Off to the Titusville, PA Pikermi

Are you the kind of person that plans on leaving at a set time, but leaves 2 - okay 3 - hours later? I am notorious for having great intentions on leaving at a certain time, but I never do. My excuse this time:

• I had to board my Jack Russell

Jig is an Irish Shorty with a broken coat

• I ordered an iPad to help me on my blogging journey and waited for it to be delivered.
• It decided to pour rain, thunder and lightening, just when we were ready to leave!

So, we finally packed up Radar Luv and headed for a halfway point between home and Titusville, PA: Danville, PA.

Radar Luv

To me, Danville, PA is very rural. By the time we got there, there were no restaurants open and we were starving. We had, what we call a "what dinner?" at Wendy's. This is actually a big step for me. I would rather go hungry than pay homage to the fast food industry, which has contributed to the "oversizing" of our nation. But, as an amateur endurance athlete, I know eating every two hours is recommended and I should never skip a meal - so you do what you must. At least they have salads at Wendy's - and honestly, with a tiny bit of dressing on my spicy chicken salad - it wasn't all that bad. That's right - there - okay - I'll admit it - it wasn't that bad. Besides chicken is a good low fat source of protein - especially alanine, which I have been concentrating on working into my diet to increase muscle endurance, muscle strength and power.

With dinner out of the way, we were off to the Best Western Plus in Danville, PA for some good R&R:

Train Smart Today!

Monadnock Half Marathon

The Monadnock Half Marathon proved to be a grueling half marathon. No PR's on this one, but I did claim second in my age group!

Since the website showed some major elevation changes, I expected this course to be very challenging. In order to prepare, physically, I hired a trainer to teach me the correct way to perform a power clean. Combining power cleans with lunges and dead lifts really helped me to strengthen my glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and core. This way, I could run (not walk) all 13.1 of those beautiful, hilly New Hampshire miles! And that I did - even mile 11!

I did not expect my Garmin watch to go crazy at mile 6. Never again will I:
1. Not lock the bezel of my watch after a race starts.
2. Grab water at a water stop with my watch hand.

Unfortunately, my watch froze on satellite strength and kept beeping. I thought I broke it. I couldn't get my heart rate or my pace. Oddly enough, with every mile I completed, it flashed me the mile and the time. I love my Forerunner 405CX!

I also did not expect the dirt roads. I never ran a half where part of the course was on dirt roads. So, when they announced the barefoot runner, Theresa Withee, as she crossed the finish line, I was super impressed. Apparently Theresa is the only barefoot runner to complete the Boston Marathon. You go girl! I don't know how she plowed through the ruts in the roads - or how she made it through all those rocks.

Many runners were upset that there was no water station after mile 6 ... until mile 10. I was glad I tucked a GU in my sock, At that mile 10, I had to stop. I sucked down my GU and drank a full glass of water. That really helped my energy levels - I think that is why I was able to run up the 220 feet to mile 11 (Elevation: 1,193 feet).

Additionally, nutrition-wise, I tried something new, Chia Chargers. They are "un-baked" cookies made with agave nectar, chia seeds, peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, cranberries, oats and paprika. They are sweet, crunchy and the sun-dried paprika really packs a punch. There are 3 cookies to a package, which total 120 calories, 16g carbs., 5g fat, 3g protein, 3g fiber, 0 cholesterol. They are touted as a "superfood", rich in phytochemicals, which help reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system. But the real reason I ate the Chia Chargers is because I read that the chia seeds absorb a lot of water. Once in the stomach, the seeds and the water form a gel, which slows digestion (making you feel fuller longer), but more importantly, this helps endurance runners stay hydrated! I believe they helped - especially with that missing water station!

Chia Chargers

This race was the Inaugural Monadnock Half Marathon, and although they need to iron out some kinks, kudos to Christopher Bernier, for pulling it off. The only thing I was really disappointed in was the lack of cow bells when running up Witt Hill Road to mile 11. I thought more supporters were going to cheer us on - ringing the quaint little cow bells that were supplied and promoted in the description of the half on the www.halfmarathon.net website. After all, New England is all about quaint!

We need more cowbells!

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Caesar Rodney Half Marathon

Aaaagh! Hurry, hurry hurry! We left late on Saturday night for this Sunday race. This was my first half marathon after a long, cold winter. I don't think my family really thought I was going to go through with this 50 half marathons in 50 state thing! Surprise - and we are driving down the NJ Turnpike! Well 3 of us, my daughter bailed and decided to stay at a friend's house!

We booked a room at the Sheraton Suites in Wilmington through priceline. The best part about staying here was the late check out. I got to shower after the race, which was great considering it was 30*F - and hanging out after a race in sweaty clothes in those temperatures is not fun! Brrrr!

I don't think I slept. My coach told me to run about 7:55 pace and I was worried about the hills. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it! We got ready and went for breakfast in the hotel: Eggs, whole wheat toast and some yogurt. Of course coffee - it helps wake up the body - and, in distance runners, it helps the body burn fat, saving your glucose stores!

One thing I love about racing through the USA is starting each race with our National Anthem. (Some) men take their hats off, some people bow their heads, others stand with their hand over their heart (like me) - it puts the whole "running through each state" into perspective. One thing I always do, is pray - I pray for the men and women in our military that serve our country - and, I pray for their families - God speed to all of you and keep you safe.  . . . 'and the home of the brave'. POW. We are off....

Overall the race was very well run - it is in its 48th year - and the community came out in large numbers to support the runners! This created a lot of positive energy which really helped - especially climbing the hills between miles 7, 8 & 9! I always wonder, in these half marathons (especially this one when I was struggling to run up those hills) why can't I just be like the people standing on the sidelines. They look so happy and content cheering to the runners going by. Why do I push myself? After a few deep breathes, I focus: Embrace the challenge, girl - Welcome the hills. That is when I realized, I just simply cannot be a spectator, it is way more fun, and much more satisfying to me, knowing that I pushed myself and completed another half marathon race.

This race was not an easy half, either. You basically run downhill for the first mile, then it is pretty flat for the next 5 miles. Knowing this, I tried to keep my pace under 7:50'mile - thinking that eventually I would be giving back time in miles 6-9! Good thing I did, because my pace slowed to 8:20' through mile 8! My average pace was 7:56'mile. I was a wee bit disappointed that I did not achieve Coach's goal for me, 7:55'mile, but at least I finished in the top 10 for my age group!

Part of this race brought you through the Waterfront area, first along the Christina River and at the end, down South Park Drive, which followed along Brandy-wine Creek. The sun was shining on this crisp March day and I got lost in how very beautiful this half was turning out to be!

Bliss was soon to end, because as you rounded the corner, the race climbed one last short, steep hill. This led everyone to the finish, in the Caesar Rodney Square. The finish was great - this city is very clean and very well maintained. Wilmington, DE has done a great job at capturing history in their downtown area - especially in Caesar Rodney Square. The historic buildings were very beautiful, like this one - you can see a smidge in the background - the Wilmington Public Library, built in 1922.

Me & Mini-man!

And what would the Caesar Rodney Half be without a picture of Caesar himself. Here he is, in Bronze, being remembered for his overnight ride from Dover, DE to Philadelphia, PA to cast the deciding vote for The Declaration of Independence in the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. Thank you Caesaer Rodney!

Caesar Rodney

Train Smart Today!