Those best laid plans will screw with you every time...

       Sometimes even the most resolved intentions, with the map plotted to perfection will go astray. In my last posting I wrote of my training for the half marathon next month in Las Vegas. But expectations were running high then and reality gave me a sharp smack to bring me back down to earth.

       No worries though. I have not given up on the dream of running that half marathon; I have just adjusted the sails a bit on the when I am going to do it. So now I am shooting for the Oak Barrel Run in Lynchburg, TN as my inaugural half in April. That gives me ample time to get ready and if the Gods are smiling upon me, actually run a decent time. 

      Watching the ING New York marathon this weekend inspired me all over again. I felt the exhilaration and excitement of the crowds even though I was almost a thousand miles away. I jokingly told my daughter that I actually could follow what the announcers were saying as they spoke their coded language of running. 


       I look forward to the return to training. I miss it like on old friend. The hot humid weather of the summer proved to be more than I could handle while working toward that 13.1 mile goal. But now that Fall has arrived, my intent is to embrace the cooler temps and plod away. I am making plans with great anticipation of my breaking in my new pair of Brooks Adrenaline's, If I find those not to my liking, then its back to the Nike Structure Zoom's. 


      Either way, I plan to enjoy the ride, because lately I have been thinking a lot about what tomorrow might bring. That uncertainty is bringing about a sense of urgency to create the memories now! Live each day as if it might be the last so to speak. Wish me luck and perseverance... I will keep you posted..

Day One Training for Half Marathon

     Today began my first day of earnest training for the half marathon coming up in a couple of months. It is my plan to run in the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Series Marathon and Half Marathon. On the first day of my training program I was to run a easy 30 minutes. No problem-right? I have already participated in some 5Ks and a 10K. So naturally a half was the next logical step. Granted it has been 3 months to the day since I laced up my running shoes, but it should still be easy right? BULL!

     For this "easy" run I decided I would have my man drop me off about 3 miles from our farm and while he tended to the critters, I would just jog on there. No problem. Nice winding rurally road. Little traffic with a little bit of scenery along the way. Ideal plan. Ha Ha Ha.

     The first omen that things might not be so smooth was when he decided to drop me off in the local funeral home parking lot. Mind you funeral homes don't spook me in the least, but today the vultures were circling as he drove off. Literally. Big ugly turkey vultures with their big ugly wrinkly naked necks landed near me as I started down the back road. It was as if they sensed a meal in the making.

     As I jogged along at a brisker than normal pace (maybe just to get away from the spooky carnivores), I was soon leaving them behind. About half a mile in is where I started smelling the stench of death. Surely it wasn't me already. Nope-just a dead possum whom had the misfortune of meeting the front bumper of a local citizen. Lordy did it stink.

     As I plodded along, my lungs screamed for air, my pace slowed and I soon started questioning my sanity. But still I continued, stopping ever so often to catch my breath. As I was half way through my "run" I reached an open stretch and kicked it up a notch. I heard the "vehicle" if you want to call it that, before I saw it. As it came around one of the 4 very sharp turns in the road, the yahoo driving it saw me and gunned the engine. I looked around in time to see him accelerating to what seemed like a 100 miles an hour in that short stretch headed straight for me in the opposite lane. I started looking for a spot to jump out of the way, but would have to jump into a drainage ditch to avoid him. Just as I was about to take the dive as he closed in, he veered off-chortling at my panic. He flew on down the road, around the curve and out of sight. Red-Neck Idiot!!

     I composed myself, I continued on, a bit shaken, but determined to get this over with. I was over half way to the farm, about to run out of steam with a pounding headache, and a stitch in my side.

     As I jogged past the country cemetery, I felt a shiver creep up my back even though the temp outside was almost 80. I could have been in one of these if that idiot hadn't  veered off in time. IDIOT!

     Just as I was approaching the final stretch to the farm, my other "worst" fear came dashing out of one the yards. A large mixed breed dog zeroed in on me, nose low to the ground and accelerating towards me. Dang! Just my luck. Armed with only a water bottle. I stopped and demanded that he STOP! Didn't work. Hmmm. It always worked for Caesar when he did it on TV. What the Heck! Well, I knew not to run. I stood my ground and waited. Thankfully all he seemed to want to do is sniff my feet. However, he was getting pushier and I needed to get on. Trying not to let him sense my discomfort, I moved forward, commanding him to go home. Then when I was just about to get a little more panicky at his insistence, I looked up in time to see my man coming to my rescue on his white horse, er.. I mean white truck. He pulled up and I jumped in. "I thought this one might give you some trouble", he said. Ahhh, my prince.....

     So with my head pounding, red faced and slightly nauseated, I had completed my first training run in my quest to run that cursed half marathon. All I can say is they had better have some really awesome goody bags and a super neat t-shirt for this.... 

Time to Get Committed

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results…” 

      After a long summer filled with remodeling projects, my running has been put on hold since the end of May. I have missed the discomfort of sore muscles and aching feet. I have not missed the ever creeping expansion of my waist band from my lack of sustained exercise. So with the advent of cooler temps outdoors, I have decided that it is time to regain my sense of accomplishment and just do it-again…
      Commitment has always been a problem for me. Maybe it stems from some mental defect I have, but to commit means to obligate myself; my commitments mean to complete in its entirety. Therefore, I pick and choose my commitments cautiously. I will not commit to just any old thing, person or event just for the sake of saying yes.
       So with that said, I have decided that I am going to train for a half marathon. 13.1 miles of running! I know that in the times to come I am going to question that commitment, but I made it- so now I am going to have to see it thru. The good times, the bad times and all that comes in between. I will get psyched for it- I will create my happy place- I will succeed...
      My end goal is to prepare for this in time to run in the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Series by December 5th. The time limits are that the half marathon must be completed within 4 hours. This averages an 18.32 minute mile pace. Hopefully I can do this (or better) if I train hard between now and then. Even though I feel that I will be starting over again from scratch- I will tie on my running shoes, pull up my compression socks, slip on my running shorts and shirt and hit the pavement; Running the path of self discovery and success.
      Stay tuned for my journey notes, they should prove to me quite interesting...

"Losers visualize the penalties of failure. 

Winners visualize the rewards of success"...

Lynchburg Oak Barrel Half Marathon

        On April 3^rd the Lynchburg Oak Barrel Half Marathon was run. The course started on the Lynchburg square and went through the beautiful countryside of Moore County Tennessee. The run finished at the Jack Daniels Visitor Center where Jack Daniels hosted the post race festivities.

While I didn’t personally run this event, my daughter and some friends did. For some of them it was their first half marathon. For those who don’t know what a half marathon is let me explain. It is running for 13.1 miles! A marathon is twice that far. I struggle to run 3.1 miles so running thirteen miles is a bit overwhelming to think about.

        A couple of days before the race, we drove up to Lynchburg to pick up the race packet and check out the course. But before we arrived in Lynchburg, we decided to make a few stops along the way.

A quick trip to Fleet Feet Sports store in Jones Valley area of Huntsville, Alabama to look for some athletic gear was first on the agenda. Because you know it’s all about how you look when you are running for us gals. The better you look-the faster you run…This is a scientific fact. This is also a very valuable lesson for all you new runners out there, so file that in your must have file… 

For those of you not familiar with Fleet Feet Sports store, we’ll let me tell you, these guys and gals are awesome. See my blog about my experience with them. They will put you in the right shoe to help you be the best “athlete” you can be.

        Then it was back over the mountain for some retail therapy at the Parkway Mall in south Huntsville. We still had some additional shopping to do. My daughter had an Easter event to go to that weekend and “needed” a new dress. Never mind that her closet is overflowing with clothes.

        Of course by then it was lunch time and a stop at Panera Bread was a must. A chicken Caesar sandwich and some black bean soup. Yummy! We dined on the patio in the warmth of a spring sun. It was heavenly.

Finally we were ready to make our way through the hills to Lynchburg. The weather was nice and pleasant and the drive enjoyable. Beautiful country vistas along the way once we were able to make our way out of the crowded streets of Huntsville. You are just kind of driving along and then you come upon this quaint little town that has a town square filled with neat shops. Old southern homes surround the area and everything is centered around the Jack Daniels Distillery industry. It is very clean and well maintained area with some really nice and friendly people.

 While the town itself sits on a flat area, it is surrounded by some rather steep hills and somewhat mountainous roads. As we were driving in we were getting antsy about seeing where the course route was going to take us. As soon as we arrived in town we stopped at the Jack Daniels Distillery to pick up the race packet. The crowds were already pouring in by then and it was still two days until the race.

The organizers had the pickup booth set up on the porch of the Distillery and things went very smoothly. They were very helpful and answered all of our questions. The shirt was neat and there were lots of goodies in the race packet. Most importantly, the course map was in there and we were able to plan the drive to see the elevations.

The course itself was not too horrible. But there were some steep hills along the way, with one in particular that looked very daunting. Nicknamed whiskey hill it was a major switchback that pretty much had everyone walking it. It was definitely the hill that separated the pros from the newbies.

After driving the course, my daughter had some time to mull it all over. At least then she knew what she was facing. Luckily we had been training on some hills that were comparable and felt it was a doable course.

The morning of the race it was drizzling rain as we drove through the 4 AM dark roads. Having taken a different route there, I had to drive through some winding unfamiliar roads in the fog. Once we arrived safely, thank goodness, the crowds were gathering and we were super lucky to get a prime parking spot in the area designated just off the town square. The rain went from drizzly to hard rain while we waited for the race start. 

The tension and excitement in the area was palpable. Nerves were on edge and everyone seemed ready for the start. There were almost 700 runners ready to race the streets of Lynchburg. As I waited on the sidewalk out of the rain, I envied those out there in the rain. I wanted to be a part of it but knew I wasn’t ready.

 

Once the race started, they were off into the rain and over the hills, through the valleys and back to the Jack Daniels Distillery for the finish. As the race had progressed, the rain had become torrential at times but no one seemed to mind. It actually cooled things off. The biggest complaint that I heard was that it made their shoes feel like weights on their feet as they ran. 

When it was all over, the first runner, a 33 year old man from Georgia, had completed the course at a time of 1:17:00. Six hundred and eight four racers later, a 46 year old man from Nashville had finished the race with a time of 3:49:38. There were young people to old people and everything in between people running. There were marriage proposals and breakups. There were people running together as teams and individuals running to represent struggles overcome. There were cancer survivors and handicapped runners. There were those running for the first time and those running their hundredth run. It was an awe inspiring event. They all came together to achieve some inner goal and accomplishment all the while cheering on their fellow runner until the last man crossed the finish line. I love this atmosphere! 

The medals received at the finish line were heavy and impressive. Just like the feeling in the hearts of every runner who had entered that last leg of the race to the cheering crowds and crossed that line at the finish….

Country Music Marathon Nashville

                Country Music Marathon      

This past Saturday my daughter ran in the 2010 Country Music ½ Marathon Race in Nashville, Tennessee. We left home on Friday and drove up in order to get to the expo early and pick up her race packet. Our thinking was that being there in the morning as they opened we would beat most of the crowd. We were partially right. We may have beat some of the crowd but there were still thousands already there waiting before it even opened. We waited in lines just to get onto the escalators to go to the lower levels. It felt like we were cattle being herded to loading shoots.

        This being the fourth leg of the 2010 Rock and Roll Marathon series, there were over 35,000 runners signed up to run including the YMCA’s kids marathon held on Friday. Almost 31,000 finished the full and half marathons. Multiply this with most people having additional family and friends with them to cheer them on and it was staggering.

The earlier race series were run in Arizona in January with over 27,000 finishers, New Orleans in February with almost 13,000 finishers, and Dallas, Texas in March with almost 9,500 finishers. Some of these races included half marathons, full marathons, 50K’s and 2 person relays. These are really big deals in the towns where they are held. In Nashville alone I read that they expected a minimum of 40 million dollars of revenue to be generated from this event alone. That’s astounding!

                The Expo

Once we finally arrived at the entrance door to the expo at the Nashville Convention Center, we were directed to the registration lines. These were set up by whichever corral you had been assigned to at the start line according to your expected finish time. This was a time that you had predicted yourself based on your pace in previous races and training runs. As it were, we were sent to coral 9. The longer lines seemed to be at the higher numbers, so we were able to get to the counter fairly quickly.

Once my daughter gave her name, the man behind the packet pickup counter searched his box for her packet. She had to produce a driver’s license to verify her identity as no one else could pick up her packet for her. Once he saw where we were from, he kind of smirked and said “Hmmph! You guys came up here to run in our race. Don’t you have your own ones to run in?” We just looked at each other and tried to decipher if he was really serious. As he looked through his box he continued to mumble some incomprehensible nonsense. I jokingly offered to him that we often welcomed people from Tennessee in our races and were always happy to take their money so we figured Tennessee would like to receive some of ours back. He just ignored my comments and gave us our packet explaining where to go to get her t-shirt and how to change corrals. After taking the packet and proceeding on, we were feeling a little uneasy about the exchange we’d just had. Surely we told ourselves; in this day and age the “feuds” between states no longer existed.

After making a quick corral change to coral 8 to be able to run with a friend, we moved on to the t-shirt pickup and into the first section before actually entering the expo exhibits. Brooks Running Apparel had everything imaginable for sale. Not hugely discounted but if you looked hard enough you could find a deal or two. Limited in their sizes on t-shirts, but had some very friendly sales people. Their checkout counters were very well organized to handle the huge volume of customers there. After making a few purchases, we moved into the actual expo arena.

Holy Crowds! Dozens of vendors had been set up, each hawking whatever product they represented. It was an athlete’s dream. From shirts to shoes to hair implements to performance enhancing supplements. There were watches and bracelets to compression socks and quilts. It was off the wall! Publix was the mother lode. They were giving away food samples, noise makers and banners for the spectators to cheer on their loved ones.

We made our way to the line for the will call ticket booth for the concert that was to follow the awards ceremony that night. The lady there asked for the name and a photo ID. Again with the comments about being from another state. What the heck? I know for a fact that there were people from all over the United States running in this race. Even some international participants; so what gives? Was it just our state? Then when we walked away, I looked back and caught them giving us the stink eye. Good grief! Just smile and move on….

After spending quite some time at the expo, we finally made our way to the exit. Now it was on to the hotel. Our GPS gave us great directions; straight through industrial park and through the seedier part of the city. I don’t mind saying I was a little nervous about this hotel we had booked online.

However, once we arrived I was very pleased with our accommodations and location at the Radisson. It was out by the airport with eating establishments within walking distance. The check in was painless and pleasant. They even gave us vouchers for several complimentary meals in their restaurant. Very nice touch indeed and one that we took advantage of. The room was nice and clean and comfortable with a good view. They even made special arrangements for their guests to provide a shuttle bus to the starting line near the Parthenon in Centennial Park and from the finish line later at LP Field. This was wonderful since the tickets for the events shuttles were sold out already on Friday. Believe me the $20 that we paid was well worth the round trip afterwards. Especially after seeing the nightmare of parking at the event and the fact that the bus was waiting on us at the curb when it was over. Sweet! The shuttle bus concierge was sp pleasant and accommodating. He welcomed us-even if we were from another state!

                Early Departure

The morning of the race was so exciting and at times overwhelming. The bus ride over to Centennial Park included people from Ohio and Boston. It was a first from the ones from Boston. They were nervous and anxious. We arrived at about 5:30 AM for the 7:00 AM start time. Thank goodness we did, because they moved the start time up because of the impending bad weather. That maneuver turned out to be a blessing and a curse for some.

Due to the nightmare of parking that many people and then gear drop offs that were across the park from the start line, if you weren’t there early you didn’t know about the start time change. Many of those that were in the earlier corrals didn’t get to start at their assigned times and had to jump in wherever. This turned out to be bad for those whose times were faster and had to fight past the slower runners.

The earlier start was good because it allowed most of the runners to be finished before the rain started. However, they had also implemented a cutoff time for the marathon runners to reach the halfway point before they were diverted to the half marathon course. Then because they felt the weather was an issue, the race officials cut the marathon course short and sent the marathoners to the finish line at 22 miles instead of 26. This was devastating to some who were trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. This action knocked some out of the running completely. Very disappointing for them.

       
         The Finish Line

My daughter finished with a personal record in her now worn out  Brooks Glycerin running shoes. Unfortunately due to the sheer number of runners, I missed seeing her at the finish line, as well as everyone else I was there to support. Crap! But we were able to get pictures afterwards. It was scary though watching some of the runners literally being dragged across the finish line nearly unconscious. Sadly, we later learned that one of those runners actually died from cardiac arrest. Now that is truly frightening.

The girls were exhausted and hurting but exhilarated. A day well spent and one filled with lasting memories. The death aside, I must say the overall experience was something that I would have never wanted to miss. Taking just one more leg of this fabulous journey that we have chosen to embark upon.

The bus ride back to the Radisson included runners from Tennessee and Kentucky and some ladies from parts unknown. Our “Chatty Cathy” rider from Texas entertained us with his exhilaration and enthusiasm. The ride only took about 15 minutes but it was a nice finish to a well spent morning. However, there were a couple of speed bumps along the way back.

Crap Happens

One of the runners was nauseous and was giving it her best not to hurl over everyone aboard. Thankfully she waited until we made it back to the hotel. Unfortunately, another one of the riders had experienced what has to be the most humiliating things that could happen: runners trots. Oh Lordy! She had crapped herself and as we sat on the bus for a good twenty minutes before we left LP Field and another 15 minutes to the hotel, it got a little dicey. As we disembarked the bus and made our way to the lobby, it was painfully obvious what had happened. She had tried to cover it up with her jacket only to have it seep through. I just hate to think about the next group to ride that bus. Ugh! As we entered the elevators, some innocent bystander made a comment about something stinking. I wanted to crawl under the rug. I have definitely decided that the day something like this ever happens to me will be the day I give up running.....

              Retail Therapy

After a well deserved nap and the passing of some ugly thunderstorms that spawned a few tornadoes, we decided to visit the Opry Mills Outlet Mall. We enjoyed the visit but quickly realized we were too exhausted to last very long. So after an hour or so we returned to the hotel, called it a night and retired to a deep sleep. The next day we had a noon check out and took full advantage of it. We packed up and headed home just in time to stop along the way to visit the Franklin Street Festival. Another adventure to blog about.

What a fabulous time we had! Next weekend it is a Run Through The Roses 10K run in Huntsville, Alabama.