See Diva Run

It was a glorious day in western Washington, with blue skies, bright sunshine and temperatures in the upper 70s. I had an appointment after work tonight, which was going to interfere with my after work run. I spent much of the day looking longingly out the window, and took a few short breaks to walk around in the yard or on the deck. Finally this afternoon I couldn’t take it anymore. I put on my running clothes and decided to go out for a quick mile. That’s only a 10 minute break, right? Well it might have been if I’d had the willpower to stop after a mile, but miles are kind of like potato chips, it’s hard to stop at one.

How could I go back after only 10 minutes of this? Nature was offering me a precious gift. It would have been rude to decline it, so instead I expressed my gratitude for 3 heavenly miles before returning to my home office. Wouldn’t you know it, my boss called while I was out. I more than made up the time by working late into the evening. It was worth it!

I took a few photos on my way home from my appointment. What a fabulous day. The forecast for tomorrow calls for rain and temperatures in the 50s, but I don’t care, I’ll still be day dreaming about today.

Nike+ Women’s Half Marathon
Seattle, Washington
October 21, 2007
http://www.nikeplus.com/runtogether

As I mentioned in my report for the Spirit of Survival race, I learn something from each event. The lesson from the Nike+ Women’s Half Marathon was simple. If you accept a medal for a race you do not finish, karma will punish you. Last weekend I ran 12/13.1 miles, and got the sympathy medal. Today I had technical difficulties and ended up running 16/13.1 to get the Tiffany key chain and finisher shirt.

The Nike+ Women’s Half Marathon is a “virtual” race for Nike+ users. It is an extension of the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. Nike+ users who signed up for the event through Active.com needed to run 13.1 miles today and upload the run by midnight. Everyone who uploaded the run would receive the finisher’s shirt and a Tiffany key chain. Even though I had plans to run half marathons for the two weeks prior, I didn’t think it would be too taxing to run a third. That was before the stitches!

Though the race could be run at any time on 10/21/2007, and at any location, a few running stores set up routes and provided support. The nearest location was Road Runner Sports, near Green Lake in Seattle. This is 30 miles from my house, but it is also one of my favorite places to run. Meeting other Nike+ runners sounded like fun, and running with support is better than running without it, so I chose this option. It also meant that I would be able to collect my finisher’s shirt and key chain after the event, rather than wait for it to arrive in the mail.

We were to meet at the store at 7:00 this morning. I wasn’t expecting the freeway to be shut down to one lane. Uh oh. I arrived just a few minutes before 7:00, and then circled the block a couple of times while looking for a parking spot. I rushed in at the last minute, and didn’t have a chance to meet anyone. We headed out the door before I could even get my iPod turned on. I kept running while trying to get the workout started, but for some reason it was not working. I finally stopped to read the screen and it was instructing me to plug in the receiver. Since the receiver was already plugged in, I didn’t take this as a good sign. I removed it and replugged it, but nothing worked. After about half a mile, I told the lady I was running with that I was unable to measure my run. I turned and headed back to the store. About halfway back, I recycled the power on my iPod, and that did the trick. I started my workout and looped back to try and catch the group.

Every few minutes the iPod announced that the workout had stopped, so I kept pressing the button to resume the workout. Since I pressed it immediately, I assumed that all of my run data was being collected. I was so very wrong. I caught up with the woman I’d been running with earlier around mile 1.5. In all of the excitement, I forgot the route, so I was happy to catch her and get directions. As we got closer to mile 2 I started to wonder why the iPod hadn’t announced the first mile. I pressed the feedback button and was discouraged to hear that the iPod thought I’d only run .39 miles. At this point I realized that there was something very wrong with my receiver, and decided to head back to the store, hoping to buy a new Sport Kit. For those of you who aren’t Nike+ addicts, this was the equivalent of getting 1.75 miles into your half marathon before finding out something is wrong with your timing chip, and having to walk back to the starting line to get a new one.

It was cold and windy, so I walked at a brisk pace, which put a strain on my hips. I got back to the store around 8:00. They weren’t open yet, so I had to go to the car and get my cell phone so I could call and ask them to let me in. They let me in and sold me a new sport kit, and a water bottle so I could run without support. Since it was late and I was worried about getting lost, I decided to run 4 laps around Green Lake. By the time I paid for the kit, linked it, filled the water bottle, etc, it was 8:45. By the time I’d run 3 miles, my legs were reminding me that it was really closer to 7. My hips ached from the damp, cold weather. My feet hurt, and my poor knee was burning. Only 10 miles left, and I’m feeling pretty tired, and my breakfast has worn off. I snacked on some “fruit snacks” which were really a combination of suger, gelatin, food coloring with a drop of fruit juice.

By the end of lap 2 I’m in “grim determination” mode, telling myself that I can walk once the iPod announces the half way point. When the magic moment arrives, I decide to postpone the walk until I’ve completed mile 7. By mile 7 I realize that my knee isn’t tracking correctly. Every part of me hurts. I decide to reverse the direction for the last 2 laps. Only 6 miles to go! The sprinkles turn into rain. Isn’t this fun? Maybe not, but I guess it is an adventure. What was it I was saying about things not always going according to plan? As I start my fourth lap I see the woman who had been “Nordic walking” the event. I am mostly walking by this point, but periodically I stumble forward, limping with both feet. Half way through the lap I see the woman I’d been running with earlier. I’m very excited to see her. She looks surprised to see me. Finally the iPod makes the “1 mile to go” announcement. This is a very happy moment. I’m walking a little faster, and doing a very poor imitation of running every few feet. The iPod announces “400 meters to go”. I jog slowly, and try to maintain it for the last 400 meters. Finally the iPod says I can quit, and I do so gladly. With all of the walking, I assume my time is in the 2:40 range, so I’m very surprised to find out it was 2:25 — only 7 minutes slower than Bellingham Bay. Not having any water stops helped, but not as much as not brining the camera.

I limped back to the store to collect my treasure. They have bagels, bananas and cookies. Yum! I snack and visit with store employees. There are still about 7 finisher packets that haven’t been claimed. While I wait, the lady I’d been running with earlier, and the Nordic walker return. The Nordic walker’s daughter had run the actual half marathon in San Francisco. They kept in touch by cell phone. What a great way to share the day!

I was so tired, I procrastinated the trip home — actually it was the walk to the car that I was avoiding. The iPod said half marathon, but the feet were painfully aware of the extra miles. I guess I made up for the mile I missed last week. It is noon when I get in the car, nearly 6 hours since I left the house. Yikes. It would have been much easier to jog this one on the treadmill in my office, but I would have missed out on sharing the experience. We’ll just call today a “character builder”. As if I weren’t already a character.

I might run the 2 mile Trick or Treat run at the Marysville YMCA next weekend, but no more half marathons for a couple while!

Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan. My plan for last Sunday was to finish the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon, but as I sat on the ground at mile 12 staring at the inside of my knee, I started making a new plan. The new plan involved finding a way to get to the end without making things worse. I have heard a lot of stories about people who finished races with broken bones and assorted other injuries. While I understand what drives people to keep going no matter what, running is something I do to have fun and relieve stress. Switching into “grim determination” mode and making the “Spirit of Survival” an exercise in survival didn’t sound like any fun at all. My husband wanted me to finish so I could get the medal. I have a bunch of medals. They are all very nice. They hang from a hook in the closet, underneath my bathrobe. If the SOS medal wasn’t there, I don’t think I would notice.

Running can be like project management. You pick your race, set your goals and then follow your training plan. Some runners even have a race day plan that includes when to eat, when to drink, what pace to run for each mile, etc. These runners probably experience very few surprises, and would almost certainly finish the race after an unplanned fall, because the plan says to finish. Running with a plan is almost certainly the best way to achieve your goals. My main goal for each race is to have fun. I don’t worry too much about my time, and rarely have a goal beyond finishing. I just show up and run. Sometimes this means I’m disappointed in my finish time, but if the real goal was to have fun, a slow finish should indicate that I had more fun, right? Some runners have hydration plans, and consume gels at regular intervals to maintain their energy level. I typically get a drink at the water stops, but have been known to pass them by if I’m feeling “sloshy”. I usually carry a gel, power bar or some kind of snack. I carried one Marathon Bar through 6 or 7 races before I finally ate it on a long training run.

I have just enough of a plan to get me to the race, but everything else is based on how I feel at the moment. Perhaps this is what sets me apart from other runners, but I have no idea how I am going to feel in the future. There are days when falling and tearing a big hole in my knee would upset me, there are days when I would laugh and see the irony of DNF’ing the Spirit of Survival. There are days when wind and rain make me whiny, and days when they make me feel more powerful than the elements. In other words, there are days when I’m ready to be life’s victim, and days when I am up for any challenge. The problem is that I don’t know which day it is until I’m in the middle of the excitement. What I do know is that the more I plan, the less resilient I tend to be, because the end becomes the object instead of the journey. But the journey is where the adventure happens. Would I ever plan to throw myself on the ground so I could get a ride to the finish and take home “7 unique souvenirs” from Oklahoma? Probably not, but the truth is, my day turned out to be far more interesting than it would have if we had just finished the race and drank a bottle of water.

They say life is what happens while you are busy making plans. If you have a destination in mind, you are going to need a plan to get there. While I wish you success in arriving at your destination, I also hope you enjoy a few adventures along the way. Are you more of a project manager, or an adventurer?

Spirit of Survival Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K
Medicine Park, Oklahoma
October 14, 2007
http://spiritofsurvival.com

Life is filled with lessons, and so I learn something important with each race I run. At ET I learned the importance of staying on the pavement, as the rattling noises were coming from the unpaved shoulder. In Bellingham, I learned the importance of selecting a portable toilet that was somewhat sheltered from the wind. At the Spirit of Survival, I learned that it is OK to slide home in baseball, but not in a half marathon, especially from mile 12. I also learned that in Oklahoma, the wind really does come sweeping down the plain.

The adventure began with a red eye flight from Seattle to Dallas. We arrived at 5:30 in the morning, Dallas time (3:30 Seattle time), collected our checked bags and our rental car and began wandering the freeways of Dallas in search of our friends Jeff & Linda. We only made a couple of U-turns, and got there shortly after 7:00. We had a lovely breakfast at a Mexican restaurant near their home. We ate outdoors, which was a pretty good indicator that we weren’t in Seattle any more! After breakfast we went back to their house to get directions to Lawton, OK. With directions in hand, we began the next phase of the journey — driving 200 miles to Oklahoma without any sleep. We arrived in Lawton about 3 hours later, and checked into our room at the Best Western, which was the host hotel. We immediately saw volunteers in race shirts, and they offered to take us to Medicine Park to pick up our packets. We were quite happy to let someone else do the driving. To our surprise the transportation was by school bus, and we were the only passengers!

Our bright yellow “stretch limo”

Our “chauffeur”

Medicine Park is a small town on the edge of a 540 acre national wildlife refuge. It was founded in 1908, and featured very interesting stone construction in all of the buildings.

The town is located along a river, and is a bit of a tourist trap. We quickly figured out that packet pick-up was in the middle of nowhere rather than at the hotel, because they were hoping we would spend money. Sadly, we were tired and not in the mood. We wandered town a bit, in search of the pick-up location. Once we found it, we headed straight back to the bus!

The river was full of fish, turtles and birds

Geese occupied most of the bigger rocks

One of the two “no profanity” signs we encountered in Medicine Park. It’s a miracle that I got out of town without getting arrested!

Once again, we were the only 2 passengers on the bus back to Lawton. It was a very “bouncy” ride. We headed to our room for a pre-dinner nap. About an hour later we got a call from Jeff & Linda. They had driven up with their friend Rick, and were ready to go to dinner. We decided to eat at a place called the Atlanta Bread Company, which at first didn’t seem to have much to offer. Then I noticed the “fettucine salmone”, a fabulous pasta dish with salmon that was absolutely too spicy for a pre-race meal. Too late. We had a pleasant dinner and then headed back to the hotel, to make an early night of it.

We woke up the next morning after nearly 10 hours of sleep feeling refreshed and ready to run. We enjoyed a complimentary breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and the headed to the school bus. This time there were at least a dozen of us. Jeff had warned us this was a small race, so we weren’t too shocked. We were shocked when we arrived at Medicine Park and saw large crowds of people. It seems that everyone else had elected to drive to the event. Buses were moving people in from the parking area as quickly as they could, but not very efficiently. The race start was delayed 30 minutes while the bus drivers worked to get everyone to the starting line.

The weather was overcast and breezy, with gusts in the 20s. We were dressed in shorts and short sleeved running shirts, and trying to find shelter from the wind. As we wandered about, we discovered we were in the presence of royalty.

There seemed to be royalty everywhere, but our friends Jeff & Linda were much harder to locate. We finally caught up with them a few minutes before the start of the race.

Finally, the race began. After a brief downhill run, we started climbing up into the mountains. The weather remained cool, and Mr Diva seemed to be feeling better than he did during the much warmer ET and Seafair races.

He settled in to a “run one song, walk one song” pace, and I decided to run a comfortable pace and wait for him at the water stops.

Many of the volunteers were from Fort Sill. It was great to see them there in uniform. I went and stood by them while waiting for Mr Diva to catch up. I looked at one soldier and said “they aren’t timing this, are they?”. He said, “yes, ma’am, I believe they are”, so I replied “that’s OK, I paid to do this, so the longer I take, the more fun I get for my money”. He just smiled.

The course was beautiful, but challenging. The first half was mostly uphill, so we looked forward to the return trip!

I was surprised to be passed by a runner wearing jeans and a cotton t-shirt. I was not surprised when I passed him later. He was limping, and no doubt chafed half to death!

The course ran through an area called “Holy City” which is the site of a long running Easter pageant. The city is built from the same round stones that were used in Medicine Park. It is quite lovely.

http://www.theholycitylawton.com


I decided to follow the advice of the sign, rather than try for a close up. We spent several minutes watching the bison crossing the road, and then it was time to get moving again.

The wind began whipping up as we headed away from the Holy City, but we didn’t care because we were looking forward to the trip down the mountain. After the gale force winds of Bellingham, 25-30mph winds in Oklahoma didn’t seem so bad. We had a brief downhill run, and then, to our shock and dismay we were running uphill again. This was confusing, as we didn’t remember running downhill on the way in. It seems the course had a gentle roll that was obvious when going up, but not when going down. The net effect was that we ran uphill both ways. Maybe our parents weren’t lying about that walk to school!

Eventually I noticed a row of unoccupied outhouses, and decided to pay a call on “Big Bob”. I told Mr Diva to run ahead, and that I would catch up to him. I had nearly caught him by the next water stop, but decided to stop and enjoy the drink. I was closing in on him when I caught my toe on some uneven pavement and went down like a ton of bricks. I landed hard on my knees, and was pretty sure I had just earned a wicked case of road rash. I rolled over to see much more of the inside of my knee than I wanted to see. Runners started catching up and they all stopped to help. Everyone was super nice. The first woman gave me a paper towel to hold over the wound, and then took off to catch Mr D. More runners arrived and offered to help me to my feet, but I decided I’d rather sit. Mr D came back and used his shirt to tie the paper towel to my leg, and we started hobbling down the road. A car came by and we flagged it down. The driver was from the Lawton newspaper. He gave me a ride to the finish line, while Mr Diva ran in.

The EMTs cleaned up the wound and put a dressing on it. They said I needed stitches, and gave me directions to the AM/PM clinic. I limped over to the finish area to congratulate my new friends. They then began arguing with the officials, insisting that I needed a medal, too. Believe me, the medal was the last thing that mattered to me. I was just happy to have something covering the hole in my knee, and was already thinking ahead to my next race. My new friends were adamant, and the race official felt bad about my knee, so I got the medal, and thanked everyone for their concern. I meet nice people at every race, but this one really seemed to corner the market.

Even though the camera was still hanging from my wrist, I was distracted and didn’t take any more pictures (except for one of the hole in my knee, but it isn’t really “blogworthy”). The course was challenging, but well supported. The venue was unique, and the people were wonderful. I highly recommend this one for anyone who enjoys adventure races in out of the way places. But watch out for the uneven pavement!

I missed his triumphant finish, but I’m proud to say that Mr Diva sailed over the finish line without his shirt, but holding his number in 2:48:26. Thankfully, the race photographer did capture the moment. The lady behind him stopped and gave me the paper towel. Oh yes, I am totally buying this one!

We rode the bus back to town, and then headed to the clinic. I was amazed to have someone out in the lobby checking my knee while I was still doing the paper work. They were extremely fast and efficient, and like everyone else I met in Oklahoma, extremely nice. The doctor’s wife, son and daughter had all run in the race. Once they patched me up, we headed to Whataburger for our traditional post-race cheeseburger. We had driven by quite a few of them on the trip out, and had to see what we were missing. The burger was huge - 5 inches, but size was its only extraordinary quality. It was good, but no threat to In-N-Out Burger for my all time favorite.

Last weekend I got a “2 for” by running the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon, and using it as my World Wide Half Marathon event. If you aren’t familiar with the World Wide Half Marathon, there may still be time to sign up. You can run in an organized race, or set up your own course. More information from the organizers:

Greetings Fellow Runners!

Welcome to the Second Annual Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon Challenge and Kick the Couch 5K. By participating in this free event, you are joining a community of over a thousand runners from 46 different countries, across 6 continents. Each of us is running in the spirit of camaraderie and friendship, with the intention to “Think Global, Run Local”.

It would be easy to explain the concept of this event to our non-runner friends by calling it a “virtual race”, but that phrase incorrectly implies a sedentary experience. We hear so much about “online parties” and “Second Lives” which enable “near life like” encounters with other human beings across a globally connected Internet, but the Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon and Kick the Couch 5K is an actual, tangible, genuine and very real event.

By registering for this race, you have agreed to take to the road (or trails), either on a certified course, or a self created course, and run a distance of 13.1 miles (21 km) or 3.1 miles (5 km), after which you will record your finish time and we encourage you to share your experience in words, with photos, in an audio message or through an entry in your own blog or podcast.

The World Wide Half is all about sharing your experience with others. It’s a way for you to set an example for others, especially your non-running friends and acquaintances. This race is a free, fun and friendly way to introduce those who you come in contact with locally to join us on the road. Without pressure, inhibition or cause for embarrassment, you can take someone for a run or even a “run-walk”, and complete this event without fear or trepidation and with the promise of achieving a powerful sense of accomplishment with others all over the world.

It’s a beautiful world, but one that often asks much of us. Corporations and manufacturers of products and services work tirelessly, through advertisements and media, to convince and coerce us into spending our hard earned money on too many things that we rarely need. It should not surprise you that, when you try to invite someone to run with you, they’ll be conditioned to expect “a catch”. Subconsciously, they’ll most frequently wonder “How much will this cost me” or “What’s in this for the other guy?”

Your answer should be clear: “It will cost you nothing, but your reward will be great” and “My gain is to have another friend who will run with me”.

Running IS something that we all need, not for the alleged promise of endorphins and a svelte healthy body…but for the experience of living our lives in a way that enables us to find happiness, satisfaction and fraternity. Running teaches us how to live within our bodies; to become what Dr. George Sheehan calls “the good animals we were meant to be”, and to share ourselves with others in a baseline way that transcends culture, religion, organizations and borders.

To be a runner is to be a good person in search of a noble purpose. This isn’t some nutty “granola-crunchy-feel-good-lets-hold-hands-and-sing-kumbaya-together” kind of sentiment, this is an extreme way to live a good life.

We owe it to ourselves and to others to spread the good word about how to live that good life, and how to be that good animal.

The Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon and Kick the Couch 5K is a way for us to invite and include others to join us on the road, and to share the experience of a run together wherever we may be.

Have a fantastic run today, fellow runners, wherever you may be. Remember that you’re not alone out there and that the tiny blue bubble we’re running upon is more than just the home of all of humanity, and the tiny speck in an ever expanding universe today it is our race course, and today we will do great things.

Run long and taper

The PWWHM and KtC5K The Race Directors
Mal, Terry, John, Ben and Steve

Post your results here: http://www.worldwidehalf.com/cgi-bin/wwhalf/results
Get your Goody Bag here: http://www.worldwidehalf.com/Goodybag.pdf