Filles de Fer

The beautiful blue box that showed up the other day contained my swag from the Nike+ Women’s 1/2 Marathon - a spiffy little keychain that just doesn’t photograph as well as I want it to (although I just ordered a new camera, so maybe I’ll get a decent photo with that!). If you’re a runner, that’s not a disappointment. If you’re not a runner, well, there could have been more exciting things in that Tiffany box.

 I also got a pretty little technical tee. It’s my favorite race tee so far. Nike knows their stuff!

 Speaking of presents…there is an overabundance of gift baskets in my office. I like to think that I have enough self-control to not gorge myself on the contents of said gift baskets, but it’s definitely a challenge. Lucky for me, I don’t like sweets very much - there’s a giant basket of chocolate-covered pretzels and fudge sitting right in front of me, and I’m totally ignoring it. The gourmet popcorn tin? Not so much…but popcorn counts as carbs, right?

Pssh. I’m going to be logging lots of miles on the bike this week, anyhow. 24 on dvd + trainers + cyclist boyfriend = I’ll be dominating the roads by spring!

Looky, looky…

This came in the mail today!

Today, I’m doing a unique event: The first ever Nike+ Women’s Half Marathon. I’ll be running 13.1 miles this morning, along with thousands of other women (and men) all over the country. It’s a nice distance for two weeks after Chicago, and I like that I can run wherever I want (my course will be loops and loops around Wrigleyville). Bonus? It’s all for a great cause: the event benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Run together! 

Post-race thoughts:

This was a nice Sunday long run. I think it felt more like a long run than a race because I couldn’t see the other runners. Then again, running is kind of a solitary sport, so should that even matter?

I ran it at a comfortable pace, and I felt really great afterwards. No soreness, and I could even walk up and down stairs without wincing! That might sound silly, but I think it’s a pretty major step – after my first half-marathon and after my 20-mile run, my muscles hurt like mad, and stairs were not even an option.

Extra bonus? Aside from that wicked fast 20-miler (which I’m still hesitating to call a fluke, but am not sure I could repeat anytime soon), this run was the fastest half-marathon I’ve ever done. I like that!

I’m way more competitive with myself than I am with others. I don’t care if I cross the finish line dead last if I break a PR, and I’m usually pretty oblivious to everyone else in the race (unless they’re really noticeable, like the dude in the tangerine speedo in this year’s Flying Pig). I’m pretty sure this is common to a large number of runners/triathletes.

I’ll still check out race results, though. On some level, I like to see how I compare to others in my age group, and I use it as another category of self-evaluation: between this race and last race, do I rank better among my peers? In the Flying Pig 1/2 Marathon this May, I placed 106^th out of the 351 women in my age group. I’m hoping that I’ll do at least as well (on a relative scale, as there will be a LOT more runners) this Sunday, and it would rock my SmartWool running socks off if I did better. I’m not sure how many people are in my age group, but last year there were 1837 in the F 20-24 division.

I’m trying very hard not to psych myself out for this race. My 20-miler initially made me feel really awesome about myself, but now I’m worried that I won’t live up to it during the actual race. There are some serious differences between that run and the real deal:

• the distance - 6.1 miles longer
• the lack of iPod - it’s against the rules, and I don’t want to chance it
• the route (although that shouldn’t matter too much, given that I just made a lot of random turns during my 20)
• the hydration setup - I’ll be dependent on aid stations rather than that oh-so-convenient water fountain at Welles Park that I stopped at about 50 times during the first 6 miles
• the 45,000 other people sharing the road with me

Time to start thinking happy thoughts!