A link to a couple pics

Here is a link to some pictures taken of me running at Nike. I swear I am going to write up a post of how the run was soon. This week has just been crazy!

Photographs!

I did it!! - Exactly 3 hours :)

Half Marathon - 2007 Results
FLEMING, KATHERINE
EMERYVILLE CA 94608

Overall - 7,339 (out of 12,196)

Bib - 14951

Final Time - 3:00:01

Class- F30-34

Age -30

Gender- F

classrank 1,282

sexrank 6,988

pace 0:13:44

5k 0:38:46

10k 1:24:37

15k 2:07:46

Link to Results
enter my bib number - 14951 - to see my results in a prettier format.

Introducing my mom

So last night I introduced my mother to the Daughters Grieving their Mothers grief group I attend weekly. I showed the group some photos (including the ones on this page and my fundraising page, as well as some of her as a child, on her wedding day, and us together the day before my college graduation).

I also showed the group some of her artwork which she had made for me - it is a beautiful collage/drawing/writing piece telling me to Seize the Day while angels watch over me. It was a piece of her work that I haven't looked at in years, and considering that it is now only 3 days until my run, it was perfect timing.

So here I am - seizing the day, running to honor those who are still fighting each day, and those who live on daily in our memories.

Tonight I am going to pick up my race packet at the Nike Expotique with my friend Sabrina & my sister in law Amber. Tomorrow is rest, Saturday is rest and the Team in Training Pasta Party, and then Sunday early (6:15am) is when I show up to run.

Running on a treadmill

So this morning when the alarm went off I was in such a deep sleep that I just couldn't get up. When I tried, I felt very sick to my stomach so I just laid back down. Luckily, I didn't have any plans this evening so Justin & I went to the gym where I ran on a treadmill for pretty much the first time. I have walked on a treadmill before but never ran. It is very different! First of all, I found that I tend to veer towards my left when running. When I was first starting out, I actually had to hold onto the rails so that I wouldn't run into them. I ran for 3 miles (37 minutes) - I was alternating between a 12:14min/mile pace and a 12:30min/mile pace. I felt really good that I was just able to do the 3 miles. Obviously, it is much shorter than my race (in 4 days!) but it was also not much of a problem for me to just go run that.

I was running in my race outfit which is pretty styling (sarcasm). Everyone in Team in Training has to wear the shirt they provide so that you can be identified on the course by staff. So the runner's all get a bright purple tank top which is pretty small. I ended up getting both the medium (which I thought was too small) so then I got the large. The large is just wider though, not longer which is really what I was looking for. So I am sticking with the medium tank top. I don't wear running shorts - instead I actually wear spandex pants which were intended for use in yoga. But they have worked for me so far in training, so they are what I am going to wear for the race.

I also tried these arch support pads which you wear over your sock. I am not sure that I am going to wear them for the race. I haven't been having any more symptoms of the plantar fasciitis, and they weren't very comfortable.

Monday night - taping clinic

So, I went to a taping clinic this evening at La Foot. Basically we learned some exercises to do to prevent common foot/knee injuries, types of shoes to look for, and then how to tape feet, ankles, & knees to prevent pain while running. I had them do a gait analyses on me and the good news is that they said my feet weren't all that messed up. So if I had shoes which had more torsion and vertical control I probably wouldn't have had any injuries (at least, not like I did). So that is really encouraging. My calves are really tight right now though and my left one hurts when I run. It isn't shin splints, just a inflammation of the calf muscle. They showed me a stretch I should be doing pretty much constantly.

Overall it was a pretty helpful clinic. I think we all wished it had been much earlier in the training season, since the race is in 5 days!

Independent Distillers fest

So, Saturday night Justin & I went to the Independent Distillers Festival in San Francisco. Basically it was 4.5 hours of tasting vodka, gin, bourbon, whiskey, tequila, etc. Not too conducive to running on Sunday, let me tell you. It was a lot of fun though. Sunday I didn't really have a hangover, but I did end up getting a migraine later in the day. So no exercise at all. Now, I am drinking nothing but water until the race. Only 6 more days!

Sleepy Katherine

So, all day Friday I was in Portland Oregon for work. I went straight from the airport (landed at 7pm) to a friend's house where we hung out until 1am. That meant I didn't get to sleep until 2am. Which meant that I did not get up in time to go to the mentor-led run at the Berkeley Marina which started at 8am. I haven't made a single mentor-led run, why start now, right? :) What I did do was go for a light run around noon. Course, it was sunny and hot then so it was a very short light run. It was just 2 miles just running in our neighborhood. But it was better than nothing.

Shoes

So, I went to La Foot in Berkeley for the shoe lift. This time the person helping me definitely knew what he was doing. He actually looked at my shoes - it turns out that per their testing system, the type of shoe I have is not very good, which explains a lot of the problems I've been having. Unfortunately, it is way too late in the game to change shoes now. Since I am already signed up to run another half marathon in January, I am going to get a new pair of shoes right after the Nike race. Which is in 2 weeks!!!

Thursday - buddy run again

So, normally Thursday would be track. But since our marathon is in 10 days (EECK!), we aren't supposed to go to the track workouts anymore. So Lisa & I met up again at Lake Merritt this morning at 6am. It was really dark and chilly, but happily, it was not raining. We did the run at a 11 minute/mile pace, same as we did on Tuesday apparently. At least we are consistent. She is actually running a half marathon this Sunday down in San Jose, which means she is doing two half marathons in two weeks back to back. Talk about over-achieving!

During my lunch hour I did an hour long Pilates class. It was pretty good though now my upper back is all sore again.

This evening I am planning on going to La Foot in Berkeley to get a "shoe lift" for my left shoe, and some arch supports as well.

Tuesday-ditto

Did my usual Lake Merritt buddy run this morning. The sun isn't rising while we run anymore, it is rising on my drive back home. The total darkness when I am waking up is making it very difficult to drag my tired body out of bed. But only 2 more weeks of this (sort of - I am actually planning on continuing to train with the team until December 9 when the last marathoners are done with training).

karate

Did karate this evening for 2 hours. We did a lot of work with the sai (hand-held small swords) so my arms are exhausted. A student led the stretches and beginning exercises and he had just gotten into yoga so we did a lot of yoga sequences to begin which was cool.

I have been doing karate on and off since February of 1999. For some reason, since my mother passed away I am having a very hard time focusing during class and find myself often having to hold back tears. That combined with my current running focus led me to tell my instructor this evening that I am going to take a sabbatical from karate until at least January. Hopefully I will be able to return then with a slightly clearer head (and less injuries).

Sunday=shopping

So, I didn't run today since I did the 10 miles yesterday. But what we did do is find the Sports Basement in Walnut Creek and go shopping. I have some 20% off everything coupons from participating in Team in Training that I wanted to use. Sports Basement is awesome - I had never been before. They are like a Marshalls or TJ Maxx for sports/camping stuff! They had clothing, gear, my Hammer electrolytes, bike stuff, camping stuff, weights, shoes, etc! We must have spent over an hour in there.

I ended up getting a fuel belt - basically a belt to wear around the waist which holds 4 8-ounce bottles. I am planning on using that instead of the water bottle that I was using since that one you carry in your hand and I think its what caused my shoulder to get aggravated. I still need to get a new sports bra & new running pants before the race which is problematic since we aren't supposed to use anything in the race we haven't trained in. So I am running out of time!

Another 10 miles!

So, let me say that I went into today's run planning on running 12 miles. In fact, that is the amount of miles I told my family & co-workers that I would run. That didn't happen. I only did 10. (Lesson here - don't tell people how many miles you are going to run before you run them!)

Today's run was at the San Leandro Marina. We had run here once before. That time before was my really bad run where I was barely able to do 2 miles, had horrible stitches in my side, and was just miserable. So, not the best memories of this place. Also, the last time we were here, it was very very hot and the sun was blazing. Not so today.

Today it was chilly. (I suppose it's all relative, right? So to be fair it was in the 50's). We had staggered starts based on how fast we run - I went with the 11-13 minute/mile crew. I didn't see Lisa or anyone that I really knew that I could run with. Setting out, there was a group of runners who were aiming for a 12 minute/mile pace. They were right in front of me so I just kept up with them. By the first water stop (2 mile mark), they were starting to split up, but there was one runner who was also by herself near me. So I introduced myself and we ran together. She is on the summer training team and is also training for the Nike Half (6 months of training for a half marathon - I would be hospitalized!). So we ran together out to the 5 mile point, then turned around and ran back. By the time we hit 5 mile, it was definitely warming up which was good. It was also very sunny which wasn't so good. I've found that I much prefer to run on grey slightly cooler days (and I tend to do better as well).

By the time we hit the first water stop again (2 miles left!), my left foot was decidedly cranky and I was really getting tired. But somehow I persevered. To add the 2 miles to make it a 12 mile run, you had to go past the starting point and do two 1 mile laps around a large circle area. By the time I hit the starting point, the right hip flexor muscle was cranky (yay to the right side for speaking up finally!), my left foot was very very unhappy with life, and I really didn't want to push myself too far since this was our last long run before Nike. So I stopped at the 10 mile mark. Timewise it took us 2 hours and 10 minutes to finish (13 minute/mile) which is definitely slower than I had ever hoped, but I am not doing this for speed, I am doing this just to finish.

The great thing about it is that I *ran* the whole 10 miles. When I did the Nike Preview run, I walked a lot of it (up the hills, parts of Golden Gate park, etc). Today, I didn't walk at all except to grab water/gatorade at the water stops! So that is pretty exciting. Frankly, I think if I had been walking a bit more, I could have covered the last 2 miles, which means that I feel really good about finishing Nike.

I did manage to speak to Mama Lisa about the pain on the outside of my left foot which has been there since I did the Nike Preview run in September. I showed her where it was red and swollen and she said "Oh, you hurt your ankle!". Figures. I explained my left side issues and she thinks that my left hip is lower than my right hip. She said she could even see a height difference while I was standing there. So I am supposed to get a "shoe lift" for my left shoe.

After the run, we had the Nike send-off party there at the marina park. Honorees for our team came to speak to us about how great we are all doing - the honorees are people/families of people who have Leukemia/Lymphoma who are being honored by our particular team. Some of the stories were very heart-wrenching. Two of our honorees are "angels" meaning that they passed away - Cole who was 2 years old, and Brenda who was a mother and a member of the Team for the last Nike event. Cole's mother spoke to us about how much it meant to her that we were all doing this to raise money so that other people's children wouldn't die of Leukemia. Also, this year's Nike event is happening on what would have been Cole's fifth birthday. Everyone was in tears, and I couldn't help thinking about my mom as well. I wish she could be at the finish line cheering me on, but I think she will be there in spirit.

Thursday - I ran to catch my flight ...

So, never being one to learn from my lessons, I again tried to run this morning. However, I gave up only about 100 feet from the condo I was staying in since it was even colder than Tuesday. Due to time constraints around check-out and the close-up of the conference I wasn't able to workout at all after that failed attempt. I did have to run through the Denver airport in heels to catch my flight - we hadn't really expected the horrendous traffic through Denver at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon. But I don't think that counts. I had some delusions that I might go running or something when I got back to California. But after getting my luggage, escaping the Oakland airport, & taking a taxi home, it became clear that it just wasn't meant to be.



Saturday is going to be another big run (10-12 miles) so I did some stretching and will just take it easy in preparation.

Cross training

Today is cross training. I did circuits in the hotel gym again, mostly upper body, then did 100 sit-ups on the exercise ball, and then finished up on the stationary bike for 20 minutes. While on the bike I got to watch the Red Sox get 3 home runs in their game against the LA Angels which was awesome. (As a side note, being in Colorado the week the Rockies beat the D'backs, the Padres, and then the Philly's earlier today is awesome!). I am not feeling as winded as I did on Monday here which is cool. I fly home tomorrow afternoon - I am going to miss this awesome gym.

Tuesday in Vail (aka bad ideas)

So, lesson number one when running in vail in October - if you try to run in the morning, and all you have are leggings and a t-shirt, don't do it. When I realized that the plants all had ice on them, I turned around.

Lesson number 2 - inhaling freezing thin air makes your lungs not like you very much and you can't run very much.

So obviously, the run this morning didn't work out quite the way I had hoped. I ran about 1.5 miles (with some walking to allow feeling to return to my hands). Brrrrrr!!

However, I really wanted to get my miles done, so when it warmed up in the afternoon I went running again. This time I covered around 3 miles. It was again a combination of walking and running though (as sad as I am to admit it, probably around half/half). I am just getting winded very early in the runs and not able to sustain even my turtle running pace without walking for a bit. It is a bit disheartening - I know I can run 3.5 miles without stopping no problem (that's my standard Tuesday run) at 30 feet about sea level. But definitely not at 8200 feet above sea level. Hopefully, just getting out there and covering the distance counts for something though!

Monday - gym workout

Yesterday (Sunday) I didn't do any exercise whatsoever. My left foot was hurting again from Saturday's run (though this isn't the plantar fasciitis pain, this is a new pain on the back outside part of my foot), and my college friend that I was visiting is on strict bed rest related to her pregnancy so we weren't exactly hitting the town.

Today I picked up my co-worker at the Denver airport and then we drove to Vail. We had a couple hours to kill before the conference began so after getting settled, I hit the gym. I think this gym was the most amazing "hotel" gym I have ever seen. It is actually a gym in its own right with members etc that the hotel guests can use. It was huge, 3 floors, amazing (and slightly intimidating) machines, and it had its own spa as well. I did some circuit training on the machines, then did the StairMaster for 20 minutes, then 100 sit-ups on an exercise ball. I felt pretty winded after all that and it was a good hour of working out so I called it a day. I could definitely feel the affects of the altitude (8,200 feet above sea level) just from getting winded walking to the gym.

We will see how successful I am at running in the morning...