(Scroll down to the first entry for the quiz!)
At our Tuesday night run during Thanksgiving week, Monica had encouraged us to attend the yearly "SIDS run" that would take place at 8 am Thanksgiving morning. Having always been the charitable sort, I got up bright and early, put on my running clothes, and prepared to run for all the poor little babies who die unexpectedly.
I arrived at our meetup spot at the time I was supposed to: 8 am, but the only other people there were seven men, all of whom seemed to know each other. I wondered why more people weren't arriving; surely SIDS was a cause well worth running for, even on a national holiday.
Finally, Monica arrived and ushered me into the big, white Apexmobile.
"Sorry I'm late, Liz! I can't believe there aren't more people here," She said.
"Me too!" (My sense of moral indignation at being the only one charitable enough to come out and run for a cause on Thanksgiving growing with every word), "You would think more people would want to show up."
"I know. Well, anyway. I see there are a few people over there. C'mon, Liz, I'll introduce you to Sid."
It didn't take but two shakes of Sid's hand for me to discover that this was not an organized run for charity, but a yearly social event organized by a super-fast elite runner named Sid. And, of course, only his super-fast elite friends had bothered to show up and run with him.
Deciding I may as well give it a try, I set off with the group. Within a half-a-block, the whole group was three blocks ahead of me. I kept running anyway. Finally, when the whole group had ceased to be little, bouncing dots on the horizon, I turned away and jogged home.
I will undoubtedly attend the Sid's run again this year. But, this time, I won't be running for Sid. Even I know you can't die of SIDS at 45.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Zeitgeist, 2007
Here's the story of my first goal run: Zeitgeist! I originally posted this on November 3, 2007, on my own, personal blog.
ZEITGEIST COMPLETED!
Hey, all!
Well, today was the big day! I got up at 8:00 this morning, got some clothes on, and took off to the Optimists football field. There, I met Mike and Monica and, before long, Mike and I were running the race together.
I have provided the following map so you can follow along. Double click to make it bigger. The peaks are at mile 3 and at around mile 8.
The Zeitgeist is known as a pretty rough half-marathon. The first mile is pretty flat but there's a hill that starts somewhere after mile .75 and ends at mile 3. That first hill was pretty tough. Even though Mike kept assuring me that I had done hills just like this in training, the endless up, up, upness of it coupled with the knowledge that there were still ten miles to run after I reached this first peak really panicked me. Mike was great though. He helped me out, and, by looking straight at my feet instead of how far I had to run, we made it to the top with only like 5 minutes of walking.
Mike was AWESOME for coming out with me! He got sick last night and suspects he's coming down with the flu, but he still ran thirteen miles with me! Thanks, Mike!
When we reached the first peak, we were at mile three. The next part of the race was really pleasant! We ran downhill for a while and then through a little community. This part was super pleasant. We had made it to the first peak, there was a lot of downhill, the weather was beautiful, the scenery was majestic, there was a refreshing breeze, I was well within my regualar running distance, I had just taken off my shirt (my sports bra was plenty) and this was making me a lot more comfortable.
Everything was really pleasant to mile 6 or so. That's when the next ascent started. This time, I put my head down and watched my feet on my way up. Mike was right there so I could see his feet, too. This hill wasn't nearly so bad as the first one, except for a very short stint at the end which was VERY steep. This is where my training really seemed to come in handy. I had done hills this steep and this long in practice, so making it up that hill was not that bad, as long as I didn't look to see how much farther I had to go. I even missed the 8-mile marker.
Miles 8 1/2 through mile 10 or so were not bad. Mike and I were going along at a pretty good clip, though it seemed to me that he was too enthusiastic about getting to the finish line. I lagged just a tad behind him. He kept mentioning all the people who had passed us before who we were passing now. I was really starting to get tired, so extra conversation was extra energy. I didn't say much in return.
Miles 10-12 started getting rough because I started getting really tired. I could tell because my head seemed a bit foggy and I just wanted to slow down. It seemed like the road never ended! At about mile 11.5, we passed this girl who kept yelling at her friends, "Just 1.5 more miles!", "Just 1.4 more miles!" It was mild torture. This was not only because I tired, but because I had not adequately taken care of my bathroom needs before the race and I hadn't had us stop to wait in line for the bathroom as we went. (We couldn't! The timer was running and I was too tense to let anything needed out anyway!) I didn't know if I or my digestive system could make it 1.5 more miles, so, to have someone remind me how much distance there was left was just tough.
At mile 12, Monica and some good-looking friend she had brought from the finish line started running with us. I was really suffering at this point. My digestive system was screaming and was about to give way, I was tired, I was feeling a little sick, and Mike just kept running faster! On top of that, Monica was yelling encouraging reminders at me.
"Use those arms! Reel it in!"
I love Monica but I could have punched her. I could have punched Mike too. Conversation is energy at this point and I had no energy with which to listen or reply. I could have also punched Monica's cute friend for seeing me in this state.
We just kept going. It was awful: My digestive system had had enough, I was exhausted, and I couldn't punch any of the kind people who were running with me. I started to panic. Finally, we were right before the finish and . . .would you know it . . .someone put A HILL in the road! I walked a couple of steps and kind of whined Monica's name, and she just said that right after that hill it was all down hill to the finish line. I just wanted it to end, so I busted up the hill and ran down, straight into the finish line. As I was running in, I saw my mom at the side waving at me. The timer said 2 hours and 20 minutes. I crossed the finish line and BOOM! My entire digestive system let loose and provided me with an embarrassing, gross mess. I didn't even make it far enough down the finish line to give them my timing chip. I was so embarrassed! Even my shoes were all wet. Before the race, Monica had introduced me to a friend who had an RV he had parked near the finish line. There was an RV right there when I crossed the line. I didn't know if this was the one that the guy Monica knew owned, but I didn't care. I just went inside, rushed into the bathroom and shut the door.
Me approaching the finish line
Mike after the Race
I was in there for like 15 minutes. I was SO EMBARRASSED! Luckily, I had found the right RV and, pretty soon, Monica came in asking for me. At that moment, I was SO grateful to have a female trainer. I would have hated having to experience this with Mike.
Monica got me a couple of plastic bags and I cleaned myself up. It was gross. I put on my warm up pants. Emotionally, I was exhausted and hazy. I left the RV, found my mom, and kind of just rushed into her arms. I had regressed back to my early childhood and my mom was the only person I really wanted right then. She just hugged me tight and said how proud of me she was. I just so needed a hug right then! I told her how embarrassed I was. She said not to worry about it: I had just run 13 miles. We took a nice picture then she called my dad so I could talk to him. After we shared a bit of dessert, she had to go back to the retreat that my parents are helping with this weekend.
After some time at the after-party (my whole running group had by now gathered for their weekly Saturday run) I took Jennifer home and spent the next two hours in bed. I felt queasy and my stomach was definitely not cooperating. I washed my clothes and, finally, when I could get up with relative confidence, I looked on line. Yup. There was something called Runner's Trots and I had it!
I looked at the things they recommend to prevent it. I had broken like four of the cardinal RT prevention rules. For reference, here's what you shouldn't do that I did.
A) Don't eat a high-fat meal after 4 pm the day before the race.
B) Don't go to the race dehydrated and without your bathroom needs met
C) Don't eat within two hours before the race
D) Don't wear tight clothing while running
E) Don't eat within 3 hours after a race
There are others but those are the ones I screwed up on.
I was laying around with a queasy stomach for most of the day. It was only a half-hour or so that I started feeling good enough to come down and write this. I'm glad to be feeling better within five hours of coming home. That's nice!
Now it's dark, its almost 8 pm, and I haven't done a damn thing all day since I got home!
I'm supposed to take an ice bath tonight. I don't know! I've been through enough today!
I'll post more pictures when I get them.
Elisabeth
ZEITGEIST COMPLETED!
Hey, all!
Well, today was the big day! I got up at 8:00 this morning, got some clothes on, and took off to the Optimists football field. There, I met Mike and Monica and, before long, Mike and I were running the race together.
I have provided the following map so you can follow along. Double click to make it bigger. The peaks are at mile 3 and at around mile 8.
The Zeitgeist is known as a pretty rough half-marathon. The first mile is pretty flat but there's a hill that starts somewhere after mile .75 and ends at mile 3. That first hill was pretty tough. Even though Mike kept assuring me that I had done hills just like this in training, the endless up, up, upness of it coupled with the knowledge that there were still ten miles to run after I reached this first peak really panicked me. Mike was great though. He helped me out, and, by looking straight at my feet instead of how far I had to run, we made it to the top with only like 5 minutes of walking.
Mike was AWESOME for coming out with me! He got sick last night and suspects he's coming down with the flu, but he still ran thirteen miles with me! Thanks, Mike!
When we reached the first peak, we were at mile three. The next part of the race was really pleasant! We ran downhill for a while and then through a little community. This part was super pleasant. We had made it to the first peak, there was a lot of downhill, the weather was beautiful, the scenery was majestic, there was a refreshing breeze, I was well within my regualar running distance, I had just taken off my shirt (my sports bra was plenty) and this was making me a lot more comfortable.
Everything was really pleasant to mile 6 or so. That's when the next ascent started. This time, I put my head down and watched my feet on my way up. Mike was right there so I could see his feet, too. This hill wasn't nearly so bad as the first one, except for a very short stint at the end which was VERY steep. This is where my training really seemed to come in handy. I had done hills this steep and this long in practice, so making it up that hill was not that bad, as long as I didn't look to see how much farther I had to go. I even missed the 8-mile marker.
Miles 8 1/2 through mile 10 or so were not bad. Mike and I were going along at a pretty good clip, though it seemed to me that he was too enthusiastic about getting to the finish line. I lagged just a tad behind him. He kept mentioning all the people who had passed us before who we were passing now. I was really starting to get tired, so extra conversation was extra energy. I didn't say much in return.
Miles 10-12 started getting rough because I started getting really tired. I could tell because my head seemed a bit foggy and I just wanted to slow down. It seemed like the road never ended! At about mile 11.5, we passed this girl who kept yelling at her friends, "Just 1.5 more miles!", "Just 1.4 more miles!" It was mild torture. This was not only because I tired, but because I had not adequately taken care of my bathroom needs before the race and I hadn't had us stop to wait in line for the bathroom as we went. (We couldn't! The timer was running and I was too tense to let anything needed out anyway!) I didn't know if I or my digestive system could make it 1.5 more miles, so, to have someone remind me how much distance there was left was just tough.
At mile 12, Monica and some good-looking friend she had brought from the finish line started running with us. I was really suffering at this point. My digestive system was screaming and was about to give way, I was tired, I was feeling a little sick, and Mike just kept running faster! On top of that, Monica was yelling encouraging reminders at me.
"Use those arms! Reel it in!"
I love Monica but I could have punched her. I could have punched Mike too. Conversation is energy at this point and I had no energy with which to listen or reply. I could have also punched Monica's cute friend for seeing me in this state.
We just kept going. It was awful: My digestive system had had enough, I was exhausted, and I couldn't punch any of the kind people who were running with me. I started to panic. Finally, we were right before the finish and . . .would you know it . . .someone put A HILL in the road! I walked a couple of steps and kind of whined Monica's name, and she just said that right after that hill it was all down hill to the finish line. I just wanted it to end, so I busted up the hill and ran down, straight into the finish line. As I was running in, I saw my mom at the side waving at me. The timer said 2 hours and 20 minutes. I crossed the finish line and BOOM! My entire digestive system let loose and provided me with an embarrassing, gross mess. I didn't even make it far enough down the finish line to give them my timing chip. I was so embarrassed! Even my shoes were all wet. Before the race, Monica had introduced me to a friend who had an RV he had parked near the finish line. There was an RV right there when I crossed the line. I didn't know if this was the one that the guy Monica knew owned, but I didn't care. I just went inside, rushed into the bathroom and shut the door.
Me approaching the finish line
Mike after the Race
I was in there for like 15 minutes. I was SO EMBARRASSED! Luckily, I had found the right RV and, pretty soon, Monica came in asking for me. At that moment, I was SO grateful to have a female trainer. I would have hated having to experience this with Mike.
Monica got me a couple of plastic bags and I cleaned myself up. It was gross. I put on my warm up pants. Emotionally, I was exhausted and hazy. I left the RV, found my mom, and kind of just rushed into her arms. I had regressed back to my early childhood and my mom was the only person I really wanted right then. She just hugged me tight and said how proud of me she was. I just so needed a hug right then! I told her how embarrassed I was. She said not to worry about it: I had just run 13 miles. We took a nice picture then she called my dad so I could talk to him. After we shared a bit of dessert, she had to go back to the retreat that my parents are helping with this weekend.
After some time at the after-party (my whole running group had by now gathered for their weekly Saturday run) I took Jennifer home and spent the next two hours in bed. I felt queasy and my stomach was definitely not cooperating. I washed my clothes and, finally, when I could get up with relative confidence, I looked on line. Yup. There was something called Runner's Trots and I had it!
I looked at the things they recommend to prevent it. I had broken like four of the cardinal RT prevention rules. For reference, here's what you shouldn't do that I did.
A) Don't eat a high-fat meal after 4 pm the day before the race.
B) Don't go to the race dehydrated and without your bathroom needs met
C) Don't eat within two hours before the race
D) Don't wear tight clothing while running
E) Don't eat within 3 hours after a race
There are others but those are the ones I screwed up on.
I was laying around with a queasy stomach for most of the day. It was only a half-hour or so that I started feeling good enough to come down and write this. I'm glad to be feeling better within five hours of coming home. That's nice!
Now it's dark, its almost 8 pm, and I haven't done a damn thing all day since I got home!
I'm supposed to take an ice bath tonight. I don't know! I've been through enough today!
I'll post more pictures when I get them.
Elisabeth
The Liz Quiz!
Hello, All!
OOO it was dangerous to make me secretary!
As official secretary of the board for this club, I thought I would kick off with a little something to prove that I am qualified to be on the board, and a little quiz so you guys have the opportunity to prove that you know the team.
Proof that I'm Qualified:
1. I almost have a Masters Degree
2. Note: I run
(Me Running)
3. I can draw fluffy, white sheep on Microsoft Paint
Now, How Well Do You Know the Team?
1. In the above picture, Liz is
A. Really focused on the finish line
B. Really constipated
OOO it was dangerous to make me secretary!
As official secretary of the board for this club, I thought I would kick off with a little something to prove that I am qualified to be on the board, and a little quiz so you guys have the opportunity to prove that you know the team.
Proof that I'm Qualified:
1. I almost have a Masters Degree
2. Note: I run
(Me Running)
3. I can draw fluffy, white sheep on Microsoft Paint
Now, How Well Do You Know the Team?
1. In the above picture, Liz is
A. Really focused on the finish line
B. Really constipated
2. Liz thinks that the best "things" in life
A. are free
B. can be bought, but not on a teacher's salary.
C. are married and are, therefore, unavailable.
D. simply cannot be found in Kuna.
3. Scott, AKA the Master of Fashion, would never be caught dead wearing what at a run?
A. a non-technical shirt.
B. his jameez.
C. mismatched socks.
D. shoes bought anywhere other than at The Athlete's Foot in Eagle.
4. If Mike weren't married to Monica, he would:
A. live in a decrepit old trailer in St. Louis.
B. eat WAY TOO MUCH fried chicken.
C. eat paste.
D. experience a nagging and inexplicable urge to cuddle with a laptop.
5. Which of the following running group members makes the best Baja Fresh?
A. Monica
B. Jory
C. Scott
D. Liz
6. You know Monica likes a movie when she:
A. says so.
B. quits working on the laptop long enough to watch it.
C. falls asleep towards the beginning.
D. remembers having seen it.
E. All of the above.
F. Both B and D.
7. Murali knows he's had a productive day when he:
A. saves a few people from dying of heart disease.
B. sleeps in.
C. helps enlighten lop-sided women about their bad running form.
D. none of the above.
E. all of the above.
8. What is the approximate age of the man above?
A. 2 1/2
B. 4 1/2
C. 20
D. 30
E. 40
F. 50
G. Both A and F
9. If Ram still ran with the group, which of the following would he still be using to pace himself?
A. a car (moving)
B. a couple walking with their baby.
C. a car (parked)
D. Nada. Nothing can rival the turbo-charged power of Ram's self-labeled "quadricep rockets!"
10. Wendy enjoys frozen custard, but only if she gets to eat it out of:
A. a waffle cone
B. a to-go cup
C. a kiddie cone
d. a stay-it-here cup
11. There are no questions in this quiz about Richard, Patty, or Andy because:
A. They haven't done anything weird enough to merit a question.
B. Liz can't think of any.
C. Murali needs to get on this forum and spill some dirt about Andy in quiz-question form.
D. They sell high-quality running gear at discounted prices and are, therefore, above criticism.
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