Little Miss Type A: Why Being Competitive is Okay

I recently shared this picture after a run:

It generated over FIVE HUNDRED likes and one hundred comments. Most of them were positive but there were a handful that were absolutely terrible. Let me start with the history behind the photo before I dive into the commentary.

It was a regular Wednesday. I happened to finish my work assignment for the day early. I do field work in industrial settings so when a project is finished, I am finished. Usually this means I get to work on sites for 10-20 hours per day but sometimes things go in my favor. This day was one of them and I decided to make the most of it by fitting in a midweek longer run.

I headed to North Park to run the 5 mile loop around the lake. It's not flat but it isn't mountains either. I began my journey at my usual pace and tuned into the pounding beats emanating from my ear buds. As I finished my second mile a squad of police cadets ran out of a parking lot and began to run in two columns about a tenth to a quarter mile ahead of me. They were close enough that I could see each individual but far enough that I couldn't read the names emblazoned on the back of their t-shirts.

An idea germinated in my mind. I could use these fit fellows as motivation for my run. I began to speed up just trying to get close enough to read their shirts. A group of four cadets broke away from the squad and ran ahead. I felt the drive inside of me begin to whisper, "You can catch them." I poured on just a little more gas and before I knew it my frequent hill runs were paying dividends. I passed the main group on an uphill and gave them a smile and a nod. They returned the greeting and that was that.

Isn't the use of timing devices a way to gauge our progress?

As I slowly gained on the breakaway group, I thought to myself that it was kind of amusing that I had just 'chicked' a group of really fit men. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and snapped the above picture without breaking stride. I assumed it would be too blurry to share but didn't care too much. I continued on with my run, catching and passing the breakaway group, and happened to see another squad of cadets coming the other way. One of them was walking and he looked miserable. I shouted, "You've got this! Keep it up!" He smiled and began to jog again. I finished my run without seeing any other cadets and didn't think much of sharing my picture.

Then the comments began to roll in. At first it was mostly 'LOLs' and 'You go girl!' But then a few people suggested that I wasn't giving the cadets a fair shake. After all, they were doing a formation run which means they were only as fast as the slowest runner. I saw the point but they obviously were able to go at their own pace or else there wouldn't have been a breakaway pack for me to catch. Then there were comments that I would get my a$$ kicked if those guys were on their own or if I tried that with a military member or whatever. At first I argued... I mean I beat men and women on a regular basis and I WAS a Marine.

Then I gave up. The comments came one hundred percent from men. I began to wonder if strong women are that much of a threat or if there's still a negative association with competitive women. Almost all of the comments used the word competition like a four letter curse or as if it was something dirty. In the end, my post ended up being taken down by the moderators and I was left to wonder what was so wrong with passing someone on my run and feeling good about it.

Am I only allowed to be competitive during a race?

Being competitive is associated with being an ugly person in our society. People see it as being greedy and narcissistic. We feel guilty for having competitive feelings and we make other people uncomfortable if they express their own. However, competition can come from personal challenge instead of winning. It's not an 'all or nothing' mentality and it's healthy and natural when it's handled correctly.

Human nature is an elusive concept but everyone has competitive feelings. The coworker who just got a promotion, the attractive friend who gets more dates, the complete stranger who got the parking spot or has a nicer car... They all bring out unsettling feelings and we instantly try to temper or dampen those emotions. 

Mr. Wonderful set out to win his last race... and he did!

Accepting competitive feelings can be hard. Yet when we do, we begin to understand what it is that we really want. Thoughts and feelings are NOT the same as actions. And therefore, feeling competitive and using those emotions as motivation to better yourself is OKAY. 

When we hide our competitive nature we become cynical. "Why is SHE the one who gets all the attention? It's only because her dress is so short." Or we become gossips. "I heard he only got the promotion because he golfs with the VP." Maybe you're thrilled your best friend just bought the sports car you've both ogled since third grade but at the same time you're secretly gloating over how high the gas and maintenance costs are going to be. Pretty soon you are distancing yourself from someone close to you because you have begun to see them as 'materialistic'. Meanwhile, it's only your inner competitor that you refuse to acknowledge. You pretend you don't want those 'things' (car, house, promotion, or race trophy) because competition is uncomfortable and you deny yourself to avoid those feelings. And BAM!, you're leading a life you don't really want.

I wanted my first win... badly

I'm here to say that if you want something then go after it. Don't hurt others to get it but don't deny yourself things that bring you joy either. If you and I find ourselves locked in a dead sprint to the finish line at our next race I hope you know that I'll congratulate you wholeheartedly if you beat me. I hope you can do the same should I take the lead. And, if you pass me on my next training run, let me just thank you now for motivating me to push a little harder, to try to keep you in sight, to be that much faster the next time we meet. And, should I pass you, please know that I'm not looking down on you. In fact I hope you'll challenge me the next time we meet. I hope your training is beyond spectacular and you can share with me all the wisdom you've gleaned and your new favorite speed work drills. I'll gladly share my water with you if you'll share your banana with me.... after the competition is over.

I am a woman. I am competitive. And it's nothing against you.

I often imagine winning a big race in a full sprint to the finish with a worthy opponent during my runs.

Are you competitive? Do you feel insulted if someone passes you on a training run? Does it feel good to pass someone? When is it too much?

Kalajainen Klassic 5k

I've been feeling pretty good since my Burning River finish and I've started running again. It began with 2 miles and then 3. And then my friends enablers struck again.

I saw that my pacer, Allison, from BR100 was running a weeknight 5k about an hour and a half away. I really wanted to see her again and thank her in a more coherent state of mind for all she did for me. So I loaded up my youngest daughter and the jogging stroller and went to the race. Because that's what a sane person would do right?

Goofing off with the baby before the race

 

Allison is coaching a couple to run the Erie half marathon and they were at the race as well. Being so far away I only saw a few familiar faces but Allison seemed to know everyone. She kept telling everyone how I just finished Burning River which was a little embarrassing. I'm sure no one really cared about the insane girl with the wild-child toddler and a pink stroller!

 

At 7pm we all walked to the top of a big hill to the starting line. The race director gave a few little directions and shout outs but I missed most of it because I was feeding the baby cookies to keep her quiet. After a few minutes we were off!

 

The first quarter mile or so was across a parking lot and then left across the top edge of it. Then we turned onto a trail. A real, honest to goodness dirt and grass and rocks trail! The stroller was hammering up and down like a jackhammer and I couldn't see where my foot would land next so I was forced to back down the pace quite a bit and a few people passed me. I told myself I didn't care but when we reentered the road after a half mile I started trying to gain back my spot. Mile 1: 9:24

 

After that there was a fairly long uphill to a turn around point. I saw all my friends and shouted encouragement but I was slowing down. I could feel that uphill was not in the cards today. More people passed me. After the turn around I fairly flew back down the hill but we turned back onto the same trail and I was forced to slow down even more this time. I even walked a few portions for fear of overturning the stroller. Mile 2: 11:14

 

After we exited the trail into the parking lot where we had started we ran across a bridge and down a paved road on a steep descent. I hate braking on descents but I had to keep control of the stroller on the winding road. I passed many people on the way down and probably got a little ahead of myself. At the bottom of the hill we could see the finish line but we ran right past it. A little while later we turned around at a cone and headed back. I passed one more woman on this section and then there was no one left to catch. So I just tried to maintain the best possible pace. Mile 3: 9:28

 

The last .1 or so was an 8:37 pace. Time: 30:40

 

We crossed the line with Allison cheering wildly and amused onlookers cracking jokes about the baby beating me and how I would have crushed the whole field if I had ditched the stroller. It was hilarious to me that they were so impressed with my 30 minute stroller run. Allison actually did perform impressively and took 3rd woman overall.

 

Allison and I post-race

 

Since Allison had won an award I wanted to stick around and see her get it. I got the baby some pizza and ice cream and she made a mess and ran around like, well, a two year old. While we were waiting the official results went up and my eyes almost bugged out of my head when I saw I'd gotten 3rd in my age group. I finished 52/81 overall and 3/4 in my age group. It's kind of hard to believe I beat anybody in my current condition but I apparently did.

 

 

I guess now I should probably actually rest and recover but I'm not good at taking my own advice. I'll probably just try not to be too stupid and maybe hide all my running friends on Facebook for awhile.

 

 

Race To The Moon

Saturday night Shane and I ran the Race to Moon in Apollo, PA. Get it Apollo? Moon race? Hahahaha. Yeah, I must be too young. Shane had to explain it to me.

The race didn't have an exact start time, just listed it as 'dark'. So we drove out after dinner since sunset was listed as 8:30-ish. We arrived a little after 7PM and parked and then went to check in. Only we weren't on the list. Turns out Shane registered us so early (and by paper form instead of online) that the race director forgot about us. Thankfully he found our forms tucked away somewhere in his car and we were able to get our bibs and goody bags.

I think the shirts were okay and the glow-in-the-dark mug is pretty darn awesome. We were also given glow necklaces to wear during the race for visibility. Shane and I both wore Black Diamond Spot headlamps since there was barely any moon.

Since we had arrived so early we hung out by the Kiski River and then did a little warm up jog along the course. In the fading light there were already hundreds of lumineries lighting the rail trail path for the entire race. I had been hoping for a 3 mile warm up but I was afraid we'd miss the start so we settled for one. Turns out we had plenty of time and it was pretty much a wasted warm up mile.

Shane gives me this look often.

 

We got to meet up with some of the Latrobe Area Pacer Society (LAPS) members that we 'know' online but hadn't actually met yet. A couple people also recognized our shirts and introduced themselves so it was a really nice evening regardless of the wait to start.

 

LAPS group. Excuse my paler than the moon stomach

 

Finally we lined up around 9PM. The race director said he wanted to wait for it to get just a little bit darker but everyone was ready to go so we just stood at the line and chatted. There was a 5k and a 5 mile race both running together so I had no idea who my competition was. I figured I would run comfortably to the 5k turn around and then see who was still ahead of me. Of course, easy never happens for me on race day.

 

The gun went off and people were flying by me left and right. I looked at my Garmin and saw 6:59 pace so I pulled back despite the sprint happening all around me. By a half mile people were settling in and I was able to start passing back most of the runners who had taken off so furiously at the start. I was hoping for an 8:30 pace but my body didn't want to settle in there. I was either close to 8:00 or close to 9:00 and I couldn't get in the middle. First mile: 8:17

 

In the second mile I finally began to feel the pace and zone out. As I approached the 5k turn around I was right behind another woman but she made the turn. I shouted good luck and then looked ahead to see who I could catch. About 100 feet ahead were a man and woman so I focused on reeling them in. Mile 2: 8:33

 

As I approached the 5 mile turn around I counted people while looking for Shane. I counted 7 men and then Shane. I only saw the same woman ahead of me that I had been trying to catch so far. I couldn't believe I was in second! I told Shane he was in 8th and we missed our high five. Then I set my sights on the man between me and the first woman. I caught him right as mile 3 beeped in at 8:33.

 

I asked if I could hang on him for a bit and he said he didn't mind but he was fading. I could see the glow of the light stick on the woman ahead of me and estimated her to be 45 - 60 seconds ahead of me. I began to put the hammer down but I knew I wouldn't catch her unless she faded. Mile 4: 8:19

 

Somewhere in the final mile I lost the man I had been running with. I began to pass the 5k walkers and back-of-the-packers. One guy was running hard and then walking and then repeating. As I passed I yelled "Let's go, only a half mile!" He hung with me for a bit but dropped off again quickly. I continued to push. My legs had no more to give and I knew my pace was slipping despite the effort. My ragged breathing and aching chest were really starting to hurt but I couldn't let the women behind me catch up. Finally the finish line was in sight and my Garmin beeped in 5 miles. I hit stop and handed over my bib tag. Mile 5: 8:26

 

I found Shane and he told me he had finished 8th in 39:56. My official time was 42:13. I was 11th overall and second woman!

 

Getting my award.

 

In the end, I'm really happy with my performance and my results. Even though I was suffering I maintained a pretty even pace. I didn't let the early sprint get the better of me and ruin my race. And I gave every last bit of energy I had to chase down the woman ahead of me. She ended up beating me by 1:01 which means I really didn't let her gain anymore ground after I set my sights on her. I'm also pretty sure this is a 5 mile PR for me and now I feel really confident about my night running capabilities at Burning River in less than 2 weeks!

 

Shane and his medal

 

trophy

 

 

Back To Back Halves

Part 1: Fox Township
This weekend I was feeling frisky. Well, actually I was feeling fed up, anxious, and antsy thanks to a bout of shin pain that cut my weekly mileage short. Shane and I were already signed up for the Fox Township Bicentennial Half Marathon on Saturday so I just hoped I would survive without too much pain.

We woke up at 2:30 am on Saturday morning (no, that's not a typo) and left at 3:30 am to make the 3 hour drive to Elk County, passing such wonderful towns as Weedville and Lickingville. We made it just after 6:30 and picked up our packets and shirts. Our goody bags contained 3 Gatorades and 3 Gu flavors. Can't beat that for a $20 race!

Around 7:30 we were all herded onto school buses and taken to the start line (point to point course). Rumor has it that some people misunderstood and showed up at 8 for buses that were already gone!

 

During the 20-ish minute drive to the starting line Shane and I noticed that we were doing an awful lot of up and down. There is no elevation chart on the site and I don't feel like trying to find USGS data so you'll have to take my Garmin's word for it. However, the hills at the end felt much bigger than they look here!

 

 

We were dropped off in Big Springs on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and shortly after we lined up at a spray painted line and a guy yelled 'Go'! My shins were already giving me grief from step one and I was starting to worry that I'd made the wrong decision in running the half. I tried to hold my pace down as people took off ahead of me. There were overweight men, old ladies, and young kids just leaving me in their dust and I wanted to cry.

 

The first couple miles I wanted to just quit but I was in the middle of the mountains and forest and I hated to miss another day of training with Burning River approaching so rapidly. My shin pain started to fade, however, which brightened my outlook considerably as I approached the turn around (we started on a side road, turned left onto the main road for a couple miles, and then turned around and ran up the main road for the rest of the race).

 

Miles 1-4: 9:49, 10:27, 11:17, 10:19

 

 

Around mile 5 I started to feel good and began to pick up the pace. I caught a couple stragglers and set my sights on the next few women in front of me. I would reel them in and then run next to them for awhile until I felt ready to go after the next one.

 

Miles 5-7: 9:41, 8:55, 8:29

 

Around mile 8 the woman I was running near suddenly stopped and told the man she was running with that she felt like she couldn't breathe. The heat was pretty oppressive by that point and she was wearing all black. I instantly lost all competitive spirit and stopped to walk with her and offered her my handheld. Thankfully it seemed to revive her and as we approached the mile 8 water stop she started to run again. We ended up running most of the next 4 miles together and she even took a picture of me while we were walking up a hill.

 

 

Miles 8-12: 10:59, 8:59, 12:41, 10:35

 

As we neared the finish line we left the countryside and began to run along residential lots. The houses all had a lot of acreage but the trees had been cleared meaning there was very little shade. The last 5k was tough with lots of rolling hills and temperatures nearing 90*F or more. Some nice folks set up beer stops in the last couple miles. I gladly drained my cup at both stops.

 

 

As I reached mile 12 I realized I wasn't doing too badly despite the heat and decided to see if I could get 2:10. I was trying to pace it just right and as I approached the last turn a woman told me I was less than half a mile from the finish. I must have lost GPS signal in the trees because I had figured I had about half or three quarters left. I kicked into gear and cruised into the finish, catching one more woman before I crossed the line. Official time: 2:11:32

 

Mile 13: 8:47

 

 

 

I ended up 54th overall and 2nd in my age group. We also won two door prizes, a bunch of Gatorade and a hat. Overall, I'm thrilled with my performance. The last time I ran a half this hilly I was almost 20 minutes slower and it about killed me. This time I could have kept going and kind of wanted to. Which lead me to Sunday.....

 

Part 2: Peace, Love, Run

I knew I wanted to do a long run Sunday and I preferred to do it with people rather than by myself. I've really had enough of running by myself at this point. So I set my alarm for 5:30am knowing there were two group runs or a half marathon within an hour drive. I surprised myself when my alarm went off and I rolled right out of bed.

 

I chickened out of the group runs knowing that I might not be able to keep up on dead legs and I didn't want to be lost in Pittsburgh. I decided to go for the Peace Love Run Half Marathon (advertised as 13.22 miles?) thinking I could run some trails or another loop of the lake after I finished. My aunt and uncle were both volunteering at the race so that added incentive too. I hustled out the door with only coffee in my hand and inwardly groaned when I noticed it was already 70*F at 6am.

 

I made it to North Park with little time to spare and ended up parking a little over a quarter mile from the registration table. I jogged in and registered quickly and then checked my race bag and shirt since I was out of time. Thankfully my aunt was working the bag check so that saved me time! I then lined up for the port-a-johns and made it out just as the mass migration to the starting line began.

 

I lined up farther back than I normally would and missed the fact that there were no starting mats, despite chip timing and a large number of entrants, so my Garmin splits are probably way off. As I started I wanted to see how close I could get to yesterday's time. I could feel the heat picking up by the minute and I worried how bad it would get on a course with much less shade than yesterday's half.

 

Miles 1-4: 9:38, 10:13, 9:44, 10:03

 

It didn't take me long to decide to back off the pace and just enjoy the run. I was running beside another woman and we were chatting about the heat and our recent races when I heard footsteps behind us. A cheery woman asked if we minded if she joined us and we assured her we didn't. She told me this was her first race (not first half, first RACE) and she'd started running in January. She had also lost an awesome amount of weight in that time. I instantly liked her so we stuck together.

 

Miles 5-8: 10:28, 10:11, 11:44, 11:40

 

Around mile 7 it was pretty obvious my new friend was hurting. She began to take more walk breaks and linger longer at water stops. She kept encouraging me to leave her but I really didn't care about time. I was more excited to see her first finish. It brought back so many memories of my first half marathon and I remembered clearly all the pain and doubt of those final miles. I encouraged her and tried to be patient without letting her go slower than necessary (I hope I wasn't too pushy).

 

Miles 9-12: 12:54, 12:02, 14:19, 13:15

 

Once we were less than a mile from the end I started to push her a little harder. I told her everyone on the course was hurting (I was hurting) and the best way to end the torture was to get to the finish line. I pushed the pace on our running sections and tried to walk a little faster when she needed a break. Even though it was obvious she was really suffering she took it like a champ and ran the last quarter mile non-stop.

 

Mile 13: 11:53

Last .22 (0.34 by Garmin): 9:45 pace

 

I crossed the line in 2:31:38 and she finished 2 seconds behind me. We collected medals and ice cold water bottles and then I gave her a high five. She really earned her medal and I had a blast helping (I hope) her do it!

 

 

My official finish results are 157/181 overall and 26/35 age group. It may be my slowest half time yet but I wouldn't trade it for anything! It was way more fun than any other half I've run so far.

 

 

 

 

Alpha Fitness 5k

After the Laurel Highlands Ultra relay yesterday (where I ran 24.5 miles of brutal, technical trail) my plan was to rest, nap, hydrate, eat, and pretty much do nothing today. I had gotten home somewhere around 1am and by the time I showered and crawled into bed it was nearly 2. I woke up to Shane getting ready for a local 5k at around 6:30 and rolled right back over. About an hour later my phone wouldn't stop ringing and I finally gave in and answered.

Shane begged me to come down to the Alpha Fitness Highway to Healthy 5k. There were only 20-some people there and he thought I could win. I told him he was nuts since I already had major mileage on my legs from the All Stars Week mileage game. I was just ready to go back to bed when the little voice in the back of my mind said, "Three more miles could only help your miles game team. You don't have to race."

So I threw on some clothes and my trusty Altra Torins. I didn't have time to do anything with my hair so I added a hat as well. No phone, keys, water, or anything besides my cup of coffee. I walked out the door and jogged down to the path. I found Shane and we got me registered. I drank my coffee and fretted about the burning scrapes on my leg from yesterday's relay tumble and the aches I've already accumulated this week.

The race started a few minutes late and I lined up right up front. So much for not racing huh? I know from past experience that sometimes just showing up is enough to win in a small race. So I went for it. The horn sounded and I took off with the front pack. There were two men and a woman just in front of me. The men were pulling away but the woman was running my pace. I pulled up shoulder to shoulder with her and just hoped to hang on.

Mile 1: 7:50

As we approached the turn around I could feel the fatigue of all the heavy mileage settling in. It didn't seem to matter how hard I pushed or how fast I turned over my legs. There was just no power left in my toe off and my pace began to slip. I high-fived my husband, who was leading, and then turned back toward the start. I saw the third woman was about a minute behind me and that gave me enough of a rush to keep moving despite slowly losing the lead woman.

Mile 2: 8:30

In the third mile I would have walked if our friend, Jennifer, hadn't been in third place and gaining on me. I kept glancing over my shoulder and she would be a little closer every time. The jolt of adrenaline would improve my pace for a moment and then my body would begin to shut down again. I told myself I just had to hang on for second place. I would never forgive myself if I let Jennifer catch me now.

Mile 3: 8:50

I saw the finish line ahead and I took one more glance over my shoulder. Jennifer was only 20 or so seconds back now so I pushed as best as I could. That ended up being 8:30 pace for the last .13 miles but it was just enough. Jennifer finished 8 seconds behind me.

Final time: 26:21

5th overall, 2nd woman, 1st in the 20-29 age group. I also won a gift card for a manicure and pedicure in the chinese auction. They only give awards for the 1st overalls and the first in each age group so I got a smaller trophy for my age group win. Shane won overall and got a huge trophy!

Just goes to show it's all about who shows up!

Our friends

(Shane and Emory in the back. Me, Jennifer, Lukas, Melanie, and Carina in the front.)

Got trophy?

Swag

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

I chose North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run  (NC24) as a test of my ability to complete Burning River 100 in July. With a little over 3 months between the two races it seemed like a perfect test of my training and a confidence booster. Leading up to the race I was neglecting some of my training due to being overworked but I was still improving and training harder than ever before. I also managed to pull or pinch something in my back moving some heavy things around in our lab. I had no illusions that I would somehow do anything impressive. I just wanted to cover a minimum of 80 miles with an achievable goal of 90 miles. My stretch goal was to break 100. Being that this was a 24 hour race there's really no way to make this short so grab a coffee and pull up a chair.

Pre-race

I asked my boss for Friday off and he said I could only have it if I finished up all my work. I didn’t think that would happen so I asked for Monday off knowing I would probably be wrecked (this is important later). I ended up getting all my work done so I drove out to Cleveland Friday night after spending the day packing and frantically fighting with my bank over a hold on my direct deposit (who does that?!). I drove straight to the park and scoped out the course before heading to my hotel. One of the first things I noticed was the white caps and heavy winds along the breakwater. I really hoped it would calm down by morning. I arrived at my hotel just in time to watch the coverage of the second Boston suspect being pinned down in the boat and then taken into custody. I fell asleep quickly and slept pretty well.

 

Waves were crashing over the breakwater

 

Race Morning

I woke up before my 6am alarm. I checked the weather and saw cold temps predicted so I chose pants, a tank top, and a long sleeve over top. I also wore my trusty Altra Zero Drop Torins for the entire race. I was anxious and full of nervous energy so I headed out before the continental breakfast was laid out. I went over to the local Starbucks and got a decaf (I avoided caffeine for the week before the race). I sat and talked to some older gentleman until 7:30 and then headed to the park for packet pick up. I found my friend, Anne, almost immediately so I set up my little station next to hers. Most people had tents but I didn’t want the temptation. I had brought a sleeping bag and a camp chair, mostly so if I got hypothermic I could warm up or take a nap after the race before I drove home. I also had a duffel bag stuffed with running clothes, jackets, and gloves as well as a small cooler with two Red Bulls in it. That's it... no crew, no shelter, and no extras. Racing by the seat of my pants!

 

Tent City (and me in my pink hoody in the background)

I picked up my bib and chip, slipped on my hoody over my clothes, and then crawled into my sleeping bag to wait for the pre-race brief. The wind was howling and shortly after it started to snow. Then it began to pelt us with hail. I pulled my bag over my head and seriously considered just getting back in my car and going home. The hail and snow stopped just before 9am and the pre-race briefing went on as planned. So I sucked it up and lined up with everyone else despite the biting wind. The high was 41 degrees with a low of 33 and winds around 30MPH.

 

snow in my lap

Race

Heidi, the RD, sent us off with a bullhorn at 9am on the dot. I was surprised at how many people took off like it was a shorter distance race. My plan was to run as evenly and consistently as possible for as long as I could maintain it. I didn’t wear a watch so I didn’t worry about pace or times. I just tried to keep my effort low and even. We were running the .90075 mile loop clockwise which meant a short incline along the edge of the lake and then running along the breakwater at the top before turning away from the lake and heading down to the line to start again. The wind was gusting diagonally across the park and the freezing spray from the waves crashing against the breakwater would mist us with every loop. The wind was from the side on the uphill, mostly behind us at the top of the loop, and directly in our faces as we returned along the sandy beach which meant the sand blew into our eyes, noses, mouths, and shoes relentlessly.

 

snow on the path

After the first few loops I could tell my back was going to be an issue. My right SI joint was sending shooting pains down my leg with every step. I told myself it was just nerve pain so there was no reason to pay any mind since there was nothing I could do about it. It did slow me down though. I decided to try to hold 5 loops per hour for as long as I could in order to get close to 100 miles. I began to walk the short incline from the start/finish up to the breakwater each lap so I could eat and drink and save my legs. Then I would run the remainder of the loop and do it again. I would walk an entire loop every 15^th or 16^th lap.

I was staying right on target and prettily easily keeping my 5 loops per hour average despite the wind and cold. After 25 or so miles I decided to change my socks to relieve the sand friction in my shoes. It helped immensely and I made a plan to change my socks every 25 miles thereafter. Around 30 miles my back pain suddenly disappeared which helped me stay on pace and even improve slightly. I whiled away the hours talking to other runners and watching in amazement as the men ran themselves into the ground trying to beat the wind. Johnny Cash (yes, his real name) was going for 135 miles and he was just blazing. Hearing him lap me again was better than a clock. He was ridiculously steady!

 

 

waiting to start

Around 40 miles in my coach stopped out to cheer me on for awhile and check in. I was so happy to see her. She got me some warm food and broth, walked with me for a minute and helped refine my plans. We felt confident 90 miles was in the bag. After a few laps she had to leave but it kept me going at a better rate for another hour or so. I began to notice that my right foot was getting tender along the ankle. I tried to shorten my stride and improve my form which helped a little so I kept chugging along, knowing a 50 mile PR was in the bag.

 

My coach and I

I should have hit 50 miles in 11:30 or less but the pain in my foot was becoming annoying. The balls of my feet were getting tender and I blamed sand so I stopped to change my socks again. I passed 50.5 miles in 11:4x. I set my focus on getting to the 100k mark but began to lose steam as the sun set and the temperatures plummeted.

 

Running some laps with Ronnie

 

I stopped around 55 miles to add layers. I had two pairs of tights, a tank top, a long sleeve tech tee, two jackets, a hoody, and gloves on and I was still shivering uncontrollably. The top 10 or 12 men were still plugging away and 3 or 4 women remained on the course but everyone else seemed to disappear as soon as the sun set. I renewed my focus on not leaving the course for anything short of a medical emergency and pressed on. I tried to run more to get my temperature up and it became a battle between the pain in my right ankle/foot and my need to stay moving and warm. Occasionally someone would be running at a pace I thought I could sustain so I would hang with them for a few laps until I either got too warm in all my layers or my foot began to protest. Pretty soon all of the women had disappeared and I gave in to the urge to check the leader board. I believe I was in 4^th place at that point and around 21-23 overall. I wasn’t too far from Anne in third place so I decided to put in as many laps as I could while she was off the course.

 

Sunset

I picked up a 3 hour marathoner in a Boston jacket named Bruce and we put in a blistering 3 or 4 laps before I fell off his pace. Every few laps he would grab my hand and pull me along for another couple laps until I was gasping or limping and then I’d walk. I hit the 100k mark in around 15:30 and I felt pretty confident that 90 miles was very doable. I walked some very brisk laps with another runner named Jason and ran a few with another named Ronnie. They were both on pace for well over 100 miles so I’d enjoy their company while it lasted and then walk again.

 

Cleveland skyline at twilight

Sometime in the middle of the night I began taking caffeine: coffee, Mountain Dew, Coke, whatever. The week without any caffeine made the effects potent and I was wide awake despite the darkness. I ran without a light using the light of the moon and my familiarity with the course to guide me instead. It felt like hours before any other women rejoined me on the course but they later told me they only left the course for about an hour. I had taken over third place and I was now running scared that Anne would find her second wind. The winds calmed down and changed direction overnight which was a nice change and helped keep my spirits up. The appearance of a fox raiding the park garbage cans for our leftovers also gave me a boost. Of course, no one else saw him so maybe it was just a hallucination?

 

Plugging along

My coach wanted me to try to catch second place and I got fairly close when she left the course again for a short time. She came back out and finished a loop right behind me. She got a look at my numbers and let out a curse and took off like a bat out of Hell. By this point I was more than happy to let the chips fall where they may. I had hoped the sun coming up would rejuvenate me but instead I was becoming a walking zombie. My only goal was to keep putting one foot in front of the other until the end.

 

I liked this tree when it wasn't blowing pollen in my face

 

Thankfully my friend, Glenn, showed up at 6am and took over caring for me when I could no longer care for myself. He forced oatmeal and coffee into me and walked several loops, taking pictures and calling out encouragements. I just blindly followed behind him and the doc (who ran the med tent but also put in 34 miles) and tried to give convincing smiles when other runners talked to me or encouraged me.

 

That tiny speck in the water is a surfer. The waves were that big!

 

Around 8am I realized my position of third place woman was in no danger with a 9 lap lead over 4^th place Anne. I had moved up to 18^th overall and I couldn’t change that with both Karen and Allene directly ahead of my by about 10 laps in 16th and 17th place. Knowing that there was nothing to do but cause further damage I allowed Glenn to hustle me into the med tent to have my foot tended to by a group of podiatry students all the way from St. Louis, MO.

 

Bruising just below my ankle

 

All three students took turns palpating and digging and nothing really hurt. Finally their teacher came over and pushed in just below my ankle and also from the bottom up on the outside. The searing pain almost knocked me out of the chair. Diagnosis: dislocated Navicular bone. It seems my Navicular fell in and my cuboid pushed out causing a bruise along the side of my food and the inability to run due to the impact jarring the bones. Once my foot was reset and all taped up I hobbled outside to watch the last couple laps. Doc decided he wanted to get one more in so I accompanied him on a slow hobble around the loop carrying our popsicle sticks. (You are given a popsicle stick with your number on it to put down on the ground when the horn blows signaling the end of the race.) We were rounding the last bend when someone said we had less than 2 minutes to the horn. I wanted to finish with one more complete loop and maybe a few more steps beyond so I ignored the pain and ran but it wasn’t enough. The horn sounded and I stuck my popsicle stick in the sand about 20 feet shy of the mat. Doc was a few feet back and Allene, now in first place, was a few more feet behind him. We all limped back to the pavilion and I climbed into my sleeping bag to await awards.

 

Post Race

I huddled around with Anne, Glenn, Jason, and a few others as we collected our medals and the guys collected their 100 mile buckles. Shortly thereafter awards were announced with unofficial results (our extra incomplete lap was not measured or added yet). I was awarded a plaque for being first in the 0-39 age group, 3^rd overall woman netted me $100, and I was 18^th overall with an unofficial 84.7 miles. I officially ended up with 85.57 miles after my almost complete loop was added in.

 

The goodies

As soon as awards were over I hugged everyone goodbye and loaded up my car. I made the 3.5 hour drive back to Pittsburgh uneventfully despite being awake and moving for 30+ hours. Once home I showered and fell into bed for a fitful 3 or 4 hour nap. I kept being awakened by my sunburn and windburn as well as sinuses that felt like half the beach was stuffed in them. After some aloe gel, an Advil, and blowing about a pound of sand out of my nose I began to feel more human. Aside from being stiff and a little sore I don’t seem to have any damage besides the bruised foot. Of course, I expect I’ll feel more tomorrow since my boss revoked that Monday off deal! I’m going to be the most useless body in the plant for sure. (Side note: I actually was fairly productive for about 5 hours today!)

Thoughts

This was tough but for all the reasons I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect snow, hail, and gale force winds in April. I didn’t expect to be alone for long stretches of time overnight. I didn’t expect to be wet from freezing spray blowing off the lake. I expected to be tempted to go too fast but I wasn’t. I expected to be exposed to sun and heat but there was little sun and no high temps. I expected to be the one who fell apart overnight but I was one of the very few who held it together for the entire time.

I know that it was a ‘disappointing’ race to many of those tracking the event because not a single woman broke 100 miles and the winning male had ‘only’ 130 miles but, really, with the conditions and weather I’m absolutely amazed at what every single person at NC24 accomplished. Running a 10 or 11 minute mile pace for hours is one thing, running that for hours against a 30 MPH headwind is completely different. Every runner out there for the entire 24 hours absolutely put in a 100+ mile effort even without the results to show for it.

In the end, I didn’t get my 90 mile goal and I definitely missed 100 by a pretty good margin. But I’m thrilled with the results. I couldn’t have asked for better proof of my mental toughness than being the only woman that never stepped off the course for a nap or to hide from the weather. I wouldn’t have dreamed of placing in my age group let alone getting onto the podium in my first 24 hour race. And I have no doubt that I will collect my first hundred mile buckle at Burning River so long as I don’t suffer any serious setbacks. I guess it turned out to be a perfect day!

BQ or Bust Baby!

Okay, not really. I'll never qualify for Boston (unless I keep up my current speed until I'm about 85). And raising huge amounts of money for charity isn't really feasible for most of us either. I don't mind fundraising but some of the spots for Boston charity are just outrageous! However, there is now another option!

My favorite shoe company, Altra Zero Drop, is giving away ten, yes TEN, entries to the Boston Marathon. So how do you win? The complete post is here. But here's the basics...

Facebook (4 winners):
1. Tell Altra why you deserve a spot! Tag Altra Zero Drop in the post on YOUR own wall. BE CREATIVE! Pictures, videos, or just words are all acceptable.

Twitter (2 winners):
1. Send out a tweet about breaking up with your old running shoes! Tag @AltraZeroDrop at the end of the tweet.
Ex: “Dear old running shoes: You’re unstable. We’re done. @AltraZeroDrop’s are the shoe for me.”
Ex: “Hi old running shoes, There’s someone else. @AltraZeroDrop and I can go for hours and I love the way he/she holds me.”

Instagram (2 winners):
1. Show the world what #ZeroLimits means to you!
2. Follow @AltraZeroDrop.

Pinterest (2 winners):
1. Follow Altra Zero Drop.
2. Repin the Altra Takes Boston “Pin it to Win it” graphic.

Vine (1 winner):
1. Follow Altra Zero Drop (Open app-> Click the house in top left corner-> Explore-> Search “Altra Zero Drop” on “People” tab->Follow).
2. Make a Vine showing why you deserve a Boston entry.
3. Use the hashtags #ZeroLimits #AltraTakesBoston and #Running in the description.
What’s Vine? Its a new iPhone app. Check this out.

Terms and Conditions:
-All entries are pre-qualified
-Registration fee not included
-Travel and related expenses not included
-Registration Code will be mailed upon completion of contest
-Contest will run from 12 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17
-Winners will be notified Monday, Feb. 18 2013

So there you have it! Now 9 of you go win and save the last one for me! See you in Boston!

We Survived the Apocalypse!

No, I don't mean the 'frankenstorm' that is supposed to strike the east coast in the next couple days. I mean the Alpha Fitness Apocalypse 5k this morning. After 6 races in 4 weeks, most of them hilly, my legs are in full on rebellion.

The Apocalypse started right on time at 9am and went up the Yough River Trail, through a hilly section and then turned around and came back. Mile 1 was mostly flat and I clocked an 8:10 per my Garmin. Mile 2 I hit the hills, the turnaround, and more hills. Garmin clocked 8:43. Mile 3 was better as it covered the same ground as mile 1. I think it showed as a 8:2x on the Garmin. Final showing was 3.14 miles and 26:26. That was good enough for 4th woman and 1st in my age group.

I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't drag a better response out of my legs. If I had run within 30 seconds of my 5k PR I could have taken a podium place and gotten a really cool trophy with flames on it. Oh well. Better luck next year! Shane and his mother both got first in their age groups as well. Ash and Gemma probably could have gotten age group awards if they'd gone more than one deep.

On the fun side I got a lot of compliments on my INKnBURN skeleton shirt. And Shane said my new purple highlights look very Halloween-ish (that is NOT the look I was actually going for). Now it's time to relax with the kids for a bit until we all head over to the neighborhood church for a Halloween party tonight. Then tomorrow I guess I'm running a half marathon with Shane. He just informed me of this today! LOL. Such is life in a running family I guess.

Purple highlights

 

Off to catch up on homework, FaceBook stalking and housework. I'll be back tomorrow to update on race number 7 for the month (I think)!

Super Surprise!

This week has been rough. And I mean that in a my ass is kicked, stick a fork in me, did I just get hit by a bus kind of way. Gemma has been sick with a cough and fever since last Thursday. The doctors said to wait five days before taking her in, so I did. After being sent home from school a few times and then me keeping her home as well, I gave in and took her to the walk-in clinic. Nothing was obviously wrong with her so the NP gave her a course of antibiotics and sent us on our way.

After all that my boss texted me to say that I needed to work night shift for the rest of the week. I scrambled to get the kids to my mother-in-laws and drink enough caffeine to make it past 10PM. I ended up working 10pm-8am Thursday night and 10pm-6am last night. And I'll be working another night shift tonight and possibly tomorrow too.

I came home knowing that Shane had already signed us up for the Central Elementary Healthy Family 5k on the rail trail today. It was raining out and I hoped that he would decide to crawl in bed rather than get me up. I wasn't so lucky and he dragged me out of my warm covers to get ready.  The girls and Shane's mother were going to run with us too. Thankfully the rain had stopped for the most part by the time we made it down to the trailhead. I told myself I would go nice and easy and just shake out my legs.

The race started at 9:30am on the dot and I went out quickly to get past some walkers and slower runners. I was right behind a woman who was running a pace that seemed comfortably hard. I decided to stay right with her and see how that went. About a half mile out I started looking up ahead and realized I couldn't see any other women besides the one in front of me. Could I really be in second place?

As we approached the turnaround I caught sight of a ponytail way off in the distance. I realized I must be third woman and decided I'd better go ahead and make a race of it afterall. I passed the woman I'd been drafting off of and tried to gap her but she stuck to me, always just off my shoulder. As we made the turn around she stopped to take a cup of water. I almost screamed with joy right then. I'm glad I didn't because it would have been premature. A half minute later she was back on my shoulder again.

I was starting to hurt and my breathing was ragged. A headwind felt like it was beating me back with every step. Only the footsteps echoing behind me kept me pushing. I started reminding myself, "It's supposed to hurt" and "It's all about who's willing to hurt the most now." A young boy caught us and as he went by the woman he told her, "You can catch her!" Knowing he meant me I decided to prove him wrong. I did my best to stay with him and it worked. I put a 10-15 second gap on the woman and was picking up speed. I didn't know if I could hold it but I figured passing out or puking were the only things that might stop me.

I temporarily passed the boy again but he sped up in the final tenth of a mile and beat me by a few seconds. As I reached the last stretch I glanced back and saw I had at least 15 seconds on the woman. I glanced ahead and I saw the clock said 24:10! What?! No way! I was going to PR AGAIN! I found my after burners and eeked out a strong kick to cross the line in 24:27, a 25 second PR!

Showing off my hardware

I found Shane and he had finished in 21:06 for a new PR as well (not counting his 20:50 on a short course). He also got 5th overall and first in his age group. We went back out to look for the girls and his mom and cheered on our friends along the way. One of our friends was really struggling so Shane turned around to run back to the finish with her and ended up helping her get a PR too! I continued to head back out along the course and around a half mile out I found Shane's mom pushing Ash in the stroller. I took the stroller from her and pushed Ash to the chute where I let her out and so she could run across the finish herself. Her time was 38:53 and she got second in her age group (but we gave it to the next girl because Ash was pushed). We cheered in my mother in law for a 39:23 finish and second in her age group. Shane went back out again to find Gemma and run her in. She finished around 55 minutes and was really upset she didn't get an award. I reminded her she's been sick for over a week now and it's okay to take it easy and walk when that happens.

Shane's medal

After the awards were announced we stuck around for door prize drawings. Gemma won a Kids' Book of coupons for clothing stores, entertainment, food, etc. Ash won a basket of Bath and Body Works goodies. We sure do have some lucky kids! A representative from GNC was there and sent me home with a bag of vitamins and goodies so I guess some of that rubbed off on me. :)

Basket and Coupon Book

 

All of our goodies

 

All in all it was a really pleasant surprise and I'm really excited to see what I can do in Baltimore next week!

Double Dip is Quite the Treat!

If you haven't realized we're a little crazy around here by now then you must be new (so welcome!). On that note, my husband decided he was ready for his first 'double dip', that is 2 races in 2 days. We signed up for the Cold Man's 5k in Oil City on 12/3 and the Trot for Tots in Oakdale on 12/4.

I have been training pretty hard so I didn't expect too much. You're probably thinking that doesn't make sense but, yes, it does. I feel like I'm walking a very thin line between training hard and over-training. I was hoping to PR, maybe get my sub-25 goal, and I had a vague hope that I could take third overall if I had a really great run (based on the last years results). I was pretty sure my husband had a better shot than I did at all of those things though!

I guess Christmas miracles do happen because we showed up at the Cold Man and I saw right away that there were few women who had that 'hungry' look most of the winners have. I saw quite a few young teens wearing highschool track gear so I figured they would probably crush me. I talked to one of them while I was waiting at the start line and she said she hadn't been running much since the last track season. I felt a vague hope come back then. My husband wasn't so lucky and the local super-runner showed up at the last minute.

Right around this time is when we were bombarded by Mr. Know-It-All. I guess these guys are everywhere. They've run 5 half marathons this year and lost 80 pounds in the last two years so they must have a corner on the running market right? This guy bugged my husband and I (and everyone around us) about our training methods, our mileage, our recent injuries, and everything else under the sun and then tried to tell us what we were doing wrong. I very calmly warned my husband that if he didn't beat Mr. Know-It-All by a large margin I would happily beat him with a stick for subjecting me to this torture on a Saturday morning.



Mercifully the race director began a speech about not getting shot on the wooded trail (thanks hunters with no common sense) and avoiding direct collisions with the returning faster runners. I listened with half an ear as Mr. Know-It-All gave his input on each point ("Take off your reindeer antlers now!" *giggle giggle*). I guess I had good motivation from my urge to get far away from him. The race director shouted go and I took off like a bullet... for about .2 seconds.

The people who lined up at the very front? All walkers. Sigh. I dashed up a grassy hillside and ran along as best I could until I was past them all. Upon returning to the trail there was one of the young track girls in front of me. I decided I would just try to stick to her and maybe, just maybe, I could take second or third afterall. Imagine my surprise when, maybe a half mile out, she suddenly grabbed her side and came to a dead stop! I'm never happy about another runners pain but I'm pretty sure she just went out too fast and got a side stitch so I gladly passed her.



But then I realized, to my horror, that I was first woman! This early on it had to be a mistake! I began to worry if I was going to have a marvelous and awe-inspiring blow up that would leave me walking the last mile. Right about this time Mr. Know-It-All passed me. That was the motivation I needed right there. He'd already told me he averages a 23 minute 5k so I knew I wasn't going to beat him but I sure as heck wasn't letting him annhilate me either! I latched on to a group consisting of Mr. Know-It-All, a man running with two little boys (YES! See my post on Running with Kids!), and a few other men.

The man who appeared to be the father of the younger boys seemed to be struck by a side stitch as well. He suddenly pulled off to the side and yelled for the boys to continue without him. Those little boys KILLED it, super fast! As we approached the turnaround I saw my husband and he told me there was no one for at least 100 feet behind me. I was losing the group but I told myself I could hold it together for the last half. The volunteer at the turnaround shouted 11:57 as I skidded around the cone and then he said, "You're the first woman." I almost died right there as all the doubts crowded back in again.

I heard footsteps behind me as I neared the two mile mark and a man pounded past me. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I saw it wasn't a woman but I started to really freak out because I was losing it by this point. I should have been easily making my sub-25 goal but the third mile seemed to take FOREVER! My legs felt like lead, my lungs were dry, and my throat was on fire. I couldn't escape the feeling of panic that told me the second woman would be creeping up on me any second. I didn't like the feeling of having a huge target on my back!



As mile 3 came to a close I knew I had it if I just pushed. I risked a glance back and the second woman was about 30 seconds behind me. My husband was yelling at me from the finish line and the clock was nearing 25 minutes with every tick. I wanted to cry as I watched it tick past that mark I've been working so hard to break! My official time was 25:10. To be fair, I can't complain, it's still a 22 second PR and I got my first overall award out of it!




My husband wasn't quite so lucky. He missed a PR by about 10 seconds and ended up 9th overall. He did get first in his age group though and he beat Mr. Know-It-All so I didn't have to whip him when we got home!

Overall I'm surprised how it feels to win. It's a little bit hollow. There was no real competition, no last minute sprint to the finish. I don't feel like I really 'earned' this win. Maybe it's just the super-competitive side of me but it honestly just doesn't feel real. I showed my trophy to my mom and then tucked it onto the shelf in the basement and went for a 9 mile run to process what had just happened.

It actually felt a little bit 'better' to lose on Sunday at the Trot for Tots. I was sore and stiff and exhausted after my 12.1 miles the previous day. I went out at 'normal' pace for a 5k and just did my best to maintain. My competitive drive even kicked up a bit at the end and I tried to out-sprint a woman at the end. It didn't work with my dead legs but I tried anyway! And the trying, the really working to beat myself and someone better than me, felt good! Really good! I finished just under 27 minutes and 11th in my age group, a pretty 'slow' time for me now but something I never would have imagined doing a year ago.



All in all, it was a great weekend! And as cliche as it sounds, I'm really glad I finally understand that it's not about 'winning' so much as trying make myself better than I was yesterday. The joy is not in beating everyone else. It really is about beating myself. Whoever would've thought running would make me wax philosophical? Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age!