MCM 2012- Part 1: Mile by Mile run-down-or, A Few Marathon Thoughts

0: Wow, that Howitzer just sets the tone! GET IT!

1-8:10 am  My corral isn't even moving yet. I need to move over to the left side of 120-I will NOT be missing any cut-offs. Wait! No one said there was a hill on the left side of 120. I'll just take advantage of the downhill. BOO-YA!

2-Why am I doing this again? Wasn't this painful enough the first time?

3-This downhill feels NICE. I'm flying. Thank you STEAMTOWN! WOOHOO! Still on track. Twenty-three more to go!

4-Ok, I think this is where the juggler passed me last year? He's NOWHERE to be found! Does this mean I'm doing better????

5-SANTA!! I passed SANTA! This part of the canal goes on forever, and we still have 20 more to go.  I don't know about this. ARGH!

6-Ok, I'm feeling ok. Finally warmed up. WOW-there's the 5:30 pace group! YAY! I'll try to keep up with them for while.

7-OMG, they're walking! That means I can walk too, right? Doesn't matter, I'm walking anyway.
8-Losing the 5:30 pace group. Last year, I lost them around mile 5 which means I'm doing better, right?

9-I can still see the pacer's balloons. So, I'm ok. I love going through Georgetown. VASELINE!!!! Gimme some please! Ooh! Can I stop in that coffee shop? I could really use even more caffeine in addition to my 5 hour energy......Nice on the 15k time. Not quite as good as Boilermaker, but then again, I have a little under 17 miles to go, so THERE!

10- Ok, I feel ok. I can do this. Better than last year. NICE time on the 10 miles. I mean, relatively speaking.

11-There's the juggler guy! WHERE IS 13.1? Well, I'm doing good on time as far as getting to the Gauntlet goes, but I just need to make sure I have minutes to spare! OMG this sucks!

12-One more-it feels good to be chicking mad guys! CHICK CHICK CHICKETY CHICK!
13.1-Nice on the half.  Again, not my best time, but I still have 13.1 more to go. Sir, this is the end, right? Wait, there's nowhere to go. There is water everywhere.

14-Okay I have an entire hour to do 3.5 miles. I'm GOOD.

15-I got this. I hope I feel like this at mile like, 24.

16-This is where I had to potty last year. Not doing THAT again. That Port-a-Potty was disgusting.  And it took me a whole 3 minutes to get the whole thing done.

17-I'm almost there! Is there a sign? Where's the Gauntlet? Is there a sign? What the hell is the Gauntlet anyway? Hey, is this the Gauntlet? I think so, I think we passed it. Oh, ok....Wait, did we? Wait for it....

18- Well I must have beat the Guantlet since it's mile 18 and no one's trying to stop me. ON TO BEAT THE BRIDGE.

19-Wow, I'm doing this! I could actually walk and beat the bridge. But the minute I decide to walk, my leg's going to break or something and it'll be all for naught.

20-THERE'S THE BRIDGE AND THOSE DRUMMER WOMEN ARE AWESOME! Can I stay and dance? I could stay, really. Mile 21 is so far away. WHERE'S THE EFFING SIGN??

21-This is the hardest part. I hate concrete. I hate everybody. I hate my feet. I hate myself. I hate this effin bridge. I hate running. I hate marathons. I hate water.

22-Ok, that wasn't so bad.

23-CRYSTAL CITY! I hate yellow. I hate red. I hate blue. I hate purple. CHIPOTLE! BUFFALO WILD WINGS! I'm fine with just stopping now. I mean, I don't have to even finish. I could just eat some wings and be done. But please don't offer me any donuts, that just might make me barf!

24-Nope. Can't do that. Because then I would be a suckah.  A suckah who had two miles to go and then quit. These people better get out of my WAY, dammit.

25-Ok. I can do this. I can. I can. I can. Wait, I can run, faster. FASTER. Oh hill, I'm soooooooo prepared for you this year.

26-No I'm not. You still got me.

26.2-But I'm done! BAM! BOOYAH! ON TO THE NEXT ONE! Thanks for the medal, handsome Marines! OOOORAH!

A Year of Magical Running: Finger Lakes Fifties

June 30, 2012

Finger Lakes Fifties (25K)

What a great race!

I drove up to Hector, NY excited as ever to camp out with fellow racers the night before in my brand-spanking new tent I had purchased for the occasion. The buying of the tent and the decision to camp out by myself was the subject of heated debate the previous week amongst concerned family members and friends. Why not stay in a hotel? NO THANKS!

The week before I had dropped my son off at a mall nearby to get on the bus headed for his SEVEN-WEEK LONG sleep-away camp. I was home free, and ready for a nice stretch of running long distances without worrying about coordinating child care with my husband or having to drive my son around to all of his myriad activities.  But I digress....

I checked in at the picnic area at the Potomac Campground, where the pre-race hustle and bustle was in full swing, collected my bright green tech shirt complete with the customary cowbell insignia (I'll explain later) and put up my tent, and set up my chair outside with the latest copy of Trail Runner Magazine and some New York Times crosswords.

As I sat and relaxed outside my tent in the comforting cool of Upstate NY forest (being from Brooklyn, anything North and West of the Bronx is Upstate), I breathed in conifer-fragrant air with a hint of woodsmoke from a growing campfire. A woman accompanying herself on guitar sang slightly off-key camp songs and Simon and Garfunkel-type ditties.

I also saw a number of familiar faces, most who had done many NJ Trail Series races. It was awesome to see that many other folks had made the 5 hour drive north to participate in what I had heard would be a great time. There was also a whole crew from the North Brooklyn Runners-not the group I run with, but HELLO!?! they're from my home town. WOOT!

The singing and mingling went on until about one in the morning, along with someone partaking in a ritual that is celebrated on April 20. I'm guessing those folks weren't doing the 50 miler later on...

It was pretty difficult to sleep that night as I was high on adrenaline, and I had decided not to buy a Thermarest. DUMB DECISION. Anyway, I slept about four hours on a slight downgrade. The moment I began to sleep soundly, all of us campers were awakened by the clanging of cowbells. That is, at 5 in the morning. I guess this was the wake up call? Much better than the beeping and chirping of cell phone alarms. This was going to be an interesting experience, I could already tell.

The notion of more shut-eye was nearly impossible, what with other racers milling about and talking loudly--you could hear nerves and excitement in the increasing decibel levels and the constant movement towards the ever so malodorous privy.

There were calls at 6:30 for the 50M and 50K races, and 8:00 for the 25K. As this was my first crack at this event, I signed up for the 25K; the course is really a mile over 15.5, but who's counting?  I finally got up, took a "shower" with baby wipes, pinned my number to my leg, you know, so I could be cool like the other trail runners. Actually I've discovered that it's the least bothersome spot on your bod-no interfering with the Camelbak, no accidentally giving yourself a paper-cut in the final miles when your form is so compromised that you keep brushing your hands against the darned thing, and on my legs there's a lot of room...

And then I did what most runners do before a race: I stood in line like seven time to use the privy. Those runners who are not human don't need to, but most of us would prefer no to run with liquid sloshing around in our bladders. There's plenty of time for that during the race-the great thing about running in the woods is the availability of nature's privy.

We walked the quarter mile long path to the race start, passing the ambulance and search and rescue vans (comforting for some, disconcerting for others--I don't know where I stand on that spectrum yet) and then we were off! I don't quite remember what the word was, but it was probably "GO" or "RUN".  The first mile was pleasant-downhill, and then at some point we made a left turn into the mouth of the forest.

I don't remember much of the course, especially the parts in the ravines where I was trying my best not to wipe out too early in the race. My favorite part of the course were the cow pastures. There were several of them. Since the Finger Lakes Forests are mixed use, the trees are intermingled with functional cow pastures, which are fenced in. Most important to remember was to close the gate after going through it. I personally didn't want a herd of cows running after me in the forest, so I obeyed that rule.

Even though the entire state of New York was experiencing a heat wave, the forest was cool and inviting. The pastures were exposed, but the views of the surrounding countryside were somewhat redeeming. I can't say that I appreciated the views of the last 2.78 mile stretch which was mostly cow pasture, but I'm sure they were gorgeous too.

I finished (strong for me!) in 4:51:16. There was so much cheering at the end, I almost couldn't take it, it was so emotional! What a community we are, this group of people who rather like being in the woods. I collected my "medal", a  swank Finger Lakes Fifties bottle opener.

I waited for my stomach to settle from all the gels, sports beans, Picky Bars, Nuun tablets, and Endurolytes I had consumed over the course of almost 5 hours. I also had to wait for the swelling in my hands to go down before chowing down because that would look like a cave-woman trying to use a fork.  And then the hunger came. A ferocious and impatient need for calories, which I obliged somewhat unwillingly since it's really hard to eat with a gross concoction of stuff still swishing about in your stomach.

The hours flew by as runners in the 50K and 50M continued to finish, eat, and be merry. Another runner from the NJ Trail Series convinced me to camp out for another night, since I didn't have anything better to do, right? So I calmed down and enjoyed the company. There were lots of beers and wine coolers to be had, conversation, and self-deprecatory laughter. One lady, Karen, who had seen me at the NJ Trail Series Ultra Festival called me over, invited me to join her and her friends and asked me questions like "So, Mirna, who are you? What do you do? Why do you do this crazy stuff?" Great fodder for a long, sinuous monologue.

Camping out that night was glorious. It was cool, I was tired as hell, and at around 3 in the morning it started to rain. I opened the flaps on my tent, reveled in the sweet perfume that is nature's gift, and slept more soundly than I had in months.

The next morning I packed up my tent, both sore and satisfied with what was turning out to be a pleasant beginning to a fabulous summer, and headed back to new Jersey.

And now I can wear my shirt!

This is definitely on the list for next year.

Sign-up here!
http://ultrasignup.com/runners.aspx

Follow the Finger Lakes Fifties Blog here:
http://fl50sultraz.blogspot.com/

A huge shout-out to race directors Chris and her hubby, Joe! You are simply awesome!

The Hills Are Alive or Black People Like Trees Too

Guess what?

 I'm black AND many of my "hobbies" take place in the woods or in/near bodies of water.

For some, these two concepts are mutually exclusive.

 

Some people think that I became an outdoor enthusiast during my time in boarding school or in college, because how could I, a little black girl from Bushwick even know that there were trees and mountains outside of the ones in the annual Thanksgiving airing of The Sound of Music? The hills are alive....

This is not the case. I blame it all on my parents.

First they sent to me to sleep-away camp Upstate New York at the tender age of eight. I was hurled  into a world of nighttime stream hikes, swimming in a LAKE, playing in grass, climbing trees, camping out under the trees next to the lake, and taking walks in the woods for the sake of taking walks in the woods.

Then in middle school they signed me up for trips to the Adirondacks. The purpose of the trips was to reward those students with good grades with a chance to get out of the city for some quality time with the teachers we loved in the sticks.  (Imagine a busload of urban kids hanging out in the mountains for a few days, living it up in lean-tos, scaring the "hard" boys of the group into believing there were black bears right outside their shelters in the middle of the night. Imagine.)

I discovered pretty quickly that I preferred to do this kind of stuff rather than worry about not being invited to popular kids' parties. I felt an immediate and reciprocated kinship with anything green and outside. As an adult trail-running, hiking, kayaking, canoeing, and ZIP-LINING!!!! are among my favorite things to do for exercise and for simply being in nature. 

 

All of those activities bring back myriad memories from camp and those yearly trips up the Northway to the mountains.  I breathe in the scent of pine or sassafras and I'm immediately taken back to that one time we shivered in the lean-tos in the late April snow....

A Year of Magical Running: Part 1

This has been an incredible running year for me, despite the ups and downs of my intertwined personal and professional lives.  I've had the opportunity to participate in many different types of races, group runs, solo runs, and runs on the treadmill (and I'm sorry to all you runners who detest the "dreadmill"--I LOVE IT!) and each one has made me a better person, mom and wife, athlete, community member, etc. For this, I am grateful to the running gods for allowing my legs to move, my lungs to breathe, and my mind to rid itself of negativity as I toil away towards good health in body, mind, and spirit.

March 28, 2012 (New Jersey Trail Series Ultra Fest-Marathon Distance)

So the year started out with my second marathon ever (or my first trail marathon). It was organized by my favorite RDs of NJ Trail Series (WOOT WOOT!) up at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in New Jersey. What a BLAST! As part of their Ultra Fest, the marathon was the shortest distance. It was a wonderful entry into trail runs of 22+ miles,  mostly flat with some interesting features that are unique to trail running: rusted and rotted out rail-bridges that were challenging to navigate, a place where the bridge had completely rotted out that was fit with wooden boards, so the runners wouldn't um, fall to our deaths (okay, okay, there was only a four-foot drop, if that),  a field full of roosters cock-a-doodle-doo-ing, long stretches of rugged but flat (incline-wise) trail, and a few loops on one of the Fairground's road that made up the first 10K of the race.

 I felt great until mile 22 or so but was saved by popping a few Endurolytes, and one last Clifshot gel (THEY ARE BOTH  MAGIC). Miles 24-26.2 I was joined by two guys from Queens who would be completing their 40th mile and were en route to taking a short break before tackling the next 60.  I looked at them in disbelief, not simply because they were doing 100, but because they had completed a marathon the weekend before. CRAZIES! During the last .2, I was joined by my good friend Nikki who pushed me til the very end. I ran into the barn where the RDs had set up shop, feeling a little dazed and dizzy, collected my beautiful medal, and shuffled over to my parents who had been supporting me, along with Nikki for 7 hours and 23 minutes. That's dedication, family, and friendship!

Sign up for next year's race here:
http://register.njtrailseries.com/search/event.aspx?id=12712

May 6, 2012 (The North Face Endurance Challenge, Half-Marathon, Bear Mountain, NY)

After last year's disastrous injury that occurred during the TNF Endurance Challenge Half Marathon in Sterling, VA I decided to make a go for it again, this time closer to home and on an even more precipitous course. Bear Mountain, is in fact a mountain. I should have probably taken note of that when I signed up. Of course I knew, having done the 10K version 2 years ago.  It wasn't so bad, I thought. But as soon as I lined up with the runners on that very fateful 4:38 day, I knew what I was getting myself into. 10K times 2 and then some, mostly uphill.

Try like, twelve miles mostly uphill with about 1.1 miles of some short, steep, and dangerous downhills. But that's the fun and challenge (pun intended) of doing races like this. I'm sure it was a bit more rolling than I imagine, but in the midst of it, it seemed like it was all uphill.

At around 3 miles into the race, the course let out onto the parking lot where my car was sitting, all lonely and inviting. I could just.....but alas, MY MOM HAD MY KEY, DAMMIT!

Unfortunately, I did not make the 4 hour cut-off. But I. WAS. NOT. LAST!

Will definitely try this one again next year. This time I'll bring my own food (they had run out already-not their fault but damn was I hungry!). I'll also do lots of hills prior so I can at least make the cut-off next time. And I'll make my son do the 5K instead of the piddly 1K kids race. 1K???? Can I do that one?

Sign up for this race here:
http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/endurance-challenge/bear-mountain-ny/?stop_mobi=yes






June 2, 2012 (NJ Trail Series Half Marathon (DNF))

Too tired for even one loop, but finished 6.25 miles. I've never been so EXHAUSTED that I simply could not even IMAGINE finishing something. Finishing wasn't a word in my running lexicon that day so, I didn't. It so happened to be two days after the end of school, after a blur of a senior-week spent in the Poconos (i.e. NO SLEEP).

Too bad I physically and mentally couldn't not take advantage of this beautiful, mostly shaded course at the Watchung Reservoir. My parents came out to support me and were prepared to wait a few hours for me to finish and were surprised when I quit after only one loop. It wasn't even the most difficult course I had ever run and it was in fact an absolutely gorgeous, perfect-for-running-in-the-woods kind of day.  But not even this could lift the weight of extreme fatigue and mental fog.  (I never knew you could fall asleep while running. I am living testament!)

After my first and final loop, I gave Rick (the RD) the signal that I was done.

"I'm done", I said, hobbling on shaky legs.
"You sure?" he asked. "Just let me know if you decide to go out again."
"Oh, don't worry. I won't be doing that."

10 Things I Love About Running

1. Being able to do something that many people my size won't or can't do.

2. Getting harassed by people who DON'T run. In yo' face **tches!

3. Enjoying bagels and potato chips as essential parts of my diet.

4. Driving long distances to run 3.1 miles and maybe score a t-shirt.

5. Getting new kicks every two or three months.

6. Having my husband wake up at 5am and ask, "You ran ALREADY?"

7. It's an excuse to be out in the COLD with very little clothing on.

8. Knowing the exact mileage every road, dirt path, and trail within a 10 mile radius.

9. Learning a new language: RUNNERSPEAK

10. Being out in the HEAT with very little clothing on.

Metaphors

There's something to be said about the metaphorical value of the word marathon. 


For some it may mean endless airings of docu-dramas or worse, that inane not-for-kids-but-they-watch-it-anyway cartoon about a yellow sponge and his motley assortment of idiot friends. 

For others it may refer to that great tradition of running for many, many miles for no apparent reason (but the sudden onset of insanity.)


For me, a marathon retains its literal meaning (read previous post for details here) but is quickly taking on the the meaning of my life at the present moment. 

I'm writing this post in a rather nicely appointed hospital room in the pediatric ward watching my son suffer from and fight pneumonia. It is the beginning of November and the poor child has already had 2 week long illnesses since the third week of September. And now this, which interestingly enough is the exact same weekend he was hospitalized for pneumonia 4 years ago. 


Last weekend I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in the middle of the Fatrunner's Life Is A B* Marathon (sorry, no t-shirts-this is a no-frills race)

1. First, I fractured my ankle in June.
2. Then, I couldn't run for 8 weeks.
3. Then, I started marathon training late in the game.
4. I was still in pain.
5. I ran and I didn't.
6. Then Irene came and the power went.
7. Then school started (I'm a teacher-so this means THREE WEEKS AHEAD of the first day)
8. Relative staying with me was hit by a car
9. Then school started (I'm also a grad-student)
10. Then school started (the students showed up)
11. Then school started (The kid's in 3rd grade)
12. Illness #1 visited the schoolboy
13. Mom in ER
14. I still had to train, work, write, mother
15. Illness #2 visited aforementioned schoolboy
16. Ibid #12
17. Car #1 wouldn't stop on the road--> brake failure
18. Car #2 broke down on highway a week later
19. Ibid #16
20. How to get to DC for Marine Corps Marathon?
21. Rented a car-->bankrupt
22. October Blizzard of '11 hits
23. Treacherous driving to DC-many, many accidents.
24. Marathon
25. Returning rental: oh no, stuck in a ditch.
26. Pneumonia strikes

What does marathoning mean anyway? Running 26.2 miles, of course. In the beginning, body and mind are synced, though not perfectly. The legs must acclimate to the demands of the mind, and they do so willingly. In the middle, mind and body work in tandem as well oiled machinery. In those last few miles, the mind takes over, the body defers. The body must keep moving. The mind is resilient, and so is the body.

Such is life.

Ich bin eine Marathoner!

On Sunday October 30 of 2011, fatgirlrunning became a marathoner. 

The morning was a cold one. One of those post-FREAK-blizzard-in-October types of cold mornings. The sky was a clear, chilly morning sky occasionally peppered with flights leaving from Regan International.

The runners congregated in one of the parking lots of the Pentagon. There were many, many of us, to the tune of about 30,000.

My training had been haphazard due to her painful ankle fracture taking its sweet ole time to heal (more about this in another post), but I managed to push through many a long run, many a missed run (the various maladies of an 8 year-old do not care in the least about whether or not you're supposed to get a 5 miler in that day), and many a day where the shadow of doubt darkened the sky of marathon promise.

But I made it to DC despite both cars having died the previous week. Despite almost missing the last few minutes of packet pickup because a BLIZZARD decided to grace us with its presence in New Jersey and Pennsylvania right as I drove the rental car off the lot. I made it to DC despite not really being able to afford it, but how many people would be disappointed if I hadn't shown up and run? 

Of course I couldn't sleep. Of course I woke up every hour on the hour. OMGDIDIOVERSLEEP? C'MON, it's just a marathon....

Special K bars and Granola for breakfast. Not really that hungry, but I must eat. I must eat.

Nice helicopters and Ospreys. Nice tandem jumpers. Oh, is that an American flag? Very, very cool.

Wait, I'm still not moving? It's 8:15. 

Okay, finally. 8:20 and I'm off!

Mile 1: Nice and easy, despite some hills no one bothered to mention in the literature. WHAT? (Good thing I trained a lot on those. Thank you, rolling hills of central NJ!)

Miles 2 and 3: Really? More hills? Oh yeah, this is the MARINE CORPS Marathon, not the sissy marathon. Nice 5K time.

Miles 4-5: Don't remember: I was trying to take it easy. Trying to take in the scenery, so to speak. There was a river somewhere. Trying to not waste energy. ONLY 21 more to go! Mental games.

10K: Only TWENTY MORE! Oh, and this is not such a bad 10K time considering the last actual 10K.....well, that was a trail race, hon.

Miles 7-8: Really? More hills? Georgetown. Pretty. Thanks for the Vaseline.

Mile 9: Funny guys with a fake finish line. Fatgirlrunning needed that humor right at that moment.

Miles 10-12: Dammit, where is 13? WHERE IS THIRTEEN POINT ONE?

Half Marathon: Oh, that wasn't so bad. I even beat my last half marathon time. Just think if I didn't actually have to run 13 more miles. This could've been a PR if I hadn't had to save all that energy. Yeah, keep dreaming.

Mile 14: Ok, this isn't so bad. I've done 14 before, and frankly this feels better than that 14 miler I did with plantar fasciitis on a trail that seemed to go uphill both ways. Tons better.  I got this.

Mile 15: I don't got this. Dammit, I need a gel. Or two. And some beans. And, oooooh ORANGES!

Miles 16-19: Really don't remember. Wait, yes I do. RUN LIKE HELL. The damned pace car is right there. Scary and stressful. WTF are all these school buses for? OH, stragglers! RUN! Where the hell is this energy coming from. Oh, anger. The legs are like just moving, separate from my brain. Weird.

Mile 20: Is this ever going to end? Here's the wall. This is bad. Yeah, I beat the bridge. But why do I care so much? I wanna stop. This is stupid. That sign that said "this sounded like a good idea three months ago" rings very, very true. MY FEET HURT. Can't like, jump of the bridge though. That would be sissy-pooh. Yeah, and the girl next to me is crying. At least I'm not crying. At least I didn't stop to stretch and retch. Just make it to mile 21.

Mile 21: Just make it to mile 22. And stop telling us that mile 22 is just around the corner.  What corner? I DON'T EVEN SEE A CORNER.

Mile 22: Oh, mile 23 must be right down that street with all the flags. Wait, it's an entire neighborhood? These miles are getting LONGER AND MORE UNBEARABLE. Ok, not so unbearable. HI SON AND HUSBAND!!!!!! Wait for me! Don't move. I'll be back, in like a mile.

Mile 23: Okay red flag to red flag, then you can walk. Purple to purple. Green to green. 

Mile 24: HI SON AND HUSBAND. Meet me at the finish in like half an hour. Where is it? I DON'T KNOW!!!!!  FIGURE IT OUT!

Mile 25: Only one more mile to go? This is going to take all day. I could fall asleep right now. While walking. Seriously. Just walk over me. Don't worry, I'll be passed out. 

Wait. This is almost over. THIS IS ALMOST OVER? Holy CRAP.

But I don't see the finish. They said it was close. I don't see it. 

Oh, there it is. 

Another hill. ANOTHER HILL GODDAMMIT! WTF???? The nerve! Um ok. It's just my feet that hurt. The legs can do it, right?

Mile 26: A few more steps. Oh no. Tears. 

Mile 26.2: High-fiving my new friends, the Marines, getting wrapped in mylar. Oh yeah, baby. 

You can put that medal right here.