Tomorrow is the half-marathon!

The day before a big race is always busy, exciting, fun, and nerve-wracking. There are a lot of details to attend to, and there's always the big unknowns:  how will I feel in the morning? Will the weather cooperate? What if the porta-pottie line is too long?

The race almost doubled the amount of runners this year, the majority at the last minute. That means they're scrambling to have enough t-shirts and medals, plus longer lines at packet pick-up. I give Mike Sheldon and his crew a lot of credit for handling everything with patience and friendliness. Our group is ready:  we'll arrive early, wear fuel belts to carry water/Gatorade just in case the waterstops are jammed, and support each other along the course.

Tonight we celebrated the end of our half-marathon training with a pre-race dinner at the Hotel Northampton. Great food, lots of stories and laughter, and wonderful rembrances of the past 3 months.

We missed the rest of our group who are driving in tomorrow morning, and those who weren't able to make the race this year for various reasons. The training is a group effort, and the race tomorrow is a celebration both of individual women who pushed past their fears and doubts to reach their goals, plus the group supporting each other every step of the way.

I'm excited to see them in the morning, race numbers pinned on their shirts, wearing team hats with green and purple streamers, nervously anticipating the start of their 13.1 mile journey. I'll be thrilled to see them as they cross the finish line, first-timers side-by-side with experienced race veterans.

Someone said she was sad to see the group ending, but it never really 'ends'. The next training session starts April 15th, the marathon group is working toward their goal race in May, friendships will continue, and we'll wave as we pass a car in town with the familiar "Runner Girl" or "13.1" sticker on the rear bumper.

Runners, on your mark!

Thoughts on finishing 12 miles

This morning the half-marathon group did their last weekend group run/walk:  6 miles on an overcast, cloudy day with temperatures hovering around 50. There's a lot of excitement for the race next weekend, but also apprehension about finishing a half-marathon. Veterans in the group are encouraging the new folks. Everyone is trading tips on clothing, carbohydrate, Vaseline vs Body Glide, and the best way to massage sore legs.

We met for breakfast at Nipper's Cafe after we finished our 6 miles and enjoyed great food, new friends, and conversation. Erin ran with her daughter, Dana, this morning - and brought her to breakfast. She's getting an early start enjoying running!

Quinn and Cubby are the youngest members of our group

Look closely at Erin at the far end of the table with Dana on her lap

Last weekend the half-marathon group did their first 12 mile distance. Not only is 12 miles a long way, but it was hot, sunny, and humid. Definitely not typical weather for Vermont in mid-March and certainly not perfect running weather. How does it feel to walk/run 12 miles?

After I finished 12 miles,I was happy,very sore and was wishing my husband made steaks for lunch!:)
Lilibeth

"When I finish 12 miles, I feel ........... pumped and so does my dog!!

Nancy

After completing 12 miles I feel:

Exhilarated and tired,confident and sore, and so thankful to be able to get out there and enjoy beautiful scenery among wonderful friends!

Audrey

When I finish a new, long distance I feel accomplished, and thankful I have so many ladies out there cheering me on, AND thankful for my family too -  who cheer me on from just up the road, or by phone!!
Linda

When I finish 12 miles, I feel really glad to be done and I think that I can go about my day thinking...I ran 12 miles today.  And after yesterday...ready for a good shower!
Erin

When I finish my 12 miles I feel …. grateful for the training over the last weeks that enabled me to walk this far !

Carol

When I finish twelve miles...I feel very accomplished.  This is something that, at one point, felt so out of reach.  So I also feel proud of myself for sticking with it and making it happen.  

Laurie

When I finish 12 miles, I feel proud and overwhelmed as I never imagined doing this.  It is a real challenge for me and I have much more to learn…love it!

Cindy

When I finish 12 miles... I feel tired but accomplished and proud and I think if I I can do 12 then I can do 13 miles!
Hannah

When I finish 12 miles I feel old but great
Mary

After completing 12 miles, I feel: Mentally & Emotionally 'WOW'! I did it and feel great.  Physically I feel a little 'wow', worn out. But the whole experience is wonderful. This year I've gotten to run more of the longer distances with the group and it has made such a difference.

Faith

I think that how I feel after finishing 12 miles is different each time - though I think this was only my 3rd time ever!  After finishing THIS 12, I felt grateful.  I am grateful that my body was strong and healthy enough to run most of the 12 miles.  I am grateful that I had an awesome group of ladies surrounding me (because it was not the easiest run I've ever had).  I was grateful for the sun, but not necessarily that much heat.  Undoubtedly, I was grateful to be done!  Looking forward to 13.1...  Sarah

When I finish 12 miles, I feel strong and so thankful that I decided to take that first step back in January!

Michelle

Spring, Shorts, Sunshine

Sometimes everything comes together perfectly, making for one of those memorable runs that come back to me over and over.

Our group run today was scheduled for noon, right at the time when the sun was high and bright warming the temperatures into the mid-50's. That's a heat wave for early March in southwestern Vermont, but the weather this winter has been consistently unusual. I just received a new running skirt and was anxious to try it out, pasty white legs and all.

Usually 4-6 women show up for the Wednesday noon run, but today Fern and Harriet weren't feeling well, Carol is in California, and Patty had to work. At 12:05 I decided it was time for a solo run, and headed out for two loops, each 5 miles.

Today's 10 mile run was supposed to be an easy, basebuilding run but I couldn't help myself:  I pushed the pace. As I ran out of town on Richville Road into a strong south wind, I shortened my stride and aimed for a higher leg turnover. I decided to push myself even harder up the hills, enjoying the sun in my face and the feeling of the running skirt against my legs.

The first run of the Spring in shorts is always special. There are still pockets of snow along the road, the ski areas remain busy, and it's going to get below freezing again tonight. The freedom of running without mittens, neckwarmer, hat, tights, and jacket is liberating, and I decided to keep pushing the pace once I turned around at the top of a hill on Richville Road. I promised myself I'd slow down on the second 5 mile loop.

As the post office where I parked my car came into sight, I saw Liz from our group walking toward me. Somehow we miscommunicated the time of today's run, and she started a bit before 1pm for a 2 mile fast walk. I decided to walk 2 miles out and back with her, catching up on her life and learning about a woman in Salem who makes fantastic soap and hand lotion from goat milk and healing herbs she grows in her garden. Liz promised to give me a sample of the lotion as she finished her 2 miles and I headed off for the second of my 5 mile loops.

This time I ran easily, listening to the birds, watching the clouds float across the sky, and dodging the melting snow puddles on the sidewalk. Turn around at the Town Hall and then a slight downhill back into town, with a steep downhill on Center Hill; my reward for the faster and hillier first 5 mile loop of the afternoon.

There's much to savor about today's run:  feeling strong pushing the pace, early Spring sunshine, the surprise of meeting Liz, a new running skirt with shorts that don't ride up into my crotch. This one's a keeper.

Why do we run? Because we can!

The group of hardy women training for a May marathon throughout the Vermont winter decided to order bright blue headbands or hats with the words "Because I can" emblazoned across the front. Deciding on a color took 2 weeks, as we narrowed down the choices to something that everyone liked. Coming up with the words to put on the front of our headgear took longer, going through several possibilities before we finally settled on "Because I can".

Troy, Alisa and Kim after finishing 18 miles - modeling their "Because I can" headbands

Why do I run marathons? Because I can.
Why do I run with a group of women? Because I can.
Why do I spend around 5 hours on a weekend morning running with my friends? Because I can.

Each of us has many reasons why we run, and why we run specific distances or races. Boil those hundreds of reasons down, similiar to to the sap from the maple sugar trees that Vermonters are currently boiling down into maple syrup, and you get one, sweet, deliciously heady reason: 

Because I can.

Hitting double digits for the first time

the 8am group

the 9am group

Today the half-marathon group put in their first double-digit training session:  10 miles. Not only did they walk or run 10 miles, they were 10 HILLY miles. We started up a hill within the first half mile, and the hills kept coming. We then ran down two steep hills, just to add in a bit more fun (along with some very loud complaining from our quads). The last half-mile was as flat as it gets in Vermont.

Nearly everyone is nervous about covering 10 miles. It seems like 10 miles is a whole lot longer than 9 miles, even though as my friend Mandy likes to say:  "you just run 1 mile. 10 times."

Wrapping your head around 10 miles is daunting. It's not quite 10 miles from my house to Dorset, but that seems like a long way. It's 3 miles to the grocery store, but I never think about running to the grocery store; I drive to the grocery store. Even bicyling 10 miles seems like a good amount of exercise.

Today we ran or walked 10 miles and when we're back inside Cornerstone, talking about the route, the hills, the sleet, the hail, the icy marble sidewalks and the slippery dirt roads; 10 miles doesn't seem so far.

We have 4 more weeks in our half-marathon training schedule, and now that we've covered 10 miles, 13.1 miles seems reachable. In fact, today Lilibeth asked:  "What are we going to train for next?" - and this was before we started off on our 10 mile jaunt.

These ladies are strong mentally and physically, they're having fun, and they're putting in their miles. After they finish the half-marathon on April 1st, 'next' is whatever they want it to be.