Riverton Half Marathon

Ugh.  That's how I felt about/during/after this race.

Let's set the stage with breakfast at my parent's house. 

1 hour 15 minutes before race time:  Me, my hubby, my parents, my sister and her husband and little boy.  What's for breakfast?  Pancakes. 

45 minutes to race time: my stomach hurts like CRAZY.  Try to use the bathroom.  Nothing.  Try laying on my side.  Nothing.

15 minutes to race time.  Stomach still hurts, but we have to head over to the start (luckily, only 3 minutes from my parents house).  Husband drops me and sister off.  Start to feel a little on the queasy side.

2 minutes to start:  In the middle of talking to my sister (as we stand on grass, a little away from the 500 people grouped around the start line) my mouth suddenly fills with saliva.  So I spit.  And then quickly make a mad dash to the closest garbage can because breakfast is coming back up.

30 seconds to start (seriously!): feelings LOTS better.  Head over to get ready to run.

So, after all of that, my head was really NOT in this race and was preparing myself for a possible first time DNF.

This course was harder than I thought and I struggled quite a bit.  I kept up with my sister for the first 6 miles, but she lost me on a section of the course that was gravel/mud.  4 pretty intense hills throughout the course did not help me.  But I finished.  And I actually came in under the goal that I had set for myself of 2:15.  Finish time: 2:14:22.  (Hey, under is UNDER.)  Average pace of 10:15 per mile.  And I finished the last mile stronger than I felt.

But now, after I've been removed from the traumatic event for the last 12 hours, I really want to run this race again next year.  Even though it was hard for me.  I WILL do it again and I WILL do better.  It was a pretty small race, and so close to home (since we live only 10 minutes from the start line/my parent's house).  Plus the technical t-shirt that came with the entry fee (of only $30) is really nice and I love it (and I will be wearing it all day tomorrow).  And as an added bonus at the end of the race, the Chick-Fil-A cow was handing out coupons for free chicken salad sandwiches.

Shamrock Half Marathon

Sorry that it's taken me longer than normal to post about my race.  I was EXHAUSTED on Saturday and then just never got around to it yesterday.  And now I'm at work, so I don't have all of my stats from my Garmin to post along with this.  So this will be a short and boring recap.

I went into this race, not expecting to do very well.  I had a goal to finish under 2:15, but I didn't think that I would come in under 2:10.  The morning was COLD and I sat in the car with my husband for a long time before the race started.  I got to meet Alicia just a few minutes before start and that was fun for me.  Especially because she's a hugger and gave me a hug as soon as she saw me.  I like hugs.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up with her, but after the start I kept her in my sights for the first 5 miles.  This was the smallest race that I've ever done (under 100 runners), and it was my first race completely by myself (I've run every other race with someone from my family or a friend). 

The first 6 miles were uneventful.  I was keeping a really good pace for me (I really wish that I had my stats!!!), but the beginning of races is where I always do well, so that wasn't a surprise. 

Mile 6 had an aid station and a Honey Bucket and I NEEDED a pit stop.  I also decided to try my first GU (I know, not the best idea to try something new in the middle of a race), so I only had half of it and then chugged some water and continued on my way.  Chocolate GU really isn't too bad and I actually kind of liked it. 

Mile 8 had an uphill that I hated with an aid station at the top and then gravel road on the way down.  I let it fly on the downhill even though I was tired from the uphill.

Mile 10 had me getting jumped on by a dog that wanted to play.  That scared the crap out of me because I was totally in the zone and didn't notice anything until the dog had jumped at me and then went back to its owner.  I was really loud with my "WHAT THE???"

Mile 11 I realized that I was going to beat my PR if I kept up the pace and I got really, REALLY excited.  I was NOT expecting this!

Mile 13, there's my hubby cheering for me and I have to yell at him that I'm going to get a new PR and then take off for the finish line.  I love to try to sprint at the end.  And I appreciate the 20 people at the finish that cheered for me.  What a small race!

Finish time: 2:06:33.  2 minutes 20 seconds faster than my current PR!  Wahoo for me!

I spent the rest of the day on the couch trying to sleep because I was so worn out.  Super sore all day long.  But yesterday was better and today I don't really have any pain anywhere.  I'm excited for this coming Saturday's race, but really plan to hold back and just take it easy.  This upcoming race is a tough course.

Hope you all had great weekends!

St. Patty's Day 5K

Well, I did it.  I ran my first official 5K.  And how did I do, do you ask?  Good.  Great!  GRAND!  WONDERFUL!!!  (No yelling on the bus!)  (Name that movie!)

Overall, there were things that I liked and things that I really didn't like about the race.  I didn't like that we didn't start on time.  I'm pretty sure it was 10 minutes late.  I didn't like that there wasn't a really "Start" line.  I didn't like that the only thing I got at the finish line was water (but that part doesn't really matter).  I didn't like that the guy in front of me the WHOLE race was wearing liner shorts that were GREY and TIGHT and GROSS.
But I did like that after I crossed the finish line, I got a card with my info saying my time, pace and rank.  Oh.  Are you waiting for me to tell you my time?  Well:

26:17.1

(8:27 min/mi)

16th place OVERALL (but I'm pretty sure that means women overall)

5th in Women 25-29

YES!!!!!!!!  I did it!  I came in under 27 minutes!  I'm so happy and I was really, REALLY pushing at the end.  My first mile I did in 8:16, second mile was 8:45 and last mile was 8:46.

Also, my hubby made it there and got a picture of me with the last .1 to go. 

Best.Picture.EVER.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Monday Blues

I had planned to go 5 miles today, but didn't have the juice to keep going.  It's feeling very much like a Monday around here.

Oh, and remember all of the snow from Saturday (I had almost 3 inches on my driveway by the time it was done snowing)?  Yeah, it's all gone now.  Crazy Utah weather. 

Also, I'm a big fat liar and really don't know my birds.  Those "blue jays" were really "mountain blue birds".

They're both blue.

Slacker

I didn't run today.  This is why:

Yes, I wussed out.  And I don't feel bad.  I got some MUCH needed cleaning done instead.

Blue Jay

I didn't run yesterday (like I had planned).  The husband surprised me by taking me out to lunch.  It was a lot better than any run I would have done.

This is today's run.  And let me just tell you that it was cold!  (The temp says 40º but it feels like 33º with the wind!)  And I was in shorts.  Brrrrrrrrrrr!

10-12 miles on Saturday.  I haven't decided yet.

P.S. I saw 5 Blue Jays on my run today.

E.T.A.

Well, I won't be running a very fast 5K next week.  I tried running today like I was in a race (it just isn't the same when you are by yourself).  I wanted to see what I could reasonably set as a 5K goal.  And after today... I'm going to say that if I get under 27 minutes, I will be proud of myself.  I'm so flipping slow! 

And you would think that maybe this would motivate me to start doing speed work... but no.  No it won't. 

Inconsistent Me

I'm not very good at keeping my pace consistent. Here's my 5 mile run from today. See what I mean?  Or maybe I'm just a lazy runner...

Did you notice the change in my "Upcoming Races" area? I have been invited to join a team with Christy at It Just Looks Like Slow Motion for the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay on June 18-19! I am SO excited to be a part of this! But my excitement will probably change to stress once I find out what runner I will be and how much uphill running I will be doing. I suck at hills.  But I've got three months to train and train I will.  I went right to the Ragnar website when Christy asked me and printed off a training schedule.  And then I peed a little.  Just kidding - but the schedule is pretty intimidating for someone like me that only runs 3-4 times a week and doesn't ever do tempo runs or intervals or hills.  I just run. 

I guess that will be changing soon.

11 Miles? Check.

I was kind of worried about this run, because of my week off with my virus and how I missed my 10 mile run last week.  But the extra rest didn't hurt me and my time was pretty good (for me).  I intentionally went out slower - because I have a very bad habit of starting out too fast on ANY run that I do - and that seemed to help me out.

There were a lot of runners out yesterday morning and I really like seeing all of the different types of people that are runners.

10 days until my first race of the season and 13 days until my first half marathon (of the month).  I'm getting excited!

Put Your Sox On Mama

I was running late this morning and one of the last things that I did before I left the house was throw my running clothes into my bag.  As I head into the bathroom to change, I realize that I forgot to grab socks.  Seriously?

But I decided to tough it out and just do my run anyway.  The first mile was kind of exciting because it was a totally new feeling to be barefoot in my shoes.  But then I got in the zone of my run and forgot about it.  Until the last half mile.  By then my feet were sweaty and they were moving around more in my shoes.  Now I have a small (but getting bigger) blister on my pinky toe.  Not as bad as I thought it would have been.  But now - NOW - my feet smell something fierce!  Thought you would all like to know that.

In trying to combat the stench from my feet, I've rubbed them down with my stash of Clorox disinfecting wipes that I have at my desk.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Or something like that.

If you know what today's post title comes from - you will get a prize.

ChaLEAN

4 miles today at lunch.  I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but any run is a good run for me, so I'm not that disappointed.  I had a headwind on my way back and you can see where that and the slight uphills were affecting me.

Why yes, I am quite slow.  Thank you for noticing.

In other workout news, my husband and I have just started a 90 day weight training program similar to P90X.  It's called ChaLEAN Extreme.  Have any of you heard of it?  We did it together from November to January before we went to Costa Rica (sidenote: Costa Rica is so fabulous and everyone should go there!) and we've started it up again.  Of course, my husband had better results than me at the end of the 90 days, but he's a man.  And I would have had better results, if I would have been running with it, and eating better.  But really, who eats well from November to January??  Then again, when do I EVER eat well??

Validation

This is a little on the long side (about 15 minutes worth of film) - but really good (and sometimes cheesey) if you have the time.

Validate someone today.

Shorts!

I went running today!  3 miles on my lunch break and I loved every second of it.  I am still a little sick-ish.  I cough occasionally, but I didn't cough once on my run.  As soon as I stopped running, I think I coughed for 3 minutes straight, but now it's back to the occasional cough every 20-30 minutes.

Also, today marked the first day of running outside in shorts.  It was 47º and sunny and here in Utah, that means shorts.