running

PickyRacer.com Up and Running

Julia — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:12:11 -0800

I finally launched PickyRacer.com. PickyRacer is designed to help connect runners with great marathons, half-marathons, and other races. It is built with Drupal 5.3. In the next few months, I hope to add runner blogs, and groups. There are a bunch of other features that I would like to add as well, but I figure I should start small.

Here are some of the more useful modules I used when developing the site:
CCK
Views
Views Bookmarks
Google Analytics
XML Sitemap
Node Teaser
Link
Fivestar
Forward
Location
Node Comment
Path Auto
Voting API

I plan to implement Organic Groups over the next couple of months after I fix all of the existing bugs.

Post Marathon Report

Julia — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:54:19 -0800

After months of preparation, I ran the Memphis Marathon December 1st. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. Along the route, we got to interact with Elvis impersonators and list to a wide array of musicians. My parents came out for the race, and it was great to have them there.

Although I got really sick between miles 15 and 19, I felt fine from 20 on. Kitty was nice enough to give me a electrolyte (a.k.a. Magic) pill at mile 19.

Recovering from the race was easier than I expected. After a few days, the soreness went away. However, my knee, which was fine during the race, decided to start acting up the week afterwards. Hopefully, with a bit of rest, I'll be back ready to run in about a week.

My marathon experience was very well-documented. You can check out some of the pictures here.

Salem Lake 30K

Julia — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:07:22 -0700

Last weekend, I treked down to Winston-Salem with the rest of the fartlekers for the Salem Lake 30K. Together, we ran 18.6 miles, the furthest I have ever run. Our previous long run was 17 miles with many long, lingering water breaks.

The race went much better than I expected. I focused on small mileage goals and tried to avoid thinking about the entire distance. My first goal was to get to 6.2 miles, a 10K. Next, I focused on getting to 12.4 miles, a 20K. I kept telling myself that at 20K I would be two thirds of the way to the finish line. My next big goal was 15 miles. After 15 miles, the last 3.6 miles were difficult but mentally a lot easier than the first 10. At this point, I knew that I could finish and that it was just a matter of not tripping over anything.

Avoiding tripping was no small task - the trail portion of the race included some very rooty passages. During the run, I saw three separate bloody runners. I tripped three times over the 18.6 miles but managed not to ever fall. I think that running may be improving my balance.

For two days after the 30K, going down stairs was crazy painful. But, after running slowly on Monday afternoon, my legs felt miraculously better. I would have never thought that the cure to soreness from running is more running.

Although I really enjoyed the race, I don't know if I would recommend that Salem Lake 30K to other runners. With the exception of at the start/finish line, the race had no toilets. Even worse, there really weren't any places to easily go and hide to pee. The situation was so bad that one of my running buddies saw another female runner peeing on the trail.

Another problem was that there did not appear to be any first aid tents or clearly marked ways to exit the race. Given the rough terrain of the course, it was very suprising to not see one first aid tent. If I had fallen and broken my leg, I don't know how I would have gotten off the course. One of my running friends had trouble breathing during the race and there was no one around to help her. Luckily, her breathing problems went away after a few minutes.

When the other runners and I weren't tripping over roots or searching for first-aid tents, we had to contend with crazy Winston-Salem bikers. It seemed like at least once a mile, Hadley or I screamed to one another, "BIKE!" and had to jump off the trail to avoid being hit. Most of the bikers did not let us know that they were approaching. Instead, I felt like I was an obstacle in some elaborate bike trick for them.

Despite these issues, I would run the Salem Lake 30K again. The course is beautiful and I really enjoyed the diversity of the running surfaces. Plus, I now know that the course is not "flat" as advertised on the race website. I kept waiting for the course to flatten out and it never did. In fact, I am pretty sure that the last 3 miles were mostly uphill.

With a 30K under my belt, the Memphis Marathon feels like an achievable goal for the first time. I registered for the marathon the day after our 30K and I am looking forward to December 1st. I can't wait to run with Elvis!

17 Miles Down

Julia — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:36:09 -0700

WooHoo! I ran 17 miles this morning, which is the longest distance I have ever run. Although my legs started getting tired at the end, the run felt a lot easier than our 14 mile one. With 2 weeks to go until our 30K, I finally feed like I can do it. Yep, I'm going to be a real marathoner soon.

Being a Real Runner

Julia — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:33:18 -0700

Kay and I braved the 91 degree weather to go running with the nice folks at Omega Sports yesterday. Or, rather, to go running way behind them. Since I regularly run with a bunch of people at my pace, I am not used to feeling slow. Kay and I started off at our usual pace and within 5 minutes we couldn't even see the rest of the group. By the time we got back to the store, all of the other runners had gone home.

A year ago, I would have been bummed out by this experience. I would have gone home, tossed my running shoes aside, and thought deeply about whether I was a fool for calling myself a "runner." Yet, with a year and a half of running under my belt, I know that I am a real runner. I don't even question it. Last week, I ran 15+ miles with my running friends. We probably ran an 11 minute pace (not that it matters).

On our run back last night, one of the run leaders told Kay and I to be sure to come into the store when we finished our run. While running we joked that maybe he wanted to tell us that their store run didn't support slower runners. It turns out that he wanted to invite us to an upcoming 5K. When we told him that we had to run a longer distance the day of the 5K because of our marathon training, he was very impressed. It turns out that he never runs more than four or five miles at a time.

One of the things I love about running is that there are so many definitions of what makes a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or far you run -- just that you love to run.

Kulla-Mader Award for Craziness

Julia — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 04:57:03 -0700

Running 11 Miles at 5 a.m.

Julia — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 03:48:40 -0700

Before most people hit the snooze button on their alarms, Crystal and I ran 11 miles yesterday. I woke up at 5 a.m. and met her at Rock Quarry Park. Except for some patches of running through the darkened woods, the run felt easy. We even discovered a fantastic new drinking fountain hidden by the tennis courts at Duke.

It's crazy to think that a little over a year ago I didn't consider myself a runner. Thanks to the Godiva Running Start program and Eric's encouragement, I've run three 5Ks, two four mile races, a 10K, two half-marathons, and a 20K in the last 14 months. I also bought a great bike and am doing my best to wear down its tires. Last weekend, I went of a 25-mile ride with the Fartlekers/Numb Tooties that (except for a couple huge hills) was a breeze. It's hard to believe that before I started running I never biked up a big hill without walking my bike.

My goal now is to run a marathon, something that I never thought would be possible. I can remember sitting in a high-school assembly as my dean congratulated Ryan, a classmate who had just run the LA Marathon. At the time, I thought that running a marathon was an activity reserved for real athletes. I guess that I now count as a real athlete too.

Something I've realized since starting to run is that we are all "real" athletes. When I started running, I expected that I would always finish last at every race. After all, I am not fast. I run somewhere between a 9 and 10 minute mile depending on how the wind blows. Yet, I have never finished last -- not even close.

When I look at the bodies of the people I pass on the Duke trails and in races, I am amazed by how little one's shape determines how fast you run. I have been passed by people who look like they might weigh 300 pounds and I have run by other runners who look like they just stepped out of a Nike commercial.

When I fenced in college, it did seem like how you looked influenced how you fenced. Running is much more of an egalitarian sport. In fact, for the middle to back of the pack runners like me, each race feels a lot like a big party. You run, chat, drink, and meet new people. The whole time you are in an environment where everyone is excited that their feet are still moving and that the finish line is becoming an increasing reality.

On September 22nd, I plan to run the Salem Lake 30K. The Salem Lake website says that the race is "flat and scenic," two adjectives that are music to runners' ears. 30K is roughly equivalent to 18.6 miles; my longest run so has been 13.1 miles. I am looking forward to running around Salem Lake with the Fartlekers and a whole bunch of other partygoers. If I can make it through the 30K, my next stop will be the Memphis Marathon in December. Elvis, here I come!