Chugga Chugga Choo Choo...

The Steamtown Marathon...a race I've been planning for more than a year now, first discovered when I made it my mission to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  Ahh, the hours spent strategizing, planning, training.  And now it's in the books for this year.

Steamtown (so named because it takes place in Scranton, PA...the center of the U.S. for steam locamotives) is a fast, downhill, point-to-point course.  Don't mistake that to mean it is easy - far from it.  It's one of the toughest marathons I've completed.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Before April 2013, I never had any designs on qualifying for Boston.  Not even a consideration.  Then the unthinkable happened.  I finished a half marathon that positioned me as fast enough to qualify for the big show.  Holy.  It changed my outlook and my running goals.  I was looking forward to a fall marathon that year that would cement my space on race day in 2014.  But, a month later I found out I was pregnant and it shelved the previously unreachable goal.

So, I spent the next two years dreaming, thinking, working.  Trying to rebuild the strength and speed I had before Baby K came.  And, earlier this year, I click the magical "register" button for the Steamtown Marathon - known for a field that qualifies 20% of its finishers annually.  I knew early on that this was not going to be the year I qualified on Steamtown, so I simply set my sights on running the course to become familiar with it and understand how to plan my training for the 2016 race.

First off, Scranton was beautiful.  Tucked up in the Poconos, with wildly changing leaves bursting with fall color, the scenery was just what my soul needed.  It relaxed me.  It allowed me to channel strength and happiness into thinking about the race.

On race morning, the temperatures were 10 degrees cooler than the forecast showed.  Brrr.  But I didn't change my clothing plans.  I wouldn't have to go outside until just before the start of the race.

Boarding the buses to the start line at 5:30 am, I sat back and listened to the runners chatting around me for the 45 minute drive up to the start line in Forest City.  I never really listened to the runners around me before.  Probably because I usually get my own ride to the start of the course.  It was 45 minutes of listening to the running credentials of the fifteen people closest to me on the bus.  It's actually pretty annoying.  Please slap me if I do that....I'm not certain these runners were aware of the conversations they found themselves in.

When we arrived at the start, we were greeted by the Forest City high school cheerleaders, handed "good luck runner" ribbons and ushered through the halls to the warm gym to wait for the start.  Walking through the halls, I was emotionally touched by the energy the school put into making us feel welcome on race day.  The bulletin boards were decorated for us, signs were made and posted, the gym hung with banners - all wishing us good luck on our run.

In the gym, I stretched out, attended to my pre-race Port-o-John needs, and managed to find a few other Annapolis Striders among the anxious runners.  Then the time came to head to the start.

The energy at the starting line was phenomenal.  Every runner around me seemed to be walking on air, ready for the starting cannon to boom and send us on our journey back to downtown Scranton.  It was exhilirating.

The boom finally came and we were off.  While my plan was to use the race to become familiar with the course, I still set my sights on a new marathon PR, finishing between 4:00:00 and 4:15:00.  Heading into the first mile, my legs felt ready to take on the world.  Everything clicked into place and I just fell into an unbreakable rhythm.

For mile after mile, my body seemed to float on air.  I took inspiration from the crisp fall air, the masterpiece of vivid colors rushing through the trees, and the endless crowd support lining the course.

I've run races with good crowd support.  This race had AMAZING crowd support.  Every town seemed to come out en mass to support the runners, provide aid, wave their motivating signs and high five you through the streets.  I've never seen anything quite like it.

The course itself was relatively straight forward - down a hill, down another hill, down yet another hill, maybe catch a brief respite at a short up hill, then down another hill and still yet another.  Normally, most of the runners I know relish a good down hill during a race.  I do too, but mostly as a function of making the course interesting and giving my hamstrings a break.  The constant down hill was brutal on the quads.  I knew this coming in and tried to train better for down hill running, but I still wept silent tears of joy when I saw those occasional uphills to give my quads a break.  Who ever thought a runner could miss an uphill so much?

On a marathon course, knowing I would be out there for more than four hours, I normally like to feed my body four or more times with gu or gummies for an infusion of energy.  Because I chose to keep my race day gear minimal, I only had room for two gus/gummies.  I had to ration carefully (and pray that I would find more on the course).  Ultimately, I ate at about miles eight and seventeen and passed up the bananas, oranges and other items provided by the crowds on the course.  But it turned out to work for me.

Have I mentioned yet that I was rocking out an amazing pace?  Not Boston qualifying, but very satisfying. ranging from 8:09 to 9:43.  While I knew I wasn't going to hit the magical 3:45:00, by the middle of the course I knew I could hit the lower end of my race goal.  Like I said, it was all just working.

I believe I also drew inspiration from the soundtrack that randomly played into my ears.  It can't just be coincidence that I heard three different versions of "Defying Gravity" -

I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down! 

Not to mention "I've Got Nerve," "Dancing Through Life," "The Warrior," "I'll Stand By You," "True Colors," "Firework," "We Run," "Good Life," "Come on Get Higher," "Don't Stop Believin'," and finally in the home stretch, Taylor Swift's "Changes" - 

Tonight we'll stand, get off our knees
Fight for what we’ve worked for all these years
And the battle was long, it’s the fight of our lives
But we’ll stand up champions tonight

It was the night things changed
Can you see it now?
These walls that they put up to hold us back fell down
This revolution, throw your hands up
'Cause we never gave in
And we'll sing hallelujah, we sang hallelujah
Hallelujah

 

I believe God chose these songs to breathe new life into my tired legs.  He spoke to me about holding onto my dreams, doing this for myself, looking deep inside and seeing what I was made of.  It was about me out there.

So I crossed that finish line...with a big smile, more determination than I started with and crushing my marathon PR.  I finished in 4:00:20...can you believe it?  I can't express with words how it feels to go beyond what you believed you are capable of at any given moment.

Now that I've got the medal, it's time to turn towards the 2016 race and start setting out my training plan.  This racing year is far from finished (I still have one more marathon yet and sundry shorter races), but all along the course I paid attention to how my body felt, what worked, what needed tweaked, where I could make improvements.  Here's my current thinking - lose about 15 pounds and streamline my body (doable), more strength training (doable), more speed workouts (doable) and more down hill practice (doable).

I find no reason to believe that I'll be able to hit my goals next year at Steamtown and land myself a spot at the 2017 starting line in Boston.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  1026.8 (I've crossed the magic threshold of 1000 miles so far!  Only 220 left before 2016 rings in.)

Observations:  My training is paying off.  Working hard, keeping at it and choosing discipline over a day off really does get it done.  Not even stiff the day after the marathon.  Now I just need to keep focused as I finish my race season, get rested for next year and hit it harder than ever.

 

Finding luck and beating the hills...

I was raised in small town (farm town) Ohio, surrounded by rolling hills and acres upon acres of pastureland and corn fields.  It can be constricting and inspiring in equal measure...depending on your point of view or mood.  Recently it was inspiring.

This past weekend I found myself back in my hometown for an event at my former high school.  Being Saturday, I was looking for a long run to get in some miles and sweat off the stress of what had turned out to be a very stressful week (filled with long days at work and sick kids at home with a husband on work travel).

I have a usual route that I run when I'm in my hometown, but it's only five miles.  I needed more. 

My mom says to me: "How about going out 82 to Pioneer Trail, looping around Ryder and back...it's about 6 miles.  It does have Hiram hill (read big hill) but otherwise pretty flat."  Sounds good to me.  I'm in.

The morning was perfect.  About 36 degrees, but comfortable, with a start at 1,029 ft above sea level. 

Within my first half mile, I even found some new luck in the shape of a horseshoe, thrown from one of the Amish buggy horses that go up and down the road regularly.  With that kind of start, how could it be anything but a good run!  (And yes, I did pick the shoe up on the return and plan to hang it in my house for luck this whole season).

Running on that high, it didn't occur to me until my watch flashed the first mile complete, that I had been going up since I left my mother's house.  Huh, no biggie.  Small incline and I was going to have the down at Hiram hill. 

But I kept going up....not much.  I hit 1,082 ft above sea level before the downhill.  Doesn't seem like much.  Relatively unnoticeable.  And then I went down. Straight down, to 1,020 ft above sea level.  (I always thought that hill was bigger, at least it always felt that way growing up).

Looking up ahead of me after coming down Hiram hill, I noticed the road climbed again.  And climbed.  And climbed.  Where was this flat route my mother told me about?  And after driving these roads my entire life, why had I never noticed the hills?

Not one to be beat, I kept climbing.  It had to end at some point, and in the meantime I had the farmland to distract my mind.  When I finally stopped climbing, at mile 3.15, I was at 1,328 ft above sea level.  That had been a relatively steady 3 mile climb up hill.  Whew.

It flattened out and then went down hill after that, except for going back up Hiram hill on the return (though I will tell you, Hiram hill was easy and puny after the first 3 miles of road). 

In all, the 6 mile loop with only one hill turned out to be a 7.5 mile loop that was all hills...but it felt great.  My whole body was alive and engaged in the run. I loved the route.  I loved the views.  I loved the fast (for training) pace I was able to maintain.  All cylinders were firing together.

I guess the moral of the story is that sometimes you get more out of the completely unexpected and really enjoy the outcomes.  I'm not much for surprises and I always make sure I've studied course maps and elevation charts before I run.  But this was a great change of pace and I would encourage others to take on an unexpected challenge too.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  329.91 (I'm 70 miles in the hole right now, but can catch that back in a short couple months with the right approach.)

Observations:  My body is giving me more that I expected at this point.  It's feeling good, things are working.  I'm still not as fast as I was before baby, but I'm finally feeling like I'll get there.  I even added a second marathon in to my fall schedule because things are just feeling good.  Let's hope that sticks.

North Face 2012...

Four years ago I ran my first North Face Endurance Challenge 50k with a great group of friends.  I loved everything about that race - the course, the race organization, the runners.  It was at that point that I decided ultratrail running was a pretty darn cool thing.  The 2010 50K race saw me scratching after 20 miles due to extreme jet lag, stomach cramps and 90 degree temps with something like 90% humidity.  The 2011 race was fun, but due to a back injury the fall before I competed as part of a marathon relay team instead of in one of the major distances.  Fast foward to 2012....almost two years after that back injury I was ready to return to marathon+ distances.  My goal for North Face this year was to complete the marathon distance back pain free...and I can report success on that mark!!!

First off, I have to say I never could have come this far or completed this race without the best running buddy the world over.  I've said it before, but you'll hear me say it over and over again - THANK YOU BRIE!!!  Sure, I like to run alone most days of the week, but that long run is never the same without great conversation and motivation along the way.  I'm also glad to have shared the toughest terrain I've ever raced with one of my best friends.  Holy hell, if you've read about the terrain for North Face you've read that tough mudder has no mud whatsoever compared to what we traversed for 26.2 miles today. 

Let's just say, that storm mother nature opened up on us last night left the trail under about 3-6 inches of sloppy, slippery mud over at least 16 miles of the course.  I am amazed that there were not a great number of injuries throughout the day.  First of all, the mud filled up the tread on shoes leaving us with nothing to grab the trail.  Second, some of the slippery parts were on hills with somewhat steep grades.  Third, the mud was so sticky you had to pull on your ankles to get your shoes out.  It certainly made for some super slow going just to ensure you could stay upright...those shoes may need retiring after this run.

All that said, this was a super great day surrounded by people with real heart.  The course was beautiful (if a little dirtier than ever), the day was beautiful (hello 70 degrees in June!!!), our crew was awesome (uh yeah, there are advantages to having a husband who doesn't like to run such as having someone to bring you clean dry socks at the halfway point...thanks Jay!) and the company couldn't have been better.  Not to mention there was a free beer waiting at the finish line.  I can't think of any other way I would have liked to spend this dazzling Saturday (now it's time to go home and start shipping off the sweat and caked on salt) .  I can't wait for next year's race (which rumor has it may move to March...can we say 50K distance here I come?)!  Until then, happy trails!!!

Also need to send a shout out to the terrific Annapolis trio finishing the 50 miler today - Lara, Gloria and Danielle - you all are crazy, but I love you!!  And also to those fantastic pacers who jumped in to support their runners throughout the race - and chat with Brie and I for a bit during a break - Jen and Missy - you're role is so important to the folks on the trail!!

The most amazing finishers in the marathon
distance at the North Face Endurance Challenge!

Stats -

Miles:  26.2 (my Garmin said it was a little more than a mile longer, but I think the Garmin was confused by the tree cover so I've lopped off the distance to marathon only)

Time:   5:40:08 (average pace of 12:58 per mile...our total time was longer due to aid station stops and chatting with buddies we ran into along the way but my handy dandy Garmin only captures time moving)

Location:  Algonkian Regional Park to Great Falls Park and back, Virginia
Feeling:  Women pay lots of money for mud baths, how can one feel bad after getting it for free!?!

Divine intervention...

After a crazy weekend of strawberry picking, Blue Angel watching and War of 1812 commemorating that gave Adventures in Babysitting a run for its money (by the way, everyone survived), I got back to the pavement and my personal meditation today.  As has been the case with most of my plans lately, I did not end up completing the workout I planned.  This morning I woke up to rain, a long day of forecasted rain.  With that in the crystal ball I planned on hitting power yoga and the treadmill after work.  However, I got  a pleasant post-work surprise...no rain.  How could I not take advantage of that?  After all, it was clear that mother nature was listening to my complaints about the treadmill. Not one to look a gifthorse in the mouth, I laced up my running shoes and headed outdoors.

I decided to shake it up a little bit and hit my go to course in reverse...sort of.  I started out heading across the East front of the Capitol, then up Pennsylvania Avenue.  Instead of cutting up 7th Street and cruising past Eastern Market, I went on down to 13th Street before turning toward Lincoln Park.  I've never been down this section of the road before and was pleasantly surprised by the extensive Watkins Recreation Center (and pleased to see so many kids out being active in the various sports teams practicing on the fields).  It got me thinking about some of the great programs fighting childhood obesity like the White House Let's Move and Junior League's Kids in the Kitchen.  I love those programs.  The run was tough, my left achilles is a bit tight, but necessary.  I finished off the evening in the weight room at the gym.

My divine moment, however, did not come until I arrived home tonight.  You may recall my post last week about honoring the victims and survivors of cancer by running to raise funds.  Well, being the Christian gal that I am, I do believe in intervention and tonight was a fine case.  I guess I'm being called to put my money...or legs...where my mouth is.  Tonight's mail delivered a flyer to join the American Cancer Society DetermiNation running program to help raise funds for cancer research.  I love the back of the flyer that says "Nearly 12 million cancer survivors will celebrate another birthday this year, thanks in part to the lifesaving work of the American Cancer Society and people just like you: people with a spark of determination and the will to conquer this deadly disease.  Every mile you conquer could help someone else celebrate another birthday."  I've signed up to receive information on the Washington, DC area program.  After all, how can you say no to a great cause and divine intervention?  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  5.25
Time:   45:07 (average pace of 8:35 per mile)
Location:  Capitol Hill, Lincoln Park, Stanton Park
Feeling:  Need to figure out the tight achilles but otherwise pretty good

Places I wouldn't become a marathoner...

As I struggled through another tough, hot, slow jog on the treadmill at the hotel today, it occurred to me that there are a number of places in the world where I would be highly unlikely to attempt be a marathoner if I lived. First and foremost...anywhere in the middle east. So, it's only early April, and the heat/humidity are slowing me down royaly. While I was visiting an air base today the commander reminded us that the summer months bring temps in the 120s - 140s with 90% humidity. Are you kidding? I can barely stand up for two seconds in that type of weather let alone jog a marathon. I guess I'm glad I'm only subjected to these temps for a few weeks a year.

Anyway, it has been an interesting couple of days here in Abu Dhabi. Its unfortunate that I didn't get the opportunity to run outside much. Perhaps I'll find a better opportunity up in Dubai or I'll have to play a little catch up on miles next week. Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles: 3.28
Time: 30:00 (average pace of 9:08 per mile)
Location: Fitness Center, Intercontinental Abu Dhabi
Feeling: Like I'm pulling teeth. Can't wait for easier conditions