Posts Tagged ‘rain’
Distance: 5.01k
Time: 32:32
Saturday was a good run. It was sunny and warm, and I felt good. It was pretty unremarkable, except for passing a grad dinner/dance that was at the Ocean Pointe. Interesting to see teens in formal wear, especially in my running gear. And my Oak Bay 1/2 marathon shirt is just a wee bit too short, so everyone out on the Walkway got to see my white belly. Oh well.
Sunday, I got to volunteer at the first ever Historic Half Marathon at Fort Rodd Hill park. My friend, Erika, was volunteering and asked for help via Facebook. It’s too close to the marathon for me to race, so I thought it would be fun to help out. She and her boyfriend picked me up at 6:40 am (on a Sunday!) and we drove to Fort Rodd Hill, although we took an inadvertent detour to Royal Roads University (oops!). We arrived just after 7 am, and reported to the volunteer organizer. We were asked to marshal at the bridge, at the 10k point of the loop.
Those that were doing the full would do the loop twice, and those doing the “1/2 of the 1/2″ were doing just one loop. We headed to the bridge, but realized it was only 7:30, so we decided to head back near the start of the race to see the racers. The race started late because that morning there had been a pretty major fire at Colwood Corners. Part of the course included a section of the Galloping Goose trail right behind the mall, so the organizers had to improvise a detour along Sooke Lake Road. What a headache to have to deal with in the first year!
We hung out in the parking lot to wait for the runners, and since we were there, we were asked to help direct them along the side of the lot, and to remind them that they were to follow the same path back to the finish. The hill between the start and the parking lot wasn’t too steep, but it was long, and from what I heard was a good indicator of how the course would be overall. It was fun to cheer on the runners and wish them luck as they were starting. Almost all of them were smiling and looked so fresh!
After the last of the racers left, we headed back to the bridge, just past the parking lot, and down a hill that I was happy I didn’t have to run up (twice). Then we waited, chatting together until we saw the runners approach and then we spread out along the bridge. It was cloudy and it drizzled before the race began, but then the rain held for a while. We only had to wait about half an hour for the first runner. He was killing it! He easily had the lead; in fact, the first three runners were a good space away from each other, and the third runner was far ahead of the rest of the pack.
I’m pretty sure that we weren’t there to direct the runners, since there is really no other route than over the bridge. Rather, I think we were there in case one of the participants went sour, since the next water station was at the top of the hill. I never go anywhere without my cell phone and I had a signal; fortunately, I didn’t need to use it. In any case, our job was really to cheer the participants on, which we did. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just said, “good job!” Some runners said thanks for volunteering, some nodded, and some were super-focused. A couple of the runners even cracked a joke with us. I noticed that most of the participants were doing the 1/2, since they were wearing green bibs. Only a few were wearing the red bibs from the 1/2 of the 1/2. I looked for a couple of my Twitter friends, @briwifruit and @sea__breeze, but then realized I don’t really know what they look like.
Since there were only about 100 runners and walkers, there was never a large group coming by at once. Most runners were on their own, although there were a couple groups of 2 and 3. They were spaced out pretty well, too. After the first guy passed at around the 30 minute mark, we waited until around the 75 minute mark for the last runner, and the 90 minute mark for the last walkers. When it looked like most of the runners had passed, Erika, her boyfriend and I chatted some more. We commented on how I would hate to run a race like this and be lapped. Not long after, the first couple of runners on their second lap passed some of the run/walkers still on their first lap. In fact, I accidentally said to one participant, “you’re almost done” when, in fact, she was still on her first lap. Ooops!
Sometime during a lull, I remembered that my iPhone played music. I put on my running playlist, and turned the volume up. It helped the time pass more quickly, and it helped bring the energy up. I started dancing around and cheering and clapping on the runners. I hope I didn’t annoy them with my music, but I guess if I did, they didn’t have to listen to it for long. Not long after I started the music, it started to rain in earnest. It was good for the runners, because the fastest of them escaped it altogether, and all but the walkers only had to do the last bit in the rain. We had to wait until the last couple of walkers got to our station before we could head back to the finish line, though, and we were pretty damp by then. At least I wore my hat and running jacket so I wasn’t soaked.
We followed the last two walkers up the hill to the parking lot, and then met up with the volunteers at the water station and headed to the finish line. We were hoping for some coffee, but the food had already been packed up. We did get a finishing medal as a thank-you for helping out. I didn’t run, but I sure did earn it! We turned in our stylish reflective vests and went out for brunch.
Although I got a bit wet, I am glad I volunteered for this race. I got to experience the race “from the other side” and it gave me a whole new appreciation of those that volunteered so I could run. I felt like I got to give back a bit, and I got to hang out with one of my oldest friends. I would totally do it again, and I think all runners should volunteer at a race, at least once.
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Posted in Running Marathon | 
Tags: hills, iPhone, racing, rain, runners, Running, volunteering | 
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Distance: 4.90k
Time: 32:43
Even though this run was one of my slower ones, I’m happy with it. I woke up with a sore and stiff middle back. I haven’t had any back pain for years, and certainly none once I started running. I must have slept funny, or maybe not long enough. I tried a Tylenol, which did absolutely nothing. Then I tried an Advil, which helped but not as much as I thought it would. Only a fellow runner would understand why the next thing I tried was to go for a run. And it worked. The stiffness is gone and the pain is much less. It wasn’t as fast as it could have been, it was easy. And I still managed to outrun the big black cloud coming in.
So, I did not do 30k today. A fellow runner and marathoner sent me a message, “strongly recommending” that I not do such a long run the week before the marathon. She reminded me that, unlike a final exam, you cannot cram for a marathon. You either have done the training or you haven’t. I rather suspect that I’m am closer on the “not” end of the spectrum, just because my longest run so far has been 22k, just over half the distance I’m going to be travelling in a week and a half. But, as she pointed out, I stand a better chance of finishing the marathon if I haven’t pushed too hard beforehand, which would be an ideal condition in which to injure myself. After all, I keep having to remind myself, my goal is to finish the marathon, not to run a set time (although we need to do it in less than 6 hours). So, to TK, thanks for being the voice of sanity.
Incidentally, I just heard the latest podcast from the Gomers last night, and they also talk about the temptation to cram before the marathon, and how that parallels what kind of student you were. I think I touched on this with the last post, but I was kind of a crammer. I thrived on the stress of procrastination and doing it all at the last minute. Of course, part of it was that I was usually so busy that the time I had for preparing ahead of time was limited. Interestingly, that hasn’t changed as much as I thought. Due to work, kids, and other “stuff” I have missed a couple of longer runs, so I fell behind. I also had trouble some weeks with just getting the shorter runs in.
But I can’t discount how far I’ve come since I started this training. Not too long ago, it took me closer to 40 minutes to finish 5k, and now it takes about 32. That’s an eight minute difference in less than 6 months. Also, I remember in December, when 8k felt like a long run, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to run the whole thing. Now, I’ve run almost 3 times as much! That’s quite an accomplishment!
Now I’ve reached the end of the training and although I don’t feel quite as prepared as I would like, I’m confident that I will still finish this marathon. I may have to walk a lot of it, maybe even half of it. I will probably take longer than 5 hours, although I’m still really hoping to finish in less than 6. But I will finish it. I will have my sister with me, so we can help each other and commiserate. I will have my training, even if it’s not ideal. And I’ll have my stubbornness . If nothing else, I’ve learned to never underestimate the power of sheer willpower.
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Posted in Running Marathon |
Tags: marathon, rain, runners, Running, Two Gomers, windy |
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Distance: 5.06k
Time: 32:42
Although this was my first run after the half marathon only two days ago, I was still kind of hoping to crack the 42 minute mark. Didn’t happen. The first kilometer took nearly 7 minutes (why couldn’t I do that at the half?), and I just couldn’t make up the time. Surprisingly, I wasn’ t very sore; just a small twinge from my right knee that didn’t last. My quads were sore yesterday, but only when my kids bounced on them (ouch!). They were fine today.
It was cloudy and rainy all morning and it drizzled during my run, although the heavier rain held off until after. Then, just my luck, about half an hour later, the sun came out. It was deceptively warm, and I really could have worn a short-sleeved shirt instead of the long-sleeve one I wore.
I tried some new music today, and I think it’ll really help keep me motivated for my faster runs. It’s an album of pop music hits from the 80s and 90s, remixed into dance music. It’s unbelievably cheesy, but kind of fun to hear familiar songs and the beat is perfect to keep me moving. The album has 100 songs, none of which by the original artists, but I don’t mind. And it will take a while to hear the same song twice, which should keep me from getting tired. I hope it’ll also keep my other playlist fresh, since I’ll only use that one for races. I don’t think I need a constant, pulsing beat for every song during the marathon, because I’ll probably end up pushing too hard.
I have asked this before, but do any readers have any must-have songs they use for running? Any embarrassing songs on your playlist?
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Distance: 9.76k
Time: 1:08:34
I really should have not gone out on Tuesday afternoon, and I never say that. It was to be my last long run before the half marathon, and I was going for about 25k. When I left, it was sunny, so I only wore a long-sleeve tee-shirt and shorts. The weather app on my iPhone said it was going to rain, but I was anticipating light rain at worst. As I drove to Elk Lake, I noticed a really dark cloud coming towards me. I considered stopping, but the cloud looked like it was moving quickly, and I thought about how hard it is to fit in these long runs, so I decided to at least give it a try. Besides, I won’t be able to control the weather on the marathon…
It waited until I was out of the car before it started raining, and it quickly turned into hail. I had already started running, but I stopped after only a couple of minutes and turned back to the car. I was really disappointed because I had planned for a long run, and I didn’t know when I would get another chance. Then, it stopped hailing and changed to drizzle. I figured that, as it usually does, that it was only going to hail for a few minutes, and then it would rain. I can run in the rain, even though I wasn’t really dressed for it. I decided since I was already there, and already wet, to stick it out for one lap (10k) and then I could stop if it was still raining. Plus, all the trees would provide some cover, right?
Turns out that cloud I saw should really have been a sign, because it basically hailed on me for more than half of the run. The first 2k was when I got the most wet, because there was very little tree cover, and the hail kept starting up again, just when I thought (hoped) that it was done. At the 4k mark, my frustration got the better of me.I was soaked through, it wouldn’t stop hailing, and I couldn’t even feel my legs they were so chilled. I started to cry. And then I started to sob out of sheer frustration. Messy, had-to-stop-running-because-I-couldn’t-breathe sobs. Once I started to think coherently again, I realized my choices were to turn around and go back the 4k to my car, or keep going the other 6k. I think I kept moving forward because I was too tired to turn around.
After my meltdown, I started to get pissed off. At the weather, at the puddles I couldn’t avoid, so my socks were soaked, at the day for being so crappy. It’s what kept me going through the other half of the run. At the 6k mark, I looked up to see some blue sky and that the worst of the cloud had passed, but it didn’t stop raining until the 9k mark. The tree cover did help during the 8th kilometer, but I was already soaked by then, so it didn’t matter. I finally finished my run and got back to my car. My time was the slowest it had been in a while for 10k, but I didn’t even care. I was so upset, and the worst part is that I still needed to get in my long run before the half marathon.
And just to rub salt in the proverbial wound, as soon as I got out of Elk Lake Park, the sun came out again. I had to put on my sunglasses, for crying out loud. It was surreal, like the rain and hail had been a nightmare that only I had to endure. Now that I have had a couple of days, I know that that run was a survival trial. Even though I didn’t get in my distance, even though I sobbed like a baby, I still did it. If I can do that run, I feel like I can do anything. The weather on the marathon can’t be that bad, can it?
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Posted in Running Marathon |
Tags: grumpy, hail, long run, marathon, rain, runners, Running |
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Distance: 4.87k
Time: 32:49
So today’s run was nothing special. Just a drizzly run to get in an extra run before the TC 10k on Sunday. I started off pretty slow, with the first kilometer done in 7:30, but then I picked up the pace to finish about 30 seconds slower than my fastest time. In fact, I felt like this might be one of those not-so-great runs because I heard my first split through RunKeeper and was discouraged. I thought that if I was really slow, it might not put me in a good frame of mind for the race. But I managed to get a good time in the end, which was encouraging.
I’m trying to decide whether to bring headphones to the race or not. I always run with music, so I’m worried that I will not like running without them, and the run will seem longer. However, there is going to be a lot of people there, so staying alert would be a good idea. Plus, it would be cool to hear from the crowds, especially at the finish line. So maybe I will bring them, but keep the volume low, and turn the music off at the end.
My next post will be a race report for the TC 10k. I’ll try to get it out on Sunday evening, but it depends on how tired I am. Because I’m “only” running 10k, I’m gonna try to go fast (for me) and make 1 hr my goal finishing time. It’s ambitious, since I haven’t even gone under 30 minutes for a 5 k, but who knows? Good luck to all the other racers, and I’ll see y’all on the other side!
Posted in Running Marathon |
Tags: Crowded, earphones, racing, rain, RunKeeper, runners, Running, Times Colonist 10k |
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