Race Report-Half Marathon-Long

Anthony <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the report. Seems like you managed to enjoy the race, even if

it

Quoted message said:

didn't go exactly according to plan!

Have you got a target time for the marathon?

I'm expecting to run somewhere between 4:10 and 4:20. If conditions are
just right I might be able to run a bit faster, but we'll see. I seem to be
enjoying the longer distances more and more. I doubt I'll ever be very
fast, but I sure am having fun.
Michelle

Thanks for the report. Seems like you managed to enjoy the race, even if it
didn't go exactly according to plan!

Have you got a target time for the marathon?

Anthony.
"Mrsg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Today was an interesting race day. My friend, Lisa, and I planned to
run together. We are pretty equally matched speedwise and both wanted to
finish the half marathon in under two hours. Neither of us has ever run
that
fast, but we've come close. We ran a half marathon in the fall together
and
just missed the two hour mark. I finished in 2:03, and Lisa came in at a
few seconds over two hours. We had high hopes for today.
We planned to run at a pace of 9:05 per mile so that we could just make
our goal. We feared going out too fast. I felt strong, and we did the
first
six miles at a very even 8:55, so we were a bit ahead of our planned pace.
Lisa had started having a side cramp at about mile four, and she was
trying
hard to run through it, but by mile 6 she told me to go on. She couldn't
keep up the pace.
We had agreed to separate if one of us slowed, but when I took a good
look at my friend I just couldn't leave her. Lisa's coloring wasn't good,
and I noticed her hands were shaking. It was bad enough that a medic on
the
sidelines asked her if she was alright. There's no way I was leaving her.
We slowed and began walking through all of the water stops. Her breathing
was more labored than it should have been.
I gave Lisa part of a Powerbar, and that seemed to help a bit. I
talked
to her and those around us and just tried to help keep her spirits up.
She
seemed to feel a bit better with each mile, and we began to just enjoy the
more comfortable pace and the beautiful day.
At mile ten I was horrified to realize that I had given Lisa so much of
my attention that I hadn't noticed my own condition. I looked down to see
that my legs were covered with blood. I had started my period the
previous
afternoon. Of course this was poor timing for the race, but one can't
always control these things. I thought that my visit to the restroom just
prior to the race start would provide me with adequate protection. I was
wrong.
It's a good thing that this happened to me at the age of forty-five and
not at twenty-five. When I was younger I would have been mortified,
hidden
behind something at the first possible moment and never shown my face
again.
At forty-five blood covered legs in a public place struck me as funny.
Lisa
and I laughed hysterically, picked up some water at the next water
station,
went behind a van and cleaned me up. We stopped at the next porta-potty
to
finish the job. What a hoot today was.
We finished in 2:16. That's not the time we wanted, but it's not bad
considering some walking, some slow running and some much needed pit
stops.
It was a beautiful day, and I'm really looking forward to running in a
full
marathon in three weeks.
Michelle

Quoted message said:

We finished in 2:16. That's not the time we wanted, but it's not

bad

Quoted message said:

considering some walking, some slow running and some much needed pit

stops.

Congrats on finishing in a little more time than you'd planned, but a
whole lot more grace and humor!

Quoted message said:

I'm really looking forward to running in a full marathon
in three weeks.

Well, as often as it's said that the mysterious marathon always holds
surprises, if you're on a roughly lunar cycle you can at least rule out
pulling an Uta Pippig there. Good luck.

You think maybe Lisa got a bit warmish? The weather had been
so cool until race day....

With only 6-7 weeks to prepare (post foot surgery), I was
happy to just cross the finish line. I was so under trained
that I decided to walk a minute or two at each water station...
I had a ball this year. No pressure.

Funny how as we age we care less about what others think!

L

What Marathon are you doing?

Mrsg said:

Today was an interesting race day. My friend, Lisa, and I planned to
run together. We are pretty equally matched speedwise and both wanted to
finish the half marathon in under two hours. Neither of us has ever run that
fast, but we've come close. We ran a half marathon in the fall together and
just missed the two hour mark. I finished in 2:03, and Lisa came in at a
few seconds over two hours. We had high hopes for today.
We planned to run at a pace of 9:05 per mile so that we could just make
our goal. We feared going out too fast. I felt strong, and we did the first
six miles at a very even 8:55, so we were a bit ahead of our planned pace.
Lisa had started having a side cramp at about mile four, and she was trying
hard to run through it, but by mile 6 she told me to go on. She couldn't
keep up the pace.
We had agreed to separate if one of us slowed, but when I took a good
look at my friend I just couldn't leave her. Lisa's coloring wasn't good,
and I noticed her hands were shaking. It was bad enough that a medic on the
sidelines asked her if she was alright. There's no way I was leaving her.
We slowed and began walking through all of the water stops. Her breathing
was more labored than it should have been.
I gave Lisa part of a Powerbar, and that seemed to help a bit. I talked
to her and those around us and just tried to help keep her spirits up. She
seemed to feel a bit better with each mile, and we began to just enjoy the
more comfortable pace and the beautiful day.
At mile ten I was horrified to realize that I had given Lisa so much of
my attention that I hadn't noticed my own condition. I looked down to see
that my legs were covered with blood. I had started my period the previous
afternoon. Of course this was poor timing for the race, but one can't
always control these things. I thought that my visit to the restroom just
prior to the race start would provide me with adequate protection. I was
wrong.
It's a good thing that this happened to me at the age of forty-five and
not at twenty-five. When I was younger I would have been mortified, hidden
behind something at the first possible moment and never shown my face again.
At forty-five blood covered legs in a public place struck me as funny. Lisa
and I laughed hysterically, picked up some water at the next water station,
went behind a van and cleaned me up. We stopped at the next porta-potty to
finish the job. What a hoot today was.
We finished in 2:16. That's not the time we wanted, but it's not bad
considering some walking, some slow running and some much needed pit stops.
It was a beautiful day, and I'm really looking forward to running in a full
marathon in three weeks.
Michelle

Lou ~ Where's
Laurie?

Leo Reed <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:LRufe.63054$r53.32955@attbi_s21...

Quoted message said:

You think maybe Lisa got a bit warmish? The weather had been
so cool until race day....

I do think the heat was a problem for Lisa. The temps were in the fifties
at the start, but by the six mile mark they were rising fast. She was also
fighting a cold. That may have made her more sensitive to the heat problem.

Quoted message said:

With only 6-7 weeks to prepare (post foot surgery), I was
happy to just cross the finish line. I was so under trained
that I decided to walk a minute or two at each water station...
I had a ball this year. No pressure.

I'm glad to hear that you made it out this year. Running with no real time
goal can be a lot of fun. After Saturday I almost think I should go back to
approaching more races that way. I certainly had a good time too.

What Marathon are you doing?

I'm running in the Lakeshore Marathon in Chicago on Memorial Day. This is a
small race for Chicago. The course is along the lake. This is the fourth
year it has been run. I've heard that it has not been organized very well
in years past, but that the directors have put a lot of things in place to
improve it. I'm hoping this means the race will be impeccably run for 2005.
Wish me luck.
Michelle