I am super busy packing up our lives into cardboard boxes so that we can make our move in 2 measly weeks, but I have to write a quick update on the race I ran yesterday. Sunburst South Bend IN marathon.

Hey there Bloggy friends. A lot has happened since last we met. I ran a sub par half marathon at Cleveland this past weekend. I finished in 2:08 in change. Seeing as my fastest half was only last fall at 1:56:06 I really wanted to be better this year. But I’m not. Not even close. But I cannot be mad about it b/c I have not put in the time. I have barely been working out. I am doing all my long runs and that’s almost it weekly. So, I should be happy that I can run under a 10 min mile for that long at this point. But spring is here and change is in the air. I am feeling a renewed devotion to running thanks to an activity that I have been working on. I can honestly say that this winter/early spring I have worked out less than ever in my life. I have to change that soon.

I have said here before that I plan to run a marathon in all 50 states and I am happy to have a partner in crime in a friend from my hometown Twila, she blogs over at Twila runs 2010 in 2010. You can read her recap of the Cleveland marathon. She came to stay with me for the weekend and tore that course up and got a big fat PR, despite gross weather conditions. It was cold and rainy and all day. But anyway I have been working on a spreadsheet of all the races I want to run and it has been fun. I have been reading reviews and trying to find a balance between big city races and small scenic routes. If you have run a marathon that I should put on my list, please leave me a comment.

In other news our house drama is almost done. We move into our new house on June 16th and I am looking forward to the next chapter of our lives in our Lucky Bell Lane house! I will miss my running hood, but look forward to exploring our new neighborhood. I will also be closer to South Chagrin Reservation which is quite hilly. So, I look forward to alternating my long runs there and know those hills will only make me stronger. I have really slacked on the running front and look forward to making up for lost time.

I am now blogging over at Unmiserable Cleveland as well. I am really excited. I have loved that site and what my friend who started it has done with it and I am honored to be able to post there. My posts are under the handler mhn, have a look!

I am in taper mode now and South Bend is quickly approaching. I wish I could say I am excited. I really am not b/c I haven’t trained and I really would have loved to get a PR. But I am just going to try and enjoy the race and run with my friends. One person in our group is running their first full and just looking to do it in under 4:30 and I hope to help them to that goal.

So tell me, is it finally spring in your neck of the woods? Are you looking forward to getting back into the groove or have you been trucking along all winter despite the unfavorable weather?

This past weekend I ran the Akron half marathon with my brother in law Tim. Do you guys remember Tim? He lost a tremendous amount of weight and started running about 2 years ago. Last Sept was his first half marathon at Akron and he did so awesome. He loved it so much that he then signed up for Columbus and went and ran that course 10 mins faster. So, this year he wanted o revisit the course and we were met with wonderful weather. I love the Akron marathon. They do such a great job. Great course, an amazing amount of spectators, great gear, great food/medal at the end; the whole event is top notch. My only complaint is it starts at 7am, ugh. So, we had to get up at 4:30!

Driving down to the race my stomach was starting to feel kind of icky. This is always my issue and it did bother me throughout the run that day. However, I have certainly battled worse stomach issues and after a potty stop around mile 6, I was fine the rest of the race. Maybe I’ll gloss over the fact that that stop wasn’t in an official porta potty, it may have been behind an abandoned building with a guard dog barking at! LOL. Going into the race, I had thought maybe we could break 2 hours, but I forgot how dang hilly the course was. I knew there was a major hill at mile 11, but there are several good rollers throughout the course. This is not a PR course by any means. I tried to use the Garmin and really keep our pace steady. I knew that I wanted us to stay under 9:30 and we did. We averaged between 9:12 and 9:30 the whole day, except for slowing down on that last mile 11 hill to more like a 10min mile crawl. It is a hell of a hill. We finished in 2:03. Which is a course PR for me, as the faster I ever ran there before was 2:04. I had a lot of fun running with Tim and playing coach. Several times throughout the morning I was able to think strategically and tell him we needed to pick up the pace or slow down a bit b/c we were going too fast. It was nice to think about something besides just finishing. I was really excited to see him get a PR and am so proud of howww far he has come.

The next day I went out for an 8 miler and my body would NOT cooperate. I ended up only running 4. My legs felt like tree trunks and I could not get my breath. What the heck is up with that? We had such a nice weekend overall though. On Sat. we met my in-laws to go apple picking. Harper had some much fun running up and down the orchard and chowing down on some fresh golden delicious apples. Gary even made a wonderful pie for us! I am not usually one for fruit pies, but with a little tofutti ice cream on top it was pretty darn good! Sunday I took Harper to the Lake Park Farm. They were having an antique tractor show and fall festival. She got to pet animals at the barn yard, play on a swing set, run around a hay bale maze, and play in some leaves. It was an amazing mommy/Harper day. The photos from this weekend are in the post and one of me and Harper from a recent birthday party that I really like.

Oh my the running that has been going on! I am so behind on my blog. But I have big plans! Big plans I tell you. First up, let me catch you up.

Race for the Cure!
Backtrack to the weekend of Sept 11. Harper, Gary and I ran our first family 5K! We did the local RFC to benefit Breast Cancer. Running is a bit of an overstatement. It was so dang crowded, there were almost 45000 people in downtown Cleveland. Despite the madness we managed to come in under 30 mins and I was pushing the jogging stroller! This was my first race with the stroller. It wasn’t a lot of fun though b/c I was so worried the whole time that I was going to clip someone the huge front wheel on my BOB stroller. But I love the idea of family 5Ks and I hope we have many more in our future. I can’t wait until Harper is old enough to try some of the little kid dashes. Harper was really good too. We were downtown for a long time b/c it was so crowded and I think she enjoyed looking at all the people and chaos.

River Run Half Mary
The next day I woke up bright and early to run my first half marathon since May. My friend Amy was running her first half ever, so I was really excited for her. This race is one of my favorites and I have done it 4 or 5 times. The course winds through a beautiful park, is point to point and mostly downhill! I had big hopes. I really wanted a PR. My last half was 1:56:50. I knew I had a faster half in me. But ultimately I wanted to beat the time my husband ran his one and only half mary in – 1:54 and change. I figured a 1:53 would do it. He says he’ll do another race when I beat him. I would love to do another half together! But unfortunately it just wasn’t in the cards for me. I have had worst races for sure. But I just didn’t feel great and no matter what I did I couldn’t pick up my pace. I ended up finishing in 1:56:06. Which I can’t be mad about; it’s almost a min off my last race. But I kept yelling at my legs to pick it up and I couldn’t. However. I had no taper. I am training for a marathon and I ran an 18 miler the previous weekend. So, I keep reminding myself that I will get a 1:50 half marathon someday, but it won’t be on dead tired legs.

Running Miles and Miles
I hit a big milestone for me last week. I ran 40 miles! Usually I run somewhere between 30-35 miles a week and cross train a lot. But I am trying to switch it up this marathon season and I am trying to run more like 40-50 miles. I plan to add a few more miles each week until my taper. I am still strength training 1-2 times a week and usually doing yoga once. This past weekend I ran 21 miles on Sat and another 7 on Sun. I haven’t seen my bike or a pool in wayyy too long though. This weekend I have the Akron half mary. I am running it with my brother in law and don’t have any big expectations. My legs are very tired and the course is hilly. I just hope I can get him in close to 2 hours if not a hair below. That would rock.

Race plans
I also did something a little crazy and signed up for back to back marathons. I am a little worried, but super excited to see how I do. My friend JenC has also talked me into a June HIM. Ack! June. HIM! It’s called Race for Recovery and it’s in Monroe MI. What attracted me is that the swim runs parallel to shore and you are never in more than 6 ft of water. That sounds like a perfect induction into Half Ironman territory for me. However, I still have to get through a 1.2 mile swim, I can’t walk it. So, I must get back to the pool soon. Once these marathons are over I will hit the pool 3 times a week. I have a lot of work to do. I like having a plan though and races on the horizon, it keeps me busy.

The cute kid
Harper is awesome. She just turned 17 months. She continues to amaze me every day. She is one smart little cookie. Lately she is really into snuggling. She likes to lay on a pillow next to you and “cozy down” as her dad calls it. She laughs a lot and when she gets excited she opens her mouth really wide and lets out a shriek of delight. She seems to really like going to school and loves to color with crayons. Terrible twos are coming our way though. Girl definitely has an opinion and wants what she wants RIGHT NOW! Don’t think about taking something from her or telling her no or you are in for a serious meltdown, look out!

Well no PR today, but close, I ran it in 25:45 , and the best I ever ran was 25:23 at that same race 2 years ago. But for me any race where I maintain under a 9:00 pace the whole run is a big success to me. I really didn't feel well out there today, I felt nauseous and really couldn't seem to push myself. One of these days I will feel great and get below 25, its coming soon I know it. Maintaining 8 and 7 something miles is getting easier for me and I really think a lot of it has to do with running with Fonzie. I got to do a little warm up with the super fast Salty and Eva who still beat me even though they are over 20 weeks pregnant, lol. Oh well they were twice as fast as me not pregnant, so it makes sense. Espeed had a PR and got 1st for females. So happy that everyone had a good day out there today. Afterwards we hit up the Original Pancake House and I ate as if I had just run a marathon. I can't pass up pumpkin pancakes, just can't do it. In the pic everyone is pregnant except for me (black hat/vest, Espeed in the front on the right and Christina, teeny one in back row all the way to right). There is something in the water around here!' In total I ran about 5.5 miles today and tomorrow I have 8-9 planned and power yoga.

Right now I am sitting in the kitchen next to Harp in her high chair and she is trying desperately to feed herself puffs, but just can't quite get it. Too cute. G is playing golf, when he gets back we are going to go see Santa at the mall, should be interesting!

(Monday, Oct 13) Other alternate titles for this entry could be - "I have no business running for that long", "Ow, seriously Ouch" or if I am being kind to myself "17 minute PR bitches". I woke up at 5am on Sunday to leave my house for the race at 6. When I stepped into my backyard it was around 45 degrees out. Thank goodness I "overdressed" b/c when I got down to the valley for the race it was more like 40 and freezing. I wore capris, a long sleeve shirt, a vest and gloves, it was perfect. I couldn't have asked for better weather. I hit the portapotty twice before the race and got lined up at 7:40ish. Since it was such a small race, I saw everyone that I knew that was going to be down there. I thought there were 500+ runners, but in looking at the results it looks more like 350ish.

My goal going into it was to just run as hard as I could and feel as good as I could at the end. I started off kind of fast. I was watching my average pace on my Garmin and I knew I didn't want it to get over 10:13. That was my pace for the half mary two weeks ago. I managed to keep that avg pace under 10 all the way to mile 18! I was very pleased about that, but everything kind of fell apart after that. I stopped to use the portapotty and my avg pace fell from 10 on the nose to 10:06. I managed to keep it together until the turn around at mile 21, then my legs just kind of quit. I hobbled my way the last 5.2 miles and watched my avg pace slowly creep higher and higher to 10:20. Oh well. I finished in 4:30:31. Which met my original long shot goal, but since I ran so hard (for me) and strong until mile 21, I would have really loved to get in under 4:20.

I would say that I really did feel just fine, 100% okay until mile 16. Then my stomach starting bothering me. I made a decision to stop at the porta potty at mile 18 and stomach was better after that. After mile 21 I started imaging my body was made of glass at that at any moment my hips and back were going to shatter. That's how bad I hurt! Mostly it was in my hips, knees and lower back, well and my feet, of course. Around mile 23 I probably slowed down to between 11-12 min miles and I REALLY wanted to stop, but I didn't. I made it through the whole race without walking, which was a goal as well. So, I am happy about that. After 23 I was counting 1, 2, 1, 2 in my head, one more step, one more step. Luckily I knew the towpath really well, so I was able to tell myself I just need to make it to lock 29, or the cut over to the falls, etc. Then I got near the finish line and I could hear everyone cheering. And there was Gary with Harper in a stroller, holding a sign saying GO MOM! It almost made me cry. I wasn't expecting them to be there, so that was a nice surprise. I picked it up a notch and really ran as fast as I could to the finish. My brain wasn't working at that point, I was shaky and totally out of it. Thank goodness a banana and orange took care of that. I was so glad to be done! I made it. I wish I could say I felt good and strong and I did think the whole last 5 miles if I ever really want to do this again. I am doing something wrong in my training to fall apart that bad. So, I need to really spend some time thinking about that. I know for a fact that I felt the extra 10 lbs and will not even contemplate a marathon until I am firmly back in the 120s.

I really hurt bad when I got home and felt like crying the rest of the day. I took a long ice bath and a lot of aspirin, that helped. Today I just feel like I got beat up, that's all :). I must say that part of me wonders if my skeletal system is fully recovered from Harper. My hips etc felt like they took such a beating, I wonder if it is b/c the relaxin has left my body completely, etc. Just a thought, maybe I am just a big ol wuss!

Happy 4 month bday Harper! We just went to the doctor and Harper is in the 90% percentile for height and weight, weighing in at 15 lbs 10 oz and 25 inches long. Big girl! Healthy girl. She handled her shots like a champ. A lot has changed this month. Harper is pretty much doing something new every day. She can almost sit up unassisted and hates to be held in the cradle position now. She wants to sit up in your lap, sit up on the floor, sit up in her chair, etc. She loves to babble and makes lots of new noises. Her favorite toy is her jangly giraffe from Lamaze, but she just got a Sofie the giraffe teether and is super excited about it. Harper usually sleep from 8 pm to 6 am, which is great. She is taking the bottle better and is really pretty much perfect, how did I get so lucky!

Did you have a nice weekend Bloggy friends? I did. Friday night Gina came over and we ran 9 miles. It was great. It had been awhile since I have ran over an hour and was glad to know I could still do it and with little issue. Gina is always a pleasure to be around and Big G even joined us for the last 3 miles. Sat. I was planning on going to the GTC training session but accidently overslept. Woops. I finally woke up at 9 and we got ready to go meet G’s mom for a bike ride. I dusted off my hybrid b/c the MIL is a bit slower than us. I forgot how different it is to ride on a big old bike like that; the huge seat actually hurt my butt after awhile! And the position didn’t feel natural anymore. We rode 20 miles on the bike path out in Chardon, it was a nice day. Then we took her out to lunch for her b-day. From there, we rushed home and got cleaned up and headed to a house warming party for our friends out in Willowick. We were there from like 5-8:30 and I ate a bunch of stupid stuff and had a margarita, not the best pre tri meal. But we had a nice time and I was so stinking exhausted by the time we got to sleep.

On Sunday morning I got up dark and early and 4:45. I made myself some coffee and 2 Kashi waffles. I had packed everything up the night before so there was little I needed to do and I was out of the house by 5:10 headed for Munroe Falls for the Summi Sprint Tri. It was a little cold out and had rained the night before. I was worried the water would be an ice bath! I was heading down solo and I am horrible with directions, so I was nervous I wouldn’t find the place. But I did, it’s a very nice park that I think would be fun to visit sometime for a hike. I got parked around 6 and checked in and had plenty of time to get my transition set up. I was sandwiched between some really nice gals from the Steel Valley Tri Club. My stomach was no behaving, at all. I had several bathroom trips before the start of the race and was very very worried as I got into my wetsuit. How was the day going to go? Was I going to puke? Was I going to poo myself on the run! Around 6:55 we went down to the water and listened to the race directions. The swim was in a small lake, but it was a little confusing. You basically started on the beach and had a wide area to swim out to a white buoy, then you had to cross under a rope lane and swim back to shore between 2 ropes. There was one wave before mine and we had to swim out a little to where we were supposed to start. The water was really cold, I’m glad I had a wetsuit, as soon as I got neck deep I could feel my chest tightening and the panic starting. I tried to calm down while I treaded water, but then the horn and it was time to go. I started off with a side stroke, trying to calm myself down, but every time I put my face in the water I sucked up a nose full of water. I just kept side stroking and was making decent time. I was in the back of my pack, but there were plenty of gals around me dealing with the same swim in the same way. Once I crossed over to the lane I tried to convince myself to just do it, freestyle the whole way back. But I just couldn’t. It’s all mental, and it’s really FING annoying. I got to shore in like 12 mins, it was fine, but I could have done it in 6 if I could have just swam it. I just can’t seem to calm myself down and there is nothing to do about it but practice. Out of the water we had about a 200 yard run to the transition area. I had no trouble getting out of my wetsuit, but my breathing was very labored and I took my time putting on my shirt, strapping on my garmin, my helmet and my shoes and then ran with my bike to the road.

The bike was only 11 miles. It started in the park and then went out into the roads, but the traffic wasn’t bad and they had plenty of cops at the intersections. Last time on the bike my legs really hurt, and I thought it might have been lactic acid build up. They hurt again this time, but not nearly as bad and I was able to shake it quickly. I tried to pull as large of a gear as I could and really hammered on the bike. I got passed by a ton of guys (b/c their swim was after the gals), but not too many girls passed me. I was done with the bike in 36 mins per my garmin. It was a hilly course, but just rollers, nothing too steep, but enough incline that you could get into the 30mph zone coming down. Coming into T2 I felt good. I thought that I really wanted to eat a GU, but was afraid my stomach would rebel, so I decided to chance the run without any fuel.

Last tri I had to walk on the run, my legs were just spent (it was also 20 degree warmer). This time I didn’t walk at all and finished the run in 29 mins. The run was 2 loops of 1.55 miles. It was all in the park. There was one decent sized hill, but it actually felt nice after the bike to be able to stretch out my calves. My stomach really started kicking about halfway through the run. But luckily I was able to finish the race without any major stomach troubles. I passed through the shoot around 1:28. Not sure of my exact time. All in all I would say my second tri went better than my first on the bike/run and worse on the swim. I actually got 3rd in my age group, but I honestly think there were only 4 or 5 of us. I am interested to see the official results, they aren’t up yet. Champ usually takes awhile to get them posted. I am not happy with my performance. But the thing I like about tris is there is a lot to learn, they are very technical and there are lots and lots of ways I can improve. With running a 5K, I can really only run so fast. But with a tri, there are a lot of things I can do to get better. Work on my swimming, shorten my transition times, get stronger on the bike to run legs…etc. I am looking forward to improving.

I started this morning off with a 1000 yard swim and it felt like I had never swam before. I am making a vow that I will get in the pool 2-4 times a week from now on. I will try and swim OW every week and a master’s class every week. I will become a better swimmer!

Alright, I did it! And I think I did it in 1:38 or 1:39, but times aren't up yet. And unfortunately you only get your overall time :( So I won't know my splits, which really stinks, I wish I had thought about that and kept track.

Yesterday Beth was kind enough to let me come out to her parents house and swim in Aurora Lake so I could try out my wetsuit and swim in the open water, both for the first time!!! I must say that the wetsuit is great and it is neat how much cleaner you slice through the water, but swimming in the open water was tough for me and it made me really nervous for Sunday's race. So, pretty much all Saturday night I was second guessing myself and dreading that I decided to give Tris a Try this year.


Gary and I got up at 5 am today, so I could get to Clay's Park in plenty of time, mapquest said it should take 1 hour and a few mins. So, we left the house at 5:30 and got to Clay's Park at about 6:45 since there was one potty stop. I had plenty of time to get checked in (which consisted of grabbing your own bag) and get my transition set up. I had no clue what to do in transition. I think at most tris they have numbers up for where to put your bike, but this was a free for all. I thought I had done something wrong b/c one girl in my row kept giving me the stink eye. But I figured since there was a hybrid next to me, surely I was okay in my spot. I hit the bathroom a few times, chatting with Beth, Adam and Brandon and stood staring at the water for awhile. I was scared, but I was glad to know the lake was pretty shallow.

THE SWIM
The swim was in a shallow man made lake. The water was pleasantly warm, but


not too warm and clear, although it had a blue dye in it. You basically had to swim across the lake to the opposite shore, turn at a buoy, go down to the next buoy and then head into shore. There were 2 men's waves before us and then all the women. I'd say there were about 80 women total. I didn't know where I wanted to place myself, but I decided to get on the far outside. If you look at the pic, go all the way to the right, I'm the person at the front in the sleeveless wetsuit. Waiting as the guy counted down was the worst, I could just feel my heart beating out of my chest. They blew the horn and off I went. I managed to swim freestyle for maybe about 30 strokes, then I came up to sight and realized I was off quite a bit and did some breast stroke and side stroke back towards the buoy. At this point I started to freak out a bit. Every time I put my face in the water I would choke. But it was fine, I didn't necessarily feel too tired or like I was going to drown, just like I couldn't breathe. So, I just did breast stroke for awhile until I got to the other side of the lake, then I managed to swim freestyle the bottom of the rectangle, but also stopped and put my feet down a few times to get my bearings. On the way back I was better and was able to swim free most of the way, but was just way off course. I have no sense of direction when my face is in the water. I am a fine swimmer, speed and stroke wise, but would have been over back on the other shore if I hadn't brought my face out of the water every few strokes. Maybe I'll do better at an out and back swim where I have the shore on one side to look at. Coming out of the water was fine, I was able to get out of my wetsuit just fine and had it down to my waist by the time I got back to the transition area, which was about 200 feet away. I just walked it and used the time to get my breathing in check. I don't know how long the swim took me, either 12 mins or 17 mins. Gary told me 17, but the guy next to him was telling the girl beside me it took her 12 and she was right behind me. Gary just knew it was 8:27 and we were supposed to start at 8:10, but I don't know if we started on time or not. I'm going to go with 12 mins :)
Transtion 1

I had laid every thing out before hand and didn't have any issues getting my stuff together. Only bad thing is I forgot my Garmin and I was pretty pissed about that. I really would have like to have known my speed on the bike. You had to walk/run your bike out of transition which was on grass to the concrete path.

The Bike

You start off in the camp grounds and there is a lot of gravel, which is a bit unnerving. But after that you get out onto some country roads. The bike was 13 miles. There were some rolling hills to start with and one really large hill at mile 3 you got to go down, but oh man you knew you had to come back up it. I did really well on the descents, I didn't feather my brakes and tried to go with it. When we got to flat areas, I really hammered. I wish I knew how fast I was going. I honestly passed a lot of people and only remember getting passed once by a guy. Then there were 2 women I played leapfrog with the whole time. When the bike started,I felt really bad. My legs hurt horribly. I have never really felt like this before, it was physical pain in my inner thighs/quads. I think it was lactic acid buildup? I just tried to ride in a semi low gear and shake them out. By the time we got to the turnaround I was feeling better. The ride back was a gentle descent and I really picked up speed and passed some more folks. Then we got to the 3 hills and those were tough, but after Lake Placid it was nothing. I think the bike took me about 45 mins, not quite sure. I ate one pack of luna moons and drank one water bottle. I was sweating like a maniac though, it was so hot and there was no shade on the bike course. I wish I had brought 2 water bottles. I also know that I really need to work on taking turns, I basically stop and make the turn and I lose a lot of time that way.


Transition 2

I was kind of out of it so I took the time to drink and eat a gu. I don't think I took much time in the transitions, but I did walk out of T2 as I ate my gu and I lost a little time there. I also had no issues getting my bike racked back up or remembering my garmin! But then the F-er wouldn't find a signal, so I didn't have it for most of the run either. So, next time I will be sure to mount it on my bike handlebars and turn it on as soon as I get to T1.

The Run

Woe is me. I was ready to be done. It was well into the 80s and I was tired. But I managed to start off at like an 8:30 pace, which was not on purpose, just what my legs were doing. But I was walking soon enough. I'd say I walked about 4 times and between the walk I maintained between at 9:30 -10 min mile. Which was fine. The run took me right around 30 mins. It went through a camp ground and a lot of folks were out on their RV porches checking us out, thinking we were crazy. Parts were shaded and there was one water stop. You just ran 1.5 miles out and back. I wish I had had a little more juice in me so I didn't have to walk. It is what it is.

What did I learn? I have a shit ton of work to do with open water swimming. The swim may be the shortest, but if you are scared and blow up in the water, it ruins the rest of your race. I need to learn to make corners faster on the bike and I need to do alot more bricks to ensure I don't need to walk in the last leg. If you ask me today if I think I will be able to do GTC HIM, I would say no. I think I over estimated my abilities and underestimated the distance. But I won't make that decision until I get through my first Olympic race in July. Maybe if I swim OW weekly, I will feel different come august. But I think I can always drop back to the Olympic if I need to in Aug. A big thanks to Beth, she has just been so supportive and she had an AWESOME race today. Her and Adam and Brandon and Alyson all rocked the course. I can only hope someday to be 5-10 mins behind them, instead of 30! And of course hubby gets a big smooch for getting up so early and being there to support me and take pics.

I got up at 4:45 am this morning. I actually felt good when I woke up and had no issues shaking off the sleep.I met Beth at 5:15 and we were on the road. The trip there was pretty uneventful and took us about 1:50. We found the park no problem and got a really lucky front row parking spot in a lot right across from the start. We got the last place in the lot, so that was cool. I had checked the weather and it was supposed to be 32ish at the start, but it was FREEZING. Both Beth and I were contemplating what we should wear. It was way colder than I expected. I ended up running in my pants (thank goodness right), a fitted tank top with a long sleeve tech shirt over it and then my vest, ear band and gloves. IT ended up warming up quite a bit and turned into a gorgeous day. We got signed in and got our numbers, etc. For doing this race, you get shorts, get it, just a short run. They were nice Brooks shorts and were maroon. I had also paid extra for a tech tee, but it was an enormous small!

Beth and I decided to run to warm up since we had some time. WE managed to do 2 miles. Then it was 8:30 and time to go! There was a 5K, HM and 30K. The 30Kers started a half mile up the road from everyone else. Then we ran the 5K course which had a monster hill, that killed me, but I got up it and back down and all the sudden we were running back by the start and getting ready for the 3 - 5 mile loops. This race took place in a park, so it was very scenic. There were over a 1000 people, so there were folks around me for a lot of the race. I did the first 5 mile loop with very little problem, I felt good and ran anywhere from 8:30 to 9:30, there were 3 rolling hills on the loop. Once I started the second loop, around mile 9 my stomach really started to bother me. That's my running curse. I had taken in 1 gel and a few short blocks, they had them on the course. I decided to just slow down and try to run through it and after awhile it calmed down. Around mile 11-13 is kicked in again and then around mile 16. But I managed to run through it and didn't stop to go to the bathroom, which is actually a big accomplishment for me! Aside from the stomach I ran strong until mile 14 (which was really 16 b/c of the warm up) my hamstring and feet were just killing me, I wanted to be done. I started walking the water stops and slowed down quite a bit. By the time I took the final turn I was so ready to be done. I kicked it up a notch for the last 1 mile. I finished in 2:59:30. So, under 3 hours, which was m secret goal. I ran it all in around a 9:30 pace, but there was a good chunk ran around 8:45-9, I just slowed down with belly problems, etc. I was surprised my feet bothered me so badly. I can't say I feel super confident for the marathon at this point. But I am on target to finish around 4:20 which is my goal. Oh yeah, I forgot to say the race course was long today. Both Beth and I had 18.8ish on our garmins. And Ms. Beth got 1st place in her age group with an awesome time of 2:38 and change. I was so happy for her.

At the end of the race, if you were still there they had a bunch of raffles. Not many people were there, so the odds were good, but I didn't win anything. They raffled off a bunch of running painting and a vacation to ocean city. At the end they did give away the rest of the tech tees, which were XLs, but I grabbed 2 for Gary. Then stocked up on the leftover fruit and chips. I came home with some serious swag.

I am very worn out. Gary is at his dads, but should be home soon. I think we'll go see a movie tonight. Tomorrow I need to swim and bike. fun, fun. And if it stays this nice, I'll need to do yard work.

WEll since the indoor tri was cancelled and I am behind on my weekly miles (I've only done 14, and need to do 21) I am going to head to summit county for the CAtch a Leprachaun 15K. It's hilly and I am sore from shoveling. it probably won't be my best race ever. But at least I'll get my miles in!

Boy oh boy, 18.6 miles down in the book, my time on my garmin was 3:02, my official time will be a few minutes more b/c I hit the potty at mile 9 and stopped my watch.

Last night I had a nice dinner of spaghetti chocked full of veggies - squash, mushrooms, olives and onions and a can of tuna thrown in for good measure. I got into bed early, but couldn't fall asleep until after 10. Boo, b/c the alarm was set for 4:45 am! However, I awoke at 4:30 and was wired so I figured I might as well get up. I turned off my alarm and tired to sneak over to G's side of the bed to turn his off (I set two when I have to get up super early) and scared the bejesus out of him! Breakfast was a PBJ sandwich and a scoop of protein powder in grapefruit juice, drank some water and a big cup of coffee and got dressed. I picked up a great new mid weights nike shirt at Second Sole yesterday (hey everyone their winter clothes are on sale big time) that had a hood and gloves built in and decided to wear it with a tank top bra top under it and my mid weight pants. The high was supposed to be 40, but the evening low was 19 so it was pretty damn cold this morning. I got on the road at 5:15 and got to Avon way to quickly. I wanted to be there by 6:30 but was there at 6, so I had an hour to sit around and get tired, which I did! My friend Kim who moved to Fairport NY recently was in town for the weekend and met me to do the 15K, that was an added bonus.

So, there was a 5K, 15K and 30K, I imagine there were only 150 runners there tops, most didn't do the 30K, it was a 2 loop course. Kim and I started off strong, we kept a pace of about 9:17 the vast majority of those first 9 miles. There were a few roads that were a steady incline that we slowed down on. The course is nothing exciting. It starts at a strip mall, then runs through a subdivision, then you have about .5 miles on a park path that happened to be horribly icy today, then back through subdivisions. Sometimes you run on pretty busy roads and they were not closed to traffic. For the first 9 it was still pretty early, so there wasn't much traffic, but the second 9 had a lot of cars blowing by. There is one stretch of road, maybe 2-3 miles that runs along the lake past some very pretty houses. So, at mile 7.5 Kim was feeling strong, so she gave it a kick and sped up. Around 8 I knew my belly wasn't happy, so I made the decision to stop at the turn around point and hit the john, which I hated to do b/c I was running with a nice pack of guys, one of which was training for ironman and they were my speed and I hated to lose them, but I am glad I stopped so I didn't have to worry about my belly the next 1.5 hours. Back on the road after a 3 min detour I plugged in my ipod and tried to zone out. The next 1.5 hours I was pretty much alone, I didn't have anyone around me and several times I thought I might be lost! I felt pretty good up until about 15 at which point I was just ready to be done already! I kept soldiering on. The wind was really kicking in and blowing across me for a good portion of the second loop, I swear it got colder! By 17 I was back on the icy path and my legs were not happy, my feet hurt and so did my knees. All of the sudden some lady came charging past me, I swear she cheated. I looked behind me several times, convinced I was in last place and this lady was no where to be found. You run up one road and then back down a parallel road that is connected by side roads, I think this chick cut down one, I really do! But anyway, once off the ice path, I got a bit of a second wind and kicked it up a notch. When I saw that strip mall I was so happy, 18.6 miles, although my garmin said 18.8. The NCN crew had a nice little spread of food, but I just had a banana and sat down to stretch. On the course I had 3 gels, mile 5, 10 and 14. The funniest thing is I got 1st place in my age group! I swear I must have been the only one in my age group doing the 30K, there's no other explaination

From there I headed home and G and I went to brunch (veggie omelet and hash browns!) and then I met Sara for a movie - the Other Boleyn Girl - it was okay.

All in all I would consider today a success. I didn't feel as strong as I would have liked, but swimming 3000 yards the day before could have played a part in that. And I did have some stomach attitude, but I feel fine now and know I'll be okay tomorrow. Getting stronger!

Ooooh and I have most definitely developed plantar fasciitis, mostly in my left foot, but in the right as well, and it can go suck my ass.

Still sick, ugh fug. I did leave work yesterday, but did some work from home, so I am not going to take more than 2 hours of sick if even that. I completely vegged out last night. I laid in bed and read and was asleep by 9. I have been taking alka seltzer flu stuff and it seems to help. But I just feel really weak, like you could push me over using one finger. Regardless, I headed to the chili bowl 5K this morning. Gary came with. He ran it in about 24 mins, I ran it in about 27. Not my best race, and not my worst. I felt pretty good starting off and handled the bridge with no problem, but about halfway, I just felt like I was going to die. So, it wasn't very enjoyable. I am always proud of myself when I push through something I don't really want to do. IT was quite cold, but wonderfully sunny today. It's been a long while since we've seen the sun in cleveland.

Afterwards G and I headed to the west side market and bought some fruit, hummus and bread. We rushed home and showered and then G got his hair cut and I went along and read b/c we were going to run errands afterwards. I am reading this book called "My Lombotomy" by Howard Dully and it is just fascinating and I cannot put it down. It's written by this guy whose step mom got him a lobotomy in the 50s when he was only 12 and the rest of his life was just ruined. It's just a sad, amazing story and I finished the book today, and just started it last night. But anyway, after his haircut we went and bought a new down comforter. We got a king size bed like 5 months ago, but have never bought a comforter to go with it! So, finally we have bedding to go with out bed! We got 2 new pillows too, not we just need a bedskirt :)

Later we were laying around watching Ironman and Gary decided he wanted a bike! Now, I have been trying to talk him into getting a road bike and doing some long rides with me for awhile, so I was so happy he said this. So, we headed over to the Bike Authority and he got an XL 2007 Cannondale Synapse 3 Sport. It's a nice entry level bike and I hope he enjoys it. He goes back on Wed to get fit. So, now I have a partner for my long training rides!

I came thiiisss close to signing up for the half ironman in Cleveland, but chickened out. Is it way too presumptious to think I can do a HIM this year? I mean I've never done a tri before. Of course I jumped pretty much to a marathon from a 5K......

Tomorrow is my 16 miler...ugh. I am really dreading it b/c I feel so shitty.

Well I made it through my run today! It was a tough one. I can't even imagine how the folks that did the marathon or the 50K (Espeed and Daisy Duc!) did it. I was done at the end of those 13.1 miles. So, I started the day off early - my alarm blared at 5 am and I bounced out of bed. I made myself some PB oatmeal and coffee and waited for nature to take its course. Then I met Abbie and 6 and we drove 20 mins south to the Boston Store off of the towpath. The course was 2 loops, one was 8 miles, the other was 5. There were 253 total runners and everyone gathered in the heated garage and listened to the instructions and then we went outside and Tanya blew the whistle and we were off! HMs went in the direction of the 8 mile loop and the rest of the runners went towards the 5 mile loop. I'd say about 100-120 seemed to be doing the HM. We started off on the towpath, but almost immediately headed right up to the Buckeye trail. From that point, it was seriously just huge hill after huge hill. Up one, down another. I was relieved that most everyone walked up the gigantic hills. Abbie and I managed to stay together for about 6 miles, but then I had to bend down and tie my shoe and about 5 people got between us. So, we got seperated. My stomach starting kicking at me around mile 4 and I was so pissed off. I struggled with tummy troubles until I got done with the first 8 miles at which point I hit the loo and did my thing and felt a bit better. I headed back on the towpath over to the 5 mile loop. The 5 miler seemed like nothing comparted to the 8 miler, but it had 2 big hills with stairs you had to get up. I'd give the course an 9/10 on challenge. It was just tough and I didn't have a great run. My legs felt heavy and so did I! This race really made me realize that I had to lose some weight. I was basically the only Athena there. But I got through it in 2:38. Considering I stopped at 2 stops to eat and drink and went to the bathroom, I am pretty happy with the time. I think Abbie finished about 10 mins ahead of me. The cold wasn't too bad. I forgot about it after a mile or so. I didn't overdress, thank goodness and we got these really great Brooks jackets when we finished. It made it worth the $55 entry fee! I will definately do this one year after year and I'm sure it will continue to kick my butt! My legs are going to be SORE tomorrow.

Gary and I have done some grocery shopping and made a pitstop at Target. Now we are going to lie down and watch License to Wed. I love me some Jim from The Office!

Have a great Sat bloggy friends.

15 Monica Nowac chip time: 25:24.45 clock time: 25:40.60 8:17/M

Woohoooo last race this year and I got my best time! 8:17 avg. per mile! I was 15th in my age group (out of 44). I am so tickled. This gives me hope that I can get myself down into the 7's per mile. I am not very fast, compared to the 14 people in front of me (Espeed won our age group with an impressive 6:17/M!), but I have come so far. My first 5K which was in May of 2006 was 31:40! And I am about 10 lbs over my fighting weight right now, I am starting to think that one day I might just be further up in the standings. Woohoo. Big shout out to my girls who all did so well today - Abbie, Sara, Debby and Tracie. Abbie took 5th in her age group. She always wanted to finish in under 25 mins and today she finished under 24 mins!!!!

After the race, I went home and took a quick nap. Then Tracie came by and we headed to the JCC and swam and did yoga. I only got 500m in, sorry VTC girls.

I had plans to run 13 miles tomorrow, but it is not looking good. THere is a big snow storm coming. If it does, then I will try and power through 6 outisde and then maybe hit the treadmill for another hour. I hope the weather just calms down and I can get my 13 in. We'll see. Right now I am exhausted and I am going to snuggle with my dogs and Gary and watch a Planet Earth dvd. Have a good night.

I did it folks, finally. I have been trying to get a sub 2 hour half marathon since I did my first half 2 years ago. And today I did it! 1:59:23, but I'll take it! And that is clock time b/c it wasn't a chipped race.

So, I rose bright and early to get myself prepped for the Cleveland West Road Runners Fall Classic HM & 5K. It was all the way our in Strongsville which is about 28-35 miles from my house. It was really bitingly cold when I got up, so I put on some pants (thank goodness right), a tank top shirt - the kind with the built in bra, a long sleeve half zip shirt that has the glove built in and my running vest. The race took place at the metroparks, starting from Bonnie Park. It was a gorgeous sunny crisp day. I couldn't have asked for better weather. The race started at 9, but I got there at 8, good thing I did! THe parking by packet pickup was already full so they police directed us to parking about 1 mile away at the top of a giant hill! So, I had to walk all the way down the hill, get my number and giveaway shirt (a long sleeved tech tee!) and then climb back up the hill, and back down, all before the start! So, I probably had already walked 2 miles by the time we got ready to go. As I said before, this was not a chip timed race, so there start was just a big cluster. We ran out into the park 3 miles or so and back and then did it again. So, it was a 2 loop race. I like those kind b/c you can watch all the fast people as they come back by. People watching takes up time. I felt really good today. I tried something new today and drank one of those 5 hour energy drinks before I ran and I think it really helped. I didn't start feeling downtrodden until after mile 8. I took 2 GUs. I was running really fast for me - I don't know how fast b/c my stupid Garmin battery was dead so I ran without a watch for the first time in forever. But I met up with 2 nice guys who had the same goal and ran with them off and on - so shout out to Larry and George! Good job today guys. They were a little faster than me, so I am glad I tried to stick with them. The course was totally flat and there were enough water stops. The finish line had quite a few people hanging out and cheering you on. There wasn't any finisher's metal or much food. Compared to the spread yesterday of panera bagels and flavored cream cheeses - and that was just for a 5K! But I had a good time and I was so happy to get under 2 hours, I honestly felt like I was going to cry!

I am a little sore, my legs are kind of twitchy. I feel like I should probably ice down my knees. Gary and I went to the outlets this afternoon to do some Xmas shopping and are now making some dinner. I am soooo looking forward to a short work week.

1:59:23 bitches! wooohoo.

Songs I loved running to today: Crazy Game of Poker - OAR, Ayo Technology - 50 Cent w/JT, Breakfast in America - Supertramp, This is why I'm hot - Mims, Suzy Greenburg - Phish, Shake it Off - Mariah Carey, Dirt off my Shoulder - Jay Z, Cry me a river remix- JT w/50, Fidelity - Regina Spektor.