A lift, a PR, in honor of a friend, and remembering another.

So for the most part this week has been like any other. I got on my bike trainer, got in the pool, and did some running. The big difference in my weekly workouts was, I actually added strength training 3 times this week. This was huge for me. I know so many others love to lift heavy things but I would rather go out for a run.

Recently I purchased a few additional weight training pieces of equipment and set them up right in the middle of my living room. I figured if I could see it every day, there was no way to avoid it. So far so good. I am optimistic about what this week will hold. I have some work travel on the schedule but I will not let that stop me.

By the end of the week I traveled to Northern Virginia to get ready for another half marathon. I had registered for the National Women's Half Marathon in DC. The race was scheduled for Sunday (early) morning. With that in mind I was planning on following my normal pre-race strategy! My pre-race strategy included an easy run on Saturday (2.3 miles) followed by yummy pancakes.

Since my surgery their are very few times that I eat pancakes. The times include a visit to a sugar shack on Ithaca College's campus and the mornings before my endurance races. I keep the rest of my diet prior to the race very simple and bland but the pancakes seem to help. I look forward to the "treat" and so far I have felt great the day of the race. I don't know if it is the pancakes or not but I like to give them credit ;-)

This Sunday was half marathon number 14 for me.

Prior to Sunday my last half marathon was held in Florida in January. At the end of that that half marathon I had taken 13 minutes off my finish time and I was excited. I have to admit I didn't know if I could do that time again. I went into today's race without any expectations but I did set a goal hoping it would happen.

I wrote down a time and put it in my phone case. I didn't know how the day would go but I thought I would shoot for something. It was a beautiful day, except for the wind. The temperature during the morning was 47 degrees but with the constant wind along the Potomac River it was sooooo cold. It took forever to warm up and even when the race was over I couldn't get warm.

The race started and I just wanted to get moving to warm up. I might have gone out too fast but I was able to hold up the pace for a while. Around mile 5 my watch froze up. It had displayed a message about my heart rate. I didn't pay much attention to it but about a half mile later I looked at my watch and the same message was there. I started pushing buttons and realized that my watch had stopped. I got it going again but now I was off about .5-.6 miles. So the rest of the race I had to run based upon how my body felt. And I was feeling good. I continued through the course passing by monuments and landmarks that brought back memories from when I lived in the DC area. As I got closer to the finish I started to kick things up a bit. I crossed the finish line but I still didn't know my official time. I went to the timing tent after I finished and my time was posted...my official time was 2:21:21!! I couldn't believe it. That is the time I wrote down and I took a minute off my time in Florida! I couldn't believe it and I was soooo happy!!

Another thing about today. I was running in honor of a friend. My boss, my colleague, and my friend Claudia. Two weeks ago she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. This news devastated all of us at work. She is a young, strong, and "healthy" (well...that is for you Claudia) individual that we all know will fight this tooth and nail! On Thursday we did get some good news about Claudia's fight which made us all optimistic and gave us something to smile about. Today I ran for her. I added this note to my phone holder, and kept in the window so I could see it throughout the race. Just keep showing up Claudia...and remember no one fights alone!!

Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of when my friend and first endurance coach; Brendan Jackson was called home to heaven. Thoughts of Brendan carried me through this race today! Brendan you coached me through my first marathon in 2005 and you never stopped. And no matter what the race, if you were officially coaching or not, you were always there with an encouraging word or pushing me along. You believed in me when often I couldn’t see it myself. There isn't a training run or a race that I don't hear your voice whispering in the wind! "Let's Go Maura D!" I look for your face in the crowd! And although you are no longer with us on earth I know your spirit is still alive all around us. I miss you!!

Have a great week everyone ...and remember Keep Moving Forward!!