Wednesday, July 1, 2009

First Time for everything... Pacing SF, Trails, and a double!!!

So in my next round of marathons there will be 3 firsts!
1) Pacing the San Francisco Marathon (3:50)
2) My first trail marathon
3) My first true doubles... NH & ME

1) For the 2009 San Francisco Marathon I will be one of the pace leaders (of 2) for the 3:50 group! Obviously over 50 marathons I'm not going to be able to run them all super hard, but I get bored if I don't have a time to concentrate on... solution? PACING! This will give me something to concentrate on, but not kill myself. Also, This will be the Boston Qualifying (BQ) time for women 40-44! I hope to motivate, inspire-- and if need be, chase & push (just kidding)-- these women into their goal times! The only thing better than me getting my BQ time is helping somebody else get it! If you haven't already, check out the SF marathon- sign up and run the 3:50 group with me! I want to have the best, biggest, and cheeriest pace group crossing the finish line!!!

Also, this marathon is "hosted" by Bart Yasso and Dean Karnazes! Sound a little familiar? Remember my post on my "Yasso 800's"-- my preferred method of speed work? That is the same Yasso! Dean Karnazes is well... SUPER MAN! No, really! His body does things no normal human being can do! You may know him from his 50 marathons in 50 states... IN 50 DAYS!!! Yeah, my 2 year goal isn't looking too hot compared to Dean. He finds crazy ways to push himself... 135 miles in 120 degree heat, winning a ridiculous amount of ultra series, completing 200 mile relays ALONE! "Yep- team DEAN, ready to run! Who needs 11 other people?..."

Sooooo... if you're at the expo I will likely be the girl standing within 10 ft of them with my eyes popping out of their sockets and no words coming out of my mouth. Goal: GET their autographs on my SF tech T and frame it!!! I have to be there for the pace team's portion of the speaker series. Dean is on about an hour and 15 before us and Yasso is on about an hour and 15 after us... I WILL find a way! If anything, Kyle is much bigger and stronger than little dinky runners so I'll have him jump them and hold them down until I get an autograph. Hmm... I hope I don't show up and they have a restraining order for me now. Oops!

2) My first trail marathon... what am I thinking? I will be running Dances with Devils Lake up in Baraboo, WI in about 8 days. Problem? I've never ran trails, unless you count XC in high school??? This should be interesting. I'm going up to a local trail and try to run a couple miles on Friday. I'll let you know how that goes! If you have ANY suggestions on how to transition from a road marathoner to a trail marathoner in a week PLEASE let me know! All comments appreciated!!! Otherwise, I'm going to make a great guinea pig for all of you looking to make the transition!!!

3) 2 marathons in 2 days? Sounds scary, but I'm gearing up for my new stunt in October. I'll be running NH and ME back-t0-back. My plan? Run the day after the 4 marathons I have before that! I'll start with WI next weekend. On Sunday I plan to run an 8 mile run and see how that goes! I have 3 month to work out the kinks. Wish me luck!

4 comments:

  1. I just finished reading Ultramarathon Man last night. Dean Karnaze is absolutely amazing and I would die to meet him! Lucky you!

    Good luck on your next few months, looks like you have a lot to look forward to and I can't wait to read about it!

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  2. YOU ARE AN INSANE WOMAN, STEPH!

    I won't be making it to San Fran until late October ... I'm planning on running the Columbia River Marathon in Umatilla, OR on October 24th, then the Dean Karnazes Silicon Valley Marathon in San Jose, CA on October 25th.

    - Greg

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  3. My personal checklist.

    Meet and run with Dean Karnazes - check
    Meet with Bart Yasso - check

    You are going to love it when you meet Dean and Bart. They are two coolest dude!

    I am thinking that I should do a trail marathon!

    Great post !!! Glad I've found your blog.

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  4. Wahoo! Sounds very exciting!

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