Divas Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Vail, CO
Sunday, August 21
Half Marathon #41
Weather - Sunny, HOT

L and I signed up for the Divas half marathon for a few reasons:

• Fit into our schedule
• Local
• Have a goal to complete EVERY half (or full) in Colorado
• The rumor about ginormous bling

There was NO race day pick up, and I was babysitting the H for L, so the kids and I made the 97 mile drive into the mountains to attend the expo.

Pretty Drive!

Outside the expo

Me and H

Kids made signs at the Luna booth

Very pathetic "diva poses"

A carrying my race bag

Another option of where to display your bling

I was super unimpressed with the whole expo experience. The website gave great directions of where to park but nothing detailed of how to FIND the expo. Much wandering around and annoyance (especially since kids do NOT move quickly). Unimpressed with the VERY SMALL expo and as usual, it's too expensive to buy anything. I do NOT like being forced to attend these. I'd rather pick up race day. Anyway.

So. Regular pre-race dinner, no dessert again, but I did have an expired beer:

I had the chance to go to bed early... although I had trouble falling asleep. Then I woke up ridiculously early (3:37 to be exact) and couldn't fall back asleep. We had planned on leaving the house around 5:30, which we figured would give us just a little extra time.

Well. Even with getting ready and making a quick stop for coffee we ended up arriving at 7:00. Two hours before the race. Yes, that means that the race started at the ungodly hour of 9:00. WHO DOES THAT??? Why does anyone want to race that late??? Anyway, we decided to wander around to see how long the walk to the start/finish would take and to check out the bathroom situations.

Yep. We were practically the first people there. The volunteers didn't even have things set up all the way yet.

View from the start line

Pre-race Diva shot

Start Line

We headed back to the car to hang out and wait for the race to start. Did I mention it didn't start until 9:00???

People really started to show up around 8:00. There was also a 5k, and that was to start at 8:45. We applied our sunscreen and headed out to the start around 8:30. We did some pictures:

Oh yes I did!

L didn't have a matching tutu, but is still sparkly!

Much to our annoyance, the already late race was LATE starting. The corrals were crowded and we didn't start until 9:12. The website didn't give very detailed information about the course and aid stations. I apparently misread the statement "This is a flat course with a total elevation gain of just 348 ft through the 13.1 miles."

I really don't like when organizers make comments like this. First off. The first 2 miles are essentially falling down a hill steep. I mean, I had to start walking like 3/4 of a mile in because my legs cramped up. But the view? A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

I'll go ahead and say it. The first two miles sucked for me. Big time. And just leave it at that. I was running with my new Hippie Runner race belt which does not have water bottle and I was THIRSTY. The belt itself does not slide as promised but I was mildly unimpressed with the "zip tie" bib attachment assembly. I spent probably the first 30 minutes of the race messing with it because my number kept moving around. In the future I'll probably just pin the number down. (Even holding my iPhone it did not bounce around, and I loved the second pocket that was big enough for a GU and piece of gum). Anyway, the first aid station was just before mile 2, and I needed it!

Thankfully the course levelled out a bit after about mile 2.5, and I sailed through the next few miles. I was running at a sorta slow but comfortable pace and enjoying the scenery. Another "misleading" statement from the website "This run takes place within the valley, thus avoiding significant changes in elevation." LIARS!!! Anyway, just tell us that it is rolling with some significant hills so we are more mentally prepared. Remember that major downhill for 2 miles? We of course ran back up that later. The picture below IS an uphill but not even CLOSE to one of the major ones:

Between miles 4 & 5

Supposedly 7 aid stations on the course, but the second one didn't show up until mile 5. I was ready to faint from dehydration by then!

Between miles 5 and 6

I was cruising pretty well the next mile or so, and then we started to run through some of the neighborhoods. Roads not closed to traffic and even though there were cones in the road there were no arrows indicating which side we should be on. Confusing.

Still thirsty. Next aid station not until just after mile 8. WTH?! Lots more beautiful scenery, so I'm trying not to be too annoyed with the crazy hills and lack of water.

We ran by some of the ski lifts (not too interesting visually) and then another serious downhill around mile 10 where we were running on the frontage road for the interstate. I could see runners in the valley below running in the opposite direction, but couldn't get my bearings to figure how far in front of of me they were. Even though I was CRUISIN' down the hill I had to stop and walk because I over-drank at the previous aid station. Curses!

My pace sucks, I'm cramping and I'm hot. Trying not to be whiny, but man, this is a TOUGH course and I hadn't prepared for it. Lots of walking. Around mile 11 I get tapped on the shoulder by a woman I'd been running on/off with for a while. She says "C'mon bad ass, keep going!" (I was wearing my AWESOME "Bad Ass" socks from Razzy Roo). It helped a bit and I started running a bit stronger.

The course weaves through the village, which reminds me a LOT of running through downtown Disney. Cobblestone and everything. Totally bizarre as NOTHING is closed off and there are no markings of a course. Good thing I wasn't in front...

Mile 11-12 sucked. Lots of hills, trails, dirt, blah blah. Wondering... WHERE IS THIS TIARA AND BOA STATION?? So thirsty.

Try to run the last mile only to get confronted with a super ginormous hill at mile 12.8. WHY??? Hate hills at the end. But wait!! At the top of the hill I get my boa (which sticks to me because I'm sweaty and covered in sunscreen) and my tiara (that I can barely get stuck in my hair). Go around a corner and.... YES!!! I SEE THE DAMN FINISH AREA!!

Can you see me? 4th back, headed toward the finish line! (Photo courtesy of "examiner.com")

Running on a skinny sidewalk (also the only way into and out of the start/finish area so lots of people walking TOWARDS us with kids, strollers, dogs, etc) and I'm pacing a bit slower than I'd like for the end because of the congestion. And then one of my biggest race type annoyances? Three women in front of me join hands and try to run through the chute together. SERIOUSLY??? Hate that. I push past them and sprint to the finish. I had planned to do a kick ass turbo kickboxing move at the end, but let's be serious. I was dead tired. Got my awesome rose at the finish line:

And YAY to them handing out bottles of water right then and there (PS, there were NOT 7 aid stations, only 6 + the boa/tiara station). Met L, got my tiny glass of champagne, then we did our finisher pictures. We were getting ready to head back to the car when I heard the name of a friend being announced, so I quickly headed back to congratulate her. FYI, she also said she felt mislead with the course description and said this was her worst time ever.

Official time - 2:24:12
Official pace - 10:59
Garmin time - 2:24:10
Garmin distance - 13.13 miles
Garmin pace - 10:58
Overall place - 283/652
Gender place - 283/651
Division place - 46/102
Mile 1 - 9:31
Mile 2 - 12:14
Mile 3 - 11:28
Mile 4 - 9:57
Mile 5 - 10:58
Mile 6 - 10:12
Mile 7 - 10:59
Mile 8 - 10:18
Mile 9 - 10:36
Mile 10 - 10:45
Mile 11 - 12:05
Mile 12 - 12:08
Mile 13 - 11:38
Mile 13.1 - 9:29

And FYI, my garmin posted a 712 foot gain with minimum elevation 7,953 and maximum 8,424.

Anyway. Race didn't go as planned, but the bling? MOST AWESOME AND HUGE EVER.

Check out it DWARFING my Disney Princess medal!

This isn't a race that I need to do again. I am REALLY looking forward to a flatter course at Disney with essentially ZERO elevation :D

Like my race outfit? The headband, skirt and "Bad Ass" socks can all be purchased INEXPENSIVELY at Razzy Roo! Check out the link in the top left hand corner of my blog and use the code to save 10%! I got TONS of compliments on the ensemble and it was comfortable to run in!

No Rest For the Wicked

Saturday

I had a long run scheduled. A really long run. Remember that Lisa J sent me some awesome new running tops? Well I decided that wearing one of them would be PERFECT for my run of insanity on the treadmill. Agree?

So yes. I set my alarm for 5:35 (am if that wasn't clear), got dressed and drove to the gym.  Did you know that the gym is practically deserted at that hour? RLRF run schedule:

RLRF (MP, WK8, KR3)

20 miles @ MP

+ 30 sec/mile

That's right.  TWENTY miles. Other than my 4 marathons and 1 ultra, I have only run 20 miles ONCE. And that was last October. And it took me 3:48:42 to run 20.14 miles. Well, let me tell you that it went... great. I mean, as great as it could possibly go.

20 miles @ MP

+30 sec/mile

Goal Pace - 11:12

Actual Pace - 11:07

Total miles run - 20.21 (longest training run EVER)

Total treadmill time - 3:45

I. Freakin. Rocked. This. That is all.

As an aside, I decided to try the race belt that Hippie Runner sent me. I obviously didn't need it since I was at the gym on the treadmill, but I wanted to know if their claim of "no bouncing" was in fact true. I'll say this... I wore it the entire first hour of my run (took it off when I had to reset). It didn't bounce at all during that time, in fact, I forgot it was even there. I did have my iPhone in there, so there was weight that I should have noticed. Once minor complaint is that I can't make it as tight as I would like so I have to wear it a bit lower than I am normally comfortable with, but since it doesn't move around, I'll deal with it. GREAT PRODUCT.

Sunday

Yeah, don't think for a SECOND that I am bad ass enough to do this race. But... I did sign me and A to volunteer. The aid station that we were scheduled to work was a Vegas theme, and we committed to working for the busiest four hours of the race. Did you know that in 24 hours notice it is nearly impossible to come up with an appropriate "Vegas" costume for a 5 year old? I did my best. Luckily I still have the outfit I raced in for RnR Las Vegas. Here we are pre-race:

And here is the aid station that we were going to be working along the run portion:

It. Was. Hot. Crazy hot. A was the only kid volunteering and she was given the task of handing out cups of ice. I was at the first table handing out cups of Gatorade. We arrived at the trail head parking just before 9:00 am, and the bulk of the runners started arriving sometime after 10:00. I really thought that A would only be able to stand the heat and standing for 2-3 hours. My sister was racing, and since the run part of the course was a loop, we got to see her pass twice. A was SUPER excited about that:

A hands W some Gatorade

In addition to cheering on my sister and all the AWESOME athletes, I was lucky enough to spot Beth (and husband Ken) from Shut Up and Run doing their first half Ironman! It's very different to be on the volunteer side of racing, and I have to say that it was a fun and rewarding day. I know how much I look forward to the aid stations when I am running and I hope that we provided the racers with some relief in the insane heat.

A decided that we would stay until the very last runner came past because "all the runners need to have something to drink." Man, I love this kid. It was sometime after 2:30 that the last runner (who looked pretty damn strong) came by. We helped tear down and clean up a bit, then we headed out. It was 98 degrees when we got back to the car. Insane. I would have broken down and cried if I would have been racing in those conditions. There was NO shade on the course.

A absolutely LOVES the shirt that she got for volunteering:

If you haven't volunteered lately, you should.

RLRF (MP, WK 8, KR2)... AND!!

I came home today to find an awesome package in my mailbox from Hippie Runner! Yay to having new stuff for the gym!

4 headbands and 2 belts!

Of course A LOVED the peace symbol one. I'm sure she will run in it, but for now it is just a fashion statement:

I selected the cute one with the skull pattern!

And I of course had a rad outfit to wear with it:

On the agenda for today's run? Marathon program, week 8, key run 2.

6 mile run:

1 mile easy,

4 miles @ mid-tempo pace,

1 mile easy

I actually was not dreading this run. I mean, sorta dreading the middle 4 miles since I've been struggling so much with speed of late. So, new headband intact, I set off. The first mile was pretty easy. It actually didn't feel nearly as hot, and I was doing pretty well. The faster mid-tempo pace wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. It felt pretty darn good actually. A good run? Really? The last mile, at the slower "easy" pace was actually the toughest. Shock!! Anyway, here's what I did:

1 mile easy - 11:05 (goal 11:09)

4 miles @ mid -tempo pace - 39:09 or 9:47 per mile (goal 9:49)

1 mile easy - 11:01 (goal 11:09)

I guess that means I sorta nailed it! Although I suppose I should've done a tad bit slower on that last mile. Anyway. The headband was pretty awesome. Not quite as tight as what I'm used to, so there was some adjusting, but I think that it did a pretty decent job of wicking away the sweat! When I wore it down a little lower on my forehead (bandanna style), it seemed to work even better. I think this will be great to wear under a hat/visor. I'll be trying the belt this weekend on my long run.