The Martians Have Landed

Yesterday I ran the Martian Half Marathon in Dearborn, Michigan.  I have run this race every year since 2007.  It is always a very fun time.  It's usually my first race of the year and it can either snow, rain or be sunny and 65.  At the start the weather was good cloudy and somewhat cool.  The clouds looked awfully threatening though...  I was excited to see so many familiar faces and friends.  I was not anxious at the start, I was very relaxed and was just looking forward to a nice, easy, slow, long-run.  Perhaps I was so relaxed because I was among such good company, my Husband, my Mom and Step-Dad were all running the half as well.  The crowd was full of energy and the people watching was excellent.  People ran by me dressed as martians, wearing neon green tutu's, knee-high Wonder Woman socks, and all kinds of crazy costumes.  I have never dressed in costume for race before.  I am feeling like I am too square, and may consider giving it shot.  Maybe for Flirt with Dirt in June for my Dirty Thirty Birthday!  Hmm...I'll need to think about that.  Any suggestions are welcome. 

The first 8 miles went by fairly quickly.  The course is an out and back, on a very flat road.  This allows for an excellent up-front view of the actual "race" that takes place.  As I am still heading out to the turn around, the leaders of the half-marathon come towards me on the other side of the street.  This is always extra motivating.  I people watch intently to see the first girl and then cheer for her.  After sometime, I see my Step-Dad, then shortly after my Husband and his friends, and even later my Mom.  It was neat to see them and yell and cheer each other on as we pass each other by.  Around mile 9 the rain really came, it was cold and I was really wet.  The rain was filling the grooves in the road.  My shoes were soaked.  I could feel several hot spots on the pads of my feet and my toes.  The pressure was pretty intense, so that only means one thing.  My entire feet are wrinkly little prunes covered in blisters. 

The last 5 miles I just survived and kept moving forward.  The crowd was still thick with run/walkers and the full marathoners were finishing (since they started almost 2 hours earlier this year), so there were lots of people around to help me keep moving forward.  It's when you are all alone and tired that sometimes you just are tempted to walk it out.  So I just kept picking someone in the crowd and trying to keep up with them.  First it was a lady in a neon shirt with a bible verse on the back, then a 12 year old boy, then it was a 80 year old guy with a huge fanny pack,  and then another lady in a green tutu.  Eventually the finish was in sight, my Husband was at the 13 mile mark and handed me a much needed water.  I kicked it in hard the last tenth of a mile, and smoked the tutu lady that was also really giving it a go.  You better watch out tutu lady, I was a sprinter in the third heat on the 9th grade track team! LOL!  I finished 30 minutes slower than last year....sigh.  However, I finished 10 minutes faster than Rock CF.  That's certainly a small victory. I'll chalk that up to part improvement and partly that this course was lacking a little thing called hills.

 "Thanks for the medal. Why were you gone so long this morning?"

Hurt so good

On Sunday March 25 I ran the Rock CF Rivers Half Marathon in Gross Ille.  The race is for a great cause as it raises money to fight the genetic disorder Cystic Fibrosis.  http://www.outruncf.com/about/.  Before the race I picked up my race packet at the high school and stopped by the Medals 4 Mettle donation booth and donated 17 of my past marathon medals. Medals 4 Mettle is a wonderful organization that donates earned race metals to people battling life threatening illness. The pain I suffered during the raises was just temporary, but patients that truly suffer every day will wear my medals around their necks. http://www.medals4mettle.org/.  Above is a picture of the Rock CF race director and Rock CF Foundation founder Emily Schaller and the Medals 4 Mettle Michigan Chapter Representative Joe Burns holding the medals that had been collected at the Rock CF River Half Marathon just before they were given to Detroit children.

Race morning I was not feeling confident, and definitely a bit nervous as I had not been for a long run in quite some time.  It was also my first race in 2012.  At the start line all that was running through my head was the Steve Holy song, "This is gonna hurt, this is gonna hurt like hell, this is gonna damn near kill me." 

It was a pretty morning, and the weather was nice.  The houses along the water were beautiful and there were even some flowers blooming.  My goal was to just have fun and finish and use it as a training run, I was not truly racing.  I was hoping to run the first half and walk the second.  I ran much more of the race than I thought, although at times my running pace had gotten slower than my power walking.   The great thing about Sunday morning races is definitely the top 40 countdown on the radio.  I alternated between Ryan Seacrest and Nick Cannon. It was a welcome distraction from hearing my pounding footsteps and erratic breathing.  Around mile 13 I saw my husband at a stop sign waiting for me.  I was so happy to see him.  I didn't smile and I didn't say hello.  I just said "I hurt", and we ran the last tenth of a mile to the finish line.  An army soldier put the medal around my neck and I was all smiles, secretly daydreaming of laying on my couch like a vegetable for the entire afternoon.  My time was 40 minutes slower than last year.  I know that sounds like a lot for 13 miles, and that's because it is!  It's a tough pill to swallow when I look at it on paper, but I feel okay because I know I really gave it my best on that day, and I know I will improve greatly by the end of the summer.   I am pretty sure my Mom is faster than me now.  There's a good chance she's going to cross the finish line before me next week at the Martian Half Marathon.  I think it would be a first, but I would be nothing but proud.



New Kicks

Welcome to my blog where I will share my adventures in running this year!

Check out our other runner in training, Hayden.  "Please take me!"

My Training...
So far training is going well.  Usually I am in good shape when I start training, so things go fairly smooth.  This year I am starting from scratch.  Being a newly-wed (men are a full-time job, haha), getting a puppy, working full-time and working on my Masters in Taxation really took over this winter.  My running dwindled down to sometimes only once or twice a week.  Before that I'd been running marathons and training consistently for almost 8 years.  So I'm ready and motivated to get fit and lose some of this post-wedding pudge.  It's been challenging over the last month as I've gotten moving more and more.  Mostly right now I am focusing on trying to be on my feet as long as I can.  Sometimes that means just running 2 miles and then power walking 5.  I feel comfortable walking/running for 2-3 hours at a time.  It can be frustrating when I hit a certain landmark on my run, and I know I never used to be half that tired when I passed that intersection.  Plus, I am soooo hungry and soooo sleepy all the time.  I know that too will pass though.  The struggle is half the fun and adventure.  Hopefully each day I lace up I will make it further and further.  Check out my new trail shoes and road shoes that came in today. Yay!