Run that ye may Obtain

Before I say anything, I just want to post a link to a very well written article by Amby Burfoot, which pretty much sums up the day nicely.  Also the interview by Chris from RunnerSpace.com….

Apparently that third place monkey on my back is holding on with a death grip because I can’t seem to shake him off!!!  Hey I’m not complaining, I guess 3rd place is better than 4th, but I would just REALLY like to start placing higher at some point in my competitive running career.  After placing 3rd place in basically every nationally competitive, non-local race I’ve run in the past five months including the New Haven 20K, Cow Harbor 10K, Baltimore Marathon, CC Club championships, and again today in the USATF Half Marathon Championships, you could say that 3rd place and I are well acquainted.

While the past five months of “3rd place running” has included many breakthroughs and PRs for me, today’s 3rd place finish was the most exciting 3rd place finish of them all.  The field today was probably the deepest field I have ever raced with Olympians and some of the top marathoners in the country toeing the line.  The course was a preview of the Olympic Trials course for the Marathon where, one year from now, the top three finishers will qualify for the Olympic Games in London 2012. Granted, many of the top American women marathoners were not entered in today’s race but I was still very encouraged to feel strong and comfortable running up front with the women who were there .

The USATF, Houston Half Marathon elite athlete committee, and race organizing committee did a FABULOUS job planning and executing a very prompt, organized, spectator friendly race this morning and I was very pleased with the excellent support which provided a fair, smooth, fun race.

There was some speculation by some of the girls I talked to after the race that maybe the course was a little bit long based on the fact that their Garmin’s measured it at 13.46 or 13.47 but I know as well as any other Garmin wearer should know that while the Garmin watches are a great training tool and are usually pretty accurate, they can be pretty off on some courses, especially when the course runs through a city (as this one did). I’ve often experienced the problem of tall buildings interfering with the GPS signal on my Garmin which is why I chose to wear my Timex today.  I’m not saying the course most definitely wasn’t a little bit long but I certainly don’t think it was .37 long because I’m certain that it was measured many times by USATF and would not have been more than 25 yards long, at most (per USATF rules).  If it was in fact slightly long though, this is a kink that I’m sure will be worked out before the Olympic Trials Marathon next year.

Anyway, on to the race…..

As the gun went off the men shot out fast and women faded to the inside lane for the fist turn.  Lindsey Scherf shot out like a cannon on an aggressive pace for the first mile, a good 10 seconds ahead of the rest of us while we came through the first mile in 5:27.  I was pleased with how comfortable and easy that pace felt and was hoping it would stay mid 5:20ish for the entire race because that would translate into a PR for me and I felt ready for it.  Other than Lindsey out in front, no one was really eager to lead so Katie McGregor and I shared the lead. We came through the second mile in 5:33 which felt pretty comfortable (this is the mile that some of the girls thought was a little bit long).  After seeing 5:33, I picked it up a little bit because I was hoping to see 5:2X the whole race rather than 5:3X.  Katie and Serena were back and forth beside me as we reeled Lindsey back in through the third mile in 5:22.

The next few miles felt groovy as Serena, Jen, Katie and I worked together for 5:24, 5:26, 5:23, 5:22, 5:28, 5:31, 5:24 splits. There were three 180 degree turns, six or seven 90 degree turns, and some overpasses (Houston hills) mixed in there which kept the race exciting and added some challenge to the 13.1 mile distance.  The USATF specifically designed this course to simulate the Olympic Marathon Course for London, which will have quite a few 180 degree turns and 90 degree turns as well.  I can’t say it is my favorite type of course to run, but I understand and fully support the reason behind it.  Going into the Olympic Trials Marathon I’ll figure out a way to do more terrain specific tempo runs with sharp turns mixed in because I could use some practice taking the turns fast and and keeping my speed and form crisp through the sharp turns.

After 10 miles at the front of the pack with some headwind, some side wind, the turns and rolling terrain, my body started resisting the pace.  I still felt mentally strong but my legs were no longer willing to keep doing 5:2X pace anymore.  Serena and Jen continued with the pace while I fought hard to stay with them but my wheels started to fall off.  At one point I found myself fighting so hard that I started to feel lightheaded and had to back off a bit.  To put it simply, I was out of gas and I was forced into running scared (hanging on) for my final 5K, knowing that Katie McGregor and Tera Moody were on the hunt.   My final three mile splits were  5:37, 5:44, 5:41, final sprint 5:40 pace for a finish time of 1:12:03 (an unaided PR for the Half Marathon).  As I tried my best to push through “the wall” and maintain my 3rd place position, I felt nothing but gratitude and joy for how well the day had gone and for another solid run in a competitive and fast USATF Championship event.  I would have loved to place higher to shed my 3rd place “condition” but I guess that will have to be another day.  In hindsight, I do think I may have been capable of running a little faster had I chosen a more conservative race tactic that included tucking into the pack and drafting for at least some of the race (what was I thinking?)  But I definitely appreciate the lesson learned and I have no regrets pushing the pace for an honest, well-fought race.   I laid it on the line today and I feel happy and grateful for 3rd place.  

Some Pictures, courtesy of Photographer Aaron…thanks, hon!!

Went to FAC after Bre’s gymnastics class for a nice run on the treadmill.  I prefer to run outside 99.9% of the time, but the overnight 12″+ of snowfall and -5 degree low made the treadmill look quite enticing actually.  And I must admit, it was nice to run in shorts and a tank top because ‘cmon when was the last time I got to do that?…oh wait, just a couple of days ago I raced outside in shorts and a tank top.  Crazy Colorado weather changes.

Did an easy 8 with 7X30 second strides mixed into my run.  Felt GREAT!

After much demonstration and urging by my ART therapist, Richey as well as my husband, Aaron, I have finally gotten into the habit of doing a nice dynamic cool down routine after almost every run.  Its easier to do at FAC since they have this big stretching room with mats and a bar to hold on to while I do my hurdle trail leg moves and leg swings.  And I can leave the kids in child care the extra 10 minutes and get the routine done quickly.  At home it takes more discipline to get the routine in because it seems that whenever I walk in the door from a run I suddenly have three needy kids with urgent requests.  I must say though, dynamic stretching is FABULOUS for recovery and is WELL WORTH the extra investment of time. Here is a video of my friend Sara Vaughn doing the Cannonball Cool down.  GOOD STUFF.  Only problem is that watching this video is making me miss summertime in Boulder.

Had a nice run on the East Boulder creek path with the cows this morning.  I considered playing “the ground is lava and you have to step on the stepping stones to survive.”  You know, that awesome game we used to play with the couch cushions when we were kids?  I still play it with my kids sometimes.  But this would have been even MORE awesome.  I easily could have covered at least a mile of terrain using only cow pie stepping stones.  It would have been a record, I’m sure.  Surely there is a very mediocre, very beatable record in the Guinness book for this exact thing.

Well, not today….maybe another time.  Today I decided to receive a warm welcome back home by Aaron and the kids rather than being banished due to the stink.

Speaking of the kids, here’s what they were up to this morning….that trampoline was the best Christmas present ever!!  Thanks, Santa!!!

My morning started off with the fresh smell of puke wafting under my door.  Upon discovering that Breanne had spewed a puke bomb from the top bunk at some point last night, I went to work scrubbing it up while pleading with Bre to please tell me immediately after such events occur in the future.  It took me a good 40 minutes to get every last drop of crusted regurgitated pizza and as I was doing so, Abe came in to declare that he hated school and never wanted to go again.  OKAY, where did that come?  So now I’m scrubbing puke off the floor while putting all my mental effort into dissuading Abe from his newfound decision.  Apparently he would much rather stay home and play with the girls all day than get dressed, walk to school, and be taught fun and interesting things with all the other 6 year olds in our neighborhood.  Hey, I don’t blame him; some days I’d rather play all day and have no responsibilities too.  In the middle of our discussion the girls interrupted to notify me that they needed baths so I filled the tub while continuing my in-depth discussion with Abe.

With the girls now playing peacefully in the tub, I went back to work scrubbing puke shrapnel off the sides of the furniture and bunk bed. Haven’t I learned in my 6+ years as a Mother that quiet kids are almost assuredly making trouble?  As I went to check on the girls in the tub I saw water creeping out the door and a large pool of bath water little Ali had been so innocently dumbing from the tub.  I was about to snap when I realized Aaron would be back from his run in 5 minutes just in time for me to walk Abe (who was now begrudgingly dressing himself) to school.  I hurried and got my running clothes and shoes on while Aaron walked in the door to the scene of four towels on the bathroom floor, a screaming, naked two year old in time out in her puke smelling room, and a sick four year old still relaxing in the tub.  I cannot tell you how happy I was to leave and walk Abe the peaceful half mile to school.  Abe had finally worked through his mental block and was back on board with going to school (thank goodness).  I was happy to be out in the fresh, albeit windy, air for my morning run.  Upon my return Aaron had cleaned up the girls and they were dressed and ready to leave for Ali’s 9:15 a.m. parent-tot gymnastics class.  I showered, dressed, heated up a slice of left-over pizza from last night, and while driving to gymnastics, ended up giving my pizza to Ali who was apparently starving.  After gymnastics we had a girls “brunch” at the Danish Pastry Shop right next door to the Little Gym.  Veggie quiche and a strawberry rhubarb tart capped the morning off perfectly.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Aaron and I got up around 7:00 a.m., got the kids dressed and fed, and bundled up in our multiple layered running attire.  The kids stayed at Grandma’s and played with their cousins from Fresno while we drove the 10 minutes to Farmington, checked in for the race, and jogged the course (slightly altered from their posted map online because of icy conditions on one section).  It was a very beautiful, sunny, seven degree Utah morning.  The course was mostly clear with some slippery snowpack/ice around the corners and one final quarter mile of crunchy ice chunk covered path and grass to the finish line.  We did a nice long warm-up with some strides and stretching mixed in.  The race started a few minutes late and went out fast down a slight decline for the first mile.  A bounding rabbit in baggy pants and a hoodie sweatshirt, a fit-looking man in his 30s, and a high school runner who made no sign of actual effort being put forth went out in the lead.  I stayed on their heels and Aaron was a few strides behind.  The bounding rabbit had already fallen off pace and started running backwards after the first half mile so it was down to me and two men pushing the first mile.  The less young of the two men fell off just before the first mile and I ran with the high school dude(correcting him twice for nearly turning off course) for a comfortable 5:35 through mile one.    The second mile was a gradual incline and we slowed to 5:45.  Right when my watch said mile two the course turned right and shot us down a steep decline back towards the race finish.  One loop around a neighborhood and up the chunky/icy final quarter mile and we were finished.  I think my final mile was 5:32 and the sprint to the finish was 5:20 pace for a finish time of 17:20.  The high-schooler finished 10 seconds ahead of me.  I found out he is a member of the Davis High school cross country team and they are going to a big national event in a couple of weeks.  I commented to him that he appeared to be jogging out there and he said he ran 15:50 last week so yes, 17:10 was quite comfortable for him.  He thanked me for keeping him on course.  The course map he looked at last night online was obviously not the same course they had laid out today so it was good that Aaron and I had gotten there in time to read the updated map and jog the actual course beforehand.  A few minutes after Aaron finished, we left to  jog the course one more time for our cool down and completed our day at 10 miles.  After the race we chatted with Jun and his son for a minute and also happened to bump into our Stake President from the Boulder Stake along with his wife and 5 of his sons.  It was fun to catch up with them and enjoy the coincidence of traveling all this way to end up in the same lil’ 5K.

The post race food was donuts and hot chocolate which hit the spot as we started to cool off again in the now nine degree Hawaiian Holiday we were experiencing. We went over to chat with the race director, Darrell and he gave me a prize for winning the women’s race; a $50 Chase gift-card, fresh apple pie, and some rockin’ orange “Sock-Guys” socks with a turkey on them.  What a generous race director!!  The funny part about the award was that just a week ago, I had suggested to him that he give at least $50 to the race winners and I also suggested pies for the age division winners.  Hey, he ASKED for prize suggestions on his website, so why not?  You only get what you ask for.  And you better be careful what you ask for too because you often get exactly what you ask for which is why I didn’t suggest a large obnoxious plastic turkey trophy, a free 15 lb. turkey (which would be leaking blood and stinking up our car on the long drive home), or even a 64 oz. glass beer mug (one of my favorite prizes through the years…I just don’t need another one).

The race was really fun albeit, cold.  Darrell did a great job of lifting spirits with the music and hot chocolate and I think all in attendance were happy to be there.

I was pretty happy with running a 17:20 considering where I’m at in my training and also considering the less than perfect racing conditions.

The remainder of the day was spent cooking, chatting with family, eating delicious food, playing card games, and thinking about all the many things I have to be grateful for.  I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude as I consider all the wonderful blessings in my life; my brilliant, supportive, good looking, ambitious husband, my obedient, kind, cooperative, smart kids, my good health and strength, our new home in Boulder, our many friends and associations with wonderful, inspiring people, our siblings, in-laws, and parents, as well as our Faith in God and testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We got news this afternoon that Aaron’s 96-year-old Grandpa passed away at 1 p.m.  He lived a long, full life and set forth a legacy of Faith and hard work to be followed by his 50+ grandkids and even more great grandkids.  He is a kind, gentle soul whom we will remember fondly.

I have a lot to be grateful for today!  An 8.5 minute chunk out of my PR, $8K in prize money, and an Olympic Trials “A standard” qualifier in the BAG.  Here’s how it all went down….

Woke up at 6 a.m., ate some oatmeal, a banana, a bottle of Gatorade, and forced down another half of a bagel.  Got ready and went to the runner suite around 7 a.m. to meet up with Carolyn and Steve.  Walked over to the race start and tried to use the restroom in the Hampton Inn right by the start but was kindly turned away and then enthusiastically invited (by the pub owner walking by) to use the restroom in Pickles Pub next door (Hampton Inn could take a lesson in PR from their pub owner neighbor).  Did a short, slow warm up, some stretching, and three additional potty stops.  Lined up right behind the two ladies I met yesterady, Iulia and Olena.  The race began and it was all smiles as a nice pack of 8-9 ladies went out together.

The first three miles were the steepest incline of the race, so Coach D told me to go out no faster than 6:00 pace.

Mile 1 – 6:05  Felt easy and comfortable. The slight breeze was negligible with the pack of women and a few men surrounding me.

Mile 2 – 5:59  Little less steep, still very easy and comfortable.  Legs started to warm up.

Mile 3 – 6:12  Little more steep.  Shared the lead with Olena Shurkno from Ukraine.

About half-way through mile 4, the course flattened out and transitioned into a pretty good decline which lasted for a good 5 or 6 miles.

Mile 4 – 5:47 Cruised on the flat, worked with the group.  Grabbed a cup of gatorade at the aid station and took a few sips.

Mile 5 – 5:36  Really tried to hold back down the hill as the pace felt super smooth and effortless with Olena on my heels and Everlyne Lagat from Kenya on my shoulder.

Mile 6 – 5:50  Flatter with a little uphill.  Everlyne took the lead and put on a few second gap.  I opted to stay within myself and follow Coaches orders not to go out too fast.

Mile 7 – 5:43  More downhill.  I tried to resist going faster while a “chase pack” of 6 women took off down a steeper section to go reel in Everlyne and left me in the dust to run my own pace.

Mile 8 – 5:43  Alone.  I started to notice the wind more now.  Funny, I didn’t notice it much when I was running with the group.  Picked up my first bottle around 8.2 and took two good swigs of EFS liquid shot (which was duct taped to the side of my bottle) and a few swigs of water.

Mile 9 – 5:39  Tempted to just throw in a surge and go draft behind those 6 women and couple of men since they are just 10 seconds ahead and it would save energy to draft…but is it worth the energy it would require to surge?  I decided no.

Mile 10 – 5:51  A few men emerged and I attempted to draft behind them.  This is where I started really noticing the headwind.  Surely there had to have been some tailwind before this point that I was not fully appreciating because there was definitely headwind now.

Mile 11 – 5:44  Stuck with the few men while I watched that nice cozy looking chase pack of women a solid 20-25 seconds ahead of me.  I was unwilling to break my pacing plan to catch them and I was also unaware that Iulia was creeping up on me in the shadows.  Somewhere in here I took a sip of water from the volunteers handing out cups.

Mile 12 – 5:54  The synergy (and wind breaking) of the three men had dissolved.  As soon as I hit the lap button I realized they were running too slow for my liking so I left them.

Mile 13 – 5:45  Thats better.  One of the guys came with me and we ran literally stride for stride for a mile or so.

I picked up my second bottle and took a few more gulps of liquid shot and some water then I offered my bottle to the guy running next to me.  He took some gulps and tossed it aside.  We came through the half marathon point together and the clock said 1:16 (I assume it was high 1:16).  Right after the half, Iulia Arkapove from Krygzstan (the course record-holder) came up on us and blew on by.  Where’d she come from?  She must have run a much more conservative first 10 miles and then started pouring it on because she had to have been doing 5:30 pace when she blew by us.

Mile 14 & 15 – 11:38 (5:42 pace) Where’d the 14 mile marker go? No split there.  The guy I had been running with fell off pace and I was back to my lonely self again watching Iulia pour on the heat and continue to pull away from me.

Mile 16 – 5:52  Wind and lonliness.  This is where my race began.  Coach told me if I could stay in control and run within myself (no faster than 5:45 pace on on the downhills and flats and no faster than 6:00 pace on the uphills) until mile 16, I’d have enough in the tank to pick off a few girls in the final 10 miles.  He was right!  At this point I think I was in 7th place and already starting to see the 6th place girl coming back to me.

Mile 17 & 18 - 12:09 (6:04 pace) I missed the mile marker again.  The uphill began again as I passed Alice Ndirangu from Kenya and Yuhunlish Delelecha (do not ask me how to pronounce those names because I do not know) from Ethiopia.  5th place now.

Mile 19 – 5:57 Hoping and praying for that podium finish I started to see two more lil’ Africans up ahead and worked towards reeling them in.  The wind was not in my favor though.  Darn wind.

Mile 20 – 6:12 I put my head down and pushed with all my might up the most brutal, steepest section of the entire course which just so happened to also bring a massive head wind with it.  I finally crested the steepest part of the hill and overtook Everlyne, whose 85 lb., 5 ft. frame was nearly blowing away in the stiff headwind.

Mile 21 – 6:02 The uphill relented a bit but not the wind.  I threw an invisible lasso around Salome Kosgei from Kenya who also appeared to be blowing backwards an inch with each stride as I started tugging myself in.

Mile 22 – 6:15 Now I was nearly blowing away as well and Salome was trying with all her might to stay on my heels.  Not a fun mile.  Grueling.  I nearly came to a complete stop at the aid station with my last water bottle and liquid shot.  I took as much as I could and kept pushing forward.

Mile 23-26 (final 4.2 miles) – No splits.  Garmin said 6:01 average pace.   At this point in my race I was beyond caring about mile splits anymore.  I felt pretty disheartened by that last 6:15 mile split so I decided to just keep my head up and maintain that 3rd place position.  I realized that the other two girls in front of me had at least 90 seconds on me at this point and my wheels were falling of (or being blown off by the wind, rather).  My right calf was becoming unbearably tight and my hip flexors and quads were nearing their maximum level of punishment for the day as well.  Salome hung on to me until about 22.5 miles at which point I used the downhill to open up a gap.

The final few miles were downhill but into the wind as my respiratory rate shot through the roof and I ran the fine line between maintaining my position in the race and passing out.  Actually I don’t think I was actually THAT close to passing out but at times I wondered if I was hyperventilating.  Spectators were probably wondering why I sounded like a suffering wildabeast panting down the street.  Once I got onto Eutaw Street it was just a few minutes to the finish line.  All the cheering and energy near the finish gave me energy and I became pretty emotional and asthmatic in the final stretch.  Within view of the finish line I looked up and saw 2:35:29 on the clock.  In one last effort to keep it under 2:36, I threw a grueling surge and the next thing I knew I was finished, walking with wobbly knees and then being hugged by Carolyn Mather who said I ran 2:35:49!  WAHOOO!!!

I went right off to pee in a cup (drug testing) and then back to the tent where they had our bags.  Got dressed, talked to a couple of newspaper guys, and found Aaron.  We ate some BBQ brisket sandwiches and shrimp salad and drank LOTS of fluid.  I texted Coach and a few other people, got some ART done on my poor legs, and went to the awards ceremony.  As we were waiting for the announcer to announce us I talked to the ladies from Ukraine and Krygyztan (their friend, Lyubov Denisova from Russia knew some English and could translate to them).  The funniest part was when Lyubov asked me if I have kids and I told her three.  She translated that to Iulia and Olena and Iulia was like “OUGHMPH!!!” with the funniest jaw drop and shocked eyes.  Hahaha.  I told her she should have some too since they’ve actually made me run faster!  She resolved to have twins next year.

All things considered I feel really grateful for such an awesome race and huge PR.  The wind was not in our favor but I was blessed with the strength to push through and hang on for a respectable time.  On a flatter course with perfect weather I am certain I could run faster, so its encouraging to look ahead and feel optimistic about the future.  I also see lots of room for improvement in my training and am looking forward to making the necessary changes for the next marathon training cycle.  Aaron was a huge support to me this weekend (and this entire season) as he built up my positive self talk and confidence and today as he was out there on the course at many points cheering me on, checking to make sure my bottles were placed in clear view on the tables, and shooting pictures.  Coach De Reuck (and Colleen) have been a HUGE asset and support over the past several months as they coached and encouraged me all along the way.  I also really appreciate the support and encouragement from my teammates on the Running Republic team, all you FRB-ers, as well as my family and friends who send me positive vibes of energy with your thoughts and words.  Also thanks to my Mom, Alyson for flying to Denver from SLC to watch our kids for the weekend, running them around to their various activities, being misguided by the Garmin and chasing after the kids through the mass of soccer fields while trying to get to Abe’s game in time, and even juggling all three kids at Church!  Impressive that she still has the energy and patience to do all that even at age 61!!!  Go MOM!  I promise we wont ask you again.  :)  Thanks, everyone!!!

Aaron made an awesome post of the race in pictures here…check it out.

Flew into New York last night around 5 p.m. was met by a volunteer from the local running club, Pamela who drove me to my host-family’s home.  Enjoyed a very pretty 75 minute NY rush-hour commute to Ebbe and Eva Reker’s quaint home they affectionately call their tree house set on a spacious, tranquil, tree-covered property in Northport, NY, a small village on the northern coast of Long Island.  The Rekers, originally from Scandanavia (Ebbe from Denmark, Eva from Poland) had moved to NY 40+ years ago in their early-20′s, met, married, and settled in Northport to raise their two children.  And there they are still today, very involved in the local community, Ebbe the Vice Commador of the Northport Yacht Club.

Upon arrival I dropped my bags in their guest room and we headed to dinner at the Yacht Club where a number of other host families and athletes were meeting up.  Dinner was very nice; Ebbe forgot to tell me about their “no jeans” dress code so I crept in behind him and sat down quickly.  I enjoyed interesting conversation and delicious food while meeting a number of very friendly people (including a local Colorado runner, Wendy Thomas who lives 35 minutes away from me and also has a four and six year old).  After dinner the Rekers took me back home and I prepared my race day bag and went to bed.

Woke up at 6:30 a.m., got dressed, and joined Ebbe and Eva upstairs for a fresh, authentic NY Bagel (cinnamon raisin).  Ebbe drove me to the start and got situated with the elite athlete group in the school gym.  Went to warm up with four CO girls who are all sponsored by Boulder Running company.  I was the bright pink shirt jogging within the bright blue gals as the Sesame Street tune “One of these things is not like the others” played in the background.

The race started at 8:30 a.m. and went out FAST.  Atalelech Asfaw, originally from Ethiopia, now a U.S. Citizen training in Albuquerque took it out in what must have been a 5:05 first mile.  Stephanie and Magdalena were around 5:11 and I was 5:15.  Granted, it was mostly downhill that first mile but I was unwilling to go any faster than that so early in a 10K race. I had the annoying realization very early in the race that I had not fastened my ankle timing chip properly (tight enough) because it had slipped down low on my ankle and the hard plastic chip part was grinding into the top of my left ankle bone as I sped up down the hill. I awkwardly tried to hi-step and slap the chip around to the back of my ankle but almost tripped myself in the process and not wanting to fully stop and fix it, I resolved to suck it up and just deal with it.

The second mile brought with it the biggest, longest incline of the race, James Street Hill which pretty much lasted almost the whole second mile; my split was 5:55. I was still within 7-8 seconds of the leaders (Magda and Stephanie were steadily reeling Atalelech back in).  As a side note, the reason I chose not to go out WITH the leaders like I did in New Haven is because Magdalena had mentioned that she was going after the 32:32 course record and I, being a realist, didn’t have any hope of hitting that kind of time on this hilly of a course at this point in my running career, so I just tried to imagine a thick rope tied around her waist to mine so I could at least stay in contact to some extent.  The bad news was that my decision to not stay with Magda (and Stephanie and Atalelech who were running right with Magda) left me out in no man’s land to pace myself and push the hills alone.

Mile 3 flattened out and I started to get into a rythym.  I moved up and passed Atalelech while maintaining the 7-8 second gap Magda and Stephanie had on me.  Split was 5:30.

Mile 4 brought some welcomed downhill but actually not that welcome because the grade was so steep that I found myself having a hard time increasing my cadence and lifting my knees quickly enough to really use the hill to my benefit and it actually felt like I had to put on the breaks in order to not fall on my face.  Not to mention, my ankle was taking a pummeling from the timing chip.  Split was 5:21 while I lost a few seconds on Magda and Stephanie.

Mile 5 was a long slow gradual uphill alone into a mild headwind with the sun coming out of hiding and the humidity commanding my attention.  The low-point of my race mentally as the leaders seemed to feel more distant.  5:54

Mile 6 had just one more short little uphill and then a nice gradual downhill to the finish.  I just hung on and enjoyed watching the race unfold in front of me as Magda threw in a surge and overtook Stephanie in the final mile.  My split was 5:35

Sprinted the final .2 in 65 seconds (5:25 pace) and immediatly after finishing, had a heavy canvas American flag thrown over my shoulders with people demanding to take pictures of the top three finishers.  How patriotic! But really I was just sweating like cow (pun intended) and the last thing I wanted was a thick canvas coat on my shoulders.  After a few pictures, we took our flags (coats) off and headed into a bar on Main Street where they had put our bags.  I ate some strawberries, grapes, and lots of water, texted Coach and Aaron, and headed back out for a long cool-down in an attempt to top off my mileage to 20 for the day (my last 20-miler before Baltimore).  Wendy Thomas (mother of two from CO) was kind enough to join me for 7 miles as we jogged back through the course to partake of the water stops and run those stupenous hills again.  As we got back to the finish line (for the second time) people cheered us in (again) and we gave lots of thumbs up and went to get our bags and head over to the park where the awards ceremony was scheduled to begin 3 minutes earlier.  Has there EVER been an on-time awards ceremony in the history of road races??  Don’t think so.  I asked Wendy to watch my bag for me while I jogged some more and the awards ceremony announcers stalled some more.  Staying within ear’s reach of the announcer, I only got up to 18 miles total before they started the awards.  I was hoping for a couple more but after standing around and sitting for a few minutes during the awards my right achilles tendon and left ankle bone refused to run any more.  My left ankle was sporting a nice purple/blue puff-ball look after being defeated by the timing chip and my temperamental right achilles was pleading for some love (ice) after the 18 miles of punishment it had just endured.  So I called it a day and walked back to the car with Ebbe (not without him treating me to some authentic pastry from the Danish Bakery of course).

In review, I have to be happy with my race.  It was a TOUGH course on a hot, humid, and somewhat windy day.  I finished 39 seconds behind Magda and 27 seconds behind Stephanie. After the race Magdalena was saying how much she really respects that course record (she fell 87 seconds short of breaking it).  Those steep hills really took it out of my legs and I just tried to manage the best I could. I think there is a reason they don’t post their elevation profile online. Considering the circumstances I am pleased with the fact that my time was a minute+ faster than my previous PR set at Bolder Boulder earlier this year.  And I came home a few pennies richer.  :)

The post-race party was fun and I met some more really cool runners.  I also enjoyed the hour long drive back to LaGuardia Airport with Andrew Carlson from Flagstaff as well as Matt Levassiur and Stephanie Bylander (with their adorable 1yo daughter) from Alamosa, CO.  I had a really funny conversation with Andrew Carlson as we were getting into the car to leave for the airport.  He put his bag in the car and said “Sorry about my BEG, its taken some abuse.”  (His bag had a nice rip on the side).  As soon as I heard him pronounce BAG as BEG I thought to myself, “Hmmm, this guy is from either North or South Dakota…..I bet he knows Jessie Kindschi.” Jessie is a former BYU teammate of mine with the cutest little North Dakota accent ever. So I introduced myself to Andrew and sure enough, the next words out of his mouth were, “Hey, didn’t you run for BYU?  Do you know Jessie Kindschi Dorais?”  I laughed so hard!!  That is exactly what I was about to ask him!!  Come to find out Andrew had actually dated Jessie for a period of time in college before she transferred to BYU and he really had a lot of good to say about her and her husband Andy (who now live in SLC while Jessie finishes up medical school).  Anyway, just another funny “small world” experience.

Fun times!

Wow!  What a weekend! Where do I begin?

Well, I arrived in New Haven, CT on a tiny, very loud and bumpy plane Sunday afternoon at their HUGE airport of one terminal and two gates.  I was picked up at the airport by the elite athlete coordinator, JT who took me on a course tour on the way back to the hotel.  We arrived at the hotel ten minutes before an athlete meeting and I checked into my room and met my roommate, Amy Hastings.  Walked to the meeting with Amy, met and sat down next to Lauren and Zoila. Heard some info about the race, the potential to qualify for World Half Marathon Championships, the expectation to be drug free and stay on course, and well wishes from mens and women’s race liaisons.  Also heard a little motivational speech by Steven Shay inspiring us to have heart and give it our all like his brother Ryan did.

Our hotel and the race start/finish was right by Yale University so it was a nice, clean spot of town.  We walked a few blocks to a delicious restaurant and enjoyed dinner and good conversation with Zoila, Lauren, Colleen, and Jeff.  After dinner, we just headed back to the hotel and went to our rooms.  I chatted with Amy for a while (super friendly and fun to talk to) and we went to bed around 9ish.  I was plenty tired from waking up early to catch my flight and the long day of travel.  Amy asked me what time I wanted to wake up (the race started at 8:40 a.m.) and I said, “oh, I’m flexible….maybe 7 a.m. What do you think?”  She looked at me a little crooked and said  ”Oh….’cause I was thinking 5:30 a.m.”  Haha.  Maybe this is why I’m SO often late for races!  Do I just wake up abnormally close to race start time as a general rule??  Apparently.  Anyway, I obliged to her schedule with the assurance of an on-time race arrival and we went to sleep.  The alarm went off all too soon and I woke up with a gift from the hotel bed: wicked little knot in my upper back.  Thank you hotel bed.  I really wanted that the morning of my first National Championship road race.  I immediatley went to the athlete hospitality suite (still in my pajamas, barefooted, puffy eyed, messy hair and all) to see if they had a massage therapist or chiropractor on duty yet and as I walked in to see 10+ guys and Magdalena Lewy-Boulet sipping their coffee and looking all bright eyed and sharp in their race warm ups, I sheepishly grabbed a banana and slunk right back out.  Saw JT on my way out of the room and he slapped me on the shoulder and said “WAKE UP!!”  I must have looked pretty bad…but gimme a break, its 3:30 a.m. for my body.  I asked him if there was a massage therapist and he said they were showing up at 6:30 a.m. at the outside tent by the race start.  So I went back to my room, ate my banana and Luna bar and got dressed.  Washed my face in an effort to get the puffy eyes to die down (I probably could have used some cold compress or something too).  Then I told Amy I’d see her in the tent and I headed out to find the massage therapist who finally arrived around 6:50 a.m. and I asked if he could do chiropractic adjustments because I couldn’t breathe very deeply without tightness and pain.  He said “no but I do a good rub down” and was confident he could help me out.  He worked on the knot pretty good for ten minutes or so and it started to feel a little looser.  Those types of things usually take days to subside completely though, so I wasn’t expecting a miracle or anything.  After that I went to sit in the tent with the other ladies who were arriving.  I met a few more runners and enjoyed chatting and laughing about the large open box with 200+ chocolate donut holes that no one was eating.  REALLY JT? (Or whomever was in charge of getting the food).  Did you really think 15 elite female runners would ever even come close to consuming 200 donut holes at any point in time that morning?  LOL.  He had the usual water, bananas, bagels, but the absurd amount of donuts were obviously out of place.

About 35 minutes before the race I went to warm up with Lauren.  We didn’t talk much, both obviously dealing with our own latent nervousness (it was her first championship race too) but it was nice to at least have someone to tap along the pavement with.  Right as I finished my warm up and stopped my watch…..blank.  Dead.  No life whatsoever. Well, so much for relying upon good ol’ Garmin to help me avoid the mistake of going out too fast and blowing up.  Guess I’m on my own with that one.  Tossed the watch in my bag along with my warm ups and went to the race start to do some strides and stretching.  I was actually not upset at all about the Garmin betraying me.  My naked wrist felt liberated and excited to just be forced to listen to my heart and lungs and let them dictate the pace.  On the line, Colleen and Jeff came up on each side of me; it was just like any old day doing our workout in Boulder.  We paused for the National Anthem, and then BOOM!  The cannon released us.

Pretty much all fifteen women suddenly coagulated like gel with a few “foreign bodies” (men) mixed in and the race pack was formed.  The pace felt very comfortable and I knew we were not going out “too fast.”  I didn’t even notice the first mile go by, but figured it must have at some point and just stayed in the middle of the cozy group.  I did see mile two at 11:03 and was comforted to know that we were averaging 5:31 pace already (a pace I was not afraid to go after).  The pack still probably had nine or ten of us there with the race favorites near the front.  The miles seemed to pass quickly and I felt smooth and comfortable.  My tummy did start to get a little upset around mile four but it was negligible.  The gremlin hiding in between my rhomboid and trapezius was not complaining too much either, thank goodness.  A couple of girls tried to change up the pace and take off into the lead at times, but the group absorbed them again pretty quickly.   As the miles passed I tried not to let the fact that I was PRing in every distance from 4 miles on up throw me into mental doubt and fear of the coming miles.  When we came by 10K in 34:00 I still felt reasonably comfortable in the pack and realized it had shrunk down to only five women with Magda, Amy, and Stephanie working it at the front and me content to sit back and watch the race develop.  My stomach started to complain a little louder and I had to work harder to mentally suppress the discomfort.

Just after mile seven I took about 100 calories of EFS liquid shot and some water, hoping it might settle my stomach or at least just give me some insurance for the final miles of the race.  At that point it was down to Magdalena and Stephanie with me hanging on their heels still…but not for long.  The 8 mile marker seemed to slap Magda in the pants or something as she just took off and dropped us like flies.  Stephanie responded a little better than I did, but I tried to keep the gap as tight as I could.  In Magda’s post race interview she said she just ran a 5:06 mile on mile 8 and then went back to the pace we had been doing which means Stephanie and I must have been falling off pace too because Magda finished 57 seconds ahead of me and 45 seconds ahead of Stephanie.

Anyway, the last few miles consisted of me getting stomach cramps, mentally commanding them to leave, feeling okay for a few minutes, getting worse stomach cramps, groaning in my head, praying for strength, wanting to stop and relieve myself in the gutter but not wanting to embarrass the spectators or myself even more, keeping my focus on Stephanie so she wouldn’t distance me even more, imagining Amy coming up behind me and kicking past me while laying everything on the line so that wouldn’t happen, praying again that I wouldn’t have an embarrassment in my shorts while willing my stomach to behave, and finally seeing the finish line and jumping for joy (in my head) as the crowd carried me home.

It was a very long last couple of miles, to say the least.  But finally, that mental anguish came to an end and I was rewarded with extreme mental relief and elation.  My teammate Jeff had finished 20 seconds ahead of me and was the first to give me a sweaty hug and high five.  Then I got some water, talked to the runnerspace.com guys and congratulated a few runners.  Had a funny conversation with Kim Keenan-Kirkpacktric, the race liaison who was in the truck helping the guys film the race.  She asked me a little bit about myself and told me how they were frantically searching online for any info they could find on me including the pronunciation of my name since I was obviously a dark horse, yet was up there running with the leaders until mile eight.  Haha.  I told her honestly I was just as surprised as she was to see myself in the final three.  It was unfortunate how so many top ladies had an off day today.  Amy, Colleen, Tera, Zoila, and others all felt “off.”  Zoila put it into words so well in her post race interview.  She said something to the effect of, each race is like receiving a gift.  You have to unwrap it to see what is inside and sometimes its something you really like and other times its not.  You can’t dictate what comes though.  You just have to accept it and do the best you can with it.  I’ve had plenty of those days.  And I’ve been overcome and defeated plenty of times.  Today was not one of them.  Today I received the gift of a much welcomed and appreciated huge breakthrough to give me the confidence and experience to keep my competitive flame burning bright.  Others were not so lucky and had one of those days every runner has to experience, evaluate, and learn from.  Its part of the journey.  I am just feeling so grateful right now that God allowed me to feel that breakthrough feeling today and gave me that gift of endurance and strength to get me through even though I had obstacles I was threatened by.    Keep pushing through!  Breakthroughs will come and they will be SO worth it when they do!