So off to Ireland (Dublin actually) for a mini-vacation there and in London. The highlight will not just visiting Ireland for the first time ever, but also running in the Flora Women's Mini Marathon on Monday. This is one of the largest 10Ks in Europe and it will consist of over 15,000 participants - running, jogging, and walking through the streets of Dublin. I have never run a race overseas as the closest I have ever gotten to an "international" race is running the marathon in Victoria, BC and crossing the bridge in the Detroit marathon and running in Windsor, Ontario. I expect that this will be a fun and different experience - partly because of the number of participants (of course, the smallest Peachtree I ever raced in was in 1990 when there were still only 20,000 runners) and partly because I have not "raced" a 10K since Charles Harris 2011. Not sure I even know how to "race" a 10K, but my expectations are not too high really as I just want to break 50 min and beat my age! The only complication may be the weather as there is a chance of rain; however, high temps are only projected to be in the high 50s, but with a 40% chance of showers. It has been warm here in Cleveland, so the temps might feel great, but not so much the rain if it happens. Once done, I'll have a new place to place to say "I ran there" for my daughter.
This is a picture of the start from last year's race.
http://www.florawomensminimarathon.ie/
Speaking of new adventures, I am also a new ambassador for Girls Run Fast. This company produces unique jewelry, apparel, and other fun stuff for women runners and serves to promote a healthy image among women through their products and ambassadors. Many of you know that I have been a runner for years and one of my most important goals has always been to promote a healthy lifestyle among women of all ages. I guess now that I'm in my early 50s, it is more important that ever to let women see that it is not impossible to stay strong and fit as we age. In fact, I'm stronger and certainly in better shape than I was in my late 20s and early 30s and I ran a sub-3 marathon then. Being fit and in shape does not necessarily mean you are the fastest, but it does mean that you care about your body and how you feel. I will admit to being "vain" in that sense of the word because I always want to feel good and be excited about my health and athletic ventures. I do admit that is is weird still to me when someone refers to me as an "athlete" because to me, an athlete is a professional baseball or hockey or football player, not a 50-something woman that runs. But in every sense of the word, I am indeed an athlete.
http://www.girlsrunfast.com/
Now in the spirit of travelling to Ireland, please remember that Guinness is often my beverage of choice after a good long run. It is full of iron as well as flavor and is lower in alcohol than many other beers. Can't wait to visit the real source!
I've been a Brand Ambassador for Swirlgear - running clothes for women - for a few months now, and many of you have asked about the clothing line. This is a line of clothing designed by women for women and I love it. The fit is great - the shirts not too tight or too short - and they stay put while running or working out in the gym. I love my camo hoodie and I wore it all winter in place of a sweater over my camo long sleeve shirt. I also love the technical fabric which also washes well and doesn't seem to "hold the stink", and believe me, I stink a lot after a run. Here is a picture of me in my pink camo shirt before the Shamrock 15K:
For those of you that are interested, the winter long sleeve line is now on sale at 60% off to make room for the new Spring/Fall line. I think I might order another shirt or two before they are gone, and I can tell you that my daughter is waiting for the all over spray dye capris.
After a week of being sick, I did indeed pace 16 (longer than the 15.8!) miles of the Cleveland Marathon on Sunday. I then went home, cleaned up, and came back and gave out water and Powerade at the water stop that was also at the 16th mile where my daughter and husband worked. I really love pacing races for a number of reasons with the best one being that it is my way to give back to my sport. It is incredibly rewarding and always so special when you can get others to complete their goal. We even got a facebook message thanking us (the 4:10 pace group) for our help. Funny thing is that I have never actually run with a pace group - weird, I know. I was surprised that I felt ok during the race even though I knew that I wasn't 100%. We kept the pace right on the money and for 10 of those 16 miles we were at a 9:27 pace - just like clockwork. Our first mile was slow at 10:15 and we had a couple of quicker ones around half way. We hit the mark at 16 at 1 min under which was our goal considering that the only real "incline" on the new course is at mile 22. I must say that pacing with Bill and Amy (two other Boston marathoners that I train with) was a pleasure, and I was ever so happy to see Amy (and her family) at the halfway point. Those fresh legs gave me the definite boost that I needed to get the group to mile 16. Kudos to Bill for running the entire course and to them delivering the group at 4:09:34!
Cleveland was the first marathon that I paced back in 2004 and I've done it 4 times since. From there I got involved with another pace group and have paced marathons in Fargo, Myrtle Beach (SC), Leading Ladies (SD), Chicago, Madison (WI) and St. Louis.
Here we are this year in Cleveland:
And here I am at mile 14 in Rocky River:
I also made sure that I carried Jerry with me through the race. Speaking of Jerry, he was just moved to hospice care last week. I'm glad that he was able to pick the place where he wanted to be, but I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the whole thing. As our mutual friend, Cristal, told me in March, I probably won't see Jerry again. The best I can do is to dedicate those miles and every one race that I run in 2014 to Jerry and make sure that we indeed continue to have his back. I also found out this morning that Jerry has been given his last rights. He is apparently ready to cross the next finish line. I will miss him, but he will always be with me on my runs.
I finally felt pretty normal on my run this evening with the local Second Sole group. It is finally summer here in Cleveland as it was 73F, but it appears as if we skipped Spring altogether. I was surprised that I felt so good so I'm glad that it went well. I also went to work with Jake and it felt like a long time since I'd been in the gym. It was good to sweat a little. This weekend we are headed to Chautauqua to open our summer house. It will be nice to run in them there hills again.
Well, I know that it has been a couple of weeks since I have visited this blog, but that is most likely because I have been in a bit of a running malaise and then I got knocked out by a nasty cold/flu bug to top that off. I guess I avoided getting sick all winter only to finally get shoved down by a bug that consisted of congestion, a cough, a sore throat, chills, and aches, but no fever (!) that pretty much took me out for a few days. Even now, I'm not quite back at it and I'm set to pace 15.8 miles of the Cleveland Marathon on Sunday. Why 15.8 miles you might ask? Well that is because the turn around point is at 15.8 miles, and it is pretty much right in front of where I live - so that is the perfect place for me to stop.
Last year, I tried to go the full distance with the 4 hr pace group in the hopes of running a BQ (Boston Qualifier) and with the 80F+ degree temps that day, it was a miserable failure of an attempt. I knew at 15 miles when my hands and fingers started to swell that a sub-4 was not in the cards, and I should have known that I was not yet in that kind of shape. But with all that happened at Boston, I was determined to get a qualifying time. After all, we did not yet know that those of us caught in the "5700 strong" group of non-finishers were going to be granted an entry into the 2014 race, so the hunt for the BQ would be lessened, and I went after it at Cleveland. It was a real tough day with the weather and I wilted at mile 21 only to run (very slowly) the last 5.2 miles while walking through all the water stops and even pouring lots of it on my head. I finished without injury or killing myself in 4:13, but it was a major struggle. It also seemed to take a while to get back to normal, but I had a goal.
As for that malaise, this year - well, this year Boston was very different. Very different. Runner's postpartum is very common and usually I have to sit back and ask myself what went wrong and what could I have done better, but this year, well, this year Boston was very different. Very different. Yes, you read that twice. Because this year at Boston, I actually ran a near perfect, if not perfect, race. And it was an outstanding day - in every single way. It was a day and a race that most of us runners will never forget. We knew it would be special, but who knew or could have predicted that an American man would win the race (the first time in 31 yrs!!! since I was a senior in college!!since I ran Boston, myself as a bandit!!), and that he would have such a truly "American" story or that an American women, from the Boston area no less, would lead the pack and push the pace so hard that 6 of the top 7 women would break the course record and that she, herself, would set her own PB by over 2 and 1/2 min or that I would actually run a nearly perfect race for me and race to the best time that I have run over that course since 2001 or 13 yrs!! This year, April 21st was a pretty perfect day! I guess that might be why my running life seems to be in a funk.
It is definitely time to set some new goals for the fall and begin on the path again. Boston 2015 will be special again and this time in a completely new way. Hopefully my friend, MP will be with me for 26.2 miles as hopefully our good friend Chris will qualify to join us as well. I can then give them a tour of my "hometown" course (always remembering that "no one knows me in Natick") while enjoying the hills together and remembering the ones that we train over all summer in western NY. For now, I will focus on getting through Sunday's race and then running a fun, all women's 10K in Dublin! (Ireland, not Ohio) and going from there into a successful fall completed with the NYC marathon, my other favorite big city race.
For now, 11 more months.......
