The longest half-marathon I've ever run (literally)

I entered this race back in January and have really been looking forward to it since then. Trail running just sounded cool--I love running & racing and was looking forward to something a bit different. And having been a "city girl" for 5 years now, I'm appreciating the outdoors more and more these days. About 2 weeks after entering this race (and several others) I was struck by plantar fasciitis--dang.  What I'm trying to say is that I went into this race with very little running in the past 4 months. Luckily, I think trail races had a few positive attributes given my circumstances: 1) I was told to expect my pace to be much *slower* on the trail, 2) trails are soft, right? ;-)

Race Morning: 77 degrees and 65% humidity at the start. Mark and Stewart dropped me off at the Great Falls start line. We met another Belgian there (a sable Belgian Malinois who was rescued from a shelter in Baltimore) -- her Mom was also running the half marathon! Mark saw them on the drive to the finish and noticed her again, in a Subaru--of course!

Stewart and me at the start line

The race started with an easy loop at Great Falls park, thankfully on a fairly wide trail, as there was a lot of congestion with over 700 runners. Mark and Stewart saw me at the 2-mile mark.

At the start line (wave start)

Approximately 2 miles in--so far so good

There was an aid station at the start, we looped back there around mile 3. The next aid station was (supposedly) 6 miles north. Due to the heat and humidity, I was carrying gatorade and water (and a bunch of other stuff).

Once we left Great Falls, the trail turned to single track. It was beautiful, a carpet of leaves on the forest floor and a thick canopy above us. Once we were on the single track, it was pretty congested. The first log over the trail caused a real traffic jam--about 20 people standing and waiting to cross the log. It did thin out after that. Everyone walked up the real steep climbs, where the Potomac Heritage Trail had been eaten by the Potomac river, causing the trail to climb, steeply up, and then steeply back down. Everyone walked except for one guy who, annoyingly, passed everyone as they walked up and then proceeded to run extraordinarily slowly (I could walk faster than he was shuffling)--causing all the runners to have to pass him. The second hill he tried that I filled him in (for better or worse).

By mile 7.5, I had a hot spot on my big toe. I stopped at a wide opening and pulled out an awesome band-aid blister band aid over the bloody, raw hole on the top of my toe. What a weird spot to get a hot spot! Unfortunately, my stop left me towards the back of the pack with the super slow runners--and the same darn guy I had schooled on walking up hills! The aid station was *supposed* to be less than a mile  away, so I  figured I could run slow/walk fast until then. I was way ahead of schedule and even worried Mark wouldn't be at the finish line when I got there. If only I knew... Unfortunately, the slow runners were much more crowded together than the 11 minute-milers (me). It was so crowded that I couldn't see the ground in front of me. I should have just kept a meter or so in front of me, but I didn't. Sure enough, I didn't see a tree root and I went down pretty hard. Thankfully, the gal behind me stopped so I didn't cause a multi-runner pile up! My knee hurt, but I could tell nothing was broken or sprained. Just bloody.

Turns out that mile to the next aid station was the longest mile ever. It was approximately 3 miles! Thank goodness I had water--those without were hurting out loud. There were 2 creek crossings, which were fun and made me glad I wore my Gore-Tex running shoes. Others got more miserable when they got wet.

Once my Garmin ticked past 13.1 miles (a half marathon), I turned it around--I didn't want to see it again! Not knowing when I'd finish, or how long this race was going to be, I stopped to text Mark that I may be another 30 minutes or so??? The last 2 miles  sucked--I did some walking--I wasn't physically tired but the hot spot on my toe HURT and I really wanted to know how much further the finish was! It was mentally more challenging than physically.

By the last mile everyone around me was walking. The competitor in me kept-up a strong shuffle!

Finally, I saw the finish line! Mark and Stewart were there.

It was great to finish! My Garmin read 14.83 miles--darn near 15! Not shabby, given my lack of a running base. Everyone at the finish line was pointing at their Garmins in disbelief. I joked that we got more miles for our money.

Stewart was happy to see me. Mark had a bucket of water for him and he'd already gone through a couple Nalgene bottles full of water that morning. Stewie was HOT. I picked up some gatorade, snacks and my finisher T-shirt and took off my now bloody sock and put on the lovely, fresh, clean wool socks that Mark had brought to the finish line. Hooray! I also grabbed a paper towel and wiped off my bloody knee. Good to go! What a freaking great race! I can't wait to do some more trail running. :-)

Sweaty, dirty, and happy (me)--Stewart is just hot and wants to go to the AC

I finished 27/60 in my age division and 143/333 for women. I'm pretty pleased with my results and had a real blast. My Garmin track is below. Thanks for reading and Happy Trails.

 Garmin: 

Marathon training ouchies and a dedication!

Thus far, marathon training is going pretty well. I'm not falling to bit, no injuries, still enjoy running. What more could a runner ask for? Well, ... I have one big complaint. This week I've been nursing a blister and several sores on The Girls. Who has ever heard of a blister on the breast? Each day this week I've gotten home from work, taken my slightly bloody (I know, gross) bra off and breathed a sign of relief. I considered working from home so I wouldn't have to wear a bra.

I would like to thank my TeamM4M teammate, Carolyn, for recommending *diaper rash cream* as a remedy for, ahem, road rash. Once I picked-up a tube, healing progressed rapidly and I'm happy to report that I'll be able to wear a bra for this weekend's run! So, a dedication to Diaper Rash Cream!

Happy Trails!

Missing Mom

June 1st, three years ago, my Mom died. We'd been hanging out in the hospice room on the oncology floor for a few days; since her doctor asked for my permission to unplug Mom from the detoxifying machine that was keeping her alive long enough for my brother and I to make it to Iowa and see her. Cause of death: Stage IV Melanoma. 


In Mom's last couple weeks, a tumor in her abdomen ballooned in size (think a basketball). Then it started spewing toxins into her body. Man, I wish nobody had to see their mother like that.


In memory of Mom, I'm running my first marathon this fall and raising money for the Melanoma Research Foundation. (Because I Hate Melanoma and Love Research!) Thanks for life, Mom. Here's to you!

SavageMan 2010: Race Report (yep, I wasn't racing)

SavageMan Race Report: My AWESOME friend Lindy picked me up at 3:30 a.m. and drove me to Western Maryland to the SavageMan 70.3 Triathlon. We arrived a little after 7 a.m. and had an amazing day. As spectators.

Yes, this blog was started to track my training and fundraising for the 2010 SavageMan 70.3  Triathlon to benefit the Joanna Nicolay Melanoma Foundation. The training posts abruptly stopped during the first week of June. Let me explain...

I was cycling home from work one evening during the first week of June, 2010, moving along at a pretty good clip, when a woman in a sedan turned left in front of me. It was just about here:

To make a long story short, I took an ambulance ride to the hospital! I broke my back and did some serious damage to the left side of my body. I ended up having shoulder surgery and got myself some titanium and cadaver ligaments! Mark took really good care of me all summer. I mean ALL SUMMER. What a great guy! After a ton of physical therapy, I went back to the office full-time in November and in January I did my first post-accident run. My physio therapist limited it to 10 steps of running, but it was a run! The rest is history. I still don't think I'm capable of doing the SavageMan--cycling in traffic is a bit nerve wracking and cycling, generally, is hard on my back. But I'm really excited to be training for a marathon. And SavageMan, I WILL be back! Not just to spectate, but to ride.

Ride Report: Bike DC 2010

After volunteering for Bike DC on Friday and encouraging hundreds of people to come out for Sunday's ride, I felt obligated to ignore the rain and head-out at 6:55 a.m. for the Bike DC start-line. Mark begged-off due to the rain, so it was just me and my trusty 'cross bike. Actually, Mark insisted I take the cyclocross bike and not the road bike because: it has super-brakes (a defining attribute of 'cross bikes) and I had the 32mm knobby tires on (9mm wider than my road bike tires).

Bike DC was great! The start-line showcased the new bike lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue, just east of the White House. Despite the light rain, people were excited for the ride. I also enjoyed the ingenuity of families participating in bike DC--bike trailers, kids on tandem/tag-along bikes, one Dad pulled a kid on a tag-along bike and a trailer was attached to the rear wheel of the tag-along and 2 kids were in the trailer. I wonder if he did the uphill section of the GW parkway?



The rain didn't last too long (maybe 20 minutes into the ride) but they grey skies stuck around. Thankfully, I had my yellow lens sunglasses, which made everything seem brighter and prettier! Compare:

My favorite part of the ride was the stretch up the George Washington Parkway, from the Key Bridge to the second look-out point. I had picked my way up to the "fast" group by this point and pretty much felt like I was kicking butt up the hill. Despite my knobby tires. Oh, the mountain bike cassette helped, too. I passed several tri bikes that were weaving left to right as riders negotiated the long uphill stretch without adequate gearing. When the police escort and lead cyclist passed me (he had U-turned), I realized I was the lead woman!!! Yep, with Knobby tires!

My next favorite part of the ride was the Air Force Memorial, which, despite it being located less than 2 miles from my house, I'd never seen up-close. I stopped and took pictures and will be sure to take future house-guests there. Beautiful views and you're sandwiched between Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon. 

Heading south (it is cool to have 5 lanes of a highway to yourself, when you're on a bike), I headed towards the finish line festival in Cystal City. I grabbed a banana and a muffin and took-in the "bike museum". 

Sadly, the bike museum omitted an important invention in the development of the bicycle--pedals, invented by my great-great-?-grandfather, Kirkpatrick MacMillan in Dumfries, Scotland (where Dad, sister and family still live). The museum goes straight from the non-pedal "scooter" to the high-wheel. Anyway, at least YOU now know! 

Here's my GPS route of Bike DC (and yes, the place with the "as the crow flies" straight line is when I forgot to turn my GPS back on after leaving the Air Force Monument). I'd highly recommend the ride, it was a lot of fun. Next year, I'm hoping for sunshine and Mark's company!

Ride with Lindy

Saturday morning, at 6:03 a.m. (yes, a.m.), Lindy and I clipped-in and hit the bike trail! I am thankful to have a friend like Lindy who, like me, is a morning person because on the weekends the bike trails in DC get busier than the highways. Some trail users get a bit crazy, too. A few weekends ago a woman, who was rollerblading and pushing a stroller (not a BOB), decided to do a random, unannounced U-turn---straight into me. Note: I was doing 24 m.p.h. Thankfully, I was able to stop, but you get my point.

We had a great ride. After serious pedaling we took a detour to take in the sights, sans-tourists. The sun rising behind the capitol is awesome...

We also discovered that it was Public Service Recognition Week on the mall and I got my picture taken with a cool helicopter!

Do you guys like my new USDA jersey? The back reads, "BioFuel Powered Vehicle"!!!!

All-in-all, a great morning. 3 hours and 30 minutes of riding, followed by a 15 minute run up a steep hill. Bliss.

First outdoor bike ride of the season--a SAVAGE 72 miles

Last Monday my "official" SavageMan training program began. The program Coach Michele, of DC Tri HIP fame, put together isn't too rough for the first few weeks--likely because it is April and I didn't have to start in January--when I was really out of shape. I feel like I'm in decent shape for starting the program because I've been running for Nation's Half, had swimming lessons Jan-April, and had some awesome trainer/spin sessions with Andy M. Jan-Mar.

To wrap-up the inaugural week, I did this season's FIRST outdoor bike ride! I know... it has been nice for over a month, but I haven't gotten outside to ride until now! Of course, I've been commuting daily on my cyclocross bike, but "real" bike rides must wait for the weekend because it is impossible to ride anywhere around here without having to stop at a light every few blocks! So, thus far this spring I've been plugging away in the Art Studio/Garage on my trainer.

Saturday, after the HIP transition clinic, I drove to Poolesville, MD and met my friend, Steve, for a 72 mile roller-ride! The weather was cool and windy at the start of the ride, but I quickly got hot and shed a layer. Maybe I got hot because we did a lot of HILL work? Speaking of hills, there were a few points during the ride that I thought boy, I hate cycling; this is hard; I'm not going to be able to do SavageMan; insert grunt here; and, there was one hill that made me say, out loud, when I saw it on the approach, holy *hit. Guess which hill...

Let me tell you about this hill: Steve and I are rolling into a quaint, storybook-like village, Burkittsville, MD. Steve tells me a hill is coming up, I reply, "that's fine." At this point a Burkittsvillian overhears us and yells, "I'm waiting to hear you scream." This guy wasn't just being funny. As we rode out of town a windy two-lane road going straight up a giant hill appeared. It sucked. Apparently it was only 19% grade--steep, but not by SavageMan standards. At the top we were treated to Gathland State Park, water, toilets, a Civil War Correspondents memorial, and AT hikers (including one guy who was hiking the AT with his poodle, who had her own backpack!)

The good news: I finished the ride without getting off, without going anaerobic, without a sore rear-end, and without loosing the desire to be a SavageMan. The stats: 6 hours with stops, 5 hours of pedaling, 5500ft of climbing, 72 miles. And yes, today's run (the day after) was slow.