We'll call it a silver...

While I listed my time as a bronze, I am going to call it a silver medal. It was not what I was hoping for, but it is a 40 minute PR and I'll take it. I'm just glad I finished. It was touch and go there for a while...


**Edited***Here are the results:

Splits:	10 Km	Half	21 Mile	Finish	O'All	Sex	Div
Times:	55:18	2:00:03	3:24:01	4:16:10	3997	1243	149
Pace:	8:54	9:10	9:43	9:47

I'll post a race report later.

Ready to go!!

I strolled around the huge expo, wishing I had disposable income. I could have done some damage today. I saw compression socks I wanted, races I wanted to sign up for and cute running outfits. The marathon has the cutest finisher's singlet this year! It was fun and we did score plenty of samples. The kids came with us, so they were all about trying smoothies, juice etc.

The shirt is great! Last year they gave us a disappointing white cotton t-shirt. This year it is a pretty blue technical shirt. Yay! Even the bib is better this year. Last year was a plain blue and white bib and this year is a nice San Diego skyline. I can't wait to see the medal!


I have laid everything out and I think I am ready to go. I still need to go over my checklist. I haven't decided if I will be wearing my hat or my visor. On one hand, if it rains a bit (like it did today), the hat will keep my head dry. On the other hand, the visor is way better for keeping my sunglasses on my head. And, if it gets warm later, it is cooler. I think I might wear my arm warmers. Today it was downright chilly. I figure that I can hand off the arm warmers to Kenny near the half way point, if they get warm.


Not shown in the picture are my iPod, Garmin, and fuel belt. I am such a gear head! I am bringing five Gu's, chapstick, Tylenol and my phone. Holy moly!

I couldn't find the live results area (maybe they aren't offering that this year?), but I did find the live broadcast: http://elite.competitor.com/webcast/sd/ and coverage: http://running.competitor.com/2009-rock-n-roll-coverage. Maybe they'll have something tomorrow. If you didn't catch it in the photo, my bib number is 6053.

We are starting in corral #4! I am a little nervous about that. When I put my estimated finish time of 3:59, I was put in corral #6. Laura wanted to get close to the start this year and estimated her finish as 3:30. She was placed in corral #2. I really want to start with her, but I DON'T want to start with people in the second corral. We split the difference and I moved up to #4. I am going to be very careful not to get caught up in the 3:40-3:45 madness at the beginning. The good news is that I'll have a better chance of seeing a '3' on the clock when I finish.

Ok... a few last minute things and I am going to try to go to bed. I slept HORRIBLY last night and hope I will get some sleep tonight. If not, I may need an extra Espresso Love Gu...

Thanks for all the well-wishes. I can't wait to update everyone!!

Dreams....

Did you ever have the dream where you show up to class and it is the day of the final and you suddenly realize that you had forgotten to go to class that entire semester? I have been out of school for a very long time and I still sometimes have that dream.

Not this week. This week the marathon dreams started.

Don't worry. I am not focusing on negative here. Simple anxiety is at work here. I think that anxiety actually helps me. The school dreams were never indicative of poor performance and neither will these. I never actually forgot to show up to class and I am assuming that none of my marathon dreams will come true either. Knock on wood!

Dream #1-- I show up to get my free Gu along the course. The woman makes me write down my name and bib number. Each runner is only allowed one. We all had to wait in line to get our one Gu. I feel the minutes tick by....tick, tock, tick, tock. As I get my one and only Gu, I suddenly realize that I hadn't brought any of my own! What?? Only one measly Gu for 26.2 miles? What will I do???

Dream #2-- This dream is probably pretty darn common among runners. It is the one where no matter how hard I try, I can't move any faster. It feels like I am running under water. Hmmm.... I have actually had runs like that. In this particular dream, I realize that I forgot something (maybe the missing Gu from Dream #1?) and I had to run all the way back to the starting line to get it. As I try to catch up, I run slower and slower. I remember vividly* looking down at my watch at mile 18 seeing 4:18 displayed. I knew that I wouldn't even be able to finish under five hours. The feeling as I woke up was one of giving up.

*SHAKE IT OFF, LISA!*

**

I am sure there have been others, but I don't remember a lot of my dreams. That is probably a good thing. I am focusing on the positive.


So... what are your anxiety dreams?


Happy Running, everyone!


*which is odd for me, since I rarely remember my dreams and even more rarely remember them vividly.
**image courtesy of Gettyimages.com

I hope I DON'T find it

The wall, that is....














Happy Running, everyone...

Blog remodel giveaway

I have had the same blog layout for over a year. I don't have a lot of technical expertise (nor the time to figure it out) to give myself a clever, user-friendly blog.

Enter the Zestycook giveaway! He is offering his expertise to one lucky reader (hopefully me!). Check it out: http://zestycook.com/zesty-giveaway-blog-makeover/ I found the link to this blog and decided to add it to my reader. He has lot of great recipes and techniques and I always love to find new things to make!

Additional goals for Rock-n-Roll 2009

Last week, I wrote about my goals for the marathon. These goals focused on time and results. I had an epiphany on my run yesterday morning. This is my second marathon and I know a bit about what to expect. I have done the training and will run what my body can handle that day. I have decided to try to not obsess about time and to focus on enjoying myself. If I have fun, the time goals are secondary and won't consume me.

Here is a list of some goals for Sunday:

• Smile
• Inspire at least two other people to smile
• Thank at least one volunteer at each water/aid station
• Strike up a conversation with at least one other runner (this might prove a little harder than last year, since we were at such a slower pace last year)
• High five at least ten kids along the route
• Think about my kids any time I feel negativity sneaking in (just thinking of my daughter asking me every run if I am running a marathon makes me smile)
  
• Sing along to at least part of one song (either on my iPod or from one of the bands)
• Dance a little (especially if a band plays"YMCA" or something equally as cheesy)
• Say "woo hoo" (or something equally as cheery) at least twice (ok... these last few are pretty silly, but I want to make sure I don't become too serious through all this)

Happy Running everyone!!

Taking it to the next level

Let's face it. I am 42 years old and have been running for less than two years. I will never be competitive in running. Women my age placing in their age group have been running for decades. I might have a shot at an age group award in some small local race. Unfortunately, there aren't too many of those in San Diego.

So.... taking it to the next level has taken on new meaning for me. While I will never be an elite athlete or anything approaching that, I can share what I have learned with others (especially women who are just starting out). It is something that I love to do. That is why I have enrolled in the RRCA* Coaching Certification program in two weeks.

The RRCA program focuses on issues specific to adult road running and racing, including coaching fundamentals, scientific background and the establishment of training schedules and goals to help athletes reach their running potential. Whether the goals are race specific or general fitness, this program will provide the background and training to work with individual runners.

I am super excited. We justified the cost in that I might actually be able to make money with this. I can certainly deduct it from my income taxes for my Stroller Strides income. But ultimately, this is a way to fuel my passion. I have always loved school and learning. I am thrilled at the idea of spending two long days learning more about running!

I am hoping that I can learn a lot and can make this blog a resource to other runners. I am also hoping to add value to my current Stroller Strides clients who want to add running to their fitness regime. Oh... and maybe I can improve my own running along the way.


On a completely different subject, I ran my last long run today before the Rock-n-Roll Marathon next weekend. We ran eight miles. My shins were not feeling good at all. The good news is that they didn't hurt bad enough to hurt my gait or stop me from running. I took it easy and as I ran, the pain wasn't very noticeable. I am going to continue to ice, ice, ice. I am also going to take it very easy this week. The key seems to be in my calves. I have been doing the foam roller and I can feel a knot in both calves. I'm going to keep working on them. It was nice to run with Laura this morning. We kept up a nice conversation and enjoyed the quiet bay front. We hadn't run along the big bay together since AFC.

I hope everyone has a nice long weekend. Happy running!


*Road Runners Clubs of America