Sooooooooooooooooo, turns out those bathroom trips weren't nerves. That's right--I'm sick. Chills right now, possible fever, but it was an all right race, believe it or not. No PR, I must warn, but not far off my last time for an 8k. And BELIEVE ME--this wasn't a pretty race. I almost quit (seriously) after Mile 2. I felt HORRIBLE.
When Phillip and I arrived at the race, I knew I was going to be off on my times--not normal anyway. I felt weird. I thought I would make the best of it, though, since I went ahead and made it out there. No sense in not starting what you set out to do.
The course was sooooo great, and beautiful! I've never run at this particular park before, but I will again, that's for sure. It will be excellent for running in the warmer months. And it looks like I might be running outside a whole lot more--but more about that later.
The course was completely flat. It started out on roads, but at about 1/2 mile went onto pavement (bike trail). The paths were snow covered in some spots, really throughout the entire race, so that slowed people down quite a bit. I don't think that would have been a factor for me, though, had I been 100%. At a mile and a half there is a turnaround, and we went back from whence we came, back over the bike path, back to the road. From there, we went 2 miles on another out and back, which was completely on the road. The road led us into the finish.
I knew I was doing good the first minute or two, and after probably the first mile, I realized I was right on track for my time--but then I started to feel HORRIBLE. I looked at my garmin and I had run a 5:57 first mile, but the way I felt after that, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it up. I was absolutely right.
After I saw the Mile 2 marker, I seriously thought about quitting. Seriously. I was breathing heavy, my times were dragging, and I knew I was going to NOT PR. My second mile was 6:14. But I decided to keep going because, when I started out, I was running with 10 guys, all of who were still near me. NO GIRLS. I thought, no matter what, I had to finish, if not just to get OA Woman.
I kept going, but it got progressively worse. The feeling I had was really wearing on me. Phillip said he could tell big time when I passed by him on the way back through. I ran through Mile 3, and I realized I had just been staring at the ground, just making sure that I wasn't going to fall, or worse. I felt so awful. My third mile was 6:20.
The fourth mile was so bad, I don't even really remember anything after that. Just trying to get back and finish. Fourth mile was 6:41.
Fifth mile I saw the president of Team Nebraska. He was standing at about the 4.50 mile area, where Phillip was also standing. Phillip told me after the race that when I ran by the guy said something about me. Who knows what. I ran into the finish line and I was just thinking, "Get this tag off of me!" so I could get water and sit down. Fifth mile I must have really been dying to get there because my time was 6:28.
SO, overall, not a bad race, considering. I mean, I don't really remember it, but it was good, I guess. I ended up being 11th Overall, and 1st OA woman. I was also 1st out of 30 in my age group, which was actually a weird age group—19 to 39. My time overall was 31:56, only 55 seconds off my PR of 31:01.
So, for the record—
11/161 OA
1/30 AG
1/25 OA Woman
We headed into the pavilion where the food and awards were located. Phillip got me some water, and I just sat at one of the tables feeling like I would pass out at any minute.
After about 10 or 15 minutes, I see two people walking my way, a girl and a guy. They were from Team Nebraska, and one of them was the President. Found out a few minutes later that the girl was the Vice President. Anyway, he congratulated me on my performance, and said that he knew who I was and that I had won the Omaha Marathon. He said he remembered that I had written him right after I won the marathon and that I had asked him if I could be a part of the team. He asked if I was still interested.
UHHHHH.
He said that he had been really busy over the last few months of the year because he is the President of the USATF Nationals Committee, or something of that sort. He was in Ohio, Hawaii, and was planning the Olympic Trials in New York in November 2007. He's in charge of planning all the US National Competitions around the country. That's why he hasn't gotten back to me. I don't know how much truth there is in that reason why he didn't get back to me, but whatever. He told me the benefits of being on the team--40% off Brooks products because they sponsor the team, free Clif products, teamwear (red shorts and red singlet with Team Nebraska on them), free entry into any races I want to run in, along with other things.
He then asked what my goal was for myself at this point. I said that I really like marathons, and that they are what I would like to focus on. He said good, that he had looked at my performances over the last year, and that's what he had in mind for me. He also said that there are two women on the team now that are going to the Olympic Trials this spring, but that after that they are both going down to shorter distances, so I would be the sole female marathoner after April. He really wants me to be on the team I guess, because he talked to me for about 30 minutes.
He asked me about my training for Boston and who wrote the plan, and I said me. He just gave me this look of surprise. At another point, he asked who was coaching me, and I said no one. He just looked at the Vice President with a look of excitement (per Phillip, I don't remember much of this). Later I was talking about what races I wanted to run this year, and I told him I wanted to run New York. He said that I should run the Twin Cities marathon with the team because it's one of their national competitions, and that he already has a goal time in mind for me. He said not to worry about running New York this year because being a part of the team automatically grants me entrance into most USATF events.
We talked about it and he asked me what my goal is in the long run. I said to go to the Olympics, that has always been my goal. He said great! That's what I wanted to hear. (Phillip noticed on their website that if the runner and the President come to an agreement on a goal, that it is more likely that the runner will be able to become a part of the team).
So, long story short, (ha), he told me to shoot him another email with my running log attached, and that he'll send me my discount codes for Brooks gear, and a bio sheet to fill out for the website. I am probably going to have to run outside a lot more, which sucks, and I have to listen to his coaching, which also sucks because it limits me in my mileage. No more running bizarre mileage whenever I feel like it. But I think I could be better. So I think I'm going to do it.
What do you all think I should do?
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Jitters.
I woke up at 9:00 am, after having slept a restless night of dreaming of racing...ughh. I do that all the time. Then, as I was lying there talking to Phillip about how nervous I am, I realized I really needed to make a trip to the bathroom because the kids were definitely ready to go...and here it is, 9:49 am, and I have been in there 6, yes 6, times.
Nervous-much?
I still feel like I could go in there again. Stupid kids.
Anyway, I hope this feeling is gone by 12:45. That's the time of the race. Otherwise, I may have a full load by the time I get to the finish line...
Sorry.
Nervous-much?
I still feel like I could go in there again. Stupid kids.
Anyway, I hope this feeling is gone by 12:45. That's the time of the race. Otherwise, I may have a full load by the time I get to the finish line...
Sorry.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Brain Dump
Ok, so, quite a few things going on over here in my world. I'm going to put them all out here, mostly to get them off my mind and actually see the events organized in some fashion.
First of all, I want to make the comment that my training has reached a whole new level of quality. I can't even begin to tell everyone on here how much my running ability has improved. I honestly can't make you understand if you don't know how running works--it's nothing against anyone, just that usually people don't understand because they simply don't care. However, in the event that a select few do care, 'll just tell you a couple of things, a few statistics to put things in perspective.
As of December 31st, 2007, I:
--Ran a total of 2643.9 miles,
--Ran 16 races, including nine 5k's (3.1 miles), three 10k's (6.2 miles), two 5 mile races, a marathon, and a 10 mile race.
--I won the marathon.
--I won five of the 5k's, got second overall in two, and the other two were just not worth mentioning.
--I won the 10 mile race.
--I was second overall woman in one of the 5 mile races, finishing only 1 minute after the winner, who is also training for the Olympics for her third time. The other 5 mile race I finished 5th overall woman.
--I won two of the 10k's. I got second overall woman in the other 10k.
--I finished in the top 10 of 10 of these races, including winning one race completely.
Now, I know that is a lot to retain, but I promise, all of that information is important for what is to come. As some of you may know, I have qualified to run in the Boston Marathon in April, as well as the New York Marathon in November. I plan to do both, but I have already registered for the Boston Marathon. Because I had already decided to run in the Boston Marathon, I began looking for training programs way back in November to (sort of) follow. i found one, and this is what it is called, just to give you an idea of how serious I am about this:
Competitive Marathon Program
A training schedule for competitive runners who want to improve performance in the marathon
race distance.
It is 20 weeks long; therefore, I started it on December 3, 2007, in order to run it through all the way up to the Boston Marathon, April 21, 2008.
As of today, I have made plans to do several things over the next few months. Here they are, in order:
1. Chiller Challenge 8k in Omaha - January 27, 2008 (this is equal to 4.97 miles)
2. Deep Freeze 5k in Omaha - February 11, 2008, which Phillip will be doing also.
3. Shamrock Shuffle 8k (the world's largest 8k, 30,000 people) in Chicago - March 30, 2008, which Phillip will be doing also.
4. Boston Marathon (26.2 miles) in Boston - April 21, 2008
So, I need to say a few things about events 3 and 4.
First of all, the Shamrock Shuffle is, like I stated above, the world's largest 8k. So there will be people from all over the world at this event--30,000 people in Chicago for this race, and we'll be there. Because there are so many people participating, they have to start the race in waves and corrals. There are two waves, the first wave containing 5 corrals: Top 100 (elite runners), A, B, C, and D. Not only that, though, but to be placed in one of these corrals, you must have a qualifying time from 2007, based on your time for a race you ran. Wave Two is for people who do not have a qualifying time, they're just racing.
In order to compete in the Top 100, with the elites (Kenyans, Nairobis, etc.)--
well, I'll just show you what it says on the website:
WAVE 1 (approx. 10,000 participants)
Top 100: Qualify by 2006-2007 performance in Shamrock Shuffle or 2007-2008 5K - Half Marathon results or previous start corral qualifier*. Submit time by fax to 312-904-9808. Male: <5:15 per mile; Female: < 6:15 per mile.
Corral A: Qualify by 2007 performance in Shamrock Shuffle, Distance Classic, Chicago Marathon or previous start corral qualifier*. Male: <7:00 per mile; Female: <7:30 per mile.
Corral B: Qualify by 2007 performance in Shamrock Shuffle, Distance Classic, Chicago Marathon or previous start corral qualifier*. Male and Female: <8:30 per mile.
Corral C: Qualify by 2006-2007 performance in Shamrock Shuffle, Distance Classic, Chicago Marathon or previous start corral qualifier*. Male and Female: <9:30 per mile.
Corral D: Any past participant in 2005-2007 Chicago Marathon.
WAVE 2 (approx. 15,000 participants)
Open: Past and new participants, average pace 11:00 per mile.
As of today, guess where I'm going to be starting? YOU KNOW IT! Right up there in the Top 100!!! This a HUGE opportunity for me. If I do well at this race, who knows what might happen...
Okay, on to the Boston Marathon. As of today, we have purchased flights to Boston for Saturday, April 19, through Tuesday, April 22. The marathon is actually on Monday, April 21, but we arrive Saturday for sightseeing, and Sunday we plan to watch the Women's Olympic Trials in the morning. That afternoon we'll pick up my race packet, and then I'll get a good night's sleep (doubtful). Then Monday morning at 10:00 am I'll be pounding the pavement with 24,999 other people.
Whew. What a start to the year.
First of all, I want to make the comment that my training has reached a whole new level of quality. I can't even begin to tell everyone on here how much my running ability has improved. I honestly can't make you understand if you don't know how running works--it's nothing against anyone, just that usually people don't understand because they simply don't care. However, in the event that a select few do care, 'll just tell you a couple of things, a few statistics to put things in perspective.
As of December 31st, 2007, I:
--Ran a total of 2643.9 miles,
--Ran 16 races, including nine 5k's (3.1 miles), three 10k's (6.2 miles), two 5 mile races, a marathon, and a 10 mile race.
--I won the marathon.
--I won five of the 5k's, got second overall in two, and the other two were just not worth mentioning.
--I won the 10 mile race.
--I was second overall woman in one of the 5 mile races, finishing only 1 minute after the winner, who is also training for the Olympics for her third time. The other 5 mile race I finished 5th overall woman.
--I won two of the 10k's. I got second overall woman in the other 10k.
--I finished in the top 10 of 10 of these races, including winning one race completely.
Now, I know that is a lot to retain, but I promise, all of that information is important for what is to come. As some of you may know, I have qualified to run in the Boston Marathon in April, as well as the New York Marathon in November. I plan to do both, but I have already registered for the Boston Marathon. Because I had already decided to run in the Boston Marathon, I began looking for training programs way back in November to (sort of) follow. i found one, and this is what it is called, just to give you an idea of how serious I am about this:
Competitive Marathon Program
A training schedule for competitive runners who want to improve performance in the marathon
race distance.
It is 20 weeks long; therefore, I started it on December 3, 2007, in order to run it through all the way up to the Boston Marathon, April 21, 2008.
As of today, I have made plans to do several things over the next few months. Here they are, in order:
1. Chiller Challenge 8k in Omaha - January 27, 2008 (this is equal to 4.97 miles)
2. Deep Freeze 5k in Omaha - February 11, 2008, which Phillip will be doing also.
3. Shamrock Shuffle 8k (the world's largest 8k, 30,000 people) in Chicago - March 30, 2008, which Phillip will be doing also.
4. Boston Marathon (26.2 miles) in Boston - April 21, 2008
So, I need to say a few things about events 3 and 4.
First of all, the Shamrock Shuffle is, like I stated above, the world's largest 8k. So there will be people from all over the world at this event--30,000 people in Chicago for this race, and we'll be there. Because there are so many people participating, they have to start the race in waves and corrals. There are two waves, the first wave containing 5 corrals: Top 100 (elite runners), A, B, C, and D. Not only that, though, but to be placed in one of these corrals, you must have a qualifying time from 2007, based on your time for a race you ran. Wave Two is for people who do not have a qualifying time, they're just racing.
In order to compete in the Top 100, with the elites (Kenyans, Nairobis, etc.)--
well, I'll just show you what it says on the website:
WAVE 1 (approx. 10,000 participants)
Top 100: Qualify by 2006-2007 performance in Shamrock Shuffle or 2007-2008 5K - Half Marathon results or previous start corral qualifier*. Submit time by fax to 312-904-9808. Male: <5:15 per mile; Female: < 6:15 per mile.
Corral A: Qualify by 2007 performance in Shamrock Shuffle, Distance Classic, Chicago Marathon or previous start corral qualifier*. Male: <7:00 per mile; Female: <7:30 per mile.
Corral B: Qualify by 2007 performance in Shamrock Shuffle, Distance Classic, Chicago Marathon or previous start corral qualifier*. Male and Female: <8:30 per mile.
Corral C: Qualify by 2006-2007 performance in Shamrock Shuffle, Distance Classic, Chicago Marathon or previous start corral qualifier*. Male and Female: <9:30 per mile.
Corral D: Any past participant in 2005-2007 Chicago Marathon.
WAVE 2 (approx. 15,000 participants)
Open: Past and new participants, average pace 11:00 per mile.
As of today, guess where I'm going to be starting? YOU KNOW IT! Right up there in the Top 100!!! This a HUGE opportunity for me. If I do well at this race, who knows what might happen...
Okay, on to the Boston Marathon. As of today, we have purchased flights to Boston for Saturday, April 19, through Tuesday, April 22. The marathon is actually on Monday, April 21, but we arrive Saturday for sightseeing, and Sunday we plan to watch the Women's Olympic Trials in the morning. That afternoon we'll pick up my race packet, and then I'll get a good night's sleep (doubtful). Then Monday morning at 10:00 am I'll be pounding the pavement with 24,999 other people.
Whew. What a start to the year.
Monday, January 07, 2008
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