Nashville... Post Race Thoughts

2009 Nashville Country Music Marathon...

"Attempt at Boston Qualifying #2... FAIL!"

Expo:

Expo: CB met Marissa and I at the hotel, which was only a few blocks from the expo. The streets of Nashville were infested with marathon runners walking, carrying their goody bags, dressed up, even some getting a warm-up jog in. I LOVE it when runners take over a city like that!!!

It was quite the line to even get to the entrance to the expo, but once inside it was the usual representation of apparel stores, last minute GU and energy supplement sales. The only disappointing part of the expo was... NO GRACIE'S GEAR!!! If you're unfamiliar with Gracie's Gear, they sell sports bras and tanks with pockets in the front designed primarily for IPods. I used one in Atlanta and loved it. I had hoped to purchase another one, but they weren't at the expo. :(

Hotel: If you're going to do the CMM I highly suggest staying downtown. We stayed at the Sheraton Downtown and it was just a minute from the expo and about 2 miles from the start/finish area. We took a taxi, but had very little trouble getting to or from the race. Apparently the shuttle service from the finish line to the start was horrible and traffic was backed up!

The hotel also provided suggestion and made reservation for dining options. We were able to get a reservation and a shuttle to a great restaurant in the area. Also, we were able to find a small market in walking distance that had (relatively) fresh bagels, bananas, water, everything we needed for breakfast... Inconsequentially, this also happened to be a market that didn't mind people singing and dancing to Bonnie Rait's "Give them something to talk about," so if you feel like making a scene in Nashville and are looking for a chance to be discovered via a grocery store.... this is the place to be!

The Race:

This years Country Music Marathon was the hottest one on record... and boy did you feel it!!! The race started out quite nice. We were in corral 3 and with the interval started there was very little need to weave through runners or get caught behind. The race started with slightly rolling hills through the city, allowing the buildings to shade you from most early morning sunlight. Andrew was running his first official half-marathon and opted to run with me for the first 10K or so of the race. We started at a nice 8:00/mile pace for the first few miles. I felt great and couldn't slow down!!! I was relaxed and really enjoyed the rolling hills... I felt like I had a great chance at making the 8:23 minute/mile pace for the whole race!!!...

... Then god decided to turn on an oven. It quickly went from comfortable and relaxed to scorching and painful. Around Mile 6 the sun hit hard. There was very little areas for shade. By mile 10 (still slightly better than pace) I stopped sweating and started getting goose bumps... For those who choose not to torture themselves with long distance running, this means I was slightly beyond dehydration. I tried drinking at every water station about 2 cups of water/cytomax... and still felt thirsty. This quickly followed by a faint light-headed feeling and the initials "DNF" was flashing in my head over and over. I decided that my goal for 50 states was more important than my goal for Boston. Besides, Boston will always be there... right??? :(

I slowed down a little at first-- to just below the 8:23 pace around Mile 10. The dizzy feeling didn't go away so I slowed down a LOT and decided that I would have to take it easy for a few miles if I had any chance in finishing. If there were any way to describe the rest of the racing group around me it would be... Land of the walking dead. It was SILENT-- for marathons this is NOT a good sign. People were wandering on and off the road clearly a bit out of it... people were stopped and I saw more ambulances and medical personnel helping pull people out of the race then I wanted to see.

If you are familiar with the Chicago marathon of 2007 then I can tell you these conditions were pretty similar and I thought there was a chance we would have a Chicago repeat. I hoped to get to mile 18 or 19, that was if they stopped the race, there may be a chance they would let people at a certain point finish the race walking instead of making us stop altogether. Unfortunately, also like Chicago, there was an unfortunate death on the course following the half marathon.

I was able to complete the course-- albeit at a very slow pace. However, during the race and after I told myself that I did everything I could in terms of training and gave Boston pace a good shot. Hopefully before my next race I'll get a chance to practice running in extreme heat and will be better acclimated. My results are posted below...

Inspiring Stories: Over 455 Miles on a treadmill in a week!!!

Brendan Brustad Treadmiller inspired by bomb victims

This article is about a guy who is actually trying to run over 455 miles on a treadmill in a week.

Some quotes:
"I was tossing and turning,” he said. "I thought, ‘If I can’t sleep, why not run?’”

"But this marathon’s about not giving up,” he said. "No matter how hard life gets, you’ve got to keep moving forward.”

Country Music Marathon Video!!!
Check out the video... it looks like SO much fun!!! You know... besides the running 26 miles thing.

Training for Marathon #6...

Training:

I made the plunge... I finally got a garmin GPS watch. These are great for training- they can show you your pace, distance, calories, heart rage, follow specified routes, keep a running partner that you can compete against. It does everything. Garmin Forerunner 405 with HR monitor. It may not be pretty, but it's a great training tool!

Training Runs: Georgia was just a few weeks before Nashville, so I've been careful not to over-train in the past few weeks. The rundown...
~ Long Run: (1) Completed- Xenia 1/2 Marathon. A week after ING Georgia, I joined the Cinci galloway group for the Xenia marathon and half marathon. I complete around an 8:36/mile pace. Not feeling great... I guess my mind was ready for a long run before my body was. Lessons learned... Don't do a long run a week after a hard marathon.
~ Fun Runs: (4) I've been running on Wednesday nights with the Cincinnati Galloway group. Last Wednesday we went to Deweys to celebrate Larry's Bday (See pics below) This group brings a new meaning to "Will run for Beer... and pizza...and graeters... and giant cookie pizzas"...

Larry and his BDay cookie...

*Everyone seems to have picked up on the Mizuno Running shoe kick... some larger than others. Guess which one is mine and which is Larrys!!!
~Speed Work... (1) I ran the 4 mile "Rabbit Ramble" or the "Bunny hop" as I called it with MB, Joanne & Jeanelle. I ran a time of 28:38 (About a 7:09 mile). I got first in my age group, and 7th overall.

This week: I'll do 1 last moderate paced run (7 miles), then an easy run on wednesday followed by 1 more run this weekend. Next week I'll have to taper... :( Sigh

#6: 2009 Nashville Country Music Marathon!!!

Marathon #8 (State #6) will be in Nashville, TN!!!

Date: April 25th, 2009 at 7am!

Race Year: 10th!!! This should be a big year for this marathon.

Theme: Country Music!!! This is part of the Rock N Roll Marathon "tour" as they call it.

2008 Finishers: 4373 (1910 female)
Course: (Modified slightly for 2009). This course looks a little hilly, but after Atlanta I should be used to that.

***Course Changes for 2009 Race
A new twist for year 10! The Country Music Marathon & 1/2 Marathon courses have been modified. Runners will be treated to a more scenic route extending their run down Broadway past the honky tonks, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and back up Demonbreun passing the Country Music Hall of Fame and the restored Cummins Station. This addition of mileage on Broadway will not only be asthetically pleasing, but it will allow more time for runners to spread out on the course in turn alleviating congestion on Belmont Blvd.

Corrals/Start: For the first time Nashville will be using a wave start with corrals. I'll be in corral #3 for the race.

ING Georgia Marathon: Results and Ratings...

Results...

These are the official results posted today... Apparently there were very few finishers in the full marathon this year! Note: The "Age group" is not pulled out by gender so this is skewed a little. Congrats to all ING Georgia Marathon and Half-Marathon Finishers!!!

Ratings…
Overall: 4.1/5.0 (Weighted average)

Organization: 3.5/5.0

-For a large marathon it was fairly well organized. Good amount of water/Gatorade stops, lots of food at the end, almost every mile was marked, and a good amount of pace team options. They also had GREAT new medals (shown below). You can't tell, but the skyline in the middle spins!!! OOOh-Ahhhh! The bad side- by Saturday they ran out of pins and we were on our own. And there were NO clocks during the entire race! Also, I never saw a "GU" stop (or anything similar) that they were supposed to have.

Course: 4.5/5.0

-I LOVED the course. But I hate running on flat... and boy was this anything but flat. There were constantly turns- no long roads that you can physically SEE the 26 miles stretched out before you. Also, you saw a lot of Atlanta! Very pretty houses and parks the entire way. It lost .5 of a rating because (although I love them) the hills at the end. I would say the last couple hills RIGHT at the end were just cruel.

Spectators: 3.8/5.0

-LOTS of support through almost the whole race! They have neighborhoods compete through a majority of the race. However, at the very end (so a big part of the half marathon) there were very few people out. There WAS a guy with Gummy bears... Sorry Gummy bear man if you read this-- I don't really "LOVE" you the way it sounded when I practically kissed you. But I did appreciate the gummies!

Runners/Corrals: 5.0/5.0

-This was a fairly large group to start, but when the marathoners split from the half-marathoners... there weren't many of us left! Everyone was very polite and supportive of each other. Also, it seemed that most were pretty honest. There weren't too many people up in the first corrals who lied about their times then just plain got in the way when the race started.

Pace Groups: 4.5/5.0

-I only experienced the 3:40 pace group and they seemed to be right on. I believe one of the leaders had a garmin watch. The only thing I would suggest is that in such a hilly ending marathon, they not make such even splits. Go a little faster in the beginning and give people a little wiggle room at the end for the last few big hills.
Expo: 3.5/5.0

-Average Expo. All the major companies that are usually there. Very few clothing options, especially ING Marathon clothing options. Mizuno was there doing stride measurements and shoe recommendations. I think a lot of this is because its a young marathon still.

Closing Thoughts:

The only thing I ever want after marathons is french fries. It's the only time these oily things ever look good. I finally got them when I went to the airport!!!

Overall I had a positive experience at the ING Georgia marathon. It's a challenging race for anybody who doesn't mind taking on some grueling hills. Also across the street from the marathon start/finish is the coca-cola factory. You can try far too many types of Coca-cola products from all over the world and you get to see a polar bear!!! :)

Time to say goodbye to ING Georgia and gear up for Nashville in a month!!! I'm looking to run the Xenia Half-marathon this weekend in Xenia, OH!!! As always I'll keep you updated.

-Happy Running!

Stephanie

Marathon #5: 2009 ING Atlanta Marathon... The Story

(Written March 29, 2009- night of the marathon)

The marathon had its ups and down- and I'm not just talking about the hills!!!

1) A down... that become an up! The race started out a little shaky even before the start! When we got to the hotel I realized there was no room service. This meant NO pancakes (my typical pre-marathon meal). That was rough, but I compensated with a banana, a plain bagel from McD's and for the first time I took a GU 15 minutes before the start-- This is now my new pre-marathon meal plan!! My stomach felt great the whole time and I didn't get any hunger pains around mile 18 that I normally do! I normally do 2 sports beans every 2 miles and a GU every 7 starting at mile 7. I FULLY recommend the GU before!

2) A down... Remember the race between Joe and I for who could have the best time... his half or the first half of my marathon? Well somehow the little brat connived his way into corral #1 (out of 7). For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is primarily reserved for elite runners and extremely strong and experienced runners. We believe the cause of the confusion was Joe's entry for his "anticipated finish time." Apparently ING does NOT require proof of time for half marathoners to be seeded. I was in corral #2, starting at an estimated 20 seconds after Joe—losing the advantage I thought I would have.

3) A down... HotLanta quickly became FREEZINGlanta in my mind! It was MUCH colder than expected to start. Luckily I had a long-sleeved shirt on hand.

4) An UP! I found the 3:40 pace group. For those of you not following along, this is the qualifying pace for me for the Boston Marathon! There was a small group of guys making up the pace team that seemed great because- 1. They had a lot of energy, 2. there were at least 3 of them, which is great for a pace group, and 3. One offered to share his "Sports Beans" (running jelly beans that give you energy) with me when I realized I left them back at my bag... which brings me to 5...


5) The BIG down (or so I thought....) I'm in the corral, the national anthem has been sung, the wheelchair division has gone off, and we're freezing with 9 minutes to go-- and I realize I have neither my running watch, nor my sports beans!!! BAD NEWS BEARS!!!!!!! At this point I don't have time to run back to my bag and decide to do with what I have. I have 3 GU’s (besides the one I had just taken and hopefully there are pace clocks because, Hey! What marathon doesn't have pace clocks? UMMM…

6) Down!… of course this one!!! That’s right folks—A FULL 26.2 miles without a pace clock. There were mile markers at just about every mile (from what I could tell- I may have missed a couple), but for some reason this marathon had NO pace clocks—not even at the half marathon point I’m not sure WHY they did this and I was quite surprised being that this was an ING marathon. To get around this I focused on the 3:40 pacing group and used them as a guide to my pace.

6) Ups and Downs… and ups… and down… and ups… that started as a MAJOR up! I'm talking about those crazy hills. A VERY good majority was just climbing then shooting down large hills/small mountains. This was great at first because I LOVE hills. Flat straight roads annoy me mentally, and there is little room to change your muscle concentration on these, leading to craps in your legs. The hills allow you to shift between the muscles you're straining and give rest to some that may need it. This type of running led me to a time of 2:47.41 for the first 20 miles. This is an 8:23 pace and perfectly on target for my 3:40 marathon!

7) UP UP UP! Mile 15, running strong and who do I find? Kristina and Andrew! FMP friends from GE-Energy!!! They get a chance to shout encouraging words and get a little run of their own in as they run along for a few blocks. AND... they tell me JMG "Joe Mother Guth" finished with about an 8:35 min/mile pace. I knew around the half marathon point i was running low 8:20's and at this point I know I've won the bet!!! Sorry Joe- maybe next time ;)

8) The DOWN... those crazy hills I loved 10 miles ago? Not so much. Those hills cause a LOT of calf strain, leading to extreme calf cramps that start between miles 19 and 20 and go to the end! :( This led to a much slower pace, and my losing my boston qualifying time. :( It's ok though because Nashville Country Music Marathon was my goal marathon for the season and I feel very encouraged that I will be able to get my time this season!!!


9) The Down... ME! As I got to the last .1 mile I really feel my calves cramping up. I knew that if I didn't move fast I would have to stop running and walk... ok, maybe crawl- the last bit of the race if I didn't stop running QUICK. So, I sprint in the last kick and immediately upon finishing my calves completely give up and Stephanie goes down! The lovely EMS workers throw me into a wheelchair and bring me to the medical tent. It led to QUITE the massage of my calves, which started out feeling nice... then they called over the mean nurse who REALLY started kneading at my calves. Ok, ok, so she was doing the right thing and getting the cramps out- but it freaking hurt!!!!



Post-Marathon Thoughts…
Surprisingly my legs have very very little pain. In fact, I ran up a flight of stairs shortly after the marathon. My calves hurt a little still, but nothing too bad. My hips, on the other hand, took quite the beating today! I’ve never had hip pain from running, but today they’re hurting a lot! I think this may be from my form when I go down hill. The fastest way I know to take a down hill is to lean forward and let gravity take its course. Your legs act as break rather than doing the work. However, I believe when I do this I may be pushing my hips backward a bit and popping them out of place. I may have done this so many times for such long periods of time it’s causing me a lot of pain. I’m going to look more into hip pain in long distance running tomorrow as well as begin taking glucosamine vitamins that are for bone and joints.

All-around, I think this was a great marathon for me—even with the ups and downs! I beat JMG. I got to spend time with Kristina and made a new friend (Andrew) who happened to be from Syracuse and go to RPI (we’ll try and forgive him for that because he DID get up after drinking and come cheer me on). I had a PR despite the calf cramps. I feel much better about my next marathon, which is coming up in a month! It looks like Nashville may be similar to the course we ran today. Hilly! Now that I’ve run Atlanta I’ve learned that I need to do a little more hill work, a LOT of hip stretching and maybe some strengthening, and work on some calf endurance exercises.



As soon as the official results are out I will post them along with my Marathon Ratings!

MB is in the race...

(<--MB and I Finishing Las Vegas Together)

MB's Marathons...
So, it has come to my attention (because MB sent me an email) that MB is up there in her race for the states as well. She's not really trying to hit all states, however she will be doing the Flying Pig this year and when she does it will be her 6th state as well.

If you have been following along like good children you would know that by the time she runs the pig (May 3rd) I'll have run Atlanta (GA) and Nashville (TN) so I will also be up to 6 states. MB has run... ummm I believe 11 marathons???

I'll add a post to the side to track MB's states as well!
MB's States... (Any my best guesses at the marathons)
1. NY (Hudson Mohawk AND NYC Marathon)
2. MA (Boston Marathon)
3. FL (Disney Marathon)
4. NV (New Las Vegas-- with me in '06)
5. IL (Chicago Marathon)
6. *Soon to be OH- Flying Pig Marathon 2009.

-Happy Running!!!