Grasshopper

No regular Afterwork RunClub today. She forgot her shoes.
So what do I do? I convinced another colleague (henceforth, the grasshopper) to sign up for the September half-marathon and we promptly go out for a 10K jog in the valley. (1:08:17)
The cult grows. Two regular training partners. Plus my cousin on occassion (if I can peel her away from homework), and possibly Frankie.

No fretting. Okay, a little bit...

I have not run since finding out about the sold-out Marine Corps Marathon. I've decided to forgo looking for a fall marathon. I only want to go to one with tens of thousands of runners. I like the comfort of having masses of people around me. I also don't want to go by myself. Which is why the MCM was going to be fun, because I was supposed to do this with Yumke. (Not run together, but to fly and carboload, and visit R. Yumke, we should've signed up on the same day like we coordinated for Chicago!)

No more fretting about this lost marathon opportunity. There will be others. So, I'll be happy with the fall half marathon instead for this year. I convinced my Afterwork RunClub partner to sign up. Now we can train together, knowing we're both after the same goal. We're scheduled to run tomorrow, probably about 5K.

I found a couple of other things to entertain me these last few days. Like final details of the wedding (it's less than 2 weeks away now! Eek), including a last-minute bachelorette party (featuring some wicked martinis, then seeing drag queens on College St). And catching up on some of my PVRed shows (I've found a reason to go back to Lost, and ditch 24). Oh, and my new favorite PS2 game, just bought it yesterday: Guitar Hero II. I'm really digging Message in a Bottle, Heart-Shaped Box, Monkey Wrench, and Free Bird.

Too late!

So when I ignored all the warnings about the MCM usually filling up fast, I lost my chance to get in.

QUANTICO, VA- The Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) sold out on May 23 at 3:00 p.m. eastern time with 30,000 participants for the October 28 event. Thousands of runners hit the MCM website, www.marinemarathon.com, as registration opened on May 9 at noon eastern to ensure a spot on the Arlington, VA start line.

D'oh.

I'm disappointed, sure, but it's obviously my own damn fault. There's still space if I want to go the charity route, but I've always wanted to reserve the charity race for something bigger -- something overseas, like Iceland or Rome.

So it's back to the drawing board. I ran just 2.5 miles since the last post (on a treadmill because, frankly, I didn't want to be outside in the humidity. Oh the memories of last July's training sked). I still got the half-marathon at the end of September. I could upgrade that to a full distance....

It's still the weekend...

I didn't get to fit in another run on either Saturday or Sunday like I thought I would. A baby shower (mom-to-be was very surprised), a double matinee (Spidey and Shrek -- both not as good as their predecessors), and seeing the florist for wedding flowers (red roses and some kind of orchid) made for a packed weekend. Good thing it's a public holiday today, which means it still feels like I get some semblance of a weekend to myself.
And even though I didn't have to go to work today, I ran to it. Because that is where my gym is. It was a gorgeous and sunny 10C when I departed at 9:50. I figured that would give me enough time to get to the gym by 10:45 to attend the Victoria Day body sculpt class. I barely made it in time, covering 5 mi. Now I'm gonna kick up my feet.

Ramping up

I still have yet to sign on the dotted line for Washington, but if my mood and efforts this week about running are any indication, I think I'm starting to get mentally ready. And what a difference sun and positive temperature makes. If memory serves, this is the highest mileage week I've put together since... well, probably when I was officially training for Chicago last year.

Thursday - planning ahead
A beloved colleague is transferring to Paris and we had to send him off in style, or at least hungover on the plane the next day. Knowing that it was going to be a long night at the bar, I decided to run in the morning. And like I did several times last year, I packed my work clothes into the car and sent CMan ahead to his work where I would meet him about 45 minutes later. I forgot how nice it is to run outside in the morning. Mostly quiet, not a lot of cars spewing exhaust in your face. I might have to consider this option much much more. I got to thinking, if I run nearly 8K to work, and CMan drives about 6K to work, do our respective carbon footprints cancel each other out? Probably too simplistic a way of thinking about that.

Friday - tired but not hungover
So it was a late night as predicted and I had to open the office at 6:30a.m. The reality is that I'm not as young as I used to be and I actually do need a little bit of sleep. And I didn't even sleep well. Boo. Thankfully, for me and everyone involved in the festivities the night before, it was a relatively uneventful day at work. The great thing about opening the office is that you're the first one out. And on a bright sunny day, especially a Long Weekend, it feels even better. I had dragged my running gear to work, with the grand plan of making myself go for a run by the water before heading to my 6p.m. spa appointment (a pre-wedding facial! And a run before will get my face suitably grunged up to be deep-cleaned).
I started slowly and kept a very plodding pace. Every footfall felt heavy. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go, or would be able to go. Maybe it's because I associate a good chunk of this 12.6K route with Yumke so I just wanted to do well. So I had to keep moving, in case I ran into him. I wanted to be in good form!

Tally: 27.6 kilometers/17.1 miles this week (and the week isn't even done yet!). Am I ready to devote more time to get to D.C.?

Not thwarted by rain

I thwarted the rain today. Twice.
I rose at 5:45 this morning, and the lightning had just started. Then the thunder came. And whoosh, a pile of rain. I thought about going back to bed for another hour, then decided it was better to catch a ride downtown with CMan and get some weight training in before work instead of having to slog through the rain to get to the subway. Made perfect sense to me.
It being Tuesday and Tuesday being Afterwork RunClub day, I was a tiny bit concerned that we might not be able to go because thunderstorms were expected after work as well. Now I was faced with another decision -- do I stick to working on my upper body or treadmill it? (Too many decisions this morning! I also thought about calling in sick. But sore throat is just not enough in my books)
I like compromise. So I slowly got through one mile on the treadmill. Then did some triceps, biceps, push-ups, crunches.

By midmorning, the sun was shining. I took lunch outside, and assessed that RunClub could meet tonight. We left a little bit later than usual. It was humid and I thought about all those crappy humid days during marathon training last summer. Do I really want to do this again? I'm once again leaning to yes...... (!)

L and I didn't have a route planned out today. But we started off the same as usual, heading west. Since it was so nice, it occurred to me that running by the lake might be nice for temperature, for change of scenery, for a lot of fun. Another good decision, I'm on a roll! We ran farther than I thought we did over the 41-1/2 minutes we were out there... I could hear both of us breathing differently... 3.5 miles this portion = a total of 4.5 miles today.
Headed home. Walked in the door, and then more rain came.

Not enlisted yet

I opened my calendar today and there was a little notation in there: MCM registration opens.
At the start of the year, I declared my intention to run the Marine Corps Marathon in DC on Oct. 28. I declared then, and now I'm having second thoughts.... will have to defer this decision til later. Much later.

Two workouts

Worked on toning my arms this morning (yes, this arms and back exposure on Wedding Day is getting to my head). Then afterwork, RunClub with L reconvened for the first time since the end of March. She had been ordered by her doc to cease all cardio for awhile, but she said she felt good today and decided that we could just jog slowly. She also wore a heart rate monitor to make sure she didn't spike badly. She didn't. We kept a steady pace for about 41 minutes. I didn't map it, but I'm estimating that's about 5K.

The Sporting Life

It was Christmas today.
Or at least the fulfillment of a goal set around Christmas last year. My sister took her place among the other 8,999 other runners this morning at the Sporting Life 10K. It was a chilly morning, much cooler than I thought. I had 3 outfit changes before I was satisfied with a long sleeve yellow shirt, wind vest, capris and my favorite yellow hat (so fashionably coordinated, I know)

.... oh, as I was explaining to my brunch buddies post-race, is my single reminder of triumph over adversity. The hat was a reward for joining a fun run. And while the fun run was actually fun, the part that happened after the fun run was not. This was a turning point in my Chicago marathon training experience. I didn't quit, and that's what this hat represents to me....

I wasn't really "race ready" this morning. Normally I'd have my race bib pinned already, my timing chip attached to my shoelaces, and whatever else I needed all laid out. Not so. I didn't even have breakfast before I left because of the sad state of affairs that is my fridge. Not even a drop of milk, nor any sort of bread. Argh. So during the$20 cab ride to the start line I ate a mini box of Vector and washed it down with water, the whole while hoping this was going to be enough to fuel me through this race.

I spotted Yumke lining up at the 40ish-min pace marker. Wished him luck (as if he needs it) and headed further back of the line with my sister and brother-in-law. We found the fourth member of the family team, my cousin, as well as Fleetfooted Frankie (who, by the way, said this race was basically his first run since November. Ya that's right. And with zero training, he finished in about an hour) and his girlfriend.

Not that we heard the countdown, but we noticed heads starting to bob. The race was on. It took about 4 minutes to actually cross the start line, but by the time I got there, I started to feel that familiar excitement about running in a race. The wide-eyedness of my sister seeing the mass of people doing this reminded me of my first race.

I stayed beside my sister on every step. This was not about me, about me trying to achieve a personal best. It was about pacing my sister and seeing her to the finish line, to see her finish what we started, to show her that she's got the chops for a 10K race. It was about achieving her personal fitness goal.

And she did it. Ran the entire time, except at the water stations where we agreed to walk through and take fluids (we never practiced the hydrating while running drill so the walkthru was important). There were a few inclines and one legitimate hill to climb in the race (it's net downhill though) but she powered through them marvellously. (If there was one flaw about this race, I'd say it was that I forgot how to use my watch. I didn't get my splits because I just didn't remember to hit the lap button at every kilometer.)

At the 5K mark, I figured we were ahead by a couple of minutes than our usual times. One step over the 7K marker, I told her that she had officially run the furthest she had ever in her life. All she had to do now was less than 2 miles, a distance she can handily cover any day of the week. At 8K, there was a bit of a headwind and she said she was starting to fade a little bit. But she didn't stop. She got bits of encouragement from me and my cousin. She responded. My sister dug deep, kept her head high, and the three of us ploughed on. We threw the idea of sprinting at the end. My cousin and I, when we run together, have a habit of running as fast as we can. My sister never participated in that, saying that she can't. But "can't" is not a word she knows, and especially not today. I gave her easy targets to pick off during the last half kilometer. She did it with no problem. As soon as we turned the last corner, she could see the finish line.

And she sprinted. I knew she could. She even heard her name announced as she crossed the finish line, hands up in the air. I was so proud of her, I was even a little teary eyed. And, for the record: she finished at chip time 1:10:15.4; 1.1 seconds ahead of me.

Bacon always tastes so good after a race.

My sister called 2 hours ago. Guess she found that runner's high. She said the Zoo Run in October looks good.

It's a carb party. And then it was much more...

I didn't have an inkling of what was going on. I had volunteered to attend a business meeting as an observer on the most beautiful weekend day yet. I didn't know it was going to be this nice three weeks ago when I agreed to it. Since I was only there in an observer capacity, it was okay that I ditched it a little early. Just as well because I had just three more hours to pick up my race package for Sunday's 10K race. Though drained by the amount of legalese and number crunching involved earlier in the day, I was looking forward to the carboloading party agreed upon by the four-member family team I'd assembled for this race. CMan chauffered my sister and I to claim our bibs and chip.
Then we walked around the neighborhood and maybe here I should have clued in.
CMan was not complaining about shopping, about being away from Warcrack, or trying to hurry me in any way. Odd, but I didn't think hard about it.

We began the journey home. A major highway was closed for spring maintenance, adding so many more cars to the regular thoroughfares and slowing our progress at times. I made a minor stop at home and we headed to her place.

In I walk into my sister's apartment.

There is no pasta.

Instead, there's crunchy veg and dip, proscuitto and fig rolls, crackers and cheese, spinach phyllo strudel, and brownies piled high.

And almost every girl that I know is standing in the room and shouting "surprise"! I was got. They got me good. I didn't know what to say. My sister said I blushed bigtime, that the look on my face was priceless. I think I managed to say, "Girls. Not the day before a race! I thought we were having pasta!"

Teehee. We had the regular bridal shower happenings... lotta yapping, snacking, gift opening, and silly game playing. Then more eating and yakking. The girls are fantabulous, there aren't enough words to describe it.

My sister, her husband and my cousin eventually got to the pasta; whole wheat spaghettini served with a homemade spicy tomato sauce.

There is no race strategy except to complete and have fun. I ran 2 miles on the treadmill on Friday morning, just to remember what running feels like. My sister is more ready than she thinks and I can't wait to see the look on her face when she crosses the finish line.