Not Running

It has been almost a month since the half marathon.  What a great memory that was.  The entire trip.  The run was great, but the people were even greater, before the run, during the run, and after.  I wish Julie could have been there to enjoy it with me.

But I have only run once since my return to So Cal.  Once.

I’ve been not running for Julie, and my family.  We’ve been pretty busy, and it helps if I don’t have to squeeze a run in.  And with Emma’s homework, she’s staying up later and later, so Julie and I are getting less and less time together.  So we’re staying up later and later, making a before-school run virtually impossible.

So I haven’t been running.  And the last 2 weeks have been extremely packed.  So I haven’t been running.  I feel my dream slipping away.  I might have to (again) skip the next L.A. Marathon.  That will be the second LAM I’ve wanted to run in, but haven’t.  Maybe I’ll have to give up that dream.

I’m torn.  I really just want to run one marathon in my life, just to see if I can get through all that training, and then the actual event.  Just one, that’s all I want.  And with each day I don’t run, I feel that dream slipping away.

So, as I see it, I have at least a couple of options.  I can still get in this years marathon.  That will be tough, but maybe.  Or I can scrap the thought (again) and wait until next year, and meanwhile get a plan together for when to start training seriously.  Another option I’ve been thinking about is finding another marathon that will be good timing wise for training.  Training through the holidays will be tough.  During a long summer trip will be tough to train through as well.  So maybe there’s a marathon out there that I can train for that will be relatively  easy to train for (schedule-wise).

Maybe I can make a trip out of it.  Perhaps the St. George Marathon, or something like that.  Maybe I can get Paul and/or Erik in on a small trip like that.

We’ll see.  Stay tuned.  You’ll be the first to know.

The Half

Erik and I got up bright and early.  Unfortunately, I awoke with a headache.  I had visions of not being able to run.  Took something for it right away.  Cherios for breakfast.  Wore my orange running shirt that Cathy made Dutch for me.

Arrived without issue to wear we planned to park: the Shark Tank.  Jogged about a half mile to get to the start.  We had changed my starting coral from #6 to #1 so we could start together.  I was way nervous.  My previous long run was 10 miles, and that was more than a week ago.  And I hadn’t ran since Tuesday (?).  Plus I’m with the first 200 or so people.  The fastest people.

The gun goes off, we walk to the start, and off we go.  I’m sure it was the largest crowd I’ve ever ran in.  I knew I’d start out too fast.  I felt good, but at the first mile, my worries were confirmed.  8:30.  I new that was too fast for me, especially at mile 1 of 13.1.  So I told him I was going to slow down.  He kept going, and that’s the last I saw of him until the end.  But that was okay.

I was noticing that I was being passed left and right.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t passing anyone.  But again, that was okay.  However, I did start feeling my legs hurting.  Specifically, my calves and my shin.  I remembered that I hadn’t stretched the way I had been used to.  I was hoping that wouldn’t come back to haunt me.

So the first 5 miles were pretty rough.  I new I would get some Gu at mile 9, but I decided I needed a boost to get me through my pain.  So at about 3 miles I Gued up.

When mile 5 showed up, I was surprised to be there already.  Remembering my goal of being cheerful and thankful throughout the race, I thought about how that was a decent distance, and how quickly it seemed to come.  Besides my 15 second stop to stretch my calves, I had pushed through, and now was feeling pretty good.

It was fun seeing the bands along the way.  Some were definitely better than others, and it was a bummer to catch a band between songs.  But there were also cheer squads lining the streets, and a good number of local residents out to cheer us on.  Highlights were definitely when I would be close to a runner and they would spot their family on the side cheering for them.  Especially seeing their young kids.  Made me long to have my family there.

At mile 5 I also started praying for my family, at every other mile marker.  I had let them choose their mile, and written that mile on my arm with Sharpie.  Jane had picked mile 5, Emma 7, Julie 9, and Caleb at 11.  It was a great distraction, and a great way to focus on the people who were most important to me.  That got me to mile 12.

While running, I stayed with a tall Asian dude who would take a picture with his cell phone at every mile marker (the markers also showed our time).  Had the 1:30 pacer pass me, as well as the 2:00.  I thought about trying to stay with the 2 hour group, but felt I better not, and hoped I would catch them later.  Passed a guy with 2:15 pinned to his back, and at one point (I think the 2 hour mark) passed the guy with 2:00 pinned to his back.

Those last 2 miles were long, and I think the last 1 very.  After mile 12, I kept thinking, “Okay, it’s probably just around the next corner.”  I even tried to pick up my pace a bit.  But that finish line was always too far away.  I probably should have pushed my pace more towards the end, but really didn’t feel I had it in me.  Although I must say, I didn’t feel too bad.  Just felt like I didn’t have any kick.  That last straight away was killer – soooo long!

Crossing the finish line was sweet!  2:07 and change.  Not bad!

Getting to the Half

Grandma J. picked me up Friday, late morning, and brought me to Long Beach Airport  A weird morning, we had thunder, lightning, heavy rain, and hail.  All within about a half hour.  I rode to Cathy’s house in light sprinkles, then saw God’s show, then rode home under partly sunny skies.

But in LB it was drizzly.  I got their in plenty of time.  Unfortunately, my flight was canceled, and the next one to San Jose was already full and had a waiting list.  Grandma came back and brought me home.

Hours later she brought me back, again with plenty of time.  Waited at my gait for about an hour.  The ticket gal upgraded me to a seat with more leg room, so I didn’t get my window seat.  My flight was fun if uneventful (I wish it was longer).

Erik had troubles finding me at the airport.  Evidently, Jet Blue flies out of international terminals.

The next day (Saturday) we watch three soccer games with going in to SJ to pick up our race stuff in between.  That evening Ryan got to pick his birthday dinner – sushi.  Tammy assured me that at least part of the reason was for the 31 Flavors Ice cream store next to it.  I actually tried some sushi.  Of course, there was no actual fish in it.  Really enjoyed talking with Tammy and Erik, and Tammy’s sister.