Run for Diamonds – 9 Miler

Thanksgiving Day - November 22nd
Berwick, PA... I can’t imagine a more properly executed race. Sure it was cold, and sure it was far away, and sure it was Thanksgiving but it is one of those races where you go ...and fall in love.

Was it the elevation changes? .....Was it the 2 hour drive on Thanksgiving?..... Was it the beautiful mountain views?...... Was it the VFW veterans who volunteer and warm you heart?..... Or was it the world class competition that seems to find this out in nowhere race?

This was the 103rd running of The Run for Diamonds and it draws over 1,000 competitors, this year there will be 1,400 people running in “milder” conditions. It is one of those races that draws out the really FAST runners, the super freaks who run up and down mountains in a 4 and 5 min pace.... to make it into the top 5 of the older peeps groups you have to be in the 6’s or 7’s.. ouch.

At mile 2 there is a hill.. it’s one of those hills that you say ... oh yeah that is SOME HILL... it’s over a mile long. In fact, it’s one of those hills that well, just doesn’t seem to ever stop and people walk. It’s SOME HILL.

Waiting for the start, thankful that this year, it was not snowing, recalling how I fell in love with this race in 2009 when I trekked up here that year alone, and how I brought Joe back in 2010 despite the snow and sleet.. and he too fell in love.

This year Joe and I had a competition going, who would beat who? Joe, the uphill runner? Or..Wendy, the downhill runner? SOMEONE was going home crying...

My strategy was to go out at a decent clip, hold the best pace I could for the hill, recover and then let it rip. Unfortunately, I think that was Joe’s plan too. Joe it’s time to meet your maker...GAME ON!

So I take off my warm ups, do some jumping jacks.. and go secure a good starting position. Lost Joe in the crowd, and then we are off. It’s crowded for the first mile, always, but I have a small space to work with and since I lined up fairly close to the front I am with people who are traveling the same rate as I.

At around mile 1, I saw Joe slither past me.. I don’t think he saw me, he later said he didn’t, but I am not sure HOW you can miss me ....!

At mile 2 is the base of the hill, and I knew to keep the breathing calm, keep quiet, keep smooth. I always see people walking portions of the hill and this year was no different. It’s SOME HILL.

As you crest the hill you think, relief I can breathe a bit, but uh no.. I almost for a fairly quick second thought I am not sure I am going to make it ...but I was determined..GOT to catch Joe.

What I won’t realize until after the race, that this year I actually went up that DAMN HILL at a min faster than normal, sure didn’t feel like that WHEN I WAS DOING THE HILL... Once we got to the half way point, I picked up the pace and started screaming and spitting asphalt out my backend... I was going to bring this race HOME and catch Joe!

The miles were clicking off and still no sight of Joe... at mile 8 with one mile to go, a woman passes me. UH oh.. I worked so hard for this.....She is trolling and I force myself to keep her within my sight... and she is gaining a strong lead... I think about it for a sec and realize ...

What do you have to lose? Your legs will fall off? You will die? Really what? So what....!?

So I proceed to push... this is where knowing your skills and belief in yourself can help tremendously. I had now been watching her for the last quarter mile and realized she too was tired... and I was going to execute my race end and unless she too was a sprinter I would win. I WOULD WIN.

I knew even exhausted that I can sprint the last 100 to 200 meters of any race (usually).. and depending on the competition and the course would determine when I would start. Unfortunately, if I made the wrong call out and sprinted past my competition and they matched me, I may run out of air before the finish line and be over taken... so it’s really a precise calculation and sometimes just a risk you must take.

I am back behind her 5-6 feet, and calculated... don’t know.. too soon..i think there is more than 200 meters... I don’t know.. its may be too soon.. I don’t know... and so I made the call out... its like all the blood pulls from your extremities and moves inward and you go... I knew the challenge would be tough I would have to recoup the 5-6 feet between us and then pass her and get a large distance ahead of her...

And I GO... that fire that burns within my soul, FUELS...THAT FIRE... And I put forth a sprint of EPIC proportions...I recouping the distance AND PASSED HER ...I don’t feel she is there.. she didn’t come ...but I don’t know and I cant stop... I see the finish... my lungs are on FIRE... there is that tunnel .. the world is closing in... I see that finish... my right leg hits and falters...the land didn’t support the weight but I’m midair the other leg handles the falter... and I cross the line. 1:13:12 (8:08 pace) A new PR!!!

I can walk now... as I move to the side and put my head between my legs...breathing is good.... the girl I outsprinted stopped by and congratulated me on a well run race. Joe commented on my leg falter and great race and....

Now that is how its done...

Running is SO UNHEALTHY 

OH yeah and back to the Wendy and Joe competition... Joe had gotten in at 1:08:19 (7:39 pace) clearly kicking my arsh in a well executed race..

OH AND YES..we will be back...

Race Results:

http://www.runfordiamonds.com/result.html

My Splits:

 

Philly 8K, Saturday, November 17th

Was jumping up and down on the finish line...

Sometimes things just go so right.

The weather is perfect, the legs feel perfect, the mind feels perfect..

Yesterday I ran what I consider a perfect race

Although things started off a bit skurry... as I forgot my beloved watch and had to circle back to the house at 5:30am... thankfully... I had only traveled a few miles when I realized that the beloved lifeline of specs was not attached to my wrist..jeez us how could I forget the WATCH!!??!

Thankfully,  Route 76 didn’t give me the normal hassles and I arrived in Philly with a quick park and jog to the start. I had plenty of time to start, in fact, I had time to walk in giant circles for 45 minutes. I saw Cecile Tynan, she and her husband were wearing matching warm ups.. I smiled and she smiled back... I think.

It was plenty cold and I couldn’t wait to get this party started. I love shorter races because I can go all out and be done with it. But perhaps I should step BACK OFF THE START LINE.. I check out the handsome super thin Ethiopian/Kenyan dude on my left... YEAH stepping back would be a really great idea... only I WOULD line up next to an elite athlete in the front row... yeah Wendy... let's reanalyze my seeding arrangements and STEP BACK A few feet.

A couple of the Philly Masters Peeps showed up and hung out with me... and then the track girls.. the really GOOD girls lined up and I slipped in behind them. Because I am such a geek I know everyone of their names and stats... I know EXACTLY how fast they can run... and how to proceed accordingly... can anyone say stalker?

The national anthem and then some crazy hippy runner dude screaming, “NO MORE WAR, NO MORE WAR”.. dude will someone kick the Muther-F’r in the head please...

Right before the start Lou (60+ masters runner who is one of our faster masters track runners) looks over and nods to me.. and I nod back.. it was that kinda of nod that says, “Take no prisoners and getter done”... and then we were off... it got a bit crunchy at first and I took a couple of elbows and gave a couple...but I cleared the pack and whipped in the first mile.. thinking perhaps I should RETHINK trying to run with the BIG GIRLS..as I approached the first mile marker I saw 6’s.. high 6’s but still.. OMFG.. I toned it down and hit the 1 mile marker at exactly 7 mins.. STILL too fast.. the goal was to keep up a consistent 7:30-7:45 pace not a 7 min mile..oops

Mile 2 my legs felt good... stabilized the pace..and toned it down... .nothing makes the heart more happy then to be still in the game when you start to feel tired... my head was strong today and so was my heart and I pushed it... it was cold enough this year that at mile 4 I wasn’t overheated and I could push in for a strong finish... I saw Lou who had been ahead of me, he was starting to walk and only had a ¼ mile to go.. I ran up to him and as I passed yelled.. “YO, BABY LETS GET THIS DONE”... and his footsteps behind me... he had restarted to run... Lou will place first in his age group with a smashing time... I don’t remember anything of the last 200 yards or so.. I have soo programmed my body to sprint as hard as I can at the end of races that I get tunnel vision..

For those that are sprinters they probably feel this.. for those that are not....it's like having an out of body experience... at the time when your body hits the plane where you are running completely without oxygen you feel a heightened sense of floating on air.. until you realize that you truly ARE OUT OF AIR ..

FINISH!

38:04 was the official chip time.. a 7:39 average pace...

MY race...

Is done!

(PS: found out that I placed 4th in age group so will be stalking my mailman for my 4th place award... CANNOT WAIT!  Awards are given out to the top 5 in each age bracket in this race.. WAHOOO)

BRING ON REHOBOTH MARATHON... so then i can rest

Harrisburg Marathon, November 11th

So... I somehow convinced Joe to run the Harrisburg Marathon with me as a long training run on Sunday. We were scheduled for a 21 miler and well, it’s “only” another 5 miles.. right!?.. (he really should never take advice from someone who can run around in circles for 24 hours) ... See Joe, someone would be handing us water, and we will be running with 1,000 of our “closest friends”.. it’s a win-win!

Actually, the marathon was a delight, it was low key enough that we didn’t have to stay overnight in a hotel and we were allowed to pick up our race packet in the morning. So up at 4:30am, in the car, arrive by 7am… pick up packet and wait for start.

Interesting the people you see that do marathons..the smoking dude, the girl who needed to cover up the “puppies” as they were hanging out of her sports bra... and oh yeah the “elites” doing warm ups… really? you do realize we are all going to run 26.2 miles in a bit .. right?

We were lucky..we got to park near the start so we could sit in the car until it was time to run. I was going to line up with the 4 hour marathoners and Joe said just line up here (next to the 3:45 marathon pacer).. um.. ok… I think he knows I can run a 3:45.. I just haven’t yet… and so I thought why not, I will push the pace and see how far I get at this pace… because this is only a training run… RIGHT'O!

And then we were off… I lost sight of Joe within the first hundred yards  as he was well ahead of me... and I ran in my pack of 3:45 marathoners… the pace was fine.. I really had no issues other than I have never run in such a close pack of people before.. I felt like a GIANT SLINKY… .

You are literally smushed up against a bunch of people who are all running the same pace… I could, if I wanted …touch a person on each side of me… it was almost comical .. the pack goes right.. I go right… the pack goes left…I go left… the pack speeds up ..I speed up.. the pack slows down…I DO NOT slow down.. OOPS...

At about mile 7 or 8 the pack started to break up a bit .. and somehow a few of us got AHEAD of the pack.. well that ain’t good.. either the pacer is not going the speed we need (meaning too slow) or now I am going a BIT TOO FAST.. OOPS!

By the time I hit mile 10 I had now dropped down to a 8:31 pace and the higher rate of speed was slowly taking its toll… by half way I started to reel back in and was back at a 8:51 pace and by mile 18, I was at a 8:56 pace. WHICH was still BTW well below my Boston qualifying time… But when the pack RECAUGHT up to me.. it was like I was overtaken by a truck.. the pack came….BEAT ME UP.. and then the pack went.... and now I was BEHIND THE PACK..

And then the hills came… oh yes.. the hills… and yes guess who had to walk?!… I’m glad I did this race, it was a great test on how far along I am in with my training… I finished with a 4:17:03 (9:49 avg Pace)... and I am totally feeling strong.. I can’t wait to see what I can do on a flat course.

Joe being the great companion that he is… finished his race in 3:44:28 (8:34 avg pace)… and then he proceeded to run back and run in the last couple of miles with me… After crossing the line.. I realized that something truly special is happening.. not only did I just run another 26.2 miles… I was feeling stronger than i have ever felt in my life…

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will - Gandhi