MinneSNOWta - You betcha!

I have gotten a little off of my schedule in the last two weeks, but now I am back! In the last two weeks a couple of significant events have occurred in my training. Firstly, I completed my first almost-marathon, a 26 mile training run. It was a combination of good, bad and ugly.

I went into the run with the idea that I would treat it just like race day, the only difference being that it wouldn’t be at race pace. So I got up in the morning and ate a bagel with cream cheese and a banana, and spent the rest of the morning drinking the fluids that I plan on using during the OTMarathon. The only problem was that after I ate my breakfast I had to go to work for about 3 hours before doing my run. So I ate my breakfast at 9am and then left work to go do my run at 12:30. The first part of the run was fine, but once I got to about 18-20 miles I started to get the feeling that my head was floating away from my body, like a kite on a string. I was conscious that I was still running, but I felt like I was floating. I shook my head a few times and was able to focus again, but the rest of the run was really long. I think my problem was that I had not consumed enough calories for the run, and I had only taken one Hammer Gel with me, which was not enough. I guess I learned that lesson the hard way.

The second event that occurred during the past week and a half is that it finally decided to snow here in minneSNOWta, which officially marks the end of doing workouts outside. So yesterday, while it sleeted miserably outside I made my merry way to Life Time Fitness in Eden Prairie and jumped on a treadmill to do a 20 mile run. Life Time’s facilities are really fantastic and top notch, so it was the best possible alternative to running outside. I cranked the treadmill up and put it at 1% grade, to compensate for the fact that I am running on a treadmill not the ground, and settled in at 6:53 pace. The first 15 miles passed by quickly enough because I was watching the Michigan V. Nebraska game – quick shout out to my friend Katie McGregor, GO BIG BLUE!  It wasn’t much of a game as Michigan crushed the Corn Huskers 45 to 17, but hey, it kept my mind from spelling out M-O-N-O-T-O-N-Y with every stride.  The last 5 miles which I ran at close to my threshold pace – aka 5:45 min/mile – were a test of my mental fortitude…but I guess I need some of that during my training for a marathon.

Emily Brown and me dressed as presents, participating in the Life Time Fitness Reindeer Run 2010.  It is is hard to run when you can't use your arms! 

My fitness continues to progress and I am excited to see what the next two weeks will hold as I prepare to run in the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving day and the Rock’n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon on Dec. 4^th.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Make it a good one and don’t forget to get your run in before you eat Turkey, because although it is just a wives’ tale that the tryptophan found in Turkey makes you sleepy, I know there is something about a Thanksgiving Feast that makes you not want to get in a run after it. 

ING New York City Marathon Weekend

Sorry for the late post, but what a weekend! I flew into LaGuardia Airport on Thursday for a long weekend in NYC. After a bit of a hairy drive from LGA to the Sheraton hotel in Manhatten, I was tired and ready for bed. But first I had to get in a run for the day, so I got changed and made my way to Central Park to do an easy 6 miles. I returned to the hotel… 9 miles later!  Central Park is a very beautiful place to run, and much bigger than I anticipated it would be. On a normal day I wouldn’t mind getting a few extra miles in by accident, but it made me slightly nervous due to the fact that I would be racing in two days. I decided to put it out of mind; I had felt good on the run and that is all that mattered.

Friday was full of a lot of different and exciting activities. The first activity of note being the technical meeting for the NYRR Dash to the Finish 5k. At 2pm on Friday the group of about 30 elite athletes gathered together to listen to the rules that would be governing the race, go over the course, transportation of baggage and athletes, and most importantly of all: receive our timing chips….and boy were there a lot of those! Each runner was assigned four timing chips. There were two “B” tags which are chips that a placed on the back of the runner’s bibs. One attaches to the front of our uniform and one attaches to the back. There were also two “D” tags which are chips that are looped onto your shoe and form into the shape of a D – one for each foot. The race organizers wanted to reassure us that we would get a time because it was important to them that we wouldn’t be pushing our watches in the race.  Can you guess why?

Because they didn’t want us to ruin the pictures that they were going to be taking by looking down at our watches and pushing buttons. They wanted us – especially the winner – to raise our arms in victory. I completely agree that these kinds of pictures are a lot more fun to look at, but I still think four timing chips was probably overkill.

 NASDAQ

After we finished with the technical meeting we made our way down to Times Square to participate in the coolest event of the day: we got to close the NASDAQ stock exchange for the weekend! It was really fantastic. We went into the NASDAQ and they took us into this room where there were all kinds of video cameras and other special equipment, we were given instructions on how the events would occur and then they put us all on stage and we went live! It wasn’t exactly 15 minutes of fame, but we were on national TV for about 3 minutes as we helped to close down the market for the weekend.  The event was even more exciting because it was the first day that Groupon had gone public – a significant development in the financial world.

Race Day

Next up, race day!  The NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K was scheduled to begin at 8:30am right outside the United Nations building. So to start off the day my alarm went off at 5:30am so that I could get some breakfast in my belly. At about 5:50am I was done eating my bagel, a banana and drinking some Gatorade and I had the coffee brewing in the little hotel coffee pot.

As the aroma of coffee filled the room I went about pining on my bibs and putting the D-tags on my shoes. Once those were arranged I put on all my racing attire and packed up my bag to get ready to meet all the other runners down in the hotel lobby at 7am so that we could make our way to the start area.  Once I finished packing I got my coffee and went through a mental checklist to make sure I was prepared for the race:

-uniform

-racing flats

-bibs

-water/Gatorade

-gloves/hat/arm sleeves

Check,check, check, check, check….READY TO GO!

All the runners meet downstairs and we walk a little over a mile on a brisk NY morning to the start line for the race. Once there we all split off into different groups and begin our warm-ups.  For myself that involves a 15min warm-up jog to get the muscles loose and blood moving, a good stretch, drills and strides.

Ten Minutes until race time!

My warm-up is complete now; I take some deep belly breaths to help calm my nerves, repeat to myself over and over “you can do this” and jog about lightly to keep my body warm.

Five Minutes until race time!

We are told to take off all of our warm-ups and get on the start line. The only thing that I have left on are my buns, singlet, gloves and arm sleeves – like I said it was a brisk morning so I opted for gloves and arm sleeves to keep me just a little warmer and so that my upper body wouldn't get tight.  I put my right hand over my heart as they play the national anthem and stare at the Star Spangled Banner, the United Nations as the back-drop to it all. Introductions are made, race commands are uttered and BANG!

The race is on…the race is out slow, 5:15 at the mile, so naturally there is a big group with all the women still together. But people are starting to get antsy, the pace starts to pick up but so do the hills - 5:10 for the second mile. There is still a big group but it is starting to spread out a little more. The last mile heads into central park where the biggest hill in the race is and then a very sharp left turn to head towards the finish. I make it up the hill and make the almost about-face turn and I am only a few seconds behind the leaders. The hill has really strung the field out as people are starting to hurt, the last mile is only slightly faster than the second mile timewise, but the effort is considerably more. So what on paper is a mile split of about 5:09, in my legs feels like 5:00 flat. 400 meters to go and I think I am somewhere around 9^th place, I kick hard still feeling strong and start passing women over the next 200m. 200 meters and one last hill to the finish line. Still running hard, my legs are starting to fatigue but I am so close, my brain doesn’t see or hear anything, it just keep repeating “push” like a broken record. Under the blue banner that is the finish line not only for this race but also the ING NYC Marathon – 5^th place!  I did it!

USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency)

I cross the finish line and take a big deep breath, thinking my work is done for the day. I start to walk with the other women and I am immediately stopped in my tracks…”Hello, I am a representative of USADA (UnitedStates Anti-Doping Agency), you have been selected for drug testing”.   DANG IT!

I have no problem submitting a sample for testing because I want to keep our sport fair and clean, but the process of providing a sample is not the most pleasant of experiences. First I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork, but my hands are freezing and my motor skills are almost non-existent. I manage to scribble out my name, address, etc. as I get checked-in. Now I have to wait…I have to wait without any warm clothes in an unheated tent and drink cold beverages, with the aim of trying to produce a 90ml urine sample. I wait…and wait…and wait. Two people go before me to try and get samples; both come back with only partial sample so they have to try again. I am shivering violently, teeth chattering, when I finally think I am ready to try. I am taken to the porta-potty, where I am instructed to wash my hands, dry them and open a sterile sample cup. Now the fun part – produce a sample WHILE the lady is staring straight at your crotch to make sure you don’t contaminate your sample. Stage fright much?!  This isn’t my first time, so after a few seconds I am able to get the job done. Another victory! The rest of the process is equally as tedious – pouring the sample into different containers for testing and making sure it is all sealed and packaged correctly so that it isn’t tampered with. An hour later I am finally done and can leave to go get warm. Hallelujah! 

The rest of the weekend is a whimsical breeze. I spend some time doing touristy things around NYC with some family (Jeanie and Bruce Coopersmith) who came down to watch my race from upstate NY. THANKS GUYS! And, I get to watch the ING New York City Marathon from one of the best seats in the house - the first row in the finish line grandstands. The races didn’t disappoint, both the men’s and women’s course records were conquered and the women’s race was gut-wrenching to watch (click here for a full recap).

All in all it was a very exciting weekend and I am looking forward to getting back to training and my next race…the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day!