The Turkey is Not the Problem...

After my "success" in the Yarmouth Pumpkin Run, I decided that I would like to run a Thanksgiving race.  I didn't want to run before Thanksgiving, because I would be out of town and running on Thanksgiving didn't appeal to me.  I found a race in Gorham the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Burn Off the Turkey 5k.  I registered and couldn't wait.

DH had the day off so he stayed home with the baby and I headed off to Gorham.  I pulled into the address given on the web site and was a little concerned. There was very little parking available and all the cars I could see there had a layer of frost.  There was no bustle of activity I had seen at the other races I ran.  I used my mobile browser and found out that I was at the wrong place.  I could not find an address for where I was supposed to be so using my GPS was not a solution.  I started looking for a place to ask for directions when I noticed that a truck was placing construction barrels along the road.  I doubted there was construction on a Saturday, so I figured that I would follow the barrels to see if they lead to the starting line. 

They did. There were plenty of cars (that were not frosty) and a bustle of activity.  Packet pick-up was in a gym which was really nice because it was 25 degrees out.  The runners were allowed to wait inside and I started some small talk with some other runners.  About 10 minutes before the race started, some trainers from a local gym led a warm up and we were herded outside.

My goal this race was to finish in under 40 minutes, even if it meant a time of 39:59.  I felt like I got off to a good start,  I started in the middle of the pack so that only half of the runners would pass me.  Which is what happened.  There were a few girls ahead of me that stopped to walk not too far after the start.  I breezed right past them thinking that even if they passed me later, at least I wouldn't have walked.  There was also a girl with an orange knitted beret running ahead of me, she was keeping a pretty good pace, so I figured that I would try to keep her in my sight. 

Around the first mile marker, Orange Beret stopped and walked a bit, as I passed her, she stopped to throw up.  I left her in my dust, thankful that I was going to run the whole way and not throw up.

There was a water station at the half-way point.  It was there that the group of walking girls ran past me and then Orange Beret passed me.  She ran a little ahead of me and turned to look at me and started walking.  At this point I was running faster intervals between the power poles and I took advantage of one of these to pass her.  A minute or two later, she ran past me again, looked back and started to walk.  So, I passed her again. This little pattern continued until just after the two mile mark.  She must have figured that I was onto her little game and she past me and ran ahead and out of my sight.  I realized then, that I could not see any runners ahead of me. 

I picked up my pace and crossed a major street and I could see the pack again.  I turned a corner and there were some of the race volunteers letting the runners know that we were close to the finish line.  A few minutes after that, runners that had already finished were running and walking back along the course.  I was getting close!

I was past by two more runners.  I went around another corner and I could see the finish.  The timer was a little bit out of my sight, but it looked like it said either 36 minutes or 38 minutes.  If it was 36 I was going to make my goal, if it was 38 I didn't think I would make it.  I decided to give it my all and went into a full out sprint.  There were runners that had finished along the way and they were cheering.  I think they gave me energy to keep up the sprint.  I finished to cheers and congratulations.

I made my goal!

 I finished at 38:58.  Not only was this a post-baby (no stroller) PB, but it is also my overall PB, beating my 2009 Pumpkin Run by a little over a minute!

I went into the gym to cool down and got some food.  I got in line for a sports massage and decided to stick around for the awards and door prizes.  As it turns out, the ladies I was talking to before the race placed top three in their respective age groups.  And, I won a purse.

This was a fun race and I am really pleased with my finish.  However, I am afraid I my becoming addicted.  I have been checking the Internet for a 5k to run in December.  I have found a few, but they are on Sundays and I don't want to skip church to run.

I'll keep running though and maybe I'll come in at 30 minutes or under one of these days!

A picture of me taken by Maine Running Photos

Here Baby, There Mama, Every Where Daddy, Daddy

This may surprise you, but when I was little, I had straight hair.  It was just as thick, but it was indeed straight.  As I got older, it got curlier, well most of it did anyway.  The front is really wavy, the underneath is really curly and the very back is pretty much straight.  It gets super fizzy and bushy. If I don't get it cut regularly, it grows into a triangle and I look like 1970's SNL character, Rosanna Roseannadanna.  In fact, my mom would call me Joanna Joannadanna from time to time.

My hair got me teased a lot.  In fact, I cannot remember a time in school when I was not made fun of because of my hair.  I once off the bus with a half eaten Blow Pop stuck in it.  And people always seemed to have hair advice ready for me.  What bothered me the most was not that it was unsolicited advice, but all this advice came from people with straight hair!

I took a poetry writing class in college.  We had an assignment to write a poem that used a lot of emotion.  I wrote about my hair:

Why do those with straight hair always think
they know what is right for those with curly hair?

"Wear it long!"
"Wash it less!"

"Cut it short!"
"Condition it more!"

I want to say,
"Shut up!"
"You don't know what it's like!"

But, my mother's words echo,
"There is never an excuse to be rude."

So, I smile and say,
"Thanks, I'll try that."

It was about this time that products for curly hair started to appear on the market.  I became a mad scientist trying different products to make my curls work.  I realize that I could have straightened every day, I know quite a few girls who did that.  But, waking up super early to spend an hour on my hair isn't my style. 

After trying several products one at a time, I decided to start mixing them.  I didn't see anything on the packaging saying I couldn't mix them so I once again became a mad scientist.  I finally found my "hair cocktail."

I use shampoo and conditioner for curly hair and a leave-in conditioner.  Next, comes a anti-frizz curl cream, then a scrunching gel for curly hair, then mousse.  Before I finish with hair spray, I use a fiber putty to set the curl.

It's a lot of steps, but it works for me and my curls.  I have bad hair days now and then, but thankfully, being a grown up, I don't get teased anymore!

Run, Pumpkins! Run!

My dad is a runner.  I remember him going for runs when I was younger.  I remember the Oak Apple Run t-shirts he wore that he got running the local 5ks. He's even run the Detroit half-marathon, so maybe it's in my blood.

I ran track in the 7th grade.  I hated it.  I wasn't very fast, and the coach only wanted to work with the top 3 runners in each race.  Everyone else was to run the straightways on the track and walk the curves.  That got really boring, really fast.

Fast forward 20 some years.  Every time I see a runner, I think to myself, "I wish I could do that."  I wasn't sure how to get started, I don't know why I just didn't start. I guess I was afraid I would hurt myself.

When I was getting ready to move to Portland, ME, I started looking at hotels and apartments and I noticed that many places boasted "just minutes from Back Cove." I began to wonder what Back Cove was, so I Googled it.  The first link that came up was a link for the Maine Running Company.  They offered weekly 5ks at Back Cove-which turns out to be a 3+ mile loop running trail around a cove in Portland.  The Maine Running Company also offers a weekly running training group with the intention of running a 5k.  This sounded really good to me. A way to learn to run and meet people.  I discussed it with DH and he thought it would be good for me too, so I joined.

The running workouts were sent to me via email and the group met once a week.  It started out easy enough, walking and running, each week the walking got shorter and the running got longer.  The longer the running got the harder it got.  I thought I was going to die!  My legs hurt so bad, it was awful.  But, I was determined to continue.  I decided that I would keep running until the 5k and then I would decide if I was going to keep running.  I mentioned my leg pain the the trainer I was working with and she recommended that I get new shoes, I was wearing regular cross trainers. 

What a difference new shoes made.  I was still really slow, but at least I wasn't in pain anymore.

With new shoes and continuing practice, running got easier, and I was enjoying myself.  I began to run the entire Back Cove loop without walking and that was really exciting to me, I felt very accomplished.  I decided to run the Yarmouth Pumpkin Run on October 31.

My only goal for the race was to run the entire way. And that's what I did!  I also caught a cold.

And, as it turns out, I was 5 1/2 weeks pregnant.

I thought that after I was over my cold, I would continue running.  I asked a girlfriend, L, about her running while she was pregnant and she said that she ran until she was 28 weeks, so I thought I would try to do that,too.

But, the cold kept me from that.  It took until January for me to be able to walk my usual running route without a coughing fit or two.  So I decided to wait until after that baby was born to continue running.  I walked most days up until the baby was born, but I felt guilty about not running until I was 28 weeks.

In the meantime, I made the decision to run the next Pumpkin Run October 30, 2010, the baby would be 17 1/2 weeks old.  Because of the C-section, it took me a little longer to get back into running and I only had 4 weeks to prepare for the race.

Again, I thought I was going to die! I kept at it though and I knew it would be hard, but I felt I was able to run the race. I ran the course at Back Cove and was passed by a woman who was walking.  It took me 47:42 to complete the loop, but I managed to run the whole time.

Race day came and it was very cold.  I had the baby snuggled up in his jogging stroller and some girl friends, including L, came to run with me.  It was a hard run, and I was very slow.  I was so slow, in fact, that as I passed the direction signs someone from the race committee would come along, pick up the steak and toss the sign into the back of a pick up truck, that's right folks-I was last.

As I neared the end of the race, L, who ran ahead me of me came to run the end of the race with me and my two other friends ran up ahead of me.  I came around the curve of the track and as I entered the chute to end the race I heard my friends cheering for me and I saw my husband (who ran with the dog) cheering as well.

I finished in 45:55, the last runner in my age group and the entire race.  But that doesn't matter.  Here's what matters:

I ran a 5k with only 4 weeks prep time.
I ran a 5k 16 1/2 weeks after having a baby, via C-section.
I want to keep running.