Highlights of Ragnarly Training

Ive been meaning to blog some of the fun running experiences Ive had lately, but been so tired by the end of the day...Im tired right now and this might not come out in an orderly fashion, but Im just going to give some information on recent training...

*February 11th was a thursday, but we chose this night to carry out our long run for the week. I had signed up for an all-day resistance workshop, on the following saturday, to get my cec's. And Cynthia got volunteered to do a Ragnar fund-raising garage sale on the saturday.

Sharon needed 13 miles on her training plan. Karen and I only needed 12, on our plan, but wanted to go the distance with Sharon. We wanted to make sure that she ran 13.1, because this was her first time doing the half marathon distance. We had to pass by our vehicles to get less than a half mile more. It was fun to experience this break-through moment with her. I love running friends because they give you the chance to live through these experiences over and over again. I love marathon training with first time marathoners, because I remember how exciting it was when every run was the longest one ever. I remember wondering if Id be able to accomplish that next longer distance.

There were several things noteworthy for me regarding the 11th.
-Sharon's first half marathon distance run.
-Possibly my first double run in a day. I dont really remember doing a double day before.
-My first long run at night.
-A fun turn-out! Me, Karen, Sharon, Cynthia, Sarah, and Lisa. Our gas station potty break took a long time (single stall), but it was worth having so many fun running friends show up.

I hadnt planned on it being a double-day. I had been looking forward to sleeping in thursday morning. But Karen said "We are still going to run in the morning, arent we?"

*February 18th I did my usual run in the early a.m. with Karen, and then realized that there wasnt anything I really HAD to do during Kelly's preschool. Id been wondering about one of the cut-through roads we hadnt tried at Las Sendas. Cynthia and Lisa were quick to agree to a spontaneous mid-week field-trip with me to Las Sendas. Missy came with us to ride in the running stroller. She was a pleasant addition to our running group- happily enjoying the outdoors and the great weather. Cynthia and Lisa kept joking about throwing rocks in my stroller to make it harder on me. They didnt really put rocks in- just full bottles of water they didnt drink the whole run:) Im totally okay with toting water for friends who are willing to drop everything and run with me!!! On the way back home to get our kids from pre-school, we stopped at the Quicktrip for a 32 oz. icy cold diet coke. I must say that in a perfect world everyday would start out with 2 runs and a Quicktrip!

*February 20th, Saturday, we planned to hit Las Sendas again. We cant get enough *heel work right now! Bridge sent out the message to all the girls, and we planned for anyone on the Ragnar team to show up for the last 6 miles- anyone who could make it. Karen and I left home at 5 am, planning to get 19 miles. Cynthia and Sharon left at 5:40, because Sharon needed 15 and Cynthia was willing to do 15 for the fun of it. And Lisa left at 6:20. For the last 6 miles we met up with Bridge, Justine, and Beth. This was our first time meeting Beth, who is part of our Ragnar team.
I get a little thrill from the preparation and anticipation of a run such as this. Having to think about where we will be at certain points so that people can meet up for their various desired distances. Cynthia came up with a better 6 mile route than mine for the finish, so we used hers. But I had fun all week thinking about the route and how it might play out. Everything went well. We were a couple of minutes behind schedule in meeting people- this was because of a few minutes late leaving home and a few minutes spent buckling on waist-packs, etc, at the car. But my pre-planning was for us to do 10:38 avg- which would include bathroom and water stops. The final avg. on my watch was 10:40, so I was happy with the way it played out.

*heel=hill. Cynthia just told me tonight that for some time now her and Lisa have been trying to get me to say hill as much as possible because apparently I pronounce it like heel. Lol. I can handle that being the joke on me. There could be worse things!

Arizona has been great weather lately for running. the kind of days where you can wear a light jacket in the early morning, and may even end up tying it around your waist. The kind of days where you can wear shorts for late morning runs. I love this time of year!

Ragnarly training, coupled with marathon training, has produced higher weekly numbers on my calendar than what Ive ever logged before. And it feels great!!!

Speedwork

Since the St. George Marathon I haven't had much to say on this blog. I was sort of training for a half marathon - but backed out of it. So now I've been sort of training for the Ragnar relay but just realized the other day that it's only a month away! I've also realized that I have a couple of hard legs so I better get moving and do something besides my two easy runs during the week and a long run on Saturday.

Lisa and I went to the Islands track and did speedwork today. We did 6 X 800's at goal 5k pace with a two minute jog between. It's funny how the third interval was the hardest. I'm pretty sure I'll be sore tomorrow but it was really nice to change things up. Do you all do speedwork? How often and what?

Have a great week!

Chang's Half Marathon 2010

I AM fast!!!

So my race mantra came from the expo Friday. I walked in with 2 key members of Islands running group, there to support me. We went over to get my bib, and were directed to corral 2- out of 20 something corrals for the half marathon. I panicked for a moment ‘should I be here?”

My girlfriends encouraged me “You ARE fast, Lindy!!!” Don’t worry….you ARE fast…just keep saying it! So I did!!! I told myself that several times during the race, and it certainly helped my pace.

It was such a beautiful day! I couldn’t stop smiling. I seriously had a huge grin on my face for the entire race. I just kept thinking nice thoughts…about how many nice fun people are in my life. Stuff like that…

It was fun to find out that Deena Castor and Ryan Hall were running the very same race! I didn’t see them, but they were in close proximity to me! Until the gun went off…and then although I was fast, Deena was much faster! (Under 1:10!) There were also other big name runners in Phoenix today- ultra runners Dean Karnazes, and Josh Cox. Go PF Chang’s!

Senator McCain talked to us before the gun went off. He was on a big ladder above us, and then he waved us on our way.

I had my latest cycle mix to listen to. I was rocking out to the likes of Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers. Not my usual genre/decade. But it was great! Made me feel young and strong! When Miley said “so hard with my girls not around me” I thought about my little girls back home (with Lisa) and also my running girlfriends who weren’t with me today. I missed (you all) and want to drag you to this one with me next year!

Im out of chronological order here- but I have to mention that I got to the race in plenty of time, like over an hour, and I was greatful for it. Potty line takes so long! I like not feeling too rushed right before the gun goes off.

Im including a picture of my girls here in the blog, so you can see how beautiful they look when Lisa gets them ready for church. Thankyou Lisa!

The race is a gradual up hill. Noticeably so at mile 8.5 to the end. But after recently running St George, these hills are like eating pie! As Noah would put itJ

After I was half way done, I felt like Id be able to keep my groove and get my goal. When I had only 3 miles left, I increased my speed some. The closer I got to the finish line after that, the faster I ran. The very last stretch was a full sprint.

After I finished I texted Noah to find out where he was. He said darn he just barely missed me by about 3 minutes. But it was fun to have him there. PF Chang’s let him in the tent with me. They handed out bracelets at the expo to grant free access to a special tent. In the tent they gave us free lettuce wraps and chocolate cake and diet coke. I felt like a VIP. PF Chang’s are very cool sponsers for this race.

I wore my “Boston 2 Big Sur” training shirt to run today. At one point during the race a gentleman started talking to me- I pulled out my earphones and he said that this race was lacking in scenery, but that we’d get all the great scenery at Big Sur. He is also planning to run Big Sur. I talked to him for a few minutes and then we parted ways.

Despite the lack of beautiful scenery, I really love the PF Chang’s Rock n Roll Marathon/Half Marathon. Great weather, blue skys, fast roads, and superb organization. The crowds are kind and cheerful. There is a festive spirit in the air. Lots of cute cheer squads cheering you along the way. Fun local bands. Lots of great volunteers. Plenty of buses to take drop bags- there were 3 different ones just for last name’s starting with M. And it took them 2 seconds to find my bag when I came to retrieve it! I just think the whole race staff outdid themselves this year- even more so than last year. The finish line was fast to get through- before you knew it they had taken your picture and given you 2 armfuls of snacks…what else can I say? Even admission to a concert – Everclear- a little later. I didn’t stick around for the concert- but hear it was great. It is a fairly expensive race to register for, so register early for next year to get the best deal! The final price for the half was $145 at the expo. But the sooner you register, the cheaper it is.

As Noah and I were walking back to the car, we got a text from PF Chang’s giving us the split that Bridge had passed mile 20. Her time was great and I was very happy to hear that she was doing so well. I told Noah, though, oh poor Bridge, she just got to the hard part! And I sent a small prayer her way…Ill leave Bridge’s details though for her to blog about!

Such a great day. The adrenaline of the race has not left me yet. Thankyou for kind emails, texts, and calls from friends today! They mean allot!

PF Chang's this weekend!

Just wanted to mention that Bridge is running her first marathon this weekend- Go Bridge!!! So we all need to think about her and pray for her sunday morning, and while you are at it, say a little prayer for me too!

I will be running the PF Chang's half marathon. Im really hoping for a PR this time around- my fastest 1/2 was my split at PF Chang's whole marathon last year. 1:47. And I really want to get 1:45 this time. Its a stretch for me, so lets hope the stars are aligned!

I wanted to state my goal, for the record, because I was so impressed with Kara Goucher for boldly stating that she wanted to "Win Boston!" last april. She didnt, but I was very impressed with her for having a lofty goal, working hard, and almost accomplishing it.

Ill let you know what happens!

And Bridge, Im going to be on pins and needles until I hear from you Sunday! Im SOOO excited for you! If I were to give you any advice or anything- just know that there is a little up hill toward the end. It isnt steep, but it is close to the end when you are tired. So just plan for it:)

Until next week...

The Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon

Well, this past weekend many people on our running team went up to run the Las Vegas Half Marathon. I decided this was just not feasible due to the cost, Christmas right around the corner, the fact that we were just there in October for Ragnar, and because we are heading back to Vegas at the end of this month for our anniversary. Many reasons here, so myself and 2 of my other close running pals on the team, Karine (left) and Amanda (center), decided to sign up for the Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon. I've started to REALLY like getting medals for races, so with this race being such a lower price than Vegas with a non-rock 'n' roll type medal it was worth the $50 to get in a half as part of my training with a different medal. Call it "Something Shiny" syndrome if you will.

We got to the race start area at about 6:45 and the race was a 7:30 start. Not an overly crowded race (only 961 halfers) so we had no issues parking or picking up our packets that morning. I was literally parked right next to the finish line and packet pick up. Rock star parking! We got our bibs, tech shirts and timing "tags" and walked over to my car to prep. It was a cold morning so the first thing I did was busted out the hand warmers for each of us. I worried about what layers to leave on, but ultimately decided that I'd warm up eventually and I opted for just a long sleeve shirt, my capris, and some cheap gloves. We got our bibs on, timing tags (a type I never used before - interesting orange tags that don't have to be returned - very cool), hats, water, etc and headed for the potty pit stop. Unfortunately, we were in line JUST FOR ME and missed the half marathon start. Thank goodness for chip timing and great friends that will wait for ya anyway! We were just hoping we were on the right path because we were surrounded by 5Kers that had just started. Luckily they had staff out there to tell us halfers to turn left!

It was actually quite nice starting later. We didn't have to fight a crowd and we quickly caught up to those that were slower than us. Amanda, Karine and I ran about the first 3 miles together. Amanda pacing us through. After about 3 miles, Karine (our newest mom on the team!) needed a break from our crazy Amanda 9:20 pace. I was still feeling good so I decided to keep going. Amanda cut her pace and stayed with Karine. Maybe I was motivated by the twin tu-tu costumes racing in front of us! ;) I kept going, feeling good! This race was on my daily turf - north on Scottsdale Rd to Via de Ventura, right past my work building and then south on Hayden back over to the old town area. It was flat for the majority. Only two dips down onto the greenbelt and back up a couple times. Just nice Scottsdale scenery the whole way. It was overcast for the first 6 miles or so but the sun came out on a very lovely morning!

While I kept asking myself, "How do you feel?" I found that encouragement from others definitely sticks in my mind. I kept thinking of a Facebook post from my best friend's brother, Danny, who is an amazing runner - wishing me luck and he said "I hope you get a PR!" Danny's comment stuck in my mind as I ran - he's one of the fastest runners I know - hoping I PR. I wanted to be able to say I did. Not even in a competitive nature really, but just because I really wanted it to be true so that a fellow runner's wishes for me would be fulfilled. Do you know what I mean by that?

Anyway, I had a great surprise at about mile 6 right in front of my work. I expected Karine's husband and saw him out there to cheer us on, but then shortly after I saw my friends Justine and James out there cheering for me! What a boost and a wonderful surprise!! I didn't know they would be there. :) They gave me more of what I needed to get through when my knee pain started setting in at about 7 miles in. I only stopped twice - once to pull up my knee braces real quick and once to stretch my IT band at mile 8 so I could get past my left knee pain. I walked through a couple water stations just so I didn't cover myself in cold water in the cold weather, but really I ran all that I could and I had never actually RUN that many miles without a good deal of walk breaks. Coming around the corner to the finish and seeing my friends there cheering me on again was fantastic!!! My time was 2:19:47 which was a 10:40 pace. I PRed by about 7 minutes! The Garmin of course lists the race as slightly longer than 13.1 clocking me at a 10:31 pace, but you never know what to believe. ;) Either way I was VERY happy with my official time! Just minutes later Karine and Amanda came around the corner after keeping up an awesome pace and Karine grabbed her new baby boy from her hubby and ran with him across the finish. The race staff gave little Aydon a medal...awwwww! Such a nice race with great friends running it and cheering us on as well! James even put together a short video of us - check it out if you're interested here.

If you guys are looking for an alternative to PF Chang's or just a nice flat run in general next year for a 1/2 - I highly recommend it!

Excited to see how the next few weeks of practice will go - I really hope that my knees are going to hold up to get me through the full next month! I'm already getting a little emotional about trying to get through a full - is this normal? I'm scared and excited at the same time. I've started to do my therapy exercises for my knees regularly again and my ankle is finally getting better after 2 and 1/2 months. Are any of you doing the PF Chang's full? I don't really know anyone my pace doing it so that is a bit of anxiety for me too. The girls on my team that are doing the 1/2 this time all say that I will likely have a better time being on my own and making it a personal experience within my self and that they will be there to cheer me on after they finish their 1/2. It's such a long time though! I'll be looking for some advice before race day if I do in fact decide to go for the full!

Mountain Trail Adventure

This Picture was taken in front of my Parent's garage, right after our Saturday Adventure.

On Saturday I had the opportunity to run in Ogden with Marcie. My parents recently moved to North Ogden, and I havent figured out all the options yet. I searched mapmyrun.com and found 2 routes that joined up with each other. Together they equalled the 12 miles that Marcie and I were hoping for. My Dad took me out on friday night to help me find the entrance to the first trail. I was hoping that we could leave from my parents house on foot. My Dad was looking for the best entrance to this mountain trail. He suddenly stopped the truck, in the dark, and started walking briskly up the mountain. So I got out and tried to follow him. Straight up the mountain. Stumbling through the dark. 'How far up this mountain is he going to go???' I wondered. We did find the trail after we were both out of breath. He thought he could find an easier way to get on the trail, though. Which he did. We found a neighborhood that led right into the trail, with a kinder entry. Thankyou Dad for helping me! I never wouldve found either of those trail entries on my own!

On Saturday I had alarm issues. Luckily Marcie waited on my porch for 10 minutes or so until Noah heard her knocking and woke me up. The alarm issues were not my fault. But that's another story.

The first few miles were kind of brutal. We started out going up hill, right out of my parents drive way. The first several miles were mostly up hill. The first 6 mile half of the trail was a mountain trail with several spots we had to walk over or around large rocks and such. At times we wondered if we were still in the right place. But we kept going. We were looking for Rainbow Gardens, where we would start the 2nd half of this run. We finally got to a spot where we could see Rainbow Gardens. But it looked very far away, still, on the mountain trail. So we took a short cut. The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line, right? Learned that in my math classes. So we started running down the mountain toward Rainbow Gardens. Marcie demonstrated her crazy downhill technique.

After Rainbow Gardens it was smooth sailing. A nice paved trail. It overlapped part of the Ogden Marathon route I ran in 2006. Fun to see and remember those familiar sights.

When we hit our 12 miles we called Noah on my cell phone and asked him to come find us. No, we didnt really know where we were. We described what we could see and hear. He did find us. A good man.

I look forward to doing that one again. Next time we'll know we are on the right path, and that will take a little bit of the excitement out of it. Its kind of fun feeling slightly lost with a friend. We kept making jokes about the Blair Witch Project...

But it was a super adventure. A great day. One that Ill remember.

Running with Megan

On friday I wanted to step out the door for a 3 mile run. Noah was home from work, but heading out for a chiropractic adjustment. No problem- I could leave Megan to babysit for less than an hour. But Megan wanted to rollerblade alongside me. "No, I need my babysitter" I said. As she protested further, Noah thought he could solve this with another approach..."Megan, rollerblade around the block with Mom. If she beats you back, you can't go with her." Megan beat me back.

So Noah cancelled his adjustment, and Megan came with me.

Now, Megan is my child that I assumed would probably not take up running with me. She says that running hurts her tummy. She does not like pain. So I had to smile as we zipped along the streets together. Life was handing me an unexpected gift. Megan had found her own way to come enjoy 3 miles with me. I hadnt run with Megan for 4-5 years. Since she outgrew the double running stroller and got replaced by younger siblings.

I am happy to add Megan to my list of fabulous running partners. (: