Monday, July 22, 2013

How I Survived a 1/2 Marathon Skating Race

Hello Friends!
  
The Silverado Trail is a wide 2-lane road that runs most of the length of the eastern edge of the Napa Valley in California.  On either side of the road there are miles and miles of vineyards and wineries.  It is so beautiful and peaceful there in the early morning: 


A week ago Sunday bright and early I joined a few hundred skaters of all types and skills--speed skaters, derby girls, and fitness enthusiasts--on a half marathon/full marathon race.  My friend and roller derby participant, Cheryl (aka "Jayne Clobber"), met me at the start of the race.  

I did the half marathon...13.1 miles.  It was both more difficult and more fun than I had expected.  Here's a summary:

- I finished but it wasn't pretty!  I had some issues with my skates, a took a wicked tumble at about mile 9, and for the last 3 miles I doubted my ability to finish.

-  In the end, I did finish--second to last of all the 1/2 marathoners that finished, but also ahead of the 7 people who failed to finish, and according to my friend Tricia, WAY ahead of all the people that stayed home that morning.   (Sometimes your friends know just what to say!)

I loved interacting with all the people.  Those of you that have participated in races know what I'm talking about.  Everyone was friendly and supportive:
    Nancie & "Jayne Clobber" (Cheryl)

    • my friend Cheryl who was the one who first told me about the race
    • the derby girls that I met through Cheryl
    • the high-caliber skaters who finished the FULL marathon in less time than I did the HALF
    • the fellow Moraga mom, Brenda, with whom I skated the first couple of miles
    • the spectators cheering us on
    •  one of the race support guys who skated from mile 11.5 to 12 with me, giving me a pep talk
    •  and my faithful husband Marty, who woke up with me at 3:30 AM, drove me up to the event, and was my most ardent supporter


    - I am not as good of a skater as I thought I was but I am still out there getting it done.  And I know I can beat this year's time of 1 hour, 55 minutes.

    - the "taper" that I did the last 2 weeks of my training did not help and probably hurt a bit.  I need to do more research about training for a skating 1/2 marathon.  It's clearly different training for skating a 1/2 marathon than a running 1/2 marathon.

    - Chocolate Gu is delicious and just the pick me up I needed at mile 8.  Thanks to Tricia for sharing a packet with me.  Not only did the flavor and calories give me a boost, but thinking about my friends that run this distance encouraged me as well.  It was as if Tricia and Eileen were mentally there cheering me on!

    - I should have listened to my friend Cathy's advice about not going out to fast in the beginning.  I got caught up in the race excitement and in trying to keep up with a couple friends and ran out of juice halfway through the race.

    An inspiring group of women to hang out with!
    - I am totally doing this race again next year!

    My friend, Cynthia, who trained "with" me in Connecticut and skated the race distance on her own that same day, wants to do the race with me next year, but she wants to do the full marathon.  I need to think about that a bit!


    In the end I realized that finishing something is sometimes a matter of deciding to not stop--to just keep putting one skate in front of the other until little by little the task is done. 

    Keep skating...I know I plan to!

    Hugs,
    Nancie ♥  

    Nancie Zimmerman
    NamiZuni Jewelry Design
    Expressing Your Inner Goddess
    NamiZuniJewelry.etsy.com

    My 1/2 marathon skate:
    7/14/13
    Skate #106 of 200
    13.1 miles
    1:55:15
    Silverado Trail
    Napa Valley, CA


    Scroll down if you want to see what my leg looked like after my fall.  I really think I need to break down and start wearing knee pads!  It's healing up nicely.

    (DON'T SCROLL down if you don't like seeing "road rash"...okay that's my warning!)

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    Tuesday, July 2, 2013

    (NOT) Training for the 4th of July Run

    Hello, friends!

    As most of you know, I'm training for a skating 1/2 marathon on July 14 (Bastille Day!).  Ironically, I have been skating fewer miles per week WHILE training than I did BEFORE I was training.  

    I've been skating longer miles at a time in preparation for this long event, but it's too taxing on my body to skate too many long skates in a week.  My goal had been two 10+ miles outings per week and then a couple of shorter ones (4-5 miles).  The longer ones seemed to burn me out a bit, so I think I'm going to just skate shorter skates for the remaining two weeks until my event.  

    I think that's what I'm supposed to do anyway, but I'm kind of doing this training thing by the seat of my pants!

    Which brings me to the Moraga Fun Run on the Fourth of July.  My husband and daughter have done it several years together, mostly the 2-mile run I think.  There's also a 5-miler which some friends are doing (yee-haa, Tricia and Brian!) The entrance fee for either distance includes a free pancake breakfast--who can pass that up?  

    Somehow they talked my son into joining them.  Once that happened, I didn't want to be the odd person out, so I mused out loud, "Hmmmm…maybe I should join you for the 2-mile race and make it a family deal."  

    My gang enthusiastically supported my decision with one caveat:  

    Do NOT expect them to wait for me at the end of the race…they would be going directly to the pancake breakfast as soon as they finished!

    Good to know where I rate on the pancake scale!

    Ok, works for me, but now I find myself reasonably fit with my inline skating and yoga and the miscellaneous other exercises I fit in every couple of weeks or so.  But I haven't run in more years than I can remember!  

    Is this a good idea?

    I'm thinking it's quite possibly a not-so-good idea, but who says we should only do things that are good ideas?  

    I'm putting it out there that sometimes we have to do things that may turn out to be bad ideas, just so we keep used to trying new activities and challenges.

    I'll let you know how it goes!

    On a jewelry related note, I'm working on 3 new pieces for birthday presents for some dear friends.  I'll be sure to photograph them and put them on my Facebook page:








    Here's a necklace I made last week as a custom piece for a friend to give his wife...isn't he a peach?...amethyst, Swarovski crystals, garnet and sterling silver:








    Next time:  "Learning How to Back into a Parking Space"

    Keep skating...

    Hugs,
    Nancie ♥  

    Nancie Zimmerman
    NamiZuni Jewelry Design
    Expressing Your Inner Goddess
    NamiZuniJewelry.etsy.com

    My last skate:
    7/2/13
    Skate #99 of 200
    4.1 miles
    Iron Horse Trail
    (103 degrees!)

    P.S. July 10th:  I only ran the first 1/4 mile and the last 1/4 mile and walked the rest of it.  I ended up finishing 14th of 23 for my age group.  My  shins and feet hurt quite a lot the next few days.  

    I don't think I'll become a runner anytime soon, but I loved the camaraderie of being together with the other athletes.  I also loved the excitement of trying something I had never tried before.  Now I am excited for my skating 1/2 marathon on Sunday, July 14th.  I'll let you know how it goes!