The Fun of Living in a Small Town

Every now and again I'm reminded how much I enjoy living in my little (pop. 2500) town of Madison. I like the Airport Drive In that still has the panelled wood and starburst clock decor of the early 70's, combined with food that is served on wax paper instead of plates and waitresses that are as likely to slide into the booth next to you to take your order versus stand at the table. 

I like the insurance company that posts cheesy sayings on its sign board, the funniest of which has been, "We offer prices so low they'll make you want to smack your momma."

And I loved the "battle" earlier this spring between the insurance guy and Case Auto Center, a used car dealership. Randy Case's mother-in-law had found a momma cat and kittens and was feeding them, so Randy had his dealership sign read, "Free Kitten With Purchase of Used Car!"

Then the insurance guy decided to get in on it and changed his sign to read, "We'll give a free kitten to Randy Case with every policy sold!"

Randy countered with, "The Kittens are Gone. We gave them all to XXX Insurance Agency in the middle of the night." 

The Insurance guy came back with, "The kittens are gone. Now how do we get rid of Randy?"

They carried on for weeks. It was hysterical. 

I like that my neighbors held a meeting last Thursday night and we decided to hold a neighborhood yard sale in October, with most of the proceeds going to the retired minister up the street who traps feral cats and pays out of his own pocket to have them spayed or neutered. 

And i like that if two people stand out on my street talking, they will soon be joined by a third, then fourth, and it doesn't take long before 4-5 houses of neighbors are standing outside chatting in the evening, surrounded by all our dogs and cats.

Cheers to small town living.

30K: The After

Killed it. K-I-L-L-E-D it. Very pleased. Turned in a 2:48:17 time (by my watch-formal results not yet posted), which is about 9 minutes faster than last year's time. Plus--and this is huge--I was in such better shape after the race this year as compared to last year. Last year (as longtime readers might recall) was the infamous "Drink orange soda and lived to regret it" day. I also cramped up after the race last year and lay in the car moaning on the way home. This year, I walked around after the race, got some nutrition (1/2 an orange, 1/2 a banana, 1/4 of a monster bagel, and 2 Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts--Yeah. I can eat) and managed to drive myself home with no incident. Blair had gum surgery yesterday and decided, understandably, to stay home.

I couldn't have asked for a better race day. Sunny, with temps still at 68 degrees by noon. I ran the race with my friend Dave, my Wednesday morning trail running partner. Dave had a rough run, with the arthritis in his knee giving him major grief, but he hung with me the entire way for which I am eternally grateful. Very helpful to pace with someone.

My pace averaged a 9:03/mile. I need to hold a 9:09 to run a four-hour marathon. Can I hold the pace another 6+ miles? I'm not sure. The biggest problem is my back. Come about mile 14, it just aches non-stop, like someone is using a crowbar in an attempt to remove my lower spine. Makes me want to stop and curl into the fetal position. I've vowed to devote the next 6 weeks to abdominal work, in the hopes of easing the pain in Richmond.

Legs and breath did okay. Better than okay--great, actually. But here's the tough part about running. I felt good today, and never came near the "I've got to stop, I can't go on" place. Yet with every step my mind says, "Quit, quit, quit. Stop, stop, stop." Even when strong, I want to stop because... it would feel better. The trick is to distract the mind and hope the miles slide by unnoticed.

Everyone in my group appears to have had a great run, with several people PR'ing (Personal Records). It's a relief to know I made my goal today, and comforting to think I still have 6 weeks of training to get even stronger before my race. 

BTW, the photo here is my PACE TATTOO. Temporary tattoo that allows me to make sure I'm on pace, Why is this necessary? Because I lose the ability to do simple math after about mile 4.

This has been your annual weekend running update. =)

30K: The Before

 It's just before 6 am on Saturday and I'm almost ready to drive to Winston-Salem for the Salem Lake 30K. Thought it might be fun to do a "Before" and "After" blog of the race. Here's the before. I feel ready, but a little concerned as I don't seem to mentally be in the game. I'm hoping adrenaline and my competitive spirit kicks in at the start line or--better yet--around mile 12.  I'm not sure if I can hold my desired 9:09 pace, yet I don't feel that concerned if I don't hold it. (For the record, I consider this a bad thing.) I have a slight twinge behind my left knee that I'm hoping doesn't turn into anything. Other than that, I've got my pace chart, watch, Runner's ID, and Gu. Time to load up the car and go. I've aiming for a 2:50:38 finish. We'll see!

Aaarghhh & Ahoy! Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

I've got the radio on and the two DJs are falling over themselves in their efforts to one up each other in their pirate talk. In case you weren't aware, today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Be sure and throw out a "Ahoy matey" whenever you feel it's appropriate.

The brain is bouncing this morning. A lot going on. Could it be time for one of my lists? Arrrgh, I believe so.

• Tomorrow is the Salem Lake 30K (18.6 miles) race. I'm testing my marathon readiness by attempting to hold my marathon pace of 9:09/mile. Feeling a little unsure. I also have barely put any mileage in this week, adding guilt to the mix.
  
• My agent (that just doesn't get old) e-mailed and asked that I update my website with the new book info and her contact information. Seems to make it more "real" somehow.
• I was one of 7 finalists for the cat blogger position on www.catster.com. I didn't get it, and am more than a little bummed about that.
• SO MUCH writing to do. Yesterday I started compiling a quiz for the cat book and even though it's a parody, I'm still structuring the quiz so people can take it for the their cats and get "real" results, which is requiring a whole lot more coordination than I had anticipated. Also need to find time this weekend to rough out an article for Rally to Rescue magazine. I spent this week interviewing 7 different people and would prefer to write while their comments are fresh in my mind.
• Laundry, laundry, and more laundry.
• Money. I'm owed it. Time to send some reminder e-mails to clients. 
• Library. I have nothing to read at night and am close to clawing my eyes out.

That's the main stuff. I've got details like website updates and workshop planning floating around on the back burner. But today is a WRITING day. All day. So I can sink into bed tonight and collapse after my run tomorrow feeling that I'm ahead of the game.

Happy (talk like a pirate) Friday.