Frannie's eSpace

Another Peachtree in the bank

You may have heard that the Peachtree Road Race was brutal this year, due to the last half mile being uphill. The only good thing about it was that at least it was in the shade, since we were running South instead of East.

My time was no worse this year, however. I did the race in a little over 48 minutes. And I liked the grayish-blue t-shirt: it'll go good with jeans.

The best part of the race, however, was seeing Allison. I can always count on seeing her at least once a year! We vow to do better, but once a year is better than no times a year!

The ING Half Marathon

I ran last Sunday's ING Half Marathon in just under 1 hour 44 minutes, which beats last year's time by about 3 minutes. I guess it does pay to train!

A couple of comments about my performance:
1) Downhills are my downfall! After the downhill in mile 10, my left knee hurt for the next two miles. It was very uncomfortable.
2) I love Thor-Lo socks! On a whim, I bought a pair the day before the race; they made the difference: my feet didn't hurt at all! It was so stupid of me not to have tried them before then because a lot of people on Charles' side of the family wear them exclusively. I should have paid more attention. Oh well, better late than never.

Next year's ING is on Sunday April 5.

More Running Tips

I just finished a 1-hour 50 minute run and my only regret is to not have started earlier this morning before it was so sunny! It got hot!

Here are a few more tips for a long run:
1) Take 3 or 4 Advil before the run.
2) Take a tablespoon of Kyo-Green mixed with a little apple juice before the run. It'll give you energy.
3) If you're faced with a steep hill, lower your center of gravity and pump your arms like crazy. That'll get you up to the top fast!

(You can read my other tips here: Tips for a Long Run.)

Tips for a Long Run

I ran for an hour and 45 minutes yesterday in prep for the ING Half Marathon two weeks from now. It wasn't that bad! However, I'm not used to running that long, in fact my usual regime is about 4 miles 3 times during the week, with a long run or two on the weekend.

If you're in my boat, here are some tips to "get through" a Long Run:
1) Music! If I didn't have my Shuffle with lots of peppy songs, I wouldn't even attempt to run.
2) Propel! I place a bottle of Propel in a strategic spot of the run. That sacred bottle is a life saver! In fact, next week, I'm going to put out two bottles.
3) Out and Back! I make sure the majority of the course is an out and back. That way, there's less chance to skip a leg of of the course or cut it short.
4) No clock watching! I avoid looking at my watch (which is tucked away in my Amphipod) until I'm sure it's been at least an hour. It's too depressing otherwise!

Yep... Like most other things in life, most of a long run is mental!

The disadvantages of smooth feet

Like a lot of other people, I got several nice bottles of lotion for Christmas, including a jar of "body butter" (from the Dead Sea, no less!). My immediate reaction was: I'm gonna get my runners' feet in shape once and for all... no more callouses, no more scratchy surfaces, no more dead skin! It took a few weeks, but I achieved the elusive "smooth feet". (Must have been the body butter!) However, in the process, I've gotten terrible blisters and have spent lots of money on mole skin, blister bandaids and cushion-y pads. Yesterday's run was brutal.

Best I can tell, the blisters are from the smooth feet. I'd heard before that callouses protect runners' feet from pain and blisters, but it simply seems too outrageous that an athlete can't also have smooth feet. Somebody, please, say it ain't so!

The advantages of getting older

Now that I'm in a new and older age group in running, I'm placing in the top 3 of my age division more and more often! For example, last Saturday I ran a 10K and I actually came in first in the 45-49 year old women's group. Yippee!  Admittedly, it wasn't a huge race, but you can see for yourself: http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?pubID=3&rsID=50051

When I was younger, I never would have hit the top three, much less the top spot! Who says there ain't perks in getting older?

Life's little decisions

I had such a great run this morning, about an hour and 15 minutes long. It felt so good. During the run, I reminisced about my running history. I've been a runner for almost 30 years, and all have been injury free except for a brief few weeks in 1991 when I must have twisted my knee skiing and it kept me off the course for about 2 months. That's it, however! I thank God for the gift of running; it has allowed me to stay healthy and it comes so easy.

Funny how little decisions in life have such an impact. I picked up running during a church youth group retreat my senior year. It was at St. Mary's Convent in Sewanee. The leader of the retreat was a runner and he talked it up to the point that the afternoon we got back from the retreat, I put on my Converse (yes, those basketball shoes!) and ran over to Aunt Ora's house and back. The rest is history!

Another eventful decision came from that weekend: that's when I fell in love with The University of the South and decided to apply. If I had not gone there, I never would have met Sallie Topfl whose sister Liz introduced me to Charles!

Same time next year!

I see Allison Beach, one of my dearest friends, about once a year... over the 4th of July holiday when she drives in from the suburbs to spend the night with us so that we can get up early and go run the Peachtree. We have way more fun catching up with events from the previous year than we do running. In fact, running is the worst part of it. There, I've said it! It is so stinkin' hot and crowded, and the last 3 miles are brutally up hill. The sun blares in your face that last half mile, and to top it off, you have to walk what seems like another 10K just to get back to the Marta station. Why do we do it year after year? Oh, it's a tradition and the t-shirt is fun to wear the rest of the day, but the best reason to run the Peachtree is: when would I ever see Allison otherwise?

When we parted to go our separate ways this morning, we vowed to get together at least once this coming year, but if not, then I can always count on the same time next year!

Peachtree Road Race countdown

5 weeks to the day of the July 4 Peachtree Road Race. Hmm... I hope to break 48 minutes again this year and at this point it's looking pretty positive.

I made it!

I actually completed the half marathon this morning in pretty good time considering that my knees and shins were not in the best shape. My time was right around 1 hour 47 minutes. The last half was grueling, but thank goodness I had good music to listen to, the sun was not beating down, and there were plenty of water stops! i would not have made it without the water and Powerade. My chip fell off at mile 12 and I had to run back to retrieve it! I nearly fell over when I stood back up to run! When I crossed the finish line, I managed to smile really big at the camera, wave at the crowd, and Charles was rooting for me too at the finish line. Talk about "Fake it to make it!" That's what I did today. My race-day manager and precious husband Charles really made a difference. Had it not been for his enthusiasm, the ING Half Marathon would have been an ordeal (well at least the last few miles) instead of a big deal!