~Philadelphia Marathon 11/23/08~

[CynthiaCindy]

Jen - Are you making all of those costumes? That is pretty impressive.

Steve - I hope your knee feels better. And it's not that you're old, its just that I didn't start running until much later in life. If I remember correctly, you turned 40 last year, so that would mean you ran your first race at 13, right? That's pretty cool.

Sara - I really hope you had an enjoyable run.

I finished my 20 miler (and my 55 mile week)! It actually went well. Rather than my head being really congested like it was last night, my nose was just running the entire time, which was really annoying, but at least I could breath. This was the 5th 20 mile training run that I have done (1 for MCM, 2 for RnR, and this was my 2nd for Philly). I would have to say that it was the best of the 5. It was the first where my average pace was below 11 min miles so that is pretty huge for me.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[msblrobs]

Quick post before I take a nap

I got 10 miles in - 8.25 of which I ran in 1:20:36 with splits of 9:52, 9:56, 9:56, 9:58, 9:54, 9:36, 9:36,9:44 & 2:03. I am very happy with that considering my left hip has been acting up with either a sciatic issue or piriformis syndrome. Actually, it was a massive sinus headache and a case of water gut that forced me to walk the final two miles home . Really, really nice day to be out walking so it's all good .

Cindy - Seriously woman, I am completely in awe of your ambition. Congrats on the rockin' 20-miler and I hope your cold symptoms disappear real quick.

When I awake from the nap I'm expecting to see some race or LR reports

 

[Theta]

When I awake from the nap I'm expecting to see some race or LR reports

Sara, I hope you had a nice nap!

Cindy

I was able to get 4 1/2 miles in yesterday. My LW is scheduled for Wednesday. I hope to get in 17 miles.

I have been busy with DD9, she is still really sick. Thursday she was positive for strep and dr. put her on amoxicillan. I took her back to the doctor Saturday. Dr. thinks she also has bronchitis as well so he put her on a stronger antibiotic. She still isn't better today, still running a fever after 5 days now. I can time exactly when her Tylenol is wearing off because her temp starts to climb immediately. I called a friend of mine (who is a urologist) he thinks she may have pneumonia or mono and recommended I take her to the doctor again Monday if the fever doesn't let up. I guess more tests tomorrow...

 

[jbucci]

Theta (sorry I don't know "real" names yet): sorry to hear about your sick DD, there is nothing worse than a sick little one -- I'm a pediatrician, I should know. I hope she feels better tomorrow. If the fever is still there, I would definitely have her seen again.

Lou: Happy Anniversary You probably haven't posted about your run because you are treating your wife to a nice evening out, right...

I am, in fact making tons of costumes. I have a friend who is helping and the two of us feed off of each other's craziness in getting things to look "just right" so we have gone overboard in a big way I am almost done- just finished potato head today and am considering making Buzz but I need to take a break and run. We leave on Friday for WDW so I'm doing pretty well on timing.

have a great week everyone

 

[KeenHo]

Hi everyone!

Sara~ Great job on getting the 10 miles in!

Lou~ I hope you had a good LBI run and that you are, in fact, showing your beautiful wife a great time since it is your anniversary.


Cindy~ I am very impressed with all of your running efforts of late. Your ATM, PDR and your 20 miler. You just keep laying it all out there.

As for me... I returned about two hours ago from my trip to New Kensington, PA where I visited my Mom for the weekend. The drive across Pennsylvania on the Turnpike was absolutely gorgeous, the leaves have to be at peak this weekend. The firey reds, yellows and oranges were breath-taking. I see God's hand in the beauty of the mountains. The trip was swift and uneventful.

I checked the internet to find a good running trail or track in Western PA before my trip since I had to get in my 20 miler. I settled on Northmoreland Park a Westmoreland County park about 25 minutes from my Mom's house. I saw that they had a lake with a 1.1 mile path around it.

On a lark, I figured I could cruise around the lake and get my miles in without much a-do. Well, as luck would have it, I happened to pick (at random) a place where a Community Walk was to take place that morning. I started around 9 AM when the park opened, the walk began around 10 AM and went to Noon when there was a lunch and prizes. The path I ran on was only about 5 feet wide in some areas so I had to run off the path into weeds/grass/etc. to pass people. I got the evil eye quite a few times as I passed up Senior Citizens walking with canes.

The lake was beautiful, there were people fishing, walking with strollers, kids playing on swings, etc. So, I picked a good spot, just not the right day. At one point, I paused my Garmin and walked with a big group of walkers and said hello and explained why I was out there. They were pretty impressed I think. One man said he doesn't even like to drive 20 miles.

So, although I was slowed a bit off and on, the run went well. The lake path was about 75% brick and about 25% stone/pavers (like baby cobblestones - just not as high out of the ground). Not too bad to run on. About half of the course was through trees and in the shade. The path also had undulations/hills that took their toll in the later miles. Here are my stats:

Miles: 20.0
Time: 3:12:02
Pace: 9:36

During the run I noticed that my 15K time was better than my 15K time last weekend and my half marathon time was 1:53:32. Not quite a record, but only 3:26 behind my Philadelphia Distance Run time. All this in a crowd at points on the course.

Overall I am really happy with my LR results. I can envision adding on 6.2 miles and finishing the MCM (in less than 2 weeks!) somewhere around 4.0 or 4:15 which is right where I want to be. That would drop somewhere between 44 and 29 minutes from my PR.

For Jen's benefit I'll attempt to convert screen names:

KeenHo = Howard
Theta = Colleen
msblrobs = Sara
CynthiaCindy = Cindy
SilverE = Steve
lourodrigis = Lou
Mouse Skywalker = Dave
Jodi = Jodi
Optimator = Mike
rKyDeX = Chester

Congrats to everyone for their hard work and training! Have a great week!



Howard

 

[lourodrigis]

Here's a quick LBI race report. Man this is a tough race! Came in 199 out of 721. I beat last year's time by over 10 minutes but it was about 15 degrees cooler this year. First 6 miles felt great, the next 6 felt good, the last 6 felt okay.

Chip Time: 2:35:01
Gun Time: 2:35:20 (Pace: 8:38)

6-Mile Time: 1:13:48 (Pace: 8:12)
12-Mile Time: 1:39:49 (Pace: 8:19)

Fill you in on the details of race and anniversary manana.

Lou

 

[lourodrigis]

Well, I am glad LBI is behind me. For a lot of reasons this is a tough race but a nice test before Philly so I'll probably do it every year I can.

LBI 18-Mile RUN RACE REPORT...

The race starts at 10:30AM so the weather is a major factor here. It was about 65 degrees at the start and 75 at the finish so a lot better than last year's 85-90. The good news is I felt great for most of this race so any knee injury I had appears to be gone.

You had about 800 runners at the start and most of them are serious to semi-serious runners. I ran great for the first 6 miles which is the best part of the race because there are lots of people cheering and buildings to provide shade. The next 6 miles felt good but I noticed that more people passed me then I passed. There was a steady head wind blowing in my face for most of the race but I remember feeling it a lot during these miles.

The last 6 miles were pretty boring and I started running out of steam. Rather than trying to push it I decided to ease up because I knew I would come in more then 10 minutes faster then last year. After Mile 15 I basically put it in cruise control and took it easy.

Not much to report about this race but here are the pros and cons...

CONS
* 18 miles straight down Long Beach Blvd with the wind blowing in your face and very little shade the whole way.
* Mentally it gets real boring for the last 6 miles because there are barely any people and you are basically running on the shoulder of the road by yourself. You also have to dodge stormwater inlets every couple hundred feet.
* It's a 10:30 start so it's pretty sunny and warm the whole race.
* You only get Gatorade after Mile 9 some orange slices so you are screwed if you don't bring your own gel packs.

PROS
* 18 miles of flat, straight roadway. If you ran this race in the opposite direction you could fly with the wind at your back.
* Nice finish area at the Barnegat Light House.
* Nice start area by the ocean at Beach Haven Heights.
* Well organized by St. Francis Church volunteers.
* Free buffet after the race for runners.
* Showers at the community center for runners.

Time.....Start time..Distance.Split time
0:07:53.....10:31 AM.....1.....7:53
0:15:55.....10:39 AM.....2.....8:02
0:23:57.....10:47 AM.....3.....8:01
0:31:57.....10:55 AM.....4.....8:00
0:40:03.....11:03 AM.....5.....8:06
0:48:12.....11:11 AM.....6.....8:08
0:56:26.....11:19 AM.....7.....8:13
1:04:49.....11:28 AM.....8.....8:23
1:13:17.....11:36 AM.....9.....8:27
1:21:47.....11:44 AM.....10....8:30
1:30:32.....11:53 AM.....11....8:44
1:39:11.....12:02 PM.....12....8:39
1:48:03.....12:10 PM.....13....8:51
1:57:01.....12:19 PM.....14....8:58
2:06:09.....12:28 PM.....15....9:08
2:15:29.....12:37 PM.....16....9:19
2:24:58.....12:47 PM.....17....9:29
2:34:25.....12:56 PM.....18....9:26

 

[Theta]

Hey guys, can't write a lot, just wanted you all to know DD has pneumonia. She seems to be in good spirits one hour and then BAM she just hits to wall with fever, aches and pains. She is feeling good now, even asked for a sub sandwich from Subway! I hope this 3rd antibiotic does the trick, we will see what the night brings.

 

[Jodi]

Hey guys, can't write a lot, just wanted you all to know DD has pneumonia. She seems to be in good spirits one hour and then BAM she just hits to wall with fever, aches and pains. She is feeling good now, even asked for a sub sandwich from Subway! I hope this 3rd antibiotic does the trick, we will see what the night brings.

Holy crap, Colleen! I hope your little princess is ok!! Please keep us updated, I'll be sending positive thoughts her way!

 

[jbucci]

Howard, thanks for the names run down, now I have a post I can refer to until I get this all straight in my head.

I hope everyone is having a good Monday. I am right now trying to decide if I will stay up crazy late tonight to do my long run or if I will attempt to wake up early tomorrow. I'm not usually very good about early but we'll see.

Colleen: I hope DD feels better soon.

 

[KeenHo]

Hey guys, can't write a lot, just wanted you all to know DD has pneumonia. She seems to be in good spirits one hour and then BAM she just hits to wall with fever, aches and pains. She is feeling good now, even asked for a sub sandwich from Subway! I hope this 3rd antibiotic does the trick, we will see what the night brings.

Colleen~ Here is lots of Pixie Dust for your DD.
I hope she feels better real soon.

Lou~ Great run in LBI. It doesn't sound like my kind of race. Long, straight, boring... I can get that at home.

No running today for me. My thighs felt like clenched fists today (all day) from my 20 miler over the weekend. I am probably going to run some tomorrow, right after work and before my next group dance lesson. I have 5 miles on the schedule. I am not sure if I can fit it all in. We'll see...



Howard

 

[Optimator]

Hey Everyone,

Colleen - I sure hope DD starts to feel better soon. Lots of PD going her (and your) way.

Jen - I hope your LR goes (or went) well. Is it too late to place my costume orders?

Lou - Nice job on the LBI. I'm with Howard though, doesn't sound like one I'll be signing up for any time soon.

Howard - I hope the legs are feeling a bit better. A few easy miles should help loosen everything up.

Sara - That's a super 10 miles! You are officially all set for the half at Philly. No worries after an effort like that.

Cindy - You are on a heck of a roll young lady. Now that your peak mileage week is behind you it's all gonna be easy. As for hiking Old Rag when you are not training for a marathon... When exactly would that be?

Steve - How's the knee doing? And the achilles? Anything else?

Chester - You going to do a RFTT report? Kathy was checking out the results and it looked like you had a good race. You finished about 30 seconds ahead of a guy that lives down the street from us.

Dave - How's the hip doing? Able to get out for any easy runs?

Jodi - How was your weekend? Was the volunteering a good time? Running any?

Geez, I think I got everyone. If not, sorry.

First a little update on Kathy's ankle. It still hurts like heck but the swelling finally seems to be going down. She went to the doc today and he gave her an aircast for additional support. He gave her the ever ambiguous "Rest it but go ahead and resume regular activities if you can." She's pretty concerned about her Donald training but hopefully it starts to improve more in the next few days.

I have to say it was really nice not to have a big LR to worry about last week. A few 8 milers plus a tempo run actually seemed like a bit of a break. 20 looming on the horizon for Friday.

Enough for now. Toodles.

 

[msblrobs]

Mike - So sorry to hear Kathy's ankle is still really bad . Please be sure to reiterate the rest advice and tell her not to even put the thought of Donald training in her mind until the ankle's feeling close to normal.

Howard - It sounds like we had similiar ailments yesterday and opted for the same remedy . You really rocked the 20-miler and glad you had a great time during your travels. Best of luck on the dance lessons and squeezing in the 5 if you're able

Jen - How'd you do with the LR ?

Colleen - Tons of for your poor DD . Nothing worse than seeing your baby suffering . Hopefully the meds will knock it out of her soon.

Lou - Awesome race report . Congrats on the super run and I hope the anniversary went as well as the race did .

Chester - Now that Mike's calling you out on it, I am anxiously awaiting a RFTT report ?

Cindy, Dave, Jodi, Steve -

I did rest yesterday since it's been a LONG while since my last double-digit LR and the legs were complaining rather loudly . Yoga this morning and if the second day soreness remains tolerable then I'll bang out 4-5 miles after work tonight. The gorgeous fall weather has really been helpful with the motivation these days . Have a great week guys

 

[Theta]

Colleen - Tons of for your poor DD . Nothing worse than seeing your baby suffering . Hopefully the meds will knock it out of her soon.

Everyone, thanks for the well wishes for DD.

We had a little scare last night. After she was diagnosed with pneumonia, the dr. put her on a new antibiotic (3rd one) and she broke out with hives all over her face, ears and neck. Her breathing seemed to become shallower and she became very lethargic. All that being said, her Advil dose was wearing off as well. Called the dr. at about 8:00 p.m. and he told us to give her the Advil and Benadryl and if she declined further, take her to the ER. As it turned out, the drugs settled down the hives, the aches and the itchiness. She settled and fell asleep around 9 p.m. I kept on eye on her until about midnight and she was doing much better.

She woke up this morning for about on hour and then fell back to sleep and is still sleeping now at 12:30. So she has been sleeping for about 15 hours! I am so happy, I hope her little body is on the mend.

 

[SilverE]

Hey All,

Cindy: Nice job on the 20-miler Man, you are racking up the miles!

If I remember correctly, you turned 40 last year, so that would mean you ran your first race at 13, right?

Yep, well I'm 41 now, so my first race was at 14: a local 10K. The race was co-sponsored by a knitting mill, so instead of T-shirts we received these really cool knit winter hats (complete with pom-pom) with the race name stitched into the hat. I still have it.

Sara: I hear you about the great Fall weather; really makes you want to get outside. I'm glad I have a PhillyPhriend also doing the Half

Colleen: Lots o' for DD. I hope she is feeling better.

Jen: Have a great trip to WDW. Enjoy!

Howard: Great job on the 20-mile. Very nice of you not to kick the canes out from under the senior citizens giving you the evil eye.

Mike: Glad to hear Kathy's ankle has turned for the better with the decreased swelling. Gotta love the "rest it, but resume activities when you can" spiel. Basically, I'd go with heat in the AM, ice at night, and have her draw the entire alphabet in the air 2x/day with her injured ankle. Oh, and of course you have to massage her ankle for her each day. Baby the ankle, but any activity that does not aggravate it should be OK.

Lou: Nice job on the LBI. I don't think I could deal with the headwinds and lack of scenery in the final miles. And your Phillies must be making you proud. My high school-age niece who lives north of me called and was particularly excited after last night's game; Matt Stairs' daughter is her best friend.

Hi Jodi, Chester and Dave.

As for me, the (R) knee is still a little off, but I got in 4 yesterday. Today the family is heading north to see my niece's last home soccer game (the niece I referenced above). It is Senior Night, and after the game each senior is introduced and presents flowers to her family as a thanks for support. This is my niece whose mom (my sister) died last February, so we knew this would be a particularly tough night for her. So we are all surprising her; she has no idea a bunch of aunts, uncles, and cousins will be in attendance. My kiddos are all excited to rush her at the end of the game.

Have a great day all!

 

[Jodi]

Hello long lost-bots!

Sorry I haven't been around & I'll try to address everyone (except Mike) in this rambling post.

Ok, ok Mike - Happy Anniversary!! What did Kathy's medal look like this year? Please post pictures! Tell her not to worry about Donald, she's got plenty of time to train...she's been-there-done-that, she'll be fine! So you're doing a 20miler this Friday then dressing up for MCM the following weekend??? WOW, careful you don't hurt yourself, that's an awful lot of miles. I think I've got a long run coming up this weekend too .

Chester - Do tell about RFTT!

Huggy - Nice job on that 20miler! So did I read that right? Did you run a 1 mile loop 20 times while a walk-a-thon was going on?? Is Cam regretting her offer yet?

Sara - Nice job on the double digits! You go wench!! My body's been complaining a bit lately, too. So you're all set for Philly, right? How are you arriving?? Train, plane, automobile?

Dave - How's it goin', bud? Don't freak about your training, you'll be fine, want me to modify your training schedule to MY standards? . How do you feel, anyway?

ChickPea - How's Maine? Nice colors? Nothing too much down here yet. How's the various ailments? RU driving to Philly?

Jen - Did you actually run last night?? How late was it? That's kooky! You'll fit right in here! I'd much rather get that exercise crap done in that a.m. !

Colleen - Oh my nerve! I can't handle all this stuff with your girlie-girl , it's freakin' me out! How are YOU doing? RU able to get any sleep? Your boy isn't sick as well, is he? Be well .

CindyBoo - aka running freak! OK, are you done showing the rest of us up now or what??? You run & work way too much. Is that it now for LRs? You should have been tapering weeks ago!

Loufah sponge - Happy Anniversary & Happy finishing your race in a kickin' time! Did you behave properly & avoid the flying frying pan attack?

I know I missed someone....

My weekend was wigidy-wack! Up @ 5 a.m. on Sat. & up to the Hartford Marathon with other parents & kids. To say our participation in this event went without a hitch would be a lie. To say we went up there & did what we set out to do, would be more accurate. 8 kids, 5 adult running-chaperons 26.2 miles DONE! I just sat in the park & played "coordinator" while everyone else drove around shuttling runners & navigating closed streets! We had a few kids that got a little over-zealous & just kept running when they were supposed to stop , and one mom just left her kid in the dust b/c he wouldn't run ! NO, it wasn't me . Spencer & Bruce ran the first 4 miles of the marathon (with some walking thrown in ) & had a blast. I think Bruce may be "bit" by the marathon bug as he was a little charged up @ the start. I may be making a trip to D.C. next year so he can run MCM . We'll see.

End result was $ was raised for the big field trip to D.C. in May & no one was injured.

I ran that 8 on Friday I mentioned already, Sat. nada, Sun. went to NYC & 6 temp-HO yesterday. I'll do some more running today, I guess

 

[Jodi]

So we are all surprising her; she has no idea a bunch of aunts, uncles, and cousins will be in attendance. My kiddos are all excited to rush her at the end of the game. Have a great day all!

That's great, Steve. Family is so important, sometimes we forget. Have a great trip!

 

[rKyDeX]

Race for the Taste
This was my third running of the Race for the Taste. Tracy decided to accompany me over to Orlando so I set the departure time as late as possible in order to let her sleep. The race start was slated for 7:00am and late packet pick-up was scheduled until 6:45 so I figured if we left at 4:30 we could make it over in plenty of time. I was wrong.

I woke up at 4:00 and read through the final race instructions. "Road closings will begin at 6:15am". Holy carp. "Tracy get up, We have to leave now". She actually got up fairly quickly - because she stayed up to watch the end of the Rays-Bosox game and had gotten into bed less than an hour before.

We made it to WWOS with time to spare at 6:10, although I was still wearing flip-flops and had to finish putting my running costume on. I went through packet pick-up and chip pick-up while Tracy mingled with the gathered W.I.S.H.ers. Matt and Becky were there along with a few others whom I can't name because I have already forgotten their names.

I strapped on my shoes while the W.I.S.H. contingent headed for the Port-o-let lines. I headed for my own line to wait for the facilities and remember that I haven't zipped my chip on. Tracy quickly looks through her W.I.S.H. backpack and the goody bag and didn't see it. Holy carp. So I get out of line and head back to where I put my shoes on to see if I left it on the ground there. Nope. Tracy found it in the bags. So back to the end of the line I go.

So, I finally get to take care of business and before I'm finished I hear a plop hit the floor. Holy carp. I look down and there is a tree frog on the floor. So then I hear a little voice say "I bet that little frog can really make the next occupant scream". But another little voice says "the frog will get squished". So I gathered up the frog and carefully found it a new home away from the port-o-lets.

It's now about 10 minutes until the gun so Tracy and I head over to the starting area and meet up with Matt, Bill and Becky. Just before the singing of the National Anthem, Matt makes his way to the front of the pack and I settle it towards the 9:00mpm section.

The fireworks go off and the race starts. It takes me about 30 seconds to cross the line. I start Garmin and head off down the course. 6.2 miles later I finished. 6.34 garmin miles in 56:33. 8:55mpm average. the splits were:

1 9:06mpm 157bpm
2 8:56mpm 162 bpm
3 8:49mpm 165bpm
4 8:57bpm 167bpm
5 9:10mpm 168bpm
6 8:56mpm 171bpm
.34 7:44bpm 179bpm

I know that the details of the race area a little sketchy, but you all are familiar with 75% of the course and my lunch break ended an hour ago.

Happy running,

Chester
W.I.S.H. Half-Fast T.O.T. Marathon Team.

 

[Jodi]

So, I finally get to take care of business and before I'm finished I hear a plop hit the floor. Holy carp. I look down and there is a tree frog on the floor. So then I hear a little voice say "I bet that little frog can really make the next occupant scream". But another little voice says "the frog will get squished". So I gathered up the frog and carefully found it a new home away from the port-o-lets.

I won't even tell you what I thought the plop hitting the floor noise was . Thanks for saving the little froggy !
Your pre-race morning sounds about as frenzied as my post-marathon afternoons!! Glad you had fun! And how about those times?

 

[CynthiaCindy]

Colleen - I hope your DD is feeling better now (and that you are able to get some rest yourself). Lots of for you both.

Chester - thanks for giving me a much needed laugh with your plopping. Plopping in the port o pottie

Hi to everyone else.

Ran 8 this morning. It was a good run.

I'll try to write more later but I'm guessing it won't happen today.