Saint George No Go

So the folks in St. George passed me over this year. I won't be running their marathon this October. Oh well, their loss. :)

However, I did find a Boston Qualifying race around the same time of year. The first annual Layton Marathon will be held October 9th, 2010. No lottery with this one, just first-come first-serve.

I might have a chance with this one. I've been able to maintain a 7-minute mile pace so far, up to seven miles. I know damn well that I'll need to able to maintain that pace for much longer to qualify for Boston. But I do still have 3 and 1/2 months to get there.

I just bought new running kicks a couple of weeks ago. Went down to the running store and got my stride analyzed and everything. The whole shebbang. I'm going with Brooks again. Those have treated me well, and they will hopefully lead across the finish line of the Layton Marathon in less than 3:10:59 come this Fall. Woot!

Praying to St. George

I've done it. I've entered the lottery for the 2010 St. George Marathon. This is where I hope to qualify for Boston. The lottery results will be announced May 7th, 2010. I have three weeks of waiting and wishing, then I'll know if I'm in. I've got my fingers crossed (well, not really), but I've got some neurons firing off happy-lucky-win vibes in my brain. Watch this space.

Shamrock and Shamroll

Jeez Louise, time flies by. Already the Ides of April and I've yet to deliver my first blog of 2010. Better late than never, I suppose. So here it goes, the recap of the Yuengling Shamrock (Half) Marathon 2010!

I traveled to Virginia Beach, VA to run my 5th race in my quest for 50 half marathons in 50 states. I have a friend attending Grad School over yonder, so we decided to meet up and enjoy the Shamrock (Half) Marathon atmosphere together. One thing about this running friend should be noted. We don't only run...we run in costume!

And what would be more fitting than dressing up as leprechauns for the Shamrock (Half) Marathon? I dare say, nothing. We both wore big hats, I donned a red beard, she wore pointy ears, I painted my shoes GREEN, she painted her laces and T-shirt: "I'm running a Guinness (beer) world record!"

We were dressed to impress, and impress we did. We lined up in the first corral, surprised to be the only ones in costume. I mean, man, these people looked serious! Running singlets, too-short-shorts, steely-eyed looks of determination. For some reason, fast times don't always mesh with costumes. Go figure. And although we were here to have fun, we also had a goal time. Somewhere in between 1:45 and 1:50 lay my friend's hopeful PR, and I was here to push her (hopefully NOT literally).

The course was nice and relaxed, mostly an out-and-back straight shot through neighborhoods. There was a really soothing section where we ran through First Landing State Park. The towering forest trees guided us forward, and kept our mind off the distance. We also saw some little motivational signs posted on the side of the road. I think they had been placed by the Hash Harriers we had seen the previous day, running through the town dressed in drag. :)

I passed up the beer station at mile 5. But I did manage to bring myself to imbibe at the second stop, around mile 11. People loved our leprechaun get-ups, yelling our names and shouting, "Love the hat! Love the beard! Go Leprechauns!"

We were some fast leprechauns, too. We finished with a nice kick down the Virginia Beach boardwalk, side-by-side in 1:46:39. Go team! Next year, we're looking at running the Mardi Gras Half Marathon. Better start planning my running costume now...this should be a good one.

Running with Peoples

I've always found some reason not to. It's too far of a drive just for a run. I'm not fast enough. I'm too fast. I won't know what to say. I won't know anyone there. It'll just be awkward. I like my "me" time on the road. I don't need that...

For one reason or another, I've never run with a running club. That is, I *had* never run with a running club. Until tonight.

I joined the Salt Lake City Track Club this Wednesday evening for their weekly fun run. I was worried at first, nervous, because everyone there already seemed to know the drill. But as we were about to head out on the 5-mile route, I loosened up. I chatted with faster-looking runners, trying to find someone to follow. (I had no idea where the course took us, so this was key). But I started off with a dude, and I was able to keep pace with him as he showed me the course. We also talked about the group as a whole, how it works and the general feel of the organization.

I'm happy I made it out there tonight. I'm excited to find runners who will push me, runners I can push back. Running buddies...that would be awesome. I'm excited to get out with the group again, maybe this weekend. I'm starting to think this whole "club" thing may be my ticket to Boston, and a more fulfilling time on the road.

It's not the heat, it's the humility

What does it take to knock me twenty minutes off a half marathon goal? Try 80-degree heat and an inordinate amount of humidity.

I was aiming high this past Sunday in Wilmington, NC. I had trained pretty well, and at altitude. I figured my average 7:15-mile would magically shrink down, closer to 7:00 as I dropped in elevation and got pumped up with race-day nerves.

Well, that didn't really pan out. It was a hot beast out there, and I was feeling it, bad, by mile 6. I was moving along at a nice clip...when I was running...
I ended up taking several walking breaks along the course, mostly at water points. I admit this without shame. I'm just happy to have finished, really. My chip time of 1:50:05 earned me 123rd place out of 1,102 finishers. That shows you how much the heat actually affected the entire pack.

Near mile 12, I passed a runner who was just about to collapse. Other runners were first-responders to her aid, telling her to sit down, sit down, as she mumbled incoherently. I felt bad for not stopping, but I had no means of helping her, and I was in a rough spot myself.

By the end of the race, I was thoroughly dehydrated. I did my best to drink enough water/gatorade to refuel, but it took a good 24 hours before I was at 100%. I probably would have done better if I had begun the race fully hydrated. I'm not used to drinking so much, living in a dry climate. That's something to learn from, for my next race.

Looking forward, my next half is going to be in either Key West, Florida (January 31st); or Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (February 13th). Then there's the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA in March. Gotta keep on keepin' on-

Take the X-train

I recently moved to Salt Lake City, from over-the-hill and around-the-bend, the sleepy town of Bountiful. I'm right in between a couple of big parks, which are suuuuper nice for my runs. Even better, one park has a little 1.5 mile cedar-chip trail for easy knee days. And that's just what I've been doing - taking it easy. This road to Boston and beyond might take me a little longer than expected. But I'm still trudging along, at a manageable pace. I'm determined not to hurt myself again.

I've also been heading to the gym every other day for some basic elliptical work. It's kind of nice to just rage on there for an hour, watching TV as time flies by. I think my body is grateful for keeping the impact down, giving the knees some TLC.

I'm traveling to Wilmington, North Carolina at the end of this month, for the Battleship North Carolina Half Marathon. This will be State #4 in my quest to complete a half marathon in each US state. I should be able to pull out a sub-1:40:00. Probably won't beat my 1:33:30, but I'll give it a healthy effort.

Running kicks, bonking blows

Failure hits me hard.  I think it's the fact that I don't rely on any type of support group.  So when things go wrong on race day, or in training, the only one there to blame is myself.

I had begun training for the 2009 Ogden Marathon with the full intention of qualifying for Boston.  Boston 2010 or bust, I thought to myself.  Well, I guess I opted for bust this time.  Bonk, Biff, Burn-out, whatever B-word you'd like to use.

I've decided to take another shot at it this year.  It's gonna be a rough road, but I'm changing the way I approach my running, developing a more holistic approach to fitness.  I need to spread out my workout, encompass more than just pounding the pavement.  Because the pavement pounds me right back, and the knees no likey.

For now, I'm rebooting.  Getting back into it.  Trying to find joy in each run, and not just run for this magic number of 3:10:59.  But...ya know, I can still do this.