The 2009 MCM was my 9^th marathon, my 7^th since March. The goal of this race was yet another training run for JFK50 (total training races: 2 marathons and 2 ultras), but after coming so close to a PR two weeks ago at the Baltimore Marathon, I knew it could be a PR day.

Saturday: Expo and Pre-Race

I got to the expo and it was enormous, crowded and overwhelming.

Only some of the really huge expo

The volunteers were exceedingly kind and helpful and I just love seeing the Marines in their uniforms. I ran into my buddy Dane and we chatted for a while.

Me and Dane. He runs a LOT!

I also went to the Semper Fi Fund table where I finally got to meet Corey, an injured Marine who was helped by The Fund and now works for them. We’ve been in touch since I raised funds with Antarctica. She was so sweet and I was so happy that I was able to help the cause; if you would like to donate to an incredible organization, you can do so here.

I also bargained a $110 jacket down to $80 (paying cash, asking for deals and male vendors all help) and got a $50 Dick’s gift card for signing up for the Pittsburgh marathon. I love deals! Next up I headed down to Ike’s where we would meet Shell to go to dinner with friends. I was relaxing on his couch, curled under a blanket when I see Shell come in… followed by Ben! Why is this notable and/or exciting? Ben is one of my very best friends and my neighbor in Pittsburgh who is supposed to be visiting his family in New Jersey this weekend. So why is he in DC?! Well, come to find out, ever since Ben met Shell and Ike at the Pittsburgh marathon, he has been scheming to come down and surprise whoever was running MCM! I love Ben! Both Shell and Ike were out with injuries so they were co-conspirators! After a lot of confusion as to why he was there, squeaking about the fact that he actually WAS there, telling him I hated him, proposing to him, and hitting him a few times so that I wouldn’t cry (and yes, I realize the diversity of that response) we headed to an awesome dinner with friends in Crystal City.

Me and Ben at dinner

The rest of the night was spent making signs, drinking pumpkin beer, eating ice cream and watching Grey’s Anatomy.

Shell making one of several awesome signs

Good times with great friends. I went to sleep feeling so excited for race day and so well-loved to have such fabulous people rallying to support me. If I’m not the luckiest girl in the world, I want to meet the girl who is.

Sunday: Race Day

Shell and I are up and going a million miles a minute and before 6:30 she had already rewritten song lyrics to reflect race day (e.g. “Shorty fire burning on the race course, whoa-o; Kat’s gonna run real fast, she’s gonna kick a lot of @ss on the race course, woa-o”), hosted a disco party in Ike’s car (courtesy of his emergency light/whistle) and slow danced with Ike while waiting for balloons.

I love, love, love, love, LOVE race morning. Getting to the start of the race was such a rush and we timed it so that I could use a porta potty, meet some old friends and make some new friends before the start. Perfect.

Me, Mike, Carl (who is also running JFK50) and Chris

Since a PR was a possibility my plan was to start out conservatively (9:45-10 min/miles) and pick it up if I felt better later; I think I tend to go out too fast in the beginning of races and I wanted to mitigate that.

MCM Start

Video of the start, and thanking Marines

Immediately after the start we pass by Arlington National Cemetery.  My step-dad’s sister was just buried at Arlington and it simultaneously shook me and inspired me. There are always inspiring stories at races, but MCM seems to have more- they are everywhere you look. But I wasn’t ready for one so early, and also not such a personal one. I turn a corner not much later to see an enormous American flag suspended over the marathon course. I’m such a giant, sappy, bleeding heart and this race is going to tug on every heart string I have.

American flags were hoisted

and carried

We run down Spout Run and turn onto Canal Road where I befriend Wayne, a Navy guy who is also running with Team Semper Fi.

Running by Georgetown University

I catch up to a runner from a DC running group that I ran with when visiting DC this summer and then I have my next tear-jerking moment. I see a singlet with a very handsome Marine who was killed in action- Bill Jacobsen. The singlet also says, “My son, my hero.” I’m compelled to say something, but what can you possibly say to a father that has lost his beautiful son? I tell him that I’m sorry for his loss and am completely overwhelmed by tears that I choked back as I ran ahead. What I said felt too superficial and I regretted it, but couldn’t figure out what else to say. I spent most of the rest of the race running right behind Bill’s sister (wearing a similar singlet) and trying not to think of my own brother who is a Marine about to deploy to Afghanistan.

We then turned into Georgetown where there are lots of great crowds and really fun personal memories. MCM was less of a trip down memory lane than the Baltimore marathon, but the house I grew up in is 11 radial miles from the White House so I’ve spent a lot of time in DC and I love so much about the city.

Georgetown spectators, Part I

Georgetown Spectators, Part II (shorter but better quality)

Before we reach the Kennedy Center I start to pass a man when I read something on his singlet that makes me realize he is Will Brown, one of the Groundpounders, a group of 4 men who have run every single MCM. All 34 of them! I know Will through the MCM message boards, but instead of treating him like a friend, I act like a total groupie and ask to take a picture of him. He humors me, but as I run on I can only hope that I didn’t annoy the Marine and ultrarunner with my obsequiousness.

As we head into Haines Point there are lots of spectators, even MY spectators!

Ben, Ike and Shell cheering for me

Lined up and ready to cheer

I also remember that last year this is where I started to fall apart and, in contrast, this year I feel great and I’m keeping my sub-10 splits as planned. I find Haines Point peaceful and I see my friend’s girlfriend who cheers for me and I stumble upon Ray, who is carrying an American flag. The theme for the day is tearjerkers and seeing a Ray immediately made me think of my friend Ray who is currently deployed in Afghanistan. I thank runner Ray and try to shift my focus to anything but worrying about “my” Ray. On one hand, as an American I am so proud to have amazing men like Ray doing good for our country; on the other hand, as a friend, it breaks my heart that someone that I care about is deployed. After dating my ex through 2 deployments, I want my heart in the US and not in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I think it is so amazing that people carry flags the entire race.

Check out this amazing tree in Haines Point!

After Haines Point we turn onto the National Mall where I see Ike before I am swarmed with spectators. I’m holding onto my pace but it’s a little more work now. I keep telling myself just to run the mile I’m in, make  it to the Sports Beans, and to get to Ben, Ike and Shell.

A high school band playing for the spectators

Pink gorilla. There were also spectators dressed as a beaver and a bumble bee

Mile 15 had an awesome band and a great view of hte Washington monument

Runners and spectators behind the Lincoln memorial

Around mile 16 I see a man who is walking on crutches who is missing some of his calf and he is being followed by men pushing a wheelchair. I have this overwhelming wave of feeling so thankful that I have two working legs and lungs and heart that are more healthy than not. A flash of an e-mail that Corey once sent me sticks out: she asked me to enjoy running because she misses it so much (she is paralyzed). I suddenly feel so thankful yet burdened by wanting to do well for all those people who can’t do what I take for granted more days than not. I keep running, trying not to cry. I can’t believe I’ve held back so many tears in one stupid race.

It was such a perfect day for a race

Capitol Building

Bagpipers played for the runners on the National Mall

A ridiculous womens drumming group that comes out every year

I see my friends at Mile 20 coming onto the bridge. I hate the bridge. It’s long, boring, there are very few spectators and it’s a hill. Plus, people start to fall apart here so it’s easy to thinking about stopping to walk with everyone else. The problem is, if you’re strong enough to keep running there are so many runners who have stopped or slowed that it becomes a contest in weaving which makes running even harder. I see my friend Tuan, who is running across the bridge with runners from his running group and I run with him for a bit before I tell him to go take care of his own. He later told me I looked “so relaxed” like I was “going to get the paper.” I don’t believe him based on how I was feeling, but I get to the end of the bridge and turn into Crystal City.

A member of Team Semper Fi

Best end of bridge spectator EVER!

I also don’t like Crystal City. There are lots of spectators but it’s an out and back and that late in the race it’s tough to mentally have a loop going in the wrong direction just to tack on mileage. I make it to mile 23 and I start to have problems breathing. Stupid asthma. I’m so angry and frustrated, it feels like I’m sucking air through a straw into lungs the size of golf balls. The rest of my body feels great and mentally I’m so in the game but it’s all I can do just to get enough air to keep moving forward. This means I also can’t cheer for spectators, encourage other runners or thank the volunteers- my favorite parts of racing. Add to this that I see a group of motorcyclists who escort the coffins of members of the armed forces who were killed in action. Tears well up as they cheer for me and I choke them down again, telling myself I can cry at the end.

The last few miles are some of the hardest I’ve run because I feel muted by my difficulty breathing. I want to interact with people around me, but don’t have the air to do it. I run in silence and as the spectators begin to thicken near the finish line so many people look me in the eye and cheer for me by name. I can’t thank them and it kills me. A thumbs up just doesn’t express how thankful I am that they are cheering for me. I see friends Brett and Steve and begin up the hill towards the finish at the Iwo Jima memorial. The hill isn’t terrible but men are walking and limping up it and I think of how hard it would be to be a wheelchair athlete. There are Marines standing near the chute and I muster all I can for a high-five as I cross the finish line at 4:26:53.

Final hill on the way to the finish line. What's it like to cross? You'll need to find out for yourself.

A Marine puts a medal around my neck and I think of Dan, who I met at the start. Dan said that he had ordered a hundred medals that he passed out to runners so that the runners could give the Marines a medal that was so deserved. Dan, thank you for sharing such a wonderful idea; I hope you don’t mind if I borrow it next year.

Salty and not cute after 26.2 miles but so honored to be getting a medal from a Marine. I tried to thank him for his service but ended up a stupid, stammering mess and shook his hand.

The medal Dan was going to give a Marine at the finish.

My race wasn’t a PR, although I think it could have been if a) my asthma wouldn’t have started to give me problems and b) I wouldn’t have run an extra (are you ready for this?) 0.8 miles! I love this race, but it’s so crowded and so many runners stop to walk in the middle of the course (please move to the side), which resulted in a lot of weaving which really compounds over 26.2 miles. My pace applied to 26.2 miles and not 27 would have been a PR by almost 2 minutes, but such is racing. At the end of the race I got to give the pink balloons that Shell and Ike carried to help me locate them to little kids! I am the biggest fan ever of random acts of kindness so this was possibly the best part of the race! Next up: JFK50!

At the end with great friends and awesome signs

Pre-Race

I signed up for this race because it was two hours away, Dane, my friend and the RD, added a race day packet pick-up (thanks, Dane!), and I like taking advantage of being in shape to run marathons when I want. I’m noticing that as I write these blogs I’m never sure how a race is going to go- there are so many variables- but here’s what was stacked against me this time: 1) three hours of sleep the night before; 2) piriformis syndrome that put me out for the week leading up to the race; 3) an ultramarathon and an Olympic triathlon in the previous three weeks; 4) a lot of work stress that had me burning the candle on both ends; 5) a hilly course; and 6) 85 degrees and ridiculous humidity (although I shouldn’t be surprised. Even if it is NW PA, it is still August).

Race

Me and a half dozen other people (and the Vitamin Water truck) couldn’t find the packet pick-up/finish line. I call Dane who tells me very bluntly that I shouldn’t be where I was and that I should come to the finish where he and packet pick-up were. Thanks, Dane. Titusville isn’t the most urban of areas and the unmarked roads in pre-dawn darkness aren’t intuitive if you’re not a native. Signs would be helpful, but that’s an easy fix for next year. I get to the packet pick-up/finish line where I greet Dane and hear him say “Mom, that’s Kat, can you give her her packet?” His mom was helping! Cute!  Awwww, hometown race!

As usual, I make friends at the start line including a couple from Georgia who were running half marathons in half of the states and a Brit living in State College whose goal was to run every marathon in Pennsylvania. Runners were asked to move to the other side of a single lane bridge because no one knew where the start was. Seriously, Titusville is rural. It made me think of when our clinic director explained during our first year that Pittsburgh was near Appalachia and highlighted the point by putting up a PowerPoint slide of the movie poster from Deliverance.

One I get on the right side of the start line, I see Dan! I love Dan so I was thrilled to see him just because, but I was also excited because the night before the race I realized that for the first race ever, I wouldn’t know anyone (other than Dane) and I would have zero spectators. Dan re-introduced me to his wife, Leslie, and Justin and Justin’s wife (whose name I never got but is super sweet), who I assume are family friends.

We start the race and Dan and I run together for a half a mile until I realize he’s going to have a stronger day than I am and send him off with a high-five. I wore my Laurel Highlands shirt because it’s the only white tech shirt I have (?) and it was supposed to be hot. I regret that decision. I met lots of other Laurel runners which was really cool, but I also think it had the unintended effect of making me seem way more bad@ss than I am. Before Dan and I split up, we passed a girl who commented to someone “Whoa! Did you see that?! She’s an ultra runner!” (the shirt reads, “Laurel Highlands Ultra” on the back). I was probably 4 feet ahead of her and having her talk about me while I was right there made me wildly uncomfortable, especially since I have a complex about being a sham ultra runner until I get a 50 miler under my belt. I’m no different than any other runner- we all put one foot in front of the other.  In fact, as I spoke with runners along the course, I realized how much of a running newbie I still am.

The first mile is a hill on a dirt road. F*** you Dane. People are walking it. I refuse to. It’s not a bad hill, but at mile 1?! I befriend a guy who is training for his first ultra- a 24 hour relay. We have a sharp downhill in mile 2 and I remember that I overheard Dane saying there was a car accident the night before that took out the water stop! I will never be an RD!

Check out the red car on the left. There should be a water stop there!  

We next head into a hill that lasts from mile 3-4. Hey Dane, F*** you, again. Everyone is walking this hill. I run it, and as I pass a guy he looks at me with exasperation and exclaims, “What is wrong with you?!” I continue up the hill and walk towards the top. Not because I couldn’t get to the top but because I’m worried about what this type of hill early on will mean for the rest of the race. Mile 4 water stop I take water from a guy in a Duke shirt. I hate Duke. I can’t hide my hatred for Duke and comment: “I can’t believe I’m taking water from a guy from Duke!” I know I should be nice to volunteers, but my Terrapin loyalty overrides my runner’s etiquette. My saving grace was that another guy at the same water stop yelled in response to my comment, “I’m from Maryland!” I do a little hop, skip and a jump and scream “Go Terps!” to which he responded, “Fear the Turtle!” Oh happy marathon moment! Yay Terps!!!! Fear THIS Turtle!

I want Testudo to be my boyfriend, he's so handsome

At this point I pick up Rick who has run 212 marathons and this month visited Pittsburgh; he stayed at an inn a quarter mile away from my condo- remarkable considering he lives in Toronto! We chat about Pittsburgh, races and careers and I enjoy his company until I lose him when he sees his wife at mile 8.  I banter with a policeman who tells me I look great: I tell him to check back in 20ish miles. He groans at the thought!

At mile 10 we leave the streets of Titusville and head towards the bike trail. The bike trail is every bit as boring as it is beautiful.

There are no spectators. There are only water stops every two miles. Some observations of 18 miles that were difficult to differentiate:

• I liked cheering for the runners who were coming back, particularly Dan who said he would wait for me at the end and we would finish together. He lied and finished a few minutes ahead of me, but it kept me going when I wanted to slow down.

• A guy on a bike passed me and cheered for me by name. I was so confused. For miles I was trying to think of who this mystery man was and what sounds like “Kat” that he could have shouted at me. He passed me again and said my name again. What?! Am I hallucinating!? The fourth time he passed me and cheered for me I finally asked who he was. It was Justin, Dan’s friend! He had changed shirts and had a helmet and sunglasses on- oh!! YAY friendly face that I can place!

• A guy in a white shirt kept leap frogging me and I HATED him for it. He wasn’t doing a run/walk, but every 5-10 minutes he would stop and walk, blow by me when he started again and then stop. It was annoying, distracting, and demoralizing. As I came up on him in the last mile, I was thinking about how much I hated him this entire race and he clapped for me as I passed him. Cr@p. I spent all race hating a decent guy who cheered for me as I outkicked him. I also spent all race hating Dane, but that’s a little different

• One guy ran by with a headband to hold back his flowing hair. Note to self: get Lucas a headband

• Mile 11 water stop there was a volunteer wearing a Vermont City Marathon relay shirt. I yelled “I ran Vermont this year” and he asked where I was from. When I responded Pittsburgh, he yelled “Wait! Come back!” and I instinctively started to run back towards the water station before I realized that it was in the wrong direction!

• Water stations had tiny itty bitty little miniature cups the size of thimbles. I am only slightly exaggerating. It was VERY tough to stay hydrated with less than a gulp of fluid. This was compounded by volunteers who didn’t know how to man water stops, so they ended up being self-serve stations.

• I thought of my mantra, “Relentless forward motion” which makes me giggle because it makes me feel like I’m a renegade on a mission (which is so far from anything I actually am)

• A phrase that I read somewhere popped into my head: “(S)he who runs for pleasure never gets tired” It was so appropriate for a day like today. It was a beautiful day, I wasn’t shooting for a PR and I was running through the woods and making new friends. Running can bear great gifts and today was one of them.

I crossed the finish line and Dane gave me a hug. Anyone who knows me knows I have very expressive features (you always know exactly how I feel) and anyone who has studied with me knows that I grumble when I’m working through something, often unaware of my vocalizations (seriously, I wish I was making that up). I think about how bad I feel for Dane that he is hugging my sweaty post-marathon self and he asks if I was okay, looking concerned. Cr@p! I grumbled out loud and he thinks I’m injured. I tell him I’m fine, just that I feel bad for him that he needs to hug me when I’m so gross. I tell him that we need to have a talk about the hills and the cups. He told me he took out a hill. WTF?! I’m still convinced he’s a sadist which is the only reason anyone would host a hilly marathon in August. And that makes me a masochist because who in their right mind would run a hilly marathon in August?!

I finished at 4:37, 4th of my 7 marathons and 15 minutes slower than my PR in May. I’m neither happy nor disappointed; I’m truly ambivalent. Marathons have stopped being races for me and are now training runs to help maintain my fitness. I noticed that on this run when I was slowing down I wasn’t slowing down because of my cardiovascular fitness or pain in my legs. I felt good, I was just moving much more slowly; no juice. Not sure if it was a hydration issue, general fatigue, nutrition or something else, but it was interesting for me to note that it was different than what usually slows me down in a race.

All in all it was a great training run. 24 hours later I feel great, walked a few miles and spent some time on my new bike trainer (thank you, Craigslist!). What’s next? Run Around the Square 2009. As far as marathons, I’m not sure. I’m speaking with Raytomorrow about the camp in October which may influence my ability to run the Baltimore and Marine Corps Marathons. There is so much I want to do in October, but even if all the events are on separate weekends, I’m not sure if I’d be able to juggle three weekends away in the middle of what will be a crazy semester. I’m good at maintaining a work/play balance, but I’m nervous about what I might need to sacrifice come October. I'll keep you posted.

Pre-Race

Like Shamrock, I have no goals for the Pittsburgh marathon other than to have fun. I skipped my 20 miler between Shamrock and Pittsburgh and I don’t know what effect two marathons in the previous two months will have on my performance. After PRing at pancake flat Shamrock, I don’t have high expectations for a fast time at hilly Pittsburgh.

I wake up at 5 am and Shell, Ike and I eat breakfast and get ready. We meet up with some friends at Craig’s hotel and there is lots of nervous and excited energy. Shell and I line up towards the back of the 10:00 min/mile pace group. I run into my Girl’s on the Run co-coach, Laura, and her roommate, Shannon and after a few minutes of nervous chatter, we’re off and running!

The Race

We take off through the Strip District and my favorite spectator is a Scottish bagpiper. I’m bopping along, running a very comfortable 10 min pace when I see Megan, another Girls on the Run coach, who is running the half with her husband Nathan (who mentioned he’s read this blog: Hi Nathan!). We chat for a few minutes but we subsequently part ways. Shortly after at mile 4 as we cross the bridge to the North Shore, I hear someone cheer for me, then cheer for Shell. I look to see Shell fly past in the beginning of leap-frogging that will go on for the next 10 miles. I catch Shell around mile 5 and we begin to run together. I see a man who looks familiar and after a moment I realize it is Luke Ravenstahl. I point to him, telling Shell “That’s our mayor!” and he looks at me and cheers for me by name. Cool.

I’ve been battling my bladder for around 7 miles when I see an overpass that serves as my first pit stop. I lose Shell as she runs ahead, but I catch her around mile 8 and we run onto the South Side hooping, hollering and cheering for anyone and everyone. I lose her at the mile 9 water stop as it begins to rain. Usually I hate rain, but for some reason, I’m not too bothered. The course support dwindles but I continue to keep thanking spectators and volunteers. Leaving the South Side at mile 12 I head up the hill on Forbes towards Oakland. I was planning to walk the hill if needed, but I felt really strong for mile 12 so I ran it, excited to be in Oakland where I work and go to school. I’m particularly excited to see my office where I make pit stop #2; just one of many benefits to being on my home turf.

As I go back on the course I catch up to Shell around mile 13.5. I lose her for the last time just after the water stop after mile 14, but not before I tell her some of Mister Rogers’ Pittsburgh history (i.e. he was a pianist and all the piano music in the show was music that he played; Mr. McFeely is currently faculty at Duquesne). Mile 14.5 I see volunteers from Shadyside Presbyterian Church, where Megan (see above) is a member. I know through Megan’s blog that they put a lot of thought into supporting the marathoners so I make an extra effort to thank them. As I come upon the relay exchange point I see two friendly faces: Steph and Jen! I excitedly do a crazy arm-swinging windmill run across the course for high-fives and then head onto Walnut Street. I see my friend Rich, an incredibly accomplished runner. I realize I want to hug him but also realize I can’t stop, so I run into him full speed with my arms out, embracing at impact. I later found out he wasn’t running because of cracked ribs! Ah! I’m so sorry!! He runs a few paces with me and passes me a bottle of Powerbar electrolyte drink and I happily take it and run ahead. Not more than a quarter of a mile later I see my friend Aimee and her husband Patrick (more crazy windmill arm-swinging excited running) and Aimee runs with me for a brief bit. I’m on a total high from seeing so many friends when I see another- Laura’s roommate Ryan! This is the best mile ever!

Around mile 16 I realize that I am feeling exponentially stronger than I ever have during a marathon. I’m still keeping my pace between 9:50 and 10:10ish and I don’t feel the need to slow down. We run through Homewood and I see old women in housecoats on their porches staying out of the drizzle. I wave at them and they’re so happy to be acknowledged. As we turn into Highland Park I am happy to be back in familiar territory. I didn’t realize all the people I would see here. I see a faculty member who I wave at then no more than a few houses down I see another faculty member and a first year grad student who so sweetly cheer me on. The spectators here are fantastic and as I run by a coffee shop men start chanting my name- “Kat! Kat! Kat!” I feel like a rock star! As I continue to run I see another graduate student friend and I’m so thrilled by my good fortune that I forget to look for my running partner Jen, her husband Robert and their daughter Abby. She saw me and yelled, but I had my iPod on by this point, so I unfortunately didn’t hear her. One man actually turned to me to comment on my popularity! I felt so supported on this course!

Coming out of Highland Park I’m still not slowing down. In fact, I feel really strong and I know there’s a big downhill ahead. As I start to pick up the pace a bit I see one of the girls I coach and I freak out, I am so excited to see her! Running through Bloomfield is a huge party. There are bands and tons of loud and awesome spectators. There are also lots of officers out in support of the three police officers who were killed in early April. There’s no way I’m slowing down in Bloomfield. Returning to the Strip, Jen flies by me as part of the relay and I try not to get demoralized by all the relay runners who are so much fresher than me. My pace has picked up to the mid-9s and I wonder if a PR is a possibility (I’m unsure because my watch auto paused during my pit stops). I dig deep and hammer out the last miles in 9:19, 9:26 and 8:54 pace. The last 0.1 I see Steph and Jen again as well as Ike. Having friends cheer for you at the end is the best way to end a marathon. I fly through the chute and I feel great even though I think I missed a PR. If nothing else, I just completed my first marathon where I didn’t need to stop to walk. At the family link up area I run into Lisa, a third Girls on the Run Coach, and am thrilled to catch up with her and to hear she came in sub-4.  I hung out with Ike, Shell and Len to cheer in the last runner and it was such a gift to be able to pay the cheering karma forward, especially since I would later find out that the last runner was running for Elora.

Post-Race

It was a great day with lots of support and solid running and the icing on the cake was that I PRed (as did Shell and Ike)! My chip time was 4:28:01, even with two pit stops. It was the most fun I’ve ever had and it was the easiest marathon I’ve ever run. Coming up next: Vermont City marathon on May 24th.

I just wanted to update and let my readers know that Jimmy and four other Marines completed a 177.5 ultra marathon to raise money for the Inured Marine Semper Fi Fund. They did a phenomenal job, but they are unfortunately still short of their fundraising goal. Please check out the video below and support our men who ran 177.5 miles to raise money for the men and women who were injured to protect our freedoms.

Click here to donate

Over the last few years I've been trying to be better in my eating. I don't have certain goals, but only being a few years out of college, there was a lot of room for improvement from eating anything from Ramen to a half a bag of Reeses Pieces for dinner. My first year out of college I lived with my best friend Han who is as nice a person as she is a great cook (which says a lot on both counts!) and her way of relaxing was to cook healthy meals for us! Really! I would come home from work, hit the gym and come home to a well-balanced meal which we would eat while we chatted and drank wine. It was the best living situation I will ever have and if I could ever knock her new husband out of the picture to go back to living with Hannah, I would! (Sorry Andy!)

(Andy and Han after cheering me on at the Marine Corps Marathon 2007)

When I moved to Pittsburgh, Hannah was terrified I'd starve. I knew I wouldn't starve, but not starving and eating well are two very different things. In order to help me keep up the healthy eating Han made me "Kitty's Cookbook" which was full of all of our favorite recipes, along with short-cuts for the busy and starving graduate student, alongside pictures of us and our old home (really, everyone should be so luck to have such a best friend). At first, I did really, really well. I ate so well my co-workers even began to comment and wonder how long I'd be able to keep it up. The sad answer: about 3 months.

However, I wasn't ready to slide all the way back into my old habits. I made little changes... switching to whole wheat breads and pastas. Eating a balanced breakfast every day. Drinking more tea and less coffee. I've always drank several liters of water a day so I kept that up. And over the last few years I've made other changes, one at a time: soy milk and creamer, organic yogurt, cheese made from milk that wasn't treated with hormones. A trick that I really like is that I have a "snack" shelf in my fridge. When I'm busy and tired and don't feel like cooking or looking for food and it would be oh so easy to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's (which I've learned I can't keep in my house!), that shelf is packed with healthy, easy snacks: hummus, yogurt, low-fat string cheese, low-fat pudding, fruits and veggies.

I'd never considered myself a healthy or nutritious eater until the last few days. The other day I was looking at my grocery cart and everything in it was healthy. Every flipping thing. Was that really my grocery cart? By making one change at a time (really, it was about one change every 3-6 months) I'd morphed into someone who ate well! Then last night, after a 16 hour day, I got home at 10 pm. Instead of grabbing ice cream or chips or ordering a pizza (all would have been so easy), I consulted my snack shelf and grabbed some hummus and broccoli and some string cheese. Veggies and protein. Overall not a great dinner, but my midnight snack could have been much, much worse. I thought about what I ate yesterday and it really wasn't too bad at all:

Breakfast: Bowl of cereal with light soy milk

During class: Banana and peach ginger tea

Lunch: Turkey sandwich on a whole wheat bagel with low fat chive cream cheese and dried cranberries

After-run snack: Organic yogurt with honey and fresh blueberries; cup of 100% orange juice (no sugar added)

I'm running late and not going to have a chance to eat dinner snack: Banana

It's 10 pm and I'm tired and still have work to do "dinner": Hummus and broccoli with string cheese.

I still need to work on incorporating more fruits and veggies into my diet but I'm really excited about all of the progress I've made. On another nutritional note I've actually started trying to eat more calories recently and I've found that it has really helped my running performance and recovery. Eat more, run faster? I like this sport Wishing everyone else happy running and yummy eating!

Somehow, somewhere, the idea was planted that I should run an ultra (read: Rich encouraged me). If I'm trained for a marathon, why not push myself a little further? Limitations have been logistics of cost and travel. Plus, my friends who run ultras run 50 or 100 milers or 50K trail races. I need to start small (as small as an ultra can be, at least). Well today, while looking for directions for a race I have tomorrow, I stumbled upon this:

JC Stone 50K

It is a 50K that, if held next year, will be two weeks after Antarctica (when I hope to be in the best shape of my life). Cost is $20 and it's less than a half an hour away.  I can run three marathons and an ultra between October and May, right? We'll find out!

Current race schedule:

End of October: MCM

Beginning of March: Antarctica

End of March: 50K

Beginning of May: Pittsburgh (not official yet, but everyone says it'll back in 2009)

Still early in the season, but I’m already having symptoms of marathon training. I find that being a runner, especially someone who runs endurance events, just changes your perspective. I find that the further I get in my training, the further my perspective is from everyone else’s. The other day I ran to class to get a short 4 miles in. I start talking with a classmate who’s also a runner and I mentioned I have about 60 miles left on my current shoes and I’m looking forward to breaking out a new pair. Another classmate overheard this conversation: “60 miles?! How long will it take you to run 60 miles?!” When I told her I’d need the new shoes by the end of the month she just stared at me blankly. When you train for a marathon, “long” distances are redefined.

As part of accruing that 60 miles I had my “long” run of 6 miles last week. It was beautiful out and I ran to the park. On Tuesday I saw a classmate who said that she and her boyfriend had spotted me running. I love that as my running and distance picks up, I’m spotted all over the city. Last year I came back from a run and saw my building manager while I was stretching outside. He did a double take and kind of stared at me blankly. I asked him what was wrong and he said he must have been confused…. He thought he saw me in Squirrel Hill 15 minutes ago, then he saw me in Oakland 10 minutes ago and now I was back at my condo in Shadyside. Yep, that was my route that day. It makes perfect sense to me that I’d run through 3 distinct neighborhoods to get my miles in, but he thought it must have been a mistake. The funny thing about training is that as the distances get longer, the world gets smaller. 

One of the things that I was most proud of this week was just finding time for my runs. Finals are coming up and this week was the week of meetings. Tuesday through Thursday I was up at 6 am and home at 8 or 9 pm, and I was booked straight through. When I told my mom how busy I was, she asked what I was up to. “Well, I had class, clients, meetings, consultations. I had a lab visit, a lab meeting, brown bag and coaching. And then I was running either first thing in the morning or last thing at night.” “You were running with all of that?!” Of course I was running! I have a marathon to train for! Would it have been easier to sleep in? Yes. Did I need those hours for other things? Yes. But, I am happier and more balanced when I run. I think better, I sleep better, and I like that I am working towards a goal. (Note: graduate school also working towards a goal. The path to that goal, however, is significantly less rewarding). When you train for a marathon, running is no longer optional, it’s just part of what you do and you love to do it.

My favorite part of marathon training is dreaming. I literally dreamed that I PRed last night. There was a dispute about whether I ran a 4:22 or a 4:27, not a particularly blistering pace, but one that I would be happy with. My dream was clearly inspired by my friend who ran a 4:27 last weekend at the Dallas marathon and took 3^rd in her age group. The great thing about training is that it allows me to test my capabilities and see if my dreams can become a reality. I remember last year I ran a 10K in June and clocked a 8:45 pace. I was thrilled, I never knew I could run that fast! By September, I ran a 10K at 8:15 pace. I never knew I could do that and because I apparently underestimate my abilities, I’m not sure what else I have in me. A BQ? An ultramarathon? I have no idea, but I do know that training, and training hard, will get me closer to my potential.

One step towards maxing out on my way to Antarctica, is really stepping up my training this year. Instead of just doing the miles (which got me across finish lines last year) this year I really want to maximize my miles. I’m including speed work and hills. I’m running 6 days a week and when I do those runs I’m incorporating tempo run and fartleks.  Today I ran hill repeats on a quarter mile hill with a 16% grade. My thighs burned and my calves were shaking when I stopped, but I know that the hard work I put in now will pay off later. I’ll keep you posted as it goes.