Run for Haiti

While I am usually pulling for donations to Kiva (and will continue to do so for my 50 in 50 races) I have decided to do my first marathon relay with Shadyside Presbyterian Church to raise money for their Run for Haiti campaign. All donated funds will go to the Pittsburgh Presbytery, which is committed to supplying and installing ten solar-powered water treatment systems in Haiti. What is awesome is that the cost of the race passes for all relay teams through Shadyside have been donated by the marathon committee (since the church is on the race route and has been extra-accomodating for the race: cheering, changing church service times on race day, etc.) so 100 percent of all money raised will go directly to this effort.

I unfortunately can't direct you to a site for online giving, but if you would like to donate, send me an email or leave your address in the comments below and I can give you an address.

I'll keep ya'll posted and stay tuned for my next 50 in 50 state: Kentucky!

The Best Thing Caitlin Ever Ate - Part 1: Dessert

So this blog is about running but since

1. the posts are few and far between and

2. my love of running goes hand in hand with my love of food (hint: you can eat more when you run!)

I figured I would handle the problem in 1 by talking more about my love of food mentioned in 2.

With me?

About the same time Chrissy and I decided to take on 50 in 50 by 50, she introduced me to one of my favorite food shows (yes, I have more than one favorite food show), The Best Thing I Ever Ate. In fact, it was the dessert episode of that show that made us decide on a September race in Baltimore.

So I thought it would be fun to do sporadic special installments about the best things I've eaten...and invite you to chime in!

We'll just start with dessert. The show has some great options and I've now traveled to two places just to try them out. But for the sake of interest, I won't allow myself to use desserts featured on the show.

Not counting the Toasted Marshmallow Shake and the CMP, my favorite dessert is the caramel pretzel shake at Burgatory.


That thing is seriously good. Chunks of pretzels, combo of salty and sweet...oh, it's heaven. They say so, right on the menu. Hmm...I guess that's why they call it Burgatory.

My friend Alex liked her Monkey Business Shake too

What's the best dessert you've ever eaten?

Double Rainbow, all the way

In case you missed that reference, you can catch it here.

I did not cry or ponder it's meaning, but maybe I did feel some of the same (though muted) excitement when my running group came across our own "full-on" double rainbow.

Last night, our weekly Thursday run with PSL took us to Redbeards in Mt. Washington. I was worried as soon as I got the location via email. (Thanks, Liz-- enjoy your vacation while we trudge up these hills!) But I figured, come on, how bad could it be?

The night looked promising as, though it had called for rain, the sky was beautiful and it was actually warm-- I was glad I hadn't gone with the long-sleeve I originally planned for and even regretted not wearing a tank top.

The beginning of the race went along Grandview, which if you are not familiar with Pittsburgh, is where you can see some of the best views of our awesome city. So, okay, cool. Until I almost bit it on something in the sidewalk and did one of those three part tumbles where you alternate between visions of your face hitting pavement and somehow saving yourself from falling while time momentarily stops. Luckily in my case, something broke my fall. Unluckily for her, it was a young woman sitting on a bench, writing in a notebook. Near the end of part three of my fall, I lunged at her lap and even grabbed her pen. Uh, whoops. As everyone on the street stared at the idiot who fell into a person, I poured out apology after apology and lots of thanks. So, yeah, good start.

Then, the hills. I don't really want to talk about them. I just want you to see them on this elevation chart. And know that some of my friends really tore these up.

Okay, so at about 3.8 miles we came to a decision point-- go straight and finish at 4 miles or turn right and do 2 more. Everyone froze in temporary indecision and finally, Nick said, it's just two more, and I said, let's go for it (maybe inspired by the double rainbow that just appeared in the sky).

Then the skies broke. I am talking pouring rain. Buckets. Deluge. Cats, dogs, mice, and fleas.

We ran up and down a bit more, missed a turn, got soaked even more ridiculously by a passing car, walked up a set of stairs, missed a couple more streets, and finally made it back after cutting off the final turn.

I may have never been so rain-soaked. Or so thankful for a grilled cheese and sweet potato waffle fries. Yeah, you heard that right. Yum.

I like my running group.

:)

Running Around a Square...For the Fifth Time

The Run Around the Square is my favorite Pittsburgh 5k. I love it because of the unbelievable turnout, amazing community support, interesting musicians, great swag, and of course the champagne stop after mile one.

While some of these areas were a bit lacking this year (not such great freebies, and I think I only saw one musician-- compared to other years that had bagpipes, steel drums, and violins all throughout the course), I again loved the race.

This year there were two big perks:

1. A whole slew of people from PWRD/PSL/RUNPGH (gotta love the acronyms!) made me feel rich in running buddies, and

2. I was one second below my 5K PR (in part thanks to the people mentioned in #1 who motivated me to pick it up on the last mile) which was over a minute and a half faster than my best time for this race in particular!

It's kind of a tough race as the trails are narrow and mile two has some brutal hills, but it is always a fun one to do and I hope to be there again next year for the 30th anniversary!

Run Home Jack

Okay so today's title kind of has nothing to do with today's post, but I was trying to think of something from a movie or book related to fathers and running and the first thing that came to mind was this chant from Hook. Although not about running, it is a good movie. I however, was never captured by pirates or brought up by a father who neglected me for his cell phone, so I am abandoning the analogy and leaving the title as is for you all to fondly remember Ruffio, the awesome food fight, and Tootles losing his marbles. If you have never seen the movie, I am sorry for you. It is bangarang.

Now onto the post!

Today's, er, Yesterday was the Day

The day my blog was posted on Kiva! Check it out and while you're there, fund a loan or two. :) Our team is up to 28 loans in 17 countries...which is sweet, and I'm excited to see how much more we can do.

In running news, as you all know, tomorrow is Father's day and in "Woggles" style (grandpa name), we are celebrating by running a race! Don't fret-- if this also sounds like your idea of a perfect father's day, you can still sign up on race day and even enter the father/child lookalike contest. But don't get your hopes up too high because I think the two of us are going to win.

(The pictures below are brought to you in honor of Lauren and her Flashback Friday...one day late)

Me and the pops right before my first ever marathon...

without the beard, we could be twins, right?!

We especially look alike as turtles.

Those pics were taken at another high point of my life, though one that had 

nothing to do with running.

While vacationing in Florida, I convinced my family to go with me to a Marine Sanctuary and Rehabilitation center so I could make friends with a dolphin. 

So here's to Kiva, dolphins, and fathers everywhere! 

(Bet you thought I couldn't bring all that together)

The long and the short of it

This may be the most difficult post I've written on this blog, and I'm not really sure why. Maybe because I am having a hard time capturing my experience running the Pittsburgh Marathon in a deep, meaningful, witty, clever, or even snarky way. There are no great stories and yet it was much more than just another race. Talking on the phone with a friend the other day, I stated my difficulty expressing the experience and he asked me what color it was. Nice question! Green, I said. The marathon was green. So there you have it. Isn't that all you need to know? :)

I think I'm also having difficulty putting it into words because I put so many into my first. But of course, this one was different.

The first time, I trained primarily alone, though with much support. This time, I ran almost every single training run with at least one good friend.

The first time, I ran in a place I had never been. This time, I ran through the hallowed streets of the city I have come to know and love so well.

The first time, I just wanted to finish. This time, I wanted to meet a time goal.

The first time, it was all about accomplishing something I wasn't sure I could do. This time it was about having fun and seeing if I could, at the same time, accomplish something I thought I could do.

I ran with confidence, with friends, with my father, past my mother, with a feeling of deep love for the twists and turns, rises and falls of this great city, getting high fives from neighbors for encouragement, joking with other runners and bystanders, listening to the sounds of local bands and choirs, drinking it all in (even a little beer! - see "adding hops to the race"- yup I was one of the "interested few") one step at a time.

I didn't add a state to 50 in 50 by 50, but I added a great milestone to my running experiences. I am thankful. Always thankful.

Less than a week away...

So, in-between scooting off to different states to run (or attempt to run) some of my 50 in 50 races, I have been training for the Pittsburgh Marathon. And as marathon training has a tendency to do, it has become my life for the past several months. Now it is coming to an end. I have 6 days, 3 runs, one expo, several friends in from out of town, and lots of carbs before the big day, and that is IT! Yet, when asked how I am feeling about the race, I am not sure how to answer. I feel ______ about it. Yes, blank. Maybe I am blocking out all the pain from the last one, or the fear of not finishing well. Maybe I just have too many other things going on. Maybe I'm really focused and have marathon game face (and mind). Or maybe I am not ready to see it all end.

You see, I decided during this training that this was going to be my last marathon. Yeah, it's only my second, and I never even really believed myself while saying it, knowing that I'd likely do 2 or 3 more in my lifetime-- but I really did mean that it would at least be my last for a while. Training is brutal- ravaging your body and consuming your time. But it is also a luxury. I have the luxury of a healthy body that can be trained to run. I have a schedule that allows for large chunks of time to be spent outside. I have wonderful friends and family who support me. I know I must be thankful. And I think I will be sad to move on.

I have always believed that the best things in life are often the hardest. It is through challenging ourselves that we learn and grow. Through pushing ourselves that we become stronger. And while we also learn by knowing when to say enough is enough, sticking to a discipline can be really good.

Maybe what I really feel is similar to when I am close to finishing a great book. I can't wait to get to the end to see what happens, but I know I'll feel a let-down when I close the back cover. But there are always more books to read, and there will always be more races to run. Many of which will not require 20 mile prep-runs.

Here is a cool video that moves through the race course: check it out and you too can experience the Pittsburgh Marathon- in 4 minutes and 22 seconds...without training!

Stay tuned for a post-race post...

Race for Emma

All right folks, it's time for the first Kiva donation! I started it off and if you haven't done so yet, you can join the group by clicking here.
While I have already run several Pennsylvania races, I have not yet encouraged a Kiva donation for any of the races already completed and I figured this race would be the best one for PA as it honors someone who makes her whole life about caring for others...my good friend Emma. (She's the one in the middle below)

Today marked one of the more special races I have ever done. Emma's husband created the Pittsburgh Emmathon in honor of Emma and for her to complete one of her goals...finishing a 10k. While this is a great accomplishment for anyone, it is much more so for Emma as she deals with extreme pain on a daily basis. Despite dealing with major recovery from a car accident and what she calls "icepick" headaches, she keeps running, and today, she finished her goal, not only of running the 10K, but of not stopping to walk once. Emma has always dedicated her life to other people and continues to do so each and every day. I am thankful to have her in my life and after years and years of being supported by Emma in all I do, it felt good to be able to encourage her in achieving a huge goal of her own.

So it begins...(or 3 down, 47 to go)

This summer my friend Chrissy and I made the same life goal. We each decided we would run 50 races, in all 50 states, by the time we are 50. I got the idea from a guy I met when I ran my marathon who is doing the same thing with some friends, except they are doing 50 half-marathons.
Read more about my first marathon here: http://mylifeinthreed.blogspot.com/2007/09/i-did-it.html



We are a little less ambitious. :-) Our only stipulation is that each must be an officially organized race-- and must include running-- distance does not matter. The tricky part of course will be all the traveling. If I could count all the states I have run in, I would definitely have more than 3 by now...and I have to travel back to some far away places I have already been. Oh well...I suppose I can try to get some kind of excitement about having to go back to Hawaii. sigh. :-) Anyway, my first race ever was in California with AmeriCorps-- 10k-- just under 1 hour. And I have done plenty in Pennsylvania, including my best (and only) marathon (pictured left)- 4:29:41, best 10k- 50:37, and my best 5k- 23:30. And just this weekend, Chrissy and I flew in to North Carolina to cheer on our friends running the Charlotte marathon while we ran the 5k Jingle Jog with our other friend Emily.




Here we are on the way to breakfast post race. Emily and I ran wearing the hats- and it was a good thing that we did because it was COLD! :-)

47 to go...


Stay tuned for more running adventures!