The 2016 Pittsburgh Marathon was held on May 1, 2016. Unlike the past few years, weather become an issue in this year's race when thunderstorms and rain was predicted. I didn't really know what to expect with the conditions on race day, so I just told myself that whatever happened would happen and everyone would have to deal with the same conditions. Fortunately the weather conditions kept changing for the better as it was updated throughout the day before the marathon. When I awoke at the wonderful time 4:45 AM on Sunday it wasn't even raining! Mile 1: We start! Excitement is in the air. The rain is falling but it’s not too bad. I can deal with this. I look at my watch. Normally I would hold myself to certain pace but I just want to go with what feels good today. Mile 2: The rain is really starting to come down right now. It’s just giving me flashbacks of the Rock and Roll DC Half Marathon last year when I ran in a monsoon. I hope that this isn’t going to be the weather for the rest of the race. Mile 3: The rain is letting up. In fact, I barely notice it. This is a good sign, but my left foot has fallen asleep. I remind myself that his happened last year too around Mile 3. Mile 4: I see someone wearing a shirt that says, “You’re getting beat by someone who had open heart surgery.” I run next to him and tell him that he’s doing a great job. I show him my American Heart shirt. A few seconds later I feel a tap on my shoulder. It’s my friend Josh! We chat for a while and run together before getting separated at the water stop. I run over the bridge back in downtown. This always a favorite part of the course for me and yet again it does not disappoint. Mile 5: Woohoo! I’m almost to mile 5 and I feel great. It almost scares me how good I feel, but I tell myself to just go with it. We climb cross back over the bridge to the North Side and it’s a tough climb but the Urban Impact group is at the top of the hill. They inspire me to get to the top. Mile 6: We continue through a park on the North Side and then make a left onto a side street. This side street is new to the course this year and boy does this hill ever suck. What kind of awful human puts this hill into the course? Then I remember the finish line was moved back this year to get rid of a small hill at the end of the race and I just have to deal with this hill sooner than later. I forgive the awful human. Mile 7: I hit up the water stop and take my gel before crossing the bridge. At this point I know the honeymoon is over and things are going to get serious. I push myself slow and steady to the top of the West End Bridge and cruise into the West End neighborhood. Mile 8: The West End neighborhood makes me forget all about my aches and pains. Cheering! Bands! Screaming! This place is awesome. It’s so awesome, I really want to stay instead of climbing up the next hill. Mile 9: This hill climb is no fun. My breathing is heavy and I’m struggling. It also doesn’t help that I’m in the land of office buildings, inclines, strip clubs and retaining walls. Not exactly inspiring stuff. I just need to get the heck out of here and make it to Station Square and the South Side. Mile 10: This is getting crappy. I’m not sure how much longer my legs or my pace will hold up. Out of the corner of my eye I see a girl in a pink shirt bouncing ahead of me like the start line of a 200 meter sprint. Who the heck looks this good at Mile 10 of a race? I see a ‘relay’ bib attached to her back and immediately feel better about myself. Mile 11: After pink girl passes me, I look for my friend Suzy who is on the South Side. I see her and my spirits are uplifted. Maybe I just can hold this all together. Even though I’m excited to make a left off of Carson Street I’m scared of what’s next; the Birmingham Bridge. I tell myself to just keep moving. Slow and steady is okay right now. Mile 12: I’m almost over the bridge, but more trouble is ahead; the dreaded uphill to the Boulevard of the Allies. The trek up the bridge has completely gassed me and I’m totally out of breath, as evidenced by another runner turning back to look and see who is hyperventilating behind him. Off the bridge ramp and to the hill we go. I decide to walk a bit to begin the hill. I start running. I stop. I start walking. I run. I walk. My…legs… will…not… go… At this point my body was protesting and the uphill is not helping. I tell myself that I need to get to the top of the hill and then gravity will help me on the other side. Also, I know that Bobby is waiting for me on this mile and I don’t want him to see his wife wimping out on the last 1.5 miles of a half marathon. I was mad and even perplexed that I was having this mental battle with myself . This is your 10th half marathon! You know how to do this! Move! Mile 13: Finally between walking and running I get to the crest of the hill. I start pushing myself down the hill. I was falling apart, but I just needed to hold it together for a little over half a mile. I heard Bobby yell my name and felt relieved he didn’t have to see that walk/run mental breakdown. The downhill is fooling everyone into thinking I was feeling awesome at this point. I look at my watch. I know I’m in reach of a 2:10 half marathon and if I let it slip away I will be so angry with myself. I dug down as deep as I could and ran as hard as I could to the finish. “That’s the way to finish a race!” I heard someone yell from the crowd. I crossed the finish at 2:10:16. A new personal best! This race ticked off a lot of boxes for me. I was able to achieve a new personal best. I ran my 10th half marathon and I was also able to raise $1,050 for the American Heart Society. This was my first year running for a charity and it really made the race all the more special for me. Thank you to everyone who donated!
For some reason, it also stuck out to me how wonderful the volunteers are that help make this race possible. Every time I grabbed a water a smiling and encouraging face on the other side handed it to me. Maybe it was in contrast to the damp, dreary day but the people who volunteered and cheered for the runners really stood out to me during this race. The community always comes together on this day and I'm always proudest to say that I'm from Pittsburgh on Marathon Sunday.
4 Comments
Greetings!
I'm happy to announce that last week my book of essays became available in print! When I initially created my ebook I didn't have intentions of having it printed. However, I recently discovered the website Createspace that allows you to easily publish printed copies of your book! It's already giving me ideas for the sequel.! Click on the link below if you would like to purchase your paperback copy. Thank you! Sarah It can purchased in paperback on Amazon! I have a confession to make: I never meant to be a blogger. I've always written in notebooks and diaries throughout the years but rarely shared these thoughts with anyone. I was afraid my words would be deemed unworthy or inferior. I was fearful that my writing was not good enough to be shared. But I do love sharing experiences with others especially my friends and family. As I traveled and ran races I realized that I wanted to share these experiences. The easiest way to do this was to write a blog. So that's what I did. In the beginning I never thought anyone was going to read this blog except my mom. But surprisingly after a few months of writing many were reading my blog and encouraging me. That really opened the floodgates for me. Once I started writing again, I couldn't stop. Last week I finally got over my fear of meeting internet people in person and attended my first ever social blogging event. I have no photographs or tweets sent from this event to prove my presence, but I did met several other bloggers and I think that still counts as an alibi this day in age. I am very grateful to Alex, the organizer of this event, because I desperately needed it. I must admit that the past few weeks have been difficult on the Internet. Everywhere I looked there seemed to be hate filled and insensitive comments that just left me feeling sad. So much negativity had left me feeling quite down and wondering if my voice would even be heard anymore. Should I even continue on this journey of blogging?
Then on Friday, April 1st the Pittsburgh Guest Blogger event took place and for a day many talented bloggers got to shine on the Internet, showing off their talents which included fashion, baking, writing and photography. I found many others who are writing and creating just to make this world a little bit better. Maybe that's exactly what we need right now: to take an interest in each other and listen to what we have to say. Maybe we could remain positive and encourage each other and inspire ideas and creativity. If this is what being a blogger is about, well then maybe I did mean to become one. Hello and Happy April Fool's Day! For the second year in a row I am participating in the Pittsburgh Guest Blogger Event where local bloggers write a guest post for each other. Today, I'm happy to share a post from Sean who writes 'Sean's Ramblings'! My post can be seen on Elizabeth's blog 'Try it and You May'. I know that Sarah writes a lot about running, and while I'm doing a 5K in a few weeks and haven't done any training yet (though that didn't seem to be too much of a problem last year - ), I thought I would write about everyone's favorite topic: Fashion. Please don't click to another Pittsburgh Guest Blogger Event just yet. This won't be a typical fashion post since I don't even know what that means. I'm not a very fashionable person. Jeans and a T-shirt or sweater works fine for me. However, I lost some weight several years ago and never really updated my wardrobe. I can (and will) blame my two young kids for this as I don't have as much disposable income as I used to. Plus, I don't enjoy going shopping. Anyway, all of my jeans are too big and all except one is frayed (though not stylishly intentionally). Many of my shirts are also too big. While I wait for TLC or HGTV to contact me for a fashion makeover, I finally decided to go shopping myself. So I packed my bag and drove to Pittsburgh. Tax free shopping! Sunday morning 8:14 AM I opened my suitcase to find a hole in one of my socks. Fortunately, I was smart enough to bring a pair of black socks that happen to be 11 years old. Why do I know the age of a pair of socks? I forgot to pack "dress" socks for a wedding in the summer of 2004 and ran by Marshall's to get a 3-pack. Did I mentioned that I don't like going shopping? Sunday morning 10:00 AM - Eat 'n Park. You can't go shopping on an empty stomach, right? Plus, I needed to buy Smiley cookies for my office. Sunday 11:30 AM Macy's Waterfront - Homestead, PA My top priority for this shopping trip was to buy jeans, so I went straight to the Levi's section. There must have been 1,015 different types of styles (give or take 1,000) including 501, 505, 511, 514, 90210, and 8675309. I completely lost track of what I tried on and which ones were better than the others. Another problem is that I'm not very tall. Actually, that's not the problem. The problem is that Levi's and other jeans manufacturers don't seem to like making clothes with a 29" length. Well, except for 36" waist which is no help to me since I searched for 32-29. (32-29 was the original line in Sir Mix-a-Lot's Baby Got Back.) I easily tried on 20 pairs of jeans and learned a valuable lesson: Skinny jeans are very tight. During this process, I sent pictures to my wife and Aire to get their opinions. I'm sure the Macy's staff and other customers were puzzled by my constant texts and pictures. Anyway, here's me in action. I'm pretty sure this is how Heidi Klum started in the fashion and modeling industries.
I ended up buying three pairs of jeans which is a really big deal for me. I don't think I've purchased three pairs of jeans since my oldest son was born, and he starts high school this fall (well, kindergarten, but that's still 5 years). It turns out Levi's 541 athletic style fits well on me. So when you think of athletic, think of Antonio Brown and me! The next step was buying shirts, but I was already exhausted. Seriously, shopping and trying on clothes is hard. Yes, I realize that this sentence may wind up on a future edition of The Steel Trap's First World Problems. I grabbed two shirts, actually smiled in one of my pictures, and with that I was done. Check out the other Pittsburgh bloggers participating in today's event! Harvest + Bloom // Yes, Wear That! // jelly jars // Glam and Graffiti // To The Streets // In Pursuit // Pittsburgh & Pearls // Beezus Kiddo // Goodness Madness // Last Minute Panic // Steel City Intrigue // Crank Crank Revolution // Amanda Narcisi // Pittsburgh is Beautiful // From Cats to Cooking // Yum Yum PGH // Breelicious Bites // Parmesan Princess // Coffee & A Blonde // The Steel Trap // Wavy Alabaster // everybody loves you… // Eat with Emily // Don’t Forget to Eat // Sloping in the Sky // From Farm to Turntable // Secrets in the Wall // Red Pen Mama // Feedback Soup // The AP Collection // Blog Or Die PGH // Pittsburgh Happy Hour // Friendly Fitness Foodie // Small Town Dad // Josh’s World // Geeky Sweetie // Sean’s Ramblings // Lunges, Long Runs and Lattes // Try it and You May! // lil Burghers // Orange Chair Blog // Ya Jagoff // Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents // Melissa Firman Greetings! It's really hard to believe that March is already here! Even though February had an extra day this year it seemed like it flew by! We've been pretty lucky with weather so far this year in Pittsburgh compared to the past two years, it's been a very mild winter and I've only had to take my running indoors once because of the cold temperatures. I am very happy about that! I've also been trying to take writing more seriously and transition myself from blogger to an author. I must admit that it hasn't been the easiest transition and I've certainly made plenty of mistakes along the way. But I'm learning and growing as I carve out my own path. Two weeks ago I was fortunate to be featured on Dan Buri's website Nothing Any Good. Dan has developed a website to help other indie authors and I was very excited to have my article featured! I've been finding a lot of helpful tips from his website. If you are an indie author I highly suggest that you check it out! Looking ahead, half marathon training will soon be getting into full swing. It's kind of hard to believe, but this year's Pittsburgh Half Marathon will be my 10th half marathon! I have also decided to run a as charity runner for the American Heart Association. I have already reached my fundraising goal but would like to continue to raise as much money as possible! You can still donate if you would like!
If you are also training for a race, I hope that you are enjoying the process, no matter what the distance you are planning to run. Remember, if you get overwhelmed break your training into smaller portions and tackle those smaller goals instead of looking at the goal in it's entirety. Sometimes looking at the big picture can feel overwhelming. Achieving one large goal is really the process of just achieving many smaller goals that add up to one big accomplishment! -Sarah Hello! I find it somewhat hard to believe we already have one month down in 2016! February also happens to be National Heart Month and I'm starting to run more in preparation of my 10th (yes... I'm hitting double digits!) half marathon! As some of you many already know, this year I am a charity runner for the American Heart Association for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. I have decided to run for this charity because many of my family members have been touched by heart disease. My grandmother had several heart attacks before she passed away in 2014. My mom suffered a heart attack in 2008 and last year my mother-in-law had life saving open heart surgery. Ironically, the marathon will take place exactly one year to the date of her surgery. I'm excited to announce that I have already achieved my fundraising goal and I would like to thank those who have donated! Teresa Ashley In memory of my dad Joseph Albani. A massive heart attack claimed his life at the age of 50 Ralph & Sushi Warman (my in-laws) Tribute to Dr Trivedi, heart surgeon extraordinaire at Shadyside Hospital, Pittsburgh! Job well done! Thanks also to all his support staff and the nursing personnel! Sam & Joyce Henderson (my parents) Suzy Ireland Katie Fitzsimmons Susie Lee Bill & Nicole Dice In Memory of Daniel John Dice Mike Flory Lynn and Johnny Davis I'm still accepting donations and would like to raise as much money as possible for this great association. You can still donate here! Since I have a history of heart disease in my family, I also have concerns for my own health, which is why I asked the Pittsburgh Heart Association to provide me with some information on preventing heart disease. Please check out the graphic below for more information. I know I'll be doing my best to follow their tips! Sometimes small changes can make a big difference!
Greetings! A New Year is here and I've been looking forward to setting new goals for myself while also reflecting on my accomplishments in 2015. One of my proudest accomplishments in 2015 was self publishing two ebooks. The first ebook I published was my book of essays entitled Don't Forget to Write. I released this book on my birthday, December 15th. Releasing this book on my birthday was a somewhat strange experience as I spent the day enjoying 'Happy Birthday' messages and then thinking 'Quick! I need to post my book on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!' It was a somewhat frantic pace during the day trying to promote the book. I'm not sure if I would release a book on my birthday again. It might be a more pleasant experience if I picked another day! I also wrote a short story entitled, "Seeking Vegas'' which I'm currently adapting into a novel. It's a women's fiction story and it's free, so if you are interested, I encourage you to check it out! For my birthday my husband bought me a Instax Mini camera. It's basically a Polaroid camera. I know this seems regressive considering today's technology, but my Grandmother had one when I was growing up and for the longest time I wanted one. The film is expensive, about $1 per image, which makes me really contemplate what and whom I want to photograph. It's been an interesting experience, setting up a shot, making sure everything is properly placed, having the proper flash and subject matter. It surely is a lot different than snapping away with my iPhone which is what I've grown accustomed to.. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not going to give up technology. After all it has allowed my work to be read all over the world, something I never dreamed of happening! But sometimes I feel like it clogs up my brain, checking social media, updating my ebook, etc. Sometimes it's best to strip everything back down to the basics and remember why I started. Sometimes, I do my most heartfelt work with just a pen and paper. Looking ahead to 2016, I've signed up for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. This year I'm running for charity as a member of the American Heart Association Team. Heart disease has affected many of my family members and I am proud to run for this great cause. I will be writing more about my fundraising effort next month!
I'm also planning on writing another book of essays (stay tuned for details) and finishing my first novel. I'm also looking forward to getting in better shape and taking better care of myself this year. I know it's a cliché and you are probably thinking you already run and do CrossFit, what else are you going to do? Well this might sound surprising but I'm going to rest more. Last year when I was going through a difficult situation (another miscarriage, a loved one's surgery) I found myself pushing through it, signing up for races and forcing myself to workout. I'm not saying that this was a bad strategy. In many ways it was good therapy, but in the meantime I forgot to rest my body. So at the end of the year I ended up with a very beat up and angry body. So this year I'm looking to make small changes: pay more attention to my diet, take my vitamins, sleep more, take rest days, schedule an entire week off from working out, cut back on caffeine and wine, and just in general, be kinder to myself. Sometimes you don't need to do a total overhaul. Small changes can lead to big results. Lastly, below is a picture of Bobby and I taken by Kevin Bright on the Fleet Feet Pittsburgh annual Holidays Lights Run. It's one of my favorite runs of the entire year. Click here for a video that I made so you can experience it too! Can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for me! Happy New Year to everyone and remember to be good to yourselves! -Sarah There are parts of my life that I define by Steelers games. In January of 2006, I remember watching the divisional playoff game in my first apartment, just a few miles from downtown Pittsburgh. I had just moved there a week prior and did not own any furniture except two folding lawn chairs. I did, however, have a television and was able to watch the game. I remember hearing the yells of elation from the neighboring apartments when the Indianapolis Colts missed their last attempt at a field goal and the Steelers went on to victory. The year after the Steelers won Super Bowl in 2006, I moved away from Pittsburgh and my fandom grew even deeper. I had moved to Maryland, which was the territory of the Steelers fiercest competitors, the Baltimore Ravens. In a sea of purple, I often stood out, proudly wearing my black and gold. Venturing out in public, wearing those colors, often meant that I would have to defend my fandom at any given moment. At my new place of employment, we had tailgates after work to support local charities. We were encouraged to wear the jersey of our favorite team. Of course, I was fully adorned in Steelers attire including my jersey, hat and jacket with a terrible towel hanging out of the pocket. One of my coworkers commented about how easily I had put together the outfit. I replied, “These are just my normal clothes.” My new friends and coworkers also quickly discovered that I was unwilling to make any plans during a Steelers game or even entertain phone calls during a game. This seemed perfectly normal to me, but often left them perplexed. Where I grew up, you only called during a Steelers game if it was an emergency or to rejoice about a big play that had just occurred on the field. Anything else could wait until after the game. Because I lived in Ravens territory, this meant that the Steelers games were not shown on television unless they played the Ravens or it happened to be a Sunday, Monday or Thursday night game. This meant I often headed to the nearest bar to watch the game. A few times I went by myself, but was quickly adopted by others wearing black and gold, who asked me to join them at their table. We would introduce ourselves, say what part of Pittsburgh we came from and mention what brought us here. When non Steelers fans asked how I became a Steelers fan I often felt confused. I had a hard time giving them a distinct answer. I didn’t ever recall having a distinct moment in my life when I decided to become a Steelers fan. It had always been a part of my life as much as going to school and church had been. The Pittsburgh steel mills had brought my family to Southwestern Pennsylvania and my parents had met in the steel mill. Growing up and watching the Steelers was just an extension of the life that my family had built in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Perhaps, the deepest connection I felt to the Steelers occurred in September of 2009 when I lost my job. The recession that began in 2008 had finally touched me. Coming off a Super Bowl victory the previous season, the Steelers were awarded the first game of the 2009 season. This occurred on Thursday, September 10th, which ended up being the day after I was laid off. Losing my job made me feel like I could relate to those who had experienced hard times during the 1980’s when the mills were purging workers. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay my rent or buy my groceries, but I knew that I had a Steelers game to watch the next day. In the moment of turmoil, knowing that I had a game to watch was enough to keep me looking ahead. It gave me some sense of normalcy and a feeling that everything was going to be okay. I still have vivid memories of the game from that evening. It was ugly and brutal, but the Steelers managed to grunt out a victory. It reminded me that even though I had been knocked down I could get back up again. In the beginning of 2012 my husband and I moved back to Pittsburgh and we were reminded of the region’s devotion to the Steelers. I have to admit, at times, I have rolled my eyes at the fandom, but I have also found so many reasons that I am thankful to be a Steelers fan. A stranger clad in black and gold can quickly become a friend. Newborns at the local hospitals are wrapped in terrible towels. The question, “How about that game yesterday?” is a sure way to start up a conversation. But, perhaps, my favorite part of being a Steelers fan is that on Sundays, for a few hours, life in Pittsburgh and in homes and Steelers bars across the country, slows down a bit. The shopping malls are empty. The customers in grocery stores are scarce. The to-do-lists wait until after the game. Families and friends gather together to watch our beloved Steelers. More and more, watching the Steelers for a few hours seems like a welcome reprieve from our ever-connected lives. They unite us. They bring us together. Now, I finally have an answer to how I became a Steelers fan. I didn’t pick them. They picked me. December 15, 2015Today is the day! 'Don't Forget to Write' is here! You can purchase my book from the following distributors! Kobo Barnes and Noble Smashwords Indigo iBooks It's hard to believe, but today marks two years since my very first blog! It started out very innocently, writing about a trip to Las Vegas to run a half marathon! Who would have thought that two years later, I'd still be writing and getting ready to release my first ebook of essays, 'Don't Forget to Write' in just eleven days? In some ways, the second year of blogging has been more difficult than the first. For starters I elected to run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon this year instead of the Full, which eliminated my epic long runs from blogging. Also, the newness of blogging wore off a bit. But there was still plenty to write about! In March I ran my first race of the year, the DC Rock and Roll Half Marathon. It was a great race, except it rained nonstop. It was the worst weather I've even ran in and I've never seen so many people wearing trash bags in a race! I was so happy just to finish this one. I'd love to go back and run it again, hopefully in better weather! In May I made my return to the Pittsburgh Half Marathon after slogging it out the past two years in the Full Marathon. I was so excited and a little bit surprised to record a PR of 2:11! Ultimately I would love to get my time under 2 hours for the half and I think I can get there! My last half marathon was in September, called the Boston Harvest Half Marathon, in Boston, PA which is a trail race. When I signed up for this race I initially thought, "Good. It's flat and I can PR." However halfway through this race, I realized that I'm not a very good trail runner, especially in the longer races. It was a very small race and at one point I could only see one runner in front of me and no one behind me. It was lonely and I ended up talking to myself, just to stay motivated. I always knew that I fed off a crowd but never knew until this race how much I needed it! I think in the future I may stick to shorter distances for trail running or make sure that I have a running buddy for the half! I also continued my CrossFit workouts this past year, which has taught me a lot of mental determination and patience. Some days I think I'm improving and then the next day I get knocked back down to square one. It's been a very humbling experience. I also added a new page this year entitled 'Fitness Friends', where I've shared my friends thoughts on staying fit. I know I wouldn't be able to accomplish many of my goals without their coaching and encouragement! I want to thank everyone who has read my blog and encouraged me to keep writing! I know that I'm not setting blazing-fast-running-times or lifting record-breaking-weights, but I am striving to improve just a little bit everyday. Every day I try to become a better athlete, a better writer and a better version of myself. Hopefully I can inspire others to do the same.
-Sarah |
Author: Sarah WarmanI like to run, take pictures and write. I've combined all three in this blog. Archives
June 2019
|