See Diva Run

Where: Orlando, FL
When: January 9 & 10, 2010
What: Half Marathon on Saturday, Full Marathon on Sunday

When Mr Diva first suggested that we participate in the inaugural Goofy Challenge in 2006, I declined and called him something stronger than “goofy”. I suggested that something this stupid should be shared with another guy, and nominated our son to go along. And yet somehow, I ended up doing it, too. Imagine our surprise when we arrived in Florida and discovered frost on the ground in the early morning? All in all, it was mostly fun, but one of those things you really only need to do once. Make that one of those things I only needed to do once. As the 5th Goofy Challenge loomed, and registration re-opened, Mr. Diva decided he needed the new set of medals. Sigh… I sometimes speak of him as the long suffering Mr. Diva, but the truth is, he gives as good as he gets.

So we packed our bags with our shorts, running skirts and the other things one packs for a trip to Florida, and then repacked with all of our winter running gear after seeing the weather report. The melt down in Hononlulu was still in my head, and I was really stressing about our ability to take 15 minutes off our marathon time the day after a half marathon. We hit the expo Friday and had the full Disney “stand in many long lines” experience. We shopped a little, then headed back to our room to rest up. We jumped out of bed at 3:00 am (midnight on the west coast), to get to Epcot before the roads closed. We stopped at the Waffle House for a little breakfast, then headed to Epcot to wait in the car as long as possible. Our friend Jeff joined us, and before long, we were watching moisture accumulate on our windshield. It was about 37 degrees. By the time we got to the starting line, the rain was forming into little needles of ice that stung when they pelted your face. We got to enjoy another 30-40 minutes of that while waiting for our corral to go.

It was cold, wet and miserable, but we were dressed for it. By mile 6, a sharp pain was radiating from my left knee. After that I was reduced to a long, cold, wet walk, imagining what it was going to be like to do this for 26.2 miles the next day. Did I mention that this was really messing with my mind? The miles slowly ticked away, but finally it was done. We headed back to our room to pack ourselves in ice and rest up for the next day. This time I had no trouble sleeping, and crawled rather than jumped out of bed at 3:00 the next morning. To my surprise and delight, nothing hurt. We stepped out of the hotel and discovered temperatures were colder, but there was no wind, and no precipitation. After a big breakfast at IHOP, we were back on our way to Epcot. I was disappointed when my knee started to ache during the long walk from the starting village to the starting line. I told Mr Diva we were going to need to try a run/walk plan, to keep the knee from getting too bad, too soon. We agreed to run for the first 5 minutes of each mile. Eventually that dropped to 4 minutes, but we maintained it for the first 20 miles. I could have gone the whole distance, but he started to cramp up, and had to walk the rest. The bright sun and cold temperatures created perfect running conditions. I felt great and really enjoyed the whole 26.2 miles. We finished in 6:20, nearly an hour faster than our Honolulu time, and faster than our previous Goofy marathon.

I’m feeling much better about distance now. If I am going to keep doing marathons, I probably shouldn’t let too much time pass before the next one, or it is likely to become a mental problem for me again. My 50th birthday is coming up. After I’m done eating, maybe I should run another marathon? Or not…. Next up the Mardi Gras Half Marathon in New Orleans, which is now a Rock N Roll event.

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In late 2002, I stepped on the scale and saw a number so disturbing that I lost my appetite. I also lost 70 pounds over the next two years. As I dropped below certain numbers, I promised myself “never again”. I’m not so happy about the 15+ that has crept back over the years. It’s the subtle 3-4 pounds per year that keeps piling up until you have a number that really freaks you out. For the last couple years I’ve intended to make losing weight a priority. I’ve joined weight loss challenges and set goals, but in the end, other things took priority, and I ate without thinking. Running resulted in weight gain, as the intensity of the exercise made me hungry, and I took in more calories than I burned. The new plan is simple. I eat what I need to survive, paying careful attention to portion size and calorie counts. I’m cooking limited amounts, so the option of going back for more doesn’t exist. Anything that sounds like “fun” and has more than the approved number of calories will have to wait until I turn 50 in December. With any luck, I’ll lose more than the 15 I gained, because I’m probably going to gain a few in December when I start eating again. Since I can’t do anything about turning 50, I may as well turn 50 at a weight that I feel good about, preferably the one listed on my driver’s license ;). With the added bonus of being able to eat whatever I want, I might even start looking forward to my birthday! Mmmm, cake!

Unlike previous weight loss efforts where I jumped on the scale in my underwear before eating or drinking anything in order to see the lowest number possible, this time I’m getting on the scale at different times of day, and I’m wearing multiple layers of clothes, and shoes too. I’m not nearly as concerned about how low it is as I am about how high it is. I’m well over one of my never again numbers, but I’m also well under the next one.

December is still a long way off. Until then, the outlook isn’t so bleak. I have been eating an apple daily, and some of my favorite foods appear on this list of 10 foods that help you lose weight.

We decided to celebrate the new year by participating in the Resolution Run 5K at Magnuson Park in Seattle. Mr. Diva decided to make things really interesting by signing up for the “dip” in Lake Washington. He came out smiling, but it didn’t look like fun.

There was a huge turnout. They said there were 1300 participants last year. This year it was over 1700. We showed up last minute again. There were chips and bibs available, but they were out of t-shirts. I have a lot of shirts, so I didn’t mind. The course was different than other races we’ve run at Magnuson Park. As with the 12Ks of Christmas, the weather was quite ominous before the start of the race. I was shivering in my short sleeved tech shirt and lightweight jacket. It took me about a mile of running to warm up. By then the wind had died down and the sun was coming out. It made a few appearances, but never stayed long.

There were many puddles to dodge. We saw 2 young girls running in the mud along the blacktop trail. It sucked one of their shoes right off! I was grateful to be wearing my Goretex shoes. As long as the water doesn’t go over the top, they are very effective.

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A week after the Honolulu Marathon, Mr. Diva was ready to run again. I was ready to sleep in, but I had to get up and walk the dogs. As long as we were up, we jumped into our Santa suits (everyone has them, right?) and headed to Kirkland for the 12Ks of Christmas fun run. It was Friday’s first race, and he was surprisingly well behaved while waiting in the registration line. The weather had been decent at home, but in downtown Kirkland the wind was whipping up, and it was starting to rain. I was starting to shiver, so I slipped out of my Santa jacket and pulled on the long sleeved cotton race shirt. Shortly after we started running, the wind died and the rain quit, and I was slipping out of my Santa jacket to pull off the race shirt. The weather was great for the rest of the event. Friday did great, but was more than willing to nap all the way home!

This was our first time running the 12Ks, and we were very impressed. It was very well organized, and a lot of fun. Even though we showed up a few minutes before the start, we were able to register, and get shirts in our size! Maybe next year we will sign up in advance!

Link to photos on Facebook

When we walked the 2004 Honolulu Marathon, it was a bit of a whim. We had completed 4 half marathons that year, and had trained for them. We were starting to make the transition from walking to jogging until our legs gave out, and walking the rest. We’d never been further than 13.1 miles, but I had this crazy notion that we could do it. I knew Mr Diva would resist, so I made sure to tell him how many people in their 80s had finished the previous year. Married people fight dirty. He took the bait. How could he not? We were vacationing in Hawaii for both our birthdays, and his just happened to coincide with the marathon, so I signed him up and called it a “gift”. By the time marathon morning rolled around, I had the flu and was coughing uncontrollably, and running a fever. We still managed to finish in under 7 hours. That was the beginning of the marathon madness.

Since then, Mr. Diva has been talking about repeating the marathon for his 50th birthday. I think the goal was to go back better and stronger, and finish with a better time, despite being in a new age bracket. That is not what happened. Mr. Diva has never been a fan of training. His idea of training is signing up for a race every couple weeks. We did just that for most of 2005-2007, but in 2008 injury, work and family made it necessary to take time off. The combination of injury and lack of training was pretty much fatal for me, and not much better for him. But there we were in Honolulu with our running shoes, so why not suffer through it?

We got off to a good start, no flu, no fever, no coughing. Instead of walking at a 16-17 minute pace, we were jogging at 13-14 minute pace. We passed the 10K mark with an average pace of 14, it was closer to 15 by the time we reached the halfway point. After that, things just slowly went to pieces. In 2004, the weather remained overcast for much of the morning, and we finished faster than we started. This time it was bright, sunny and warm. The trek back to Waikiki from Hawaii Kai got slower and slower with each mile that passed, even though we felt like we were making the same effort. Our finish time was 7:15, without the lengthy break we took to rest and change socks in 2004. Age and training matter. If you are planning to walk/run a marathon without training, don’t wait until you are 50.

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