Dallas White Rock Marathon Recap - 26.2 DONE!

I had such a roller coaster of emotions this weekend. It's hard to put it all into words, but I will try to highlight the memorable moments.

1. I narrowly missed getting hit by a car that ran a red light while driving back from the expo. It literally was by inches. It was on my side and I was somehow, by the grace of God, able to swerve enough to avoid impact. I would have surely been hurt badly, covered with glass and my car would have been destroyed or at least not operable for the rest of the weekend. Not a way to start off race weekend.

2. Inspiration dinner: I was already starting off this week overly emotional, when I get to the dinner we listen to the staff speak and have some laughs about race day prep, then we get to here a mission moment. This was definitely a memorable mission moment for me. It was about a little boy named Bennett. He was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was just 10 months old. He is now 18 months and his mother showed us all the beads he has earned from all that he has endured. He had 4 strands of beads and each one represented something that he went through, 75 beads for how many sticks with needles, 12 beads for overnight stays in the hospital, 8 beads for rounds of chemo, 7 beads for never complaining, etc. There were 4. FULL. STRANDS of these. I can't recall all the meanings and the numbers of each, but I, at that moment, cried. I wept for that little boy and all that he has gone through. I remembered my youngest son Dalton at that age and it made my heart ache with pain for Bennett. I am drying my eyes as I am typing this. His parents formed a team in his honor and between 3 people raised over $60,000 for Bennett's Buddies! It was so incredibly inspiring to me!

Me and my best friend in the whole world

COACH Jessica and me - red carpet

Katie and me

Dann and Jennifer

David  and Leslie

3. What to wear: The forecast called for 90% chance of rain, well, there was no optimistic 10% chance. Nada, it was an all out rain day. So, we had to dress for what we were going to get. This caused tremendous stress for me. Oh dear Lord, it caused me stress! I am always a minimalist when it comes to running gear. Last year I wore TNT shirt, arm sleeves and a skirt, a trash bag to keep warm at the beginning. This year it was, tights, TNT shirt, arm sleeves, gloves, hat, ear warmers, hand warmers and a rain proof jacket. I also put on a rain poncho that they were giving away at the start. I struggled with wear to pin my bib, would I get hot and have to shed the jacket? Should I wear my TNT shirt on top of my jacket (I did try that, it wasn't working out), should I pin my bib to my new jacket and leave pin holes? Oh. THE. HUMANITY! I just didn't know what to do! Seriously, I NEVER have so much trouble with what to wear. I ended up wearing the jacket the whole time and my bib on my shirt. That's just how it had to be. So, I didn't get to represent with too much purple. I did have on a purple TNT ear warmer over my hat and purple gloves and you could see the purple peak out of my jacket. Next, rain proof gloves would be nice and rain proof shoes!

4. Pre-race: We stayed at the Crown Plaza and were pretty well rested. Got up at 5, had a nice pre-race oatmeal and a banana. Then we met in the lobby at 6:15 to take the Dart rail to Fair Park. I saw a lot of our team in the lobby. You could feel the nervous jitters in the air. We were about to embark on a journey together, rain or shine, or in our case, rain and rain!

Josh and Eric - my fellow 26.2ers! First timers!

Nicole and Danielle

Katie, Tina and Andy

COACH Jessica, Serene and Me

Me and my partner in crime, Roy

Once we got to Fair Park, we checked in with the TNT tent and then headed to bag check. After that we settled in at the Automobile building to stay warm. The rain really hadn't started yet. There we waited. When it was finally time to go we headed for the corrals. We were supposed to be in D3, we stopped at the port-a-potties one last time and then we realized there was no way to get in the corrals, so we had to go all the way to the end and go through the gate. There were only a few ways in and we missed the closer point. There were 2 chain link fences to get through and only a few openings, oh well, we ended up way at the end, closer to the end of E corral, which is dead last. Oh well, here we go! We crossed the start at 8:35, so it really wasn't too bad.

4. We started off with a pretty good pace, I was trying to hold myself back a lot, I don't need a PR on the half, just steady pace is what I needed. I think the minute we started, here comes the rain, of course it is! I won't bore you with the whole 26.2 miles, but the gist is miles 1-11, felt pretty good, kept steady, good mood. Miles 12-20, I hated this part, I really did! This was all around the lake. There were not many people there cheering anyone on. It was gray, cold, raining and getting depressing. I was starting to get irritated by little things. I come upon this guy who is skipping. THIS just made me mad. I thought he was treating it like a joke for a minute and then we overheard someone say he was trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for skipping a marathon in less than 6 hours! Hey, whatever rows your boat, right?! That made me less annoyed when I heard that, even more so when I ran past him. Mile 14ish, I see a light at the end of the tunnel, It's Meg!!! Oh, how I wanted to see Meg. It was like the dark clouds lifted and this smiling face came and lit up the world for a few minutes. I guess I was in a dark place. Did I mention that I really hated the lake?! When we rounded about mile 19, there was another ray of light, it was David Burdette!!! Yay, I am getting more pep in my step. Then we hit the Dolly Parton hills. Oh forget about trying to run that! I was going to save my energy and just walk fast up those. I see another happy face, little Landon!!!! Oh how much I just adore all those Burdettes!

5. Mile 22: Ok, I am not sure I hit a wall,but I did get overwhelmed by my emotions and cried. I don't know why I cried, it felt better to do it. I didn't want to run, I just wanted to walk, I didn't want to quit at all, but I just wanted to be warm and dry. My feet were killing me, my heel was bleeding, I had some cut on my heel since mile 7 and it was just raw. I told Roy to tell me some jokes, he couldn't come up with anything. Note to self, Roy is not good at stand-up. AT. ALL. It was hard to keep going, but I reminded myself, It's not chemo, it's not chemo, it's not chemo. I did come to a realization though. Running a marathon is just like childbirth, it hurts like hell when you are doing it, but the rewards you reap from it are immeasurable. You forget the pain and then you want to do it all over again! So for anyone that has done natural childbirth, mile 22 is exactly like being at a 7 during transition!

6. Mile 24: I think I started getting a 2nd wind. I was seeing the end, I was away from that dang lake and there was more crowd support. It really means a lot to see people standing in the rain willing you to continue on. Cheering for you to not give up and you can do it. Those words give great comfort. I do have to add that seeing our team out there cheering us on at various points meant a lot to me. Albert, in particular, was by the lake and I ran up to him and gave him a big hug. I really needed to see him there!

7. The finish line: I finally arrived, despite all the obstacles, the rain, the pain, the tears, the cold, the watch dying, I came around the chute and I see our TNT family elite runner, Tony Collins, standing there and he is cheering "Go Ponders, Go!". I was got huge tears welling up in my eyes to see that bright yellow finish line coming closer and closer and people are screaming and cheering. So hand in hand, Roy and I crossed the finish line together. He was my rock and I know that quitting would have been easy without him by my side, cheering me on, giving me the sheer will to finish. Again, just like labor, he was right there rubbing my back and telling me how proud he was of me and that I could do it.

If you have read this far, you must really like me ;) I know it was long, but there was so much I had to share. I want to thank you all for all your support, love, admiration and donations during my Team in Training Winter season. It was hard and it hurt like hell, but I will be back next winter to do it all again!!!

13.1 Series Dallas - Race Recap

I didn't get a chance to update last weekend. So I will try my best to recap the 13.1 Series Dallas. This was the Inaugural race for Dallas. It started at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in the Dallas Art's District. It was a beautiful venue to run out of. Great sponsors, lots of cool freebies AND a red carpet!!!

I actually did something that I have never done today. I ran a race with my husband by my side! I never thought that would happen. He is a much faster runner that I am, but, he slowed down to my pace for the race. We will be running the White Rock Marathon together, so, I thought we should probably see if we can stand each other through a half marathon. Right?! Well, we did and it was great! He pushed me when I needed it and kept me on pace for my goal time.

I finally chased the elusive PR! I have run 4 half marathons since my PR of 2:38, I have chased it. It has been relentless. I just could not seem to break that number. It haunted me, it beckoned me to beat it if I could, but no. Not until this race that is!!! I ran the race in a record breaking, for me that is, 2:30!!! Now if I can keep that same pace for WR full, I will hit my 5 hour marathon goal too!!!

It was also pretty neat too, because it was the first race for two of my TNT teammates that are training for full marathons. To see their excitement and enthusiasm for their first major races was priceless. So a shout out goes to Eric Thornton and Andy Rose for completing your first half marathons, in damn good times too!!!

As far as the race goes; it was very well organized, well sponsored, well supported on the course, they even had strawberries about mile 8. I really liked the course. It was fast and flat, except for the last 2 miles. That was ONE long hill! Overall, I give it a big thumbs up and I will definitely run the course again next year!!!

Another GREAT race with GREAT friends!!!

Double digit territory

Well, it is finally here, the 10 miler day! Few have crossed these miles before today, so it's kind of exciting to share them with the newest of runners. The TNT 10 mile run is probably one of the hardest that we will run in a season. As you can see my the elevation map, it's NOT a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. Oh sure, we could always have run the 5 mile route two times, but what fun is that!?

It will only go up from here, mileage-wise, so time to buckle down and keep my eye on the prize. The big picture is a PR at White Rock. A PR at 13.1 would be super too! It's not all about speed and time for me, but about improvement. I want to reach my goals and keep surpassing them. I guess that is the benefit to starting off as a slower runner, there are many opportunities for PRs in your future. Where as you go out and run a really super fast race, you might not be able to improve upon that time each race you do. I just don't want to go backwards. I have averaged more runs in the 10/min mile range than the 12/min mile range, so yep, lots of improvement. My approaching half marathon is getting me really excited. I am super excited about the cool new tech shirt, of course the new bling is exciting and I get to start at the art's district and run through all the pretty parts of downtown Dallas. Race day makes me happy. It is exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. But such a rush! THAT, my friends, is why I keep coming back for more.

45 days to White Rock Marathon and many more miles to go. Next week we will be running 14. Bring it!

I need a support group, I am an addict

Yes, it is official folks, I am a running junkie. I don't know the cure to what ails me other than lacing up my kicks and hitting the pavement. I haven't even finished one season of Team in Training when I sign up for another one. What am I nuts?! Good grief. I must mention that I am very susceptible to peer pressure. Everybody's doing it, so that makes me just jump on the bandwagon and sign up again. Mind you I LOVE TNT and I am very happy to get a chance to run with the team for another event, but I also committed to fundraising again too. No pressure there! I know, it's not that much to raise at all and I shouldn't worry, but I always do, just a little until my tank is full!

I have my season mapped out until June next year. Not as full as last year, but this season I am focusing more on quality than quantity. It can't always just be about the bling, right? So here's what I got...

Oct. 22nd - 13.1 Series Dallas
Dec. 4th - Dallas White Rock Marathon
Feb. 19th - Livestrong Austin
March 25th - RNR Dallas
June 3rd - RNR San Diego

I didn't go as crazy as last year. I did an event a month for 6 months. It was TOO much. I wanted to space them out a little this time. So here we are! That is just up until summer, then of course, the winter season starts again and I can't NOT do a winter season of TNT. Maybe I should do Disney or Latin? Decisions, decisions. In due time though.

Run, run as fast I can...

I have never been a fast runner at all. Even the setting on my Garmin classified my once normal pace as a "Slow Jog" (this is anything from 11:00-14:00 minutes per mile). Lately I have been running around 8:30-11:00...the Garmin says that between 9:00-12:00 minutes per mile is a "Jog"! So, yay, I've graduated to a jogger! Maybe I will make it up to a "Fast Jog" someday...that is 8:00-10:00 minutes per mile! As least they can't call me a turtle anymore :) All I can say is, speed work is your friend! I am seeing some PRs in my future.

What a difference a year makes

Today marks a very special day for me in running. It is the day that I have crossed 1,000 miles. I have run 1,000 miles with my my two feet, my creaky knees and my once-upon-a-time smoker lungs! I never in a million years thought I would ever be a runner. I HATED, LOATHED, DESPISED running, more than probably anything. I remember in High School wanting my mom to write me a note to slack off in PE because I didn't want to do it. So how on earth did I become a marathon runner?! If it weren't for that fateful day back in the summer of 2009, being dragged kicking and screaming to an information meeting for Team in Training about running a relay leg of a marathon, I would probably still hate it!

I have the bug, I have a new lease on life, I LOVE TO RUN. All because I bought some running shoes and I TRIED! It is funny how things happen in life. I have begun a journey into health, wellness and overall fitness. If I never stumbled onto running, would I be there now?

When I started running back in 2009, I was SLOW, turtle slow. I ran about a 14 minute pace...gradually getting to about a 13 minute pace. It was hard, my lungs hurt, my knees hurt, my body ached after long runs. Stairs were a formidable foe! Over time, running got easier, it got to be joyous. I looked forward to getting up at the wee hours, strapping on my Camelback belt, getting my shoes laced up and my iPod playlist run worthy. It became, my thing! I never really had a thing before. Someone once asked me what I was passionate about. At the time, there was nothing there to answer that question. I loved to paint, draw, write poetry etc. but was it my "passion"? It really wasn't, not anymore. Something about being in the creative field for a profession, it takes that passion part out of it if you do it everyday for work.

Now, 8 half marathons and a marathon later, I think I can safely say, I AM A RUNNER hear me roar! I believe I will do this the rest of my life, as long as I have the ability to do this! I can see Roy and I growing old together running marathons in our retirement all over the world. That makes me smile just thinking about it :)

So back to today, I not only ran my 1,000th mile, I also ran the fastest 8 mile run I have ever run! It was a GREAT run today! I was doing a happy dance. My heart rate was perfect, I was chatty Cathy the whole time and my breathing wasn't seriously labored at all and my legs felt like I hit this wonderful stride that I haven't quite hit before. I powered up 3 really big hills and didn't skip a beat!!! I looked back at my pace from one year ago on an 8 mile run and I ran 8 in 1:48 at 13:30 pace! Today I ran 8 in 1:25 at 10:43 pace! What a difference a year makes!

I am really getting excited about my upcoming half marathon in October...I feel a PR coming!!! Also, I really think if I can keep up the trend of speeding up my pace, my marathon goal time is very much in my reach. Goal time is 5 hours or less. My marathon time was 5:42, so that is dropping a lot of time, but I am ready! Bring it!!!

Another cause for celebration this day is hitting my fundraising goal this week! I have officially raised all the funds I need to participate in White Rock Marathon. Woo hoo! Happy dance, happy dance, happy dance...

Daily mantra: I can't be stopped!!!
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1 hr 25 min 45 secs
Average pace: 10:43 min/miles
Route: TNT 8 Mile
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 4
Calories: 1112

Lannie's Ladies Take 4

Another cause that is close to my heart is the NOCC, which is the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. I became acquainted with this cause after a dear friend of mine, Lannie told us she had ovarian cancer. Luckily it was detected in the earlier stages, they were able to do a hysterectomy and remove all the cancer. She was one of the lucky ones!

This is our group, we are the Lannie's Ladies!

Now on to the race recap. This was the 4th year we have done this race so we had a lot of expectations that it would be similar to the past year's event. They changed the venue and a lot of the sponsors pulled out or didn't renew. I am not sure what exactly happened this year, but balls were dropped. We all signed up to the 5k event. In the past it was all the same. The runners could run and the walkers started right behind them. Well, this apparently they only wanted to runners to do the 5k. If you chose to sign up to walk, you were only supposed to do the 1.5 mile course. Well, none of our group got that memo, they all went in expecting to do the 5k. They let the walkers start after the runners were on the course for a good 15-20 minutes. It was a a loop that you had to do 5 times. On my 3rd lap, they were still standing there waving me on. So when I finished my run, which was incidentally 3.39 miles, not 3.1, they started the festivities shortly after that. 

All the survivors were gathered on the stage and celebrated. It was a touching moment, however, there was one glaring omission, Lannie was still on the course, trying to complete her 5k. So when she came through on another loop, she saw the large crowd and realized that she was late. I had to break it to her that it was over. She was so hurt. My heart hurt FOR her. We are all there for this most amazing, wonderful woman who survived cancer. She kicked cancer's ass and she wanted her place on the stage. So of course Terie and myself had to do something and sought out the race director to right this wrong. She felt awful and said they could get all the survivors to re-gather on the stage AFTER all the door prizes and awards for runners were passed out. By this point, Lannie and all the ladies were just over it. Feeling dejected we all gathered ourselves and headed to the nearest Cracker Barrel. This has become a tradition, every year we run or walk for Lannie and reward ourselves with Cracker Barrel.

So at the end of the day, it was not the best race experience, but the point was still the same. We gathered around a friend that we adore and we rally, because we are happy she is alive and I will walk, run, hike, bike, row, ski, hop on one foot, whatever she wanted us to do, to show that we honor her and how much of a bad ass diva she is for kicking cancer's ass! Go Lannie, Go!

Now I want to share some important facts with you about Ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer has very vague symptoms, it is important as a woman to make yourself familiar with them. It could save your life some day!

Here is a list of the symptoms, please pass them on...

• Bloating
• Trouble eating or feeling full quickly
• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Feeling the need to urinate urgently or often

Other symptoms of ovarian cancer can include:

• Fatigue
• Upset stomach stomach or heartburn
• Back pain
• Pain during sex
• Constipation
• Menstrual changes

Ovarian cancer risk factors:

• Genetic predisposition
• Personal or family history of breast, ovarian or colon cancer
• Increasing age
• Undesired infertility

Facts

• All women are at risk
• Symptoms exist - they can be vague, but increase over time
• Early detection increases survival rate
• A Pap Test DOES NOT detect ovarian cancer

For more information, please go to www.ovarian.org and help break the silence!

The start of a great Winter season!

I am so excited to start running with Team in Training again!!! I missed it. I really felt out of the loop a bit. There is just something magical that occurs at 6:30am on Saturday. A group of strangers come together, they enter into a commitment together with one sole uniting purpose...to raise money for cancer! They are never strangers for long, a family of purple people come together and do some amazing feats. This will be my third season with Team in Training and there is a reason that I keep coming back! It is truly spellbinding to see the dedication, heart and soul in people that want to do something good in the world. When it's 105 degrees outside, we train. When it's 14 degrees outside, we train. What we are doing REALLY does make a difference in the lives of patients with blood cancers. One of the honored heroes that spoke at kickoff said her oncologist told her that there would be a cure in her lifetime! How much more encouragement to run can you get than that?!!! That is why I get up at 5:30 every Saturday for 4 months of my life...so I will hear one day that cancer has been eradicated, blasted, eliminated, expelled, CURED! Why do I run? Because cancer SUCKS!

Check out the group of strangers that will be one big family in a few shorts weeks!

GO TEAM!!!

Oh no, I hated the shoes! Really?!

I know it's hard to believe after my last post. I had a brief love affair that ended after 2 miles and one rather large, annoying blister on my little toe! I guess you never really know a shoe until you run in it! That is why you should try them out on your treadmill before you commit. I promptly took them back to Run On after I slid them on and was going to take a second run in them. My feet were like, hell no, get those off me. My toe immediately began to scream at me, hello, you have a blister the size of Montana over here! I didn't realize it until I put them on. Alas, back to the Asics for that run. No pain at all.

So I got the other shoes that I was waffling back and forth about, the Brooks Ravenna 2. I have heard so many great things about Brooks and I am test running these now. I think I like them, I just ran a quick 2 in them and they felt GREAT! We shall see!

Oh how I love the smell of new running shoes!

There is one magically thing about running season...NEW RUNNING SHOES. You go into to the sports logo illuminated running store and breathe in the smell of rubber and synthetic nylon. There is something about all that that makes your head swirl, in a good way! It's magic when you try on that one running shoe that makes your foot squeal with delight! I found a shoe today that I think fit all that I wanted and needed in a shoe. It's the Saucony Progrid Guide 4. They hugged my feet when I put them on and it was love at first step. I went in to the store in hopes that I would fall in love with the Brooks shoe, but after trying them on, I wasn't smitten by them...I just wasn't feeling it all. I have many runner friends that swear by them...but your foot knows best...right?! I am giving this glowing review, maybe prematurely, as I have yet to run a mile in them. But, I do think I know a good thing when I find it ;)

The Winter Season is upon us (you wouldn't know it)

I took a little time off from my running to renew and rejuvenate myself. I swam, I biked, did lots of classes and just gave my legs a rest from running for a little while. Now I am raring to go again. I have charted out my race season and am stepping out of my comfort zone, a lot, I plan on signing up for a half Ironman that will be in April! Holy smokes, I can't believe I just wrote that. I am going to delve in the triathlon circuit, hopefully it doesn't kill me ;)

I am taking on the challenge again of raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team in Training this winter. This is a cause that has become near and dear to my heart. I haven't personally been affected by blood cancer, but I have lost both my grandparents and countless friends to other forms of cancer. If they can find a cure for blood cancers, it will help to fight all types of cancer!

I have become a stronger, healthier, more fit than I have ever been in my life. I owe my renewed rejuvenation for good health and wellness, solely to TNT. Had I not gone to that first info meeting, I would surely still be sporting the baby weight from 2 kids. Now apart from physical fitness, I have a renewed faith in humanity. I know that people will be there to support me in my cause. I know that I have a new passion to do something that helps others and makes me truly happy in the process. Who doesn't want that?! I have fuzzy good feelings all the time, just knowing what I am doing will enrich someones life immensely!

You would hardly know that it's the winter team when it's 110 degrees outside, but, it actually is. I am so excited training will kick off August 20th. I will be a mentor again, so I can teach people everything I know and help them along their journey as well. I am going to run the 26.2 mile White Rock MARATHON this time. I have only run half marathons for TNT thus far. I know everyone KNOWS I can run a half, but I want to prove I can run another full AND shave off 43 minutes of my time. That's my "goal" anyway ;)

I successfully raised, with the help of a lot of people, $4,352.47 in the two seasons that I have been a participant. I intend to raise $1,500 more this season, with some more help!

If you want to donate to my cause, I will give you a few reasons why you may want to:

1. 100% of every dollar goes to LLS; this helps finds cures and better treatment options for Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma.

2. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20.

3. There are an estimated 957,902 people in the United States that are living with or are in remission from, leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myleoma.

4. Every 4 minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies.

Check out my fundraising page...
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntxok/Whiterck11/cponderhdp

Another half down ~ Austin Livestrong Half Marathon

Let me start by saying that I was very excited about this race in particular for many reasons. First, I was going to be running the third event to achieve my "Marathons of Texas" medal.

Secondly, I was going to stay with my really good friend, Stacy, that I just adore, that I haven't seen in about 5 years.

Thirdly, I LOVE Austin. If I could pack up and move anywhere, I think it would be Austin for sure. It is such a great city, the food, the sights, the people, just the overall atmosphere of Austin has always sparked something in me.

Fourthly, I was going to run with my friend Leslie. It was so much better that I had her to run with. She pushed me through when I needed a push the most!!!

Now that you know why I was excited to run this, let's get into the race. Lord O mighty, I will start with that. It was HARD, really hard. It was not 40 degrees like it was predicted to be, it was HUMID and pretty windy. Not what you want on race day. The first 3 miles were uphill. THREE miles....uphill!!! Then there were some downhills, but more giant uphills.

When I read the course description, I should have been alarmed then, but I shrugged it off. It surely couldn't be THAT bad, right?!

I will write some of what the spectator guide said:

The (REALLY) BIG ONE (mile 11.8)
15th and West sits at the top of possibly the toughest hill of the day. Yeah, really? This is a good place to line the course with loud, positive support, and even coach a bit, telling runners to keep their heads up, keep their hips under them, and to move those arms. Yeah, that worked out real well! DO NOT tell them it's the last hill - they've got a couple more to go in the LAST mile. That's right, they saved the BEST hill for LAST!

I almost had to laugh while CLIMBING That mountain. It was just comical really to see everyone TRY and run. I attempted and just walked it. There was no point in burning all my energy, when I KNEW there was worse to come!

Skip ahead to the next one:

The (OTHER) BIG ONE (mile 12.7)
At Westover, the marathoners have crested a FAIRLY MASSIVE hill, and have nearly closed out what is, in terms of hills, the toughest portion of the course. At this point you could not even see the street at the top of the hill!!!

After getting past these grueling hills, the end was near! I couldn't have been more relieved to see the finish line that day!!! The race was tough, it was worse than Tyler with the hills, but fortunately it didn't beat my body up like Tyler did. I had hip pain for weeks after that race!

After weaving through the giant line of baggage check to get to the shirt tent (which was all the way on the very end of the chute) and watching a man collapse behind us and need immediate medical attention, I was ready to get the heck out of there. This happened to be the second one I saw that day. There was a man right after the last big hill that I heard stopped breathing and was given CPR by a passing runner. He seemed to be stable when I came across him, but that shook me a little. I am sure he must have tried to power up the hill and over exerted himself. I wonder how many others collapsed that day. It had to have been because of the difficulty of the course and the higher temperatures.

After the race, my friend Stacy tooted us around town to see some sights, we even did a little light hiking.


Overall, was it a race that I would do again? YES, I would and I will run it again, probably next year!

Want to run 2011 NYC Half-Marathon March 20th?

Looking for another spring event to run? Want a new cause to be a part of? The Fresh Air Fund is looking for runners and sponsors to join their Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Half-Marathon on March 20th. This is a great way to participate in NYC's premier race while helping Fresh Air Fund children. Check out the website for more details :http://freshair.org/racers

Ready to be a part of one of the world's best road races? Join The Fresh Air Fund-Racers on March 20th, 2011! The amazing 13.1-mile course takes you through beautiful Central Park, action-packed Times Square and ends with breathtaking finish-line views of the New York City harbor. More than 11,000 runners, of all ages and abilities, finished the NYC Half-Marathon last year, and they are so proud of their very own 2010 Fresh Air Fund-Racers who ran and raised $100,000 for the cause!

They are calling all runners and Fresh Air Fund supporters to come out and either challenge themselves to run the race or join our cheering squad. The Fresh Air Fund provides runners with guaranteed entry in exchange for fundraising before race day. Entries are limited - please get in touch soon! Please email kbrinkerhoff@freshair.org or call (212) 897-8890. Or click here to learn more about how to fundraise for the race!

Over the past four years as a NY Road Runners charity partner for the NYC Half-Marathon, our 335 Fund-Racers have raised close to $400,000 for The Fresh Air Fund!

2 Halfs down, 2 to go ~ Amarco Houston Half Recap

Amarco Houston Half Marathon ~ This had to be one race with the most drama involved. First of all, usually when you want to run an event, you just go online and pay for it and bam you are registered. Not so fast, Houston happens to be tremendously popular, too popular. Last year the race sold out in 2 days and there were thousands of unhappy people and locals that were not able to run it...so to alleviate all that, they chose to institute a lottery system. You had to go online, register and pay, then WAIT. Well, Roy and I happened to be lucky enough to WIN the lottery and get to run the race. This was poo pooed on by a lot of the running community, however, irritating it might have been at the time, we got in in August!

Flash forward to the week of the race in January. Houston is usually pretty mild and in the 40s-50s typically with low humidity. Well, just so happened that a front was coming in...it was supposed to hit sometime before the race or during. There was constant updates from the race with weather warnings with a flag system and a contingency plan in place. There was chatter about starting the race late, possibly stopping the race during bad weather and restarting, a lot of stuff to worry about. They were trying to plan in case of lightning. Well, as luck would have it, the rain held off until the race started. The first mile, it started, fortunately there was no lightning, just a light drizzle and 96% humidity and temps in the 60s. These are not optimal conditions for a PR. I know, it sounds like I am building up for all the excuses why my race sucked, well, maybe I am, a little. I ran the race, I finished the race. It wasn't a great race. I was miserable really, I was hot, it was hard to breathe and I was drenched. Good times.

Well, the one highlights of the race was seeing signs every mile for a man named Geoff. Geoff was running the full marathon and he had some really cool and witty friends. They stayed up until 2am making signs with his face on each one with a cool saying. Here are all the signs:

• 1. • Lookin' good! (So far. …)
• 2. • Adrenaline got you this far. All guts from here!
• 3. • Seriously, who fartleked?
• 4. • It's all uphill from here.
• 5. • Runner X-ing
• 6. • You're not slow, you're enjoying the course.
• 7. • Relax. You're not going to win.
• 8. • I love the smell of 22,000 runners in the morning.
• 9. • 26.2, because 26.3 would be CRAZY!
• 10. • When Chuck Norris hits walls, they fall down.
• 11. • Johnny Knoxville wouldn't even do this to himself.
• 12. • Only 5.3 miles to finish! (if you take the most direct route)
• 13. • You're already a winner. You won the lottery to get here.
• 14. • Nobody to blame but yourself.
• 15. • Toenails were made to fall off.
• 16. • If you were a Kenyan, you'd be done by now.
• 17. • Shirt, how do thou chafe me? Let me count the ways. ...
• 18. • You paid $115 for this?
• 19. • Sweating = fat cells crying.
• 20. • Your training runs ended here.
• 21. • At this point, it will hurt just as much to walk.
• 22. • Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall you just hit.
• 23. • Graveyard ahead. Look alive.
• 24. • Give me a high five!
• 25. • If pain is temporary, why does this feel like an eternity?
• 26. • Congratulations!!!! Almost. …

I of course, only saw them until mile 9, that was the split for the half...but I loved them. I wish I had HIS friends!!! They really kept everyone going. They were hilarious!

Well, there was not a PR at this race. I knew I wouldn't PR from the start of the day. I just felt "off". Anyway, I came, I ran, I conquered! NEXT...

2 Halfs down, 2 to go ~ White Rock Recap

It has been since SA full that I updated last. I hate that, I get busy with life and the kids and I lose my momentum to keep blogging. Well, I didn't update after 2 races I recently did, so I guess I will sum them up now.

White Rock Half Marathon ~ This was my Team in Training event. It was freezing that morning and the waves took forever. We were huddled up in our corrals. I was sporting a very attractive trash bag before the start. I know, sexy huh?! We finally crossed the start at 8:55...55 minutes after the first group...yep, we were WAY back in the pack. There were supposed to have been 3-4 more corrals BEHIND us, well, they didn't exist so all those folks ended up in my stall...probably ahead of me and my comrades. I was blessed to run with my friend Leslie and Alison. It was Alison's first event ever! I was proud I could run it with her. She was a trooper!

It took awhile to warm up, but after about 3-4 miles, we were sweating, so we were A-OK. The course was great, it was FLAT, FLAT and more flat! My training runs have more hills usually, so it was quite surprising to not see any hills at all. We ran a steady pace and trucked on through all the way to the end. Finished 2:40. Wasn't a PR, but eh, they can't all be! It was a slow start with all those folks bottlenecking at the beginning, I really attributed the delay to that. It was such a good feeling to have my friends running with me. I have gotten too slow for the people I used to run with all the time. So it was nice to have someone to talk to along the way. Sometimes it is nice to just have someone running beside you. We crossed the line together, were whisked in the building to get finisher shirts, pictures and our cool medals! Gotta love the bling. Of course we had to have the celebratory beers. Cheers ladies!