Twin Cities Marathon 2018

I was really really nervous before this race, more than usual. I knew why. I had trained well, and hard. The weather was going to be perfect for marathoning, cloudy and cool, with the high barely inching into the low 50’s. There was only a light breeze and the rain was supposed to hold off until later in the afternoon. There was no reason I couldn’t do really really well in this race, no reason except my brain which often got in the way when it came to running marathons.

I had a plan and I thought it was a good one. I had practiced my average  marathon pace of 12:20 mpm a lot on my long runs. I thought I could maintain that pace through most of the race. I knew that because Twin Cities was a pretty twisty course I was going to run more than 26.2 miles, so if I wanted to run less than 5 hours and 30 minutes I needed to aim for more like 5 hours and 25 minutes, so that was the plan.

Lee was kind enough to drive me to Minneapolis for the start of the race. He and maybe Sarah and Leo would meet me later in St Paul at the end. It was something to look forward to!

I got to the start a little before 7 AM. The 10 mile race was almost about to start. Tom was running the 10 miler so hopefully we would find him and Nicole and Harrison at the end as well.

I found my gear check, my corral, the porta potties with the shortest lines. Basically I stood in the potty line, used the facilities, and turned right around and got back in line. I did that 3 times and then took some Pepto Bismol and hoped for the best. My nervous stomach is always a problem before big races but with a little help it settles down once the race starts.

Back in corral 3 I was surrounded by a lot of people running their first marathon. 8 years ago Twin Cities was my first marathon too! They asked me for advice and I tried to be helpful. I hope they all had a great time!

Our corral got started around 20 minutes after corral 1. I started out at an easy pace, using a 30/30 run/walk interval. But with the weather, and nerves I was running awfully fast. I tried to slow down a little but I wasn’t going to really force myself to slow down a lot, as long as things felt really easy, which they did.

After 2 miles I changed my run/walk interval to 45/30 and that’s what I used for the rest of the race. The first couple of miles winds through downtown Minny and then heads to Uptown and the Lakes. This time I knew where I was more or less for most of the race. 8 years ago I really had no idea most of the time.

Miles 3 through around 13 run through the neighborhoods around Lake of the Isles, Lake Harriet, Lake Nokomis, and Lake Calhoun. Its really really pretty and the crowds are great. Sometime around mile 5 I started talking to a girl named Kim. She was doing a run/walk interval too, but a longer one, 3 min/1 min. She was intrigued by my shorter intervals and we started to run together. We were very closely matched in pace, although her legs were a little longer than mine and I think she was actually faster than me. We ran together for miles, all the way to the river, around mile 18.  When we would get split up, because of the aid stations, or a potty break, we managed to find each other again. It was fun to have someone to talk to and I think running with her made me run a little bit faster. I certainly was killing a lot of those miles! If I hadn’t had to stop a second time to pee who knows, we might have run the entire race together!

The only point in the race where I got a little confused about where I was was when we were getting close to the Mississippi River. I didn’t realize that we were running along it until we crossed the bridge over it into St Paul and started running on the other side! 

Somewhere along in here there were people handing out beer. I felt great so I took a couple of slugs. A guy behind me said “Wow, you are brave! How do you feel?” I laughed and said I’d know in a couple minutes. And then I said, you know if you aren’t going to have fun doing this, what’s the point? And that’s how I felt, for sure.

Even though I had come over and run miles 20-26 of the course a few weeks ago, I was still anxious about approaching mile 20. I knew it was the biggest uphill on the course and in my mind it just grew and grew! Marathons can be such head games! But when I finally got there it just wasn’t that bad. I walked it when I needed to but even walking I kept my pace up.

While trudging up the hill I passed a lot of people because of course 20 miles is where the dreaded wall rears its head for so many. There was a youngish runner that I passed that looked really bad. I told her to hang in there and asked her if she had anything to eat. She said no and I said, find something! There will be people with candy, take some. Voice of experience!

Miles 21-23 are a gradual uphill but I had planned for it, allowing myself to go a little slower as needed. I still kept myself below a 12:40 pace. Around mile 22 I started to realize I was going to do it. Unless something awful happened in the last 4 miles I was finally going to break 5 and a half hours for the marathon. I got a little emotional. Someone had a sign with little smiley faces and it said to touch the one that was how you felt, going from #1 for great to #10 (with a crying frown face) for awful. I punched #2 and startled the sign holder. I knew I was going to finish strong.

My mind was playing tricks on me, as it often does. I was trying to calculate what my finish time was going to be and in my feverish fantasies I had myself finishing in 5:10 or 5:15. That wasn’t happening, but it still was going to be really really good for me.

I saw a girl wearing the 2018 Boston Marathon jacket and holding a glass of champagne, watching the race. I yelled that I loved her jacket and she actually came over and ran with me for a little bit. I told her that I was going to be about a half an hour faster than I was at Boston and she laughed. She definitely understood.

At mile 23 the course gets more rolling, with still a few uphills but some nice downhills too. I ran as much of the uphills as felt comfortable and really flew on the downhills. My quads didn’t hurt so hey, why not, just don’t fall! At mile 25 some serious downhills wind above the capital as you head to the finish. I really booked it that last mile and a half. When my Garmin hit 26 miles I ran the rest of the way as fast as I could, even though I knew I was a quarter mile off. As I approached the finish I heard “Lynn! Lynn!” and there were Nic, Tom and Harrison. I smiled and waved and drove on the the finish. 5:24:37. I finally broke 5:30 after 8 years of trying. I was SO HAPPY!

I blinked back tears. Suddenly that feeling of my throat closing and not being able to breathe started happening, but since going to a speech therapist this summer I knew it was only my vocal cords constricting and I knew what to do. I calmly took a couple deep breaths, filling my chest and belly with air, then slowly exhaled, making a whistling sound through my lips and teeth as I did. After a few breaths the feeling was gone. SCORE!

I got my medal and my mylar blanket. And food! A cup of canned peaches, a bag of chips, power aide, energy bar. By the time I got to the gear check area my hands were full! Good thing for that gear bag, I just plopped all my goodies right in there. I wasn’t ready to eat anything yet anyway.

I exited the runner area and there were Lee, Sarah, and Leo! I told Lee what I had done. Nicole and Tom joined us and Nicole said you have to go ring the PR bell! So that was our next stop. Leo and I rang that bell like crazy. Actually Leo kind of stared at me with alarm. It was pretty loud!

Next up, food. We decided to go to Revival in St. Paul so we all headed there. The babies were both missing their afternoon naps and were pretty tired but they were both very good sports. Suddenly I was starving. I ate most of my snacks in the car on the way to the restaurant and then had some fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, cheese grits, baked beans and sweet potatoes at the restaurant. Oh and an Old Fashioned too! Leo tried the cheese grits. He made a funny face because it was a new food but then opened his mouth readily for more. Harrison was tired of sitting and wanted to try out his walking skills around the restaurant. It reminded me of going out to eat with Gail and Michael and Matthew, many years ago, when Matt was also just learning to walk and couldn’t sit still. I was still childless and I questioned whether I really had enough energy to be a mom!

Well that was a great race. I won’t be surprised if I do Twin Cities again some day. After all its one of the top ten marathons in the US and its right here in my new home town. Right now I’m having delusions of grandeur, fantasizing about just how much faster I can get. A BQ (Boston Qualifying time) is still almost 50 minutes faster than I ran Twin Cities so I’m not entertaining that, but 5:20 or 5:15? Heck, why not!

Manchester City Marathon 2017

I haven’t run a marathon where I was trying to do my best in over a year. And the last time I tried, Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth in 2016  the high rose to 78F and I had a horrible experience, crawling over the finish line in 6:18 and ending up in the medical tent.

I knew this race was hilly. But I was also hopeful that a November race would have temperatures more to my liking. And it was only 20 minutes away so no traveling, no hotel, and a reasonable race fee. It seemed like a good choice.

I used my coach’s training plan from Grandma’s, BUT I modified it to have a less ambitious time goal, one that I felt was more attainable. I also added a couple of breaks for the sailing cruises we did this summer. After the second break in September I did lose a little fitness and that worried me at first. But I quickly made it back up. I also had a small setback attempting to do a marathon pace run in Missouri in October when it was extremely warm and humid but my final marathon pace run a couple of weeks ago went great so I was able to put that worry behind me.

On Saturday Lee and I drove up to Manchester to the SNHU campus so I could pick up my race bib and t shirt and check out the expo. The expo was small, but that’s to be expected for a small race. It looked like there were about 1800 people signed up for the marathon, half and relay, but most of those people were signed up for the half. There were only about 450 people signed up for the marathon.

We met Paula and Rich at the expo. Paula was running the marathon too, but this time were weren’t running together. It was really fun running with her at Dopey but she is a little slower than I am and I wanted to try and see how good I could do. So we could hang out at the start and see each out at the finish line!

Sunday morning I woke up at 5 AM. I didn’t really need to get up that early; the race didn’t start until 8:50. But I wanted to eat at least 3 hours before the start. It was pretty cold, as predicted. It was supposed to be around 25F at the start, climbing into the upper 30’s by 3 pm. For the first time in my marathon history I decided to wear tights. I figured my legs wouldn’t get too sweaty no matter what, and I had read a little about cold weather marathons and some people said it was better to wear tights in cold races because then your muscles would be warmer.

I had on 3 shirts, sweats on top of the tights, a beanie, gloves and my sparkly visor from Disney. I also had a coat and more hats and gloves in the car for after. I opted to park in the garage connected to the Radisson Hotel, right on Elm Street close to the start. That way I could stay in the hotel lobby and stay warm and use their bathrooms instead of the portapotties! 

I stayed in the hotel until about 10 minutes before the start. Then I walked the 2 blocks to the start, put myself in the back with Paula, removed the sweats and the outer shirt. I wasn’t sure if the 2nd shirt would ever come off for this race!

The Start - Photo by Paula Adams

Ready! I set my watch and started. The first few miles were not that hilly, but I kept my pace conservative. I was determined to have something left at the end, and the only way to do that is to save it at the start. There’s no banking fast miles, as much as your body might want to GO! at the beginning.

We wound through a nice neighborhood and then down to the river and on to the first of several trails. It was pretty running along the river. We emerged from the trail and ran up Granite Street, our first big hill. Hmmm not too bad I thought to myself, but I did walk part of it. We went down Elm Street which is Manchester’s main street for the first of 4 times. We passed the 13.1 mile split for the marathon (we were at mile 5 or so) and someone joked about “the fastest 13 miles ever”. Then we headed down to the dreaded River Road. While River was still flat I stopped and removed my second shirt. Now I was down to arm warmers and a pink short sleeved shirt. I kept on my beanie the entire race, but took my gloves off periodically. My hands would get sweaty and then get cold and then get hot again, all through the race.

The actual hill on River Road wasn’t that bad. But even when we turned off of River onto the side streets the hills just went on and on and on. I continued to walk up most of them and made up time on the downhills. I tried to run the downhills with good form, not braking too much, not pounding. Its not easy to run downhill correctly!

There were plenty of spectators here and there. People had music, drinks and snacks. For such a small race I was impressed by the show of support. 

We dipped onto a trail along Dorrs Pond and I found my first pee tree. It was only around mile 6 but the cold weather makes me have to pee more. Really, its a thing. I was glad to discover it wasn’t just in my head. Down Belmont and into Derryfield Park. This is the park where we have gone in the past to do dog training. It looked familiar, and unfamiliar at the same time.

I had mixed feelings about the trails. It was nice to have things changed up, getting off the streets and into the woods. But it wasn’t much fun to have to suddenly deal with different terrain, rocks and roots, and even sand at one point. I have a dread of falling and doing myself some serious damage so I slowed down and tried to really concentrate on where I put my feet.

Around mile 11 we left the park and turned onto Hanover Street. Suddenly I saw a sign. “Go Lynn…” huh I thought someone else named Lynn is running. Then I read further. “Go Paula….” wait, what? I looked at who was holding the sign. STEPHANIE!!!! And Rich, Paula’s husband! I literally screamed, “Stephanie! OMG!” I was so surprised and delighted to see her! I gave her a big hug. It was SUCH a boost! Thank you Steph!!!!

Rich and Stephanie! - Photo by Paula Adams

A few more hills and then a big big downhill back to downtown Manchester. At the corner of Hanover and Elm the half marathoners went left and the marathoners went right. It was clearly marked, no confusion. But it was so weird once the half runners were gone. When I turned the corner onto Elm there were no other runners around. I couldn’t see anyone in front of me, OR behind. It was like I was running all by myself. I honestly worried for a moment that I had somehow gotten off course. It was a really unsettling feeling.

The faster full marathoners were just approaching the finish line as I was heading toward mile 14. They could run a full in less time that it took me to run half of a marathon! Definitely awe-inspiring.

Lee was going to try to meet me around mile 13 but he was nowhere to be seen. I sent him a text and continued on. Oh well! Turns out he had trouble getting downtown because of all the road closures. We would try to meet up at mile 25.

Right before we crossed the river I jumped behind a retaining wall and peed again. I hoped this would be the last time but you never know. Once over the river there were more neighborhoods, and more hills. Dang I thought the hills were just in the first half! Nope there were hills all the way up to the entrance to the Piscataquog and Goffstown rail trails. Miles 17 through 24 of this race are all run on trails. Parts of this were really neat, except for the footing issues again. Its an out and back part of the race, so it was fun seeing the faster runners heading back to town as us slower runners headed toward the turnaround at mile 19. And one other thing. You can’t see it on the trail, but miles 16-19 are a gradual uphill. My times slowed and there was no way to make it up. I had to make a decision whether to keep trying or save my strength. I decided to let my times slide for awhile and hope I would be strong by mile 23. I’m grateful to Paula for warning me about this because otherwise it would have been very discouraging.

At the mile 19 turnaround they had a timing mat set up with snacks and an announcer cheering us on by name. It was encouraging and energizing, AND there were orange slices and bananas too. Yay!

After the turn around I could speed up a bit. I was tired, of course, but I still felt strong. I knew from experience that the wall can hit suddenly, but I’d been eating my gels and drinking at least a little water at each aid station. I started holding back less and seeing what would happen. I also started muttering to myself “no wall, no wall, no wall”. Ha, I’m sure it didn’t hurt! I’d been using a 45/30 run/walk ratio for most of the race but at mile 23 I changed to 60/30 and was able to speed up a little more.

I saw Paula when she was at around mile 17 and I was at 22. She was tired and her legs hurt but she was determinedly trucking on. She’s one tough woman. Love you Paula!

Caught me during a walk break!

At mile 24 we crossed the river and headed back to Granite Street. Damn that Granite Street hill! I walked it  but I hated it at that moment. When I turned onto Elm, there was Lee with a hug and encouraging words. He thought I was doing good. I thought I was too, but didn’t want to get too excited yet. Two miles is a long long time at the end of a marathon. Down Elm, and back across the river on Bridge street. There was a slight downhill but I knew that meant there would be a slight uphill on the way back. Now my mantra changed to “Meb, Meb Shalane, Meb, Meb, Shalane”. I just kept thinking about those two inspiring runners and how they never ever give up. Our goals may be wildly different, but if they could keep trying then so could I! 

There weren’t very many runners around me but there was one old guy ahead of me on the bridge. I was able to pass him and he said I was looking good. I waved and smiled at him but really couldn’t talk by then. 

I saw Lee again right before mile 26. At mile 26 I was ready to run all out to the finish line. It wasn’t fast  but I made it! Boy was I glad to be finished with that race! It was really hard, but I ran smart which was my main goal.

Charging Toward the Finish Line!

I grabbed a powerade and a water and wrapped myself in a heat blanket. Then I headed to the timing tent. Holy smokes! I came in 2nd in my division, women 60-69! And I PR’d, beating my time from NYC in 2014 by 30 seconds. 5:31:44. I literally burst into tears and hugged Lee hard. I work so hard at this running thing, I just couldn’t believe I’d managed to run a PR at 65 years old. After the disaster of Duluth and the fun of Dopey it was a very satisfying feeling.

I went to the car and got my coat, went back to the finish line area and got some chicken noodle soup. Boy did that taste wonderful. I wanted to wait and see Paula at the finish line and then head home.

This was a great, challenging race. It was fun to run a little marathon, fun to have a good race plan and be able to stick to it for the most part. I was very happy with my time of course. I would still love to break 5:30 someday but whether it ever happens or not I’m happy that I can still run. I’m going to keep at it as long as I can.

Today (the Monday after) I’m really really sore, more than usual after a marathon. It must be all those hills. I’m going to do some walking this week but no running. I’ll start back running slowly and decide on a new marathon goal soon.

At the Finish Line with Paula and Our Medals!

Philadelphia Marathon

Last Sunday I ran the Philadelphia Marathon, my 4th. This was by far my most successful marathon to date. I enjoyed the entire experience, except perhaps for the 50 minutes I waited in line to use the porta potties before the race. It was the first marathon I have run where the last three miles weren't absolute torture. The entire run was fun, fun, fun, from start to finish!

We flew from Boston to Philly the Friday before the race. We decided to take the train from the airport to downtown, and that was a good decision. It wasn't as great a decision, however, to walk the mile from the train station to our hotel with our heavy bags. 

The Hampton Inn where we stayed was a great location, right around the corner from the Convention Center where the Race Expo was held, and less than a mile from the start of the race. From the moment we entered the lobby as a race participant, they made me and Lee feel special and welcome. They even had an early breakfast for runners on Sunday morning, and late checkout that afternoon for those that needed it.

Friday afternoon was given over to a little tourist behavior. We stood in line to see the Liberty Bell, which is just as iconic and impressive and you might imagine. I especially enjoyed the exhibit with the pictures of Martin Luther King and the Dalai Lama, appropriately, next to the bell. We tried to go see Independence Hall but it was too late that day to get tickets. 

We walked back through downtown Philly to the hotel. Philly is an interesting city. It is fairly blue collar in look and feel, intermixed with classic colonial architecture here and there. We couldn't help but compare it to Boston. It seems like Boston has made more of their history, but we didn't really have time to explore Philadelphia very thoroughly so I really can't judge.

For dinner that night we ended up at a fabulous middle eastern restaurant called Kanella's. Everything we ate there was great, my lamb shank was falling off the bone delicious; Lee's pumpkin ravioli was perfect, not too sweet, the pasta cooked exactly right. We strolled slowly back to our hotel and I slept very, very well. This was the night to sleep if I could, since usually the night before a race I'm too nervous to sleep much at all.

The next morning it was time to go to the Race Expo and pick up my bib, race tee shirt, and see if there were any goodies I couldn't live without. I always enjoy getting as many free samples as I can and getting some sort of souvenir if possible. This year I got a very nice grey fleece jacket. My favorite vendor, however was the amazing guys at Recovery Pump doing demos on their inflatable leg compression boots. I tried them out and boy oh boy did they feel great. They had to kick me out of the chair so that some other people could give them a try. Too bad they are so expensive!

Our hotel was right next to Chinatown so for lunch we had Bahn Mi Vietnamese sandwiches at a nearby little hole in the wall. Then we walked from the hotel over to where the race would start, to make sure I knew how to get there and see exactly how far it was and how long it would take me. There's a lovely fountain along the way, and the race start is right by the Philadelphia Art Museum and the famous Rocky Steps. I was trying not to be too nervous but of course my pre-race jitters were starting to make themselves known. Fortunately I was able to keep any doubts and panicky feelings under control. I had my race plan and I knew it was a good one. I was determined to stick to it this time.

Dinner that night was at a nice little Italian place, of course, Little Nonna's. I had spaghetti and meatballs, after sharing a salad and an eggplant appetizer with Lee. No wine for me that night, just lots of water, and a hazelnut cannoli for dessert. I didn't go away hungry, that's for sure, but we ate very early, so I was pretty confident that everything would have plenty of time to digest before race time.

I had planned to get up at 4 AM, but of course by 3:30 I was lying there wide awake. All my clothing, shoes, nutrition, phone, etc. was laid out ready to go. I got up, drank my coffee, ate my energy bar and did my back stretches. Then I got into my running clothes, put in my contacts, brushed my teeth and applied sunscreen. Experience from my previous marathons helped; I had plenty of warm clothes to wear before the start of the race, a comfortable way to carry my phone and energy gels, a plastic garbage bag to sit on while I waited for the start of the race. At 5 AM I took my last gulp of water and headed out the door. Lee kissed me goodbye and wished me luck. I would hopefully see him again, but not until around mile 15.

Its always so exciting walking to the beginning of a race in the predawn darkness of a strange city, with other ghostly running figures everywhere I turn. I love talking to strangers during the course of the race. There are so many different stories; young folks trying to Boston Qualify; old folks running their 35th marathon; family members cheering on the new runner that just wants to finish. 

After entering the starting area, I went ahead and peed for the first time. I planned to relax and pee again around 6:30, right before I went to my starting corral. I found a comfortable place to sit against a tree and struck up a conversation with a young lady running her first marathon. She was ready, but nervous. We talked about this and that and around 10 after 6 she decided to go use the porta potties. I didn't want to go again yet, but got bored sitting there by myself so I decided to see what the lines were like. I am SO glad I did, because if I hadn't gotten in line then I would have missed the start of the race!

Those porta potty lines in the starting area were they ONLY bad things about the Philly Marathon. I stood in line from 6:10 AM until right around 7 AM when the race began. For once I was extremely thankful to be one of those old slow runners way in the back. Since my corral didn't actually cross the starting line until around 7:30 I had plenty of time, but it still made for some anxious moments in the runup to the beginning of the race.

So, I found my starting corral, removed my warm up clothes and waited for our turn to start. I crossed the starting line and my race began. I was confident that my goal this year was a reasonable one, based on my past marathon performances. Instead of trying to break 5 and a half hours and starting out too fast, my goal this year was to run the marathon in 5 hours and 35 minutes. This would be 5 minutes better than my fastest time so far and seemed like a reasonable goal.

I had a simple pace chart to use during the race. It didn't change pace very often, and when it did I used simple whole numbers that were easy to remember.

I continued to use Jeff Galloway's Run/Walk/Run method, but this year I used Jeff's recommended run/walk combo of 30/30 (run 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds) instead of some anxiety driven derivative, with a little extra running like 35/25, that inevitably wore me out later on in the race.

And for the very first time in a marathon, I didn't go out too fast! 

The first part of the Philadelphia Marathon winds through their downtown. It was pretty flat, and the crowds were great. I stuck very closely to the slower pace I needed for the first couple of miles, even though that is so very hard to do. After that I picked up the pace to either 12:45 mpm or 12:30, depending on whether it was a hilly section, flat, or downhill. If my pace fell behind my goal, I slightly extended my running portion of 30/30 by counting to 10 after my beeper went off. I kept doing this for each 30/30 until I was within my pace again and then I went back to 30/30. This let me catch back up without panicking and exhausting myself.

We ran through the Drexel University campus, where frat boys handed out beer and kleenex (I took a tissue and passed on the beer). The crowds were friendly and enthusiastic. Off and on women from the Black Girls Run! organization would be on the sidelines encouraging all of us to keep strong, telling us that we rocked! Every time I saw them it made me happy.

After Drexel we headed to the Philadelphia Zoo and off through a wooded area and a park. We started seeing signs - Marathoners to the left, Half marathoners to the right. I'm glad they made it clear which way we needed to go, but they started putting up the signs at least two miles before the two race groups split which made me feel anxious because I kept on thinking we were almost to 13 miles, when we were not.

When we got to the half marathon turn off we could hear the announcer shouting things about each runner as they crossed the finished line. "How cool" I thought as I ran on past. "I hope they shout something about me!" Ha!

Now the marathoners headed out along Kelly Drive, toward the little town of Manayunk. Manayunk has a reputation for brownies, and beer. I had told myself that if I felt okay I was going to eat a brownie. That brownie started sounding better and better as I ran along the road.

 I also started to see unoccupied porta potties. I wanted to wait as long as possible, but I didn't want to pee in my pants either. Around mile 14 I decided to use the facilities, but that was the only time I stopped. Quitting drinking two hours before the start of the race, and only drinking to thirst during the race, really seemed to help keep me from having to pee more than once!

In prior marathons I had worried about getting ill during the race so I think I never took in enough nutrition. For Philly I had decided long ago that if it sounded good I would eat it. Besides eating all
 my energy gels, I ate an orange slice, a gulp of beer, and yes I did have one of those amazing brownies in Manayunk! Later on in the race I even ate a pretzel and a gummi bear! And in the second half of the race if it sounded good I drank Gatorade at the water stops, and if it didn't I just drank water. I had practiced drinking Gatorade along with my Gels and knew that I could do it without ill effect if I listened to my body.

Lee was right there waiting for me at mile 15. I still felt great, but I knew the real test wouldn't come until around mile 23 or 24. He would be waiting for me at mile 24 too, so I gave him a hug and continued on my way.

I had a lot of trouble this year during training with my aching toe joints. I finally found out that I don't have bunions; what I actually have is arthritis in my big toes, a fairly common ailment. There's not that much that can be done about it, but I decided to experiment with taking ibuprofen during the race. I researched it and yeah, some people say you shouldn't but it sounded to me like the risks for me at the pace I run were pretty minimal as long as I took them with water. I took some at 5 AM, and then again during the race at 9 AM. The only problem was that although I took them with water it still was harder to swallow pills during a race than I expected and one of them kind of bobbed around in my throat for awhile until another water stop finally washed it down. Unpleasant but certainly not the end of the world.

As I headed back toward Philly from Manayunk I kept checking in with myself to see how I felt. Miles 20, 21 and 22 I still felt good, but from experience I refused to feel hopeful about my time or my finish until mile 23. At mile 23 my legs were still strong and I still had energy, so I started my plan for speeding up by gradually adding a little more running to each run/walk segment. As long as I wasn't too tired I would keep this up until the end.

At mile 24 there was Lee. Instead of feeling awful like last year in St. Louis I felt great. I was starting to feel incredibly happy. Some spectators even commented "look at her, she's still smiling!"

Philly has a great end to the race. After a slight uphill it goes downhill for the last quarter mile. I ran that last quarter mile as fast as I could and ended up with a 9:23 pace for the end, nothing short of amazing for me!

One of the charming things about the Philadelphia Marathon is their Mayor. He stands at the start and the finish of the race, high-fiving anyone that wants to do so. By the time I finished he had a pretty stoic look on his face; after all, I was probably the 10,000th runner that had hit his hands that day. I high-fived the mayor at the end, grinning from ear to ear.

As I crossed the finish line I felt like crying. I had PR'd by 7 minutes, finishing in 5 hours and 33 minutes. Finally I had run a marathon the way they should be run, under control with a strong finish. It was a great accomplishment for me. I basically felt like I was walking on air, with very sore quadriceps.

After meeting Lee at the beautiful fountain, we walked very slowly back to the hotel where I took a long shower. I wanted a Philly Cheese Steak for lunch and a little more walking would be good for me, so we headed back over to the food market by the train station.

Wearing my big flashy race medal, I brought smiles to everyone's face, runners and non-runners alike. At the market, we got into the longest line, figuring the most popular place probably had the best sandwiches. I asked the guy in front of us what to order since I'd never had a cheesesteak, Philly or otherwise, and wasn't really even sure what they were! Roast beef, cheese wiz, peppers and onions he told me, and that's what I got. And yes, it was really, really good.

I'm already wondering about my training and racing for this coming year, what I should do the same, what I should do differently. Running 4 days a week was good for my race readiness, but seemed bad for my body overall. I had a lot more aches and pains this year. So at least for now I'm going back to three days of running a week, until I start serious training again. I'm also going to let my body fully recover before I run any sort of race. I think that's another mistake I made last year.

My next race is the New York City Marathon. I know it is a much more difficult marathon than Philly, but it has been my dream ever since I caught the marathon bug. I'm so excited that I finally get to run it, but I don't know yet what a reasonable goal should be. Can I try to match or beat my time at Philly? Is that foolish and should I be satisfied with a slower time? Can I train to handle the hills that will greet me at the end in Central Park? Stay tuned!

A Bit of This, A Bit of That

I haven't written a post in awhile because it hasn't seemed like there was much to write about. I couldn't see writing another Westie Meetup post, I've done that before. I don't want to write a whole post about running, or wildlife classes. But between all three of these topics maybe I can create a single post to catch my faithful readers up on what's happening in my neck of the woods. We'll see!

Running...well, its one week, two days, and twenty hours (more-or-less) until the start of the Philadelphia Marathon. This will be marathon number four for me. I am working hard on my mental state, trying to stay calm and confident, but worrier that I am, its hard. What will the weather be like? Will it be hot? (that's anything over 60F for a marathon). Will it be cold? (that's anything below 35F). Will it rain? Will it SNOW??? (it has, for this late-season marathon in the past). I have what I think is a reasonable goal, but as usual I have no idea if it is REALLY reasonable or not. I try to tell myself and others that all I really care about is finishing but that's not entirely true. I would like to do well (that's well for me; it has nothing to do with anyone else). I would like to not slow down drastically at the end.  I would like to not start out too fast for once, so I can at least try to see if it makes a difference. I want to have fun, I want to stay injury-free, and I would REALLY like my stupid big toe joints to quit hurting! Okay, that's what I want. I have four runs left before the marathon, four pretty easy runs. I'm excited, nervous, hopeful, anxious. I can't wait and at the same time, I wish it were over. Sigh!

Last Saturday was the annual Westie Halloween Party for all of Diane's Westie's. Harper was a butterfly and Cosmo was a caterpillar. Cute idea, huh? Harper loved getting dressed up and looking beautiful, Cosmo hated his costume and looked quite miserable, and adorable at the same time.

Harper Showing Off Her Costume

Cosmo Looked so Cute, I Don't Know Why He Didn't Like His Costume!

I Did Get Them to Pose Nicely 

There Were Lots of Great Costumes But One of My Favorites Was the Three Dogs in the Kissing Booth!

The Pope Was a Highlight!

Another thing I did last week was take a class on Lichens at Garden in the Woods. Some of this class flew right over my head; there are an incredible number of scientific terms involved in the description of lichens. But I enjoyed viewing the teeny-tiny plants under a microscope, and out in the garden. There are many different kinds of lichens, growing on rocks, trees and soil, everywhere you turn. Now when we are out on our daily walks I notice them more than I did before. They are beautiful, and add color and interest to any garden.

Finally, I'm starting to try to learn how to use Photoshop. Its a big software package, even the smaller version, which is the one I have (Elements). I'm taking a video course and following along, trying to do the things that the instructor does to some of my own photos. The biggest challenge so far is thinking about developing a process using photoshop to edit my pictures. I've got a process in place for editing using Picasa that goes quickly, but there are so many options in Photoshop - how do I use it effectively without driving myself crazy? I think the trick is going to be to only use it to edit my very best photos from a shoot, the ones that would be really good (well for me anyway) with a little improvement to the lighting, color, background, etc etc etc....

Here are a few examples. I love this photo of Riley from her Bat Mitzvah. The original is a little washed out:

So I used Photoshop to improve the color.

The other problem is the blurry bit of the rabbi marring the background. I've learned how to get rid of things like that too! Here is the photo with the background improved. Its not perfect, but you get the idea.

I honestly could spend hours playing around with stuff like this on my computer. It would really make more sense to go outside and practice taking pictures...and I will, I promise, very soon....

Saint Louis Marathon

It has taken me a long time to finally write about the St. Louis Marathon. Every marathon is hard, of course, but St. Louis was by far the hardest one I have run so far. On one hand I know it was a good experience for me to complete such a difficult, twisty, hilly race, but on the other hand I made two key mistakes during the race, that I am still puzzling over.

I knew the race was going to by warm at the end for us slower runners. I thought I was prepared for this, and I think I was. I don't remember feeling like the heat was the reason I slowed down so much at the end, but I know it was a factor, and it was at least indirectly a factor in one of my mistakes.

There were some really fun things about this race, and one of the best things about it was that both Lee and Daniel were there to support me and cheer me on. I really, really appreciated having Lee there to drive me to the start and hang out with before the beginning of the race.

The race began in downtown St. Louis, on Market Street, facing the Arch. It wound it way around Busch Stadium, through downtown, Tower Grove, Lafayette Square, and other historic neighborhoods, before going through Forest Park and finally back downtown. I had more or less driven the race route a few days before, and I knew it was hilly, but none of the hills seemed that bad from the car.

There were 16,000 people lined up at the start of this race, a big group to be sure, but nothing like Marine Corp last year. Their method of crowd control at the beginning was different from other races that I've been in. We were assigned to corrals based on our estimated time, nothing unusual there. But instead of letting everyone start off together, naturally spreading out as the race began, each corral was separated by about 90 seconds. The fun thing about this was that when my corral finally made it up to the starting line, I actually stood at the front of the line when we were allowed to start running. That's the only way THAT will ever happen!

The first part of the race was pretty easy. There were some little rolling hills, but nothing steep or long. The temperature was in the mid 40's, perfect for running. I felt great, too great in fact, because right away I made one of the most classic mistakes a marathon runner can make. I was supposed to start out very slowly at a pace slower than 13:00 miles per minute, and after the first 3 miles gradually increase my pace until I was running between 12 and 12:30 miles per minute. But I ran faster, much faster. I just felt really good and confident and didn't think I needed to go that slowly. You'd think after 3 marathons I would know better, but no. This was a lesson that I would have to learn yet again.

This race included both a marathon and a half marathon. Both races ran together for the first half of the race. When the turnoff for the half marathon took place all of a sudden there were a lot fewer runners on the road. I found out later that of those 16,000 runners less than 1,800 of them ran the full marathon instead of the half.

And after 13.1 miles the hills started to change. Instead of short, gentle hills, the inclines became longer, and steeper. I still felt good, but I was working harder and it was getting warmer too.

Daniel and Lee were there to greet me at mile 16. I was so happy to see them! I gave them both hugs and continued on my way. At that point I was 5 whole minutes ahead of my pace. This should have been a warning signal, but I was in deep denial at that point, with visions of a sub 5:30 marathon dancing before my eyes.

Shortly after I saw Lee and Daniel the race entered Forest Park. This park was the site of the 1904 Worlds Fair, of Meet Me in St. Louis fame. It's a beautiful park in the heart of the city, but it's also pretty hilly.

Some of the aid stations included Gator Aide as well as water. By now I was not only drinking the water, but pouring some of it into my hat in an attempt to keep cool. I also decided to drink Gator Aide at some of the aid stations instead of water. I was worried about my electrolyte levels because of the heat, but this was also a risky proposition since I hadn't practiced drinking Gator Aide during my training. So once I drank the Gator aide I was also worried about having an upset stomach.

And here I made my second mistake, and I think it was the one that hurt me the most. One of the challenges of running a marathon is that one's body simply cannot store enough glycogen to get through the race, without taking in nutrition while you are running. I have learned from experience that GU energy gel packets work well for me, but they will give me an upset stomach if I down an entire packet at once. So this year I had a small plastic squirt bottle that I would put several gel packets in. That way I could take in a little bit of gel every couple of miles without getting sick. I practiced taking a sip of gel with some water every couple of miles on my long training runs and it worked great. And during the marathon I did this, until I got to Forest Park.

When I drank some Gator Aide and started worrying about getting an upset stomach I skipped a few of my gel sips, not wanting to overload on nutrition. I should have just stuck to my plan, but alas.

While running through Forest Park I no longer felt great, but I still felt tough. I would pick off runners and pass them and exhort myself to keep going. But I was slowing down, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. By the time I saw Lee and Daniel again at mile 22, I was 10 minutes behind my goal pace. I didn't want any hugs this time. I was well into marathon suffering mode.

Those last 4 miles were incredibly difficult. The hills continued and I could no longer follow my run 35 seconds /walk 25 second plan. I even turned off my little timer because its buzzing annoyed me so much. I continued to walk and run in a disorganized fashion, as the miles crawled on. I shuffled next to a couple of ladies for a little bit. For one it was her first marathon; the other like me had completed several others. I joked (I could still joke!) that marathons were like childbirth. We forget what those last 6 miles feel like, because otherwise we would never run another one.

By the time I crawled across the finish line I was 20 minutes off my goal pace. And when I took my little plastic bottle of gel out of my pocket I was shocked at how much remained. Apparently when I stopped taking my sips of gel in Forest Park I never started back up again. This is something I have GOT to fix before my next marathon.

Because yes, in spite of my disappointing finish I am still gungho on this marathon thing. I will never be a speedy runner, and in fact, I may be starting the inexorable slowdown that happens to every runner eventually, which means that this slow girl is going to get even slower. But that's okay, really it is. I really do mean it when I say my REAL goal is to keep running marathons at least until I turn 70. That means continuing to run and train conservatively to avoid injury and stay healthy.

I still have a long bucket list of marathons I want to run, some easier than others. I'm still trying to get into New York, and will probably run it in 2014. I'm already thinking about which marathons I might want to run next year. I think I'm going to try either Philadelphia or The Bay State Marathon in Lowell. These are both fairly close and relatively FLAT! They are also late enough in the season that heat should not be an issue.

When the marathon was over I could barely walk, but it really was nice to have Lee and Daniel right there to greet me at the finish line. I continued to walk around slowly, eating the post race food that was available, drinking my Endurox R4 post race drink. I was really, really sore, but I knew that continuing to walk around slowly for the next few days would speed my recovery, as it did.

So what were the lessons I hopefully learned from this race?

1. Don't go out too fast. Don't go out too fast. DON'T GO OUT TOO FAST!!!

2. Stick with my nutrition plan. Skip the gator aide unless you have tried it in training. Make a note of when you should take nutrition on your pace band, and use it!

3. In a hilly or hot race adjust your expectations and slow down. It won't kill you and it certainly could help.

Lee said when my time was so much slower than I had hoped he was afraid that I would be upset and discouraged, but I wasn't and I'm still not. Yes I made mistakes but in spite of them I feel like my training went really well, I had a lot of fun before the last 5 miles or so of the race, and I'm still proud of myself for completing another marathon. There were only 10 women in the 60-64 year age group, and no other women in the older age groups. I guess I keep forgetting that most of the people running in any marathon with me are a LOT younger than I am.