JORDIN SPARKS

Yup, another post about American Idol. Back in March I said Jordin Sparks was a great talent. She was, however, too young to win, I said; not experienced enough to outstrip her two female rivals, Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones.

Well, she's outstripped them. In what I considered a true upset last week, Melinda was voted off, which left Blake and Jordin as the two finalists.

Tomorrow night we will see which America goes for: gloss, or greatness.

Blake is a performer. He has talent for entertaining. He can do that beatboxing thing, he can dance. He can even sing a little. I find him mildly amusing but I wouldn't be able to stay interested for a whole concert. He can catch my attention but not hold it. I think his performances are sort of shallow. Do a funny dance, make a funny noise, smile for the camera.

Jordin.... the last few weeks, during her heartfelt renditions, I have felt riveted. Last week I was so drawn into her reprise of "I Who Have Nothing" that I had an ache in my throat and tension in my core. I felt what the girl in this song was feeling. This singer evokes a gut-level emotional response, which believe is the mark of a true artist, whether singer, painter, writer, photographer, storyteller, player of an instrument.... there are so many venues for art.

If I feel mildly amused by Blake's bee-bopping around, is that an emotion? I don't think so. He leaves me pretty unchanged.

Jordin's vocals cause a change in me and leave me just a little bit different.

As opposed to indifferent after Blake's.

IT'S THE SITTING, NOT THE RUNNING

I'm just not running now until the Vermont City Marathon. Maybe an hour or so on Sunday, a week before the race. I don't usually run during the week before a marathon anyway. It's my unorthodox taper method, that works for me.

Just as I suspected.... my sore buttocks/low-back/hip muscles are not a running injury, they're a sitting injury aggravated by running. This is a good article about it.

My Achilles/ankle pain.... that's a running injury.

Does anyone know anyone else who's running this marathon that I could look forward to meeting? I feel depressed about this race. I'm injured, I'm overweight, running is uncomfortable and tiring, I've given up my time goal (4:30), I don't know anyone there.... I feel like I'm dreading it more than looking forward to it. It hardly seems worth going. Wish I could get up about it.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

Another 20-miler DNF'd.

Again I made it for 16.... walking the last 6. I just gave out for running. I tried various combinations of running and walking, and finally just walking. I felt heavy and stiff and tired and sore.

My Vermont City Marathon, in 2 weeks, may be in danger.

Well, in the last 6 weeks or so, I've done 3 16-milers and an 18-miler (that was just before we left Winchester, 4 weeks ago.) I've run marathons on less long-running than that.

I hurt. I can't seem to shake my nagging Achilles and butt/lower back issues. My whole lower sacrum aches when I run more than a few miles. Walking doesn't hurt either set of miseries.

After years of running marathons, I realize that, two weeks out, there is nothing I can do to increase my fitness. What I'm going to do is taper sharply, run minimally, go hiking with my husband (who won't be up for more than probably 5 miles at first), maybe go biking. I've finished my marathon training on a bike before.

Just plain rest my running mechanisms and let my hips and heel try to get better.

I must be getting old or something.

But it was a gorgeous run. I haven't seen skies this blue since Arizona.

OUR NEW DIGS

In Chocorua, New Hampshire, taken on my run today.



The famous Mount Chocorua, from across Chororua Lake. Here is a gallery of painted and photographic renditions of the mountain by various artists.





Journey's swimming beach at mile 4.5 of today's run (I got wet there, too.... it was a really hot day)




Another mountain view




I know you can't read the sign. It says:

Tamworth Fire Department
Chocorua Station

I hope it's not a big fire.


My run:
8 miles, 1:26 moving time, about 2:00 total time (stops for Journey to drink and swim; taking pictures; walking a little every half-mile since it was 85*F which I'm not used to.)

P.S. I love my new camera phone, never had one before. I've been carrying a phone, camera, and GPS (when I don't know my distance.) Bless Race Ready shorts. Now I'm down to just the camera phone and GPS.

ON THE ROAD

Somewhere between Deep Creek Lake, MD and Chocorua, NH.

Somewhere in Pennsylvania. Walpallen, or something like that... one of those inimitable Pennsylvania town-names. Just off the intersection of I-81 and I-80 but definitely off the beaten track. We were on I-81 North, turned briefly onto I-801-West, onto some country sideroads, drove and drove and drove and finally ended up at Moyer's Grove Campground, directed here by Trailer Life and Woodall's Campground Directory, neither of which made mention of closer and more-easily-accessible campgrounds we passed, but we had reservations here, and, people of word that we are, we stuck it out and came here. Tomorrow night, we'll camp somewhere in Massachusetts; the next night, hopefully, at our new digs in New Hampshire.

This is a true red-neck hillbilly trailer-trash campground. The kind I really dig for a night or two. The shower house and laundromat is in the basement of the campground owners. The laundromat costs $1.00 for a washing machine, $.75 for a dryer, half the price of higher-end campgrounds, so I'm washing clothes. Clean underwear and running clothes will materialize two days sooner than expected. I'll take a shower here, too. Our own shower is filled with my sentimental houseplants, and, according to Woodall's, the next campground has PAY SHOWERS (of all the nerve...) so this looks like a good bet.

I'm practicing, you see, taking what's available, rehearsing for navigating the Appalachian Trail. Somewhere in my future.

I had these big ideas of doing it in 2008. That was until a couple days ago. I took 4-yr-old Abbie with me (the Goodwill Shopping Trip) to see her Great-Grandma, my mother. My mother's IQ is about 170 and her ability to navigate life is about -170. She has trouble getting around physically and doesn't sweat the small stuff.

But the small stuff piling up, and either I'm going to need to stay home and help her, or hire someone nearly full-time.

Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.

SHOPPING WITH ABBIE

I took Abbie along when I went to look for new jeans at the Goodwill Store (why spend $30+ on jeans when I can get perfectly good ones, worn just the way I like them, for $6 at Goodwill?)

While I was going through the jeans on the racks, I heard a door, probably the fitting room door, open and close. Didn't think much about it until I heard Abbie, a little ways off and from inside somewhere, call, "Gamma! Me!" ("Grandma! Come see me!") My mind clicked -- I knew who had gone into the fitting room. Turns out that while I was looking through the jeans, she had snagged a bikini off a low rack, taken it to the fitting room, closed the door, and tried it on.




She dug the sunglasses on the rack next to the cash register, too. Perfect with her Harley shirt. Biker chick!!



This child is a trip. What a character! We'll miss her when we go to New Hampshire.

ANOTHER LIST

Subtitle: Stuff that goes in the storage sections in my door of the truck when we travel.

1. Travel atlas
2. Computer-printed directions to planned campgrounds en route
3. "Next Exit" -- a book that literally describes amenities and facilities at every exit on every interstate highway in the U.S.
4. Cloud identification/interpretation book (I like it, and it comes in handy)
5. Reading glasses
6. Sunglasses
7. Pen and writing tablet
8. Scissors
9. Pocket pack Kleenex
10. Wet wipes singles
11. Paper napkins
12. Drinking straws
13. Plastic bags (for trash, and dog poop pick-up at rest stops)
14. Hairbrush, ponytail holders
15. Lip gloss
16. Hand lotion
17. Nail clipper and emery board
18. Band-aids
19. Dog snacks
20. Personal-size battery-powered fan
21. Camera
22. Water bottle

The "dog snacks" -- Tootsie Pops. Yeah, I know, sugar, chocolate, gonna rot my dog's teeth and poison her. She only gets one towards the end of a long trip, when, right around the 4-hour mark, she starts looking longingly out the windshield from the back seat, and lays her chin on Steve's shoulder, clearly asking, "Are we there yet????" She lies on the back seat, holds the stick between her paws and licks the pop. It takes about 10 licks to get to the center.... because after that many licks, she can't stand it anymore and --- CRUNCH!!!

OUT OF TOUCH

We're getting ready to move on. With weekend activities pressing down, we're starting to dismantle our portable home tomorrow, including our satellite dish, which we're giving to our son and his wife. We'll have wi-fi and cable TV at our campground in NH, so we won't need the dish.

What this means in practical terms is that we won't have internet access till who knows when. We'll probably get to our new NH digs Thursday. Maybe Wednesday, but if so we won't be set up till Thursday.

Here's our new campground, Chocorua Camping Village, and here's the 10-day forecast for the area. Remember, I gotta get in that 20-miler next weekend :-/ Friday and Saturday look best.

With packing up stuff tomorrow, a day trip with family to Cabela's on Sunday (2 hrs each way but Steve and I will be getting backpacking equipment for the White Mountains, yay!), and on the road Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I don't know when I'll be running. All I have to do any of those days is go out the door, but I never feel like it after riding in the truck for 5 or so hours. I just feel like a lump. Maybe it will be good to take a rest week.... I've had two "build" weeks with my 10+miles-every-other-day routine, followed by yesterday's aborted long run. In fact, from last Friday thru yesterday (7 days) I've run 49 miles, an all-time record for me. My previous high-mileage-week PR was back in the 1980's, 47 miles including speedwork, tempo, recovery runs, and a long run; it was my peak week before tapering for my all-time PR marathon, Marine Corps Marathon 1989, finish time 3:50.

However, that's not going to happen this month at the Vermont City Marathon. I mean, I wasn't even 40 yet when I ran that 3:50. It was not a Boston Qualifier. I needed 3:40 at that time. I wasn't trying for it. It hadn't occurred to me.

DNF'D MY 20-MILER

Journey and me, ready to run. The rope is to give her extra length for swimming. I have a retractable leash, but it's heavy to carry.


I set out for 20 miles yesterday, not sure of the route I'd take after completing my usual 10.5-mile loop. Maybe that was my first mistake, not having a plan. 2 loops for a total of 21 miles? One loop followed by 2 5-mile out-and-backs? One loop followed by one 10-mile out-and-back? I had all kinds of possibilities in mind. Stopping wasn't one of them, but having no concrete plan left the door open a crack for temptation to sneak in.

I stopped at home after the first loop, b/c I was cold, and hungry, and covered with sand from one of Journey's "shakes" after swimming, and it's supposed to be good for mental fortitude to stop and then go back out there. I got a longsleeved shirt and a sandwich, washed the sand off my legs (it was sticking to my vaseline, totally negating the intended purpose of the vaseline), re-lubed my feet, took some Tylenol, changed my socks. Rehearsing for an ultra for the first time, as well as a marathon for the 23rd time.

~Sigh~ The stop killed me.
~Sigh~ The longsleeved shirt wasn't enough.

As soon as I set out I could tell I had stiffened up. I jogged slowly but didn't loosen up. I stuck walk breaks in, walking hills per ultra-running strategy. It wasn't hard to start running after each of those, but my speed was gone. So was my energy. I thought, if I turn around at 2.5 for the 5-mile out-and-back, I'll never go out for the next one. So I'll keep going till the turnaround for the 10-mile out-and-back. But when I got there, I couldn't stand the thought of retracing in reverse the hills I'd just navigated. So I kept going, doing my original 10.5-mile Lake Loop in reverse.

Mistake. Out there on open roadway, along the lake shore, not protected by forest, I got cold again. Really cold. Headwind coming at me off the whitecapped lake... after a mile or so, it was getting the better of me. It was feeling like IM Florida.

If it had been a real event, I probably could have toughed it out for the remaining 4 or 5 miles, which shows it was probably more mental than physical, but I pulled out my cell phone, called my husband, and said, "Can you come get me? I'm freezing cold, I can't run like this." Kept jogging towards where he would meet me, and in about 10 minutes he was there. He had the heat cranked up in the truck. Journey and I jumped in and we went home. I ended up with 16 miles.

I wasn't shivering, which also shows more mental than physical. I took a hot shower and had some hot soup and put on heavy sweats and lay on the sofa snoozing for awhile with a soft, purring cat lying warm and heavy on my chest. Mmmmm.

I probably could have made it. I'd have turned out of the wind in another couple miles. I didn't want to. After IM Florida, I don't ever, ever want to run cold again ever. For a while, after that one, I couldn't even eat ice cream. I'd start and then give the rest to Steve, because it was making me cold inside. I don't ever want to be cold again.

So I'll have to take better precautions against getting cold. I still have another weekend left for doing the 20-miler. It will be in New Hampshire. I'll make sure I'm dressed adequately.

Seen along the way:


These born-organized people have their Christmas decorations out already :-D




One of oodles of mountain creeks

IN THE END, I DO IT MY OWN WAY...

I must read a zillion training plans in books, magazines, and on websites.

I bookmark them. My books are full of ribbons and Post-It notes.My "Favorites" sidebar has folders within folders within folders. I Xerox them. I write them down. I copy them onto spreadsheets in Microsoft Works.

I save the paper ones in my paper files, one of those fancy-schmancy two-tone vinyl expandable deals with umpteen separate filing compartments and an external buckle and carrying handle.

I save the downloaded and spreadsheeted ones in a gajillion separate folders in a master folder in "My Documents" called "Ellie's Stuff."

Within "Ellie's Stuff" I have:

• Running Stuff
• Training Stuff
• Marathon Stuff
• Triathlon Stuff
• Bike Stuff
• Swimming Stuff
• Ironman Stuff
• Ultramarathon Stuff
• Food Stuff
• Other People's Stuff (stuff others have posted somewhere that I've copied to my own files)
• Just Stuff (stuff that's relevant but doesn't fit exactly into any of the other stuff)

I save all this stuff, because I'm going to refer to it as I train according to all of it.

And then I do my own thing anyway.

For instance:

Nowhere have I found a suggestion to run 10 miles every other day, then just double that on the appointed day for a 20-miler. It takes so much less space, on paper (like, none), in my computer, and in my mind, than the M-T-W-T-F-S-S plans that go 6-4-XT-8-rest-10-rest , over which I've labored on paper, in Works, on the road, and in my head.

The 10+ (actually more like 10.5) miles every other day has been working gorgeously for me. Today we'll see what doubling it does.

I'm formulating my own plan as I go along, writing it as I accomplish it. Kind of like my life.

SACRED TRUST

4-year-old Abbie spent the night with us last night. I read her two favorite bedtime books, "I Am A Bunny" and "Goodnight Moon," and then Grandpa lay on the fold-out couch with her and sang her to sleep. This is our established bedtime routine when she has a sleepover here.

For readers who don't know, Abbie has Down Syndrome. She understands and remembers everything but doesn't talk well. She uses American Sign Language.

In the night I woke to to crashes of thunder and explosions of lightning, rain (or hail?) pounding on our camper roof. I opened the bedroom door and Abbie was sitting bolt upright on the couch, wailing with each flash and crash. I lay down with her and talked about how cozy it was inside with the storm outside; she murmured "Yeah," and slept again.

This morning she woke up to get ready for preschool. I was fixing her toast and she said, "Gamma," and made some kind of sign, shaking her fists. I told her I didn't understand. She shook her fists again and pointed out the window and I remembered the sign for "thunder" from last summer. "Oh, THUNDER!" She beamed and nodded, "Yeah!!" Then, the sign for "scared." "You were scared of the storm?" Solemn nod, "Yeah." A happy smile: "Gamma!" "Grandma came and stayed with you?" Satisfied nod: "Yeah." Signed "sleep." Then she said happily, "Away!" and gestured with her hand flying towards the window.

There was thunder, and I was scared, and Grandma came and stayed with me, and I went to sleep, and the storm went away.

I love it. It makes my heart beat faster to send this.

 

 

YOU KNOW THOSE RUNS....

.... that make you wonder why on earth you keep running?

Today's 10+ miler was not one of those.

Today's run was one of the ones that reminds you.

I felt light. I felt free. I felt easy. I wasn't tired. My injuries were only a little sore. I didn't walk at all. My only rests were the minute-or-so stops for Journey to get a drink and quick dip in the lake -- 4 such stops. I cut another 2 minutes off my time. In the 4 times I have done this loop in the last 8 days, my time has dropped from 2:01 to 1:46. That's a drop in mile-pace from 11:33 to 10:10. Another 30 seconds off over the course of the rest of the spring and the summer, and I could possibly have my Boston Qualifier after all, despite my ultra.

(Possibly. We're talking 26.2 miles there, not 10.5.)

After my first running of this loop a week ago, I was hobbling. I could hardly get up and down the 2 steps in our camper from living area to bed/bathroom area. I moaned, groaned, and grunted with each step. I couldn't bend over to untie my shoes. This improved each time until today I am not stiff at all. My Achilles and ankle do not hurt (I should mention that I got heavy-duty massage therapy of that area yesterday.) My left hamstring, very sore yesterday and a little sore this morning, never got more than a little sore, and is staying at that level still, an hour after finishing.

I have never in my entire running career tried such a stunt as running 10 miles every other day. I think it's the best routine I've ever followed. My endurance is increasing, my fatigue and stiffness are decreasing. I'm not walking even the hills. Except for the one on which Journey always, always finds something she has to stop suddenly and sniff. She stops so abruptly that I get yanked at the other end of the leash. This spoils my momentum for the rest of the hill and I have to walk whatever is left of it. Today, however, I only walked a couple steps to regroup and then resumed my jog up the hill.

Next running day is Thursday, then Saturday. I was going to do my pre-marathon 20-miler on Saturday, but we will be packing up our camper that day to leave. So I think I am going to do the 20 on Thursday, and another 10 on Saturday. Still debating whether to do a 20-mile out-and-back, or 2 laps of the Lake Loop which I am coming to know so very well, or 4 5-mile out-and-backs or 5 4-mile out-and-backs, to test my mental toughness for the ultra.

I am feeling like such a fine runner this week!! I seem to have hit on the perfect plan, finally. At least for now.

GETTING INTO BETTER SHAPE

There are folks who would scoff if I said I'm not in good shape, but they are thinking in absolutes and I am thinking in relatives. Relative to the shape most people are in, I'm in good shape. Relative to the shape I want to be in and feel I need to be in to be able to do the things I want to do, I'm not really in very good shape. I'm slow and heavy and overweight and injured.

Last weekend, visiting our family in Ohio, I ran about 13 miles on Saturday, running 20 minutes and walking 5, feeling fairly good. I ate a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich en route to get used to eating while running for the ultra. This sat with me OK and I guess gave me some energy, since I felt pretty good after finishing.

However, since we've been "home" in Maryland, I've been feeling sluggish, swelled-up (legs, ankles), and sore. Just the same, I've been running the 10.5-mile "Lake Loop" every 2-3 days. Today was the third time.

Progress:
Tuesday: 10.5 miles in 2:01, 11:35 pace, ran 30 minutes, walked 5. I dragged and ached and could hardly walk after I finished, not from fatigue or soreness but from my injuries acting up. I rested two days before tackling it again.

Friday: 10.5 miles in 1:51, 10:38 pace, ran 10 minutes, walked 2. I only dragged and ached the last 2 or 3 miles, but still could hardly walk after I finished due to my injuries (Achilles and piriformis area, both on the left side.) However, I felt ready to go again after only one rest day.

Today, Sunday: 10.5 miles, 1:48, 10:22 pace, ran the whole time except for only infrequent short walk breaks, felt only mildly lame after finishing, feel fresh as a daisy now an hour later, except for my heel/ankle and butt. I have a massage treatment scheduled for tomorrow.

So I'm going to aim for every other day this week, same 10.5-mile loop, and then do my final pre-marathon 20-miler on Saturday -- maybe 2 laps of the Lake Loop, or 5 X 4-mile out-and-backs to get used to that, since that's what my 50-mile ultra is, yeah, 50 miles of 4-mile out-and-backs. We runners out there will get to know each other really well!

CHOICES

Can I do it all?

 

A couple years ago, I commented somewhere (that was before I came here) that there were (are) so many long-range things I want to do, I need to take a year for each of them. The Year of the Ironman (did that, 2 of 'em.) The Year of the Ultramarathon (in progress.) The Year of the Boston Marathon (hopefully in progress.) The Year of the Transcontinental Bike Ride (still out there.) The Year of the Appalachian Trail.

 

It appears that that last item is closer than I thought. It's moved up several notches on the list. I met a friend, Sally, in Winchester, who wants to do it. A few years ago she bought all kinds of gear but somehow got waylaid. She's been reading trailjournals.com for years and she's got me hooked on it.

 

Sally's a runner. I met her on the road mid-run. She was running with a pit bull and a baseball bat. No one gonna bother this babe. Turns out the bat was to defend her pit bull from other dogs, since the pit wouldn't defend herself. Just goes to show, you can't judge a book by its cover. Same goes for Sally, since, if you met her in the grocery store, you'd be meeting this very alert, sweet 60-year-old lady, but unless she told you, you wouldn't realize she regularly runs 7 miles and wants to hike the Appalachian Trail.

 

Well, Sally and I wanna go, and therein lie the choices.

 

If (if) I qualify for Boston this fall, well, the Boston Marathon is in April. But your qualifying time is good for 2 years, so I could still do the Trail in 2008 and run Boston in 2009. But a group of my dearest friends are planning to do Big Sur together in 2008. Do I do Boston, or the Trail, or Big Sur?

 

If I don't qualify for Boston this year, one choice is out of the running, so to speak. I wouldn't have to choose between Boston and Big Sur. In fact, I could do Big Sur the end of April and then fly to Maine and hike the Trail southbound. Starting it the first of May, northbound wouldn't work as well; it would be too cold getting to New England in November. If we started that late, we'd have to start in Maine and go south. Which is a viable, although less common, option.

 

So I could do both Big Sur and the Trail in 2008, and then try for a BQ in 2009 and hopefully run it in 2010. That seems so far off! Would I be in a new age group by then? Hmmm, if I wait another year, I could qualify as a 60-year-old, which might be good, too.... the qualifying times get more reachable as the age groups climb.

And I'll be in such good shape by then :-)

 

Don't ask where I'm getting the money for all this. I got no answer to that.

 

This Trail idea is adding to my computer time. In addition to Blogland, I now have the Trail Journals. I'm following people who have become my favorites. They refer to each other in their journals. Someone will mention Snow Plow (they all have Trail Names, like Hash Names) and I'll recognize him from someone else's journal, just like blogging.

 

I have a massage treatment scheduled for Monday for my ailing left leg: From heel to butt, it's tight as a fiddle string, making my runs very achey affairs.

 

4 more weeks till the Vermont City Marathon. I was going to run 20 miles this weekend and 22 in 2 weeks, but I'm going to wait till sometime next week for 20 and let that be it. I'm too tight and sore to fit them both in. And I'm talking "Ultra" for 2 months after the marathon? And "Speed Training" after that hoping to run a BQ after 2 more months????

 

~Sigh~ Right now my projected marathon pace is about 4:40, and I need a 4:15 some time this year. Or next. Or not.

 

If I am picking berries at these vines, I can't be picking berries at those. Does it matter, if my basket is full?

IS THE COMPUTER KILLING MY TRAINING?

Well, not the computer itself, but the time I spend sitting in front ot it? That time is considerable.

Sitting for so long:

• Puts pressure on my sit-bones and sacrum and the muscles and nerves around them. When I run, these areas ache and are so tight that over the course of a longer run I'm feeling like I can hardly keep moving my legs.
• Slows my venous return... my lower legs retain fluid, which is slow to dissipate.
• Burns hardly any calories; my weight is slowly climbing, which puts a heavier, slower load on my legs.
• Uses time I could be using for training. Really: Do I do the training, or do I read about it? Do I train, or do I write about it?

And I suspect the computer itself, or rather my absorption with its monitor screen, causes me to space out in some way -- alters my brain waves or something. I get to feeling sleepy and mentally sluggish. And then I don't even want to train.

I have such exciting hopes and goals: qualify for Boston, run an ultra (or more than one); thru-hike the Appalachian trail, a newly-forming plan (based on a lifelong fantasy) that I haven't mentioned here yet, until now.

But I'm not going to get to any of it if I don't get out from in front of the computer.

But the computer is where I get all my information, and my inspiration in the form of my friends and their stories, which are remarkably similar to mine.

"FLOORDROBE," LOL!!

What a riot! Check my right sidebar for today's "Urban Dictionary" word of the day. Then go back to my post from yesterday and look at the bedroom "before" picture. LOL!!

In case you're checking this after the Apr.25 word of the day is replaced, "Floordrobe" means:
"A form of storage for clothing which requires no hangers, drawers, doors or effort. Simply drop the clothes on the floor and you have a floordrobe."

Gotta love it!!

OUR PLACE IS A MESS

We started the move up to Deep Creek Lake, MD from Winchester, VA, on Tuesday, supposed to be about a 2-hour trip, but had mechanical trouble and spent a night in a ratty roadside motel waiting for a part to arrive so we could finish moving practically next door. Wednesday we finished the trip, set up enough to live through Thursday, left on Friday for Columbus, OH, for a BIG family weekend, which I will post about after I get our mess cleaned up, and during which I did a 13-14-mile run, jumped on the trampoline with the grandkids, and did pushups with our teenage step-grandson; drove home yesterday (Monday), sat our butts down and went, "Whew!" I slept in the truck on the way home, and took a 2-hour nap later in the afternoon/evening, and still slept 9 hours overnight.

Really, I am going to post about our great weekend, complete with pictures (which, According To Ellie, have to be edited and perfected before resizing and publishing...)

 

But first I have got to clean up this mess.

 

Total Mess

And after:

Table Mess + My Computer Mess

After:

Sink and Sofa Mess

After:

Bedroom Mess

After:

Each one only took about 20 minutes. Not bad. Now I'm going for a run. 10.5-mile loop.

HOLY SMOKE!

OK, Bloggers, don't miss Julie's amazing report of her amazing McNaughton 100. Holy smoke. Prepare to be thunderstruck. What an awesome run. What a gripping read.

Way to go, Julie!

BETTER THERE, WORSE HERE

Boston is not as severe as expected. Temperature is expected now to reach 50* (although probably not during the race), and the wind is not as strong as feared. It's not pretty.... cool, rainy, breezy. Deena Kastor is pleased -- says it's just what she's accustomed to. So runners of the 111th Boston Marathon may not be up against quite as much meteorological opposition as it appeared they might.

As for Winchester, VA and points immediately north and west.... it doesn't look like a good day at all for hauling a large vehicle. Wind here is averaging 37mph gusting to 47. As one travels west into higher elevation, it's 45 constant, with higher gusts. I checked for forecast for where we're headed -- 51mph base speed expected this afternoon. Our son called, said it's howling, with blowing snow.

I don't think we'll be going today. Don't want to end up like this. Tomorrow should be better.

Tomorrow is my mother's 86th birthday, and I'm looking forward to seeing her, spending the evening with her watching American Idol together in person instead of over the phone. My mother takes notes of each contestant's performance -- what they sang, her impression, the judges' impressions, what the person wore and how they looked, so she can refer back to it on results night.

LEAVING WINCHESTER, VA

After the longest time we have spent in one place since going on the road in June 2004, we are finally moving out tomorrow. The plan is to return to the Deep Creek Lake, MD, area to visit family, then leave the camper there and go out to Columbus, OH, to visit more family; return to Deep Creek, retrieve the camper, and mosey on up to New Hampshire and our summer work-camping gig.

That is, we will be moving out tomorrow if the weather is civil. There's a high wind warning, our camper is rocking now, and it's supposed to be worse tomorrow, from here all the way north and west where the red line is on the map above. Sustained at 35mph, gusting to 60, locally higher, especially in higher elevations (we'll see an elevation gain of about 2000 feet between here and there.) So we may be here another day.

I will miss Winchester. I have found wonderful country roads for running and biking. I have made some friends. I found, just a couple miles along my regular route, a gal about my age who runs with a dog. We ended up not being able to run together because she suffered a detached retina and was sidelined all winter. She's healing now and we actually got out on the road together one day last week. I will miss Sally.

I liked the Shenandoah Valley Running Club and its Winter Series races. That was a lot of fun, and I made my mark after the series was over, setting that age-group course record at the Rotary Club 5K. Blew into town for the winter, then blew out in the spring, who was that mittened woman???

Candy Hill Campground has been fun. Karl and Selena have been great to work with. Back in the fall, during my late Ironman training, Selena asked for a copy of my training schedule, and designed my whole work schedule, and therefore everyone else's as well, around my workouts. I didn't ask her. She asked me. Now, where in the world do you find that kind of concern for what's important to your workers outside of work?

And of course, there's their baby, Thomas, who's 9+ months old now and cute as a bug. Many of my work hours the last couple months have been spent caring for Thomas rather than working at the campground office and store -- couldn't get much more down my alley. I'm still a gal who functions quite naturally with one arm, the other one holding a baby on my hip. It's kind of like riding a bike, you never forget how.

I found a wonderful bike shop, Element Sports, where the mechanic disovered why my bike had never run as fast and smooth as I'd hoped, replaced the rusty (from the factory? apparently...) rear hub assembly, and zoom, my bike glided like I'd always thought it should. All the staff at the bike shop watched my IMFL progress all day on Ironmanlive.com, then printed out my final results and hung it on the store bulletin board for months. Also at the bike shop was a winter course on bike repair and maintenance, 3 sessions for $5 per session, that's FIVE DOLLARS a class. I learned a whole, whole lot.

I'm going to miss all these folks.

But I'm anxious to move on. We retired to travel. We need to do some part-time work to supplement our retirement income, and work-camping is the perfect solution. We work for a campground in exchange for a free campsite plus wages, and the work schedule is usually quite flexible.

I'm itchy to see a new place. I'm looking foward to New Hampshire. We can't wait to hike and backpack in the White Mountains, and kayak on the many local lakes. And I'm expecting to pick off 3 more states in my 50-state marathon quest. One of those "marathons" will be hidden within my first ultra.

I'm excited.

IRONMAN AZ WEATHER MOMENT-TO-MOMENT

This little widget will change to show temps and wind speed all day. Check in on it! (And go to ironmanlive.com to follow all the action!)


From NOAA:
Today: Areas of blowing dust after 11am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 78. Breezy, with a southeast wind 15 to 22 mph becoming west southwest. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph.

Looks like our Tri-Bogger athletes could have some challenges out there. May the force go with you!

WEATHER AT McNAUGHTON 100

Peoria, IL

Julie Berg is running it! See what she's up against as she heads into the long night, daybreak, and day 2. Except she's probably not dressed exactly like this, and I'll bet her hair's a little messed up.....

Keep at it, Julie!

18 MILES DONE -- CHECK!

Yay, got it done yesterday.

I figured out why I was anticipating it with anxiety and a bit of dread, worried about my food, and all. It was because the 16-miler I did 2 weeks ago sucked so bad. I wanted to avoid that.

Well, I avoided it, by one unidentified precaution or another, or maybe just by luck of the draw. It wasn't awful. It wasn't great. It was just sort of routine, with a little stiffness and mild pain the last few miles in the various tendons and such that have bothered me all winter. I wasn't even getting all that tired -- just a little stiff and sore. And I thought, when I finished, that of course I was glad not to have another 8.2, but if I'd had them ahead of me, I could have run them.

I also thought -- GACKKK!!!! -- suppose it were another 32 miles ahead? Nope, wouldn't have made that. Not this week. Or next. But I've got till the end of July. That's 15 weeks.

Yeah, I really think I am agoing to head out on this voyage -- the 50-mile option at the Great Cranberry Ultramarathons on July 29. What the hell, why not? I want to see what an ultra is like, and maybe go that route more than once, in my life, and I'm not getting any younger.

Today, I'm tired; my ankle is achey, although I have not had an ankle injury. It's the same foot as my bothersome Achilles, probably related to that, I changed my foot position or something. And I have a sore knee, although I have not had a knee injury. Just something not quite right on the medial side, can't quite put my finger on it but it hurts a little. I am not getting any younger.

But I had great socks, finally. Balega Enduro's. Soft, smooth, no toe seams, just enough cushioning. They have that fluffy stuff inside, kind of like soft terry cloth, that nearly all socks have and that puts blisters in my arches, for which reason, along with toe seams, I always wear my socks inside out. Well, as I said, these are seamless (hand-locked toe joining) and I threw caution to the wind and wore them with the fluffy side inside and -- no blisters, not even a hot spot. Whether they stay non-blister-inducing after multiple wearings and washings remains to be seen, but my feet, despite their aches, had happy skin!

ACK!!! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE PASTA!

Carb-and-protein snack before bed the night before an 18-miler: homemade plain yogurt, strawberries and graham crackers. With sugar in the yogurt.

I'm nervous about tomorrow's run. Why would I be nervous about an 18-mile training run? It's not race day. But I'm wishing I'd had spaghetti instead of a hamburger for supper. Small hamburger on a whole-wheat small bagel, a cup of canned corn (carb vegetable), and half a banana mashed and spread on graham crackers for dessert. And now the above-described bedtime snack.

I should be OK. I haven't eaten anything special before training runs or even marathons for ages, or, for that matter, even the Ironman. Just whatever's on hand or whatever is set before me. It always works out.

Hey, this is just a training run...

I GUESS I WAS TIRED THAT DAY...

.... the day I was so angry and yelling at everyone and cut my run short. And I want to thank everyone for being so supportive and nice to me.

I have to be so careful of overtraining. It seems I never learn. I'll get to feeling good and think I can run every day or do two consecutive days of longer runs because I'm such a tough chick and -- WHAMMO! I'm down.

Over the course of 22 years of running marathons, the last 2 years of that including Ironman training, I still don't seem to learn it. I read some new training program that sounds good and off I go.

Well, after that crappy day I rested 3 days and took naps and went to bed early. My mood got better on a day or so of that. When I ran again (day before yesterday) I figured on 6 easy, without a stopwatch. I felt great and floated over the ground for 8 miles.

Yesterday was a rest day; today I'm meeting a friend for about a 4-miler, easy. Rest tomorrow, then 18 on Thursday, then REST the day after, no "I'm training for an ultra, I better do 10 miles on top of my 18." My ultra is 50 miles.... it's not going to require two consecutive days of running. I'm keeping my long runs to one day.

And if I try to run on consecutive days, someone kick me.

DAY OF ANGER

Ever have a day when you just feel angry all day long? And everything that happens just hits you wrong and sets you off? And the whole world seems to be conspiring to add to it, so that by the time you get off work and start your run you're not just angry at the world but through-and-through riddled with rage? And you can't even put your finger on what's wrong, just everything seems to be working against you?

 

I was going to run 10 miles and it may sound like that's just what I needed, but as soon as I started out I realized it wasn't going to happen. I felt too crappy inside and out. After the first mile of running I switched to 3/2 run/walk intervals, and instead of going to the 5-mile point, turned around at the 2.5-mile mark, and walked home. Running, I kept screaming at passing cars, "Leave me alone! F*** you! Get off the GD road! Go to h***!" Walking, I felt more tolerant and didn't mind cars sharing the same pavement.

 

In the evening, my computer keyboard quit. Just quit. No keys work. I rebooted, then shut down and restarted, thinking maybe I'd hit something stupid like the "disable keyboard" key no doubt custom-built into my computer as part of the conspiracy. Or that every computer has that, as part of the conpiracy, no one told me about. Now my husband and I will have to manage sharing one computer. How will we survive?

 

I realized I was feeling sick all over, with a stomachache and pains in my arms and legs. I took some naproxen and some Xanax and went to bed. Slept 10 hours and felt a whole lot better this morning.

 

~Sigh~

 

I wonder what that was all about???

SCORE ! ! !

Gosh, I ran 10 miles, got blisters, and went to the running store to buy better socks. I got great socks. Then I looked around, looked at their book corner, and.... they were giving away FREE back issues of Marathon and Beyond! FREE!

It's an omen.

Today I did my first ultra-training run, and to find these mags for free when I went to buy better sox -- well, it seems too fortuitous to be real.

It was an "ultra-training" run because for the whole 10 miles I used the 8:2 run:walk cycle I think I'll try; because whenever the grass or gravel on the side of the road looked remotely hospitable, I ran on that instead of the pavement to start getting used to dirt; and because tomorrow I plan to follow it with another 10 miles, this one a marathon-training run as well, since I plan to run a little peppier and walk a little less, but also an ultra-training run as I'll be running already a little tired from the day before. I have never attempted such a thing before, two 10-mile runs on consecutive days, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

I've been thinking of subscribing to M & B and wishing I could lay my hands on one somewhere to see how I like it.

Sheesh, I can't believe all those magazines were free. I paged through them all and took the ones with articles I'm interested in -- 9 issues in all. WHOO!!!

Stats: 10-mile run/walk 8/2, plus stops for Journey to drink and swim (it was 84*F), time 1:51:46. So we'll see how tomorrow goes...

AGE-GROUP RECORD!!

ROTARY CLUB 5K, WINCHESTER, VA, held the last Saturday in March every year. Here's the list of past records, with enlarged details below; keep moving down to see my time today. :-D

And today, March 31, 2007:

Ellie Hamilton, 55, Winchester, VA 28:33

Whoo HOOOOO!!! After that slogging, cursed 16 miler day before yesterday; then, yesterday, I decided not to be a wimp and went out and did 5 miles right on top of it just to show 'em; thought about skipping the race today to be cautious, since I'd probably be slow and stiff and didn't want to add insult to injury.

I went to the race. I ran. I was not stiff or slow. I did not hurt. I pushed hard. I did good!

However..... pride goeth before a fall. :-/

I was the only one in my age group. AND..... rather than an age-group award anyway, I won 2nd out of 3 female masters overall. No mention of my age (55) OR that I had set a new age-group course record by nearly 3 minutes (2 minutes, 54 seconds. The announcement was only, "Masters Female, Second Place, Ellie Hamilton, 28:33," polite applause, third place, some other lady, and on to the age groups.

There were, they said when they got to the older age groups, "no female finishers over 40." "Unless I'm missing someone," he said. There had been 3 of us. We'd won Masters' awards. I wanted to yell, "Yeah, there's 3 of us, we already got our medals, and I set a new age-group record!" but I kept quiet.

Anyway..... I know what I did, and so do a few others, since I told them, dragging them over to the past-results list to show them my age group, then the time on my watch. One girl who was standing there checking her own status looked where I pointed, then said to me, "But that's not your age group, that's 55-59...." and I said, "Yeah, I'm 55!" I love when that happens. I love when the woman passing me on the course looks my age and I figure I don't have to worry about her because she's probably at least one age group lower, which she usually is.

So I'm bragging, since I didn't get recognized. Second place female master, but FIRST in my AG with an all-time AG course record by almost 3 minutes.

OK, I'll sit down now....

WHAT DO BLOGGING ATHLETES EAT?

 

I would love to know what the rest of you eat. Do you follow any specific food plan? High-carb? High-protein? High-PowerBar?  Paleo? Anything you avoid? Fat? Alcohol? Crystal Light?

 

Do you eat when you're hungry or on a schedule or when your job allows for a break?

 

Do you try to keep your calories down, or up?

 

How does your diet change as you get deeper into your training season? Do you eat differently for speed workouts (if any) than for long runs?

 

Have you identified any food or indulgence that will make or break a run?

 

What to you eat/drink on your long runs?

 

Inquiring minds want to know. 

EVER FEEL REALLY DISCOURAGED?

What a crappy run today. 16 miles, and I walked miles 12, 15 and 16. Does it count as a 16-mile run if you walked 3 of the miles?

I think if it had been a marathon and I'd felt like this at miles 15 and 16, I'd have DNF'd. I don't LOOK like I gained a hundred pounds in the last few days but I must have; I sure felt like it.

This is the point in marathon training when I think, "And just WHY is it that I'm doing this? I seem to have forgotten."

And I think, whatever made me think this was a good idea? Oh, yeah, I remember, I thought a marathon would be fun. Again. Shucks, I've only run 22 of them, I can't be expected to remember what it feels like.

Except I'm thinking, I usually feel like this around the time that my long run gets to 16 miles. Seems to me I feel better on the 18 and 20-miler. I think. I don't keep good records so I can't go back and look, but I'm thinking, after doing this 22 times, I've got a vague recollection that 16 miles sucks worse than any other distance for me.

At least I hope it does. I sure don't want 18 and 20 to be worse.

And I don't even want to think about 26.2 right now....

HOW DOES THIS LOOK??

OK, blog gang, look at this and tell me what fun it looks like!

Instead of the Paul Bunyan Marathon (see my right-hand sidebar) on July 15, just another marathon....

How about my first ultra, on a rustic island off the coast of Maine, two weeks later?? More time to recover and train after my Memorial Day Weekend Vermont City Marathon, and still plenty of time to re-train for a hopeful BQ at the Clarence DeMar Marathon in NH, Sept. 30) !?!

I would do the 50K for my ultra debut.... or maybe try the 50-miler -- heck, I'd have 2 months to recover before my next marathon, and I'd get all that endurance training.

Great Cranberry Island Ultra Marathons

50K 50M 100K

Brief Description:
The Great Cranberry Island Ultras are arguably the most unique and newest ultras held in the US. Cranberry Island is the site of an infamous 5K race held in the 80s that attracted a cult following and international attention. Our island community has a long history of supporting, encouraging and producing excellent runners and events. We offer a stunning course, amazing hospitality, and excellent competition. These events are strictly limited to the first 100 who enter.

Prices:
Great Cranberry Island 50 kilometers: $50.00Great Cranberry Island 50 miles: $50.00Great Cranberry Island 100 kilometers: $50.00

Getting There:
You take a ferry from the mainland. Fun!!!

Entry Requirements:
All competitors MUST have run an ultra marathon OR finished at least three (3) full 26.2 mile marathons to be considered for a spot in our starting field

Participation Requirements:
All competitors MUST agree and plan to camp overnight (Sat night) for the fire side post race party, dinner and awards ceremony. We supply plenty of free camping space including showers. Participants must bring appropriate camping gear.

* Held entirely on a quaint offshore Maine island accessible only by boat!
* Route is multiple out and backs (4 mi per round trip) lap counters provided
* Unique awards for ALL finishers!
* Post event lobster bake, bonfire and awards party free to all registered competitors!
* Great family weekend, beachcomb, picnic and explore!
* Music on the route
* Stocked water & food tables every 2 miles
* Free, rustic overnight camping, at the town field start / finish area.

All those out-and-backs could be monotonous, but on the other hand, after each one a person could buoy herself with, "Heck, another whole segment is only 4 miles...." and look at all the opportunities for restocking and refueling, even if the aid tables aren't as promised.

I am really, really interested in this!

YOUNG IDOL GROWING

Well.

At first I thought LaKisha was the sole candidate in this year's contest.

Then Melinda Doolittle rocked the stage with "I'm a Woman" and it became a two-woman show.

Then Jordin, seventeen years old, suddenly turned into a star.

I'm a musician. I'm a singer.

Jordin at seventeen has a profound talent, which becomes more developed and refined with each performance. I am very impressed with this young musician.

Jordin's not going to win. At seventeen, her talent, although great, is not developed enough to outstrip her two primary rivals.

But I can't remember when I've seen a young talent who had impressed me so much. Tonight, her presentation of Tom Jones' "I Who Have Nothing" brought highest praise from Simon:

"I feel like jumping off a bridge. It was so gloomy."

EXACTLY!! And she brought that out so strongly that Simon said he felt like jumping off a bridge.

Jordin won't win. She's a teenager. Melinda has a great talent and more experience.

But I am deeply impressed with Jordin's musical, artistic, and stage ability, and she gets my vote. Yup, I'm voting. What the hell.

CHANGING MY FALL MARATHON

Well, I'll be. Thanks to a comment from ShirleyPerly on my post yesterday, I've found me a new, way more BQ-able marathon in September. Still in New Hampshire, and the same weekend. (And when you click on her link, make sure you read her report of this weekend's bike ride!)

I've pretty much decided that the Clarence DeMar Marathon wins out over the New Hampshire Marathon in its course profile, as well as in the comments on marathonguide.com .

 

The main issue is hills. Although I'm a strong hill-runner, they are apparently the downfall of the runner attempting to BQ or PR at the New Hampshire Marathon, according to previous runners.

 

PLUS..... I'm hoping Shirley is going. We met at Ironman Florida, but didn't get to see much of each other. She, too, is working on the 50-State marathon quest. It would be a lot of fun to run this marathon with her.

 

Here's a really nice photo essay from a fellow who ran the Clarence DeMar. Looks like a winner to me!

 

Thank you, Shirley!!

I didn't set out to do a tempo run...

...... but WOW!! I don't know, something clicked just right, because, check this out:

6.2 miles (10K)
55:30
8:57/mile

It almost seems like something must be wrong, the distance is off or something... but I know it's just over 6 miles, I forget by how many 10ths.... I'll have to measure it later. If I'm wrong, then I'll willingly eat my words.

Yippee!! The maximum I need to run a 4:15 Boston Qualifier is 9:45/mile (which would give me exactly 4:15 and is cutting it a little too close; I hope to maintain 9:35.)

This is looking hopeful. This could actually happen!

WINTER RUNNERS' BANQUET

NICE SHIRT!!

3rd place, women 50-59, in the Winter Series Races of the Shenandoah Valley Runners.

These were the low-key races with no awards, just door-prizes, consisting of things like boxes of Swiss Miss and Fiddle-Faddle. "Cheezy Prizes," they were called. But fun to get. And in these races, you racked up points; how you placed in your age group multiplied by how many races you ran. I missed a few races, so I was outstripped by those who had perfect attendance, but I did my best, and this is what's fun:

Came to a place to spend the winter where I didn't know anyone, found out there was a running club, joined the email group, someone invited me to the first Winter Series 5K with her, I had fun, joined the club, went to more races, got to know some folks, had a great time, got recognized for my participation with an awesome shirt to commemorate the whole experience before I move on to New Hampshire next month.

Super sweet!

(The pot-luck banquet was good, too..... I'll eat sensibly tomorrow....)

READ MUCH?

This is the coolest!! BookCrossing.com is a system of "releasing books into the wild" to be read by others, while you track where the book goes. It's like geocaching with books! Too cool!

You join the website (free and private), register a book with an ID number, pass it on by giving it to a friend or leaving it in a book exchange spot (like a laundromat), and the chain is started. If you are lucky enough to find a book with an ID (like finding a geocache!) you go to the website and report your find; then, again, pass it on when you're done.

I love my books but in the RV I don't have room to keep them. With BookCrossing I can "let them go" without really letting them go... I get to see where they are and how they're doing, who they've met -- just like grown kids! I love it!

HOW I MADE MY BANNER

Several people have asked me, so here's the quick-and-easy explanation. (The explanation, not the process, is quick and easy, LOL!)

 

Basically, I stitched photos together in Photoshop Elements, uploaded the result to Photobucket.com, then pasted the HTML tag into my template under "Head."

 

It took a lot of trial and error to get it right. I had to do a lot of resizing and moving images around to get them to fit together (like a puzzle, it was fun) and there are still a couple of mistakes -- like Abbie's head poking up into the picture of my medals. I have some new pictures I might want to add so I may be messing with it some more.

 

I had put up a longer post about this, but then thought maybe that wasn't what people wanted, maybe they were just asing a question, not asking for step-by-step instructions. So here is the new abbreviated version. If you would like the blow-by-blow, let me know and I'll email you the long one.

 

OR..... what I should REALLY do is say, "Send me your pictures and I'll make you one for a price!" :-D But I'm such a good blog friend, I'll just tell you how...

 

OR.... if you don't want to do it yourself..... I'm no HTML wizard but I could give it a shot. Here's my email address: ehmltn@hotmail.com

What the hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.