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February 18, 2005

A different kind of marathon

I remember when I interviewed for my job my now-bosses compared the job to a marathon and how you needed endurance to get through. It's true. 12-hour days for the past week and this will continue for at least two more weeks until the bill filing deadline. At that point we move from the endurance phase to the windsprint phase - everybody wants what they want *immediately* ... even if it means you work all night to get it to them the next morning. I can't *wait.*

As far as running goes, I've run nary a step since Sunday. I still have pain in my shin and now feel I have the luxury of just not running until it goes away completely. In the meantime I've been getting my running fix by reading (when I have a spare minute) marathon stories from last weekend. The following is my friend Wendy's story. I talked Wendy into Pfitzinger's 70MPW plan two years ago when everybody thought we were crazy. And then it worked for us and people didn't think we were so crazy anymore. I have run more miles with this girl in the windy dark than anyone else. Wendy stuck with Pfitzinger this year while I decided I wanted even more. Looks like she was the smarter one. Strong work Wendy!

Freescale Marathon Race Report
February 13, 2005

4:45 am – Is that rain I hear?? No. Good. I go straight to the TV and turn the radar. It is 64 and Austin is covered in green and yellow. Not good. This has to be a joke. What can you do? I chug a full Gatorade with my oatmeal knowing that hydration will be key for survival today.

5:30 – Daryl picks me up and we are off. The further north we drive, the harder it rains. We park at Taco Cabana to use the rest room. As we run across the parking lot it is POURING. I tip toe so the shoes stay as dry as possible. Time to break out the trash bag. Is the rain calming down??? No..that was lightning. Finally 6:37 we head to the start, weave our way through the crowd and drop off our bags. We line up with the 3:20 pace leaders. Ross and Patrick are both wearing mullet wigs. These guys are going to be fun. I will not let the heat win again. At this point the rain has pretty much stopped but it is HUMID. Stephanie finds Daryl and I and the three of us wait. I see Nancy Dasso lined up with the 3:15 group. Go Nancy!! Good Luck! Oh. There’s the gun. We’re off.

Mile 1 – Crowded but we do the weave and dance. This time we are not only passing runners but also dodging huge puddles in the road. MUST KEEP THE FEET DRY. We hit the marker at 8:12 and the pacers assure us that we will make it up. The legs feel a little stiff but I am trying not to overanalyze. Gloves? Ha! What was I thinking? Gone! Mile 2 – 7:25. A little fast but it feels comfortable. So we continue through the lovely industrial park. Water in the road. Am I a hurdler now? Hardly. Is this a marathon or an adventure race? We turn the corner and we are on the access road of 183. Did I mention I hate the first 4 miles of the course? UGLY! Mile 4 – 7:21. Water stop! These are friends of mine from Freescale. The theme is some type of sea theme with fish. Fitting, very fitting. Finally we make it to Shoal Creek. Mile 5 up ahead I hear Patrick yell. 7:41. Nice. Steph mentions that we just ran this 21 mile course 3 weeks ago. Just a training run. Oh Steph ? 3 weeks ago…it was in the lower 50’s not in the stinkin upper 60’s with 100% humidity. Did I say that? NO, but I thought it!

We hit Mile 6 at 7:31. We agree that this pace is comfortable.Jen Stewart is up ahead, not a good sign for Jen. I hope the injury isn’t hurting her. We finally catch her and she informs me this may be her first DNF. I tell her that is the right move. She has nothing to prove. It isn’t worth the potential damage. I tell her I love her? Did I just say that out loud? But I do love my friends. Mile 7 – 7:30. We have found our rhythm. Use the downhill to your advantage. I realize now that Steph and I have crept ahead of the pace group. That’s okay, this is comfortable. The sun is breaking out. NO NO NO!! It starts to heat up. Fortunately there is shade on Shoal Creek. Not much but some. Mile 8 – 7:29. Nice and steady, feeling good. I tell Steph that Pat(my husband) will be up ahead just past Mile 9. No Pat. Turn the corner. No Pat. It is so hard to see. Why did I leave my sunglasses in my bag? (Uhmmmm because it was RAINING at the start. Oh yeah. Good Point). The sun is blinding and I am carrying all of my crap in my hands. Mile 10 – 7:33. Well we are consistent. I hear my name… I see a face that I recognize… Kim !! She tells me that I can throw my stuff. An angel!! A Clif shot goes flying with it, NOOOOOOOO!!!! I keep running. I will be okay without it.

We turn onto Duval. Slight hill, kind of a nice change, the crowd here is awesome. Mile 11- 7:24. The sun is BLAZING. I dump water on my head. I see Pat between mile 11 and 12. He did make it!! Hi BABY!!! Another great day for him to WATCH a marathon. He seems to have great luck with that. Steph and I ride the downhill to 12. Her friend Wesley is along side of us now. He is doing the half. SMART man!! Mile 12 – 7:41. A little slower but I try not to freak out about it. Now all of the half marathoners are picking it up> Relax, don’t follow them! I can hear Evil. Mile 13 -7:50. WHAT? I am a little concerned. We must focus. I see lots of friends as I go through the finish line of the half. Kim Smith!! I hear Paul. Megan…my lovely Megan!! Another smart girl who ran the half. I think about her wedding and how beautiful she will look. Wake up call…. Water stop. I hear the crowd cheering for the 3:20 group. They are catching up. I tell Steph I want to back off and go with the pacers. I need to let them do the work. So we slow it down until I hear Patrick yell “Group, let’s hear a cheer for Wendy!” “GO WENDY!!” He is so awesome! 6th Street. Mile 14 – 7:20. Hey maybe mile 13 was off. Okay we can do this. We pass Oslo. Uhmmm….an ice cold Apple Martini sounds mighty good right now.

The pacers entertain us as we head out sixth towards the dreaded U turn stretch on LAB. The clouds are coming out. Is that a breeze I feel? There is a god. Mile 15 – 7:27. Mile 16 – 7:39. We are back on track. I focus on the runners on the other side of LAB. Danny Hayes flies by looking strong with Dave Knoll. GO DANNY!! We have run this road hundreds of time, don’t think about it. FOCUS! Okay at mile 17 you get to turn around. Mile 17 – 7:45. A little slow, not bad. Back to the rock!! Steph breaks out the music,it is time for Happy Tunes. We are going strong. I focus on the runners on the other side of the road. Go Daryl!! He doesn’t look happy> I worry. Clea!! Yeah!! 3:30 Pacers. FRED, JAMES, DANNY!!! Teresa is between them and the 3:40 pacers!! GO TERESA!! Mile 18 – 7:41. I start to feel weird. My stomach isn’t feeling so hot and the bladder, I definitely feel the bladder. Make it go away!! I tell Steph that I may have to stop. She reassures me that we have plenty of cushion and it will be okay. She knows my goal is 3:20. Mile 19- 7:30. A little fast. Ross the pacer is ahead of us– SLOW DOWN PACER MAN! Oh good, there is a crowd up ahead. Don’t think about the bladder. Look at the people! We hit a water stop. I think I poured it on my head but I am not sure. I know I didn’t drink it.

We crest the little hill on Caesar Chavez. Pam and Silke are screaming at me and they have signs for us!! My friends are so awesome. A little further down the road is Pat. We make eye contact. He hands me by drink that I asked him to bring. I say I love you. I debate whether or not to drink it but I haven't taken anything in in awhile. I need my SPARK, I am starting to fade. I chug it. Mile 20 – 7:45. No, this is too soon to crash. But the pacers are still behind me. Focus! At this point I am only focusing on one thing. WHERE ARE THOSE LITTLE BLUE PORTA POTTIES. I need one NOW! We head down Fiesta Gardens and there is Jen and Andy!! Hey guys!! Jen screams at me something to the effect of you are going to do it!! No Jen, I am going to run to that blue porta pottie under the interstate. In and out as fast as I could. I think I was still yanking up my shorts when I pushed open the door. Back on the road toa water stop. Good timing. Mile 22 up ahead. 8:10. The bathroom stop wasn’t too bad on the clock. I can still see the 3:20 pacers up ahead. I am feeling much better. FOCUS!! Gain ground slowly, don’t blow this. I see Shelly and Heather as I approach 23. Did I say Jen screamed before? Shelly SCREACHES “ GOOOO WENDY!!!” I love my friends. Mile 23 – 7:38. I am back in the game. Up over the damn. Ride the downhill. I am starting to feel a little out of it. Dave Knoll is running at me. He joins me and tells me to relax and swing my arms. We pass Ann my massage therapist. She has oranges. I had told her to have M and M’s for me. Food doesn’t sound like a good idea right now. Stomach is not happy. Don’t think about it. Dave gets me over the hill and he’s gone. Did I say thank you? I hope I said thank you. Focus. Mile 24 – Okay trudge on.

This is the home stretch. Just try not to slow down TOO Much. Megan is up at Mile 25. I think that even if I get a 3:21 or a 3:22 it is a PR. BUT I WANT MY 3:20 I whine to myself. Over I-35. The sun is BLAZING now. I finally get to mile 25 and the gang is all there. Megan, Jen, Steve, Andy. I don’t think I smiled at them. Sorry guys! Megan jumps in with me and off we go. I am going to do this. I am NOT going to slow down. I will not. We go up the final hill. I am getting cranky. I tell Megan to talk to me. What an amazing friend. She just raced the half marathon and here she is pushing me in. It is so hot! STEAMY. Sonic…I see Congress Avenue. The light looks miles away. Hi Al and Sandy! Barton Springs. There’s Jeff. Oh no, he has a camera. I don’t smile. Mile 26. Never hit my watch at 25 so 15:35 for the 2 miles. Am I still in the game??I don’t know. Math is impossible at this point. Megan tells me I got it. Just 2 laps around the track and I am done. I thank her and she’s gone! Push. There’s Ruthy!! The crowd is crazy and screaming. There are so many people!! I see the finish clock. It still says 3:20something. It keeps ticking away but I don’t feel like I am getting closer. I hear Pat “Go BABY!!” I push as hard as I can. I see the 3:20 on the clock turn to 3:21. Dang it. Oh well. Still a PR. I cross the mat. I hit my watch but don’t look at it. Steve Sisson runs up and congratulates me. I look at my watch. 3:20.42. Oh my god. I did it. I got my 3:20. The medical people are talking to me. “Are you okay,” they say. “YES!! I got my 3:20” But all that comes out is “Water….please…water..” I get my medal and follow the road to the finishing area. I hear my name. Pam and Silke are jumping up and down running at me. I have amazing friends, did I mention that? I hug them and move on. I walk a few more steps and there is Pat. I collapse into his arms “You were right I told him. Baby, I did it!”

I am very psyched with my new PR and plan to take a break from marathons for awhile. This was my 3rd "warm" marathon in a row (NYC 2003 and BOSTON 2004) and I know from experience that you have no control over the weather and what it does to you. I am now 1-2 against the weather but it most cases it wins. Anyone who stepped up to the start at this marathon - CONGRATULATIONS!! Whether you finished or not you tried under conditions that were far from ideal. GOOD JOB EVERYBODY!!

Wendy Quinn

Posted by jenandmats at 7:54 AM

February 14, 2005

Well at least I'm in good company

The decision not to finish yesterday was actually an easy one. I starting getting tight and sore very early on, and the muggy conditions made a miraculous recovery later in the race even less likely. I couldn't see what I would accomplish by finishing: an even longer period of rehab, falling further behind at work because I was wiped out. At one point I thought "don't be a weenie; finishing today will be a badge of honor." But then I realized I already had one of those - anyone who finished Boston last year has their badge for life. And I felt like I didn't *just* survive there; I persevered. I didn't feel the need to prove myself again. I've finished 15 marathons. If anyone questions my ability to finish I'd have to say that person was a mo-ron.

So just after 14 I found my parents and stepped off the course for good. I'd been accompanied for a lot of the half I ran by one of the women I'd done those great workouts with right before I got hurt. She'd had a really great racing year up to that point, too, but was struggling with a neuroma and had been sick all week. So we helped get one another through for a while. I lost her right before I found my parents and don't know if she decided to finish or not.

Meghan, Leilani, and Leilani's husband R made it out to our house on Saturday night for Andy's (I didn't do a thing) pasta party. I didn't get to spend too much time with them, but I'm certainly glad they were there and that we got to hang out for at least a little bit. My friend Holli thought that Meghan was my sister! (I don't even have a sister.) I had hoped to meet up with them after the race, but our post-race plans to meet at the "Q" were foiled by the complete lack of any family reunion signs at the finish area. I guess I've gotten spoiled by Houston's ultimate marathon organization. Two years ago I think they (Motorola Marathon) actually said there would be letters for the reunion area and we caught them taping up little pieces of paper to the wall at around 11am or so! Fortunately I'd already found my friends (and the beer) on my own by then.

All week long there had been bad little signs about this weekend. The first was that I was working 12-hour days. I worked on Saturday until 1:30 or so, and even went to work yesterday afternoon. In the mornings last week I'd get up and turn on the tv to VH1 and they seemed to always be playing Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." Then on Saturday on my way to the expo I heard Bob Dylan's "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" followed by CCR's "Bad Moon Rising." Two people at the pasta party warned me that running the next day might lead to a forced permanent retirement from running. (Thanks a lot!)

DNFing totally sucks. One thing that makes it easier to take, though, is knowing that I'm in good company (This morning I heard that song that's out now about "Even the best fall down sometimes.") Beth, Liz, me ... and Paula, of course.

THANKS so much for all the support over the past several months. You all (inclusive of all my real-life friends and my cyber-friends) are a real source of inspiration and encouragement. Having that is much much better than a pr. (Although I still want that pr!)

Posted by jenandmats at 7:31 AM | Comments (9)

February 10, 2005

Hello stranger

There are mean little signs all over the pool deck at Stacy pool (at most pools, actually); a constant reminder that the rule there is NO RUNNING. Well no shee-ot. Otherwise I wouldn't BE THERE.

I can't believe it's the Thursday before marathon day. I can't say it snuck up on me; I've been marking time to get here for months. But I was still surprised at how fired up I got on my drive here to Austin Java from the pool. I didn't drive the last 400 yards of the marathon on purpose; I was just trying to avoid all the stoplights I hit when I take my regular route. As soon as I made the turn onto Riverside from Congress it hit me - MARATHON WEEK. And I could see the ugly dome of Palmer Auditorium (where the expo starts tomorrow) and the Hooters sign (two years ago my friend Dave was riding his bike next to me pretty much the whole stretch down Riverside, starting just after I-35, repeating the mantra "this race doesn't start until HOOTERS.") And then I drove over the finish line, thinking "I'll see *you* later." It was the first glimpse of fire-up that I've had this time around (probably more than I had last time around, too - I never quite got fired up for running Boston in 80-degree temperatures, either!) It's a good feeling. From the finish line Riverside goes along Town Lake trail, and I wondered how many times I'd run that stretch of trail. Going over the bridge on Lamar just added to the building enthusiasm - there was a gorgeous sunrise making the sky and the river beneath it one big salmon-pink glow. It's a good sign I think.

And now I'm staring at one of the biggest pancakes ever here at Austin Java. This place has been such a respite from work. I've been calling it my "happy place." Carbo loading is definitely a major perk of marathoning. My friend Heather gave me a huge chunk of her daughter Lily's left-over birthday cake for my cake week. It's been a highlight of my week! Andy bought be a huge container of those awsome cookies with the quarter-inch layer of pink icing and sprinkles, but they're at home, and the only times I've been home this week are before dawn and right before bed, and neither of those times is ideal for a big-ass cookie.

My leg is feeling pretty good, although there's definitely still an issue there. I bet if I laid off of it another week it'd be 100%. Too bad I'm going to pound on it for 26.2 miles on Sunday! That'll probably set me back a little ...

I wish things at work were more under control so that I could enjoy the weekend more. My parents are flying in on Saturday and my in-laws are coming then, too. Looks like we'll have a good turnout for the pasta party, Meghan and Leilani, so you'll have ALL KINDS of collective wisdom on the Freescale/Motorola marathon.

Poor Andy is out of pacing I think. He did something weird to his groin right after his marathon and hasn't been the same since. We're a sorry injured household.

Back to the pancake. Taper On. jts

Posted by jenandmats at 7:22 AM | Comments (6)

February 5, 2005

Rogue Training Systems Pre-Race Pasta Party

Ruth and Steve have put together a great training program. The training is great and the perks are great. Tonight we had a group dinner at a restaurant right behind RunTex (and right near the marathon finish line.) As we ate we were treated to presentations from the pace group leaders (who got their dinner comped; those guys get a *lot* of perks!) and from John Connelly, the race director for the marathon. John took over the race directorship the first year I ran the marathon, so it was interesting to hear about how things have changed over the years. I got a little ferclempt when he was talking about how hard they've worked with the community. Apparently they'll be putting door hangers on the doors of people who live along the route this week. They'll have a goody bag with a cowbell, and the residents will be encouraged to go out on the course to cheer. I guess they'll also get a chance to win some cool stuff. I know they've struggled with residents in the past, and I think this idea is brilliant. They've really struggled with some of the churches on the course in the past, and this year one of the churches will have its children's choir out on the course and another is cancelling services and having a cheering station instead. Oh man ... I'm getting ferclempt again. This year both the Austin Police Department and the City of Austin are official sponsors of the race. Unbelievable. I love this town. I love this marathon.

Steve emphasized taking it easy this week. Funny. My section leader at work emphasized the importance of extra work this week.

I hit the elliptical for 45 minutes this afternoon. I got a good workout! I usually don't feel like I'm doing much worthwhile on that thing. I may try again tomorrow. I'd like my leg to feel near 100% by Sunday, but it's feeling pretty poorly still. I haven't run since Sunday.

Taper On!

Posted by jenandmats at 8:51 PM | Comments (2)

February 2, 2005

Don't go there Miles...

If you've seen Sideways, there's a great scene pretty early on in the film in which the two main characters are about to go in to dinner with the two female characters for the first time, and right before they walk into the restaurant, Jack grabs Miles and warns him not to drink too much and go negative.

Lately I've been both Jack and Miles: the rational, keep-it-in-perspective, roll-with-the-punches side of me knows my potential for disappointment and over-self-analysis and criticism and knows what brings it out. You can *see* it coming, and as much as you want to avoid it you're helpless to resist it. It just takes over. Before I know it I'm drunk Miles calling his ex-wife, blogging about how terrible my last race was and predicting gloom and doom at the marathon. But the Jack side of me reads it and thinks "man ... get over yourself!" I could have had that scene with myself before 3M.

I think the blog gets more of my Miles side, which is completely understandable. Miles is the writer. He thinks critically (probably too much) and has more to say, negative as it is. My brother forwarded me a New York Times article that theorized that the movie has gotten so much critical acclaim because so many critics - and writers in general - identify with the movie because they see themselves in Miles. I'm the same way ... I can definitely identify with Miles, even though I didn't really like him all that much!

I watched the end of a very *bad* movie last night: Life or Something Like It with Angelina Jolie. I couldn't stop watching it, though, because I've had this growing crush on Edward Burns. Maybe it's the Irish in me. I don't remember thinking anything of him when I first saw Brothers McMullen, but over the years I've caught bits and pieces of his movies on cable, and each time my assessment changes a little. Now I think it's a full-blown crush. (Hi Andy.) But MAN that was a bad movie.

Now it's time to go face work ...

Posted by jenandmats at 7:38 AM | Comments (3)