Prince William and Princess Catherine

Britian's Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, left, wave as they leave Westminster Abbey at the Royal Wedding in London Friday, April 29, 2011.
Associated Press Photo by Alastair Grant

Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge stand outside of Westminster Abbey after their Royal Wedding in London Friday, April, 29, 2011.
Associated Press Photo by Martin Meissner

Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, London, during their wedding service, Friday April 29, 2011.
Associated Press Photo by Anthony Devlin

Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange rings in front of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Abbey, London, Friday April 29, 2011.
Associated Press Photo by Dominic Lipinski

Royal Wedding

I am looking forward to the royal wedding between Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton Friday. I know a lot of people aren't into it, but I am.

I am a total nerd. I have already set my DVR to record coverage from BBC America and NBC. I'm sure they will both show most of the same images, but I still want both. I always need something to watch while running on the treadmill. The BBC America coverage will be live and commercial free. Which will be nice. I won't have to pick up the remote and fast forward through the commercials.

Mike

Happy 37th birthday to my husband.
I love the first photo.

Books read in 2011

The Laughing Corpse, Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned, Laurell K. Hamilton
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Origins, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Bloodlust, L.J. Smith
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, Dean Karnazes
The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, Steven M Gillon
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathon in 50 Days, Dean Karnazes
The Brotherhood: A Precinct 11 Novel, Jerry B. Jenkins
127 Hours, Aron Ralston
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, James W. Douglass
My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso
On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Dick Russell
Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss, Dean Karnazes
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson
Second Wind: One Woman's Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, Cami Ostman
The Scarpetta Factor, Patricia Cornwell
Dual in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley and America's Greatest Marathon, John Brant
Born to Run, Christopher McDougall
Iron Heart, Brian Boyle
Running With Joy: My Daily Journey to the Marathon, Ryan Hall

Currently Reading: Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell
Up Next: Predator, Patrica Cornewll

Glass City Half Marathon

Sharing a couple of photos from the Glass City Half Marathon from April 17, 2011 in Toledo, Ohio. I finished the half marathon with my best time ever at 1:56:53. A huge improvement by almost seven minutes from my previous half marathon, the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon, from October 2010.

Photo Credit: PBS Sports Photography

Random things

The end of Lent is near. Only one more hurdle standing in our way before Easter. Good Friday is today and I will be fasting again. I really hope I fast better today then I did on Ash Wednesday. I ate too much food and really felt bad. All of the meals that we eat on a fasting day are supposed to add up to one meal. I'm really going to stick with it today.

It will be a challenge again today. I will be running after work. I won't be running a marathon like I did on Ash Wednesday, but it will be a run of 15 miles. After my run, I hope just to have a banana or a protein drink for lunch. Both of those items aren't big. By the time I eat something small for dinner, everything I ate for the day will add up to one meal.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been eating too much food. I do run a lot of miles and I get hungry. That has been leading to overeating and I have gained a few pounds. I know I will be able to lose those pounds I gained by watching my food intake. I need to get back on track and stop eating everything in sight.

My plan was to run the trails today. I think I might be ditching that plan. The weather is calling for showers and temperatures in the 40s. Yes, I'm a cold weather wimp. It was in the 50s yesterday and I was wearing my winter coat and a hat. And I was still cold. If it rains on race day, I will still run the race. I paid money to do it and I don't like wasting money. I still have time next week to make it out to the trail to get in a final practice run before next Saturday's race.

Trails

My next race is April 30. It is not a road race, it is a trail race. I'm running the Road Ends 5 mile trail run. To prepare for the race, I need to get back on the trails and run.

My hope is to get back on the trail in town this week. But I don't know if it will happen because of the weather. There are thunderstorms predicted a couple of days this week. Later this week, there are a couple of possibilities to run on the trails. Friday is looking good. The forecast is supposed to be mostly cloudy and 50°.

Books read in 2011

The Laughing Corpse, Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned, Laurell K. Hamilton
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Origins, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Bloodlust, L.J. Smith
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, Dean Karnazes
The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, Steven M Gillon
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathon in 50 Days, Dean Karnazes
The Brotherhood: A Precinct 11 Novel, Jerry B. Jenkins
127 Hours, Aron Ralston
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, James W. Douglass
My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso
On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Dick Russell
Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss, Dean Karnazes
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson
Second Wind: One Woman's Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, Cami Ostman
The Scarpetta Factor, Patricia Cornwell
Dual in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley and America's Greatest Marathon, John Brant
Born to Run, Christopher McDougall
Iron Heart, Brian Boyle

Currently Reading: Running With Joy: My Daily Journey to the Marathon, Ryan Hall
Up Next: Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell

Boston Marathon

The 115th Boston Marathon took place on Monday. I was bummed because I couldn't watch it. One of the reasons I couldn't watch it is because I was running at the time and the other reason is I don't have the Universal Sports channel. I could have watched it on the Internet through universalsports.com, but I really didn't want to pay to watch it.

After finishing my run, I checked twitter to see who won the race. I read that Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya ran the fastest marathon in history, finishing in 2:03:02. Ryan Hall had a great race. Hall became the fastest American in history with his fourth place time of 2:04:53.

On the women's side Rochester Hills, Michigan Desiree Davila finished second to Caroline Kilel. Kilel won the marathon in 2:22:36 and Davila ran 2:22:38. With that time, Davila became the third-fastest American woman in history behind Deena Kastor and Joan Benoit Samuelson. Fellow American Kara Goucher finished fifth with a personal best of 2:24:52.

Like I mentioned before, I didn't see the Boston Marathon because I was running. I turned on SportsCenter to catch a replay. I was extremely disappointed in what I saw. SportsCenter spent a total of 20-30 seconds talking about the Boston Marathon. And to top it off, they only showed highlights on the men's race. I guess the women's race, that was extremely close, didn't matter. I watched ESPN news later that evening and they actually showed highlights of the men's and women's wheelchair and the elite men and women. I finally got to see the end of the women's race and it was very exciting.

I wish ESPN would broadcast the Boston Marathon. In the area where I live, Universal Sports is not even offered. The Boston Marathon is a special event that many people are interested in. It should be shown on a station that most of the people in the area receive.

Photo Credits:
Photo of Mutai: Associated Press/Charles Krupa
Photo of Hall: Associated Press/Steven Senne
Photo of Davila: Associated Press/Michael Dwyer

Glass City Half Marathon

I wasn't nervous the entire weekend over the half marathon. If I was going to get a new personal record, it would happen. If I didn't get a PR, I knew I would have plenty more chances to get it.

The morning of the race, it was cold and very windy. I didn't know how the wind would affect my race. When I crossed the start line, I just ran the same pace as everyone around me. I didn't look at my watch until crossing the first mile. It read: 9:02. I thought to myself that was slow. But really it wasn't. I maintained that pace for basically the entire half marathon.

I knew when I crossed seven miles in 62 minutes I was going to get my PR. I just knew I had to keep running at the same pace. After running 11 miles, I looked at my watch to see the time. It read: 1:48. I told myself that if I happen to slow down to a 10 minute mile, I would still finish under two hours.

I hesitated looking at my watch near the finish. I didn't know if my time was where I wanted it to be. Before running into the Glass Bowl, I peaked at my watch. I couldn't believe it read 1:55. I was so happy. I wanted the best time possible, so I sprinted to the finish and crossed the line at 1:56:53. I beat my previous PR by almost 7 minutes.

I liked the course. It was nice and flat. I enjoyed running through the Ottawa Hills neighborhood and on the Metroparks paths. I'm thinking that Glass City will be the first marathon I run in 2012.

Weekend plans

So much to do this weekend. I've been waiting for this weekend since Sunday.

Our plans for Friday include a trip to Cabela's. Cabela's is a The North Face dealer and I want to check out the running clothes. I'm sure I'll find some clothing that I like. Hopefully it won't be too expensive. After checking out some clothes, my husband and I plan to see The Conspirator. It is directed by Robert Redford and it is about Mary Surratt, the female co-conspirator charged in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. After the movie, we will be eating dinner at Don Pablo's.

On Saturday, we will be traveling to Toledo to pick up my bib for the Glass City Half Marathon. Hit the expo and go eat some pasta for dinner. Sunday morning I will be toeing the line for my first half marathon on the year. I really hope I can run a sub-two hour half. That is my goal. If I fail to reach it Sunday, I will try again when I run my second half Memorial Day weekend.

The Kennedys

The Kennedys miniseries ended Sunday on ReelzChannel. I watched all eight parts and liked it. I love to read or watch anything about the Kennedys. The Kennedy's are just a fascinating family. Growing up privileged, having three family members hold positions in government and the many tragedies that pledged the family make for an excellent story.

As much as I enjoyed the miniseries, the critics didn't. Some critics said that there was "no chemistry between Katie Holmes and Greg Kinnear." That "it's not very believable." And the miniseries is "woefully bad." I thought that Barry Pepper played the role of Bobby Kennedy very well. I thought he looked like and sounded like Bobby. I also liked Tom Wilkinson playing Joe Kennedy. Wilkinson acted the part wonderfully. After all of the books I've read about the family, I thought it was a great portrayal.

Running camps

I didn't run cross country in high school. The reason I didn't run cross country is because it wasn't offered as a sport. Cross Country was offered as a sport in the early 2000's, long after I graduated.

During the summer before the cross country season, the runners usually go to a camp. At these camps, the runners work on fundamentals, proper mechanics and gain valuable race experience. Now I think that sounds like fun. I would love to have a coach watch me run and tell me if I need to make corrections on my form. Most of the running camps that are offered are only for high school students. I don't fit into that category any more. I'm an adult, but I want to get better.

There are camps out there for adults and I've been using Google to find them. I'm unable to attend any camps this year, but I would love to attend one in the future. I'm sure there are more camps/retreats for adults but these are the ones that I found.

ZAP Fitness Adult Running Camps is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina between Boone and Blowing Rock. This year they are offering five camps. Starting in June, the have a Women's Mini Camp, in July Bear Week and Adult Running Vacation Camp. A marathon prep mini camp in August and an End of Summer Camp in September.

Mammoth Track Project has an adult running camp in September. I would love to attend it, but it is very expensive. The cost is $2,999. Some of the camp details are running twice a day on different terrains, eating organic and locally grown food, proper running development, bio mechanical efficiency, goal launching, body maintenance, nutrition and eating dinner with local Olympians.

Jeff Galloway Running Camps/Running Retreats has many locations which are nice. He has a camps in Vail, Colorado; Blue Mountain Beach, Florida; Lake Tahoe; Athens, Greece; Florence and Rome, Italy and Carmel, California.

Craftsbury Running Camps is located in Craftsbury Common, Vermont and this running camp is for runners of every level and age.

This isn't a camp, but an awesome training run that I want to do someday. The Western States Endurance Run has schedule training runs on the last 70 miles of the trail. These training runs are to help runners and newcomers to the event to get accustomed to the trail and the conditions on race day. The best part is you don't have to be a Western States runner to participate.

Books read in 2011

he Laughing Corpse, Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned, Laurell K. Hamilton
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Origins, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Bloodlust, L.J. Smith
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, Dean Karnazes
The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, Steven M Gillon
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathon in 50 Days, Dean Karnazes
The Brotherhood: A Precinct 11 Novel, Jerry B. Jenkins
127 Hours, Aron Ralston
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, James W. Douglass
My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso
On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Dick Russell
Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss, Dean Karnazes
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson
Second Wind: One Woman's Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, Cami Ostman
The Scarpetta Factor, Patricia Cornwell
Dual in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley and America's Greatest Marathon, John Brant
Born to Run, Christopher McDougall

Currently Reading: Iron Heart, Brian Boyle
Up Next: Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell

Dad

John Wayne Clark
April 10, 1942 - August 15, 1998

I can't believe you have been gone for 13 years. Where has the time gone? It doesn't seem like it has been that long. Your 69th birthday was Sunday. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about you and miss you.

A running life

I read Dean Karnazes' book, 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days -- and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance! and loved it. I watched the documentary about the Endurance 50, UltraMarathon Man: 50 Marathons - 50 States - 50 Days, and loved that as well. Watching Dean or reading his books inspire me to push myself to be a better runner. If you asked me last year if I ever wanted to run a marathon or beyond, I would have told you that I didn't have the desire to do it and I didn't have the time to train for it.

Back in January, something inside of me changed. I thought I was perfectly happy running half marathons. After reading an article in Running Times about New Year's resolutions, that is where I got the idea to start running 100 mile weeks. I thought I would try to run 100 mile weeks maybe a couple of times a year. That didn't last very long. After my first 100 mile week, I wanted to do it again. And I have. I have run 100 mile weeks nine times this year. For the next two weeks, I won't be doing that. I need to taper for a couple of races.

Another thing that changed was I wanted to run longer. Usually the marathon is the next step up after running half marathons. I basically skipped the marathon and signed up for a 50K. Not one, but two this year. I am ready for my next challenge. I have definitely put in the miles, I know I will be able to finish. My goal is to hopefully jump up to a 50 mile race in 2012. It all depends on how I do in this year's 50K.

I love running so much, I sometimes wish it was my job. I would love to be able to do what Dean is doing right now. He is running 3000 miles for 75 days straight in Run Across America. Run Across America was designed to inspire Americans to get up, get active and get healthy. I would love to wake up every morning and run in a different location and state. I know it would make me happy. Until then, I will have to settle for my 2-5 hour daily runs.

Can Lake 50K

I decided to enter a race over the weekend while talking with my husband. I will be running the Can Lake 50K in Canandaigua, New York on October 8, 2011. Besides going there to run in the race, we will be arriving early in New York for some day trips to other cities nearby.

What drew me to this 50K was that it is a road ultra and is mostly flat and friendly to first-time ultra runners. According to the website, there are a couple of climbs and hills. My first ultra will be run two weeks before at Dances With Dirt in Hell, Michigan. DWD isn't a flat course and its on trails. It will be difficult, but rewarding. I think I will be up to the challenge of running two 50Ks within two weeks of each other. I'm looking forward to it. I know I'll be walking a huge hill on this course. If I walk more along the way, that is fine. I'm just looking forward to participating in this wonderful race.

Top Photo: South End of Canandaigua Lake
Bottom picture: Map of the 50 mile and 50K course

Final two

It wasn't the ending I hoped for. At least the women's basketball final was closer then the men's final. Texas A&M Aggies defeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish 76-70 to win the national championship Tuesday.

I enjoyed watching the women's tournament this year. Before it started, I thought Connecticut and Stanford would be playing for the national championship. We were all wrong. It was great seeing two teams that nobody really expected to be playing for the championship.

Photo Credit: Associated Press/Mark Duncan

Books read in 2011

The Laughing Corpse, Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned, Laurell K. Hamilton
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Origins, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Bloodlust, L.J. Smith
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, Dean Karnazes
The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, Steven M Gillon
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathon in 50 Days, Dean Karnazes
The Brotherhood: A Precinct 11 Novel, Jerry B. Jenkins
127 Hours, Aron Ralston
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, James W. Douglass
My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso
On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Dick Russell
Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss, Dean Karnazes
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson
Second Wind: One Woman's Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, Cami Ostman
The Scarpetta Factor, Patricia Cornwell

Currently Reading: Dual in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley and America's Greatest Marathon, John Brant
Up Next: Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell

Iron Heart

While reading the current issue of TrailRunner magazine, I came across a wonderful article about Brian Boyle. Brian was driving home from swim practice in 2004, when he was in a car crash. He was flown to a shock-trauma hospital and he had lost sixty percent of his blood, his heart moved across his chest, his organs and pelvis were pulverized and was placed in a medically-induced coma. After all that happened to Brian, he ended up making a comeback. Three and a half years after his crash, Brian was an Ironman finisher in Kona, Hawaii.

In the article Boyle said that since he finished an Ironman, why not try ultra running? Boyle finished the JFK 50 Mile last November in 9:50. This coming July, Boyle will be taking on a 100 mile trail race.

If that isn't an amazing story, I don't know what is. Brian wrote a book about this experience. The book is called Iron Heart: The True Story of How I Came Back from the Dead. I ordered the book online over the weekend. I can't wait to read it.

Random things

I'm so disappointed. Thursday night was the one night only showing of My Run in movie theaters across the country. I really wanted to go to see it, but I couldn't. I had to work. My Run is the story of Terry Hitchcock losing his wife to breast cancer and raising three children. He wanted to bring attention to the difficult lives of singe parents. Hitchcock ran 75 marathons on 75 consecutive days. How incredible. It took me years to see Spirit of the Marathon. I hope it doesn't take years before I see documentary. I really hope it will be offered on Netflix.

After a long layoff, I finally ran some intervals Wednesday. I incorporated them into my 13.1 mile run. For the first four miles, I did 8x400m. The last two miles, I threw down 4x100m. I decided to try to do some speed work once a week. Ever since gas prices climbed, I haven't been joining my track club for Tuesday night workouts. I miss running with the group, but it is too expensive to keep filling up my car. Especially when I saw gas was $3.65 a gallon. I have the discipline to run over 100 miles by myself every week, I need to have the discipline to do speed work by myself also.

I photographed my first track meet of the year Wednesday. Its spring and March and that meant the weather was awful. The temperature was in the high 30s, but it was windy. The wind made it very cold just to be standing outside. I was wearing a sweatshirt, a hat and my winter coat but I was still cold. When I photograph events, it is hard for me to wear gloves and work. Gloves are bulky and it is hard to shoot and take notes. I went without gloves for the entire track meet. The track meet lasted about three hours. But I shouldn't complain, I wasn't wearing a track uniform and running in the cold like the kids were. I'm just happy that the track season has started. Warmer weather will be on the way.

The University of Toledo is about 35 minutes south of my home. The Toledo Rockets women's basketball team will be playing in the WNIT championship game Saturday at their home, Savage Arena, at 3 p.m. against the University of Southern California. The Rockets defeated UNC-Charlotte 83-60 in the WNIT semifinal Wednesday to advance to the final. Hope the Lady Rockets can pull off the win.