Another month bites the dust............................

Well I've added up the miles logged for the month, and lesser gals than I would be disappointed to see it equals one hundred (100). That would be twenty-two (22) less than last month, and seven (7) less than the in June. Isn't it suppose to be going in the other direction?

But it is what it is, nothing more, nothing less. It's mine, and I will wear the total proudly! Heck, a hundred miles isn't anything to sneeze at. And you can be sure it is a hundred more than I ran in August 2005.

So, I am officially one hundred miles closer to the full 26.2. How exciting is that? Almost as exciting as seeing what September has in store for me in regards to my running...

Worked like a charm.......................

My offering to the Ice Goddess that is. THE HUMIDITY BROKE and IT IS COOL OUTSIDE! Thank you Goddess (and you too Nanc).

Even though I was jolted awake by a huge thud over my head (don't worry, he is fine and couldn't wait to tell his wife I gave him a black eye, but it was the bedside table. Honest!) at 3 AM, and seemed to go non-stop until I made my way outside at 2:45 PM I was pumped to be running in better weather.

The first half mile went well and then, for whatever reason, I got shooting pains in my (left) ankle and up the leg. Cover your ears because I was pissed. NO WAY was anything going to ruin this run for me. I slowed to a walk and in a few seconds the pains reduced. Then, as I walked, I sent my ankle a vision. Picture this... Patty sitting on the side of the road, the ankle pain similar to being caught in a trap, so Patty reaches down (with her mouth) and proceeds to gnaw off the offending ankle, gets up, and continues her run with just a stump. Scared the pain right out of that ankle let me tell you (and made me laugh), and when I started running again in about fifty feet ankle stayed in line.

I did the eight miles that I was suppose to do last night (but opted to go out to dinner with a friend instead. Ethiopian. It was interesting?) and with the nice breeze I didn't feel sweaty (except of course for that constant trickle down the spin and into the small of my back... Always a constant stream...Maybe I should stock it with fish...Okay now I am just getting silly). Just?

During the last little bit my ankle was getting a tad grumpy, but I had my youngest stretch me when I got home and I am doing okay now.

The weather is suppose to hang around like this for several days. Makes me wonder what other kind of Goddess I should have had Nanc make me?

Thanks (non-runner) Nanc......................................

She will spur me on to victory, I know she will!

If I only knew how much longer (for sure).........................

I went out for a six miler last night. The ankle didn't complain too much, if it did I slowed down and between the two of us we worked it out. The humidity, however, was an entirely different thing.

I could hardly breath, and I don't have allergies or asthma. It was in the eighties but it wasn't the heat, but the thickness in the air. I couldn't help but think the long line of "Why am I doing this" questions and ended up shortening the six miles to four.

It's summer. Humidity is normal. What isn't normal (for me anyway) is running crazy, insane mileage in the humidly. From the beginning of summer I would hear those announcements on the news to "not go outside unless you absolutely needed to," and out I would go anyway. I guess I am just tired of dealing with it. In all honesty I am getting tired of the training period. I can't tell you how much I wish the marathon was next month instead of October. Maybe I need the extra month to train, but mentally I just want it done and over with so I can go onto something else.

This might have a bit to do with my ADD. I LOVE coming up with ideas and turning them into realities. Once I have I get bored and want to get on to tackling the next idea or goal. I will know this for the next race and plan a four month training plan instead of a six month plan.

I've made it to the end of August, and one would think the humidity will be winding down very soon. I am thinking positive thoughts, and trying not to dwell on the fact that we could just as easily have the hottest fall on record....Just my luck! Does anybody know the name of a good ice goddess that I could make a sacrifice to as extra insurance? And what kind of an offering would make an ice goddess happy?

Passed by thousands, finished strong...........................

The Crim ten miler was a totally different feel than Sunday's Leading Lady. Thousands of people crowded into a downtown street, not a mountain in site. This was by far the largest race I have ever done, and yet all the people I mingled with were just as kind and jovial. Some guy bumped into my camel bac and said, "Oops. Sorry." which set off a conversation about my reasons for carrying so much crap while I run. It started to sprinkle as I was extending an offer to share food along the route if they got hungry and one of the guys says, "No food, but if you happen to have a rain poncho in there I might take you up on that." Sorry boy, I like running in the rain, so gloves maybe but no poncho.

So, the gun goes off, and a minute or so later I crossed the start line and was off. Many minutes later, when normally I would be one of a few, the streets were still crowded and wall to wall people. I focused on running MY race as I was passed again and again until finally the crowd thinned to the point that I could stretch out my arms in all directions without touching a fellow runner.

Being a long standing, city race the spectators were out in mass with wonderful things like sprinklers and bowls of ice cubes. They banged pots and pans, blared music, clapped and cheered, how fortunate I was to be able to be a part of it all! After passing by a high school band, I came upon a group handing out Crispy Creme donuts. If there is a better brand I haven't met it, but I still passed them up not trusting what the fat content hitting my stomach might stir up. Some things I just don't need to find out.

A half mile or more I saw another group that I thought was handing out water cups, having my pack I passed on the other side of the street and rounded the corner. As I did I caught the sent of a strange smell. I had smelled it before, but where? Oh! Right! At parties! They were giving out beer to the delight of many! I guess some people can carb-load on anything!

At one point I came upon another lady that suffers from the same gastric distress from running distance that I do. We were comparing notes, and she told me she too freaked out the first few times there was blood in her stool until she realized it ONLY happened after a long run. I felt pretty terrible when after a few minutes of shared war stories she said, "speaking of diarrhea," and veered off the road and into the bushes. It wasn't a dirty race tactic. Honest!

I ran a good race, strong, consistent, and fun. I can't tell you the rush I got when I crossed the mat at the half-way point (five miles) and was under an hour (with over a minute to spare). Even more thrilling I kept up close to the same pace for the second half of the race and was able to finish with a time of 1:59:16. The first time I broke two hours for the ten mile distance. I finished 236 out of 345 in my age division, and I am happy with that.

I really wanted to go out for a four mile run this morning, but for some reason the ankle that I rolled on my first eighteen miler has reared it's ugly head. I wrapped it in an ace bandage as I did for the half, as a precaution, but by the time I got home it was almost double the size of my right ankle. Last night I had trouble falling asleep due to the throbbing, but I still set the alarm, thinking that maybe I would just walk for the four hours. Hope springs eternal... When the alarm went off, and my ankle was still tender upon impact, I decided sticking to the plan was not worth the potential risk of a real injury, so I put myself on the R.I.C.E. diet...Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Twenty plus mileage in one weekend will just have to wait a while. Now that I am a runner I am healthy enough to have that future in front of me and know, with confidence, that the opportunity WILL come around again.

P.S.

(my) Mister did his first 8K (five miles) yesterday and I could not be more proud. He came in at 1:07:15. For the marathon, the leg he is doing with me is 5.1 miles and he has close to two months to get a tad faster so he can pace me at the speed I want to travel. He is working so hard to give me my birthday wish, totally out of love for me. I am so very blessed!

Racing in Spearfish...............................................

By the time we had pottied, and walked down to the start line the sun was up and the weather was perfect for running. The atmosphere of the group was relaxed and supportive. This was my second "all women" race, and again I was struck by the difference in the nurturing level, much higher than in a mixed race.

Random and I took our comfort spot at the back of the pack. Since this was her first half, I wanted to share in some of it so I decided to do the first mile with her. We walked a little, ran a little, and laughed a lot! At mile one I was itching to run and see what I had in me so with one final hug, and a, "See you at the finish line," I picked up my pace. The strangest thing happened...

I began passing people! Ya! I know! The people at the back of the pack were walking. Of course I would pass them. But I kept passing people. Here, one MUST understand, I get passed. I don't pass. This was an amazing mental boost let me tell you.

Like I said, I took lots of pictures along the way. A couple of times I would snap the back of my next "victim" just before overtaking her. Not in a mean way, but in a "I have to get proof of this because I don't know why it is happening and it might never happen again way. See...

As I approached a woman to pass her I would say something to her, if she didn't answer I figured she was busy focusing, but if she smiled I would pull up beside her and holler, "Photo Op", hold the camera in front of us and snap a picture while we continued to run.

Remember how I have said in the past if I'm not having fun then I am not going to be out there? We didn't have many spectators, but the few we did have did a fab job of cheering us on. One guy suggested that I "had w-a-y too much energy so I flung the above line on him. A few miles up the road (they would get in their cars and drive up ahead) he saw me running with a partner and hollered out, "If you are running with her, you are bound to go faster." And just in case there is any doubt, yes he WAS talking about ME! I WAS PULLING PEOPLE! Fantastic thing number four (if I remember the correct count from yesterday's post).

Me, who is always the one trying to let the energy of the gal/guy in front pull me. I was pacing people and getting them to the next water stop before they took a walk break. I was encouraging them, and telling them, "Don't talk, just listen and I will entertain you with stories and keep your mind off your struggle." IT WAS AMAZING!

And the miles literally flew by. I really wasn't keeping track of time (no surprise there) but the mile markers seemed to just pop up one after another until it was kick time. During the last 3/4 of a mile I got emotional, and started sobbing I was so proud of myself as I passed one more person. I didn't care that I was crying so loud, but I was a bit concerned that someone would think I was crying because I was in distress so I pulled it together as I heard, " The finish line is just over the bridge." As I came around the corner and reached the top of the bridge I could see the finish and I swear I almost had an orgasm it felt so good. I finished strong in 2:36:33 (chip time if I am remembering correctly), only a couple of minutes better than my last half, but I felt like I had done it much faster and I think this is because of what happened out on the road.

I saw Elaine a bit later and she ask me how the race was. I told her it was the most fun I have had to date during a race and went on to tell her the reason was because for the first time I was helping others reach their goals instead of using them to pull me to mine. We both started to tear up as she said, "Yup! It's all about the giving back." and she was exactly right! When I have long since forgotten my time, I will still remember the interactions on the course and hold those ladies near and dear in my memories. No one can take that away from me.

So onward to tomorrow when I am doing the Crim, ten mile race. There will be thousands of people, the race will have a totally different feel, and I will be out there,running my race, in my way, smiling, laughing, having fun. Who could ask for more than that?

An official Leading Lady......................



And I have a fabulous purple finishers medal to prove it! But every great story should start at the beginning, so...



I flew into Denver on Friday morning. Not only was I arriving for a race, but was about to meet my online running buddy, Random, for the first time. People in our worlds were worried about what we would do if we didn't hit it off, but neither of us were concerned. I had talked to Random a few times, and I told her I was going to make a sign so she would know who I was, but I wasn't going to tell her what it was going to say. The night before I flew out I talked to her on the phone and she said she had tried to find us scarfs like Thelma and Louise. She didn't know it yet, but the sign I had made said, "Move over Thelma and Louise...Random and Patty have arrived!" Like minds and all that... Our entire time together was like that, and right from the beginning it was as if we had been friends for years. As we unpacked and hung out we found that we used the same brands of certain things, and that we could finish each others sentences without missing a beat. I told her if she were twenty years older I would totally believe we were twins that had been separated at birth! Fantastic thing number one...

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the expo to pick up our packets and meet some other leading ladies. I had had something brewing in the back of my mind, but needed to check it out before I said anything. In March of 2006, when my oldest and I had done the MORE half-marathon, we were standing in line at the Tavern on the Green for the pasta dinner chatting, and I was telling her I was too old to even think of doing a full marathon, and this lady leans over and says to me, "Of course you can do a full. I have done ____(I forget the exact number, but it was at least in the thirties at that time), and I didn't run my first until I was fifty years old!" She then went on to tell me that she does an all woman's run in South Dakota and to come out and run it sometime. As it got closer to race day this conversation came back to me and I wondered if this race could be her race. When I saw her I realized it was indeed so I went up to her and said, "You might not remember me, but we met in line," and she interrupted and said, "Waiting for the porta-potty?" Which is a perfect example of how the entire weekend was; women bonding, laughing at themselves, and holding one another up in love and support. Elaine loved hearing my story of how what she had said to me played a roll in giving me the courage to go for the full distance, and repeated the well known phrase, "Always keep your stomach tucked in as you never know who's watching," which you might know as, "You never know when you are going to say or do something that will touch and make a huge difference in another person's life." She also loved the story of Random and I meeting for the first time to do the race, and was telling all the other ladies about it, making me feel like the celebrity. A pic of me and Elaine. Fantastic thing number two...

Saturday evening Random and I sat down at a table with three other women to find that they too had all met online through a running site and meet and do races together. When we were introducing ourselves I discovered that one of the women lives about an hour from me. Cue the song, "It's a Small World." She ask me if I was doing the Crim (this coming Saturday), a ten mile road race, and I said, 'Yes I am." She is working packet pick up for the race so I am sending (my) Mister to pick up our packets today and meet my new found running friend. Fantastic thing number three, and yes I AM getting to the actual race...

After visiting the expo I suggested that we drive the race route so we would be familiar with it when we did the actual race. Random was game so we checked out the map and headed out. Towards the end of the 13.1 distance Random was wishing we had not driven the route as the race that was suppose to be all downhill seemed to have the last two miles going up hill. We also had some trouble finding the park that the race was to end in, but we figured in the morning we would just be able to follow the other cars heading to the race. The plan was to leave the car at the finish line and catch the bus to the start so we would have the car when we wanted to head back to the hotel.

Race morning we got up about three AM and headed to the finish line. In the dark we could see the water stops set up, but I couldn't quite figure out why they were on the wrong side of the road, as were the mile markers. Remember that last two miles uphill? When we got to that area the water stops suddenly stopped. And why was it that we didn't see any other cars on the road? Mmmm... We continued to drive up and down the route, and when it was past the time we could have caught the bus to the start line we determined we should just go to the start line for the race (fortunately we had found that), and worry about how to get back to the car after the race. Have you guessed it yet? We had totally turned the race course upside down and where the water stops ended was part of the full marathon course that started up the road a bit. Fortunately, we finally found one of those cars we were counting on and got straightened out and headed to the start of the race. Made perfect sense NOW, why the water stops and mile markers were on that side of the road! Let me just interject here that for never having met one another Random and I worked through this little goof with lots of humor and no panic, which I think says a lot about how we were getting along. We made it to the start line not only in plenty of time, but before the bus and were able to use the porta-potties before the lines formed. Bonus! And yes, I know I am a brat, but I have to do some work now and you are going to have to come back tomorrow for race details. Trust me, it will be worth your time. So you don't get made I will leave you with a picture I snapped along the course.

Boy that was fun...NOT!............................

Today's long (15 mile) run might just possibly be my worst run ever. It started out okay, except for the fact that it is getting light later so even waiting till five AM I still had to run in the dark for about thirty minutes, meaning I got off to a slow start.

I'm not even sure when I started to feel poorly, one minute I am picking up the first bottle of hidden Gatorade (at mile six) and about three minutes after I washed a couple of crackers down with it, it was all coming back up on me. My youngest has always said one is not a "real" runner until they throw up, but I don't think this counts, as I wasn't pushing myself that hard.

Not sure what was going on, and I will spare you the details of the many side of the road pit stops, but let's just say that the choppy little steps I was calling running would move me forward about 25 to 50 feet before I gave into the nausea and slowed to a walk. I can't think of much I hate doing more than I hate barfing, so I didn't care if it took me ten hours to get back home. Somewhere around mile twelve a big group of bikers (non-motorized) passed me from behind. I was so wrapped up in my misery that when the first two said good morning they startled me and I yelped out loud. Several more followed and then one guy says, "This is a lot more fun than what you're doing." I know he didn't mean anything by it, but I wanted to call him to come back so I could puke on his shoe.

At mile thirteen I threw in the towel, gave up, called the game, quit! I called my youngest to come pick me up, but she was in some woods somewhere playing movie star so she didn't pick up her phone. Kinda like in the stone age, before cell phones, I had no choice but to continue my walk home... And so I did.

I am sure there is a lesson in here somewhere, and I am sure I will reflect back on this run and find a positive, but right now all that keeps going through my mind is: "WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY I WANTED TO RUN A MARATHON?" JK... I am already starting to feel better and know I will be back out there in a day or so. I've come too far not to.

All's quiet on the running front.............................

This has been a funny week for my training. So many new and unexpected things are pushing their way into my life that training has been sent to the back of the class. I did a 4 mile fun run on Monday, and a three mile one yesterday, both with the dogs. It's hot, sticky, and impossible for me to get out in the mornings right now, and running with my dogs does NOT translate into a high quality run for me (when I am not yelling at them for tripping me or stopping, I am feeling bad and stopping to make them drink water). Could this be because I took the same lax attitude toward their training in general as I have taken towards my running this week?

So why am I so calm? Why do I feel so good about where I am in my fitness level heading into the marathon? Could it be that I am finally playing more positive tapes than negative ones? Not me, the queen of self put downs and low self-esteem? I didn't think one bad thing about myself last night as I crossed out the 7 on the training log and wrote in 3. Running doesn't have to illicit hell fire and brimstone thoughts... Imagine that!

I think it is helping that I have a couple of races coming up and they are going to be adventures as well as races which will up the fun meter while getting the training in. Having a positive 20 behind me is huge as well, and I can't tell you how grateful I am that things went the way they did last weekend. What will my running teach me next? Can't wait to find out.

Now I get it..........................

Normally I do my long run on Sunday, but about Wednesday the thought of doing it on Saturday started creeping into my consciousness. Mostly because I was full of doubts about being able to do it, and after the way I felt with the eighteen miler wanted to "get it over with." Not to positive is it? Still, I am practicing listening to that inner voice of mine, so Saturday it was.

This morning, after sleeping in until 7:30 I woke to find a steady downpour outside. I don't really mind running in the rain, in fact it makes me feel pretty powerful when I run in less than perfect conditions, knowing that others have decided to stay home for the day. Still, 4.5 hours of running in the rain could get pretty miserable pretty quickly, don't ya think?

Blessed again!

A well deserved nap...........................................

I snuck into one of the (currently not being used) OP beds this afternoon for the first nap I have allowed myself in a long time. I earned it, but I am not sure where Emma got her entitlement. What a princess dog?

Can someone tell me how to rotate a picture so you don't have to turn the computer sideways to see it?

An accident, blood free long run............................

In retrospect, last week's eighteen miler was one long miserable run. Today's run felt unbelievably wonderful in comparison. Take this as encouragement Kate, the way you felt after your last half will help you to feel great during your next long distance.

The alarm went off at 4:30 and I was out the door, on my way by 5:00. It was refreshingly cool and I felt strong and actually pretty excited. My first twenty miler! My oldest had told me about this cool web site http://www.favoriterun.com/ where you can map out a running route. She had helped me do so, and I can't tell you how much it helped to have a new route to keep me motivated and moving forward.

Last night I had taken my Gatorade out and dropped it along the route, and it was almost like a little treasure hunt to find it along the way this morning.

Speaking of food, let me tell you what I have been learning. This is stuff that is working for me, and not meant to be advice. Most books talk about all the food you need to eat while training, and to carb load the day or two before your long runs. License to eat! What's not to love about that for someone that has been limiting calories long before many of you were born. The first month of increased training I tried to eat as advised, but I have changed my overall diet so much over the past couple of years that I found it near impossible to eat the amounts and types of food they suggested. I haven't had any meat, or dairy except for maybe cheese four times over the past month and a half. My body really likes that! It also likes all the sprouts and salads I have been having. I usually have tuna on my salad, and maybe a boiled egg a couple of days prior to my long run to boost the protein, but don't worry about it the rest of the time. I do make sure and have pasta or rice the evening before a long run, but I don't eat anything before heading out, but have found it is super important for me to eat/drink during my runs. Today was no different, and here is what I had during the run starting about an hour into it:

38 ounces of Gatorade
About twenty-four of my little pumpernickel stick crackers
one raw energy bar
1 (small) box of raisins
36 ounces of water
8 ounces of Boost during the last mile

I didn't feel like eating or drinking, but this is what I need to do to keep feeling good, and more importantly to keep from squatting by the side of the road with stomach cramps and all that follows that. All the times I have been through that with simple 1.5 or 2 hour runs is what I think about as I choke down the food and drink.

I had my youngest meet me for the last three miles of today's run. She will be doing the last six mile leg with me for the marathon, and I wanted to see how she did at keeping me moving when I was tired. I actually picked up my pace when I was running with her. That is another reason I am not too worried about my time. I know that when there are other people around I run faster than I do when I am alone (totally all my spoiled inner child's fault).

I ended up finishing the twenty miles in 4:29. This gives me a whole hour and a half to finish the last six miles before the six hour cut-off time so I don't think I have to worry about that. I think I am in a pretty good place in my training with over two months yet to go.

My favorite part of today's run was after it was finished. As I was sitting in my ice bath I called my oldest and we shared the details of our long runs (she had done hers on Friday). I love that we are sharing this experience, and I love having someone that gets why I keep pushing myself, and why doing this marathon is important to me. Running has helped the two of us transition and expand our relationship to something bigger than simply mother and daughter. I am not one of those moms that felt the need to be friends with their kids while they were growing up, but now that she is close to thirty and making her own way in the world having that friend dimension to our relationship has made it even richer than it has always been. One more bonus I have received from running. I am sooooo blessed!