I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

I stayed at my friend Colleen's sister Mo's place the night before the race and we just hung out.  She has a parking spot in the lot right by the start line, so we drove over and came out of the lot and were right by the finish.

I was the only one running in the first wave, so Colleen and I warmed up about 1.5 miles and then after coordinating where we were going to meet afterward, I headed over to my corral.  I probably warmed up a little too early, but no big deal.  It was about 30 degrees, but at least it wasn't raining like the forecast had been warning all week.  The national anthem was sung (pretty badly if you ask me) and then the race started.  It took about 3 minutes before I got to the line.

My first three miles were pretty slow.  I just started and wasn't really too concerned about how fast I was going.  There were a lot of people running (36,000 or so) and there was a lot of weaving, really throughout the whole race, but most in the first mile.

The rest of the race was unremarkable.  I just tried to keep a steady pace, anticipate the turns, and pass the people in front of me.

My garmin was pretty useless.  Not sure why, but it says I ran 5.4 (and I doubt I was weaving that much) and says that my avg. pace was 7:01.  Obviously not.  According to the results page, my splits were 7:48, 7:51, 7:44, 7:18, 7:14.  I wish that I had been able to get moving in those first 3 miles.  I don't know if it was me or the crowd, really.

Then I cooled down 1.5, waited for Colleen and Mo to finish, and called my brother.  It took me a while to find him and his wife, but we finally found each other and we took the el home.  I'm actually kind of disappointed.  I could have done better, but I'll blame the crowd.  My nemesis finished in 35:30 or so--maybe he won't be my target for the 1/2.  Or maybe I will just chalk this up to having a so-so race and redouble my efforts for my next race.

The real reason I am posting is to ask for prayers for our buddy Luke.  If you recall, his bone marrow transfusion went well (at the end of Feb), but he's been fighting off infections since.  I just found out he has RSV, which is very dangerous for someone in his condition.  He's stable, but in the ICU and getting breathing assistance. 

Cross training:  6 miles, + abs and some lazy pushups.

I haven't been keeping track of fast miles/slow miles lately, but I guess I'll start that up again.

My husband got home today and I relinquished control of the kids to him for the time being.  I guess I'll have to be helpful for the rest of spring break, but only because of Eli's arm.  He went on a fun trip out to AZ and brought me back a turquoise necklace as a peace offering.

wu 2 miles, 3 x 1.5 at 10K pace with .25 recovery, 3.1 miles cd.

Avg. pace:  8:20. Pace for fast portions: 7:20, 7:22, 7:35.  Darn that 3rd one.

Please keep up prayers for Luke.  He had a rough night last night.  He is now on a breathing tube and is pretty heavily sedated.

Five miles in old shoes.  Big mistake.  I stopped a few times to stretch my left arch.  

I'm not gonna lie.  My garmin told me I had a low battery about 1/2 way through my run and I kept hoping it would just shut down so I wouldn't have to finish my intervals.  No such luck...

2 mile wu, 6 miles 3 min fast/1 min recovery, 2.1 miles cd.

I did 12 intervals.  My paces ranged from 7:21 average to 7:46 average, but I only had 2 in the 7:40s, and those were two into the wind.  I took a quick pit stop after the 7th one.  I had to give myself a stern talking to before I could convince myself to start up again.

Now that I'm done I feel good about the workout.

Just FYI:  Luke is taking baby steps of improvement.  They are trying to wean him off his breathing tube, but slowly, as he is still having respiratory issues.  Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts for him!  Keep them coming!

An easy 6 with 6 x approx. 100 m strides and approx. equal recovery jog.  I just did the strides along my route and then jogged the rest of the way home.

It sure is hard to figure out how to dress for runs lately.  When the wind was gusting I was just fine, but when it wasn't (or when I had a tailwind) I was hot.  I should have worn shorts and just one long sleeved shirt.  I need to remember that for next time.  And I guess I should have looked at the temp before going out.  It was 55 (with 13 mph winds).  When I was out earlier this morning, it was in the low 40s.