Eat Drink Run Woman

Boy, you know you’re a lame blogger when you see someone who claims they’re on sabbatical has written more than you.  Sheesh!

Yeah, I’ve been in a funk.  Some of it is warranted — my 83-year-old dad was rushed to the hospital a couple of weeks ago when he fell at my sister’s house in Arizona.  At first he was diagnosed with pneumonia, but the diagnosis kept getting worse and culminated in a quadruple bypass surgery a couple days ago.  It’s been a whirlwind of emotions, but I’m so grateful for my sister and everything she’s done (Tucson is known for its world-class cardiologists, so I know he’s in good hands).  My darling and I are planning on heading to Maine to visit the folks after Boston, but right now we’re playing it day-by-day.  However, it sounds like they’ll be able to travel soon and we’ll be there to help them settle back home.

Some of my funk is due to general unease over the economy.  While being self-employed has its rewards, it can be unsettling at times.  Sometimes I feel I’m hanging on by a thread.  And then there are the irrational emotions that flow over me during my “lady time.”  Something as innocent as a lost shoe will send me into a wailing tizzy:  “I can’t find anything in this mess!” “If we had a larger house we’d have more storage space!” “We’re NEVER going to be able to afford a larger house!” “What am I going to do with my life?” “I feel fat!”

Given all of this I haven’t been particularly motivated to write.  But fortunately I haven’t let my funk interfere with my training.  Since I last wrote I’ve logged in a little over 130 miles, which included the Ghost of Whidbey half marathon (a small Maniac race) and the St. Patty’s Day Dash, as well as earned a bronze medal through the President’s Challenge (more on all of those in a bit).

Because I’ve added several races to my schedule, I’ve ditched my plan to follow Pfitz’ 12/55 plan for Boston.  My body has been rebelling of late, and since speedwork tends to aggravate whatever aches and pains I’m feeling, I’ve decided not to follow his prescribed workouts, opting instead to run by feel.  Some days I’ll feel speedy and will run an average of 8:20-8:35, other days I’ll take it slow, averaging 9:45-10:15.

Speaking of Boston (which I’ve been doing quite frequently; my darling simply rolls his eyes), I received some news the other day that got me out of my funk: my bib number!  So if you feel compelled to follow me on April 20, I’ll be #19631 (back of the pack).  By coincidence my number is the year of my birth, plus the No. 1; I’m hoping that’s a good sign.  I’ve also ordered my Adidas celebration jacket and a racer-back tank top (hey — they were on sale; I won’t wear them until after completing the race), plus a really cool shamrock t-shirt with the Boston logo (I probably WILL wear that before the race, but will also wear it at next year’s St. Patty’s Day Dash).

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I’ve been meaning to post my race report from my very first 50K, but recovery has taken a higher priority. However, procrastination has its rewards, as I can now weave the Biggest Loser marathon debacle into the report (gotta keep this blog topical, ya know).

So what does the Biggest Loser have to do with a 50K? Not much, really. But if you watch the show, you probably know it also doesn’t have much to do with FINISHING a marathon. At least not in Dane Patterson’s case.

I was tipped off about the alleged cheating soon after the race (the Arizona Desert Classic on January 31). It’s a relatively small Maniac-centric race; most of the runners know each other, and given it’s an out-and-back course you know where you place throughout the race. One marathon finisher posted her account of what happened on the Biggest Loser forum, stating she saw Dane and his wife behind her at the turnaround. Imagine her surprise when she saw them again in FRONT of her at Mile 23. Turns out they were picked up by a van at Mile 17 and driven for several miles (according to Carli Patterson, they were “only” driven 3 miles; I find that suspect).

After I read about this on the Maniac forum, I was curious to see how they would portray it on the show. Sure enough, last night Dane was voted off, and during the “Where are they now?” segment they showed him “finishing” the marathon, along with his wife. The real shocker? They claimed he ran a sub 4-hour marathon (3:53:xx). The clock actually states 5:53:xx, but the caption underneath clearly states 3:53. In addition, both Dane and his wife talk about the elation of running “an entire marathon.” I’d point you to the video, but NBC has since removed it from the site. (BTW — the Desert Classic race director was tipped off and Dane and Carli were disqualified).

I’ve been a fan of the show for several seasons, although I’ve been getting turned off by the product placements and back stabbing. It used to be a very supportive show, and now not so much. With this latest charade, I think my BL viewing days are over. Mind you, I do think Dane and his wife ran at least 17 miles, which is indeed impressive given he’s still a big guy. But it’s irresponsible to claim he was able to run a full marathon in under 4 hours. I just think that’s a slap in the face to anyone who has trained for — and ran — the entire distance. (And yes — the fact they claimed he ran the marathon a minute faster than MY marathon PR really chaps my hide!)

Granted, I realize this is television and they’d have red faces if they couldn’t show them getting their medals. They probably realized by mile 17 they wouldn’t be able to finish within the 6-hour time frame, so the gave them a ride. In reading comments on other blogs, forums, etc., a lot of people say that it’s still “inspirational.” Perhaps, but to me it would have been MUCH more inspirational if they either showed him NOT finishing, or finishing well after the time limit, then having him acknowledge what an incredible feat it is to run a marathon and that he’s going to train even harder for the next one in order to earn his medal.

But again, what the heck does all this have to do with my 50K this past Sunday? Well, while my “official” time states 5:45:00, there should be an asterisk next to my name. I can’t in good conscience rail against Dane and not fess up to my own deceitfulness.

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Forget flowers, diamonds and boxes of chocolates; when it comes to celebrating the Hallmark holiday that is Valentine’s Day my darling and I do what we like best: we go running.

First up was the Valentines Marathon on February 8.  We had no intention of running it, but when we saw several of our Maniac friends were signed up, we figured we might as well too.  (I never imagined I’d be at a point where I could sign up for a marathon at the last minute).  While I intended to run it extremely slow, my darling offered to pace one of our Maniac friends to a 3:30 PR.

This race, along with other “holiday” themed races put on by the same race director (Halloween, Christmas, Leprechaun, Easter) has quite the reputation among the Maniacs.  It’s basically a love-hate relationship; while many appreciate having such races available, the organization leaves much to be desired.  Although most are touted as being Boston certified, apparently the director has been known to change the course at whim.  There are no road closures, so runners must be on the lookout for cars whizzing past at 50+ MPH.  The t-shirts are old-school cotton and the timing at the end is suspect (there may or may not be a teenager there to mark your time; typically you have to hunt down the director to record what your Garmin states).  While this wouldn’t be a problem if the race was inexpensive, for $65 I expect more.  Still, we decided we’d have to run one and form our own opinion.

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Boy, I sure have some catching up to do, don’t I?  In the past two weeks I’ve run two — yes two — full marathons, plus a half.  While I could bore you with the minutiae, I figure all you’re really interested in is my report for the 2009 Goofy Challenge.  However, there is some background information that’s pertinent, so I’m going to catch you up in the quickest way possible.  Here’s my first two weeks of the new year in haiku:

The First Call to Run
10th marathon overall
3rd in 20 days.

Cold, thick slush on trail
Only Maniacs would run
Of COURSE it was fun!

That said, body hurt
Pelvis not feeling so hot
Must recover, stat.

Planned 2-day time off
Then nasty stomach bug strikes
Toilet is new home.

Severe cramps for days
Is Goofy in jeopardy?
Say it isn’t so!

Finally, relief
Immodium does its job
Orlando or bust!

Because Alaska Air no longer offers a red-eye to Orlando, we didn’t arrive until 5 p.m. on Thursday.  We hoped to have enough time to get to the expo that evening but were disheartened to see the horrendous line to catch the Disney Magical Express to our hotel, Port Orleans-French Quarter.  After checking in we ditched our luggage in our room and boarded a bus to the expo, arriving about 45 minutes before it closed.

I kept my word and only purchased one item — a Goofy running hat.  We were a bit disappointed in the shirts this year — long-sleeved white tech shirts for the half and full, gray for Goofy.  You would think given the cost of running this race they’d have better shirts (or at least more interesting colors).

The next morning we stopped at the hotel food court for some beignets (fried doughnuts with powdered sugar) and a yogurt parfait with berries and granola.  I enjoyed the parfait so much — it was loaded with ripe, juicy strawberries and raspberries — that I grabbed another one to put in our fridge for the next day (I figured there’d only be limited service at 3:30 a.m.)  We then headed to Hollywood Studios, where we caught the Indiana Jones stunt show, Muppets 3-D, the Great Movie Ride and the Aerosmith Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.  (I spent 45 minutes in line for the roller coaster, only to keep my eyes glued shut the entire time!)  We had hoped to catch the Tower of Terror but had to get to Downtown Disney to meet up with some Maniac friends for dinner (besides, I don’t think my heart could have handled it).

Speaking of friends, this trip provided an incredible opportunity to meet many of my blogging/forum buddies in person.  In addition to Maniacs Marie and Lauri, we met several Taper Madness forumites for dinner on Saturday, a slew of Disney Running forumites on Sunday and Monday, and Laura of Absolutly Fit (she ran the full).  But one of the nicest surprises was to meet up with Keith, aka the pink tutu guy.

We originally met Keith in Medoc; considering most of the runners run in costume, we didn’t think anything of the tutu.  It wasn’t until we read about him in Runner’s World that we realized he runs ALL his races dressed like that.  We saw him Saturday morning making his way to the first corral of the half marathon, then saw him again drinking a pint with a couple of friends at our favorite Disney pub, Raglan Road (one of his friends also ran Medoc).  We chatted with them a bit before heading out to dinner and invited them to share another pint with us when they’re out for the Seattle Rock ‘n Roll Marathon.

As we were getting off our bus at Downtown Disney on Sunday I spied another woman who looked familiar.  Just as I was about to ask her who she was I saw her friend’s shirt — the Medoc race shirt!  They too were part of our group.  My darling also met up with a couple of folks he knows.  On our flight to Orlando we were making our way down the aisle when he heard his name called.  It was a guy whose picture Matt had shot a few months back (he had had a double lung transplant 15 years ago and was running his first marathon).  We also caught up with one of Matt’s former co-workers from the UW Daily (the student newspaper).  We gathered everyone together hand-in-hand and joyously began singing “It’s a Small World After All.”

(Just kidding.  Back to the race).

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LOTS to tell you, but just a quick note to say I beat both my times from last year’s Goofy Challenge: 2:13:04 for the half, 4:36:07 for the full.  My darling didn’t BQ (we figured it’d be a long shot), but since he ran with me during the half he was able to pull off a 3:37:xx full.  Woo hoo!

Oh — and yes, we’re already signed up for next year 🙂

As you may have heard, Washington state has had a deluge of snow.  While it’s not unusual for the eastern part of the state, here in Seattle snow is rare.  Sure, we typically get a couple of nasty days each winter, but it doesn’t last long.  The rain comes and washes everything away.

Not this time.

I’ve lived here for almost 20 years, and I’ve never seen it this bad.  While it may make for a pretty white Christmas, most Seattleites will be happy once it’s gone.  We just don’t know how to deal with it; the city doesn’t own many plows (why would it?), but we also take the environmentally friendly route of NOT using salt on the roads.  So while the freeways and main arterials are bare and wet, the side streets are almost impassable.  Although the rain has come, the temperatures are still low so the snow hasn’t melted.  Rather, it’s turned into a soupy, slushy mess (which turns into an even nastier, icier mess once the temps decrease at night).

So what’s a runner to do?

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It was going to be epic — EPIC! I tell ya.  Snow, sleet, 45 mph winds, seagulls flying backwards — all the makings for a truly harrowing marathon experience.  But a funny thing happened on the way to the race.

First, some background.

In our post-marathon stupor after the Ghost of Seattle, my darling and I perused the Marathon Maniacs calendar of upcoming races.  Despite dire warnings from the race director — expect minimal aid and brutal weather — the Ghost of Birch Bay Marathon intrigued us.  Starting just south of the Canadian border, the race offers spectacular views of the North Shore Mountains, the Strait of Georgia and Vancouver Island.  As with the Ghost of Seattle, there were no rules; it basically was a fun run for a handful of antsy Maniacs.

Two days after running the Ghost of Seattle I emailed Scott, the race director, alerting him we’d most likely be running Birch Bay as well, barring crappy weather and family obligations.  But as race day neared the forecast went from bleak to bleaker — there was a doozy of a storm heading our way.  I knew things didn’t look promising once the weather became the lead story each night.  I checked Wunderground, Yahoo! Weather and Accuweather religiously, my hopes dashed as I saw the predicted temperatures would barely break 30 degrees.  Friday’s predicted precipitation was 100%, and while Saturday’s was less, it was still at 50-60%.  Given the temps, that meant snow.

My darling started voicing his concern at the beginning of the week, however, I remained optimistic.  But by Thursday it was clear we were in for a wild ride, so I emailed Scott again, saying it was unlikely we’d be running.  I was so bummed!  But when I awoke Friday morning to see the rain and high winds, I knew we made the right decision.  I had planned on getting in a 10-miler on Friday, but when conditions hadn’t improved by early afternoon, I wasn’t even up for a quick 3-miler.

However, things were again about to change.

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I can’t believe it — I just survived my first double marathon weekend.  As many of you may know, I ran the “Ghost of” Seattle Marathon this past Saturday.  What you may not know is I also participated in the “real” Seattle Marathon on Sunday.  Am I a Maniac or what?

Considering the Ghost was a training run for the upcoming Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World I took it slow, finishing in 4:25:19.  As with most marathons, I was hobbling afterwards but felt remarkably spry come Sunday morning.  However, my time at the Seattle Marathon was considerably longer — I finished in well over 6 hours.  I wasn’t nearly as sore afterwards; not sure if it had to do with the fact I finished an hour and a half later, or if it was because there was no actual running involved.

That’s right — Saturday I was an athlete, on Sunday an athletic supporter.

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This past Sunday, I ran the perfect race.  It wasn’t a personal best, but it brought together everything I’ve learned in my prior five marathons.  That’s not to say I won’t continue to learn, but I have a much better idea of what works for ME.  This marathon also proved I could run a BQ on an “unaided” course (I know many running snobs would consider the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon a “cheater” given it’s all downhill.  While I obviously was more than happy to use that as my BQ, I do feel redeemed I could run a fast race on a more challenging course).

Buckle in folks; another epic race report follows.

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Comparing running a marathon to childbirth isn’t new.  While I never have (nor ever will) experience childbirth, I can only imagine the similarities.  Both require a lot of thought and preparation; they leave you stinky, sweaty and totally spent; they hurt like a Mutha and compel you to lash out at your spouse for forcing you into this mess.

So what’s this have to do with a race report for Skagit Flats?

Taking the childbirth analogy one step further, Sunday’s marathon is much like the middle child — the unpredictable one who challenges you at every turn.  My fifth marathon, it was by far the toughest physically.

Because it was a training run, all pressure was off.  My goal was to run it slow; I figured if my average pace was faster than 10 minutes/mile, I would have failed.  It would simply be just another weekend long run.  However, I failed to gauge how taxing it would be on my body three weeks after my BQ.

My darling, meanwhile, was to make his second attempt (he missed his time by a mere 18 seconds during the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon).  I fed him well the night before (his favorite — Pizza Margherita and Caesar salad) and made sure he ate his oatmeal and drank plenty of coffee race day morning.  I also helped him pack, as he’s notorious for running around race morning gathering various items (Garmin, iPod, shorts).

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