Going backpacking

A few weeks ago, I made a solid investment. I purchased a running backpack. It was definitely not a spur of the moment purchase; I'd been thinking about it for a while. As summer started to wind down, I became increasingly concerned about how and when I would fit in my running. Then one day it occurred to me: run home from work.

The run from my office in downtown DC to Pentagon City, VA is absolutely beautiful. I go right down the National Mall, loop around by the Jefferson Memorial, and go on a bridge right to VA. Then I take the Mt. Vernon trail around by the airport, through Crystal City directly to my apartment building. It's a little less than 5 miles and is an ideal run for weekdays. For the past few weeks, I've been running home at least once or twice a week. I get my workout in early, so I'm not running around at 8pm in the dark AND I burn off all of the stress/steam of the workday.

For the record, I highly recommend the brand that I bought - Osprey Talon. I purchased it from a great company called Moosejaw. It was about $80 and it was completely worth it. The backpack is lightweight, comfortable, and easy to run with. There's lots of useful compartments and it even has a separate space for a water bladder. It is pretty much my new favorite running toy for now!

Social Runner! (pick me!!!!)

A week ago, I got a really interesting email. As you all know from diligently reading ALL of my blog posts (cough, cough), my very first race was the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in 2008. I had so much fun and loved it so much that I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon that fall. I've been hooked ever since! I have been doing the Cherry Blossom run every year since then (thankfully I have made it through the lottery each time and even got the chance to run it with my mom TWICE). Let me tell you - it is a great race. It's a popular race and so it's pretty big. The course is beautiful and the energy is great!

But that was just the back story...back to that interesting email. It was an email from race organizers giving some updates on the upcoming 2012 race. And it included a very special new section:
"The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run is looking for two runners from anywhere in the United States to be our first “Credit Union Cherry Blossom Social Runners.” These individuals will be telling the world all about their experiences with the race on Facebook and Twitter."

What a great opportunity! I'm so happy to see that they are offering something like this. I would absolutely love to help spread the word about the race and I'm looking forward to seeing who they pick! No matter what, it's going to be another beautiful race in 2012!

Go Runners Go!

The Marine Corps Marathon was yesterday. I could hear the announcers from my bedroom in Arlington. I could see the road closures from the windows. And part of the race course was on the road by my apartment building. I was feeling pretty sad. I got up at 7 and went for an hour run. Then I pulled myself together, ate some donuts, and dragged Boyfriend out with me to cheer on the runners.

IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!

I love to cheer people on in races. I love to race more, but if I can't race, I want to cheer. I would never avoid a race because I wasn't doing it. I can't imagine going for a long run instead of cheering on the runners. It was a BLAST!! I had a cowbell and someone gave me a big horn and I was not quiet for one minute. Constant cowbelling and yelling are my style. I was meeting them all right after they hit mile 23. I got there around the 2:15 hour mark and there were already a bunch of crazy runners speeding through. They didn't really acknowledge my cheers, but I don't always either. I know how important it is to have people cheering you on, so I just kept yelling. But after we hit the 3 hour mark, that was when people were giving me the thumbs up, high-fiving me, and screaming "THANK YOU!!!" as they shuffled by. There were several people who were walking as they approached me but when they got close to me they started running again. I absolutely believe in the power of a cheer squad and I can only hope that I helped some of them through the last 3 miles.

Some tips for people who are going to cheer at a marathon:
1) cheer for everyone! ring your cowbell or wave your sign for everyone who walks by. it doesn't matter if you know them or not!
2) if you see someone who's wearing their name on their shirt, call it out! if they don't have their name on, but they have writing on, yell that out. it will lift their spirits! (for runners: put your name on your shirt or your body somewhere!)
3) if you bring your kids (and I suggest you do!), don't let them get so close to the race course. There were two little girls cheering next to me for a while and they kept blowing their horns into the race course. Like abruptly raising a huge plastic horn into runners' paths. Their caretaker did not seem too concerned, which really started to irritate me.
4) have fun! Runners need positive energy as they power through their race. Laugh, cheer, and dance! It will lift runners' spirits.

I pretty much gave up on specific cheers and stuck with "great job runners!" "you look strong, keep it up!" and "you can do it! finish strong, stay strong runners!" Maybe the people next to me got sick of it, but everyone needs to hear you. The runner passing you 5 minutes ago doesn't care if you're still telling the people behind them that they have a good pace too. I really believe that there were a lot of people out there yesterday who needed to hear, "you CAN do this!" I know that I've needed that little pep talk in a race before.

I made myself a promise yesterday. As long as I live in the DC area, I WILL do the Marine Corps Marathon. I can't stand to miss it ever again! What an incredible race! Congrats to all the finishers!!

It's not too late to do another marathon....RIGHT?!!?!?

First off, let's kick things off with a shout out to Rich, who made my YEAR by commenting on my blog. Let's all go visit his new blog at http://mydaddyisarunner.blogspot.com/. He had the misfortune of having me photobomb a few of his race photos in the Hershey Half Marathon and was kind enough to search me out and comment on my blog post!

In other news...I'm debating signing up for another marathon before 2012 hits. I'm feeling the bug pretty badly and I'm not sure if I'll be able to resist. I figure that I can get in a few 20 milers in November and do a December marathon? The only problem is that I'm late in registering, so there's not a ton of races left, ESPECIALLY in my vicinity. Doing this would probably mean going down to Florida or something and as nice as that sounds, it's probably not gonna happen. Sooo....Rehoboth or some trail run in Baltimore? Thoughts? Suggestions? The Rehoboth one happens to be the day before my Jingle All the Way 8k...but 8k is only 5 miles (not even 5 miles, just under). I think it would be totally feasible but would it be a really jerk move to do that since I signed up for the Jingle race with friends and family? Would anyone go to the beach in December to support me? I guess I may find out...I'll keep you all updated on my decision.

This weekend I'm going to go cheer on the Marine Corp Marathon runners. I'm so excited to stand on the street and yell at people for a few hours!! I was going out for a morning run yesterday and a random guy in my apartment building asked how far I was going. In general I hate that question, because I often don't know yet. I just go for as long as I feel like. So I kind of stammered and he ultimately got around to saying, "You should do the Marine Corps Marathon! I think it's next weekend." Oh, dear, poor fellow really set me up for that one. Ready for my spike? "Oh yeah. I've done that one. Twice." BAM. Right in the face!! He looked shocked (although I'm not sure why, I think I look like I run pretty steadily) and all he could muster was, "well look at you!"

Yeah that's right. Look at me! I'm a runner!

Does 13 seconds really make a difference?

This weekend, I did the Hershey Half Marathon. It was one of the smallest races I've done (only 5,000 people). Let me tell you - small races may be the way to go. It was so personal - names on the bibs, easy to get to the starting line, convenient parking, very decongested start line. There were a LOT of spectators, which kind of surprised me, except when you think about it, people bring their whole families to the smaller races. Don't get me wrong, it was no Marine Corps Marathon. But it really was a great race. It was a gorgeous day for it and it went through the beautiful PA countryside AND through Hersheypark. They also had a chocolate aid station, which was wonderful. The schwag was pretty awesome too - a great reusable bag, cool t-shirt, 13.1 bumper sticker, and an insulated lunch box filled with goodies at the finish. I think I just might do this race again next year...

I also managed to improve my time from the Philly half marathon by 13 seconds - so I shaved off one second per mile. So I PR'ed this weekend, which made me ridiculously happy for some reason. I also was in the top 500 finishers in the race (which really only happened because it was a small race).

In other news, a 100 year old man did the Toronto marathon this weekend. FULL marathon. UNBELIEVABLE!! Can you even imagine being 100 years old and doing 26.2 miles? He said he was so happy that it only compared to his wedding day. I told this to my friend and she immediately responded with "that'll be you someday." I think that's what every runner, deep down inside, wants. Yes, we would like to win races and improve our times, but in the end it's about running as long and as much as possible. Keep going till you can't go no more!!!

Fanatic?

So far, I've had several people send me an article about the woman who ran the Chicago marathon while 39 weeks pregnant (she gave birth a few hours after finishing the race). At first, I was a little confused. I am not pregnant and I was not lucky enough to run the Chicago marathon. Then I realized a great thing: when my friends and family think of marathons, they think of me.

That makes me smile.

In October 2008, I completed my very first marathon: the Marine Corps Marathon. Since then, I have completed 2 (soon to be 3) half marathons, 5 ten-milers, 10-15 10ks and 5ks, 5 marathons, 2 ultra-marathons, and one triathlon. I feel like that's a great start. Now let's keep going!!

Who wants to be on my race crew for this in 2013?

How "hacer jogging" made me run

I was thinking a lot during my Philly half marathon this past weekend. I was also running super fast (for me) and clocked in at 1:46:32. Basically, 8 minute miles, back to back, for 13.1 miles. I am quite pleased :)

But what was really on my mind was my time in Spain. I studied in Madrid 5 years ago this fall and stayed with a lovely couple named Babis and Emilio. They treated me like one of their children and took extremely good care of me. They encouraged me to go out, enjoy Spain. They cooked for me, did my laundry (hung my underwear up to dry in the kitchen...), and took care of my when I was sick. I absolutely adored them.

But one thing that always irked me was how casually they viewed my running. By the time I went to Spain, I was pretty firmly invested in my running. I wasn't doing races, but I did run 3-4 times a week. I had the cool clothes, the cool shoes. I took myself somewhat seriously. So whenever it was time for me to hit the pavement, I would say that I was going to "correr." Correr in Spanish means to RUN. My host dad would always respond with how good it was to "hacer jogging." Basically cut me down a size, counter my enthusiasm for running with his belief that I was really only jogging.

Good grief, I really hated that.

It really irritated me to think that I was being classified as a "jogger" when I really believed myself to be a "runner." As someone who loves fitness in all forms, I have nothing really AGAINST joggers. It's just that I don't want to be one. I want to be a RUNNER. Jogging brings to mind velour tracksuits and soccer moms. Someday I'll be a granny and I'll jog. Now I am 25 and I wear shorty shorts and by gosh, I run. Running brings to mind athletes and wild cats. I want to be the wild cat. And during this last race, I really felt like I was. I was passing people, keeping my pace despite a nagging pull in my knee (it's totally gone, I swear). And at the end, I sprinted.

I absolutely refuse to be a jogger. I will not jog - I will only run.