10 miles!

Well. We've hit the threshold of 10 miles. Double digits. The number where they say, "If you can run 10, you can run 13.1"

Well. If 13.1 sucks the way 10 did, we're in trouble!

86 degrees. Humid. Not properly fueled. Lordy, it was rough. I was SOOO whiny. Poor Regan.

I would like to thank the good lord for the rainstorm at mile 7 - it was greatly appreciated. I probably would have had to be picked up by the side of the greenway in a melted heap had we not had that little break.

But, as Preston said, we did it. And if we can do 1o in those conditions, a race that is earlier, with all of us, and proper hydration and fueling, should be no big deal - even if it's longer.

Today I'm heading down to SC for a relaxing weekend with 11 dear friends. Life is so very good.

Sarah

9 miles, a plateau, and a plane crash.

I ran 9 miles on Saturday! By myself! At the River! (read: Loooong, straight, flat, BORING roads with nothing but fields to look at. Thank goodness for U-S husband who rode the tandem bike out with my dad to check in around mile 3, and then rode along side for the last 3 miles... he is the best!

First I'll address the plane crash... about 30 minutes into my run, emergency trucks starting whizzing past me. It's rural NC, so it was the volunteer fire department rather than actual ambulances, but I knew something was up. When I rounded the corner and started heading past a huge wheat field, I saw a pile of metal and a lot of people rushing towards it. I thought someone was stuck in some farm equipment because I couldn't tell what it was. Turns out, it was a plane crash. It had happened just seconds before I got to the scene and apparently did "cartwheels" through the field. Glad I missed that. Here's the article.

Now I'll address the plateau. Not as exciting, not nearly as scary, but it sure does make me angry.

I've been stuck at or around 160 for 8 weeks. That is ridiculous people. I'm doing everything right. I don't even use all of my weekly points. Activity points, yes. Weekly, no. I'm tracking everything. I've added weight training to my plan - about 30 minutes 2-3 times/week. I'm running 15-20 miles.

Someone explain this. The math is not adding up.

Grr.

Sarah

Just got my world ROCKED!

In a totally good way. New shoes. New bras. New respect for Fleet Feet!

I loved them anyways, right, but I'm not usually one to be all "help!" on anything. I mean, I've been doing this for 9 months, I know my stuff, right?

Ha.

So my shoes have been feeling offish,so I decided to take the time to do a real, serious fitting at Fleet Feet. (I did one before at Athlete's Foot, but I was never totally convinced. Then, I was too embarassed to ask for another footing at a different store. Now, all bets are off. I need the right shoe.)

Anywho.

Went to Fleet Feet. Lauren ROCKED. She got me the hook up. We tried on tons of shoes - turns out, I need a wide. Explains the pain in my toes. So, going with a very similar shoe, slightly more cushy, but this time, in a wide. Had to special-order, so they'll be here next week. FUN!

THEN, she saw what bra I was going to get. And convinced me to try a different one - in a different size. I mean, I didn't even know what to think. I LOVE my Fiona Moving Comfort Bra in a size 38 D. LOVE. But you know what?

Her suggestion is even better. It's the Juno - racerback, adjustable straps, and - hold the presses - 36 DD. Totally different size.

Wha??

So, internet friends, what have we learned???

Ask. THey know what they're talking about. Stop feeling like you should go into a running store knowing the whole deal. (GUILTY.) They will always know more about shoes, bras, goos, even socks, than you do. Ask around, find a store that really cares. If the salesperson doesn't give you a long consult, they're not doing it right. If you just have to walk around the store and see which one feels best and they don't watch you run, they're not doing it right.

And ladies, swallow your pride. Let the competent salespeople see you in your bra. Let it all hang out. They will not judge you. For goodness sake, you're spending good money on a running bra - they know you're one of them. And, frankly, a solid part of the reason they're employed.

Sarah

Some thoughts on hardcore training

Phew. Training for a half-marathon is pretty exhausting. And I am constantly haunted by thoughts that I'm not doing enough. On the schedule, we're up to about 12-15 miles during the week and a long run of 8-9 miles. We have, yowza, 32 days to go. OMG.

Mostly, I'm not sore, so I feel like we've been pacing ourselves well. I am also hungry ALL THE TIME. Like now. I'ma go get a snack.

Ok, I'm back.

So, where were we. Hungry. ALL THE TIME. Which means, I'm not losing weight. How is this possible?? I've been tracking. I haven't been over my points. I think I'm being pretty honest. I'm working out 6 days a week y'all. There is just no way I'm taking in more calories than I'm burning.

But, I digress. I think I've figured out my race fuel. I've been chopping up mint chocolate cliff bars into bite size morsels of goodness and gnoshing on them just after the first hour. I've also started bringing gatorade with me for long runs. It is working. I can definitely tell a difference in my energy levels.

The team of 4 won't run together again until the race... probably good because we'll have a ton of things to talk about! Haha. One thing I am pretty sure about though - we will be able to finish the race. We might be last* but we'll finish. (If I keep telling myself this, it'll be true, right??)

Sarah

*My mother-in-law, who I love, and is super-supportive, said "No way!" to which I had to reply, "No. Seriously. It's a small race. Run by mostly Marines. Based on the finish times from last year, there is actually a possibility that we will be last. So, there's that. But as we penguins say, it's not about how fast you finish, but about having the courage to start. (OK, and finish.)

Ok - finally! Race recap!

The hubs is actually home for the day (he's an accountant, and this being tax season, he hasn't had a day off in a while) and he's cooking tuna steaks for dinner and watching the Masters. That said, I don't so much care about golf, so woot! Time to blog!

So, the Cooper River Bridge Run was, in a word, AWESOME. Sure, there were like a gazillion people. And yes, that incline went up for a mile and a half. And, did I mention a gazillion people? But, y'all, it was great fun.

The basics:

We stayed in N. Charleston (right across from the outlets - super-bonus.) and it was easy to get to and from Mt. Pleasant where the race started. We got up bright and early (I was waaay too excited to sleep Friday, so getting up was no big deal) and headed to my cousin's apt. to park. We had planned to walk, but her friend Zee drove us to the start. Another bonus!

So here's the gang: Cousin Rachel, Me, Regan, Alisha, and Jade. We're looking pretty awesome, right?

Also, we found Waldo. When Alisha went to take a picture, the guy said, "Wow. Glad you were able to find us." The race was in Mt. Pleasant for the first 2ish miles, then 2+ on the bridge, then 2 through downtown Charleston. The incline was about a mile and a half. We didn't cheat on our intervals and had fun passing people going up. Here are the throngs of people heading onto the bridge.

The view from the bridge was pretty awe-inspiring. It was gorgeous. Not to mention the fact that we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. It was downright spectacular.

You may wonder how I got these pictures while running. These are courtesy of the Flip Cam that Preston got me before our wedding last year. I could turn it on for a while, get a few shots, and then I could select screen shots when I got home. This strategy was great. The Flip is TINY so I had it in my belt, and I got lots of great pictures that would have been impossible otherwise.

Here's the downtown shot as we came down the final mile. It was fun running in the historic district. The Turkey Trot I did back in November in Charleston was in a different part of the city, so this was all new.

Here we are at the finish - we're looking pretty good, right??? Jade finished in like 54 minutes (awesome!) and Al, Regan and I finished at 1 hr. 21 minutes. Not too bad for our first 10 k!

So, cross that bad boy off the list... next up - Half Marathon! Yikes!

Sarah

Cooper River Bridge Run Race Report

Will come later. In the meantime, read Regan's account! Sarah