Week in Review (Dec. 24 - Dec. 30)

Tuesday - Christmas Eve. I ran a decently warm 6.7 miles along another section of Clear Creek trail that I've never run. Not super scenic and like usual, struggled a bit. Running with L is definitely like doing speed work. SHE IS THE FASTEST.

Wednesday - Christmas Day and the weather was once again nice enough for a run outside. L and I picked Big Dry Creek, and we knocked out a pretty tough 6.3 miles. For REAL, running with her is the hardest.

After our run we sat around and watched tv and then we headed over to Jessa's house for Christmas dinner. She went all out and made a TON of food. We were so full after eating that we could barely move. L dozed off a bit and Jessa and I stole Jackson's Lego's and build the Vampyre Hearse. These Lego kits are COMPLICATED. Holy crap, that took HOURS. Had more beer once I got home.

Thursday - 2.5 miles on the treadmill at the gym. I think it was ok, I don't remember. Also did the video trifecta (legs, arms, core)

Friday - 1 mile in the basement inferno. Zero recollection if this was good, bad or otherwise.

Saturday - Last run of the year in Colorado. The weather was really pretty great again and L and I ran a new section of Ralston Creek in west Arvada. Solid 7 mile run. Will really miss these runs when I have to get back on the treadmill when A gets back from Texas.

L had to nap so she would be able to drive me to the airport, so I sat around watching tv before heading to the airport. It magically started snowing, and even though my flight was supposed to leave at 9:50 pm, my flight would eventually be delayed THREE HOURS. This resulted in me sitting at the airport bar until close, spending an OBSCENE amount of money on beer. I barely remember my flight.

Sunday - What. A. Long. Day. I felt like shit all day after all my drinking at the bar. With my flight not getting in until almost 4 am, I didn't get much sleep and spent most of the day nauseous and wanting to die. Managed to squeeze in a mile-ish run with A around the neighborhood. SUPER chilly.

Monday - Wasn't really in the mood for a long run, you know, tapering for DOUBLE MARATHONS. Lisa had to work a few hours, so I ran a mile-ish in by her work. IT WAS THE HARDEST MILE EVER. Really really really really REALLY dreading the DOUBLE MARATHONS I was stupid enough to sign up for. For REAL, there is something wrong with me.

Weekly Miles Run - 34.55 (3.5 treadmill, 31.05 outside)

Minutes of Strength Training - 30 (ouch)

Gain/Loss - ?!? It's a MYSTERY!!! NO WEIGH IN.

• First off, it's the holidays. Second, I've been out of town since the 28th. I am sure there has been a gain, but I didn't even bother with a weigh in, so I have no idea what it might be.
• The biggest culprit of the week? BEER, BEER, BEER, AND MORE BEER.

• I've been super hungry lately, but that isn't necessarily out of the ordinary. I didn't eat nearly as "clean" as usual, and I think that was showing in my laziness. Ohhhhh welllls. It's the HOLIDAYS.

Everything Else 

• So, there was a secretary hired. And she worked one day. And never came back.
• Related: When are they going to recognize my manager is A CRAZY PERSON and eliminate the REAL problem in our firm??
• Related: I will deserve a medal of honor if I survive my employment without my head exploding and/or me snapping.
• NOTHING ELSE.

Baker's Dozen Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Hurricane, UT
Saturday, December 14
Half Marathon #98
Baker's Dozen Half #2
Weather - Chilly

After failing to be crowned 2012's "Sugar Slayer," I knew I would have to return this year to run the Baker's Dozen Half Marathon and vie for the title.

L had to work the night before, so my dad dropped me off near her work so we would only have to take one car to the airport. We were not on the same outbound flights, as I had cashed in miles on Frontier and she was flying on Southwest. I was supposed to leave first, arriving about 20 minutes before her. My flight was delayed, then had a gate change, etc. By the time L was already in the air, I had not even boarded yet. Le sigh. The flight itself was uneventful. We were not able to meet up with each other at the airport as we somehow landed in two different terminals. The solution was to take the shuttle and meet up at the rental car place. Everything there, also went smoothly.

We had planned on replicating our eating schedule from last year, so as soon as we got the car, our first stop was In N' Out.

Apparently, if you eat lunch around 11:30, they are not that busy. We actually got a place to sit and didn't have to wait long. Our next plan was to head to Dunkin' Donuts, you know, for a coffee and snack. We both got the Red Velvet Lattes, and were disappointed that they were pretty gross :(

L was tired from being up all night, so I did the drive to Hurricane. We arrived around 4 and checked into the hotel so L could take a nap. We got up at 6 so we could pick up our packets and get dinner. On the way out we asked if we could have a noon check out and were told no. (NOTE TO SELF: Do NOT book at the Days Inn next year). Packet pick-up was a breeze and we did NOT get into the wrong car in the parking lot. Same dinner as last year - Italian sausage bread bowl. Delicious. I watched about three hours of Law & Order before going to bed around 9:45.

Race Day

Got up around 6:40. Headed downstairs, and like last year, the food selection was blah. I had a piece of toast and coffee anyway. We planned to be out the door around 7:20 to head to the start. Found the start with no problems this year. Scoped out the start area, used the bathroom, and negotiated leaving our Diet Pepsi under the Sugar Shack table so we wouldn't have to run with them this year (good thinking, L!)

All professional pictures used with permission of Santiago Photography

Cory had asked early on if people would prefer he pay for official timing or have bigger/better medals. The overwhelming responses was BETTER MEDALS! What I didn't realize is that this event was not going to be timed... at all. Oh wells. 

Shortly after 8, we were off! L and I had discussed at great lengths our strategy for being the Sugar Slayers this year. Last year, we didn't eat enough the first loop. By the time we came in for subsequent loops, everything was frosted. Frosting=No Bueno.

Loop 1 - Temperature is 32 degrees, which is warmer than was forecasted. I remembered the first part was a gradual uphill. The short trail section was reminiscent of last weekends race, snow-packed and icy. I jogged some of this, but it hurt my ankles, so I walked parts of it.

L met me at the aid station with... a cup of hot cocoa! What a brilliant idea (I said THEN). Yum. I downed my cup and then grabbed a cup of water to wash it down. Delicious. The back section of the course is through a neighborhood and is a gradual downhill. MY FAVORITE. There were sections of the road that were pretty icy, so we had to use caution, although I still had to be ridiculous when I saw the photographer:

When I could see the start area, I started to get anxious. I yelled to L, "IT'S TIME TO DIG DEEP." We were NOT messing around this year.

Sugar Shack

We arrived at the Sugar Shack and immediately started downing the non-frosted cookies. There were gingerbread, sugar, snicker doodles, etc. The volunteers at the aid station remembered us from last year, as did some of the runners, "Oh, are you the girls from Colorado? Are you in it to win it this year?" Yes. Yes, we were. We did NOT disappoint, with an impressive 17 sugary treats consumed the first loop.

Loop 2 - 36 degrees. I feel mostly ok. Maybe this was The Best Strategy Ever. Like the previous loop, I walked some of the snowy section, then stopped and used the bathroom at the aid station. Have you ever seen a portapotty like this?? It was like using a cat box!

No hot cocoa this time. I was starting to feel the effects of the sugar. We headed into the back section, still feeling mostly ok and running a decent pace. A man on a bike paced alongside us. He also remembered us from last year. He asked all sorts of questions about our eating, traveling for races, etc. Made that loop pass quickly.

Headed into the Sugar Shack and we were relieved/horrified to see that there were still plenty of cookies. They were not going down as easily this time around. Too much time was wasted on chewing. I was starting to feel a bit "off" but I knew that if we wanted to win we were going to have to shove as much as we could in our mouths. Cookies no longer tasting delicious. Every bite was like eating one of those terrible "bit o honey" candies that used to fill up Halloween bags in the 80's. The Diet Pepsi tasted a little less delicious this loop. 10 more sugary treats consumed for a total of 27.

Loop 3 - 48 degrees. Getting hot and having food sweats. Questioning our strategy. I have to walk some up the hill as with every step I'm afraid I'm going to barf. This is not good. Much slower heading into the aid station this time. Again, water only. Man on the bike finds us again and asks our count. When he pulls away, I'm trying to describe how I'm feeling. The sugar was warping my brain and while I was searching for a descriptor like "dizzy" or "vertigo," all I could come up with was "Gepetto." I'm clearly not doing well.

The last mile comes and all I can think about is that I do not want to eat even one more tiny bit of sugar. I'm having the gag reflex that usually only happens when I get too close to smelling whisky.

Curses. I do NOT care. I ask if we are in the lead, and it appears that we are, but no numbers are thrown out. I am ready to throw up all over the place, and knowing I still have an entire loop to go, I eat only one item. I'm done. I cannot consume anything else without risking it all! As we are leaving the Sugar Shack, the reigning men's Sugar Slayer comes in. He is at 22 but still had a loop to go. Not sure what his final count was, but we weren't concerned as Cory crowns both male and female winners.

Loop 4 - Still 48 degrees. This is terrible. I'm sweaty. Feel faint. Stomach hurts. I want to curl up on the side of the road and die. More walking this loop. Feel very sick and suspicious. Water only at the aid station. The glorious downhill? Not so much by the last loop. Every step has things sloshing around in my stomach. Cannot run the entire last mile. Walking is barely better. SO HAPPY TO SEE THE FINISH LINE.

We crossed the line, got our AWESOME medals:

Did we do it??? Were we the 2013 Queen Sugar Slayers??? We looked around for Cory to find out, and YES!!! WE WERE VICTORIOUS. I could not WAIT to see our prize.

Holy crap. AN EIGHT POUND BAG OF TAFFY. lol. So the win? Bittersweet. I never want to eat another piece of candy again. And the bag is SO heavy.

L, Fast Cory, Me

This bag of candy is as big as my head!! ("The human head weighs 8 pounds" - Jerry MacGuire, and so does this bag of candy)

We came to Utah and we CONQUERED. We even killed our other goal of beating last year's time. Not an easy feat since we were trying to not explode.

Garmin Time - 2:48:57
Moving Time - 2:22:41 (so, 26 minutes at the Sugar Shack and/or bathroom)
Mile 1- 11:10
Mile 2 - 12:31
Mile 3 - 9:30
Mile 4 - 18:26
Mile 5 - 14:13
Mile 6 - 9:47
Mile 7 - 21:28
Mile 8 - 14:58
Mile 9 - 10:10
Mile 10 - 12:56
Mile 11 - 13:51
Mile 12 - 10:15
Mile 13 - 11:05

Drive back to Vegas uneventful. We stopped and got pizza again. Walked through the outlet malls in Vegas for an hour, buying nothing. Got to the airport with HOURS until departure. Gambled my $4, ate a burger (seriously, something is wrong with me). Flight left a few minutes late but we got to Denver a few minutes early. VERY smooth trip, again.

Thoughts:

• I love this race! People are surprised that I travel for this. I will come back next year.
• Related: I will relinquish my Sugar Slayer status to some other unsuspecting victim. I'm fairly sure the taffy will still be here in a year. DID I MENTION WE HAVE EIGHT POUNDS OF IT??
• The medal this year is fantastic! The gingerbread man is so cute!!
• I should have a picture, but the shirt this year is great. Women's AND men's shirts in a fun neon yellow. I'll wear that bad boy to the gym for sure!
• Cory puts on an amazing event. Well organized and FUN.

(PS - Never fear, I have recovered from the sugar funk and have already had 3 donuts since completing the race)

Normal (Week 15)

Tuesday - 3.6 miles in the basement inferno. Video trifecta (legs, arms, core) AND 99 push-ups, 99 jumping jacks and 3:00 plank. DEAD.
Wednesday - 2 miles total (one before class and one after). I went to BodyPump for the first time in over 18 months. HOLY CRAP. The videos have probably helped a bit, but I am the weakest EVER. Thankfully, due to #coldpocalypse, there was a poor showing and only a handful of people could witness me struggling. 4:02 plank.
Thursday - 5.21 terrible, horrible, no good, very BAD miles on the treadmill. I made the risky decision to eat NINE day old cheesecake at dinner, then hopped on the treadmill. I almost died and/or puked and/or exploded on the treadmill. Poor, poor planning, me. 3:00 plank.

You were so tasty. Why did you try to kill me??

Friday - 1.1 in the basement inferno. Video trifecta (legs, arms, core), 2:10 plank.
Saturday - Fa La La Half Marathon! After almost dying of frostbite/hypothermia, we sat around most of the day. Saturday night A and I went to a Christmas party in Aurora (soooo faaaar). Potluck parties are dangerous. Zero pics, but it was great to see my friends that I don't get to see too much this time of year.
Sunday - Put off running ALL DAY. Took the kids roller skating in the afternoon. Finally did 1ish in the basement inferno. Video trifecta (core, arms, legs). After dinner, A and I met up with my friend DJ, who came in town for work training. Long story condensed - DJ and I dated BRIEFLY in 1999, somewhat not great break up. Weirdly ended up being roommates when I moved to TX in 2000 - he moved out after my now ex-husband moved in. Hadn't seen him in over 10 years, but we have kept in touch with phone calls/texts/Facebook. Funny, it was like no time had passed. Great night!

Monday - 7.25 not terrible miles. My calves were a bit tight (I have gotten off my foam rolling routine AGAIN), and the bottom of my right foot feels... off. 3:10 plank.

Weekly Miles Run - 33.32 (13.1 racing, 20.22 treadmill)
Minutes of Strength Training - 175!!

Loss - 1.0 pounds

• The body is so weird. I worked out less this week and it seemed like I still ate the same.
• Food indulgences... DONUTS, Smashburger, Yogurtland, pumpkin cheesecake (SO SO SO SO GOOD), all sorts of random things at the potluck Christmas party.

  

• Beer consumption was up this week. I blame the Christmas party and going out with my friend. Didn't have money to actually buy beer this week so there wasn't any consumption during the week.
• Oh wells.... such is weight fluctuation.

Everything Else

• Finished reading The Total Money Makeover. Again, nothing I didn't already know, but a good refresher of how "we" have too much stuff and spend money foolishly.
• Related: This week has been especially tight on money. I had to return one of the pairs of shoes I got on Black Friday to have enough money for parking. Also, for a humbling new low, I had to rob my change jar to buy groceries on Sunday. $15+ in change. Womp. Really appreciated the self-checkout for this one. Also, the gas light in my car has been on since Monday. Hoping I have enough gas to last me until Friday morning. #coldpocalypse is not the time to play chicken with  the "how many miles can I drive on a tank of gas" game I love so much.
• A had a meltdown over the weekend over Mother Effin J. I am so sick of this stupid guy being an annoyance in my life. She was talking about something random and then said "I know you don't want to hear about J anymore Momma, but I can't erase him from my memory, I've tried." And then she cried. For like 10 minutes. I JUST WANT TO BE DONE WITH THIS. The jerk is out of our lives, I just wish he would BE OUT OF OUR LIVES. The weirdest, dumbest things set of triggers and I AM OVER IT.
• Oh, so nothing else, as usual. Cute guy was a the gym last night, he ran on a treadmill three down from me (for like 5 minutes). I ogled. The end.
• Really really really wanting the weather to warm up a bit. For 4-5 days, I don't think we hit single digits. Today, it is finally "warmer" but it is windy, so it actually SEEMS colder.

For REAL. This is ridiculous this "early" in winter. Brrr!

• BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH I HATE WINTER I HATE DECEMBER I HATE THE HOLIDAYS. Ready for this stupid year to be over.

American Heroes Run (Race Recap)

Longmont, CO
Sunday, September 8
Half Marathon #92
Colorado Half #31
Weather - The Hottest and Sunniest EVER

We signed up for the half marathon portion of the American Heroes Run in FEBRUARY. Another race to cross off our list of running ALL the half marathons in Colorado. (Although, let's be real. I am WAY behind L on this one, this really could take the rest of my life to do). Anyway, the race is put on by an amazing ultra runner, David Clark, and there were TONS of different distances happening all the same time. There was a new 24 hour division this year, and although 5 runners signed up, only one started. She ran 84 miles!!!

If the rest of the country is anything like Colorado was this weekend it was THE HOTTEST EVER. The race was scheduled to follow the timeline of the events of September 11 (this was the first year the event was NOT held on the 11th, in an attempt to increase participation). The race was not scheduled to start until 8:46 am!! Which means, it was going to be HOT.

L and I convinced Hope to run the race with us and her husband and kids were planning on spectating and graciously offered to watch the girls. We left the house just before 7:15 am for the 45 minute drive to Longmont. I saw a donut place on the way up and we stopped and got THESE:

I had 1/2 the Snickers covered Long John and one of the pumpkin donuts with cream cheese frosting!

I haven't been really eating before races or long runs, so I was hoping that his out-of-the-blue donut stop wasn't going to make for a terrible race.

We had NOT read any of the information regarding the course (remember, I stopped doing that AGES ago), so we were a bit surprised when Hope told us that it was going to be... ONE.MILE.LOOPS. Oh. Well, that could be... horrible?

Anyway, there wasn't a ton of parking at the start but we were able to get a spot. We picked up our bibs and ankle chips and then used the bathroom. There was a brief pre-race  meeting to go over the course, etc. and we lined up for the half.

Um, yeah. That's about all the participants

L was STILL feeling like a cripple and Hope was a bit off from our long run the day before. Apparently, I was the one that was setting the pace every loop, and the first mile clocked by at 11:xx, which was a bit too fast for the other ladies. I was in no rush and it was THE HOTTEST EVER, so we slowed the pace down. I am still not running with music, and even though there was SOME conversation, we really just ran the loops and ticked off the miles. It was a pretty view, but again, SO HOT.

To cover the distance, we had one "half" loop (which was actually about 3/4 mile) and then 12 full loops. The course did measure long as a result. I thought I would HATE the loop course, but it actually wasn't that bad. There were a decent amount of spectators, and I enjoyed knowing that every mile I would come up on an aid station. About midway through the race, these were put out. BEST EVER!!

Not much else to say about the race. The course was flat, about half paved and half soft dirt. There was very little shade. Due to the small number of participants, the course never really got crowded. I had a pretty great day, everything felt "easy" for me.

Official Time - 2:45:02
Gender Place - 3/8 (Woot!!)
Garmin Time - 2:45:01
Garmin Distance - 13.46 miles
Mile 1 - 11:37
Mile 2 - 12:04
Mile 3 - 12:20
Mile 4 - 12:08
Mile 5 - 12:11
Mile 6 - 12:23
Mile 7 - 12:23
Mile 8 - 12:11
Mile 9 - 12:48
Mile 10 - 12:33
Mile 11 - 12:08
Mile 12 - 12:26
Mile 13 - 12:57
Mile 13.46 - 9:51 (!! - and it didn't even feel "hard")
 

Thoughts:

• I actually enjoyed running the loops - never felt alone and it was fun to count how many times we got lapped by the ridiculous fast people (the winner ran a 1:32, second place was more than a half hour slower, lol).
• Only one aid station, but it was GREAT and was being  manned by the race director. They never ran out of water, they had gels, chips, donut holes and other goodies. I was impressed.
• If the event gets bigger he will want to add port-o-potties as there were indoor bathrooms available, but only 2 stalls.
• It was fun having the kids there. Loved getting hi fives as we were heading in for our loops.
• I would run this event again, nothing bad to say about this one!

Normal (Week 1)

I kind of enjoyed doing the weekly summaries for #NotEatingAllTheThings (more for my amusement and not for yours, sorry) and cramming all the pictures from the week into one post instead of short posts more often. So... I'll just keep doing that.

Tuesday - 1 mile run at the track with A. She decided with about .15 to go that the other random guy on the track was NOT going to pass her and she took off. Fastest pace? 6:23. I died trying to keep up. We also did a 2 mile ride around the neighborhood and I did arms, core and butt/thigh videos.

Wednesday - 8+ mile run on the treadmill. I had planned on an hour, then maybe 7 miles. I felt good, so I ran longer. That's nice.
Thursday - Got up early and did the arms, core and butt/thigh videos. I left work at 12:30 and had lunch with my co-worker. Picked up A at school at 2:30 and then drove to the airport. Flight to California was uneventful. Delicious dinner of PIZZA (start of an #EatEverything weekend). We went to Yogurtland, where we briefly met up with Madison. No pictures, since I am the worst blogger ever. I feel like we went to bed early, but I already have forgotten.
Friday - Stopped and got donuts for breakfast. TASTY TASTY TASTY. Heather got an extra pass for Disneyland, so in addition to the other Heather, me and A, L and H, we had Gabs along for the ride too! Did you know that California was the HOTTEST PLACE ON EARTH on Friday?? It melted the kids in submission and they were the most well-behaved children on the planet. We rewarded the children with giant waffle cones and a trip to Build-A-Bear. We spent about 45 seconds at the expo. Bought zero things, and still SUPER DUPER UNIMPRESSED WITH THE DUMB UNISEX GIANT SHIRTS. For the billions of dollars I spend running Disney races, I would REALLY like a shirt I could actually wear again. Grrr. Dinner was spaghetti! Deeeelicious.

 

 

And the kids didn't even make it home before falling asleep...

Saturday -Disneyland 10k!! (You'll have to wait for the recap). We went to the INKnBURN warehouse sale, where I bought ALL THE THINGS. If only I had more time and money... our plan for the remainder of the day was going to the "lagoon." A fancy schmancy "beach" about a mile from Heather's house. We spent all afternoon there. Zero pictures. We had Costco pizza for dinner since the power at Heather's house was out ALL DAY. Bed early?

The bottom right neon tank was actually for someone else...

Just kidding. I took ONE picture. Not of the kids, but of the hot guy in the white swim shorts. Yum.

Sunday - Disneyland Half Marathon!! (Again, you'll have to wait for the recap). Brief trip to Downtown Disney, where I was on the lookout for a shirt for my next Disney race, but FAIL. After we all showered, we went to In N' Out for lunch. L had to leave to go back to Denver early afternoon. UNINTENTIONALLY, we went to the mall afterwards. Tried on some things at Lulu (buying nothing) and had CUPCAKES!!! Tasty dinner of hot dogs and... more beer!

Monday - Wake up at the crack of dawn to go on a 10 mile trail run with Heather on the Pacific Ridge trail. We were lucky enough for a bit cooler temperatures and some heavy fog for the first half. Turns out, most of the downhill was in the beginning as well. The second half was uphill and hot. But so pretty!! Took the kids to the pool for a few hours and then did... nothing. But, we had MORE PIZZA for dinner. I love pizza so much. SO, SO MUCH.

SOOOOO...
NO WEIGH IN THIS WEEK...

• I ate EVERYTHING this weekend. Seriously, all of the things. I had donuts - every single day. I had pizza (3 times!!!). I had In N' Out. I had candy. I had so many food items I really can't even remember what I ate.
• I had the best time visiting California. It is so much nicer to go out there and not have to just turn right around and come back.
• Also nice? Heather living the dream and not having to work while I was there!
• Social life is still non-existent. I posted a ridiculous status on Facebook and have been informed that internet dating is the new cool thing, BUT NOT THE FREE SITES. I guess I will check that out at some point.
• I am registered for double half marathons this weekend, but I think I'll skip the one on Saturday and do a 22 mile run with Hope and my new training group.