8 miles. Harder than 7 miles.

This morning it really hit home that doing these long runs is 90% mental, 10% physical. After an exhilarating 7 mile run last Saturday, I was expecting 8 to be a breeze. Not so. The weather has been crappy all week long, it even snowed twice - including yesterday - and all week I've wanted to stay inside and eat nothing but carbs. What's up with that? Almost every woman I know is complaining they've put on weight the past month. Are we biologically programmed to eat nonstop and be lazy this time of year? I've really got to reel it in!

Anyway, I skipped a few workouts this week, so I was expecting today to be bad. And my inner voice was secretly hoping it'd be raining this morning so I could blow off this run, too. But I woke up at 7 and everything looked fine, so I begrudgingly got my stuff together and headed back down to Madrona to run along Lake Washington Blvd.

At around mile 4, I ran into my friend Wacarra who was just finishing up her own training run with her Healthy Goddess running group. We're like little satellites orbiting around each other, as we always seem to end up running at the same time at the same place, every Saturday! At mile 5, I started to hurt all over. I kept telling myself - only a 5k left! Somewhere around mile 6 I stopped feeling my butt. At mile 7 I was confused - had I really run this far last weekend?! But somehow I made it one more mile. Actually, a bit past 8 miles I think....

My knees are sore and my back is aching, and now I'm curled up on my couch under a blanket watching On Demand. The pain is but a distant memory :) Next weekend, another 8-miler, then 9, then 10 - then the half-marathon. Five weeks to go, the countdown is on...

Spirit of the Marathon - on tour!

Spirit of the Marathon is making another round in theaters! This movie is awesome and very inspiring - a documentary that follows 5 runners (2 elite runners, 2 first-timers, and a 70+ year old man) as they train for and complete the Chicago Marathon. I will probably be seeing this again, it's just a few days before my half-marathon :) Here is a list of cities + dates:

Boston – April 17st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Nashville – April 24th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Indianapolis – May 1st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Spokane/Seattle – May 1st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Los Angeles/Orange County – May 8th 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Denver/Boulder – May 22nd at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
San Diego – May 29th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Atlanta – July 1st at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Virginia Beach – August 28th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Philadelphia – September 18th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
San Jose – October 2nd at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Chicago – October 9th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
San Francisco – October 16th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Washington DC – October 23rd at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
New York City – October 30th at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
San Antonio – November 13th at at 4:30 and 7:30 PM
Memphis – December 4th Time TBD

I can't believe I just ran 7 miles

I remember last summer preparing for my first 5k race when running 3 miles felt like an impossible feat. It just goes to show that consistent training over time really does pay off. On Saturday, I ran the furthest I have ever run - 7 miles - starting in Madrona just north of Blue Water Bistro, heading south towards Seward Park along Lake Washington. It felt surprisingly strong through the whole run, and I believe I could have gone another 3 miles easily. The weather was phenomenal (followed by an especially crappy Sunday) and every runner I passed had a huge smile on their face. I am still experiencing no knee problems (still wearing my patella strap on the left knee - just in case) and am looking forward to 8 miles this coming Saturday.

Since I switched races from San Diego (June 1) to Vancouver (May 4), I am a little behind where I should be this close to the race, but if I feel this strong on race day I should have no problems completing the entire 13 miles :)

In non-running related news...

My boss told me on Friday that unless I do something really stupid (like, I don't know, pull the whole internet down), my Microsoft contract is being extended through the end of June, 2009. We can all breathe a little easier now :)

Cholesterol is down!

I haven't lost much weight since I started running last summer. In fact, I'm only about 5 lbs. lighter despite having run all through the late summer, fall, and winter, and 100 miles since training for my event. Chalk it up to a 32 year-old metabolism, sigh...

Anyway, I went in 2 weeks ago for my yearly physical and was curious to see my cholesterol results. At my last physical, in October of 2006, I was on the high end of normal. My HDL (good cholesterol) was a little low, and my LDL needed to come down. I got my new results late last week and I'm happy to say that my HDL is up and my LDL dropped 35 points! I am now within the "optimal" range and I feel great! Guess all those miles and green smoothies have paid off.

Wearin' O' the Green

Today was the St. Patrick's Day Dash beginning at the Seattle Center in Queen Anne and finishing at Qwest Field in SODO - 3.5 miles in all. This is one of Seattle's biggest races, and I was surprised at how disorganized the whole event was. From the postponed start to the lack of signage along the course, to the completely lame post-dash bash which included a crappy band and packets of BEEF JERKY at the finish line. No bagels or orange juice. No water. Nobody at the finish line to cut off our race chips (I totally forgot and left the race still wearing mine). And then there were the return shuttles ... what a nightmare. You'd think the money raised by more than 15,000 runners paying $30 a piece they could at least afford some decent food at the finish line.

The weather was good though and it was an easy, scenic course. This is my last race until the Vancouver Sun Run at the end of April (50,000 runners at that race - hoping the Canadians are more organized!). For now, I will continue to focus on my Saturday long runs (this weekend was another 6 miler ... almost 10 miles total this weekend, I'm tired). Next weekend ... Seward Park?

Deb and Wacarra, St. Pat's Dash 2008

Waiting to cross the starting line - I can't find Alex among the 15,000 runners on Mercer Ave!

1/2 mile into the race - running under freeway 99

Amazing weather today - I had to stop, turn around, and take a pic. It's not everyday I get to run on the viaduct! As I was taking this photo, someone called out my name. It was ....

Alex!

Deb and Alex

Mercer Island 10k

Well, I did it! On Sunday the 9th I ran my first 10K race at the Mercer Island half-marathon event, which also included both a 5K and 10K run. Although I viewed the course elevation map online before the event (and timed my iPod list accordingly), I was just not prepared for the 3 - 200' elevation hills that made up the course! I'm happy to say I finished, just under my planned pace time of 11 minutes/mile. My chip time was 67:54, which I hope to improve at my next 10K, the Sun Run in Vancouver, B.C. on April 20th! Special thanks to my running pal and good friend Wacarra who got up early and cheered me on as I shuffled up the final hill from miles 5-6. You're awesome!