Demar 1/2 Marathon Race Report

I figured I better get to writing my race report from our New Hampshire half since I'm sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to California.  We will be crossing California off our list of 50 states on Sunday morning.  Did I mention we completed New Hampshire back in September?  I'm clearly the queen of  procrastination these days!  Our friend, Marilyn, joined us for this half marathon.  We took advantage of the close proximity of New Hampshire to Massachusetts and flew into Boston.  Lucky for us, Marilyn lives in Massachusetts so we stayed with her the first two nights of our trip.  We went into Boston to sight see on Friday.  The weather wasn't the best but we still had a great time.

Saturday morning we did a little shopping and had lunch in Marblehead.  Once we were done in Marblehead we took to the car and made our way to New Hampshire.  We checked into our hotel, stopped by the expo to pick up our race packets, and had a lovely dinner and of course a few drinks.





Sunday morning we got ready and headed to the race start.

The weather forecast was HOT,HOT, HOT so we decided to walk the race for safety purposes.  Deb, Marilyn, Nikki and I stayed together until about the 12 mile mark at which point Deb and I went ahead a bit.  At the 12.5 mile mark, Deb asked me what my watch said.  I looked at my watch, and told her what it said.  She asked if I wanted to run the rest of the way and I said sure.  I can tell you we did not run the rest of the way however at the 13 mile mark Deb asked me what my watch said again and I told her.  She simply said "run" so I did.  We crossed the line and Deb asked me one last time what my watch said.  Our finish time was 3:49:50.  She said "oh good, I wanted to finish under 3:50".  Originally she was hoping for a 3:45 finish but with the heat and a longer than usual bathroom stop, it wasn't really in the cards. 

Marilyn and Nikki finished shortly after us and we all stopped for a picture and then headed back to the car.

We grabbed showers and a bite to eat and headed back to Massachusetts so Deb, Nikki, and I could catch our flights home.

Complete a half in all 50 states status: 19 states and D.C. completed

Completed states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.


Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Running Partner Appreciation Day!!!

Amanda at 5 Miles Past Empty (here) has declared Saturday, June 25th as Running Partner Appreciation Day.  Today is a day to express your appreciation for all of your running partners.  Since our long runs take place on Sunday, I won't be hitting the pavement with any of my running partners until tomorrow morning so I am dedicating today's post to all of them!!

Nikki, Deb and Marilyn- my 1/2 marathon in all 50 states buddies!

Mellisa, Deb, Brigette, Kim, and Mellisa's son Matt- my Cleveland 10 Miler Girls (boy)

Darlene- my Hershey's Ice Cream and More and 5K buddy!!

Jenn- my 2011 Cleveland Marathon training buddy!!



Brenda- my neighbor and running and spinning buddy



Dave-  my guardian angel and the reason I was able to finish the 2011 Cleveland Marathon

Bobby- my brother that supports me 110% even if he likes to battle me for the family championship each year

Kaelynn- my daughter who reminds me to keep running fun!

Thank you to each and every single one of you for the amazing role you play in my life.  There isn't a day that goes by that I am not grateful to have all of you in my life!  So to all of you, Happy Running Partner Appreciation Day! 

Keep running, you're simply the best, and all of my running partner's inspire me!!!

The Final Countdown!!

7 days and counting until I toe the start line at the Cleveland Marathon! Today was my last long run prior to next Sunday's race. Aside from the wind, I felt pretty good today and managed to maintain a 9:03/mile pace during my run today. I am officially in taper mode. I will be running minimal mileage the rest of the week. It is my goal to go into the marathon next weekend with a fresh pair of legs, a clear mind, and a rested body. Seven months ago, while driving home from a PR performance at the Columbus 1/2 Marathon (1:54:14) with my running buddies Deb and Marilyn, I toyed with the idea of running a full marathon. By the time we got home from Columbus, Deb and Marilyn had almost convinced me to go for it. Prior to this conversation, Deb had decided she wanted to form a team for the Cleveland Marathon in honor of her ten year tumor free milestone. I do remember saying that maybe I would just try and improve on my 1/2 marathon time at Cleveland. I am pretty sure Deb shot back with an if I can run 13.1 miles, you can certainly 26.2. And so the challenge was on the table and the training began! I have to thank Deb for the countless times she took care of my children so I could get my training runs in! I also need to thank Deb and Marilyn for joining me at several different races during my 18 weeks of training. And a special thanks to "cuz" Michele for running two 1/2 marathons and a 22.2 mile training run with me!

On Sunday, May 16th I will be running for Deb. No matter what the clock says when I come to the end of my 26.2 mile journey, I will have won the greatest gift of all....the continued friendship of an amazing woman. Thank you Deb for your friendship, love, and support. I love you Deb and I am so proud of you!!

The motto for next week:
Curing Chordoma...
one mile at a time
Deb's our survivor
10 years tumor free

Deb and Marilyn

Deb and I

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Sole to Soul 5K Race Report

One week ago today we welcomed the first day of spring. The weather this past week has been great, well that is until Thursday when we had snow. Sure enough the weather was calling for 28* for today's 5K. Is Mother Nature playing a cruel joke on us? Seriously, this is what I walked outside to this morning...snow and frost on the grass and a layer of ice on the truck.

The weather report proved to be quite accurate as evidenced by the outside temperature at 7:37 AM.

My neighbor Brenda met me at my house and followed me to pick up our other running buddies, Deb and Marilyn. We had decided earlier in the week that we would all meet at Deb's house and walk to the start line which was about a mile from Deb's house. Of course when we made this decision it was much warmer than it was today. We had Deb's husband take our picture in the warmth of the house and then headed to the start line.

Me, Deb, Marilyn, and Brenda

We talked while we walked to the start line and it wasn't nearly as bad as we had anticipated it would be. It was definitely cold but we had extra layers on for the walk. When we got to the start line it was a "balmy" 27*. Once to the race site we were talking about the race. I had mentioned that I had no idea how I was going to do because I have been running such long distances at a much slower pace than my usual 5K pace.

A few minutes later, the bell rang and we were off for our out and back 3.1 mile run. My plan was to run how I felt and that is exactly what I did. I guess I felt really good because my split at the 1 mile mark was 7:40. I was feeling great and kept going and trying to pass people in front of me and then before I knew it I was at the turn around point of the race. My legs were feeling really good and I ran a 7:20 for mile 2. A few minutes later I saw Marilyn approaching the turn around point of the race and she yelled out to me to let me know that I was the 7th woman overall. I yelled back a thank you and kept moving. I could see the number 6 woman about a 1/4 mile in front of me, ponytail swinging. Once I spotted her I just focused on that ponytail and started closing the gap. I finally passed her around the 2.5 mile mark (according to my Garmin). At this point I knew I was likely going to run a PR and then I turned the corner and saw the finish line and the clock that was showing a 22:XX and I gave it my all. I finished in 23:01 (chip time) and I was ecstatic to realize that I had PR'ed by over a minute (1 minute and 7 seconds to be exact). I was certain that I had placed in my age group because usually it is top 3 women and then 3 deep in age group. When the results came in I realized that they only did the first female and then 3 deep in age group. Now here's the kicker, the age group today was 30-39 which I have never heard of. I am usually in the 35-39 age group. Had the age groups been broken down the way they are more often than not I would have placed 3rd in my age group. At first I was frustrated by this but then I realized that 6th woman and 34th out of 207 overall is definitely an accomplishment that I should be proud of. I ran a 5K last year right around this time and I decided to look up my results from that race....30:57. Wow, I ran 7:56 faster this year.....what a difference a year makes!

After everyone finished, we walked the mile back to Deb's house and once again had our picture taken in the warmth of her house. Well, 3 of the 4 of us had our picture taken. Brenda had better things to do like get her nails done...I don't blame her! Nothing like some pampering after a race!

Deb, myself, and Marilyn

Tomorrow calls for a 16 miler. Here's hoping my legs cooperate and it is a good run!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!