Calling All Spinners!

I haven't been spinning in f-o-r-e-v-e-r and am planning on going this Thursday night at 6 pm at the downtown YMCA. Todd Kart is the instructor who is friends with Emery; he has fairly recently moved back to Pittsburgh. (Emery had asked me if I knew of any accounting jobs for Todd, so that's how I am connected.) Let me know if you might come and I'll keep an eye out for you!

Running Movies to Watch

OK, two weeks since the MCM have very quickly slipped away with no running accomplishments to speak of. (There WAS that leisurely bike ride with Em on the Montour Trail, but that barely counts as cross-training.) I HAVE finished the third book in the Twilight series AND blazed through all 9 episodes of True Blood (Nathan was out of town), so I've done my fair share of being a couch potato. To add to that, I have some running movies to add to our list of "must see running movies":

• The Spirit of the Marathon (2008)
• Born to Run (2008)
  
• Run for Your Life (2008)
• The Long Green Line
• Indulgence: 1,000 Miles Under the Colorado Sky
  
• The Games (1970)
• The Four Minute Mile (1988)
• The Jericho Mile (1979)
• Run Lola Run (1999)
• Fire on the Track (1995)
• Forrest Gump (1994)
• Across the Tracks (1989) stars Brad Pitt
• Second Wind (1976)
• Personal Best (1992)
• Chariots of Fire - How can this NOT make the list of must see running movies?
  

Some appear to be oldies but goodies...they came from a Runner's World sidebar.

20th PAC Championship

Grove City wins 20th straight conference title!

Marine Corps Marathon - Post-race

Birthday girl, Krissy Gleason, made signs for us...she only saw Jessie along the course, though.
Three happy Crazy Daisies after the race was over!
Congratulations were passed around.

Marine Corps Marathon - Race Photos

Flying by at the reservoir near Georgetown
Near mile 2 (Lisa and Debo are right in the background)
Our first sighting of our spectators
Happy spectators before any of the action began.

Marine Corps Marathon - Pre-race

Our supporters mapping out their spectator route the night before the race.

Getting dropped off at the Crystal City shuttle location.

Yes, it was cold!
Little does Lisa know, but she is about to run the whole marathon!

Final Run on a Frosty Morning

Today I was finally able to head out the door into the frigid air and be cozy warm in long pants and a sweatshirt. I don't know why I have that stupid rule that I can't wear pants unless it is 39 degrees or below. I am thinking about amending this rule to allow for pants-wearing in the fall when it is 45 degrees or below. The springtime is a different story, because after months of below freezing weather, anything in the thirties actually feels warm!

So Fresca and I enjoyed a short run that was the final run before the Marine Corps Marathon!

Sunrise and Sunset

Only one more official to run to go before the big race! I just had to comment on the gorgeous sunrise we saw on our last long run of the MCM training this past weekend. As we were coming up Beechwood, we could look off to our left and see the sun and its magnificent colors beginning to pop up. Then on Tuesday, for our last speed workout, Lisa and I saw a great sunset, while up atop the hill where the Avonworth track sits. It was frigid and windy up there!

New Runner Perks

Looks like I could have a bit of luxury thanks to my latest shoe purchase - it's amazing how companies are getting their name out there.

From the MCM website:

WEAR BROOKSWear your MCM 2008 Brooks gear or Brooks shoes on race day and you'll earn access to the luxurious Brooks VIP Porta Potty. Climate controlled and staffed with an outside attendant, the Porta Potty has hot and cold running water and stalls with full doors!

Marine Corps HALF Marathon

I was down in DC this weekend, so I met up with Jessie to get a little preview of the MCM course. From Jessie's apartment, we ran down to the starting area (just a short little trip; super convenient) and then we ran along a trail beside the river. We didn't actually do much of the MCM course, but it was great to know where the start/finish area is! We had a gorgeous day - can't wait for the actual race!

The 20-Miler (in 5 mile increments)

Mile 0 - all smiles and ready for the run:
Mile 5 - downing the first Honey Stinger energy gel:
Mile 10 - The sun is still shining - what a great day for a run:
Mile 15 - Five more to go and Debo is no longer in the picture...uh-oh:
Mile 20 - Yay! Peace sign/20 mile signifier as the sun sets in the background:
Time to go home and soak my feet in ice so that they fit into dress shoes for work tomorrow!

Nipple Anecdotes

I was corresponding with Mike Roche about a few first time marathoner tips and I mentioned the bloody nipples thing that is so painful to see on guys. Here is his response - I thought it was hilarious!

"I appreciate your nipple anecdotes, better to be forewarned! After the 15 mile run, I didn't initially feel anything, but the next day I realized for like the first time in my life that I even had nipples - because they hurt! So I have been doing the petroleum jelly thing on them too for the longer runs."

Witness to a Bar Fight

The chances of witnessing a bar fight drastically increase when you run at the 8:30 pm time as opposed to the 5:30 am time. I did not actually witness the fight, but I did witness the police showing up at Carline Cafe in Avalon and I overhead this snipet, "Well, when the magistrate gets here, he is not going to want to hear..." I should have slowed down a little to get the rest of the sentence, but the anticipation did help me keep up my tempo pace. Since I was doing an out and back, I was hoping I could get back to the same spot by the time the magistrate showed up. Alas, when I got back to the spot everything was dissolved.

Successful Sprints

I went up to Schenley Park since they have the 1k trail around the track so I thought it would be perfect for the 1k, 2k, 1k, 1k w/ 400m rest intervals. Here are my splits: 4:27, 9:08, 4:44 and 4:12. Guess which one I saw my old track coach and he ran half with me. It was so fantastic to see him in the running mode again and he very naturally gave me coaching tips (like run on the track, not asphalt and not really the hardened trails). I'm not sure if I can follow that for the 9 mile tempo, but maybe part of it... He also introduced me to some of the ladies in his track club as I might try to connect with them after the MCM. They seem very nice and their only requirement was that I didn't run with a purse. Oh yeah, it happened... So I'm off to the PT tonight to find if there is some remedy for my ankle. (Oh AND my coach said that I have plenty of time to heal up before MCM!)

A Test Drive

I finally got a bike this weekend, so I took it out for a test ride this morning. It was still dark enough that I couldn't really see what gear I was changing into and I was under strict instruction to keep low numbers with low numbers, high numbers with high numbers and no extremes in the middle, so I didn't want to experiment too much. It was also very windy and a little misty-rainy outside, so I just did a short ride. Look forward to testing it out more!

Debo's Longest Run

Saturday Deborah and I headed out to the Montour Trail to do our 16 mile long run. We had forgotten that the IKEA half marathon was being held that day, so we had many race officials tell us to get off of the course. We used the excuse that we were cheering for folks and that appeased some of them. We did have to stay off of the course for a little while in the middle of our run, but then we hopped back on until the top runners caught back up to us. We neared the finish line among the top ten - quite fun to be at the front of the pack. Overall, I thought the run went well. I could definitely tell that it was the longest run yet of our training, but that's why we're training, right?

A Steamy Long Run on Bayshore Blvd.

My 12 mile long run this weekend was done in steamin' hot Tampa, FL. I know Amber is running in hot weather and what she might describe as a dry sauna, but let me tell you that Tampa is a wet sauna. As soon as you walk out of an air-conditioned building you are slammed with a steamy wall of hot air and you take a deep breath because it is hard to actually breathe! I woke up at 5:30 am (after only three alcoholic beverages the day before, topped with too much time in the sun and about four and a half hours of sleep) to get out the door while it was still dark outside. The darkness helped slightly, but it just meant that the sun wasn't beating down on you; its not like it made it actually "cool" or anything like that. I ran down Bayshore Blvd. into the city and explored a few different dead ends and then ran back up Bayshore towards MacDill Air Force Base. I really only ran by time (and I counted a ten minute breakfast break at Starbucks that was imperative since I couldn't turn on the lights in the kitchen to get anything before the run b/c there were 4 people sleeping on the floor) so I don't know if I quite got 12 miles, but at least I know that I ran for 2+ hours and sweated at least as much as I normally would in Pittsburgh!

Track Usage

I added two links that should be helpful in determining when our favorite tracks are available. The high school sports link should be good for any high school facilities. And the CMU one should be good for that. (You need to look at the upcoming events on the right-hand sidebar.) I was also glad to see that the CMU track is officially open to the public. I always wonder if we are technically allowed to be there since we don't have any affiliation, but I figure no one enforces it. Well, it looks like we actually ARE allowed to be there!

900% Price Increase in Swimming

I went to the Downtown Y to swim this morning. Since the price I've been paying for swimming jumped from $1 to $10, that represents a 900% price increase! Yikes! Glad (well, generally) that nothing has changed in the four months since I've been at the Y. Same door code; same guys that flirts with the lifeguard, distracting her from saving my life; same cleaning lady. Only different thing I noticed is that somehow they increased the water pressure in my favorite shower.

On another note, I think I'm ready to bump up my swim plans. I had it set on a 30-45 minute workout and I think today is the first time that I finished under 30 minutes, so I figure that I'm outgrowing the level I am at. Might do another time trial next time I'm in the pool and figure out where I'm at.

On another, completely unrelated note - I saw a guy wearing a Santa tie this morning. He didn't look crazy or anything though. Maybe he just put it on in the dark.

www.pittsburghmarathon.com

I was excited to hear that registration is now open for the Pittsburgh Marathon, but a little disappointed that they don't have their website up and running. Since they had contact information at active.com, I was able to get in touch with the office and find out that it will be available in about three weeks. Since they already filled the first 50 slots that get Dick's gift cards, I'm boycotting registration until the website is live. Not that there's really any question whether or not I'm running it!