Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Time 4:38:20  --  div 30/63
Rain, showers, and sun, 40s-50s F, humid, breezy at times.
4 Accel gels + Gatorade on the course

HOW NOT TO RUN A MARATHON
Splits (1) 9:52  --  (2) 9:04  --  (3) 9:47  --  (4) 9:28  --  (5) 9:40  --  (6) 9:29   --  (7) 9:20  --  (8) 9:27  --  (9) 10:02  -- (10)  9:41  --  (11) 9:58   --  (12) 9:37  --  (13) 10:01  --  (14) 9:47  --  (15) 9:55  --  (16) 10:29  --  (17) 11:07  --  (18) 10:55  --  (19) 14:08 (bathroom stop)  --  (20) 11:36  --  (21) 11:48 --  (22) 12:25  --  (23) 13:35  --  (24) 12:02  --  (25) 11:43  --  (26) 11:31
Chip mat splits:  5K=29:39, 10K=59:08,  Half=2:06:19,  30K=3:08:26,  40K=4:21:22

What a disappointment.  The agony of it came as it was happening. The sorrow came in the shower afterward. (I was wet anyway...) Now, it is time to think, analyze, and try to understand what happened.  If I had to explain it in a couple of words: leg cramps. But why? and how? still hang in the air.

I felt good on race day. I think my training went pretty well (I always wish I did more).  I ate well and tapered as usual leading up to the race.  The odds seemed to be in my favor and I expected good things to come.

Before I looked at my splits, and even as early in the race as mile 12, I would have said that I pushed my pace too early.  But the splits don’t seem to support that. I was planning to run my first mile  at around 10:00, and the pace is pretty close to that. The effort level must have been harder (there was a hill there).  Mile 2 is definitely too fast.  I had a plan to get pretty close to 9:10-9:20 by mile 2 or 3.  The splits don’t show that, and yet I remember the pace feeling kind of vigorous.  (I am very glad I wore my usual shoes --some of you know I considered another --or I might have blamed all this on a stupid shoe choice.)

I am inclined to say I don’t believe in “just having a bad day.”  But I guess what I mean is that I don’t think “having a bad day” swoops down invisibly on people who feel great and have trained fairly well.  It happens when you wake up feeling “off,” or are not feeling well --- but then there is Making a Mistake.  I may have made a mistake.  I wish I had structured my race plan closer to the way I ran CIM in December, with several easy miles at the start.  I let myself believe I could do it differently and succeed. The splits don’t show speed, but in my mind I was pushing and feeling some tension.  Why it does not show in the splits I cannot really say, except maybe that maneuvering through the crowd took more energy than I knew at the time. Of course, I could be wrong, but it’s the only explanation that makes sense for what came later.  Or maybe I was just completely delusional about my goal pace.  I’ll never know for sure.

Pre-race:  It was so great meeting Bonnie!! We hung out with her and Dean and had dinner together on Friday night.  The expo was fun, and I enjoyed the speakers: some local Eugene coaches, Brad Hudson, Dathan Ritzenhein, Mary Decker Slaney, and Kathy Twomy Bellamy.   The pasta feed was so-so (aren’t they all?). The expo was small but adequate; packet pickup was very organized and easy.  Favorite quote from one of the expo speakers: “Don’t be braver than you are smart.”

Race: The start area was well organized, with 2 corrals, for under and over 10:00 pace, and pacers with balloons within each corral. It was raining at the start (tapering to lighter rain soon after, then showers) but not too hard.  I wore a singlet, topped by a throw-away sweatshirt from a thrift store, and a garbage bag for the rain. I left the garbage bag at the side of my corral. The sweatshirt came off at mile 2 - I could not wait to dump it once we started running. The humidity seemed very high and I was grateful for the light rain.

In the first miles, and occasionally later in the race, the road surface was truly awful. In the first hundred yards or so, when we were packed tightly (couldn’t easily watch the ground), my right foot landed on the edge of a pothole and my ankle started to roll. I caught myself, and hopped over another pothole right after that, but if I had landed even a centimeter further over, I would have probably hurt my foot badly, fallen, and possibly taken other runners down with me in that crowd.  Even on the bike path, there was quite a bit of uneven ground and some kind of cobblestone-like speed bumps, very uncomfortable to cross over.  The second half of the race was “flat,” meaning no real hills but still plenty of little ups and downs.

The course was BEAUTIFUL!  Everything was so green and most of the course ran along the river.   I think the only course I’ve run that was more beautiful than this was Big Sur, with Yakima River Canyon & Deadwood tying for third. Maybe it’s just my love for the color green.  

The course runs mostly on streets in the first half and mostly on a paved bike path in the second half.  The hills came as expected in the first half: at about 0.5, 4.5 and 8.5.  The “scream zone” at around mile eight was a brief, unexpected rush of sound. We had to funnel through a kind of narrow, winding path, where there were suddenly crowds of people on either side. Since I had my name on my bib, I got the full force of their “encouragement.”  That was a trip, as the old Eugene hippies would say.  Since it was brief, I rather enjoyed it.

The steepest, longest hill comes at around 8.5, a hill which I went up fairly easily. But shortly after that hill, I began to feel less energetic.  I tried to ignore it, but a little later I started thinking that the pace felt too hard.  I started looking at my Garmin and sure enough I was slowing down.  But I pressed on, thinking “there are good miles and bad miles,”  a truth with which I am familiar.

I soon began to pass the 4:15 pace group at ~ mile 10. There were about 20 runners and two pacers, who were talking almost continuously.  I decided to run with them for a little while to try to get my energy back (not knowing that doom was about to strike).  This was a very interesting part of the run, and I wish I could have stayed with them.  The main pacer was a feisty, petite woman with a booming voice who talked about a number of interesting things (such as why your Garmin will always show a higher number of miles than 26.2).  I liked the way she was breaking down the race into mental sections and giving advice for each part.

Then it happened.  Somewhere between mile 12 and mile 14 my right quadriceps started to cramp up. I’m trying to remember if I have ever had a leg cramp while running. I don’t think so, though I could be wrong. It began slowly, but by mile 14 or 15 I felt crippled and the 4:15 pace group was gone.

I did a little walking while massaging the leg. Running again, my form became ragged.  At mile 18, I met up with the second pacer from the 4:15 group, who had turned back to help out with the 4:30 group, and he ran with me for a while.  I had electrolyte tablets, and he encouraged me to take one, which I did at the next aid station.  I also had to take a bathroom break, reflected in the mile 19 split.

The rest of the race was made of walk/run, a lot of leg pain, and a lot of tough emotions. My form when running was stiff and slow. Instead of being the strong one, like I was at CIM 08, I was the “road kill” being passed by other (smarter?) runners.  

Sometimes I think that the beginning of a marathon brings out the worst in some people, like the woman who elbowed me in the arm at mile 2, possibly by accident but I don’t think so, when I called out and gestured that I was coming to pass between her and another runner. But the final miles bring out the best in people. Everyone was so supportive.  At around mile 22, there was a man running past me, looking pretty strong, and I murmured  “good job.”  He did not turn his head at all, but began a stream of encouragement to me that was very touching.  Another woman who had been run/walking and leap-frogging with me came up behind me about .5 from the finish and said, “come on, let’s go, we’re almost there.”   I guess these comments seem somewhat unremarkable in cold print, but the way they were spoken, with so much sincerity, was very moving at the time.

Highlights: 1) Meeting Bonnie and Dean and spending some time with them.  Bonnie, you are such fun!!  You are funny, smart, generous, and kind. It was great to meet you. 2) The beauty of the Eugene marathon course. I definitely want to run this one again.  3) I enjoyed the Expo speakers very much.

In conclusion, this experience shook my confidence so much as to nearly overshadow all of my recent accomplishments.  I will spend some time in the next few days looking at my training log and my race reports from December - March. I need to feel the reality of those runs in order to internalize that this was an abnormal, one-time experience.  To put it in perspective, I want to list my marathon times to date, with that 3rd race of 2006 being my first attempt at training for a time goal (everything before that was “to finish”):
2004: 4:59, 4:37,
2005: 4:58, 4:47, 4:55, 5:09, 4:47, 4:57, 4:50
2006: 5:15, 4:55, 4:27
2007: 4:28, 4:17
2008: 4:29, 4:18
2009: 4:38 (this marathon being my worst time in three years)

I took a forty minute walk this morning, now that I am not hobbling quite so badly. The difference in how my legs felt by the end of the walk was quite noticeable.  When I can go down stairs without bending over like a granny and clutching the rail I will start some easy jogging.  (But hey! I'm already going down forwards - that's progress.)  If this recovery goes like all the others, that should be by Friday. 

When I look back at the qualities I loved in the Eugene Marathon, I have a clearer vision of what kind of marathon I want to run in the fall.  I suddenly found myself not wanting to run Billings and had to tell The Support Crew we were not going to Yellowstone in September. Bless their hearts, they took it well. I don't know what I did to deserve such a supportive family. 

Now I'm considering Cowtown (Sacramento), Baltimore (I could visit my brother nearby), and Silicon Valley (I could visit my sisters), in that order.  If any of you have run these, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Marathon Guide seems to be mostly favorable on all of them.

I forgot that it is possible to "jog" slower than you can walk.  It's great humor value. 

Let me tell you about May in the Pacific Northwest.  The first time I ever saw Washington State was in May 1980. The incredible verdure made a huge impression on me (even more than Mt. St. Helens, which was erupting at the time), and it still does every year  to this day.  Washington is called the "Evergreen State," and Seattle is the "Emerald City," so of course this part of the world is pretty lush.  But May and early June are simply unbelievable. Here at last is the payoff for our wet winter! :)

5:45 AM 42F, cloudy with showers. Recovery. Only the right quad is still a little painful, but the legs are super weak.  20 min core & upper body, stretching

Another shuffling little joglet.  There were an amazing number of unfamiliar runners out this morning.  The good Sno welcomes them warmly; the evil Sno asks in her mind, "Where were you when it was dark and cold and icy?"  Bad Sno!

Whine Department.  1) The roadwork that has shut down the express lanes on I-90 makes it necessary that my DH leave 10 minutes earlier on his non-carpool days.  For now, it doesn't make much difference, but in the next two months or so it means getting up even (groan) earlier.   2) My daughter has the flu.  I've spent the past 36 hours trying to keep her hydrated and comfortable.  Poor thing. 

Here is a little tidbit about marathons.  The full distance of 26.2 is certified, but the individual miles are not. That means there could be slightly short or long miles. Also, always cut the tangent when it is safe and legal to do so. Don't go outside traffic cones or swerve into people, but whenever there is a bend or turn, take the shortest path; over such a long distance as 26.2 you will really save a lot of steps.

7:45 AM: low 40s, mostly sunny.  Recovery run.

I usually do not run Saturdays, but last night it occured to me that Saturdays are a rest day, and I don't have anything to rest up from.  No reason not to go out and enjoy the good weather. 

The legs are only slightly stronger today.  Every step is still really slow, like 14:00 slow! It is nice to have no pressure right now, regarding time, distance or pace.  I did notice a mental pang when I passed other pedestrians and runners; the part of me that wants to justify everything wanted to call out, "I'm recovering from a marathon!"

9:30 AM  50s F, sunny.  Easy run.  Still pretty slow but starting to feel like a non-cripple at last.

Happy Mothers Day to all the blog moms, and Happy Beautiful-Day-of-Spring to everyone else.

It's a day off for me, inspired by Bonnie's article from Greg about recovery.  (Thanks, Bonnie!)  Since it's week 2 now,  I'm not sure it will make that much difference. But when I got to bed a little later than I planned, I made the final decision to opt for more sleep. It's kind of nice to have more freedom right now and be able to skip runs at random, but I also long to be back at it.  If only I could put that desire in a bottle and save it for those hard weeks. 

Here is a video of the women's finish at the recent London Marathon.  With all of the tapering and recovering going on this week, we might as well be entertained...

Easy run.  39F,  showers and breezy. 

Pretty good run. When I realized how good my legs felt today, I wished I'd headed out a little earlier, but there's always tomorrow! And I do have to still keep things easy. 

Spirit of the Marathon is now available in "watch instantly" mode on Netflix.  (Free to Netflix members.) I saw a bit of it last night.  There are parts of the movie I really dislike. I won't tell you which in case it might ruin it for any who haven't seen it yet.  It's probably just me anyway.  I do love the way the movie was put together, the music, the Deena parts (of course), and the final scenes that show the actual marathon.

Going downstairs to do some abs and upper body now. 

5:30 AM: 41F, mostly cloudy, dry.  Objective: easy run.  20 min. strength & stretching after run.

A very nice morning for running.  I haven't forgotten my promise of a picture.  I have taken a couple of pictures, but then I look at them and they just don't convey how beautiful it is.  Maybe you have to see it in 3-D.  And maybe it's only beautiful because I'm seeing the contrast from late summer through the winter -- months of yellow grasses by the roadside, where now every sprig of plant material is either green or covered in flowers.  Or maybe the camera in my phone is just really awful.

7:00 AM: 44F, fog, steady rain. Objective: easy.

Man of the hour: Jefferey.  I was less than two miles into my run when I had the pleasure of seeing him at one of the drinking fountains.  He was soaked through and had been bitten by one of the extendable leash dogs in the neighborhood just minutes earlier. What a warrior!  Jeff, I know you have that treadmill option, but I'm so glad you were out on the streets anyway and I hope it pays off big time in fitness and, um, mental fortitude. :)

We are all drawing up plans for building our arks here in the Northwest.  The rain has been relentless the past couple of days.  But everything is so green and lovely, not like November rain when one is surrounded by All Things Dead and Dying.  And we had fog! (You know my views on fog.) 

I owe my 9 hours of sleep and the  lateness of my run to the sad fact that my husband now has the flu.  Daughter has recovered however.  And I'm fine.  Like the shirts I saw in Eugene said, "It's a great day to be a runner!"

5:45 AM: 40F, partly cloudy, dry & calm.  Objective: easy run.

It was a pleasant run. My pace is still quite slow, though the legs feel pretty good.  That's the way it goes.  I did tackle some of the longer, steeper hills today for the first time since before my marathon.  I observed a weird paradox in that I climbed them at the usual effort level and was slower than ever -- but aerobically and psychologically  it was not a big deal.  I never thought "oh, this is hard" or "wish I could walk."  Just rose up slowly, like an elevator.   That was a great feeling.  I'll see if I can start getting my mileage back next week.

To everyone racing this weekend: I wish you all a happy, successful experience.  We are so lucky to have this great sport in our lives, and to be healthy enough to enjoy it.  Remember that as you run and have a wonderful time.  I look forward to reading all the reports as they come in. 

Sunny day. 50F rising to 67F, with a few high clouds moving in.  (Felt hot to my winter trained body.)  Objective: easy, rebuilding mileage. 

That was about the limit of what I can run right now, especially after working hard in the garden for a couple of hours yesterday.  Not sure that was such a good idea.

Now that I've had some food and cooled off, the temperature feels quite moderate. We have our windows open to prevent the AC from kicking on (cooler out than in).  But, man, when I was running it felt like an oven.  These early warm days are always a bit of a shock. Bonnie, I know you are probably laughing your head off, with those "cool" 79F runs in AZ.  It's all what you're used to I guess. 

Keep blogging, you Ogden Marathon runners! We need to hear all about your sore muscles and your post race thoughts.  :)

6 AM: 50F, mostly clear.  Easy run.  20 min. strength afterward

As expected, the legs were pretty "dead" today.  It was good to get out and just loosen them up a bit.  Gorgeous morning.

Maybe it's because I'm feeling quite old today, but here are a couple of tidbits about age.

First an interesting article on Age Graded BQ Standards.   I learned about it on another forum, where someone suggested that there shouldn't even be a qualifying standard for 80 year olds: "they're 80 frickin years old! If they can run a marathon, they should get into Boston." LOL 

Does anyone get Running Times Magazine?  Speaking of older -- oops -- "Masters" runners, there is a piece about Yoshihisa Hosaka, the 60 year old record holder for the marathon (2:36:30).  He runs the same 2 workouts every day.  No hard/easy rule for him.  His workouts total about 20 miles per day, "with more than 10K at or faster than marathon pace."  It is a fascinating story, if only for a bit of healthy mind bending.

47F, light showers, occasional wind.  Easy run w/ form focus and a yikes-I'm-late accidental fast finish. :)  20 min. strengh, stretching & Stick.

That was some fun running. Still slow but who cares. Everything feels great.  At the very end of the run I was coming through a short-cut path next to some woods and startled 3 deer, who "ran with me" for about 25 yards. Very cool, though I was sorry to frighten them.

It is a great gift to be able to amuse oneself with so little effort.  I had to stop at the park bathroom this morning, but I told myself I could make it a quick stop, no problem.  For some reason the bow I tied on the drawstring of my running tights turned into a knot when I went to untie it.  So I'm rushing and trying to get these darn things over my hips, and it's really hurting, but the whole thing struck me as so funny.  I could not stop laughing.  Every solution that came to mind made me laugh even harder, like the thought of trying to chew through the string.  I eventually did a Houdini maneuver and got free, but then I had to get them back on again.  It's still making me chuckle.  I actually had to cut the drawstring when I came home. Hope it doesn't ruin the tights' usefulness.

I think I've chosen my fall marathon, in Victoria BC.   It is a race I've dismissed, probably because I glanced at the elevation profile, which looks quite hilly.  But yesterday I was just browsing through the top BQ'ing marathons on this list and there it was at #11!   It seems the hills are more like gentle undulations, though after 20 miles I usually think any rise at all feels like the Himalayas.  The race is very easy to get to from here, and the area is fun to visit so Support Crew will be happy.  It feels right.  And I have decided to stop thinking "this is THE race for my BQ," and switch to thinking "little by little I shall arrive." 

41F, mostly cloudy, calm.  (Rained  in the night; everything wet and fragrant.) Easy run.

Another splendid morning of running.   Project Magic Shoes has officially begun, and I will be wearing racing shoes for more and more of my training runs.   I believe that their effectiveness is not due only to their light weight.  It's the way they make the legs and feet work harder, or maybe more efficiently.  Or maybe both.  Anyway, I totally love running in them, even for a little easy run like this. 

Scary thoughts about:  How the Victoria Marathon May Have Gotten Onto the BQ List Without Actually Being a Fast Course (see yesterday's post):  First, there is a 5 hour time limit, which would tend to produce a bias in the field.  If you are a slow runner, you can sign up for the early start, but it still might limit the field I think.   Second, I just noticed that elites receive free entry.  I don't know if that would pad the field with a disproportional number of fast runners.  Elite is men @ 2:30 (masters 2:40) and women @ 2:50 (masters 3:00).   Shut up, brain.

42F, clear & calm w/ waning crescent moon sliver. Easy run.

The regular training shoes feel slow and clunky after 2 days in the racers.  I am experimenting with a downhill stride that involves a kind of sinking down into the quads to see if I can get a better pace.  If I can find a way to feel more comfortable on my heels I think that might work well.  Towards the end of the run I was pretty happy with it.

The Cat Who Must Be Obeyed got beat up pretty badly last night.  Lately he's been fighting another cat who has come into our yard.   I know it's not the worst of his injuries, but a piece of his little ear is missing! His beautiful ear will never be whole again.   :(  Here he is when he was whole...

46F, clear.  Easy to moderate effort.  Long warm up.  20 min. strength, stretch & Stick.

More happy running in the Magic Shoes.  Gorgeous morning. 

It looks like I may have to do my long run tomorrow instead of Sunday, but I am still not sure yet. My daughter has a 4H event on Sunday but the leader wasn't sure when the start time was so I will find out this afternoon.  I can do my usual Sunday long run if we don't have to leave too early.  That was on my mind this morning; I usually don't like to run the day before a long run.  I like that long run to happen on fresh legs.

Which leads me to some thoughts about the running club I just joined.  I want to support local running, meet some other runners, and get those awesome club discounts (and the shirt!), but the Saturday runs may not work for me.  I am planning to go to the first one, next week. After that, I'll just have to play it by ear.  If there is a short run option, or if I can sometimes make that run my long run, Saturday running would work I think.  But I do love to sleep in on Saturday and be fresh on Sunday.  I know some folks on this blog run 7 days a week; if that's you, I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about running daily, adjusting, resting, etc.   I'm like a little kid when it comes to change. My first thought is "no way!" and then I slowly adapt if I know deep down that a change is for the best or unavoidable.   In this situation, it might be that I just choose from week to week and practice "being flexible," another nemesis of my inner child. lol

45F rising to low 60s, clear and sunny, breezy.  Objective: endurance, easy but negative splits. 

This was a great run that went exactly as I had hoped.  After about 9 miles I stopped by my house to switch shoes (note my new short term running goal) and trade my gloves for sunglasses.  I am not ready to push my pace very much, but I wanted to just relax a little more in the first half and think about form and cadence in the second half.  Just a slight difference, and my splits were 4 minutes apart. Just right.

I tried two new things this morning. One was Rattletrap's Banana Routine, a banana at least 20 minutes before running. In my case it was more like 40 minutes.  That seemed to go ok.  (Usually start the run on empty.)  Secondly, I had my first experimental homemade fuel.  It was pretty good, but I have some tweaking to do before I reveal my recipe! ;) Get yourself a 6 oz fuel bottle if you want to try it. I'll be "publishing" it soon!

47F, another sunny day. (How long can this last??)  Easy/recovery run. 

My Old Lady Persona was in full force this morning; that first mile was humorously slow and stiff.  I was almost warmed by the time I came home. lol   Just a toe in the water today. 

What a busy weekend it's been. Now I'm off to get everyone fed and ready for Folklife, where we're going to play a little music today.  Fun! :D

54F, cloudy and breezy.  Easy run.  20 min strength, stretching.

It sure felt like a recovery run, and I think I am recovering - from a busy weekend!  Too much being on my feet, too much noise, and too much sun.  Yes. I want my fog. But I will gladly accept these clouds instead. 

I read once that the true meaning of being an introvert or an extrovert is not whether you like being with people or whether you are gregarious. It is determined by how you reenergize yourself.  An introvert recharges her energy by being alone, and an extrovert recharges by being with people.  We are wired one way or the other from birth.  By this definition, I am definitely an introvert.  Mr. Sno and Young Miss Sno are the same, so we make a good match.  We all had a ton of fun this weekend, but last night it was like a tomb around our house.  Everyone with their nose in a book. So quiet.  So funny.

47F, mostly cloudy. Calm and dry.  VO2 workout w/ "ladders:"  1-2-3-2-1-2-3 minutes w/ equal recovery times.    20 min. strength & stretching

I don't feel like I'm quite up for speed work yet, but I decided to do it anyway, to just go by effort level, and to make the first few intervals a little easier.  I liked the way that felt.
Pace for each VO2 minute was as follows:
9:01
8:51
8:46
8:53
8:54
8:57
8:49
8:49
8:40
8:53
9:18 (hill)
8:35
8:19
8:33

I have a couple of recommendations today, both of which sort of share a theme of living life to the fullest.  The first is the movie Yes Man. (Despite its PG-13 rating, I do not recommend you watch it with your young'uns. Thank goodness my 12 y.o. self censors and that she could see what was coming. She covered her head in cushions, and once got up and left the room. How cute is that?)  Anyway, we thought it was a super funny movie, with a sweet, positive message at the end.   The second thing is right along the same lines, it is the 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech given by Steve Jobs. I guess I'm behind the times, but I had never seen or read it before.  Have you?  Good stuff. 

48F, clear.  Easy to moderate run, with a few hill sprints throughout run.  20 min. strength & stretch.

A nice run. Busy morning. :)

Warm and sunny, 57F.  Easy, short run. Focused on form a little. 

I debated running at all today.  I am going to be running tomorrow with the new running club, and I have a long run on Sunday.  ("I seem to have misplaced my day off.")  But by bed time last night I was convinced that I would be happier having a short run today than not, and so I go boldly into this uncharted territory of continuous running days --- at least this week that is...  I do not know that I will want to run with the club every Saturday. 

I will be very surprised if any runners come to the club who are as slow as I am.  I'm not going to worry about it;  in fact this image is cracking me up a little: slow,  5'2",  50 y.o.  me and a bunch of tall, young bucks all meeting up in the parking lot.  Time to run... "Ok, b-bye! Me and my invisible friends will lead the slow pace group! See ya in an hour!" 

I have never run with a group, except at Galloway Camp back in the olden days.  And that probably doesn't count because camp personnel had to run with us slow pokes.  I have no idea what to expect or how it will work, so this will be a great adventure!  

Amusing link for today: The 53 Runners Commandments.  Have a great weekend everyone. 

Low 60sF, sunny day.  Easy inaugural run with Mt. Si Running Club.  Slow, slow, so slow.

I drove a couple of miles down to the fire station, where the MSRC was to meet for the first time. I came early and ran about 1.5 miles by myself on the flat valley floor to warm up, not knowing what the morning may bring.  My goal for today was to meet some other runners, learn about the club and not do anything that would jeopardize my 20 miler tomorrow (hence the drive down the monster hill).

About a dozen people showed up, and Sean Sundwall talked with us about what we would be doing and where/when we would meet in the future.   Each person introduced themselves and said what he/she was training for and what was his/her easy pace.   We had a handful of "9:30s" and "10:00s," some much faster, and then there was me at 10:30-11:00 and another woman at 13:00.   So I said I'd run with the 13:00 pace woman.  What else could I do?  I could probably keep up with a 10:00 group, but I  wanted an easy run today and the morning was starting to get warm.  I didn't want Ms. 13:00 to have no one; that could so easily be me. :) 

I expected I'd be one of the slower runners of the group. No surprise there. But I did have the pleasure of knowing how comparably fit I was when Sean asked whether anyone was planning to do a long run today, "like 20 miles," and everyone laughed. I felt proud inside that I was capable of that distance and in fact was planning to run it the next day.  

Two other runners (from the 9:30-10:00 camp) ended up joining our slow group. I still don't know why they did, but I enjoyed everyone in our group.  Our pace was occasionally 13:00, but most of the time it was much slower.  You should always be careful what you wish for.  Yes, I wanted to run easy, but after a mile I yearned to go just a bit faster.  It's hard running much slower than you are used to.  I tried to keep my form nice and "collected," as my horseback riding daughter would say.  In fact, I thought a lot about what a horse looks like when it is kept at a very slow trot. Graceful and easy but not sloppy.  Good practice I think.  

We ran on some lonely back roads (gorgeous wooded area near pond) which I would never run by myself for safety reasons. So having a group was a nice benefit in that way.  We crossed over the Snoqualmie River twice.  Then we circled back into town, made a much needed bathroom stop, and came back up to the fire station. 

All in all, I enjoyed the experience very much.  It will be interesting to see how the club evolves. I hope we can attract more members. Sean is hoping to have many more, so that every pace and desired distance will have more than one or two runners. 

One person missing from the club this morning was Jefferey, who is running the Newport Marathon as I write. Or done by now?  Hope it's going well for you Jeff!! 

I'm trying to find words (or possibly grunt-like vocalizations) to describe today's weather.  There is the official, pleasant version on the weather website: currently 68F, humidity 51%, mostly sunny.  Then there is the sun-phobic, non-acclimated runner girl version.  (Insert grunt-like vocalization here.)  I like those fluffy clouds that produce a shadow and bring cool air to the world. These things were like green house roof material. No shadows, no cooling.  Sorry guys, but I just have to whine for a minute here. I think I'll be done soon. This was one of the hardest runs I've done in a long time, if you don't count my cramp fest at Eugene.

On the bright side, 20 miles in the Magic Shoes!  The only time they were really not comfortable was on the downhills in the second half.  I either need to build up the weight-bearing strength or adjust my stride for downhill running. I'm so uncomfortable landing on my heels, and it just seems harder to do so in these.  

One of the reasons I wore the ST3's for all 20 miles was that I knew I'd be doing the first 10 slowly.  Today must be Mixed Up Blog Entry Day... Objective: 10 miles very slow and easy, 10 miles faster, mostly concentrating on cadence.   At about mile 16 I started getting so hot that I could feel my face burning up and I took many little walk breaks just to try to cool down. I prefer not to pass out.  Occasionally I found a street that had exposure to a breeze - ah!  When was going from simmer to boil, I just tried to make sure my cadence was high (180-190), even if it meant tiny steps. 

I've been eating grapes and turkey since I got home.  I believe I shall have some ice cream next.  :)  Then I have to cool off, clean off and try to revive a few brain cells to play harp for a potential wedding client later this afternoon.   Cheers!