Hey Cowtown...what's your beef???

I am starting to believe that Cowtown has a grudge against me. I'm not sure why, I have never done anything to make the city of Ft Worth mad at me...at least, anything that I can think of. Saturday came early, 4:30 to be exact, and Erik and I headed out to Ft Worth. It looked like a beautiful morning, there was a huge moon low on the horizon as we drove towards the wild west. The drive was uneventful and we even ran into our fellow runners, Liza and Vi, as they made their journey to the race. However, I can pinpoint one moment when things started to go wrong...Liza and Vi went straight on the highway and we veered off to another highway. There was a HUGE line of traffic for our exit. "Calm down" I told myself, "it is 6:30, the race is an hour from now....we'll be fine." I shot a text to Liza and found that she and Vi were already parked and ready to go. Daylight came and we were still sitting in this line...when it got closer to 7:00 I insisted that Erik get out of the car and walk. He was running the full marathon and I felt that it was more important for him to be there and mentally right for the race.

I made it off the highway and by some miracle found a parking space...problems solved, right? WRONG! This was the one lot that was charging for parking that day, $3.00 to be exact....and there was a line of about 30 people waiting to pay the one machine there in the lot. I was so tempted to just bail and pay later, but I knew that this would be the ONE time that the car would be towed. So...I got in line with all of the other folks. Current time...7:35. The line was going nowhere and time was ticking and someone finally said that we could just go. While in line I met a girl named Laura, we talked about how this wasn't as big of a deal as we were making it out to be and how we should just settle down. Easier said than done, it felt like a pretty big deal in that moment! Laura and I took off to find the start line, which was a good 5 blocks from the parking lot.

We made it to the start area and found that they had delayed the race start a little bit, which pleased me. I was not pleased to see that I was at the very back, behind the 2 hr 50 min half marathon pace group. I was also stressing out as I was unable to complete my pre-race restroom rituals.

The race finally got going and it felt good to just be running. The beginning was challenging as I had to work my around many walkers and slower runners. I didn't see any mile markers until mile 3, so I had no idea how my pace was setting up. I must have done okay, because my watch read 27:00 on the dot when I saw mile 3-a perfect 9 minute mile. However, I had to make a restroom stop early in the race--which meant lines at the restroom--so I lost 3 minutes off my time. I tried to make the time up, but never really caught up. I wasn't too upset at that point, I was still happy that I made it to the start line!

It was a beautiful day for running and I really enjoyed the sights along the Cowtown course. I have to give a big "shout out" to Diane, who was there watching for her dad. I saw her at mile 6.5 and again around mile 10--it was such a boost to see a familiar face and hear someone cheering for me! Thanks Diane! You rock!

Overall, it was a good race. I could have done without the pre-race stress, but in the end it was okay. I finished in 2:02:26. I was hoping to be closer to a 2:00 hr finish, and if you subtract the 3 minutes for the restroom stop I would be in at 1:59:26. The 1+ miles of uneven brick streets are pretty uncool too...uneven surfaces are so hard on the body. I do think that my quest to chase last year's ghosts away was a success--it was a pain free race and I took about 15 minutes off of my time.

Stay tuned for part 2 of the Cowtown Report...hear about Erik's 2nd marathon, a proposal, and great friends!

Chasing the Ghosts of Cowtown Past

Saturday brings the Cowtown Half Marathon, which will be my 3rd half marathon in 28 days. I ran the Cowtown last year, but it has haunted me ever since. I had started to have some pain in my hip a few weeks before the race and the pain had really increased in the week or so leading up to the Cowtown. The morning for February 28 dawned bitterly cold and with a very strong north wind. It was one of those famous North Texas cold fronts, it was warm the day before--the temperatures were approaching the 60s and then the bottom fell out that night. Erik and I shivered with all of the other runners while we waiting for the start to arrive. It was the coldest race that I had ever run (until the Texas Half this year...brrr!). The start was very inspiring, as many are, watching the large group of runners spread out into the street before me. The pain began before we even made it to the 1st mile marker. I was so discouraged because I knew that there were so many more miles to come. I began to tell myself that merely finishing would be fine today, even if I had to walk it at times. I soon caught up with the 2:20 pace group and made it a goal to stay in front of them. Somehow I made it and ended up finishing in 2:17, which was my 2nd fastest half marathon at that time, only 4 minutes off of my personal record. That was my 3rd half marathon and I was really just pleased to come out ahead of 2:20.

I learned so much about myself that day, I had no idea that I could really dig in and work through something that challenging. Everything was stacked against me that day: the weather, the strong winds, and the pain. Who knew that a half marathon could be that hard? Months later, after much frustration and nashing of teeth, I found out that all that pain was caused by my shoes. When I started running I got fitted for shoes at a running store; however, I was fitted for the wrong shoes. All of the muscles in my hips and legs were having to work hard to correct my gait and stride. Once I got the correct shoes and a massage therapist helped me work out the kinks, I was stronger than ever.

I am looking forward to Cowtown this year. I plan to chase away the ghosts of last year and to really enjoy the journey that the race will bring. Do I smell another personal record? Time will tell...only 2 more days to go....

How Running Got Me a Dog

Running has shown me many great adventures--from snowy Christmas Day runs, to meeting interesting people at different events, to early morning coyote sightings...but I never dreamed that it would bring me a dog.

On the morning of April 28, 2009 I went out for my usual morning run. It was a little bit cool and had been raining during the night, so everything was a little bit damp. I was going 4 miles that morning and passed a man around mile 2. I had seen this man before--an older guy that I called "Safari Man" because he wore a wide brimmed hat and carried a walking stick. I nearly tripped over a small dog as I passed him, which seemed odd. I remember thinking that I had never seen him with a dog before and I carried on with my run. A mile or so later I saw "Safari Man" on the other side of the road and suddenly the little pup darted across the street and began to follow me. This is the main street into our subdivision and the little guy is very lucky that he didn't get hit by a car. I continued running, just ignoring the little dog. Dogs had followed me on runs in the past and typically stop after just a little bit if you ignore him. Not this one!! I could sense that he was still behind me and he followed me all the way to my house.

I cracked our front door to call Erik over to see what had found me. As soon as I did, the dog ran into our house through the crack in the door. He was only wearing a nylon collar, not tags. Soon after he jumped up on the sofa and I shouted "Mr Sir, get off my sofa!" I could hear Erik in the next room saying "Mr Sir...Mr Sir..." It seems that we had found a suitable name.

We worked really hard to find his home and when it came apparent that no one was looking for him, we began to search for a good home for him. Things were difficult around here with our dog Maggie, she is very shy and special and seemed to be retreating more and more. An email to the neighborhood listserv brought a call from a lady who wanted a dog for her mom. Soon enough they came over and picked up Mr Sir and took him home with her. I sobbed as I watched them drive away, but thought that it was the right thing to do. Things settled down around here, Maggie got back to normal, and we went back to our routines.....

Until Erik's phone rang one day in June....things weren't working out with the little lady and Mr Sir. She brought him back the next day and we were back to square one. Still convinced that it just wouldn't work, we contacted a rescue group (A Different Breed) and took Mr Sir out to a couple of their adoption events. Nothing ever worked out there and he was really starting to get the hang of things around our house. It looks like Mr Sir found a home.

It is still hectic at times and I swear that Maggie glares at us sometimes, but I am so glad that he is here with us. He brightens up our day and keeps Maggie young with all the games they play in the yard. It breaks my heart to think that nobody was looking for him. Both of our dogs were rescued and it has become a cause that is near to my heart. Those adoption days at A Different Breed were so hard to handle, just looking at all of those little faces....people had failed them big time and it broke my heart. If you are looking for a good pup, consider adopting from rescue. Those guys really need you!

Daughters of a Great and Singing Nation...

Today was filled with music and sisterhood with the girls of Sigma Alpha Iota. SAI is the international music fraternity for women to which I belong. I pledged SAI as a freshman at Sam Houston State University and I have been an active member ever since, except for a few transition years during and following my internship. Today was Province Day, an annual event where all the chapters in a region (called Province) gather for a day of music, food, education, and fun. I was somewhat frustrated going into this Province Day--a miscommunication about a performance led me to turn down a chance to speak at Music Therapy Awareness Weekend at SHSU. It turned out to be a lovely day and I am glad that I was able to take part.

It is always interesting to look around the room at any SAI event. There are women from all fields of music, of all ages, and from many backgrounds. For example, today I sat among college members as well as 55 year (that's right, 55 YEARS) members. There were some terrific performers, music educators, music librarians, music therapists, an interior designer, and a math teacher just to name a few. SAI was founded in 1903 at the University of Michigan and I wonder what our founders would think if they could see us today! No doubt they had no idea of the diversity of the future fraternity.

Next up in running world--an "easy" 9 mile run around White Rock Lake tomorrow morning. I haven't been on a regular training run around White Rock in about 6 weeks now, that is not counting the 2 races that I ran out there. I am looking forward to not racing tomorrow--it will be nice to just run and enjoy all of the nature and scenery that the lake provides. Cowtown is less than a week away now, I am starting to get fired up!

Double McTwist 1260 and Other Olympic Moments

"The greatness of any athlete is found in how they make the difficult look easy"

This quote was written in the Dallas Morning News by one of my favorite columnists in regards to Shaun White and his amazing gold medal performance. It really stood out to me as I view these Olympic Games. I have always admired athletes and thought that they were amazing, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why I was so entranced by them. This quote might explain it all. I would like to consider myself an athlete, but I am not sure that I make the half marathon look easy...haha.

I already had the topic for this blog in mind when I sat down to watch the long program in men's figure skating. The quote came back to me as I watched Evan skate in his gold medal performance. He, and many of the other skaters, made the difficult look easy. Over and over they talked about how hard he works--saying that he was the hardest worker and most well prepared competitor at these games. I loved how he left it all out there on the ice. There is nothing worse than wondering if you really did your best, if you really gave it all that you had. I knew that despite the outcome of this contest, Evan would know that he skated his best and gave it all that he had--that he simply could not have done it any better. I try to take this same approach with my training and running, at the end of every race I just want to feel happy knowing that I did the best that I could on that day. Good training and hard work pay off and this was evident for both Shaun White and Evan Lysacek and all of the other outstanding atheletes competing at these Olympics. I have enjoyed the first week and cannot wait to see what the second week brings. Go Team USA!!

I Ran Austin: The Austin Half Marathon

What a great day for a run! What a great city in which to run! What a huge hill at mile 11! The Austin Half Marathon completes a total of nine half marathons for me, and it was the hilliest yet. I had heard reports from both camps "Don't worry, the Austin Marathon isn't that hilly" and "Oh Austin, that is a hilly one." I am here to tell you that the 1st group is a bunch of fibbers! Either that or they are from the mountains.

The morning was beautiful, but it was so very early. The race packet suggested that we arrive at 5:30 for a 7:00 start time. Erik and I heeded this advice as we had encountered epic traffic problems getting to the marathon expo the day before. We arrived at 5:25 and found a nearly vacant parking garage. The weather was not cold, but chilly if one is standing around in running gear, waiting for the start. We found a small coffee shop that was open and full of runners. Erik got a cup of coffee so that we wouldn't feel guilty using their space and we shared a table with a couple of other runners. One was a teacher from Richardson who was there for the half as well. We had a great time talking about all the snow and how her students reacted to it on Thursday. The other gentleman at the table looked to be in his 60s and told us that this was his 80th marathon! He had run one in Huntington Beach the week before and hadn't been to his home in Connecticut in 2 weeks. His great advice was to "have fun and don't worry about your finish time--it isn't like you are going to win or anything." He was wearing a Fifty States Marathon Club hat and told us about some of the more interesting races that he ran.

We headed out to the start area around 6:45, I hit the restroom line and Erik decided to take our extra clothing to the car. I was having a great conversation with a man in the line when I realized that I had left my iPod in my jacket pocket. I have not run more that 5 miles without and freaked out for just a moment. Turns out that I didn't need it after all, the crowds and bands on the course were awesome. The man in the restroom line had a great story too. Upon asking about what I did in Dallas, and giving me the typical "does music need therapy? do musicians need therapy" reply, he told me that his daughter had experienced cardiac arrest 10 years ago that day and had been in a vegetative state. She recovered with the help of some great therapists (speech and physical) and has run a half marathon with him and returned to college.

The race started in a steady uphill climb, and once I got warmed up I really felt good. Like I said, the crowds were just great--really thick in some places, and the bands were fun too. I held a steady 9 min/mile pace for the 1st half of the race, including some of the rolling hills that I mentioned before. I felt a little tired around mile 10 and then came mile 11....I rounded the corner and looked up at the biggest hill I had ever seen in my entire life! I swear it went straight up into the sky! It took everything that I had to run up it, refusing to walk even one step! It probably looked alot like I was walking, but in my mind I was running! The last mile might have been the best, we ran onto the Capital grounds and around the building. It was great to see it from that view, I am always amazed at what a beautiful building it is. I really tried to sprint it in at the end to get under 2 hours, but I missed it by 11 seconds....darn that huge hill!!

A huge thanks to the Shehans! It was really cool to know that someone was there to cheer for you. We rarely have that at home, aside from our runner friends who are ahead of us in the race. I didn't actually see them because I was so focused, but I am pretty sure that I heard them. It really made the finish that much sweeter. Way to support your runner friends, Shehans!

A general review of the race: thumbs up! At packet pick-up we received a nice backpack monogrammed with the race logo and upon finishing we received a beautiful medal and a cool finisher's shirt saying "Ran Austin". The race is supposed to be the greenest one and that was evidenced with the numerous recycling and compost bins (no trashcans). The exit from the race was quite crowded and a little overwhelming, I think that they could come up with a better way to distribute the t-shirts. It took me a good 20 minutes to find Erik even though he finished about a minute ahead of me.

As for my performance, I am generally satisfied. I would have loved to finish under 2:00, and blame those 11 seconds on the hill at the end. I have to remind myself that this is the 2nd of what will be 3 half marathons in 28 days. I have never run them this close together before and I would have been thrilled with a 2 hour finish just four months ago.

Next stop Cowtown Half Marathon, February 27!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am far too tired to spend too much time here tonight. The Austin Half Marathon went really well and I will post more thoughts on that tomorrow. I just couldn't let Valentine's Day pass with out sharing a quote that I ran across last night.

"The greatest thing that we can learn is to love and be loved in return."

I heard this in the text of a song performed by a lovely soprano at a dinner party in Austin. This dinner party was really unique and cool, a sit down dinner accompanied by poetry readings and songs performed by the above mentioned soprano. It made me think of what life must have been like before TVs, Wiis, or Facebook. It was a great way to spend an evening. Erik really enjoyed it too, which reminded me of how much I take my experiences with music for granted.

Anyway, back to the quote, I think that it struck me because giving love isn't the hard part, rather graciously receiving the love that someone has given us. I think on some level, we feel unworthy of such a gift,or maybe afraid that we will misuse or abuse that gift in some way. I couldn't help but to think what the world would be like if we could all live what the quote says.

I love how an invite to a dinner party, thrown by a stranger, can bring about such thoughts. And it is all related to running--indirectly--if we weren't in Austin for the race, then we would have not been at this dinner or heard the quote.

I hope that your Valentine's Day was all that you hoped for!

Snow Day Part 2

I am still amazed at the massive amounts of snow we got yesterday! I have heard 12.5 inches, officially. It is so amazingly perfect too--soft wet snow, no sleet or ice, and most importantly--no wind! Read this blog long enough, and you will learn that the wind is my enemy. This was a magical two days and I am not sure that we will ever see it again. Even cooler, yesterday was my Dad's 60th birthday. What a cool birthday! He has had a good run of holidays this time-a white Christmas and a white birthday too.

We are on our second snow day in a row and today I was not screaming about wanting to go to school. I stayed up late, slept in, and took life at an easy pace. This has suddenly turned into a five day weekend as we have Monday off for President's Day. Perfect timing for a break, the students needed it and so did the staff. Just a good chance for everyone to say "Ahh..." and enjoy a little bit of magic.

Today Runner Girl took it a little bit slower...a more appropriate title would be "Strolling Girl." I put on Erik's boots (probably made for fishing), a coat, a warm hat, grabbed my camera, and hit the streets. The neighborhood was stunningly beautiful today. I saw so many families out building snowmen and having snowball fights and I just wandered...meandered really...for almost an hour. It didn't feel cold at all, just calm--and with the quiet that only snow can bring. I love the quiet and peace that snow brings. I was trying to take it all in because I know that this is something I might not see again.

Next on the running schedule: The Austin Half Marathon on Valentine's Day. I am really excited about this one, it is the 1st one that we have traveled for. Before this weekend the farthest that we had gone for a race would be Ft Worth. A big reason that I wanted to get up to the half marathon distance was so that we could travel and really see different cities. Goals for this race....I would like to continue my streak of sub 2 hour finishes (I am at 2 in a row now, almost 3 with one coming in at 2:00:26). I just ran a half 2 weeks ago and I have another coming up in 2 weeks, so it will be interesting to see how I do. Most importantly, I want to have a good time and see Austin from a whole new angle.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Snow Day Part 1

Wow! So here I am with a brand new blog. This is pretty cool! I had been considering starting a blog for a while, just to have another way to document what is going on in my quickly passing life. I also wanted another way to work through all my thoughts and issues with running. This blog will be a great way to organize and share my thoughts. It will also keep me honest with my training.

Today was a pretty special day, in terms of weather. When I awoke at 6:00 the yard was already blanketed in beautiful, white snow. Soon after I awoke I got the word that school had been cancelled for the day. I still don't really understand why as the roads were perfectly clear today, but who am I to question the wisdom of the school administrators. Upon hearing the news, I stook in the kitchen and yelled "but I want to go to schhhoooollll!". (Yep, I was always THAT kid growing up too). I am happy now that there was no school because I was able to sit on my sofa and watch some fat snowflakes fall amd drink coffee. It was pretty amazing. Turns out, it is the most snowfall ever recorded in one day in Dallas--somewhere around 10 inches officially!

I also appreciate this weather because it forced me to take a rest day. I really needed one, I could tell because my bones were starting to feel tired. I am terrible at resting, however, and might not have done it if left to my own devices. I went to a pilates class today, but nothing high impact or intense. I can tell that I already feel more rested. School is cancelled for tomorrow too, so it looks like I will be good and rested for Sunday's half marathon. The only bad thing is that my massage therapy appointment was cancelled due to the weather. Dang, I could have used it today.

So next up--the Austin Half Marathon! It is on Valentine's Day and Erik and I consider it our gift to each other.