Red-breasted Hawk?

I saw two beautiful hawks today on my 8-miler. The first was perched very close to our house because when I opened the door I startled it and it flew down to our truck. It was red-breasted with a black-and-white checkered tail. I tried to get a closer look but it took off in the direction of my run so I followed it through the trees for a ways. Then on the way home, I saw another hawk, soaring above the river. With the light just right and the fog rising from the trees in the distance I was bummed not to have my camera. What a great morning for running...

After talking with my dad and doing some more research on the internet, I think I saw a Cooper's Hawk by my house. It may have been a Sharp-shinned. Both hawks can have red plumage on their breast. If I see it again I'll know what to look for.

Running Rut

I've probably run a total of 26 miles in the month since the marathon, my longest runs being between 6 and 7 miles. I seem to have a hard time getting out the door and an even harder time asking people to watch the girls for me so I can do so. Now that I'm not actually training for something, I don't want to impose on others. Unfortunately I still eat Heidi's yummy desserts every chance I get. Hopefully with the end of the busy season Peter will have more free time to kid-sit, and there will be less desserts. Oh wait, it's almost Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I'm doomed...unless...Anyone want to run the Redding Marathon with me? We could do it as a 3-person relay too.

More Marathon Pictures

I'm glad my mom had her camera. This is near the end of the race and the girl ahead of me is the one I caught at the finish.Showing my loot. Dad has the beer.

Leaning on my dad so I don't fall over.

Trying hard to not look exhausted.

My biggest supporter. Thanks Peter!

Chillin' in the Eel River.

Marathon Moments

As you've read, I wasn't feeling my healthiest right before race day so I was a little anxious as to how my body would do. I had trained for 16 weeks and stuck to my schedule; doing maintenance runs, long runs, speed work, and tempos with a little cross training mixed in each week. I think that's what pulled me through in the end, and that's probably why I'm not stuck in bed today. So here's how the numbers break down:

My time was 3:42:33, 2 minutes and 33 seconds short of qualifying for Boston. I was first in my age group and won a pin, a nice glass, and a beer. I was 31st overall and, if I counted right (yes, I was counting), the 8th female finisher. Here are the results.

My strategy: Every mile was marked and I just focused on running each mile in 8 minutes. My average was 8:30 pace but I know my first half was 10 minutes faster than the second.

The course: Awesome! Mostly flat, under the giant redwoods and along a river and a creek. The weather was perfect.

Mishaps: Just before the race started Peter asked, "Is your shirt on inside out?" It was! With the tag sticking straight out the side! He helped me take off my race bib so I could put my shirt on right. Somewhere around mile 9 I coughed, spit, and then my watch flew off. I have no idea why it happened but it didn't take me long to pick it up and get going again. Soon after the half-way point (when most of the runners finished their half and we turned off onto another road) the guy about 50ft in front of me started running awkwardly and I realized that he was peeing and running at the same time! Not in his pants, but somewhat controlled. Then I noticed that I was following a trail of pee for an impressive distance.

Payback: There was a runner ahead of me near the finish. Peter yelled, "Pass her Karen!" and at that point I was still shooting for Boston so I mustered up everything I had and finished strong, passing her. I know that's an awful feeling because it happened to me my last race. She was still first in her age group.

Post-race swim?: I hadn't really planned ahead for a place to shower after the race, but the cars were parked right along the Eel River. I was so sweaty and salty that I didn't hesitate to jump in and wash off. Refreshing.

Fortunately my mom remembered her camera. She sent me these pictures via email. I'll post more later.

It's Not a Good Sign...

when you have to take FIVE breaks during a relatively easy tempo run a few days before the big race. I'm not sure why but I kept getting horrible side aches and I couldn't run through them. Ugh. I hope that whatever was ailing me will go away by Sunday.

Count Down

Only six more days until the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon. I'm a little nervous just thinking about it. I've been feeling good during my last few weeks of running and I hope that continues. Unfortunately there is a nearby fire right now so the air outside is unhealthy. I've been outside all day and I'm hoping I don't have any lasting effects from the smoke. My goals this week are to stay healthy, get plenty of sleep, and lay off the junk food. So far, not so good but I've still got a few days to go. As far as my goals for the race?

My overly ambitious goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Seeing as this is my first marathon and I've never ran more than 20 miles I know this is a crazy goal...but wouldn't that be awesome?! (My training schedule says it's possible)

My ambitious goal is to finish under four hours.

My basic, and most important, goal is to finish injury free.

Second 20-Miler

Today's Run: 20 miles from Patrick's Point to Westhaven and back
Today's Weather: perfect: 68 degrees, sunny, no wind
Today's Hero: Peter, for driving me two hours away from smoke and bears, and for playing with the girls on Agate Beach for 3 hours while I ran
Today's fuel: Gatorade and 3 Scooby-Doo "fruit" snacks. Was it enough? No, with 4 miles to go I was wishing I had a Snickers.
Today's post-run treat: Redwood Yogurt in a waffle cone.
Today's Friend: Zan, who let me shower at her house and let Lauryn sleep on her bed.
Today's Day Dreams: a future blog entry about my past running partners, and the very unlikely possibility of buying a vacation home near Trinidad with my parents and Peter's parents; I'd spend every weekend on the coast so I could have more long runs like today's, and go to church with more than 12 people on Sunday.

Funny Stuff

Part of my "newly-discovered passion" for running can be attributed to Runner's World magazine. My mom got me a subscription for Christmas a few years ago and I realized that not only do I enjoy running, I enjoy reading about running and everything related to it. One of my favorite sections of RW magazine is called The Newbie Chronicles, where a man in his 40s decides to become a runner. I recently read his first two articles to my parents and was reminded of how much I enjoyed them. So here they are:
The Very First Step
The Second Time Around
Why Should I Run?
In Good Company
An Inconvenient Truth
Couch Bound
Get Serious
The Secret Life of a Runner
Small Miracles
Interval of Insanity

Running Wild

It's been over a month since I almost stepped on this during an early morning run.Fortunately it was dead or else I would have been in a world of hurt. It wasn't far from the ranch either which made it easy to go back and take a picture.

In San Leandro I was cautious of other people while running, they seemed to be the only real threat. Here, I've been most concerened with the wild animals. A few weeks ago Peter drove me up river for a long run home. On the way we saw a herd of elk cross the road. Two weeks ago, on another long run, a big bear crossed the road less than 75 yards ahead of me. I was near my turning point and thought about turning around then but instead I waited until I was conviced that he was far enough up the hill to pose any threat, and I kept going.

Last Saturday I ran 20 miles on Indian Creek Road, which doesn't have much of a shoulder and is somewhat residential. I realized then that unleashed dogs, especially pit bulls, and careless drivers are more likely to hurt me than a wild animal.

Unfortunately none of these runs are suitable for an ipod so instead of listening to music, I think about blogging my experiences. Which is why I've decided to start a blog about running: it will give me something to think about while running.