ONCE A CAREGIVER...

Yeah, I don't know why, but here I am again, in the role of caregiver. After my dad died earlier this year, I felt a huge void in my life, having been a constant caregiver for over 6 years. Then, once he was gone, it actually took me a few months to realize I was free for the first time in a long time--no kids at home; no parents. And suddenly, I am thrust back into this role again.

Not that Don means to be a pest (LOL!), but before I can leave for work in the morning, I must make sure he has his breakfast, his water, his meds, the phone, the TV remote, something to do, and anything else I can think of. On top of getting myself ready. It reminds me of the days when my kids were small and still living at home and got so distracted I went to work with my coat over my robe.

Then, when I get home, its a repeat of the whole routine, and once again before bed. He can't help it--he's almost totally reliant on someone to help him right now. And I don't mind, really I don't. But once again, I find myself falling easily back into the role of caregiver. It makes me wonder.

I don't find it hard or inconvenient. But I don't necessarily feel this huge need to be depended on either. I am just doing what has to be done. Because I want to. Because someone has to. I couldn't help but think today about the fact that you think you know someone, and then something like this happens, and they become an invalid, but do you REALLY know them?

Like, do you know that they won't drink chocolate milk with toast with jelly?? Or that they didn't fix themselves something for lunch, but instead ate the last of the cherry pie from Thanksgiving?? Or that he would try to get around the house by himself, only to find that he really couldn't carry a glass of ice water with crutches?? Or that he would try to be tough guy and not take his pain meds, despite your first-hand knowledge that taking the pain meds on time really does help you sleep through the night.

So I am going to have to make some adjustments in my life. I have to wonder where this will lead me next. Stay tuned...

POST-OP.

Don made it through his surgery, as was to be expected. Its a relatively quick procedure, to reattach the Achilles tendon. An incision is made in the back of the leg, near where the tendon has separated, the tendon is sutured up, he gets a cast, and that's about it. It took about 35 minutes, but of course all the pre-op was a huge production: get to the surgical center at 7:30 am; go into the triage room; get vitals taken; get into the gown; sit and watch the clock as it drags on endlessly to the next minute, then the quarter hour, and finally the half hour, all the while you feel you have been there for hours; get the IV; wait again for the surgeon; talk to the surgeon; wait again for the anesthesiologist; talk to the anesthesiologist; watch the clock again slowly tick away to the next quarter hour and finally the half hour--is it lunch time yet? So went the wait. They wheeled him into surgery around 9 am; he was out by 9:39. They have a "greaseboard" that indicates by color and patient number the patient's status. Its all done by computers: green for in OR; blue for CLD (surgery closed); pink for in recovery I; tan for recovery II.

The recovery period also was long and drawn out, at least an hour and 15 or 20 minutes after surgery for recovery I, and another hour for recovery II. When he got to the recovery II stage, I went back and waited with him. This surgical center is part of a new hospital, just opened in September, so everything is bright spanking new and completely state of the art. What a huge improvement over the old, drab, and overcrowded hospital they moved from!

He will now be wearing a fiberglass cast for the next 6 weeks, to keep the foot immobilized. He will need to be totally on crutches. It won't be easy to drive, if at all, because its his right foot. And with winter coming, it won't be easy getting around in the ice and snow.

I am tired today. The weather is bitter cold--Alberta Clipper is visiting. I probably won't run today. Its been a long time since I said that! But tomorrow is another day, and I for one am overjoyed that I am able to run whenever I choose.

It looks like the next year, the shoe will be on the other foot. Don will need to be recovering, while I hopefully will be progressing. Strange how things go. Last year, it was me. You just never know, do you??

ACHILLES HEEL.

Everyone has one, both physical and metaphorically. In this case, Don's Achilles did rupture, and he is scheduled for surgery Tuesday am. They will suture the torn tendon, and hopefully it isn't so bad that they have to use other tendons to brace it. Then he will have a cast for at least 6-8 weeks, followed by another cast, recovery, and rehab. All in all, a total of 12-15 weeks, or possibly 4-6 months of rehab/recovery. There goes my running partner!

Seriously everyone, please do your stretches. Its very unfortunate this had to happen, but in his case, this wasn't the result of any inattention to stretching, just more stress than usual in playing racquetball, as he often does in the off season anyway.

The best option for treatment is surgery if he wants to (hopefully) continue with an active lifestyle after.

So I'll be at the hospital tomorrow. Send some good healing vibes, won't you?

HOLIDAY WEEKEND WRAP-UP.


Its been long! I've been off work since Wednesday and, sad to say, I think I am ready --no, I need--to go back! Not necessarily to work, just to get back to a normal routine.


My NJ daughter came to visit on Wednesday, bringing her two dogs with her, adding to the total chaos we seem to experience when everyone gets together. If getting up at 4:30 on Thanksgiving Day (to go stand in line at Meijer for their Thanksgiving sale) wasn't enough to tire me out, the dogs wake you up at 5:30 every day just to go out. They seem to still be on NJ time, when it is light out an hour earlier (same time zone, however). Once I hear people up, I'm up too. And I can't go to bed until everyone settles for the night, so its been late nights and early mornings.



We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner. Everything got cooked and done all at the same time, despite having no oven. Don and I went out before everyone arrived for dinner and did a 4 mile run. It wasn't an easy run for me though because I felt weak and tired. I actually hadn't felt too well the day before, and what with all the cooking and being on my feet for hours, I hadn't eaten much either, so when we headed out on Thursday morning, I was hungry. My stomach was actually growling. So we (I) walked any hill or incline. But by the end, we (he) decided we needed to do some speed intervals. That's just what I needed because it gave me a chance to push it for a block and then I got to catch my breath for a block.


The weather has turned colder, probably in the upper 20s, and we had about a 1/2 inch of snow overnight, but by the time we got out, it had all melted, except what had fallen on all the leaves just now coming down. There were piles and piles everywhere. We have had a late leaf drop due to the extended warm weather, so I'm pretty sure a lot of people are not going to get their leaves bagged up this year.


And that makes it difficult (for me) to run on the sidewalks at times, because I can't see anything because the leaves are so thick, and I'm always afraid of tripping or slipping. Its much easier to just run in the street, but obviously not always safer. And I couldn't help notice that most of the people who drove (zoomed) by us all were on cell phones. I don't want to be a target again for a distracted driver, so I'm a lot more cautious now.

Friday morning, after again waking at 5:30 on an off work day, I decided to go to the gym for their one spin class of the day. They were operating on a totally reduced schedule, but I haven't done a spin class in ages, and it seemed a good day to just stay inside, since our plans for later in the day called for outside activities. And did I mention it was COLD?!

A woman who came to the class said I must be a "pro" since I was dressed in bike shorts, shoes, and jersey. "You must race a lot." Well, yes, of course! I had to laugh though.

Friday afternoon, we decided to head over to the lakeshore. Renee's friend Ed wanted to see Lake Michigan, and since he is also a photographer, I figured Friday's weather looked to be better than Saturday's. The lakeshore had snow on the ground, probably at least an inch, but the winds were calm. Walking on the pier was a trick, however, since the snow that had fallen had iced over quickly. The waves were also calm, however, allowing us to walk at least part way out on the pier without fear of getting washed off. Slipping might happen, though! The water was a steel gray. My mind went back to all the warm sunny days we had spent there in the past, and more recently just the first part of October!

Saturday, I again woke up at a ridiculous time: 4:45. My neck was aching badly, and I figured it was from the spin class! Just one time on a bike, and my sore neck was back. After a few hours of coffee drinking and waiting for the sun to come up, I got dressed to go out and run. I wanted to run alone though. I didn't really have a true agenda, but thought about doing a 5 mile route that included a number of hills. I decided to see what happened once my legs actually got moving, and was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt. I did, however, resort to my 8 min. run, 2 min. walk plan to get me through this. I wasn't tired, as I had feared, it wasn't as cold and windy as predicted for later in the day, probably about 28 degrees though, and the sun was in and out of the clouds, so a pretty good day all around. And I had decided to wear this running jacket I had bought probably 11 years ago, that has a hood, a flap to cover the behind, and pockets, a good combination for a long run. I was so comfortable I wondered why I didn't think to wear this thing more often. Who cared if it was purple and green??? LOL!

After I reached the 1 hour mark, I decided I had better head back home. It was 9:30 and I still had some food prep for a family party later in the day. And the kids were talking about going to a movie first.

The "girls" and Austin ended up seeing Bee Movie, which was very cute. The "boys" saw Mist, which was nothing I would ever want to see! Too scary for me! For the most part, I like family or kid movies the best.

Saturday night was a family get together with my sisters and sister-in-law and their kids. Ten boys of ages ranging from 7 to 24. And 4 girls. What a noisy crowd! It was fun catching up with the college boys and the "hockey" boys, my brother's boys who are big into hockey. Three boys, and the tallest is 6'7". The "smallest" at 14 is 5'11"!

Sunday came, and I again woke up way too early. It was still dark, and I was starting to feel like a total slug. I lolled around watching movies until 11 am and finally got ready to go out and do some shopping. Later, I took the grandsons to bowl and then we hit the pool, so I did get in a half mile swim.

When I got home, I got a big surprise: there was a pair of crutches propped against the wall. What happened?? I wanted to know. Don had a racket ball match and either blew out his Achilles or at least strained it. He won't know for sure until he sees the ortho doc tomorrow! Yikes! There goes my running partner!

Hopefully, he will be okay soon. I need him to keep me focused and working on my speed! And I hate to see him get set back even further with his future training. Its always easy to mentally take off the winter season, but I would hate to have this stretch out into the spring and summer. It would be very difficult to come back after that I would think.

Please keep him in your prayers! A super athlete is sidelined and any good vibes can only help!

OOH, THAT SMELL...

I am TOTALLY geeking out about an apple pie I just made! The smell?? Heavenly! I took today off to shop, visit, and cook, in that order. I had just a few things left to shop for Thanksgiving. My NJ daughter was coming to visit, and naturally I wanted a good meal. The girl can't cook, go figure.

Me? If you haven't figured it out, I LOVE to cook. Thanksgiving to me is a handing down of traditions my mother established. And for me? It goes by smell--apple pie, dressing, and turkey. It iss NOT Thanksgiving without cooking.

First, I have to say: My oven is not working BUT I am really that good that I can pull it off without that nuisance appliance. Trust me. If I could invite any of you, I would.

Yes, I do need some sort of oven. Otherwise? No delectible pies. I do have a toaster/convection oven, and so far I have made 2 pumpkin, one heavenly apple, and a cherry I'm not that proud of but it is passable. I also made this whatever you can call it brownie pie. It wasn't supposed to be an baked pie, BUT, when you add raw eggs, you HAVE to bake it. So instead of some sort of "cream" pie, it turned out to be a brownie type pie. Hopefully, it is good.

I have done TONS of dishes--all without a dishwasher! My turkey is soaking in brine and had better be the BEST I have ever made. Tomorrow? I am hoping Don and I can do at least 4 miles. I am going to get faster if it kills me!

IN MEMORY.

November 20. Today would have been my dad's 78th birthday. Here we are (brothers & sisters) last Christmas--a fortunate thing I suggested getting a picture taken, as it would be the last one we would have of him.

There's hardly a day yet that I don't think of him or miss him. I can't tell you how many times in the 6 years after my mom died, when I would take him to his various appointments, that I had to give his birthdate each time: 11/20/29. So the date sticks in my mind as well.

So this is just a little way to remember my dad on his birthdate.

COUNTDOWN TO THANKSGIVING.



I am looking at this picture, dreaming that this will look something like the dinner I will have to make for Thanksgiving. It may be a pipedream, however.

For the second time in two years, my oven is BROKEN just before Thanksgiving. What are the odds?? I should go to Vegas.

Last year, my 20+ year old oven just stopped working, the week before Thanksgiving. By the time we got someone out to look at it, it was just a few days before and we decided it wasn't worth the money, despite the fact that I was having a few people for dinner later that week. I decided I would be able to manage, with my turkey roaster, crockpot, stovetop, and my trusty toaster/convection oven. With some detailed planning, everything worked without a hitch, and dinner was served promptly at 1 pm, the time my dad was hoping to eat.

This year, once again, and with a brand new stove/oven, the heating element broke (broke as in snapped and nearly caught on fire, damaging the floor of the oven as well) 3 weeks ago. It is under warranty, so we have to rely on a local company to come out and order the part. Three weeks later? No part. Its the Monday before Thanksgiving, and once again I am trying to work out all the logistics of cooking dinner for 10 people this year with no oven.

Needless to say, I am not happy about this. I am more organized on my Christmas shopping than I am going to be for Thanksgiving. We'll see what happens here. Stay tuned.

STILL IN LOW BUT FINALLY OUT OF NEUTRAL.

Saturday was supposed to be a "race" day. I had really wanted to do a 15k hilly race, One Hill of a Race. I found it last week so hadn't signed up yet. I was mainly waiting to see if the weather was going to cooperate. It if rained/snowed, I was going to shop!

It didn't rain or snow until later in the day BUT somehow I overslept. I had a very restless and disturbed sleep the night before, having gone to bed early but then waking up at midnight and making the mistake of turning on TV to see what time it was. And naturally, I had to watch When Harry Met Sally,which I haven't seen in ages! I really expected to watch about 10 min. and fall back to sleep, BUT at 2 am I was still awake.

Thus, oversleeping Saturday morning. I didn't set an alarm because the race was to start at 9 and surely I would be awake by my usual 6, so why bother? That backfired as you can see.

So Don mentioned the Run for Ryan idea, which he read that morning in the paper about a group meeting for this purpose.

"We can just go do that instead. Let's find out where they are meeting."

We looked it up on the store's website, but finally concluded it was to start at 7:35 and it was already after 8 am.

"We can just go run ourselves," I said. "That's farther than you've been going in a long time anyway." And, I thought, will probably be faster than I have gone in YEARS!

We dressed for the weather, around 32 degrees, but it really didn't feel too bad because while it was gray and cold, there was no wind. And no rain or snow yet either.

We decided to run around the lake, which with a few detours could be stretched out to 6 miles if we wanted. I wasn't betting on that but just decided to see how far we could get. Since our run the other day, I had felt both energized and wiped out at the same time, so that was a good mixture for me. It meant I had worked hard enough to feel it but was excited by the feeling it gave me too.

We started out at an easy pace. On this route, there is always someone out running, walking, dog walking, biking, or what have you, no matter the weather. Today was no different. Its also an area where over half of our local races take place, including the triathlon. A popular place. And its a great course because of the varied terrain, from rolling to flat to steep, and the scenery varies as well from the lake to wooded, to wetlands, to some fabulous homes. We were going to try to spot the $7.7 million house that belonged to a doctor now in the news for defauding insurance companies and Medicare and reusing needles and sutures on patients. Watch for that story on Dateline sometime soon, I can bet.

When we hit the first long incline, Don needed to stretch out his Achilles. Even though we only took a few steps, it gave me a chance to catch my breath, which I realized was coming fast. I was breathing harder than normal again but my legs felt great! We started out again before cresting the hill and then it was down the steep other side, down to the residential area. Just before we had stopped, a young girl passed us, and the "old" Don might have picked up the pace to keep up with her, but the "current" Don stayed with me. To a point. He still was getting slightly ahead of me, making me work harder to keep up. By the time we got to 2 miles, I was really breathing hard, but not gasping, and still able to say a word or two, but for the most part we just ran. It was late enough in the morning now that the majority of people we saw were walkers. We figured anyone who met for the 5.5 run was long gone.

The next incline found us again walking a few steps, and again I was glad to be catching my breath. But I recovered quickly each time. We continued on until he reached the steepest hill, about a 1/4 mile almost straight up hill, that continued on after you turned the corner at the top. Again, the "old" Don would have made me push it up the hill, but the "current" Don still was struggling with the Achilles, so I was more than happy to walk after we got half way up. From here, its at 3 miles, still 1 mile to the car, so we needed to do some detouring to get in another 1.5 miles after that. This is where we went through a subdivision of some more fabulous homes, and finally did spot the $7.7 million home. We talked about what could possibly make a home that expensive, so my mind was off running, making it a great way to enjoy the day!

By the time we got to the last half mile, it was mostly on a downgrade from there to the car, so I could tell Don was pushing it some. He even said, "when I see the traffic light at the corner, that's where I start picking up the pace." And that's what he did. I followed as closely as possible, so I was happy about my effort here too. I'm telling you though, when we got done I was glad to stop! I looked at my watch for the first time and saw--I can't believe this--54:19. That was for 5.5 miles with walking!

I asked Don if he knew how fast we were running. I didn't want to get my hopes up until I heard it from him. "Under 10s for the most part." Under 10s?? Me?? Whoa!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: December 8, 2007.

Plans have been underway, and I am in negotiations with someone to supply the shirts -- that is if you really want shirts.

What I have come up with is a short sleeved, 100% polyester moisture wicking shirt, using a logo similar to the one seen here. To save some money, I suggest modifying the logo to 2 colors, and also suggest a gray/silver shirt.

The price of the shirt, including postage, would be $20 for bulk orders of at least 20.

So, here's what I need from anyone who is interested: let me know your commitment to wanting a shirt by e-mail (I think my e-mail is on my blog; if not, let me know!) I will need your size and you will then have to mail me a check or money order and provide a mailing address.

The supplier said he could get a turnaround of 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, so more than likely, by the time I can get the shirts and mail them out it will be after the race. But I will get them out as soon as I can.

Who's interested??

IF THE ONLY TIME YOU HAD TO WORK OUT WAS AT 4 AM....

Would you? That was a question I asked at a work cocktail party the other night. Disclaimer: I do not usually attend these things, because I had better things to do with my evenings, like watching Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy or something. :D But this was a "first annual" of something or other and I felt obligated. Also, I didn't want to be the topic of conversation if I didn't go. :)

I don't know why it is at these things that the women always sit around complaining about husbands or significant others. A woman who works in my practice area was complaining that her husband always had to "run." I remember hearing her mention he ran before, but not much has been said since so I pretty much forgot about that. Her complaint wasn't so much that he ran, but that he gets up at 4 am to run. Why does that bother her, I asked? The reason of course was that it disturbed her sleep. And since he only runs on the treadmill, she can hear that as well.

And while I pretty much knew the answer to the next question, I asked it anyway. "Do you ever use the treadmill?" "Heck no! I'd have to get up at 4 am too and there is no way I would get up at 4 am just to exercise." "Can't you do it later, or can't he, like after work?" "No, my only time would be to get up early and I'm not going to do that. And he just likes to exercise in the morning."

So that got the whole ball rolling on whether anyone would get up that early if that was the only time they had to exercise.

"I would," I said. And while I don't make it a regular practice to get up that early (other than the last couple of weeks it seems), I have gotten up that early for races and that early and even earlier to get in a run or workout if it was necessary. Like when training for a marathon or something.

"That's because you're crazy!" several people said.

Am I?

So I said that exercise was important enough to me that if the only time I had to exercise was at 4 am (or get up to exercise), I would. I might not be as enthusiastic about it every day if I had to get up that early all the time, but I know I would do it.

The general concensus from the rest was that they wouldn't.

So my question to you is would you?

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE.

Maybe I finally got an answer to my wanting a running partner, and it came from an unexpected source. Don and I have been running a few times together lately, something we hadn't been able (I hadn't been able) to do in the past. Either it was because he was too fast for me, or he was heavy into Ironman training, and still too fast for me. Even in his off seasons, I didn't have enough confidence to run with him, figuring it would pretty much kill me to go even his slowest pace.

This year, his off season has mainly been struggling through any kind of workout, due to the cancer drugs he's been taking now for several months. Not only do they sap a lot of his energy and strength, but side effects include aches and pains he wouldn't usually have. As I say, its been a struggle, both mentally and physically for him to even get out of bed some days. But he continues to do what he can and probably more often than the average person even under normal circumstances.

The week after my half marathon, I asked him casually if he wanted to go for a short run with me. My main intention was to get him out the door more than anything else. Surprisingly, he said yes. We only did a short run, a little over 2 miles, and I felt great. I don't really know how he felt, but I could tell he was glad to be done. After that, he continued to either go to the track and do short runs or to the Y track on a more regular basis. Monday morning we went again, pretty much the same run as before, yet he was having trouble with his Achilles, so had to stop frequently to stretch and walk it off.

So I was surprised when he asked me last night if I was running in the morning. I said I was but wanted to go longer this time. "That's all right. I'll do whatever you do."

I half expected then that we might do some walking if we were going to extend the run for him, which was okay with me. That's not exactly what happened though.

We started out at a comfortable pace, and the weather was quite comfortable too. A brief rain shower had fallen just before we went out, so the air was nice and clear, and the temperature was in the mid 50s but a little windy, so all in all quite nice.

The first part of the run I was directing him where I wanted to go. And its amazing when running with someone else how much faster the whole thing seems to go. Before I knew it, we were at our first stop at a cross street, but there wasn't any traffic so we kept on going.

The next part is slightly uphill, and this is where his troubles started the other day. At this point too I was thinking maybe we should walk a bit if we were going to run longer. I didn't need to yet, but I wanted to be prepared for later by saving my energy. Again, walking didn't happen. I asked him how he was feeling and he said he was feeling much better than the other day. Okay, we'll just keep at it, I thought.

By the time we got to the next cross street, I was again thinking we would (should) walk, but that was not happening apparently. He ran across the street, leaving me to wait for cars, and because I hesitated, I couldn't make it. So I continued until I could cross. By then, he had gotten about a block ahead. While he hasn't been running much, and his fitness level is way down, he still can run faster than me if he wants, so I was starting to worry a little that I was going to really have to push myself to catch up. Fortunately for me, he did stop a second to stretch, allowing me to catch up.

Then it was up another hill and down a straight stretch. Here, he began leading, and I realized I was falling a few steps behind and then catching back up. And wouldn't you know it, every time we came to a cross street, the traffic was spaced far enough apart so we didn't have to wait. I was really wanting a break, and I probably would have waited if I was alone, but I decided to stick with him as much as possible.

By the time we got within several blocks from home, I had decided there was no way I wanted to do 4 or 5, so was glad he was turning back. "So what do you think, about 3.5 when we get done?" he asked. I looked at my watch again and thought probably not. We were at 32 minutes (and by now it seemed MUCH longer). "I figure we're going a 10 or 10:30 pace," he said. I was breathing hard, not gasping, just working harder than I do when running alone. So maybe we would be doing 3.5? Was it possible?

When we got done and I looked at my watch, it was at 36 minutes, so its very likely we went 3.5 or even more, after I thought about the route and did some quick calculations.

Now I know that's not a blazing speed, but for me to finally break out of the 11 min. pace makes me realize how much easier it is to do that when someone else is pushing you along and the fact that I can actually do it. And I didn't even realize I was running faster until I stopped. And today I was definitely out of breath so I know I worked harder. It reminded me a little of those faster runs I used to do and how exhilirating it felt when done.

And Don is truly old school when it comes to running, meaning just like there's no crying in baseball, in running there's no walking. His belief is simple: You don't train to run by walking. Not that you can't walk if you're having a bad run, you just don't make it a habit. We don't exactly agree on that, but I understand his theory.

Of course this has me thinking if I can get him out there with me more often that maybe I can actually get a little faster within a month or so. He probably won't go any farther than 5 miles, but that would be a breakthrough for both of us, because I know I would be pushing through and running the full distance. And I think mentally it will give him a boost too. Trade offs are great!

Anyone seen this? The plan is to run 5.5 on Sat., Nov. 17, in honor of Ryan Shay. I will be looking for something to do to be sure I get my 5.5 in on Saturday. I have a plan already.

And as an added comment, if you haven't already thought about the Virtual Race, 8 on Dec. 8, please stop by and let me know or at Nancy's blog. We will be finalizing the details and format for posting soon! And just think, you can do your 5.5 on Saturday the 17th and still have 3 more weeks to build up to your 8 on the 8th!

PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAILS.

Maybe because I've probably had about every running injury there is, when something starts twinging or worse yet hurting, an alarm goes off in my head. I try to figure out what it is I'm doing or doing wrong to stop whatever is going on. So when I started having just a little bit of knee instability, something I've actually not been plagued with very often, red flags went up.

For the most part, I blamed it on building up my mileage too fast for the half last month. But then I remembered I had done the same thing last spring for the 25k (yeah, I like to binge train) and didn't have the same thing going on then. That was far harder and a longer distance too.

So I've been putting up with this little knee lock-up thing going on, especially during long runs, where if I stop, my knee actually locks in a hyper extended position just for a second, but hurts until I take a step or two. Hard to explain. What was worse though was my knees were starting to hurt going down steps. Now I know it can be argued that my age has something to do with it, and I'm not totally disputing that, but I still had to wonder what was going on and have been very cautious about not making it worse.

Last week I started paying more attention to my stretching, something I do on a regular basis, but not always enthusiastically. I hurry through some basic stretches and only work on areas that bother me most, but this knee thing was baffling. One of the stretches I hadn't been doing though was the quadricep stretch. I had been neglecting at least the one leg since my ankle sprain because it hurt too much for me to grab my ankle, and there is actually just a little soreness there still, right where the ankle bends. So I've been lazy about that leg especially. But the other day, I finally decided to really stretch the quads. I was surprised at how tight they were, which wasn't surprising. A couple days of really stretching the quads and guess what? The knee thing is better!

I was looking on line at quad muscle info and a little blurb about tight quads may cause knee problems jumped out at me. Apparently, the article was right!

So stretch those quads, the calves, your hips, everything and see if some of your running ailments get better or disappear. And do those stretches correctly. The correct standing quad stretch is keeping your leg close to the body. Or you can do them laying on the floor on your side. And obviously, be careful not to overstretch and ease into any stretches where you have difficulty or pain. A little bit at a time. Go on line and look for the stretches also. There are a lot of sources out there. Some are easy enough to do without any instruction, but it never hurts to read up on any latest ideas.

See, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

A VIRTUAL RACE FOR RUNNING BLOGGING FRIENDS

A plan has been hatched. Nancy (and I must give Nancy credit actually for coming up with the idea and logo!) and I were saying we needed a race in the near future. There is none, you say? Let's make our own. We are putting together a virtual race for Dec 8th (let's just say anywhere between the 7th and 9th -- see how accomodating these race directors are?!). Run 8miles on the 8th with all of your closest blogger friends.

Let us know if you are in. We will keep track of everyone who runs and times, and also hope that you will even write race reports. I doubt there will be tshirts unless anyone has a brilliant idea. We might come up with some ideas for prizes. Suggestions welcome. Hope you can join us!

Its a great way to keep motivated and continue with exercise and weight management through the holiday months. If you already have a race that day, you can use that as a base, just make sure you do 8!

I THINK MY PANTS ARE ON BACKWARDS!

At least that's what I was thinking this morning when getting dressed. I was wearing a suit I hadn't worn since last fall. Then, they were loose all over, due to a huge weight loss post-accident (which unfortunately I have since gained back). A lot of that was, I'm sure, due to muscle loss and atrophy. Today, they were (still) loose in the back (good thing!) but felt tighter in the front, where my quads are. A nice bonus to more running lately finally has me finding my quad muscles again. Yipee!

I wasn't expecting this. I would have expected it more this summer after all those 50 mile bike rides, and all the tris I did, but alas, that apparently never happened, probably explaining my consistently last place finishes at most of my tris (that and needing those skinnier tires I keep mentioning). It pretty much confirms for me then the greater necessity for me to continue on with my run buildup.

But now I get impatient, ready to do more, yet holding myself back to avoid injury. Its a battle I face constantly: wanting to run more or faster and yet being afraid of having an injury to deal with again. I keep looking for races to do here, but all I find are trail runs or 5ks, neither of which I want to do right now. Maybe a 5 mile or 10k? Nothing around. Unless I decide to do this: http://grturkeytrot.googlepages.com/home.

PLAN B DAY.

Today was one of those days when it was good to have a plan B to fall back on. The running "schedule" I am going to use for the next couple of months calls for two days a week of weights, which I will then follow up with a 2 mile run after each. An easy recovery day.

I was all organized last night, and waking up at the 4:30 am time I've been doing lately, it was easy enough to get out of the house early enough and head to the gym. Not so early today to be the only one there, though.

When I went out to the car to start loading my stuff in for the day, I noticed my door opener didn't work. "Probably a dead battery," I thought, meaning the door lock opener. I had a dead battery all right, only it was the car! Now what?? And what was wrong? I couldn't think of any reason for my car battery to be dead, but there it was, completely dead. Didn't turn over at all.

It was before 6 am, so I checked the phone book, which fortunately I had one, and looked for the 24 hour services. There were several, but none listed their location. I wanted the closest one possible to get the car working quickly and get on with my day. I finally found one closest by, but it didn't advertise as 24 hour service. I took a chance and called anyway, but I'm sure I woke up the guy who answered.

Once he determined what I wanted, and had asked whether I left my lights on ("No!"), he said he only took cash. Fortunately, I had enough to cover the charge, but I was a little skeptical of his business practices. "How soon can you get here?" "I'm coming right over."

Coming "right over" meant 30 minutes later, even though he was located only about 10 minutes away. I was getting impatient and was just about ready to call again when he showed up at the door. Again, I was a little skeptical when I saw he showed up in a battered Toyota Camry (which leaked transmission fluid all over my driveway!) that he had to prop the hood up with a board! I was already starting to think of who else I could call when he left, figuring he would never get the thing started.

But lo and behold! Once he put the battery cables on my battery, my interior dome light came on. What?? I have no idea how that got left on. No one sat in my back seat in the past couple of days, and it was still light out enough when I got home that I wouldn't have needed it for anything anyway. And besides, doesn't that light come on when you open the door? How would I have known it had gotten turned on then? I guess it was my pointy head or something that bumped it, but it seems pretty hard to imagine. Either way, he got the car started and then told me just to let it run for about 20 minutes.

A quick check of the time and I could see it was too late to go to the gym, so plan B came into effect. I have some free weights at home, so while the car ran for 20 minutes or so to recharge, I did a modified weight routine. Once the car charged, I went out for my 2 mile run.

What a nice alternative plan though! Instead of killing myself with boredom on the treadmill after weights, I was able to go outside for a nice refreshing run in the brisk morning air. A few snowflakes were falling, it was that cold, but no wind, so again perfect weather for this time of year.

When things don't go as planned, its nice when the alternative turns out better!

TIME CHANGE.



Is anyone else having trouble adjusting to the time change, those of us who experience Daylight Savings Time? I have been all messed up on time since Sunday morning, when I woke up at 3:30 (or was it 4:30?), looked at the time on my cell phone (which I use for an alarm), then turned on the satellite TV and saw the same time, then looked at the wall clock, different time. I had enough moments of confusion as to what time it really was to somehow keep me awake from that point on. I didn't actually figure out what time it really was until I remembered that we fall back in the fall. Duh!

Since then though, I have needed to go to bed by 9 pm and keep waking up around 4, pretty much the same amount of sleep as before, just that hour earlier. And let me tell you, at 4 am it is pretty quiet everywhere. Its still too creepy early for me to feel like going out to run, and going to the gym that early is creepy. I did that yesterday. The gym in my work building is a private club, so its open 24/7, and there is only a staff person there during regular business hours, 8-5. Going there before the cows even get up means not only being the only one in the parking lot and building itself, other than a security guard, but being the only one in the gym. While its nice having the place to myself, I'm constantly looking over my shoulder or peeking around corners, and listening for every sound for the possibility of someone sneaking up and grabbing me or, when in the pool, holding my head under water. I don't even watch any scary movies because it seems my mind can come up with enough horror stories of its own!

And then there's the dilemma of my internal clock being at least an hour ahead of office hours, so that by 4 pm, I'm ready to leave! Yesterday I could feel myself getting crabbier by the minute the closer it got to 4:30, especially when I got a late in the day assignment, which is per usual anyway. I think the attorney knew my irritation, although she did not know why, and thanked me profusely after that, even though I got my attitude in check after I realized how surly I must have seemed!

Going out earlier to run Monday morning had its moments of humor, however. I managed to somehow be following the trash pickers' route, as I watched not one but several cars trolling through the neighborhood scouring for treasures that others had discarded. One woman, in a huge suburban blocking the entire street, was hell bent on getting a toilet into her car! I can only imagine! Would that now be a porta-potty or was she thinking of remodeling?

And of course there's nothing on TV at that hour to maybe lull me back to sleep, other than the early morning news shows recapping everything that has taken place over the past 5 days, or every informercial trying to convince you to buy something you don't need anyway. But wait, I did find Sesame Street on yesterday at 4:30 a.m., so assuming there are some kids up at that hour it isn't entirely mindless viewing.

I am hoping that by next spring at least, when DST again begins, that I will be not only adjusted to the time change but caught up on my sleep!

ITS COMING!

I don't know about you, but I'm not ready for this yet. Heck, I'm never ready for this! Last night's weather was truly ugly, with high winds, heavy rain/sleet/hail mixed. I was congratulating myself for having gotten my run in during the before dawn hours, because I knew there was the likelihood of bad weather later in the day, one of the main reasons why I like to get it done early.

This morning, planning a gym workout because of the continued high winds and rain, I noticed they had actually salted the roads sometime before the early morning hours. Ugh. I think the good weather days are behind us for a LONG time! Yes, I think I will continue planning that tropical winter vacation.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

Today was my first run after the end of daylight savings time. It was nice to not be running in that darkest hour before dawn for a change. I know it will be only a few weeks, if that, before we return to the dark side again. The weather is changing as well, making gloves, tights, and earbands a requirement for all runs. The end of daylight savings time also effectively puts an end (for me) of any outdoor after work workouts. The only thing I hate more than working out after work is working out after work in the dark. I don't mind running in the dark in the morning, when the end result is daylight. I do mind running in the dark in the evening, not being able to use the bike path for safety because of darkness, and unwilling to risk the frenzied drivers trying to get home.

Today also starts another training schedule for me. After the tongue lashing my knees gave me this weekend for thinking why not? continue on with the same crash course training I did for the GR half, I realized a more sensible approach was necessary if I wanted to continue running without injury. Doubling your mileage in 3 weeks and then tripling it in 4 isn't a recommended course to follow, as I learned the hard way Saturday. That was a one-time deal.

I decided Saturday that my long run would now take me through the hills (if you did the half or marathon, you know the hilly area that eventually goes to Millenium Park). Not that the hills are horrible, but I realized just how tired my legs still were in going this route, instead of the flat bike path. My reasoning was two-fold, however. First, knowing that the bike path becomes impassable for most of the winter once the snow starts (they don't keep it clear), I wanted to start getting used to the hill route. Second, I felt it was time to start working a little harder on my runs; it was time to start putting some quality into running again. Once I reached Millenium Park, sensible me should have turned and gone back to my car on the flat bike path. Not so smart me decided to add another mile and a half, to round it out to 9, and turned the opposite way, only to find myself walking at 8 miles, thus defeating that whole plan.

During that extended walk, I decided I needed to look for a sensible buildup plan. Is it me, or are all these training plans obsessed with numbers? I seem to be one of those runners who fall between the cracks right now, because it seemed like all the "free" training schedules I could find were either too easy or much too hard, and just as hard to follow. I wanted something that would spell out for me a way to increase my weekly mileage without having to run x miles at this pace, then x miles at this pace, then, for example 3x___ at ____ pace. And on and on it went.

I've always followed some sort of schedule or another, nothing always written in stone, but simple to follow. Even my first marathon training schedule was so easy I was able to memorize it and used it for later marathons, even when I couldn't find the written version. And it obviously had a good result, based on my finishing times. I could probably go back to that schedule, but I am not in the same running shape I was then to start. I don't plan to do any speed workouts or hill repeats just yet. I know that the tried and true approach to building on my running comes mainly with doing the distance first, conditioning myself, and later adding those technical aspects of training.

Then I started thinking of the training schedule for the 25k race in May. Even that seemed a little too agressive, with the "expert" schedule having you run 6 days a week. With a little modification, I decided then to go with this plan. I'm not really sure if I can handle 5 days a week of running, since 6 is clearly too much, but if not, I think 4 days will work. I am actually going to start at 5 and see how it goes. Two days a week will only be short runs, probably not more than 20 minutes, and will follow a weight routine. I will swim two days a week, do a "continuous" run one day a week, a mid-week 5 miler, building on longer running intervals, and one weekly long run, starting back at 7.5 miles (a loop I can do from the park) and building until I reach my half marathon distance again. If all is successful, and I can accomplish this by the middle to end of December, then I will see what January brings. My plan for January is to do the Mississippi Blues half, but that mainly depends on travel costs more than anything else.

So, keeping it simple is clearly the way I will go. If anyone has any successful training programs they want to point me to, I welcome your suggestions.

MEN'S OLYMPIC TRIALS.

Good day and bad. By now you may have heard that Ryan Shay died while competing in the Men's Olympic Marathon Trials held in Central Park. Its sad for more than one reason. First, that such a young talent was taken away at such an early age. And next, I worry again that people will be condemning runners, when the truth is that it is such a small percentage who have problems, it should not be an issue. Sadly, it is.

Ryan is originally a Michigan native, and was winner of the 25k National Championships held in GR every year at the Fifth Third River Bank Run. Such a freak thing!

On the upside, 2nd place finisher, Dathan Ritzenhein, is also a Michigan native, and I have to claim my 15 min. of fame here.

When Dathan was 13, a group of us were doing indoor triathlons every year, and his dad was a part of the group. He and the son of another guy from our group needed a swimmer for their relay. I offered, since I was also doing the tri individually. I didn't know until that day what a phenomenon he was. I can't remember the outcome of the race, because obviously we didn't place, but from there on out I have followed his career through the years.

What impressed me most, though, was his first 5k race the following spring, when he was 14, and his time then was 16 something! It was incredible. From there, it has all been history, with all his successes.

I hope the best for him in his upcoming training, and am sincerely sorry about Ryan Shay. A huge loss to the running community.

THE OFF SEASON...OR IS IT?

While the thought of relaxing in this for a few months--on a tropical beach no less!--sounds ideal, I know that while it may be the triathlon off season--or will be after today's Ironman Florida and next week's 70.3 series championships, there is no off season in running.

All the fast, smart triathletes here use their tri off season to ramp up their running, which I think puts them ahead of the competition when the next season rolls around. Its continuous, its perpetual it seems, that they just keep training, in one form or another, all year round.

When I was into competitive running, I was SO glad for the racing season to be over because, truthfully, I was tired out and burned out. A couple of months off from serious training then became welcomed and expected. It gave me a chance to get caught up on all the household things neglected since early spring, and some of the family things I put off because I had been too tired otherwise.

But since I don't feel like I have really worked that hard this year--I know, I've done a lot, but not at the same level!--I plan to use the "off season" to build on my running. I may not have slacked off, like it seems in a way, but when you go as slow as I do, you don't feel the burnout. Maybe that's good in a way.

That being said, my off season plans will be geared mainly looking for and training for races I want to do next year, whether here or somewhere more sensibly warm. I've said it before, and I can't emphasize enough, how important it is for me to get this running thing in better shape. Running was where it all started for me. Running can be done almost anywhere at any time of the year. Not too much special equipment needed. And I know that building on my running strength again will make next year's triathlon season more successful, and less frustrating (that and some skinnier tires, but that's another story!).

Here's a tentative list of what I'm thinking of:

• November: haven't decided yet; probably just work on my running;
• December: some local Running Club races, to see if I've progressed since last year;
• January: an indoor tri. Again, I want to see how much improvement I will have from last year; also considering the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon on Jan. 5.
• February: another indoor tri; also considering the AIA Half Marathon in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Feb. 17; then maybe a cruise if it can all be worked out;
• March: hmm, maybe this little thingy with Kona Shelley??
• April: Saturday Classic, Steve's 10 miler. Its a good tuneup for the 25k in May;
• May: Fifth Third River Bank Run 25k ; Bayshore Half Marathon;
• June: Race for Recovery Half IM; Johan's Triathlon;
• July: Block 58 Triathlon (again to see if I can improve from last year);
• August: Steelhead Half Ironman.
• September: Still open but 2 races I'm definitely not doing (Reeds Lake and Holly);
• October: Grand Rapids Half Marathon. I like the idea of a local race, which has been labeled now as one of THE BEST races around (read the reviews and decide for yourself) and again I am hoping to see some improvement over this year.

And that brings me right back to the "off season" again. With that kind of schedule, I think I will surely be ready for an off season next year!

SPOOK-TACULAR RUN.

Today was the first run after the half marathon. I purposely waited because it not only put me back on my usual routine, but obviously the legs/hips/knees/feet needed a couple of days off. I was really feeling tight last week, and it continued on into the race Sunday. Yesterday, I actually got in the pool and swam about 3/4 of a mile and felt great all day, so obviously that's what I should have done last week too. Its really not like me to miss a week of swimming. Lesson learned.

Today's run was just going to be short--it ended up being only 2.5 miles--to see how the legs felt and worked. It was fairly warm again (54 degrees at 6:30 am), but pretty breezy. I wore tights and was glad I did with the wind, but by the end of the run, I no longer needed the gloves I had on.

I was surprised at how good my legs felt. I only did my short loop and then an extra block, because it just didn't seem long enough to be out, but it was better to leave something behind than trying to struggle through something longer if I wasn't ready.

This weekend, I plan to continue on with my long runs, but cutting back to just 1 1/2 hours, instead of the 2+ I had been doing, at least for a couple of weeks. My next goal is to train to run longer without needing to walk. Not that I expect to be able to run nonstop a whole 10 miles or more any time soon, but I think I can easily get back to at least 6 miles with some work.

On another note, did anyone happen to see Marathon Challenge on PBS last night? It was a NOVA show. I saw it advertised looking at the marathonguide.com website. It reminded you of the Biggest Loser show. Team Nova, as they were called, were all sedentary, nonathletic types, randomly selected to train for and run the 2007 Boston Marathon. NOVA would train them for 40 weeks resulting in the running of the marathon. One of the coaches was Uta (Take the Magic Step) Pippig, 3 time winner of Boston. Before starting their training, they first had to undergo testing, including body fat measurement, and a VO2 max test. One of the women actually had 46% body fat! All but one tested either fair to poor in the VO2 max test (including a 21 year old woman); one actually tested superior. He obviously was an untapped talent, because this guy, while he had been a runner in college, had not run in 20(?) years. One woman also had a medical condition that had caused her to become not only sedentary, but gain 70 pounds. They were not going to use her at first because of a possible heart problem, more than likely due to being what they termed "morbidly obese." But she persisted in begging until they finally let her take part.

It was very interesting not only to watch these people go from their first steps to being able to run a full marathon, and watching their progress, injuries, setbacks, etc., but also getting a lesson in how the body adapts to the addition of exercise, and in this case running, into your life. "The first day you exercise [run], you are healthier than the day before." That's how dramatic one day of exercise can affect you, so you can see how continuing on a day-to-day basis is only going to enhance your health. They showed how your ligaments and muscles become more fluid after just a few months of training, and the old saying "use it or lose it" applied here. I can see definitely how that applied for me last week, not doing as much because of thinking I should taper, and yet an increased amount of inactivity actually led to stiffness I hadn't had in a long time.

What was interesting to note, however, is that none of the women lost any weight except the one already 70 pounds overweight. She actually ended up losing about 50 pounds, was the most highly motivated, and, as it turned out, fastest of all the women. The reason for this was also given, but it gets too technical, and I'm not going to go into all that.

All but 2 of the original 12 completed the race, and that was due to either chronic or recurring injuries (shin splints, stress fractures). Of the finishers, the guy who started out with the superior VO2 max came in fastest, with all the women finishing over the 6 hour mark. It was so great to watch how happy, jubiliant, incredulous they were when they finished. It was worth watching just for that. After the race, they again were all retested for their VO2 max levels. All tested excellent to superior!

So keep exercising people, because even one day is better than none!

PRETTY IN PINK!

That was my theme for the race. The glasses were a bit much, but they did add to the effect. And no, I didn't wear the big bulky fleece for the race! Me after the race. The race director, Don Kern and me.


The start/finish line.

Some of the smiling volunteers (I guess I might be smiling too if I had their job, serving up the post-race beer!)

And what's a race without Elvis showing up?

And then there's the medals!

Little Miss Sunshine (Lecia). TriEric, post marathon. The guy is awesome. He ran a 3:33 after a minimalist training schedule like I usually follow (he says). Works better for some than others!




Some pics at the expo: Sunshine and her husband and daughter. TriEric and me at the Expo.

The guy who "ran" the whole marathon course on stilts. He has mild cerebral palsy and was doing it not only for the record, which he beat, but also for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.

Such was the fun of the race!

Prerace: You know how the night before an important race, you can't sleep? Well that wasn't my problem. I did have a zillion race dreams though, so weird I will share.

My first "dream" was waking throughout the night, semi-conscious, wondering why I hadn't checked the results of the race before I went to bed? I mean, they should be done by now! Oh, wait, we haven't run it yet. And this isn't an Ironman!

The second dream I had was that Karen (Waddler) and I were running together. When we got to the 10k point, we decided to stop and have lunch! LOL! The place we chose? A retirement home! I'm really hoping this isn't a premonition of any sort.

Once we got in line to eat at the retirement home, I lost track of Karen. I have no idea where she went, but I'm guessing she escaped! Me? I'm left in line with these old people, and no way were they giving me cuts!

Later, I was at my old house and decided I had better get this race done, but I couldn't get through because there was a Halloween parade going on!

OMG! I have to say I was glad to wake up.

RACE MORNING:

It was a frosty morning under a Hunter's moon when we were to begin this race. The temperature was about 31 degrees, but there was no wind. Surprisingly, even in the crowd, I had run into Sunshine and her lovely daughter, Sarah, and Tri Eric, as well as many others I knew.

Running a race on local territory is the best! Not only do you know all the ins and outs for parking and getting around, but you know the course and get to see all your old running buddies too!

I tried to line up according to my anticipated pace, but it was so crowded at the beginning, with 2 minutes to the start, I was still crammed into the 3:14 marathon pace group! With 10 seconds to go, I hadn't made much progress backward so went when the starting air horn went off.

We hadn't run even 1/2 mile when I noticed a chip on the ground! Oh well, I'm not picking that up. Whose ever it was was probably WAY faster than me, and would do better to use their number rather than my time if I carried it in.

The sun wasn't supposed to rise until 8:14, and the race started at 8, so it was still a little dark when we started. My plan was to do the same as I had in training: run 8 minutes, walk 2. I didn't dare risk any heroic moves to do longer than that. Truth be known, I hadn't trained farther than 10.5 miles, and I only had 3 "long" runs prior to this race, relying mainly on my triathlon base to get me through. Note: I'm sorry, but doing a 3.5 hour triathlon is not enough base to do a half marathon! Nevertheless, I toed the line like the idiot I am with the minimalist training I seem to always do.

As promised, I wore my entire pink outfit: sunglasses (eventually), vest, headband, gloves. The headband and glasses left a lot to be desired, as the headband did not soak up moisture, and since my head sweats A LOT, my hair was soaked early on and my ears were cold throughout. The glasses? Cool as they might have looked, they were way too big for my face, but the view was good! And I heard many times "Hey Pretty in Pink!"

I was really tempted to keep running even though I had reached my 8 minute walk time, but this time I decided to stick with the plan, considering my minimal training mentioned earlier.

I saw there were a few others also doing a run/walk, so I didn't feel too out of place. There had been a "velocity challenged" group that had done an early start, at 7 am, but I didn't feel like I needed to do that. I knew I wouldn't be terribly fast, but with the marathon going on, I wasn't going to be anywhere near last. And part of the course is in a totally unlit area, meaning it would be pitch black at that hour. Too spooky for me!

I was a little disappointed to see then, using the run/walk, that my first mile was about 11:45 and most other miles were hitting right at 12 min. I really was hoping I'd be a little faster, but part of that I can "blame"on the cold, since I never run as fast in the cold. My hips were pretty tight all week, and no amount of stretching, massaging, or relaxing during the week had loosened them up much. I definitely will have to step up management of that problem before it becomes another injury. And yet, even with the chilly temperatures, there were a LOT of people out there in shorts. Not me. I had on a pair of tights AND shorts over. No way could a little piece of spandex keep my behind warm enough when its less than 35 degrees!

Once the sun came up, we were treated to blue skies and still no wind. That is a rarity! Since I had started so close to the front, it took until almost 3 miles before my friend Jan and her daughter caught up with me, both dressed as black cats, with whiskers painted on, wearing tails, and ears! Cute! Soon after, another woman in my age group, Mary passed, then shortly after Bonnie also in my age group. The odd thing here is that NONE of them showed up in the results! So I'm wondering if their chips didn't register? Jan has her own. Another woman Bonnie ran with showed up in the results, as did Jan's daughter! I know they didn't run bandit so I don't know what's going on with that.

Between miles 3.5 and about 5.5, there are a few hills thrown in to make it interesting. Unfortunately, through this area, I began feeling the need to use the bathroom. I was really happy to see that at each aid station they also had some porta-johns, but the lines were long, and I was thinking I couldn't really afford to lose that much time stopping. So I waited until I was reaching a dangerous zone before I finally was forced to stop. In training, and maybe in other circumstances, I might have ducked into the wooded area that lines this part of the course, but wearing my more than visible bright pink, it would be all to obvious what I was doing!

Once I got that out of the way though, I could concentrate on the race again. To make up for the longer stop than my usual 2 min. walk, I continued on through my next walk break. This was in an area that was slightly downhill anyway, so it seemed easy enough. Its not that I can't run continuously, but not for as long as I would need to be out there. That's something I plan to work on next, running longer periods without stopping. Eventually, it will come together again.

There was a guy running, wearing a Chicago Marathon 2007 jacket on that I had come upon about mile 2, lost him for a while, and then after my stop, he came by me again. I have no idea where he'd been all that time, but I didn't miss him. As he ran, he rattled, sounding like he had several boxes of Tic Tacs in his pocket. I knew that would eventually drive me nuts, so I was glad to be rid of him finally when the marathoners split off from us. There was also another guy running so slowly, yet steadily, that even when I did my walk breaks he would pass me, but then I would get ahead of him on the runs. We went back and forth like this for probably 5 miles. It was obvious he was doing the marathon.

In Millenium Park, the first relay handoff was here. That explained all the busses at the start of the race. The park is huge, so part of the course wound through the park on the nice running trails. There was another aid station here also, and they were giving out gummy bears! Had I not just taken a gu, I might have taken some, but too much sugar for me spells disaster. It was a great idea though! As I said about the park, just before we entered the park we were at mile 6; before we exited the park we were at mile 7, and we barely touched the amount of trails in there. Its a great place! I was surprised though at how foggy it still was, with the vapor rising off the ponds and lakes. It gave it a surreal feeling, only seeing several feet in front of you, with the fog shrouding the distance.

By now, my right hip was starting to tighten up more and hurt, so the walk breaks became a necessity, yet I never got off my routine after the bathroom stop. I figured that added probably 3-4 minutes to my time, but that's just one of those things you have to factor in.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I'll say that the pink brought many comments and compliments! Everyone at the aid stations always cheered me and even called me "Pink Lady." If they only knew! This helped keep me going too, again knowing I was highly visible and didn't want to be seen walking all the time.

At 8 miles, we enter the river path, taking that to the footbridge where the two races split off. I was pretty sure, from others' information, that the half marathon continued on the path, but I was starting to worry we would have to cross the bridge too, and by now my mind was focusing on staying on the path, using my trusted method of visualization to get me through the final miles. I breathed a sigh of relief then when I found that we did continue on and the marathoners turned. That helped me not break my focus.

Once we passed the footbridge, the ranks thinned out enormously. I could see people ahead, but now it became more like a weekend training run, with just a few people in front or behind me. It now became my run, and when bikers or roller bladers coming from the opposite direction headed down the path, I got a little resentful when their presence forced me to move over. So I knew here I was not only reaching the zone of pain I reach around 2 hours, but the irritable zone I get in at that point too. So I had to focus hard here to keep under control. I also knew that the next aid station was at approximately 10 miles, and I wanted to get there by 2 hours, and I came pretty close (2:10). Another aid station here, and the ladies remembered me!

Here again we enter this area that I'm not sure what its for. Its a long paved trail, almost 2 miles long, but it is always gated and locked, so I've never been on it. Its out in a field, no buildings or anything indicating what its used for. Something I've always wondered about, but still have no answer to. But it is beautiful and peaceful here, with the river running along a portion of it.

Just before I reached 11 miles, a biker came up behind me announcing the first runner coming through, meaning the first marathoner! Wow! I never thought of them lapping us! I heard him say, "I'm doing 6:10s. He'll have to do 5:10s to catch me." So he knew he was winning.

As I was exiting the trail, between 11 and 12 miles, the next runner came through, and then shortly after another. I also knew I was getting close to finishing, and my hip was getting so tight I'm sure my running pace slowed some, although after each walk break I felt okay. It was just that starting running from walking that was the hardest. Still, I continued on. I passed a few walkers here, and as usually happens, right after you pass them, they start running. But it was short lived, so I was able to pass them and keep ahead of them as well.

By this time, I realized I would not make my 2:40 goal, so just hung on and hoped for the best.

I think I held my pace pretty evenly, even through the last mile or so, but I wanted to be done in the worst way. My legs were actually hurting, and not in a way I've had before. My feet and knees were getting sore too. But I knew the end was near, just not near enough!

Coming down the last stretch to the finish, a few more marathoners passed me, so I'm still not sure whether the crowd was cheering for me or them. And I passed a couple of walkers, then saw the clock and wanted to make it in under 2:48, which was the clock time, not my chip time. And then it was over and the post-race party began.

I saw TriEric after, a lot of my friends, but just couldn't wait for everyone. I waited until an 80 year old guy we all know finished his 100th marathon and then I had to leave.

So I'm sorry if I didn't meet up with some of you after, but I hope you all had a great time in Grand Rapids and a fantastic race experience! I invite anyone who wants to do a fall marathon or half to consider coming to Grand Rapids next year. You won't be disappointed! Maybe we can even get a "Pink Ladies" team going again!

I FINISHED!

Short version: 2:46:25.

Long version: later. With pictures!

My "A" goal was 2:40. My "B" goal was 2:45. My "C" goal was 2:50, and my only real goal was under 3 hours. So I guess I achieved a B- goal.

Had I done 2:30, it would have been miraculous. Had I done 2:40, it would have been awesome. 2:45 would have been fantastic. But even so, it was miraculous that I was alive to run; awesome weather that we had; and fantastic that I made it! I am grateful, thankful, and lucky.

And I was able to meet up with some fellow bloggers: Sunshine and TriEric.

Can't wait to give the details!

FINAL TUNEUP.

The big day is almost here. Last night, I went out for my final "tuneup" before the race. I decided to go to Millenium Park, run through the park, out to the road, and onto the river path to the footbridge.

It was windier and cooler than I had expected, but still sunny. The colors are starting to fade, and more and more leaves are scattered on the path now. It also gets dark out sooner, and by 6 pm, the sun was low in the sky.

I didn't see too many people out: a few bikers, a walker, a roller blader, and one other runner. I was surprised that my legs felt tight, since I hadn't really been doing much this week. Probably too much sitting, that's why!

Don had said he was going to the track again, but if it was crowded he would call me. Well he actually did call, several times, but dummy here left my cell phone on my charger at work (real nice since my 5:15 alarm would continue to go off every 15 min. or so until I got to work the next day!), so I didn't get his call that he would meet me at the park.

I turned at the footbridge and was heading back to the park and my car, but the sun was so bright in my eyes I couldn't really see anything much. I did spot someone coming toward me, however. It looked like another runner, but I really wasn't sure. Being out there alone, I always am a little leery about people I don't know, and in this case I couldn't see. It never hurts to be on guard, no matter how safe you think you are. Probably 100 feet away, this runner's silhouette now becomes more visible and I figure out it is Don!

I was surprised to see him, and he said he had called, but I had already remembered I left my phone at work. He said he had been running through the park and up and down the road looking for me, had asked the one runner if he had seen me (he said he didn't remember, but I'm pretty sure he couldn't see me with the sun in his eyes), and finally decided to head to the path. He could see me the whole time, yet I couldn't identify him until just before we practically bumped into each other. So he was ready to head back to the car too. I was glad of that, as I wasn't willing to make my short run into anything else. And did I mention it was cold?? My hands were freezing and were turning bright pink.

"I saw you walk," he said. "Yes, my legs felt pretty tight today, so I decided not to push it, and did take a walk break." "So you're going to be doing the Gallagher method?" I had to laugh here, because I knew he meant Galloway. "Yup, that's about all I can manage right now for my long runs. At least I know I'll finish."

So watch out people, I may be throwing out some watermelons at you!

VISIBILITY FACTOR--POWER OF PINK

I couldn't resist this picture when I saw it! It just goes to show you how much of a visibility factor the color pink has.

As I was trying to look ahead to Sunday's weather to figure out what to wear, the color pink popped into my head. I realized I hadn't worn pink since we had our women's running team, so many years ago now it seems.

We called ourselves the Pink Ladies. Surveys were showing at that time that the color pink was more visible to drivers, so all the running info was touting wearing pink for safety. We had other ideas on why to wear pink. We wore white singlets and hot pink shorts, four or five of us, depending on who ran, and we soon learned that those pink shorts made it easy to pace each other and keep track of our teammates in large races. Not only that, we got many comments from others in the race saying how they paced off us "Pink Ladies," thus the name. We were visible. We were noticed.

So I'm thinking of wearing pink again, and realizing that for the first time in a long time, I don't worry about blending into the background. I don't mind if I'm seen on the course. I know I won't be in the front of any pack, but I'm not worried about being in the back either. I just want to be visible to show that I'm having a great time and happy to be out running and enjoying myself!

I also want to be visible to the people I haven't met yet through this blog or e-mail who will be coming to our city for this great race. I'm going to wear pink at the expo too, so you can find me easily, and pink on the course so we can wave at each other as you pass by me.

RUNNING SCARED.

I recently used this phrase in a comment to another blogger friend. It got me thinking again about how it applied to my life.

In my other life, when I was a competitive runner, running scared is what kept me on my game, afraid to loose the edge, not wanting to let someone else in my age group, known or unknown, beat me. Running scared is why I ran in all kinds of weather, regardless. Running scared is why I did that last mile repeat or hill repeat, to keep ahead of the competition.

When injuries forced me to the sideline and later to the back of the pack, I realized I wasn't running scared any more. I didn't really care that much (yeah, I really did, but it was easier to just pretend not to).

Running scared is what helped me escape the deep depression I had fallen into a couple of years ago. Running scared is what helped me get back on track, for my own sake and that of my family, leading me to so many of you in the process.

Running scared is what has kept me on the bike path all year instead of the road in training, for fear something bad will happen again. Running scared is what kept me going after the accident, for fear I would never be able to do what I love so much again.

Running scared is what keeps me praying, keeps me healthy, keeps me motivated.

Running scared is what keeps me tri-ing and trying. Running scared is what keeps me young.

I believe that when you stop running scared, you've given up. Run scared.