Ragnar New England

On May 20th (my birthday!) and May 21st (my husband's birthday!), I ran Ragnar New England with 11 complete strangers. Friday morning, I had to be in Mystic, CT by 7 o'clock to meet the van to drive to New Haven. The team's start time wasn't until 10 but you had to be there an hour early for the safety check and safety brief. My team's name was 12 Road Scholars on the Way to Harvard.

I was in van one. I was the second runner in the van. I had to run legs 2, 14, and 26.

My first leg started at East Haven Town Beach. I ran for a mile on Coe Avenue and I was alone. I there wasn't any runners behind me or in front of me that I could see. At mile 1, I took a right onton Silver Sands Road and that is when I saw my first runner. I proceeded to pass him and then I had to take a right unto Short Beach Road. I spotted another runner. He has stopped to talk to family and friends so I passed him too. At 3.7 miles, I took a right unto stannard Road and then a right on Harbor Street to finish off my run! The course was a lot hillier then I expected but I ran 4.63 miles in 40 minutes for an average pace of 8:38. The elevation gain was 190ft. The weather was nice. It was overcast and not the warm out yet.

My second leg started at Nathan Hale Ray Middle School in Moodus, CT. My run started at 8:38 at night so I had to wear the reflective vest and the head light. A female started a few minutes before me and John (one of my teammates) told me to pass her. Which I did within the first 1/2 mile of the run. After I passed her, I didn't see any other runner. I ran on Silmanville road for about a mile. It was rolling hills and the turned Left unto Waterhole Road for a down hill for a 1.25 miles. Once I turned unto Route 16 in Colchester it was all up hill for the last 2 miles. I ran 4 miles in 38:11 for an average pace of 9:30. The elevation gain was almost 500 ft. It was nice and cool. My teammate Neal took off and we all got back in the van. He was about a 1/4 mile down the road and he looked like he was limping. We stopped and John go out to see how he was doing. He said his ITB was bothering him but he could finish his run. But he wasn't too sure he would be able to run his last leg of 7 miles. Since I was the runner before him and had the least amount of miles, I volunteered to run his third leg.

After the runners in our van finished their second leg, we went to shower and sleep for a couple of hours in the office of another's runners dad! The shower felt good and the sleep helped a little. But it wasn't long enough.

My third leg started at High Point Church in Thompson, CT. I ran about a mile and was running over the CT/MA stateline. My third leg was short and flat but I did pass one runner. I ran 3.38 miles in 31:13 for an average pace of 9:13. The elevation gain was only 14ft.

Once I got to the finish of my third leg, instead of heading the bracelet off to Neal, I got a quick drink and Gu to run his 7+ mile leg. This leg started at Memorial Park Beach in Webster, MA. I headed back out the way I came and then took a right unto Thomson Road. The route was pretty much a straight shot. Only the name of the road changed names as I cross city limits. It was very pretty run with trees surround in the road. But it was very hilly. Again I had a hill that lasted about 2 miles but once I got over that hill it was pretty much rolling hills. I got a second wind at mile 4 and picked up my pace to finish with a strong run. I ran 7.45 miles in 1:11:10 for an average pace of 9:33. The elevation gain was almost 500ft again. In the picuture above, I was chasing the man behind me for about 2 miles and finally overtook him with a 1/2 mile to go. When we got closer the the finish line I could hear him trying to catch up but I got a little bit more energy and didn't let him pass me!

Once out van was done with their 3rd leg, we headed to Harvard to to wait for the 2nd van. Ever since I knew I was running into Boston, I have been dreaming about having my Jamba Juice. When I lived in Hawaii I lived on Protein Berry Workout drink. But we don't have any in CT. The only time I get to have it now is if I go into Boston or New York and I dont do that very often. After running almost 20 miles in two days with very little sleep, I walked about 3 miles round trip to the closest Jamba Juice and it was well worth it!

Once the last runner of van 2 got into the track outside of Havard's stadium, we all ran a half a lap round and finished as a team! As a team we ran 194 miles in 29 hours 17 minutes and 49 seconds for an average pace of 9:03. We were 96 out of 190 teams.

It was a lot more fun then I expected it to be since I was going to be in a van with 5 total strangers for 30 hours. I want to do another relay again. I know there are the reach the beach in NH and MA and then there is another relay in New Englad where you hit all 6 New England States.

It has been awhile...

It has been a while since my last post. I haven't been running all that much. Most of my miles come from races.

On April 26th I ran the Steven Donahue Memorial 3 mile run in Pawcatuck. The route was along the Pawcatuck River and it was a flat out and back course. It was a small race. My time was 23:56. I had a pretty good first mile at 7:33 but slowed down the last two miles at 8:12 and 8:17. Since it was a small field I was 3rd women overall, 2nd in my age group (30-39), and 29th out of 105. Steven Donahue was the fire chief of the Pawcatuck Fire Department. He died of cancer a few years back.

On May 1st, I ran in the Flander 5k in East Lyme. Again it was an out and back course with some small hills. It was a nice course. I finished in 24:59. I was 2nd in my age group (30-39) and 49th out of 198. I had pretty tight mile sprint at 8:03, 8:03, and 8:04. They race started 15 minutes late because there were a lot of late registrations. My kids ran in a kids race around the track. They got a medal for finishing and Paddy was so proud of it.

On May 7th I ran in the Salmon River 5.4 mile race in Salem. It was a tough but pretty course through the Salmon River Park. My mind and body wasn't into this run. I hadn't ran since the last race. My final time was 49:13. My friends Tracy from daiymile finished before me then he came back and finished the last .5 mile with me and gave the some push to finish strong.

Then finally, yesterday, I ran in the James Greenleaf Memorial 5k River Run. The race started in Ocean Beach in New London. Half the course you ran along the coast. I had to run with the double stroller so I was hoping for under 30 minutes since it was suppose to be a flat course. I started at the back so it took me some time to get going. The course had some very small hills that i wouldn't have noticed except with the stroller. My final time was 28:21. James Greenleaf died on September 11, 2001 in New York. The money for the race goes for scholarhips for local high schools.

I am hoping to run more. I just lack the motivation. I have been riding my stationary bike more so I do get some exercise in. This weekend is the Ragnar Relay New England!

A few things to look forward too!

The first thing that I will be doing is the Ragnar Relay New England. When I first heard of this a few months back I wanted to do it but didn't think I could put a 12 man team together so I just forgot about it. But I am a member of the Mohegan Striders Running Club and a few members had set up a team but needed two more runners. I was one of the lucky ones that they chose! I am excited because the first day of my relay is my 36th birthday!

The second thing that I will be doing is a Spartan Race. I have a younger cousins who wants to try it out. I was suppose to do a obstacle type race in Hawaii but I couldn't do it because of a death in the family. We haven't hammered out the logistics yet but I think either August or September.

Finally, I have decided what marathon I will be running this fall!! I decided to do the Wineglass Marathon on October 2nd in New York. I just registered today! It is a point to point marathon that brags to be a superfast marathon. 50% of the runners finish under 4 hours! I am going to do a very long training cycle for this marathon so I don't up my miles to quickly.

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Easter. We had a good Easter weekend. Friday morning we had an Easter egg hunt with all my nieces and nephews on my side of the family since we were spending Easter Sunday with my husbands family. The kids had a lot of fun trying to find all the eggs!On Saturday, we colored eggs! Jenny and Paddy had a lot of fun!

On Sunday, my daughter woke me up by pretending to be a rooster at 7:15. She was excited that the Easter Bunny came!

Then we drove to Dalton, Mass to my father in laws house for Easter Dinner. Jenny and Paddy got to see their other cousins and had a Easter Egg Hunt with them.

Salem Road Race 5k

Since my marathon on March 20th, I haven't been running much. It was been three weeks, I don't think I have run 26 miles!

I signed up for this 5k a while back so I thought I would run it and hope it would spark my motivation to run more!

Jenny and Paddy did the 1 mile fun run for the kids. Jenny ran the mile in 12 minutes and Paddy took 17 minutes to run the mile. The course had a big hill to run up the last quarter of a mile. I had to run the 5k with the double stroller! I have not ran with the double stroller since June 2010. It was tough! It was hilly! I had to walk up the steeper part of the hills. At mile 1.4 it was down hill until mile 2.1 and I just had to go with the stroller. I would have wasted more energy trying to slow it down. Then the last mile was all up hill :(. I finished just under 32 minutes according to my garmin. My worst 5k ever even with a stroller :(.

I really need to get back into running and I really, really need to watch what I eat. I want to lose 20 lbs before my next marathon. I want to get back to 140.

My little tikes running

On Saturday, I took my kids to the next town over so they could run in a half mile fun run for St. Josephs School PE program.

It was cold. I think Paddy would have enjoyed it more if it was so cold! The race started at 9:00 and luckily we were able to wait inside until the start of the race. There was about 50 kids running the fun run.

Jenny and Paddy lined up next to each other but when the gun went off, Jenny took off for her run. I ran/walked with Paddy. It was an out and back race. I got to see Jenny when she was on her return trip to the finish. She looked like she was having fun and doing great. Paddy made it to the half way mark and was cold. I had to keep encouraging him and finally we made it to the finish. Jenny had an official time of 5:45 and Paddy's time was 8:08 for the half mile!

I am proud of both my little ones. Jenny is looking forward to her next race!!

Wrightsville Beach Marathon

The Wrightsville Beach Marathon was on March 20th. I talked my mom into driving down with me. Not that it took a lot of persuading. Her father lives down in Wilmington, NC and it was about that time for her to visit him.

We left my mom's house at 7am on Thursday. But we had to stop to pick up some lobsters for her friends in NC and to gas up. We made pretty good time down to NC. There was only traffic at the end of Connecticut. We arrived in Burgaw, NC at 8 at night. We stopped at my mom's friends house to drop off the lobster and she invited us to sleep there for the night since we didn't have a hotel room for the night.

The next day, I ran from the house along route 117 in Burgaw. Just a quick 4 miles to see how my legs felt. They didn't feel too good with all the driving from the day before. The rest of the day we spent visiting with my grandfather in the nursing home. We left to check into the Shell Island Hotel around 4. We checked in, picked up my bib, and checked out the expo. There wasn't much to the expo.

Saturday, I went out for a quick 2 mile run along the beach and my legs felt much better. We went to the nursing home and took my grandfather out for a ride. We went to see his house and then to visit the grave of his wife. That night, my mom and I went to the pasta dinner hosted by the race. I was suppose to meet Christine from My First Marathon and Counting
( http://christine-myfirstmarathon.blogspot.com ). But I didn't see her. Two other ladies ended up sitting with us and it fun to chat with them. Bill Rodgers (Boston Billy) was the speaker for the night. We went back to the hotel and saw the super moon. I got my stuff ready and went to bed early.

Sunday morning came quick. I got up at 4am. The race didn't start until 6:30. I dressed, ate my breakfast, and then headed downstairs. When I got off the elevator, I was very surprised to recognize the lady sitting in the lounge area. It was Christine. We talked for awhile and then boarded the shuttle to the start area. We met up with one of the ladies from the pasta dinner. It was a chilly hour wait for the start of the race but it went by quick with good conversation.

Finally it was time to line up. Christine and I lined up together. We wished each other luck and was off. The first 4 miles headed along the beach and out towards Wilmington. We ran over 3 bridges with beautiful scenery. We had to take a right onto Military Cutoff Road and my mom was cheering me on at about 4.5 miles. She tried to take a picture but didn't get me! We were on Military Cutoff until mile 6.

Mile 1 9:56 Mile 4 9:12
Mile 2 9:20 Mile 5 9:18
Mile 3 9:23 Mile 6 9:19


Christine and I were still running together. Neither of us had a specific goal for the race. We didn't talk much but it was still good to know that she was there. She told me she was going to try to hang with me until she got tired. We then took a right into a gated community called Landfall. WOW! They had some beautiful big houses in there. There was some support in the community but not a whole lot. We stayed in the community until mile 11 and mile 12 was again along Military Cutoff road and I got to see my mom again. As you can see we really picked up the pace for miles 7-12.

Mile 7 9:18 Mile 10 8:49
Mile 8 8:55 Mile 11 8:53
Mile 9 9:03 Mile 12 8:41

Christine was only doing the half so she took a left to finish and left me all alone :(. Christine ended up with her first sub 2 half marathon! Great job Christine! Right after she left, I had to take a pit stop because my stomach wasn't feeling good. After the pit stop, it was fine. Once the half marathoners left (1500 compared to only 450 marathoners) the route seemed very deserted. We took the right again into the gated community and stayed in there until mile 21. We had to do two loops after the first loop we had to get a yellow wrist band for the volunteers to know we were done with the loops. The area was nice to run in but because there wasn't a lot of support in the gated community it wasn't my favorite part of the race. I don't think people were allowed in there unless they were volunteers. My pace started to slow down a bit for miles 16-18 and then dipped down again for mile 19. I just started to feel tired. But got a second wind for miles 20 and 21. I tried to eat a banana at mile 20 but it didn't sit well with me.

mile 13 10:00 mile 18 9:24
mile 14 8:59 mile 19 10:06
mile 15 9:00 mile 20 9:41
mile 16 9:26 mile 21 9:58
mile 17 9:27

Once again, I found myself running on Military Cutoff Road and saw my mom again. This time around my mom's friend and her grand daughter were there to cheer me on! This time my mom actually got a picture of me running. Right after mile marker 22 we took the left into Mayfaire Shopping center. We ran past the finish line which was kind of a teaser and did a 2 mile out and back on the roads behind the shopping center. At mile 23, there were handing out twizzlers so I grabbed one. But I couldn't eat it. I just felt sick when I put it in my mouth. At mile 24, there was a great group of people cheering for us and praying for us. I started to get a little emotional at this point but held back the tears. Shortly after that we got to turn around and head back towards the finish line. I ran by the cheer section again. I tried to pick up the pace at mile 26 and I got to see my mom and her friend right before the finish line. It was great to finish and get my medal!

mile 22 10:19 mile 25 10:36
mile 23 10:32 mile 26 10:29
mile 24 10:54 mile .49 4:37 (9:26)

Stats:
Time: 4:13:35
Distance: 26.49
Pace: 9:34
Overall place: 216 out of 431
Women: 58 out of 172
Division (35-39): 12 of out 36

Overall I am very happy with my time because my training wasn't all that great. I was looking over my weekly mileage for this 16 week training schedule and it was very low. My weekly miles for the past 12 weeks were all under 26 miles. The extra biking and the hills must have helped me immensely.

This marathon was well organized and had great support along the beach and military cutoff. I just wished there were more people allowed in Landfall. It was a very flat course!! The weather was perfect for the marathon. I would recommend this marathon to anyone!