My New Most Favorite Race Ever

Since I began racing in 2003, I have experienced a large variety of races. I have gone to small, community-focused 5Ks, where 30some people get T-shirts, race bibs, and then shuffle to the finish line. I have also experienced large, tens of thousands of people gathering to run a race through the streets of a city, and experience a life moment together. Each race has its perks, and each race has its cons.

However, I have never come across a race that seems to capture the good parts of each race experience and eliminate the bad.

Ted and I drove up yesterday to the expo and to pick up our race packets and bibs. The first nice surprise was the ease of parking. The second nice surprise was the upgrade of the standard race shirt to a nice windbreaker (we look tough).

The expo was nice--it wasn't crowded when we were there, and there were just enough vendors. I found my long-awaited 26.2 magnet for my car, and got an autographed book from Amby Burfoot (it wasn't until after we left the table where he was sitting that I realized I really wanted to ask him what shoes he wore when he won Boston in 1968).

Race day was perfect. It was overcast, cool, and we didn't experience any traffic on our drive in. I had spoken to Reba and we had planned to meet up prior to the race. Despite the large crowd of people that had begun to gather outside the school, we were able to find each other. Of course, I had just checked the bag, with my camera in the bag. So I didn't get a picture of us, so I had to do the next best thing:

Okay, so it doesn't really do either of us justice, but it gives you the idea.

The race had sold out at around 4,000 entrants. For a smaller race, this particular course had more excitement and music and crowds than most of the larger races I have done.

There were bands along the course, I even caught a few Bon Jovi and Frank Sinatra tunes. A particular spectator rode his bike to various spots of the course, and cheered and cheered and cheered. The best line? Way to wake up and say "I'm going to do it!"

I was expecting more hills, also. The few hills on the course were quick and relatively painless. We had decided to hang with the 2:20 pace group, and probably hovered between the 2:10 and 2:20 most of the time.

The end of the race was a stadium finish, and Ted and I were able to pull in a finish of 2:19:50some, chip-time. A painless shuttle bus ride back to the parking, and a quick ride home, and we have nothing but a few blisters, a nice jacket, a pretty cool medal, and pleasant memories of this one. All the good things about the small races, with all the good things about the large races. All bundled into one great race, which the the Lehigh Valley and Runner's World should be proud.

Definition of Obsessed...

Merriam-Webster defines obsessed as "to haunt or excessively preoccupy the mind". Most times, the word obsessed is used in basic conversation as a judgmental term..."he's obsessed with her", "you're obsessed with cleaning", or "she's obsessed with chocolate". Some times the phrases are accurate, other times it's a gross overstatement.

Today I realized something--the terminology relates to my idea of running or my basic fitness.

My running streak for 2008 is still on track. This morning, however, during my morning run, my toe caught the edge of the sidewalk in town. And down I went. I was coming down from a hill, so my speed was high and my concentration, as it is most of the time around the end of a longer run, was off imagining my life as an astronaut or some other imaginative make-believe story I tend to think up on runs. I fell, and I slid, and two thoughts immediately entered my mind:

1) Pause the stop watch so I don't get an inaccurate time, and
2) Good thing I decided to change into shorts, or I would have ripped my favorite running pants!

Never mind the layers of skin now on the sidewalk. Never mind the blood I now have running down my leg and saturating my sock. Never mind the fact that the Lehigh Valley Half is days away. I was concerned about my time and thinking about my pants.

I hobbled home, bathed in hydrogen peroxide, found bandages big enough to cover my now very sore knees and hand, and gathered my bags for work. Ted stopped me at the door:

Ted: Is that your gym bag?
Maggie: Yeah...
T: Are you crazy?
M: No...but...
T: Maggie--you can't walk and your hand is bandaged up.
M: But...


Bottom line is that Ted won the argument, and my gym bag stayed at the house. On my way to work, I found myself growing concerned about my lack of gym time this week.

That's when I stopped myself. Am I becoming obsessed? Am I letting what originally was to be a healthy hobby turn into a hobby actually doing more harm that good? The idea of taking a few days off to rest was absurd to me. The idea that by running on sore knees or going to the gym leading up to a half marathon didn't mean potential injury to me--it was just something I was to do.

I decided, briefly, that I may be obsessed, although I'm not sure why. It's not that I have to win. It's not that I have a stellar physique that needs constant maintenance. It's not that I don't allow myself the occasional treat and overindulge in ice cream or a good margarita. But that didn't necessarily sit right, either. I know plenty of people who run more than me, or spend more time in the gym than I do, or eat more salads and vegetables and less processed food than myself. My true obsession is not in how far I run, or how fast, or how often I go to the gym, or how many crunches I can do. Rather, my obsession lies in the routine of my day. I go to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. By not going to the gym today, I have upset my routine and set things off schedule. I won't be at the gym three days this week--I'll only be there two days. This bothers me more than not getting a work-out in, and therefore doesn't make me obsessed with fitness.

Instead, my next blog should probably discuss the definition of OCD...

They do it this way, I do it that way.

It's that time of year. On a normally quiet 6-mile run tonight, Ted and I saw a pack of 25-30 bikers, a handful of runners, a number of kids out playing, and quite a few walkers. It's the time of year when most people get the itch to break out of the hibernation zone, stretch their legs, and vow to get back in shape.

It's also the time of year that I begin to think exactly the opposite--I am looking forward to the Lehigh Valley Half being over so I can hang up the distance runs and return to the easy 3-mile-mornings to get me through the sticky summer months.

I tend to do my best running beginning in mid-September. From then through about this time, I'm great. I can rack up miles and miles and look forward to each run (for the most part). As soon as the weather starts to get warmer, however, I begin to dread the longer runs and would rather take advantage of the sunny evenings in other ways.

Fortunately my resolution to run a streak this year will keep me motivated through the summer (as if the bikini isn't motivation enough--and why don't they make bikinis for runners, so we don't have to buy two different sizes, a smaller-sized top, and a larger bottom, accomodating the runner booty? But that's another time and another blog...). I look forward to the morning runs again and reducing my distance for a few months.

Then, when everyone else decides it's smart to stay inside on cold, dark evenings, I'll be out and racking up the miles again.

Welcome to the World

Last week was a bad week.

This week is a good week.

Last week I was frustrated with alot.

This week things are making more sense. Curley is absolutely fine. We ran 8 miles on Sunday and I felt strong and happy. I feel like I am more certain at work and more comfortable, and spent a few days in the gym, working out alongside my boss (nothing bonds you quite like that.)

And Robin had her baby.

While Robin was in labor, a former co-worker of mine was in a hospital in Philly, dying of a stage 4 cancer. Circle of life--days come, days go. To everything there is a season. And I'm sure there are alot of other songs to quote along those lines.

Besides the 8 miles we ran Sunday, I did another 4 this morning and we're aiming for 10 this weekend. It's a quick increase from 6 a few weeks ago, but I feel okay with is, and am confident it will all be okay.

Maybe it's time for a change...

Our lives are a complete polar opposite from what they were two weeks ago. The first change is that due to family issues (that were not our fault, but nonetheless are just as stressful), Dave has moved back in with his mother. This was not a smooth transition, and has left many hurt feelings and stressful conversations, which could have been avoided. While it is straightened out at this point (for the most part), it caused quite a deal of stress and tension for a few weeks.

The second change is a more positive one--I have received and started a new job. I began this week and while it has quite a few perks that I will enjoy (including a free gym membership with their corporate gym in the building...BIG deal!), and the return to actually thinking and using my brain, which has caused me to arrive home exhausted and wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed. The job itself is great and I can't wait to get moved into my office (once it is finished) and to the point where I don't get lost on the way to the bathroom or wonder who that was again I passed and answered "Good!" when they asked me "How is it going, Maggie?". But until I reach that, I will not only have to learn a new industry and method of madness, but also the small things we most often take for granted.

Then, as if this wasn't enough, Curly decided the other night to have a nightmare, which I misinterpreted for a seizure. She was fine, and is fine, but it caused a rough evening and even rougher next day as I fought the certainty that I would be coming home to a dead cat. Again, for the record, it was a nightmare (she was hissing and puffed up and shaking--it was terrifying).

With everything going on, Ted and I have not been focusing on running as much as we should be. The Lehigh Valley Half is at the end of the month, and we have not ran a foot past 6 miles. We shrug off our evening training runs, and I probably wouldn't have the energy to complete them if we were to try. I'm still running my daily mile, but we need to step up the distance if we are going to consider having fun at the half-marathon at the end of the month.

That is why tomorrow we're attempting at a morning run. Maybe evening running is old news--maybe we've been so used to going it's a chore now, and doesn't hold the excitement any longer. So we'll try the run tomorrow morning, and either it will work and we'll refresh our energy and interest, or we'll realize how nice we had it with evening runs and refresh the routine with a new appreciation.