Week in Review (June 7 - June 13)

Tuesday (20,374 steps) - Legs were tired after the trail race and lower body video. However, I forced myself to get out of bed. I'm in limbo with no training plan right now, but I had a goal of 5 miles. Legs were NOT cooperating and I did 4 miserable miles.

Made it home with enough time to do an upper body video. After I picked up A from camp we went to Hu Hot for dinner because I had a parent meeting with A's scout troop. The meeting ended up lasting almost 2 hours, but I think it was very productive and I'm pretty excited for what is in store for the girls next school year.
Wednesday  (17,747 steps) - EXHAUSTED. Got up with enough time to do a pilates video and a new-to-me abs video that I liked. Run club - which THANKFULLY, was way cooler than forecasted.

Heather met up with us for dinner at Noodles.
Thursday (19,297 steps) - Went for a 3+ mile run by the lake at 6:15 in the morning. Felt incredibly hot and humid and sunny. Blah.

We arranged for A to go to gymnastics right after camp at 5 pm so that we could go to Ladies' Night at Runners Roost. Seriously one of my favorite events!

Getting rid of this dress. Ugh. Looks so bad!!

We got awesome discounts on Lole gear, there was ice cream (I had salted butterscotch!) and Nuun with champagne. Fun night! We went to Hacienda for nachos with Heather and Maureen. (Seriously, weight gain is a mystery).

Friday (15,527 steps) - REST DAY!! We had happy hour at work, which would have been more enjoyable if I hadn't been bombarded with work right at the end of the day. Finally, A and I had a "night of nothing" - other than picking up groceries at Target.
Saturday (22,790 steps) - Runners Edge summer kick off! Drove down to Denver, wishing we were starting earlier than 7 am. So hot and sunny! I ended up running 6 miles, all of which felt pretty good.

Can you spot me? (Photo: Runner's Edge)

Chatted with Doug and Lisa at the store for a bit, got gas and a car wash, then drove to Golden top pick up my packet for Revel. Managed to get to the expo right when it started and was in and out in a few minutes. My tire light has been coming on somewhat regularly for the last few months so I stopped at Big O and had them look at it. Turns out I had a huge concrete nail in it. Maybe THAT'S why the light keeps coming on... They also said I need new tires soon. Of course I do. Got home, quick shower, lunch at Tokyo Joe's, and then picked up Rose and Madi for the Rockies game. We had great seats, but unfortunately we were in the sun. With it being 93 degrees, the seats were literally burning us! We kept moving around throughout the game trying to stay cool. It was a pretty good game - Rockies won!

For dinner, A talked me into going to Godfather's pizza. The wait wasn't that long and we devoured a BBQ chicken pizza. So good, but pricey.
Sunday (34,360 steps) - Revel Rockies half marathon.

After I dropped off Maureen, A and I headed home. She'd had a few donuts for breakfast and wasn't hungry. I took a shower and had a frozen dinner to tide me over. We drove to Heather's house to go to yet another Rockies game. It was in the mid 80's, but felt much cooler than the last game. We had brunch in the clubhouse and then watched the game. Rockies won again!

Spent a few minutes at Heather's house, but we were exhausted so we went home, stopping to pick up a few groceries on the way home. I fell asleep on the couch around 8 pm. So exhausted!!
Monday (16,638 steps) - Slept until my alarm went off, which is rare. I still had a slight headache when I woke up, even with going to bed ridiculously early. A started a new summer camp this week so we had to be out the door by 7, therefore, no morning workout. Too tired for a real workout so A and I did some yoga and a new abs video (that I didn't really like all that much).

Stats:

• 146,733 steps
• 32.2 miles run
• No cross training
• 87 minutes of strength/stretching
• Weekly Gain 0.8 (128.2) - Not a surprise after my weekend, just depressing seeing the scale head that way.

Everything Else:

• Took on another Director at work and I've been a lot busier the last few weeks, which is a good thing! I hate being bored.
• A finished up gymnastics camp last week and had a great time, other than spending all her days inside.
• Not much else.

Baker's Dozen Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, December 15
Hurricane, UT
Half Marathon #72
Utah Half #2
Weather - Upper 30's, Rainy/Windy

I was SO excited when I saw that Fast Cory was going to put on an OFFICIAL race this year. The Baker's Dozen was immediately added to my calendar. Combining sugar/eating and running? Um, hello. That's practically the dream. The race itself, SUPER cheap - $35!! In order to earn your AWESOME medal, you had to eat a sugary treat at the sugar shack at the end of each loop, so a minimum of three items. Sweet.

I lucked out finding a one way flight from Vegas for $60 and cashed out miles for the other flight. Rental car was crazy cheap, and so was hotel. The entire weekend pretty much cost what ONE Rock 'n' Roll entry would. Ahem.

Friday morning I took A to school, stopped at the store on my way to the airport, and still arrived with plenty of time to catch my flight. L had managed to book the earlier flight, so she was waiting a few hours for me in Vegas.

By the time we got the rental car, it was already about 1:30. We immediately went to In N' Out. I know, we normally do that AFTER we run. And then an hour after THAT, we stopped and got munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts. Does that count as a warm up for the race?

The drive was a few hours, and seemed MUCH longer. We arrived at packet pick up right at 5:00. Fast Cory recognized us, and seemed really happy that we came out. We grabbed Ruth's stuff too since she wasn't due in for hours. There is a story here. Maybe we accidentally got into the wrong car in the parking lot and didn't notice right away. Or maybe that didn't happen.

This is the race shirt. HILARIOUS

We decided to get dinner early and go to bed early. Bread bowl from Domino's (not the mac n' cheese, sadly that is discontinued) but Italian sausage marinara. Tasty. L was in bed by 8, I was asleep by 9.

Race Day

Slept GREAT. Woke up at 6:30, got ready, and headed down to get breakfast. Sadly, there was nothing appetizing, so we had to head back upstairs for our bagels. Heading outside and it was raining. Sigh. I'm a bit tired of running in the rain.

We had a hard time getting GPS to work. On our way to the start, there was a BIZARRE procession of police cars and other emergency vehicles. 7 am, and they all had their sirens on. It was like there was a parade or something going on. Only there wasn't. Turns out our directions were NOT right. We got a bit turned around but luckily Cory had included some landmarks in his list of directions and we found the start.

Quick trip to the bathroom, and then we just sat around in the car until the start. Cory had a cool idea for a mandatory pre-race picture (courtesy of Alex Santiago, photographer extraordinaire):

The race just sort of started, and off we went. In addition to our goal to win the title of "Sugar Slayer" (she who eats the most baked goods), I also was running with a 20 oz diet coke. Sounded like the most appealing thing to drink with all that sugar. Yum

Loop 1 - It's pretty chilly, so I am wearing my arm sleeves and gloves. We had started in the back, and since my running has been so awful lately, we obviously were not pushing the pace. The first part of the loop felt uphill for sure. I had to walk early - tight calves AGAIN. So tired of this. We enter a dirt/gravel path and I start to feel a little warm so I take off my gloves. The aid station on the far side of the course is water only - I take a cup and we walk a bit.

Turn the corner, and we run. I am ecstatic that the back half of the course is flat/downhill. Excellent. Bathroom first and then we arrive at the sugar shack for our first treats. We eat. And eat. And eat. See the big plate in the middle? We each devour 7 of those bad boys. Our goal was to eat as much of the non-frosted goods as possible. Favorite snack this round was the snicker doodles. Yum.

While at the aid station, we meet up with the previous years winner. Since there is a separate men/women's division, we feel confident in discussing our strategy.

Loop 2 - The diet coke is FANTASTIC. As soon as we leave, we are wondering if we should have done more. We both feel "fine." I have to walk a bit again on the gradual uphill. Not too keen on the dirt section, the ground is really soft. We are running behind a big group of runners that sounds like they are having the time of their lives. It's fun :D Quick walk through the aid station and then again, run the entire back half.

Molly's Nipple

By the time we get to the sugar shack at the end of our first half of the race, there is nothing left that isn't frosted or huge. We try to eat a half a donut. I vaguely recall donuts just sort of dissolving in my mouth. NO. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. I swear it was like chewing dough. Wasted so much time on ONE item. Had a total of 5 items the second time around, for a total of 12. The volunteers look horrified as we keep stuffing our faces. Favorite of this round? The red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting.

Loop 3 - It has "warmed up" now to 40 degrees. However, it is now raining. Brrr. I was actually not really complaining, at least it was not windy! Heading into the dirt section and the volunteer offers us a beanie. How nice! I have to stop and use the bathroom at the water station. Overall, I still am feeling fine. Run the back section, and pass the big group right as we are heading into the sugar shack for the last time. We ask the volunteers if we are still in the lead. WE ARE NOT. What????? I had eaten a couple more treats, bringing me to 15. Only to find out the lead female was at 21. 21??? I don't think I want to stand there in the cold rain for another few minutes and eat frosting covered THICK cookies or powdered donuts. We have failed. I slam the rest of my diet coke, give L my gloves, pull down the arm sleeves over my hands and head out for the last loop.

Loop 4 - 41 degrees. It does not FEEL like it is 41 degrees. L says, "I am not complaining, but this might be the coldest I have ever been." It WAS pretty cold. The rain is turning into snow, and the gutters are filling up. Having flashbacks of CIM. Quick cup of water, but we really just want to be done. SO COLD! We are trying to catch up to the big group, but it appears they also just want to be done. We are probably less than a quarter of a mile from the finish and the rain/snow stops and the sun starts to come out. Ha. Figures.

Bib #39
Official Time - 2:56:32
Gender Place - 48/50 (lol)
Division Place - 27/28
MapMyRun Time - 2:56:43
MapMyRun Distance - 13.34 miles
MapMyRun Pace - 13:15
Fastest Mile - 10:42 pace (mile 13!)
Slowest Mile - 27:10 (Mile 4 - LOL!!!)

Can you tell where the sugar shack miles were?? lol!!

We get our AWESOME MEDALS. Cory thanks us for coming to visit, hooks us up with some awesome water bottles and gift cards for Road ID, we took some pictures, then we had to (of course) head out so that we could shower before heading back to Vegas to catch our flight.

Maybe my favorite medal yet

15 marks for 15 baked goods

Ruth, L, Me Post Race

L and Me

We arrived at the hotel with plenty of time to take scalding hot showers to warm up, pack, and headed out right at noon. We stopped twice on the drive back to Vegas to get gas and to eat lunch. Yes. We shared a medium all meat pizza from Godfather's. Clearly, my stomach is broken.

Arrive in Vegas with about 3 hours before our flight, so we walked around the outlet mall for a bit, then headed to the airport. Played the penny slots until I lost my $8, then I got MORE food. (WTF, me). The mac n' cheese proved to be too much, and I actually couldn't finish. Phew. Maybe I *am* human after all.

Flight back to Denver, uneventful.

Thoughts:

• Small races are the BEST.
• Fast Cory puts on one hell of a race. The shirt was awesome. The medal was awesome. The four loop course was actually really great. (Yes, even though we got lapped. Frequently).
• I will likely run this one again. Only next time, I will do better. I can't believe I was out eaten. I'm ashamed.
• The sugar shack miles took roughly 73 MINUTES. That's insane. Even assuming we would have run 12-13 minute miles, taking 35ish minutes off my time would have been a GREAT time for me. So I'm pleased, especially since my last mile was sub 11.
• I think I will run with diet coke again. That was pretty amazing.
• Theme races are super fun. Some of the costumes were REALLY creative.
• I ran in the Glycerins for the first time. They felt a bit heavy at the end, but for the first time in ages, my feet did not hurt after a race. So that was good.
• My IT band was a bit wonky, but it held up.
• Did I mention this was pretty much the most fun race ever?

Palo Duro Trail 50K (Race Recap)

Palo Duro, TX
Saturday, October 20
Ultra Marathon #5
Ultra State #2
Weather - COLD at the start - 105 at the finish

Lesley and I started talking about new races to register for MONTHS ago. Palo Duro trail run was one of the ones I thought I could fit into my schedule and wouldn't be too expensive. I might even have booked my airfare (ridiculously cheap $39.80 each way) back in April.

I flew in to Amarillo on Friday morning. It was too expensive to stay in Canyon since I didn't have a roommate so I stayed at a Super 8 near the airport. While I was waiting for it to be time to get my packet, I ran to Target to pick up some drinks and then I came back to the room to take a nap. I'm so old.

I left to go down to Canyon to meet up with Lesley and Libby around 4:45. Took about a half hour to get there. I ended up running into them in the parking lot, which worked out nicely. We grabbed our bibs and then we had our free pasta dinner. I had some pasta with meatballs, a salad, and a piece of some kind of cake. There was a VERY long trail briefing, where I discovered that it would be dark the first hour that we were running. Oh. There was so little information on the website I had not known that and didn't bring my headlamp. On the way back to the hotel I stopped at Wal Mart and bought a $4.88, very poor quality, headlamp. Then I sat around drinking beer out of a can and watched a movie before heading to bed at 10:00.

Race Day

I did NOT sleep well. I somehow pulled something in my neck during the night and woke up barely able to move. I did not allow enough time to stop somewhere on my way down to meet Lesley and Libby at their hotel so we could carpool to Palo Duro. I was there right on time at 5:30 and stole a cinnamon roll out of the lobby while waiting for them. The gates didn't open until 6:00 and there was a line of cars waiting to get in. It was COLD when we parked. REALLY cold. Like I wish I had brought gloves. And maybe pants to wear until the start. We grabbed our stuff and headed to the start area. We set up our drop bags and made a quick trip to the bathroom. And got an awesome pre-race picture: 

Back: Tony and Martin Front: Lesley, Me, Suann, Libby

Before we knew it, it was 10 minutes until go time. We got herded over to the start, and as you can see, it was PRETTY DANG DARK at 7:00 am. Glad I had my poor quality light.

Lesley was running the 50 miler and Libby and I were running the 50K. We lined up more towards the back, and the race started right on time. The first few miles were DARK. Luckily, the pace wasn't too quick and it didn't feel that hard. My hands were really cold, and most of the early miles were spent shaking my hands because they were SO cold. Libby and I ran together for the first couple miles, and then she pulled ahead when I stopped to walk because I couldn't get the valve open on my hydration vest. Stupid cold hands! The sun came out, the headlamp came off.

The first loop was 6 miles, and it was a rough six miles. I just couldn't seem to get a good groove going. I had been hoping to match my performance at Bear Chase, but even running, I was struggling to be under 15 minute miles. What is that???

My stomach started feeling angry, and when I came through the start area, I noticed Libby at the drop bag area and I headed to the bathroom. I was not feeling great when I headed back out for the first of my two 12.5 mile loops. I kept thinking that if I just kept running that I would find my groove and the race would start getting better. It didn't.

My feet hurt, my ankles felt weak, and I overall just felt really fatigued. The temperatures were rising pretty rapidly, and even though I knew I was drinking enough, I felt really dehydrated and my throat was hurting. I arrived at the aid station around mile 9 and saw Lesley heading out toward the start line, she was probably at mile 10.

And then shit got bad. The back... oh, 6-7 miles of the course is all sand/dirt and is completely exposed. The sun and the overall hot was draining the tiny bit of energy I had right out of me. I just couldn't run the way I wanted. I had to keep slowing down and stopping and walking. So demoralizing. At this point I could still sort of enjoy the scenery, it WAS a beautiful course.

This is somewhere around 12 miles in. Already about 65 degrees, although it felt a lot warmer than that.

It was SO hot. And I was just feeling so awful. The exposed part of the course was super tough for me. Then finally once we got to the back side of the course, there was a nice shaded section. Doesn't even look like the same place, does it??

I think it took me 4.5 hours to get back to the start line, maybe 4:45. I saw Libby at the drop bag area (finally caught her!) and she was changing her shoes. I quickly applied some sunscreen and then I headed out. The last lap was a death march. I very briefly considered not even starting the last loop, that's how crappy I felt and how hot it was. I took a few more pictures on the last loop. I did more walking than running. I honestly haven't felt that bad during a race in a long time. Maybe not since the last 10-15 miles of Moab. My legs were just exhausted and the terrain was so packed that every step just ached.

Some steep climbs

About noon, it was already over 90 degrees

It got hotter and hotter. I was drinking a lot of water, but I just felt dehydrated and super tired.

They claim their name was changed to "Two Crazy Bitches"

The "Dos Locos" were very friendly ladies, and thankfully they put some ice in my bra and down my back. It helped cool me down a lot the last 6 miles of the course.

I just had NO energy to keep going, and I walked most of it, until I hit the last mile or so. I stepped it up the best I could, if for no other reason to just GET OUT OF THE SUN.

I was ECSTATIC to see the finish line. It honestly felt like one of those Twilight Zone episodes and I felt like the course was never going to end. But it did. I was a bit sad to cross the finish line and not get a medal, I instead got a hat. Boo.

Official Time - 8:23:44
Official Loop 1 - 1:25:45 (6 miles)
Official Loop 2 - 3:09:09 (12.5 miles)
Official Loop 3 - 3:48:50 (12.5 miles)
Overall Place - 100/139
Division Place - 6/15

Mile 1 - 13:13

Mile 2 - 14:47

Mile 3 - 14:26

Mile 4 - 13:54

Mile 5 - 14:25

Mile 6 - 13:37

Mile 7 - 15:59 

Mile 8 - 15:52

Mile 9 - 15:00

Mile 10 - 15:32

Mile 11 - 14:38

Mile 12 - 13:02

Mile 13 - 16:54

Mile 14 - 15:00

Mile 15 - 15:38

Mile 16 - 14:42

Mile 17 - 15:37

Mile 18 - 15:23

Mile 19 - 17:42

Mile 20 - 16:17

Mile 21 - 17:25

Mile 22 - 18:28

Mile 23 - 20:28

Mile 23.68 - 15:27

and then the POS Garmin stopped. Seriously. Can only last 6 hours?? WTF.

Thanks for the finisher pic, Monica!

I could not believe it when I saw how long it took me to finish this race. Well over 70 minutes longer than my previous worst time. Lesley got a picture of the temperature about an hour after I had been there. It got a LOT hotter.

Finisher!!!

We hung out at the finish line, and I grabbed a burger while waiting for Libby to finish. She came in about 8:39. We met up with Suann and Martin and found out that Lesley was not going to make the cutoff for the 50 miles, but we still didn't know how long she was going to be. We stood at the finisher's chute and cheered runners in. Lesley came through looking GREAT. We sat around at chatted for about a half hour. Then we drove back to Lesley and Libby's hotel and I got my car to drive back to Amarillo. On the way, I stopped and got dinner. Yum.

Thoughts on this race/weekend:

• They REALLY needed to have more information on this race on their website. I went into the race completely blind and even though it probably would not have mattered if would have been more knowledgeable, it would have been nice to know the terrain.
• Hardest race ever. Seriously. I wanted to quit so many times.
• BUMMED to not get a medal after all that. :(
• AWESOME to meet so many of my Texas Twitter friends!
• Really great aid stations. Every single aid station had plenty of food and great volunteers
• No beer post-race was sad.
• THE HOT SUCKS. This was the hottest temperature I have ever run in. SO FREAKING AWFUL.
• Everyone had a rough day, it is my understanding there were a lot of DNF"s. What a bummer.
• Wish the shirt was a technical one so that I could wear it to run in.
• I really didn't enjoy myself the last loop. It was too hot, and I was pretty miserable. If I wouldn't have traveled for this race, I might have dropped out. Yuck.
• I didn't use my iPod. 8+ hours of "running" with no music? While "running" alone? Huh. Impressive.
• THE FLIES. They were everywhere. And they bite!! So annoying and gross.
• I won't run this one again. It didn't feel like a runnable course to me and even though the overall atmosphere was great, it was just not a fun course/experience. Texas weather is too unpredictable. Only plus was no humidity and a slight breeze.