race report: frederick running festival

I’ve had the Frederick Running Festival races on my radar for a while now. It’s managed by the same people that put on the Baltimore Running Festival and Baltimore 10 Miler, so I knew it would be a good event!

It’s also pretty convenient that a good friend from college lives just a few miles from the race site, so I didn’t have to get up quite as early on race day — Frederick, MD is about 75 miles away from my house. It was perfect!

The main race was the half marathon on Sunday May 6, but I couldn’t just leave it at that. They also put on a Twilight 5K at 6pm the night before. Runners could choose to do both races by signing up for the “Nut Job Challenge.” That’s my kind of challenge!

I figured I’d run the 5K easy. I even turned off the pace screen on my Garmin so I couldn’t be influenced by it. Well, the course was pretty flat, and I felt good! I was expecting something in the 30-minute range, but my legs thought otherwise.

Not bad for "taking it easy!"

That was fun!  After the race I headed back to my friends’ house for dinner. We had a few hours to chat and catch up until I had to get myself to bed!

It was an easy ride to the race start, though I did get caught up in a bit of parking traffic. I actually went the wrong way (well, it still worked) when I forgot about a turn … but it worked in my favor. I was directed to a grass lot across the street from the start line — and my spot was just a few rows from the VIP parking.

I joined the crowd and walked past a few really long bathroom lines, thankful that I had extra time to use the facilities before I left by staying so close. But it’s always nice for one last visit … and then I stumbled upon a mysteriously short line for a (real!) restroom.  Good race karma. I hoped the rest of my day would go well!

When I lined up at the start, I intentionally avoided the pacers. I just raced the week before and planned enjoying my 13.1-mile tour of Frederick. No clock-watching or stressing about pace. No worrying about keeping up with pace groups. I was going to take it easy and have fun!

I really did ignore Garmin pace, only glancing at it as I watched the miles tick by. Even so,  I settled into a quick pace. A few miles in I caught up with the two-hour pacers — and I had started quite a bit behind them. It wasn’t long before I passed them, and never saw them again. I felt great, though, and was pretty sure I had another sub-2 coming.

The morning was in the mid 60s and gray, and we had some misty rain for the first few miles. It was humid, so the drizzle felt amazing, even if it did make the ground a little slick. It dried up after a little while,  but stayed cloudy. I guess we were lucky — earlier forecasts called for sun and a high of 80 degrees!

There were rolling hills, but nothing too difficult. It was easier than last week’s Iron Girl course.

Well, that little steep uphill right near the end got people grumbling, but I was feeling pretty good. I knew I was finishing another amazing race!

After the hill we rounded a corner and finished around the race track.

Another strong finish! And while my race time is nearly two minutes slower than last week’s race, I was happy that the course distance was right. And actually, my Garmin average pace for  distance covered was exactly the same for both races. I can’t believe I did on my own what the pacers helped me achieve last week!

It took 22 half marathons for me to break two hours, and then I did it again in race #23, seven days later. Woo-hoo!

Guess I'm not a middle-of-the-pack runner anymore?

The Frederick race partnered with Iron Girl to give a “Titanium Girl” medal to runners that ran both half marathons. So with the “Nut Job,” I got a lot of bling!

That was a nice event. The premium for the half marathon is a really cool jacket, plus I got a tech shirt for the 5K. I don’t know if I’ll go out there every year, but I’m sure I’ll be back!

race report: iron girl half marathon

Way back in August, Iron Girl announced a new women’s half marathon that would be held April 29, 2012 in Columbia, MD. The announcement was right around the time of the Iron Girl triathlon managed by the same group,  the Columbia Triathlon Association. I’ve loved that race all four times I’ve done the triathlon, and of course I love half marathons. I signed up right away!

I was quite happy with my training for this race. I ran a mid-March half marathon and early April 10-miler. I got up to 12 miles two weeks before the race, when often I don’t go beyond 10. Still, I went into race day with no expectations. I’ve run in Columbia before, and I knew it was going to be hilly!

That hill after mile 6 was pretty rough. But loved the downhill finish!

My fastest recent half marathon was a 2:04 in January for the Disney relay — which was flat! I had hoped for, but not really tried for, a sub-two finish in quite a few races since my near-miss in 2010 with a 2:00:16 in VA Beach — also flat!

I was full of doubt when I lined up with the 9-minute pace guys — it was so close to the front! Could I really do this?

I decided to give it a shot. It was a little tough at the start as the field spread out, but once we hit our stride it wasn’t too bad. I actually felt quite comfortable. The only time I was huffing and puffing was during that mile-seven hill. Our pace group slowed down a little bit for that hill, but stuck together.

Around mile nine, I felt myself falling a little bit behind — but then I realized I never took any fuel. Gu to the rescue! I felt better after that and had no trouble keeping up. This was my first time running with pacers, and it was a fabulous experience. I didn’t have to obsess over the pace on my Garmin — they were doing all the thinking for me! We had a small group that chatted for most of the race, a great distraction.

Once we passed mile 11 and started going downhill, our pacers let us know they were sticking to their 9-minute miles, but they’d find us at the finish if we wanted to break away. Most of us took off to see what we had left!

Yes, that was a pretty strong finish!

Aside from my brief pre-Gu struggle, I felt great the whole race. No trouble with the pace. I quickly shook off my doubts, and completely enjoyed my time running. No “are we there yet?”  or “why am I doing this?” mental games, either. It was great!

I didn’t expect my first half marathon under two hours to have so much time to spare.

Official time: 1:54:59
Overall: 289/1692
Age Group: 63/325

It was a little disappointing that I tracked the course short, though. Looking on the race organizers’ Facebook page, it seems I wasn’t alone. Being an inaugural race, it may not have been a certified course (I don’t think I saw it written anywhere). Darn!

At least I know I finished strong, and would have still been under two hours if the course was long enough. And if they call it a half marathon, it’s a half marathon. Right?

Right.

How it feels to exceed your goal.

race report: cherry pit 10 miler

On Sunday I ran the Annapolis Striders’ Cherry Pit 10 mile race. Held the same day as the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, it’s a nice local alternative for those of us that didn’t get into lottery-driven DC race.

It was also nice that I didn’t have to leave my house until 7:15am to make it with more than enough time to park, pick up my bib and stretch before the 8am start. (I didn’t even have to brave the restroom line, since I could stay home until close to race time.) I saw a friend’s Facebook status update that she was up at 4am to head to the Metro for the Cherry Blossom!

It was overcast and cool — upper 40s. Perfect running weather. Still, I was just planning on running at whatever pace my legs felt like doing comfortably. I wasn’t expecting to be as speedy as it turned out …

Miles 1-3 – Steady Incline

I started in the middle of the pack, and it took a couple minutes to spread out.  Once we left the High School and weaved around a couple others, we were out on Route 2 and started a long, gradual climb. I felt pretty good, but I was definitely looking forward to the end of that hill! (9:48, 9:19, 9:20)

Miles 4-6 – Weeee!

We turned off the main road and got to run past farms and wooded lots. Lovely. And mostly not uphill. (9:05, 9:11, 9:14)

Miles 7-8 – Are we there yet?

Once we turned onto South River Clubhouse Road, it got a bit uncomfortable.  This was where the toughest hills were. All those long inclines earlier in the race made them tough! I was a little tired but kept pushing through. (9:35, 9:25)

Mile 9 – Home Stretch

Phew, back on the main road — and pretty much done with the hills. Yippee! (9:05)

Mile 10 – Wait … I might be able to PR?

Yeah, I kind of suspected I had a pretty good pace going, but it didn’t really hit home until I saw my time with only one mile to go. And I turned on the jets.  (8:16)

Official time: 1:32:24 — a 70-second PR!

I even looked pretty good at the finish (and yes, I like to coordinate) …

Photo courtesy of Annapolis Striders / Jon Valentine

Maybe it was my best time, but not even close to any age group awards. Not surprising since this was part of the Striders’ Championship Series, so all the fast folks show up. Still, I was kind of jealous of the runner-up prize — second place got a cherry pie!

(Third got a case of cherry Coke. First got a trophy — not nearly as fun!)

it’s april already?

Oh my, where has the time gone?

Well, since I’ve barely been around this year, I figured I should touch back on a few things I missed …

February

5K PR! Apparently I was feeling fast at the Annapolis Striders Valentine’s Day 5K. I wasn’t sure I was going to really race it until we got started, and I realized my legs felt good. It was tough, especially the last push at the end. My official time was 25:22, 49 seconds faster than my previous best. I ran it really well, faster every mile. Hmm, I wonder if my 2.25-mile warmup helped?

Vacation! My husband and I headed off to Jamaica for a week of sunshine, relaxation and of course, fabulous food and drinks. This was our fourth visit to the Couples chain, and we highly recommend it!

Trail 10K! We were lucky to have a not-too-chilly day in late February to run this race. No snow, of course (since we had virtually no snow this year), but the course was quite muddy! I was happy with my 1:03:56 finish — I’ve had road 10Ks at or near this pace!

photo by Quantico Orienteering

March

Hmm, not too many events in March. I performed the Bach B Minor with the choral group I sing with. That was a workout! I also volunteered at a water stop for the B&A Trail Marathon and Half Marathon.  My friend is the race director and I like to help out!  (Well, I like to volunteer every so often to give back, anyway. I appreciate all the volunteers whenever I’m out racing!)

I also ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA half marathon in DC on St. Patrick’s Day. I was hopeful that I might have a good race, even though my distance training was a little lacking.  The short races + vacation in February didn’t help, though I did get back up to 10 miles prior to the race. But, it wasn’t my day for a PR. I started out OK for the first 5K or so, but once the hills kicked in I couldn’t hold a good pace. Still, my 2:06 finish was good enough to be fifth fastest of my 21 half marathons.

The only photo I took race day. The one free beer they gave out was only 8oz!

I think I’m all caught up now. What have you been up to?

the new ‘do

It’s gone. No regrets!

Before:

And after:

Blown straight by my stylist

Air dried, as it will be most of the time.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had it so short, but I like it.  Still playing around with workout options. I think I may start wearing tiny pigtails!

hair today, gone tomorrow!

In most of my adult life, I’ve kept my hair layered, usually shoulder length or a few inches longer.

Hubby and I at a friend’s wedding, summer 2007

Usually I’d let it grow for a few haircuts, just trimming up the layers … and then I’d cut it back to shoulder length. Repeat.

But about a year or so, I’d let my time between haircuts go a bit longer than my usual 3-4 months, and likewise, my hair started to get long. I was enjoying it, though, and figured I might as well have long hair one more time before I deem myself too old for long hair!

The last time my hair was really long was my freshman year of college.

Why yes, that is the same guy from above!

Shortly after this photo was taken, I chopped it into a bob. Talk about drastic!

Well, I’m about to do it again. This is pretty close to what it looks like now. The photo is from November, so it’s probably even a little bit longer.

I’m glad I learned to French braid my own hair when I was a kid, it’s been the best way to keep it out of my way when working out. It’s been fun, but it’s starting to get annoying. I’m ready to let it go.

When I decided to grow my hair out, I knew I would chop it all when it got long enough.

I’m going to donate it.

I haven’t decided where I’ll send it yet. I know about Locks of Love and Pantene Beautiful Lengths.  Any others I should look into?

I’ve got a haircut scheduled for tomorrow.  I may wind up having to cut it a little shorter than I want to make sure my donation is long enough … but it’s just hair, right?

It’ll grow back!

race (and vacation!) report: disney marathon relay

I just got back from six days in Disney World. Always a fun time!

This trip marks my third time traveling for Disney races — the Princess Half in 2009 and the Goofy Challenge in 2010. My Goofy Challenge partner joined me again to run the inaugural Marathon Relay this year. After two marathons and a 50K this fall, I was happy to “only” be doing a half marathon this trip.

We arrived in Orlando on Friday morning and got the (very crowded) expo taken care of. We were disappointed that there was no merchandise for the relay! Sure, it was smaller than the other races (we heard only about 1,000 teams were registered), but nothing? I would have liked a wine glass to go with the one I purchased for the marathon in 2010!

Friday night we hopped on a ferry boat from our resort to Downtown Disney, where we’d be meeting some bloggers/Tweeters at a meetup organized by Katy (the singing runner). Aside from my relay teammate, Katy was the only one I “knew” in our small gathering (originally planned for 14, we wound up with 7), but it was a lot of fun meeting new people!

We were exhausted after our day of travel, but still wanted to play and headed into the Magic Kingdom after dinner for a quick visit. Gotta squeeze in as many rides on Space Mountain as possible. It was lovely seeing the castle all lit up, but it’s January, Disney. Enough with the Christmas decorations and music!

We slept in a little on Saturday to recover from a busy day, and headed into Hollywood Studios. A somewhat smaller park, we were hoping not to wear ourselves out too much the day before our race. Plus we had an early (3:45pm!) dinner at the Italian restaurant there. Love my pre-race carbs. I couldn’t get a later dinner reservation, but it worked well. We were back to the hotel and asleep before 9pm.

With Disney races come early wake-up calls. Since we have to be on a bus by 4am, we were up at 2:30 to make sure we had time to get ready and eat breakfast without cutting it too close. I was happy for weather in the 50s at the start — chilly, but a big improvement from the below-freezing weather we had in 2010!

The lines for the port-o-pots seemed longer than they were last time around, but perhaps I waited to long. And then the walk to the start seemed more crowded and slower-moving. But that could be because I headed over later, since I was stuck in line for the bathroom. It wasn’t a bad wait, though, once I finally made it up to my corral!

Since I put in a half marathon time for placement among mostly full marathoners, I was a lot closer to the front than I otherwise would have been. Corral B! It was nice starting early. I was worried I might be too slow for this corral, but it was perfect. My pace fell right in with the crowd.

I’m still on a quest for a sub 2-hour half marathon … but I didn’t think Disney was the place for it. I haven’t been doing speedwork, but I did have a couple of good, fast 15Ks last month that made me think I might be able to do it. However, I could tell race day it wasn’t going to happen. I kept settling into a 9:30 pace, and I was OK with that. I wanted to be comfortable and enjoy myself!

As a marathoner, I felt a little lame just doing half the race. But I’ve done the whole thing here before… and it was pretty awesome knowing I was almost done once we got out of the Magic Kingdom. (Sorry full marathoners!)

My finish time was 2:04:08. That clocks in as my third-fastest half marathon, and my best time since 2010. Not bad!

Once I finished I grabbed some food and took a shuttle back to the marathon finish area to wait for my relay partner. I wandered around, sat in the sun, and watched the awards presentation. A little lonely, but it was still fun!

(outtake here!)

We didn’t leave until Wednesday afternoon, giving us plenty of time to play. I’m not sure when I’ll be back again, but I think I got my Disney fix for a while!

new year, new blog!

OK, it’s just a new name. And a new design. But everything else is the same!

I’ve been planning to make this change for a while now, and what better time than now?

Years ago, when I first started blogging at merrymishaps.com, I didn’t really know what I was getting into. I had actually purchased the domain thinking I’d use it for web development projects, but it kind of took off in another direction.

Over the years, I’ve morphed from a general/life blogger to a running/fitness blogger. Well, most of the time.

I’ll still jump in from time to time with cat photos, travel posts and whatever else inspires me. I didn’t want to stop doing that, and I didn’t want to pick a new blog name that would make me feel I have to stay on topic.

Mostly I run.

Yeah, that works.

holiday running

My husband and I are both from New York, with most of our family still living in our home towns. But New York is a very large state. My parents’ Long Island town is about 400 miles from my in-laws’ homes in Western NY!

So, like many couples, we have to alternate who we visit for the holidays. This year we headed to what is normally snowy Rochester.

I was happy that there was no snow, and the forecast was looking pretty clear. I’d be able to go running!

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and spent the night at my father-in-law’s house.  He and his wife live quite close to the Irondequoit Zoo, where I’d run on some pathways during a previous visit. But I don’t know how I missed the pedestrian bridge across the river that led to miles of trails!

I was happy to find an official trail!

I started just across the river from #9 (the star), and ran north to #5.

It seemed a bit rainy in the morning, but it was nothing more than a misty drizzle when I headed out that quickly turned to light flurries. Beautiful! And it wasn’t even that cold out — a balmy 35F.

I wasn’t running fast, but I was having a great time. When I hit the base of a loop, it was right around the halfway point for my 8-mile goal, so I headed back.

At the half-way point

I saw another runner along this boardwalk path and wanted to see where it went, but knew I should head back. Even though I told them I’d be gone awhile and they should eat breakfast, I knew they were waiting for me!

Maybe next time ...

That afternoon we headed over to my mother-in-law’s house to spend Friday and Christmas Eve (we’d be back to FIL’s on Christmas day. Our schedule was a little weird to make sure we split time evenly!).  We had breakfast plans our first morning there, but I still had time to run! My mother-in-law’s neighborhood isn’t nearly as scenic  — just houses!  At least they had flat, wide sidewalks.

It was colder (23F!), and a dusting of snow had fallen the night before. Just enough to hide any icy spots on the sidewalk. Well, that was a REALLY slow run as I took care to keep my balance. I skidded a few times but managed to stay upright. I was glad I got some distance the day before, and just wanted a few miles.

I figured with our last day Christmas, and a long drive home the day after, that would be it for running, so that’s all I packed for. I relaxed and enjoyed time with family for the rest of our visit.

Hope you all had a great holiday! Did you keep active?

race report: marine corps marathon

Well, the race was a month ago. Oops. But I couldn’t skip the write-up!

The Marine Corps Marathon was only 15days after the Baltimore Marathon — my first time doing two marathons so close together! I’m happy with how I felt and ran on race day.

It was a very chilly morning — in the low to mid 30s in the pre-dawn hours. Since we were taking Metro to the start line and had a ways to go, we gave ourselves a lot of travel time. So of course we were in the start line area with two hours to spare.

I was glad I met up with some friends at the train, it would have been lonely passing all that time by myself! Well, at least we got there before there were lines at the port-o-potties. And in fact, I got to break in a pristine facility.  Once we were all set (for the time being), we huddled under a tent to try to stay a little warm as we waited.

Thankfully time seems to pass quickly. I ate my peanut butter sandwich. We made another trip to the port-o-pots. And then it was time to head to the start corrals!

It was my second MCM, and the second time I wound up on the wrong side of the fence while trying to seed myself. Maybe next time I’ll figure it out! We squeezed in as soon as we found a spot in a reasonable pace group. I knew I wasn’t going for last year’s speed, and lined up with my friends. We were different paces and split up within the first mile, but it was nice to start together.

I was trying to do a better job pacing myself than I did in Baltimore — where I tried to be slower in the first half, but was still probably running too hard, which made for a pretty miserable second half. I was barely looking at my pace at all during Marine Corps — I was focusing more on keeping my heart rate low. A new strategy for me, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t pushing too hard!

I was hoping I’d be able to pick it up in the last 10K rather than fall apart.

And, well, it sort of worked.

Unlike Baltimore, where my walk breaks kept getting longer and more frequent, I kept them quick — just at the water stops –  and I resumed running soon after. I also felt good later in the race. I remember hating mile 17-18 in MCM last year (and in Baltimore it started around 16!), but I was still a happy runner this time around. I did stop briefly to stretch my hip, but got back on the road feeling OK pretty quickly.

This year, though, the bridge seemed a lot more awful than last year. Yeah, I did kind of hate the bridge this time around. But I felt better as we headed into Crystal City.

I willed my legs to move faster, and occasionally I’d glance down at my watch and my current pace *was* faster. But it seems I wasn’t holding it long enough to make a difference in my mile splits. Oh well.

Once again I was thankful for my Strider friends for being out there with gummy bears (and hugs).  Helps that they were around mile 23, so it meant I was almost done!

Those last few miles weren’t too bad, and I even managed to pick it up a little bit for the last two.  My last half mile (yikes! I tracked 26.51) wasn’t the sprint I can usually manage at the end … but I guess I probably was a little tired after a second marathon.

Overall time was 3:14 slower than Baltimore … but I was 5:26 slower than Baltimore at the halfway point.  Still not the negative splits I wished I could do, but at least I didn’t fall apart as badly!

The crowd at the finish was a lot worse than last year. Maybe because I was 25 minutes slower this year? I almost couldn’t hit the second mat due to a wall of people. And then it took forever to weave through the crowd to pick up food and get to the finish area.

I still love this race. I plan to be back in 2012!

Chip Time: 4:47:19
Overall Place: 11770 / 21023
Gender Place: 3916 / 8596
Division Place : 631 / 1309