Wow – it’s been a month and a day since my last post! I did
not mean to take so long but have just been a slacker! Ha! Well, let’s
see…where to start. The past month has been pretty good, actually. Back on
October 1 I had a run VO2Max text. It went really well as you can see by the
thumbs-up in the action shot that Coach Melissa took!
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| It's all good! |
I finished the test and was still standing! But seriously –
I think the mask resembles something that Hannibal Lecter wore in the movie “The Silence of the Lambs” as they transported him to the ‘special
cell’ in the courthouse. Yikes!
So, anyway…October has been a super busy month. Maybe that’s
why I have not posted a blog update?
It started with the last weekend of September actually with
a long-awaited weekend near the Eastern Shore with my cousin and our dogs. Fun
and relaxation was just what I needed!
The weekend after it
was a trip to Auburn, Alabama to visit old friends, watch the Auburn University Tigers eventually lose to Arkansas Razorbacks – War Eagle anyway, and of course – see my younger
son! Oh and eat at Waffle House. Twice!!
The weekend after was a ‘race weekend’ spent in the
Charlotte, North Carolina area. I say race weekend because Saturday morning I
ran in the Tunnel to Tower – Charlotte 5K and miraculously placed first for Master’s Women! I received $30 in gift cards
from Omega Sports that I plan to use in two weeks when I head back down for my
older son’s graduation from NASCAR Technical Institute / Universal TechnicalInstitute. Oh, and speaking of NASCAR…I went to my first race! The Bank of America
500! It. Was. AUsome!! I had a blast – surprisingly – and cannot wait to go
again. I spent the weekend with both my sons and their dad and we had pit
passes and pretty decent seats. Except for the fact that the largest HD TV on the planet was blocked somewhat by the Pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway! We were rooting for Denny Hamlin, a Virginia native who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing. They really do
say ‘Gentlemen, Start Your Engines’! And again I ate at Waffle House. Twice!!
Which brings us to last weekend and the A10 – or Army Ten Miler! I have run this race three times previously,
2007, 2008, and 2009. I have always had a kind of tough time at this race. I
checked my previously results and my course PR was from 2008. My 10-mile PW was
set here in 2009. Of course this was a tough year for me for a number of
reasons though I had completed Ironman Lake Placid I had just come off long
over-due sinus surgery…or maybe it was the weekend before my surgery? Can’t
remember. Anyway, those three years the course was the same. This year it was a
little different! The start and finish areas were different and I think a
section of the course around mile 6 was different – but honestly, I can’t
remember. Anyway, I really love this race and all the military pageantry!
Similar to the Marine Corps Marathon, which is this weekend. I am not running
this time but have done twice in the past (both on Halloween and will do again
when it falls on Halloween again!).
Carol and I decided ahead of time we would be Team Rabbit at the race, complete with
bunny ears! I actually almost could not find
my ears on race morning! Yikes! Anyway, I met Carol at her house at 6AM race day. We Metro’d to the Pentagon and
followed the crowds to the start staging area. We were pretty chilly and I was
wearing a jacket (from the B10) that I planned to tie around my waist so I’d have something for afterwards. We
had a little over an hour to wait till race time and it actually passed quickly
as we watched the staging area fill in! It was nice to finally get in our
corral with all the other runners as they kind of kept us warm. As the first
waves went off I removed my jacket so I did not have to deal with that while
running. I also was carrying my own hydration – orange nuun in two Fuel Belt flasks.
From the start I ran hard and my breathing really felt like
it! I had used my inhaler but it had been a couple hours. Oh well. I backed off
a little – especially going through the water stops – but overall pushed
through and did not walk at all. My goal was to hopefully get a course PR! The
course was pretty crowded the entire time and I especially liked the second
half. At this point I really started to get a lot of ‘bunny love’! The
spectators here really started cheering on the bunny ears – it was so cool!
Carol was a little ahead of me so at times I got ‘here comes another bunny’.
So. Much. FUN! A few times I complimented people on shorts or other cool stuff
– but really, I was running hard enough that it was hard to talk.
I really enjoyed the musical along the course (maybe I need
to get a Rock and Roll race on my schedule?) and as always wished
there were more of it! But just as in years past – the pep band(?) from Paul VICatholic School was stationed near the 6th mile – perfect! They are
pretty AUsome for a high school band! As
we leave Washington, DC to head back into Virginia the real fun begins as the
crossing of the 14th Street Bridge seems never ending! It was
supposedly in the 60s but I was burning up by this time – especially with full
sunshine on me. But being on that bridge meant I was closer to the finish! Just
before coming off the bridge in the last mile-ish I spotted Carol and her bunny
ears! I was so excited as that meant I would likely be able to find her at the
finish area as I’d begun to have doubts as to whether I would find her… anyway,
speaking of the finish. It seemed like a longer run to the finish at this point
from the prior years I had done the race. I’d like to get course maps to
compare! Oh well, point is, I finished! And saw Carol’s ears up as I did so I
literally barged through the crowd (sorry for those that I bumped!) so that I
could catch up to her. Carol was close to a 10-mile PR and I’d had a course PR!
It was a great day of racing!
We found the portapotties, grabbed some snacks, ran into
Leanne, and hit the road, err Metro! The return trip on Metro, by the way, was
the smoothest it had ever been! We had a date with ice cream, donuts, and 45 burpees!
Next up: Doggy Dash and 5K!
Happy and Healthy Training!
