Me and The Boys

Philly Marathon Weekend

I went into this weekend knowing that racing the half was almost an afterthought - I wanted to be there to support my friends and see them finish their race, and in my eyes, getting to run my sixth half marathon of the year was just the icing on the cake.

And now that it's all said and done, I'm really glad that was my outlook, because even if I hadn't run the half at all, I'd still count this as one of the most fun race weekends I've ever had.

I had another fabulous race weekend away just a few months ago, with another great friend, and I still can't believe that I was able to turn around and do it all over again this past weekend - thank god for supportive husbands : )

This was also the farthest I've ever traveled for a race, and certainly the biggest group of people I've ever gone to a race with, so I couldn't wait to get on the train and get moving.

Once we arrived in Philly, we hit the expo, where I was really happy to discover the Flip Belt, which a few of us purchased. I haven't tried mine yet, but two friends wore theirs for the marathon and loved it, and I think it's going to be the perfect solution for carrying my epi-pen and phone on my runs!

We ate dinner early and went to bed early, since the race start was at 7am, so our alarms would be going off at 5.

Race morning was chilly (in the 30s), so we bundled up in our pre-race throwaway clothes, and took this picture of us looking pretty comical -

After checking bags and waiting in line for the porta-potty, it was a mad dash to the corrals, and I actually had to climb over the barricades to get into my corral.

This was by far the largest race I've ever run - about 22,000 runners total. I think it's really good that I did it - a good way to prepare myself for the crowds of Boston. And although I'm obviously really excited to run Boston, and will gladly put up with the hassles of the overcrowding to do so, I also decided that I'm not really a fan of the super-big race. It was all just a little overwhelming.

But that atmosphere does definitely intensify the experience, too, and of course it means a lot more people cheering you on, which has its benefits. And two major pluses for Philly - it may have been very large and overwhelming, but it was very well-organized, with great volunteers - and as a bonus, everyone's bib had their name on it, so as you ran, people were actually able to cheer specifically for you, which was awesome! I've never had so many people shouting my name during a race!

My corral wasn't too far back, so I was over the finish line in just about 2 minutes, and the first mile was crowded, but it thinned out fairly well after that. It was relatively crowded the entire race, but not so bad that I felt stuck. And even the more-crowded first mile didn't slow me down too much. First three miles were 7:32, 7:14, and 7:13.

I was trying not to focus too much on my time, but I did wonder if maybe I was pushing it too much with those 2nd and 3rd miles, but since I didn't have any serious goals, I also felt like I wanted to just go with it and see what I could do. If it worked out, great - and if it didn't, so be it.

I did end up slowing down a little bit, though, and miles 4, 5, and 6 were 7:27, 7:26, and 7:24. At that point I took my gel, and kept trucking along - 7:18, 7:37 (one of the two hills on the course - the rest was flat as a pancake), 7:22, 7:35 (the other hill).

I had crossed the halfway point at 46:09, and was on pace for a PR of at least a few seconds. And I was feeling tired at mile 10, but with only 3 miles to go, I figured I'd maybe push it a bit and see what I could do.

And then, as we rounded a turnaround, out of nowhere, I felt like someone had stabbed me in the side. I've gotten maybe two side stitches in my whole life, and apparently the one I got on Sunday was making up for lost time, because it was a doozy.

I could barely breathe, I was in so much pain. Maybe I should have stopped, but I was afraid if I stopped, I wouldn't start again. So I continued, kind of shuffling along as quickly as I could. I felt like I was running a 9-minute pace, but somehow managed to stay at 7:27 for mile 11.

But it wasn't getting any better. And mile 12 slowed to what felt like a glacial pace of 7:52. My side was still killing me, and I was hunched over as a result, so my back and shoulder muscles felt like they were seizing up. It was not a pretty sight, and I really contemplated stopping. 

I do NOT like to quit, though, so I fought on, and finally the pain let up just enough that I felt like I could actually run again, rather than just shuffle. I was able to pick up the pace to 7:41 for the final mile, but there was no smile on my face when I crossed that finish line. I just wanted it to be over.

My PR was gone, as I crossed the finish at 1:39:07 (which I was pretty happy to find actually put me 8th in my age group out of 708 - not bad at all, for what was kind of a crappy day for me). 

But at that point, I honestly did not care one bit what my time was. My race was done, and now it was time for the real fun - spectating!

After a quick shower at our hotel (conveniently very close to the start/finish line), I made it back to the start to see the first of the NRA members coming down the chute. I had my cowbells and my signs, and I was screaming my head off, and I was able to see everyone as they approached the finish.

It was, without a doubt, the most fun I've ever had at a race. The finish line of a marathon is an incredible place. Seeing the expressions on the faces of the runners - some grimacing, some grinning ear to ear, but all completely and utterly determined to finish what they started - it's inspiring and humbling all at the same time.

And having been through it a few times now, I knew what they were all feeling. I know that mix of elation and exhaustion and even how surreal it can feel to be just steps away from crossing that line.

Watching the crowds was just as amazing, too. There were cheers and encouragement for everyone, but when someone spotted their runner, it was just an explosion of screams and waving and happy tears.

Which is exactly what it was for me every time I spotted one of my friends. I teared up as I saw them coming, and tried to lean out over the barricades a bit so they'd be able to spot me, and I screamed for all I was worth.

I joined these ladies for many of their long training runs, and some of their track workouts, and heard all about their goals and their plans for this race, and it was so incredible to be able to be there and see them do exactly what they had set out to do.

As I stood there waiting and cheering and almost crying, my race was completely forgotten. This was what I had come here for, and this was what mattered.

I used to run alone all the time, and I was fine with it. And I still do run alone several times a week, and that's ok.

But now that I know what it's like to be part of a group of runners who are there for each other, who inspire each other, and encourage each other, and celebrate each other - it's completely changed my outlook on running - and it's also given me an amazing group of friends, for which I am truly thankful.

So proud of these women, who set PRs, got BQs, and ran some blazing fast times this weekend, and so happy that I could be there to share in the excitement : )

Because This Blog Is About Me AND the Boys

I haven't written much about the boys lately, mostly because they are all changing so quickly I can hardly keep up.

Carmine is on the verge of turning 3, and although I have a hard time not thinking of him as my baby, he most definitely is turning the corner toward full-fledged toddlerhood (and soon to be preschooler!). I still can't quite wrap my head around it, but he reminds me of it constantly - mostly with his nonstop chatter.

He is very much like Dante, in that he starts talking when he wakes up in the morning, and he doesn't stop until he falls asleep at night. At the rare moments when he's not talking, I get concerned about him.

He very generously offers me a running commentary of his day. "I'm not cold anymore, Mommy. I take my coat off, Mommy. I sit on couch now, Mommy. I play my guitar now, Mommy." He also keeps me apprised of the time - pointing to the clock and saying "It's time o'clock, Mommy."

The two of us were on our way home from Newport last month when the car broke down, and it was quite an adventure, and I have to say, he proved to be very good company as we waited on the side of the road. We chatted, and he asked me many, many, many times about the car - "Car won't go, Mommy? Awww, darnit, cheese cracker!"

And now that the car has been repaired, every time we go out to get in the car, he asks "Ours car is back now?" I guess he just wants confirmation of that very obvious fact.

Gabe has gotten Carmine hooked on his favorite radio station, too - every time we're in the car, Carmine asks me to put on 93-3. And he's now in the habit of walking around listening to my old iPod. He's even getting the hang of working the buttons. And when he saw the cover of a book called "Corduroy Goes to the Doctor," with a picture of Corduroy wearing a stethoscope, he pointed to it and said "Corduroy have iPod."

He also is under the impression that everything in the world is his. We drove past a farm, and he yelled from the backseat "I see my cows!"  And when we were in Maine a few months ago, Gabe and Dante were walking my Aunt and Uncle's dogs, and Carmine kept asking "Where's my dog?"

He loves to play pretend - much more so than either Gabe or Dante did - and I get a big kick out of it. He'll make his stuffed animals dance and walk around and hug each other. And when he wants to have them go to sleep, he doesn't just lay them down - he lays them carefully on their side. He did the same thing with his tractors one day, too. Because everybody knows that tractors sleep on their side.

Like any kid his age, it doesn't take a lot to make him happy - evidenced most especially the day he discovered pockets. He got his hand into one of the pockets on his pants, smiled, and yelled "Hey - this a pocket!" 

He walked around like that for a few minutes, then, lo and behold, he discovered that there was one just like it on the other side. He quickly shoved his hand in that one and yelled "Hey - this ANOTHER pocket!"  Life is pretty great when you're almost three.

Trick-or-treating was quite an experience. Last year it took him a little while to figure the whole thing out, but this year there was no learning curve whatsoever. He was sprinting from house to house, bounding up the stairs, knocking on doors, and yelling "TRICK OR TREAT!!!!" It was hysterical!  And as we went from one house to another, he kept peering in his bag and telling me "Yook (look) Mommy, I got all these candies!!!!"

I love seeing him grow up, and seeing him get smarter every single day. But I will be sad when he leaves behind some of his baby talk/mispronunciations. My favorite one is "doog" for "good." I love to ask him how his meal is, just becuase I like to hear him say it's "doog." And when I ask him where something is, he points and says "There IS it!"

He's so polite, too - he'll try eating things that I know he doesn't like, and he'll very carefully take a teeny tiny little bite, while enthusiastically telling me "This is doog, Mommy." And then he'll quickly spit it out onto his plate. I give him serious props for trying to be nice!

Dante has always been a bundle of energy, but as he approaches his seventh birthday, his already excessive energy levels have absolutely exploded, and he honestly can't contain himself most of the time. He's constantly whirling, jumping, spinning, skipping, bouncing, running, hopping, twirling, dancing, or otherwise in motion.

And all of these motions are accompanied by noise. Sometimes nice noises, sometimes very not-nice noises, and sometimes indescribable noises. It's like living with a sound effects machine. And much of the time, I don't think he even realizes he's doing it.

He's sort of a cross between the Tasmanian Devil and Winnie the Pooh - crazy and in your face, but also still so loveable and sweet. It's a very delicate balance!

He continues to amuse us with his very unique outlook on the world. I think I need to put together a book just filled with Dante-isms. He remarked to me one day - completely out of the blue - that it would be good "if you were allergic to camels, because then you wouldn't have to worry too much about it, since camels really aren't around here."  An odd thing to say, but you can't argue with his logic.

He also asked me to take a picture of him and put it on Facebook, "so that he could be famous." I obliged, adding that one picture to the hundreds of others of him that are already on Facebook. Famous, indeed : )

Gabe is planning to gain fame through his writing. He has notebooks chock full of stories. "Diary of a Wimpy Gabe," as well as his own takes on "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "Harry Potter."  His writing is pretty impressive, too. Dialogue, cliffhangers, accompanying illustrations - he's got it all.

I'd be much happier if he did all this writing during the day, though. His preferred creative time is at night, and he's often awake until 10pm. We try to make sure his lights are out by 9, but sometimes he sneaks the light back on. I'm not crazy about him being up so late, but at the same time, I can't force him to go to sleep, and if he's sitting in his bed and writing quietly, I don't see any reason to get too upset.

After having a few kind of rough weeks at school, he seems to have really turned things around, and is getting many, many good reports sent home. Last week we even got a call from the principal to tell us what a GREAT week Gabe had. I was honestly almost in tears, I was so happy to hear that.

We still struggle with a lot of things at home, though. Lots of problems with listening and paying attention, not following directions - and one of the biggest issues - instigating. He has a terrible habit of stirring up trouble. So many times, Carmine will be playing quietly, not bothering anyone, and Gabe feels the need to go over and get in his face and get him all riled up - either angrily, or just crazily and goofily.

And of course once Carmine gets going, Gabe and Dante get going, and before I know it, I've got a three-ring circus on my hands (remember I described Dante as part Tasmanian Devil?  Carmine's got a little bit of that in him, too).

I try so, so hard to keep my cool, but when all three of them are bouncing off the walls, that is a very tall order. It's something I'll continue to work on, though. And I know that I can't be expected to be calm and patient all the time - nobody's perfect, and we all get frustrated and angry sometimes. But it is something I want to work harder at.

They're a crazy bunch, and they test my patience, and life truly is a three-ring circus most days - but they are also growing into very smart, funny, interesting little people, and I'm so lucky to be their ringleader.

Newport Bridge Run Done, Next Up - Philly!

The 5-days-a-week running experiment is proceeding without incident. (knock on wood, fingers crossed, and all that good stuff) I love being able to run more, and my body, thus far, is cooperating.

As a result, I'm actively seeking a Boston training program that has me running 5 times a week, with both speedwork and tempo runs incorporated. Gotta find one soon - training will begin at the end of next month, so the clock is ticking.....

I ran across the Newport Bridge again this past weekend. I loved this race last year, and knew I'd do it again, so had signed up almost as soon as registration opened.

Up and at 'em at 4:15am, and at the start in Jamestown at 6am - painful for some, but not that much of a problem for me, since I often get up for 5am workouts. And the view at the top makes it totally worth it. (very glad I took my phone this year, so I could snap this pic from the top - worth the 10 seconds it cost me!)

I had no plans to really race this one, and was fighting a head cold, so went into it with zero expectations. But as usual, once the gun went off, the adrenaline kicked in.

I was at the front of the pack, but I knew that with the first half being all uphill, there was no danger of me going out too fast. Ran the first two miles in 7:17 and 7:34. The climbing was tough, but I managed to pass quite a few people on the way up.

And then, of course, it was all downhill (or flat), and I took full advantage, running miles 3 and 4 in 6:43 and 6:40, crossing the finish line at 27:31, which was definitely a PR for me at the 4-mile distance - and also good enough for second place in my age group! My fifth age-group award of the year : )

Running 4 miles didn't really feel like that much of a workout, though, and since I was done at 7am, I had time to grab a bite to eat, get my award, and then head back over the bridge to meet up with some friends for a few more miles. It was a beautiful morning, and even though I had raced those early 4 miles over the bridge, the additional 7 felt easy - that was a nice surprise.

And now I'm shifting gears and getting ready for Philly this weekend! Half-marathon number 6 for the year.

It still seems kind of hard for me to believe that I've run six half-marathons over the course of the past 9 months. It seems even harder to believe that in that time, my half-marathon time has dropped as follows: 1:43:43 in March, 1:41:26 in July,  1:38:07 in September, and 1:37:28 in October.

It would be great if I could shave a few more seconds off and finish off the year with one more PR, but given what I've already accomplished at this distance this year, I'll be happy just to come in right around the 1:37 range. I'll be racing it, for sure, but it's going to be a 'don't look at the Garmin and just run what feels good' kind of day.

I've been told that Philly is a flat, fast course, and as of right now, the weather looks like it'll be pretty decent, so hopefully all will go well.

I'm really looking forward to running in a city I've never visited, and I'm also really looking forward to three whole kid-free days. Five hours on the train. Alone. Each way. I have a stack of magazines, a new book, and my iPhone. It's going to be bliss. I'll miss my crazy boys, but I will enjoy the taste of freedom, too.

And honestly, what I'm looking forward to most of all on Sunday is returning to the finish line after my race, so that I can cheer on all my friends who are running the full. I'm beyond excited for all of them. They've worked so hard for this race, and I know they're all going to do great, and I can't wait to cheer them on!

So in addition to my own running gear, also on my packing list are: cowbells, poster board, and sharpies : )  I've been scouring the internet for ideas for good race signs, and I've definitely found some favorites. If anyone reading this has any good suggestions, though, I'd love more ideas!

It's going to be a fun race, and a fun weekend, and I'm so happy that I was able to work this one into my schedule. It'll be great to close out the 2012 year of racing with a bang!

We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

After being without power for three days, and having the boys home from school for an entire week - all courtesy of Superstorm Sandy - we are all looking forward to getting back to our regular routine over here.

Obviously we are extremely fortunate that losing power was our only hardship. And since we live very close to the ocean, and spent the day after the storm driving around to survey the damage, that became even more apparent.

The beach we spend most of our summer days on is barely recognizable, and I can't even fathom the amount of work it's going to take to clean it up. And that scene was repeated all along Rhode Island's coastline.

 

It was heartbreaking to see some of it firsthand. And the areas we saw actually weren't even among the worst in the state. 

It definitely puts things in perspective, and makes you realize that, although losing power isn't easy, we could have been far, far worse off. I was happy to find some info on where I can donate locally to relief efforts in the hardest hit areas of NY and NJ, and will be making some contributions to that this week.

And back on the home front, we were able to keep everyone from going too stir-crazy when faced with last week's unplanned 5-day vacation. Our local Y was closed, but we visited one in a neighboring town, where we were pleasantly surprised to find that their kids' activity room rocked!

It has a climbing wall, ping pong tables, Wii fitness games, a bouncy house, and so many other great active things for the kids to do. My boys had a blast, and we plan to take the trip up there (it's about 20 minutes away) occasionally over the winter, just for a change of scenery.

And of course getting to the Y meant that I was able to get in my daily dose of stress relief, which was much-needed, with all three of the boys home with me all day.

I was also happy to not miss too many runs, because I've been working the past few weeks on building up to running 5 times a week. 

The 3-day-a-week program has worked extremely well for me, and it might be hard to understand why I'd want to change things, since I've managed to run two marathons, qualify for Boston, set countless PRs, win several age-group awards, and remain relatively injury-free while sticking with the 3-day schedule. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

The only problem is that when I think about following another 3-day training program for a marathon, it does not make me happy.

When you only run 3 days a week in preparation for a 26.2-mile race, you need to make sure that every single one of those runs really counts, which means that every time you put on your sneakers and head out the door, there's a very firm goal in mind, and very precise paces you're trying to hit, and, frankly, a lot of pressure (self-imposed, mind you, but still pressure).

And since I haven't been adhering to any sort of training program since Gansett, I've really enjoyed my running being a little less stressful. I've still done track workouts and tempo runs, but it's been nice to also have a few runs every week where I was able to just go out and run and enjoy myself.

And let's face it - running is something that makes me very, very happy, so if I can do it 5 times a week instead of 3, why wouldn't I?

Over the summer, I had more than  few weeks where I ran 4 days, and over the past few weeks, I've thrown in a 5th day, and (knock on wood), it's going fine so far.

I'm going to give it a few more weeks and see how it plays out, but if all continues to go well, I'll be temporarily shelving the Run Less, Run Faster book and investigating some different training programs for Boston (one of which is the 'Own It' plan from one of my favorite running books, 'Train Like a Mother," which would hopefully not only get me over the finish line, but also get me the big PR I’m seeking).

The time is flying by, and I know that the countdown will be on before I know it, so - despite the fact that it's actually an enjoyable pasttime for me - I can't spend too much time perusing training plans before I pick one and get going on it.

But until that time, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy putting on my running shoes and hitting the pavement 5 out of 7 days every week. I still love cross-training, and I'll still do it, but I am loving my extra two days, and will hang onto them for as long as I possibly can : )