My Journey to 13.1

Well, I did it. Well, not just yet, but I took the first step to run and complete a half marathon on Oct 17, 2010!!! I signed up for the Grand Rapids Half Marathon. In my head I had the idea I would "train" for this and sign up if I felt good about it. I have been sort of following a training plan by Hal Higdon...a 12 week plan to a half marathon for beginners. A Half Marathon is 13.1 miles!!! 13.1 miles!! Last week I got an email from Gazelle Sports saying if I signed up at their store I would save $10. You know me, I like to save money and also felt this was a sign, so this past Saturday I drove there and signed up! Now I am committed. To be honest, I have days where I feel great and I am committed, on other days I am like, what did my evil twin do to me? She signed me up for 13.1 miles? What the hell? Its a vicious fight in my head!

See, a couple years ago I had tried to train for this with a friend, didn't sign up thinking I might not like it. I believe I got up to mile 8 or 9, and believe me, that was quite a feat, and I think I was like, "F THIS!!! What I am doing?" Well, these past couple years have been quite different. I feel like I am mentally stronger and have more determination than ever. In the past year or so, I have completed 5 triathlons, a 10K, and countless 5ks. I feel like I am ready to conquer something bigger, and see if I can do it? Hmmm....is this my evil twin talking again?

Well, this past Sunday I had to run 5 miles for my long run, the long runs are always on the weekends, and gradually build up to 10 miles (I don't even run 13 until the marathon?? Weird.) Then during the week, I run three other shorter distance runs.

I am writing this blog for #1, keep myself motivated and to give me a track record of my journey to the 13.1. Sure I will post other things besides running, but this will help me stay motivated and give me a sense of accomplishment when I can come back here in a few weeks and say how I ran 8 miles!! Woo hoo!

The First Race of the Season!

Well, race day finally came. The Irish Jig 5K on March 21, 2009 in East Grand Rapids.


This was my third race ever. First being the 8k Mackinaw Bridge race in 2008 and the 5k Run for the Hills in Forest Hills in 2008.

My race didn't start until 9:30 am, but still, I am an early bird, and got up about 6:30, anxiously awaiting Keith to pick me up at 8am so we can head over to Gas Light Village in East Grand Rapids. The previous days leading to the race had been quite nice, about 50 degrees. But no, I wake up to a balmy 35 degrees with a light snow on the ground! Now, I have to rethink my outfit. I decided to go with green pants (well, greenish brown) and I wore the long sleeve Irish Jig race shirt that I received from picking up my registration the night before. I still wanted to wear a pink shirt over my clothes so I could hopefully stick out for Keith when he takes pictures. I also wore gloves, a pink hat and a black zipped up sweatshirt, over my pink shirt, because it was just too damn cold!!! Here is my ensemble:


I also was scrambling to find safety pins to pin my race number 3259 on me. All other races I have been in has given me the safety pins, I am not the type of person to have safety pins lying around. But, I remembered I was given a first aid gift from one of my vendors at work, so inside I found 2 pins, 3 would have been ideal, but 2 worked.

I also had to put my disposable D-Tag race trip on my shoe, I always get nervous that I will do it wrong, but I seemed to get it right. This a new technology in the past few years where you don't have to turn your chip in, you just throw it away after. Just a lot less hassle. Here is what it looks like:


Keith arrived at 8am and we were off. I made sure I grabbed a water and skipped breakfast because I hate to eat before working out, although if I was doing something longer for an hour, I would have some fruit and a little peanut butter to keep me going.

We had a bit of a hard time finding parking at first, but parked in the parking ramp in the middle of Gas Light Village. It such a cute area, very upscale neighborhood with trendy shops and restaurants, and of course the beautiful Reeds Lake.



It seemed to take forever for my race to start. We walked down to race festivities at about 8:40am and waited on the side for the men to start, their race was at 9:00am. It was so cold, but jumping up and down to the music they were playing over the speakers helped a bit. Seeing racers in shorts did not help! I debated jumping in to join the men because it was so cold and I didn't want to wait any longer, but, I decided to race with the women. It finally hit 9 am, and the men were off!!!




After the men's start we had some time to warm up and went into the D&W Foods Grocery store to get some heat. We weren't the only ones with that idea, tons of racers were hanging out in the store, I am sure the manager was pleased because no one really bought anything.

Ok, time to get ready for the women's' race. We didn't start until 9:45a or so. Keith snapped a pic of me and I wasn't ready for it. I gave him my telephoto lens (70-300mm) because I wasn't sure where he would be standing in relative to my running. He only had to use it at 70mm, so we could have gotten away with my standard lens of 18-55mm. Oh well, we learn.


I was off an running! I made sure to start my stop watch as soon as I crossed over the timer.



When everyone starts at once, its hard to maneuver between slower runners. They didn't line people up by pace at all, I finally passed the slow runners and got into a groove on a sidewalk. Most people were in the street, but there were a few of us running on the sidewalk, I at first thought, will I be disqualified if I am running on the sidewalk? But others were doing it. It was nice. Three songs went by on my iPod playlist (Love Story remix by Taylor Swift, Walk Away remix by Kelly Clarkston and Lose Yourself by Eminem) I was already at mile 1, and there were tons of people cheering on. It motivated me even more! All of a sudden I saw Keith in the crowd and he even ready and snapped a picture! Cool! I was grooving on to mile 2 with my new favorite download, Sandstorm, an 8 minute song! I could feel myself get a little tired around mile 2 and after plus there was a bit of a hill on Hall St, I think I start out too fast sometimes and tucker out, but I never quit running, that is my rule. But when I felt like it was 2.5 mile, I started picking out people that I thought were my age group and tried to pass them, a little game I play. And then I see the East Grand Rapids Higschool and a big crowd. I am so tired at this point, I see the 3 mile marker and think to myself, I still have .2 miles afterwards (but then I forgot it was only .1). ha! I stared sprinting to the finish line as soon as I saw it, and saw Keith again really quick. He took a picture really quick, its a little blurry, but I attribute that to my fast speed, ha right!



My race results time was 30:37. Not bad, I accomplished my goal of under 31:00. I plan to run in under 30 for the Fifth Third River Bank Run on May 8.

We later found out that mile 1 picture didn't take, but no big deal, I just appreciate Keith waking up early and standing out in the cold for a couple hours to cheer me on and take a couple pics. Here are some other pictures from the race, including a man in the 70-85 year old age group that had a finish time of 27 minutes! Impressive! This old man can beat me!







Also the goodies that I received post race, long sleeve shirt not shown, not bad for $22 registration fee?

Why is my bed shaking? Last thing on my mind was an Earthquake!

Well, during the 5am hour on Friday April 18th (later determined at exactly 5:37am), my bed was shaking. I was either awake or woken up already. I was thinking at first, why is my bed shaking (felt like someone put a quarter in one of those beds to make it vibrate). Then I thought, what in the world is my neighbor doing (I live in a condo where the walls are shared with neighbors)? Were they getting happy, moving furniture? Then my heat was kicking on and could really hear a lot of clatter in the vents, and just thought, hmmmm….maybe that’s how it always sounds and I didn't ever notice it. Then the whole building started shaking, then I thought, what is going on, maybe a few units down something exploded and there is a fire? (I was thinking of those Indian Town Condos that were on fire a few months ago). Well, I didn't hear any sirens or anything, and the shaking of the building had stopped. I kind of just laid in bed for awhile. The whole thing lasted for about 20-30 seconds. Got up and worked out, and then watched the news and they reported an earthquake in West Salem, Illinois. People from a 350 mile radius reported feeling it. The last thing on my mind was an earthquake. I was excited to learn that I felt an earthquake, in Grand Rapids, MI! No other co-workers of mine really felt it. My mom and dad reported no feeling of it in Bay City, nor did my brother in Tennessee. Here is what Mlive had to say: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/earthquake_centered_on_illinoi.html

Earthquake centered on Illinois/Indiana border felt in Michigan

by The Grand Rapids Press staff and wire reports

Friday April 18, 2008, 6:12 AM

A strong earthquake that rattled parts of southern Illinois and Indiana early this morning was felt in the Grand Rapids area, about 320 miles away.

The quake, given a preliminary magnitude of 5.4, occurred about 6 miles from Mount Carmel, Ill., and about 131 miles east of St. Louis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It took place about 2 miles underground and struck about 5:36 a.m., USGS said.

"It shook our house where it woke me up," said David Behm of Philo, Ill., 10 miles south of Champaign. "Windows were rattling, and you could hear it. The house was shaking inches. For people in central Illinois, this is a big deal. It's not like California."

The quake also shook skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop and tall buildings in downtown Indianapolis. It was felt in Milwaukee and Cincinnati as well.

Irvetta McMurtry of Cincinnati said she felt the rattling for up to 20 seconds.

"All of a sudden, I was awakened by this rumbling shaking," said McMurtry, 43. "My bed is an older wood frame bed, so the bed started to creak and shake, and it was almost like somebody was taking my mattress and moving it back and forth."

Lucas Griswold, a dispatcher in West Salem, said the Edwards County sheriff's department received reports of minor damage and no injuries.

Quake strikes during weathercast AP Video

"Oh, yeah, I felt it. It was interesting," Griswold said. "A lot of shaking."

Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle in Evansville, about 38 miles from the epicenter, said there were no immediate reports of damage.

A 5.4 quake can cause considerable damage.

Grand Rapids police dispatchers felt the building shake around 5:30.

Lt. Larry Frye said a couple of dispatchers who work on the fourth floor of Grand Rapids headquarters called him to find out if he felt anything in his lower floor office. He did not notice any tremors.

The USGS received reports from all over West Michigan, including Grand Rapids, Ada, Caledonia, Holland, Wayland and Trufant

The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the USGS.

The organization's Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region -- also a magnitude 5.4 -- caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.

Three of the most powerful quakes felt in North America struck in the region.

In 1811-12, a series of quakes along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri, near the border with Tennessee, measured 7.8, 8.0 and 8.1, which is 10 times more intense than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They devastated the sparsely populated area, and reportedly caused the Mississippi River to flow backward for a time.

The quakes, occurring from from Dec. 16 to Feb. 7, were felt as far away as Boston. Damage was reported as far away as Charleston, S.C., and Washington, D.C.
The earthquake is being monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey.

-- Press writers Dan Hawkins, Dave Odette and The Associated Press contributed to this report.