Eat Drink Run Woman

If you didn’t get a chance to see Spirit of the Marathon this past Thursday, I highly recommend you catch the encore February 21. It played on two screens at our theater — each with at least 450 seats, I would guess — and both were sold out. It was the fittest crowd of movie goers I have ever seen! My darling and I were totally dorky and wore out Goofy shirts (we saw another Goofy runner showing her friends her three medals).

As many reviewers have stated, I would have loved to see more of the elites — Deena Kastor and Daniel Njenga (particularly Daniel in his home country of Kenya) — but of course I could relate more to the “amateurs.” This clearly is a movie for runners, as I’m sure many of the running in-jokes would be lost on non-runners. (I love when Jerry states he runs marathons for the t-shirts and that the only time he gets a “runner’s high” is when he stops running). Of course the entire theater cracked up at the “You’re all crazy” sign one of the spectators was holding up.

(And just to ensure my spot in the Hall of Running Geekiness, I’m currently downloading the soundtrack). 🙂

I’m signed up for the North Olympic Discovery Marathon (where I hope to BQ).  May the madness begin!

Ummm…

You know how I said we’d be back for Goofy, but not until 2010? Well, there’s been a slight change of plans.  Let’s just say my credit card is now $500 further in debt.

I probably don’t even need to post — the picture says it all (it’s a pretty funny contrast to the finish photo from the half!). But despite my pain, I truly had a fabulous time.

The alarm once again jolted us awake far too early (although we set it for 15 minutes later from the previous day). Our routine was basically the same: quick shower, eat some breakfast, lube up the feet and anything else that might chafe, grab some coffee and get on the bus. It was obvious it would be another muggy day, so I once again left my long-sleeved throwaway shirt in the room (although I did grab the space blanket that was handed out at the end of the half).

A live band was again there to greet us, but the crowd seemed much heavier than the day before. We met up with some folks from the Taper Madness forum (Michele, Mark, Toby and his wife Laura) and did some preliminary stretching. Because we were both feeling a bit creaky, we decided we’d do a 5:1 run/walk throughout the race (I think I was inspired after listening to Jeff Galloway’s talk at the expo). Michele wasn’t looking forward to running solo, so she decided to slum it back in the C corral with us (she too was doing a 5:1 run/walk).

Despite the humidity, I felt great the first few miles. Our pace was perfect, and the time flew by as we chatted with Michele. However, my darling was feeling pretty bloated, and unfortunately the potty breaks provided no relief (it didn’t help knowing Michele and I were standing outside waiting for him). As we got to mile 7 my legs really started to tire; I knew our running pace was too fast for me, but I was determined to keep up. However, I found myself falling farther and farther behind (although I’d catch up during our walk breaks). I felt bad for Michele as she and I waited for my hubby during our second port-o-potty stop. I got pretty anxious seeing all the runners pass us, but she was very gracious, saying she preferred the company.

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Hardest. Race. EVER!

Okay, so that’s not entirely true. The half marathon portion of the Goofy Challenge was actually rather easy. The weather pretty much cooperated (although it was quite humid in the early hours) and I felt strong throughout. But therein lies the rub. BECAUSE I felt so strong I ended up running faster than I should have. Sure, I “met” my goal of a personal worst (I wanted to run between 2:15 and 2:30; my actual time was 2:15:21). But knowing what I know now, next time (and yes, there WILL be a next time!) I will keep my pace to at least 2 minutes per mile slower than what I’m capable of.

While some may say I’m Goofy for running the race, what truly makes me Goofy is the fact I signed up for the challenge before I had even run my first marathon. I read about the race in the same Runner’s World article as the Marathon du Medoc. When I saw Marathon Tours was still offering entries at the end of July, I jumped at the chance (the race sold out to individual entries in February). Somehow I managed to corral my darling as well.

Once our entries were confirmed I signed on to the Disney Running Forum for training advice and other tips. As race day approached, the level of excitement intensified on the board. I found it incredibly amusing to read how into Disney many of the forumites are (they’ve obviously been drinking the Kool-aid), but with just a couple of weeks to go I found myself acting like the little kid in one of the Disney commercials who exclaims, “I’m too excited to sleep!”

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We JUST got back to our house; thank you everyone for your kind comments! And I’m SUCH a dork — indeed I had entered under Betsy (so I apologize if you tried to track me under the name Elizabeth). Stay tuned for a full report — with pictures! But my half finish was 2:15:21 and the full was 5:07:26. This was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it also was a fabulous experience. I’m definitely going to do this again (probably not next year, but who wants to join me for 2010?)

Well, it’s almost show time!  In a little over five hours my darling and I will board a redeye to Orlando for the Goofy Challenge on Saturday.  Although my training didn’t quite go as I’d like (having been sidelined with illness and injury on a couple of occasions), I do feel ready for the race.

While my ultimate goal is just to finish injury-free, of course I also have a couple of time goals in mind.  For the half, I actually hope to PW (personal worst!) in order to keep my legs fresh for the full.  So my goal is to keep it over 2 hours, 15 minutes.  For the full, I’m hoping to beat my Medoc time of 5 hours, 11 minutes, and ideally I’ll finish between 4:25-4:40.  It looks like we may get some rain, but that’s fine with me (warm Florida rain beats the cold, dreary drizzle Seattle gets this time of year).

Of course, not knowing what the weather will do makes packing a bit of a challenge.  I’ll be wearing running skirts both days, but have packed long and short-sleeved technical shirts depending on how hot it is.  I actually bought a cute new running skirt for the trip, but since there was no way I could try it out beforehand (BRRR!), I’m going to rely on my tried-n-true zebra-print skort for the full (I am, however, taking a chance for the half by wearing my new black skort — from the same manufacturer as the zebra-print one — for the half).

In case anyone is interested, you will be able to track me during each race by clicking here for the half and here for the full (you’ll be asked for your email address).  I’ll be running under my “real” name, Elizabeth Rogers (hubby is Matt Hagen).  We’re not bringing a computer with us, but rest assured you’ll get race reports as soon as possible (with pictures, natch).

Wish us luck!

Boy, some gung-ho runner I am. Here I am crowing about running 150 miles in December, only to bring in the New Year with a whimper.

Since I had to work on New Year’s Day our New Year’s Eve celebration was low-key. We noshed on raw oysters and sipped champagne while watching movies. By 10:30 we were ready for bed; when we heard firecrackers go off in the neighborhood signaling midnight we rolled over, kissed, wished each other happy new year and then promptly fell back to sleep. What an old married couple we are!

My cookday on the 1st went quick, but rather than go for a run upon returning home I decided what would be of greater benefit would be to catch up on more than two months of bookkeeping. (I am in taper mode, after all). I fully intended to go for a run after my cookday on Wednesday, but as I headed back over the bridge toward home I saw dark storm clouds forming. By the time I arrived home it was a downpour, so I was easily convinced to join my darling and his friend for a beer at the pub (so much for not drinking until Saturday after the half marathon).

I had a pint and a schooner of beer, plus I shared a mediterranean appetizer plate with my darling. By the time I got home I started feeling bloaty and just a bit off. The feeling got worse after our dinner — an Asian chicken salad with a spicy sesame dressing. I was heavy-handed with the chile oil, so I thought that was what was making my stomach upset. I then kept smelling the sesame oil and my queasiness intensified. I tried chewing a few Altoids (normally they’re a great way to tame an upset stomach), but to no avail. Within the hour I knew I was dealing with a bug (I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say I was thankful for the Pepto Bismol and Imodium A-D in the medicine cabinet).

Fortunately I already had Thursday off; while I had hoped to get even more caught up with various office duties, here’s how I ended up spending it:

(And in case I haven’t said this before, I have the absolute BEST husband. Not only did he make me chicken noodle soup, he also got me some mango popsicles).

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