Gulf Coast Half Marathon 2011 - recap

Last year, I ran the Gulf Coast Half in 1:46 and it was the first race that I felt I was "fast" in. Seeing an 8:05 pace made me realize that I could run faster than my typical 8:30 - 9:00 pace, and was the first reason I ever contemplated attempting a BQ. This year, I wanted to take ten minutes off my time from last year and run a 1:36.

The Gulf Coast Half starts at 7 am, and it's nearly an hour's drive from our place - on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain, a.k.a. The Boonies. Besides the drive, I knew from experience that parking would be a nightmare and we'd better get up early. David and I stumbled out of bed at 4:30 am, and even though I knew fueling had been an issue for my last race I couldn't eat anything. I made toast but after one bite I tossed it. I think it's these early mornings that get me!
The race starts and finishes in a state park, and we arrived with 50 minutes to spare, but by the time we crept single-file to the parking lot, we had just half an hour to do a bathroom run and get to the start. I met my little brother Sam and my dad before the start. Sam calmly informed me that he was feeling sluggish and, rather than run a 1:20, he would have to run a 1:24. This cracked me up. Sam is very, very, very quiet. He rarely talks, but when he does it is to the point. It turns out that his projection was almost spot on!
I started near the front and mistakenly went out too fast, but I thought I'd be ok since the announcer cheerily told us all that the second half would be accompanied by a brisk tailwind. I figured if I tired it would pick me up! The race went by quickly and smoothly, but my pace was all over the place. My first mile was fast, then I had a few at goal pace, then I hit a long, slow section. Part of the race is along the lakefront, and rather than a tailwind we had a stiff headwind that kept at us all the way in. In addition to the wind, the sun was surprisingly strong for such an early race (it was also surprisingly warm; the temps were upper 70's all the way to 80 F). The miles along this stretch were my toughest and slowest. I should have taken a Gu here, since I brought one in lieu of breakfast, but I didn't; I felt tired near the end but I didn't feel like my blood sugar had crashed.
Of course, I love seeing people I know on the course. This time, I only saw Sam - he was in 5th at the time and keeping a nice pace. There is only a short portion that doubles back, and I left it before David got there, so we missed each other.

Sam looking...ill.

There were a few funny things about this race. The first is that after mile one, when we spread out, two guys and a girl passed me over the entire rest of the race. And I passed two guys and a girl over the entire rest of the race! This was weird, since my pace was bonkers!
The other - embarrassing - thing is that my dad was waiting for Sam, David, and I to finish. As I neared the finish, another girl was just seconds behind me (she trailed me the entire race; after she told me I was pacing her, poor gal), and my dad made a huge scene hollering that I needed to hold the pace, another girl was just behind me, etc. I did hold my pace, and crossed the line ten or twenty seconds ahead of her. I felt so bad for her! But I went up and apologized later and she was such a good sport. The funny thing is that she actually beat me by two seconds! She had started far in the back, but since the race was chip timed she came in behind me but placed higher!

Sam, who finished in 1:23:50 and won his age group, waited for David with me. David forgot he had registered for this race and only realized it three weeks ago. He had been training for another half that is two weeks away, so he had this one sprung on him. But he still finished in 2:00:44, not bad at all!
I finished in 1:35:13 and was inexplicably disappointed in my time and place. I was 10th overall and 5th in my age group; I beat my goal, too. I think it has dawned on me that from here on out, I have to work to get faster. For an entire year, all I had to do was show up and I'd PR - but that was because I was running seriously below my intrinsic potential. Now, I'm running at my level of natural ability, and if I want to PR I have to work for it: train, monitor my pace, consider my fuel. When I don't - like today - I struggle to meet my goal, and still under-perform. Given my long-term goals, I should be able to run faster than I did today, and it should feel easy to me. I guess it's time to face the music and start working harder!

Tell me about the race for which you trained the hardest and ran the best you ever have.

Foody Friday: Sweet Potato Toppings

Just like I love a good loaded baked potato, I like my sweet potatoes with toppings, too.

What a colorful dinner!

Here I sauteed shrimp with mango, scallions, red bell peppers, and cilantro and made a sauce with yogurt, lime juice with pulp, and sriracha sauce. It was delicious on a baked sweet potato with extra yogurt on top!


How do you like your sweet potatoes?
If I'm eating them "plain" I love lots of salt and butter!

Making the money!

Yesterday was a big day at work for me because...
...I got my September profit and loss statement and discovered that in September I made a profit! This is a big deal because my store just opened at the end of April! We became profitable after just 5 months, rather than the expected two to five years.

Whole foods strawberry shortcake

I treated my staff to cake for the occasion.
This is a big relief for me, because I don't have any business training or experience. I'm a pharmacist! But I'm also the store manager, and I was worried that I wouldn't have the savvy to turn a profit. Lucky for me, our overhead costs are very low, so we're squeaking by!

How has your work been lately? What is your job? Anything at work that has been hanging over your head?

Sam's debut

This brother is running his first real race tomorrow.

Sam, looking like a poet

He's run a few local races before , including a 4-miler in which he beat a local standout who runs cross country for LSU (I don't want to be mean and name this person, but basically our pep talks before races pretty much always include, "Get out there and beat so-and-so!"). But this weekend's half-marathon is his first larger race, and his first long-distance as well. (He ran the Crescent City Classic 10k a year and a half ago, but he had not begun running seriously at that point and ran it for fun.)
I think Sam will be really, really good. He's not tall, just average, but has long legs and is quite lean. He doesn't run as far as Abe does, but his speed has passed Abe's up. He's still a teen so he has time for improvement, too.
I think if he has a good race he can do this half-marathon in about 1:20. 
Gone are the days when I could outrun my little brothers!

Do you have siblings or kids in sports? Are you their rabid fans? Do you urge them to beat other specific kids? Haha. Good thing I  don't have children; I'd be the soccer mom everyone hates.

Clarence Demar Marathon Race Review

I already posted the recap of this race, but for those of you who might be considering running it, here's the review:
The Clarence Demar marathon is in tiny Keene, NH, and runs at the end of September/beginning of October.

The race: This is a really small race, only a few hundred runners. It's kind of a "runner's race' - no frills, no big medal, lots of local history.
Registration and cost: $60; you can register all the way up to the night before the event, which is cool. But frankly that's a lot for a very basic race.
Swag: None, pretty much. There is a tech-T, but it's cheap material ( I do like the no-sponsor plain back, but actually this race NEEDS sponsors in a big way, so I guess that's a bad thing). There are medals at the finish...and that's it. Age group and overall plaques are given; I was accidentally given the wrong one. In their defense I didn't notice either.

Course:The course is advertised as "fairly flat and fast" and I do think it would be fast for runners who are used to hills. It's actually a rather hilly downhill course, and several runners commented that the course mirrored Boston's course. The first half is a rolling downhill; the second half is more flat, with some rolling hills and a few tough climbs. There's a net elevation drop of about 300 feet. The first half, in the mountains, is beautiful; it gets a little boring as you go but overall a pretty and enjoyable course. A major disadvantage is that the roads are not closed for this race and the runners aren't even coned off; it's a little nerve-wracking in twisty mountain roads. There are police directing traffic at major intersections, thank goodness.
Then there is this hilarity. Yes, the official course map actually informs you that the finish is not marked....but it's near a storm drain and a manhole cover. 

And it's in Comic Sans. I hate Comic Sans.

Support: The volunteers were fantastic for this race; great attitude and very up-beat. However, there is no Gu or gels on the course and only half the stations have Gatorade. The miles are marked; time is not.
Post race: Pretty sparse - bagels, soup, soda, fruit, cookies, and massages.

Heck yeah I got a massage! Poor girl. I was SO sweaty.

Photos: I don't normally comment on race photos, but I thought this quote from the website kind of summed up the whole marathon:
"2011 Clarence DeMar Marathon, Keene, NH Sept. 25th  We had car issues and didn't make it to the finish line in time to photograph all the runners, sorry! Those of you whom we did get will have photos in three of the galleries. Everyone will have a photo with the race name. Thanks for looking!"

Etc - This isn't chip timed and for a 34 year old marathon, it still needs some work. For example, the course was long, almost certainly because we started well behind a spray painted "start" on the road. I commented on this, but I lined up with everyone else. My Garmin read 26.67 - that's more than poor tangent running. Oddly, the times were recorded incorrectly. If my watch time didn't match course time, I'd shrug it off. But I noticed that the time intially posted for me - 3:35:19 - was WAY off. Then I noticed that the time recorded on the website was different: 3:35:09. But my watch read 3:34:58, and I didn't hit the stop button on it until after I had finished and received my medal! As soon as I finished, David commented that the time on the clock had been "jumping around" (I, of course, was not looking, as I was too busy posing for the camera). Lo and behold, he caught it on film: look at the times in these two consecutive photos!

I approach the manhole cover...

Dude, what? I took one step and lost 9 seconds!

So that definitely needs work. Also of note, the course closes at FIVE hours, FYI for leisurely marathon runners. So overall? I loved the volunteers and the serious runners who participated. I had fun, and you couldn't ask for kinder people, but I really think this race needs to adopt some sponsors who can make this more of an event for the $60 fee. It needs Gu, more Gatorade, and a little course TLC. And next time the course and time need to be just a little more exact.

Training at work

Sometimes I have to do online training at work. They talk to us like we're not-very-bright six year olds.

Well, geez, Christopher, do you think it might be...that big button that says, "REPORTS" right there?!

Well, if it wasn't for Christopher Compass I'd never have known what "delegate" means.

Visiting Keene

The husband and I visited Keene, NH, last week, and despite the relative warmth I enjoyed seeing New England in the early Fall. I'm actually from Connecticut, so I get a little homesick for the Northeast. Keene is small, but clean, attractive, and very well behaved.

And every Jack O'Lantern counts.

Seriously. Keene holds several world records for...the largest pumpkin party? And the chamber of commerce would like you to know that YOUR PUMPKIN COUNTS!
We couldn't do as much as planned in Keene because as usual, our US airways flights were both delayed (mechanical) and we ended up in Keene 5 hours later than planned. I have sworn off US airways flights before, but this time I mean it. They have very poor customer service and problem-prone flights. The day before the race we barely made it to Keene in time for packet pickup, and the charming race volunteers recommended some pasta places. We went straight to Luca's, which was pricey but delicious. For dessert we had a chocolate pyramid, which was like tiramisu (heavy on the liquor) ensconced in a rich chocolate shell.

Delicious!
Obviously, race morning I was a little occupied, and David went to church while I ran. After the race, we went on a Fall foliage drive, with the intent of ending at a hiking spot. However, the first location recommended was closed, and by the time we reached the second it was dark. We went for about a mile walk in the woods but David was not happy with the dark and we headed back.

The foliage was just starting to turn, but the scenery was adorable regardless.
We caught the late football game at Vendetta's, a sushi sports bar with boutique beers. Somehow they make this work. The food, beer, and staff (one very friendly football-obsessed bartender) were all outstanding.
Our flight didn't leave until 5 the next day, so we had time for another outing Monday morning. So we climbed Monandock Mountain. What else would we do on tired, post-marathon legs? There were two separate trails to the top.The first started out gently sloping up, and was mostly just light woods.

My cute hiking partner, who complained the entire way uphill

I am seven.

The next trail was quite steep (few pics here, since David was protecting the camera for most of the climb) and it was straight up a rocky creek bed. Basically it was a climb up stiff boulders, and it was tough on my super sore legs.
My general fatigue caught up with me and I required a little rest.

I look so worn and wan here that I feel sorry for MYSELF!

(The trip down, by the way, was beyond murderous for my poor quads; I literally cried).
The view at the top, though, was worth the pain!

The peak behind us

Trying not to fall to our deaths

Overall verdict? Keene is cute and hospitable. I hope they win their pumpkin record.