This race is dedicated to Prednisone

(Follow this link for race recap and pictures)

So I just had my post-race spine cracking from my chiropractor Tiffany. After plenty of 'how was the race, how do you feel' chit-chat I realized she hadn't heard about the poison ivy and the cold and a week of no sleep, blah blah blah.

Tiffany's eyes completely bugged out of her head when I told her I've been taking steroids for the poison ivy since last Thursday. Apparently, steroids are the baddest anti-inflammatory around. She thinks I finished the race in as good condition as I did thanks to the Prednisone. (She may have a point. It's not like I have huge natural running ability to back me up.)

A less-than-inspiring quote from Tiff:
"You should be really thankful you got that poison ivy."

It's over!

What a relief - I made it to the finish and didn't have to reckon with my worst of fears: being slower than last year.

This year's time: 5:27
Last year's time: 5:33

It's only six minutes, but it's better than having to say I was slower.... And, I don't mind pointing out that I beat 72-year old Betty Lacharite by 14 minutes. Take that!

Get your fix of cool graphics, check out my results from RunVermont.

How not to spend the week before a race:

Anyone will recommend that you take it really, really easy: light jogging - only a few miles, reduce stress, no yard work or extra work of any kind, lots of rest, eat well. I didn't do any yard work, but everything else pretty much fell apart for me in the days before the marathon:

10 days out:
Poison ivy confirmed, spreads down my left hip and leg

1 week out:
I run 18 miles (despite oozing wounds) because I have to.

6 days out, work week from hell:
Very long days, many details, deadlines that can't be pushed back. Very little quality sleep is coming my way, in fact I don't sleep through the night all week.

4 days out:
Poison ivy is ferocious and spreading to my feet. How do you tie on running shoes when you have poison ivy on your FEET?! Feeling generally rundown, my throat is sore and my voice is coming and going. I go to the doctor, who does a strep test just to be sure about the white spots I see on my throat and puts me on steroids for the poison ivy. (Unfortunately they weren't performance-enhancing steroids.)

3 days out:
Daily cocktail of Prednisone, Sudafed and Advil, not to mention bottles of calamine lotion. Itching starts to subside, but I'm feeling very dehydrated and still not sleeping. Mood changes from resignation to nervousness, fatalism to optimism.

2 days out:
I wasn't able to eat as much or as well as I should have in the days right before the race. My sleep did improve a little, along with fake naps during which I couldn't actually sleep but just sat still. Hitting my foot a few times while playing croquette the night before didn't help.

And yet....

The morning of the race was warmer than predicted, bright and sunny. From the first few yards my right hip ached a bit, but miraculously that went away after a couple of miles. I felt winded, which I can only chalk up to nerves. Once I got through the initial downtown loop and out on the beltline, I felt much more relaxed, much more in control of my run. I was hitting 12-minute miles right on the the nose, which was the best I could hope for. That stretch of highway was a real boost to my spirits: seeing so many runners I knew (coming back from, the the turnaround already...), much less frenzy without the spectators, beautiful views of Camel's Hump.

Coming back into downtown around Mile 9, I still felt strong and was still exactly on a 12-minute pace. Stopped to apply some Chapstick and chat with Nadine, Maria and Chiara, then headed to South End. After a few miles, I started to feel things come apart. I had been feeling a pull in my left quad for a while and it wasn't going away, my pace was flagging and so were my spirits. I didn't really consider stopping, but I serious questions about how I would get through the next 14+ miles -- more than half the race still to go. I willed myself up that pesky hill in South Cove, coasted a little into Oakledge Park at the 1/2 way point, then just tried to zone out until the top of Battery Hill. I felt like I just needed to get to mile 16, a little past the police station, and then things might turn around.

Battery Hill was brutal, but it helped to have friends and family at the bottom and the top to keep me motivated. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO WAS THERE! (I figured if I'm going to drop out, I can't do it right here in front of you all.) True enough, once I got out on North Ave, things calmed down and I was running a lot stronger. Somewhere between Miles 16-20 I actually picked up a lot of time and ran a few 11-minute miles. Passing people who are slower and clearly worse off than you is huge boost.

From Mile 20 on, I was completely consumed with my watch. I knew my time from last year, and I knew what pace I needed to hit in order to match it or beat it. Every time I got to a mile marker I recalculated the time and distance remaining and set a one-mile goal. The heat and fatigue were enough that I could keep only three thoughts in my head:

"12-minute mile. Just one more 12-minute mile."
"I really want to walk. Who cares about last year's time?"
"Do not walk, do not walk, do not walk..."

Also, I made room for these thoughts:

"Why are my hands so swollen? ... I've drunken 3 gallons of water and Gatorade and yet I haven't peed in 4 1/2 hours. I bet that's not good.... Where the hell is the finish line already?"

Happily enough, I did find the finish line, and not on a stretcher like some poor guy apparently did. I crossed the timing pad with a smile and fistful of balloons, a full 6 minutes ahead of last year's time. It's not much, but consider:

- I got injured this year, and when I should have been running my longest miles, I was sitting on the couch.
- Altogether, I probably had 75-100 fewer training miles than last year.
- It was darn hot out yesterday!
- Did I mention the poison ivy and lack of sleep?

Thank you again for all of your messages and encouragement. Next race: Chicago in October!

Advice for spectators (it's all about you)

I really appreciated all the support and cheering you guys gave me last year during the race. Hopefully you will feel like coming out again this year, and hopefully you won't have to stand in the pouring rain while waiting for me to show up at the finish line.

Here's information to make your spectator experience as enriching as possible:


SATURDAY:

There's a Sports and Fitness Expo at the Sheraton: scores of vendors with outdoor gear, running gear, freebies, samples and deals. Note the nervous runners all around you. Shops your hearts out, then check out some of the short films, speakers and slide shows that are going on upstairs from the exhibition hall. More info here

SUNDAY:

Logistics

About 8,000 runners will be on the race course Sunday, and up to 40,000 spectators will be watching them. (That’s the whole population of Burlington!) Here’s some advice for joining that crowd:

Parking:
Do not attempt to park near the Waterfront or near Battery Park, unless you feel like getting there at 7 a.m. Best to park downtown, the city garages on Cherry Street are a good bet. Meters will be off because it's Sunday.

Starting line:
The starting gun for the marathon goes off at 8:05 a.m., after the wheelchair races at 8:00. The race starts at Battery Park, with runners heading south on Battery Street briefly, then turning left onto Pearl Street. I will be somewhere in Battery Park by 7:20 a.m. Let me know if you want to meet up for coffee and donuts.

Finish line:
The elite runners will cross the finish line a bit after 10 a.m. I will be right behind them at 1:30 p.m.... maybe 2:00 p.m. The end of the race course makes a big loop of Waterfront Park: runners come in by the Coast Gaurd station, follow the boardwalk the Echo Center, make a sharp left onto the grass, then loop back a 1/4 mile to the finish line. The "infield" created by that loop is a good place to watch the finish. Just listen carefully to the crossing guards who keep spectators out of the way of runners, and do what you're told.

Party:
In Burlington's tradition of every-weekend-a-festival-for-something, there should be plenty of good times in Waterfront Park for the finish line party: food, ice cream, music, tons of people laughing, crying, passing out in their aluminum blankies.

Marathon “I Spy”

The wheelchair racers are pretty amazing; Flash Gordon dressed in red spandex with gold lightning bolts; elite runners at the head of the race - they are super fast; Taiko Drummers at the bottom of Battery Hill; random guy in Speedo with an accordion, on Pearl Street in the first mile.

Where to find me during the race

I will be wearing a black running skirt (love it!), pink tank top and possibly a blue shirt if it’s chilly, tan and gray baseball cap, sunglasses. I won’t be wearing my name on my shirt, but I’m not judging those who do.

You can look for me at the popular spectator locations at the times below. This is a really rough estimate – I might be faster, or I could be much, much slower.

8:05 a.m. STARTING LINE, Battery Park
8:40 a.m. Church Street - going uphill (Mile 3)
9:53 a.m. Church Street again - going downhill (Mile 9)
10:41 a.m. Oakledge Park (Mile 13)
11:05 a.m. Top of Battery Hill, Battery Park (Mile 15)
12:11 p.m. North Ave, Flynn School (Mile 20.5)
1:17 p.m. Waterfront boardwalk (Mile 26)
1:20 p.m. FINISH LINE - Waterfront Park (Mile 26.2)

I should definitely make it to the finish by 2:00 p.m.

The area around Battery Park-Church Street-Waterfront Park is ideal for seeing the runners several times without having to walk too far yourself.

Helpful links:

Vermont City Marathon
Race course map

Notes from the final training run

My training schedule, as you have read, is totally whack and so why not throw one more curve: I did my last training run in New Hampshire this weekend during a rugby tournament. (No, I did not play.)

First, yes I did run 18 miles the week before the marathon. Take that, you faithful believers in tapering!

I watched rugby games all day Saturday, took a break to get in a short jog with Nadine (that turned into a "where exactly does this road go?!" 5-mile trek). Sunday morning came early and I ran 18 miles back and forth through the town of North Conway, and finished in time to catch the championship game of the weekend. I mapped out a pretty flat route by repeating a loop, though I did confuse myself with how many loops around the town I was supposed to take. I felt AWESOME for the first 10 miles, still pretty good at 13, then fatigue hit hard in the final miles. I think I didn't eat enough beforehand. Or maybe it was that I skipped 3 weeks of running last month? Huh, hard to tell.

Thank you Gwen for the good stretches you showed me - it made a difference to walk and stretch after the run, rather than sit comatose and let rigor mortis set it. I saved that for the drive home from NH.

iPod: I caught up with a radio show, The Story with Dick Gordon. Among the things I learned about while running: offices that let employees bring their babies to work; a frequent flier who actually changed jobs to avoid flying after repeated, unwarranted harassment by flight attendants and homeland security; how CEOs turn around a failing, scandal-stained company in the midst of an SEC investigation (thank you Bear Stearns!). I also listened to a This American Life gem about television: particularly enjoyable was Sarah Vowel's examination of how sit coms portray colonial life in America. Yes, Bewitched did air time-travel program on the Salem witch trials, twice. One for each Darren.

Defy the taper! and other random notes

Right about now, other runners are enduring the period of training called the taper: 2 to 3 weeks of rest and coach-potatoey-ness before race day. I, on the other hand, and still building my mileage. No taper for me.

With 10 days till race day, I am contemplating what my finish time will be, whether I will finish, whether I will be happy if and when I finish. I've also found myself creating metaphors and analogies to describe how I feel about my upcoming race:

... my marathon is a late-model car: works well enough, a little rust on the wheel wells
... my marathon is a shirt that you were planning to wash but then you decide to wear it one more time.
... my marathon is the embodiment of the 5-second rule: food falls on the floor, you think, 'oh shit!' and pause to question whether you will still eat it, then you do and it's pretty much ok.

I am feeling excited for the race again this year: the ritual of getting ready, imagining different parts of the course, guessing at what my pace will be. This weekend is my last Sunday before the race. I'm planning to run 17-18 miles, then taking it easy until race day. Yikes!

2 weeks left!

"Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thank you, Allison! Every day she sends out an inspirational message for runners, and this one is especially heartening with two weeks to go and some doubt still remaining.

I ran 15 miles yesterday in South Hero, which is GORGEOUS, by the way. Perfect blue sky, warm sun, shaggy llamas and calves, oven views of the lake, fabulous kitchy yard decorations. I felt really good the first half, tired in the middle, and gave in to walking a bit around mile 12-13 when I hit a hill. Ran the last of it though! I had thought of adding on an extra mile at the end because 16 miles seems a lot more accomplished than 15, but a creemee stand was waiting at mile 15 and I think everyone could have guessed how the last mile was going to turn out.

I felt tired but not injured during and after yesterday's run. Ate a huge dinner and fell asleep at 9 p.m. Today... wicked sore. I stretched and felt better but not 100%. I think more stretching and I'll be ready for tomorrow's 5 mile run.

8 miles on the Erie Canal - sweet!

Once or twice a year I go to Latham, NY, near Albany to get my car serviced. (There are reasons for doing this that are not interesting and best saved for another blog.) Typically, I leave a little after 5 a.m. and arrive when they open at 8 a.m., then wait in the "Customer Lounge" and where the Wi-Fi and cappuccino are free, and the seating is cushy. A few hours later, I drive home.

This service visit fell on a day when I was scheduled to run 8 miles, and I am so happy I thought to go running in Latham while waiting for the car. First of all, you can imagine any multi-lane road lined with car dealerships and you can imagine Latham, NY. So it's not attractive for running, one would think. But one would also consult Google maps and learn that the freaking Erie Canal is right there! A mere mile away the scenery changes completely -- pastoral farm fields, a wide and flat river, reedy banks, a beautifully maintained bike path going for miles in all directions.

I ran about 6 miles and stopped at Lock 7. (iPod: "The Takeaway," a new program from WNYC. I'm not sold yet. John Hockenberry needs to shut up and let other people talk.) The worker at Lock 7 (the lockmaster?) taught me all about how the lock operates and let me walk out to the far side of the lock where the dam is. And then lucky enough, a fishing boat came through and I got to see the lock in action.

Let me just say that I had no idea the Erie Canal extended all the way east to the Hudson River. It makes me appreciate what an engineering feat that really was to build it. And second, lock are pretty incredible in themselves. If you haven't seen one in action, plan your next holiday near a river with a lot of boat traffic.

Oh yeah, and then I ran the last 2 miles back to the car dealership.

Rebuilding mileage with Rev. Wright

Sunday, May 4, I planned a long run for 13 miles in Burlington - the same distance I ran back on April 5 when I got injured. This run was much better, but also much slower. I had a good 7 1/2 mile loop from my house through town out to Leddy Park, down the bike path and back home to shed a layer of clothing before taking a second lap. (Spring is tough for planning one's running apparel!)

Playing on the iPod for this run: several episodes of the NPR program News & Notes, a good interview show that covers news in the African-American community. Fascinating, way-informative discussion of Jeremiah Wright and Obama that I haven't heard or seen in any other media.

How can you not stare at this?

I absolutely did not want to run last night -- it was cold outside, I had a headache, wah, wah. Around 8:30 p.m. I willed myself to go to the gym and put in at least a minimal effort. Totally worth it though: I spent an hour trying not to stare at a woman who was doing the craziest, most distracting Stairmaster workout EVER.

First, the clothes: bathing suit top, men's boxer shorts (seemingly with elfin Santa characters, hard to tell from a distance), calf-length tube socks, hiking boots, and pile of hair like Amy Winehouse (no mascara though).

Second, the workout regimen: most of the time, she was nearly crouching down at the base of the Stairmaster with her arms extended straight up overhead, hanging onto the arm rails. It did not look comfortable, normal or especially beneficial to one's health. Then occasionally she'd stand upright and use the machine more normally, except....

Third, the newspaper: ... when standing up she took the opportunity to read the paper, sort of. She had a huge stack of newspapers -- like, a foot-tall stack of daily newspapers, free supermarket circulars, and those random papers that always seem to be around but no one actually read. She didn't seem to be reading them either, more like looking at each page for a few seconds, then violently turning the page, and then throwing the paper on the floor in such a way that it fell open in crumpled pile. By the time she finished her workout, there was seriously a mole hill of newspapers piled all around her.

Anyway, it made the time pass.