CIM Report part I: Before the race

17 weeks is a long time to train for one day. That day was December 6th 2009. I spent much of the last few weeks ignoring the fact that it was so close but relished in the day. It was a day of firsts for many of my friends; First time running a marathon or first time trying for a BQ. It had some personal significance as a day in itself as well as Race day. It had been 6 years since my Gma had passed away, it was just a short week since my High School track coach had passed away, it was a day my husband changed his schedule around so he and the boys could be there, it was a day when our friend Nolan chose to support me despite the fact that his marriage was falling apart in spite of all his efforts. This race was so much bigger than me now. I had a lot to achieve in 4 hours and 10 minutes.
Saturday Morning:
Went with Liz, Ross and Vicki Saturday morning first Stopping at REI and taking a little time being a bit goofy. We tried on hats and looked for gag gifts for other friends. Then we headed for the expo. There we got our bibs and chips and I picked up a friends things who couldn't be there til the Start line Sunday morning. We wandered around picking things up along the way. I hear the expo isn't that good but having little to compare it to it seemed like enough to collect some goodies and get out. Its not like we wanted to be there forever. I knew Aron was going to be there so I texted her then a few minutes later checked my text and said her name out loud as she was walking past me. Very cool to meet her since reading her blog and knowing that she grew up in the same part of the Bay Area I did. I felt like I was right there during her training via blog posts, of course she is a lot faster than I am. Truthfully I may have scared her a bit with my over exuberance and excitement. LOL. A few minutes later I met up with Coach Paul his wife Kristina and Amy another blogger (who is also friends with Aron) then we headed out. I always see these blogging friends seeing their blogging counterparts at races, it was kinda neat to meet them in person.
We dropped Ross off at the Hotel and the girls and I went shopping. We hit Fleet Feet Sac, the little boutique next door, a couple other cute shops then the mall down town. They felt sorry for me since I hadn't been in a Macy's in 17 or so years. They thought they would undo all that deprivation. I was a little overwhelmed. An actual store that broke things down by brand not just departments. It was pretty amazing. DON'T laugh at me, please. I generally find what I need at J.C.Penny, Target or Old Navy or before the close of Mervyn's. I much prefer to shop for others and hardly ever do that in the clothing section unless its for the boys.
We wandered around then headed back for dinner after the girls got some steals at GAP.
We had a supper yummy dinner at LUCCA a few blocks away. Dinner with 20 or so of our closest running friends. I felt so blessed. I had yummy polenta pizza and meatballs on the side. We joked and teased and laughed. I have the most amazing friends.
Back at the hotel and getting our stuff ready Liz realizes that her shorts that she was going to wear tomorrow were missing. She called around to other runners hoping they had shorts she could wear but nothing. So she and Vicki headed out to look for shorts that were not Nike Tempos. Apparently those are the only shorts that stores open at 8:30pm carry. She ended up wearing her capris that she had with her but wasn't planning on running with. As cold as it was that may have been a blessing in disguise.
Just as we were settling down the music started from the holiday party downstairs. We got the loud music and the thumping from the bass. I think we got the best of it, many of our friends got the laughing and singing from the people. I fell asleep about 10:15 and only awoke twice to pee before the alarm was supposed to go off. Not too bad for night before the race sleep.

Quick CIM 09 update

Chip time: 04:07:47. Cold Cold Cold. But I hit my initial goal. Not too shabby. I might have even done better if I didn't have to go pee, then used all my energy to find a port-o-potty that I didn't have to wait in line for. At mile 20 one magically appeared just when I thought I'd need to find some trees or a bush or something! Unfortunately I lost my momentum and struggled to reach the finish line. But I finished and under 4hours 10 minutes!

Denial isn't just a river in Egypt: CIM

T minus 2 days: So close I can taste it. 2 more sleeps and a start line. I've been in intentional denial all week so I don't have any little breakdowns. Just easier to do everything I'm supposed to do but pretend this Marathon is really weeks and weeks away. Otherwise the anxiety creeps in and we all know that isn't good. Anxiety isn't a driving factor for me but more of a detriment so I handle it with a good strong dose of denial and I'm OK with that.
Why am I doing this again? This was a testTo train harder to push beyond my limits. I moved out in front of some of my running buddies, the buddies that have motivated and kept me connected. I felt safe with them but although I'm running with TTD (and I love her!) I do feel a wee bit more scared that I won't achieve this goal without them by my side. I have forged more than just a running friendship with them. They are the friends a girl dreams of on and off the running trails.

Then tragedy struck. My high school track coach, Tim Bruder, passed away on Saturday night. He was in Fresno for the California Interscholastic Federation state cross country championships supporting one of his XC students and came home not feeling well. Not sure what the final diagnosis was but he had been battling diabetes and we all know about those contributing factors. He was only 54 years old.
Its been a really long time since I've ran on that track my freshman year of High School during the Spring of 1993. I had to dust off the cobwebs in my memory but last night laying in bed mentally packing for this weekend a bunch of memories flooded back. Things he said, things he made me do that I never thought I could, things I took with me from that spring day to today. Most specifically he asked if my diagnosis of Melanoma was going to stop me from running. He was the first person I had to tell out loud. I didn't know how to tell him without disappointing him and at the same time being worried he wouldn't let me run. "There's this thing called sun screen you know, but this is about the rest of YOUR life." he walked out of the room and left me peddling on the stationary bike thinking, never giving me the answer I really wanted to hear, or maybe he did. I ran the rest of the season and I ran HARD. I didn't know that would be my only season of Track and Field with him. I moved that summer to a school that could not compare to Alhambra or its coaches. So for the man who gave me my love of running, I'm dedicating this to you Coach Bruder. When it gets hard, when I get tired, I'll think of Nazi hill, I'll think of the trail runs to the bay, I'll think of ice cream runs to Thrifly on Fridays, I'll think of that Berkley track when I PR'ed in the mile. Sunday I'll think of you.