Archive for June, 2011

Grandma’s Marathon: The UNOFFICIAL Race Review [Guest Post]


7% of these people are triathletes. 100% of them have complexes about it.

Dear Humble Readers of The Running Log,

I have been tasked with offering a counterpoint to DJ’s race review (see the last post). As an amateur blogger and former resident of Washington, DC, I fancy myself an expert on most every topic. So why not add marathons to my repertoire, right? Right.

Love,

C.

—–

Once upon a time, there was a Grandma’s Marathon….

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Grandma’s Marathon: The Official Race Review


Pretty pretty racecourse! So pretty!

WEATHER: Humid and hot

MILES: 0.

MILES THIS WEEK: 0.

WHERE TO: My bedroom and downstairs and up again, lugging boxes for the big move-out.

MOOD: Lazy.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

How did it go?  Phenomenally, that’s how!  C. got a PR, I ran my fastest Grandma’s ever, and much pizza/burrito/beer was consumed afterward. But objectively, how exactly did Saturday stack up?  Oh, honey.  Allow me to give you the scorecard:

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The Official Pre-Grandma’s-Marathon Rituals


Things we do pre-Grandma’s Marathon:

  • Stop on the drive up at Pump-N-Munch.  Because it’s called “Pump-N-Munch.”

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Creating New Habits: The Pre-Race Expo


Urge to run away rising...rising...

WEATHER: Prettiest day in weeks.  85-ish and not-that-humid.

MILES: 3.

MILES THIS WEEK: Very few.

WHERE TO: Around.

MOOD: Nervous.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Tomorrow I fly to the great Midwest to take part, once again, in Grandma’s Marathon, a grand northern Minnesota tradition.  And so C. and I will trek to the great north woods and make the annual Two-Harbors-to-Duluth journey.

But first, we have to go to the pre-race expo.

The pre-race expo is a magical place, a place full of joy and informative talks about pre-race nutrition and amazing discounts on name-brand running gear. It’s an all-out running geekfest, where elites and novices alike come together to celebrate one of mankind’s greatest and oldest pastimes.

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The Grand Struggle Continues (a.k.a. Why I Do Not Do Triathlons)


Psssshhh. Whatever. You're having WAY more fun than these losers.

WEATHER: Beautiful!  85ish and non-humid and beautiful!  Tralala!

MILES: 15ish.

MILES THIS WEEK: 15ish.

WHERE TO: C&O Trail

MOOD: Fantastically excited.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Today we started the hardcore tapering, meaning that this week’s long run was under 20 miles.  Yeah, it disturbs me, too.  But that’s how it goes when you have 13 DAYS UNTIL RACE DAY!  Ohhhh I can’t breathe for the vast quantity of excitement coursing through my veins right now (that and the lack-of-blood-sugar in said veins, as I am waiting patiently at the Apple store for my files to alll back up onto a hard drive and I will have to wait here much longer, apparently, and I haven’t eaten in forever, so that is sort of fiddling with my bodily/breathing/metabolic functions as well) (anyway).

Grandma’s Marathon in 2 weeks.  I am running it this time with the illustrious C., whom you may remember from blogposts of yore.  And if you don’t, you are not sufficiently loyal and you can go straight to hell allow me to give you a quick rundown: C. is a delightful person w/ whom I went to college, and who is now doing Ironmans.

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