Jen Rosario
Age: 28
Race: Marathon
Goal: sub 3:10
Blog 1: Who doesn't spend their wedding anniversary at a road race?
Blog 2: 24 Brians and a night with the Kings
Blog 3: Dear Rain, I am SO over you!
Blog 4: I guess you'd call it ironic
Blog 5: Running errands
Blog 6: My obsession with the weather
Blog 7: What's done is done
Jen is definitely one of the team organizers, always making sure everyone knows where and when the workouts are going to be and what the travels plans are when we are headed to a race. She will most likely have a color-coded itinerary ready to go for San Antonio. As a runner she has tons of talent and it has been showing lately as her fitness level continues to rise with the training she's been putting in. Check her blog often...she's an especially good role model for those of you who may have run in high school and/or college but then took a few years off. That's what she did but she's back now and really running well.
11.11.09 (5 days out)
How do I describe what I'm feeling? For starters, I am nervous...very nervous. Everytime I think about the marathon or discuss it with someone I get those butterflies in my stomach and I swear they are doing a Riverdance show or something. I think in a weird way though, this is a good thing. It means I'm engaged and really wanting to do well! Secondly, I am really excited. I've had my suitcase out since Sunday and I keep setting things over by it as the week goes on. I can't quite pack it up yet as I'll be using some of the stuff before I leave--namely, my running shoes! I'm also excited about how the team is going to do. Everyone has worked so hard and been so committed during this training segment that I really think we are going to see some great performances. So yes, what's done is done--as far as all the long runs, workouts and every other element that has gone into this training segment. Now I just have to toe that line and do my best!
--and yes, I did make a travel itinerary for the group, but I spared them from a full on color-coded version!
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11.06.09 (10 days out)
What is it about the 10 day forecast that gets me so excited yet completely crazy and obsessed at the same time? All the different weather websites out there don't help matters. First I checked weather.com for the 10 day forecast. It is calling for a low of 53 and high of 74 currently, with a 60% chance of rain. Now, it's too early for my favorite--the hour-by-hour forecast, but I'm salivating just thinking about it (is that weird?!). So then I'm working with Drew and he suggests what he considers to be a more accurate weather website and probably the most accurate at the "future" forecasts than it's counterpart. Why not give it a try, right? So I log onto accuweather.com ("accu" or "accurate"? clever...) and see what they have in store for Sunday, Nov 15th. Much to my surprise it has a different, almost very different, forecast. They are calling for a high of 62 and low of 48, cloudy and showers possible in the afternoon. What's a person to do but feel confused at this point. So what do I do? I check out weather underground, as I'm known to do sometimes. As far as I could tell, they only do a 5 day forecast, which doesn't really help me...yet anyway. I'll have to wait that one out. In the meantime, I'm all for accuweather's predictions as that seems far more favorable for a marathon at this point. So yes, the hard work has been put in for the marathon from a training standpoint and it's time to coast along and stay sharp as the taper is in full swing. In the meantime, I will probably just continue to obsess over the weather predictions and most likely pack way too many options for race day!
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11.2.09 (2 weeks out)
Sometimes I like to actually get some errands done while I'm running. This morning I did a couple loops around Francis Park before making my way over to my neighborhood library branch to pick up my book that was on hold. Luckily the pocket of my running shorts was just large enough to house my library card for the run. My only hiccup in the plan was that the book was in hard cover so it was a bit heavier than I had anticipated! Luckily I live less than a mile from the library so while my arms were starting to get a bit shaky, I would call my run very productive! So yes, if you're ever around the South City area and see some short little runner carrying a book, some letters to be mailed or maybe a movie rental you'll know it's just me, trying to get the most out of my daily runs.....
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10.29.09 (3 weeks out)
Is it ironic that the last blog post I wrote a couple weeks ago was about hating the rain seeing as EVERY DAY this week rain is in the forecast? Maybe. Though I'm never quite sure of the exact meaning of the word ironic. Maybe it is more of a strange coincidence. Regardless, the rain is back and so are my blog entries!
A lot has happened with my running over the last few weeks. I've had some ups and downs in my training which I guess is to be expected. I've been busy with work getting ready for our Ladies Night...which I think ended as a huge success. It did mean working more than normal and not getting the rest I really needed. The workout the night before the event went poorly for me. It was really the first one that I fell off pace and couldn't pull it back together. I think lack of sleep and not focusing on eating properly really caught up to me. I got a massage to work out the kinks (there were a lot!) and opted for a couple days off. Saturday I was in the mode of "I'm ready for this marathon to just be over". However, after a big long run (just over three hours) on Sunday followed by an even bigger nap and treating my body right these last few days I have seen an improvement. The workout was solid last night. I'm considered to be in the "lower mileage" group--which is fine by me--so I did 2 x 5 miles and the higher mileage folks did 2 x 6 miles at marathon pace. I'm feeling more positive and now it's time to put the body on cruise control. 17 days to go and the taper should start soon. I know I need to stay focused but relaxed at the same time.
Right now the biggest thing I'm looking forward to is seeing the 10-day forecast on weather.com!............................................................................................................................................................
Dear Rain, I am SO over you!
10.09.09 (6 weeks out)
I am SO over you. The first day (Wednesday morning, my run with Margaret) I managed just fine. Sure, the thunder and lightning I could have done without but I could walk away with the notion that I was mentally tougher for getting out there, right?! Then you were kind enough to hide out for the workout* that was Wednesday. For that I can say thank-you. Thursday morning rolls around and I wake up to rain again...hard, down-pouring rain. Of course I have no choice but to get out in it and trudge through my run for the day. Not fun. I don't want to be mentally tough anymore...or so I thought. I just wanted it to be dry or at least not so cold. Now here it is Friday and I'm headed out the door to meet Margaret again and no surprise here, it's raining. Really?! Come on. I'm over it. I've run out of newspaper for my shoes, I'm tired of my clothes weighing a ton and I'm tired of becoming "tougher" by running in crappy conditions.
So rain, while you serve many positive purposes (like helping the trees and flowers grow), you are now on my last nerve and I would like you to leave. At least for a little while....
Yours truly,
soggy in St. Louis
*On another note, the workout on Wednesday went fantastic! Everyone had a good one (or so it seemed). It was 4 by 2 miles at 10 sec faster than goal marathon pace. For me that meant around 7:05 per mile. I hit all of them at an average of just under 7 min pace: 13:57, 13:55, 13:58, 13:54. Things are starting to come together....
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24 Brians and a night with the Kings
10.02.09 (7 weeks out)
Then it was off to the Kings of Leon concert. Awesome! If you have read Ben's Blog you most certainly got his take on the evening. He talked about what fans we are and how we've seen the progression of the band. Ditto for all of that. And on a side note, I was the one who introduced him to the band--I just like to point that out, I think it makes my level of 'cool' move up a notch....
Really, I just LOVE going to live shows. I like how much music evokes different emotions and memories for me. When I'm on a run sometimes certain songs come into my head and it helps me enjoy the moment or motivate me through a workout or rough patch. The Kings are always a favorite for me to think of when I'm running...good beats to keep the rhythm going. One of my favorites off of Only By the Night, even though it is a little bit more of a ballad, is Revelry. I think it has some great lyrics, like the opening line: what a night for a dance, I'm a dancing machine and born to run, baby run like a stream down a mountainside. Some of my favs from the older albums are Taper Jean Girl and Bucket. I could listen to Because of the Times over and over and not get tired of it and of course I also like the two songs off Only by the Night that have hit the radio--Sex on Fire and Use Somebody. The ridiculous thing that you'll learn about me is once I get started on talking about music or my favorite songs or how I like different songs for different reasons it becomes a really long conversation that probably isn't really all that interesting!! Hmmm....I might be the same way about running shoes too...
...all the while I was dreaming in revelry.
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Who doesn't spend their wedding anniversary at a road race?
9.29.09 (7 weeks out)
Four weeks into the 12-week marathon training segment a group of us headed to Decatur, IL for the Shoreline Classic 15k (9.3miles). I had run this race two years ago, not really prepared, but still ran 1:03.52, which comes out to 6:52 mile pace. I knew my goal going into this was to run faster than that, but I was still apprehensive.
Now that I am so far removed from my collegiate running days, I find myself making a very different set of goals in my mind before each race. There's the time I would LOVE to run (a pretty aggressive, fast time for myself), the time I feel is more reasonable (something I'm pretty sure I can hit, but not 100% confident about), the time that would be slower than I'd like but I would still be pleased with the performance and then finally the time cut-off where I would really just walk away disappointed. Yes, this seems like a lot just for one race and I realize even now that it is sort of ridiculous, but when you are running a lot of miles you have a LOT to think about!
With that said, my first goal was 6:40 per mile pace (very aggressive, especially with the hilly terrain of the course), my second "yes, I'm happy with my time" time was 6:45 per mile pace, my "the race was o.k. time" was 6:50 per mile pace and anything slower than what I ran two years ago I was going to walk away disappointed with.
The gun went off and I settled into a rhythm running alongside another female runner close in age to me. I'll admit that the first 3 or 4 miles felt a little tough. My strong in-marathon-training legs stayed true to form though and I started to feel stronger as we headed into miles 5 and 6. The woman who would end up winning the masters division passed us just after mile 7 and I took advantage of her momentum and hitched a ride with her for a bit making mile 8 my fastest mile. I didn't bring it home as strong as I would have liked but I was extremely pleased with my finish time of 1:01.38-- 6:37 per mile pace average!
That day also marked the one year wedding anniversary for Ben and I. How quickly time flies! My wonderful husband surprised me with a dozen roses waiting in our hotel room when we arrived. I suppose it was fitting for us to celebrate by running a road race. Who needs island getaways or cruises when you've got Decatur, IL?!?!
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