Maratona di Roma, 21 March 2010

Call me crazy, but after a rather non-satisfying experience in Ft. Lauderdale last month, I decided on 8 March (registration deadline) to participate in the Rome Marathon again. Unfortunately on a light run just a week before the marathon, I felt a pulled muscle and thought it might have been caused by a fall down the stairs while in Miami. A trip to the doctor and xrays showed no bone stress nor fracture, and with no recurrence of the pain, the decision was made to go ahead on Thursday, with the option to just walk (this is also the 3rd "Fit-walking" race within the marathon). Booked my room on Friday evening, took the train to Rome to collect my bib on Saturday, and then it was the big day. How's that for last minute? I stayed at a really nice and affordable B&B near the Castro Pretorio metro stop which is a great location since it is on the blue line to the marathon village and to the starting point at the Colosseo. Since I knew I was not going to improve on my marathon time, I stayed way in the back of the last corral, with the fit-walking participants and in front of a crowd of some 80,000 4K participants who I was afraid were going to run over those of us just in front of them.

My 3rd consecutive Rome Marathon and it still has not lost its charm. The organization is great, lots of international runners, lots of drinks and food, even for slow participants. This time around, I noticed the groups of supportive locals who were applauding and shouting "Forza!" and "Bravi" most of the way; there also appeared to be more course control by volunteers and carabinieri. There was a record number of people running barefoot including one Japanese gentleman who carried a huge flag. I started with small strides to control stress on the legs, and was surprised to be able to make the half marathon marker in 2:54. Unfortunately, the fact that I just finished the Ft. Lauderdale marathon 4 weeks ago finally caught up; after about 14 miles my legs decided they had enough and started to cramp up. I mostly walked the next 8 miles and had the novel experience of fighting the urge to try to catch up with the people in front of me so as not to aggravate the strained muscles and become a DNF (did not finish) statistic. But I gave in to the urge the last few miles and was again surprised that I was able to jog much of the way and passed a few people. The last 5 miles were actually quite enjoyable, as I had snatches of conversations with fellow slow runners/walkers, as we all encouraged each other to keep going. I passed an elderly gentleman gamely chugging along. He had something printed on the back of his t-shirt that everyone has an impossible dream and completing this marathon is his (or something along that line). I saluted him and we chatted briefly as I passed, he's from Los Angeles, doing his very first marathon -- said that he needed to see a psychiatrist for wanting to put himself through this. I told him that I should be the one seeing a psychiatrist instead for repeated self-abuse! But I told him there was only 3 miles left and he should make it before the time limit of 7:30. For myself, I tried to jog down the last stretch since I resolved to finish below 6:30. My chip time was 6:22:50 -- I'm happy to take that :)

It was rather painful walking back to the B&B to change, then catch the train back to La Spezia. Which did not happen since I got on the wrong train and ended up in Milan instead! Had to stay overnight in Milan before catching another train back to La Spezia the next day. I was thinking of quitting marathons after completing my 10th, but am now having 2nd thoughts. There's the Berlin Marathon in September which has great reviews especially for its organization! Am going to take a few weeks of rest, and then try to train harder for Berlin. Maybe I will hit below 6 hrs next time. And then there is the Goofy Challenge at Disney World next year.

Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon, 21 Feb

Finished the Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon yesterday! My Garmin timed it at 5:59 but the official result showed 6:00:53. This was the smallest marathon I have ever participated in, with about 520+ runners in the marathon and approximately 1,650 half marathoners. There was also a wheelchair race and 5K. The expo and race package pick up, inside a shopping mall, was very small.

The starting time weather at 6:00 AM was great, but it got progressively warmer as the morning turned clear and sunny. My first half was great, I ran with the 5:30 pace team and found a running buddy Tom from Tennessee, doing his 2nd marathon. He did a 5 min run, 1 min walk routine, and I went along. It was nice to run with a group, we had "running conversations" which made the time and distance pass quickly. At the turn-off for the half marathon at mile 9, we suddenly found the route empty in front of us, as the majority of the participants signed up for the half. After doing marathons with thousands of people in front and behind me, the rest of the course was a lonely experience.

Unfortunately my lack of distance training started to show just before the halfway point and I fell behind the group. Still, I completed the half in 2:45. The 2nd half was very slow, with walking breaks as my right leg started to cramp up. There were plenty of drink stops, but very little food food, other than granola bars (!). I really missed the gels esp, after mile 18, and had to ration the few packs I carried with me. By mile 21, the roads were partly opened, and the remaining runners (not too many of us left) had to keep an eye on approaching traffic, including a few cars that strayed into the half of the road that was supposed to be closed for runners. At one turn, I ran straight instead of turning, there was no sign and I just followed the coned off road. Fortunately at the next intersection I saw the water station on the parallel road to the left and turned then.

Crowd support? What crowd support? Other than a few people who shouted encouragement, fellow runners were the most vocal supporters. In general people who were doing their morning walks/jogs/cycling just ignored us. There were only a small handful of people cheering at the finish line where my husband and son were waiting with the video carmera. Besides the medal, I was given only a bottle of cold water. Not sure if the food ran out for the slow runners or if there was none to begin with. No attention was given to the late finishers, in fact I have to ask where to go to get my timing chip removed. Despite the flat course, the view of the beach at the beginning and the end of the route, this is not one of my favorite marathons. But the finisher's medal is indeed unique, a scallop shell that opens with the name of the marathon inscribed.

Change in plan

Signed up for the Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon instead of the Mardi Gras Marathon! Managed to finish 28 miles of training last week, most of which were on a treadmill. A long way yet to go ...

Marathon training started

Having almost decided to sign up for my 9th marathon, the Rock'n'Roll Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans (Feb 28. 2010), it's time to get serious about training, especially with a goal to improve on my last marathon time. I managed to do a 10K run in Marinella last Sunday, the last time we had good weather. It seemed like everyone in town decided to do their passeggiata there, it was unbelievably crowded at about 3 PM. The rest of the week was cold and rainy, so the running had to move into the gym. It's really boring and difficult to keep the distance on a treadmill, but I managed progressive runs at 5 miles (Tuesday), 6 miles (Thursday) and this afternoon, 10 miles (yay!). The good thing about running on a treadmill is that one can control the incline, speed, and get real-time feedback on distance completed (in miles, the treadmill I used is American), calories expended, etc. For motivation, I got on the 'net and checked out my favorite running sites. I also wanted to read the on-going debate about "plodders" in a marathon, following the New York Times article that my husband sent me. I came upon John "The Penguin" Bingham's blog and Facebook page which were interesting and reassuring to all slow runners, maybe I'll get one of those running shirts that read "I'm slow, I know. Get over it".

Marcia "Tra i quartieri nel verde", 25 Oct

Had not planned on going to this morning's marcia, but I missed my run in Marinella yesterday evening, and decided to go ahead even though non of my regular running buddies are around. I was told that this is a run in the park, i.e. several times around the Parco Maggiolina in La Spezia. I showed up promptly (for once) at 8:30 but could not see anyone and thought I had the wrong place. I finally spied a group setting up the registration table, the lady in charge looked at me strangely and told me that they will be ready in a few "minuti". I thought it was rather disorganized to be setting up when the sign said registration was at 8:10, also strange that there were no runners there except for myself. I was getting ready to call it off and go running elsewhere by myself when it dawned upon me that daylight savings time ends today. Oops! I was early for the event by a whole hour! So I got back to the car, listened to music and reset the clock. Sure enough by 8:00 runners started showing up. A few people who recognized me greeted me like a old friend (I have not done a marcia since May), I registered and noted that a map was provided. Surprise, surprise, this is no flat run around the park. The 10/14K course took us steeply up to Montepertico towards Forte Montalbano. We left the park behind after crossing over the railroad tracks (no way anyone can run up that overhead pedestrian crossing). Still, it was not too bad, since most of the course was on asphalt and the few off road trails were not wet and slippery as I feared since it had been rainy last week. I of course walked all of the uphill sections. Fortunately what goes up has to come down; after about 5 K, the course went downhill. The way down was a little more complicated as we turned off into trails. At one section a number of people stopped to pet a pair of very friendly donkeys (I think, see photo). I was congratulating myself for being able to follow the green arrows--there were a few turns I would have missed in the old days. On the other hand, I think I may have missed the turnoff to the 14K, since I was back at the train tracks about 11K and the end at 12.5K. Just for the fun of it, I ran around the park so as to finish at 13K, with a time of 1:55. The souvenir was a T-shirt, there was plenty of snacks available but I could not eat anything other than a piece of focaccia. Note: While at the first ristoro (rest stop), I met Rino and Ernesto and found out that they were also planning to do the Midnight Sun (Half) Marathon next June in Norway. Sounds like all of us have the same idea, since Debi and I are almost certain to participate in that event and maybe include the Santa Claus (Half) Marathon as well, depending on how our training goes.

Run to the Tower, 16 Oct

Can't believe that this is my 4th Run to the Tower! This annual event goes from Camp Darby to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a distance of 12K or 7.2 miles. Lisa, Debi and I drove down from La Spezia at 7:30 AM, on a cold but clear Friday morning. As reflected in the lack of postings here that I have not been doing much running, just a couple of 5Ks on the treadmill, so did not have very high expectations of doing a PB. We got to the starting point with plenty of time to get our race packet and to warm up. There was a limit of 500 runners in this race, and some local running groups were there for the competitive race. The race started on time, at 9:30 AM. As usual, it took me a while to get up to speed as I started way behind the pack. My Garmin was not able to locate a satellite so I had to run without it. Because I was with the slow runners, I got to see the usual drama of irate drivers stuck/held up in traffic, honking and yelling at the carabinieri. After about 4K, I started getting warmed up and picked up speed, and completed the rest of the course at a pretty good clip (relatively speaking of course), surprising myself with a finish time of 1:22, according to the clock at the finish line. Lisa finished earlier at 1:15 while Debi (who had not been running due to tendonitis) came in at 1:32. It was a thrill to be running to the finish right next to the Tower, surrounded by tourists. We had to wait around for the shuttle bus to take us back to the base. Later on, Debi and I treated ourselves to a very nice lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant Pechino before going back to work in La Spezia. ADDENDUM (totally forgot this): Since we were sitting in the shuttle bus instead of attending the closing ceremony, I was not aware that I actually won a trophy (imagine that!). I was told a few days later by the Camp Darby Public Affairs Officer that I came in 3rd in my age category! First time I actually placed in a race, well, there are some advantages to getting older :)

Still running, but even slower

Lots of interruptions since my last posting back in May. Weather got increasingly hot, was busy moving to a new apartment, went on travel a few times for work as well as vacation in June/July, caught the H1N1 flu during July trip in the US. All which were good excuses to take a break from running, although out of guilt, I put in a few short 5-8K jogs in Lerici and Marinella (this was after the flu). And then it was August, when most people in Europe go on summer vacation. I spent almost 3 weeks in the US with family. Connie and Franco, friends from Italy who are marce regulars came along. We took an RV tour of the Gulf Coast, from Florida to Texas, difficult to do much running when RVing, especially in the hot and humid deep south. The last 5 days of vacation were spent in Washington, DC where the weather was surprising fall-like. I did a 1-hour run/walk around the capital, re-living old times when I used to jog from the Union Station area, through the Mall, turning back at the Lincoln Memorial, during lunch hour while training for the 2005 Marine Corp Marathon. This time I started from our hotel in Georgetown and just ran around the war memorials since we walked all over the Mall the day before. It was extremely slow going, but felt great to be back in the groove. There were so many people jogging all around DC! Incidentally I heard in the news that a female jogger suffered serious injuries after being hit by a Metrobus at Dupont Circle that morning.

Was supposed to do the marce this morning in Lerici (where I used to live), but due to too much eating, dancing and staying up late at the Sagra della Fritella di Baccala (Festival of the Fried Codfish) in Carnea, an ancient hilltop town near Follo, it was impossible to get up for the 8:30 registration. Instead at 10:00, I went on a "marcia di solo" from Pitelli (where I now live) to Pugliola, along undulating curvy roads. Weather was great, cool and sunny, and parts of the route had nice views of the ocean. No photos, though, forgot my camera. Completed 8K very slowly, walking towards the end, but it did help to assuage the guilt from calorie built-up over the past few weeks! Due to lack of preparation, and the shortage of annual leave, I have decided to bow out of the Dublin Marathon (but Debi is still going for it). Hopefully we will get back in the marce schedule in the coming weeks. Next big event is the Run to the Tower 2009 (i.e. 12K from Camp Darby to the Leaning Tower of Pisa).