Count me among those who think it's pretty awesome to see Paula come back and win 9 months after giving birth! And the other wonderful moment of the NYC marathon (of course, besides what we will read about from Helen in her personal report) - Katie Holmes ran it, and she was 45 minutes slower than my marathon time - gotta confess I get a little joy out of knowing I can run faster than a hollywood starlet

Woohoo, Rachel! Your time kicked her butt!

I ran a mile on the trails and then 2 miles on the track today with the CC kids. The track workout was an interval one, so I'm kind of worn out! It felt good, though, especially the part on the trail! Tomorrow we're doing 5 miles, which is farther than we usually go, so I'm excited about that, especially since I won't be able to run Thursday or Saturday this week and Wednesday and Friday will be short runs.

I'm getting really excited about the prospect of doing a marathon, but I'm not really finding another marathon for 2008 that works for me, so I'm just hoping the scheduling works for Richmond. The Charlottesville one could work, but it's in April - that just seems wayyyy too soon! I would like to do the half that day though. It's supposed to be a really pretty, scenic route.

Anybody know when Helen is coming back? I'm looking forward to her race report.

Anne

Paula Radcliffe is my new hero, even though I only heard of her about 1 day ago hehe. I wish my body looked like that 9 months after giving birth. Oh and that I could run a marathon that soon.

That soon?

She's been a world-class runner for 15 years. Probably been running for closer to 20. All those years and all those miles matter, a lot.

I think she means that soon after giving birth, which seems impressive to me too. I've never had a baby, so I can't speak from experience, but I imagine the process of pregnancy and childbirth does a number on your body. To be able to run a marathon within a year of giving birth seems like a feat, even for a very experienced runner. So...yay for her! It's fun to celebrate other runners' accomplishments!!

Speaking of which, where IS Helen?

I'm here, I just dragged myself back home today. Quite worryingly, the first thing I did when I got home was to put my running kit on then I went for a short jog before jumping into the shower I needed after 19 hours of travelling!

Things are manic back here still with family stuff, so I'm only here for 18 hours (most of which needs to be spent sleeping) before heading off again. I promise I will write more about the marathon (which was the most fantastic experience of my life), but for now I'll give you the link to the bbc report on our team - it's about 2 and a half minutes long, and it sums the day up pretty well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/new...m&asb=1&news=1

You can also go here and look at the photos under bib numbers 42086 (one of the official runners) and W513 (the number the three guide runners including me wore). Of the seven of us, three were registered in their own right and three were guide runners. That means we weren't in the official results, but did get the t-shirt and the medal as long as we finished with our designated disabled athlete - in our case Matt.

I've just checked and our official time was 6:48:40, not bad considering the battery in the wheelchair died and we had to push it for miles which wasn't part of the plan. If you watch the finish video you'll see that I had to push matt over the line, there was also a spell between about 4 and 11 miles when we had to push (and as the strongest runner a lot of the responsibility for that fell to me) - that's why he talks about wanting us to go ahead at mile 5, because we were slowed down a lot by pushing him, but it was a team thing so there was no way we were leaving him, and we told him that!

Hey all. It’s been a while, just catching up here. Not too much to report in my running world, same old.

Lisa – Congrats on your team going to state, no doubt that’s a credit to your awesome coaching, and you hubby too! Glad your hamstring seems to be better. A marathon for you too? I’m starting to feel left out. Hope you find a good one at a time and location that works for you.

Anne – Congratulations! How exciting, enjoy your running hiatus and keep us posted.

Allison – That turkey trot sounds fun. My DF and sometimes the dog come to cheer me on but I’ve yet to get anyone I know to participate in any of the 5k events I’ve done.

Laura – Glad you’ve joined us! I’ve started a bit of cross training with lifting and a bit of cycling, hope to get back to swimming soon. I do think it’s helped me get a bit faster, I’m pacing at a little under 10 minutes now.

Rachel – Hope your med issue is resolved and all is well.

Helen – Sounds like an incredible experience! You’re amazing. Can’t wait to hear more.

Had a pretty good 4 miles on Monday. Yesterday I was really not in the mood to run at all, I was just doing it to get it done, my hamstrings were pretty spent from lifting and yoga the day before. However, it was a pretty speedy 3 miles so maybe being impatient to get it over with already isn’t such a bad thing. Getting too cold out, I could have used an extra layer. Plus it’s dark out too so I have to wear reflectors and my safety light and be extra careful not to get hit by cars. Oh well, beats the treadmill, which I will sadly have to resort to pretty soon.

Yes, I meant that soon after giving birth.

This is my full race report from New York.

You missed my point, though.

Her many years of high-level, serious training-- years and years of lots of fast miles--probably have a lot to do with her being able to run a fast marathon so soon after giving birth. So, for that matter, does her not stopping training during her pregnancy.

It's not just Radcliffe's talent that's in another league compared to those of us who post at 3FC, it's also her training and her history of training.

Helen--What a fantastic story. I just started posting in these threads last month so I must have missed the fact that you were helping an athlete with a disability. I have worked with individuals with disabilities more than half my life and they are an amazing bunch. I mostly work with those with intellectual disabilities but I am getting more opportunities to work with those with physical disabilities. Of course I cried when I read your story just as I do when I cheer my athletes during Special Olympics.

Helen - your story brought tears to my eyes too...Congratulations and

What a great story...thanks for sharing.

Mine too. It sounds like a wonderful experience. (Although a slightly harrowing experience for Matt and his parents! They seemed very pleased on the video that he had declared his intention never to do another marathon.)