This won’t be short – you’ve been warned – since I want to capture this down for me.
On Saturday night, after dinner, I was running up and down the stairs trying to get all my stuff together for the morning. But I was tired – I wanted to go to bed right then and there. But I stuck to it and got my race clothes out, gear bag together, nutrition and water set out, and anything else I needed. One issue was (a) how cold was it going to be and what should I wear, and (b) which shoes to wear, given my knee soreness.
Sunday morning came early – I know I woke before my alarm. I decided to go with all the layers – compression shirt, a 2nd long-sleeve technical shirt over that, tights, gloves, and felt had that had covered my ears. I don’t do well with cold wind in my ears. I went downstairs and as I was getting the rest of my stuff together, I realized I forgot to put my contacts in! I wasn’t going to get very far without my contacts! Shortly after, my friend, S, was in the driveway, waiting for me. We went to the train station – and it was cold waiting for the train. The train we wanted never showed, so we took the next one. We were at the first stop, and once we left, all the seats were already taken! I am so glad we went to the first stop, so I could sit and not start making myself worried. We had several more stops to go, and more and more people got on. It made me more excited for the race, seeing everyone get on the train, all heading to the same place, all with the plan of running 13.1 or 26.2 miles!
There were at least 2 stops where we could’ve gotten off – we got to the first one, and about 90% of the racers got off. We went to the next stop and got off – and still followed the rest of the crowd and made it to the park. First stop – gear check. Which really was a tent where you dropped your bag. Next stop – port-o-pots. We found some and waited – while waiting, the star spangled banner was sung, and then the wheel chair racers were off. We had 10 minutes til start time for us!
After bathroom stop, we head towards the start. There were tons of people, everywhere. I was trying to get us back to corrals 4 & 5, but we didn’t get that far. We were maybe in the 2nd corral, with the 3:30 marathon pacers!!! We got caught in the crowd and couldn’t make our way further back, so we just stood and waited. Not long after, the guy says “ready, set, go” – so off we went.
We started off walking til we hit the mat. Maybe 2-3 minutes. Then once we hit the mat, we started running. There were people everywhere. And more people in front of us! I was trying to pace S & myself – I have a Garmin 305, which I wore. I think S has only a heart rate monitor – so it doesn’t tell pace. We both have problems with starting off too fast. The pace on the Garmin was acting up – we didn’t change our pace, and it went from 14 min/miles to 7 min/miles. I think that’s because we were downtown in the midst of several buildings. Once we got out of downtown, it seemed to work itself out. I did do well with pacing the first mile – got us to 11 minutes. I stayed with S for a few more tenths of a mile, and then he was off – bye bye S, I hope you have a good race! He was running his first marathon.
As I’m running, people are passing me. I pass people, too. We hit a bridge and watch the sun rise over the skyline – that might’ve been the only time I noticed the sun. I just keep on running with the crowds – taking it all in. Some people are running with friends – those who are, seem the most excited and chatty – and some are running by themselves, like I was. As I look around, I notice a guy wearing shorts and a t-shirt, with no sleeves. He looks familiar. I shout out a name, and sure enough, it was my old roommate! I have not seen him in at least 3 years! He had no bib number, no timer, but he was still out there running. He said a friend had it, but he never found his friend. I have no idea how he did. And like S, he took off and left me to people watching and chugging along.
Between miles 2 & 4 (not quite sure where), I started feeling hot. I was feeling like I was over dressed. And I figured I would just deal with it. I prefer to be hot than cold, anyways. Even though it was COLD out (for my blood, at least), I think being amongst the crowds waiting to start, and then actually running, warmed me up. Later I would not be having those thoughts.
It was great to see all the people out – there were lots of people out watching and cheering us on, even though they were not part of a hydration stop or an official cheering section. The cheerers would just be out lining the streets and in front of their houses, holding signs, making noise, and just cheering. Kudos to them – we at least got to move, they were standing there in mid-40s weather with winds. However, the did have some great signs that made me smile, and even laugh.
A few times, early on in the run, I started getting emotional. Real early, I looked down and saw a GU packet on the ground, which got me thinking – I am actually doing this. And that made me start to tear up. A GU packet, of all things. Then we hit one of the first hydration or cheering stations – it was 65 roses, which I believe is a CF group. And that made me tear up a little – not sure why. Then we hit the Lupus foundation – I think they were actually a hydration station – and seeing them made me tear up. Not as much as seeing the woman running with a 65 roses shirt one, to which she added “Running for my daughter Alana” – boy, that almost turned on all the water works. I don’t know why these all made me start to tear up, but they did. I was fine after that! 
So I was just cruising along, getting close to mile 7, which is where the half and full marathon split. I had to make sure to listen and pay attention so I would only be doing 13.1 miles instead of 26.2 miles! I made my turn and was going through the Highlands. We took a left at Virgina Avenue. For some reason, I was on the left side of the road. As I’m looking at the crowds, I see a friend that I knew was in town! So I veered to the right side of the road, ran up to him, and gave him a high-5. I think I surprised him at that point! It was great, and funny, to see him, as I didn’t expect to see him there. So we’re running on Virginia, heading to Piedmont park. As we’re going through the neighborhoods, I was thinking that I felt good, so I ignored my watch telling me I was going too fast! I was just chugging along, feeling good, and enjoying the moment, so I went with it. And I don’t really recall any hills, so that’s probably why I was just going with it. We hit Piedmont park – and Mizuno was sponsoring that hydration station. That was the only time I slowed down – I hit the water, grabbed a few cups, filled up my water bottle, and then kept on going! After that, mentally and physically, it was tough.
Shortly after leaving the park, we saw the crowd from Grady HS. The cheerleaders were out cheering, which was great, and they had some fun music playing! That kept me going. But I tell ya, I was getting tired. But I just kept on going. And going. And going. I think sometime after mile 11, I see a guy on the left side, with a camera, by himself. Looks like someone else I know, so I well his name. He looked over, I said it was me and waved, and kept on going. I think I surprised him, too! And I just kept on going. And hit the hills, and ran along. When we hit mile 12, I knew we were close. I told myself – only 12 more minutes. Those were the L-O-N-G-E-S-T minutes of my life. I just kept running. I was afraid to look at my watch. My legs hurt. My back hurt. But I kept on running. I was afraid if I looked at my watch, it would take me forever to get to the finish, so I just ignored it.
During that last stretch, I saw someone on the corner getting medical attention. A couple minutes later, I heard sirens, thinking it was the ambulance. Someone near me looked over his shoulder, and announced the Kenyans were coming. I knew I’d finish among the fastest marathoners, but didn’t know where they were. Well, there they were. The first guy came by – and it was like he was gliding. Long strides, moving fast. I heard he even ran faster than his escort at the finish line! And there he went. And then the 2nd place guy came by, passing us, too. Man, these guys are fast. So because of this, I like to say that I almost beat the Kenyans! ha ha
And then I saw the finish line. I heard the announcer say that those finishing in 2:25 were coming in. I finally saw the clock and picked up some speed, wanting to beat 2:25. I finally crossed the line, and held my hands up! YES – I did it. I waited a few minutes to hit my watch – I did not want a finish line picture of me looking down and hitting my watch! As I was hitting my watch, I heard my name, and found my wonderful husband! He made it down there, got a good spot after the finish line, and was able to find me! (He also said he took pics of any red head he saw because he didn’t know what I was wearing – cute, huh?) I then got my medal and heat wrap, and eventually found Greg again!
I was happy to be done. I was happy that I did it. Afterwards we hung around to get my stuff, I tried to stretch a little, got my picture taken with the backdrop (I think that is on the previous post), got a little nourishment, and then we went home. If it had not been as cold as it was, I might have stayed a little longer, just taking it all in. But it was cold. And I don’t like the cold!
So that’s it – my first half marathon, with all the details! I would definitely do this distance again. I don’t have any in mind, as of now, but I know there are a few in the fall in Atlanta, which I’ll keep in the back of my mind. Unfortunately for a few weeks, no running 
I have runner’s knee, and since I don’t have any races planned, for at least a month , I’m going to let that heal, so I can continue running!
Here are a couple of pix that Greg got at the finish line. I need to write up my experience of the race – hopefully some time this week!
BUT, I DID IT!!! I completed my first half-marathon and met all my goals. I know I only shared one goal, but I had 3: finish with a smile on my face, run the whole thing (the only slow down I had was at one water stop to refill my water bottle [this allowed me to skip other water stops and I don't mind running w/my water bottle]…I didn’t even stop for port-a-pots!), and finish under 2:30. I had no idea what the hills would be like, so I didn’t know how much they’d slow me down. Well, there were hills! And there were times when I wanted to walk. But I didn’t! Like I said, I’ll write up more later…
March 31st, 2009 in
Running | tags:
half marathon |
1 Comment
…I’ll be running (hopefully) my first half-marathon! woo-hoo!!! I’m still excited. I’m super excited to go to the expo later this morning! Although I realized that when my friend and I set the time to meet today, it’s right at lunch-time! Oops. Oh well – I’ll take some snacks with me.
It’s a little hard to believe that this weekend is here. I remember 3.5 months ago talking to a friend before spin class about possibly doing the Disney Princess half-marathon. That wound up not being the race for me, but I picked another one and stuck to my training. And here I am.
When I think about it, I do get nervous and wonder if I have done enough training. I wasn’t super diligent on my training plan – at least for the non-running workouts. I was very good and got in all my runs…but not enough of the cross-trainings or weight trainings. That’s ok for this race.
I do have some goals for this race – first and foremost, finishing it with a smile on my face! I have to remember not to worry about hitting my watch when I cross the finish line – I want the finish line picture to be me looking up and smiling, not looking at my watch and hitting it! (I ran a 4 mile race last June, and when looking at all the pics, SO many people had their faces down and their hand on their watch to stop the time!)
I still have to figure out where Greg will be and when…I think it’ll just be easiest for him to be at the finish line, since I don’t know how easy it will be to go from one place on the course to another to another…I’ll have to get some insight into that while at the expo.
Today is about all the prep for the early rise tomorrow! It’s been raining since Thursday – it’s supposed to stop late tonight – so hopefully no rain in the morning! It might be cooler, though So I need to figure out what I’m wearing…that will be the hard part!
Back tomorrow (hopefully) with a race report!
March 28th, 2009 in
Running | tags:
half marathon,
ING training |
Comments Off
According to the ING Georgia marathon site, we are 2 days and 10 hours from the gun going off! WOW – it’s getting closer. For the most part, I’m still excited. As I read twitter posts about it, I get more and more excited!!! I decided to ice the knee and take ibuprofin today. Will do the same tomorrow…However, I think I gave my knee freezer burn from the ice pack. If it’s not one thing, it’s another, right?!
For the past month or so, I keep buying pomelos, but we haven’t eaten them. So I decided to open one tonight. Greg had never had one before, and I last had one YEARS ago when I studied abroad. So I opened it, and was surprised to find the flesh to be pinkish. The ones I had years ago had a light yellowish colored flesh, similar to the rind. So this was pinkish – but it was exactly how I remembered it. A mild grape-fruity taste, less juicy, easily peeled from the membranes, with a distinct texture. Of course I didn’t take any pictures for you – I don’t always remember to pull out the camera until AFTER the fact! But we enjoyed eating it.
About 10 days ago, my aunt sent me a picture that she found when going through my grandparents’ stuff. The picture is in REALLY good condition, given the age (ok, not sure when it was taken, but it is OLD), and had writing on the back that needed translating. We got one translation – but no one knew the people who were mentioned. I then remembered I had corresponded with a distant (uh, didn’t know about her til I got her email) cousin a few years ago about a side of the family that I don’t know much about (due to my grandparents’ passing when I was young). So I went through the emails and found the names mentioned – we’re still trying to piece all the relatives together, but it’s neat figuring all this out.
And that’s about all I have for tonight. It’s almost time for Grey’s Anatomy!
Just trying to get through the week. I went for a run tonight – and it was not easy to begin with. Normally I exercise first thing in the morning. Today, I had been up for HOURS after not sleeping so well last night. And as I started out and felt like it was a struggle, I realize that I stupidly did not drink that much water this afternoon. So much for smart hydration. I did take my water bottle with me, and sipped more than I normally would.
I turned off the alarms for speed, and tried to pace myself. I think I did pretty ok – first mile was ~10 minutes, which isn’t bad. Normally I start off and I’m going about a minute faster, which I cannot sustain. And as I kept going, I just ran what felt comfortable. And I surprised myself with a slightly faster speed! Yeah…
And at the end, I tried picking up the speed, big time, to catch some guy who was in front of me. He was running at a pace, and I did close the gap. But I let up near my house, so I didn’t pass him!
I was also trying a couple of things – I know, you don’t necessarily want to try anything on race day. I bought a SPI belt, oh yesterday, to hold my phone & nutrition. It wasn’t too bad. I have an iPhone, which is wide – so I can’t hold too much else in the belt. I got at least one pack of gummies in there, and I can always put a gel or another gummy in the holder of my water bottle. I plan on running with the water bottle, and am glad for the belt to hold other things.
And as far as my knee…when I was in the running store yesterday (this is becoming my new favorite store!), I asked one of the women if she knew how to tell if knee pain is real, or because of my shoes. So we chatted for a bit, and she suggested running in my old shoes this week, to see if the pain subsided. I ran in the old shoes tonight – I could tell a difference at a few different times. Not necessarily good, not necessarily bad. Ugh – not sure what to do about shoes…
Not sure if I’ll get any recipes in this week. It just might be a week of running posts!
Let the countdown begin. I can’t believe I’m at this point. Next Sunday I will have (hopefully) run my first half-marathon!!! Yup – next. Sunday. Wow.
If I don’t think too hard about it, I’m fine. No nerves. But I suspect they will catch up with me as the week wears on. Yesterday was my last “long” run – 7.6 miles. I was able to get outside to run, too, which was nice! It was a little cool out for me, which meant I questioned what I was wearing as I’d pass women in just shorts & a short-sleeve shirt! (If you must know, I had on a short-sleeve technical shirt under a long sleeve technical shirt, tights, a cap, and a band to cover my ears – I hate when my ears are cold and cold wind does not like my ears!) There were only 5 minutes or so when I felt hot, so I guess for me, I was dressed a-ok.
Unfortunately, I now have knee pain. I’m not sure if it’s the new shoes (latest model of the shoe I’ve been wearing for a few years now, but this one is not as wide in the mid-section of the shoe), over use of knee (from long runs), or over use on long treadmill runs. Ugh. It’s there a little bit when I run, but it’s really noticeable when I stop running! Again – not thinking about it too hard, but will look into possibly seeing someone about it, after the race! (I do have a history of knee issues, none of which have ever been looked at by a doctor…and where the pain is located is not in the same place as where my past knee issues have been.)
If I think about things just right – I’m getting excited!!!! woo hoo!!!
March 22nd, 2009 in
Running | tags:
ING training |
1 Comment
These are some of the BEST turkey burgers we have had. I wouldn’t be surprised as it gets closer to grilling season (we’re almost there), that we have these every couple of weeks, if not more frequent. When we got our grill, we got one of the Weber Grill cookbooks – and we absolutely love this recipe.
The recipe calls for making a creamy cucumber relish. At the time, we had tzatziki sauce from Costco, so that’s what we ate on the burgers (and never made the creamy cucmber relish). Last night, we didn’t have the tzatziki from Costco, but I had ingredients to make some version of homemade tzatziki, so I tried that.
Turkey Burger ingredients:
1-1.25 lbs grond turkey
1/2 c. bread crumbs
4 green onions (white & light green parts only, minced)
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp pure chile powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Tzatziki sauce:
12 oz plain yogurt (it was 12 oz because I had 2 small containers of yogurt) or greek yogurt
1 cucumber – peeled, seeded, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped / minced
salt & pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste
(The burgers got cooked a little well, so I only have this picture of the raw burger)
Since I didn’t have greek yogurt, I placed the plan yogurt on some paper towels, over a strainer, to draw out some of the extra moisture. I did this for about 10 minutes. Then mix all the tzatziki ingredients in a bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes – this will give the ingredients time to meld together.
For the burgers – mix all the ingredients together. Shape the mixtures into patties the size of your choice – we like them a little bigger, so we divide the mixture into 4 equal parts.
Grill the burgers until just cooke through – 5-7 minutes, turning once.
Serve the burgers with the sauce on top.
Stella is almost 2 years old. But we still call her a puppy. If you ask me, she’s Greg’s dog – I’m just chopped liver to her. Usually. She likes getting loved on by him. She listens to him (more than me, that is…when she decides to listen). She brings him toys to play with. She will lick his fingers for no reason. Me, she plays rough with. She barks at me, almost growling, trying to intice me to play w/her. I know that she just wants to play because her tush is in the air and her little tail (it’s docked) is going back and forth. She goes “shopping” in my closet, stealing stuff. Oh – and you know she stole something because she runs across the room with her head held high, and she’s prancing more than running. It’s the funniest thing to watch.
She has a great personality. Knowing the characteristics of her breed - protective of family and home, weary of strangers, independent thinker (she’s a herding breed), we made sure she was socialized from a young age. She went to the dog park and doggy day care as soon as she could. She loves getting loved on by people. She loves to play. She has the cutest “smile”. And sometimes she does the funniest things – cracks us up.
She has several tricks that she does – for treats, of course. The thing is, she anticipates what you’re going to say, and just does all her tricks at once. The list includes: sit, paw (shake), stay, roll over, play dead (she is down and throws her head to the side), up (is on hind legs to get treat from you – she basically grabs your hand with her paws), circle (turns in circles), and under (goes through the legs).
When she knows she gets to go somewhere, she goes ballistic. She starts jumping in circles. Then she goes back and forth from where you are to the back door. She jumps up in your face. She then does her circles again. Sometimes it’s hard to get her to sit still to put her leash on. She is SO excited. If you say “car”, she knows she gets to go somewhere, so you have to be careful when you say it!
However, lately, she’s been nicer to me. Earlier today, when she came down the stairs, she ran down the stairs, through the house, and came straight to me, to get loved on. And while I was prepping for dinner, she and Greg were playing in the front room. When they were done, she came over to me and gave me a kiss! She’s not a very kissy dog. And when I was scratching her, she kept wiggling to make sure I got all her spots.
Of course, now, when I’m writing about her, I cannot remember all of the hilarious things she does. She does things, sometimes, that have me in tears!
Here’s her the other day, after her hair cut! What a sweet pup!
March 16th, 2009 in
stella |
2 Comments
While I LOVE desserts, I don’t make them that often. It might appear that way, but I don’t. It’s hard when there’s just 2 of us – we don’t need to eat it until it’s all gone, and I really hate for dessert to go to waste! So I usually need an occasion to make something.
This particular cake is YUMMY, even if it is doctored out of the box. I last made this for a party my neighbor was having – I actually made 2 desserts, one to go with the theme of the party (the chocolate chinese cookies), and this one because I wanted to.
Here it is…
Ingredients:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c oil
1 c water
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 c brown sugar
12 oz chocolate chips
2 tsp cinnamon
Directions -
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a bundt pan with pam. (The directions I have said to use a spring form pan, and the first time I tried this cake and tried the spring form pan, the cake didn’t cook! Someone made this for Thanksgiving and used a bundt pan, so I used a bundt pan this last time, and it was PERFECT.)
Mix together cake mix, pudding eggs, oil, water, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix together the topping ingredients – chocolate chips, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
Pour half of the batter mix into the pan, and then half of the topping. Continue, and end with the topping. (I’m not really great with splitting the batter and topping in half…I usually have way too much topping at the end. So I think next time, I’m going to put more of the topping in the middle, which is where I like it, and the remainder on the top [which becomes the bottom of the cake once inverted.])
Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.
Cut and enjoy!
I’m submitting this to Nurit’s cake collection at 1family.friendly.food – check out her blog! http://www.familyfriendlyfood.com/
March 15th, 2009 in
Desserts | tags:
cake,
chocolate chips |
Comments Off
So we tried to make falafel tonight. From scratch. Good idea. But something happened in the execution.
I’m not sure if we used the wrong oil (didn’t have grapeseed or corn oil). Maybe there was something that was missing from the ingredients – even though we followed the directions exactly. Maybe we really did need to use dried chickpeas and soak them over night.
I’m willing to try this again. Not sure if Greg is. We’ll see…
