My first LONG race!

You hear all of those jokes about walking uphill to school, in the snow, both ways, and you laugh....but that is how that race felt! Let me start at the beginning though!

Last week I ran a few short runs, but I was tapering for the big 10 mile race at the Ocean Drive Marathon. I got up bright and early on Saturday and Jon and I headed to Cape May for the second time this weekend. At big races, you *have* to pick your bib up the day before. Jon dropped me off at the start and headed back to Wildwood, the 8.5 mile mark, before the roads closed up. Funny how on the way in, I didn't really notice the bridges.....

Everyone was very friendly at the starting line, 10 milers and marathoners all mixed in. My faves: camo sleeveless shirt and jeans, leather jacket and khakis, gargabe bags knotted around  bodies in case of rain (that never came, hooray!) and these were marathoners!

Away we went, lots of cheering and yelling, people setting their Garmins and ipods as they crossed the start (I crossed it almost 40 seconds after the gun went off). Lots of families cheering and yelling and happy (of course, they didn't yet know they were stuck on Cape May until the race passed by).

I checked my ipod at every mile, and was overjoyed to see that I was keeping a good pace. And then I saw Bridge #1. OMG. I had been people watching, specifically "chubby lady" as I had dubbed her, who wore short shorts and kept pulling at her crotch every 10th step. Let me point out tho, that chubby lady was ahead of me...until we went over the bridge. That is where she quit and started walking back. This was mile 3, and I had already passed a dead bird and dead opossum #1, right in the middle of where we were running. Yum. Dead opossum 2 and 3 would come later. Equally yummy.

This is about where the discarded clothes began to taper. It felt like Night of the Comet without the red dust. Shirts, sweatshirts, gloves...everywhere! This is also where I started seeing people going into and out of the reeds and bushes to...well...you know. Not me, no way, I'll wait!

My next two miles I was focused on "fanny bag suitcase man". What a trip this guy was. The fanny pack was huge. He must have had his life in there! He was a run/walker and I would pass him on his walk phase and he would, well, nudge me, as he ran by. Started getting really annoying. About mile 5 I passed him and never saw him again. Woot!

Also around mile 5 my SBC song came on, Bringing Sexy Back, so that kept me going for awhile. We were in town now, no water view, and the cars were starting to show up, cut through, drive where we were running....get pulled over...teehee

Mile 7 brought us closer to the Boardwalk, and the view improved. I could just "see" that Wildwoods" sign now, where Jon would be, meaning I was almost done. At 8 miles the Stockton kids were there at the water station, and they had written Run Forrest Run on the street. The giggle kept me going until we hit the actual boardwalk.

And there was my papparazzi.....he takes great pictures!

Almost done now, 1.5 miles to go. The group I was in was thinning out, and I was gaining on, and I am not proud of this nickname, "back fat lady" (she needed a better sports bra!) COULD NOT CATCH HER!!! It made me nuts, but that mile and a half was amazing!Running along the Wildwood boardwalk, crowd cheering, clock hadn't hit 2 hours, and wouldn't! 1:57:45ish I finished! 99 out of 122 in my group, 487 out of 541 overall. I didn't finish last!WOOT!

Let me say here, there were 3 bridges, one big hill, and we ran into the wind the whole time. The.Whole.Time.

What an amazing feeling! I thought I would be teary eyed, but wasn't, not until the next day, although it was a painful next day lol. My calves hurt later that day, but Monday it was thighs and shins. Today, Tuesday, still thighs. Yikes, standing up and sitting down hurts!

I cannot wait for that Half.

Bring.It.On.



A trio of 5 milers

Sunday was supposed to be my long run, but that 5k full of hills really did a number on me and I felt stiff and sore in the calves and shins. It felt like I was running through mud! I stopped at 2.75 miles and turned back. I half walked/half ran home, not the greatest run, but the weather was nice, and I didn't quit entirely!

Monday's run was much better. I was still a little stiff, but my times were good and I stretched my calves and shins a little a few times. I hit the halfway mark with time to spare and turned back feeling much better. It was so warm out that I was wearing a sleeveless shirt, totally crazy nice weather. One cute old man actually mimed to me "are you cold?" which cracked me up. I told him no, running actually made me sweaty and he laughed. Made it back home in record time! I did stop to take a nature pic:

Today at work, when I knelt down to talk to one of the kids, a muscle in my inner thigh zinged. It kinda tweaked all day long and I considered walking the 5 miles. I started out slow and no pain, so I ran the whole 5.3 miles at a great pace. It still zings just a little when I put all my weight on it, which is weird, but not truly real pain, so I guess time will tell!!

12 days until the Ocean Drive 10 miler!

Halfway to Brielle Day 5K

Today was a very cold day for a run! I had planned to run the race and then finish my long run, but tomorrow's weather will be amazing, so I will do my long run then. Today's race ran through the Brielle neighborhoods, a very very hilly race! I met up with my friend Debbie, and her friend, whose name I can't remember, at the starting line.

I started off fast, but it was SO cold that I had to slow down a bit. I wasn't watching my timer because my hands were so cold at first, that I had to put the itouch in my pocket so I could pull my sleeves over my hands.

There were some very cute things spray painted throughout the course: you can do it, you are all most there (this was near the top of one of the hills, and no, I didn't spell it wrong, they did). My fave was around the last bend: "You are at the home strech". Another very cute typo, had me laughing like a loony bird, to tell the truth.

I finally checked my time at the 2 mile mark. I was sure the hills had killed me, and hoped I was on track to beat 39:30. I teared up when I saw I was at about 20:25 at the 2 mile mark. I was in shock!

Around a few more bends: traffic jam. Lots of cars waiting for us to run by. One nasty woman was making negative comments and gesturing, so I shouted "calm down" as I ran by, lol. Hopefully karma caught up with her later in the day!

Rounded the last bend and couldn't believe the clock was still in the 20s! I high tailed it and crossed the finish line at 31:35. And I cried. I was so crazy proud that I beat not only my best hilly 5k time by 8 minutes, but I also beat my best flat 5K time by 2:30!

I also gained on my friend Cheryl. She usually finishes way ahead of me, and she finished about 1:30 ahead of me!



Zombies, Run!

Ok, I admit it. I bought the app. It was hysterical! As you are running, this whole game plays out, with songs from your playlist in between, about zombies taking over the earth. at one point they were telling me to run faster and it felt like the zombie was right behind me, breathing over my shoulder. LOVED it. My GPS on my itouch is wonkie, so it didn't work as well as it could. There are supposed to be more Zombie encounters. I will have to be sure it is running properly *before* I start it next time.

Anyway...

Today I re-ran my 11-11-11 Veteran's Day 11K run. It took me 87 minutes in November. What a difference 4 months can make, it took just under 80 minutes today. Remember what i said yesterday? Wonder Frickin Woman. Another 11:30 average per mile.

Tonight was the Adventure Run in Shrewsbury, but picking Morgan up from PAA pushed my run back an hour and I ran out of time. (punny!) Luckily, they do it every month, so I will go next month!

2 days until the Halfway to Brielle 5K, 17 dayts until the Ocean Drive 10 miler, and only 59 days until the NJ Half!

View from my run on Princeton Ave:

And yes, the idiot running along, mouthing the words to the songs on her ipod, that's me! I may look ridiculous, but remember: Wonder Frickin Woman!

Feeling Like Wonder Woman Again!

I started today's run (2 days overdue) feeling stiff and sluggish, hoping it wouldn't end up like Sunday's long run. I crossed the Lovelandtown Bridge, and my thighs were so stiff, I was sure it would end badly. Thanks to the skunk who chose the start of the bridge's decline to die, I hustled down the bridge to escape the smell, and by the time I reached the one mile mark I was 30 seconds ahead. Shocked!

I crossed Route 35 to East Ave, and was greeted by wind for the next 1-1/4 miles. Oh joy, I thought, there goes my 30 second lead! There were so many work vans along East Ave, the summer people must be getting their houses ready! I hit the halfway point ...  2 minutes ahead! OMG I couldn't believe it, I was running on air!

The whole run back was a breeze, amazing what the right frame of mind could do for a person! Antonella Barba's Jersey Girl came on (don't be a hater, it's catchy) and I just cruised on, no pains, no worries, and kept that 2 minute lead the whole way home! I finished my 5 mile run ay 47:44, more than 2 minutes faster than my best time! I finished the run listening to Sexy Back, which makes me giggle thanks SBC and an old guy on a motorcycle in Asbury.

I set out telling myself I would run the 5 miles, even if I went past the 60 minutes, and I finished ahead. I really am Wonder Woman <3

Guess I am the one who shouldn't be a hater!

Still healing

Saturday was my long run day, but of course life gets in the way! Due to mommy obligations, I missed two of my short runs last week, and when Saturday rolled around it was gray and rainy. Weather report said it would stop at noon, but not so. I had Girl Scout Skating that night and a sinus headache all day, so I decided to wait until Sunday. I finally got my run in ay 9:30 Sunday morning. I was scheduled to run 100 minutes. Thanks to seasonal allergies I was feeling thick and stupid, but I manged 7.5 miles of sluggish running in 95 minutes. It is just a bit over my average of 12 minutes, but i was not caring all that much. I was just glad I finished! I ran to the Mantoloking Bridge, over it, and then turned right around and ran back. The view was amazing

The bridge was hell!

Today I was very sore, so I delayed my short run until tomorrow and did Pilates with weights instead. 20 Days until the Ocean Drive 10 miler and 9 weeks until the NJ Half!