Provo River Half-Marathon

I love this race. If my memory is correct, this is the fourth time I've ran it. The course is down the Provo River trail and mostly shaded. On Saturday morning, I woke up at 3:50, got ready and headed down to Provo to pick up my bib number, get my timing chip and board the buses. The buses took us to the start and there we waited for about an hour and a half until the seven o'clock start time.

Those of you who have run any of the Provo River runs know they're not the most organized races in the world. This is the 18th Provo half-marathon and you'd think the organizers would have it down to a science . . . but they don't. The buses took the runners and dropped us off in a field. No one knew where the race started. About 7:00, Curt {the race organizer} came in his truck and yelled out the window, "Throw your drop-bags in here!" as he's driving off. All the runners are frantically trying to get their drop bags in the truck that's driving away. Luckily, I didn't take a drop bag so I didn't have to participate in all the chaos.

Shortly after 7:00, a car makes its way through the crowd and a couple of people set up the start and place the timing mats down so our chips will work. The race starts at 7:10 and we're off. It felt good to finally be running. I took my own water so I flew by all the water stations and downed a gu at mile 6. My goal time was 1:45 and I crossed the finish in 1:43:52. A new PR. This isn't the most organized race but since it's such a lovely course, I'm sure I'll be back to run it again and again.

A few thoughts:

• a deer was roaming around at the start and was letting people pet it.
• this race has the most females I've seen that run in full make-up: eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick. Interesting.
• a couple of 13 year-old boys started the race by me and after we'd run a few minutes, I heard one of them say, "I think we've ran a mile already." He asked me how far we'd run, I checked my garmin and it said .6 miles. It might have been a long race for those two.
• this was my "easiest" half-marathon. In all the half-marathons I've ran there's been a point where I've had to dig deep mentally and physically but this half-marathon I felt strong and energized the whole race. I'm pretty sure I can thank my rough eighteen-mile run last Saturday. Compared to that, this was a walk in the park.
• This may go down in the books as my fastest half-marathon. I'm not sure I have it in me to get a faster time. But, you should never say never. Maybe with Lindy pacing me, I can break 1:40. Maybe.
• I crossed the finish line, walked straight to my car and drove home so I could make it back for my husband's tennis game.

Map, Trail, Green mojave rattlesnake...

We were intending to camp in Greer this weekend, to get a break from the hot local temperatures. The reason we chose Greer for this camping trip was that Karen and Reddin would be there doing extended family stuff, but they were going to take a break so Karen could run with me and Reddin could bike with Noah. Intended departure, thursday. But Karen called me wednesday night and said it was too rainy there for fun camping.

Thursday we were celebrating my daughter's birthday lunch at Joe's BBQ. Noah suggested we take off for one night in Sedona. I will never turn down an opportunity to get away somewhere fun with the family, and to run in a fun new location. So we went home and packed the van. On the way to Sedona Missy watched a Dora movie over and over. Bridge, door, tall mountain....Dora always picks a sequence and the kids use a map to help them follow through the sequence.

Noah got me a map, and pointed out some trails I might run the next morning. All of them close to Bell Rock. It looked fabulous. Bring on the 16 miler!

I got up semi-early and snuck out of our hotel room leaving everyone else to sleep in. I took my little map and 2 bottles of water and a couple of gu's.

The trail was nice and not too difficult. There was a fair amount of climbing, and it was humid. My pace wasnt very fast. It was fun to look around at all the big red rock formations. Sedona is a magical place. Some even say it is literally magic! Some people practice yoga in Sedona in special vortex areas. Maybe I did run through a magical vortex because my ankle seemed to be healed. Last Saturday in Las Sendas my ankle hurt like crazy- but not at all yesterday.

There was a mountain biker playing leap frog with me out on the trail. He was from the local village and seemed to know the area well. He seemed really capable and nice and I was glad to have him close by. At one point I saw his bike sitting on the ground, in the trail in front of me. I worried he might be hurt. But then I saw that he was taking a picture of a HUGE snake. It was rattling at him and he told me "Stand back, this is a Green Majave Rattlesnake, one of the most deadly snakes out there!" After that I really kept my eyes and ears open and was easily startled by every beetle and rabbit out there!

Do you see the snake? It doesnt look like much in this picture, but I promise it was Huge!

The rest of my run passed uneventfully. I was sad for it to end. Sedona is definitely a new favorite running location for me. It seems to me that the best way to experience a new place is to run through it. Something about passing through a place, not so fast as in a car, but not so slow as a walk. On foot so you are a part of it.

So if you yearn for adventure like Dora does, I highly recommend the sequence in Sedona- Map, trail, Green Mojave Rattlesnake!

Summer Running

I dont have any pictures and not any races to report. But Ive been having some really fun summer runs. We were in Utah for over a week and I got to do some of my favorite runs there. I ran with Noah's sister Mary. She is kind of new to running and this was our first time running together. She recently ran her first half marathon and did really well. It was fun running with her and bonding with her over a view of Pleasant Grove. She showed me a new running route- a canal that I didnt know was there. It is really close and convenient to my in-laws house.

I pr'd on my interval session on the Pleasant Grove Highschool track the next morning. Thanks to the cooler weather in Utah.

I got to run twice with Marcie. Once in Provo Canyon where she challenged me with her 8:16 pace for 9 miles. Go Marcie! And a 12 miler in Ogden. We ran a nice foresty trail run for the first few miles. Unfortunately the foresty trail ran out so we finished on a nice paved trail. Its the trail that is part of the Ogden Marathon. I really enjoy catching up with Marcie while we run. (literally and figuratively!) Conversation is easy and the miles fly by. I am already anticipating our next run when I go back in the fall.

I had a chance to run with my brother Blake. It wasnt a real chatty run. It was only 4 miles but more up hill than down. Blake was visibly holding back to run with me. I enjoy running with Blake, because its something we can do together one on one. But I think Ill be in trouble if he ever has time in his life to run consistently! He is already naturally faster than me at the top of my game. Im glad he puts up with my pace.

And then today back to a long hot arizona run. I anxiously anticipated today, as 13 miles is the minimum distance we feel is worthy of a post-run chocolate milk. I took a lemon-lime gel on the way there and celebrated post-run with a chocolate milk from Circle K. Me, Barb, Cynthia, and Karen ran the canal system to my gym, getting 9 miles on the way, and then finished up with 4 more miles on the treadmill.

The treadmill and the indoors might not be as glorious as a foresty trail run, but there IS something to say for a posh fancy flushing toilet, a clean white sweat towel, and a cold drinking fountain. Not to mention stepping into the cool air conditioning. Aaaaah!

Good stuff, all of it! Thankyou friends! Thankyou running! Thankyou God, for our sport!

Water Station from Deanna

On my birthday I was running along when much to my surprise I saw my good friend Deanna standing behind a water station like the ones you pass on a race. She had ice water set out for me and a birthday banner. My very own elite water station with sharkies for me to refuel on too!

I was not expecting this and almost ran right past her! I barely looked up and noticed her as I was passing the water station. It was a fun surprise!

We later found out that a guy we know told his wife that Deanna was running a lemonade stand- at 6am! We teased Deanna that she must be really hard up for a little extra cash!

I had a really great birthday and was greatful for friends to run with me, water me, dress me in new wicking run apparel and send me Dean Karnazes books and video from Utah!

What a great day! Thanks all!

New Girl

Sarah, Barb, Cynthia, Lindy, Karen, Lisa, Sara.

During last saturday's run, a girl joined our group for just the last mile or two. I thought maybe Julie had invited her to meet up with us. She seemed to know Julie. I added her to our email list and invited her this week. This week she told me the story...Julie hadnt invited her. She only recognized Julie after she had already latched onto our group. She said that she was running, and heard us behind her. We sounded like we were having a good time. She was in need of a running social network, and we sounded like a fun one. So she jumped right in.

I feel that we do have allot of fun, especially on saturday mornings! So I am glad that Sara found us. Because she seems like a really neat addition to the club! Its like a party on wheels!

We also have another recent addition- Barbara Moss. She runs on Vibram Five Fingers. She is also a fun addition to the group! I met her in my daughter's t-ball, while Lisa and Cynthia met her in PTA. It was meant to be.

Running girls are generally kindred spirits:)

Ps. As you might have noticed from the picture, wicking sweatbands are the TOTALLY cool running accessory right now!!!

A Memorial Day Half

I ran the Striders Memorial Day Half-Marathon yesterday and had a good run. This is my second time so I knew what to expect - an out and back course and pretty flat. I woke up at 4:45 a.m. and arrived at the start/finish at 6:00 a.m. to pick-up my bib, shirt and timing chip.

The director started the race at 6:45 and we were off. A girl and I started running in sync with each other and stayed together for the first three miles. After mile three, she dropped back and I picked-up two male runners and stayed with them until mile seven where I dropped back a bit but still kept them within eyesight. In this small of a race, it was nice to have someone help me keep pace. I wore my Big Sur shirt and as I passed a group of runners, I heard one of them say, "That's the race I really want to do!"

As I came to mile 11.5, the course crosses the entrance of the parking lot. As I was running I heard, "Go Marcie!" and looked up to see my mom, nieces and nephew in the car just pulling into the parking lot. They were coming to see me finish. Great timing! They parked the car and found the finish line in time to see me finish in 1:46:45. A new PR.

There were a total of 193 runners that ran the half. I came in 5th out of 41 in my age division, 11th out of all 95 females and 46th out of the total 193 runners.

Two for One: Boston 2 Big Sur 2010!

Big Sur was everything that I hoped it would be. It did not disappoint in the least. It was only better than I could’ve imagined.

Karen and I went to the Expo Saturday, timing it so that we’d get to hear Dean Karnazes talk about long distance running and his book about running 50 marathons in 50 states. This was fun to hear. And it came in handy later when we needed stories to share along the course!

Karen sweet-talked Wally Kastner, the Race Director, into giving our group the “cushy” bus tickets to the start. Marcie, Karen, and I were staying in the Hilton, and wanted to walk over and meet Sharon in front of her hotel. Sharon was on the nice buses, and Mr. Kastner was kind to let us be with her.

We did our carb loading that night at California Pizza Kitchen. Karen’s family, Mine, and Sharon with her husband Dave. The pasta with Marinara sauce and chicken seemed like good pre-race fuel.

On Sunday morning Noah kindly got up before 4 am to take us to meet Sharon. We walked back and forth in front of the Marriot looking for Sharon. Marcie, Karen, and I. We were just about to give up and get on the bus when Sharon came running up. Yay!!! I really wanted to ride up together. I remember a long lonely bus ride on my own- at Ogden Marathon, my first. I didn’t want Sharon’s first marathon bus ride to be a lonely one. Luckily it all came together!

Big Sur is a smaller marathon than others I have done. It was fun because I actually saw everyone there who I knew would be running it. I saw Heather Fetter on our same bus. She is a friend who used to come to my cycle classes at the old Gilbert Mountainside. I saw Dan Beaver “The Shoe Nazi”, as we call him, there with his wife. Dan sells shoes to me and all my friends. He works at Run AZ, and is usually there, with great advice about shoes and running. And Marcie spotted Scott Dunlap toeing the front line as we passed the front of the pack trying to gauge where our collective starting position should be.

Karen, Sharon, and I wore our Ragnar shirts and this was a good conversation starter along the course. Allot of people started talking to us about which Ragnar races they’ve run. Sharon told us later that she also talked to allot of people who asked about Ragnar.

We saw a guy running alone wearing the Clif Team gear. We asked him where his people were, and he told us that he is the “float”. He starts up front and gradually slows back through the crowd. If one of the pacers is having trouble then he takes their place. We asked questions about what it entails to be a pacer. I must admit that Im interested! It doesn’t sound like something I can do while I’m mom to young ones. Someday it would be fun!

We had beautiful perfect running weather. We were so worried about fighting wind up the Hurricane Hill, but there was no wind resistance on Hurricane. Seeing it in front of us it looked very intimidating! A girl running by us said that it is not as bad as it looks. And I felt that way myself. I thanked myself for all the weekend runs in Las Sendas. Hurricane Hill was very doable. Hurricane was mile 10-12, and after completing Hurricane I had the confidence that the rest of the race would go well.

My quads were sore in the beginning of the race- reminding me of Boston 6 days ago. But luckily they didn’t seem to get any worse during Big Sur. I did feel throughout the race that I preferred the up hill and didn’t like the down hill so much. The up hills felt much better on my leg muscles. And EVERYTHING seemed to be up or down.

Karen and I had been planning beforehand to prepare for a game I call “Friday night at the movies”. It’s a game from my mission where you tell an entire movie from start to finish to someone- a movie that they’ve never seen before. We played it on the mission while tracting in rural areas. But Karen and I never could decide on a movie- I haven’t been able to stay awake for movies during marathon training! So we came empty handed. But then I remembered that Marcie hadn’t heard the stories from Dean Karnazes. So throughout the marathon I related little stories that Dean had shared on Saturday.

Bixby Bridge came at the halfway point. It was fun to hear Michael Martinez playing the grand piano. You could hear him way before you could see him. It sounded so beautiful. I liked the upbeat selection- he was playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” as we ran away. We wanted to stay and hang out and hear more. But decided to finish the race. So a few pictures and we were on our way.

I consumed 3 gels and a packet of gu chomps. I also got brave on this race and took the bananas, oranges, and strawberries offered along the course. It all served me well. I really liked the BYOB- bring your own bottle program. This was the first year for them to try this, and I hope that more races move this direction. Marcie, Karen, and I were trying to stay together. When they refilled their bottle, I would wait until the next water stop to refill mine. It was my hope that it would take us less time on refills if we staggered the refills. This seemed to work out well. And it gave me a small walking break while they refilled. Karen joked that I needed to refill more because she wasn’t getting enough walking breaks.

The points of interest Id read about on Scott’s blog were coming up one after the other. It made the marathon flow by pleasantly. And it was beautiful scenery the entire way.

Marcie seemed to be holding back most of the way, she got ahead of us for a little while on hurricane hill. But she held back and allowed us to catch her. She said it did feel better when we were together. It’s my first marathon to stick with anyone past mile 7/8. (Marcie in St George). It really was fun to stay together.

With 4 miles left to go, Marcie said she needed to walk a little. Karen told me that if I wanted to go faster, I could leave her. I said we’ve come this far- we need our “Lisa-Cynthia” moment!!! Lisa and Cynthia finished together in St George, and I thought that Karen and I should stick this one out together, as long as we could maintain some sort of a run. Which we both did. My calves suggested a mild threat that they might cramp and force me to walk. But they didn’t follow through on the threat. I was happy to feel good in the last few miles.

Karen and I grabbed hands and crossed the finish line together. A fun feeling to have made it the whole way together. I only wish Marcie could’ve made it a trio there. But at least she was with us most of the way. She came in shortly after us, achieving a personal record on this challenging course!

After we finished, they put a really sweet medal on us. A very hand-made looking medal. And I picked up my long-coveted jacket from the Boston-2-Big Sur tent. And received another medal with Boston-2-Big Sur on it.

Dave called and said Sharon would be coming in soon. My kids were a little restless but said I could walk over and watch for Sharon. I really wanted to see her finish this, her first marathon. She has kindly allowed me to be her personal trainer and has obediently done most of everything I told her- only putting her foot down to the post-race ice bath! So I got to see Sharon cross the line- looking strong.

After a marathon I like to keep walking around, because I’m on such a runner’s high, and because I fear going stiff if I stop to rest. Karen felt the same so our families headed straight to Monterey Aquarium. My husband assured me that, despite the marathon, I still smelled better than everyone else at the Aquarium. What’s the expression that means “blinded by love”, but referring to the sense of smell?

It was great training for one marathon, and getting 2 marathons out of my training! I would do that B2B every year if cost and time were not an issue. I definitely hope to do it again someday.

Thankyou Marcie, Sharon, and Karen for sharing this experience with me! It was so fun and so memorable!!!

***Also a word of thanks for the support team! Before Boston I was bestowed with cookies, cream puffs, chocolate milk, diet coke, gu, caffeinated jelly beans, and even a special made mix tape!!! All of the kind wishes and gifts trully mean allot!!! Lots of kind texts and emails from friends wanting to get the scoop. You all are Awesome!!!