Been Doing Some Running....

Despite the fact that I haven't written about it - I have been doing some running lately. After the Victoria Marathon my next race was Autumn Leaves 50k. We carpooled down to Portland and stayed at Jenny's parent's house. They were away on a trip but they were kind enough to let us bunk down there. We got up before the crack of dawn (or the middle of the night as I see it) to take the early start. It was my first "Ultra" and I ran it with Michelle and Margaret. It was just plain good fun. Margaret and I were both "Ultra Virgins" so our plan was to run with Michelle - an "Ultra Connoisseur". There was a short out and back at the start and then a 5-mile loop that took us along a river and through the fallen leaves. We had fun - dawdled at the fueling stations, talked to other runners, kicked up the leaves, sang songs, made jokes - it was very nice. Once again though, I had too much energy left at the end to feel like I had given it my all. Just like my first marathon though, I think it only encouraged me to want more. I can't wait to run another 50k and see what kind of time I can make!

My next race was the Seattle Ghost Marathon the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I had really planned on doing a double this year - the Ghost and then the Seattle - but that was not to be. It was going to be the first time my son would be home after leaving for college and I just didn't feel right taking all that time for myself. I wasn't going to run either race until Michelle mentioned that maybe I could work it out so that Elliot could spend time with his friends while I was running. I talked to him about that and in the end he thought it was a good plan too. Soooooo, I was able to run the Ghost - a race I really wanted to run because so many of my running friends would be there too. My husband drove me to the race and hung out with Sonya for awhile, did some wine shopping, and then met me at the finish. I ended up starting the race with Tom and Dan - both of whom planned on running a 4:15 or so. I planned on a 4:30 so I thought I'd just hang with them for the first half or so. It was a perfect day and the route runs right along Lake Washington and is fairly flat. Dan, Tom and I kept a conversation up while moving at a pretty fair clip. Eric ran with us for a short while on several occasions. I had forgotten my Garmin and there were no mile markers so I relied on Dan and Tom for pace information. We hit the halfway mark at 1:58. Not good! I was too far ahead of my pace - I knew I needed to back off a bit. At mile 15 or so Tom and Eric started pulling away from Dan and me. I was OK with that - I didn't want to burn out at the end and I was afraid I would if I kept up the faster pace. At mile 17 or so I started pulling away from Dan. He was tiring and I had caught up to a Maniac (number 365) I had never met before and he and I started to talk. Nice guy, nice pace. We ran and talked for several miles - then I began to tire and I felt the need to walk. Number 365 pulled away. Once I wasn't talking anymore I slowly gained on him until I caught up. Again, we started to talk and after a few miles I needed to slow my pace again. This cat and mouse game continued until the end of the race. I felt strong clear to the end and was very pleased with my time of 4:14! Happy and content!

This last week was a little tough running-wise because of the stress of work, holidays, and planning for a formal meal for 17 members of an investment group we belong to. I wasn't able to run for 5 days straight. Not good. I get sad when I don't run on a regular basis. This time was no different. With the way things were going I wasn't going to be able to run for several more days either. Egads!! Then, a gift from above - snow!! Three snow days in a row and the dinner is done (well-done I might add), the packages are mostly sent, and vacation from school has begun. But, more importantly, I've been able to run!! I put large jingle bells on my trail shoes today and ran to the Post Net through the snow to send my Ohio gifts. My son ran with me. We loved it!! Happy happy!!