The Baltimore Half Marathon

Friday, October 10 I was finally starting to feel the energy for my upcoming race the next morning. I was going to run in my second race ever, the Baltimore Half Marathon. In reality I would have had to run 10 miles that day anyway as part of a training run for Disney in January, so what's another 3.1? 

The week leading up wasn't exactly the best. I had the dreaded stomach virus that had been hitting a lot of people in the US. I hadn't eaten Monday-Wednesday and managed to lose 8 pounds. On top of all that, there was no way I was going to exercise/run/walk/get my ass off the couch - because hey, when you're feeling "shitty" (no pun intended...) you should be able to sit still and just watch daytime TV. That is the perfect remedy. So, Friday came and Tracey and I had plans to go out for a pasta dinner. I was going to go for an easy 2 mile jog after work, but in reality, what was that going to do for me? It was going to possibly set me up to trip and hurt myself, and we all know I have done that before... so I decided against it. I met her at Mama Lucia's in Elkridge (by the new Costco) at 7pm. I ordered something simple, just because with my luck, something new would make me sick. We had a great dinner, then it was off to Wal-Mart to buy some throw away sweats for the morning.

I woke up at 6:30, ready to go. I had laid everything out I needed the night before in the same way I've laid everything out for the last 9 months. Why should I change routine now? I made a cup of coffee, gobbled down some oatmeal and was out the door.  Tracey and I met at the light rail in Linthicum Heights a little before 8am on race day. The Half wasn't scheduled to start until 9:45. That was a little later then we had liked, but, it was what it was. We hit the streets of Baltimore around 8:30 or so and stopped by the Sheraton for a bathroom break. After all, that seemed much more appealing then the lovely set ups they had for the bulk of the crowd. We proceeded to the sky walk to watch the Kenyan (I'm not joking...) in the lead for the marathon come running under us. I was starting to feel excited - but we still had 45 minutes to wait for the start. By now, it was warming up. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. 

We walked to the other side where Tracey made one last bathroom stop. We made our way to the "Wave #3" holding area and all that was left to do was wait. We found a group from Howard County TNT and chatted with them. Out of 17,000 people, who pops up?! Jeff! Jeff and I ran together during the spring while I trained for Alaska and he trained for Frederick. On one of the longer runs we came to realize we live a street away from each other! We said hello and wished each other good luck. (Jeff had had an injury back in May. He had taken a break from running in order to train for the Seagull Century.) 

                             

 9:45 came and the first wave was off. Unfortunately we had to wait 5 minutes before wave 2 started and another 5 before we were allowed to. We didn't start until 10am... regardless, I was now running. Tracey was next to me for the first few miles. The way the course was set up, the first 3 miles of the half were run on a different course, then we joined up with the full, for us it was mile 3 for the full, 16.  Our two courses merged together and as I was running I happened to notice - I missed the first water stop! Rats... Oh well, I knew I'd be ready for water by the time I hit the next one. Not only that, but I'd also be ready for a gel. The course was hilly, but I had been warned. I had also been told I'd be OK, because training in Howard County is perfect for that. By mile 6 I was wondering when the hills would stop. I was now approaching Clifton Park. This was a side of town that I had never seen before, but there's something to be said for the Baltimore native that looks at you, grunts and says "now THAT's what I'm talking about" as you run by- blond hair, blowing in the wind. 

This is where I finally had to stop and walk, but I was happy - I had run the first 6 miles without stopping and it was mostly uphill. I owed myself a break. I walked through Clifton Park and it was onto Lake Montebello.  As I began to run again (mile 6.5) I noticed someone up ahead standing in the middle of the road. From behind, it looked as though he could hardly stand up. As I got closer I realized it was someone I knew! Lee, who also runs with the Saturday morning group, was struggling with a leg cramp. I ran right up to him, pulled out my ear phones and offered help to get him to the side. We got to the side and started walking. He was in need of a water stop, badly. Luckily there was one about half a mile away. We spotted a photographer, broke into a small jog for the photograph, then I continued on.  I  made it around Lake Montebello and up 33rd street. Yes, UP 33rd street. You guessed it, this road was basically UP HILL. I had to walk this as well. For the first time, I was experiencing cramping in my left thigh. That was an issue I have never had before. I was at a point, my first ever "maybe I should just give up" point. This is also something I've never had before, but considering the factors - heat, sickly week, poor hydration, time of day - it really seemed like something worth doing. 

As I dropped my head, what did I hear ?? "Hey stranger!" I looked to the right and saw Jeff! What timing... He ran along side me while I picked up the pace again. We started chatting about the TNT group and my parents trip to China. That I needed.... and for the next mile or so we hung together. As I approached mile 11, it was hard to believe I was almost finished. I felt like I was at mile 24 in Alaska. I couldn't believe my body felt this poor in such a short amount of time. Jeff and I were still running, however he was a little up ahead. I had to drop back to a walk again, but I was OK with that. It looked like I was going to finish. As mile 12 approached, I found myself next to a woman maybe a few years older then me. I looked at her and said "man, I feel like shit" she looked at me and said "I will never run this half again, my ankles hurt like hell" I looked up and said, "well... we've got one mile left to go... should we run it in? Let's do it!" and the two of us started into a slow hobble. There's definitely something to be said about the feeling of a finish line that is part of a race filled with 17,000 people. 

As we ran through Lexington Market, you could hear the cheers from the other side of Camden Yards. We ran through Camden Yards and I began to pick up speed. I was flying. Knowing the end was near, hearing the cheers from the finish line and knowing Scott was there waiting - I just had to blow through. I happened to notice that I wasn't too far behind Jeff. As I crossed over the mat and came to a stop, I looked up and noticed he was doubling back to give me a high five. We had made it. It was over. My legs hurt like hell, my back was sore and I wasn't feeling hot at all. 

  

Finish time according to the Garmin: 2:48. 

Chip Time: 2:50:17. 

I received my  medal and found Scott, ready to collapse and add another race to the list.  

All in all I have to say I was pretty proud of myself, all things considered, I made it. I finished the race and have another accomplishment to add to the list. Scott also reminded me that I had kinda, sorta skimped on training for this race. I had never run more then 8 miles while training, and that was on a treadmill. More the reason to feel accomplished! But also, more the reason to learn and not make that mistake again. 

Oh... it's been awhile... but don't worry, I haven't gained weight!

Well, yes, it has been awhile since I've managed to be able to sit down and blog. I started with that title for my blog because often times, people who blog about their diets or workout habits often stop writing when they've either hit a wall, or started gaining again. No need to worry, I'm maintaing my weight and happier then ever with my workout routine. I have also been smoke free for 4 months now. I've managed to replace my nasty habit with feeling great about myself with working out. 

With summer ending and getting back into the full swing at work and with grad school, I just haven't had the time. Plus, the kids at school manage to find the craziest stuff on the internet, so blogspot.com is blocked. I'd have to say it looks as though this school year will be a good one. Nothing too exciting has happened so far. I lost two kids off my caseload from last year, but gained another. It's been a challenge getting used to the new one I've gained, but once he learns our school is so much different from the one he came from, things will hopefully change. He's not a behavior issue, more of a - my way or no way type. He also views himself as the "master compromiser". Kids like this drive me nuts. 

Grad school seems to be well on it's way. I haven't started a count down to graduation yet, but I think someone said it is May 22nd, 2009. I am SO excited! I do have to make it through these last 4 classes first. The one class will be interesting, however, it's so medical I will actually have to read the text so I can follow along. At least the text is interesting, currently I'm on the chapter of Newborns/Premies and birth defects. The other class will be a little slower. The book is not nearly exciting, and that also goes for the teacher. This one is on teaching communication and social skills. I think I may actually know a few adults who would benefit from this too! ; )  

While I've still managed to maintain my weekly running, I haven't been out with the group too much. I've been trying to come up with a new routine for the week. Wednesday's (at least until it gets dark) I have been heading out for a 15-20 mile ride. That has given my legs a different workout and actually makes me feel stronger on Thursdays when I do my usual 3-4 miles. I often wish I could do more, but time only permits so much. Today I made it back out to meet some of the new runners for the Winter Season. I am mentoring for this season, so this should be fun. I've always like to help people, and sharing everything I learned or tried from last season is a nice way to help. I didn't meet everyone I'm working with season, but I did meet a few of them. It was hot today, so everyone who ran must get some sort of credit. I'm already feeling drained and I still have a ton of work to do for the week, today. Thankfully on Monday's my planning period is first period, so I have that time to play a little catch-up! My weekend was nice, but I'm always a little sad when Sunday comes..... 

The burn out

The week after the marathon, I felt great. However, I still stayed off my "running feet" for the entire week just to give myself some time to rebound. Saturday came around and I went out with the team and managed to run 5 miles. When I caught up to Andy (he went to Alaska with us) he was complaining about how difficult it was to run, when he didn't think he'd have a problem. I, on the other hand, felt great - and since I no longer needed to complete my internship, it now looked like I had a whole summer to focus on grad classes and improving my running.

The week before the 4th of July, I decided to hit the streets every day. Of course I  kept it simple and stayed low in mileage, but by Wednesday I thought I'd push myself.  I woke up and ran an easy 6 miles. It was good to get out and go further - plus, I think I wanted to eat a big dinner that night! = ) The next day, Tracey called and wanted to know if I wanted to run her "hilly" route through Columbia. Why not - I had run an easy 6 the day before, so let's hit some hills. That went really well too. Friday, we left for Deep Creek for 4th of July weekend. I was excited to be able to run through Sky Valley - after all, 7 miles of our marathon run was on trail exactly like that. So, I woke up, got dressed and plotted my route. I noticed during this run, it was fairly hard. My first thought was - I don't really run on roads like this at home, maybe that is the problem. My second thought happened to be - I might also be in for new shoes... I wonder if these guys are "dead" yet. I carried on, even though the run seemed to be the hardest since I started training in February. 

Sunday, I thought I would go for another run - this time I couldn't even run 2 miles! What in the world... I was doomed. I began to get down and realized that, although I haven't had many bad runs, when I do - I really get depressed. It's easy to sit there and think "I just ran 26 miles the other day... why on earth are 3 so damn hard..." I decided, much thanks to lots of leg pain, it had to be the shoes. So, on Monday I went out to Fleet Feet and purchased a brand new pair of shoes, and let me tell you, I was super excited to use them. Pretty much all I had figured this far  was right - my shoes were totally dead. 

That night, I laced up my new shoes and hit the neighborhood. Half a mile later - I was dying. I could hardly move my legs. My feet felt like they had cinder blocks attached to them and my legs just ached. This wasn't fair - what in the world was going on?I decided to ask Jonathan for some advice - I had pretty  much come to the conclusion that my legs were signing out for quite some time. This was their way of telling me recovery was needed and I had to stop. The same day, as irony would have it, my new book on Women's Running by Jeff and Barb Galloway showed up. This book was full of great suggestions. I finished the week with some cycling classes and felt a lot better.  Yesterday I thought I'd give a small 4 mile run a try with the team and - it worked! I was able to make it and felt as though I was working my way back up. 

The ultimate experience... My first marathon!

Saturday June 21st was without a doubt an event I will never forget. I will start from the beginning:

Thursday June 19, 2008

Scott and I hit the road for Regan International Airport around 5am. Scott stayed over the night before, simply so we would be able to leave from a central location that early in the morning. We got to the airport, parked the car and started in. Our first flight wasn't scheduled to take off until 8am or so. We checked in, got through security and found the gate. I couldn't find any TNT people! About 30 minutes went by and Megan called me. She was going to be our Staff Contact throughout the trip. She wondered if we were "close to the airport". I said, "close?! we are sitting at the gate!" Apparently we had jumped the gun and left the group at check in. They came and found us and we were ready to board. Off to Alaska! 

                                                       

We arrived in Alaska around 3:30pm, got our bags and headed over to the Howard Johnson in Anchorage. We checked in and split up to unpack and set up in our rooms. We all met up a little while later to head to the Expo and get our bibs. The Expo was help at another hotel, only a 10 minute walk away. There were lots of things there. Naturally, there were people selling T-shirts and other marathon items, but this was where we were going to get our timing chip and bib #. I was super surprised to find my bib number as low as it was, I was # 228. After we picked everything up, a small group of us (Amy, Coralita, Trudy, Todd, their daughter Kaitlyn, Mike, Andy and Scott) headed to find a place for dinner. We settled on Thai. It was obvious we all needed sleep by the time dinner was over!

Friday, June 20

Megan (our staff contact) is also my age. This made it especially easy to hang out. She and I sat next to each other on the second plane the day before. She mentioned she was renting a car and if we had nothing to do, we could go with her and spend the day sightseeing. This was perfect! Amy, Coralita, Megan, Scott and I walked to Enterprise, picked up a massive Expedition and hit the road. We took the scenic drive and it was beautiful. We stopped at every stop and made sure to snap some photos. So far, it seemed like an excellent trip.That night, TNT held a Pasta Party. How exciting. I had never been to a pasta party before and had no idea what to expect. We walked down to the convention center, and right outside were all of the coaches, mentors and other TNT employees. WOW. They were really pumping us up for the event.

At the Pasta Party there were several presentations. The first was the announcement of exactly who was from where. People were from ALL over the United States. There were tons of teams, some big and some little. Some teams made a lot of noise, while others tried to top them. After the announcement of teams, the mission of the society was talked about. There was a guest speaker who happened to write a column for Runner's World (one of the few magazines I actually read cover to cover each month!) He was extremely entertaining. He spoke of the "Bite-Me Zone" and a few other marathon quirks. The final speaker of the evening happened to be the honored teammate from another team. Although I do not remember his name, he stood in front of a whole convention hall full of people and spoke of his trying times battling cancer. Now that he is in remission, he spent the last 5 months also training for this marathon through Team in Training.

After the pasta party, we walked back to the hotel to prepare for a good nights sleep. It was hard to even think about sleep being we were all getting ready to run a huge race the next day. A race that many of us had never even though to put our bodies through before. We all met in the conference room of the hotel to decorate our shirts. This is where we took duct tape and wrote our names on the front of our race day shirts. Apparently, people on the side lines will call out your name for support if they know it. It was supposed to be super motivating!

June 21 - The Big Day

My alarm went off at 5am, which was when breakfast was supposed to have started for runners. I got up in the dark and found my way to the breakfast room, where - guess what - breakfast wasn't even close to being ready. The only think I could think of was... what about the people that need time to digest before heading outside!?! Oh no. I went back to the room where I proceeded to start getting ready. I had laid out my clothes the night before, the same exact way I had laid them out every other Friday night for the last 5 months of training. (That's not at all superstitious!) I began little by little to get dressed. Although I never had an issue with chaffing before, I wasn't going to let it happen this time. So, I put body glide all over the parts I know other people have issues with, just to be safe! The weather forecast the night before was saying 70 degrees by 11am and sunny the whole time. I put on my shorts, TNT purple shirt, pulled my hair up and decided to rock a purple bandana for the first time. Every other training session I wore white. I figured for the big day, I might as well be covered in purple! I pulled on my leg brace and headed back down for breakfast. I enjoyed a poppyseed muffin and a banana and quickly guzzled down a bottle of water. We needed to be in the lobby by 6 for our 6:30 bus ride to the high school.

As we all collected in the lobby, an announcement was made about the change in weather. Uh Oh. The weather was now only going to be a high of 55, mostly cloudy, chance of rain. RAIN!!! Oh my gosh. I had yet to run in a ton of rain and started to worry. What could I do now...? Nothing. We boarded the bus where I came to the realization it was super cold out. I had my bag of clothes for the finish line and held that on my lap to help keep in warmth. We arrived at the starting line and had to place our finish line clothes in a trash bag and put it in a van. This is where I had the brilliant idea of putting on a trash bag! The bags were clear and although people made fun of me for wearing it, it did add some heat to my freezing body. Not to mention, when the race started and it rained for the first 4 miles... I stayed dry! We stood around the race start for an hour, Andy, Mike and I and tried to calm our nerves, but this is when we began to think "what in the hell have we gotten ourselves in to now...?" But, we had started this together, and were determined to finish it together. We made use of the porta-potty's one last time and got in the starting line. The national anthem was sung and a gun was shot - the race was off!

                                           

As we began running, all you could see was a sea of purple. This was an event that was mainly run by team in training participants. It was quite a sight. Andy, Mike and I stayed together. We made each other laugh and kept each other going. It was going far better then expected. The rain was no fun, but didn't last long. We had heard horror stories about the 8 miles of trail we had to run. We approached mile 7, where the trail began and thoughts between the three of us were "wow, this isn't too bad..." Boy, were we wrong. The trail was composed of rocks, all sizes and mud - lots of mud. This particular trail is called the Tank     Trail. After spending time on it and noticing the "Live Ammunition" signs along the trail, it was obvious this is used for Tank training! So why on earth were we running on it!?I met so many great individuals while trying to make it through this part. Mike and Andy had forged ahead knowing I would have trouble keeping up with their pace. I was okay with that, although Mike had expressed he felt bad. It gave me the opportunity to meet other people and just complete the rest of the journey on my own. It had stopped raining by now and although I was taking opportunities to walk a few times, I was able to strike up conversations with other TNT participants from other states. One even let me use her cell phone to call my mom at mile 13! By the time I reached mile 17, I had to stop at the first aid station. Ever since our 20 milier, I had a toenail that was slowly turning black. It felt as though either my toenail had finally fallen off or I was getting bad blisters. I stopped at the first aid station, only to find out I had the beginnings of a huge blister on the side of my big toe. I wrapped it up and was good to go, back on track.

Miles 17-20 were excellent, I was able to just kick it and keep running, but by the time I hit mile 21, my hips were in pain. I found I needed to walk a good portion up until Mile 24. By the time I hit 24, everything had gone numb and I had energy I didn't even know I had left. At this point I was walking with another Maryland teammate whom I had met a few days before. Jonathan, the mentor (now Asst. Coach) from my team had found me and was walking with us. Several people were commenting on how they couldn't believe I looked so good. I maintained my smile and just kept moving on. Scott and the crew were waiting for us at Mile 25.  

                                                       

That was exciting. It was nice to see familiar faces after running through the woods. They were also a sign of "this is almost over!" which provided a great feeling! As I crossed the finish line, I made sure to keep a smile on my face - after all, 5 photographers were taking my picture. I pumped my fists high in the air and felt great. I approached the finish tent to find young boys bending over backwards to make me feel even more like a star. Andy and Mike were watching from afar and loving it.

Crossing the finish line was one of the most emotional moments I've reached this far in my life. The feeling of accomplishment was phenomenal, but it was also overwhelming. I saw Scott and burst into tears. It was all over. I wasn't able to control myself any longer. My dad called at that exact moment where more tears were shed. I couldn't believe I had completed the whole thing. I also couldn't believe I was still walking. My last and final thought was, now what. It was like a Wedding... months of planning for one big event - then what?

                                                                                         

That night, TNT hosted a Victory Party. We met up with everyone we had met on the trip in the hotal lobby and limped down to the convention center together. Andy happened to take note that we all had different ways of walking just to get through the pain. We all had a great time - they even had dancing (don't worry... I wasn't out there! That must have been planned for the spectators... : P ) We took dozens of pictures with each other thousands of ways. Anything to remember the bond we had all made in such a short amount of time...

                                            

Sunday, June 22

This was our last day in Anchorage, and really, we had no idea what we were going to go. Megan still had the car, which was great. It was raining and real gray out, but that was okay - we had to make the best of it. We all went to a flea market by the hotel first and looked around at handmade Alaska items. Then, the boys went one way, and we went another. A few hours later after some touristy shopping, we met back up and piled into Megan's car. Amy had the map, I was driving and Andy, Mike, Scott, Megan and Coralita jumped in. We took a drive over the a state park and climbed up the mountain. We parked the car, got out and hiked to the first stop off on the trail. Once you turned around, the view in front of you was spectacular. It was truly amazing to see something so beautiful right in front of you.

                   

That night, we all walked down to Humpy's for some authentic Alaskan King Crab legs. My oh my, that alone made me not want to leave the state! Dinner was excellent and the mood was right. We headed back to the hotel around 11 to board the bus and head back to the airport. Our first flight took off at 1:55am, Alaska time - which was about 5:55am, Baltimore time. We touched down in San Francisco to unload, and landed again in LA. We had a 4 hour layover and headed back to Baltimore. All in all, Team in Training was a wonderful experience. They have provided me with enough support and motivation to make me realize, that yes, someone like me can attempt an event like this - and totally fall in love with it.