Liv to run

Lots of random ranting, whining, and attempts at being humourous as I run, run, run in pursuit of higher mileage and better races.

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Twenty one is so much fun!

Well, here I am in all my glory. Neither my dad nor my camera-happy housemate have seen fit to send all my wonderful post-race pictures, so I am forced to resort to Action Sports International's oh-so-flattering portrayal. And trust me, this was by far the best shot, the others are classified...!

Well, what can I say about 21 kilometres? (Okay, okay, 13.1 miles)

-It's the farthest distance I have ever run in my life.
-It took me longer to finish it than it did for someone to win the marathon (which took place simultaneously).
-The first female marathoner came in after me, though. Ha.
-Oh, yeah, it was a total blast.

I wish I had some photos of my behind to share with you all. It was really, really sexy. Okay, backtrack, I'll explain that one. I realized the night before the race that I had neglected to consider one important conundrum: where was I to stash my carbo gels? After much scratching of head and gnashing of teeth, I settled on stowing them in a little invisible money belt, the kind you stick under your pants when you don't want your passport snarfed. And then I thought, while I'm at it, why don't I just chuck my key and my phone in there too, so I don't have to check baggage? Brilliant. Except I couldn't wear it as a fanny pack, it bounced too much - so, you guessed it, I wore the belt in its rightful position - under my shorts and on my ass. Like I really needed to look bigger down there. Still, I was happy with the functionality of the arrangement, and I marveled at the poor souls I passed who were running with big galumphing fanny packs, and one guy with a full-sized backpack. Seriously! They have water stations for a reason, hun, what the hell were you carrying? This is all a very long-winded plea for advice, if after the fact: what is a good way to store gels on the go (assuming that I didn't want to bring my bulky torso pack)?

Anyway, my hippo heiny and I plodded our way slowly but surely through the miles. I kept the first one slow, around 11min, which I figured I could reasonably keep up. But lo and behold, from there on in, every time my Garmin beeped I was thoroughly surprised and delighted to see the numbers consistently around 10:30. I even managed a 10:05 for mile 12 - that was the mile where my family came to cheer. Yay! After that it was just an onslaught of uplifting emotions as I fought to the finish with a huge grin on my face (accounting for most of the unflattering pictures - it's hard to grin and gasp for air at the same time without looking like a dying platypus). Energy welled up inside me as I sung an endless refrain of "I've done it, I've done it, I've really done it!" Who would have thought - short little Liv, with her short little legs, and she made it - all the way. 2:19:27 - a very pleasing first time, as I was aiming for 2:30 or so - and happy to be on the faster side of "or so"!

There were times, during my training, when I would lie down on the kitchen floor after a 10 mile run, dehydrated and exhausted, thinking "what ever possessed me to do this? It's ridiculous. After this race I'm never doing distance again. And forget ever bothering with a full marathon, schmarathon - what an illusion."

But running the half changed all that. I know I can do long distance, and I know that I love it. I'm dusting off that illusion again, and turning it back into a dream.

26 Comments:

  • At 7:37 a.m., Blogger Mmem said…

    Just found your blog via Neese. You ran a HM?!?!!! That is awesome! Congratulations, wow!!! I can't imagine running with a backpack, glad the gels in the moneybelt worked for you. Great pace (11 min mile is fast for me, lol). Love reading how all the hard work was worth it. Enjoy your accomplishment (and thank you for inspiring ME as well). Bravo!

     
  • At 10:33 a.m., Blogger Unknown said…

    It's great to hear that it was a wonderful experience for you. I have not come up with a great way to stash gu's on the run. Stick em wherever you can find room that won't bother you too much. Congratulations again.

     
  • At 10:56 a.m., Blogger Jess said…

    There's this old guy I see down here at every single race, who shoves a full, 20 ounce water bottle into his teeny, tiny running shorts (seriously, I hesitate to call them "shorts"), and if he can run with that in his pants, I'm sure that running with your valuables was fine. And no one is looking at you; they're all paranoid someone is looking at them. COngrats on completely the half! That's truly momentous!

     
  • At 11:45 a.m., Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wow! Congrats! What a great run!

     
  • At 1:43 p.m., Blogger onepinkfuzzy said…

    WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

     
  • At 2:18 p.m., Blogger yumke said…

    Glad to see you liked the halfs. Myself, I think they are my favourite distances. they allow people who love endurance (like me) strut their stuff. congrats again!

     
  • At 2:24 p.m., Blogger Sonia said…

    Great job Liz! I feel just like you, once you started these races you just can't stop!!!

     
  • At 7:33 p.m., Blogger Hilda said…

    Enjoy the sensation as long as possible, it is great to discover the distance!!!

    You look great!!

     
  • At 9:45 p.m., Blogger Brooke said…

    Oh you can totally do a full marathon. I started out with a half and said okay, that's it. Two marathons later, I'm hooked.

     
  • At 11:30 p.m., Blogger Joe said…

    Wow! 2:19! That's great!

     
  • At 5:07 a.m., Blogger tryathlete said…

    I think 2:19:27 is a world record for a HM with a money belt on an ass.

     
  • At 7:41 a.m., Blogger L*I*S*A said…

    Way to rock that half mary, Liv!!

    For shorts, check out http://www.raceready.com/ as they have little pockets stashed in the back.

    I'm going to try out a running skirt for my Chicago marathon: http://www.runningskirts.com/ I figure I'm a girl, so why not dress like one? ;)

    Congrats!!! Awesome race. You did a great job. :)

     
  • At 10:04 p.m., Blogger Neese said…

    yeeeeah! excellent half marathon liv!! that is so fantastic you did a half! and in such a great time! your family there to support you is super cool too. way to go!!!

     
  • At 9:27 a.m., Blogger Jenny said…

    Congratulations on your first half!

     
  • At 10:46 a.m., Blogger L*I*S*A said…

    Also, don't forget the running skirts have pockets, too!

    http://www.runningskirts.com/

    Mine is arriving on Wednesday so watch my blog for a full review. ;)

     
  • At 3:39 p.m., Blogger carmen said…

    CONGRATS! You ran a good time and despite what you say, I like the photo! I can see your running soul. hehe

     
  • At 4:38 p.m., Blogger runliarun said…

    So happy to find someone who, like me, has not done everything already...

    Even the half can feel like a whole thing, isn't it?

    Congratulations!

     
  • At 8:29 p.m., Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Great job girl!! That's an awesome time. It's an amazing feeling to finish, isn't it? Leaves you wanting more.

    I carry my GU in velcro pouches that attach to my shoes. They can be found at roadID.com. But, the catch is that they are pretty small. Each pouch can hold 2 of the GU brand gels if you really work to get them in there, but some of the gels in larger packages wouldn't fit. I ran my half marathon with them, along with several long runs and I never even notice that they are there.

     
  • At 8:43 p.m., Blogger Olga said…

    It sounds so exciting! What a hoot to get under the aiming time and feel great, and have fun on top of it!

     
  • At 12:07 a.m., Blogger miss petite america said…

    oooh you're a rockstar! and check out that sexy garmin!

    congrats liv! can't wait to hear about the marathon training :)

     
  • At 12:32 a.m., Blogger Iron Jayhawk said…

    Congrats on the half mary!! I am sooooo impressed at you, speedy (and yes, you're speedy compared to moi!).

    So when's the next 13.1?

    Keep it up, Liv!

     
  • At 10:04 p.m., Blogger MNFirefly said…

    AWESOME job, Liv! You did it. I can not wait for rest of the pics.

     
  • At 8:09 a.m., Blogger Rice said…

    Great work. It sure is addictive isn't it..

    Cheers.


    Rice.

     
  • At 10:45 a.m., Blogger ! said…

    This is completely off the blog but thank you coming by and leaving the comment. :) I was really happy cause 1 I didn't think you'd ever come by and 2 caus the advice was nice. i really appreciate it..So thanks!...now i'll read the blog :)

     
  • At 5:02 p.m., Blogger Danielle said…

    I third the race ready shorts...I own 3 pair now and they are perfect for carrying a lot of junk (particularly if you get to a point of doing a full). They also make gel belts that you can wear to attach them to shorts or I have seen people safety pin them to shorts as well...kind of depends on how many you need.

     
  • At 2:10 a.m., Blogger Joyce said…

    Congrats! I'm totally jealous!

     

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