i miss this little blog

just wondering, is blogging so 2006?

post marathon post

i have been woefully behind in blogging about the marathon. all this buildup to the big day and then silence! lo siento!

anyway, the marathon was GREAT! going into it, i had a lot of apprehension. my leg was still bothering me (acunpuncture didn't work), so i went to this free runner's clinic the wednesday before the marathon. the doctor told me i had flat feet and probably needed more support in my shoe. the guy from t&h that was at the clinic recommended that i buy new shoes. new shoes? 5 days before my marathon? that freaked me out since the cardinal rule of marthoning is NOT to wear new shoes. he assured me that i'd be fine. he said, "it's chicago, you'll get through it." uh, ok.

everyone had mixed reactions to the getting new shoes...coach, the "we" guy from running fit, the owner of running fit, friends, family - no one seemed to lack an opinion, which is fine but since i had already decided that i was going to wear new shoes it didn't help to hearing advice suggesting otherwise. i decided the support that my new brooks provided outweighed the current pain in my older shoes and the potential for new blisters.

the shoes were only one part of my dress distress. i was all set to wear my running skirt and tank, but the weather called for rain. and not just rain, but cold rain and wind. lots of it. do i wear tights or skirt? throwaway shirt or real shirt? rain jacket or trash bag. on which layer do i wear my bib number? i swear, it was stressful! i finally settled on skirt, tank, and non-throw away long sleeved shirt.

fortunately, i had a whole entourage of people helping me get ready and psyched for the race. it seriously does take a village to get it all together! since i was icing and adviling pretty continuously in the hotel, it really helped to have others around to help. on race morning, we took the hotel limo to the start line and met up with other friends running the race. the weather was cool but dry - no rain!

i started off w/ a girl in my running group (she's 19...um, let's take a moment to think about what we were doing when we were 19...yeah, feel like a loser now?) anyway, i had heard all these nightmare stories about the start, but it only took us 4 minutes to reach the start line after the gun went off. our first mile was somewhat slow (10.5 min/mile) but then we picked up. by mile 4 we were going 8:15 and the pain in my leg suddenly disappeared. but, i was afraid we were going to fast so i told her to go ahead. honestly, with my leg pain and new shoes, i had thrown out all expectations of time goal and wasn't fully convinced that i'd even be able to finish, so i wanted to start conservatively (or smartly, perhaps).

for the next five miles or so i was trying to slow down, but was still going about an 8.5 min/mile. then, around mile 9 i looked up and noticed 2 guys from my running group. i was so psyched to see them so we ended up running the next 12 miles together. it really helped with keeping an even pace... we ran those miles very consistently at 8:45 min/miles and offered each other lots of encouragement.

my family and friends were outfitted with big hello kitty balloons so i could identify them in the race. and it worked- i saw them 4 times throughout the course and it was such a boost. my friend d jumped in at mile 16 for about a mile and then friend h jumped in at mile 21 and really carried me to the finish (well, almost, she got yanked at mile 26 for not having a bib). those last 4 miles were tough. and it was so windy that at one point, my hat flew off. i didn't stop to pick it up. i'm not sure that i hit "the wall" per se, but i was just ready for the whole thing to be over. my quads had felt pretty tight from about mile 10 onwards, but they felt super heavy those last few miles. i never doubted that i could finish, but b/c i knew i had a good cushion to meet to my sub-4 hour mark i let myself slow down. no matter, i crossed the finish line in 3 hr 53 min 03 seconds!

the whole experience was great! i literally crossed the finish line and thought, "i want to do this next year!" as i like to say, this whole experience was perfect, just like i wanted my first time to be. ;) i felt well-trained and it so helped having family and friends out there and people cheering me on. and seriously, i thought about my little aars those last few miles ( and not just because i knew you'd be looking up my time) but i thought about how running with you all really got me back into running in the first place and how much that has helped me maintain my sanity over the past year. so thanks - i dedicate this marathon to you! :)

to relive the magic, you can see pictures on my flickr page. there, you will also find some pics from the nyc marathon last weekend. i got a few good once of lance. he looked like he was hurting when i saw him (miles 17 & 25) and i'm glad to hear that was the hardest physical thing that he's ever done.

anyway, there's a rumor that this blog may be ending soon per ecshelto, since she'll soon be the only one left in ann arbor. but before it ends, how about an aars filled marathon next year?? anyone in? chicago, new york, um...columbus (it's flat!)?

the ultimate goal...boston 2008!

alternative medicine

a friend of mine who just finished acupuncture training was in town today. after telling her about my leg pain in casual conversation, she offered to stick my leg. i have never had acupuncture before and was totally curious about it, so i thought as long as it doesn't make my pain worse, why not?

the sticks didn't really hurt, actually, i could barely feel it, except the one that went into my foot. that one didn't hurt like flu shot or anything, but i could feel the "qi" flowing. righteous.

i'm curious to see if it helps at all. i just had to take pictures to share. isn't it kind of freaky looking?

taper and texting

so i am officially in my "taper" mode. and everyone says this is a hard time for marathon trainers, because of the reduced mileage they feel like they are not training enough, they gain weight, or they feel little pangs of injury.

i do not really have a problem with running less miles, and i'm ok with being a little fat, but i cannot deal with the pangs! i don't think this is totally psychosomatic, but i've been having this little pain in my lower leg, just above my ankle. i can feel it when i walk and i can feel it when i run. it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel normal and i'm worried if i run more then i may exacerbate the "injury." my worst fear is that it's a stress fracture, but how can i really tell? i don't want to be one of those runners who runs a marathon on an injury and then ruins her running career forever. that would just blow. plus, it would just make the marathon much less enjoyable. gawd, i really hope it feels better soon.

anyone have any advice?

switching gears slightly, technology is just so cool these days. it's not unusual to be able to check a runner's progress through the marathon online, but now you can have split times texted to you. so, all you aars who want to follow my progress can sign up to have instant text messages or emails sent to you with my splits. in the words of ever annoying rachel ray, how cool is that??

baby steps lead to baby runs

now that i'm no longer in ann arbor, it didn't feel right to post here unless i was doing something about the "road" part (the scholars part was done on june 29th :). and after a LONG hiatus, i am happy to say i have rejoined all you runners! true, i think that means p-funk only at this point but still!! i didn't want to over do it, so just ran an easy breezy 30 min jog on "america's most celebrated bike path" (which i also use for my 10 min bike ride to work). the run was great, mostly because i kept it real slow...no PB anytime soon for me.

yeah, so nothing too dramatic to report - the fact that i finally ran again is news enough! - but i hope the other AARS are getting the fall fever for running, too!

i won the race - part deux

this time it's true. i won, i won! third place. in my age group. and half the field missed the turn around and ran an additional mile. no matter- i still got to take home the trophy!

somewhat surprisingly, i ran the exact same pace as i did at the crim. i figured since this course was a bit flatter and the weather being a bit cooler, that i might run a little faster. plus, i had motivation to run faster to assert my sheer dominance over certain faculty members running the race. yes, beating people my parent's age makes me feel good about myself.

the other race i'm participating, i.e. the race to finish my dissertation in 10 days is not going as smoothly. that's when payback's a b*tch.

the blogger formerly known as p-loop

from here on out, please refer to me by my new name, p-funk. coined by ecshelto-- perhaps reflecting my somewhat less than pleasant disposition with being on the job market and dissertating (?)-- i've decided that it goes along better with my new rock star status. a litte edgier, don't you think?

what rock star status, you say? let's review what rock stars have in common:

1. they achieve major feats
2. they are trendsetters
3. the paparazzi hounds them
4. groupies

point 1: over the weekend, i survived our first 18 mile run. we started at 7am and some 2 hours 40-some odd minutes later i was done. i ended up running the last 12 pretty much by myself, but it was good mental practice to be on my own. it definitely helped that the weather was nice and cool. anyway, i feel encouraged that i'll be able to make it through the marathon. what's another 6 (math skills dulled during running), i mean, 8.2 more miles?

point 2: i wore my new running skirt. after getting over the initial feeling of looking like a cheerleader, i've decided that it pretty much kicks ass. no bunching, riding, or chafing and it's so cool (literally and figuratively). i'm going to order another in black and i'm leaning heavily towards wearing in the marathon. reaction to the skirt has been positive, so be on the lookout for skirt wearing runners on the streets on ann arbor.

point 3: my running graces were splashed across local television coverage of the crim. i vaguely remember seeing the tv crew out there, but several people said they saw me on tv. i can't locate it online, but i probably looked like this. i'm certain that it'll be debuting on youtube fairly soon.

point 4: use your imagination. we rock stars don't kiss and tell, until we're all washed up and need to relive our glory days.

happy labor day!