Thursday Thoughts

I think this is the question on everyone's minds.

With gas prices sky high, what are you doing to pinch pennies/reduce your dependency on your car?

This is why I coach

Seriously, it's only fiction

What is my problem?!

I get so wrapped up in TV shows sometimes I have to remind myself it's only fiction. Last week I watched Luka and Abby get married on ER. I have watched every ER for 13 years. The wedding was an emotional moment for me. They've been together for 7 seasons. Yes, I cried.

Then there was last night. I had a total emotion breakdown. Next week is the Series Finale of Gilmore Girls. And that to me is very sad. What a terrific, wholesome show and now it will be no more. How am I ever going to go on?

Flying Pig Splits

Here are the splits from the marathon. I am a slow starter and the hills were mostly at the beginning.

Mile 1 - 9:34
Mile 2 - 8:44
Mile 3 - 8:27
Mile 4/5 - 16:13
Mile 6 - 8:23
Mile 7 - 8:32
Mile 8 - 8:28
Mile 9 - 8:02
Mile 10 - 7:54
Mile 11 - 7:53
Mile 12 - 7:58
Mile 13 - 7:59
Mile 14 - 8:05
Mile 15 - 8:05
Mile 16 - 7:54
Mile 17 - 8:06
Mile 18 - 7:55
Mile 19 - 7:59
Mile 20 - 8:14
Mile 21 - 8:10
Mile 22 - 8:35
Mile 23 - 8:48
Mile 24 - 9:00
Mile 25 - 9:20
Mile 26.2 - 10:07

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon 2007

I ran the Flying Pig Marathon this year because I wussed out and didn’t run Boston because of the weather. I was quite nervous about the Pig since I hadn’t done a long run since before Boston—a good 5-6 weeks ago. In addition, we had a very noisy room in our hotel which included noisy neighbors (not only were they talking loud, I heard them having sex!), loud talking housekeeping staff (their maintenance closet was right across from our room) and people who desperately needed ice at all hours of the night (the ice machine was also across from our room). In total, I got about four hours of sleep. Because of the sleeplessness and the nerves, I had a hard time eating before the race. I ate about a quarter of a bagel. My stomach was just not feeling well. And I didn’t have time at the race start to hit the port-o-johns one last time.



I have run the Pig before, in 2002, but the course was a lot different this time. All the hills were at the beginning and I thought they were just as tough as anything in Boston. The hills were shorter, but a lot steeper. And there were several tough climbs all before mile 8. I did not feel good in the race until mile 9 when things leveled out and I felt like I could get into my race pace.



Unfortunately I might have pushed the pace a little too much. By mile 20 I was feeling dead and needed to start walking. It was disheartening too because I was on a 3:35 pace and I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I walked through all but one of the water stops from 20 to the finish. My official time was 3:38:37. It’s my second fastest time and I’m okay with that.



Some final thoughts…
It was really hot on the course with little shade. Three miles of it—17, 18, 19—were on a freeway where there was no crowd support and no shade. By the end, I was finding any shade I could.

I got chafed in the strangest places. My stomach got chafed from my number as my jersey was riding up. I got chafed on my ankle from my anklet I wear that holds my chip. And I got chafed on my inner right calf from my left shoe’s lace nub. How weird is that one?
The race had great technical shirts (separate girls and guys—mine was pink!) including in the race packet along with a sling backpack.

Surprise!

Did I mention I'm running the Flying Pig Marathon this weekend?

Thursday Thoughts

About a month ago I TiVOed Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me and absolutely loved it. I love really well done documentaries (not the crap that Michael Moore calls a documentary). I immediately went to the library and checked out the first season of 30 Days and loved it.

I've decided to do my own 30 Days. Starting on Monday I will become a vegetarian for a month. This is going to be really hard for me as I love me some cheeseburgers and steaks and sausage and pretty much just meat!

So, if you could, what would be your 30 Days?

New Edition

No, no! I mean, new addition!

The newest addition to our family was born this morning. Welcome Carter, my sister's third child.

Thursday Thoughts

Sorry y'all! I've been in class all week and haven't been in front of a computer.

I've been taking a class on manager IT projects. Yeah, what a wild and crazy life I live! So, if you were to take any class you could, what class would you take?

Redemption

I went out and did a fantastic workout last night as sort of a redemption run. The high schoolers' schedule called for 100s so I decided to join in. It was a one mile warm up followed by 16X100 all out and then a two mile cool down. In total it was five miles. It felt awesome. However, it does not feel awesome today. The back of my legs hurt from my bum down to my heels and my calves feel like they are in balls.

New race plans are brewing....

Boston Marathon 2007

I didn't run.

I had to make a decision based on the information I had available. Unforunately it was the wrong decision. I took a gamble and I lost.

The weather on Sunday was horrible. It poured down rain; the wind would knock you off your feet; and the temperature was mighty cold. When I woke up Sunday morning the weather was exactly the same and when I watched the weather channel and the local news it was looking like the poor weather was going to continue all day for the marathon. I made my decision and stuck with it.


At 10:30am, my start time, the weather was clearing up. The rain was slowing down and the wind was not as gusty. By that time, however, it was too late. Dave and I went out and watched the end of the race for several hours and I felt horrible about the decision I had made. I have previously run two half marathons in the pouring rain. One was in the summer and although it was warm, it was still miserable. The other was in April but the rain was combined with snow and it was frigidly cold. My hands and toes were numb and red at the end of that race. To me, the weather was not worth the gamble. I did not want to risk hypothermia or getting really sick just to finish a marathon--a marathon I've done before and a marathon I'll do again.

To add insult to injury, several people that have times falling in my range totally kicked butt in Boston crushing my PR on a flat course. It's disheartening. I'm disappointed in myself. And although I think it's great what these people achieved, I'm not ready to hear about their races yet.

I think I need to re-evaluate for a while and find out really what I'm made of.

The Gear

Have you ever seen this many hair accessories in your life?





And depending on the weather, this is probably what I will be wearing for the marathon. I'm sure with the orange, no one should have a problem spotting me.

Seriously?!

From an e-mail I received today from the Boston Athletic Association:

Wednesday, April 11 - As the Boston Athletic Association continues to make preparations for Monday's Boston Marathon, we are monitoring the upcoming weather conditions forecast for this area. Based on the National Weather Service's most recent report and in cooperation with the Executive Office of Public Safety (Commonwealth of Massachusetts) and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, together with the eight cities and towns along the 26.2-mile marathon route, we are planning for likely heavy rain and windy conditions on race day. However, all race day plans remain the same. The Boston Athletic Association advises participants in Monday's race to plan accordingly for their run, bringing with them gear and apparel to suit the conditions. The B.A.A. will continue to update its web site as necessary.

Tying up the Loose Ends

Looking at the weather forecast, Boston is going to suck. It's supposed to only be a high of 47 degrees with a 70% chance of rain. And you know it's not going to be 49 at the start, either. Rain or shine, I'm still going to run it and I'll try to enjoy it.

The worst part will be that the Red Sox tickets for Sunday, when there is also a 70% chance of rain, will be no good. :( Let's keep our fingers crossed.

So all of you homies out there who want to track my progress my bib number is 13260 and my start time will be 10:30am.

See ya in Boston!

Thursday Thoughts

I've been thinking all morning of questions to ask and I just can't think of one. So we'll switch it up today. What are the burning questions you're dying to ask me?

My answer(s) will be here:

@ Jeff:
That is a good one. I chose engineering because of the boys I had dated. How do I put this politely? They, at the time, were not the sharpest tools in the shed (although some of them have gone on to do great things and be great people--guess maturity changes things). I figured I was going to have to be the breadwinner if I was to ever marry one of them and I liked math so I chose engineering.

I initially started in mechanical engineering to either do biomedical engineering or do rocket science, but I switched to industrial engineering my 3rd year. I was an intern for a distribution company for a year and really liked it. I worked as an industrial engineer for 5 years post college--one year in the service industry (healthcare) and four years in distribution.

I enjoy the challenge of engineering particularly simulation, but I never really enjoyed the work. Now I work in IT.

Good question Jeff.

@ Dave:
For dinner tonight? Maybe pizza? It is Friday after all.

My first time I ran Boston it was for the experience and it was so hot that all you could do was "enjoy" the marathon. Last year at my second Boston, I had done so much training that I felt like I needed to "race" Boston. This year I don't know what I am looking forward to most. In my head, I don't think my training has gone very well, but on paper it doesn't look much different than last year's training. I think my favorite part about the Boston Marathon is the people who come out to watch it. They go crazy for a running race and it just makes it feel like you're part of something really special.


@Andrea:
Well, I am quite looking forward to the birthday celebration after the marathon!

@ Jessie:
Thanks for getting in touch with me. I hope your racing season is going well or will be going well. If I didn't send you an e-mail back when you e-mailed me, then I goofed. I thought I replied to everyone who sent me an e-mail. I'll look again through my inbox and make sure to send you a note. Happy Running!

One More Game!

Thursday Thoughts

Yesterday my orchid bloomed. That's a good sign that spring is here.

What's your favorite part of spring?

The Roller Coaster

It was a roller coaster of a weekend. It started on Saturday with a really good track meet. The kids had been practicing hard and I personally thought they had a lot of talent, but seeing it in a meet setting was a pleasant surprise. I think it's going to be a great season and for several seasons to come.

The good times kept rolling as my beloved Buckeyes made their way into the final four. Yay!!

But then things came crashing down. My family's dog, Oreo, who had been deteriorating for several month jumped out of her cage at the vet's office and couldn't walk anymore. The vet x-rayed her and she had a tumor in her stomach and her last two vertebrae were virtual nonexistant. My dad made the tough choice to put her down. I cried my way through dinner. We've had Oreo for 15 years. My dad buried her today.

Sunday had an upswing, though. I finally made it through a 20 mile training run. I ran 4 miles from my house to the school where I met my dad. He ran 12 miles with me and then I ran the 4 miles home. Total run time was around 2:48. I'm so glad to have the last long run (and my only long run) done.

Now it's Monday and there are only 14 working days until the marathon. I'm hoping for smooth sailing for the next several weeks.

Elite Eight, Baby

Oh. My. Gosh.

Thursday Thoughts

Here we go!

What's the next book you plan on reading?