All through last week I was feeling fine. The Army Tem-Miler was fun, especially since I took it easy. One good solid run to get rid of the chest cold followed by my last long run yesterday, which I did much faster than I'd intended.
I started with a group and dropped back around mile 2 because they were going faster than I like to start, and I needed to remove the fleece I'd started with. I caught up to a pair that had stopped to do the same around mile 4 and ran the last six with one of them. We actually stopped at mile 5 when the three of us met up with the two guys they'd been running with (turns out to be a husband and a friend of the pair I ran with) and we started up again after a short rest. That's not my preferred practice because I'm always afraid that I won't get started up again after I stop moving. Still, the guys left us behind around mile 6 and one of the women dropped back shortly after that. I kept trying to slow down to keep her with us because I felt like they'd have stayed together if I hadn't joined in, but the speedier runner just kept going, so I adjusted and kept up. I did NOT plan to be running 9 minute miles, but that's what we did. Mind you, the route we ran is five miles uphill and the five miles downhill. The profile looks sort of like the Little Prince's drawing of a snake eating an elephant.
Anyway, even though I was going much faster than I'd planned, I managed to have a full-on conversation the whole time. Turns out my partner grew up a Navy brat and she was living in the Bay Area for part of the time I was living there. Her dad worked at the Naval Station that shared space with the NASA installation where my mom worked. How funny is that?
But now I'm getting butterflies. Big butterflies. I worry that I've heaped my expectations too high. I ran last year in 5 hours and 15 minutes, which is SLOW, but beat all the max allowable times by more than an hour. I want to run this race in under 5 hours, which is a 15 minute reduction in time. I beat my half marathon record by 15 minutes in September at the Navy Air Force Half Marathon, so I know I can do it - but can I sustain it for a full 26.2 miles? Argh.
Anyway - track me via this link : Runner Broadcast Service
My bib number is 13970.
So that there's not a photo-less post, here's the dog I'm currently fostering, Leo. I said I wasn't going to foster until after the race, but I'm a sucker and it's getting cold in DC, so the boarding facility we use that only has outdoor kennels is closing in the next couple of weeks. So, we need to get pups into foster.
Leo is about 40 lbs, hound mix, and as my dog walker calls him a "gentle giant". As long as he gets along with Harvey, he gets to stay.
Good luck, and remember, the race is not to the swift. I added the "Track a Runner" site to my bookmarks -- so I'll be cheering you on from Colorado Springs!
Posted by: Aunt Marti | October 20, 2014 at 06:44 PM
You go girl!
Tell Aunt Marti she can sign up for SMS or email messages, rather than having to go to the site.
What a cool system! I got our first cell phone (cough-cough) when hubby was running Boston and I was wacking around the city with a toddler in a stroller. Ostensibly so they could reach me if he collapsed. He didn't, and it was rather an excuse for our first cell. But I'd surely have loved to have this service.
Boston is harder to see a runner during the race because of the route. When he ran the MCM it was easier because of the way the course looped (including past the damaged Pentagon) - don't know if it is still the same. He ran the MCM in 2001 - yes, a month-ish after 9/11. He ran part of the way with a female Marine, and he commented on the Huey overhead. Her answer - "Yes, we're a big target". I grew up in DC, and while not what I would call scary (I've visited Israel and seen the security there) it was startling to have the concrete barriers sprout around the White House and Capital, and have bags searched going into the Smithsonian on that trip.
Husband was never in the military, but when he wears the shirt from that year (dark green mock-neck, long sleeves) invariably someone will come up to him and ask him about his military service. No, he doesn't BS them, but he does tell them what a thrill it was to run that race, and especially that year, since there was some discussion of cancelling it.
He's run Boston twice, NY, Columbus several times, MCM. He's done with races longer than about a 10K, but still loves to cheer for those still doing the longer ones.
Posted by: Iris | October 21, 2014 at 08:09 AM