Phoenix Rock-n-Roll 2012

Goodbye to Cynthia's Red Velour! She saved it to donate to charity at the race. I miss it already!

Enjoy this picture, because I forgot to take more than one picture. Maybe someone else will post more pics....hint, hint!

Sunday January 15th was a beautiful day to run! All week my friends and I had discussed what the weather was going to be. A week before the forecast ahead had predicted cold and maybe even rain. Every day that approached the marathon, the forecast was getting slightly warmer. And then Sunday we had perfect weather. I took my “charity donation clothes” off before the gun even sounded.

The gun sounded a half hour late. Due to traffic. We were early, but many runners got caught in horrible traffic. Bridgitte was doing the half marathon and had to take a “late start”, because she was one caught in traffic.

Cynthia, Lisa, Karen, and I got a ride to the start from Lisa’s hubby. Then we went through potty lines a couple of times and met up with Julie-Anne.

Cynthia and Lisa started together. Karen and Julie-Anne and I started together. And Brendan. A friend of Julie-Anne’s.

With the late start, we spent extra time sipping water and it quickly took its toll! Karen and I needed to find a porto potty. We sped up a little to find a potty, temporarily leaving Julie-Anne and her friend Brendan. We found some porto’s at mile 6.

After our potty stop we had to pick up the pace and play catch-up. We looked for Julie-Anne’s cute hat she was wearing. We spotted it and had a little reunion with her and Brendan.

I was trying to distract everyone with conversation topics. Being the “Foody” that I am, I asked everyone what they’d eaten the night before…and what they were looking forward to eating as a post-race treat…I love food and never tire of the topic! If you ever want to run and talk about food- look me up!!!

Brendan decided it was time to part ways about 10 miles in, so we bid him goodluck and went on.

I saw Noah and the girls just past mile 13. I took time to give them quick hugs and kisses. A PR day wouldn’t allow such a treat. On this day I had time to treasure their mid-race embraces:)

Dan ran by on the loop section and told us that Mary was out. I was so sad for her, knowing that she was running a super fast race and right on track for a desired BQ time. Soon afterward we saw her on the side lines cheering us on. I later learned that her knee had given out and she had no choice but to stop.

Our average pace had slipped enough that we knew we’d have to pick up the pace if we were going to come in under 4 hours- our goal for the day. Karen said she was at the point she needed to speed up and finish or stop for a bathroom again. I was feeling similar. We picked up the pace and stopped talking for awhile. It was time to be done. Time to have a lengthy bathroom stop.

We had minimal conversation in those last miles. I vocally noted our average pace dropping and we vocalized our mile markers- down to 6 miles, the loop plus fountain, down to 5 miles, the big loop, down to 4 miles, the regular loop, down to 3 miles, the short-cut loop, down to 2 miles, just the fountain…and the final sweet mile. We decided to grab hands for our finish line picture, knowing the risk that we might get stuck permanently together with GU!!!

A third finish with Karen. So nice to have a same pace buddy! And Julie-Anne came in just a few minutes behind us, shaving 7 minutes off her PR!

We went through the finish line shoot, collecting bagels and mojo’s yogurt, and jamba juice. The bagel made my tummy happy.

I went to see Noah and the girls in the family reunion area. I wanted to say Hi before they took off. But they wanted to stay and see Cynthia and Lisa finish. I was so happy for Cynthia to have a PR race. And so proud of Lisa for accomplishing a race that she worked really hard for. All my friends were strong and I am so proud of them.

Another great memory. I love Chang’s. Its close and local. The expo is always a fun event. Ive had a different goal for every one of my 4 Chang’s, and at each Chang’s Ive met at least one of my goals for the day. Thankyou Phoenix! I will be back! Probably with a whole different goal in mind next year!

McDowell Mountain Frenzy

The Bathroom line is not bad at all before race start. Notice the Guys line is longer than the Gals line! This is not typical in life, but has been the case for the 3 trail runs Ive participated in!



This is the Start of the race, and later the Finish!




At the beginning you get to stay warm by a fire, or more modern- space heaters!

December 10, 2011

I got an icky head cold just in time for my December Trail Race. I figured Id be okay…usually congestion seems to clear up for awhile when I run. I was okay but found my nose dripping like a faucet the entire race. This distracted from my fun a little, but luckily I still managed to have ALLOT of funJ

I hate bonking so my typical strategy is to start out conservatively. Then when I am half way through with the race I speed up a little if I am feeling pretty good. The closer I get to the end, the faster I let myself go.


This was my 3rd trail race now, so Im starting to get a little better feel for what I can do. The first 2 races I felt in the beginning like I could keep up a sub-10 average pace. This time I had more confidance and felt that I could keep a sub 9:30 pace.

I try not to look at my watch pace allot because with trail running you have to roll with the terrain. Dig in to the up hill, and then fly on the down hill. Hold some momentum, and get up the next hill. So I think more about my perceived exertion. In the beginning I ask myself, is this a level of exertion that I can keep up for a long time?

But I did go out a little bit harder this time. With my new confidance I felt that I could start out a little less conservative. I also thought that it would be cold, and that I would need to be speedy to stay warm. It was warmer than I expected and I would’ve traded my long sleeve tech shirt for a short sleeve one. But I didn’t regret my tights. They seemed right.

At one point a guy came flying by me and the guy running just in front of me. Passer guy said “On your left please”. After making these 2 passes he took a hard fall. His pride got him back up quickly and he sped off.

I had to pull off at an aide station to ask for tissue. When I pulled off, three women passed me. I would later regain them and pass them.

When I had 4 or 5 miles left I decided I had enough energy to kick in an extra gear. And then when I was just about to the last mile I decided to really cruise. Just as I had decided to make my final sprint- the terrain turned into total steep up hill. I mean the kind of up hill you almost need a rope! So there was no last mile sprint to the finish.

I ended my 15.5 miles with an 8:59 average. 2:19:17 on my watch.

The view was beautiful the whole time. Big blue sky and mountains all around. So nice to be out in nature surrounded by the beautiful outdoors. My trail running experiences have fully converted me to the beauty of Arizona. Ill admit that for many years after moving here from Utah, I had a negative opinion of desert landscape. But I Love, Love the landscapes I’ve been running in over the past few months. Love. Look forward to. Love.




These were the trophies for winners. I coveted. Look how cute!!! Colorful ceramic chickens!

***I never got around to reporting on my November Trail Race. Pass Mountain. Usery Park. It was great. It started out easy and then lots of challenging climbing and then runners were rewarded with SPECTACULAR views from the top of Pass Mountain. And then some crazy down hill. Pass Mountain was a little scary as I realized that at times if I got my footing wrong I might go off a drop. And I was going fast anyway. Just hoping for the best. There was some thrill in the danger…anyhow GREAT race!!!

At the end of each of my 3 trail races I have received a finisher glass. They all say the name of the race. I love my new glass collection!!!

I wish I had a ceramic chicken, but I am happy to have a fun drinking glass.

Mesa Turkey Trot 2011



Before the starting gun...will we be fast?

 

She beat the turkey!


 I love starting my Thanksgiving day with the Mesa Turkey Trot. I started running this in 2007 and have done it every year since. Karen and I went up together and had a fun morning. At the start we discussed the fact that neither of us felt super motivated to be fast, plus we were both fast last year so we weren't sure if we could get faster.  The horn finally sounded and Karen said goodbye! About 46 minutes later she crossed the finish line with a new personal record! Yay for Karen, she even "beat the Turkey" for bragging rights. Go Karen!

I started out feeling a little sluggish, with 'heavy' legs so I thought I would just settle in to a decent pace and take whatever time I got. However, when I looked at my watch at the mile mark I realized I was actually running at a decent clip. I was warmed up now and felt good so I sped up a bit. The next few miles flew by.  By mile 5 I realized I was going to beat last years time so I thought I might as well try to crush it and I pushed hard for the last few minutes. I came in at 56:07, which was about a 9:05 pace. I'm pretty happy with that! Karen and I enjoyed chatting with a few friends we saw after the race and eating the delicious oranges but we pretty quickly headed home. We earned a diet coke stop for sure and it tasted delicious! I'm glad we were able to burn some calories this morning to sort of help with the calorie surplus I created this afternoon.



The nice man cut off my head!

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for running and especially for running friends.

Javelina Trail Run at Night

Javelina 100 (25k for me)
Oct 15, 2011, 6:00-8:30 pm.

I have been vicariously running trails for years, so when I struck up a conversation with Mary Knott at the gym, and she invited me to go out on the trail with her, I jumped at the chance!

After trying out several different trails with her, I decided that it really was as fun as it sounded in other people’s blog reports!

Noah took me out on his mountain-biking trail a couple of times too. He would ride ahead of me but wait up for me every once in awhile.

Although Ive wanted to do this for a long time, I didn’t quite have the determination to do it on my own. So its been nice to have some company!

Trail running isn’t highly social- it seems you need your space to pick the best footing. But it often involves allot of driving TO the trail, and then knowing there are friends close by- I prefer not to go it alone.

I was very excited to try my first official “trail race” last Saturday night. I wondered if it was such a good idea to do my first trail race at night, in the dark. But I was anxious and it sounded like a fun adventure.

Now that I think about it, I did do the night trail portion of Ragnar last year- so maybe this isn’t as novel as Ive been feeling. But in my head it was my first trail race and my first night race.

When I got there I was alone for a little while. I was so happy to see Mary and her husband, Dan show up. Dan showed up to support Mary- they have an awesome team- last week she was supporting him at Kona Ironman!

There was no “seeded corral”, so I worried that elbows would be flying in the beginning as we tried to find the right order. But it seemed to fall into place in a very orderly fashion. I didn’t feel like I passed or got passed very often.

I tried to wait as long as I could to turn my flashlight on. I had a headlamp, but it didn’t feel like enough. Noah told me that our flashlight, even with a new battery, would probably only last an hour and a half.

I only got a couple miles in though before I felt like I needed it. When I saw someone up ahead of me turn their light on, I felt justified in using my own as well. Luckily it lasted me to the end!

The field spaced out quite a bit, and there would be lengthy periods where I couldn’t see anyone ahead or behind me! Not even their flashlight! So I often felt like the only one in the dark on a mountain. A little scary, and I think it drove me to keep a fast pace.

I worked into a pace that felt comfortably challenging. I couldn’t look at my watch to see what that pace was- I had to watch the trail and stay focused! Three times I caught my toe and lurched forward. Three times I felt like I was going to face plant. But luckily I was able to run out of it all three times.

Even though running alone was a little nerve racking, I found that when Id get close to someone else, that their light would give me a headache and make me feel dizzy. So it was better to control my own space.

The aide station was about 8.5 miles into the race. I looked forward to the aide station, just knowing that I could refill water and would be close to finish after the station. The aide station was stocked with all kinds of fruit, candy, salty snacks, even pumpkin pie! I ate half a banana while they refilled my water bottle for me. Aide station volunteers rock!!!

The more technical part of the trail was the first half, and in the last several miles the trail smoothed out allot and I was able to pick up my pace. Especially since I knew that I was nearing the finish.

When I crossed the finish line there was a nice group of supporters there to clap and cheer. They sent me to the table for food- again a very nice spread of food- even pizza!

They asked if I was going to go out for a 2nd loop or if I was done. When I said that I was done, they gave me a finisher’s glass. I was confused about receiving the glass- did this mean I won??? But no, everyone gets the glass!

Dan tried to convince Mary and I that one of us needed to get back out there and do a 2nd loop. There was a prize for first place girl in every distance. And the first place girl in the 25k distance was done. So 50k prize was up for grabs! But we politely declined.

I wanted to finish my first trail race feeling GREAT! And, I was anxious to text Noah and let him know that I successfully completed the loop. And to text my Sweat Sisters who were anticipating a finishing text!

I can’t wait for my next trail experience. Noah says that he likes mountain biking because he feels like he is flying. I think this is why I like trail. I like the scenery, but what about when it’s dark? The ups are fun and challenging and then I am rewarded with downs where I feel like I am flying. I really love the rolling hills. The variety keeps things fresh. I like the focus that I have to dedicate to finding the best footing. And whether I can fully appreciate the scenery as I run by it, I still like the feeling that I am out there in nature. It feels right.

A Love Note

Dear Trails,

I love you.

Love,
Lindy

St. George Marathon 2011

When my husband and I got to St. George, we went straight to the marathon expo and I picked up my bib, drop bag and bought some gu's.  We decided to try the $8 all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner the marathon was offering and it was a good decision.  Because of the stomach problems I had during the Top of Utah Marathon, I was being careful of what I ate but the spaghetti and breadsticks hit the spot.  Yummy carbs. 

On Saturday morning, I got on a bus and the only seat left was the front seat.  I sat down and another lady sat by me and we started to talk.  She was from Utah and had run several marathons but not the St. George.  We got talking about Veyo hill - the dreaded hill at mile 7- and she said she had conflicting advice about the hill.  Someone had told her to walk it and save her legs for later in the course and another runner told her to shorten her stride and run it.  She could run it faster than she could walk it.  I asked her what she was going to do and she said she'll cross that bridge {or hill} when she gets to it.

We got off the bus and I headed to the porta potties.  Then I had about an hour to kill so I sat down and relaxed.  They had bonfires and a huge sound system where they played music and made some announcements.  I learned there were 7200 runners registered for the race, this was the 35th year of the St. George marathon and one lady had run it every single year and was running it again for the 35th year, that all 50 states were represented except two and later I learned that it was the warmest start in the marathon's history.

Finally, it was time for me to take my warm clothes off and head to the start.  The start was packed like sardines.  I could hardly move.  The gun went off and we started to shuffle to the start line mat where your time officially begins.  I was about four minutes behind the gun time.

It was dark, the sun wasn't up yet and I felt good.  I started running and noticed I was at about an 8 min/mile pace and it felt easy.  I probably should have slowed a little but I felt good and just went with it.  The first few miles flew by.  Then came Veyo hill.  The huge hill of the marathon.  I was feeling good.  I shortened my stride and ran up the hill.  I made it.  Then there's another hill and another hill and another hill.  St. George is sold as a downhill marathon but there are plenty of uphills - especially during the first 14 miles.  After mile 14, we entered Snow Canyon and it was beautiful.  The sun was up but the mountains were providing a little shade down the canyon.  I was still feeling good.  At mile 16, I was running down a hill and picked up my pace to a 7:50 min/mile.  I thought to myself, I just might do it today.  Maybe 3:45 is a real possibility {even though my BQ time is now 3:40}.  But a lot can change in a couple of miles.  At mile 20, my legs were feeling heavy and I was hot, tired and feeling the effects of the heat and the effects of running a marathon two weeks ago.  I would walk through the aid stations and it would take me a few seconds, okay minutes, to start running again.  Those last few miles of a marathon sometimes seem like they are 50 miles long.  But I was thankful because I didn't have any leg cramps and no porta pottie stops the whole way.  I told myself to just keep running.  Finally, I was nearing the corner that turns toward the finish line and I heard my name. Wayne was there to snap a picture as I ran to the finish.  {I'm in the red and black.}

Finish time: 3:57:53
{In 2009, I finished the St. George marathon in 4:15:21 so it was an improvement from the last time I ran it.}

I got a medal for finishing the marathon and also for finishing the Utah Grand Slam.

Utah Valley Marathon 3:58:40

Park City Marathon 4:10:13

Top of Utah Marathon 4:17:14

St. George Marathon 3:57:53

I love the St. George marathon, the course, the volunteers, the running vibe that fills the city.  Love it all.  I want to be in the ten-year-club so hopefully the lottery will be good to me for the next seven years!  Thanks St. George! 

Top of Utah Marathon: Rain, Hail and Porta-Potties

There's one thing I know for sure about the marathon, it's unpredictable!

On Saturday, Lindy and I both ran our 8th marathon together - Top of Utah.  She came into town on Friday night and we carbo loaded at The Old Spaghetti Factory with pasta and marinara sauce.

 Then we went to Logan and headed to the expo to get our bib numbers and then to our hotel.

When I registered for the marathon, I booked one of the cheapest theme rooms at the Anniversary Inn - Lost In Space.  It was pretty cheesy.  I thought I would be sharing this room with my husband but since Lindy was willing to fly in and run the marathon, she got to experience the cheesiness.  Lucky her.

Here we are on marathon morning ready to run 26.2

 We were worried about rain and we should have been. It rained.  Not lightly.  Heavy, downpour rain and heavy, downpour hail.  We got soaked.  Also, I had stomach problems and had to stop at the porta-potties four times.  Four times.  That eats a lot from your time.  I wish I knew what caused the stomach problems because I would never eat that food again.  What did I say about the marathon?  Unpredictable.  On the other hand, my legs didn't cramp at all - probably thanks to my electrolyte pills - and I felt like I ran more the last six miles than in any other marathon I've ran.  Official time: 4:17:14.

The first portion of the marathon is downhill and that did not agree with Lindy's quads.  She's not sure downhill marathons are for her.  But I like the marathon for that reason.  Gotta love starting out the first half downhill - if your body can take it.  I'll be back to run it again.  Next time, it better be without the stomach issues.  Bring on St. George in a couple of weeks!

Funny story.  I was running by a girl and we were getting pounded with hail.  Her friend was cheering her on from the side and then started running with her.  As we're getting soaked and pounded with hail he said to her, "Remember, only thirty percent chance of rain today.  Should be dry."  That made me laugh.