Two for One: Boston 2 Big Sur 2010!

Big Sur was everything that I hoped it would be. It did not disappoint in the least. It was only better than I could’ve imagined.

Karen and I went to the Expo Saturday, timing it so that we’d get to hear Dean Karnazes talk about long distance running and his book about running 50 marathons in 50 states. This was fun to hear. And it came in handy later when we needed stories to share along the course!

Karen sweet-talked Wally Kastner, the Race Director, into giving our group the “cushy” bus tickets to the start. Marcie, Karen, and I were staying in the Hilton, and wanted to walk over and meet Sharon in front of her hotel. Sharon was on the nice buses, and Mr. Kastner was kind to let us be with her.

We did our carb loading that night at California Pizza Kitchen. Karen’s family, Mine, and Sharon with her husband Dave. The pasta with Marinara sauce and chicken seemed like good pre-race fuel.

On Sunday morning Noah kindly got up before 4 am to take us to meet Sharon. We walked back and forth in front of the Marriot looking for Sharon. Marcie, Karen, and I. We were just about to give up and get on the bus when Sharon came running up. Yay!!! I really wanted to ride up together. I remember a long lonely bus ride on my own- at Ogden Marathon, my first. I didn’t want Sharon’s first marathon bus ride to be a lonely one. Luckily it all came together!

Big Sur is a smaller marathon than others I have done. It was fun because I actually saw everyone there who I knew would be running it. I saw Heather Fetter on our same bus. She is a friend who used to come to my cycle classes at the old Gilbert Mountainside. I saw Dan Beaver “The Shoe Nazi”, as we call him, there with his wife. Dan sells shoes to me and all my friends. He works at Run AZ, and is usually there, with great advice about shoes and running. And Marcie spotted Scott Dunlap toeing the front line as we passed the front of the pack trying to gauge where our collective starting position should be.

Karen, Sharon, and I wore our Ragnar shirts and this was a good conversation starter along the course. Allot of people started talking to us about which Ragnar races they’ve run. Sharon told us later that she also talked to allot of people who asked about Ragnar.

We saw a guy running alone wearing the Clif Team gear. We asked him where his people were, and he told us that he is the “float”. He starts up front and gradually slows back through the crowd. If one of the pacers is having trouble then he takes their place. We asked questions about what it entails to be a pacer. I must admit that Im interested! It doesn’t sound like something I can do while I’m mom to young ones. Someday it would be fun!

We had beautiful perfect running weather. We were so worried about fighting wind up the Hurricane Hill, but there was no wind resistance on Hurricane. Seeing it in front of us it looked very intimidating! A girl running by us said that it is not as bad as it looks. And I felt that way myself. I thanked myself for all the weekend runs in Las Sendas. Hurricane Hill was very doable. Hurricane was mile 10-12, and after completing Hurricane I had the confidence that the rest of the race would go well.

My quads were sore in the beginning of the race- reminding me of Boston 6 days ago. But luckily they didn’t seem to get any worse during Big Sur. I did feel throughout the race that I preferred the up hill and didn’t like the down hill so much. The up hills felt much better on my leg muscles. And EVERYTHING seemed to be up or down.

Karen and I had been planning beforehand to prepare for a game I call “Friday night at the movies”. It’s a game from my mission where you tell an entire movie from start to finish to someone- a movie that they’ve never seen before. We played it on the mission while tracting in rural areas. But Karen and I never could decide on a movie- I haven’t been able to stay awake for movies during marathon training! So we came empty handed. But then I remembered that Marcie hadn’t heard the stories from Dean Karnazes. So throughout the marathon I related little stories that Dean had shared on Saturday.

Bixby Bridge came at the halfway point. It was fun to hear Michael Martinez playing the grand piano. You could hear him way before you could see him. It sounded so beautiful. I liked the upbeat selection- he was playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” as we ran away. We wanted to stay and hang out and hear more. But decided to finish the race. So a few pictures and we were on our way.

I consumed 3 gels and a packet of gu chomps. I also got brave on this race and took the bananas, oranges, and strawberries offered along the course. It all served me well. I really liked the BYOB- bring your own bottle program. This was the first year for them to try this, and I hope that more races move this direction. Marcie, Karen, and I were trying to stay together. When they refilled their bottle, I would wait until the next water stop to refill mine. It was my hope that it would take us less time on refills if we staggered the refills. This seemed to work out well. And it gave me a small walking break while they refilled. Karen joked that I needed to refill more because she wasn’t getting enough walking breaks.

The points of interest Id read about on Scott’s blog were coming up one after the other. It made the marathon flow by pleasantly. And it was beautiful scenery the entire way.

Marcie seemed to be holding back most of the way, she got ahead of us for a little while on hurricane hill. But she held back and allowed us to catch her. She said it did feel better when we were together. It’s my first marathon to stick with anyone past mile 7/8. (Marcie in St George). It really was fun to stay together.

With 4 miles left to go, Marcie said she needed to walk a little. Karen told me that if I wanted to go faster, I could leave her. I said we’ve come this far- we need our “Lisa-Cynthia” moment!!! Lisa and Cynthia finished together in St George, and I thought that Karen and I should stick this one out together, as long as we could maintain some sort of a run. Which we both did. My calves suggested a mild threat that they might cramp and force me to walk. But they didn’t follow through on the threat. I was happy to feel good in the last few miles.

Karen and I grabbed hands and crossed the finish line together. A fun feeling to have made it the whole way together. I only wish Marcie could’ve made it a trio there. But at least she was with us most of the way. She came in shortly after us, achieving a personal record on this challenging course!

After we finished, they put a really sweet medal on us. A very hand-made looking medal. And I picked up my long-coveted jacket from the Boston-2-Big Sur tent. And received another medal with Boston-2-Big Sur on it.

Dave called and said Sharon would be coming in soon. My kids were a little restless but said I could walk over and watch for Sharon. I really wanted to see her finish this, her first marathon. She has kindly allowed me to be her personal trainer and has obediently done most of everything I told her- only putting her foot down to the post-race ice bath! So I got to see Sharon cross the line- looking strong.

After a marathon I like to keep walking around, because I’m on such a runner’s high, and because I fear going stiff if I stop to rest. Karen felt the same so our families headed straight to Monterey Aquarium. My husband assured me that, despite the marathon, I still smelled better than everyone else at the Aquarium. What’s the expression that means “blinded by love”, but referring to the sense of smell?

It was great training for one marathon, and getting 2 marathons out of my training! I would do that B2B every year if cost and time were not an issue. I definitely hope to do it again someday.

Thankyou Marcie, Sharon, and Karen for sharing this experience with me! It was so fun and so memorable!!!

***Also a word of thanks for the support team! Before Boston I was bestowed with cookies, cream puffs, chocolate milk, diet coke, gu, caffeinated jelly beans, and even a special made mix tape!!! All of the kind wishes and gifts trully mean allot!!! Lots of kind texts and emails from friends wanting to get the scoop. You all are Awesome!!!

Loved the Big Sur Marathon!

Bart Yasso said, "If we were told that we could run only one marathon in our lifetime, Big Sur would have to be it." And boy, oh boy, I have to agree. This marathon is gorgeous and touted as one of the most beautiful marathons in the world. The route is on Highway One, right along the coast, which is very beautiful AND hilly and windy. Experienced runners say to add an additional 15-20 minutes to your normal marathon time to account for the hills and wind. So I was preparing myself to have a good time, take some pictures along the way and just enjoy the run. I felt confident knowing that I had four months of solid training under my belt. One small glitch that occurred right before the marathon was that I got sick with a nasty cold that included chills, achy body and runny nose. Great timing, huh? Luckily, by Thursday, I was starting to feel better and feel like I could run the 26.2 on Sunday.

I appreciate whoever donated their Ragnar shirt for me to wear. That was very nice of you! But unfortunately, it was too small. I had taken two other shirts just in case that one didn't work out but in the end, I decided to wear the Big Sur marathon shirt. On marathon morning, Lindy, Karen and I met outside Lindy's hotel room at 3:55 a.m. Noah took us to the Marriott Hotel, where we met Sharon, and caught the bus that would take us on the long drive to the start of the marathon. On the bus I chatted with Lindy and ate a half peanut butter sandwich and drank plenty of water. Our bus was a nice, cushy travel bus which included a bathroom in the back. I definitely took advantage of that and used the bathroom. When we got to the top, Karen and Sharon got in line for the porta-potties and Lindy and I sat on the grass and waited for 6:45 a.m. - when it would all begin. {Lindy and I at the start}

It wasn't too much time before they started calling the runners to the start according to finish times. Lindy and I started prepping by taking off our warm clothes. We got rid of our long pants and extra jackets and stuffed everything in our drop bags. I ran our bags to the truck that was loading the drop bags and then we re-united with Karen and Sharon and made our way to the start line. As we approached the start, I spotted Scott Dunlap, author of A Trail Runner's Blog, lined up front and center at the start. We stopped and gawked, then we made our way to our start places. The weather was beautiful - not too cold and not too windy. Later, I was told we had unusally nice weather. Last year, it was pretty cold. We lined up and the announcer gave us a 30 second count down and we were off. The start is at Big Sur Ranger Station which is up a canyon, so the run begins downhill with trees on either side. Around mile seven, it opened up and we could see the coast and the beautiful scenery. This marathon is gorgeous! And this marathon is hilly! One hill right after another. As we approached mile 10, we faced the big hill that extends from miles 10-12. Lindy, Karen and I charged up the hill, running every step. We had conquered the biggest hill. It's hard to see but the hill wraps up both these hills and just seems to keep going!
As we came to the halfway point, we approached Bixby Bridge. And you know you're approaching Bixby Bridge because you can hear the sounds of a grand piano echoing through the valley. Unbelievable! We stopped for a quick picture. My husband and I drove the marathon course the day after the marathon and took these pictures at Bixby Bridge. Isn't it gorgeous?

I stayed hydrated by taking gu every six miles and drinking lots of water along the way. Lindy, Karen and I all took water bottles and when our water was getting low, the water stations were pretty efficient at filling them nice and quick. At some water stations, they were out of water but had gatorade. I loved talking with Karen and Lindy along the way. This made the miles so enjoyable! We stayed together along the whole route until around mile 23. I started feeling my legs tightening and my feet hurting. I knew I needed a walk break. I waved Lindy and Karen on and walked for a bit. I would run 30 steps then walk 30 steps. Then it turned into just walking. My legs were feeling every single step I had taken to that point. As I approached mile 25, I decided to kick it into gear and see if I could beat my time at St. George. I mustered enough strength to sprint to the finish and clocked in at 4:13:28. A new personal record!

This was such a fantastic, gorgeous marathon! I hope I will be returning to run Big Sur again for the fun mile marker signs, the bands that played along the route, the big drums beating right before the big hill at mile 10, the piano player at mile 13, the strawberries at mile 25 and seeing that finish line! I am so proud of Karen - she did absolutely awesome for her first marathon. She will rock it in St. George. And I am so proud of Lindy - she completed the Boston 2 Big Sur challenge so very strong! I saw the pictures that the photographers took of Lindy and Karen crossing the finish line together - so awesome! Can't wait to read Lindy, Sharon and Karen's perspective of the race.

My First Boston

On Friday we flew to Boston. I was imbetween Noah and Dawn. She was, like me, reading Runners World Magazine. We didn’t start up conversation until we were asked to buckle up in preparation for landing. Then she piped up to tell me that a friend of hers on the plane was friends with Scott Jurek, who I was reading about in my magazine. In our short conversation that followed, I learned that she has done 44 marathons, and 5 hundred milers. I guess she didn’t start conversation with me until the end because she probably knew Id make her talk the rest of the time. A person with her race resume could’ve kept me entertained for the whole flight!
On Saturday we got our first taste of Boston. The city was full of colorful jackets with striped sleeves. Apparently there is an Addidas jacket made every year for the Boston Marathon. So walking around Boston you can identify who the runners are. And you cant miss the recent jackets- they are very bright blue and yellow. Some of the previous years have different colors- navy, orange, etc…it was kind of fun to look at the year on people’s jackets. I assumed this was probably the year of their “first Boston”. I didn’t immediately want one of these bright jackets, but I am easily influenced by trends, and now I am thinking that this should perhaps be my birthday present to myself in June.

Saturday was very cold and rainy. Noah and I were not prepared for this weather and were huddling together to try to stay warm. In the expo I looked for gloves to wear in the race. I didn’t see a single pair of gloves for sale. There were lots of arm warmers this year. On the way back to the hotel we found a Dick’s Sporting Store and purchased some Nike running gloves. At the expo Noah wrote a nice note to me on a whiteboard.

We took a duck tour which was a nice rainy day option. We were warm and had a roof over our head while we got a tour of the city and drove right into the Charles River.

Saturday night we dined at the Omni Parker Hotel- where Id read that one should go for good Boston Clam Chowder. After we walked in we realized this wasn’t the place to go for just a bowl of soup. It was pretty fancy, and for us, a higher end restaurant. I stuck to my plan of soup, salad, and rolls. But Noah ate Salmon. The chowder is creamy and the rolls are yummy, but a pretty pricey option. Next time we may look for chowder somewhere else. Or try the Italian district.
Sunday was a little rainy, but allot nicer than Saturday. And by Sunday we felt we had a better grasp of how to get around in the city. We were learning how to get around on the subway. We walked around following the freedom trail and walked through Quincy Market. We noticed a Dunkin Donuts on almost every street! So we decided to eat some quick sugary carbs- yum! Sunday night was the pre-race pasta party. It was really fun. The volunteers are super excited and fun. The music was loud and the volunteers were dancing and the food was just right for pre-race night. We were even given a bag of Lindt chocolates to complete the meal.

Monday morning I dressed with my Blinged out arm warmers from my running girls. They say “Run” down the side- in crystals. I wore my Boston 2 Big Sur shirt over the top- in hopes of meeting some of the other runners who would be in Big Sur with me next week. It worked- I talked to several people who said they’d be there with me next week. One gentleman talked to me along the course, advising me to just have fun next week. He did both races last year. He said it’s the marathon where lots of people stop to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. Sounds Great!!!

Hopkinton was a close drive from our hotel. Noah was easily able to drive me into Hopkinton State Park where there were school buses available to take us to the start. Athlete’s Village was the start where we all waited for kind of a long time. Especially those of us in the second wave. We were all numbered by our qualifying speed, and the faster people started at 10:00. I aspire to be a first wave person some day:) Waiting was okay, but I was anxious to get going.

There were lots of inspiring runners along the way. I saw a blind fellow with a small rope attaching himself to a guide. It wasn’t his first Boston either.

I had a rough start because I dressed too warm. This over dressing resulted in 3 lengthy stops. 1. to remove leg warmers which required taking off shoes. 2. taking off arm warmers which required taking off watch and music arm band 3. looking around for noah at mile thirteen so I could give him all the clothes Id taken off and couldn’t part with.

The first time I pulled off was not easy. You have to gradually merge to the side because you are tightly packed with other runners who are your same pace. They make you start in order so you are right with others of comparable pace. This is nice and I wish I could’ve stayed in my spot. After Id stepped out of my spot, I had to spend the rest of the race weaving around people. Which resulted in me running .3 miles more than necessary.

I knew that Noah would be in Wellesley to see me. He texted me that he was right about the half way. So when I got to 13.5 and still hadn’t seen him, I totally stopped and called him and was trying to tell him that Id leave my stuff with someone in the crowd, and he could come find them and retrieve my possessions. He told me to start running again. After I told him my scenery, he was convinced that I hadn’t actually passed him yet. I was glad to find out that he was right. When I stopped to give him stuff, there was a porto potty there, so I let him refill my water bottle while I relieved my small bladder.

I saw the Wellesley girls Id heard about- a long long line of college girls holding signs saying “Kiss Me!” I ran slowly past them, hoping to see some action- but these runners were not taking the time. I didn’t see any kisses.

My race really picked up after seeing Noah. Seeing him gave me a big boost. Freeing myself of extra gear gave me a boost. I now felt light and fast. I’m sure I must’ve had negative splits for this race.

I was slightly annoyed with runners who would be running along, seemingly fine, and then suddenly stop to walk. Right in front of me. I ran right into a couple of these. Literally. Race etiquette is to run off to the side before you abruptly change your pace.

I wasn’t counting the hills so after a few of them I started to wonder if I was on Heartbreak yet. Id ask myself “Is this it?” but then there’d be another one. Heartbreak didn’t seem to be much bigger than the others that led up to it. I was not humbled by the hills, but then I wasn’t running a really challenging pace either. I can see the elites being hurt by the hills.

I had pre-memorized certain mile markers in the race, and I was surprised by how fast they were all coming. When I turned onto Commonwealth I was really surprised to already be at that point. Maybe the race was going so fast because of all the wonderful people I was thinking about. It made the time pass quickly. I pre-made a wrist band with 26 names on it. I borrowed the idea from Kristen Armstrong. So every mile I thought about someone different who I really cared about. Someone who is a big part of my life now, or a few who were a big influence on my life earlier. Some of the names led to a faster pace- some were more emotionally charged. Mile 15 was for my brother Clint who was killed right before he turned 15. That was a fast hard mile for me.

Now in the races I’ve done before, the crowd gets really charged, loud, crazy for the finishing stretch. The finishing stretch lasts about 2 miles- maybe less. This was a much bigger Marathon than I’ve ever done before. The finishing crowd was the last 5 miles! Thick crazy cheering for the last 5 miles. This makes your mind think you are almost done- like the finish line is right in front of you- good thing I had a watch to tell me that I still had 5 miles to go! The crowds and cheering made me feel good and I was spurred onto faster paces by the support. In previous marathons when I’ve felt depleted- the loud crazy cheering has been a little painful. On Monday I was really greatful for the cheering crowds.

In the last few miles I realized that I was close to a re-qualifying time. This is 3:45:59 for me at this point. Though I wasn’t running with a goal time- I still didn’t want to miss a qualifying time by seconds. So I really kicked into gear and the last couple of miles were as fast as the crowded course would allow me to go. I really had to do some weaving though to get around runners who were suffering in these last miles.

I crossed the finish line and forgot to look up. So I didn’t see my clock time. Knew it wouldn’t be accurate any way, because it was 2 minutes in the beginning before I even got to cross the start line. I was anxious to see my “net time” from my chip to make sure I got under 3:46. Unfortunately there would be no available “net time” for me. I was one of 143 runners affected by a “glitch” in the finishing line. So I’m still hoping to get an official finish time. Kind of a bummer.

I felt good until I stopped to let them put the medal on me. Then I felt dizzy the same way you do when you spin a hundred circles as a child.
My stomach was quickly able to tolerate food. I ate half my finish line goodies and then we went to find Bukowski’s Tavern where I ate a whole Peanut Butter Bacon Cheeseburger. Yes- Peanut Butter! I heard of this strange combination in an article written by Editor-in-chief David Willey of the Runners World Magazine. I didn’t feel right about creating such a thing at home- but logged it in my brain as an experience I might want to have in Boston. I will say that I really enjoyed it! And I would do it again. Only on Marathon day. I can only feel good about eating that combination on marathon day. Sometimes I wish everyday could be marathon day!!! My husband justified it for himself by thinking that it is okay to eat a burger and then a peanut butter cookie for desert. So why not just smash that all together?

Then it was back to the hotel for the ice bath that Scott Dunlap had prescribed on an earlier occasion. I followed his formula- 5 minutes in cold-as-it-comes bathwater, then dump in ice for another 5 minutes of fun. Okay- it is super painful in the beginning, but by the end it actually feels kind of good. And by the time you get out your legs are all tingly. I like that. And then if you add some Dr. Hoyt’s after that- my legs were in heaven. And it must’ve worked, because today Wednesday I would expect to be the most sore, and I’m not!

I can hardly wait for Sunday and Big Sur!

GO LINDY!!!

I'm watching Lindy's stats this morning on the Boston Marathon web page! She's doing great!!!! GO LINDY! You ARE fast! Enjoy every minute! (Not that she is reading this right now while running Boston, but at least she'll know we were thinking of her while she is running it!) We love you and are soooooo proud of you!

Passed by a Girl

I had a funny running story I thought I would share about this morning's run.

We all know I'm not fast, right? But I have been getting faster. So passing people is not a regular thing for me. This morning at the VERY end of our group run we passed a guy. He looked youngish - late 20's maybe, and had headphones on so I don't think he knew we were coming till we passed him. I was sure he was struggling with his ego after being passed by four middle aged women (well, at least three of us are in our late 30's, Karen brings down the average;)

Right after passing him Lindy, Karen and Lisa all went their separate ways at the corner but he and I turned down the street into my neighborhood. There is a half mile stretch that I'm alone there and I usually slow way down and cool down. At this point he was across the street from me and had picked up the pace so I was just slightly behind him - I'm sure I was in his line of vision. Just out of curiosity I picked up the pace a little. So did he. I picked it up more. So did he. I kicked it up for the last quarter mile to my quarter mile interval pace, and he never let me pass! He turned in at the corner before I do, I like to think it was because he didn't have it in him to keep up that pace, but he was probably just going home. Good for him. It was kind of fun, like a little Tuesday morning race.

I'm sure his ego is in a better place that he didn't get passed by a girl, ...again! I asked Scott if he would do the same thing and he said of course! I guess it's a guy thing.

Good luck to Lindy, Karen, Marcie, and Sharon running races in the next little bit! You've put in the training, I know you will all do awesome!