Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Normal (Week 9)

Tuesday - Planned to run. Made it a little over two miles and just wasn't feeling good so I stopped. Did the arms/core videos. Not ready to jump back into the leg video yet!
Wednesday - Oh hey. NOTHING. Another trip to Yogurtland.
Thursday - Again, tried to do a run (I mean, RnR Denver was so great, I could SURELY replicate that?) - made it about 3.5 miles and quit. Blah. Finally FINALLY did the video trifecta (legs, arms core) - hard, but not quite the WORST.
Friday - Nothing. EXCEPT, I went out with co-workers for drinks and then went to The Asylum haunted house! I have only been to one EVER, and it was like 10 years ago. I was disappointed, it was not scary at all. At least there was no line? And, I'm the most fun ever:


Saturday - Slightly hung over, I got up and went to the gym (instead of racing the first Halloween half marathon the Denver area has had,waaaaaah). I fueled with a pumpkin donut and then knocked out a solid 10 miles while watching another zombie movie:


I finally broke out my last pair of "new" Newtons. Maybe I'll keep them  as treadmill only shoes so they last longer? Also, I love the INKnBURN robot capris so much. Took the kids to see Despicable Me 2 - which was HILARIOUS.

Sunday - I had originally planned on getting up early and possibly running 6-8 miles at Marshall Mesa. Then my alarm went off and I decided to stay in bed. Instead, I spent the day EATING ALL THE THINGS. Oh, I did walk a mile on the treadmill and do the arms/core videos. Took the kids to see Turbo, it was pretty cute. I later took A roller skating:

in line for the limbo
Monday - 5.8 pretty decent miles on the treadmill, again while watching zombie movies.

Gain - 1.8 pounds
  • I shouldn't really be surprised by this. I ate ALL the things again this week. My appetite that seemed to disappear all summer is certainly back with a vengeance.
Red velvet pancakes are THE BEST
Everything Else:

  • Ariel wrote this as one of her writing assignments. I found it cute, accurate and hilarious:
  •  Work, work, work. LAME, LAME, LAME.
  • As I said last week, I give up on the whole online dating thing. The last guy that I had gone out with said he still wanted to talk, blah blah blah. Then he asked me out AGAIN, after I already told him I wasn't wanting to date right now and since I told him no that last time I haven't heard from him since.
  • I hate hate hate how dark it is right now. Makes it hard to get out of bed and go to MY STUPID CRAP JOB that I dislike so much.
  • Gloomy and sad right now. Holidays are approaching and I am REALLY not looking forward to being by myself. Wah. I guess the silver lining is ALL THAT MONEY I WILL SAVE HAVING NO ONE TO BUY FOR.
BLAH.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Normal (Week 8)

Tuesday - NOTHING. I did go to work and walked around all day in heels. Seems like recovery from 100 should have been... worse?
Wednesday - Went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for about 20 minutes (1.25 miles with incline). Felt good to be moving, but then my hip/groin started hurting so I stopped.
Thursday - MORE NOTHING. A and I did go to Yogurtland though. Yum.


Friday - EVEN MORE NOTHING. I took a half day off from work. I went to lunch with L at the Cheesecake Factory, hit up the expo for RnR Denver. Then I went to a poetry reading at A's school (which was the CUTEST EVER), and then took her to her 90 minute gymnastics practice. Instead of going out on a date, I went to bed really early. It was great.


Saturday - Went winter clothes shopping with A, L and H, and Jessa and her son (the boy I babysat a few weeks ago). It was a bit stressful, but I think we have everything we need. Went to bed EARLY.
Sunday - RnR Denver half marathon. I also did 2 of the videos (arms, core) and they felt challenging.
Monday - MORE NOTHING.

Loss - 4.0 pounds
  • With this loss, I am back to the lowest weight I ever weighed in at during the #NotEatingAllTheThings challenge. Fascinating... I'm wondering if I was just retaining water the last few weeks because this week I for real ate ALL the things and did NONE of the things.
  • Food indulgences for the week? Um everything:
I love cheesecake so much!!!
Birthday Cupcakes - L and I actually just shared. Womp.

Post-race lunch! (Have you tried the guacamole sliders?? THEY ARE TASTY!!)
Other Updates
  • Work is the same. Spent most of last week summarizing depositions for a case I have zero involvement in. Super boring.
  • I thought I had a possible new opportunity but that is unfortunately not panning out. Womp.
  • I give up on dating as a whole right now. NOT because of anything in particular, other than apparently, after all this time of being alone, it turns out I kind of like it. I like being able to do what I want, when I want. I had gone on that date a few weeks ago, and it was pretty great, but then trying to plan a second date seemed like a LOT of work, and when I blew him off in favor of going to bed early, he (probably unintentionally) made me feel like a jerk about it. I sent a text to him letting to know how things were for me and got the longest series of text messages EVER about how "dating will never be easy" and blah, blah, blah. He at least didn't call my legs masculine, he did say that I'm the first person he has met that is "awesome, honest, direct, funny, clever, intelligent, fun to be around, made him smile and very beautiful." So that was nice, but still... I don't want to feel guilty about spending time with A or going to bed at 9:00.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Rock 'n' Roll Denver (Race Recap)

Denver, CO
Sunday, October 20
Half Marathon #95
Colorado Half #34
Weather - Chilly


I am not the biggest fan of the Rock 'n' Roll series, but I really enjoy Rock 'n' Roll Denver. I had already signed up for the Boulder 100K (even though I ended up running the 100M) but I REALLY wanted to run the event again, mainly because this year's medal was AWESOME.

Expo

L met me downtown again - mainly because the day of the expo was also HER BIRTHDAY, so I took her to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (best dairy trifecta EVER) and then we walked over to the expo. The expo wasn't busy and I was surprised that no one gave me a hard time for picking up A's packet for her. I walked out spending $22 on a clearance running skirt, a 100 sticker for my car and a tube of grape nuun. Hardest part was getting OUT of the expo and onto the correct street to get to my parking garage.


Race Day

Thanks to running this in previous years, I knew we wanted to be out the door by 5:30. My dad was planning on speed walking the mini marathon, and Hope was running the full. We all met up at my house and left just a few minutes late. I rode with my dad and A downtown. We took the Speer Blvd. exit (as we have done in previous years), only to discover that it was closed south bound, and was feeding us BACK onto the highway. Luckily, knew that we could take the Colfax exit and still get to the lot we park in on Auraria Campus.

It was about 5:55 by the time we parked. Annoyingly, the garage seemed inaccessible, so we had to park on a surface lot. Everyone had to pay for parking, but it was all done through one of those machines - time consuming. Not sure when we actually left to walk over, but it was probably after 6:10. I was glad to have worn pants and a throwaway. Chilly!!

The bike tour started at 6:45, but like last year, had zero effect on the running race, and I never saw a single bike. We got in the bathroom line at 6:45, managing to run into Jody and her husband. It took 15-20 minutes to cycle through the bathroom line and then we headed over to the start area. Hope left us to join her friends with the 5:00 pacer, and my dad was insistent on getting in his proper corral, 14. L took this picture of me and A before jumping in around corral 4 or 5.



The counting down for each corral had A very nervous. She kept asking why I was making her "miss her race." We finally jumped in around corral 9.


Like every other race we have done, she took off. I don't know how many races she will run before she figures out that starting a little slower might not make her so tired so early. I'm much more familiar with downtown now that I work down there, so I was pointing out all the landmarks to her on our run. We passed the Convention Center and the big blue bear, and then headed across Speer to run along the Pepsi Center, where she says - MOM, NO BATHROOM, KEEP GOING. Settle down, I did NOT need to go anyway. She took a few walk breaks here and there and seemed revived when we got to the first aid station at mile 1.8.

Coors Field
I had NOT paid much attention to the course. For some reason, I thought the mini marathon was either 3.3 or 3.4 miles (I would later discover it was actually 3.7 miles). A was a little whiny, "when am I going to be done?" 


She was really pumped when we saw the mile 3 marker and she thought she was almost done. When we turned the corner and saw the chute for the mini marathon, she TOOK OFF. I yelled - "GO!!!!!!!!!!!!" after her and she bolted for the finish, passing a few. (She would then wait at the finish for about 10 minutes for my dad).




And then... I was alone. I had brought my iPod, remembering how much I had enjoyed listening to it during the day miles of my 100. I turned up the volume and ran...

The only major hill of the course was right after I had left A, and I passed dozens of people as I had a decent amount of energy after all my walk breaks with A.

For the most part, this felt GREAT. I was stunned at how great I felt. I had assumed it was going to be the second longest walk of my life and I was going to be miserable. I wasn't.

The miles ticked by and I was pleased to see my splits hovering around 10:00. I haven't run that fast in ages. The thought entered my mind that MAYBE I could run a sub 2:30, which I haven't done since April. I cautioned myself to slow down a bit and I just took everything in. I was enjoying the race, the course, everything. I took my gel around mile 7 (had brought 2, but the one I grabbed was NOT my salted caramel, wah) and kept pushing. Miles 5-10 were pretty great. I had pulled out my phone and was trying to get some pictures of the changing leaves, but I couldn't get the screen to work. I would eventually have to do a hard shut down for it to work - I took a few walk breaks around mile 11 to get this taken care of. Cheeseman Park was extra pretty:




Running through the park got chilly. The wind had picked up and I put my arm sleeves back on. Then, I glanced at my watch, and when I hit the mile 12 marker, I was around 2:10. What.

My legs were definitely getting tired, but I pushed that last mile, especially when I thought that I might have a sub 2:20 in me.



I turned the corner, saw the chutes and raaaaaaaaaaaan (seriously, my arms always look so stiff and weird):


Crossed the line, and NOT QUITE a sub 2:20:

 

But you know what? I don't care!! My fastest race in well over a year, and ONLY A WEEK after running 100 miles. I'm still smiling about it! I had a great time running with A (who I think ran a very respectable 41:30ish - the mini marathon was not chip timed). I had some really decent splits, and you know what? I really enjoyed this entire race. It's about time.

Bib #12348
Official Time - 2:20:08
Official Pace - 10:42 :) :) :)
Overall Place - 4722/8244
Gender Place - 2703/5455
Division Place - 499/969
Garmin Time - 2:20:08
Garmin Distance - 13.23 miles
Garmin Pace - 10:36
Mile 1 - 10:39
Mile 2 - 11:30
Mile 3 - 12:16
Mile 4 - 10:34
Mile 5 - 11:08
Mile 6 - 9:43
Mile 7 - 10:01
Mile 8 - 10:20
Mile 9 - 9:53
Mile 10 - 11:01
Mile 11 - 10:49
Mile 12 - 10:27
Mile 13 - 9:47
Mile 13.23 - 8:38
(THREE mile splits UNDER 10. Yay!!)


Me and L
AWESOME medal this year! (But el cheapo ribbon)
A with her awesome bling!
Thoughts:
  • I will run this race again, and I sure hope that A decides to run the mini marathon again. So proud of her!
  • I really really like this course. I like that it does NOT end with an uphill finish. 
  • The shirt is nice this year, gender specific Brooks tee, dark blue (I'm lame, I should have a picture) - I will likely wear it again, although I have a TON of race shirts.
  • It was a lot colder than in previous years. I was comfortable while I was running, but the second I stopped it got REALLY cold. I was glad I was a bit "over prepared."
  • I haven't worn capris under a skirt in a while. I had my phone in the skirt pocket for easier access and by mile 10 or 11, it was really pulling my skirt down. A little annoying.
  • The later aid stations were a bit short on water and Gatorade, but there were zillions of volunteers and I didn't really have to wait for anything, I just sometimes had to run by empty tables. No biggie.
  • Bands were meh - of course I had headphones in for most of it, but the bands I heard when running with A weren't all that great.
  • Post race food was disappointing. Tiny bagels and Powerbars. Womp. Although, they did have Jamba Juice, which was great, except that it was too cold :(

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Normal (Week 7)

Tuesday - Video trifecta (legs, arms, core)
Wednesday - 3.65 pretty great miles on the treadmill. I also went to conferences, and as expected, A is doing great. Areas to improve, same as always - she is "chatty" (but not in a distracting way).


Thursday - NOTHING - but I did start packing for my race:

I ended up using... about 1/2 of all this
Friday - More NOTHING, but I went out and played a bit. A beer, dinner and some time at Dave & Busters (see below)
Saturday - Boulder 100
Sunday - Oh hey. MORE Boulder 100.

90 or so miles in at Boulder 100. Just because I want to keep typing 1-0-0.
Monday - I called in sick for work. I slept a bunch. I had some beers. I watched 3 horror movies. I ate ALL the things. I painted my nails a ridiculous silvery disco ball color.


Gain - 0.6 pounds
  • Yes, I'm the only person on earth that can run over 100 miles in a week and gain weight. HAHAHAHA!!!
  • I ate EVERYTHING this week. EVERYTHING. Although, beer consumption was way down.
  • I was the hungriest person ALL week.
Other Updates
  • Work is the same as always. I thought I would have some downtime to get my desk cleaned off and filing caught up, but a case that I have zero involvement in is going to trial and everyone in the office is summarizing depositions. You know what's the most boring task ever? Summarizing depositions.
Online Dating
  • Sooooooooooooo.
  • I went on a date on Friday. Yes, the night before my big race. I had a great time. We are planning on seeing each other again. I'm leaving it at that for now.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Boulder 100 (Race Recap)

Boulder, CO
October 12-13
Ultra Marathon #9
Second 100 Mile Attempt
Weather - Partly cloudy, chilly overnight, sunny


I have been doing crazy things for a while. I wasn't going to register for this event at all, then I got an email about the 100K being 50% off with one of those Active specials. Well, it worked out to only being like a dollar a mile, so that seemed like a great deal. But then... I got 100 mile fever. I was doing the math and figured if I felt I was in shape to complete 100K in the 15 hour time limit, I could SURELY do the extra 38 miles in 15 hours... So I emailed the race director who told me that it would be no problem to upgrade to the 100 mile. I set aside the money and waited... if the weather was going to be good and I had people willing to pace, I would upgrade to the Boulder 100. 10 days out and the weather looked good - no chance of rain or snow and low 60's for high. PERFECT running weather. I locked in my pacers and the Boulder 100 was a go.

Race Day

Thanks to the late start of 9:00, I didn't need to get up very early. I had gone to bed around 11 the night before and had my alarm set for 6:20. I had asked my dad to pick up the kids at 7. I already had my gear packed and ready to go but wanted to allow for time to stop and get breakfast. I had coffee and a piece of pizza at home.  On the drive up to Boulder I stopped and got a German Chocolate donut. Delicious, although it was actually too much food (what), so I only ate half. The drive took a bit longer than expected because of (shocking) construction on the highway. I made it to the start over an hour before the race started, which gave me time to upgrade and pick up my bib. I sat in the car running the heater until 20 minutes before the start.

The race was supposed to be Halloween themed. The race director was dressed as Heisenberg (Breaking Bad, for the 1% of you that don't watch), but other than that, I was the only one that got in the spirit.

Final race instructions
I used the bathroom, and then it was time to line up for the start:


What. Was. I. Thinking. This was crazy. There were not a lot of us, maybe 50 people total? I never looked at the numbers, but there were the 100 milers, 24 hour runners and 100K runners all starting at the same time. We took off a few minutes late.

And then began The Longest Day of My Life.

The plan all along was to start slow, maintain a fairly steady pace and run as much as I could to bank as much extra time to allow for finishing.

The short section (to make up distance) was the first out and back I would do. The turn around was close, only about 2/3 of a mile in. That quickly broke up the pack as the 100K'ers had to turn around at a different place and the 24 hour runners had to do full out and backs every time.

After getting back to base camp the first time, I saw Dan (my night pacer) was already there... he planned on hanging out all day I guess. I put in my headphone and settled in for The Longest Day Ever. I was running a decent, steady pace. Made easier by a fairly flat and non-technical course. I took all my pictures early on, before I would start hating seeing the same things a jillion times. Pretty with the leaves changing!!







I ran the first 13.1 on par with my normal half marathon pace, around 2:34 I think. Obviously, with an out and back course, I kept seeing the same people. Over and over and over and over and over and over, and hey, over again. But I didn't mind. The turn around was 3.3 miles out, and I absolutely LOVED that aid station. They kept rotating out food. Between the staples of chips and pretzels and m&m's, etc, they also had banana bread, brownies, coffee cake, pizza, ramen, TONS of food. I ate well on this course.

I kept running, jamming my music. A nice change, it has been months since I ran with music. It really kept me motivated.  I don't remember when (how many miles in or time), but I saw Laura (not my sister, a girl from run club) out on the course. She got a few pictures of me (at various times), and was awesome at grabbing food/beverages for me (and other runners). This was my favorite picture she got:


During the race, I set PR's in the 50K (20 min), 60K (2ish hours) AND 50M (over 25 minutes) distances. That left me in GREAT spirits for the first part of the race. I set out for my last alone lap just after 6 (when the 6 hour fun run started).


I was able to have a pacer at 7, and I was pleasantly surprised when I showed up at base camp and saw L there with Hannah! YAY!! I used the bathroom and changed into my warmer clothes, taking the longest break of the night - probably 15 minutes between changing clothes and visiting and eating. I checked at the timing booth and thought I had already done all 50 miles and was PSYCHED that only 10.5 hours in and I only had 50 miles to go.

Dan and I set out, it already being pretty dark. I was already NOT in the mood to run much. I had turned off my music and we either talked (I can't even remember about what) or just walked in silence most of the time. I know Dan was aching to run, but I was already tired and already had enough time banked that I really did not NEED to run, so I didn't... I ran a minute here and there, but pretty much, I was done running for the race.

The aid stations were AMAZING. I had chicken broth with potatoes, ramen, even coffee!! Everyone was so friendly. I still was seeing the same people out on the course, and never felt alone. I didn't really hallucinate overnight, but it was chilly and I was starting to get squirrely and ragey being in the dark for so long. The closer it got to "morning," the angrier I got. WHY was it still dark? WHY was it so cold? WHY was the sun not going to come up until after 7??? I was starting to get MAD.

Hope was supposed to meet me at 6:30 and planned to do a few laps with me. Dan got me back to base camp right around 6:30, and that lap is when the race changed for me. All night, I had been confused about how many miles I had run and what was left. My watch had died about 78 miles in, so I was relying on the timekeepers to tell me what was left. By the time I headed out with Hope, I thought I only had two laps to go (about a half marathon). Turns out I had three :(

That loop was called the rage loop. I was nearly in hysterics. I yelled at the timekeeper and almost broke down in tears. I had for HOURS prepared myself for what I thought I had left. To add another 6.57 miles in was practically adding in another marathon. I LOST IT.

I spent the entire lap complaining about how this should be my second to last loop, why was I doing this, I wasn't going to finish, etc. Hope was GREAT about keeping me in good spirits. SHE IS A GREAT FRIEND!!!

FINALLY, the sun came up, and it really changed my attitude. I was back to my normal ray-of-sunshine self.

Sun up, about 16.5 miles to go
I warned Hope that I had ZERO plans of running even one more step, and like the great friend she is, she said she was sticking with me to the finish. L was off work and planned on joining us for the last two laps.

They really helped get me through the race. The second to last lap, I was no longer allowed to complain about the "extra" lap I had to do. Hope got to re-listen to all the stories I had told her on the previous lap.


I don't know why, but I've always found these signs along the reservoir HILARIOUS. Hope took this picture of me around mile 90:


At this point, I knew I was going to finish, it was just a matter of it being THE LONGEST WALK EVER, and how much longer we were going to be out there. Heading back into base camp for my last check in and I made SURE to verify with the timekeeper that I was going out for the last time.

We passed time during the last loop by talking. A lot. My favorite games were coming up with adjectives A-Z for how awesome I was, my mental condition and my physical condition. The 50K had started at 7 am and there were people blazing past me as I was plugging along at a 20-22 min pace. With about 2 miles to go, I passed the only other 100 miler on the course. Chatted for a minute with him and his crew, then just kept moving. I was feeling lucid and alert, and Hope and L kept telling me that if I hadn't been telling them how bad I hurt, they would have had no idea.

The last mile of the race were occupied by a couple that walked with us almost to the finish, asking me about the race, what I planned on having for dinner to celebrate, etc. 

The Best.

And then, coming around the corner, I saw my dad. And A. A ran towards me and grabbed my hand and walked up with me to the finisher chute.

Where I did, in fact, run the last 10 or so feet to my first 100 mile finish. I didn't cry then, but just typing those words, I'll admit, I teared up.

100 miles. 29:04

Miles 1-13 - 11:36, 11:37, 12:31, 12:13, 12:23, 11:09, 10:52, 12:16, 11:08, 10:58, 11:31, 14:00, 11:06 (half marathonish - 2:33:20) My last half marathon was 2:45:21
Miles 14-26 - 12:15, 13:12, 11:04, 12:05, 13:09, 11:42, 11:53, 14:00, 12:25, 13:03, 12:54, 14:24, 12:33 (marathonish - 5:17:59) My last marathon was 5:17:31
Miles 27-31 - 12:05, 18:32, 12:32, 12:56, 14:05 (50Kish - 6:28:09) My 50K PR is 6:47:21
Miles 32-37 - 13:35, 12:53, 12:48, 17:51, 13:01, 13:39 (60Kish - 7:51:56) 60K PR is 9:58
Miles 38-50 - 15:25, 13:11, 13:41, 26:06, 14:33, 15:06, 16:03, 15:35, 15:12, 14:52, 20:53, 16:34, 16:51 (50Mish - 11:25:58) 50 Mile PR is 11:52:30.
Miles 51-62 - 18:41, 16:43, 16:40, 27:31, 17:29, 16:50, 17:31, 20:00, 17:23, 16:58, 20:40, 17:16 (100Kish 15:09:40
Miles 63-78 - 17:13, 21:37, 17:37, 17:33, 18:43, 21:01, 18:13, 19:11, 24:31, 18:37, 17:46, 25:38, 18:46, 18:53, 20:15, 24:31

And then... the watch died. According to my watch, I maintained 15:46 pace for first 78 miles (which took 20.5 hours). So yes, the last 22 took 8.5 hours. NUTS.








Edited:

FINALLY, there are official results up.... WOO HOO!!


I made sure to ask when I finished. 17 people started the 100 mile race. 7 people finished. I was the only female finisher, so of course, by fault, I got first female. WHO CARES!!???

I got to sit down, FINALLY, and tired the compression boot/sleeves that were amazing.


After only spending about 20 minutes at base camp after finishing, I had to drive home. FYI, driving a stick for a half hour after being on my feet for that long was ROUGH.

L had stopped on her way home and picked up Chili's for dinner - guacamole sliders! I showered, and then headed upstairs to eat. After eating, all I wanted to do was lie down and get under the electric blanket with a movie. Next thing I know, it's 11:00 at night (I somehow lost almost 6 hours?!). I went upstairs, and watched The Walking Dead.

100 mile recover in #magic pants and compression socks
One day later... I actually can walk. I can go up and down the stairs. I'm sore, but not any worse than I have been before.

Thoughts:
  • You know what's far? 100 miles.
  • You know what's hard? 100 miles.
  • You know what I just ran? 100 FRICKIN' MILES. OK, well "run" might be a bit overstating things, but I sure was on my feet for that long.
  • I have NO blisters, NO chafing and ALL my toenails.
  • I have not taken any pain medication.
  • I fueled well, taking probably 10-12 gels over the course of the run, eating ALL the things - yes, I had pizza, cake, brownies, bread, ramen, broth, electrolyte capsules, etc.
  • I could NOT have done this without my friends. ESPECIALLY Dan - who was with me for about 35 miles during the night. Especially around mile 80 (?) it would have been SO easy for me to just stop. Having someone there to remind me how crazy I was being helped.
  • Having friends/family with me at the finish to celebrate was AMAZING. 
  • For the most part, I was in great spirits.
  • I probably will not do this again (runnesia already??)
  • INKnBURN was great to wear. I wore shirt and skirt and arms sleeves the first day, all of the clothes at night, and still kept on long sleeves during the next day.
  • I wore the New Balance Leadville (1210's) the entire race, never changing my shoes or socks. My toes felt weird, but they were "mostly comfortable."
I may or may not revise this post as I remember things, but I wanted to get something up while I still remembered things.

Week in Review (November 26 - December 2)

Tuesday (11,120 steps) - I had messaged Amber to ask if it was ok if I came into the office a bit later so I didn't have to get up as ea...