Of course I run for vanity reasons (who doesn’t want to stay in shape and feel healthy), but sometimes I feel like I’m running solely for sanity. I think I’d self-implode if I didn’t have a physical outlet and the personal time I get from running. And as much as I can work through issues in my head when I’m running solo­­, I have to say that nothing beats running a long run with a good friend and venting over the miles. Therapy in its cheapest form.

There’s something about running with someone that makes you open up to them. Perhaps it’s the time you spend together. Perhaps it’s the physical excretion making you more vulnerable. Perhaps it’s the fact that you’re running side-by-side and not facing each other. Perhaps it’s that your body’s working so mind can work through issues. I bet it’s a combination of all of it. Some of my most honest and self-exploring conversations have been had while on a run. And the best part of it all is when you’re finished you leave all of it behind you in the dust, feel good about your accomplishment, and move on.

I think my running buddy’s husband needs to stop thinking he can’t think while he’s running and start running.

1. It was just two minute drive from my house. How often does that happen? I could have run to the start, but decided to drive because my mom was coming for the weekend (my daughter’s third birthday!), and I had minutes to finish the race and get myself home and showered before she showed up.
2. The race swag was super cute. We got a race tech shirt that was all girl- blue short-sleeve hooded with the slogan “Run Happy”. There was a cute race tote. The finisher medal was a nice pendant that read “Finish Strong”. Nike Women’s has a competitor for cute race swag- though I guess it’s still hard to compete with a Tiffany’s blue box.
3. I saw multiple friends at the event. Besides my lovely sister-in-law who was running the 10k with her friend, I saw Sam and Melisse (5 months preggers and super cute), and another neighbor Kasey (who was right behind Melisse at 4 months).
4. My neighbor Hollie ran her first race! Yes, first race and it was a half marathon. She did amazing. I paced her for the first 10 miles before she sent me packing. She did great, finishing in 1:44.
5. We saw a doe and two baby deer along the course!
6. The race was half a mile short! Okay, I shouldn’t be too happy about that, but I wasn’t going to PR anyway, so why not finish early.

So, yes, super event. I have to say, it wasn’t super easy to hang back at an 8:20 pace, and not because I’m in super shape and could run a half at a minute faster than that like I use to, but because I saw the leaders were actually rather slow. I think they were only running about an 8 minute pace! You see my competitive side? As much as I ached to move up in the race, I kept running with Hollie. As we approached the turn around, I started counting the runners ahead of us out loud and noting their degree of tiredness. I think Hollie thought I was nuts. As we made the turn and ticked off more miles I told her we were gaining on the ladies in front of us. Reeling them in. I think she was too tired to care and was just trying to hang on.

At mile ten she said I should take off and I did because at that point in a race it becomes all mental and I sensed she needed her space. I probably only picked it up a minute a mile, but it was so fun blowing by the girls in front of me one at a time. This is one reason it’s fun to save something and race from the back. I felt stealth-like sneaking up on them and passing them. I caught three of them. I would have caught two more if the race wasn’t half a mile short- which by the way through me off since my Garmin had been spot- on-accurate the whole race until the mile 9 marker. I thought perhaps the markers were out of place- not that the race was going to be short. I finished 5^th. Not too shabby.

Next up is the See Jane Run half. I know I want to run this one for myself since it will be the beginning of my build for the marathon in the Fall. I’d like to assess where I’m at and use it as a gauge to measure progress. Should be another fun one because I know several friends running it.

Well said Scott Douglas!

(Running Times, March 2011)

After the babies and a few playdates with the older kids, I casually offered to join her on one of her Saturday morning outside runs. At that point I was in need of someone to be accountable to- someone to get me out the door. It worked as planned and I soon had a running buddy. Soon I was pushing her to go farther and faster. When I told her I was running the Oakland Half Marathon she was interested. She wanted to do a race, but had never “ran in circles” with people who signed up for races.

So Saturday we are running the Mermaid Half Marathon on the trails behind our neighborhood. I’m curious how she’ll approach it because she’s not one for fancy running clothes or even taking in fluids on our runs. I know she’ll easily handle the distance as we’ve been slowly building her mileage and we ran 12 miles last weekend. I won’t be setting any PRs because I intend to pace her through her first race. I figure I’m just along for the ride on this one. I’ll get satisfaction seeing someone complete their first official race. We all know how much pleasure it brings me when I get to share my love for running with someone else.

Of course the first thing I thought, when I got word, was how I was going to get the training in (back to the issue of little time for self). I think back to my first marathon six years ago, when I could run every weekend and the only one who could complain would be my husband. As supportive as he was, he did complain that I wasn’t interested in staying out late on Friday nights anymore and on Saturday mornings I’d be gone long before he woke. What happened to Saturday mornings at home with coffee and the newspaper? Now he’s in for it again only this time he’s going to juggle both the girls while I’m out logging double digit miles. I couldn’t be more blessed.

This is me (in the middle) on the Great Highway (Mile 18) of the Nike Women's Marathon in 2005.

So, here I go full circle again (are you seeing a theme?). My 10^thand my first marathon on the same course! Don’t think I’m doing this alone though. I’ll make sure I’ve got support around those lonely Lake Merced miles.

“What I mean is that someone sees a race, and they think that’s what you do. They sort of know you had to train, but they weren’t watching then, so they don’t understand how incredibly much of it there is. But to us, it’s almost the whole thing. Racing is just this little tiny ritual we got through after everything else has been done. It’s a hood ornament.”

I can’t believe how true this has felt for me. We put in so much training for races. Logging miles and miles. And then there’s the race. It’s one day and then it’s over. Sometimes we’ve been building for months for that one race. Friends and family ask you about the race- they might even come to see you, but they don’t ever think about all the work it took to get there. And after the race, it’s not the race that I miss- it’s the training. It’s like Dan said to me before he left for Boston last week, “it’s about the journey”. And the race medal is a hood ornament.

When I ran Oakland in 2010 I was 14 weeks pregnant. I ran the whole way with my friend Sam. He was using it as a training run for Boston and had logged seven miles before the start. Our game plan was to meet up the start and average 8 minute pace. I didn’t see him at the start, but he found me by mile one. By mile nine he’d confided that he had a ring for his girl friend and intended to propose when they were in Boston. I was thrilled with the news. We ran a comfortable race and the course just flew by. Afterwards I hung up my racing shoes (note that I said racing shoes, not running shoes), had a baby (months later), and attended Sam’s wedding.

One year later I plug my Garmin into the computer to charge it and I notice that the last run logged was the Oakland Half. 7:40 average pace. Not bad for a pregnant gal taking it easy.  I was impressed. I was far from a 7:40 pace these days.

My goal at the Oakland Half this year was to 1) cover the distance, 2) have fun running a race again, and 3) beat two hours.  Very achievable goals for the pre-baby me, but I was a little skeptical I could manage all three goals this time out. I say this because it’s been a real struggle for me to run post baby number two. Not only to run, but just to exercise in general. Juggling two little ones through a wet and cold maternity-leave didn’t leave me many daylight hours to sneak out for a run. I also found that you just don’t get as much family support the second time around. Where it was almost guaranteed that someone wanted to come over to hold the baby twice a week after number one, this time I felt isolated. And I swear, every time I started an exercise routine, one of the munchkins would wake up from their nap.  To make matters worse, the new baby didn’t want to have anything to do with the jog stroller. All this to say that it was a real struggle getting back in shape the second time around.

I achieved all my goals, though the last two miles of the half were a bit miserable. Stephen and I ran the whole race together. I know he could have run much faster, but he had goal number two in mind too. We laughed and called it a “date” because it’s not often we are doing something for ourselves sans kids these days. We averaged an eight minute pace. Respectable. I laugh though thinking that I could run faster pregnant than I could six months after having a baby.

So here I go again. I am starting my running journey once again- this time with two kids and a house in the suburbs. I am not sure what my goals are for this year; I am still working on that. I did throw my name in the Nike Women’s Marathon lottery. Doesn’t it seem appropriate to run the same marathon for your 10^th as your 1^st?

There is a downside to running the Boston Marathon though. It’s the training. As if training for a marathon isn’t enough, Boston, being a spring marathon, requires you to train through the winter. Cold. Wet. Dark. At least one of the three is pretty much guaranteed no matter what time of day you do your training. Perhaps it’s just the price you pay to have the honor to run in such a prestigious race.

Stay warm and dry when you can.