Mussel-Weekend

I'm still processing some race thoughts, but I do have some general things about the weekend for you :)

After my last post on Friday, I worked and then headed out of town to get the fun started. I rode out to Seneca Lake with a friend of mine since John left earlier that morning.

It was an afternoon of friends and fun at the MicroMussel Triathlon- a very short triathlon involving costumes and tricycles (or in our case....a moving dolly with a fake plane on it). John and Corey dressed up as Goose & Maverick from Top Gun, and had everyone laughing the entire time. Truly a great way to start the weekend off in a fun way!

Me and my Maverick- he's way better than Tom Cruise!

Saturday was the Mini-Mussel Triathlon (Sprint Distance). John and I were volunteering, and a few of our friends were competing. I spent the first part of the morning at the "mount line" yelling at athletes not to get on their bike until they were at or past the line. It was a great place to be as I got to see all my friends as they started the bike, and cheer for others as well. Once people started coming in from the bike, I moved over to the "dismount line" making sure everyone got off their bikes before the line. More yelling and cheering but I was having a great time, and again it was a great place to be so I could see everyone! Volunteering the day before my race was a great way to get inspiration and motivation, and to see logistics of race location!

My Job was making sure everyone go off their bikes before the line- I also made sure to yell "have a great run" to as many as possible. They thought it was a good idea to give me a megaphone(haha!), I used it for a few minutes but it was heavy to hold and I also helped people grab things they dropped at dismount (shoes, water bottles, bikes etc) so I was better off without it.

Being at the"dismount line" is where I first learned of "the accident". One of the faster cyclists to come in, asked me if I knew what the name was of the person injured on course. I said I did not know, and he sternly told me to find out: there was fear in his voice. My friends were standing near me and heard the whole thing, they ran to the volunteer tent to make sure they knew there was an accident on course. They knew- and it wasn't good. After that, many people were asking me questions about it as they dismounted their bike. They all had to ride past the accident site, seeing ambulances and crowds of people and blood. I can't even imagine how hard that would be to see, emotional and scary for sure. Then later on, the questions turned towards family members cheering near me "has so & so come in yet?"-- everyone was worried it was a friend or loved one. 

After I was done at my volunteer post I walked around talking to my friends who had finished, and spent some time helping at the volunteer tent. I had heard bits and pieces more about the accident, but nothing definitive. Everyone was on edge, it was like being in high school all over again- rumors were flying, the bad news was that it was actually as bad as everyone was saying.

 I actually left to go get some "me time" as my nerves were building for the race the next day. I went back to John's parents on the lake and practiced mounts/dismounts by myself before heading to packet pickup and the pre-race meeting. 

I got all my gear ready for the next day 

Saturday night was spent at the house with all of our friends. Carb-rich dinner, some wine and good company; perfect way to unwind the night before the race. They have been doing this for Musselman weekend for a few years now, and I was happy I was able to join in the tradition. I also spent a little time on the hammock outside, trying to unwind and mentally prepare for 70.3 miles.

We did find out more information regarding the accident as the night went on. The man, who was a Rochester native was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital. An SUV had ran out of gas and was parked as far over on the shoulder as possible, the cyclist had collided into the back window. This is the first fatality in the 10 year history of the race. Sadly, we can't look and analyze exactly what happened, we will never really know-- and at this point it doesn't change anything. The victim, his family and friends are definitely in my thoughts and prayers.

Brief Article here

It was hard not to think about it, it was also hard not to let my parents find out about it.  I had sent them an email with links to maps, race website and my time estimates for them as they were going to be there Sunday. The last thing I needed was my mom to find out someone died on a 16 mile bike course when I was going to be on a 56 mile course the following day. I didn't want her freaking out the entire 3 and a half hours I was going to be on the bike. Did it scare me? you bet; but I have that fear every time I ride, accidents happen and the best we can do is just be aware and ride as smart and safely as possible.

Sunday was race day for me (recap to come this week), overall it was a great day. I survived my first 70.3! I had fabulous support crew of family and friends, and the race staff/volunteers were just as amazing. I can't say enough good things about Mussleman races- Jeff Henderson and his crew(including my friend Amy who is the volunteer coordinator) do an amazing job. From the different race options, mass volunteers, amazing swag and sponsors, pre-race meetings that are fun & informative, "green" race characteristics, all of it makes for a memorable weekend. Congrats to them for 10 years and cheers to many more! I already have next years race on the calendar...more volunteering and more racing!

Me and my #1 fan and team mate after finishing yesterday! :)

What did you do this weekend?

Cyclists- what are your riding fears?

Flower City Half Marathon

Day 2 of the Flower City Challenge....

Flower City Half Marathon

This race is sentimental for me, 

in 2010 it was the first time the race was put on,

and it was also my first half-marathon ever.

My first Half-marathon ever...
Flower City 2010
WOW I look young!
(sister on left, me on right)
[My time 1:44]

Flower City 2011
Running with KT tape for ITBS
[My time 1:43]

Okay, okay, enough of memory lane.

On to this year's Flower City Half-Marathon.

I really had no idea how fast I was going to be able to run this, 

since I raced pretty hard the day prior at the Flower City Duathlon.

I decided to run to the race to get some extra miles in,

it was a little over a 2 mile warm-up.

Fleet Feet/Yellowjacket Racing 

announced a few days prior that there would be a Boston tribute prior to the race.

Nothing better than warming up at the start line,

listening to thousands of runners singing "Sweet Caroline"

(I wish I could find a video of this, someone HAD to have taken one).

The first few miles were smooth. 

My legs felt good.

My heart was racing.

Crowds were awesome.

Ran next to my friend Thomas for a little while,

whom I hadn't seen in forever which made me smile!

I felt inspired to be running on streets I love & call home, 

and running a race that was once a big first for me.

Me rounding a corner early on, with my friend Thomas right behind me in the red.
Don't ask me why my mouth is open, I have NO idea.
[The outfit: Tank top (Saucony Ignite), shorts (Saucony Ignite), Sneakers (Saucony Kinvara 4-release 5/1, so happy I was able to get them early!)]

It started to go downhill quick,
& unfortunately I am not referring to the elevation profile.
My legs quickly reminded me that they were tired from the day prior.
Pace slowed, and I generally just felt blah.
I kept going and just trucked along best I could.
I knew I wasn't going to get a PR,
but I also knew it wouldn't be my slowest half either.

Shortly after mile 10 we got on the Genesee Riverway trail...

(ran it twice yesterday for the du)

I saw some people I knew cheering, 

I tried to put on a happy face despite how drained I felt.

Then my fiance...oh what a man he is...

pulled his bike over...

got on side of path in front of me,

and let me give him a slap on the tush.

Sounds silly, but it made me giggle and helped me put a smile on.

(Thanks babe for knowing when I needed a boost)

 [Singing to myself on the course,
while trying to thumbs up and smile for the camera]

I pushed forward, turned onto the Ford Street Bridge

trying to hold pace as best I could.

John was up there cheering, and so was my friend Joe.

Seeing familiar faces was much needed.

Final turn onto Exchange street, I knew it was the home stretch.

John was riding next to me at this point,
just cheering me on and pushing me forward...
I gave it what I had left and pushed through to the finish.
1:34:21 (7:12 average pace)
Not a Half-marathon PR.
BUT it is a PR on this course, by 9 minutes.
So we will file this under..success.

Closed my eyes, catch my breath...I was DONE :)
20/1347 Females
8/263 AG(25-29)

I quickly grabbed some water, and found my man.
Gave him a huge hug and thanked him for being support.
He then went back on the course to cheer and support the many others we knew running.
He is an amazing person and is a great support at races,
I can't wait until his knee's are healed and he can race again,
so I can support him and do what he does for me.

I mosied inside Blue Cross Arena looking for food and ice.
Within minutes my back was spazzing and so was my calf (same one as yesterday).
Fleet Feet had set up a "Recovery Zone" which was AMAZING.
Food, water, fuel, foam rollers, masseuses, chiropractors...
After getting my back and calf worked on,
I came back out and cheered for runners as they came in,
& caught up with some friends I ran into.

Finally I found John again, and we started to make our way home.
(He was on the bike, and I used the 2 mile jog home as cool down)
As we made our way through the city,
we were just out of sight from the finish when we saw it...
2 fire trucks and a HUGE police communications truck.
There were lots of people in suits, and uniforms.
As we went by we could see people on phones and computers in the big truck,
we had no doubts about the reason for all of this.
It's sad that we have to have more security like this at races.
It was nice to see that they kept it close enough,
yet far enough where most wouldn't see it though.
I'm sure that kept people more calm and less likely to panic.
Being the distance that it was, 
also made it less "intrusive" to the race atmosphere.

We made our way home slowly,
I was tired and hot but I knew jogging home would be a good cool-down
 that my body needed (I wouldn't have cooled down otherwise, that much I am sure of).

It was an insane weekend of racing, and I loved it.
FF/YJR really know how to put on a race.
I finished my first duathlon and my 12th half-marathon.

Crazy hectic weekend: 100% worth it

I can't describe to you how well I slept Sunday night.
I'm pretty sure a tractor trailer could have ran through the house,
and I wouldn't have flinched.



Have you ever done back to back big races?

What was your first Half-Marathon?

Have you run the same race multiple times before(any distance)?

Letters on the Run

I had every intention of a rant about yesterday's events, but instead I am choosing to focus on the good. By focusing on the good, we keep the Boston Marathon Monster from winning. 

So I have written a series of letters to everyone: 

Runners, volunteers/spectators, race directors/staff, non-runners, and even a letter to the person responsible for the events yesterday.

Please share this, let's show 'em what we're made of.

______________________________________
Dear Runners, 
I don't know you, but you are my family. Some of us have met, while most of us haven't; you are still my family. If you run 6 minute miles, or 14 minute miles....you are a runner, and I commend you. You make the choice to put one foot in front of the other, while others choose not to. Some of you run early while the world is still asleep, I hope you can still find peace on the run. Some of you run for health, some run to get that 5k time, others are chasing the distance of a marathon, and there are those chasing the dream of Boston. Please do not let yesterday's events change this. Do not change your run, use this as motivation to run.

Runners are amazing people, we are a tight knit community off people who understand each other. We cannot be scared, we must band together and push forward, THEY WILL NOT WIN. Please take the time to thank yourself for the hard work you put in, thank your body for holding you up, thank your family for supporting you, thank the volunteers for being there without reason, be grateful for the run. We were given this ability for a reason, and now more than ever that reason is clear. We run for a good cause, we run to prove that despite the bad things, good can still come.

For those of you who worked for months training (and years qualifying), and didn't get to finish, there are no words to describe how sorry I am. I hope you can find a way to move forward, and come back and get what you worked for (you earned it, don't let anyone take that from you). To those of you who had finished prior to the attack, please do not downplay your accomplishment. You ran 26.2 miles, you earned your right to be there and you did it, no one can take that from you. I know that your memory of that Boston 26.2 will be tainted but please never forget how amazing you are for getting there and doing what you went to do. To those of you still hoping to qualify for Boston, don't stop trying. I, along with thousands of others will still be there next year. I worked so hard to get my BQ and that will not be taken from me or the many others that have a journey like mine.

Being a runner means pushing through when things get tough, it means training while others are working or sleeping, it means having faith in our bodies when all else fails. The finish line is a sacred place, for celebration and relief, we cannot let that be taken from us. Continue to push to the finish without fear, dig deep and use what you have, let that line be yours to claim. It takes hard work and dedication to accomplish the things that we as runners do, it's very important that we show the world what we are made of. We are made of resiliency, and pride, and strength that comes from deep within. As runners we tend to use running as a release of the day-to-day grind, but our true colors show when things get hard, we run TOWARD the trouble to help those in need (thank you to all who ran and donated blood).

 I want to say thank you to my family of runners, for giving me a place to call home. Thank you for supporting me without knowing me, and pushing me when I need a boost. Thank you runners for giving me hope and faith in humanity, and showing me how amazing this world can be. To my fellow runners, thank you for being my family. Never give up, never lose hope, and never stop running.

Love always,
Laura Anderson

______________________________________

Dear Spectators/Volunteers,
Thank you for being the glue to our sport. You hold us together when we want to fall apart. You give us water, and we throw things back at you in return. We don't say thank you nearly enough, and I regret to say you are taken for granted. You wake up early like we do, to stand there in all conditions simply to tell us where to go, and cheer for us along the way.

 Most of you are runners and/or family members of runners. Thank you for enabling us to run, helping with the housework, watching the children, allowing us to spend hours on our feet away from the house. Thank you for understanding our complaints, our excessive eating, the whining and the icing. Thank you for putting up with our moods, as the stress of training can sometimes be a lot to handle. Thank you for the signs you make, and the cheers you yell, thank you for losing your voice for those you don't even know. Thank you for supporting us, and honoring us, and being there.

You too, are part of the running family, and we could not function without you. Thank you for your time and effort, I promise to be more grateful and to give back just as much as you do.

Sincerely Grateful,
Laura Anderson

______________________________________

Dear Races/Staff,
Thank you for giving us places to run, places to be ourselves and put our hard work to good use. Thank you for keeping us safe (we in no way blame you for the events that happened yesterday), protecting us on the roads for whatever the distance may be. Thank you for finding sponsors so we can engorge on massive amounts of water, and bananas and food during and after we finish. Thank you for making medals for us, honoring our accomplishments.

You organize, direct us and make it possible for us to do what we love to do. I'm sorry if we get mad at you, frustrated with fees or registration processes, I'm sorry we don't always understand what happens behind the scenes. You do amazing jobs putting together races around the world, facilitating places for our family of runners to call home. You put in the time and the effort to make things go as smooth as possible, and you deal with us who may be less than pleasant when things don't go our way. I promise to try and be more aware of the process, more patient with the process, and more grateful for all that you do.

Thank you for making the streets our home,
Laura Anderson
______________________________________

Dear Non-Runners,
I know you do not understand why we do what we do, or why we love running the way we do. You question our sanity, we complain about the pain after a hard workout but we still go back for more. You don't understand why we pay to run races, or spend the money we do on running related things. We know you don't even like to drive as far as we run, we have heard it all before. You question our choices to make races into vacations ("That's not a vacation!"), to travel to run. You don't understand the money we spend on shoes, or the different gear we have that makes you scratch your head.

We run because we love it, we need it and it is part of us. We do not run because we think it makes us better than those who don't we run because it makes us who we are. We know you don't understand, we aren't asking you to. If we were on the outside looking in, we wouldn't understand the oddities of the close knit running family either.

What I do ask is that you please respect our family. Please respect us, watch for us on the roads, help keep us safe, and please don't make fun of our lifestyle. Our choices may not make sense to you but they make perfect sense to us. You have your family too, your blood relatives, your football fan families, your video game families, your bar crowd families, your work families, we may even be part of some of those too. We are all in this world together, and we can't be divided, we must stand together and fight the evils and show how strong we are together.

Respectfully,
Laura Anderson

______________________________________

Dear Boston Marathon Monster, 
It is with great pleasure that I inform you that you have failed. Runners are the closest tight-knit group of people you will ever meet, and just created the largest most powerful enemy, you couldn't even imagine.

I was not there, but my family was. I had blood relatives there, friends whom I call family, and runners I have never met for whom I have more respect for than I will ever have for you. You hurt my family, you shouldn't have done that, and I promise you will regret this decision. I am only one person and I will never meet you, please count your blessings for that. You messed with my family, and their families and I do NOT take that lightly. You are a disgusting coward, you are a failure. You will not be glorified in the media, instead you will see the band of runners uniting against you.

The sanctity of this sport, this sacred event, and the power of the finish line are wounded. Time will heal, support from our running family will heal. You know who wont heal? The man whose child you took, an innocent child there to watch his hero do something amazing that you could never do. That man also has another child to take care of, and a wife in critical condition. They will never heal, but they have the love and support that you will never know.

You are a terrorist (no matter where you are from), just as the U.S does not negotiate with terrorists, neither do I. I along with so many others will be at Boston on April 21, 2014 running from Hopkinton to Boylston street, and I will not be afraid. I will run, and I will support every single person there that I can.

You have not and will not win this. We are family, we love and support each other, what do you have? A cause? I call your bluff, no cause is worth this, no cause is more important than innocent human lives. You set these bombs near the finish, where there would be more people, and more media coverage, you clearly want attention. I'm sorry you don't have a family to love you, or support of friends, I am sorry you feel neglected, I am not sorry for the walls that will be closing in on you. You are a terrorist, did you say that when you were a kid? Something  happened to you somewhere down the line, because no sane person would do this. I hope you have a hiding spot better than Bin Laden did, because in my book, you're no better than he is, and we will find you. So I am going to tell you to do something that we do every day, RUN.

Deepest Hatred,
Laura Anderson

______________________________________

Saw this online and had to share. Says it perfectly.

Thoughts & prayers: You are NOT alone.

For those of you who took the time to read this long post, thank you.

I ask that you please share this with whoever you can. 

We need to stand together and show the world how amazing our family really is.

Around the Bay 30k

The Around the Bay 30k is the oldest race in North America ("Older than Boston" is it's slogan!). Yesterday I went for an 18.6 mile run with about 7,000 other people around the bay in Hamilton, Ontario. This is a race I can say I will definitely be doing again, next year it will be the 120th Anniversary. In all there were about 12,000 participants (30k, relay, 5k) .


The morning started like most race mornings...EARLY. We were up at 4:15 and out the door by 5. We got to Hamilton about 2.5 hours before the race(we saved extra time for border crossing and parking...). The time actually went by quick, we tried staying warm inside the Copps Coliseum, got some food, changed, and stretched out. Also ran into Jamie from Couch to Ironwoman, and her husband Mike. Chatted up with them for a few. We all had the same goal, get a good quality long run in as preparation for the Cleveland Marathon.

Getting to the start line was one of the most stressful times of the entire day. I was getting anxious, and just wanted to get outside to the start but there was NO WAY that was happening quickly. It was the biggest mess I have seen, people everywhere and no one was moving. Everyone was standing in one place, or trying to move towards the stairs to get down to the doors. Then you had those 'less smart' people who were trying to be the salmon swimming upstream which was clogging it up even more. Not to mention we were trying to shield John because he was on crutches and I was in serious "protective fiance mode", I swear that if someone hit his knee 2 days after surgery I would have absolutely lost my shit. We were trapped in the crowd for a while and I was getting even more anxious and started getting very nauseous because of it. Finally we got out of the coliseum but had to get to the car quick, say a quick goodbye to John and leave him on his crutches while the 4 of us  hauled ass to the starting corals.

My nerves were so out of wack at the start. It's more than a half and less than a full, what the hell am I supposed to be thinking about! This was one of those times I was overjoyed to be in Coral A, because I could start closer to the front and have less crowd to fight. I was able to get into a groove pretty quick, but a quicker groove than I had planned. I went into this race with a goal of 2:15-2:25 (quite the spread...but it was a long training run), and I like starting out slower so I can finish strong. That plan went out the window almost instantly. My first few miles were almost identical, 10k split was 45:49 (7:22 pace). I decided to just go with it, took a risk and said I'll try and hold it for a while then back off if need be.

The first 15k of the course, I was very disappointed. It was depressing, very industrial area, not much to look at, and the roads were NOT in great shape. Cracks everywhere and potholes I could have gotten lost in. There was a stench throughout the first few miles (and last few coming back into the city), I think someone should call the sewer company because that was not pleasant! I also kept going "Where the hell is the bay?!"(I was already planning in my head, writing about the false advertising of the race name. hahaha). Finally around 15k there it was, beautiful breathtaking view of the bay, clear blue skies over the water and the sun shining down as we crossed over the grated lift bridge. This was also the point a Twitter/Dailymile friend Dave recognized me, BY MY SNEAKERS AND SAUCONY HAT. (Maybe it's because I post pictures of them all the time?). We chatted for a few, then went on our way, and I decided to try and stick behind him for a while, knowing he was shooting for a faster time than I was. This is where my I took my second risk, but I figured 'hey, it's worth a shot'.

A little over a mile to go, energy level LOW.

The rest of the course was much prettier than the first 15k, nice small neighborhoods, and more things to look at. The last 10k was rolling hills, the only one that really got me was the damn hill around mile 16-17, I am pretty sure I cursed more than a few times (This was my slowest mile split for the entire race.). In the last 10k you also run by what I assume to be the resting place for all of the dearly departed in Ontario. This cemetery was HUGE, the only one I remember being at that were bigger were the cemeteries in Normandy when I was in France in 2002.

Throughout the course I bee-bopped to my music, high-fived little kids, tried not to focus on the distance, and just keep moving. My legs felt pretty damn good, my issue was the fact that my stomach kept cramping. The left side kept getting the worst cramp, and nothing would make it better. I fueled with shot blocks and water( I know for a fact I didn't take in enough though...I can pinpoint this as a major error).

[2:16:14] 53/3325 females!

The last 2 miles or so I had to dig deep. I was tired, and my stomach was cranky, and all I wanted was to cross the finish and find John. I spent the entire last mile trying not to get sick on the lovely spectators, and almost bit it going down the steep ramp into the coliseum. (I'm glad I didn't but it sure would have made for a great story). I took my sunglasses off and put them on my hat, and gave it what I had in me passing about 5 people in the last 100 feet, crossing the finish line in 2:16:14 (7:18 Average pace).

I was the 466th finisher of 6848 overall, and the 53 female out of 3325 (top 1.5%!). Lastly I was 18th out of 397 in the age group 25-29. Success!

I'm really not sure where the BIG CHEESY grin came from.
But I'll take it :)

 The race ended inside the Copps Coliseum, which was cool, and they had the entire lower level set up for runners (medals, food, water, etc). Liz (one of the people I went up with) caught up to me while I was gingerly walking around aimlessly, she finished in 2:18! While walking around, we had the pleasure of seeing a man strip down to tighty whities ONLY in the middle of a crowd (Come on, I really DON'T need to see things like that.)Then we went up and found John camped in the stands with his crutches being an awesome spectator. I have to give him some props here, he was supposed to run the race with us but instead had 2 knee surgeries within 50 days and still came to play "race mom" for the 4 of us running.

John and I after the race :)

Around the Bay 30k 2013

Overall I think it was a well run race 

(they have been doing it for 119 years!)

here's some thoughts...

*Great medals and race shirts

*Course wasn't over challenging but wasn't super easy either

*Rearrange booths/setup within the Coliseum to avoid the clusterf* that there was in the morning ( Don't put expo booth right by stairs)

*Don't tell people they can't use the escalator while you stand there and block it (when J came back in after the start the escalator was running but some guy wouldn't let him use that or the elevator) even though he was on crutches.

Great NB shirts and Medals!

*Plenty of Food/water after the race for runners, that was very good!

*I was pleasantly surprised how many spectators there were along the course

*Each kilometer was clearly marked and had a running/inspirational quote on it, I really liked that!

* Good amount of water stops along the way

*Disposable chip timing was commemorative with name on it

*They should have put signs up for directions to Corals 

*Grim reaper at top of hill, I give them credit for this

The last thing to mention about this race is:
*Stop the trains & Have some respect!I didn't experience it personally this time, but I read online after the race that there was a group of people that got stopped part way through the race for a train. I had this happen 2010 Buffalo race, it's not fun. I can understand why those people were angry. Even if they weren't set to win or anything, you train so hard and have a goal and then a train runs through stopping you?!?!?!
It is one thing to get stuck at a train(things happen), but to have a race director say this:

NO THOSE PEOPLE WERE NOT HAPPY FOR A BREAK! And the stop happened around 10:15 AM, according to things that I read by other runners, not at Noon. It's disrespectful of the race director to say that it's okay as long as it didn't affect top runners. He needs an attitude check! Every person there was a 'runner' and worked to train for that race and was there to run and have a good experience. Whether you ran 6 minute miles or 15 minute miles you should get the same level of respect! Like I said, this did not affect me, but I feel very sorry for those it did affect. And I seriously hope the race director understands that he was wrong for what he said.

[Photo from CBC .CA ] Do these people look happy about this to you????

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend :)

I do recommend this race(as I also recommend the R.D. apologize to runners), it was a good race and a great training run. The timing falls great for spring marathons, I know so many people were there to get in a good quality training run for an upcoming race!