50 Half Marathons in 50 States

Ralston Creek Half Marathon (Race Recap)

2012-02-12T20:29:00.001-07:00

Arvada, CO
Sunday, February 12
Half Marathon #55
Colorado Half #8
Weather -OMG SO COLD. 10 degrees at start, 18 degrees at finish

When I first heard about the Ralston Creek half marathon, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to run it. I mean, it is in FEBRUARY. The weather is SO iffy here, and I hate running when it is cold or snowy (or both). If I race in Colorado in the winter, I usually wait until the last possible minute to register so I don't have to run in yucko conditions. The lure of a medal suckered me in, and I registered before the last price increase on January 31.

Then came - Snowpocalypse, which dumped a couple FEET of snow. And then it snowed Friday night. Luckily, there was no snow OR wind on race day. But it WAS super cold. REALLY cold. Cold enough that I actually went out and bought some crazy awesome running tights. Well, technically they are crops, but since I am a midget, they are pants that are just a *tad* too short. Completing the outfit for the arctic temps? A YMX top covered with my Athleta 1/4 zip, a beanie and gloves. What's missing? A running skirt. Obviously, I adore running in a skirt, but in 10 degree weather? NO.FREAKING.THANK.YOU. I also wore three items I have never worn once, and the 1/4 zip I'd only done a short training run in. So this was brand new territory me. I know, I know, never try anything new on race day? Well, no wardrobe malfunctions and I didn't freeze to death, so I consider it all a success.

I arrived at the race start with no problems about an hour before it was supposed to start. Nearly froze to death walking across the parking lot to pick up my bag, bib, and timing chip. Immediately headed back to the car and cranked the heater. How on earth was I not going to freeze to death?? About 9:15 and I did a quick run to use the bathroom, and thankfully missed the lines. On my way back, I ran into a twitter friend - Luke (@runthetrailsCO). It was really nice to chat with him and his fiancee - Courtney (@cisforcourtney). They are both adorable and super nice! We chatted until about 10 minutes before the race was supposed to start.

First long stretch of the course - those are people "warming up"

Had to run over to my car to pin on my bib (no race belt today). Headed over to the start about two minutes before the race was supposed to start. Lined up behind these two ladies - who were wearing bibs for Sherry. I meant to print out a bib, and forgot, but there were at least a half dozen people I spotted wearing them.

Almost immediately after I took that photo, a woman approached me and asked if I was W's sister. I asked how she recognized me, since I wasn't wearing my typical gear. She said my phone :D Chatted a minute, then we were off. I started off with a pace I felt was pretty good, and immediately I was shocked with just how cold it was. I mean, the type of cold where you can really FEEL how thin the air is. The kind of cold where it hurts to inhale too deeply. The kind of cold where your face feels like it could crack and fall right off. BRRR. Luckily, most of my body warmed up pretty fast, although it took my toes about a mile or two before they didn't feel like they were suffering frostbite.

I was worried about how the course was going to be with all the snow we had been having and with the cold temperatures, we weren't having much melting. Most of it was just fine, although there were sections that were icy and snow packed, which meant I had to be a lot more cautious than usual.

Between Miles 2 & 3

I was SUPER glad I had worn what I had, I think I would have frozen to death had I been wearing anything less. I wasn't having any weird aches and pains, which is always a good thing. I was pacing pretty well, but it was COLD, and I just wanted to get this race over with! The next aid station was just after mile 4, I grabbed a nearly frozen Hammer gel. I had to walk to take it because I couldn't get the package to open and it was NOT going down as easily as "unfrozen" gels. As an aside, I do NOT care for the Tropical flavor. Stopped about a tenth of a mile down the road to use the bathroom.

Since I didn't bother to look at the course or profile, and had never run in this part of town, I really didn't know what to expect. The whole first part of the course FELT uphill. (Luckily after I downloaded Garmin stats, it really WAS uphill and I was not imagining things). I felt like I was working pretty hard, and did take a few short walk breaks to give my legs a break. I really hate the snow and cold, but it was an eerily pretty day out:

Between Miles 5 & 6

About the time we arrive at the halfway point, I start wondering where the course turns around. And then, just before mile 7... I see this hill in the background. Probably hard to tell in this background the enormity of that hill, but that whole sections is switchbacks up to the top. Ugh. Glad I didn't know about that in advance. Yucko.

Aid station right at the base of the switchbacks. Those poor ladies must have been FREEZING, but were wearing their ski pants to keep warm. Yes, it was THAT cold. I ran up about 3/4 of the switchbacks, but took a few short walk breaks. Still had a little more than half the course left, I didn't want to use up all my energy!

At the top of the switchbacks... yes, we ran up ALL that

Took a quick picture and then was ECSTATIC to have some downhills. I literally CRUISED through the next two miles, posting sub 9 minutes for each. WHAT?? I haven't done sub 9s in AGES. I was feeling AWESOME at this point. Took another gel just before mile 9 (this one was NOT frozen since it was in my pocket). I was able to hold a pretty good pace for the rest of the race, although I probably did go out a bit too hard and did take a few short walk breaks. I passed at least 5 or 6 of my "rabbits" during the last few miles, which is always ego-building.

I was super happy when we exited the trail section. I had really been crossing my fingers hoping for sub 2:15, and when I looked at my watch, I knew I would do even better than that. I cruised down the road, and Courtney got an awesome shot of me as I ran by at about the 13 mile marker. How awesome is it that they stuck around so long. Luke finished in 9TH place in 1:22ish. CRAZY!!

For the first time in AGES, I had a little left at the end and actually sorta sprinted at the end. Amazing. Crossed the line and... YAY, my dad had brought A to watch me finish!

Bib #1433

Official Time - 2:11:35

Official Pace - 10:03

Overall Place - 268/421

Sex Place - 112/228

Division Place - 25/41

Garmin Time - 2:11:36

Garmin Distance - 13.16 miles

Garmin Pace - 10:00

Mile 1 - 9:11

Mile 2 - 10:02

Mile 3 - 10:46

Mile 4 - 10:06

Mile 5 - 11:31 (bathroom)

Mile 6 - 10:59

Mile 7 - 9:56

Mile 8 - 11:02 (this was up a mountain, so PLEASED)

Mie 9 - 8:53

Mile 10 - 8:59

Mile 11 - 9:10

Mile 12 - 9:48

Mile 13 - 9:44

Mile 13.1 - 8:11

Headed over to the finisher area and got some delicious chocolate banana bread, a diet coke (I don't care if it IS bad for you, I think it is tasty), some water AND a burrito. Another twitter friend, Daniel (@cybermallet) found me and introduced himself. I just LOVE the internet and all the running friends I have met through Twitter, etc.

Anyway, all things considered, I am super pleased with how this race went. One of my better times in the last year, and I didn't die of hypothermia, which is always a bonus.

Three Things Thursday

2012-02-09T21:27:00.001-07:00

1. Have I mentioned lately that I am absolutely, head over heels IN LOVE with YMX??? Have I??? Well, I am. Thanks to a fabulous streak of good luck, I have now obtained quite a few pieces. I just might survive the Colorado winter after all. Remember to check out their 30 days of Love for the $25 daily special. Here is what I have picked up so far...

Winter Flower

Blossoms & Butterflies

Flower Clouds Sun Tee

Koi Hoodie (OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH)

Maori Swirl

Tribal Sea Run (Pink) WITH MATCHING ARM SLEEVES

You know what I *really* like about their products? They are fun AND functional. So incredibly rare to find BOTH in one product. I can wear them to run 20 miles, or I can wear them casually (which I did today).

I am KICKING myself for not picking up a pair of Koi leggings when they were on special. Blame it on the fact I was in SoCal for the best half marathon ever.

**I'm not being given anything at all in exchange for declaring my everlasting love for this product. I am SUPER PICKY about what I wear, and when I find something I like... Well. Today's deal is 9/10, so there is still a chance to pick up an awesome deal. AND YOU SHOULD**

2. I AM OFFICIALLY REGISTERED FOR STATES #49 AND #50!!!

#49 - Mad Half Marathon, VT (July 8)
#50 - Parkersburg News & Sentinel, WV (August 18)

Please... if you are in the area and want to meet up, please get a hold of me. I suck at making plans, but I am awesome at showing up for things!!

If you haven't been keeping track, I ran my first half marathon in March, 2010. This whole journey will have taken just under 2.5 years. How is THAT for dedication/determination (mixed in with a bit of insanity)?

What is left before #49 and #50?

#44 - RnR NOLA, LA
#45 - RnR Country Music, TN
#46 - One America 500 Festival Mini Marathon - IN
#47 - Pittsburgh, PA
#48 - Superhero, NJ

... and a lot of other random running events.

3. I may or may not be in the market to run a 50 miler in the fall... an obvious choice would be to run the Bear Chase again (although I sorta had considered "just" running the 50k). I may or may not have a partner in crime who is also interested. Suggestions for an "easier" course? I'm guessing September/Octoberish?

As an aside. I'm supposed to run a local 1/2 on Sunday and it is supposed to snow. Yucko. I am planning on wearing one of my YMX tops. Yes. Long sleeves in a race for the first time ever. (Does that prove my devotion??)

Warm Fuzzies.

2012-02-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much everyone for your comments on my last blog post. It helps a TON.

On a related subject... If anyone, and I mean ANYONE is interested in pacing me for my 100 - let me know. Race starts Saturday, March 24 and the cutoff is Sunday at 1:00.

On another Warm Fuzzy note:

I GOT MY RUFFLED LULULEMON SKIRT!!!!!!! I am beyond excited to try this out... maybe this weekend, although it is supposed to be stupid cold and possibly snowy again. Colorado... >:(

Terrifed.

2012-02-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

Seriously, terrified.

Today I started week 12 of my 18 week ultra marathon training program. Training to run 100 miles. I have reached the stage where I am having my doubts. I am starting to freak out. I remember being afraid for my first marathon. My first 50k. And DEFINITELY for my first 50 miler. But this just seems insane. Can I do it? What if I can't? What if I fail? What if I completely fall apart? What if I get sick? What if I get injured? What if I run xx miles and then get pulled for being to slow and DNF? What if I am too afraid to even start?

I'm sure this is all normal. But the closer the date gets, the more apprehensive I get. I have virtually NO support going into this. While I train alone, I don't know if I can get through 100 miles alone.

How do you approach things that TERRIFY you? I need some inspiration!!

Weekend of Awesome Part 2 (AKA, "Snowpocalypse 2012"

2012-02-05T22:01:00.001-07:00

So I was JUST in SoCal last weekend for the most awesome half marathon EVER - and lucky me... this weekend Heather came to visit ME!

Of course a few days before she arrived, we started seeing some super sketchy weather reports... By the night before she was supposed to arrive, we really weren't 100% she would even be able to GET to Denver. We had a forecast of up to 2 FEET OF SNOW in 24-36 hours. Even for Denver, that's a bit much.

For whatever reason, Heather's flight was pretty much the only one NOT cancelled. YAY FOR US! So here is a brief rundown of my weekend.

Friday:

I had 26 miles to run today. Rough. When was I going to fit it all in??? Not to mention I'd run 16 miles on Thursday and 12 on Wednesday. I woke up at 4:15 to head to the gym. The snow had already begun and it wasn't ideal driving to the gym. It was 4:50ish before I even started running. I had a RAD workout. Seriously. I managed to squeeze in 14 pretty awesome miles before I had to head home to grab A before J left for work. Of note: A's 8:00 dentist appointment was cancelled AND the county had called a snow day the night before.

I (stupidly) had a bagel with PB and a small bowl of oatmeal because I was RAVENOUS. Heather had texted to tell me that her flight was delayed an hour. That gave me more time to run, and I was seriously thinking I'd get ALMOST all my miles in.

Arrive at the gym around 8:40. Immediately the run is NOT going as well as earlier. I am blah and my legs are tight. Then, I get the most massive side ache in the universe. I'm positive it's from my breakfast. Blah. I can only run a few minutes, then the pain is so intense I have to walk. This goes on for close to an hour. Needless to say, I didn't accomplish as much as I'd hoped. Grabbed A around 10:25, only managing to squeeze in another 8 miles. 4 miles to go. However, I decide to shower before I go to pick up Heather.

The roads to the airport are CRAP. Super scary drive. Grab Heather and head back home. Sidenote: People in Colorado drive like idiots. The roads were terrible and people were driving like maniacs. We were halfway to my house and came |*| this close to getting into an accident. We literally saw about 4 cars spin out. Unsure if anyone actually hit each other, but luckily we got missed. Lunch at Chipotle, then on to my house. Due to the weather, we were pretty restricted on what we would be able to do. Heather wasn't in the mood to run, I wasn't really either. We went shopping instead :D I managed to pick up a super cute, super purple Nike running skirt for... $4.56!!! After the mall, lunch with A, and then onto Boulder for the best part of the weekend, THE LEMONHEADS in concert! The drive to Boulder was also super scary, but we made it there.

NOT zoomed. Seriously THAT close. Awesome!!

So the concert was super loud and super fun. By the time we headed out, it was already after midnight, which is a super late night for me anyway, and since I'd 1). Been up since 4:15 and 2). Run 22 miles, I was EXHAUSTED. The drive took forever and I crashed.

Saturday:

No real plans. Got out of bed, feeling a bit hungover even though I hadn't drank. Decided to go run. Original plan was maybe to do 8 miles that Heather had on schedule for her long run. She wasn't psyched about the lack of oxygen, and we called it quits after about 45 minutes. At least I made up those extra 4 miles I skipped Friday.

Lunch of awesome at my favorite place... Sweet Tomatoes! More shopping (the mall and of course Target). Managed to waste most of the day, and then we headed back to my house to rest. For whatever reason, I was exhausted. Heather decided to walk on my treadmill, while I took a nap during an episode of Law and Order. I'm LAME.

Dinner at my favorite place... yes, Sweet Tomatoes again. But this time there was carrot cake lava cake, and I argue that just THAT is worth a second trip. Our adventure for the night? Heading to Central City to do a little gambling. I'm super dumb with cards, so I stick to slot machines where I can look at cute cartoons and listen to little songs when I win:

Heather was playing Blackjack and doing pretty well, we stayed until about midnight and then headed back to my house.

Sunday:

Up around 9:00 for BREAKFAST!! J joined me and A and Heather for food at Perkins. FYI, it is pretty dang hard to find something under a billion calories there. I somehow managed to avoid a mammoth muffin, but I won't lie, it was on my mind ALL.DAY.

Heather and A, BFF's

After breakfast, J headed home, and us girls headed back into the mountains for some touristy stuff and to take pictures. After a day of not snowing, there was little evidence of Snowpocalypse and we got some pretty decent pictures in Idaho Springs:

Visitor Center

I promise, this is a PRETEND mine

The mill

Clear Creek

Random Train

It was REALLY cold, but we walked around the town for about a half hour, then stopped at a tiny coffee shop and had pretty much the best coffee EVER. A sure does enjoy her hot chocolate:

Heading back down the mountain, we stopped at Red Rocks and took a few more pictures:

I took the scenic way home, and after a quick stop at Sports Authority (looking for a Nathan hydration vest to wear for my 100 miler) and lunch at Ruby Tuesdays, it was UNFORTUNATELY time to take Heather to the airport :(

What I take from this weekend.

Snow is the worst. It's cold, gross, and scary to drive in.
It is SUPER fun to have a girl's weekend and do things like sightsee and shop and gamble and go to a concert, all while not really spending any money.
I really want to move to SoCal :-/

Anyway, weekend of awesome 2 was great. Too bad we didn't get a chance to run outside and had to suffer YET AGAIN on the treadmill.

January Rewind

2012-02-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

Miles Run - A.BILLION. Well, almost. My highest mileage month EVER, and the first time I went over 200. Total?? 226.28!!!
Races Run - 4 (1 - Mile with A, 2 half marathons, 1 marathon)
PR's Set - TWO. Well. One PW (hehe, My 3:20ish Tink half was 46 minutes slower than my previous worst). But for REALS, I got a new PR on New Year's Day running a marathon in 4:22:24 - almost a 6 minute best!
Minutes of Plank - 104. I missed five days. I blame run-cations.

What's on the agenda for February? Running even MORE miles. Slow and easy for most of them since I still have this wonky pain in my calves. Only hurts if I push the pace. So, lots of foam rolling. I only have two races scheduled, a local half marathon in two weeks and THE AUSTIN MARATHON in three weeks, where we get to have another matchy matchy race with Kim and Lisa. Should be EPIC.

Tinker Bell Half Marathon (Race Recap)

2012-02-01T20:38:00.001-07:00

Anaheim, CA

Sunday, January 29
Half Marathon #54
California Half #2
Weather - Perfect before the sun came up. Then... blazing HOT

I literally registered for the Tinker Bell half marathon within ONE HOUR of registration opening. Inaugural? Disney? Have.To.

Anyway, the alarm goes off at 3:45, along with my obligatory "Damn you Disney" for forcing me to get up at such an obscene hour. Considering there were FOUR females in the room, we managed to get ready in record time, heading out the door maybe a few minutes late. Our goal was to leave by 4:15, walk next door to the Marriott to catch the shuttle, and make it in plenty of time to get the Half Fanatic picture done at 4:45. Epic.Fail. We seem to forget how LONG everything Disney takes. I think we got to the start area around 5:10. People take Disney SERIOUSLY. Race didn't start for over a half an hour and it was practically deserted. No lines for the bathroom - score! We headed over to the start corrals and... run into Dave!!

We decide to start in corral B, since most of us had a B bib. I had an A bib, but moved back so that we could all start together. I had a feeling this was going to be an epic race. I was right. I really don't know how to blog this... I usually have whiny sections where I complain about how I was feeling and that I was tired and blah, blah, blah. I really don't have any of that. Our "A" goal for this race was 2:45 (most of the girls are around 2:30 half-ers, but we figured pictures would add some time). So we started at an easy jog, and off we went. The beginning few miles is outside the park, but the REAL fun obviously started when we got INTO the park. Warning, picture overload - I'll recap after all of them:

First picture of the day, we probably waited over 5 minutes just for this ONE picture

Look at Meeeee!

Captain Hook and Smee

The Three Caballeros

Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming

John Smith and Pocahontas

Around mile 4.5

The "flailing" begins

Possibly my favorite picture EVER

Monsters, Inc makes me HAPPY

We totally DID stop in the middle of the road for this picture. OBNOXIOUS. :D

Could I *be* smiling more???

Stopping for another obnoxious picture

Oh. My. Flailing.

WOOOOOOODY!!! Last photo op at mile 12.5

Actually running. This part was a little tough ;-)

Hi Fivin' Chip and Dale at the Finish Line

Wheee, best finish EVER!

So. About the race. Our goal was to only stop for pictures and to walk through the water stations. And for real, we pretty much did that. I need to specify that when you see my finish time... So the race was really great for an inaugural. Of course Run Disney has put on other events so it's not like they are BRAND new. With the exception of one aid station being out of Powerade, it was very well supported. Plenty of volunteers with cups ready to go. Trash cans not overflowing, etc. We stopped once in the middle of the park to use the real bathroom, and that was also time consuming. But you can't beat real toilets and actually being able to wash your hands after.

I'll post splits at the end, but our official 5K split took longer than the slowest 10K I have ever run. But. This was honestly the most fun I have EVER had in a race. We flailed our arms around, acted goofy, talked, jogged, HAD FUN. I had to take my first GU around mile 4 since we had already been out forEVER and I was starving. The crowd support is AMAZING in Disney races. Not just friends/family, but there are cheerleaders, hula dancers, bands... it's all there! So if I haven't already mentioned it, we got kinda annoying. We had spent so much time goofing off, that at one point we were only TWELVE MINUTES ahead of the sweeper vans. oooooops. And obviously 99% of the people in the pack by the middle of the race? Walkers. So I kinda felt like a badass running past them all. Sorry, walkers, I mean no offense!

Around the halfway point, we stop to use the bathroom again. By now it is HOT. We are roasting!! That's what we get for screwing around for so long! 10K hits and we are picking up the pace and making up time. Although it is obvious that there is NO WAY we will meet our goal. That's ok, we were having a blast. I was HUNGRY. I have never BEEN so hungry in a race. Again, guess that is what happens when you get up at 3:45 am and then spend a jillion hours on the course.

The fuel station wasn't until mile 9 or so, but it was very clearly labeled by FLAVOR so you could pick the one you wanted. We pretty much stuck together the entire race, although we did lose Julie around mile 10 or so. The remaining four of us ran together until our last photo at mile 12.5. We then decided to spring (aka, actually RUN) for the finish. Longest 800m of MY LIFE. But, crossed the line, got my ginormous awesome spinny Tink medal. We met up with the Sparkle Skirts girls at the end and were rewarded with the MOST AWESOME DONUT HOLE IN THE UNIVERSE. Seriously. I don't even like donuts, and this was like a little taste of heaven. Yum. Julie joined us a minute later and we got our final pictures done. Ready for the stats? You know you are!

Bib #515

Official Time - 3:20:30 (Heh. My previous worst time? 2:34)

Official 5K Split - 1:08:41

Official 10K Split - 1:52:04

Official 15K Split - 2:28:59

Overall Place - 7505/9386

Division Place - 1397/1717

Garmin Time - 3:20:31

Garmin MOVING Time - 2:41:18 (That's 39 minutes of NOT moving...)

Garmin Distance - 13.58

Garmin Pace - 14:46

Garmin MOVING Pace - 11:53

Mile 1 - 11:54

Mile 2 - 12:13

Mile 3 - 33:30 (Um, hello)

Mile 4 - 14:45

Mile 5 - 11:47

Mile 6 - 16:17

Mile 7 - 11:06

Mile 8 - 11:49

Mile 9 - 11:52

Mile 10 - 12:11

Mile 11 - 14:08

Mile 12 - 14:45

Mile 13 - 12:12

Mile 13.1ish.... - 10:58

Bathroom Stops - 2 (+1 while we waited for someone)

Pictures Taken - Lots

Running - Really, we did jog most of the course. We just... rested a lot :D

Fun - SO MUCH THAT I FEAR RACING WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Sparkly Awesomeness!

Julie had the most AMAZING costume EVER!

Ignore the creepy glare on my nose >:(

Bling, Bling!!

Apparently when you take an eternity to finish a race, the park is actually opening by the time you are done. We had to wait in line for bag checks to get to the shuttles. And then we waited a really long time for our bus. My legs felt pretty good. You know, since I just "raced" a half marathon. Got back to the room, packed, then it was a quick shower and off to lunch at Red Robin. Yes, giving them another chance, even after the fiasco with my pasta the night before. I couldn't decide what to order, so Heather and I split the bacon cheeseburger and some super hot & spicy burger. Best. Food. Ever. I had ordered a salad, and of course the server had to mess with me and charge me for a dinner salad instead of a side salad. Not impressed with this location..

Best. Burger. Ever.

Kat was nice enough to give us a ride to Heather's house so her husband didn't have to load up the kids to come get us. The kids were already in their swim suits when we got there. After a quick lunch for them, we headed over to the pool. Outside. In January. I'm clearly NOT in Colorado anymore. They were in the pool for about an hour, then we headed back to relax for about an hour before A and I had to head to the airport :(

We had Subway for dinner, flight was on time, and we actually landed 25 minutes EARLY. When does THAT ever happen?

Wasted.

Best. Race. Weekend. Ever.

I'm probably forgetting stuff, but this was really the best trip and race ever. I have truly never run a race "for fun" ever. And even though I had my worst half marathon time, I don't think I will EVER be able to top the amount of fun I had. Thanks so much for putting up with my obnoxious behavior Heather, Kat, Julie, and Mary. I'll blame it on the redonkulous fun that is Disney and the sweltering SoCal sun. Hey. Let's do this again... Novemberish?

Tinker Bell Race Weekend - Saturday

2012-01-31T15:09:00.002-07:00

So I managed to wake up in plenty of time to get ready for the Kid's race. Great, since I had passed out before setting an alarm. Oops.

We had a brilliant plan to leave around 6:45, allowing us plenty of time to get through the super secret entrance in Downtown Disney at 7:15, be ready to run at 7:45, run at 8 and be done shortly thereafter. Only.

We left late. It took longer to get there than we thought. The super secret entrance? CROWDED. Super long line - they had to check bags of EVERYONE that was entering. And since these were parents with young kids? Long. Lines. We finally entered the park, I took A and Heather's two oldest kids one way, and she left with Gabs for the 400.

A and Gabs

A with #1

On the start line

So they yell "Go!" and immediately the kid in front of me stops. I try to stop so I don't fall on him, which causes ME to fall and re-skin my knee and drop my phone. In a Kid's race. Brutal. I had some catching up to do as the kids had already taken off. My calves? Aching. IN A KIDS RACE. Finally caught up to the kids and they were running pretty strongly. Until, for some reason, #1 stopped and put A on her back. Meanwhile, I'm yelling "cheater!" (all in good fun). #1 drops A and off they go.

What a ham!

A began to tire out a little more than halfway there. #1 and #2 went on ahead, and obviously I stuck with A. She was doing really well, but I had no idea on pace since I had forgotten to wear my watch. We started to see the signs for the shorter kid's distances, and I finally got her to run again between the markers for the 100 and 200m. She SPRINTED toward the finish:

There was no clock at the end, so no idea on the time. I was figuring around 12-13 minutes. Imagine my surprise when I pulled official times later in the evening to find out that even with a minute or more of walking, she still pulled off a 10:14 mile! So proud of her!

A and #2

Awesome medal!

We grab our bottles of water and food, then head to watch for Heather and Gabs. We didn't know that all the races hadn't started at the same time, and she didn't have her phone to tell us she got tired of waiting and ran sooner with the 200m group. We barely caught sight of her as she ran by, so no pictures :(

By now it was MUCH later than we had planned. We had tons of stuff still to do. We went and had breakfast down the street with some of Heather's extended family. So much fattening and delicious food. I love vacation:

Right after breakfast we headed BACK to the expo. Tried again for goodie bags for Team Sparkle. Out again :( A talked me into getting her the new Minnie Mouse sparkle skirt. Adorable.

After leaving the expo, it was on to the second adventure of the day. Quick stop at the grocery store to pick up goodies for the Ragnar meeting. Oh, what's that you say? Ragnar meeting? Well, I am the only person NOT from SoCal on my team. So they decided to combine a virtual run for Gabs with a Ragnar meeting on Tinker Bell weekend so that I could get a chance to meet everyone. YAY! Everyone was SUPER nice, and NO running was done since it was a billion degrees out. I did, however, eat a cupcake, some cookies, some chips... (catching a theme here?) I also got my pair of Aspaeris Pivot Shorts. Pulled them out of the package and they looked like something A could wear! But, they ARE pretty dang comfortable. If they would have had a pocket, they would have been part of my outfit for the half. ~~There is a picture floating around somewhere of the Ragnar girls, but I don't know who has it.~~ Snagged from Pretty Fittie, a team picture, and I'm ROCKIN' the new Aspaeris shorts! (I'm in the green sparkle skirt, in case you forgot what I look like :D

After the meeting, we still had to get iron on transfers for our outfits (nothing like waiting until the last minute) - which Heather's husband had gotten while we were having our meeting. After a bit of trial and error, our outfits were ready to roll. Then it was time to head to meet our friends for some... PRE RACE EATING. Yep. More food.

Riddle me this. Kid's meal at Red Robin. Includes drink, mac and cheese (with free refills) and a side (could include veggies or salad or fries) for $4.99. An adult version is the same size mac, salad, a teeny piece of bread, NO REFILLS ON MAC and twice the price. Mad. I explain to the waiter that I eat A LOT and expected more for my money. Long story short... I did eat half of Heather's plate, and got a refill of mac. But still. Isn't that wrong?? Shouldn't my serving have been bigger, ESPECIALLY with no refill??? The server had the audacity to say, "Wow. You really DO eat a lot." Good thing I don't get offended easily. Pleasantly surprised when my friend Josh picked up the tab. FOR THE WHOLE TABLE. What a rad guy.

Heather's husband leaves with the kiddo's and we check into the Crowne Plaza across the parking lot. Heather's Priceline steal of $69... between 4 of us. What a deal! Beer in the hotel bar. Well, I actually had 2, which is usually more than I think I should have, but we were having such a good time, I really couldn't resist.

And head to bed around 10... early wake up call. You know, it IS Disney.

Tinker Bell Race Weekend - Friday

2012-01-30T13:48:00.001-07:00

Since I was bringing A with me again, I decided to get there a bit earlier on Friday so that we could do some non running/race related things.

EARLY flight out of Denver. Nothing of any interest happened at the airport. Although. If you pack an entire suitcase filled with nothing but 26 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, security is a BIT suspicious. FYI. Arrived in Orange County around 9:30 am. A friend of mine picked us up at the airport. We hung out a bit, enjoyed lunch at Chipotle, then headed to the beach to kill time until Heather got off work so we could hit up the expo.

Within minutes, A was covered in mud and wet up to her thighs. BUT. She was having fun.

Things were going very well until she got swarmed by ladybugs and had a meltdown. Yes. Ladybugs. Apparently, they are terrifying. Luckily, by the time I had A cleaned up, Heather had managed to find us at Huntington Beach. Quick stop to drop off luggage and A at her house, then we were off, KID FREE to the expo.

oooooh yeah! (Thanks, Heather)

Like most Disney races, it was chaotic and crowded, although nowhere NEAR as bad as I remember from Disneyland. Practically experts after just doing this same packet pick up a few months ago, we knew exactly where to go to get all our stuff. Had to re-print waivers since I left them in my suitcase, and it still only took a few minutes to get my bib and A's bib for the kid's race.

We walked through the expo. Disappointed that Sparkle Skirts were already out of goodie bags :( Picked up a new pair of race legs and an AWESOME wrist wallet. Why a wrist wallet, you ask? Well. Sparkle skirts, sadly, do not have pockets. I don't always like to wear a race belt since they seem to sit on me funny and I spend a lot of time adjusting. So I got the wrist wallet thing to hold GU and other small items. Spoiler: It was FANTASTIC during my race.

Manage to get in and out in well under an hour, AND only spending about $28. Score!! I honestly can't remember what else we did, although I *do* remember that Heather made some bad ass lasagna. I ate a TON, as it was probably some of the best lasagna I've ever had. We discussed our plans for the kid's races in the morning, and although I had every intention of staying up later, I managed to fall asleep about 4 minutes into an episode of "Castle" around 10:15. Apparently, I was exhausted.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

Three Products to Try This Winter

2012-01-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

1. Yellowman Winter Flower Long sleeve Tri-Pocket Jersey

How much do I love this top??? TONS. (And this is the color I have!)

UPF 50+
Three pockets in the back - deep enough to hold a water bottle (although I wouldn't/couldn't run with one, but good for cycling or walking)
MadKool fabric - 92% polyester, 8% spandex

OMG. So I was lucky enough to win one of these bad boys through Twitter (if you aren't already following them... DO - @WearYMX). It came JUST IN TIME for my 20 miler Fat Ass run last weekend. I know I'm a tank top wearer, but due to the weather, I figured what better way than to test out a shirt than on a 4ish hour trail run?

I. Am. In. Love. Attractive and fitted, this shirt has it all. I was kept warm, yet it wicked and even cooled me down when it got warmer. No idea how that works, but I'm telling you. The 4 hours I wore this shirt CHANGED me. I will wear this on my longer trail runs and know that I can toss my iPod and keys in the back and go for a run and I will be comfortable. Highly recommend this product. Also - check out their website as they are running a special 72 hour sale on one item for $25... Wear Yellowman

(I was not asked to review this product, but since I liked it so much, I wanted to).

2. Athleta Headwinds Jacket

Um. This jacket is no longer on Athleta's website... which is a TOTAL BUMMER, because it could quite possibly be the best jacket I've ever had. I purchased mine on Black Friday during their sale- in an awesome red color (with silver accents and black lining).

Keeps me warm, yet vents me when I get hot (how??). Nice looking and fitted. Not too tight at the waist line - I was able to wear it OVER a fuel belt without it being too tight/annoying. Long enough sleeves that I can use the thumb holes without feeling like my arms are being ripped off. Outside ZIPPERED pockets - great so I don't lose stuff. AND inside pockets too. Plus, the accenting is ALL REFLECTIVE, so it is perfect to wear at dusk/evening. This is an awesome jacket - I hope Athleta brings it back. It is perfect for me!

3. Aspaeris Pivot Shorts - Dual Sensory Compression

As part of the SoCal Ragnar team I'm on, I'm officially SPONSORED to wear these for at least one leg. I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY THESE. I like sparkle skirts, but what I DON'T like is that the UA "compression" shorts I have been wearing are not at ALL compression-y. They constantly ride up and I spend half the race pulling them done.

The Aspaeris pivot shorts "guide your muscles into proper position, thereby improving your pivot performance which helps prevent ACL and hip injuries" SCORE. Anything that can help prevent me to get injured is something I want to try. They also wick away moisture so that odor-causing bacteria is eliminating. Obviously something I'll need if I'm spending a few days in a van with people I don't know :-/

So... something special about these... if you need some compression shorts, they are offering a 50% off discount (courtesy of our team) - use the code "cooleronline" and save a TON!! So check them out!

Southside Fatass 20 Miler ("Race" Recap)

2012-01-21T20:24:00.001-07:00

Not really a race, but an organized group run with distances where you record your own time. There IS a winner, but totally unofficial.

So the other day, I'm on Facebook, and one of my friends asked - "anyone want to run 20 miles on Saturday?" Well. I did want to run 20ish. Actually, I had 24 on schedule. So I asked for more information. She told me about the Southside Fatass run. Lucky for me, it was taking place only about 20 minutes from my house. On a day I was supposed to do a long run anyway. With available distances ranging from 15 miles to 50K, I was pretty sure it would be a nice change from the treadmill.

Yes. You heard me right. After 9 weeks of doing my double digit runs on the treadmill, I decided to take it outside.

Date: January 21
Time: 7 am

I was warned that I shouldn't be late, or I would miss getting a map. I was very concerned about getting that map since I have only run a teeny tiny section of the trails. And THAT was about 2 years ago. Two other girls needed to use the bathroom, so I went with them - and we informed the group we would be back for the start. Had some nice conversation, the women had actually done the relay of the 100 miler I'll be doing in a few months. One is running the Leadville 100 this year!

Anyway, we are heading back to the start, the sun is coming up:

And then we see the runners heading toward us. They started without us :( Which meant... no map for me! OH NO!!! It looked like they were running fast. Not really surprising since Boulder is known for super freaky fast runners. I ended up at the tail end of the pack and spoke with the organizer. She said she would get a map for me and ran off. Unfortunately... she never came back. Lucky for me, I latched on to apparently the only other average runner. And yay for me that she turned out to be AWESOME. She gave me her map, and said she was familiar enough with the trails that she probably wouldn't need it. And she was super great company. I never ONCE turned on my iPod. And for pretty much the only time EVER, the miles seriously did fly by. I didn't really look at my watch, and actually enjoyed most of my run.

This IS pretty nice to look at

So it IS January. Luckily most of the trails were pretty clear. Only a few sections were icy and about a mile was decently muddy. But for the most part we had some pretty runnable trails. I was doing really well until we had to cross the highway - maybe somewhere around 4 miles. Right after we crossed, there was a downhill section. I tripped over a rock, flailed awkwardly and was not able to catch myself from falling. Face plant. Skinned my knee. But at least I didn't rip my running tights or my jacket. And at least I (narrowly) missed the cow poop. Jumped up, and kept going.

I had chosen a VERY unconventional (for me) outfit for running. My new YMX Winter flower long sleeve jersey and my Athleta Headwinds jacket. PERFECT. As you know, I am 99% of the time a tank top wearer. But. 27 degrees. Windy. January. I didn't want to take a chance.

We stopped to use the bathroom around mile 7. First aid station at mile 8. Yes, there were aid stations. The organizers husband ran a "mobile" aid station. Waited for the last people to arrive then headed to the second point down the trail. I downed a 1/4 PBJ sandwich, small cup of coke, a few pretzels and some animal crackers. (Did I mention this event was FREE???)

Hope (the woman I was running with) and I were having a great time talking, and we finally encountered the first section we really couldn't run. It was steep single track, lots of mud and ice. Neither of us fell. Bonus. After scraping mud out of the soles of shoes, we continued on. Second aid station at mile 11. We beat the van there by a couple of minutes. Refueled - this time with a chocolate chunk rice krispie treat, some chips and M&Ms. We added another runner who only wanted to run the end, and headed out again.

She turned out to be MUCH slower than we were. We talked and "ran" (her jog was my brisk walk pace) for about a mile, then when she slowed to a walk, we went on without her.

It's hard to see, but in the picture below on the hill there is a big animal. We could not determine if it was a wolf or coyote. Luckily he never came close enough for us to find out.

We had a nice section of fairly flat and downhill. Then we turned and the wind picked back up. I took off my jacket around 10:30, tying it around my waist. That was not as annoying as I thought it would be either.

Since Hope knew where she was going and was only running 20, I decided to scrap my extra miles and finish up the run with her. Even with over 20 minutes of stopping and standing around (between the bathroom stop and aid stations), we still maintained a pretty decent pace.

She is training for her first 50k in May (the same one I ran last year!) and we plan to do another run together this spring.

Three Things Thursday

2012-01-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Year #2 of entry... C'mon!!!

2. I pulled out my KT tape and wrapped up my left calf and right knee for my run at the gym this morning. Truly amazing how much better I felt today than I did on Sunday. Part 2 of my workout? My headphones shorted out with about 2 miles left of my run. For those keeping track, that is two pairs in FIVE days. WTH??? I'm apparently headphones jinxed :(

3. I started classes on Tuesday. This semester I am taking about law enforcement, called "Policing America" and "Criminal Justice Research Methods." They sound a lot more difficult than the classes I took in the fall. I needed two books. At the bookstore they were roughly $287+tax. There should really be some sort of regulation on textbook pricing. I find that FREAKING OUTRAGEOUS. I got them shipped to me off Amazon for the "bargain" of $172.28.

Tough Chik Tuesday

2012-01-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard, I'm part of an awesome group of ladies - Team Tough Chik

I like the idea of "Tough Chik Tuesday" - so here we go.

So I had a craptastic race on Sunday. I had 5 miles on schedule yesterday. YEAH.FREAKING.RIGHT. I normally would "tough it out." However. I have a LOT on my plate over the next few months and the last thing I need is to get sidelined with an injury. So I moved the 5 miles to today. And they still sorta sucked, but I got them done. I have a few longish runs left to run this week. So where does the tough part come in? I'm debating about a last-minute-sorta-marathon-ultraish trail run on Saturday.

Huh.

What is it? It's called the Southside Fatass 50K. A FREE 50K. Other distances available are 15, 20, 25 or 28 miles. Two aid stations, but mostly self supported. It's supposed to be mid 50's on Saturday. I have 20 miles on schedule... Maybe I'll do this instead of yet another treadmill run?

I honestly think part of my "weakness" lately has been the lack of varied training. I haven't been training hills. I haven't been running outside.

My legs are sore, but at this point I'm hesitant to call it an actual injury. I've iced and stretched and definitely feel better.

So. My question to you. TOUGH OR STUPID???

Rock 'n' Roll Arizona (Race Recap)

2012-01-16T15:26:00.003-07:00

Phoenix, AZ
Sunday, January 15
Half Marathon #53
Arizona Half #2
Weather - Overcast, perfect for running

Since we have already raced in Arizona, Rock 'n' Roll Arizona ended up on our schedule only to fill a period of non-racing. Obviously one of the things I dislike about the Rock 'n' Roll series is that 1). They force you to pick up your OWN packet (NO EXCEPTIONS) and you have to do it at the expo 2). They close the expo at 5:00 pm on Saturdays. For people who are traveling, they essentially have to waste an entire extra day just to get there in time for the expo. It's stressful and annoying. Instead of being able to take an early afternoon flight, we had to be gone by noon, landing by 2:00 to give us time to get out of the airport and to the Phoenix convention center.

We had a few friends from Colorado that had flown down a few days earlier, and they were nice enough to pick us up at the airport and take us to the expo. Saved us SO MUCH STRESS. As my long-time readers know, I don't really do well when I'm under a time crunch and trying to find somewhere I haven't been before. Like most big races, the expo was held downtown and we had to pay $12 for parking. But (roll eyes) the expo was free and open to the public!

We normally do not have time to do anything at an expo but pick up our stuff and go. This time... we actually wandered around for about an hour. It was really nice and stress-free! Got my bib, a pretty decent race shirt. Picked up some new AWESOME BANDS from Razzy Roo, tried on some shoes, looked at some apparel, but really was able to get out without having spent really anything at all.

Colorado Runners

Our friends dropped us off at our hotel near the airport aLoft. Have any of you stayed there? What a fun hotel!

Imagine our luck that right next to the hotel was a Ruby Tuesday's. We weren't going to starve to death after all! L from Because I Can and her friend, B, had arrived earlier in the day. They had gone to the wrong aLoft on the other side of town. Oops. While we were waiting for them, we went ahead and got some dinner.

L and B finally arrived and we hung out in the room, watching the Broncos get massacred and talking. My L was exhausting from having worked the night before, so the rest of us went down to the lobby to down a few more carbs before heading to bed.

Should I have stopped at one??

We headed to bed around 9:30 since we were going to be out the door by 6:00 am. I, however, barely slept at all. The pillows were super tiny, one of the sets of blinds was left partially up and I couldn't find the cable in the dark to close them, and messing with the thermostat it was either too hot, or too cold. I never got comfortable. Alarm went off at 5:27 and I felt like I hadn't slept at all.

B and L were already experts at the light rail, so we met her two Ragnar friends and heading to the station shortly after 6:00 am. Arrived with no problems at the starting area, although I realized I had forgotten my sunglasses. At least I had brought a visor this time though. We had fun taking pictures and walking around, and even ran into our friends from CO on our way to the bathrooms.

Left to right: Me, B, L, my L

Me, B, L, my L

Colorado Runners

Due to our matching outfits, it appears people thought we knew everything about the race. We had quite a few people asking us where the corrals were, bathrooms, etc. And, we somehow got video-interviewed. Um, maybe I'll come across where that film is someday. I'm sure I sounded like an idiot. We cycled through the bathroom lines twice, then headed to corral 5 with about 20 minutes to the start.

Corral 5!

The race was supposed to start at 7:30. It was delayed for some reason we weren't ever told of. And our corral was delayed even further because we had to wait for a light rail train to cross. That was a little annoying. So we all planned on running "together" (with the exception of the other L, she is crazy fast). So me, B, L, and Ruth (from CO) started out. Pretty much immediately I felt like crap. My legs were tight. I was having the calf cramping again. It was getting pretty painful and before we even hit the first mile, everyone ran off without me (sniff, sniff). Shortly after the first mile, I encountered my next problem. My feet fell asleep. Both of them. I know that it is not the shoes, I have been racing in these shoes since the Rock 'n' Roll Denver marathon last September. I wear my running shoes very loose, and I don't even tie/untie them. The numbness was very painful and annoying, couple that with the calf tightening and it was a miserable time. I walked much longer than usual through the aid stations, and the numbness would let up a little, and come back full force as soon as I started running again. At the second aid station I noticed I had blood all over my right thumb. Don't even know what happened there, but as soon as I noticed it, it hurt. I was definitely having a pity party in my head. I've been spoiled running with L the last few months. I was having a hard time and it would have been nice to have someone to complain to.

Next problem. My iPod quit working just past mile 4. Sigh. I have run without music only a handful of times, and only ONCE during a race, and that was my terrible "naked" 5K I ran last fall. So now I am in pain, running alone, AND I don't even have any music. With NINE miles to go :(

The course was nice though:

I stopped a few times to stretch my legs, loosened my laces sooooo much that if I loosened them any more they wouldn't even be tied. NOTHING HELPED. Other than that race I ran in New Hampshire, I have never struggled so much during a race. This was so mentally defeating for me. I know what I am capable of, and my stupid body was just NOT cooperating. The few times L has run without music, she said she kept herself entertained by listening to conversations other people were having. Only. NO ONE WAS TALKING. I could hear people's music blaring through their headphones, but it was a quiet race. And for a Rock 'n' Roll race, there were only a handful of bands. So awful.

FINALLY make it to the halfway point and relay exchange. This was kinda neat:

Shortly after turning the corner, a lady tapped me on the shoulder and told me she reads my blog. I said thank you, but very rudely didn't wish her luck or ask her name. I'm sorry! I was having a really tough race.

Somewhere past halfway

Spent my time people watching (which I normally do anyway) and trying to talk myself out of just giving up and walking. Somehow I was able to keep going, and mile 7.5, I ran into the P.F. Chang dragon! I didn't see any of the people wearing bibs that were running with this, they might have really been doing this JUST FOR FUN:

I had done ZERO research on the course. I didn't know where the aid stations were, I didn't know what the course looked like. At the GU aid station though, I only took three this time :D - all roctanes!

I honestly spent probably 90% of my time bargaining with myself not to give up. I was in pain, cranky, tired, and just not feeling it. Which is really too bad, because this would have been a fun course I think on a better day. I think this balloon made dragon arch was somewhere between mile 8 and 9?

And I just loved the scenery. Ignore the guy in the blue shirt that is probably peeing.

According to L, the last three miles were a gradual downhill. I was hoping that would help my legs. It didn't really, but I was mentally determined to finish and tried to give it all I had. I think I picked up the pace a little bit, and the last few miles were sort of a blur. I remember the last aid station being 1.6 miles from the finish (sob), but then at the start of the bridge, there was a beer table. YAY! I grabbed a beer and kept going. And then... OMG!! I saw some cheetah skirts and gave it all I had. I managed to catch up to B and L. B was really struggling, she was having trouble with her hip, she said to go on without her. I caught up to L, talked for a minute, then per her norm, she took off. I saw the stadium, which I knew was the finish, and we were in longest chute ever. And I walked. :( I totally walked in the chute. But I saw the clock around the corner, and started running and SOMEHOW finished in a pretty respectable time. Could barely walk after crossing the line, but I finished.

I think this is the finish. My hands look weird.

Me and B

Bib# 25157
Official Time - 2:15:30
Official Pace - 10:21
Official 5K - 31:36
Official 10K - 1:04:06
Official 10 Mile - 1:44:02
Overall Place - 6941/15663
Gender Place - 3348/9505
Division Place - 626/1570
Garmin Time - 2:15:29
Garmin Distance - 13.17 miles
Garmin Pace - 10:17
Mile 1 - 9:38
Mile 2 - 10:49
Mile 3 - 10:04
Mile 4 - 10:21
Mile 5 - 10:31
Mile 6 - 10:27
Mile 7 - 10:05
Mile 8 - 10:38
Mile 9 - 10:31
Mile 10 - 10:34
Mile 11 - 9:35
Mile 12 - 10:38
Mile 13 - 9:57
Mile 13.1ish - 10:12 (totally walked part of this)

I have NEVER experienced such a clusterfuck after a race. It took like 20 minutes to get from the finisher chute to the exit. We didn't even stop for a picture, just grabbed a handful of food on our way out. Being wrangled like cattle and we STILL got separated from each other on the way out. Luckily L and I carry cell phones, and we found each other. POOR signage didn't tell us how to get back to the light rail, but luckily some people helped us out. And then again AT the light rail station, we asked for help so we didn't get lost on the way back. We managed to successfully get where we needed to go. One last picture of the awesome WINNERS:

I am miniature!!

I was in a complete rush/panic because my flight was due to depart at 1:15. We arrived at the hotel at 11:15. Super super fast shower. Then while I was getting ready, I noticed I had a voicemail. My flight had been delayed one hour. Which meant... time for BURGERS AT CHILI'S!!

Best. Food. Ever. L and I were in different terminals, so we parted ways. My flight ended up being delayed almost another hour. At least I was not sitting next to anyone weird this time, and even managed to fall asleep for a bit.

More pics to follow...

Friday the 13th Things

2012-01-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

The trend seems to be 13 things... so here we go:

1. In just under 8 weeks of ultra training for the Moab 100, I have run 335 miles. That's insane.
2. I never thought I would say I "only" have to run 10 miles today.
3. I can't BELIEVE I was actually able to pull off having surgery and STILL get EVERY.SINGLE.MILE.IN. Thankfully, it was a "short & easy" week. (Again, who knew I'd every look at a 40+ mile week and think "easy."
4. Here are the races I'm CURRENTLY registered for in 2012. 99.9% dropping out of Edinburgh though :(

Whiny Wednesday

2012-01-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

I. Hate. Snow. And. Winter.

The end.

A Day in the Life...

2012-01-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

So on the days that I don't work. I often wonder... where the heck does the time go?

7:40 - Wake up. Snooze.
7:45 - Get out of bed. Tired.
8:00 - Eat a bowl of oatmeal
8:15 - Help A get ready for school
8:40 - Take kids to school
9:00 - Kids in school, head home
9:10 - Leave for gym
9:20 - Arrive at gym
9:30 - Ride for one hour, while reading "Life Expectancy" by Dean Koontz
10:35 - Leave the gym
10:45 - Go to the bank
10:55 - Go to Target, grocery shop
11:20 - Clean the bathroom (mirror, sink, toilet)
12:00 - Shower
12:15 - Throw in a load of laundry
12:20 - Head to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch
1:15 - Leave Sweet Tomatoes. Love me some salad.
1:30 - Arrive at home
1:35 - Throw clothes in the dryer. Check emails. Print RnR Arizona confirmation. Clean the bathtub.
2:40 - WTH? Where did the last hour go??
2:41 - Watch a partial episode of Criminal Minds
3:05 - Drive to pick up A at school
3:20 - Arrive back home
3:30-4:45 - I have NO idea what happened in this time period. NO CLUE.
4:45 - Leave to take A to ballet
5:00 - Ballet
5:30 - Leave ballet and drive to parents house
5:35 - Dinner at parents house
6:20 - Arrive at home to pick up J
6:30 - Arrive at skating rink for A's girl scout skating night.
8:00 - Leave skating rink
8:05 - Put away A's laundry, get her ready for bed, read story
8:50 - Start watching Biggest Loser from DVR.

J and A at the skating rink

Man, am I going to be screwed when I get a full-time job again. I did nothing and everything all in one day.

Some Things Sunday

2012-01-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well. I missed Three Things Thursday. And there is a whole lot of random stuff out there that doesn't need it's own blog post.

1. I pulled this on Thursday afternoon. I have never EVER been #1 on the leader board on Daily Mile. Ever.

2. There is a NEW FLAVOR OF LUNA BARS!!! Excuse me while I squeal with glee. I love these things, and I adore the chance to try a new flavor. I'll be testing this one out before RnR Phoenix on Sunday.

3. I got a damn speeding ticket on my drive back to Colorado. I wasn't even going that fast. Doesn't this seem pricey?? It's my first ticket since the 90s :( I really wish I knew how people got out of traffic tickets, I bet this makes my rates go up too.

4. Have I mentioned how much I love a deal??? I got a $10 check from Dick's Sporting Goods for my rewards, and since it's free money, of course I have to use it. I rarely can find something I want for $10, so I usually end up getting GU. This time? I got some AWESOME new Mizuno shorties (originally $24.99 marked down to $7.98!) to wear under my sparkle skirts AND 2 gels. And paid only 61 cents out of pocket. Can you say BARGAIN??

5. Speaking of a bargain... Look at the cute shoes I picked up on eBay a few weeks ago! Super good deal on these.

6. And finally... Instead of my normal ritual on Friday morning (super early wake up and 20+ mile run), I was having surgery. I hate the IV in the hand thing. It hurts :( I slept most of the day Friday, and have literally spent the weekend in a near coma-induced coma from eating too much. I really am not in any pain, taking meds only to put me in a deeper sleep at night. And yes, I plan on my regularly scheduled run tomorrow.

7. As an aside. I really don't do resolutions. But I have GOT to do something. Over the last 2-3 weeks I have felt myself spiralling out of control with my eating. My exercise is right on, but my food is NOT. I am eating all sorts of junk, and even while doing it, I know I "shouldn't" be. Every once in a while, I recognize I will "binge," but this has been going on for far too long, I'm starting to get concerned. I've never been one to really track calories, but maybe that is what I need to do to hold myself accountable. Thoughts? What do YOU do when you get off track??

New Years Double (Day) Marathon (Race Recap)

2012-01-05T21:24:00.002-07:00

Sunday, January 1
Marathon #6
Allen, TX
Weather - CHILLY at start. Sunny and WINDY

So I have done back to back half marathons quite a few times. I think at least 8 weekends. But never in my craziest bouts of insanity did I think I would sign up for something like this. And yet... I did. The New Years Double FULL marathon, and day 2 of racing.

The remainder of Saturday was spent in Dallas. We took the kids for a walking tour near the site where JFK was assassinated and then visited the museum.

A and her cousin

We stopped and had dinner at Chili's. I know. Two carb loading meals in a row that I'VE NEVER EATEN AT PRE-RACE. But it was pretty similar to what I usually eat, and it was DELICIOUS.

Now remember. We are staying in a hotel room. And there are four kids. Luckily A and I have our own room, and the other kids are with Lisa. On the way back to the room, we stopped for some snacks and to get me new sunglasses (Curse you Adidas!!!). I got some $20 Ironman series sunglasses that seemed like they would do the trick. We tried hanging out in one room watching TV waiting for the ball to drop. This is what the kids looked like:

You'd think they were drinking something other than sparkling apple cider. About 10:15 and I gave up. A and I headed over to our room. She went to bed and I had to pack up all our stuff to drop off in Lisa's room in the morning. With the late start and me running the full, no way would I have time to come back to take a shower.

I was in bed by 10:45. I had no alcohol and missed New Years. I am old and lame.

I didn't sleep well. A was crazy fidgety. But thanks to going to bed early and getting to "sleep in," I wasn't that tired. I got dressed (with a throwaway shirt this time) and Lisa dropped me off, just a little later than the day before. Lines even shorter for the bathroom this time. On the way to the start line, I headed over to the info tent and finally got to meet Libby. Then I only had a few minutes to head to the start line. I ditched the shirt, and off we went.

I started in the correct corral this time, and although it was crowded, I didn't find it as bad as the day before since I was starting with "faster" people. It was much colder than the day before, and I *almost* regretted not wearing arm sleeves. I was, however, wearing my gloves. Notice, I am still wearing the orange/white striped ones I picked up off the ground in SC. I think this is race #4 for them now... Also, cool (?) new shades:

I have only raced in a Half Fanatic top once, and never in a Maniac tee. This is the perfect type of situation to wear one, as many of the participants are the crazy people (like me) that want to race any weekend of the year, even IF it is a holiday. Again, I enjoyed the out and back because I got to see people and wave at people. Wearing a Maniac shirt is awesome. People were waving and telling me good job, it was great. I might have to wear it more often.

I felt really good the first loop (6.55 miles) and then, like yesterday, I had to use the bathroom again. Curse it!! Honestly, I do remember thinking that miles 7-9 I felt REALLY good. I kept running by feel, and I got pretty worried after the second loop and I was pretty much dead on with the pace I had run the half yesterday. Last time I ran a "speedy" first half, I crashed and burned at the end. I was determined for that NOT to happen.

Without gloves, so by now I've run at least 16 miles

Course thinned out after a few hours, and the wind was CRAZY awful in parts. It felt really hard to run in, but at least it wasn't as hot. I think I kept the gloves on until I was about 15, maybe 16 miles in. I would NEVER have expected that in Texas. Very rarely do I keep gloves on a whole HALF marathon.

Nothing very eventful until the turnaround in loop three. I was zoning out and accidentally turned the wrong way, going off course. Luckily I realized it pretty quickly (having run the loop quite a few times already). Oooooops. I was still feeling pretty good, and by the time I was finishing my third loop, I was pretty sure I could PR.

The other cool thing about this race was that there was a special HF/MM water station! I think they gave water to anyone who wanted it, but they also gave me little Reese's Peanut Butter cup. Strangest thing I have ever eaten during a regular marathon, that's for sure.

Lap 4, the course is pretty empty, but I have actually LAPPED people. That has pretty much happened... never. Maybe that is one of the things that encouraged me to push and really go for that PR. I have never been fast, but it was nice to pass people...

At the aid stations and sometimes other runners were asking me, "are you done ALREADY?" And I won't lie, that felt good. Lap 4 was really a mental game for me, as my legs were definitely getting tired. I already knew the course was going to run long with how the half had measured for me the day before. I hit mile 25 and knew I could practically walk and still PR. Came around by the lake, hit the mile 26 marker and gave it all I had.

Once again, my family was at the finish line (AWESOME!!) and got pictures of me (I'm waving at them in this one):

Get my Mylar blanket thingy (it was a lot colder when I stopped moving). Checked my watch, and not only did I break my previous marathon time, I beat it by quite a bit. About SIX MINUTES FASTER!!!!

Bib #2054
Official Time - 4:22:24 (!! - previous PR was 4:28:15)
Official Pace - 10:01 (the exact same pace as my half the day before. CRAZY)
Overall Place - 23/89
Gender Place - 8/36
Division Place - 2/8 (!!!!)
Official 3.65 miles - 36:52
Official 6.55 miles - 1:04:37
Official 10.2 miles - 1:42:23
Official 13.1 miles - 2:10:16
Official 16.75 miles - 2:46:37
Official 19.65 miles - 3:15:31 (For reference, I ran my 20 miler in 3:42:00)
Garmin Time - 4:22:28
Garmin Distance - 26.67 miles
Garmin Pace - 9:50
Mile 1 - 9:56
Mile 2 - 9:39
Mile 3 - 9:40
Mile 4 & 5 - 9:38
Mile 6 - 9:41
Mile 7 - 11:02 (bathroom)
Mile 8 - 9:36
Mile 9 - 9:21
Mile 10 - 9:26
Mile 11 - 9:53
Mile 12 - 9:48
Mile 13 - 9:34
Mile 14 - 9:43
Mile 15 - 9:31
Mile 16 - 9:45
Mile 17 - 9:40
Mile 18 - 9:46
Mile 19 - 10:00
Mile 20 - 10:13
Mile 21 - 10:00
Mile 22 - 10:14
Mile 23 - 9:48
Mile 24 - 10:13
Mile 25 - 10:10
Mile 26 - 10:04
Mile 26.2 - 8:41

So I bet you are wondering what the "coolest part" was? I WON AN AWARD. Top 10 male and female win an award, and since I was in 8th place... I won two champagne glasses. Check me out posing with them:

The medals were two half pieces that fit into a ginormous bigger round one (think yin/yang) if you did both days. Here is me with big honkin' medal and glass:

Most unique medal I've ever earned

Post race I immediately was struggling with walking. I am RARELY so sore after racing, and it's even more rare to be sore RIGHT AFTER. I had the chance to talk with some people and it was awesome to have so many people comment on how strong I looked during the race. It was a HUGE ego booster.

Obviously this race rocked because I got a personal best. But it was also VERY organized, and I couldn't have asked for a friendlier group of runners. In fact, the Half Fanatic ladies I had been talking to the day before told me that they were so happy when I lapped them at the end. It was just overall a great experience, and given the chance, I will run this again.

So. Remember that I wasn't going to be able to go back to the hotel and shower? Well, I had researched and there was a 24 Hour Fitness only a few miles from the race. I figured I would shower there. I grabbed my stuff, Lisa dropped me off and told me she would be back in 15. So. I had NO towel. I will keep this short. I am so happy the gym was deserted. I had to:

1. Walk around naked
2. Stand under the blow dryers for a good 3-4 minutes (hella naked) to get dried off so I could get dressed.

I will not be able to top that gym story all year. Guaranteed.

We went to a tiny hamburger restaurant (Scotty P's??) across the parking lot. BEST.BURGER.EVER.

2011 - What a Year! (Recap)

2012-01-05T15:40:00.001-07:00

I know. Everyone else did this last week. I'm a slacker. I'll try to keep this brief, or at least shorter than last years. (EDIT: this is NOT shorter than last year, and TONS of pictures, FYI).

Running/Racing/Fitness

Running
I had a sucky running slump in the summer. I'll blame it on a crappy attitude and poor training. Couple that with heat and many weeks of back-to-back racing... I started the RLRF program in August and it changed EVERYTHING. I have had a much better time the last few months, and am not dreading training as much. I had a tentative goal of running 1,500 miles (WAY up from last year), and ended up running 1,563.47. December was my highest mileage month EVER with 183.88 miles run. MADNESS.
Racing
Where to begin??? I raced a ridiculous amount in 2011. I toed the line 51 times... RIDICULOUS. Here are all the numbers:

1 mile - 1 race and an instant PR as I've never raced this distance (7:46)
5K - 7 races
4 mile - 1 race and a new PR (35:25)
10K - 1 race and FINALLY a new PR (57:47)
Half Marathon - 34 races. 34 HALF MARATHONS=MADNESS. New PR (1:58:30)
20 Mile - 1 race and instant PR with a new distance (3:42:00)
Full Marathon - 4 races and a new PR (4:28:15)
50K - 1 race and and instant PR with a new distance (6:47:21)
50 Miles - 1 race and instant PR with a new distance (11:52:20)

Fitness

The only "goal" I gave myself was to do planks this year. I think my initial goal was 100 minutes for the year. I kicked this goal right in the ass. I ended up doing 846 minutes. That's awesome.

I also had to make a class change at my gym. Due to scheduling, I wasn't going to be able to attend BodyPump anymore. I decided to try P90X, and stuck to it pretty well for a few months. It hurt like crap the first few times I did it, but found it too hard to find the time to do it at home. Instead, I've spent the last 8 months taking Turbo Kickboxing. I love it! And I get to do a different cardio workout. I also use the stationary bike at least once or twice a week.

Best Of (Racing Pics)

Mississippi Blues Half Marathon - Jackson, MS

First Light Half Marathon (with Elizabeth from Running For Bling) - Mobile, AL - home of my PR!!

In the Birdcage at the Bermuda Triangle Challenge

Polar Bear 5K - Denver, CO

Lost Dutchman Marathon - Apache Junction, AZ

Disney World Royal Family 5K - Orlando, FL

Caesar Rodney Half Marathon - Wilmington, DE

Horsetooth Half Marathon (with Rose) - Ft. Collins, CO

Greenland Trail 50K - Greenland, CO

Great Wall of China Marathon - Jixian, CHINA

Casper Half Marathon- The state that put us on the SUN with Half Fanatics

See Jane Run Half Marathon - Boise, ID

St. Petersburg Marathon - St. Petersburg, Russia

Diva's Half - Vail, CO

Disneyland 5K with A - Anaheim, CA

Disneyland Half Marathon with L as the Tweedles - Anaheim, CA

Panerathon 5K - Westminster, CO

Bear Chase 50 Miler FINISHERS - Lakewood, CO

Rock n' Roll Denver

Post Baltimore Half Marathon

Amica Half Marathon with Lisa from Because I Can - Rhode Island

Amica Half Marathon

Big Hit Half Marathon - Louisville, KY

Our 50th Half Marathon - White River Half Marathon - Cotter, AR

Route 66 Half Marathon

TRAVEL

I went a lot of places in 2011. My favorites:

Bermuda

Disney World

New York City

Washington DC

The Wizard of Oz Museum - Kansas

NKOTB Cruise 2011

NKOTB Cruise 2011 - 80s Night

NKOTB Cruise 2011

NKOTB Cruise 2011 - Bahamas

NKOTB Cruise 2011 (Nassau)

China

St. Petersburg, Russia

Cave of the Mounds with my extended family - Wisconsin

Disney Land

CALI!!

Rhode Island

St. Louis

RANDOM
Surprisingly... I have a life outside of all ^ that. I have a part time job doing accounting/bookkeeping for a local roofing company. I am also a part time student taking classes in Criminal Justice - I finished last semester with 9 credit hours and STRAIGHT A's!! I also do other activities, and most of them outside of running involve Miss Munchkin.

Favorite A pictures:

We love hot chocolate!

Playing the Wii (beating me at Mario Kart)

Learned to ride with NO training wheels!!

First Day of Kindergarten

Race for the Cure

A turns 6

Dressed up to see "The Nutcracker"

Roller Skating

Daisy Girl Scout Field Trip to the Candy Factory

Lost ANOTHER tooth

Dallas, TX

New Years Eve with Sparkling Apple Cider

Apparently J and I didn't do anything too exciting, or at least nothing I took pictures of. Oops.

As for 2012? As I've said before, I don't do "resolutions." I think deciding something because of a date on a calendar is dumb. I will continue with what I'm doing and hope for good things. 2012 is NOT starting out great, but I'll save that for another post.

New Years Double, Day One - Half Marathon (Race Recap)

2012-01-04T15:53:00.002-07:00

Allen, TX
Saturday, January 31
Half Marathon #52
Texas Half #2
Weather - Chilly at the start. SUNNY and warm at finish

Not your typical race day. I signed up for the New Years Double back in September with plans of running a half on the first day and a full the second day (a la Goofy). All while visiting with my ex in-laws (I know, I'm weird) for a few days, race, and then drive A back home after spending time with her dad. The family lives in Austin, so we drove up to Dallas/Allen on Friday. It took FOREVER with all the crazy traffic. Picked up my packet and headed to CPK to have dinner with friends. DELICIOUS and tasty:

Red Velvet - and at least I shared with A

Did I mention that the trip to Dallas involved FOUR kids? Yep. Not the normal racing situation... The race didn't start until 8:15, so we were able to stay up decently late and I still could sleep IN decently late. Lisa, my ex sister-in-law was going to drop me off at the race. She dropped me about 30 minutes before the race started. I've lived in Texas. It (to me) doesn't get super cold. But... I never lived this far NORTH. I had her drop me with just the clothes on my back. I nearly FROZE TO DEATH while waiting in line for the bathroom (REAL BATHROOMS!!). Just enough time to cycle through the line and then head to the starting area. I was supposed to be in corral B, but I saw some Half Fanatics in C, so I stopped to talk to them. SUPER nice ladies, and I finally FINALLY got to see my Half Fanatic idol, Elizabeth, who recently finished her 50th state.

Start/Finish area

The race starts and it's pretty crowded. Very narrow sidewalk through the park area. There was a loop of about 2 (?) miles through the park, then an out and back. For the half I would run this twice. In the first few miles, I spotted my race buddy! (In the yellow tank/red sleeves). I bet I have talked to him in at least 4 races in the last few months (for sure in Bismarck, Denver RnR full and St. Louis RnR). This guy is EVERYWHERE. Since I was racing without L, I ended up running with him for the remainder of the first loop. Made time FLY. I took my only GU sometime around mile 5? (see, I don't remember anything!) - Also, heads up, I didn't take ANY course pictures except for the one below.

We parted ways at the halfway so he could leave his long sleeve shirt at his car, and because I had to stop and use the bathroom. D'oh!! I still was feeling pretty good, and somewhere around mile 8, it really got hot and I had to clean some sweat off my sunglasses. Which proceeded to self-destruct. No kidding:

$140 Adidas sunglasses :(

Blah. So then I was hot and sweaty and squinty the remainder of the race. Pretty uneventful. The course is super flat and I think I kept a pretty steady pace. Although I kept missing mile markers, so my splits are ALL OVER THE PLACE. I finished with one of my better times for the second part of the year, and that's including a bathroom stop AND a long course.

Family waiting at the finish line is AWESOME!!

Bib #343
Official Time - 2:11:16
Official Pace - 10:01
Official 3.65 miles - 37:46
Official 6.55 miles - 1:07:10
Official 10.2 miles - 1:45:17
Overall Place - 159/411
Gender Place - 93/281
Division Place - 31/85
Gender Place -
Garmin Time - 2:11:20
Garmin Distance - 13.35 miles
Garmin Pace - 9:50
Mile 1 - 9:55
Mile 2 - 9:12
Mile 3 - 9:40
Mile 4 - 9:57
Mile 5&6 - 10:14
Mile 7 - 11:28 (bathroom)
Mile 8 - 9:34
Mile 9 - 9:34
Mile 10 - 9:24
Mile 11 - 9:43
Mile 12 - 9:32
Mile 13 - 9:28
Mile 13ish - 8:29

Random Thoughts:

I didn't think I would enjoy the course because of the out and back, but it was actually REALLY nice to get to see people both directions. Kept things interesting and I got to see a lot my friends. Libby, the race director, did an AMAZING job putting on the event.
Plenty of aid stations, amazing volunteers and a flat course? AWESOME
So I wore a sparkle skirt. I've worn them before. I've NEVER had so many issues. My skirt kept coming up, my belt kept going all wonky, my dumb UA compression shorts kept creeping and I look pregnant in all my race pictures. Hmph.

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

Short but ohhh so sweet...

2012 started with a NEW SHINY MARATHON PR!!! But that's not the best part... but you will have to wait :D

Race recaps to follow.

What are YOU doing for New Years?

2011-12-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

I'm doing the Texas equivalent of the "Goofy Challenge" at the New Years Double.

That's right. I'm running a half marathon on Saturday, New Years Eve. I'm running a full marathon on New Years Day. That means NO alcohol (well, maybe one beer) this year. I'm ok with that. Last year I had a bit too much.

So, if you have plans on being in Allen, TX - feel free to say hi! Depending on the race, I'll either be wearing my Half Fanatic tank or my Marathon Maniac tee.

The Food Hangover

2011-12-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

How much did YOU eat over the holiday? I ate ALL THE THINGS. Seriously. Cookies, cake, pie, candy, ham, potatoes, burgers, fries and LOTS of beer... there was NO running on Saturday OR Sunday. There wasn't even getting dressed. So I'll make a confession.

I kinda sorta have a minor eating disorder. Self-diagnosed. I used to be fat. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. Then I stopped eating all the junk and started the exercise. I've been in maintenance mode for about 7.5 years. And for the most part, I have pretty good self-control and I usually don't eat EVERYTHING. I really believe moderation is the key to a balance between eating to live and living to eat. Every once in a while? I totally suck at that. This weekend was a prime example. I kept eating and eating. Even though I wasn't hungry. I gave myself the excuse that it was because once the holiday was over, the temptations would no longer be there and so if I wanted that slice of pecan pie, I better have it while it was still there.

I woke up this morning and felt like shit. I felt like I had been up all night doing shots. The cure was a progressive run on the treadmill. I had 4 scheduled, and ran 5.15. Sweating out all the grease and fat and sugar felt pretty damn good. I really need to remember that it DOES feel better to have a kick ass workout than it does to eat myself into a funk.

That is all.