Take that, Katie Holmes!!!

Wow wow wow! I did it! And it was incredible and one of the best experiences of my life so far!

I was sure I'd finish in 5 and a half hours. My super secret goal was to finish before Katie Holmes. What I (and I'll bet Katie) didn't realize, is that she set the bar for a lot of young women. I couldn't believe how many other gals I talked to that had the same goal!

I was also preparing myself for two hours of sheer agony. If this race was going to be anything like my training runs, it was going to be long, slow, and excutiatingly painful.

Much to my surprise, I finished in 5:03:38!!!

And I felt great! I was able to sprint the last part before the finish line! I was definitely in pain afterward. My ankle is totally swollen (pic below, promise I'm icing! Or it just looks like I have one kankle). But I'm not too stiff! We didn't have a bath tub in our hotel room, so I had to rotate ice packs. And Matt helped rub my legs and feet afterward. Then we pretty much stayed in bed and watched Food Network and football until I fell asleep.

I'm walking like a normal person, for the most part. :)

I had so much support from my friends who were there in person, and also there in spirit! And I really couldn't have done it without them. I really appreciate all the supporting phone messages and emails I received. My in person crew was Matt, Holly, Sarah, Michael, Jess, Chris, Simon, and Deb and Raj drove up the morning of.

And here's the break down:

MILES 1-6:
Off to an okay start! I see Deb and Raj right away! Shortly after I hear Matt yell, "Go Wac!" Which made me tear up a little, but I knew I had to breathe slowly if I'm going to get through this thing. I see the 5-hour pace group, and kind of just hang with them. It feels a little fast, but I look down at my Garmin, and we're only going a little over an 11-minute mile. I can't decide if this is too fast to me, or not. But my heart rate is only in the 150s, so I stick with them. Even though I'm kind of thirsty, I don't stop for water or fuel until mile 6, which is what I did in my training runs. I'm prone to cramping when I have too much water.

HIGH POINT:
Mile 5/6: Seeing everyone on the side again

LOW POINTS:
Mile 2: Noticed my sock on the left had fallen and was only half way around my foot
Mile 3-ish: The top of my ankle on my right foot began to hurt (and didn't quit)
Mile 6: Pain on the outside of my left foot


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MILES 6-13
Coming into mile 7 I was in a lot of pain. Both my feet are killing me, in very different ways. It's also that time of the month, so I was having the occasional menstrual cramp, and it was catching up with me. I managed to stay with the 5-hour pace group through this entire time. Around mile 10 I started falling behind. I was thinking, "I made my body into this machine, that means I can will it to go faster..." and this woman came up beside me and asked if I was okay! hahah... I must have been very pensive looking. We chatted for a bit, this was not her first time doing this marathon and she said the real hump is the bridge at mile 17. Her scheduled walk break was about to take place. I would have stopped with her, but I noticed the few minutes we ran together slowed me down. So I told her I'd catch up with her later... but I never saw her again.

I did, however, catch up to the 5 hour pace group again!

HIGH POINT:
- There was a family on the street handing out jelly beans. I had to stop and give a high-five to this one kid. :)
- The miles were really just flying by!

LOW POINT:
Mile 13: This is totally nit-picky, but they had the 13-mile marker, then the water tables, THEN the timing chip mat! I had stopped at the water tables, and was totally bummed to see the timing mat.


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MILES 14- 20
I had to be smart. I had enough energy to to speed up, but I knew that would wipe me out. Instead I tried to slowly increase my pace. I decided to pull ahead of the 5-hour pace group so when I chose to stop and walk, I wouldn't fall behind. Having the bridge as a major landmark to work towards, getting to mile 17 was what I was focusing on. I had some fuel at 16, and began the ascent around 16.5. I made a point of climbing the hill slowly, and not letting my heart rate get too high.

Around mile 19, the pain set in. I expected it to come sooner. I remembered something Deborah told me about "accepting the pain." Maybe it's because I was anticipating it, or imagined it would be much worse, either way... it wasn't awful, but it definitely slowed me down. I couldn't seem to pick up the pace.

I started chatting with Dave the walker. He's probably late 60's or early 70's and walking a marathon in all 50 states. (He did manage to finish before I did)

Then mile 20, I saw Sarah and Michael! Sarah ran with me for a bit

HIGH POINTS:
Miles 14: Pulling ahead of the 5:00 pace group and maintaining a lead
Mile 17: Passing people up the hill to the bridge
The bridge: I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and there was such a beautiful view of Portland
Mile 20: Seeing Sarah and Michael waiting for me, and having Sarah run with me for a few minutes

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MILES 21-26.2
Sarah let me know the whole crew was just around the corner at mile 21, which really helped me get to the next mile. Then only 5 miles to go! This was the point where I knew I was going to finish. My legs hurt, but they only felt like I had run for 10 miles instead of 20. I was also super close to finishing in under 5 hours, if I just pushed hard enough! I did what I could, and mile 25 was one of my fastest miles! Here are the highs and lows:

HIGH POINTS:
Mile 21: My whole crew came out and ran with me for a few minutes! I was the envy of all the runners around me
Mile 22: Meeting Jenny from Texas. We were talking about how much we enjoyed beer, and we passed the Widmer brewery, which was handing out free beer!
Mile 25: Meeting Victoria, originally from LA, who had been training with Portland Fit
Mile 26: Helping this guy who had a bad thigh cramp by giving him a shot block with sodium, and some water
- Seeing Holly and she let me know the finish line was around the corner
- Seeing Deb and Raj and having the energy to wave at the camera
- Hearing Matt's voice cheering for me as I approached the finish line
Crossing the finish line: Victoria and I hugged, I got my cape, medal, and rose. I found my crew and there was chocolate milk waiting for me

(Here's a photo Deb snapped of me... I'm still in a lot of pain, if that smile looks intense... :)


LOW POINTS:
Mile 26: Helping thigh-cramp guy seriously slowed me down ;)


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Here's the Garmin report:














And here's the link to view the whole report, but you need to view it in IE.


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I really can't believe the whole thing is over. It seemed to go by so quickly. I did it! I ran a marathon. I'm pretty sure I thought about each and every person in my life and how much I appreciate them. It's like everyone was running with me. It was incredibly touching when they came to run with me. (photo coming of the crew soon!) And I am super grateful for how encouraging and supportive Matt has been. He really is my biggest fan! Hearing his voice while I was running brought a smile to my face no matter what my legs were feeling.

I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted. I think I came into this race trying to prove that it can be done. That anyone can run a marathon, all you have to do is train. Through training you learn so much about yourself. You learn that you are capable than so much more than you imagined. You also learn it's okay push yourself, but also to be kind to your body.

Although it felt like I was bearing a torch those 26 miles, I wanted to do it for all the people out there who think a marathon is something they could never do. I started running when I was almost 300 pounds (hence that opening picture), and one mile at a time I made it! I've had the help of many encouraging people along the way, and I hope that my story can one day inspire others to get out there and do it, too!

Finishing a half hour before I expected... that was for me. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Part of me knew I was going faster than I should. I figured if I lost the 5 hour group I would still finish at a decent time. But I could have lost it, and dropped into my slow mopey pace I experienced at the end of my 18-mile and 20-mile training runs. I am really proud of my time, and I know I can knock a few minutes off it next time...

That's right, next time!

Race Report: Alki Beach Run 5k

One of the benefits of being at the peak of fitness for your own body, is that you can really kill on shorter races.

My friend, Holly, and I signed up for the Alki Beach Run 5k last Sunday, and it was a blast! The weather was perfect, the route was a flat out and back along the water, and I knew this was going to be the 5k that I broke the 30 minute barrier.

I know I've been getting faster, I can feel it. I've been running with Brie in the mornings, and she's much faster than I, but I've been able to keep up with her. I've also had some surprisingly fast first halves of my long runs... but I've really been looking to do a timed race again.

The announcer starts by saying, if you run 5-6 minute miles you should be up front. If you run 7-8 minute miles you can be back by him, and the walkers will be in the back...

hahaha... oh alright, I'll go behind the stroller brigade...

The first mile went so fast! I finished it in 9:44. Having the garmin made it so much easier to keep my pace. I was able to look down and notice when I was slowing, and counteract it. Mile 2 was a little more difficult as the sun came out, and I was over dressed for the heat. There was this tall, thin blonde runner in front of me. I had to work hard to keep up with her, but I knew that if I did I would meet my goal.











The last mile was so great! I know I could have pushed harder at the end. We were coming to mile 2.5 and I wanted to kick it up, but decided to wait until I was closer to the finish line.

A quarter of a mile later I ran as hard as I could, and finished... 28:30!

Here's our photo on the beach :)

Even though I'm really excited with this new PR, I know I could have done even better!

I would love to do a 10k, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the perfect one!

The marathon is less than a week away... I'm so excited! :)

Who am I?

Yesterday I was walking over to Jessica's apartment and I saw it...










They are building a TACO BELL less than a block from my friggin' apartment! This is going to be the ultimate test!

Most people who know me know of my deep and profound love of the bell. Even the logo is so inviting with it's hip, fresh colors, to match it's hip fresh(?) food! Even a glimpse of the logo can get my salivation glands going like one of Pavlov's dogs.

Mmmm... bean burritos, chalupas, mexican pizza, mexi-tots, Cheesey bean and rice burrito... MMmmmmm.... listen to my inner-fatty roar! RRRaaaaaarrrrr yom yom yom!

The good news is the Bell has not opened yet... It looks like we're still a few weeks away before the test begins.

Damn! And I had been doing so well... is this going to be my kryptonite?





I think I'm going to be OK. I haven't been to Taco Bell in over seven months. If this had happened last year I think it would have been a real problem. But now I know the only days I can visit the Bell is after running for 2 hours so I can quickly burn through all the APs I'm earning. I'll have to get a shirt with the Taco Bell logo and a line that says, "This is why I run!"

Then it hit me, I'm referring to myself as two different people.

Old Me

and

New Me


Old me would be ecstatic that I don't have to drive 15 minutes to the nearest taco bell, and I can waddle down the street into cheesey goodness.

New me is frightened by the idea of Taco Bell being so close to my home, and was immediately grateful that it is out my back door instead of the front door near subway.

Wow!

I think I've made the transformation into thinking like a healthy person. Well, healthier... When I started to think about everything that I've changed in the last year it all made sense: I've become a different person!

A year ago if you had told me I was going to run a half marathon on the hottest day of the year, I would have told you you were full of it! There's no way I could even run a quarter of a mile! Well, Matt maintains I would have said, "Shut up and hand me a piece of pizza, don't forget the ranch!" Which is probably more accurate... :)

I've noticed how I'm physically becoming another person, I don't even recognize certain parts of my body anymore. My hands are so strong looking and have bulging veins... instead of the chubby 12-year old hands I've had my entire life. I'm starting to see and feel muscles in my legs that I've never seen before!

I still feel like I'm me... but I'm in a different me suit. And with different priorities. A year ago a friend asked me what the top five things were that make me happy... was it sad that three of them were food?

5. Tup Tim Thai's Pad See Ew
4. Chicken Tikka Masala
3. Anything with cheese melted on it
2. My friends
1. Matt and my family



What would be five things that make me happy now?

5. Design and excelling at work
4. Finishing a long run
3. My friends
2. Matt and my family
1. Feeling confident and proud of all that I have accomplished


Well, now that I realize I'm transforming into a new person, it's time to decide who I want to be. There are definitely different areas of my personality that could stand to be improved. And I've learned how to make changes in my life. Start small and before you know it, you've turned your whole life around! Besides, it's never too late to be who you could have been!

30:38

I knocked 4 minutes off my last 5K time in a matter of 4 months. And it wasn't easy.

Last night I ran the fremont 5K. (My race photo is there to the left.) My intent was to use this race as my tempo run for the week. I haven't competed in a short race or fun run in a few months, and I was curious to see how fast I could really run 3 miles.

I would really chalk this event to a bad run day. I came home from work starving and against my better judgement, had a pretty heavy meal. It was also raining all day, so I wore pants, a long sleeve technical shirt, and a jacket...

It ended up being a beautiful afternoon, and I couldn't believe it. It was actually pretty hot (considering our recent weather), and around mile 2, I could tell my upchuck reflexes were being tested...

I ran the first mile at a relatively slow pace (or so I thought), but then I hit the mile marker at 9:40. I felt fine, but I was distracted by the two barefoot men running near me, and the woman on one leg who passed me.

Between mile 2 and 3 is where it got hard. I could feel myself slowing and couldn't do anything about it. My heart rate was in the 170's (which for me means I'm pushing, but I'm probably at about 80% of my capacity). And all I really felt like I could puke at any time. I even rationalized stopping and walking for 30 seconds.

But come on, it's 3 miles...

There was a large crowd of people around a runner who had fallen. As I got closer I saw his hand was covered in blood. I looked in through the crowd and saw a man in his 40's with a purple face and blood under his nose. It was pretty scary! The ambulance was on it's way for him.

I passed the mile 3 marker at 29 minutes. I could see the finish line, so I wanted to push harder. I could feel my heart pounding, but I pushed anyway. I was 50 feet from the finish line and looked down at my heart rate... 188! Oh Sh*t! But I'm so close. My heart feels like it could jump right out of my chest, and it's over!

When I stopped running my entire body shook. I knew if I had to run another step I would have thrown up. I could feel my dinner packing it's bags and getting ready to come back up.

Sarah finished just after me. She also felt pretty woosy, so we headed to the food table, got some water, and met up with her husband, Michael, at the beer garden. Danielle finished a little after the both of us, so we all went to a bar and got a beer.

The beer actually calmed my stomach, quite a bit!

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The book I'm currently reading, "The Complete Book of Running for Women" casually mentions a 10-minute mile as though it's a slow pace, on par with jogging. I find this fascinating! I've been running for over a year now, and I'm only finally getting to a 10-minute mile pace, and only on my short runs. I think one of my other side goals would be to have a 10-minute mile be my 10K pace. I would LOVE for it to be my distance pace, but really my only motivation for running long distances faster is so I won't have to be out there for so long!

Guess it's time to up the speedwork!

13.1 miles down! 26.2 to go?

Well, I did it! I finished the Vancouver BC Half Marathon...

And now my life can go back to normal... or will it?

Is it crazy that I'm really considering the Portland full Marathon in October?

Let's not put the cart before the horse. I've lived to tell the tale, and here it is (less clichés below, I promise):


Saturday afternoon we pulled into Vancouver BC, and right as we get to Robson street I realized...

I f-ing forgot my running shoes.

I came to Vancouver to run a half-marathon and I forgot my shoes. The most important piece of equipment for this sport, and I totally forgot it.

To spare some of the self deprecating anecdotes, it was just on par with the kind of week I was having anyway. So... almost 3 miles of walking and several crying episodes later, I finally got a new pair of running shoes. (Thanks, Matt for being such a trooper)

We still had a lovely dinner with the gals from the running team and their husbands, and watched the E True Hollywood Story about Patrick Dempsey before finally falling asleep.

I already had a sore throat starting Saturday morning, and it kept me up through the night and really everything was pointing a recipe for disaster....

RACE DAY:
5 AM: My alarm is going off, and I had just fallen back asleep... so waking up was pretty miserable. Matt was great and got up to help me make my breakfast while I was getting dressed.

I met up with the team to get some breakfast down and walk to the starting line together. Here's a group pic on our walk down.

Uh, I'm in the back :)

If you can't tell from this picture the weather is perfect! It's a little chili but promises to be sunny and kind of warm... too warm. :)

AND WE'RE OFF!

I was really trying to run at a slightly slower pace, and it felt great. I was reading some where that rather than placing the emphasis on time, really focus on enjoying your first half-marathon. I'll have plenty of opportunities to better my time, but only one first half-marathon.

We got to run through china town and parts of Vancouver I've never seen before. Which isn't a big surprise, considering this was only my second time to Vancouver.

Even though the supporters were sparse, it was greatly appreciated.... until there was this woman around 2 and a half miles. She shouted, "Keep it up, you still have a long way to go!"

Thanks, b****! We are well aware that we have at least a couple of hours of running to do yet. What a butthead... Oh, I'm sure she didn't really think about what she was saying... but it's not really what you want to hear so early on in a race.

Here's a pic of Chris and I around mile 3, seconds after seeing her family cheering on the street near a band covering David Bowie. I love that in all my "action photos" it looks like I'm just walking, but hey, it felt like I was just walking :)

Around mile 5 we headed into Stanley Park. It was such a beautiful run. I absolutely loved it. It felt like a nice leisurely weekend long run... with 20,000 other people.

We ran up this slight incline to the water station near the halfway point. We overheard this gal mentioning how easy "the hill" was, we didn't have the heart to tell her what was yet to come.

The last two months we've all been talking about the hill we were going to encounter around mile 8. It was kind of nerve wracking to know it was looming ahead. The funny thing was, the hill really made the race for me! That was the point in the race that I felt the strongest.

Thanks to all those hill runs we had to do for our training Chris and I were able to charge up that hill! I was 200 ft. and spanned about 3/4 of a mile. We were passing people left and right. It was such an amazing feeling! Then when we got to the top of the hill I knew, the rest was going to be easy.

Although I completely understand why, I was pretty irritated that there were no cheerleaders up the hill. That's when we needed them the most. but I guess bands, djs, friends, and family would have to be really ambitious to get up that hill just to cheer.

We stopped and walked for a few seconds, and Chris wanted to walk a little longer to get her knee back in gear. So I continued on...

The best part about running up a hill... is getting to run downhill afterward! And I had the energy to really push through it. I picked up the pace, and was flying down that hill. Again, passing people left and right. I've never really passed more than maybe a person or two in a race before. It was incredible!

By mile 10 we were out of Stanley Park and running along the water. I recognized where I was from the 10K two weeks back. This was the half way point for the 10K, meaning more or less 3 miles to go. It's funny when you find it comforting to think that you only have one lap around greenlake to go.

I'm not going to lie, I don't think mile 12 was a regulation mile. It was sooooooooooooooooo long.

There was a man preaching around this point. I found myself trying to block out what he was saying (there were protesters at the 10K, apparently you can't "run with with world and walk with God..."), but when I got close, I realized he was encouraging us! The only part I caught was him congratulating us because only 1% of people would even attempt to do this, that makes us the elite.

I started to well up. But starting to cry makes you hyperventilate so I had to slow my breathing down and focus on running. Even though I really appreciated the support of the crowd I knew the mile 12 marker would be coming soon, and I needed to bring it!

I finally made it to mile 12! Little did I know my personal photographer was along the street at this point. It was funny, because I thought to look for him at this point in the race, but knew better so I wouldn't start hyperventilating again.

I actually had enough steam to push really hard for the last mile! I was as close as I could be to "sprinting." As much as I enjoyed the race, I was ready to be done! Crossing the finish line was the biggest relief I've ever felt. Every muscle in my body exhaled. And as much as I tried to hold it back throughout the race, the tears just kept coming (and I don't know if I can spare the fluid or sodium at this point!).

Jonna, my coach, was there to greet me! She gave me a huge hug, and asked what my time was. I looked down at my watch, 2:40 (Just looked up my actual time: 2:38:49).

The best part was, I actually wasn't that sore! Or hungry! I just went through to find Matt. We bought a bag of ice from the fancy 7-11 and walked the mile back to the hotel. I spent about 45 minutes stretching, then a few minutes icing, then hopped in the shower and went to best part about all the running I've done for the last two months...

A full body massage :)

And I'm insane enough to set my sites on the Portland full marathon in October...

Real Runners Do it at 5 a.m.

My morning started off with my alarm going off...

CRAP! Did I oversleep???!?!!?!

No, it's only 4:35 a.m., I have to be at Greenlake in 20 minutes to meet up with Chris....

Uh oh, where are my pants? Where's my sportsbra? Why is little kitty so cute and cuddly? Oh, wait, gotta go....

Running greenlake at 5 a.m. is not quite what I imagined... it was actually better!

There were a lot less people than I expected... There were probably 10 people total, and 5 dogs. It was a lot darker than I guessed 5 a.m. would be, but it made the whole experience almost surreal. It felt like a dream. No cyclists, no strollers, no groups 5 people wide... only the truly insane! And I felt like an honored guest :)

I had forgotten how much I loved running in the morning. It's great, I usually don't even wake up until I've been running for about 10 minutes and by then I have no say in the matter, the body just goes.

An apparent regular at the 5 a.m. party at Greenlake was our running coach, Jonna! She came up from behind us and we chatted for a little while we finished out our run and hers was just beginning. It was actually really good to see her there. I felt a definite sense of camaraderie. I feel like I've transcended into the athletic world where working out isn't just something I do because I have to, I do it because I want to. Right comrades?

Here's a great example: Last Saturday we ran over 9.5 miles. My longest run to date. I was really shocked at how quickly I ran the first half, soooooooo I decided to spend my Sunday morning running 2.89 miles as fast as I could (within reason). I did it in 29 minutes! Can you imagine if I had done it on fresh legs?

I don't know what I'm trying to prove to myself, that I can do it? Or that a year ago I couldn't even run a quarter of a mile without dying?

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Last night I did my tempo run at Burke Gilman. So 20 minutes of my run is supposed to be really hard. I did about 13 minutes at a pretty slow warm up pace, then I started my tempo run. I ran about 13 minutes out (at tempo pace, which fluctuated but was mostly fast for me). Then I turned around and those 7 minutes of fast-paced running were pretty hard. I think I checked my watch every 30 seconds just waiting for it to be over. And finally it was.

I slowed down into a comfortable jogging pace. As I started getting closer to finishing I realized I was about a mile and half away from my car and 15 minutes from being done with the run entirely. Well, a mile and a half in 15 minutes seemed totally doable, so I stepped it up a little. I think mild discomfort is what you call it, but I was able to keep up the pace. I got back to my car only 1 minute slower than it took me to get out on the trail.

Not bad, eh comrades?

I wonder if the point of tempo runs is to make you realize that pushing hard becomes easier the more you do it? What does this mean for a 13-mile run? Should I be pushing hard the whole time? Is that realistic? Or should I be coasting in my easy pace... reserving energy?

I think specifically for the Vancouver Half, I'll have to pace myself until we get to the hill in the center of the course... then it's all or nothing!!!

VH!'s Best Week, Ever...

the Shiny Hair edition!

So I feel like I rarely get the opportunity to say this, but last week was my week! Here's the recap:

- Gave my notice at my current job, because I start an awesome job on January 2.
- I ran 2.8 miles all by myself in 40 degree weather, without stopping.
- This week marked not only losing 10% of my body weight, but also 30 pounds.
- Yesterday I ran my first 5K, it was 30 something degrees and it snowed, and there were hills, but I still didn't walk.

I think it's crazy how what you might think are small choices can severely impact your life. I think it was about 6 months ago that I had a small break down. I was so depressed about everything; my job, my weight, my laziness, etc... And in jut a couple of months I've managed to turn it all around.

A year ago if you had told me I would be running a 5K on a Sunday morning in the snow, I would have told you to shut up, and then we would have laughed at how ridiculous that would be.

Let's hope this week can live up to its predecessor!

Here's the 11,000 people waiting to begin this race: