father-daughter time

As I mentioned in my previous post, my dad flew out to go to the marathon with me. Then we did some other fun stuff, too.

After the race we went back to the hotel so I could shower and take a nap. My legs were sure ready to be horizontal. Finally I was able to venture out again in time for dinner. A couple weeks before the marathon the nice race folks had a live Q & A session online, and I asked where I should eat dinner. They said The River and Rail because it was close to our hotel, so that's where we went. And it was so good. It was a somewhat upscale place that mixes Southern and French dishes. We started with a goat cheese appetizer, had celery root soup with a fried oyster, I ate chicken and Dad ate pork, and then we ended with an amazing banana pudding dessert. It was the perfect marathon-celebration meal.

Banana pudding with cornbread crispies, topped with jalapeno coconut ice cream. YUM.

Sunday I slept in a little, then we checked out of the hotel and went downtown to find some lunch. After that we drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway the same way I'd run the day before. That way Dad could fully appreciate how far and high I went.

Top of Roanoke Mountain!

That's Roanoke down there.

Then we drove to the top of Mill Mountain to check out the Star. (And also so Dad could see the other mountain I'd run up the day before.)

Dad and the Star.

And on top of the mountain, not too far from the Star, there happens to be a little zoo. So we went there, too. My favorites were the wolverine and the red pandas.

A red panda! So cute!

After we left the zoo we headed back toward Charlottesville. We took the scenic route though, and stopped at the Peaks of Otter Winery. Not gonna lie, it wasn't my favorite. But they let us taste over twenty wines (yikes) and the tasting came with a little stemless wine glass that doesn't tip over. When we finally got home we relaxed in front of the tv and ate popcorn.

Monday I went to work while Dad walked all over the place. (I offered him use of my car, don't worry, but the guy likes to walk.) After work we went out for Chinese and Sushi. Then we ended the night with a beer at the C&O, where we happened upon a couple of nerdy DJs playing old synthesizer music on a turntable. It was a fun time.

Tuesday I took off of work, and we went for a hike! (Yes, a hike, three days after "America's Toughest Road Marathon"! Maybe if the hike was possible it means I should have run faster?) We drove about an hour out of town and hiked 1.7 miles up along Crabtree Falls. Here are lots of pictures:

After the hike it was time to eat. (Of course.) So we went to the Wild Wolf Brewing Co. It was just barely warm enough for us to sit outside, so that's what we did. It was nice. Later that night we saw the movie 42, about Jackie Robinson.

Dad says thumbs up for beer! (He would probably also like it clarified that he had the single 8oz. glass while I had the six tastings.)

Wednesday I went back to work and Dad walked around some more. Only this time he used my car to drive part-way. Then he was supposed to fly away, so I left work early to get him to the airport. Except that was back when sequestration was wreaking havoc on flights, so he ended up not leaving. Instead, we went to eat again! This time for pizza, followed by a walk around UVA. He was finally able to get out early Thursday morning.

Thanks, Dad, for coming to visit! I had fun.

my first marathon!

I did it! I ran 26.2 miles in the Blue Ridge Marathon, "America's Toughest Road Marathon." It was pretty great.

My dad flew out to go to the marathon with me, and Friday we drove to Roanoke. After checking into our hotel we headed downtown to the packet pickup, where we got to see three famous runners. I have to be honest, I didn't know anything about them except I remember seeing Bill Rodgers in the documentary Run for Your Life. It was still cool to see them though. (They ran the race Saturday on a relay team, and I'm pretty sure Bart Yasso said some encouraging words to me on my way up the first mountain, but I could have been mistaken.)

Three running greats: Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, and Bart Yasso.

After checking out the little expo, we killed some time at a coffee shop and then went to an Italian restaurant downtown for dinner so I could eat lots of carbs. Back in the hotel, we watched the breaking news about the Boston Marathon bombing. The race had "Running for Boston" stickers and blue bracelets for us runners, so I put the sticker on my bib and wore the bracelet during the race.

My bib, with a "Running for Boston" sticker.

Saturday morning I woke up at 5:15 to get ready. I ate my banana and half a bagel with cream cheese and drank a cup of coffee in the hotel room. About an hour later I was ready to go, and we headed out! Dad dropped me off a couple blocks from the starting line downtown, and then he headed off to park and get himself to the one mile mark to watch me go by.

Since this race came so closely after the Boston tragedy, there was a very noticeable police presence along the entire course. Everyone seemed to appreciate the extra security measures and I heard tons of runners thanking the police as we ran.

Waiting at the start!

The temperature was in the high 30s at the start of the race, so after taking off my sweats and handing them over at the bag check I had several chilly minutes to wait to start. But the cooler temps were perfect once I started running! I think it only got into the mid-40s.

I'm ready for this.

Now to make sure we're all up to speed, the Blue Ridge Marathon has the trademarked motto "America's Toughest Road Marathon." There are three mountains: Roanoke Mountain, Mill Mountain, and Peakwood. According to the race's website, the 2013 course had 3,620 feet of elevation gain with a total elevation change of 7,234. But then rain was forecasted (and happened) on Friday so they switched to the "Flood Route," which meant instead of running along the river for the last few miles we had to run "inland" a little more which added about 206 more feet of elevation change. During my training I was always more concerned with the elevation gain, but after the race and suffering through all the downhills, I want to emphasize the full 7,440 feet of elevation change. (However, I will also point out that my Garmin GPS watch claims I only ran 26.09 miles with 3,490 feet of gain and a total change of 6,952 feet. I'm going to trust that was GPS error and stick with the higher numbers.)

Elevation profile according to my Garmin watch.

The race started at 7:35. They had a moment of silence beforehand to honor Boston, but unfortunately the speakers didn't broadcast all the way back to where I was so we didn't hear them and no one around me was silent. Halfway through the National Anthem people finally quieted down though. And then we were off!

Here we go! Running down Jefferson Street.

There was only one mile of relative flat before we hit the first mountain, so I went extra slow in the beginning to warm up. Pretty quickly we could see Mill Mountain ahead with the famous Roanoke Star on top. (It lights up at night!) The half marathoners would head straight toward the star, but us marathoners headed behind Mill Mountain to climb a higher mountain first.

Crossing the bridge on Walnut Avenue, looking up at the Roanoke Star on Mill Mountain.

Sea of runners coming over the bridge.

My dad was at the first mile, so I said "hi" to him on my way by and then started to climb...

On the Blue Ridge Parkway, headed up Roanoke Mountain!

I was not fast, but I was really proud of myself on this uphill because I didn't have to stop to walk! I had been nervous about how well my uphill training was going to stand up to the real deal on race day, so I was pleased to learn that my training worked! And to help distract myself from the hard uphills, I just had to look around at the beautiful scenery.

Loved the personalized mile markers!

Looking down on Mill Mountain.

We reached the top of Roanoke Mountain, the highest point in the race, at about mile 7. As I approached the water stop at the top with my camera in hand a volunteer saw me and ushered me over for a quick photo, my favorite of the day:

At the top of Roanoke Mountain!

I was able to pick up my speed a little bit on the downhills for miles 9, 10, and 11. Then we turned and headed up Mill Mountain...Once again I made it up without any walking!

Up close to the star on Mill Mountain.

But then? Then came more downhills. And those downhills hurt. I was slower going down than I was going up!

As I neared the bottom of Mill Mountain though I heard people call my name, and the most welcome sight ever was my friend S. with her boyfriend and dog on the sidelines cheering me on! It was a complete surprise to me that they drove all the way from Charlottesville for my race. And even better, S. hopped on the road to run a little ways with me! Mile 15 was the same spot as mile 1, so I also got to see my dad again since he'd hung around in the cold for over two hours waiting to see me come back by.

S. and me passing Dad at mile 15.

Say cheese.

I'm not sure where or when these things happened exactly, but S. and B. had left me to drive to a different spot I would be running by, and at that other spot B. and the dog ran along with me (on the other side of the road so the dog wouldn't be in anyone's way) for a few blocks.

B. and R. joining in the running fun!

Then I was alone again, heading up the third mountain. I had heard (or read on the internet) a lot of warnings about Peakwood, since it's a steep incline from mile 17 to 19 and you have to be careful to have energy left. I did end up taking two short walking breaks going up this one. Peakwood is a really nice neighborhood, and lots of people were out on their lawns cheering for us and even handing out snacks and drinks. At one point three small children were handing out water and I laughed when the little girls warned me not to take water from the eager toddler because "he drank out of that cup!"

Heading up Peakwood, the third mountain.

Once again coming down this mountain was pretty painful for me. I was still able to pass people going up, but several runners flew by me on this last major downhill. I tried walking down very briefly wondering if it would hurt less, but it didn't so I just kept jogging. When I got to the bottom S. was there again and she offered to finish the race with me. I was so grateful for her company during those last six miles.

Passing Dad (and our hotel) at mile 22.

At this point I was eager to be done, and didn't care much about looking around anymore, but I never hit a wall and never needed to walk. (Except I did stop briefly for drinks at a couple of water stops.) There may have been a little moaning and groaning though. Finally we were downtown again and nearing the finish. I passed my camera to S. and she sped around taking some shots of me as I neared the finish line.

Running next to a train. Roanoke is full of trains.

So. Close.

Finishing strong!

I'm up there, about to cross the finish line.

A welcome sight.

And then it was over! Obviously I was sore, but I wasn't injured and I was pleased with my time and overall it had been a great run.

Success!

My chip time: 4:42:35. Age group: 16 (of 33). Overall females: 50 (of 143). Overall: 216 (of 429).

These are my favorite race shirt and medal I've earned so far!

I am so happy I made this race my first marathon. It was definitely a challenge, but my training worked (thanks to my coach for his great training plan!) and I was well prepared. Sure I wasn't very speedy, but I was much more concerned with the mountains than with speed. This was the fourth Blue Ridge Marathon, and it was very well organized and had really great spectator support throughout the course. Plus net proceeds from the race go to the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and it's always nice when you know your race fees are going toward a good cause.

I'm not sure yet if I'll ever run this again, but I do see more marathons in my future...

training video

This morning I logged into Facebook and found that my friends had made me the best marathon-training video ever. It was a total surprise, and I think it's hilarious. Enjoy!

birthday!

Last Saturday was my birthday. It was kind of a big one, so I spread out the birthday love.

A week and a half before my birthday the girls in my small group surprised me with snacks and dessert with candles and wine.

The Thursday before Saturday I went to dinner with some girls to celebrate my birthday. We ate at Monsoon Siam and got to sit outside and it was great. Then we went across the street to see the David Wax Museum perform, and that show was so fun. A few of us also followed that up with a drink on the downtown mall. I was out until 1am on a work night, but the sleep deprivation was worth it.

Saturday I went for an 8 mile run, then a friend took me to lunch downtown. After that I spent many hours hanging out in the sun at the Tom Tom Festival listening to music and eating a gourmet picnic basket and having an all around great Saturday. That was followed by a snack at a restaurant with friends and more music.

Music at The Garage

Sunday I drove to Richmond, where my whole (Richmond) family joined me for lunch. Unfortunately we couldn't get one table to fit us all, but it was still nice to see everyone. That was followed by spending a few hours hanging out on my aunt's new deck. It was such a beautiful weekend and I was happy to spend most of it outside.

Lunch with my grandparents and aunt. (More family members were at different tables.)

 And finally, today at work a coworker brought cake to celebrate my birthday.

Thanks to all the friends, family, and coworkers who helped me celebrate and were willing to spread it out beyond the 13th!

more running and Easter

Last weekend I ran my longest distance ever, and the longest I'll do before the big marathon day. I drove west of town and went back and forth along some rural roads, including one portion that was all hills. It was a beautiful day and I was excited to get to wear shorts. I saw lots of animals along the way, too, including horses, donkeys, goats, chickens, and turkeys. I was feeling pretty good up until about 14 miles. Then I just had a painful and slow 8 miles more to go! But I did it. And I realized I'm going to need to get my mind shifted and back into the "I just want to finish" game and out of the "4:30 would be nice..." game. I'm getting worried the whole running-up-mountains thing might be harder and more painful than I thought. Which is dumb because I've known all along it's called "America's Toughest Road Marathon"!

After the run I took a very brief nap and then drove to Richmond, where I picked up Sunni and we went to see a live performance of Les Miserables. It was really good, and so fun to be there with Sunni. These days she is mostly caught up in boys and her phone, but she was giddy with excitement to see the show for the first time. She couldn't bring herself to agree that the show is much better than the recent movie (in which you get to see all those cute boys up close!), but she did agree the singing was better this time.

I spent the night in Richmond and the next morning was Easter. Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Richard, Sunni, and I all went to church together. Then we were back at the house getting ready for a big lunch. My aunt had made a cake in the lamb mold but said it was up to us to decorate the thing. So Uncle Richard and I got to work using icing to hold the thing together and dyed coconut to prop it up. Amazingly the head and ears stayed intact, but it was very precarious and Uncle Richard kept patting the poor guy with coconut and I would yell at him to stop patting it because he was going to break and he would just go on laughing and patting more. But the cake survived, and was delicious, and we ate it all.

After our big nice lunch and visiting with family I finally got to take a much-needed long nap. Then I hung out with Grandpa, Uncle Richard, and my aunt a little more before finally heading back to C'ville.

Yesterday I had another good but sobering run. I went to a different but even more beautiful spot west of town (where I again saw horses, cows, sheep, and turkeys) for my 14 miles. I was supposed to do a long warm up, then seven miles that got progressively faster, then a long cool down. And I did it all, and I was actually able to do the faster bits. But once I hit the cool down my legs felt pretty worn out and I still had three miles to jog back to the car! So I despaired a little more about the looming monster marathon coming up, but the truth is I am right on track and my coach knows what he's doing and he only wanted me to run the 14 miles and I really did manage to make it a true tempo run and I should be happy that I completed the workout and not despair that I couldn't run a marathon yesterday. Again, mindset really needs to shift into just feeling good about completing the marathon!