Detroit Marathon, Part 1

Asia and Katie are running the Detroit Marathon this Sunday. Katie's husband John is also running the full marathon, and 128 of their Running Fit teammates are running either the half or full marathon. They have trained together all summer, on sweltering hot days, in downpours and thunderstorms, in high winds and fog. In the winter they ran on icy roads, in calf-deep snow and sub-zero temperatures. They are ready for just about anything Mother Nature can throw at them. Fortunately, the weather looks to be about perfect........a little cool, maybe, but not bad. Temps in the 30's at the start, warming to 50 by later in the day. Clear and not much wind.

This will be Asia's second full marathon, and she and Katie are going to try to qualify for Boston with a time of 3:40 or better. Coach Gina says she can do it. Katie ran Boston in April. Her goal will be to keep Asia from going out too hard, to have negative splits. We know that if the weather gods cooperate, and the blister gods behave (Kinesio tape rules!!) she has a good shot at qualifying.

Katie came up with an ace in the hole. Since Asia always runs faster when people cheer for her. Katie suggested getting shirts with her name on them, so the crowd would know who they are cheering for. We got shirts for Asia, Katie, Jerry and I in the team color and had the front printed at Elmo's Tee Shirt Shop in Ann Arbor.

We are getting so much support from teammates and friends in this effort. Since Asia has taken so well to wearing her fuel belt and drinking her "chocolate water" (Chocolate Outrage Gu and water) on the long runs and in races, we are going to have a full belt of 4 bottles at the halfway point to carry her thru to the end. Zoe, who ran the Chicago Marathon last weekend, volunteered to be at the 13 mile point with the replacement belt and help Asia and Katie make the switch.

There is going to be online, race day runner tracking through the freepmarathon.com website. This is the first race Asia has run that we haven't been able to parallel the course to see her, and we won't have any idea of her time or how she's doing. Linda, a friend at work, is going to set up the race day tracking on her computer at home, then call me as Asia's times come in. And other volunteer teammates, who will be cheerleaders along the course, will try to call me with times as they see Asia and Katie pass.

We're all getting pretty excited. Time to go work on my packing list. More news to follow.

The CRIM.....8.22.09

Asia and Katie have been planning to run the Crim since the beginning of the summer. It was going to be a "tune up" run, to see how well their training was progressing in getting ready for the Detroit Free Press Marathon. The Crim is a 10 mile run that draws thousands of runners to Flint, MI every August. There are some decent hills, so the 501ers' training on Sunset, Broadway, the Arb Hill, and Barton Hills Drive serves them well.

When Katie told me that her goal time for them for the Crim was 1:20, I confess that I was skeptical. Asia's previous PR time for a 10 mile run was last year at the Run Thru Hell, with a time of 1:22:40. I mentioned it to Coach and she did her mental calculations based on Asia's PR time, her last 5K time, and some other mumbo jumbo that I don't pretend to understand and said that 1:20 was do-able IF the weather was good (read cool, light breeze, not humid) and Asia was feeling good. Katie felt that a time of 1:20 at the Crim would be a good indicator of their chances to get a 3:40 in Detroit.

Team training went well Tuesday night, with an easy 6 mile run. Asia agreed to run her usual 5 miles on Wednesday and Thursday but promised Katie to cut back to 3 on Friday. I knew that would be hard for her, so I set mom up with a timer and told her when to call Asia in.

It's an hours drive to Flint, so we always drive up the night before, so Asia can get a good night's sleep........and eat out at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet to carb load. I got off work at noon and had everything ready when Jerry got home at 3:30. The drive up was uneventful and we went straight to the Expo for packet pick-up. We got race packets for Katie, John, and Jay, then went in search of a new restaurant. Two giant platefulls of rice and assorted Chinese dishes later, Asia was sufficiently carb loaded and we went back to the motel to rest. The motel clock didn't work, so I left a call at the desk and set Jerry's phone and mine for 4:45-5:00.

Most runners turn green at the thought of Asia's preferred race day breakfast.......Jimmy Dean's Hot sausage with scrambled eggs and some fruit. Anything less, such as a bagel, or an English muffin, or banana and peanut butter, is unacceptable. So when we travel overnight for races, we travel with a toaster oven. I prepare Asia's scrambled eggs the day before and pack with the selected fruit in a cooler, then warm it up in the morning. We were eating by 5:15 and dressed and on the road to the team meeting place by 6:30. Asia had her fuel belt with 2 bottles of "chocolate water" (Chocolate Outrage Gu and water) and another to drink on the way. It had rained during the night and the temperature was a cool 53 degrees. Perfect!! Understand that NEVER in my life have I thought 53 degrees on an August morning was acceptable, much less perfect. But this morning, it was ..... perfect.

The team was instructed by Coach to meet at the Character Inn and Convention Center Lobby by 7 AM for team pictures. We made quite a show with everyone in their blue singlets and shorts. The energy level in the room was almost tangible. The spirit and camraderie of the 501ers was amazing. Everyone, EVERYONE was happy and excited, all encouraging each other.

After many pictures and pit stops, and promises to meet up after the finish, everyone headed for the starting line. We saw Katie and Asia enter the crowd near the 8 minute pace flag and Jerry and I headed up to the front to get a picture of the front lineup, and to try to start my race watch as Asia and Katie crossed the timing mat, rather than go by "gun time".

A few announcements, the National Anthem, and.......they were OFF! We saw many of our Red team runners pass, then Katie and Asia, then we headed for the only turn where we could see them until the finish. (It's maddening to us to only be able to see them once.....we're so used to races where we can see them several times, but.....oh well.)

The 30 year runners had started early and passed us first. Bobby Crim, the founder of the race, passed us and brought cheers. One by one our team passed and everyone looked strong at about the 1 mile mark. We stayed until all our team had passed and took lots of pictures before heading off to Haloburger for some fries and coffee and to wait for the first finishers.

We had barely sat down when the first Kenyan flew past the window, with such a lead that the runner in second place wasn't in the same frame. The first place male, Festus Lagat finished in 47:11, female, Angelina Mutuka, in 54:53.

Haloburger suddenly lost its appeal and we took our coffee outside to wait for our crew to start arriving.

(I'll post everyone's times as soon as the searchable database is up.)

Jerry headed up to the last turn in the course as I headed for the finish line.

One by one we watched and cheered as our team rounded the corner and hit the bricks of Saginaw Street. Mark, Claudio, John, Eduardo, Rob, Stephanie, Zoe, Michael, Aaron, Rick, Andrea, Joy, Erin, Marie, (not necessarily in that order, and certainly not all of the team) streaked by to the finish line. I compared the time on my race watch with the race clock. 1:15.......1:16......1:17......1:18. The crowd was cheering, waving cow bells, whistling, the announcer calling out the names as the racers crossed the finish line. (I don't know how they do that.) 1:19. Katie's goal of 1:20 was seconds away and I had no idea where they were.......and then there they were .... at the end of the block!! Katie and Asia and Ted, pounding down the bricks (oh God, please don't let them fall!) to a finish time of 1:19:48!!! 12 seconds to spare, and almost a 3 minute PR for Asia!! Just then the phone rang and it was Jerry. "You should see them any minute now," he said. I was screaming, "They did it! They did it!!"

I elbowed my way through the crowd to the finish line to the place we had designated as the meeting spot......a Meijer truck near the porta-johns :>) Katie said everytime they approached one of the team, she said, Come on Asia, you don't want Ted to beat you, do you?" And Asia would take off like a shot. She knew exactly how to motivate Asia when she started to flag a little. Asia has a competitive streak a mile wide, and each time she passes people who cheer for her, the after-burners kick in.

Even though I had my doubts, Katie knew all along that Asia could do it. And she did. Thanks Katie, for giving her the push when she needed it, but most of all, for being her friend and running partner.

Catching up

The summer session of the Running Fit 501 Marathon Training team is in full swing, with early Saturday morning long runs and Tuesday evening workouts. Asia and Katie are officially training for the Detroit Free Press Marathon in October. Today they ran 16 miles in the pouring rain with their team and nobody seemed to mind a bit. There are 120 members of the team this summer.....such a large group that coach sends them out in waves. We had a visitor last week from San Francisco who was visiting Ann Arbor for a wedding. He Googled "running groups in Ann Arbor" and found us. He was amazed at the size of the group, the organization, the website, and the "catered water stops". Coach Gina is up at 3:30 on Saturday mornings to stock the water stations every 2-3 miles along the course. Each station has water, cups, and Ultima enough for all the runners, going in both directions.

Today's course wound through the North Campus of U of M, down Broadway hill, around by the Huron River to Bandemere Park, and up into the Barton Hills. The road to the Country Club is about 3 miles long, all uphill, and with lots of switchbacks, then reverse the course. Coach's philosophy is, "If it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger." This course, in the downpour, thunder, and lightning proved what a tough bunch this team is.

Katie's challenge has been to get Asia to slow down on the long runs. Today Katie said Asia ran with her perfectly until about mile 12, then she began to slow a little. But that was about at Broadway, going UP this time, so all is forgiven.

We have finally found something that works to help prevent Asia's terrible blisters. The $300 orthotics just hurt her feet, but the $12 roll of Kenesio tape works wonders!! I put 3 strips across the bottom of her feet, starting at just behind her toes, all the way to the heel, and extending up the inner arch and it totally prevents friction blisters from even forming! She has a history of nasty blisters and we've not been able to find shoes or socks that totally prevent them. This tape is a God-send. I know this isn't what it's designed for, but it sure works! Thanks Coach!!!

2 other new tools this summer......sunglasses.....we've never found a pair that fit while she is running, because she has no nose to hold them up. We got her a pair by Serfas Optics that come with 3 interchangable lenses, and then got a piece of plastic, like aquarium tubing, to go on the earpieces behind her head to hold the glasses on her face. Works like a charm, and she doesn't mind wearing them, because her team does. Another addition this summer is a fuel belt. Since Asia doesn't do Gu, or Shot Blox, or the Energy beans or anything like that (and the experience trying them is another whole story), we discovered mixing Chocolate Outrage Gu with water. Thanks again Coach! At the Martian Marathon, Aaron and Katie carried Asia's "Chocolate Water" since she had never worn a fuel belt, and we didn't think her first Marathon was the place to start. Earlier this summer Katie let Asia try hers. My fears were unfounded.....seeing so many of her teammates use fuel belts made it a non-issue for Asia. She just did it.

Asia has competed in 2 5-K runs since my last post. The Gallup Gallop and the Rutka 5-K, both in Gallup Park in Ann Arbor. Her times were nearly identical, 23:40 and 23:43. The next race is The Crim 10 miler in Flint, MI. on August 22. There will be 51 Running Fit 501ers competing in that race! Hopefully all in their new blue 501 singlets. I'll post pix and results after.