It's very Questionable

I appreciated all the questions.  And I really appreciated everyone's little tidbits of information about themselves.  I mean yes, many of us blog, but not that often in my blog do I admit my obsession with Gummi Bears, and I'm happy to see I'm NOT alone!  


SO, here are The RACE Questions:


It would probably have been logical to answer other questions first, but with my race looming on the horizon, it's on my mind a LOT these days!

Shelly asked:  Do you see yourself staying at this level of running/racing? Will you increase your habit or decrease over the years? Why do you think that?

I do see myself continuing to do this at this level for a while.  I enjoy the long slower distances.  I get as much satisfaction off that as I do off faster short distance.  Short & Fast hurts though, where Long doesn’t.  Because of that, I would like to move myself into Ultra Running at some point.  Sometime down the road.  Like in 2011.  Seriously, I do plan to do my first 50K next year.  I worry that when I go back to work I will struggle to maintain my milage base, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

Jaime - How far out do you plan races and what are your upcoming ones?

I usually start thinking about that in September or October of the previous year.  It cuts down on race fees if you register early, and some years I race a lot.  Plus, if you’re doing a Full Marathon, there is some advantage to scheduling these things early so you have time to obsess, er, train.  Next year I am planning on running:

Frostbite 15K - Richmond, VA - Jan

National Marathon - March (already registered- anyone out there want to join the madness?)

Dismal Swamp Stomp Half- Chesapeake, VA - April

Autism 5K - Innsbrook, Glen Allen, VA- May 

Crossroads 17.75K - Prince something County, VA June

San Francisco Half - July

Capitol 10M - Richmond, VA - October

50K? - Virginia Beach? - December?.

MCM Mama - What's your favorite VA race?  

That’s a tough one.  Part of me wants to be all about the Richmond Marathon, “America’s Friendliest Marathon” and all, but the truth is, I think it’s the Monument Ave 10K.  It’s a HUGE race, with 30K participants, and the energy of the city leading up to race day is amazing.  For weeks it’s in the air, “Are you running?  Are you running?  What’s your goal?  What wave are you seeded in?”  I love that it’s a huge race, and yet, being a 10K, it’s accessible to a lot of people.

Jenn asked:  What is the best advice you can give someone who is about to run in their first half marathon?

OK I would say, "the PLAN is more important than the RACE".  Executing a good race strategy your first time out will completely set you up for a great race.  My next advice would be to relax, add 1 minute to your IDEAL GOAL FINISH time and plan to run the first 1 mile WAY slower than you want (like, say, 1 minute per mile slower).  It will calm your heart rate to run an easy first mile, and because of the way adrenaline works, you can easily burn up more than 10% of your energy if you go out on the first mile too fast.  I am sure you can do math and see that 1 mile is not 10% of the race... which means if you go out too fast, you might just crash and burn at mile 11.  OR, if you’re like me, you could make it to mile 12 and start hallucinating, which is ALWAYS a good time, I can assure you.  


Other advice I wish I'd heard or followed?  Don’t get caught talking on your cell phone by a race photographer at mile 8, even if it’s to call your husband, as you’ve agreed, to tell him you’re at mile 8, because on film it will look like you’re an idiot.  BY THE WAY - JENN, my best race EVER, where I followed my plan and felt good every step of the race - VB SHAMROCK HALF MARATHON!!!