Off to the Sunshine State, broken hearted

Bright and early tomorrow morning I'll be on a plane headed to Florida for work. I'm hoping to get in a run in the sunshine while I'm there. Thank goodness for smart phones--the GPS keeps me from getting lost and I can use it to take pics to share. Win! AND when I get back I'll get to see some friends who are in town for (what's left of) the weekend. It's gonna be a great few days.

But I'm broken hearted too. Like everyone else, I am horrified, confused, and saddened by the events coming out of my beloved alma mater this week. I want to say two things about it. First, I think this sums things up pretty well and I encourage you to read it (if you don't fb you can read it here too). I realize this is controversial and I ask you to respect that this is my opinion, even if your own is very different.

Second, that we are still, now and forever, Penn State, and we are so much more than this. From Facebook:

‎"Penn State Football doesn't define us. We are so much more than that. We are the number one school in the country among recruiters from leading companies, according to the Wall Street Journal. We are a leading research institution accredited by the National Science Foundation. We are over 94,000 students across campuses, with alumni in every state and 87 foreign countries. We are the creators of the number one student-run philanthropy in the world, raising over $78 million for the Four Diamonds Fund since THON's creation in 1977. Don't forget how incredible this university is, and don't allow irresponsible oversight to destroy our reputation. FOR THE GLORY."

Mondays On Notice

Today begins a new blog feature that I'm calling Mondays on Notice. The name borrows a bit from Stephen Colbert's list of things that are on notice, which in his case includes Lutherans and bears. Obviously this means that Mondays are permanently on notice, but I think we can all agree to that. Each week I will be featuring something I would like to add to my list of those things on notice.  Some of these will be running related, some will not. With that, my first Item on Notice:

Excessively short layovers.

Why? This past weekend we were traveling. Our travels involved  an almost 2 hour long layover in Detroit, which was absolutely perfect. We had enough time to exit security and see these people. (Sorry for the photo quality. This was my first attempt to use pics from my phone and I haven't quite figured out how to make it all work yet.)

And a little of this.

 

 And it was fantastic. I got to squeeze my nieces, drink coffee with my SIL, catch up with my brother and Dad (who is there because Kdot broke her collar bone and cannot drive, pick up babies, etc. Ouch!), then mozy on back through security and back to our gate. None of which I could have done with an excessively short layover. Plus, really short layovers induce all sorts of anxiety about delays and missed connections. So there you have it, Excessively Short Layovers, I hereby put you on notice!

At the other end of our flight, I finally got in a run I've dreamed of for a very long time--mountains! While there was a heat index of 112 at home, I was soaking up 4 miles of this gorgeousness. I think I had forgotten what mountain running felt like. It works those hammies and I loved it! This was the view as I started out. 

The trail is 2 miles long. I came across this at the back end, about 1 mile into the trail. So picturesque!

I did the whole trail twice for a total of 4 miles. It got really steep in a few places, so I wasn't that surprised to see that my pace was well over a minute per mile slower than usual. It was tough and just exactly what I'd hoped for. 

Race Report: US Half

Warning: long post!

I'm just back from a wonderful weekend in San Francisco. It was a carefree weekend--the first in I don't even know how long. Probably a year and a half, really, since I had a few days that were both kid- and work-free. Oh, and then there was that race you're here to read about.... :) Here's the recap:

Friday

While in flight to CA, I realized that I had no memory of packing my Garmin. Then I thought about the packing list I'd made the day before and realized that it, too, had not included my Garmin. Fail. At least, I thought, I'd done races before without it. But still, fail. But my flights went smoothly and by dinnertime I was sitting around a table with old and new friends enjoying yummy food and laughing.

Saturday

We slept in and lounged around, then went out in the afternoon/evening for the race expo then some touristy things. The expo itself wasn't much, except that I did introduce Frank to the world of Gu and double-layer socks. I love that she let me geek out about running! Also, I like the race shirt. Check it out. The back is nice too.

After expo-ing, we headed to Muir Woods, aka, the redwoods. Due to its obvious popularity, it took a while to find a place to park. When we finally did and I got out of the car I saw this, to my complete surprise. Runners, this is for you:

I'd read runners' blogs about Dipsea. I'd certainly heard of it. But to tell the truth, I never knew what people were talking about. As I learned on Saturday, they are referring to "The Race from Hell." I saw one tiny piece of where the Dipsea trail cuts through the park, and I understood immediately how it got that name. It's a 7-mile race through Muir Woods. Not even through it, but up the side of the mountain apparently. Anyone completing this has my total runner respect. It is the real deal. And completely gorgeous.

A few more pictures from the park.

Frank, me and Jess

As it approached the park's closing time we packed it in and decided to drive down to the beach. I'm pretty sure I was the only one of us who loved the drive down, but I did. It was so reminiscent of those long drives up and down Spruce Knob all those years ago. The vague fear of rolling over a mountainside to one's death overwhelmed by friendship and the gorgeous scenery. It was total zen for little ol' me. The beach wasn't bad either (to say the least!).

After we left the beach, we drove into Sausalito for dinner at a little Italian place. It seemed sort of like something out of a movie, picturesque, upscale, and with a character of a waitress who told us not to order spaghetti and meatballs because she thought it was kind of mediocre. Who does that?!? It (the spaghetti) was lovely.

We headed back to San Francisco to get settled in for the night.

I'd looked at the weather earlier and I knew there was possible rain on Sunday, but I wasn't sure when on Sunday. As soon as we got back, Frank (a nickname she had when I met her, btw) and I checked the hourly forecast. Then the radar. Because the hourly looked like this and we wanted not to believe it.

6am: rain, 100% chance, 60 degrees

7am: rain, 100% chance, 61 degrees

8am: rain, 100% chance, 61 degrees

9am: rain, 100% chance, 61 degrees

10am: rain, 90% chance, 61 degrees

Expletive. Expletive. Expletive.

We decided that for our own sense of self-worth, we had to at least get up in the morning, get dressed, and go down to the start line. We had to at least make an effort to try to make ourselves toe the line. We couldn't go all the way to CA to intentionally oversleep our race. Even if it was 60 degrees and raining and our bodies hurt with various runner injuries. We still had to at least go.

Morning rolled around and by 6am we were in a cab headed to Fisherman's Wharf for the start. We found the start area then promptly found a building overhang to huddle under to stay dry for a while. When the noise of the start area grew louder, we decided to head over, port-a-potty and line up. And once we did that, I don't think either of us really thought there was any turning back. We had to do this. Even if we did verbalize that it was probably one of the stupidest things either of us had ever done. And even if we both knew that, in all likelihood, all PR bets for me were off.

I've never seen a crowd more anxious/excited for the gun to go off. We were all ready to get moving. Finally, mercifully, it did.

Miles 1-4

Miles 1 and 2 passed easily, even if everyone was completely soaked by that point. The first water stop was around mile 2 but I didn't even see it until I was almost past it. Why? Because it was about 50 feet to the side of the course and was ONE TABLE. I decided that was fine, I probably wouldn't have stopped even if it had been more obvious. So on we went. The second water stop came up around mile 4. This one was on course and it was time for a drink.

Let me just say it: I have never seen water stops more disorganized. Ever. The cups were empty and stacked on the tables, a free-for-all for runners to try to grab. A guy, ONE volunteer, was pouring quickly into them and occasionally just putting the pitcher down for runners to dip their cups into for timeliness. It was disgusting. And Frank had to ask him three times to pour her more because she barely got anything in her cup the first two times.

Miles 5-9

Somewhere in mile 5 I lost Frank, at a water stop I think. In mile 5 also came the first real shock of the morning--I turned a corner to find that we were running about half a mile down a steep, muddy trail. At first I was afraid of slipping, but a woman from Nova Scotia next to me gave me a little pep talk about it and I picked up the pace again. There was something fun about getting that truly filthy. It became my own little Warrior Race.

Then we were up and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and coming back. Even in the rain, even with me soaked, it was beautiful. To see the fog and the boats and the waves. Pretty surreal. And yes, the Full House theme song popped into my head every now and then. Ah, TGIF. By mile marker 9 we were off the bridge and headed back.

Miles 10-11.5

From mile marker 9 to mile marker 10 was a leg out, then the turn around was just past mile marker 10. It was at this point that I realized that I'd held back too much. I still had WAY too much in the tank at mile 10. I realized immediately that after the muddy goat path around mile 4, I'd gotten too apprehensive about not knowing what the next turn might bring. Even though all bets were off the moment we arrived on site in the rain, I was still frustrated with myself for having left so much slack. I should mention in here that there finally was a well-organized, hygienic water stop. Finally.

Mile 11.5-13.1

I think I did a respectable job at the kick. I kicked about a mile and a half out, then stronger at a mile out. It was probably the best kick I've pulled off, but also probably because I held back too much earlier on. Part of this stretch (and about half a mile of the last section) were right along the beach. I sort of had to pinch myself that I was running with the surf splashing up around my feet. Again, even in the cold rain, it was really beautiful. By mile 12 or so we were a little further off the beach and on a street. I just put my head down and ran. I walked up one insanely steep and very short hill, then poured it on through the finish. The finish felt great. It really did, even knowing then (even without my Garmin) that I hadn't PR'ed. I *did* get cool new bling.

Official race results put me at 2:17:02. At first I didn't believe it. I thought for sure they had somehow added 10 minutes by accident. Since they haven't rescinded the race results yet I have to accept that I really ran a 2:17 half. Other stats:

Females 20-29: 333/705

Gender: 697/1623

Overall: 1637/2976 (I should mention here that there were 5,000 registered participants)

Things I learned this weekend

1. What people are talking about when they say Dipsea
2. That it really does help a LOT to know a course beforehand
3. That yes, Garmins really do make a difference
4. That sometimes nature's got you beat, and you can't do much about it
5. That my Detroit Marathon jacket is fabulous, but not in fact waterproof
6. That San Francisco is really beautiful
7. That a little down time, and friends, are really good for the soul

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed about my finishing time. But at the same time, I think I did reasonably well for me for those conditions. And doing something kinda stupid every now and then just reminds me that I'm still alive. I wouldn't change that for the world.

Loving the fall

We had a beautiful Saturday. After running this morning, we spent most of the day working on house projects and playing with the kiddo. But this is a running blog, so let's talk some running.

My RW taper schedule told me to run 11 miles this morning. But for reasons I outline below, that wasn't going to happen. I cut it to a little over 7 (which is what I've always done during the taper anyway). It was a great morning for a run. Check out the view from my house to the park. Love this!

Yesterday I decided to do a short jog at the end of the day in hopes of loosening up my legs before today's last long run. I was trying to explain to Mr. Joanna that something the only solution for sore legs is more running. Like that makes any sense. It didn't help much, though I was still glad I went, just because it was an unbelievably gorgeous day.

I hate to say it, but my body is ready for the end of race season. My hams are tight ALL the time, and my on-going problem at my left butt-bone only gets worse with time. My right IT Band has to be stretched before and after every single run. I think a little help from a sports medicine person will go a long way (and maybe a massage). That's the hope anyway, since I have no intention of giving up running over the winter. A decrease in miles? Sure. Stopping all together? No way. So here's hoping a little rest and some highly trained input will help.

Ok everyone, ONE WEEK until the US Half, my last race of the year. I'm SO looking forward to seeing some college friends and exploring a new city. The countdown is ON. And GOOD LUCK to everyone racing this weekend--MCM and all those Halloween-themed races. Rock those races!

616.8 + 2.2 + 7.1 = 626.2

Happy 200th!

I can't believe this is my 200th post! Admittedly, this blog existed for a while before most of you started reading it. Don't feel bad, my parents just started reading it last week. I know. But still. 200! That makes me smile.

So what do I have planned for such a momentous occasion? Some race strategizing and some travel recap...including a picture I took just for you.

Race Strategizing

The US Half is in 27 days. I need to quickly get shorter, faster, then taper. I don't have much time. My project after writing this post is to put together my training schedule for the next 3 weeks. I think it's going to include a 10 mile race. I've never raced at that distance before, so in addition to being great race prep, it's just plain exciting in its own right.

Goals: I want to PR, which means beating a 2:06:09. I didn't write down my goals before L&C. It makes me too nervous. I'm going to do it anyway (that's courage, right?) and set 4 for this race:

The PR: sub-2:06:09

The hopefully safe goal: 2:04:00

The real goal: 2:02:00

The I-can't-believe-I-just-ran-that goal: 1:59:59

Travel Recap

I spent the latter part of last week in Minneapolis. It is a lovely city.

That's right. I said it. It's lovely. I, the girl who once proclaimed that the entire Midwest should be converted to a penal colony. I, the girl who semi-seriously refers to the Upper Midwest (I'm looking at you, Dakotas and MN) as Canada. I, who once said that the three meanest people I'd ever met had all either come from or moved to Minnesota (ok, that one is still true). And here I was, wholeheartedly enjoying Minneapolis. There. I said it.

Yesterday when I boarded the plane to come home, I started flipping through the in-plane magazine. And then I saw this. And took this picture for you.

This thing belongs in a category with the downhill treadmill ShutUpAndRun found a while ago. Or in a category with cigarettes, because you'd might as well burn your money (pun only sort of intended, reveled in regardless). This ad has prompted me to add a "bullshit" label for this post. What's the craziest piece of exercise equipment or workout plan you ever saw? 'Cause this thing is up there with the Mountain Dew and watermelon diet. Seriously.