Aging Up

My birthday came and went. I celebrated 29 again, for those who wonder. This is getting a bit awkward given that my 15 year old is, in fact, 15. I’m not a person who gets morose about aging up a year, I am a beautiful woman in many respects, and so far I am aging as I expect. My mother is a beautiful woman, this gives me hope for my future. I do think about aging, as I think about health, as I think many badass mother runners must. But I don't fear "getting old".

Perhaps that's because I'm young still. Or perhaps it's because I trust my body?

Maybe it’s time to age up? 29 is a ridiculously fast BQ time, and not that I’m attempting a BQ any time soon, it’s still crazy to compare myself to those folks. Maybe I should just embrace my 39^th year as a 39 year old.

This is, as many of you know, The Year of The GBA 5K.

Which is why it’s only logical that I have signed up to run a marathon this fall.

Ummm... yeah. Well. #thathappened.

It’s my last year in my 30’s. I started running in my 30’s. And besides. The marathon and I always have unfinished business. Even when we don’t. There’s always room for discussion and improvement. Even when I meet my goals.

I want to run.

For some reason, I allow myself sometimes to get sucked into other people’s goals to the exclusion of mine. This year, I signed up to run this race alone. And by Alone I mean Alone with 1000 of my BFFs at Sports Backers Marathon Training Team. 

But truly, I am not training with my usual posse. The gang has all gone looking for their own goals. That isn’t to say there won’t be miles run together, but when the fall arrives, it’ll be me on the line.

I think this is good for me. The best races are the ones I remember that I have to run alone.

The marathon training team “group” starts running next week, and I’m looking forward to another year with my favorite coaches and runners. I’m going back to my origins, and rejoining the Green Team. I’ve missed my coaches, and wonder why I allowed myself to get so distracted last year. 

I try not to dwell on that.

I sat tonight with my friends ~  some who run and some who don’t  ~ and we discussed our fall plans, and I mused aloud that I had lost my fecking mind, and prolly I don’t even want to run a marathon in November.

Of course, they laughed at me, claiming I was talking nonsense, even as I shrugged off the moment with “don’t listen to “her”, that must be the wine talking. When I’m sober I feel certain that the marathon is something I love.”

Someone remind me of that in October.

But I seriously do love this sport. Even when I’m loving on my bike, I’m a runner at heart.

And so another birthday has come and gone, and it was a great birthday, celebrated with new friends and young friends and “old friends” who aren’t old. And even though another year has come and gone and my 30’s are 364 days from being a memory, I’m ready to enjoy and savor every single one of the 364 days.

Besides, nothing reminds me of my youth and vitality more than signing up to run 26.2. It’s like my “New Year” all over again.  I can’t picture a life without 20 mile training runs and the juicy hamburgers I celebrate the miles with after. OH! And the beer.

Can’t forget the beer.

Taper Madness

Instructions for the Tapering Marathoner:  Print this letter, make a few copies of it and keep them with you at all times.  Hand one to your spouse, your partner, your neighbor, the other mom at the bus stop, the guy who sits next to you in Biology Class, the person who makes your coffee at Starbucks,... anyone, really, who is unfortunate enough to come into contact with you over the next few weeks.  

A letter to the support team

borrowed with permission from Q

As the support team for a Marathoner you are entering a very tricky period.  Your Marathoner has been training hard through the summer and into the fall in preparation for the big day.  The hard work is done and TAPER MADNESS is ahead.

Marathon training is a stair-step type process where muscles are broken down for several weeks and then an easier week is thrown in for recovery.  Finally three weeks before the Marathon, one last long run is completed and it’s time for recovery.  The last three weeks are a period of descending running mileage.  This period allows the body to fully recover from the training and rest in preparation for the Big Day, this period is called the Taper.

This all sounds well and good, however, the Taper is a period of great anxiety for many Marathoners (first-timers and veterans alike).  Over the course of training for a Marathon, an athlete becomes accustomed to running many miles each week and constantly feeling the rush of endorphin driven highs and the persistent fatigue and soreness of effort.  The athlete becomes addicted to these emotions and craves both the highs and lows.

The Tapering Marathoner will be irritable, anxious, nervous, overly emotional, short-tempered, restless, tired, cranky, and depressed (even more than normal).  Sounds like a great three weeks doesn’t it?  It is not unlike the heroin addict going cold turkey.  This is a span of time where most Marathoners go a bit crazy.  For most it passes after Marathon day.  Of course there are the post-marathon blues, but that’s the subject for another day.

The first week is not too bad.  It’s really like most “easy weeks” following a twenty mile run.  Recovery is critical and the mileage is not dropping by a large amount.  They are so tired from the 50 mile week that the rest and recovery is welcomed.  Do yourself a favor, block  HYPERLINK "http://www.weather.com" www.weather.com and  HYPERLINK "http://www.accuweather.com" www.accuweather.com from your internet service, unless you enjoy continuous updates of the weather forecast for 18 days in the future.  Nerves may begin to fray but the best is yet to come – trust me!

During the first part of Taper Madness you will hear about every small ache and pain and how it may be a broken leg or torn ligament or some other traumatic injury.  Every twinge becomes a reason to think about postponing the marathon effort.  Every sneeze, sniffle, cough or pimple becomes a life-threatening virus or infection.  Tight hammies, inflamed ITB, tweaked Achilles, plantar fascitis, black toenails, bloody nipples, chafing, and this is just during breakfast.  

The second week starts the deep depression.  The tapering Marathoner starts to really miss running.  There are no more double-digit runs before the marathon.  The longest run for the next two weeks will be 8 miles.  Just 8 miles, how many used “just” and “8 miles” in the same sentence prior to training for the marathon.    The body is really starting to recover and therefore has more energy than needed.  Therefore, the Marathoner becomes restless.  No “extra” running is allowed.  The tapering Marathoner can feel the fitness draining out of their body.  Ask them, they will tell you, they are getting slower every day!  This is not happening but the feelings are real.  Physiologically, there is nothing but positives from a 3 week taper prior to running a marathon, however, it feels quite the opposite.  This restlessness often becomes frustration and a very short-tempered athlete.  Understand that this frustration will be projected at anyone and everyone within reach.  It’s nothing personal; it’s the lack of mileage talking.

So it’s now six or seven days before the Marathon.  The last 8 mile run is done and all that’s left is 3 easy short runs and the BIG EVENT.  For the first time Marathoner and some experienced folk, this week is nothing but self-doubt and worry.  “I’ll never make it.  My foot hurts.  My nose is running.  I’m not ready.  My last 20 miler sucked, I’ll die out there.  I’m getting fat and slow.  My shoes are dead, my shoes are too small, my shoes are too big, My legs are different lengths, my head hurts, I have a splinter, I have a hang nail, I hate running.” These are some of the things going through the mind of a Marathoner in their last few days before the Marathon.  Not to mention the nervous energy that is overflowing.  Not to mention that there may be a couple of extra pounds after cutting back on the running for 3 weeks.  Not to mention that the trips to the bathroom are increasing geometrically as the hydration dance starts in earnest.  Many find concentrating on anything other than the upcoming race difficult.  By the way, Marathoners in the final days before a race often make poor babysitters.

Two nights before the marathon are critical to the marathoner.  This night is probably the last chance for a good nights sleep.  The night before is typically restless and worrisome (what if the alarm doesn’t go off).  A sleepless night preceding a marathon will not have a dramatic impact on chances for success.  Adrenaline will offset missing that night’s sleep and get the Marathoner through the race.  The morning of the marathon is all about getting some food, using the bathroom and getting to the race.  My suggestion, don’t get in the way.

I am sure your marathoner appreciates all the support they have received during the training program.  The last few weeks are critical to a successful marathon effort.  Please understand that the emotional wreck will disappear after the marathon.  The Taper can be especially difficult and frustrating for everyone.  The good news, it ends with the race.

I hope this sheds some light on TAPER MADNESS.  Sometimes insight makes things a bit easier to understand.  Of course, your experience may differ greatly but I’ll bet it doesn’t.

Do You Remember That Time?...

Richmond Marathon Recap - 11-13-2010

To start the day.  I got up after a really good night's sleep.  Dressed, got my pre-race pic by H (imma little bada**), and snagged a ride with Ocean, DeNiece & 3L.  I was calm.  I was focused.  I was Centered.  Spent my last last few minutes reviewing my plan, my strategy, and gathering what mental strength I could... and tried like heck to push that mental strength onto DeNiece as much as possible.  

Two things I remember saying to myself.  There is no such thing as the wall.  I will not call Parcheesi.

DeNiece and I split from Ocean & 3L (who kicked the Half Marathon’s butt to the tune of 1:53 and 1:47 respectively), and went to meet the Snot Team at the bank.  Q gave us some words of strength - but the most memorable for me were, “Try NOT TO SUCK.” and “YOU TRAINED FOR 24 WEEKS TO GET TO TODAY, DON’T. SCREW. IT. UP. NOW.”

Here’s the deal.  When you train with the Sports Backers MTT, the coaches all spread out along the course (getting rides from point to point) so that at every mile you will be spotted by a coach.  It won’t always be YOUR coach, but there will be a coach for you at almost every mile.  The deal is, if you look good and happy, they leave you alone.  If you don’t... they step out and run with you for a few minutes.  Good deal.  I’ll take it.

The MTT Snot coaches were split into groups to pace people out at the start, and Karasmatic was running between a 9:30 -9:45 pace.  So I told her I would like to go out with her... Q hears me say it and asks, “Did she ask you out?”  Um.  Actually YES she did!  Smartest thing I did between miles 1-5 was to go out with Karasmatic & DeNiece.  Wow that was SO FUN!  Love that girl.  Her energy and spunk were AWESOME.  We did... um, OK with the pacing.  

Q stopped in at mile almost 5 with us and reminded us to relax our shoulders.  So I decided that every time I saw a coach I would try to replay that advice.  Can you say, best thing I did early in the race?  DeNiece and I separated around 1 hour into the race, because I knew she wanted to run faster than I wanted to run.

... ok, so about 1 hour and 3 minutes into the race, I was having a little trouble finding my rhythm, so I sped up down the hill and reconnected with DeNiece.  I knew that I was better off with someone I knew.  I took at AccelGel at mile 6ish.  Saw my family at mile 7ish and threw H my sock sleeves!  Those things have been with me for more than a year now, I’m SO happy I didn’t have to throw them away.

Once we crossed the H bridge, DeNiece & I did separate.  I fell into a really comfortable pace and I looked at my watch and it said, Mile 8.  And then I heard my watch BEEP and I thought - oh no, my watch is freaking out... only, what it said was MILE 9 9:13.  AND then, like 3 seconds later, it BEEPd again... and it said the mile 10 9:15.  “LOOKING GOOD GREEN PLAID SKIRT!”  Smiled and waved like CRAZY at the person.  And mile 11 actually didn’t exist for me, because the next BEEP I saw was mile 12, so I took a GU.  Somewhere around mile 12 I saw the PINK NATION head coach Blair!  He’s great and gave me a HUGE shout out!

So, to recap - things were going great.  I was running along Forest Hill and Semmes, and saw coach after coach after coach from Sportsbackers MTT, and every one of them said, “HEY!  Way to go!  Looking Strong” or some other encouraging words.  I saw H at the Party Zone, and waived to the kids.

I crossed the HALF mat at... what?  2:04:27... OH MY WORD!  It’s a HALF MARATHON PR!?  Heckfireandshoot - I need to find a Half Marathon to run this winter.  Around here I heard a familiar voice yell - “HEY!  It’s the Green Plaid SOCK Girl!”  And I said, “HEY DON!” to the head coach of MTT.  It made me smile, and that was priceless.

The next miles melted away, I plowed through them all while shouting at spectators and pointing to cheer leaders and thanking cops left and right, and remember looking up and thinking, “but... that’s the turn for the Lee Bridge.  How did I get here?”  

So, I took the turn and my eyes got a little big.  With the bridge spanning out before me as a mile long expanse of beige concrete, I knew I had once again arrived at the dreaded Lee Bridge.  BUT, I was feeling GOOD.  Really GOOD.  And I thought, the bridge is so demoralizing, I’m just going to fall in behind any large man and run his pace.... no matter WHAT it is.  I believe my exact words were, “I don’t have time for this..  I’m going to make this bridge my b*tch.”

And while I was SHOPPING for a man to SHAMELESSLY USE on the Lee Bridge, I spied DEE & Marine Corp M!!!  YEAH!  I got some smiles, cheers and knuckle bumps and continued on my way.  It. Was. Awesome.  Frankly, looking back on it, I probably took the bridge too hard and would have been better off conserving a bit of energy for Main St, but...  WOW, It was actually FUN to scream across that bridge in the wake of a strong runner.

I grabbed 2 pretzels at the Junk Food Stop coming off the bridge and thanked the girls for volunteering.

So, remember my new bestie, Bart?  Well, as I came off the bridge and started making my way into the city, I saw him!  I pointed with both hands and yelled at the top of my lungs, “IT’S MY NEW BEST FRIEND, BART!!!”  

And he yelled, “LOOKING GOOD!  YEAH!  AND BY THE WAY, NICE SOCKS!  I’M GOING TO NEED TO GET ME A PAIR OF THOSE!”  If it wasn’t for MTT, I would have never become best friends with Bart Yasso at the Richmond Marathon.  I’m just sayin’.

More coaches, more words of encouragement, I was HIGH on my Lee Bridge Victory... and then... 

I turned the corner into no-mans land.  Um.  Hello, when did Main St suck so much at the Richmond Marathon?  Ok, I’m feeling tired.  I think I’ll slow down and give myself a little break... oh, that doesn’t feel so good.  I think I’ll pick it up for 30 seconds and THEN slow down and see what that feels like.  This trick worked GREAT for me.  I took some time to chill out, the UBER goal was still in play, the Back Up Goal was a near Lock.  The SUN was BEATING DOWN by now and in the back of my mind I knew had to keep on pace because I KNEW if I fell back, it was only going to get HOTTER.

So, then, because it was mile 18- I took another Gel.  

And my stomach ROLLED over.  And I thought, this could be bad.  

Around now I also noticed I felt really grainy... and took a salt pill.  Probably one of my smarter back half decisions.  BY the way, did you know that salt is a really good exfoliator?  Uh.  Yea.

I caught up to Coach Karen, and for the fist time in the race I was too unenthusiastic to be “passed” up by one of the coaches.  She hopped right out and joined me.  We only ran together for a minute, but she stressed the key point that I was SALTY.  VERY salty and needed some liquids.  So we discussed my strategy, I told her I was feeling a little sick, and then I got some surprising news...  DeNiece is right there.  WHAT???!!!  She pointed and just ahead I saw the fleur skirt.  I sent her off to run with someone else and sent myself off to catch DeNiece. 

At Mile 19 I saw H, Jen and the kids.  They were cheering, and had a HUGE sign up fo me-  it was great.  I was SO happy to see them.  H jumped in, offered me a banana.  I should have taken the banana, but I was feeling really bad and I didn’t.  Memo to me.  Next time eat the damn banana so you have something in your stomach to actually throw up and can just get on with feeling better already.

I found Coach El at the Diamond.  She was great.  She tried to convince me to stick my finger down my throat and throw up.  I declined.  She promised it would make me feel better.  I declined.  More on THAT topic later.  We ran past another MTT yellow shirt and  El slowed to his pace and I was off and running again to catch DeNiece, who, made it really easy by stopping to stretch.

DeNiece and I ran together for about a mile... and then, we picked up COACH KARASMATIC!  Now, mentally I was feeling great.  I knew I could do this.  I still had some sense of humor.  I wasn’t in nearly as much pain as I’d been in the year before.  But, my stomach was kind of pissing me off.  She made me drink a bunch of water and PowerAid, and really, that was a smart thing.  It did make my stomach roll a bit more, but frankly, at this point I was already pretty sick feeling, and it got me some sugar and water.  I can’t wait for the pictures though... ha ha... because I suspect I look as GREEN as Karasmatic’s HAIR!

We hung together, I was sucking, and then I looked down the street and saw... pink socks.  long sleeves.  and argyle.  OH.  YES.  And I said to Kara - It’s T!!!  It’s T!!!  

So.  skip this next paragraph if you’re sensitive to the bodily fluid talk.  OK?

After I picked up T, I did “pull over to the side” and stick my finger down my throat.  All it caused me to do was painfully dry heave.  All that pain and upset in my stomach was for naught.  There was NOTHING there.  But, I wasn’t aware of that enough in the moment to recognize it.  Now I’m a little pissed that I didn’t realize it and just suck it up a little more.

Suddenly, on Brook Road, I heard my name.  Ocean and 3L were on the course!  And they ran beside me for a mile?  I have no idea. I could feel them there, I could hear them there.  I just couldn’t acknowledge them in the moment.  I’m Sorry ladies that I was SO FAR GONE!  I am so blessed to have SUCH GREAT friends.

Around 23 we also saw Q.  He picked up the 3 runners ahead of us, and as he did, he looked back to scan the yellow shirts and we made eye contact.  He nodded to me.  And I smiled to myself as I thought of EXACTLY what I would say when he asked me how I was feeling.  I mean here I am.  I’m at frickin mile 23 1/2 of a marathon.  I’m crushing my PR.  I’m running with my POSSE.  I have stopped to (unsuccessfully) vomit on the side of the course.  Yup.  I knew what 2 words I would say.

At mile 24 Q dropped the other group, and I was rewarded for my patience.

“How you doing?”

“Galactically BadA**”.  

We all smiled (well, I think I smiled, honestly, my memory is a tad foggy).  I know HE smiled.  He says, “Is T pacing you in?”  “Yup”.

Yea, OK, maybe my memory of the moment is a little foggier than I’d LIKE to admit.  I know he spoke to me, I know he called me Doll, but if my life depended on telling you all what he said, well... ANYWAY, moving on to the BEST LINE OF THE DAY.

I was suffering.  Stopping to dry heave while protesting, “I’m not calling Parcheesi, I’m stopping to heave” and T says, “you can puke while you run”.  Um.  OK.

T was “pulling” me along by running 1 step ahead of me.  We’re on Grace, in the last mile + of the race and suddenly out of the blue T says, “Remember that time when you were about to crush your Marathon PR and all you had to do was climb up that little hill there and turn two corners to get to the down hill finish?”

It COMPLETELY made my day.  But I was still sucking... until she followed it with:

“You did not train for 24 weeks to NOT bring it for the last mile on Race Day.”  And so, I brought it.  I did, I just dug deep and sucked it up.  I was running hard, I turned the corner, and T says, "I have to leave you here..." but here’s the thing.  She didn’t leave me.  In my peripheral vision I could see T pacing me down the steep hill.  I was in the chute, she was outside the chute, but we were together.  It was such a great moment.  That pink blur was my strength and I focused everything I had on running through the finish.  I think *emphasis on think* that my arms were up in the air as I punched my way across the finish.  The CLOCK said 4:21:something.  

As I stepped over the second mat BART YASSO caught me in a hug, looked in my eyes with a HUGE smile on his face and said, “Thank you!”

Bart Yasso is such a stellar guy.  Why was he thanking me?  Oh right, probably because I’m his new best friend....

SO, here’s where things start to get a little fuzzy.  I got my picture.  Walked around for a minute with T.  Went to get food, walked from the sunshine into the shady tent, and then, T’s hands were on my arms and I realized, oh hey, I’m not actually fully conscious am I?

We “walked” to my car, I got to experience the dry heaving again - that was AWESOME.  And I came home to an icebath and cup of hot tea and oatmeal.

Today, I woke up sore, but not toast.  I’ve been more sore after a race.  Hell I’ve been more sore after a 5K.  I worry that the lack of soreness says that I ran a little conservatively (read that - mentally lazy from mile 17 - 20).  I know that the stopping to dry heave added 3 - 4 minutes to my time.  Not a big deal, it’s just something that happened.  I’ll fuel better next time.

I also hit the pool today for an easy recovery swim.  And... tomorrow, I’m hitting the pavement for an easy 3 miler.  Oh yeah.

Richmond Marathon 4:18:02, a 37:40 PR.  Galactically. BadA**.

don't be jealous

BUT you should totally be jealous.

Today I ran 18 miles, crossed the 800 mile mark for the year, and (AND!) busted out a new weekly record for me of 48 miles on the week.  This is not the reason you should be jealous.

After my awesome 18 miler, that I really tried to kill, I drove everyone back to their cars or homes, came in my house, and promptly made myself a cup of coffee and an ice bath.  I've frozen a bunch of cranberry juice bottles into giant ice cubes.  It worked for the most part.  It was cold.  I was shivering by the end, but I was happy to sit in it for the whole 15 minutes.

You want to know why you should be jealous?

Well, B dumped a cup full of Dinosaurs in the tub with me so I would have some toys.  She said, "I like toys in my bath, you can play with my toys mom."

Thanks B.  You're one in a million.