? Anyway, I got to the Armory on time but couldn’t work out how to get to the lot and I’m pretty sure I made a couple of illegal left turns to avoid having to drive all the way around RFK stadium. Oh and I used my cell without a hands free device. Always forget when I’m driving in DC.

So, onto the Expo. After I arrived at 9:30, met Keira and Brendan at the door and got to the booth, Ray showed me how to use the credit card machine, which was basically an iTouch with a credit card app, attached to a device that spat out the receipts. The fun part was telling the customers they had to sign…with their finger! We got some interesting responses to that. Most people thought it was very cool. On my second use of the machine I forgot to press the “print receipt” button and Brendan had to come to the rescue to retrieve and print the customer’s receipt. Shortly after that incident, Ray suggested I help keep the merchandise straightened up…hmm…reassigned already!

But that was okay because it meant I got to browse through everything really, really thoroughly. I did a bang up job if I say so myself. I doubt it all looked that good after I left. Every now and then I’d grab something and shove it under the counter, with a “this is mine!” to Keira and Brendan. At one point, when Ray was reorganizing the shoes, I pointed out my second pile of stash (first had grown too large), which included two pairs of size 13s for my husband, warning him not to put them on the shelf.

Anyway, as I was saying, turns out I’m a good hawker when it comes to stuff I like, especially as I kept saying, “ooh, I really like that!” (about the women’s gear) Or, “I’m thinking about getting that for my husband” (about the men’s gear). I chatted with a guy about his blisters and made some suggestions, including using Body Glide…sale! I helped a guy find a different pair of shoes when we didn’t have Adrenalines in his size…sale! I marveled at the $3 running socks with another lady and sold her 12 pairs. Granted, the prices were awesome (50% off all clothing! $30 shoes! $3 socks!) so it wasn’t exactly difficult.

Time went by very quickly and I was sad when I had to leave. I’d been so busy I hadn’t had time to browse the Expo at all, which was a shame because it looked like there were a lot of cool booths this year. I spent a lot of time in line because I had 6 packets to pick up, including mine, and every bib required that I go to a different National Guard soldier’s booth. So I met a lot of soldiers…ha ha. They were all very pleasant and polite, as you’d expect them to be. It would be fun if just once one of them said something inappropriate…ok maybe not.

Are you running Army Ten Miler? Have you picked up your packet? Do you like the Expo? How do you get to the Armory? Be sure to visit the PRR booth if you are going Saturday. Lots of great merchandise, although I won’t be there to keep things organized so I bet it’s a mess. On the other hand, at least you’ll get a receipt.

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Feeding my Addiction

August 14, 2011 by 6 Comments

I once ate cheese fondue right before a cross-country race. In my defense, it was in France, twenty years ago. Back then, the closest anyone I knew got to pre-race nutrition was eating a Mars bar on the start line. Hydration was for sissies. I remember taking Lucozade (dextrose) tablets to a marathon relay in High School and getting a lot of flak from other athletes because runners just didn’t take nutritional supplements back then. Never heard of Lucozade? It’s a well-known energy supplement brand in the UK. Twenty five years ago, it was pretty much the only game in town…and not a well-known one at that, despite having Olympic decathlete Daley Thompson as its spokesman.

Today, nutrition and hydration for endurance athletes is a big deal, and an even bigger business. The variety of products on the market is huge, almost overwhelming, and includes drinks, bars, gels, chews, you name it. And the flavors! Remember when there was just lemon-lime Gatorade?! We’re spoiled for choice, and everyone has their opinions and preferences. At the end of the day, of course, you have to find what works for you.

I’ve been a GU fan for a long time. (The Lucozade thing didn’t last…) In fact, vanilla bean GU used to be the only supplement I’d even consider. I’ve since broadened my horizons, adding Roctane, Nuun and Camelbak electrolyte tablets, and Honey Stinger chews. Still, I know I’m not the most adventurous when it comes to trying out new stuff. My stomach knows what it likes and, well, you don’t want to mess with that. But, with my first Half Ironman coming up in October, I know I need a good nutrition plan, possibly a better one than my “2-GUs-an-hour” plan during Capon Valley 50K. I still think GU is one of the easiest running supplements because it’s compact, there’s less fiddling with packages, it goes down fast, and you don’t have to chew (sometimes that’s hard while running!), but eating on the bike is a lot easier, so I’m in the process of trying some other stuff for variety.

Yesterday, for my 50 mile ride (yes, I have broken through the 30 mile barrier!) I took some cola Powerbar Gel Blasts with me. I’m into this cola thing right now. I don’t drink coke at all but there’s something about that coke flavor when racing that I really like. I just ordered kona cola flavor Nuun. 4 tubes. Better be good. Anyway, about an hour into the ride I tried one of these little coke gummies. OMG. They are like crack. I had to stop myself from eating the entire bag in 10 seconds flat. (It’s supposed to last an hour.) They taste like those coke gummy bottles we used to eat as kids…only better. They were so good I had to share (even though I really wanted to keep them all to myself) and I gave one to Meggan at a light. She let out a shriek right as the light changed and I thought something was wrong, then realized it was a reaction to the gummy. I quickly ate all the rest before she asked for another.

Maybe there should be a govt. warning: Seriously Addictive

Once the ride was over I returned to Potomac River Running to buy up all the cola Powerbar Gel Blasts they had. I only saw 3 bags on the shelf so I asked if they had any more in stock. The guy opened a drawer behind the counter and I saw a gigantic box full of them. It took a lot of will power not to jump over the counter and grab them. “How many do you want?” he asked. “How many have you got?” I replied. I ended up buying 14 bags. The guy had seen the glint in my eye and knew better than to mess around with an addict in the store.

In case you’re not a cola freak they do also come in other flavors: lemon, raspberry, and strawberry-banana. Cola and strawberry-banana have caffeine. 1 bag has 45g carbs compared to a GU which has 25, so I’ll eat one bag in an hour whereas if I’m taking GU I need 2 per hour.

Incidentally, I’ve been learning some interesting nutritional stuff as I get ready for this Half Ironman, so thought I’d share. Hey, I’m a sharing person…unless it’s my cola gummies.

  • Eat 200 – 400 calories 2 hrs prior to an endurance event (longer than an hour)
  • Drink 16 – 20oz fluid when you wake up (you wake up dehydrated)
  • After the first hour of racing, you need to take in 400-600mg sodium/hr and 40 – 60g carbs/hr
  • Drink 16 – 32oz fluid/hr
  • Chocolate milk is one of the best recovery drinks because of the almost 4:1 carb to protein ratio
  • Got gas? Check the ingredients in all those high fiber foods. Inulin (chicory root) is the culprit. Seriously, after hearing this I went and looked at my double fiber wheat bread, Luna bars, Fiber One bars, Clif bars…inulin was a top ingredient in all of them. Holy smokes!
All this food talk is making me hungry…time for an inulin-free snack.
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An Attention-Seeker with an Identity Crisis…Brooks Racer ST 5

July 12, 2011 by 3 Comments

I wanted this shoe the minute I saw a picture of its bright (but not day-glo) orange upper. But the Brooks Racer ST 5 and I had a rocky start. First of all, this shoe has a serious identity crisis. Minimalist but supportive enough for pronators? Lightweight for 5Ks but durable enough for the marathon? I had no idea when or where to run in the shoe.

So I wore it for everything except running. These shoes look so cool with jeans that I received compliments every time I wore them. Definitely attention-seeking. But could they perform? I took them out for their first tempo in April, and almost fell over half a dozen times. The shoelaces – pretty, blue, and ribbonlike – kept coming untied. And I double-knot my shoes. Every time. Heck, I even double-knot my kids’ shoes. You should see them trying to untie the laces…

So the Racer ST 5s were relegated to the closet until I went to Potomac River Running and got some lock-laces to replace the ribbons. Unfortunately, they were out of blue laces so Meghan suggested orange ones…as if the shoes didn’t scream loudly enough. Coincidentally, she had just raced a half marathon in the shoes and had no problems with the laces. Must be my (lack of) tying skills.

Before...

...After

Lock-laces in place, the Racer ST 5s were ready for their next run. I decided they would make their debut at the Charlottesville Sprint Triathlon, since, with the lock-laces, they were ready for a tri anyway. The run course was on some quite technical trails, and they performed magnificently. There’s a lot of ground contact with these shoes, and they really gripped the trail well.

I decided to see how the Racer ST 5s performed on the road, taking them to the Firecracker 5K in Reston July 4th. Again, the large amount of ground contact really enabled me to get a good midfoot landing and strong pushoff, and the lightness helped me maintain a good turnover in those late tired-leg stages.

It’s bold and it has some identity issues, but the Brooks Racer ST 5 more than lives up to performance expectations.

By the way, the shoe is only available in men’s sizes…ladies, just size down 1.5 sizes. I wear a 7 in a women’s shoe…the 5.5 fits me perfectly.

Note that Brooks didn’t pay me to write this review and the opinions are my own.

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Hot Enough to Hurl

June 12, 2011 by 8 Comments

Yesterday was not a good day for a couple of the elite runners at the Twilight 4 Miler in Ashburn. I saw one elite guy walking and another curled up on the side of the road at the halfway point, puking into the median . Such are the risks of running fast when it’s hot.

It was hotter than Hell when the race started at 7pm. The promised storms did not arrive to clear the air, the sun was blazing, and the air was stifling. Still, these are normal conditions for this race. We sign up knowing it will most likely be disgustingly hot and sticky, and factor that in when we predict our race time. Who didn’t say, “This won’t be a PR.” ? (Although I think I may have PR’d because I’ve only run a 4 miler once before…)

One of the hardest things about evening races is figuring out what to eat during the day. When I lived in England most races, especially cross-country, were around 2 in the afternoon, and I remember stressing all day about what – and how much – I was eating. These days I focus on staying hydrated. My latest thing is coconut water which has a ton of potassium. I also drank a couple of cokes because they stave off the headaches I can get when it’s hot and humid. I think I did pretty well although my stomach did feel a bit heavy so I may have overdone it with the hot dog and chips, but I ate those for a little sodium boost. Really, I don’t like that kind of food at all. It’s a sacrifice I make for running. ;)

This was my first time racing on the Potomac River Running Team so I was really nervous. I chewed all the nails off my right hand on the way to the race. (I was driving with my left hand or those nails would have been next…) I felt way out of my league in the PR singlet, especially when I saw Aaron Church, who’s also on the team (and who won the race). But then I saw Chris D in a PR singlet and – no offense, Chris – felt much better because I know I can keep up with him. :)

My only real strategies going into this race were:

1. Don’t go out too fast and die.
2. Don’t puke.
3. Run sub-7:00 pace.

As Meatloaf once said, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. What I didn’t manage was to run under a 7:00 pace, but I did run the first 3 miles around 6:50 before the final, gut-wrenching, puke-inducing uphill mile slowed me to a 7:03 overall.

I never really felt comfortable during the race. I couldn’t get into that groove I usually find after the first mile, and the race was over before I knew it. So far this year I’ve run two half marathons, one full marathon, and one 50K, so I guess it’s no surprise that I’m not really comfortable in a sprint at this point. Still, I managed to place 14th female and 3rd in my age group, so not too shabby for my first time on the prestigious PR team, which also won the team competition (of course)!

I questioned my sanity at 5:30 this morning when I got up to drive to Columbia, MD to bike the IronGirl course with a couple of TPR team mates. This course is a hilly little bugger, so it’s good to practice it a couple of times. But the day after a race? I figured I could always take it easy…ha ha ha.

I only made it a few hundred meters when I had to return to my car. I realized, when I felt a nice cool breeze flow through my hair, that I’d forgotten my helmet. There were a lot of bikers around so I’m really surprised no-one yelled at me! Helmet in place, I returned to the course and biked 26 miles, repeating the super-hilly part of the 17.5 mile course because I am glutton for punishment. Added bonus: the roads were littered with roadkill so I tried to not breathe in most of the time, the smell was so disgusting.

Surprisingly, when I got back to the car, my legs felt fresh so I thought I’d turn the ride into a brick and run part of the course. I ended up running 2.5 of the 3.3 mile route, avoiding the killer hill since I am not completely masochistic.

On the drive home I gave everyone a treat when I jumped out of the car wearing just a sports bra and boyshorts to retrieve my cell phone from the trunk. Nothing like waking a few people up on a Sunday morning!

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Reflections and Pictures

June 9, 2011 by 4 Comments

Lately I’ve been reflecting on my four years as president of South Riding Drinking Running Club, since my tenure will be over in August. We still have the reputation of being too fast for the average runner, based on comments we get, such as “you’re too fast for me!” or “I’ll join you when I get faster.” But after last weekend, when we were all too busy wine-tasting to even notice the awards ceremony, let alone realize that we had won the team award (there goes my attempt to convince people we’re not speedy!), I’m hoping that people realize we’re just a group of people that like to have fun and don’t take ourselves too seriously!

Speaking of  VA Wine Country Half Disaster Marathon, Brightroom published pictures Thursday. I always jump to the site right away because I like to see my terrible running form and decide if I made a good outfit choice. I am rarely aware of any camera on the course so don’t expect to see me smiling. Here I am running with my bodyguards:

My arm swing sucks. Totally inefficient. Shirtless dude was drafting off me for 12 miles, then overtook and beat me by 33 seconds. My team mate Bill (on the right, the one with the good arm swing) didn’t like him at all because he had noisy feet.

So halfway through the race I decided to change my outfit…and hair…and legs…

Someone at Brightroom isn’t paying attention. I think I need to get in touch with Bess here because she might like to see her pic, which I have now posted on Facebook. I looked her up, guessing her number was 69 while mine was 59. She’s 53 and she ran 1:47, placing first in her age group! Way to go, Bess! Sorry for all the rude comments…

And here I am at the finish. I don’t always do the arm thing but the crowds were spectacular, screaming my name and cheering me on, and I felt I ought to respond somehow. It’s amazing how freaking heavy your arms are at the end of a race.

I wore the skirt because it has a ton of pockets to hold GU, S-caps, and my credit card. Never know when you might want to shop during a race. I don’t think it’s all that attractive because it’s kinda baggy, but it has been tried and tested on the marathon and it worked great. It’s pretty lightweight and just has a shorts liner rather than those annoying boy shorts that creep up your legs.

Saturday I am running Twilight Four Miler in Ashburn. It will be my first race on the Potomac River Running Racing Team. I am hoping I don’t look too much of an idiot. There are some fast people on that team. I am not one of them. I’m sure when people see me wearing my PR race singlet they will think I stole it.

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I Want it All…

May 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This morning my yoga instructor came bounding into the room full of energy from her weekend at the Yoga Journal Yoga Retreat with (gasp!) Rodney Yee. I immediately thought, I want to go on a yoga retreat (with Rodney Yee, of course)! There are so many things I want to do that I don’t have the time/energy/resources to do them all, but I have such a hard time admitting to this.

I made a difficult decision last week. After getting sick yet again after a race, I decided I really need to dial things back and not enter so many races. So I threw out the triathlon I was planning to do June 5th, which would have been the day after the Wine Country Half Marathon that I’m running June 4th (double weekend, not a good idea!) and just a few days before the Twilight Four Miler I’m committed to on June 11th. I also finally admitted to myself that I can’t enter my home town triathlon (South Riding) because that’s on August 28th and I already have races planned August 14th and 21st and September 11th. I did sign up for Army Ten Miler, but that’s not until October 9th and is part of my commitment to Potomac River Running…at least that’s my excuse. 

This afternoon I was discussing finances with the treasurer of my running club (I’m president of South Riding Running Club) and he asked me, “So are you an Ultrarunner or a Triathlete now?” I replied, “Well, I’m trying to be both. In the Spring I’m a marathoner and ultrarunner and in the Summer I’m a triathlete and shorter distance runner…” As I said it I realized what a stretch it sounds.

I know I have to pick and choose. There are so many races I want to compete in and I can only do so many. But a little part of me wants it all. And I’m still thinking about the yoga conference…for next year.

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Lucky Me!

March 22, 2011 by 17 Comments

What’s big and purple and lies next to Ireland? Grape Britain!

I thought I’d start this post with a joke because I figure you’re all expecting me to start with “I PR’d!!!” – which I did (as you can see by the new marathon PR listed on the right!), but the PR was just part of an amazing and very fun weekend in Virginia Beach with my family and triathlon team.

Shamrock

Grimacing in the final stretch

The joke, by the way, was one of several that were posted on signs along a quiet, spectator-free section of the Shamrock Marathon course. They were what kept me going from miles 16 – 19 and I remember several of them. This stretch was so quiet that when someone behind us burped everyone started roaring with laughter. It kinda broke the silence and I started chatting to the guy next to me, with whom I’d been in step for a while. I needed to talk, because I was starting to hurt. We chit-chatted for a while and then another guy came up to us and said, “do you know when this hill ends?” (“What hill?” I thought. Aside from a bridge that you run over and back, Shamrock marathon is pancake-flat.) “Uh, soon, I think,” the guy next to me said. Then, when “hill” guy was out of earshot, he turned to me and said, “what hill?” “Exactly.” I said.

So, how did my “training run” go? Well, basically I tried to slow myself down for 20 miles and then speed up for the last 6. I was literally “swallowed” by the 3:40 pace group, which descended on me at mile 8 like a pack of wild dogs, and which I rejoined – and passed! – at mile 21. Sweeeet.

Recapping an entire marathon is hard and probably very boring, so here are the answers to questions I am presumptuous enough to assume you might have:

- Yes, I went out too fast, even though I swore I would not. My splits were 8:29, 7:59, 8:00, 8:07, 8:20, 8:11, 8:18, 8:10, 8:06, 8:08, 8:11, 8:16, 8:14, 8:17, 8:14, 8:13, 8:12, 8:19, 8:06, 8:19, 8:10, 8:24, 8:14, 8:09, 8:20, 8:07, 7:13. Altogether, my pace was fairly even  so I don’t think I messed up. I went through the half in 1:49 so I did run a negative split – by a hair!

- Yes, I peed while running. And I laughed out loud at people wasting time standing in the porta-potty lines on the course.

- I ate 5 (five!) GUs and a pack of Honey Stingers. This is way more than I’ve ever eaten during a marathon and I think this really helped me in the latter stages.

- Even though I used a significant amount of body glide I still chafed. Lesson learned: you can never use too much body glide.

- The day before the race I ate oatmeal for breakfast, blueberry pancakes for lunch, and pasta with meat sauce for dinner.

- There is a point during the marathon when everything hurts. You will always want to stop or at least slow down at this point. Run through it. Deal with it.

- I had a weird pain on the outside of my knee between miles 3 and 4. I had the exact same pain at about the same point in the Philly Half Marathon. The pain intensified, became excrutiating, and then went away during that race, so I hoped it would act the same way this time. It did. It went away after about a mile and didn’t come back. I don’t know what caused it. I’ve had the same pain running on the treadmill, which is why I no longer run on the treadmill. Odd.

OK, so if you have a burning question about my race that I didn’t answer, please write it in the comment section and I will be sure to respond!

So, what else made it such a great weekend? My husband ran his first 8K in an awesome time and made it look easy! Next time he says he’s going to run it faster!

My kids, who “hate the beach” and “can’t stand sand” spent several hours digging holes, fishing stuff out of the ocean, playing frisbee, and making sand volcanoes.

Finally, to cap it all, the day before the marathon, I got an e-mail from Cathy Pugsley at Potomac River Running inviting me to join their Age Group Racing Team! Of course I was interested but I didn’t think I was =PR= material, so I sent them my PRs just to be sure they really wanted me and they replied YES, they would like me to race for them!

Lucky me!

Ok, one more: What do you get when you cross a shamrock with poison ivy? A rash of good luck!

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