Happy Anniversary to the Chicago Marathon, class of 2006!
I celebrated with a buttery croissant and coffee at 10AM, but was thinking about my first meal of the day a year ago, eating -- more like forcing down == oatmeal with brown sugar at 5AM, with a Gatorade on the side. Reminisced with Frankie and Yumke via email around 8:30AM. Congratulated Frankie around 12:30, just before lunch today, for finishing the marathon a year ago. At this time, I would've been past the halfway mark, with another 2 hours to go! Proceeded to have an ice cream cone mid-afternoon to toast my own accomplishment one year ago. Kind of silly but true.
With all the treats today, there was no way I wouldn't be hauling my butt outside for the first time in a week. 5K around the neighborhood on a gorgeous early evening. Nice night to just think about stuff.
Next up: picking the next race.
Monday, October 22
Saturday, October 13
Zoo Tour: race report
Team Family does it again!
My sister, having caught the racing bug following her first road race in the spring, chose the Zoo Run as her fall race goal not long (probably hours) after the spring race (got to love how the runner's high induces you to action). We all didn't train together like we'd hoped. My sister and I had a quiet evening last night. We ate a delicious pasta dinner -- whole wheat pasta with roasted tomatoes and garlic. Then we kicked up our feet, watched Stranger Than Fiction, and wondered how Team Member 3, our cousin, was doing (she went to a concert). I was in bed by about midnight.
I was eating toast, one slice with Nutella, the other with peanut butter, and orange juice by 7AM. I surfed the internet for a while and then revved up the ZooBus. I picked up my sister, then Yumke (nearly had a car accident in front of his parent's house... I had stopped to consider making a left hand turn into the driveway on this quiet sidestreet and I guess the guy coming up behind me didn't think I was going to turn. So when I started to turn, all I could see was this little Volkswagen coming at me. He was on the wrong side of the road. I may or may not have been signalling. There are arguments that could be made for either side if there was a crash. Anyways, there was no crash. Good, because that would be more drama that necessary before a race, thanks.). We picked up my cousin without incident. We arrived at the Zoo about 35 minutes before start time. It was cold (about 6C) and blustery. Not unlike conditions at the Chicago Marathon last year. Today I opted for the same sleeveless shirt as I wore for the half, but wore a windbreaker too. And my yellow race cap.
There were long lines at the portopotties. We girls cursed Yumke for having the ... right equipment ... to be able to ditch the potty line and find a tree with about 10 minutes before start time. Still, we managed to get to the start line on time. It took us about two minutes to cross the start line and activate our chips.
First 2K
I love start lines. There is always an electricity in the air. I gave a quick hug to my sister and cousin, and some words of encouragement. The route began in the parking lot and wound its way around the perimeter of the zoo before actually entering the grounds. Twenty days ago, my sister didn't think she'd make it through this portion. We chuckled about that.
Inside the Zoo
Cousin tried to keep pace with us, but it seemed she was always a few steps ahead. This would later stretch out into minutes. The field of participants started to spread out a little bit by the time we got on zoo grounds. I no longer felt like there were other runners nipping at my ankles and I could run in a fairly straight line without having to dodge as many for position. The first water station seemed to come really early. We walked through it sipping our drinks. I think it was shortly after we reached this point that we saw some of the elites nearly at the end of their race. We continued. I paced my sister for most of it except for the few moments when I stopped to marvel at the rhinos, the elephants, the lion, the hippo, the ape, tigers, a cheetah. I ran past the mongolian horses, an assortment of monkeys, giraffe, reindeer. Although we were welcome to stay after the race to take closer looks at the animals, and I had intentions to do so, I now figured my grumbling belly was going to win out. Best to take this whirlwind tour of the zoo now. I didn't find the hills as challenging as expected. Even the big steep one about halfway through the course that had stairs at the top! Stairs! Who has stairs in the middle of a race? Weird. The rest of the course was uneventful. My breathing was even the whole time. My sister asked me if she was holding me back around 7K. I guess I could've run faster but I didn't want to, nor did it occur to me to pick up the pace. I wasn't racing -- as evidenced by the many stops to gawk at the animals. I was just enjoying the environment, the exercise, and making sure my sister kept her smile throughout the course. I think we'd lost sight of Cousin by now. She was motoring.
The finish
Yumke from the sidelines with about 400 meters to go spotted my yellow hat (and this is why I wear it... it is a beacon in a crowd). He told us he'd PB'ed and I was so happy for him. His intense training is really paying off. He jogged 300m with us, and snapped this photo. I encouraged my sister to pick up the pace a little bit, to look for that last kick. She found something. The race announcer called her name and said we'd both came through the finish line strongly, and with smiles. We got through the chute, met up with Yumke and Cousin, then we were off for a slightly different post-race meal -- we went Chinese styles and had a hearty dish of smoky noodles, a big bowl of congee with fried dough on the side, some chilifried turnip patties, and lots of cups of green tea.
Final chip time: 1:14:37.9
Pace: 7:38/km
My sister, having caught the racing bug following her first road race in the spring, chose the Zoo Run as her fall race goal not long (probably hours) after the spring race (got to love how the runner's high induces you to action). We all didn't train together like we'd hoped. My sister and I had a quiet evening last night. We ate a delicious pasta dinner -- whole wheat pasta with roasted tomatoes and garlic. Then we kicked up our feet, watched Stranger Than Fiction, and wondered how Team Member 3, our cousin, was doing (she went to a concert). I was in bed by about midnight.
I was eating toast, one slice with Nutella, the other with peanut butter, and orange juice by 7AM. I surfed the internet for a while and then revved up the ZooBus. I picked up my sister, then Yumke (nearly had a car accident in front of his parent's house... I had stopped to consider making a left hand turn into the driveway on this quiet sidestreet and I guess the guy coming up behind me didn't think I was going to turn. So when I started to turn, all I could see was this little Volkswagen coming at me. He was on the wrong side of the road. I may or may not have been signalling. There are arguments that could be made for either side if there was a crash. Anyways, there was no crash. Good, because that would be more drama that necessary before a race, thanks.). We picked up my cousin without incident. We arrived at the Zoo about 35 minutes before start time. It was cold (about 6C) and blustery. Not unlike conditions at the Chicago Marathon last year. Today I opted for the same sleeveless shirt as I wore for the half, but wore a windbreaker too. And my yellow race cap.
There were long lines at the portopotties. We girls cursed Yumke for having the ... right equipment ... to be able to ditch the potty line and find a tree with about 10 minutes before start time. Still, we managed to get to the start line on time. It took us about two minutes to cross the start line and activate our chips.
First 2K
I love start lines. There is always an electricity in the air. I gave a quick hug to my sister and cousin, and some words of encouragement. The route began in the parking lot and wound its way around the perimeter of the zoo before actually entering the grounds. Twenty days ago, my sister didn't think she'd make it through this portion. We chuckled about that.
Inside the Zoo
Cousin tried to keep pace with us, but it seemed she was always a few steps ahead. This would later stretch out into minutes. The field of participants started to spread out a little bit by the time we got on zoo grounds. I no longer felt like there were other runners nipping at my ankles and I could run in a fairly straight line without having to dodge as many for position. The first water station seemed to come really early. We walked through it sipping our drinks. I think it was shortly after we reached this point that we saw some of the elites nearly at the end of their race. We continued. I paced my sister for most of it except for the few moments when I stopped to marvel at the rhinos, the elephants, the lion, the hippo, the ape, tigers, a cheetah. I ran past the mongolian horses, an assortment of monkeys, giraffe, reindeer. Although we were welcome to stay after the race to take closer looks at the animals, and I had intentions to do so, I now figured my grumbling belly was going to win out. Best to take this whirlwind tour of the zoo now. I didn't find the hills as challenging as expected. Even the big steep one about halfway through the course that had stairs at the top! Stairs! Who has stairs in the middle of a race? Weird. The rest of the course was uneventful. My breathing was even the whole time. My sister asked me if she was holding me back around 7K. I guess I could've run faster but I didn't want to, nor did it occur to me to pick up the pace. I wasn't racing -- as evidenced by the many stops to gawk at the animals. I was just enjoying the environment, the exercise, and making sure my sister kept her smile throughout the course. I think we'd lost sight of Cousin by now. She was motoring.
The finish
Yumke from the sidelines with about 400 meters to go spotted my yellow hat (and this is why I wear it... it is a beacon in a crowd). He told us he'd PB'ed and I was so happy for him. His intense training is really paying off. He jogged 300m with us, and snapped this photo. I encouraged my sister to pick up the pace a little bit, to look for that last kick. She found something. The race announcer called her name and said we'd both came through the finish line strongly, and with smiles. We got through the chute, met up with Yumke and Cousin, then we were off for a slightly different post-race meal -- we went Chinese styles and had a hearty dish of smoky noodles, a big bowl of congee with fried dough on the side, some chilifried turnip patties, and lots of cups of green tea.
Final chip time: 1:14:37.9
Pace: 7:38/km
Thursday, October 11
Unrain dance please
It didn't stop raining long enough for me to finish .... begin .... my run from last night. No matter, Team Family had our last training run before the 10K around the zoo this weekend. We ran a gentle 3K around my sister's neighborhood, after picking up our race packets. We got a nice red technical tee to add to the collection. We almost have consecutive bib numbers, which is kind of cute.
There's a chance of isolated showers on Saturday morning. Someone do an unrain dance for us, please.
There's a chance of isolated showers on Saturday morning. Someone do an unrain dance for us, please.
Wednesday, October 10
386 meters
This is the shortest run in history. It's provincial election day today and I went to fulfill my civic duty. I got all decked out for a run shortly after I got home. Put my ID in my pocket and walked to the voting hall. I checked off a name, and pushed my ballot into the returns box. I walked out, reading to hit the pavement hard. It was raining.
Ordinarily, I'd find it sort of liberating to run through the rain. But with a race on Saturday morning, I thought it'd be more prudent to just dash home -- all 386 meters -- then get soaked to the bone and risk catching cold. If the weather is a little more cooperative later on, maybe I'll try again.
Ordinarily, I'd find it sort of liberating to run through the rain. But with a race on Saturday morning, I thought it'd be more prudent to just dash home -- all 386 meters -- then get soaked to the bone and risk catching cold. If the weather is a little more cooperative later on, maybe I'll try again.
Sunday, October 7
Pre-feast 8K
There was no freaking way I was going to sit down at the dinner table -- a spread that included by my own creation and for 15 guests, a turkey, prime rib, rainbow trout (caught by CMan last weekend), some fixins that included sweet potato mash, steamed broccoli and corn, the requisite stuffing (a vegetarian and carnivore option), and followed by crepes with berries, ice cream and whip cream -- without first running 8K this morning. My sister came along for the pre-feast guilt-ridding run. We ate like it was going out of style this evening.
Wednesday, October 3
Wow moments in recovery
Wow, I feel brand new again.
The day after the half marathon, I had a little bit of trouble with stairs but was otherwise feeling pretty good. By Tuesday morning, I was not longer walking gingerly and was bounding up and down stairs. I had a massage on Tuesday afternoon and my RMT told me that my shoulders felt like sand. They should feel like rubber bands, apparently. RMT also said it didn't look like I was developing carpal tunnel as I feared -- but more like I had a weak muscle somewhere in my shoulder and months of bad posture in front of too many computer screens at work (6 monitors plus 1 tv! it's ridiculous). Legs were worked on as well, of course.
I found spring in my legs again. I went with my sister on an early evening run tonight. Forty minutes, covering just shy of 5K. I had a little trouble getting started, even though my legs felt fine. I think it was the bowl of cereal that I had as a snack before the run that was weighing on me. But my goodness, my sister is a new woman. She set the pace most of the way and even made me run faster to make sure we got through stoplights! And she made it up the 1K slope without stopping. Or complaining. I'm wowed.
We stretched a bit on her living room floor. And then she said she had tried to comment on my last post but blogspot was giving her grief. The gist of her note: she thinks maybe, just maybe, and in no way is she promising anything, that maybe after this month's 10K, she could consider moving up to a half marathon.
Double wowed.
The day after the half marathon, I had a little bit of trouble with stairs but was otherwise feeling pretty good. By Tuesday morning, I was not longer walking gingerly and was bounding up and down stairs. I had a massage on Tuesday afternoon and my RMT told me that my shoulders felt like sand. They should feel like rubber bands, apparently. RMT also said it didn't look like I was developing carpal tunnel as I feared -- but more like I had a weak muscle somewhere in my shoulder and months of bad posture in front of too many computer screens at work (6 monitors plus 1 tv! it's ridiculous). Legs were worked on as well, of course.
I found spring in my legs again. I went with my sister on an early evening run tonight. Forty minutes, covering just shy of 5K. I had a little trouble getting started, even though my legs felt fine. I think it was the bowl of cereal that I had as a snack before the run that was weighing on me. But my goodness, my sister is a new woman. She set the pace most of the way and even made me run faster to make sure we got through stoplights! And she made it up the 1K slope without stopping. Or complaining. I'm wowed.
We stretched a bit on her living room floor. And then she said she had tried to comment on my last post but blogspot was giving her grief. The gist of her note: she thinks maybe, just maybe, and in no way is she promising anything, that maybe after this month's 10K, she could consider moving up to a half marathon.
Double wowed.
Sunday, September 30
Race report: Scotiabank Half
I finished at 2:23:10.7, five minutes slower than last year and pretty much within my "whisper number" expectations that I had kept entirely to myself. I look at this timing and I think I could've done much better than this -- trained consistently, slept more last night, ate better, and all that other stuff that could've been done to vastly improve. More on that in a minute.
Waking up was a bit of a struggle. I must have fought with the snooze button at least three times. But then I had to eat so there'd be time to digest so I rolled out of bed sleepily to fix a bowl of Cheerios and half a toasted bagel with peanut butter. I have never liked eating so early in the morning. Then I packed my things and drove downtown, sipping purple Gatorade along the way. The weather couldn't have been better. I went sleeveless, capris, blue running cap, and barely needed my throwaway t-shirt (though that may have had more to do with getting to the start line -- after using The Office as my personal bag check -- about 5 minutes before the gun went off).
The race today wasn't all roses -- there were a few parts that I struggled through (mental blocks and a few times when I thought I felt twinges in knees or ankles) but mostly it was fairly comfortable. For a while, alone with my thoughts of post-race bacon and other fine foods, I wished I had brought my iPod with me to distract me. But I was content to just sing to myself, as well as enjoy the course-side entertainment and the snippets of conversation between running partners I'd hear around me.
I lost my friends Frankie and Grasshopper within the first 2K. They had their own races to run after all, and they both made their own personal statements. Frankie, who has run even less than me, came in at 1:51:15, well under his target of 2 hours. And Grasshopper, in his first road race ever and also battling a cold, had a respectable 2:11:35.
I miscaluated the last stretch. At the 15K mark, I was emboldened by my time (1:42 or so) and thought I had a chance to beat my time last year. I visualized my 5K out-and-back route to my sister's place. Only I actually had 6K to do, not 5. So I was a bit crestfallen when I passed the 16K marker and someone behind me said, '5K to go' to her partner. Had to revisualize. Then there was no 20K marker and I was a little confused but at least I knew I was close and I knew the road well. As I do with every race, the last 800 meters I find something in me to dig a little deeper and try to pick off the runners on the way to the finish line which is always a nice boost.
So started this post by saying "I could've done much better than this" but consider this from another perspective. Without doing all the (extra) training and related activities, I was only about five minutes slower. I also ran the whole distance without breaks, except to walk through the water/Gatorade stations. I ran the second half much faster than the first. My 10K split was 1:14:50, while my 12.2K split was 1:30:47 (and just for comparison and context sake -- while I hit the 12.2K mark, a little more than halfway, Yumke had less than a minute to go to cross the finish line and PB!).
Over breakfast, there were discussions about signing up for a marathon. Frankie and Yumke would like to return to Chicago. I don't know. I don't know how many marathons I have left in me (I want to do at least one for charity and if I do, I'd like for it to be somewhere in the world where I've never been, and possibly/preferably overseas).
I'll have to sleep on it. Good thing I'm already in my pjs.
Waking up was a bit of a struggle. I must have fought with the snooze button at least three times. But then I had to eat so there'd be time to digest so I rolled out of bed sleepily to fix a bowl of Cheerios and half a toasted bagel with peanut butter. I have never liked eating so early in the morning. Then I packed my things and drove downtown, sipping purple Gatorade along the way. The weather couldn't have been better. I went sleeveless, capris, blue running cap, and barely needed my throwaway t-shirt (though that may have had more to do with getting to the start line -- after using The Office as my personal bag check -- about 5 minutes before the gun went off).
The race today wasn't all roses -- there were a few parts that I struggled through (mental blocks and a few times when I thought I felt twinges in knees or ankles) but mostly it was fairly comfortable. For a while, alone with my thoughts of post-race bacon and other fine foods, I wished I had brought my iPod with me to distract me. But I was content to just sing to myself, as well as enjoy the course-side entertainment and the snippets of conversation between running partners I'd hear around me.
I lost my friends Frankie and Grasshopper within the first 2K. They had their own races to run after all, and they both made their own personal statements. Frankie, who has run even less than me, came in at 1:51:15, well under his target of 2 hours. And Grasshopper, in his first road race ever and also battling a cold, had a respectable 2:11:35.
I miscaluated the last stretch. At the 15K mark, I was emboldened by my time (1:42 or so) and thought I had a chance to beat my time last year. I visualized my 5K out-and-back route to my sister's place. Only I actually had 6K to do, not 5. So I was a bit crestfallen when I passed the 16K marker and someone behind me said, '5K to go' to her partner. Had to revisualize. Then there was no 20K marker and I was a little confused but at least I knew I was close and I knew the road well. As I do with every race, the last 800 meters I find something in me to dig a little deeper and try to pick off the runners on the way to the finish line which is always a nice boost.
So started this post by saying "I could've done much better than this" but consider this from another perspective. Without doing all the (extra) training and related activities, I was only about five minutes slower. I also ran the whole distance without breaks, except to walk through the water/Gatorade stations. I ran the second half much faster than the first. My 10K split was 1:14:50, while my 12.2K split was 1:30:47 (and just for comparison and context sake -- while I hit the 12.2K mark, a little more than halfway, Yumke had less than a minute to go to cross the finish line and PB!).
Over breakfast, there were discussions about signing up for a marathon. Frankie and Yumke would like to return to Chicago. I don't know. I don't know how many marathons I have left in me (I want to do at least one for charity and if I do, I'd like for it to be somewhere in the world where I've never been, and possibly/preferably overseas).
I'll have to sleep on it. Good thing I'm already in my pjs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)