Gettin' Fitty With It

Last year - 54 minutes, this year 51 minutes.

Boom.

I ran the Turkey Trot that I ran this time last year again today.  Last year, it was the first race I had ever done.  I had been running for about a month.  I completed it in 31:31.

Since then, I have done a 5 miler, a 6k, two 5ks, a 10k, a half marathon, and a marathon.

Today not only did I beat my time from last year but I also completed my personal goal in a 5k. 

I finished in 29:12.  Over 2 minutes faster than last year and sub 30 minutes.

Feels good.

In no particular order, here are 40 things I’d like to accomplish by 40 (or sooner!):

1. Save a life (or more)
2. Become a doctor
3. Be part of a sweet archeological dig
4. Live in Greece Spring 2011
5. Be on tv Philly Thanksgiving Day Parade 2004
6. Travel to 100 countries (96 to go)
7. Meet 5 famous people (4 to go)
8. Sky dive
9. Learn sign language
10. Run a marathon October 30 2011
11. Donate 5 gallons of blood (37/40)
12. Learn to break dance
13. Drive across the country
14. Audition for a reality show
15. Ride an elephant (not at the zoo)
16. Surf (I’m ready to ride the big ones Kono)
17. Scuba in the Great Barrier Reef
18. See a whale
19. Buy an original piece of art
20. Swim with a dolphin
21. Write a letter to my inspiration Patch Adams Fall 2008
22. Sing karaoke
23. Buy a star
24. Have a crazy time in Vegas
25. Go in a hot air balloon
26. Be an extra in a movie
27. Win something awesome
28. See the birth of a baby
29. Crowd surf Something Corporate-Fall;2003
30. Ride in a helicopter
31. Inspire someone
32. Raise a puppy
33. Pay for someone’s education
34. Write my life story
35. Get married
36. Be on the radio Q102 Summer 2006
37. Travel first class London to Athens 2011
38. Be on Ellen
39. Drive a Vespa in San Fran
40. Get lifelong, great friends the tripod

So, this is difficult.  I’m not as suave as Claire with recaps but here is a try:

The marathon was a gift from my brother and sister-in-law after a very un-subtle request from me :-)  I knew that I would be abroad during the open of registration so I put the responsibility out of my hands.

I started running October 2010.  I decided I would run a marathon watching the NYC Marathon November 2010.  I ran my first 5k November 26th.

They say it is because I am a Sagittarius - that once I decide to do something, its done.  I say it is because I am awesome.

Anyway - the marathon was in DC which is conveniently where my brother lives so free place to stay!  I decided to make it a loooong weekend to try to reduce any stress and head down on the train Wednesday.  I did packet pick-up and the expo solo.  It was great!  Very organized and successful :-)  I purchased new shoes for my post-marathon replacement.  Boyfriend came down to join me on Thursday and then the time flew.  Next thing I knew - it was time to go to sleep to wake up and complete my 22 weeks of training.  Oh!  I forgot to mention the snow!!!  Yea, that happened but didn’t worry me too much - I knew race day would be great :-)

So then it was Sunday - 4 am.  I was freaking out, awake, and then cold.  It took a while to actually get to the start but honestly, I don’t remember much of it.  I was nervous.  Not that I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I wanted to enjoy it.  I kept my trash bag suit on until it began:

And then like that - it all started.  Honestly - it was crowded.  Like so crowded.  My favorite part of the race was at any stretch of trees, it was lined with men peeing.  I could not stop laughing about that.

The first half went really great.  I was just taking it all in. The end got really difficult.  All of a sudden - never happening before - my feet and lower back was in pain.  I realized very quickly that I probably should have purchased new shoes a month ago buuuut it was okay.  The people were great.  The water/food stops run by Marines in uniform were pretty much great :-)  Listening to Jim Gaffigan when I thought I was going to die was great.  The donut hole at mile 22 was great. 

When it was over - I was miserable.  My feet hurt, I was tired, I didn’t want to keep walking a thousand miles to the Metro, haha.  But by that evening - I couldn’t believe what I had accomplished.

I was not a runner in high school, as a kid, ever.  Last year I decided I wanted to see how far I could push myself.  And now, I have dreams for myself I never thought I would.

Chicago… 2012… sub 5 :-)

Recap to come!

This is happening.  Boyfriend here.  Pep Rally tomorrow.  Race Sunday.  Boom.

Today… I went shopping at Lucky Brand Jeans and was shopping through the jeans and wasn’t sure about the sizing.  I said my size ranges from like and 8 (newly discovered) to 12.  The lady behind the counter said… No way a 12, you are a 6.  Apparently, I am a size 6. Boom.

I am approaching my one year running anniversary and my marathon all too soon.  But it is awesome.

So, I decided that I would really regret not being about to look back on a recap of this race so here it goes…

The weekend all began with gathering up my bestest friends and heading down to Philadelphia Thursday evening.  I figured with the expo and the race and the PSU vs. Temple game - the earlier I got there the better. 

First up - the expo.  May I just say that I love a running expo.  I will do big races from now on, just so that I can go to the expo.  The energy, the music, the free stuff, the excitement… I love it.  So we got there first thing, picked up the packet and enjoyed the expo.  I got a whole mess of stuff and got even more pumped for the race.

So, this race was just part of my marathon training so I wasn’t planning on treating it much like a race.  But I did want it to be as close to a practice run for the marathon as possible.  So I ate pizza Friday night and Saturday night because that is a “safe” food.  I did my nails for the race:

And I was in bed by 9pm Saturday night with everything ready to go.  I woke up early and we were on our way to the race.  It was fun just going with the running crowd.  We arrived and made our way towards the start and just got excited. 

So I only had a half hour to kill before getting in my corral, spending most of it getting cold.  Next thing I knew, we were starting.  I was surprisingly calm - I had run the distance (or more) 3 times already and felt confident that I would finish.  I had my vocal goal (2:30) and my private goal (2:15) but wasn’t really thinking about it when I started.  Actually - when we started, I was thinking about having to pee.  So before I even ran half a mile, rest stop.  But it was a good thing because I was in the clear for the rest of the race.

I was moving quickly but feeling good for basically the whole race.  I was just taking it all in - the people, the crowds, my music, their music, the lack of crowds at times, the sticky ground by the juice stop, snagging free Gu at the Gu stop, passing people, people passing me.  The next thing I knew I realized I could make my private goal.  I knew that I was moving at a quicker pace than normal - mostly due to my un-desire to walk ever (I did force myself for at least 20 seconds every 5/6 minutes) - but I didn’t think that it was going to be possible.  The course was flat and the weather couldn’t have been better - all making for the perfect race condition.

Next thing I knew - I was passing the 13 mile marker and hauling it to the finish.  I got my medal, found my people, got my medal engraved, and we set to go back to the apartment.  I went home and slept most of the day and then couldn’t really walk on Monday - but so worth it.

My one thought at my half was that I couldn’t imagine that being the end of training.  I’m getting really nervous for my marathon for many reasons, but now one of those reasons is that I can’t imagine all the training coming to an end.  I guess I’ll find out soon enough (Oct 30th!).

Half Marathon Time 2:15.29

Could not be happier :-)

Update to come!