I Run Like A Girl

I hear that clense stuff does wonders. But as you know it makes you sick while your doing it. I would probably die if i clensed my body! full of chocolate! Your pace is great. your ready for painter!

Glad you are feeling better! Good run today. Have a great weekend!!

Good job hitting the miles by yourself, that's a good run and pace. I think you will tear it up at Painters! Bill, after this many years, all that stuff inside of you is like concrete, the cleanse would never work!

You ran faster than I did today.

Instead of New York, I would recommend St. Jude in Memphis, TN. You will very likely come back with some cash if you run sub-3:00. Also, if you run sub-3:00 in St. George, St. Jude will likely give you a free hotel. If you do New York you will come back with a nice bill and no prize money to cover it.

Way to run! The weather has been so excellent lately. Great pace on the run, you're so inspiring.

Thanks for the good wishes, though I'll have to do my darnedest to even keep up with you at all at Painters, after all my down time. Shucks!

Thanks Wildbull, Mike and Jody. Mike that is a good comment about Bill..:)

Ruthie-

For some reason I think you will be right with me or ahead of me. I am not focusing on Painters being a big success for me but rather a good training run. (Probably not the best attitude but I am just not feeling it lately)

Sasha-

A free hotel would defineltey be nice! Couldnt ever complain about that or prize money to say the least. If it worked that I could do both I most definetely would. I just really want to do New York so bad, just for the experience mostly. My reason for this year is because with my time at St. George last year I met their qualifying standards for a guarenteed entrance (without having to go into the lottery). And after that I need to start to thinking about starting a family. So I just want to do NY when I know I can and dont have the expense of children yet. Its not a set in stone yet but I hoping I will be able to go. Thank you for the input!

For me a marathon is essentially always the same experience. 26.2 miles of gradually increasing discomfort as I observe my body perform at its top ability. I say "observe" rather than "push" because "push" happens in training, when you pushed yourself to get out the door, and pushed yourself to do what you were supposed to day after day. During a race all you can do is observe. If you push, all you accomplish is run slower.

So it is the same experience, be it in New York, Boston, Chicago, or rural Utah. Therefore I just go to places that are close, or that pay. The biggest marathon I've ever run is Richmond, VA.

You can run fast after having kids. The fastest marathoner on the blog, Katie Danner, is a mother of 4. The second fastest, Annie Gasway is a mother of 2. The third fastest, Michelle Lowry is a mother of 3. And I've been chicked in a marathon by a mother of 4 (Cheryl Harper) in spite of running 2:41!

After watching the NYC Marathon this year after Trials, I was definitely inspired to try it at some point. I think it would be a very amazing race to run. Some things are worth opening up the pocket book for. I agree on the kids thing. I know after we have kids, there will be certain things I won't be able to do for about 20 years! Better to take advantage of the freedom while you can.

Sasha-

I have every intention of running fast after I have kids!

Paul

Thanks, I know unless I win the lottery that once I have kids I probably wont have the extra funds to do something like this for awhile and the freedom thing too. Every person told me in Boston that if I thought Boston was sweet that NY is ten times better. Its something I just have to get out of my system!

The things you can do without the kids pale in comparison for me with the things that you can do with the kids. It takes work to earn them, a lot of work. But there is nothing I would trade for the experiences I've been able to have with my kids. Different children have different talents, and different talents are important for different parents. I really enjoy running along with my children, especially when they are having a good day. I will never forget how Benjamin broke the 8:00 mile for the first time, and then 7:00 mile a couple of years later, or how Jenny overcame the fear of the fast pace and ran a 7:40 mile, and then taught what she learned to her little sister Julia as she paced her to her first sub-10:00 mile. Those experiences are very precious to me. It is something that is more than just running, something difficult to describe in words, but something that every parent who felt it will understand.

Sasha - true enough, but one should make the best things until they have kids.

I agree Sasha that there is experiences with children that probably have no comparison to anything in this world but also agree with Paul that you should definetely make the most of it because you may not get the opportunity again.

But I do have some good news. My parents have some really good friends that live in NY and have a second home in SG. I talked to them and they are going to let my mom, sister and I stay in their apartment in NY. So now I am for sure going!

If I ever ran marathons I would definitely want to try NYC. I love NY and being able to run all over would be awesome. We will be (hopefully) starting our family soon too and so it's nice to do some things now that will be harder once you have kids. (Of course I agree with Sasha that things will be awesome WITH kids, but some things will be more difficult or financially impossible.) That's so exciting that you will be running it this year! Will you still do STGM so close to NY?

Marcie, If NY is your dream, then by all means go for it! I would rather run a marathon that has always been a dream, as opposed to a smaller or less expensive one, just because I thought I could win some money.(just my opinion). Sasha is right about the experiences you have with your children, I wouldn't trade mine for anything. I also reconize while I have dedicated a very big portion of my life to my family, theres nothing wrong with doing things for yourself sometimes. I am no expert by any means, but it seems like you only get so many experiences in life, so why not think and go big! How cool will it be, to tell your children about the time you ran the NY Marathon! With that said, I say good luck to you in NY!!

Mike:

I'd rather tell my children about winning Ogden, Top of Utah, St. George, Boise, or Pocatello, or even the little Moab marathon on April Fools Day when I had to crawl under a barbed wire to get to the finish line (true story, btw) than taking Nth place in some big city marathon. If I were too slow to win, I'd rather tell them about breaking 3 hours (or 3:30, or whatever I could pull off) in Utah than running a lesser quality performance in New York (even if New York was not on Sunday).

marcie - WOW!!!!!!

Sasha-

For me running is far more than the clock and where I place. If my sole focus was "time" then I think I would hate running. For me running is all about the experiences, the friendships, the way it makes me feel, and the healthy body it gives me. Some of my most memorable runs or races have not been when I have placed in the top 3 or had a PR but the ones when I can look back and remember the funny things that happened, like when my friend and I hitchhiked home cuz we miscaculated how long it would take and had to be back, or when I ran Ogden (like in 4hrs) but everything went wrong getting there. I think of that trip and smile and laugh. And even with Boston more than the race itself for me it was great memories I made with great friends! Doing well in a race and getting a PR is just a bonus to me. If I avoided races because I didnt think I could place well then I would have quit racing a long time ago. I went through 3 years where I did not run "fast" at all and some of those races were my favorite ones and that I remember the most.