Race Crazy?

Well, I've now done a different race 4 weekends in a row and I feel like I'm getting a bit addicted to races! It is becoming a slightly spendy habit though, but it's been a fun few weeks and all different races...5K, Ragnar, 10K and an 8K yesterday. Yesterday 's run was the Arizona Road Racers Luck of the Draw 8K. It was in Peoria about 10 minutes from my house. Suzanne and I signed up for it together just earlier this week. The registration form said everyone that pre-registers gets a medal and a Buca di Beppo coupon. Also, everyone would be dealt a card at the finish to try winning a door prize...so it sounded good for a $20 8K.

The course was nice. It was along a wash that is connected to one of our usual running paths, just further west. We had a great first mile which tends to be my saving grace when I get tired later in the race. The problem was that the race did not start until 7:30, and guess what...we are having higher than normal temps right now in AZ and by mile 2 we were soaked in sweat feeling the sun beating down on us. Big difference than my 5:30 start from last weekend and Suzanne and I haven't done any "heat training" yet. I tried to push us to the next water station at 2.5, but Suzanne was starting to feel a little sick (in her first trimester right now). I walked with her a bit and then she asked me to go on ahead. This was weird since it is usually the opposite - I let her go on ahead since she is faster than me, but when I told her I feel bad leaving her she reminded me of the many times I let her go on. So I kept going taking a few walk breaks on the hills on miles 4 and 5 since I was so hot. I finished considerably slower than the last race at 53:00 which was a 10:40 pace, but it was just nice knowing I finished the first race of a handful of summer races to come. Can't be setting our expectations too high in this heat or we might just pass out! We got out and did it! Suzanne made up some amazing time and came in just 56 seconds after me. The announcers asked us if we knew each other since we have matching knee braces. :) We hung out for the door prizes and Suzanne won a very cute drawstring bag with pink daisies on it. I, of course, won nothing BUT found out that I placed 4th in my age division. Had I been going my pace of last week I could have had a place medal! I was less than a minute and 1/2 behind 3rd. Very odd at my pace, but now I know that it might be attainable if I'm running against a small group - this one was only 118 people with only 9 in my division. Next small ARR race I'm definitely giving it my all in some small hope of a medal. We'll see. As I said all finishers did get a "medal" for this race. It was actually a dog tag with a color logo, name and date of the race - something different to put in my display case. Good times overall and by the way...Happy Mother's Day a bit late to all of you moms! I'm not racing for the next couple weeks because I'll be out of town - weird, maybe I will have to find races in Austin and San Fran for the upcoming weekends. ;)

Bryn's 10K in the rain, not in the cold, but in the RAIN

We Did it!  I Did it! (I'm the one in the  green shirt)

The "Mother's Day" 10K in Provo, UT

put on by the Utah Running Club on Saturday, May 2, 2009!

I did it in 1:15:59, (12:19 miles) in the rain with just a few runners and those are the highlights if you don't want to read the details!

It's nothing compared to the many miles that others have run, I know.

But it was a goal of mine for 13 weeks and I accomplished it.

Actually I might be more proud of myself for sticking with the training, only missing two training sessions, than for the 10k itself.

It was the second 10K race that I have run and since I ran it slower than the first, my time is not the exciting part.  I ran it in 1:15:59, which is under the goal of 1:20 that I set for myself, and told myself that I would be happy about.  Notice myself struggling with obeying myself.

I had set the goal of 1:20, 13 min. miles, after doing some calculations on the RW website.  But that seemed awfully slow and so I was glad when I got on the plane to Utah and was reading in a RW magazine and saw an article that had a different formula, that said an 11:30 minute mile pace would be a good target for me for a 10K.  So, I decided if I felt like it I would go for it.

Another thing I realized while sitting on the plane, was that I had left my running bra at home in the dryer.  Oh silly, silly me!  Why I thought I would think to grab it out of the dryer along with my pajamas, as I was dashing out the door goes to show I haven't learned how my brain works or doesn't!  It's annoying because, first of all, I had only worn it maybe once since it had been washed, so it didn't absolutely have to be washed that morning.  Second of all after it went through the wash, I thought about putting it in a plastic bag and letting it finish drying in UT.  I usually let it air dry anyways.  But no, I had procrastinated packing my bag till the last possible minute and raced out the door with running bra and pajamas still in the dryer!  I was the second to the last person on the plane to give you a feel for how close I cut it.  Not so smart!  Maybe, maybe, just maybe, now I've learned my lesson and will get packed earlier!!!!!  Hopefully I won't have to actually miss a flight before the lesson sinks in my thick skull.

Luckily, my sister-in-law, Wendy asked after she picked me up at the airport, "Do you have anything you want to do?"  I said well as a matter of fact, we don't have to do it right now, but sometime in the next few days I need to get a running bra.  Since she wanted to kill some time while her kids did the dishes at home, we headed to the nearest running shoe store she could think of.  It was a specialty shoe store with Birkenstocks? and other brand name shoes and bars on the windows and doors.  Made you wonder.  It had some running gear, but no bras.  The next idea was Big 5.  They had a small selection from which I quickly deduced nothing would work.  First of all I don't think their largest size would have fit and second of all, even if it did, I don't think it would have mattered.  Which is the point behind a running bra!  It needs to make a difference!  You know what I'm saying???  I don't think my sister-in-law did.  She looked at me like I was kind of nuts.  "You're not even go to try one of these on?", she was thinking.

Right next to running shoes, is the fit of the bra for me.  It just really needs to work or running won't!  So luckily a sales associate at Big 5, after admitting they had a slim selection of running bras at the time (I'm glad they conceded this point), pointed us to a Specialty Running Shoe Store, called Wasatch Running?  They had quite a selection.  And for some reason it seemed like I had to try on everyone, before I finally found one that fit and worked!  I even tried on the Oprah bra, didn't know before hand there was one!  That thing locks you down but gave me a weird shape.  Maybe I didn't know how to wear it.  Anyways I was very relieved to finally find one that would work!!!  And so was my sister-in-law!

Thursday and Friday I went to BYU Women's Conference and it was wonderful!  Absolutely wonderful!  Weather was very nice!  Tiny bit of sprinkling but nothing much really.  Rain was in the forecast for Saturday but really when do the weathermen get it right?

They did this time!!  Got up Saturday morning to RAIN, RAIN and RAIN!!!!  Maybe it would get it out of it's system?? I hoped!!  We got to the race place plenty early to warm up but we sat in the cars for a while, waiting for the race organizers to show up.  Wondered if it was going to be cancelled?  Nope, they showed up!  We huddled under an awning as we checked in and got our numbers!  There were 9 in our group! 

In the picture, from left to right-

There was Sterling-my husband's brother,

Karin, Sterling's wife,

Janelle, my niece,

Mitchel, Janelle's brother and my nephew,

Mitchel's roommate/friend,

DaLynn, my daughter,

me,

Ariel, DaLynn's roommate,

& Ariel's guy friend.

We pretty much dominated this 10K with this many people.  Seriously!  I'm not bragging I'm just saying there were so few runners!  

I knew it wasn't a large group but I didn't realize quite how small at first, because as we started we had the 1 milers and the 5 K runners starting too!  A total of around 20-25 people.  As the 1 milers and 5 K people turned around, I realized there were only 3 other people running the 10K besides those in our group!  One was a guy who finished first! One was a gal who finished last.  For the longest time I thought I was going to be last and I wondered if maybe I could be first and last in my age group?  But after the half-way point I was able to pass her by!  And then one other lady in the middle somewhere.

Gratefully, I had brought a windbreaker type jacket and my contacts!  They both came in real handy.  Running in glasses would not have been so fun in the rain.

I wore my hood up for the first 10 minutes or so but got hot, so I took it off.

The course was beautiful.  It was along the Provo River and it was running swift and high with all the rain!!!  Luckily it wasn't too cold.  That would have multiplied the misery factor exponentially.  As it was the wet was not too big of a deal.  Temperature was nice.  Your clothes just felt heavy with all the water they had absorbed.

I had warmed up a little.  Not as much as I would have liked.  So my legs were tight for quite awhile.  Right side loosened up at mile 2.  Left side finally at mile 4.

At the turn around point I felt pretty good so I tried to kick it up a notch a little.  And then of course I noticed the slope of the course gradually ascending, funny how I hadn't noticed the descending on the first half!

I was pretty sure I was averaging under 13 minute miles but my time was getting awfully close to 1:20 so I was confused and a little frustrated.  Around the corner, with under a mile to go, came my daughter and her roommate Ariel.  They had finished the race but had come back to run in with me.  It was a welcome distraction and a sweet gesture!

As we neared the finish line and I saw my time according to the race clock which was 1:15, it finally dawned on me the time on my Garmin included some of my warm-up time!  Duhh!!!  I was glad I was going to reach the goal of under 1:20!

DaLynn had reached her goal of doing it under 60 minutes!  I was very proud of her!  Mitchel was second place overall, even though he added about 4 minutes to his time because he got lost on the course.  No fun!  I wasn't sure which way to go at one point during the race but then I saw him coming along and that really helped!

And so that was my 10K!  My achilles bothered me some during the race, not too bad, and then some more afterwards.  I had physical therapy on Monday and have more tomorrow.  I hope it takes care of it!  The physical therapist seemed surprised when I told her about the 10K.  I guess I hadn't told her before hand, I thought I had.  I asked her about what kind of training I should do now.  I told her I want to do a marathon next summer.  She surprised me by saying that she has never run a marathon.  She looks like she has!  That's a dumb comment I know!

She said well let's just get you well now.  I've been wondering about that ever since.  I went to this PT office because I thought they were all into running and keeping you running.  If I didn't want to run and do a marathon I wouldn't be doing PT.  I could hobble around doing normal stuff.  It's the exercise that gets hindered with the achilles issue. hmmm...

So, so far this week, I've taken it off.  Feeling kind of aimless.  Trying to get back into the groove of home.  But my husband's out of town and that makes it hard too.  What's my next goal, my next training plan?  Need to lock in soon!

New Shoes!!!

We few weeks ago my neighbor took me on a pilgrimage to "the running store" in a neighboring city. She is very into buying local and supporting the local economy, which I admire about her. I have just bought shoes anywhere I could find the cheapest pair, but I have never trained for a marathon and have never spent more time with my shoes in a day on some days than I spend with my husband. I knew I'd need advice.

I've always been a Nike snob, for some reason. I have just liked the way they fit my feet and worn well for me. The shoe man, whose name I do not remember, had me take my shoes off to look at my feet. He brought out a few pairs of different brands to try on. It was kind of like getting my eyes tested. "Which is better, A or B? B or C? C or A?" After narrowing it down to one, he had me put them on and run on the treadmill to watch how my feet run in them. It all checked out. It was also nice that he offers a cash discount. The shoes were cheaper there than I could find elsewhere, even online.

Well, on Saturday, I finally made the purchase. I now have a new pair of K-Swiss Keahou running shoes! I was actually kind of nervous to try them out. My 5 mile run on Monday was great. Today's 7 miler was good on my feet, too. (The hips took a beating, though.) I guess my feet aren't as narrow as I had thought and the Nikes were too tight on the toes. There is so much room for my toes! I also love the cupping on my heels. I am a Nike snob no more. Although my shoes do not make me faster, I still love them. Now I just have to keep them on my feet so that they do not get swiped.

An Unexpected Running Expense

Every Saturday I drive over to a paved running trail about 15 minutes from where I live and go on a long run. I don't have to worry about traffic lights, traffic, nasty exhaust fumes or getting ran over. I can "zone out" and just focus on running. This past Saturday was no different. I headed to the trail and had a great 9.5 mile run. Until, that is, I got back to my car and discovered that my Honda Pilot had been broken into. Some jerk had broken the passenger side window and decided to browse our belongings and help himself. UGHHHHH! Can't people leave other people's belongings alone???

The only thing he took was my water belt - which I left on the passenger seat. He decided to leave the three car seats, double stroller, stereo, cds, granola bars and house keys alone - thank goodness (the last three items were not in plain sight). Probably would have seemed too suspicious carrying the carseats and pushing a double stroller with no kids. Luckily our insurance covered everything above our $100 deductible and they had a company fix it at our home that same day. Convenient yet inconvenient.

When I reported the break-in to the police he asked me how often I go to the trail. "Every Saturday." "Uh, you may want to change your routine up." My thoughts exactly. Now I'm on the lookout for a good place to run. One where I can run a good 20-22 miles without any traffic lights, exhaust fumes, worrying about getting ran over AND no jerks that take other people's belongings.

Grab some sunshine

Hi Ladies - Sorry this isnt really a running entry. You'll take fitness related stories, right? I didnt get to run this weekend because I had to take some workshops towards renewing my group fitness certifications. Anyway, I learned some motivational phrases from one renowned instructor. This was during a cycle class, but could be used in running...

*Grab some sunshine, put it in your pocket, now you have a pocket of sunshine!
*Go to your place of harmony, perhaps surfing, pretend you are riding the waves....

For more motivation, Id like to share a couple of pictures...
http://store.exercisetv.tv/s-60-rob-glick.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM9dd6WVtOM

Water Bandits

The weather is heating up here in AZ so I brought a bottle of water for our group run this morning. Our group meets at "the corner" and then we do a loop through the neighborhood. Lisa and I were planning on running a little further today so we stashed our water bottles behind some electrical boxes near "the corner" thinking we could chug them after the first loop and then continue on. Well, when we got back to "the corner" our water bottles were gone! Someone had swiped them. I guess we should be appreciative of the neighborhood patrol that picks up trash in the neighborhood frequently, but this morning it was just annoying! From about mile 4 - 6 I had been thinking about that water bottle waiting there for me. My teeth were sticky and my tongue was cottony and there was no way I was running 3 more miles without a drink! Luckily Karen saved the day by providing us all with a nice cold water bottle from her house about a quarter mile away and we were able to finish our long run.

Thanks for a good run - and welcome to Amy who braved the second leg of the group run today. You did awesome!

Fallin' Out the John

3:45am came all too soon for me this morning. That was when I had to get up for my 10K race today since it was a 5:30 start time and about 25 minutes from home at the Cardinals' Stadium. This was the Chasing the Sun 10K put on by our AZ Ak Chin Indian Community for the Native American Basketball Invitational. All a part of a weekend long Pow Wow at the stadium. And no, I wasn't attending that. ;) I know you guys must think I'm crazy now with the variety of races I've been doing.

Anyways, I arrived around 5:00, picked up my shirt and bib, then went straight for the port-o line. Lots of people waiting and it was one of those days where I just knew I'd actually have to wait in it twice, if you know what I mean. It was still dark except for the parking lot lighting and as I was coming out of the little hut just a little too fast since I knew people were waiting and I had taken a few minutes longer than most. I lost my footing because they were placed near the edge of curb! I didn't fall to the ground but I'm sure I still looked like an idiot tripping out of the port-o! I fully scraped my left knee against the side of the doorway and I knew immediately that one was going to leave a mark. I went back to my car to get my water belt and I took a look...I was bleeding. Not too much, so I just pulled up my knee braces (which had they been pulled up to begin with I don't think I'd have had this problem!). I went on a quick warm up and knew that it would be bugging me the whole race, but oh well - nothing I could do. Did my stretches waiting in line for the evil port-o's again (remember I said it was one of those mornings...). This time there was a little more light and I escaped without further injury just in time to make it over to the start about 10 seconds after gun.

I started out strong and decided to get into my music and forget about the knee. I watched the Garmin and had set it to nag me if I was slower than 10:30. I love that feature and it kept me on pace for beating my 1:03:15 time from 11/07. By the end of mile 4 I could feel the wrath of the port-o in full force, but I kept pushing through. I finished in 1:02:13 for 6.22mi! Yay! I have a little blood stain in the inside of my knee brace that I hope will come out, but I suppose it could have been much worse! ;) Bruise is already there but it is a nice battle scar in exchange for a new PR! Moral of the story: Watch your step coming out of the can. ;)