VCM Relay Team!

So back in January when I thought I would be running the full Vermont City Marathon, my friend Maria thought it would be fun to enter the relay and have her relay team run alongside me for the the full race - motivation, camaraderie, company. Apparently I needed those things far before the race itself, because I my training was... lame, nonexistent and I decided not to run VCM after all.

But wouldn't you know it, Maria got a team in the relay lottery and now I am one of the runners on the team Patti's Pacers. The irony is rich.

The five-leg relay course lets you divvy the distances among your runners however you choose. I lobbied for two legs, so I'll be running about 12 miles:

• Leg 2, the Beltline: one of my favorite parts of the whole course, this out-and-back leg gives every runner a chance to see every other runner in the entire race. For back-of-the-packers, it's a pretty good thrill to see the fastest of the fast coming at you as you're heading out
  

• Leg 3, downtown and south end: the best and the worst leg. Pluses: running down Church Street, neighborhoods with water hoses and trays of oranges, bagpipers on Pine Street, cruising into Oakledge Park and then coasting up the bike path along the water. The minuses? Pine Street is mostly not attractive, the South Cove Loop is a cruel joke. Some might put Battery hill in the latter category too, but I have good memories of heading up this hill every time I've run it. And this time I get to hand off the relay bracelet as soon as I get to the top!
  

Check out the course map here.

To Gu, or not to Gu?

I've had a cardboard box of 24 Gu packets that seemed spawn its own replenishing supplies, it lasted so long. But now, it sits empty in my recycling bin, taunting me to consider whether I will run distances long enough to require more Gu anytime in the near future.

I went to the Marathon 201 class tonight, despite having stopped training for the marathon weeks, and felt a twinge of embarrassment. Today was the Boston marathon, and it gives a boost of excitement to the VCM runners who are entering their high-mileage weeks and contemplating their longest runs. I contemplate whether I will, in fact, knock off a few miles before my commute home. Sad.

So in this mindset of feeling like a quitter, but not quite ready to commit to another long race, I sat and listened, mystified, as Jack Pilla told the Marathon 201 class about his exploits racing 50 miles, 100 miles. Running in the dark, running through thousands of feet of elevation changes, sleep deprivation, dehydration, hallucinations. He enters marathons as 'training runs' - sometimes he does the course twice, or runs home afterward.

Someone asked how his pace changes from a flat marathon distance (6:20 miles) to a hilly 100-mile course (10:30 miles). And then said something that made me daydream for about 25 seconds: sometimes it's easier for slower runners to adapt to really long distances.

Huh.

Up to that point, I'd been thinking that I would give myself a break from marathons because the distance is too much pressure. Try half-marathons for awhile, then take another shot at the full 26.2. But now I wonder if I have it backwards. Maybe I should try something insanely big, and then go to back to the easy-by-comparison marathon and kill it.

This fantasy started to feel less enticing when Jack detailed the medical checkups and severe physical distress. Passing out in a desert canyon called Devil's Thumb, having your feet turn to hamburger, getting blood work done at Mile 88 to ensure your physical limits haven't been maxed out.

Not so sure....

Half-marathon, full birthday!

Run Vermont's Unplugged 1/2 Marathon started yesterday morning in cold, windy conditions -- even a sprinkling of icy rain droplets. By mid-morning, the sun was out in full, the breeze off the lake was still brisk but the air had warmed up nicely. Around Mile 6 I was soooo relieved Jess had convinced me not to wear the heavy running tights and jacket. (The jacket might have been nice around mile 11 where the waves from the lake were crashing over the bike path...)

The race culminated 3 weeks of indecision and poor training, and finish time of 2:34 is exactly what I expected, and exactly what I had earned. I felt good finishing, even though it was definitely not a day of reaching my full potential.

It was, however, my birthday! Running a 1/2 marathon was not a bad way to kick off the day. But the eventful weekend actually started the night before when a storm knocked out the electricity at my house. A few hours later, electricity still off, my carbon monoxide detector started beeping erratically. I tried to check the battery, but it wasn't easy balancing on a ladder with a flashlight and trying to twist the detector apart and detach it. I gave up and called 911 for advice, and the dispatcher rightly diagnosed that the battery died after the power went out.

But since nobody messes with CO, the fine volunteers of the Grand Isle Fire and Rescue Squad showed up around 11 p.m. in a fully rigged fire truck, outfitted with gas masks and oxygen tanks. They cleared the house, and then sat around joking with me about birthdays, 1/2 marathons and the joy of a "live training" exercise. The EMT had to go through the all the protocols of taking my vital signs, but drew out the process with corny jokes and questions about my party plans. The rescue commander kept telling him, 'she wants to get to sleep. 1/2 marathon tomorrow, she wants to get to sleep.'

The electricity came back on just as the fire crew was leaving, which put to rest some of my pre-race worries about alarm clocks and charging my Garmin. But the next morning, I was half-way to Burlington when I realized my Garmin was still plugged into the charger in my bedroom. Dang.

I wasn't sure how to approach the race: fight through and try to match the results from New Bedford, or just run and enjoy the day. Forgetting the watch kind of sealed the deal: I ran as fast as I felt comfortable running, but I didn't worry about much else. No watch, no time, no pressure. I was a little disappointed seeing '2:34' on the clock when I hit the finish line, but I'm still glad to have finished.

Beth and Heidi had awesome races, and Jess amazingly appeared along the course at just the moments when I needed a boost. And to the volunteer who told me that I was the best-dressed runner in the race, THANK YOU! You made my morning!

I went from the race to Mirabelle's to pick up 24 gorgeous cupcakes for my birthday party. I was still wearing my running dress and bib number, and the waitress said to me, 'Congratulations! What did the marathon benefit?' She meant this without accusation, maybe it was like the MS Walk or Team in Training. But I laughed and told her, "The runners. It benefits the runners!"