2008 Owl's Roost Rumble 5k

 Got back a little while ago from running the Owl's Roost Rumble 5k plus. The "plus" is because a 5k is 3.1 miles and the course administrators admit to this being a 3.5 mile stretch.

Owl's Roost is a trail run--lots of dirt and roots and scrabbly rocks on hills. Much fun. I started out too fast and got a small side cramp around mile 2.5, but still managed to come in first in my age group. Won a bright red blanket embroidered with the Owl's Roost logo as a prize.

My biggest joy, however, was talking to a guy after the race that I had passed on the trail at the first hill. He said, "I watched you pass me and thought, 'She's done her hill work.'" Yea!! Tuesday nights spent sweating it out on a half-mile stretch of hill haven't been a waste of time, then.

I'm going to need that hill work come next Saturday. A few of my fellow runners have driven the GSO marathon course and their first words when describing it are, "it's hilly." Short hills, but just continual up/down, up/down. I've never run a long, hilly course so I'm not sure what to expect. We shall see.

And don't forget Saturday is Blair's inaugural half-marathon run! Send him good thoughts on Saturday! It kills me I won't be there to greet him at the finish line. Ill have to find someone and ask them to take photos.

My Husband, The Running God

That's it. Two years ago I trained for my first half-marathon. I spent months running. I built up my miles and endurance, careful not to push too hard or too fast. I worried, fretted, theorized, and told anyone and anything that would stand still and listen my dreams of  making it a full 13.1 miles. The day of the race I planned with more detail than my wedding. I laid out the clothes, the food, and the willpower I would need to see me through this--at the time--incredible feat of distance.

Fast forward to this morning. My running group met and the May 3rd marathoners set out for a 19-mile run. Others ran everything from 6 to 12 miles. Except for Blair. With almost no training, and not having run a step for the past 3 weeks, he pulled in almost 14 miles. No big deal, no fanfare. Just one slow step after another.  "I think I'm ready for the half-marathon" he said as we were driving home. I was too grumpy to answer him.

Actually, I'm really proud. I swear to you, the man has an iron willpower. If he sets his mind to it, it gets done. I wonder if there is any sort of Vulcan-mind transfer we can arrange before May 3rd?

Happy Running.

Yearly Physical

"Get a physical" has been on my New Year's list for about the past 8 years now. 2008 is the year--ta-dah!--I finally get to check that one off.

I had my "yearly" physical today. Everything is a go. Cholesterol was in the mid-range which, while acceptable, surprised me. I expected it to come back low.  My iron is low, but only 1 point below the acceptable range so nothing to be concerned about. Everything else is status quo. (See "What's New?" "Nothing" entry of Wednesday.)

I found a doctor who is also a runner--very important as non-running doctors often tell you to quit running at the first hint of an injury while doctors who run tend to dig deeper and evaluate if there really is a need to stop or slow down on the running.  We chit-chatted about running, races, and PR's during the visit. I like him. He sat with me for at least 30 minutes, if not more, and went over every detail of my bloodwork and family history. I can't remember the last time a doctor spent more than 5 minutes in the same room with me.  Very refreshing.

I couldn't recall the last time I had a tetanus shot so they gave me one today.  Can you say, "Can no longer raise my right arm above shoulder height?" That shot packs a wallop. Hopefully I'll regain use of my limbs by tomorrow. (BTW, a shout-out to my best friend who had a boxing session with her trainer last night. She's so sore today she literally "can't hold a pencil." Productive day at work, Trish?)

Here's to all my reader's health!

Greensboro Marathon - May 3rd

Years ago, Greensboro used to host a marathon. But interest died out and the marathon faded away.

It's back. May 3rd, 2008 will mark the return of the Greensboro marathon. And yours truly has signed up to run in it.

This marathon will be different from my last in that I have much different expectations.  I'm in no way trained for a marathon and 8 weeks is not near enough time to get me there. But my running group from last summer has been e-mailing and about 8 of us have agreed it would be fun to run this marathon together. We're not worried about time or speed. This is just for fun. I fully expect to end up walking part of this marathon and if I finish in 5 or 5 1/2 hours, that's fine.

Even in fun though, we all realize we've got to step up our training just in order to be able to finish the 26.2. So starting next Sunday, we're meeting for long runs each week. We'll start at 10 miles and hopefully work up to at least one 20 mile run.  That part will be fine. It's easy (or easier) to get a run in when I'm surrounded by friends.  The bigger challenge will be upping my weekly mileage.

Right now, I'm running about 20 miles/week. I need to quickly boost that to about 30-35.  That means longer runs and more running days. I talked to Blair last night and told him I wanted to run this marathon but that it would mean more training time. He was supportive. (I know, shocking.) But I'm going to try to fit my runs in during the day so they don't take too much time away from our time in the evenings.

The "real" marathon this year will be Richmond, VA in November. That's the one where I'm gunning for a under 4-hour marathon. Serious training will start in late June.  It will be something of a party as the two guys I run Kiawah with are going and both their wives and many members of their extended family may go and participate in the half-marathon or 8k. Plus several other running friends are going, including one woman from my running group who is aiming for a 4-hour marathon because that would qualify her for Boston. I'd love to have a running partner in a marathon and Pam and I typically run well together, so who knows? But it will be fun seeing at least a handful of people I know on the course.

Time to get running. May 3rd will be here before I know it.