Twin Cities Marathon: Friday

This is the first of my three posts from the Marathon. I had to break it down because otherwise it would be a novel. This is more of a journal recap of events so that I know what works for me on marathon weekend.

I woke up at 545am to get ready for Michelle Hazelton to pick me up. I had a mango smoothie with rice protein powder and was soon ready to go. Michelle arrived right on time and dropped me off at the airport, where I checked one bag and made my way through the security and to the gate. I hung out with Mike, Andrea and Bill until we boarded our plane. I was able to read most of my book and the two-hour flight flew by.

I arrived to the Twin Cities on Friday in mid-morning and Bill and I almost couldn't find our luggage because the carousels were confusing and unmarked. Somehow Mike found it though and had already grabbed my bag, which was rocking a WF label since it was my official travel bag back in my college XC days. My parents picked me up from the airport and we went to Holiday Inn - St. Paul in hopes of checking in early. Fortunately for us, they let us check in around 10am, which was amazing! As soon as we got to the room, I pulled my parent's luggage off of the luggage carrier, and a game in a 5-lb box crashed onto my left big toe, causing it to bleed and bruise. I immediately iced and tried not to freak out as it was throbbing. I decided to give it a go by running with Mike. We met in the lobby for an easy 5 miles along the Mississippi River with Chloe Shea in the jogger, and my dad in tow. I could feel my toe if I landed on my foot a certain way, but my thoughts of worry vanished as I realized it wouldn't affect my marathon in just two days' time.

Afterwards, my parents and I headed to Whole Foods for a healthy lunch of a sandwich with some salad. Once we returned to the hotel, we walked to the expo which was across the street from our hotel. I met Bill briefly, but we eventually lost him in the flurry of activity and the bustling crowd. Jordan texted me and told me to stop by a booth where his co-worker from The Genesis Agency was and to ask for Lee. I did just that. I bought two pairs of Balega socks and, in return, Lee gave me three packs of Nuun, and a Nuun water bottle. I was a happy camper and glad to support my favorite training partner's company. I walked by the Cascadian Farms and Larabar booths three times so I could get as many free samples as possible. I came out on top.

I also learned something about big marathon expos: get your marathon gear the first day of the expo, or as soon as it opens, so that you can get the size you want in Official Marathon Gear. I was lucky enough that my parents bought me a really nice Brooks all-weather jacket that had a nice emblem of the marathon's logo on the right side. When I went again on Saturday, all of the jackets were gone, except for ten Extra Larges.

Next, my parents and I made our way to the Elite Hospitality Suite at the Crowne Plaza, which was about five blocks from the expo. There were snacks such as crackers, Fig Newton's, bagels, peanut butter, and soft drinks and gatorade for the elites. It was a very nice setup on the 20th floor, overlooking the Mississippi. I picked up my race number and my bag for gear. Soon, it was time for the massage I had made on Thursday, and I headed to the pool area where I would wait for the therapist to come get me. I noticed a young blonde woman sitting at another table, and I wondered if she was another elite. Turns out we ended up in the same massage room.

Meeting Ruth Perkins was the best thing that could have happened to me this weekend. A bubbly blond, an alum of Seattle Pacific University, mother of two toddlers and a personal trainer, Ruth made me feel at ease and confident. After asserting that she got faster after having two kids, I found out that her marathon PR was 2:50 and that she was also going for the qualifier, with a race plan to run 2:44, an average of 6:15 pace. We found out that our other PRs were right around the same time, so she offered that we work together. The kicker was that she wanted to go out in 6:10, but I wanted to go out in 6:30. We both agreed it wasn't good to steer away from our respective race plans and dropped the subject. Little did I know that we would end up working together and actually recruiting other women to run with us during the race.

After our massages, we found out that Ruth and her husband Dean were also staying in the Holiday Inn, so we invited them to walk back to the hotel with us. They checked in, and when they walked to their room, they could hear our voices, and Ruth knocked on our door to tell us that they were just across from us! Fate brought us together on this trip, I swear. Ruth gave us the idea of running the last four miles of the course, since she was taking the bus tour of the marathon course on Saturay, and then jumping off at Mile 22. I didn't like the idea of sitting on a school bus for two hours, so we stole from her the next morning and had my parents drive us.

Already it was time for an early dinner, so I coordinated with Mike and Bill to meet at an Italian restaurant just down the street from the Holiday Inn. Bill walked from the Crowne Plaza to join us and we had a great conversation and enjoyed watching Chloe Shea eat her ravioli with her fingers. I could tell my parents were having a great time, talking running with Bill and learning more about Andrea and Mike. They loved hanging out with the CRC crew!

Once we got back, I watched Dexter on my mom's laptop and read some of my book that I needed to read by the time I got back to Charlotte so that Meagan could read it for our book club meeting in a week. Lights were off at 9pm and I put in my ear plugs and slept until around 2am, when the people in the room next to ours were having a party with twelve people. I found out the next morning that Ruth went over and told them to be quiet, and then when they didn't listen to her after another 15 minutes, called the front desk. We were all woken up from their rowdiness. Other than that, I slept great!

Check for the Saturday's course of events soon.

Beat the Heat 5k Race Recap

There's a certain beauty and excitement that lingers with one after a successful race, and such is the feeling that is still with me today. Racing always excites me because it puts to test all of the hard work that I've pounded out on the pavement, the trails, and the grass fields. When the plans and goals all come to fruition, there is sweet victory for yourself. Or, if the goals are not met, tweaks to the training plan can be made, and you wait for the realization of that plan to unfold with the next race. Such is the cycle, and this cycle allows for us to always push ourselves to the limits and to see what kind of pain we can handle the next time around.

With that being said, I've spoiled the ending to my race recap for Beat the Heat 2010, but you all already knew the ending thanks to all the support that stems from the Charlotte Running Club and Theoden Janes, the Perez Hilton of the Charlotte Running scene.

Regardless, I'll start at the beginning. I lazed around during my day of nothingness, the highlight was when I walked to Woodies' Auto Shop to pick up my car. At one point it dawned on me that the weather could be bad in Winston, so I checked it out and, sure enough, there was lightning in the hourly forecast. I crossed my fingers and hoped that the race would still go on and left Charlotte at 430pm to make the trip to my alma mater, Wake Forest. Since people in North Carolina don't seem to know how to drive in any sort of precipitation from light rain to a couple of snow flurries, there was a bit of a traffic jam on I-85 and this made my trip about 15 minutes longer than normal. I made it to the race with one hour before the start, and I immediately hopped into the porta-jon and then picked up my bib.

I began my warmup and, within 10 meters, I spotted Bill Shires and we ran the entire course. I learned more about Bill's bruised ribs from an unfortunate bike accident and this helped pass the time. Also, I spotted all of the women who I expected to be there. My goal going into the race was to get third place, but I wanted to go in a controlled fashion so that I would not crash and burn in the last half of the this speedy race.

During my drills, I spotted Billy Shue, who was kind enough to drive up from Charlotte to watch Bill and I race. It sure did mean a lot to both of us! By the time I had completed my A skips, karaoke, and strides, and laced up my racing flats, the race was about to begin. I meandered up the hill to the start line, gave the Demon Deacon a high five and said "Go Deacs!" and took off for another stride. I strategically placed myself on the start line far away from any of the other girls who have posted very fast times in the past month - Stephanie Pezzullo, Allison Grace, and Amber Moran. I did not want to get caught up in the excitement and go out too fast, and this proved to be a smart decision.
The race director shouted go and we were off in a tightly packed group. I situated myself in the top 50 of the pack for the first 400m and then it eventually evened out as the half mile approached. I saw Moran and Pezzullo tucked in close behind Grace and I figured the pace was quick. I didn't want to go out too uncontrolled, but needed to keep them within my sights. They were about 20-30m ahead of me. I came through the first mile in 5:26 with Bill on my shoulder. My breathing felt a little more difficult than expected, and I worried for a moment. Instead, I decided to make a conscious effort to keep the pace honest, and latched onto a young man.
The second mile features a slight incline for the latter part, but I didn't much notice. I saw Billy sprinting toward my group to capture some photos of us in action, and I smiled to myself. His enthusiasm goes practically unmatched! During this mile, I could feel Moran fading backwards toward me and I picked it up a bit to make a move on her. When I passed her, I provided some words of encouragement. I figured if she stuck with me, we could help each other post a fast time. At this point, I was feeling pretty confident and came through the mile in 5:32.

At the start of the third mile, there's a legitimate hill about 200m long and I passed a couple of guys here as I tried to post a faster mile split than my previous one. Luckily, the last 600m of the race features a nice down grade which propelled me to make some ground on Pezzullo, now within 5-8 seconds of me. I wasn't sure how far back Amber was so I was listening for someone to cheer for her. When I passed the three mile mark in 530, I heard someone say "You can catch her" which triggered a response in my legs that I haven't felt in quite some time. I pressed at an all-out sprint so that I could ensure a third place finish. While my legs were turning over at a speed that they have not seen since college, I saw the clock tick over to 16:47 and I knew I had a legit shot at breaking 17:00. When I crossed the line, I had closed in 31 seconds (4 seconds faster than I closed at CPCC Skyline) with an overall time of 17:01.
In the chute, I congratulated Pezz and Grace and thanked Amber for helping me out. I'm always impressed at how encouraging and supportive the women at these races are. In the end, I think we all recognize that we all share the same love for running and that, despite the competitive nature that seems natural to us all, there is a shared sense of respect.

In comparison to last year's race, I ran 38 seconds faster than 2009 and posted much more even splits. I can't complain about the improvement that is indicative in those times. This served as a huge confidence booster as I am one week out from beginning my marathon specific workouts in preparation for Twin Cities Marathon in less than 3 months!

I found Billy and Bill so we all cooled down together even though Billy was rocking a WF polo shirt and cargo shorts. I got a horrible side stitch 2 miles in so I called my cool down short by one mile and opted to find some grub instead. I ran into Joel Tull, who was our massage therapist when I was at Wake, and happens to still be the favorite massage therapist of both Garrett and I. We enjoyed a short but pleasant conversation before he had jet off to get back to Greensboro to give a rub down to a client.

Like last year, I was impressed with the post race food - bananas, oranges, watermelon, energy drinks, soda, water, pizza, granola bars - that never seemed to run out. The race organizers got the results up in a timely manner and presented the awards before the sun set so that I still had time to get to Whole Foods to pick up a cucumber avocado roll. I think the Twin City Track Club does a great job at organizing races and I always look forward to attending their events.

Overall, it was great to post a solid time, run with some great competition, and see some old friends from Wake Forest. I look forward to the next weeks of training with the CRC!!