More blogging than running makes Laura a lazy girl

So, I have not run since the darned half-marathon. This is becoming a habit--run a
half-marathon take a million days off running--train again for next half-marathon just shy of three months before the race--at this rate I'll reach my goal of a two hour half-marathon in about two decades.

I started to blog to motivate myself for what was supposed to be my first full marathon--which turned out to fracture my femur and scared me off of trying for a full--burned once and don't want to get burned again. It did not help that it was after my 14 mile run that I started having leg problems--like that magical number past the half-marathon itself cracked my leg and now I seriously am scared of going anything over 13.1. Some day, though, some day.

For now, it's as many halfs as I can sign up for, take off work for, and train/be a slug after for.



My parents took my brother and I out after the race and this photo was taken right before they drove to the lake house in Manistee. The wonderful highlight of this half was that it was my brother's first full. He took my advice and we had exactly two drinks together the night before the race at the Grand Traverse Resort. It was surreal to actually give my big brother Mark advice about anything but especially something athletic--but I successfully warned him off of using his tri belt for a full marathon, talked him into putting on his entire racing outfit, socks, pinned on (yes pinned on not clipped on!) race bib, and most important shoes with timing chip already looped through the laces and then taking it all off and having a good nights sleep with it piled next to the door.

It's my method for every pre-race night: exactly two glasses of wine, try on all my race gear, take it all off, go to bed and it's completely lights out. Some people never sleep the night before a race. Me? I get my best sleep ever the night before a race and I usually have a rather hard time getting to sleep.





This was Mark just minutes after he finished the Bayshore Marathon. Some advice he didn't take-- don't stop! Don't sit down! keep walking! He walked a few steps and then did a small twirl like motion and sat/thumped down on the grass.

He also did not take my advice about the post-race ice bath and took a hot tub instead-- crazy. It's actually nice to be so numb you can't feel anything because you also can't feel the pain in your legs.

Veronica, who ran the 10K, was kind enough to tell Mark, as were having help-get-to-sleep drinks, that a full marathon was much harder than a triathlon. Nice timing Veronica. "It's true!" she insisted. "You tell me, you tell me after the race," she said to my brother, "if it isn't harder than a tri." I told her that was enough for the night before Mark's race. Veronica is a crazy fast runner and certainly has her priorities--she prefaces everything with "Two choices" As in "I had two choices: go for the bathroom or go for time." Guess what she chose?
I loved rooming with her and Lou that weekend. While her, Lou, and I suited up for the race, she talked incessantly about running in her jeans--the girl from Mexico city could not fathom 38 degrees any time of day (even 4 a.m.) in late May. She almost talked me into running the Bayshore in my jeans.


Here she is post race already in her jeans and the temp rose to nearly 60.
















Here some middle of the race photos.




































After my half I waited near and on the track for my brother to finish the full. I was so excited that I got as far out into the track as I could without being an obstacle. Though I nearly become one.













I was so absorbed taking this photo of my brother finishing that the racer behind him almost slammed into me-- I didn't even notice.

My parents, who were watching in horror, told me after I ran across the track to show them the photo of Mark finishing.