Buckeye Classic Recap

Race: Buckeye Classic 10K
Distance:  6.2 miles
Date:  November 11, 2012, 9 am start
Finish time:  1:01:49, 9:59 min/mile avg.
What sets this race apart:  The Cliffs of Insanity, the dressed up Buckeye Fans

The main gimmick of this race is that it is the "Buckeye" Classic, so many people dress up like Buckeyes.  I am not a Buckeye Fan, but this is the second year I've been talked into this race.   What makes this race challenging is that it takes place at High Banks Metro Park, a place that one running group I run with calls "The Cliffs of Insanity."

The Group that coined that phrase. Pre-race. RUN DMC.

I tried to keep up with my friend Tara in the beginning of the race, and she had her heart set on a killer PR.  Thus, I started way too fast, especially for a training run.  The first mile is the closest to relatively flat though, so I guess that's the time to do it!

My only trail shot - so blurry or no, posted!  This was in the first mile.

At the start of the second mile we hit one of the toughest hills of the course.  Starting up that hill is when the early speed caught up to me, and I slowed to a walk for a few minutes and let Tara go ahead.  I reminded myself that this was a training run for Goofy and reset my mental pace.  Successfully reset, I didn't walk again, except when drinking out of a cup, twice. (need to figure that drinking on the run thing out already!)

Focused on the finish - and yes, I caught them.  :D

Despite the required slow down and the many hills (one of which was actually STAIRS), I PR'd this course by 25 minutes and 30 seconds.  Yes, I said 25 minutes!  My only other 10K that I have run was this same race one year ago.  At the time, I was 3 months postpartum, still working on getting back in running shape, and still rather overweight. 

From last years race.  You can tell I cropped this picture to not show as much gut!

My only goal coming in to this race (other than running it) was to beat that horrible time.  I never expected to beat it by 25 MINUTES!  Not only that, but I finished 199th out 454.  I was in the top half of the field!  WOOT!

What makes this race so much fun for me is that so many of my friends are involved.  Many of them run it, others spectate it and even others volunteer as course marshals or at the water stops.  I LOVED screaming out for my friends when we passed each other at the point where the course loops itself for a short period.

After I finished, I cheered other friends still running.  Then I joined Sarah and Mollie for a victory lap, bringing them some water, socializing and running them in.  Most fun I had all day!  We took some great group shots of those of us that started at MIT together plus some new additions...

Finish line MIT photo op!

I wish I had more pictures of the course.  The weather today was absolutely PERFECT weather.  Sunny, cool enough to be comfortable running, but not cold at all.  The course was GORGEOUS.

Every week, I've been too chicken to go run at High Banks because trail running and potential injuries seemed like crazy talk pre-goofy.  I even told several people I regretted signing up for this race.  I take it all back.  Yes, it was a TOUGH course.  But, it was gorgeous and fun!  I'm already saying that I have to come back next year to try and get sub one hour!

Anyone else race this weekend?

Do you prefer trail races or road races?  
I kind of enjoyed this trail race, even though it's only my second one!  (Both the same course).

Edited to add:  I reread my recap of this same race from last year.  In it, I said that I was planning to come back the following year, and hoped to better my time by 15 minutes.  Success!  Kind of fun to read my perspective from a year ago!

Three Things Thursday

Woohoo - it's Thursday again!  I ran 10 miles yesterday (unintentionally, kind of), and I'm still going through my day TODAY with the good mood I got as a result!  Gotta love that!

1.  Things I'm obsessed with.  I just ate the entire bag of these "chips."  

Yes, I'd already opened it, but the smart close let's me fake like I hadn't.

Arguably, they are healthier than normal chips, but not when you eat 3.5 servings in one sitting.  I first tried these when a sample bag was placed in my Rock N Roll Virginia Beach packet.  I'd say that was fairly successful free samples on their part.


2.  Funny how things change.  When I first opened my new Tupperware set a couple of years ago - I thought these were the most annoying and useless pieces of Tupperware ever.  Who needs such small containers?

Oh magical tiny container!

Now.  With a small child, I have realized that THESE ARE THE BEST CONTAINERS EVER!  I use them all the time.  Leftover yogurt, cut up grapes for snacks, cut up strawberries for snacks, pretty much any toddler snack you can imagine - perfect in these containers.  I may have to buy more.  They are almost always all in use.  I really should have taken a picture with me huddled in the corner hugging all these tiny containers to my chest like someone was trying to steal them - because that's totally the image going through my head right now! HA!


3.  I have realized that Relay Around Columbus isn't possible for me this year.  Even if I were to find away training wise, the dates are during my husband's climb in Ecuador.  Since they frown on leaving young children home alone while you run an overnight relay, and since she's too little to be on the team, that means no relay for me this year most likely.  

Why can't I be on your team Mommy?  I run good!

Until it was taken completely off the table this way, I didn't realize how much doing it again actually appealed to me.  Funny thing since I'd said afterwards that I wouldn't do it again.  Funny how the brain works, isn't it?

How's your week been?

What's your current food obsession?  Ideas on how to break those kinds of obsessions?

Have you ever had that "but I wanted to" moment when you realized you couldn't do a race you didn't think you actually wanted to do?

Second Chances

Two posts from me in one day - I know, your minds are blown, aren't they?  :D

Mt. Rainier, July 2012

So, it finally hit working hours on the West Coast.  A phone call was placed to RMI Guides.  And it is official.  I'm going back to Rainier for a second attempt for the summit August 20-23, 2013.

I made need this when it sinks in.

Both of my parents will be on the same trip, which makes it even more fun.  In addition, my friend Wendy just signed up to be on the same climb team!!!  Woohoo to not being the only girl on my climb team!!!!

I can't decide if this is a woohoo face, a freaked out face, or both.

I have all kinds of plans for how I will train differently this time around.  Starting at 156 lbs instead of 220 lbs certainly can't hurt.

Where I started last time.

Where I'm starting this time.

Other than adding back in some strength training (slowly), most of the training for Rainier will start AFTER Goofy is over.  I'm a big fan of no overuse injuries.  

Ok, perhaps I'll stop BEFORE this point.  :)

I already have two big training trips to Colorado in the works though!  Anyway, that's my news!

Anyone else want to climb a mountain???

Anyone want to help watch my kid or do some training climbs with me in Colorado?  HA!

Have you ever signed up for something that made you both excited and REALLY scared at the same time?

And So it Begins, again.

Week of Oct 29-Nov 4, 2012:

Current Weight: 156.2 (Down 1.2 lbs from previous reported weight)

Total Lost to date: 64.6 lbs

My last reported training week was at the beginning of September.  So, I've lost 1.2 lbs in 2 months.  Not exactly a great result.  However, I gave myself permission to eat and focus on training for the marathon, because it was just getting too stressful otherwise.  At one point, I even stopped weighing myself at all.

This past week officially started my training for the Goofy Challenge I am doing January 12-13, 2013.  For those that don't know about the Goofy Challenge, it is a set of races in one weekend at Disney World.  You run the Disney Half Marathon on Saturday, and then run the Disney Marathon on Sunday.  Doesn't that sound like fun?

No Mommy.  SUNGLASSES are fun.

I am not posting my full training schedule on my blog, because the lawyer in me screams of possible liabilities if someone follows it and gets hurt.  I guess someone could try to extrapolate it from my training weeks, but that is a little too much paranoia for me.  For the record:  ATTEMPT TO COPY MY TRAINING AT YOUR OWN RISK.  There, the lawyer in me is appeased.  The main difference from the Columbus Marathon training is the back-to-back long runs on the weekend.

My intent was to add back in strength training this week.  The bottom line is that I am no longer comfortable with my trainer.  It is nothing he has explicitly done, it's just happened.  I have decided (this weekend) to let my husband continue working out with him on his own, and I will do my own thing.  To that end, I have ordered the New Rules for Lifting for Women as a possible answer.  I have also taken some copious notes from another training source, but more on that later.

I have other things in the works that will definitely change my training post Goofy, but until some calls are made to the West Coast this morning, you'll have to be satisfied with this little teaser.

After Goofy, my next big thing is the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. I intend to take more advantage of my newer speed this time around and actually PUSH during the race.  That means, I'll be adding speed work to my workouts for the first time ever.

My Mommy is crazy, not fast.

Today, I'm taking a rest day and taking care of a sick kiddo.

How was your training week?

What's your next big thing on your training schedule???

Three Things Thursday

I'm not usually a big band wagon jumper, but as it turns out, I have three things to say that don't require separate posts, and it's Thursday.  Winning!

1.  Avery was a cute little lobster for Halloween last night.  Kind of.  She absolutely REFUSED to wear the hat portion of the costume, which made her costume a little less clear.

Quick!  Caught one photo before the hat was ripped off

Her preferred pose is nontraditional

She absolutely LOVED running up to strangers houses, but thought the point was to go inside and see what fun toys they had.  By the time we didn't get to go inside the 10th house, she was done with this trick-or-treating in the rain nonsense.

2.  Last week, my husband's office had their annual chili cook-off.  Every year my husband comes home from this and says - you would've won.  So, finally we tested it and I submitted my chili.   I came in second place!  The winning chili had bison meat that had been slow-cooked in bacon fat.  Since that's cheating, we'll just say I won.  Hehehe.  Also, my chili was the one consumed first.  Of course, I had to make more so that I could actually eat some, especially with the dreary cold weather!

3.  Early voting with a 14 month old in a swing state is not something I would wish upon my worst enemy!  When we first got in line, Avery was happy.  Eating goldfish, playing with her little toy car, smiling at everyone.  By the end, she was screaming and trying to run away.  So much so, that my vote almost didn't count.  In the rush to catch her, I did not press the "confirm" button hard enough.  After I caught her, I ran to escape the room before she completely melted down.  Luckily, the election official chased me down so that I could push the stupid confirm button.  Thank goodness, I would have hated to waste over an hour of suffering at the hands of Angry Avery!

Next time Mommy, bring more yogurt raisins.

Do you vote early?  Is anyone in the states ready for the political ads to cease and desist?

Did you and yours dress up for Halloween?

Most importantly, what's your favorite Halloween treat?

Do NOT take my cookies.

I always have the best intentions of blogging about blog-worthy stories when they happen.  I even am careful to get pictures of some of the relevant stuff....

Runners/Walkers and paintings...an interesting combination

...and then somehow, days pass before I actually get around to doing it these days.  I guess I'm selectively "on task."  Calling myself selectively insert-current-descriptive-word-here is my thing of the day.

Last Friday, a group of people I run with and I decided to do something DIFFERENT with our Friday night.  Call it a celebration that we'd completed our races and didn't have to be up at at the high school for a group run at 6:30am on Saturday morning.  Richard suggested a "wine and canvas" event.  The idea of the event is that they provide canvas, paints, brushes, and an artist instructor, and you paint a picture while drinking wine.

Now, I am not a very crafty person.  I even told them that the idea of me painting anything was scarier than running a marathon when the suggestion first came up.

I feel a little cheated by the event.  Although it was CALLED wine and canvas, wine was not included in the price.  It should have been called paint and canvas.  HA.  There was a cash bar where you could order food and drinks.  One of the other gals ordered 1/2 dozen chocolate chip cookies and wanted someone to share them with her.  I'm nothing if not supportive of my friends' cookie habits, so I agreed to share.

So, now, we come to the important part of the story.  As we were innocently enjoying our cookies, we made the mistake of setting the tray on the empty chair next to me.  Despite warning the lady next to them not to steal any....the guy next to her asked for them and SHE HANDED HIM THE BASKET TO TAKE ONE.

Seriously?  Seriously??????  I just stared at her in utter shock.  I then said in my scolding-Avery voice.  "That was really wrong.  I cannot believe you did that so blatantly."

She acted like it was no big deal and said that they would replace it when THEIR order of cookies arrived.  Hours passed. Still no cookie refund.  I was grumbling about it nonstop to Laurie.  What kind of a person steals someone's cookie?

No one steals my cookie!

During a break, several people pointed out to me that the couple HAD received their cookie order and had it hidden around the corner behind their canvas.  I went over and there were two left.  I asked the woman - "is this the cookie order where I can take from to replace the one you took?"  And she shrugged and said "if you want."

I blinked at her.  In my head I screamed "IF I WANT????"  I not-so-politely said, "well, of course I want, you took one of my cookies."

Her reply?  "I don't think it matters."

It's a cookie....how can it NOT matter????

At this point, I was in complete shock.  It wouldn't matter...maybe...if I even knew this lady's name.  If we were friends.  But, for the record, complete strangers CANNOT STEAL MY COOKIES!  :D

I politely informed her that it did matter, that I had paid for X number of cookies, and I wanted to eat X number of cookies.  I snatched the cookie that was rightfully mine and went over to talk to all of my friends about her craziness like a completely mature 2 year old adult.

Despite the cookie thief, it was fun seeing my friends in normal people clothes and as time passes from the trauma of a cookie theft, my painting has been growing on me. I definitely still don't like it that much up close, but from across the room, it looks pretty darn cool.

I should be a painter!  Or not.

Would I do it again?  Definitely not with this same painting.  It involved over 3 hours of painting tiny little squares, VERY tedious...and my arms are definitely not trained for that kind of an endurance event.  I'm not sure if I would do it again in general though, I have discovered that cookie stealing painting is not really my thing.

Have you ever painted anything or done an event like this?

Would you have just let the cookie theft slide?  What would you have done?

Columbus Marathon Recap

Race: Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon
Distance:  26.2 miles
Date:  October 21, 2012, 7:30am start
Finish time:  4:52:30
What sets this race apart:  My First Freaking Marathon!  Patient champions at each mile marker - 

Best 3 things with respect to course/management:  (1) Water stops were done fantastically.  In the first half of the course they were HUGE.  I never had to wait for anything.  (2) They used Gatorade!  (3) Good on course entertainment.

Least favorite 3 things: Diversion through the shoe, non-stroller friendly expo, lack of finish line photo for me at this point.

My parents flew in to cheer me on and to watch Avery during the race.  My Dad and I went to the expo together to pick up the pretty empty good bag, and then we drove the course so that he could pick out where they would be on the course.  (Give my Dad a map and something to plan and he will be happy for WEEKS!)

Rice?  Really?  Also, lots of paper.  But, there was a coupon for BOGO Chipotle

The morning of the race, Mark, his friend Matt and I drove to the hotel where MIT gets a conference room for us to meet pre-race.  (Mark was pacing me for the half).  

11:30s Full Group

After a few potty breaks, we all headed to the corrals.  Mark, Laura, Tara, Jen and I tried not to lose each other, but it was a close call a few times.  Turns out, 18,000 people is a LOT of people.

It took us (we were in Corral E) 18 minutes to cross the start line.  And, in less than 0.5 miles, we were dodging walkers.  Wow.  Just wow.

Mile 1 was one of my least favorite miles.  There was lots of excitement, but it was REALLY crowded, and we focused on trying not to start too fast.  Turns out, with the crowd, that was really easy.  Slowest mile of the entire race, and way slower than I'd wanted.  (Over 12 minute mile!)  Tara and Jen managed to squeeze through and take off.  Laura, Mark and I tried to stick together.  

Photo courtesy of Fleet Feet.  Had to be in the first 13 miles - still together!

Somewhere in this mess of a first mile, I coughed up some nastiness (as has been routine since my sinus infection).  Not wanting to spit THAT on anyone nearby (although maybe that would make people get out of my way?  HA!), I spit it into my throw away gloves.  I know, you all wish you were as classy as me.  As a result, I ditched my throw away gloves a little sooner than intended.

Around mile 2.5, we saw my family cheering from across the street and waved like crazy people!  Returning runners were between us and them at this point, but we would get closer around mile 6.5.

Some version of this was a very popular sight.  I saw them 7x on the course!  So. Awesome.

Occasionally, in this section, we got separated because it was just that crowded.  Somewhere around mile 4, I remarked to Mark that my hands were still cold.  Another runner overheard me, and offered me gloves.  Said she had an extra pair and then gave them to me.  That made for such a great story, that I made Mark keep them in his pocket when I was done with them 4 miles later instead of tossing them.

I will treasure them forever.

Around mile 5, Mark told me that his knee was flaring up and that he "only had 1 or 2 miles left in him."  This would become a recurring statement, but he never did quit.  I really enjoyed this first half of the marathon, I felt really strong.

And maybe just a little crazy!

We saw my family again around mile 10.5.  Laura stayed with us for most of the first half, and then she needed to slowed down a bit, so we waved the okay as we split.  We then saw some of my MIT coaches, said hello, and kept on chugging along!  I have to admit really, really enjoying feeling so strong at this point, especially seeing all those doing the half marathon that were hitting that "OMG" point. 

Several of my running buddies were on this part of the course, getting close to mile 13.  It was right at the turnoff for the half marathon finishers.  Such a nice boost to see all of them!  Plus, I was still feeling really great.  I gave some hugs, declined some food, said goodbye to Mark and felt a little bit of awe as I took the narrow chute for the full marathon course leaving behind 11,000 half marathoners.

After the turn, the course was MUCH, MUCH, MUCH emptier.  It was nice to run without dodging, but you could also see people starting to falter.  This was a LONG almost 4 mile stretch straight up high street, mostly on an uphill incline.  My Dad had told me that they intended to see me at the turn off from that street.  Mostly, I just tried to really enjoy the scenery, repeated to myself that it was my first marathon and to soak it up.  This helped kept any negatives at bay.  Every now and then, my right ankle would twinge and I would back off just a bit.  I got a huge boost from seeing my family at Lane and High Street and turned off the incline towards the stadium area.

This was my LEAST favorite part of the course.  The gimick this year was that the full marathon course went THROUGH Buckeye Stadium.  In order to pull that off we had a lot of strange windy twisty turns to run down a ramp, across the back of the endzone and back up a ramp.  Complete.  Waste. Of.  Time.  Granted, I'm not a Buckeye fan, so maybe it was cool for those who are.  

The big stinker?  With all the turns, I ran this part of the course poorly and gained 0.1 mile in mile 19.  It's one thing to gain that much over a half marathon, but in one mile.  Mentally, I was devastated.  My 20th mile was my toughest mile mentally as a result.  I also felt like I had to poop and kept watching for an open potty.  By the time I saw one though, I felt better and decided to suck it up.   I did pass my friend Amy who was running towards the stadium!  Fun!

I saw my Dad around mile 19.5, which was a nice boost.  I told him I was starting to feel tired.  He told me that was okay and that they would try to see me at mile 23.  Avery was asleep in the car, so I didn't see her or Janette.  I saw my friends Richard and Sarah near mile 20.  As I gave them high 5's, I just kept saying "I needed this, I needed this."  I don't think they fully appreciate what a boost they gave me and how they helped get me out of that extra 0.1 mile mental block.  That 20th mile was my slowest mile on the course outside of the first mile (11:38 min/mile).

See the focus!

Somewhere in here, I also started getting little pains that shot down my arm to my right hand....from the shoulder strain.  I kept trying to rotate my shoulders to loosen them up.

I spent most of mile 22 thinking - I hope I see my family at mile 23.  LOL!  An ipod might have been a better option than my thinking at this point.  A LOT of people were walking.  Since they were walking because they were exhausted or hurt, they just stopped wherever they were.  I almost ran straight into someone at one point.  I had to spend more energy dodging again.  

Somewhere in the 20's one of the patient champions was an older kiddo.  He was standing out in the middle of the street giving runners high 5's.  That was awesome.  WHAT AN INSPIRATION.

As I came up on mile 23, I could hear my name being shouted.  My Dad, Janette and Avery were out there screaming with their sign.  I'm not going to lie to you, I cried.  At this point, emotion and joy just overcame me.  So. Glad. To. See. Them.  Janette later told me, "I couldn't figure out why you were crying, you still looked so strong!"  Joy.  That's why. 

I told myself - only about a 5K left, you can do that in your sleep.  This became a sort of mantra for whatever distance I had left at that point.  2 miles - you can do that easy.  Longest 5K EVER.

Around mile 25, I saw the pink tutus of my MIT coaches.  I knew one of them would probably run with me and was so happy.  Then, I saw Mark.  And yes, I cried again.  Just call me an emotional sap already!   Mark ran with me for about 0.7 miles.  He turned off when I hit the inflated "0.5 miles left" marker.

His knee was really hurting him - but I LOVED him for this!

At this point, the crowds on the side were much bigger and I saw so many of my running buddies that I couldn't possibly list them all!  I picked up speed and just soaked it all in.  As I ran down Nationwide, I even saw my parents in the crowds at the finish line!  I was able to sprint the last little bit and crossed the finish line at 4:52:30, under my 5 hour time goal and meeting my "I want to ENJOY it" goal.

My muscles definitely stiffened up as I stopped, got my medal, water, food, and walked to meet my parents at the MIT tent.  I congratulated a few friends and then headed home, where I proceeded to talk about the race for the next 24 hours.  HA!  I signed up for my next marathon before the 24 hours were even up.  Yup, I'm that gal.

I realized later that for the first time, I was so focused on just living it, that I neglected to take many pictures.  There isn't even a posed picture of Mark and I.  Oh well, next time!

You got one with me mommy, that's all that matters.

This was my first long distance race that I only walked during the water stops.  (except races I paced).  I really need to learn how to drink from a cup and run at the same time!.

WOOHOO!
My chip start was approximately 18 minutes after the gun.

Regardless, today - I'm a marathoner.  And.  It is awesome.


Edited:  After I wrote this, finish line photos appeared at Marathon Foto.  As a result, I kept my silent promise to the powers that be and purchased the digital downloads of all the photos from my first marathon.  I will treasure them always...and not violate copyright laws by posting them in this post!