The OUC Half Marathon (updated with pics)

I was pretty excited about this race. My training this fall has gone really well, perhaps because I didn't run a fall marathon but have been focused on training for Disney. My training times have been getting better and better. It appeared that I could probably maintain a 10:30 min/mi pace for the race - which would land me a PR. My previous half marathon PR was 2:20:42, set in 2007 during this same race on the heels my marathon PR - the Marine Corps Marathon.

As for most races, I watched the weather report for the week leading up to the race. This race was scheduled to be run in some of the rainiest weather we have had all year. If it has only been a week ago, it would have been 48 degs F at the start and dry - perfect running weather! Rather than be disappointed, I took this as a challenge - a chance for a real running adventure. In my 3 years of marathon training and running, I have never raced in the rain.

I polled my Facebook friends and, of course, my running advisor Shirley , to figure out what I should wear for the race. The conclusion was long sleeve tech shirt, shorts, hat or visor and garbage bag for the start. I also decided to bring my iPod Shuffle with a few Podrunner mixes on it and set it up to play the 175 bpm mix.

Last night, a local Facebook / Twitter friend Kitzzy opened up her apartment for some of her running buddies to hang out in before the race since she lived just 2 blocks from the starting line. So about 6 of us showed up at Kitzzy's place just before 6 am to get geared up for the race. It was at this point I realized that I had done something I have NEVER done before a race....I forgot my race number (and also my D-tag). Since OUC offers race day registration, I figured I could get another one from registration. Fortunately it wasn't really raining so I headed over and found Shirley there at her usual station working on the computer - only she was supposed to be running the race. She was just helping out since she was there early. At the registration desk, I shared my dilemma but it was no big deal...I guess lots of folks have forgotten their number at one time or another. After getting my new number, I had time to go back to Kitzzy's place to pin my number on and head over to the race with the others.

Unlike most races, there was no national anthem played....we simply lined up, and at the appropriate time we started. There wasn't even a noisy starting air horn. I started up my Podrunner mix and we were off and running. Here is a recap of some of the miles the race:

Mile 1 - Got here at around 10:05, a bit fast going out so I determined I needed to slow down a bit.

Mile 2 - Hit mile 2 at around 20:15. I was still going a bit too fast, so I shortened up my stride. I decided to take my walking breaks with the water stops instead of at each mile - this improved my pace since the water stops were probably 1.5 miles or so apart.

Mile 3 - Mile 3 came at 30 min and change - I took an extra walking break to catch my breath. I wasn't quite into my rhythm but was getting there. At the next water stop I took my first Clif Shot.

Mile 4 - For the first few miles there was no rain...it was cloudy, warm and humid. Just as I was thinking I would like a little rain to cool things down a bit, it started to rain lightly. And it felt good!

Mile 6 - Maintaining pace - staying just under the 10:30 min/mi pace I was shooting for. Feeling kind of tired but pushing on and still walking just the water stops.

Mile 8 - Came at 1:24 - keeping pace. It was around this time that my heart rate strap started to bother me. It felt like I was chafing. Since I really didn't need the heart rate feedback, I decided to remove the strap and just hook it around my waist.

Mile 10 - This mile comes on Orange Avenue - a wide open area which, in past races, would be really hot and tough to run. Today, it was raining lightly and the wind was starting to blow a little. It felt really cool and nice! Just a 5K left. I don't recall where Jim was hiding, but it was great seeing a familiar face cheering everyone on!

Mile 11-12 - I was feeling pretty tired but I knew I needed to keep pushing if I was going to make that PR. Rather than walk I tried to shorten up my stride. My 175 bpm podrunner mix had ended (I played it twice) and I was now listening to a 177 bpm mix. At the mile 12 intersection there was car waiting for the runners. Smoke was coming out of it but just as I passed, runners started yelling at the guy to get out because his car was on fire. As I looked, small drips with flame were coming out underneath the engine of his car. I don't know what happened after that.

Mile 12-13 - I got a burst of speed early in this mile and started taking off and passing up a number of runners. However, about halfway through the mile, I was loosing energy. I slowed it down a bit and got one more walk break in before the final push.

Last 1/2 mile - I picked up my stride and really pushed it through the last half mile. I saw that the clock was 2:18 and change - good enough for a PR! When I finished, I was spent...and that is how it should end!

I stopped my Garmin at 2:18:26 - my unofficial time. As I walked out of the finish chute looking for food, Shirley ran up and met me. We chatted for a bit before I found a bagel and sports mix.

I stopped at the board to see what time posted for me but couldn't find my number. I just checked the online results and I don't show up. I sent the race organizers an email to see if they didn't get my number in the system. It isn't a big deal, but I like having the historical information there with the other runs I have done. And now that I think about it, I may pursue this because I may want to use this time for corral placement at Disney - so they don't place me in the 5:30 corral.



UPDATE WITH OFFICIAL RESULTS:

Officially, my time was 2:18:21

I placed 59/106 for my age group
Set a new PR by 2 min and 21 seconds. What a great race!

And now I will reward my efforts with a nap! 4:45 am came early today!

Thanksgiving Adventures

This year for Thanksgiving our family decided to do our own kind of adventuring. Since it was going to be just the 4 of us at home, we decided to do some Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) adventuring through the world of Greyhawk.

Our merry band consisted of two elven Ranger/Druids, a Drow elf turned good Ranger/Thief and a Dwarven Fighter/Cleric (that would be mine). We traveled through the land of Grewhawk killing Hobgoblins, snakes, wolves, bears and Frost Giants.

As with anyone, adventurers need to eat, so for our Thanksgiving meal we had Rats on a Stick, Mini-Goblin Burgers, Bear Steak, and various veggies. The Pixie Bone snacks didn't turn out so well but we found some good Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Pie to feast on.

We had a great time....and no one died! :-)

On the running front, I wasn't able to get out on Wednesday because of late night homework on Tuesday night, however, on Thanksgiving morning I did my own kind of Turkey Trot and trotted 8 miles. Today I ran another 5 miles. This weekend I am scaling back to run 6/12 miles in preparation for next week's OUC Half Marathon where I am hoping to run a PR (current half marathon PR is 2:20). My training has been going really well and things are looking good for the half marathon. My 8 miler was completed at a 10:30 min/mi pace - which is all I need next week to run sub-2:20.

After next week's half, I ramp up one more time before tapering for the Dopey 42.1 mile weekend at Walt Disney World's Marathon Weekend (5K on Fri, half marathon Sat and full marathon on Sun). Even with the half marathon on Sat, I think I am ready to break the 5 hour barrier in the full marathon this year.

Hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the many running adventures I have experienced and that I get to share them with all of you!

My Halloween Queen and Anniversary Return to Epcot

My Halloween Medieval Queen!

Halloween for our family was nearly a non-affair. Normally we decorate the yard and have a scary Halloween Knight greet the Trick-o-Treaters, but this year we were at a marching contest with our oldest daughter. So, to make sure my younger daughter didn't miss out completely, I took her to the mall where she competed in a costume contest. Although she didn't win, we had a great time!


Return to Epcot to Celebrate our 19th Anniversary at the International Food and Wine Festival

The following day, my husband and I (sans children), spent the day at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. It was our first visit back to Epcot since completing the Disney World Marathon back in January (such memories!!!). We had an incredible time walking around "the World" and enjoying food and wine from France, Japan, Ireland, South Africa....2 laps around the world and, well, you are one happy individual!!!

Life is an Adventure....Bring it on!

At the mall waiting for the results of a costume contest - for my little Medieval Queen!

It's Almost November Already????

With my girls on my birthday!

Hard to believe that my last post was on my birthday back in September. Now here it is, just 1 week away from November. Where does the time go and and how is everyone doing out there????

I guess I will start from today and count backwards on what has been going on.

Running Bandit, Race for the Cure, and Running with Maddy

What a day it was today. After several days of low sleep (due to crazy kid schedules) and just recovering from illness over the past week, I wasn't sure how I would do meeting Maddy at 6 am to run Race for the Cure and then additional mileage to make a total of 16 miles. But I figured I would prepare for the run and see what happens.

It was a nice cool morning when Maddy pulled into my driveway at precisely 6 am. I was feeling okay for a run. Seems Maddy's schedule has been about as crazy as mine lately - and her training hasn't been as good as she likes, so she, too, was not sure about 16 miles. We headed over to UCF, got a good parking spot and headed over to the packet pick up area. It opened at 6:30 am and we were there just as they opened. There weren't many folks around yet, but the area was well organized - and ready for a really big crowd. The T-shirt table indicated that they only had shirts for the first 8000 people who picked up their registration. 8000???? Wow, what a big crowd was coming. We were glad we got there early.

Since the race didn't start until 7:45, we decided to make the 2.5 mile loop around UCF's campus as a warm up. It was a cool morning, almost chilly, and felt great for running. We did our 2.5 mile lap and by the time we were back near the packet pickup area, there was a huge crowd there. Now we were really glad we got there early.

Running bandit: The reason I was running "bandit" was I thought I could register for the race on race morning, but it turns out for the chip timed event, you had to pre-register by Wed. I could have registered for the "fun" run and not be timed, but I figured I would either run bandit with Maddy (who I sponsored for $25 so I had really contributed to the event) or watch Maddy run and then run with her afterwards. We decided to go bandit!

We didn't race it - we ran it pretty easy - and really enjoyed the race - chatting the entire way. We ran across the finish line together with our arms up in the air!

We then grabbed a snack and then headed out for the rest of our run. We had 6 miles down already, only 10 more miles to go. We took a nice slow long run pace and started running through the Central Florida Research Park. It was then (about 2-3 miles in) that we didn't think we had 16 miles in us - but 12 seemed ok, so we decided to do a tour of the Research Park where I showed Maddy everywhere I worked (I guess I have worked in 6 different buildings) and gave her the boring tour of the Modeling and Simulation industry there.

After running through Research Park we headed back around campus. By the time we got there we decided to start walking and walked the last 2 miles. Still our overall pace for the morning was under 13 min/mile. It was a enjoyable run! Thanks, Maddy.

Running the Mt Vernon Trail in Crystal City - Arlington, VA

Earlier this week (Mon - Wed) I was on a business trip to Crystal City, just across the water from Washington, DC. While there, I had a late afternoon with enough time to fit in a run. I was still recovering from my chest cold sinus thing so I wanted to take it easy. In fact, I left the Garmin home and only brought my running watch. I checked with the hotel desk for places to run and they told me how to get to the Mt. Vernon Trail, which was less than half a mile from the hotel. I headed for the trail and ran north around the airport, past Gravelly Point and just beyond the Navy and Marine Memorial before turning around to head back. After about 6 min I found a mile marker on the trail, and ran 2 miles before heading back - so I estimate my distance to be about 5.1 miles - in 56:42. Not too bad! The temperature was perfect as well - low 60s.

UCF 5 Miler and 2 Mile Races - the Distance Dare!
Last Sunday, I ran the UCF 5 miler (which I run every year) only this year
they created a "Distance Dare" where you run the 5 miler AND the 2 mile race which follows. I wasn't feeling that great, and was regretting signing up for the race - but I went with my husband and decided to take it nice and easy. The 5 miler went well and I ran it in 56:58. The 2 miler was timed but only clock time was recorded - I finished in 22:05. I had planned to run to the race, then run home - but since I wasn't feeling very well, my husband and I drove to the race (it's about 3 miles from my house).

Life in General....

School is going well...but homework ties me up for 10-20 hrs a week. My older daughter's marching season is in full swing. We were in Tarpon Springs for a marching competition yesterday and got home after midnight. She has two more the next two Saturdays. Jamie has soccer every Saturday and this week we were up at 6:30 am to get ready and get to the field by 8 am! Busy times! But I would not trade it for the world.

So that is the latest from Marathon Chris' world. I hope to catch up with everyone else's blogs this week. This week at work should be slowing down a bit so I may even have some time between homework assignments! Run strong everyone! Congrats to everyone who ran the Marine Corps Marathon today. Fond memories! Also a big congrats to Shirley who completed her first Ironman race in 15:01!