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I need to work on my race face…

October 5, 2011 by Kristy 11 Comments

The plus side to a small marathon (or down side, depends on how you look at it) is there are plenty of pictures of just you running the race. From all timepoints. Looking oh so fabulous.

I rarely like race photos. I look miserable (even if I wasn’t during the race) and always appear to be race walking.

Because we can all use a good laugh on this Wednesday, I’m sharing my Lehigh Valley Marathon race photos. Even the horrendous ones. You are welcome.

Smilin’ and overstridin’ during the early miles.

Things are getting tough as I enter yet another towpath…but I manage a half-assed wave.

Still on that towpath and not looking happy.

I’m en route to a BQ here, seconds away from the finish line. Do I look happy? No. I was trying desperately to hold it together (i.e., not cry) so I guess that’s the reason for the pained look.

How about a fist pump though?

This is a typical Kristy crossing the finish line photo – obsessed with stopping the Garmin at the precise time and never looking at the camera.

Now I’m beginning to cry and I’m just overwhelmed with emotion but there were no tears.

This one takes the cake…doesn’t it scream BQer? 😉 No wonder the volunteers rushed over to me!

Got any good race photos to share? And fess up…do you actually buy any of your race photos? I never have…just because they are so awful!

A 2-Week Hiatus

October 4, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

Yesterday marked the end of my 2-week running hiatus. Odd, right? Since my September was supposed to be filled with fun runs.

After the Philly RnR Half, which I foolishly raced the week after my marathon, my right hamstring was tight. My legs were not ready for the final 3 miles at 10K pace but I got greedy. I wanted another PR. I was on a roll, right?

After the RnR Half, I could barely bend down to touch my right knee. Normally I can touch my feet, and, on a good day, I can even do forehead to knee. I knew I pissed off my hamstring big time.

My right hamstring gets tight after speed work, due to overstriding. Once my pace drops to around 7:30, I lead heavily with my right foot, extended it way out in front of me, and heel strike like crazy. A little foam rolling after speed work and I’m usually good to go. But not this time, hence the 2-week break and lots of foam rolling, ice, and rest.

A little TLC went a long way since I was OK at Saturday’s 5K 🙂 Monday’s run was OK too…just some residual tightness but nothing like 2 weeks ago. Yay!

The Philly Half is 6 weeks away and I need to get back to the track. Since the tight hamstring only rears its ugly head at sub-8:00 pace, I’m hesitant to hit the track for speed work too soon.

What do I do when I don’t know what to do? I make a plan…

continue to take it easy this week (no speed work)
go to yoga this week
get a massage (I really need someone to dig deep into my hamstring)
and, the BIG one…work on not overstriding. Keep my feet underneath me (my center of gravity) and take quick, short strides.

This YouTube video illustrates overstriding perfectly (I find this completely fascinating). I don’t think I’m as bad as runner #2…maybe more like runner #4.

Do you overstride? Yes, no, maybe so? I always have but it was never a problem for me until I started running faster. Instead of increasing my leg turnover, I increase my stride length in order to pick up the pace. Not good at all.

Strides For Scholarship 5K

October 3, 2011 by Kristy 13 Comments

10/3/11
6 miles / 52:50 / 8:48 avg pace

On Saturday, I ran the Strides For Scholarship 5K with my 10-year-old niece, Sarah. My sister-in-law, Desiree, also ran the race. This was Sarah’s second 5K. She told me she wanted to beat her previous time of 28:19 (which is pretty impressive). We also wanted to beat any 10-year-olds we saw out on the course. Sarah is pretty competitive 🙂

It was a beautiful and cool morning. This was only the second year for this race and there weren’t that many runners – maybe 50 at the start line? We later overheard someone say they had about 70 runners pre-register. This was by far the smallest 5K I had ever done.

The course was interesting. We ran around a local community college. The school is big but it was odd to dodge between students going to class. Sarah was a trooper. She asked if we could slow down a bit during mile 2. We slowed down for maybe 5 seconds before she announced “OK, I’m good. Let’s go”. We pushed during the last mile to get that PR but fell short by about 10 seconds. Our official time was 28:30. Sarah did amazing and everyone cheered for her.

My sister-in-law ran a great race too and came away with a huge 1-minute PR!

We hung around for the awards ceremony knowing there was a good chance Sarah would get a medal. The look on her face when they called her name for first place female, 12 and under, was priceless! She was shocked. I doubt that medal left her neck all day Saturday.

I was probably more shocked when they called my name for 3rd place female in my age group. Really?! Like I said, small race. I’ll take it though!

The post-race food spread was ridiculous. More like an ultramarathon rather than 5K. Starbucks, muffins, doughnuts, bagels, tomato pie, juice, etc. The race Ts are nice too. I can actually wear it in public.

The overall female finished in 23:22 (exactly my current PR from a hot and steamy Memorial Day race). Hmmm. I have no shame in entering a small 5K just to see if I could have a shot at first overall female. Agree or disagree? In Philly, the competition is tough. There are so many fast runners. The only way for me to place in a 5K or 10K is to seek out the smaller races.

I’m Running The Boston Marathon (it's official)!

September 30, 2011 by Kristy 27 Comments

OK, OK…I know…enough of the Boston talk! But I promise this post won’t be whiny.

It has been a long 2 1/2 weeks since this happened…

Thanks Amanda for the video! Pay no attention to my bad form.

But I finally received my acceptance email from the B.A.A. on Thursday (at 2:11pm, not that I was waiting or anything). What did it take?

6: emails to the B.A.A. from me
4: phone calls to the B.A.A.
1: fax to the B.A.A.
1: email from the LVM race director* to the B.A.A.
1: email from the LVM race timer to the B.A.A.
*this email came from Gerry Yasso (yes, Bart’s brother). Bart designed the LVM course. I love Bart Yasso and now his brother is pretty awesome as well.

I cannot believe it’s finally official!

AND, I cannot believe how lucky I am.

After the NJ Marathon (May 2011), I knew I could BQ. I was lucky enough to get another shot at BQing and found a marathon within driving distance the day before Boston 2012 registration opened. Talk about down to the wire.
There was hurricane Irene, then more flooding, and 90% humidity leading up to the race. I was lucky enough to get a cool and overcast day with little to no mud.
Then the unthinkable happened, Boston registration was still open on September 19th and I was lucky enough to register.

Little did I know that I was about to get even luckier…

One second slower (say I had a violent sneeze during Mile 24) and I would not be running the Boston Marathon.

This is a dream come true! There are no words to express how happy I am right now!

Boston will be my 10th marathon. What a way to ring in the double digits!

PS – My running twin, Cindi, is going to kick ass at the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday. Stop by and wish her the race of a lifetime!

Boston Update: Thursday Edition

September 29, 2011 by Kristy 13 Comments

If you want to hit “mark all as read” in your Google Reader because you are sick of hearing about Boston, I don’t blame you. I’m pretty damn sick of it myself.

The update is that I still don’t know. I make daily calls to the B.A.A. (I swear there is an audible groan when they hear my voice). I send emails and faxes. Has it helped speed up the process? Nope.

Yesterday I was told there were 300 runners in my situation (most of them ran international races) and they hope to get through them yesterday and today and let us know on Friday. I was told they are not giving away my spot; just checking that my finish time was not falsified. They have 2 emails (which I also faxed to them) from the LVM stating that my finish time is 3:43:46. What the hell more do you need?

Maybe I’ll hear today? I’m not holding my breath. Take your damn time, B.A.A.

In the meantime, I’m trying to focus on other things. Like the fact that I’m running a 5K this weekend with my niece, Sarah (her second 5K!).

A Quick Update On Boston…

September 27, 2011 by Kristy 21 Comments

The update is that I still don’t know and may not know if I’m officially in for some time (officially is the key word here). Most runners found out yesterday if they were accepted or not. I have yet to receive an email. All I know is the cut-off time for my age and gender is 3:43:46 which is exactly my finish time at the Lehigh Valley Marathon.

See the time for the 35-39 age group? Through and including 3:43:46? So technically, I’m in (by the skin of my teeth)! How incredibly lucky is that?

There appears to be an issue verifying my finish time. I have spoken and emailed the B.A.A. twice today. They cannot use the posted times on the LVM website for verification (I asked). The LVM does not give out finishers’ certificates (which the B.A.A. would accept for verification). I also emailed the race director of the LVM to see if he/she can help in anyway.

The second time I spoke with the B.A.A. she said it may take up to 4 weeks to verify my time. I burst into tears (thankfully, I’m working from home). It has been a stressful 2 days and that was the last thing I wanted to hear.

I know my finish time meets the requirements but I cannot celebrate and be happy about it until I receive an acceptance email from the B.A.A.

I feel like I am doing everything in my power to help out and move things along. I guess I just have to wait some more 🙁