All in the family

Last week was Thanksgiving and since Thanksgiving is all about family (well, technically it's about a group of Europeans coming over to this country, taking land from the indigenous people that already lived there, letting said people take pity on them when they were starving to death, thanking them with a shared meal and then murdering them - but the Hallmark version of the holiday is much more pleasing), it's only fitting that several of my runs last week were a family affair.

My dad was my first running partner. When I ran my first race at age 4, he was the starter. When I entered my first road run, he ran with me until I shooed him away saying I wanted to do it by myself. We've shared a run together many times and entered many races together. Not once have I ever beaten him, nor do I expect to. We even ran the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Relay together. He still complains that it was dark when he started. In any event, it was kind of nice when he offered to do my training runs with me over the holiday weekend.

Thanksgiving morning it was cold, misty and miserable. We hit the road at 8:oo a.m. and did 4 soggy miles. I heard all about his trip to Hawaii and he heard about my training up until that point. Saturday, I had 12 to do. Dad ran the 4 miles to the local park with me and then left me to do my additional 4 in the park before I headed back. As with other long runs, my mom came along to bring me beverages. It was family bonding over sweat and it was actually kind of fun.

All you other families can have your multi-coursed Thanksgiving meal with 63 relatives and 76 different desserts. I'll take a sunny day in the park with my family anyday. Fewer miles wouldn't hurt though...

Does this top 10 list make my butt look big?

Even though it seems like I have endless weeks of training to go before it's marathon day, in actuality there are only about 6 weeks left. Three of those weeks include holidays. So my friends figured that we'd better plan what we're all wearing soon so it could be purchased in time for our trip.

This all started because months ago, I had floated the idea of having my spectating entourage wear some sort of "Team Raegan" shirt so I could easily pick them out on the sidelines even during what will surely be a delirious state around mile 21. Jennie and Bridget jumped on this idea and before I knew it, they had come up with the idea to have a top ten list of reasons why they were NOT running the marathon. They further brainstormed and decided to keep with the Disney theme and tweak actual quotes from Disney movies to make up their reasons. Not surprisingly, they came up with a hell of a lot more than 10 reasons. Edits were made and following is the top ten list that will appear on the back of their shirts:

10. Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s back to bed we go. (Snow White)

9. I don’t have “Hercules” strength to run 26.2 miles. (Hercules)

8. It’s a long race after all. It’s a long race after all. (It’s a Small World)

7. We are simply fans if you please. (Lady & The Tramp)

6. I prefer “Ratatouille” over Gu. (Ratatouille)

5. I would tell you, but there are preschool toys present. (Toy Story)

4. I don’t do anything stupid. Like that. (Pirates of the Caribbean)

3. Cruella de Ville, Cruella de Ville, if she doesn’t kill you the marathon will. (101 Dalmations)

2. It’s all fun and games until someone loses a toenail. (Tarzan)

1. 26.2 miles can give you such a crick in the neck. (Aladdin)

So as you can see, give a girl some free time and access to Google and you'll be amazed what you get.

The rubber met the road a little too often

I've been training for this marathon now for approximately 62 years. Well, actually it's more like 11 weeks but it feels the same to me. In that time, I've spent what must equal the gross national product of a small country. In addition to running shoes and enough sports drink to fill a bathtub, I've purchased things reflective and illuminated, things warm and moisture wicking, things nutrient replacing and pain relieving. This is not to mention the small fortune I'm currently paying off to actually travel to the marathon and a place to sleep while I'm there. So imagine my shock and disgust when I discovered that I was going to have to buy a 2nd pair of running shoes too.

It turns out my body has outlasted my Nikes. After just 6 months, my shoes have gone from nicely broken in to embarassingly broken down. The soles have worn away, the cushiong has worn out and it appears that half the heel has mysteriously disappeared. After exhausting the shoe stores in town (Seriously, a town this size needs more shoe stores. We are pediatorially deprived here!), I finally found my perfect pair at a Nike outlet store an hour and half away. The photo shows my worn out shoes and what shoes should look like.

So now I have my new kicks. Maybe these will be kinder to my toenails...

I Spy...

When you go on a 16 mile run, you tend to have time to look around. You notice things that might be missed if you were driving. On Saturday's run, Runner Wendy and I happened to notice a few things (I am not making this up) that bear mentioning:

1) a man riding a unicycle
2) a partial marching band, in uniform
3) the entrails of a small animal - including possibly an intestine of some sort

Mind you, these are not the sorts of things that one might find on a postcard, but it does make one sit up and take notice. And it gives you something to talk about, besides chafing, during a 4-hour running expedition.

Becoming a morning person?

Anyone who knows me is pretty much aware that me and morning do not normally co-exist in a peaceful state. So it is with much surprise and awe that I'm writing this: I think I'm liking running in the morning. That's not a typo. I mean morning, as in the a.m., i.e. before noon. I've come upon this decision reluctantly. I think this has happened for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm so sleep deprived that I'm not quite sure what I think anymore, and 2) this damn running in the dark really sucks. A lot.

This was the first week Runner Wendy and I tried running our semi-long run in the morning. Our bosses were so cool as to let us tweak our work schedules one day a week and come in later in order to accommodate getting in a run in during daylight hours. (Shout-outs to Janet and Pam. You guys rock!) Though I had to get up at 5:45 for our morning run, it was a morale booster to see it getting lighter as we ran. It's amazing what a positive effect that had on our run!

We had 8 miles to do this week. Side note: it's really cool to be able to say "Yeah, I got an 8 mile run in before work today. How was your morning?" But I digress. We started out at our normal long run pace of about 11:35/mile. We had 2 hydration stops scheduled where we filled up on water, sports drink and Shot Blocks. Runner Wendy's husband Dan joined us for our last 3 miles. Dan is quite a bit faster than Runner Wendy and I, but he wanted to run with us for a while so he switched from tortoise to hare for the end of his run.

Not long after Dan joined us, I started to notice that we were running faster. A quick check of Wendy's GPS-watch-computer-thingy confirmed that we had picked up the pace about 15 seconds for mile 6. We all felt pretty good so we went with it. We picked up steam as we went. It felt like the farther we went, the faster we were going. Somewhere after mile 7, I notice Wendy checking her GPS-watch-computer-thingy again. Before she could say anything about our quickened pace, I said, "I don't want to know. I want to be surprised." We finished strong. When we finished Wendy announced that our last mile was run in 10:07 - a full minute and a half faster than our average pace! On mile 8. Let me emphasize that the 8th mile is not usually easier than the first 7. This was quite an achievement for us.

The turbo-boost run made my whole morning. Later, one of my co-workers asked me how my run went and when I said "Awesome!" he laughed. Not a quick chuckle mind you, but a full-on, let-me-catch-my-breath laugh. Apparently, knowing my aversion to mornings he didn't think my response jived with the question.

Praise for a wet run

I was really dreading my run last night. It was cold and it had been raining all day. The carrot at the end of my stick was that after I finished my run, I was meeting up with friends to go see a movie. That's what got me through the entire soggy day anticipating a miserable run. "Run for the movie" became my motto.

I took 2 hours of vacation time to get the run in with enough time to shower and change before meeting my friends for a pre-show dinner. So I headed to the trail at 3:15 in my running tights, long-sleeved shirt and wind breaker. It was not actually raining when I started my 4 miles but it soon started - first a mist, then a light rain and then windy, sideways rain.

But a funny thing happened. I was actually enjoying my run. The rain pelted my face, my clothes grew soggy and the wind whipped around me with a November fury but it didn't seem to phase me. I lifted my knees higher, pumped my arms faster and enjoyed the rhythm I was in. I knew in that momen,t as water was streaming down my face, that I was doing something important. I was working toward a goal that few people ever reach. I was proving to myself what I could do. There was something special about me. And that's something I don't remember very often.

The next time my legs are sore, my run too long or my desire to run nonexistent, I hope I remember that run and what it represents.

The first 10 miles were great

This weekend was my 15 miler. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm, but not too warm. I have been nervous before every long run so far and this was no exception. Looking back at my first "long" run of 6 miles, that seems laughable. At this point my middle of the week run is now up to 8 miles.

So this week, I loaded my fuel belt with 2 ibuprofen and a package of Shot Blocks (strawberry this week) and headed to meet Runner Wendy. As is our normal routine, we chatted through the miles about our weeks, our plans for Disney World and what we hoped to do with the rest of our weekends. The first 10 miles flew by. Then reality set in. We started to get hot and thirsty after mile 10. And that's where we made our tactical error.

We had increased our distance 2 miles and we knew that the city water fountains were turned off last week. What we didn't consider was that we should have added an additional water stop. We had water stops at miles 3, 5 and 9 but nothing for the last 6 miles. I remembered that the train station had a water fountain but it was almost at the end of our route. By mile 12 we knew that we were in trouble. We were thirsty and there was no water at any time soon. I felt like a wilted plant. Runner Wendy and I were weaving across the trail and occasionally bumping into each other. All we could think about for 2 1/2 miles was water. We kept repeating to each other "Just a little farther until water." The train station never looked so good as when we spotted it in the distance that morning.

We finished our run without losing consciousness. During our post-run stretching, discussion turned to what was next for us. We couldn't decide whether we wanted to eat first, shower first or rest first. I opted for food. I stopped on the way home and got a drink and 2 doughnuts - and yes, I ate them both.

That night I slept for 11 hours. Ah, the glamorous life of the athlete...