2 Years

2 years ago, I was about 50 minutes into the bike portion of IMFL feeling like I was going to die. I had major stomach issues after that swim, and the first 12 miles of the bike royally sucked. But I did it! Man, I cant believe it's been 2 years already. In some ways it feels like a lot longer, and in some ways it feels like I just did it.

I just got done reading my recap and boy, does it make me want to do another one. I will, just probably not anytime in the near future. The next time I do it, I will be better. Just like the next marathon I do, I will be better. So I've got a lot of work to do!

Speaking of that, I've been doing good with getting myself to the gym, and last night I did my first interval workout on the treadmill. I only did 4 quarter mile repeats, but I did them at a sub 8:30 pace, and I didnt die, so that is a good thing! I'll get that sub 30 minute 5K, then we'll work on a sub 60 minute 10K. Right now my half marathon PR is about 2:35, so I'll have to assess things and figure out a new goal for that. And we all know what my marathon goal is. All in good time!

So, since IMFL, here is what has kept me occupied:

- I took a year off to be fat and lazy

- I got laid off, and spent 4 months getting caught on my Soaps instead of taking advantage of the time off and training. The only productive thing I did was paint the kitchen cabinets.

- My sister in law got married in Colorado

- We sold our old house (in 3 days, I might add) and bought a new one

- I turned 30

- Courtney got married

- I hosted a fetus party (baby shower) for my friend Julie

- I got to touch Chrissie Wellington

- I did 3 marathons

- I did a grand total of 2 tris, including HyVee

So, I guess I've kept busy enough.

Lets ban slow people from running!

Earlier today, a friend of mine from RE forwarded me the link to this article in the NY Times discussing "plodders" doing marathons:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/sports/23marathon.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=marathon&st=cse

Ironically, she sent it to me about an hour after Dan sent me this article about the woman who was proud to be DFL at last week's KC Marathon:
http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/1524835.html

Both ends of the spectrum there! First off, I am a slow runner. I think we have established that by now. When I first started running, I was sort of embarassed about it. And it was for exactly the elitist attitude that is displayed in the first article. But I quickly got over it. Because I enjoy doing it, and it makes me feel good, and I'm proud of myself for getting out there and doing it instead of sitting at home on my ass watching 90210 reruns every Saturday morning. Not that I havent thought many a time that I would rather do that!

Yes, I would like to get faster. But "faster" for me is not the same as "faster" for you, or for anybody else. For me, it means being able to run a sub-30 5K and a sub-5 hour marathon. Those are MY goals. There are always going to be people, like those quoted in the NYT article, who will think that those time goals are totally lame and that I'm not a REAL runner. Well, pardon my French, but they can fuck off. The thing is, no matter how good you are at something, somebody will always be better. And VERY few people are born with such natural talent that they just start off being an amazing athlete. Everybody has to work at it. And just because some of us have to work really hard to get under 5 hours in a marathon doesne make our efforts any less valid than people who have to work really hard to get under 3 hours in a marathon. So, whatever.

Thankfull, I have encountered very few people who are so enamored with themselves that they look down on anybody else's pace or ability. And really, if you have to look down your nose at what other people are doing, doesnt that sort of take the joy out of what YOU are doing? I think it must. So tomorrow morning I'll go out and run 6 or 8 miles at a nice 11:40 pace and go home feeling good about what I just did, and then sit on my ass and watch football. Sounds like a perfect Saturday to me!

Speaking of which, I have to be pace group leader tomorrow morning because Kristi is out of town....and we're going to Ponaks tonight. I learned early on that mexican food on Friday night + Saturday morning run = bad idea, but here I go. We were invited out, and I cant turn down Ponaks! That's sacrelig. Or maybe I just like to punish myself.

I'm actually looking forward to running, I havent run since Chicago and I'm ready to get back out. Well, I did go to the gym a couple of times this week (which felt great) and one of those times I got on the treadmill after I lifted with the intention of jogging for 20 minutes. That turned into a 10 minute jog because my legs were toast. Woooo boy, were my legs tired. I dont know if it was still from the marathon, or from lifting again for the first time in a couple of months. Probably a combo of both. But, it was a good week, and I'm excited to get back to running and get back in the gym.

Go faster

I was just catching up on some blogs, and a paragraph in Liz Fefofsky's blog stuck out at me:

The best long course athletes come from short course backgrounds. Speed & technique before endurance. Why? It is much easier to make the neuromuscular changes required for good biomechanics/form when you are working on shorter distances. The more you can hold form over longer distances, the more efficient you will be, the faster you can go. Want to stay at the same slow speed? Shuffle a marathon year after year.

Hmm. Uh, yeah, that would be me, shuffling a marathon year after year. And I wonder why I'm not really getting faster. I don't mind putting in long runs. In fact, I kind of enjoy it. But I hate, HATE doing speed work. I also have convinced myself that it is a waste of money to do any races shorter than a half marathon. Sigh. For a reasonably intelligent person I can be pretty dense sometimes.

So. What am I gonna do about it? Well for one thing, I really do need to be doing some shorter races. 10Ks would be good. Also, and I know I have been saying it for-ev-er, but I need to get back to some strength training. In looking at pictures of myself at races several years ago back when I WAS doing strength training, I had much better form. Here I am at my first ever tri back in 2004.

Look, I'm actually striding out! Suffice it to say, I do not look like that in any pictures from more recent races, and I know it's because I'm weaker. Weak body = poor form = slow times.

And I know I've been saying this one for a while now too, but I really need to drop 10 lbs or so. It's not even an question any more, if I am going to get a faster marathon time, I NEED to do it. It was all so much easier when I was single and spent 2 hours a day at the gym and basically ate nothing but chicken and rice and green beans! Because here's the thing, cooking for just yourself is boring. So it was just easier to have a pretty basic, clean diet. But I do love to cook, and in the last 3 years that I've been married, I've been doing a lot of it. I try to make pretty healthy foods, but it ain't chicken and rice and green beans. I think my biggest problem is portion control, I don't exactly need to eat as much as Dan eats.

So! Here is my plan.

• I am not going to do a spring or summer marathon next year. I wont have the time to work on speed if I have to start ramping up my mileage right away after the first of the year.


• I will do a fall marathon, and really, I'd love to do Chicago again.


• I will do a spring half marathon, maybe Olathe again, and PR there.


• I will also do at least 2 5ks and 2 10ks by the end of the spring session of RE. Right now I couldnt even tell you what my PRs for those distances are, as I cant remember the last time I've run one.


• I will sign up for the spring RE speed sessions.


• And by God, I will lose 10 lbs!

It's fun to just have to worry about going far. But, I think it will be even more fun to go far, faster!

Chuck Norris never ran the Chicago Marathon

I did not make 5 hours. It wasn’t for lack of trying, it just wasn’t in the cards. Which is kind of a bummer. But then I realize that I DID PR by 8 minutes, which is certainly nothing to be bummed about. Actually, it’s really kind of hard to be bummed about much of anything when you think “hey, I just finished a marathon!” I really hate people that get so competitive with themselves or other people that if they don’t meet a goal, they act like the whole experience was a waste of time. Because it’s never a waste of time.

So anyway, we rolled in to Chi-town Friday evening. We were staying with some friends up in Glencoe, which was really convenient and nice not having to pay for a hotel downtown. Friday night was pretty low key for me, Dan and his friend Heath on the other hand were up until 3 playing Golden Tee and doing shots of Patron. I was woken up around 5:30 by Dan sleepwalking, throwing a pillow at me and trying to find the bathroom, and he was still drunk when I got up at 8:30. I’ll cut him some slack though since Friday WAS his birthday. I’d need to drown my sorrows in Patron too if I were turning 39. Haha! Almost 40 :)

Saturday we watched the KU game and then drove downtown to packet pickup. I have never seen such a huge setup for a race expo before, it was crazy! We caught the tail end of it though, so I didn’t have to stand in line or fight any crowds, which was nice. Saturday night was another low key night, just dinner in and then early bed time for me.

The thing I had the most trouble with in getting ready for this race was deciding what to wear. It was COLD. Not chilly, as in its 50 degrees out, cold as in its 30 degrees and people are wearing winter coats. Luckily I brought a pretty wide assortment of clothing options. What I ended up going with was a short sleeve shirt, and 3 long sleeved layers on top of it. Then I wore some old pants over my running shorts, along with a head band and gloves. I had planned to wear my pants right up until I crossed the start line, but ended up taking them off before I even got into the starting corral because my top layers were keeping me warm enough.

Once I made my way into the starting corral, I positioned myself behind the 11:00 min/mile sign. I talked to a guy from Lawrence who was wearing a Turkey Trot shirt from a few years ago, as well as a whole bunch of other people standing around. We were so far back, we couldn’t even see the starting line. When the gun went off, it was like a clothes hamper had exploded. People started throwing shirts and jackets and pants everywhere! Dan was standing along the side somewhere, and a pair of pants in my size actually landed on him, so he stuffed them in his backpack for me. Ha! It took a while for us to start moving, and once we did it was lots of “walk a few steps, stop, walk a few steps, stop”. I had expected that with a race this big, so it was fine. There was so much clothing on the ground though, and NICE stuff. Adidas and Nike technical jackets, pants, etc. Looking at my results, it took me about 17 minutes to reach the start line, which really isn’t bad at all.

After I got going, it was just one huge mass of humanity. I normally really hate crowds, and it was definitely crowded, but not so bad that you had no room to move or people were constantly bumping into you. So it was actually really enjoyable. Almost right away we went through an underpass that was over a block long, so my Garmin lost reception for a couple minutes and threw off my readings for the rest of the race. Oh well.

The first several miles were all through the streets of downtown, and they were just PACKED with spectators. It was so cool, I’ve never experienced anything like it. This whole way, people were still shedding clothes left and right. After about the first mile or two, I started getting warm and decided to take off my top 2 layers. Let me tell you, the homeless people in Chicago cleaned up on Sunday. There were so many clothes being tossed aside, I guarantee they all are being put to good use.

The first few miles ticked by so fast, but I was making sure to stay on my target pace and not speed up with all of the adrenaline. It was hard to do, because it was all so exciting! Another funny thing while we were in the middle of downtown, I have never seen so many guys pulling off and taking a piss on the side of the course! Every alley we passed was lined with guys peeing on the side of buildings. Oh, to have it so easy.

I hit the 5K point in 36 minutes, which was just about right for my target pace. I was feeling great, the weather was perfect for running, there were tons of spectators, and I was trying to just soak it all in. I hit the 10K point at 1:12, which again was just about right for me. We headed north through Lincoln Park, then turned west for a couple of blocks before heading back south. Now, I love Chicago, but I don’t know too much about the specific neighborhoods though. But this was most definitely the gay neighborhood because there were tons of tranny and cross-dressing cheering sections. Ha! I loved it! You don’t get that everywhere!

I was still chugging along, feeling great. Hit 15K at 1:47 and 20K at 2:22. Right around that 20K mark Dan spotted me and yelled my name, and I managed to see him for a second as I ran by. I think I was in the middle of eating a pouch of sport beans at the moment. We turned west right before we hit the halfway point, and I about died when I heard what song was playing as I came up on it. They had some huge speakers set up right by the 13.1 mile clock, and they were playing….the Nebraska tunnel walk song! I know Nebraska isn’t the only team that uses it, but talk about motivational!

The part of the course where we headed west was probably the most boring and had the fewest spectators, but the streets were still lined with people. They just weren’t necessarily 10 deep like they were when we were downtown. Whenever we made a turn and headed back towards downtown, I kept my eye on the Sears Tower (I know it’s not technically called that anymore) to try and judge how far out we were. Right about here is when it started feeling like I had a LONG way left to go. Up until this point I had been doing really well with only walking through the aid stations long enough to drink, but I was starting to take longer walk breaks. I was still feeling OK, but my knees and hips were getting really tight.

I hit 30K at 3:40, and according to the text update that Courtney got, I was still on pace to finish in 5:10. That’s when things went downhill. And looking at the course map now, I can almost pinpoint exactly where things started getting really painful.

A few weeks ago, I had been talking with some people during a Saturday run about how marathons are so hard because they are mentally tough, and they don’t really HURT, they are just uncomfortable, but that you start thinking that it WILL hurt and that’s when things get bad. I had been telling myself the whole race that that was the case, it wasn’t going to hurt, it might be uncomfortable, but it was nothing that was going to kill me. Well let me tell you right now, that is just a lie that runners tell themselves in order to get to the starting line of another marathon. Because that shit HURTS! I have a pretty high pain tolerance, and I was hurting. Bad.

My knee was getting really painful, but almost the worst part was my groin muscles were getting really tight, which was making my whole torso hurt. My abs still hurt today. I was trying to stay positive, but I was definitely at that “IhaterunningandIamneverdoingthisfuckingshiteveragain!” point. So, the last 8 miles or so I spent a lot of time walking and being pissed at myself for thinking a marathon was a good idea. But everyone else around me was obviously in the same boat, so that did help some. I wanted to stop and lay down more than I’ve ever wanted anything, but every aid station had a “runner drop out” tent and I’ll be damned if I was going to use one of them. So, slowly and painfully I just kept going. I obviously wasn’t going to make 5 hours, but I really didn’t care.

FINALLY we turned back north and we had less than 3 miles left at that point. 3 miles really isn’t a lot, but it sure feels like it when you are at mile 23. Around mile 25 I saw something that actually did make me laugh out loud. A guy was standing on the side of the road, cigarette in one hand, the other hand holding out 2 cans of Miller High Life. Ha! I doubt that anybody took him up on it, but it was pretty funny at the time. If I hadn’t been hating life so much right about then, I might have grabbed one just for the comic factor of crossing the finish line with a can of High Life.

When I finally made it to the “1 mile left” sign, I was determined to run the rest of the way in. It was more of a limp/shuffle, but I like to tell myself that it looked better than walking. Finish lines are always sort of anti-climactic for me, but it sure did feel good to cross it! The finish chute was so long, I didn’t think I’d ever make it out of there. First they had people there to give you a foil blanket, which was good because as soon as I stopped moving I was cold. It was still about 40 degrees, afterall. Then they had people handing out medals. Then were the people to cut your chip off. Then were the tables with Gatorade, then water, then bananas. All they had were bananas! Not that I felt like eating anyway, but come on, give me something besides a freaking banana. Then they had free beer, which I DID take. Yum! Too bad that holding my beer meant I couldn’t keep my blanket around me, and it was too cold for that, so I just had to drink as much as I could and then ditch it. I wanted to sit down so bad, but they made everyone keep moving through the finish area. I swear, finally about a mile later I was out of it and was able to get to the runner reunite area to find Dan.

After I found him, one of the first things I said was “I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking, but I am not doing KC!” Ha! Um, yeah, so about that. I would still like to run KC this weekend. But my body is laughing at me saying “you dumbass, that is the stupidest idea you have ever had, there is no way you are running 2 marathons in 7 days”. I know enough to listen to my body or else I’ll just tear myself up, so I will be sitting it out. I know a lot of people running it though, so I’ll just go cheer.

So once I got some warm clothes on and sat down for a bit, we went and met up with our friends Tyler and Amy who had moved up to Chicago last year. Tyler ran it too, and finished in 4:10. We walked around a bit looking for a place to eat, and we were GOING to go to Chipotle, but for some reason that my brain cannot comprehend, the Chipotles in downtown Chicago are closed on Sundays! WTF?! Come on now, it’s not like downtown KC that it completely deserted on the weekends. But I guess they lose enough business to not make it worth it. But they could have cleaned up this weekend with all of the marathoners! What goes better after a marathon than an 1100 calorie burrito!? NOTHING! So anyway, we found some food, and then Dan and I headed up back to our friends’ house in Glencoe.

My finish time ended up being 5:36, which yes, is a little disappointing, especially considering I was pretty close to my goal pace up through the 30K point. But like I said, it’s hard to be disappointed at all when you finished the damn thing, regardless of the time. I absolutely LOVED this race, and will most definitely be running it again. I could even make this a yearly thing. So maybe I’ll be back for 2010!

Really??

I would never wish for the heat they've had for Chicago the last 2 years, but come on now. Below freezing?!?!?! People! I know it has been a mild summer, but I am not ready to run in 30 degree temps yet. Oh well, I have run in much worse. The trick will just be staying warm before the race starts. I typically warm up pretty fast, so I guess I'll just have to wear lots of layers that I dont mind tossing. Thanks to our own personal Runners Edge meterologist (aka Brett Anthony), we've got a pretty good forecast for the race:

Time Temperature Wind Precipitation
7:30am 30 degrees, mostly clear West 10-15 mph None
10:00am 36 degrees, sunny West 10-15 mph None
Noon 41 degress, sunny West 13-18 mph None
1:30pm 43 degrees, sunny West 13-18 mph None

I'm shooting for 5 hours, so factor in a good 30 minutes for me to actually make it to the starting line once the gun goes off, I should finish around 1. Lets split the difference and say it will be 42 degrees. Awesome. Dan had better bundle up. Or find a bar that's open early. I have a feeling he'll be doing the latter.

If hard work pays off, the easy work is worthless

I know I havent posted in a while, but things have been pretty uneventful. And, I'm almost afraid I'll jinx it if I talk about it, but damn, things have really been clicking! All of my runs have felt awesome.

A couple of weekends ago I had a 20-miler that turned into a 19-miler and left me with some sore hips and blistered feet. But, that was because I had accidentally worn my old, worn out shoes. The right shoes truly make that big of a difference! As luck would have it, we were running from the Garry Gribbles store in Lawrence, and there was a NewBalance rep there that day letting people "test drive" their shoes. We started off with an 8 mile loop through the KU campus, then stopped back at the store before heading out for the rest of the run, so I was able to switch into a new pair of NB at that time. They were better than my old shoes, but definitely not for me. I'm an Adidas girl, and even when my shoes are new, they feel good to me. These did not. Of course, my feet were already blistered, so that probably had something to do with it. But really, that's my only "bad" run of late.

I've got my pace band for Chicago and am feeling good about being able to hit my time goal. Last weekend I did 14, and ended up with a negative split for the last half. I hooked up with some people in a little faster pace group, and pushed myself to stay with them. I ended up doing that last 7 at what will be my race pace, and I still felt great at the end. So, that really boosted my confidence. And all of my weeknight runs I've been doing faster than race pace, so that is feeling good too. Just under a month to go, I'm starting to get excited! And I'm still hoping to do KC that following weekend assuming that I feel good. October should be a fun month!

Now, I know that a lot of "pure" runners do not run with headphones. They say you should be listening to your body and concentrating on your stride and breathing and all of that, not zoning out listening to music. Well, I like to listen to music while I run, and I think it helps me. I dont wear headphones on my long Saturday runs since I'm with the group, but I do during the week. Nothing makes me pick up the pace like a little Nelly or Luda coming on!

I always like hearing what other people have on their running playlists, and people sometimes ask me what's on mine. Some of my favorites are:

Best of Both Worlds- Van Halen
Cold Hard Bitch- JET
Fuel- Metallica
Get Back- Ludacris
Heart of a Champion- Nelly
I Don't Care- Fall Out Boy
Ladies and Gentlemen- Saliva
Let it Rock- Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne
Lose Yourself- Eminem
Move Along- The All-American Rejects
Rollin- Limp Bizkit
Runnin' Down a Dream- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Stronger- Kanye West
Whiskey in the Jar- Metallica

20 miles tomorrow

Tomorrow I've got my first 20 mile training run for Chicago. Well, if you dont count ET! The weather is supposed to be awesome, so I hope everything goes smoothly. We are running over in Lawrence, which is kind of a hike, especially since I need to start at 6. But it should be a good time.

Last weekend I ran 12 and I just felt really rough. It sort of made me question the reality of running marathons on 2 weekends in a row, but I am just chalking it up to a bad run. Sometimes you just have a bad run no matter what you do! Running this week hasnt been a toon better though, I've been sucking wind like a freaking 2-pack a day smoker. I dont know what the deal is.

Last weekend, one of the ladies in RE who lives close to the start of our run invited everyone over to her house for brunch afterards. It was on my way home, so I decided to stop by. Her husband was there, and I heard him talking to a couple of girls from the group about triathlons, so I moseyed over and jumped into the conversation. Lets just say this guy turned out to be a complete dick. The conversation went a little something like this:

(after him making several mentions about IM Wisconsin)
Me: Oh, have you done Wisconsin?
Him: YEAH! Twice!
Me: oh ok
One of the girls asks a question about how it must be difficult not to draft on the bike with everyone coming out of the water and getting on the bike course so close together. Dickhead starts going on and on about how it's SOOOOO difficult and requries a great deal of skill not to draft.
Me: Or, if you're a slow swimmer like me and come out of the water behind most of the people, you dont have to worry about it. Haha!
Him: Well I'm MIDDLE OF THE PACK, so, that doesnt apply to me!
More conversation about triathons, one of the girls asks if Ironman races are the largest events.
Him: Yes, there are 2200 people in each Ironman, they have the most participants of any triathlon.
Me: Well actually, there are others that are larger. For instance, there are well over 4,000 people that do Wildflower every year....
Him: rolls his eyes at me like I dont know what the F I am talking about
More convo, in which I make several references to doing an IM
Him: Have you DONE an Ironman??
Me: Yes, I did Florida in 2007.
Him: Oh, that's the easiest Ironman course.
Me: Fuck you, douche nozzle!
What I really said: Well, I dont think I'd consider any Ironman EASY.....

And then I had to walk away before I throat punched him, and go home and call Courtney.

So, congrats to him on being a 60+ year old, middle of the pack, asshole who has done a grand total of 2 Ironman races in his whole life. I bow down to thee.

Maniac

Well I always need a new challenge. My main goal for this year is to break 5 hours at Chicago, but for some reason I found myself looking for yet ANOTHER goal to tack on. So, um, how about 2 marathons within a week??? Sounds good to me!

I always see people with Marathon Maniacs shirts on, and so I was checking out the website this week and found myself being able to answer "yes" to over half of the "are you a maniac?" questions. I'm also keenly aware of the fact that I'm running Chicago on Sunday, October 11th, and that the KC marathon is on Saturday, October 17. Hmmmmmm.....the wheels are turning.

So! Last week after ET I felt great, I could have run another marathon over the weekend. But since Chicago is my "A" race, I did the right thing and took a whole week off. Even though I felt great and was ready to run again. Now, I know I'll be pushing it harder at Chicago, looking to meet my time goal, but I think I will still be able to run KC. And really, even if I end up feeling too trashed that week following Chicago, no skin off my back to not do KC. This just happens to be a good opportunity to get in 2 marathons in a week, being that I'm already planning on one, and the other one is local.

So that's the current plan!

ET Full Moon Midnight Marathon

So after a slight delay with our connecting flight in Phoenix, we finally got into Vegas around 10 Friday night. We were both starving, and since the hotel we were staying at was right across from the Hard Rock, we headed over there to have dinner at the Pink Taco. Ha! Dan got more than one giggle out of that one, I myself would never laugh at something so juvenile. Pfft.

I had planned to stay up really late Friday and then sleep in on Saturday, in the hopes of being SOMEWHAT rested for the race Saturday night. Um, that didnt happen. By the time we got done eating it was 11:30, which was 1:30 KC time, and I was beat. We went back to the hotel and the movie Sliding Doors was on (one of my favorites!), but I just couldnt keep my eyes open. Then I was awake by about 8:30 Saturday morning. Oh well, I figured I could take a nap later in the day.

We headed down to the pool and I found the rest of the gals from Runners Edge who had arrived earlier on Friday, and we spent a few hours there just relaxing and hanging out in the sun. Our hotel was right next to the UNLV campus, so we decided to take a walk over there to stretch out the ol' legs. We thought it might be kind of scenic, but all we managed to find were the athletic fields and an apparently abandoned greenhouse. After that we went over to the Olive Garden for an early dinner, and then back to the hotel to *try* to nap. I laid down in the room with my book, but just couldnt fall asleep. Normally I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, but I just couldn't do it. So, I got a little rest, but no shut eye.

At 8:00 that night it was time to load up the busses for our 2 hour drive north to the middle of the desert for the start of the marathon. I think there were about 800-some people doing all the races (there was also a 10K, half mary, and a 51K), but everything was so well organized that it never felt like there were that many people around needing to get on a bus. Of course, a lot of people did drive themselves, which I cant imagine doing. Why drive yourself 2 hours out to the middle of nowhere to run a race in the middle of the night, only to have to drive yourself back when you finished? No thanks.

The drive out was pretty uneventful, and I think I did manage to catch a few minutes of sleep. Before we knew it, we were pulling up to the infamous Black Mailbox, which by the way is white, where we'd be starting from. It was only about 10:30 when we got there, so we hung out on the bus for a while longer before getting out into the "cold" air. And really, it wasn't cold, it was perfect running weather. Low to mid 60's.

Everybody was just milling around talking and having a good time, and the race director was on the bullhorn trying to locate a runner by the name of Hellen Keller. Or Hellen Kellen. Or something. But you can imagine how much fun we had with that one (it's Hellen Keller, no wonder she cant find the registration table!). Wrong, I know. Somehow everyone sort of got herded out on to the road, and before we knew it, she was on the horn saying "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!". That was it, that was our start! No big fanfare, no starting gun, no actual starting line, just "GO!"

Now, this is a race to do for the pure love of running, and for the unique experience of being able to run through the desert at night. As with the actual start, there was no fanfare, no bells and whistles. I decided to run with Cynthia and SueAnn from RE, and by the time people had gotten spread out after the first mile or so, it was basically just the three of us, passing the occasional person or the occasional person who would pass us. It was very solitary, but it was amazing. We weren't concerned with keeping any certain pace or any goal time, so we really didnt even pay attention to what pace we were running, we just kept it nice and relaxed, even making ourselves slow down even further several times. No need pushing it at a race that was just for fun!

The moon was a few days past full, but it was still very bright out. We all had to wear lights on our hats or carry some other kind of light, but you really didnt need them. It was more for safety. My light burned out after 2 and a half hours, but it wasnt too big of a deal. We could see the road just fine, and to either side of us we could see the shadowy figures of scrub bushes and joshua trees, with the outlines of the mountains in the distance. They had aid stations, but they were spaced every 3 miles, so a little farther apart than other races, so we had to carry our own water bottles. They did have cups, but they encouraged us to carry our own water bottles and just refill at the aid stations to help prevent littering the desert. I had borrowed Court's Fuel Belt, and it worked out perfectly.

The first half of the race was all on an incline, but it wasnt really that noticable until about mile 11. Then miles 11-13 got steeper and it definitely felt like we were running up hill. Since it was dark, you couldnt really see where the hill crested in front of us, our only clue were the increasing number of cars headed towards us. I guess people who had come out just to do the 10K and driven themselves were headed back to Vegas. Again, I dont know why you'd drive a total of 4 hours to run for an hour, but whatever.

Finally we crested the hill and we knew that the rest, quite literally, was all downhill. That sure was a great feeling! We picked up our pace a little bit, and I was still feeling really good at that point.

Now, one of the hard things about doing a race at midnight is timing your pre-race dinner. We at at 3 that afternoon, which was pretty early. But it still wasnt time for me to digest it before the race started. I had been hoping I could make it until the end, but ah, when you gotta go, you gotta go. They did have a couple of port-a-johns along the course, but of course, none when I needed one. So I just headed off the road a bit further than I'd gone just to pee, and took care of it. Ha! I was glad I had thought to stick some tissue in my pocket for "just in case". Now I'll tell ya, that moon seemed EXTRA bright right about then. I knew nobody could see me, but it still felt like there was a spotlight on me. So, check another first off the list.

By about mile 17, I was really starting to get stiff. This was now my longest run since OK City, and I was definitely feeling it. I was having to walk a little more than I wanted, and my IT bands were really tightening up, which hasnt happened in a long time. Thank goodness Cynthia and SueAnn were nice enough to stay with me, it sure helped having someone to run/walk with!

At mile 20 we had to pass the "town" of Rachel, which was where the finish was. Then we had to do a 10K out and back. I was super tired and sore and crabby by that time, so it was hard to head out and not just turn left and call it good. But out we went. Thats about when I hit the point that I've just decided I'm going to hit in every marathon. The "IhaterunningandImneverdoingthisfuckingshiteveragain" point. I started contemplating ways to get out of doing Chicago in 2 months. Could I break my leg? Get a concussion? Come on, there has to be some good way to get out of doing it, I cant just puss out! But I am never ever running a goddamn marathon again. EVER! Oh, and did I mention I hate running? Because I do.

It was also about this point that it got COLD. Up until then, it had been perfect. But now it was 5am and I was freezing. They say it's darkest before the dawn, well apparently it's the coldest before the dawn too.

The sky was just starting to turn pink, and when we turned around at mile 23 and headed back to town, we were facing southeast and had the pleasure of watching the sun come up over the mountains while we gutted out those last 3 miles. It was beautiful, I can't remember the last time I got to watch a sunrise, and I've never gotten to watch one in the desert. THAT made me so happy that I had done the race. When else do you get to do that? Watch the sun rise over the desert mountains while you are running a marathon? Unless of course you're Forrest Gump on your (totally unrealistic, I mean, he wasnt even carrying a water bottle) cross country run.

So we finally made it back to town and crossed the finish line. And once again, there was no fanfare, just a simple timing mat and a clock set up. No cheering fans, nobody waiting to give you a massage, just a simple "I'm done". It was perfect, I cant imagine mucking up a race this pure with a fancy finish. I loved it. Of course, I loved sitting down even more.

They had a big breakfast spread inside the Little Ale'Inn for us, but I never feel like eating after a race, so I just got a Coke. And a Coke never tastes as good as it does right after you finish a marathon. Seriously, best thing ever.

Because of when we finished, we were on the last bus back to Vegas, which didnt leave until 8. So we had about an hour and a half to kill just sitting around. But that was fine with me. Finally the bus pulled out, and we drove back the way we had just run. It was neat getting to see the landscape in the light! While we didnt see any animals while we were running (bummer!) we finally saw all the cows we had heard about on the drive back. They must have been sleeping when we ran by earlier.

It was about 10 by the time we got back to Vegas, and Dan and I still had to check out and head over to Planet Hollywood where we were staying that night. So I just showered up and we hopped a cab over there. Luckilly, it was closer to the Chipotle on the Strip, so once we got checked in at PH we hoofed it down there and I got my mandatory post-long run burrito. And again, they messed it up. The Chipotle in OKC made it too small, this place tore the tortilla all up when they wrapped it so it was hard to eat. I like my burritos big and fat and with the tortillas in tact! Whats so hard about that!?

By the time we got back to the hotel it was about 2pm and I FINALLY got to sleep. I took about a 5 hour nap before I woke up hungry again and we went out in search of dinner. When we got back to the hotel after dinner, I had enough energy to play $20 in the penny slots and then it was back to bed. Kind of lame going to Vegas and spending half of my time asleep, but that's better than blowing hundreds in the casino!

Monday we walked over to Caesars for the second highlight of the trip, lunch at Mesa Grill. I have a bit of a crush on Bobby Flay, so it was MANDATORY to eat at his restaurant. And it did not disappoint! Even Dan agreed that it was awesome.

So, all in all, a good trip, and a fantastic experience. Would I do a midnight marathon again? Probably not, but I'm glad I did it. Definitely an experience that every marathon runner should have, and it's a great way to check Nevada off the list. 4 down, 46 to go!

The important stuff

Some things are just more important than others. Getting Chipotle after a long run or a race happens to rank up there among the most important things in this life. And I have just discovered that there happens to be a Chipotle inside Harrah's out in Vegas. Score! So we should be rolling back into town after ET just in time for me to get showered up and go get my burrito. Or I might make Dan go get it for me. But regardless, I will have my burrito!