Quick Update, ups and downs

This post is really all over the place.  I was trying to rest and still get stuff done, and I have about 3 posts worth of material here, but am going to do a light version of everything and cram it all into one.

Funny Story:
Last week, Ryan received a shipment of work related stuff at our house.  He ordered 20 sets of 8 different peices, and they came here because it is easier to ship trial parts to a person and hand carry them into the plant than it is to ship them to a plant that receives zillions of parts per day.  I'm not saying that stuff gets lost when it comes into the plant, but if you are trying to do a trial that is separate from a regular production build, it is best to keep track of your own stuff.  Ryan sent me the fex ex tracking info, so I wasn't surprised at all when I came home from the gym and saw this pile.  8 boxes.  Looked good.

Ryan packed it all up and took it to his vendors.  A couple days later Ryan got a call from his vendor saying that they had some "bad parts" for him to come a look at.  Ryan immediately got all stressed out and ran over there, worried his trial would be delayed.  They handed him a Reebok shoe box and letter.  He was so confused.  Apparently my compensation shoes for doing the test came on the same day as his huge shipment, and one of his boxes had 40 parts in it because they are the same for right and left, so he only needed 7 boxes.  BAHAHAHA!  I am glad to have my shoes.  With the shoe testing, you never really know when your stuff is going to appear, but it is fine and free.  They are production samples, so I am not going to post a picture of them.  The are a stability shoe, not a neutral shoe, but I think I will give them a shot in a few weeks.  AFTER my insane racing season is done.  It was the one box on top that doesn't match the others.  It probably didn't rattle like the other boxes either, but I didn't even look closely at them.  It had my name right on there too!

Yesterday was a sub par day.  I don't want to call it a bad day, because in the end, I got everything done I needed to, but things were a bit stressful.  I am actually super thankful ONE of the bad things happened yesterday and not TODAY, because I was able to fix it, but here is a rundown of what happened.  First, I wake up and check my email only to learn that Ryan needed me to look for his wedding ring because it was missing.  I could not find it, and was really bummed out.  I get ready and go outside to start my car to go to a craft/food workshop at church and not only is it pouring out, but my car won't start.  Won't even turn over.  Ugh!  I called my neighbor who was going to this workshop to see if she had left yet, and she came and got me.  I had tried using my AAA card last night to book a hotel and it wasn't working, so I was worried I had the wrong one since I had to switch everything from MI to KY.  I was glad I went to church because it is only a mile away, and I was able to borrow a AAA card to get the right phone number to call and get my account switched and someone dispatched.  While I waited I made a cute flower for my hair, but I had to leave before the food.  Oh well, I was worried it wouldn't fit in with  my pre-race diet anyway.  I got my car jumped, and was about to have the guy replace the battery when I noticed the check engine light came one.  Really?  I opted to not have him change the battery so I could just drive it to the Mazda dealership after he was not equipped to pull the engine code.  Once at the dealership, I learned that my battery was fine, and all they would do would diagnose the code.  Sometimes that happens with then battery is totally dead.  Oh, and do you know why the battery was dead?  One of the kids had left the rear dome light on over the carseats for who knows how long.  Thankfully, they didn't charge me the full $60 to tell me my car was fine, and only charged me $20, as well as gave me a coupon for $10 off my next visit since they did spend time on it.  And I got home before Keira needed to get off the bus.  Crisis solved! 

The next thing was that I pretty much got busted last night by Ryan about doing 2 half marathons a week apart and 3 in a month.  I was not aware that he was not aware that I was doing this.  I got pretty upset over it.  I am still rather upset about the whole LSC half, but I am going to do it anyway.  He was stuck in traffic next to a billboard for it and called me to ask why I am not doing it instead of Indy, and I said I was.  I am not happy about the fact that I signed up for LSC and the majority of the people who told me they were running are no longer doing it.  I was pretty pissed, in fact.  I love it here, I love being out of our scary condo situation, and I am thankful it is resolved, but I miss having people to run with.  The main reason I signed up for this race is to run/make friends here to run with, and now it isn't going to be a the social event I had hoped it would be.  I know this is stupid and silly, but I totally wish I wasn't running it anymore, but I signed up late enough that it doesn't make any sense for anyone to buy my bib and transfer it because it costs more to just sign up yourself, and I don't plan to lose money on it.  I will just run it before that happens.  I feel let down, I miss my running friends from MI, and sad.  I guess I am glad that I got that out yesterday too, and not today, although I wished I had some sort of master calendar for Ryan to keep track of my events.  I try to keep track of his as best as I can, but he has trouble tracking it.  I probably should have told him that the LSC is not a qualifier and left it at that.  While the course is certified, to me, it is not a qualifier due to the terrain  That wouldn't be a complete lie, but still not completely honest.  I am glad I told the truth, but I am still sour about that race.  Maybe it will be fun, I don't know. 

Anyway, now to worry about Indy.  I head out in a few hours!  I am packed, but still need to get myself cleaned up.  I got the kitchen cleaned, and I need to print out my directions.  I am sort of bummed that Ryan isn't coming, but it is way easier without the kids.  I will be gone not even 24 hours, so it won't be too bad.  I just hope I feel OK to drive home so that we still have a good afternoon.  Our neighbors are having a big party, and I just feel like we really should go to it.  How else am I going to make friends here if I keep going away?  It is this cycle that I am having trouble breaking.  Why is it that I have to go out of town to race with people?  I know moving takes time, but I am having trouble giving it the time it takes.  Sort of like on Whitney last night when the lady said she was 33 and doesn't have room for new friends.   I  have met some fabulous ladies from church, and in fact I am super thankful for my neighbor Amy.  She bailed me out yesterday AND last Thursday.  I don't know what I would do without her.   She doesn't run, though. Bummer!

Versatile Blogger Award

I was nominated by both Erika from This Spartan Will and Big Daddy Diesel (sorry for the late mention) for the Versatile Blogger Award.  Thanks guys!  I did one similar a while back, and hopefully I am not repeating what I did before.

1.  I had two weddings, and both to Ryan :)  Ryan and I were married for "time", which means until death in the Livonia Chapel our the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  One of the things I love about my church is that one of the beliefs is that families are forever.  In order for a family to be forever, though, you must be "sealed" in an LDS temple.  In order to enter a temple, you need to have passed an interview as well as be a member for at least 1 year.  When Ryan and I got married in the chapel, I had not been baptized a year.  About 6 months later, I was able to enter the temple, and Ryan and I were married in the Toronto, Ontario temple for time AND ETERNITY!  Also, since we have been sealed together before our children were born, they are already sealed to us.  Had we been sealed after their births, we would have needed to bring them to the temple and have them sealed to us.  I wore the same dress in both, however I needed some alterations done before it met the standards.  I ordered extra fabric when I ordered the dress to do this.  We have both pictures displayed in our living room. photo from www.lds.org

2.  I have almost always owned hatchbacks.  There was a short period of time when I drove a borrowed Toyota (the horror, I know!), but I drove a GEO Storm, the bought the Mercury Cougar, and now drive the blue Mazda 5 door.  That 5th door was super important, because I NEEDED the rear windshield wiper.  Looking back, while that was a dumb reason for spending another 1K on a car, I am glad we did because the opening is way bigger and I could fit my stroller easily, and I was able to put my bikes in there a lot easier.

3.  I was afraid of swimming for a long time.  I still freak out in the pool sometimes if I have to swim over drains or too close to the edges.  I have always been afraid of the drains in the pool, and oddly enough, there have been some really bad accidents concerning pool drains that I have learned about AFTER developing this fear.  See, it was justified!  I do not like the idea of swimming laps in a pool with a "deep end" (diving well).  I have not had to do it, but I went to my dad's pool to look at it one day and told him I don't ever plan to swim there.  I like not knowing where the bottom is in OWS.
This pool looks terrifying to me (from google images), Coe College.  I actually found a picture scarier when seaching, but it wasn't a lap lane photo, just a super scary looking diving well, and a pool with 1 lane in a diving well, and that was super scary, but this is what I meant:

4.  I don't really like cooking, but I do like baking.  I follow a recipe pretty much exactly when I do either, although I am now at the point when I can improvise with baking and make substitutions to make things lower fat (sometimes).  I will reduce the salt in most things I cook, but other than that, I am fairly incapable of cooking any meal except lasagna without a recipe.  I tried replicated some seasoned rice on my own a few times, and both times have been disasterous.  I am about to go back to the mixes.

5.  I don't leave the house without eyeliner, unless I am going on a run from my house (first thing in the morning) or to the gym, and it is packed in my bag to go on as soon as I am done.  Even if I don't have time for a shower, I still put on eyeliner (and usually mascara).  I do put on makeup before a race.  What else am I supposed to do while digesting when I wake to eat up 3 hours before race start?

6.  I really like stars.  I am really happy that I have found some great deals on some star home decor items, and our new tin tile in the kitchen has them in the corners.

7.  I used to own a dog, but now that I have a family, I am really glad I don't anymore.  I guess kids make enough messes, damage things around the house, and are so much harder to take care of, that having something else in the house that pees/poops, and gets hair everywhere is something I am totally over.

Those are my 7 things.  I am supposed to tag a bunch of people, but I think I will just do a few.  Lots of people I know have already been tagged by others.

Richelle from Running Towards A Higher Calling
Meredith from A Runner's World (sorry to keep picking on you!)
Colleen from Irondiva
Cupcake from Bigger Girls Can Run Too
Anita from Running Against the Odds

If you are reading this and want to do it too, consider yourself tagged as well!

Also, on the racing prep front, I have a cold.  Seriously???  Soren woke up several times on both Sat and Sun nights, and last night, I had it.  I slept in the basement where I knew he wouldn't find me.  I also gave him specific instructions that he was not to leave his room for any reason last night until morning time or until we got him out, or his halloween candy would be eated by me and Ryan.  I got the most awesome sleep too.  Ryan didn't want the humidifier in the room (not sure why?) so he wasn't terribly offended when I made a camp in our basement.  I will probably sleep there again tonight.  It is better than the playroom (where I slept on Sunday night from about 4 on because I couldn't get to sleep and I knew Ryan would be getting up at 5, and I didn't want to risk being woken up again).  However, the playroom is right over the garage, so I woke up at 5:30 when the garage door opened for him to leave.  I did manage to fall back asleep quickly, though, since I wasn't forced to get up, get water, take a child to the bathroom,ect.  I have also decided that I am going out to the race on Friday.  I am either getting a hotel or camping out with a team Aquaphor teammate who is going to kick my butt on an easy day for her.  Wow, is all I can say. 

Thats all for now!

The (new) PLAN

Hopefully this post isn't too all over the place, but if it is, well, then it probably accurately reflects my last few days not being able to shut off my head and why I haven't been leaving comments on everyone's blogs like I try to do.  I've been doing "productive stuff" on the internet- researching races.

I went ahead and signed up for the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon, on Nov 5th.  I thought about it a lot.  I got a call from Cristina who said I had to qualify to NYC, and we spent some time looking at race calendars.  This one seemed to be the best, never mind that I am already signed up for a half here on 11/12, but that is hilly, with at least 3 Ambassador Bridge sized hills in it.  The Monumental is supposed to be very flat, which I like a lot.  Sometimes I questions decisions like this, but for the most part, the more I think about, the better I feel.  Then I saw this on f/b this morning:

That pretty much sums up how I felt about the race next weekend.  I knew that if I didn't at least try, I would be very upset.  The pain of not being trying/not being able to try is harder for me than defeat.  Ryan knows this, and when I asked what he thought (after putting together most of the plan), he answered with "whatever" before even asking the price. 

Also, some other things that led to my decision:
1.  The race is on a Saturday and reasonably close.  There is one here this Sunday, but I don't want tempt God in any way when I need a perfect day by racing on a Sunday.  I also feel like the extra week to do a decent taper will be helpful.  I hit the cross training pretty hard on Monday, and really benefitted from some speedwork this week.  There aren't any other races between now and Jan 31st that are close, flat, and inexpensive, let alone full or not.  Disney has a couple, but those are likely full, SUPER EXPENSIVE and if I am going to race in Disney, I want to enjoy the experience and the whole day, not be exhausted and have to walk around the park feeling all spent.  Ryan is also not down with "wasting time racing" at Disney when we should be sightseeing.  The Indy race is actually one of the cheaper major races I am doing this year.  See #3.
2.  Shelby is going to be there and can get my packet if I need her to.  She raced at my last race in IN, and I PRed and had a freaking awesome day. 
3.  The race management hooked me up with a small discount on entry fee, because I had stopped by their booth in Detroit and picked up a coupon, but lost it.  It ended up that it was expired when I sent an email asking for a new one, but I think they even gave me a better deal.  It never hurts to ask these questions.  I really didn't expect this from such a large race either!  It will be about the size of the Derby Mini, but with a different breakdown of marathon vs half.  There are a lot more marathoners, like Shelby.
3.  I threw a post out on f/b in a local tri club's closed group inquiring of people doing the race.  There are a ton, and I have even found a group of guys to follow down if I drive in the morning.  Since setting that up, my neighbor has said she is thinking about racing too, and we could ride together.  I need to ask her about the possibility of splitting a hotel room, but want to wait until she signs up first to get my hopes up.  The guys I am following are doing the full, and I don't know them aside from being in the group, so I didn't want to ride in the same car, but this makes me feel a lot safer knowing that in the crazy event that I get a flat tire or some other crazy mechanical problem en route, I will have them to take me there and will deal with the problem later, and will be able to reciprocate this.  I've had a car break down 100 miles from home on more than one occassion, but not this one.  Hopefully it is not this one's turn.  

So, that is how I ended up racing again in just over 7 days.  Ryan thought it was HYSTERICAL that I was rummaging through books yesterday afternoon, minutes after signing up, searching for an actual half marathon training plan.  His response was, "do you really think you are going to find a training plan that is a week and a half long, actually, more like a week and a couple days long?"  Silly, I wanted to make sure I was tapering properly and not doing TOO MUCH.    I just wanted to look at the last couple weeks to make sure what I am doing is in line, and also I wanted to make sure I didn't run TOO FAR on yesterday's run.  I had been using the taper of a full marathon for the Detroit race, and I just wanted to see what a real half marathon plan had me doing (which is actually almost the same, except for the Sat long runs).  I also wanted to decide if I was going to swim today, and I decided NO, two full days of complete rest (aside fom ankle strength) would be good this week, even after that whole week of rest I took after Detroit.  That was because I was sick, though, and needed to get better.

So, I have been eating well all week (initially b/c Halloween is coming up and I wanted to create a calorie/weight deficit so I would have some room to splurg this weekend, but Halloween candy will keep until post race), doing my recovery stuff (Compex, foam roller, ice), and my run yesterday felt great.  Hopefully I really have done the work I need, and my speedwork has been enough.  I did just race a half 3 weeks prior to the race, so that fits in nice with "the plan" too.  I think I might need to buy some new gus, but I think when I bought stuff, I bought enough for the half on the 12th, which I no longer  really care about, and I will use the better stuff from that stash.  That race might be a purposeful PW (personal worst).  Depending on how I do on the 5th and how I feel after, I may inquire about being a pacer for a nice slow pace that I know I can do so that I can help some people out and make it not a complete waste of time.  Or it might just be a PW and suck :)

Also, I posted my Detroit recap on their facebook site, and Anita, read my post (and is a new follower, yea!) was there and we saw each other.  She considered her race an "Epic Fail", as she missed qualifying to NYC by 3 SECONDS!!!!  WOW, I would have had a hard time with that.  She is trying again on Nov 6th, and is my new hero.   We were in the same corral, and I remember being passed by her.  She had "Nita, 1:37" on her back.  When she passed me, I was already feeling bad, but it gave me a bit of hope.  I thought maybe I could hang on to her, but after a little while, I just couldn't keep her in sight anymore.  Turns out her pacer let her down, starting too slow, and she had built up a bit of time that she had to take off in the end, but she just couldn't overcome it in time.  She was still behind pace a bit I think when she passed me.  Anyway, I think that it is amazing how things work out, and hopefully next weekend will be great for lots of people.

There are just a few details I need to iron out, but I knew those would come together faster once I was already signed up and committed to doing the race.  Mainly, will I get a hotel? Next is will my parents come down to help with the kids or come to watch the race, as well as if I will have someone to ride with.  If I go by myself, I can leave whenever I want, but if I am feeling rough afterwards, it might be nice to have someone to make sure I don't drive to soon or possibly drive me home.  After Martian I felt like butt for the first couple hours, and Cristina drove me home (she drove me there).  I felt great after an ice bath, hot shower, and my recovery shake kicked in, though. 

Finally, I did finish reading the Jade Rabbit.  I will do a review next week, as well as accept my "Versatile Blogger" award from Erika.  I need to speak in Church on Sunday, as well as plan a special extra activity for my class, AND do Halloween activities with the kids tonight and tomorrow.  I am not sure what we will do tomorrow, but there are several costumed activities during the daytime for children in the area.  Tonight is a chili cook-off/trunk or treat at church.  Thank goodness for LED candles, they are the bomb around kids and flamable areas of the house.  We might decorate our trunk with some tonight.  Apparently we are supposed to do that at tonight's trunk or treat.  We never did it before.  Here are a couple ways we have been using the LEDs at home.  We have some pillars we could put in the trunk too, that I haven't opened yet.  They don't look as yellow in person, have black wicks, and flicker.  We were always afraid to light the wall mounted thing, because it is so close to the wall, ceiling, and we have always had a chair relatively close to it.  Now it is perfectly safe to use!

Thanks for reading!  Anyone racing this weekend or have any good plans for Halloween?  Let me know your opinion on my new "PLAN".  I hope you have a great Halloween weekend.  Don't eat more candy than you plan to work off!

The Bike Room is Open for Business!

I have been pretty much MIA the past week since the race.  I spent the time trying to get better.  I took almost a full week off of running, which is something I hardly ever do when I still have races on the schedule.  I tried to rest up, which was a lot easier since Keira did not have school or Ryan work, and I got to sleep in a bit.  I ate a TON, but some would say that is excusable the week after a big race.  However, I am paying for it now.  I feel all squishy.  I swam for the first time in 2 weeks yesterday and was not happy about putting a bathing suit on.  I think our gym mirrors make you look skinny, though, because I seriously felt a lot better about myself once I got there, which is rare.  Usually I feel like a rockstar looking at myself at home, then get in public in front of other people and freak out.  Anyway, I am trying to get back into the swing of things by eating well.  I am able to get back into the gym to swim and have a decent (if not agressive) workout schedule planned. 

While I did not do a lot of running (any) last week, Ryan (mostly) and I worked on the house quite a bit.  I watch the HGTV house hunters show and see all these people getting their first homes and are like, "we want to fix/change stuff so we want a fixer upper"and then get all overwhelmed.  I am really thankful we found a house that was essentially "move in ready" because the amount of work to make it "ours" has really been huge.  I seriously cannot imagine how much time and money would have been spent if we had bought a fixer upper, although some of the things maybe it would have been easier to justify spending the money to "fix" floors/walls/window treatment that were really broken rather than just replace/repaint things that worked just fine, but were not to our taste or not "brand new".  I would actually love to refinish the kitchen floors and replace the fridge, but I don't think we will do it.  The kids are still young enough that the floors will just get trashed by them even more.  I am paranoid about the new carpet as is.  I guess to me when I think of a fixer upper, I think of major renovation, like repairing things, and not just the cosmetics that we did.  Anyway, back to the subject, we got our bike room fixed up!  Well, it is usable.  We sorted through the stuff in our storage area and got it all organized.  We set up the trainer in a "permanent" location, and there is already a platform to mount our laptop to play DVDs.  We don't have a DVD player on the big TV in the basement, but I am expecting that at some point, I will move the trainer out into the living space to watch big TV on the trainer.  Ryan likes to do Sufferfest DVDs, and I just do my own workouts using my watch and the playlists that I create.  His way is probably better, but mine keeps me engaged and I can catch up on my shows better.

On another note, Cristina called me up today and informed me that I need to find another race to qualify to NYC.  She qualified with her full marathon time at Martian, when I qualified for Boston.  However, with the new time standards, even she will be cut from NYC in 2013, but wants to run it one last time.  Argh.  I am feeling very frustrated with my decision to do the Louisville Sport Comission race on 11/12.  It is not flat, and I am missing out on a flat half HERE in Louisville this Sunday because I think I would be stupid to try to race it given how sick I was and my foot still bothering me.   It is pretty much comfortable bare, in flip flops, or my Uggs.  Anything else and it doesn't feel so hot.  The week off didn't really help, but I am sure it was because not only was I trying to recover from the race, I was trying to recover from being sick too.    I am really tempted to do the Monumental, but I don't have the money for the drive or a hotel, let alone entry fee.  Also, to complicate things we have RSVPed to a birthday party for the kids that day.  There is a lady from the area going, and I might just need to call her and find out her arrangements.  I don't know who is going with her.  It would also make the Sports Commission half pretty much suck even more.  I looked at the elevation chart today and it has 3 miles in a row that look about like the Ambassador Bridge.  Now I know why some of the ladies from this area that were supposed to be doing it with me have bowed out.  Nothing like signing up for a race and having your ladies bail on you!  Two are having legit health issues, and one may still run despite them.

So, this is where I need some help.  There is a half in Ashland, OH on Dec 3.  This is about 1.5 hours from my parents house, which means it could be feasible that I do it without a hotel.  I don't know if my parents will be around, though, they might be retrieving my brother from NYU where he is finishing grad school sometime in Dec.  There are also a few other potential people I could crash with, but this race doesn't seem very flat either.  I looked at the elevation, and while there are no huge climbs, the entire course is rolling.  I am not sure how I feel about that.  It has about half the elevation changes as the LSC, though, and I am locked into that.  Do I try to head out to Indy?  Do I just hope that being not sick will give me the miracle I need at LSC?  Do you know of any other halves that are close that I can do that are flat?  There is one in Bloomington, IN, but I am now getting my dates all confused in my head and I can't remember when that one is.  Cristina said I should try to pull some strings with the race directors that I know and have them set up a new race as a "last chance for NYC".  The scary thing is that it looking like it might win, although I doubt I could get it pulled off in time. There is an unofficial marathon that is run in MI on New Year's day every year.  Perhaps getting it sanctioned would work????  I don't know, I have reservations about racing on Sundays due to it being the sabbath, and I feel like I almost can't qualify to anything by racing on a Sunday, like it won't get me any closer to my goals.  I qualified to Boston on a Sat, and get to run it on a Monday.  I am guessing I have until Jan 31st, 2012, based on the 2011 qualification process, so we will see. 

2011 Detroit Half Marathon Race Recap

On Sunday, I ran the Detroit Half Marathon.  I had an OK race.  I woke up Friday, the day we left, with a sore throat, and I think all the haning out with sick Soren took its toll.  My final run on Thursday had felt awful, so I think it was start of the decline of my health.  We got into town late Friday night, and I got to bed fairly early.  I hoped that I would feel a bit better in the morning.

Saturday, I woke up feeling worse.  Ugh, maybe on Sunday I would feel better I hoped???  It was a pretty busy day, but fairly typical of a Saturday.  We slept in, and then went to Three Cedars for some cider and donuts.  I figured that a couple donuts and some cider were not going to be the end of the world, especially given how tight my chest felt.  The big UM vs MSU game was on at noon, and so we headed home in time for that, and I took off by myself to the expo to get my packet.  In typical Melissa Detroit style, I spent the drive down talking with Cristina and before I knew it, I was already downtown with little recollection of how I got there.  I made it to the Joe Lewis parking structure, only to learn it was full.  I tried to head from there to the Cobo roof, due to road closures for the race, I had to go around and passed by the front of Cobo, and wanted to park underground instead.  Wrong, it was closed due to renovations.  I finally made it around to the correct side and into the parking garage.  Thankfully, they had reduced rates.  I was worried I was going to be out another $20 in parking for this race.  I made my way inside and stopped at the New Balance booth to talk with Dave, and he had me get my form analyzed.  I need to work on increasing my cadence.  I didn't even know that was something to work on in running!  I should be at 180, so twice that of cycling (or I guess the same, since cadence in cycling is revolutions, cadence in running is steps, so you get 2 steps for every "revolution" in cycling, right?)  I also need to work on being a midfoot striker.  I knew this, though.  I also chatted with Denisa, who is phenomenal, and saw her video of her stride.  I totally get how I am supposed to look with a midfoot strike, since she had it down.  I guess that is part of why she is so good.  The bad thing about doing this was that my whole 10 seconds or so on the treadmill resulted in a severe coughing fit and felt hard.  Fabulous.

I spent about an hour at the expo, chatting with the folks from Running Fit.  Randy, the owner, had a facebook status about friends of his using a room downtown at a hotel near the start to stay warm prior to the race, and I wanted to ask him about it.  In exchange, he wanted me to go check out the "Sexy Running Moms" booth so he could come too and check it out.  He said he needed a sexy running mom to go with him, otherwise he couldn't go.  Funny.  I am now signed up to be a Sexy Running Mom, which means I should get a newsletter a couple times a week.  I also got a free water bottle.  Also, while at the Running Fit booth, I talked with TIA teammate Robbie, and picked up a signed copy of the Jade Rabbit, which I learned about from Kim.  I saw Erin at her Stick booth, but didn't see Leah.  It was nice to go without the kids for a change, and I had more time to talk to people and check things out.  I also picked up a SPIbelt to use at Boston.  I can fit both my little camera AND my cell phone in it.  I might not be getting a new phone for Boston now after all.  The guy said I could fit a 12oz beverage can in there.  I responded with, "so I can run with my diet coke in there?"  Then we both realized how bad an idea that would be since it would be pretty well shaken!  I didn't plan to use it for Detroit, but I think I will use it at the Louisville Half.  In more typical Melissa Detroit driving style, I got on the wrong freeway getting out of the city.  Living in Novi, it would not have mattered, but going to Canton, it did make a difference.  Whoops.  Then, in CLASSIC me style, the gas light came on.  There is NO where to get gas in the city, but I made it to Novi (since I went the wrong way) before gassing up.  At least this meant that I would have a full tank for race day.  There are countless Race for the Cure and other trips to Detroit where I come close to running out of gas.  At least this would not be a problem for tomorrow and I didn't go the wrong way on any one way streets. Although, I did have someone drive at me going the wrong way!

We had our standard MI pre-race dinner at Noodles, and it was SOOOOO good.  I miss that place!  We stopped into REI, since that is also part of our usual routine, and then headed to Ryan's parent's house for the night.  I got my stuff laid out, printed a map to the parking lot I wanted to use, talked with Kari about her plan for tomorrow, and then tried to go to bed.  I was stressed a bit since I didn't feel well.  I slept horrible, coughing a lot and waking up almost every hour.

I did get up fine race morning, had my usual breakfast, and then got on the road with little problems.  I got downtown and found a lot next to the one I wanted and then called Cristina.  She was getting ready to meet Monica to come down.  I decided to go for using the hotel room at the start for my stuff.  I packed up my camera, phone, water, and some aquaphor into a little backpack, threw on my Aquaphor jacket, and walked to the start.  I got a couple pictures of the starting line.  The balloon arch broke shortly after I took this picture. 

There was a port o potty with no wait right there, so I used it, but then went to the hotel to find the room.  It was fun being there, and great to have warmth and running toilets!

There was also a great energy.  I stayed up there chatting and relaxing until about 6:30, when I went outside.  It had warmed up a bit, and I barely felt cold at all.  I was glad I wore what I did.  I did wait in one potty line outside, but it was taking too long.  I had a good corral, and I didn't want to miss the start.  Even though I felt less than great, I still wanted to start with my same plan and hold on as long as possible.  I saw Robbie and Alan in my corral before the start.  I felt really pumped to do this.  We listened to the national anthems of the USA and Canada, and then it got started.  They had Kid Rock blasting on the speakers, and I moved closer to the start.  I finally got to the start and was off.  It was nice being in the B corral, because I could just go.  The bad thing was that it was dark, and I couldn't read my Garmin.  I also realized I forgot to take the auto pause off.  I was losing signal in the overcast city streets and losing some of my time.  I should have started my timex too!  Darn!  This is only the first problem I had with this.  I felt OK for the first mile, and for mile 2.  I was actually on track for 1:36:05.  Then, I started up towards the bridge, and my sickness kicked in.  I did hit mile three at 23:00, which meant it was still doable, but I would have to kick it up a notch and go even faster.  However, I felt bad, and coughed a bit coming down from the bridge.  Uh oh.  I slowed up a little bit and felt more comfortable.  I stopped worrying about my time and just wanted to run as fast as I could and enjoy it.  I was fun running in Canada and seeing the Detroit skyline.  Then we hit the tunnel, and then I thought, Oh darn, stupid auto pause!  My Garmin paused as soon as I entered the tunnel, so I basically lost a mile from the race.  I did glance down at my timex so that I would at least have some sort of idea how I was doing and when I would get out of the tunnel.  I missed the spot on the wall with the border, so I totally got messed up thinking that I was taking way too long, and the next thing I knew I was out.  I looked for Cristina and Monica, but I was a few minutes behind my original plan, so it didn't surprise me that I missed them.  They were able to track me, though, with their iphone app for the race.  It felt good to be back in the USA.  I thought a bit about why I was running, and I thought about Soren and the medal, and how much he liked the picture of it on the front of the program.  I thought about him singing Young the Giant's "My Body".  I thought about the first time I ran this race and I had just found out that I was pregnant with Keira.  I was just happy to be out there.  I couldn't wait to have that medal!  I ran through corktown and my legs didn't really bother me until the last overpass, and I felt my hamstrings a bit, but otherwise, I was limited by my ability to breathe.   I kept pushing towards the finish.  I didn't break into an all out sprint, but I did pick it up a bit.  Right before I crossed the line, they announced me and that I was from Kentucky.  That made me smile.  It seemed so weird to hear that on the PA.  I'm not from Kentucky!  I just live there!  My friend Anna who was working the finish line gave me my medal and a great big hug, and made sure I got my blanket.  We chatted a bit, but she had to get back to her duties.  Then, Cristina and Monica broke into the finishers area.  The had tried to find me after the tunnel, and got dangerously close to it.  It is strictly forbidden to be anywhere near the borders without a bib on, and they did not.  The didn't wait for me long enough after the tunnel.  They thought they missed me, and then moved on, running a total of 9 miles along the course so far.  They whisked me away and out of the finish chute.  We had to find Kari on her marathon route.  We stopped quickly back at the hotel to grab my stuff and then went back to the marathon/half split so I could find my friend Jolyn doing the half and Kari doing the full.  I didn't get any pics with me and Cristina or Monica, or any of Kari.  We used the iphone app to learn that my finish time was 1:42:35.  Not terrible, but not what I wanted.  Not fast enough for NYC.  It was very average for me, I decided.  I have run 3 halves before this faster, 2 1:42s in fact.  We found Kari, and  Cristina and Monica planned to run the second half with her.  I could only run a few steps before I had to bow out.  My legs were tired, and my right foot was really killing me when I tried to run on it again.  I felt like I could barely walk on it now after standing around in the cold.  The new shoes helped, but I am not 100% yet.

I went back to the finish, and met up with Jolyn.  I used to work with her at Ford.  She came into town from DC to do this race.

I also found Shelby and Colin.  I was so sad that Shelby couldn't run this year.  She had hoped to do the marathon.  Hopefully I won't do something really crazy and run the Monumental Half while she runs the full, so I can try again to qualify for NYC.  I think Ryan would kill me.  A lady from my church is headed out there too to do the half.  They brought me some samples of Wheaties Fuel, my new addiction.  It is SOOO tasty.  I might have to switch teams next year, except I would eat it all and not give any way. 

I made it to the car, and got out of the city with very few problems.   I got home and the first thing I did was give my medal to Soren. 

He was a bit bummed it was so long on him, and let Keira see it with a lot less trouble than I expected.

The funniest thing was that when I walked in the door, Ryan told me that the kids needed a bath.  I think they must have told him that, since they did need one BADLY, but I just thought it was funny that they hung out all morning and now with 2 hours until church, we all still had to get cleaned up.  I got a nice warm shower, and then the kids cleaned up, and then lunch.  That is the great thing about a half.  I was done before 9, and while I was tired and sick, the recovery isn't too bad.  I threw on my compression sleeves underneath my black knee high boots, a clean sports bra, and a spandex dress.   I am such a dork, but I was comfortable.  I enjoyed church, and then a big family dinner with the cousins. 

When I got home, I checked my results.  Leah got third overall, and is the same age as me!  What?  I had no idea we were the same age.  Probably because every race we have done that is the same she wins and is pulled out of the AG awards.  It makes sense now that I think about some of the things we have in common in terms of college time period.  The results had her first in OUR age group, and I was 12th.  Not too shabby, especially because that was 12 out of 873!  That made me feel a lot better about my lackluster performance.  I have another half in another month.  The course is quite hilly, so I was doubting I would PR.  It will be interesting to see if I do better or worse than this time.  I also want to rest up my foot and let it get better, as well as get over this sickness. I was the 65th female out of 5314, and 364th out of 8494.  My overall pace was 7:50, and my underwater mile time was 7:53.  I love this race.  I probably won't do it again next year, but keep my odd years streak alive.  Plus, I bet the medal next year will have a Chrysler on it (last year had a Chevy), and I want to wait for a new style.  The main difference between this years and last's was the vehicle.

Wardrobe Malfunction

Well, I haven't quite had one yet, but the weather keeps changing, and I feel like I am packing half my closet for 1 race. 

Pretty much the only thing that is certain right now is the underwear I am wearing (not pictured).  Other than that, I cannot figure out what to wear!  I can't even decide which VISOR/headband I want to wear.  I am being so pathetic.  With this pile of clothes, I SHOULD be able to make every combo I need for every weather situation, I think.  I wish my grey NB skirt was clean, and I might just have to wash it, just in case.  I thought the weather was going to be in the 60s, but according to the Detroit Marathon's f/b page today, the weather is supposed to be in the mid 40s at the start, and upper 40s at 9am, and I am hoping to finish shortly after 9am.   Ugh.  At least with this pile of stuff, I should be able to make whatever game day decision I need to.  Also, we are hoping to go mountain biking while in MI, so whatever I don't wear for the race, I will need to wear biking.  Gotta grab some padded shorts too.

Now I need to pack normal clothes, as well as clothes for the kids.  This is my least favorite part of travel. 

Public Service Announcement! Bob Stroller Canopy Recall for Embroidery Patch

I know you are probably sick of me already, since I really had no intention of blogging this much this week.  However, with the little dude still sick and being in mad taper time, I have quite the large amount of time on the couch with him.  I received an email from BOB Strollers informing me of the following recall:

Safety Recall:

B.O.B® Strollers with Embroidered Canopy Logos

Recall Hotline (855) 242-2245 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. MST M-F

www.bobnotices.com

October 11, 2011

Dear BOB Purchaser,

Our records indicate that you may have purchased a BOB Stroller that may present a potential safety hazard. The stroller canopy’s embroidered logo’s backing patch can detach, posing a choking hazard to babies and young children and must be removed to safely use the stroller. BOB is recalling this product in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada.

This is a second recall of BOB Strollers in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada. This recall is different than the one announced in February 23, 2011, involving the removal of a canopy drawstring.

This recall involves BOB Strollers manufactured between 1998 and November 2010. All the recalled strollers can be most easily identified by a “BOB®”, “Stroller Strides®” or “Ironman®” embroidered logo on the stroller canopy. Models included in the recall are:

BOB Stroller Model Name	Suggested Retail Price*	Embroidered Canopy Logo consumers should look for
Sport Utility Stroller	$299.00	“BOB”
Sport Utility Stroller D’Lux	$349.00	“BOB”
Ironman®	$349.00	“IRONMAN”
Sport Utility Stroller Duallie®	$429.00	“BOB”
Ironman® Duallie®	$479.00	“IRONMAN”
Revolution®	$389.00	“BOB”
Revolution® 12”	$399.00	“BOB”
Stroller Strides®	$399.00	“STROLLER STRIDES”
Revolution® Duallie®	$569.00	“BOB”
Revolution® 12” Duallie®	$589.00	“BOB”
Stroller Strides® Duallie®	$589.00	“STROLLER STRIDES”

* Prices have varied.

You should immediately stop using the recalled strollers and contact BOB at www.bobnotices.com for instructions on how to remove the embroidery backing patch from the embroidered logo.

To order the instructions by phone, or for additional information, contact BOB toll free at (855) 242-2245 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. MST Monday through Friday, or visit our website at www.bobnotices.com Our goal is to make sure you are taken care of as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, The BOB Crew

My kids like to pick at things, but are not eaters of the thing they peel (for the most part).  This being said, my kids pretty much picked the backing off themselves as something to do on those 12 miles I put them through in the stroller.  Mine looks like this as a result of their handiwork:

I don't have much work left to do. 

On a side note, I did receive the retrofit kits for the other canopy recall.  I have not yet installed them.  I should, though, especially since the canopy needs to be in a specific position for the weathershield installation.  It is getting close to that time of year.  I have used the single stroller without the retrofit and the weathershield, since I was able to use the existing velcro to secure the canopy. (I did remove and dispose of the strings right away, as well as inform a lady at the mall that her strings needed to be removed too last week).  Also, Soren is 3, and we talk the entire time, so if he stopped talking, I would know instantly that he wasn't getting enough air.  Not to say that I shouldn't fix it still, but with older children, sometimes the worries are a bit less since they can tell you something is wrong when a really little one cannot.  As well as some of the new parent paranoia is gone too :)

Yesterday, I was able to click on one of the above links and it took me to this pdf link here:
http://www.bobnotices.com/recall1/documents/OMB06.pdf
It contains the directions for repairing the canopy.  Since the  above link doesn't take you there anymore, I am not sure if they have a different procedure, or if they are just tracking the number of people that perform the recall by requesting the serial numbers from the strollers.  My IRONMAN Stroller may not be affected but my duallie certainly is.  Off to go copy some serial numbers!