Return to Marine Corps Marathon

2009 was a year of PR's. MCM was no exception. A 4:22:26 finish, a five minute improvement over London earlier this year.

Lauren Baumgarten (second from left) and I "officially met" via email as members of the 2007 NYC Marathon team raising money for the New York Chapter of the National M.S. Society. Unfortunately, on race day, delays in getting to the start prevented us from being able to meet in person until two years later. When I did not get picked for the NYC Marathon lottery for 2009, I bought a bib from another runner and joined Lauren and her friends in Washington D.C. for a wonderful marathon weekend. Jamie Masson (third from left) works with Lauren( who is a nurse) and is a pulminary doctor and Anita is a high school math teacher. It was great returning to Washington D.C. where I PR'd 4 years earlier. I forgot how hilly the marathon course was, but in the end, I truly enjoyed running it and experiencing the sights through the eyes of Lauren, who had never seen our nation's capitol before now. After the marathon, we grazed on hamburgers and beer, took a nap, and then let our tired feet walk around the national mall. We saw Lincoln's memorial for a second time in the same day, only this time it was empty of tourists, solemn, and beautiful. We proceeded to the F.D.R. memorial, which was built 10 years ago. Having been to Washington D.C. many times, I never knew this memorial existed and it was stunning to view at night. We made note of the beautiful silhouette made by the Washington monument as the nearby lights shone upon it. Makes me proud and grateful for our nation's founders. On to Berlin!

P.S. I was briefly interviewed by a local media outlet in D.C. My three seconds of fame...

Another PR...in London!

After more than a year with no marathons on my race schedule, I ran the Flora London Marathon on April 26. What a great experience. And, after a three year wait, I managed to eek out a PR on a rather warm 70 degree day with an extremely crowded field of participants. Wow!

Forrest and the girls joined me as we spent a week sight seeing in London and Paris. The marathon was definitely the highlight for me. I can honestly say I felt great through Mile 26...no cramping, well-hydrated, and cruising to the finish line. While my goal finish time was a 4:19, the crowded streets made it very difficult for me to run at my intended pace. In the end, I was happy with a PR of 4:27:19. Thanks to all who donated to my charity...I managed to raise more than 2,000 pounds and was the MS Trust's sixth highest fundraiser out of 44 team members!

As for the elite race, it was also pretty fantastic. Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru smashed Martin Lel's one-year-old course record to win the marathon in a personal best of 2:05:10 after a gripping battle with Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede who finished just 10 seconds behind. In the women’s race, Germany’s Irina Mikitenko became the first woman since Paula Radcliffe to retain her London Marathon title as she held off a spirited challenge from Britain's Mara Yamauchi to win the third marathon of her career and cement her first place on the World Marathon Majors leaderboard. What amazes me is that the men’s winner was 22 years old, while the winner of the female race was nearly 37 years old! There is hope for all of us older female runners!

Long Winter Runs at Fermilab

The knee problem I have been having is related to some tight quads and so my long runs have been taking their toll on me. I'm trying some PT and also working with a personal trainer to work on strength training. Also, I tried a new venue for my long runs last weekend - Fermilab, just a few miles from home. The facility is located on a large parcel of land that houses scientists from all over the world who study particles. Buffalo roam on the property and there are scenic creeks, nature trails, and a visitor's center plus housing for some of the scientists. It is open to the public (not cars) and as a result, it is a haven for cyclists and runners alike. I ran 16 last Sat. with a friend of mine. There is a large and small "loop" that follows the direction of the underground particle accelerator with paved and snow-plowed streets and running paths. Saturday was 30 degrees and a bit blustery but the scenery was much better than running on a treadmill for 3 hours. This Saturday is my first 20 miler and I think I'll return to Fermi for my run. The forecast looks like 45 degrees!

We finally booked our hotel in London near the finish line of the race. I'm relieved to have that done.

Praise be thy Feet

Training for the London Marathon started last Monday. I've begun a new and rather intense training program from the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training's "Run Less, Run Faster" book. If you want to view my training program, go here for a PDF. The idea is to run fewer days per week but at higher intensity. Three key workouts consist of a speed workout to improve VO2Max, mid-week tempo run to improve lactate threshold, and a longer paced run on the weekend to build endurance. In all, I am going to run five 20-milers leading up to the marathon, something I have never done before. Three weekdays will be spent cross training (I have decided on spinning, swimming, and yoga) and one day rest per week. I am looking forward to winter training - generally colder and usually more lonely but it beats having to get out for a long run on an 80 degree morning. Right now it's been snowing a ton and the below-zero temps have me running indoors, which totally sucks, but there's nothing I can do about it. Tomorrow's long run is an 18 miler - which will take me about 3 hours on a treadmill. Hopefully soon the weather will warm up so I can get out for my long runs. Cheers for now.