Anatomy of a Run

So here is the data from my Newport Amica Marathon.  The first half was west of the start/finish line and in town.  The second half was east of the start/finish and in the dunes and vineyards of Newport.

The first half of the course was packed with runners because we were all out there together: the half and full runners took on the town together.  The whole southwest and southern section was exposed to the Atlantic's furry!

The second half was the marathoners alone! The out and back in the southeastern corner was in the dunes! Yikes was the sand fierce! The section up to the right past the Sanctuary seemed to go on forever! It was also difficult to be face to face with folks that were so much closer to the finish line than I was.

Here is what my pace splits looked like.  I only went .4 miles beyond the 26.2.  That is not bad!  I do try to run the tangents on the course so as to stay as close as possible to the measured path.

SO on the chart below can you tell where my tweets were at the five mile mark clocks? That is what the first 3 downward spikes are.  The fourth mini spike is my blister popping.  There are a couple of photo after that and then another 5 mile photo.  At the end there are a couple of walk breaks up the hill.  And that is pretty much my run on a chart!

It is kind of crazy how well my photo/tweet stops line up so well with the mile marks on the elevation chart!

I can't wait to see what my Marine Corps Marathon stats look like!

Amica Marathon Weekend - Newport RI

What a crazy, insane, amazing weekend! I have been working toward this weekend in oh so many ways. In ways that I was well aware of...running longer and longer runs...and in ways that I was not so aware of...applying for the runDisney Specialist of the Disney Moms Panel.

Round 2 for the Moms Panel was announced on Friday and applications were do again on Monday! Along the way I had to work an extra 4 hour shift at work, hit the race expo, have a wonderful dinner to celebrate completing the United Healthcare Triple Crown of running and actually run a marathon, all before finishing and submitting my application.

I hope the Disney folks can see the true me in my application and that they will pass me on to the round 3 phone interview.  I would be over the moon to be chosen as the next runDisney specialist!

It took me a while, but I also remembered that Sunday was the 21st anniversary of the first time I kissed my husband! Three special moments that all happened on October 14th!  We were at college together and it was the long fall weekend.  I don't want to share all the magic, but it was a kiss to last a lifetime and to be repeated for an eternity!  I love you!

So let's see what it all looked like in pictures!

These folks were in the road on my way to work Saturday morning!

My very first Pinkberry ever (mine is on the left)! Carb loading for the race!

Race expo ready to run!

Newport bridge - at night (hehe)

United Health Care Triple Crown pasta dinner - free to triple crown runners like me!
I got a second plate of pasta!

Goodnight Newport

Good Morning Newport & race traffic

Some of the full marathon buses were going to the half marathon lot = not enough full buses!
I made it to the race site with 30 min to race.
I had just enough time for the bathroom and gear check!

It was too windy for the start line arch. So the start was somewhere up there!

There were more folks behind me.
It was spitting so all my photos are a little soft.

Linda ran as an Amica insurance agent! Amazing eh?

HERE WE GO!

Yes...I had to show off the shirt!

I decided to take photos of the mile markers.
I was Tweeting and using Instagram throughout the race!
#tweetandmarathon

Yes...that is my bib with me behind it!
Kind of creative...you try shooting photos with your iPhone while running...no really...try it!

mile 10

Near Marble House.
1st shot I put up on Instagram.
It gives you a geo-locator and tells you what you are near which is really cool in a race.

Cliff Walk behind me is Easton's Beach and the finish of the Half Marathon.
It is where my race really begins.  I had to run past the finish line and keep going another 13.1!

Sachuest Beach - Surfer's End - Mile 15

Angry Ocean - Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge -
Just after passing  16.5 miles when the blister on my right little toe burst in a most painful way and I realized I had no Idea where the closest medical station was.  It calmed down within a couple hundred yards and I was fine to the finish.

Greenvale Vineyards - mile 20 - I guess they ran out of clock stands!

Atlantic Beach Club - I finished 4:26 & a PR by 14 minutes - I am learning!  

The wind at this marathon was insane it felt like sustained winds of 25 miles with gusts to 35.  I could be off, but were were exposed to the full force of the ocean for long stretches and out in the dunes for miles.  We were literally being sandblasted.  There were stretches where I was running with my eyes closed!

I ran a steady race for the most part and felt like I had it under control for 24 miles.  The second to last mile took just about all I had left and the final mile was all mental.  I had given it so much and I just needed to finish it.  I might never beat this PR so I needed it to be as good as it was going to be!  So you could say I did the final 2 for the prior 24!

Running a marathon really is a crazy thing.  I would be happy if I could run every other day for an hour for the rest of my life.  That would keep me feeling good about my self and healthy.  But I also enjoy running longer distances, both by myself and in race situations.

I spent the first half of the marathon encouraging other runners.  Runners who were trying to get to the finish of the half.  I was trying to run that first 13 within myself.  Not pushing too hard.  Trying not to exhaust myself too early.  Then I had to drop them all off at their finish line and carry on to mine.  Newport is the tale of two races: the shared first 13.1 miles where everyone is together and the second 13.1 where the warriors carry on the battle!  This year that battle was with the wind, the sand and ourselves!

After the race I grabbed my marathon medal and my triple crown medal.  Downed a half cup of chicken noodle soup, boarded the bus back to my van, drove myself the 1 hour home, showered, got a massage from my husband, rested for an hour, wrote 5 essays for the runDisney specialists position on the Moms Panel, shot a 60 second video and submitted my application.  I know a Disney production crew can do worlds better with the video shoot so hopefully I will get that shot.

I a firm believer that one of the best things the Disney Corporation is doing for its fans is getting them moving with the power of runDisney motivation.  There are so many people out there doing runDisney that would have never started running with out the Disney motivation.  Sure Disney makes money off their running fans, but they also give back through amazing experiences, entertainment and better health!  I love being able to help other runners.  There is so much to learn, love and savor about an active lifestyle and the more of us that can benefit the better!  Thanks for following me folks and supporting me along the way.  I really hope and pray that Moms Panel works out and I get to share my love of runDisney with even more runners, run/walkers and soon-to-be runners!

Ocean's Run 1/2 Marathon

Hello race - half/full training day

I have been toying with running the Ocean's Run 1/2 Marathon for a year and a half now. I did not register until yesterday. I was lucky enough to have a certificate that covered the entry fee which I won at the Girls on the Run fundraiser 5k that I did back in June with my youngest. So yesterday I just had to drive about 45 minutes to the registration site and take care of the registration. Here is a hint: If they don't give you a course map, but they have a map out at registration, take a photo of it on your phone so you can consult it at will before the race!

Here we are hiking out to the start line near the beach.

Oh yeah! There is an ocean at Ocean's Run! Hello Atlantic/Long Island Sound!

I ran the race because I wanted to last year but passed on it in the end, and because I needed to get in a longer run for my marathon training.  My plan was to run the splits I intend to run for my fall marathons under race conditions to see how it felt. Of course as the race start approached, I did not think I would really be able to hold myself back to 10 minute miles. So I resolved to run within a easy pace whatever that meant in the moment.  So I just ran, not too hard, but also not super easy. I also practiced tweeting photos from the race course. It is fun to be able to share. I learned a few things about tweeting on the go. 1. I need to turn off the password on my phone. 2. Keep it short. 3. Once I decided to really race all tweeting went out the window! So happily I ran along, ran along, ran along, happily I ran along early on Sunday morning! (Feel free to sing it.)

1st race photo tweet

2nd tweet

3rd tweet

At one point 4 women passed me while I was tweeting. I found that I did slow down although I could also keep moving while tweeting. But that was okay...this was a slower than race pace run for the first half of a full right? I mean this was all about October's full right? Well kind of...my competitive side was right there waiting to kick in. I passed a couple of the women back and just kept going. I practiced my never look back rule. Somewhere around mile 9 a course flagger told me I was the 18th woman on the course. (In the end I think she was wrong.) And she told me 17 and 16 were right in front of me. Well that was it...I went for it. I was 17th and then I was 16th. With a couple miles left it looked like I might become 15th, but I never did pass her. I knew full well that the entire women's field seemed to be in their 40s, so my age group. I knew I would not place, I have never placed, but I still wanted to finish strong.  That I did.

For the last mile I challenged another runner to the finish line. He was throwing in walk breaks and his friends were acknowledging that this was not his best effort, but I let him know I expected him to beat me. He totally looked like he had it in him. Then when he announced that he would run it in with me I pointed out the finish area within our sight and told him to go for it! He did! I finished right behind him. Funny that we were 249 and 250!

249 & 250

Looks like I finished as the 23rd woman.  My final rankings were Div/Tot 10/33 and Sex/Tot 23/81.
1st in my Div was 1:30:08.  2nd was 1:34:08.  3rd was 1:36:47.  Those ladies are fast!

Update: I just went back and checked my PR...it was 1:54:52 = New PR for me! 1:53:43!

My plan was always to double back on the course and put in some extra miles (exact amount undetermined). So I did. Early in the race I was surprised to see a friend was running the race when I passed her coming and going around mile 2.5, but I figured that I would run it back to her and then join her to the finish. I ended up putting in 16.5 today.  I am coming off 3 weeks of illness so this was my first effort to reestablish my marathon training distance for October 14th at the Amica Marathon in Newport, RI and 2 weeks later at the Marine Corps Marathon in DC. It was a great run. I learned a few things and I practiced running past the 1/2 marathon finish line, which is exactly what I will have to do in Newport.

Go Linda! She always has a great costume on to liven up race day!

A second finish line photo! My medal was safely tucked in my pouch!

Labor Day 10 Miler

If you had asked me yesterday how far I was going to run today I would have told you 20 miles.  Well after a difficult night sleep and not feeling spot on this morning I decided to cut it in half.

I am trying to get my mile up so I will be ready for the Amica Marathon in Newport, RI in mid-October.  I did 19 miles last Sunday and hopefully will get in a 21 mile run next weekend.  This will be my second full marathon.  I only trained to 21 miles for my first back in May.  I really want to get beyond that for this one.

Two weeks after the Amica I have the Marine Corps Marathon.  So my October is a little marathon heavy.  I will probably throw in a few shorter distances after that before heading to Disney World in January for Marathon Weekend!  So that is marathon 2, 3, 4, and 5 will be Rock 'n' Roll USA in DC in March.  I am going to try and be up for all this running, because I certainly have signed myself up for quite a bit of it!

Now that being said...back to today's run...the photo blog!  I had a beautiful mid-day 10 mile run on the East Bay Bike Path along the northern shore of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island!  I love going for longer runs on holidays.  It gives you time to think.

Pomham Rocks Lighthouse - Now

They are adding more signs along the path - so Pomham Rocks Lighthouse then

The sentries standing watch keeping the inhabitants of the cove in check!
All I could think was who needs a zoo!

The swans are out year round.
The mate and youngster were not far away.

Providence

This bike path goes to Providence!
Runners welcome!

The Brown University Boat House

The smallest tugboat on the upper bay.

arches and lines - greens and blues - water and shy
The balance of it all makes me happy.

Wind power - Our winds sometimes come out of the west,
but more often they are from the north or south
and watch out for the winds from the east!

The path is busy on a day like today, but everyone does their best to get along: cyclists, runners, walkers, roller bladers, fishermen...but bike lane rules apply (ride right, walk left).

A Marathon and a Half Marathon with 2 weeks in between

When I was contemplating my races for May 2012 I was thinking I would do the Cox Providence Rhode Races half marathon and the Cherry Blossom half marathon in Pawtucket, RI.  There would only be 2 weeks between them.  I did not do the Pawtucket race in 2011 because the races were so close together.  This year I decided I would go for it and registered early.  Well you know how the Cox race went (1st Marathon)!  The next battle was how to recover and manage life to get ready for the next 1/2.

My family life was crazy in between!  My oldest daughter was in a professional production of the ballet Swan Lake.  This meant being at the theater for 2 nights of rehearsals and 2 evening shows.  The first rehearsal was on Tuesday night just as my legs were starting to recover.  It meant late nights hanging out with middle school kids in a theater basement.  At least I did not need to put in long miles.  I was grateful to have the time to focus on her!  The downside was it took a toll on my health.  By the final show on Saturday night I knew a sinus infection was coming on with respiratory distress soon to follow.  After much hacking all week long I started to feel better yesterday.  Or at least that is what I was telling myself.  95% was better than 60% and I was running this race.

This past Sunday was also Mother's Day.  I had decided that I really needed a better running watch if I was going to manage my running that way I wanted to and what do you know...my family came through with a hug for my wrist!  I took my Garmin out running that very morning!

Loving my new Garmin & my Running Skirt!

I got in 3 or 4 runs this week with the watch.  I love being able to see my pace!

So what will I do differently this October when I do the Amica marathon in Newport, RI and then the Marine Corps Marathon in DC two weeks later?  I will make sure my commitments in between are kept to a minimum.  I will stay on top of my sleep schedule.  I will eat less pizza on the way to the theater (ie. eat healthier, because I am not rushing off to do something).  In other words I will manage my two weeks better, because it is that important!

As always I am open to your thoughts and suggestions.  This is something I am learning through doing and reading!