Week(s) in Review (December 30 - January 12)

Gah. I promise I am finally getting caught up on my blogging and I will get back to doing these once a week. It is way too hard to go back in time to get these done this far back.

Tuesday, December 30 - Still. Driving. To. Texas. I had stopped for the night in Lamar because it was too damn scary driving on a blizzard on a two-lane road with a f*ton of semis zooming past me at 70 miles an hour. Anyway. I got up and left at the crack of dawn. I had about 650 miles to go before arriving in Dallas. It was STILL snowing. And cold. See? FROZEN DOOR.

In fact, it snowed ALL THE WAY TO AMARILLO.

I stopped for breakfast at Denny's - HOPPED UP ON COFFEE after having probably 100 ounces over the morning. It did not stop snowing until about 30 miles south of Amarillo. I made packet pick up for NYD about 30 minutes before they closed, and then I met my ex and A at the hotel I had booked in Dallas. (PS - when you see a Ramada for only $40 a night, THERE IS A REASON FOR IT. Spent the extra money to stay somewhere else). We went to dinner with the ex at a Mexican restaurant before he drove back to Austin and we picked up some last minute things before the our first race.

BELIEVE ME, this was NOT the worst part of the room. O.o

Wednesday, December 31 - New Years Double "Eve" races. 5K with A, then a half marathon solo while A volunteered.

I was FREEZING after we finished. And hungry. We went to IHOP to reload. A got a gigantic hot chocolate with a ton of whipped cream and I had like 4 cups of coffee.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the hotel room... watching TV. And packing. I was feeling a cold coming on, was tired and sore. We hit up Chili's for dinner (really, I just had a salad), and then a NY Eve celebration:

We were in bed before 10. Old and lame....
Thursday, January 1 - New Years Double "Day" races. I've already relived this enough times. It was cold, horrible, and I feel cold just thinking about it.

Since we had already checked out of the hotel room, there was no way to take a scalding hot shower and dry off. I ended up stripping a Whataburger bathroom (which took a really long time because I was still mostly frozen and soaked). We started the drive back to Denver right after lunch, making it as far as Amarillo. We had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings (another salad), and in bed fairly early (in a MUCH nicer hotel room).
Friday, January 2 - Up early to get on the road. Breakfast at the hotel was entertaining:

And really, other than stopping for coffee and the bathroom, our only stop was at the Colorado/Oklahoma state line:

Yes, A is wearing my shoes. Hers were still saturated after being in the pouring rain and she only had the one pair with her

We got home late in the afternoon. We had to buy some groceries since I hadn't been home in weeks. One mile in the inferno to work out travel kinks.
Saturday, January 3 - L wasn't picking up H until afternoon, so she convinced us to go to her "run club" in the morning. I definitely was getting sick and I was tired, but A wanted to go, so we headed out for a few miles before the snow came in:

A taking a fake photo of the geese :D

Wasn't able to get a "real" run in, so I went to the gym before lunch and ran another 4.6 miles on the treadmill. Must have gone shopping or something in the afternoon. Who knows.
Sunday, January 4 - Don't remember the morning. Had to pack and head to the airport around 3:30 to go to Phoenix for job training. Had a salad and beer for dinner at the airport. By the time I got to the hotel, it was already 9. I did a quick run on the treadmill and then got everything ready for my first day. INCLUDING IRONING (I never do this by the way). My room was really hot because the AC didn't work :(
Monday, January 5 - Up most of the night last night because cold is full blown. So tired. Breakfast at the hotel was awesome (Embassy Suites) - and then I walked over to the office for training. The corporate office is so big they have their own building!

Had a full day of training. I was training with two other women, and it was one piece of information after the other. We were supposed to be done at 5, but training went late and I ended up not getting out until after 5:30, which cut into the daylight I was hoping to have for a nice run. I still managed just about a 1.5 mile before the sun started to set:

I went to the Cheesecake Factory for a celebratory slice of Oreo cheesecake and a beer (and a small sandwich):

Tuesday, January 6 - Poor night's sleep again. This cold is kicking my ass. More training, worked through lunch. Had to leave just after 2:00 to head to the airport. By the time I got back to Denver it was after 7. Quick run in basement inferno before bed. LONG DAY.
Wednesday, January 7 - First day at work in the new office!!! Parking on the 7th floor of my ON SITE parking, PAID FOR MONTHLY BY THE FIRM (yes, I am crazy excited for "free" parking for work):

Busy day. The woman I am replacing is retiring, but our time overlaps by about a week, so I was busy trying to get as much information out of her as possible. Plus, meeting with the attorneys and getting to know their cases, their habits, learning the computer softwares, etc. HEAD EXPLODING WITH INFORMATION. After work I met up with some folks from the old firm for a "going away party" for the Partner that gave me the reference that helped get me my job. 3.5 miles on the treadmill at the gym.

Thursday, January 8 - Another busy day at work. Hard to say after just a few days, but everyone is so nice, and NOT crazy. Liking it a lot so far!! 3.5 mile run on the treadmill after work.

Friday, January 9 - Finally getting to my "real" schedule. 9-5 with a 30 minute break! LOVE coming in later. However... about 10 minutes before it was time to leave, we had an emergency filing for one of our out-of-state locations. I didn't have all the documents I needed and I scanning and uploading took FOREVER. Most of the secretaries use their "extra" time to leave early on Friday's, so I was the only support staff left. Luckily, two attorneys stayed to help me. SO APPRECIATED. I even got a text from one of the Directors thanking me for staying late. Already going for employee of the year :D

Saturday, January 10 - Polar Prowl half marathon! Slower (by a couple minutes) than the last time I ran the course, but the weather was perfect (even though the trails were ICY), I had mostly a good time and felt decent:

Went grocery shopping and... have no idea what else. Had trouble falling asleep AGAIN. So congested. This cold is THE WORST.

Sunday, January 11 - A and I got up early to go to run club at the Runners Roost in Aurora. We ran over 2.5 miles, probably one of A's longest training runs. It was cold (sun never came out), and pretty icy in spots. No complaining, and we had a good run.

They made pancakes afterwords (plain, blueberry or chocolate chip), and A was very helpful in cutting up bananas for toppings and flipping the pancakes. We stuck around chatting and waiting for the raffle drawing. Although we didn't win, the guy who won didn't want the Brooks Pure watch in the bag and gave it to A. She loves it. We went shopping (I need more long sleeve dress shirts), and A got a Minecraft lego kit. TV in the afternoon. I also made a new kind of bark:

Seriously, the inability to lose the 6+ pounds I've put on since October is A MYSTERY. Caught up on reading some blogs and getting mine done.
Monday, January 12 - Not so great 5K on the treadmill after work. Need to get back into the strength and stretching. Incredibly tight calves the last few days.

Miles Run (W/E January 5) - 44.10 
Minutes of Cross Training - None
Minutes of Strength/Stretching - None
Miles Run (W/E January 12) - 28.00
Minutes of Cross Training - None
Minutes of Strength/Stretching - None

Weekly Gain - 0.6 pounds (128.2)
Weekly Loss - 1.0 pounds (121.8)

Everything Else

• New job is going great, keeping me VERY busy, obviously, during the day. Everyone seems really nice and helpful. Fingers crossed that this is the norm!
• I won an entry to a race of my choice in the HPRS... I may or may not be considering the 100 mile, although with the way my running has been going lately, not sure it is at all intelligent to be doing that. I have a while to decide...

New Years Double Day 5K and Half Marathon (Race Recaps)

Thursday, January 1
Allen, TX
Half Marathon #123
New Years Double Year 4
Weather - COLD. The rainiest EVER. Awful.

We had to pack up everything before heading to the race since check out was 11 am and there was NO way we would be able to get back by then. Luckily, we had packed up almost everything, other than hat we needed race day. Headed out roughly the same time as the day before. This time, we did not stop for donuts because A had gotten a cramp eating before the 5K the day before. She planned on eating after and I had a Lara bar to eat before the half. There had been a heated debate on the FB page about possibly canceling the events on the second day due to the chance of freezing rain. I mean, here in Colorado, races don't get cancelled for that. In Texas, ice and freezing rain is a big deal. We went to bed assuming the race was still on, even though the forecast looked BLEAK:

Ever optimistic, I thought... well it SAYS 100%, but maybe it won't rain until we are done. OR, maybe it will rain, but it won't be heavy rain. Maybe it will just be a drizzle.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!

Surprisingly, we headed outside to find that it was NOT raining. YAY!! My "no rain" dance worked! We drove to the start, got an even CLOSER parking space and waited. And waited. It was still chilly outside, but NOT raining. Within minutes of getting to the start area, it started to rain. UGH.

We decided to NOT use the bathroom before the start and headed over just in time to run. It had obviously rained overnight as there were a lot of puddles in the beginning. I was CRAZY sore after the day before, and A chose to "run without me" so she could go for a new "high score." Since she doesn't pace well, I caught up with her at the turnaround. I tried to keep her motivated, but she was having NONE of it. She did, however, beat her time from the day before.

Official Time - 37:43
Garmin Time - 37:31
Garmin Distance - 3.16 miles
Garmin Pace - 11:53
Mile 1 - 11:08 (my mile 1 since she ran without me)
Mile 2 - 11:35
Mile 3 - 13:14
Mile 3ish - 10:04

Of course, we weren't able to go right to the car, we had to wait in line for her challenge plate.

She was pumped when she was finally in the car with the heater running and challenge plate in hand.

I spent the next 40 minutes or so whining about how much I did NOT want to run this race. The 5K wasn't terrible, but it was ONLY 3 MILES. I was not feeling great, I was already wet. HOWEVER, I really really really wanted the challenge plate.

Then I remember that I had bought a cheap poncho when I went to Big Cedar. I dug in my backpack to get it out. A kept telling me "Momma, you don't have to run if you don't want to. It's ok." And if I wasn't so insane, I probably would not have run. It was worse than I ever could have imagined. I dropped her off about 20 seconds before I started running for her second day of volunteering (she is a real trooper for staying outside in those conditions).

Two weeks later it is really hard to remember what was hurting, but I remember my hip was bothering me and maybe something else? The first... oh half a mile wasn't so bad. And then it was a run/walk FOR THE REST OF THE RACE. It was POURING. Thankfully, it wasn't as windy as the day before, but it was honestly like standing in a freezing cold shower (with a lot of water pressure). When I came through at the first loop I didn't see A, but then I saw her about a half mile later by the bathrooms. Since I hadn't used the bathrooms earlier, I really had to pee.

Unfortunately, once I stopped moving I FROZE. The last 6 miles of the race was a death march. I could NOT get warm. Obviously I was soaked (I had to take my gloves off after the first mile because they were so wet). I thought if I could pull my sleeves down then I could pull my arms in under my skin to warm me up. Fail. My shirt was pretty much glued to me because of the moisture. THEN, my poncho started to bunch up. I finally ripped off the poncho around mile 10. I discovered that I could pull my arms up under the front of my shirt and then I was warmer, but then I didn't really feel safe running because of the puddles and the sidewalks starting to freeze.

As much as I wanted to be done, and as much as I wanted to run, I couldn't. It was simply warmer to walk with my arms under my shirt. I have never been so miserable. I didn't have my phone on me because of the wet conditions or I might have (probably not), called for someone (anyone?) to come get me.

Official Time - 2:47:55
Overall Place - 199/392
Gender - 110/272
Division Place - 21/37
Garmin Time - 2:47:45 (seriously, the slowest half in FOREVER)
Garmin Distance - 13.42
Garmin Pace - 12:30
Mile 1 - 12:55
Mile 2 - 11:20
Mile 3 - 11:39
Mile 4 - 11:52
Mile 5 - 12:13
Mile 6 - 12:04
Mile 7 - 11:30
Mile 8 - 14:24
Mile 9 - 14:06
Mile 10 - 13:34
Mile 11 - 14:14
Mile 12 - 11:48
Mile 13 - 11:45
Mile 13ish - 10:29

Now... was this worth it??

Thoughts:

• I have run in temperatures 40 degrees colder than this. HOWEVER, this was the coldest and wettest I have ever ever ever been. For real, I thought I was going to keel over and DIE. There was really nothing I could have done different? (other than not run). Are there actual waterproof jackets or gloves?
• LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the medals and challenge plate and individual medals this year. It is for REAL giant.
• The shirt is really cool too (I should have a picture). There was a short sleeve for the Eve race (which I gave to A), the Day race is long sleeve charcoal grey tech shirt. Will definitely wear again. Love it.
• Libby puts on a fantastic event - although next year, I have requested no wind, no rain, and low to mid 40's for temperature. I've already put it in her head that she do something special for the "double double" legacy runners, as I plan on running again next year - for year 5.

New Years Double Eve 5K and Half Marathon (Race Recaps)

Wednesday, December 31

Allen, TX

Half Marathon #122

New Years Double Year 4

Weather - Cold and Windy

A was really excited that there was going to be a special challenge plate offered for double 5K runs at the New Years Double. She was pretty confident she would be able to do back to back runs.

In the past, one of the nice things about this race was that it didn't start super early. With me doing the   "double double" (5K + a half marathon each day), I would need to be there at 7. A has developed the same paranoia that I have about getting places late, and she decided she wanted to be there an hour early, so we had plans to be out the door by 5:30. The first problem was when we got to the donut shop down the street and I realized I forgot my purse so we had to go back to the hotel to get it.

We found a parking spot right across the street from the start line in the main lot. I dragged A through the bathroom line with about 30 minutes to the start. About 10 minutes to the start I used the port-o-potty right by the start line. A was planning on running with her fleece (it was cold and windy), but I made her pose for a picture without a jacket before heading to the start.

Having never done the separate 5K start, I didn't realize that we would be heading the opposite direction. We headed over just as the first corral was heading out. It was still somewhat dark and they didn't seem to know where they were going. Thankfully, we were a few corrals back, so when we started, we of course just followed the herd.

A made it through the first mile without walking, then at the turnaround, we took another break, and maybe two more before the finish. Overall, she paced fairly well (for once, a comfortable pace for me) and there was no whining. She even had to unzip her fleece and take off her hat because she got warm.

As is her nature, she sprinted when she saw the finish line, trying to leave me in the dust... which she did.

Official Time - 37:45
Garmin Time - 37:48
Garmin Distance - 3.13 miles
Garmin Pace - 12:05
Mile 1 - 11:43
Mile 2 - 12:10
Mile 3 - 12:54
Mile 3.13 - 7:55 (YEP)

After finishing, I had about an hour in before my race. We headed over to talk with Elaine, head volunteer, to find out what A would be doing during my run. I had a last minute "emergency" that left me without someone to watch A during my run, and a quick conversation with Libby allowed A to volunteer at the finish area. (Lucky for me, A is a great volunteer, a good sport, and according to everyone she worked with - SUPER helpful).

Yes, A is really wearing a ski jacket (and a fleece, and two pairs of pants - it was THAT cold). I didn't head over to the start until the first wave started. After dropping A off with Elaine, I ended up missing my wave start. No biggie.

Honestly, I have run this course a zillion times. I don't really remember much. I just kept thinking how unbelievably hard I seemed to be working to not be going all that fast. It was fairly windy, and still cold. I wore long sleeves, capris, a hat and gloves the entire race and never felt warm. Again, knowing how hot I run, this should tell you how cold it was (the temperature never went about 32 degrees).

The lake after the long straightaway behind the neighborhood

Somehow, I lost satellite on my watch somewhere around mile 3. I didn't realize it until I passed the mile marker and never heard my watch beep (I've been trying really hard to only look at the Garmin at each mile). Not sure what happened there, but I paused and restarted and it seemed to catch up.

I looked for A when I came through after the first loop (just minutes before the winner came through), but didn't see her. The first loop always seems to take a long time, the second one usually seems faster, at least on the first day.

I never really felt great, never really felt horrible. Felt like I worked decently hard during this race. Honestly, a pretty consistent race. Nothing under 10, nothing over 11.

Official Time - 2:19:50
Overall Place - 221/605
Gender Place - 111/407
Division Place - 24/67
Garmin Time - 2:19:52
Garmin Pace - 10:41
Mile 1 - 10:46
Mile 2 - 10:30
Mile 3 - 14:25 (this is where my watch stopped GPS'ing)
Mile 4 - 10:06
Mile 5 - 10:20
Mile 6 - 10:37
Mile 7 - 10:18
Mile 8 - 10:11
Mile 9 - 10:28
Mile 10 - 10:46
Mile 11 - 10:38
Mile 12 - 10:47
Mile 13 - 10:20
Mile 13ish - 10:42

I collected A at the finish line, had her snap my picture, and we headed out. Too cold to stick around. Day one, not all that bad.

• LOVED being totally matchy matchiy with A. Loved that INKnBURN offered this years holiday sweater in a kid size!
• This is a super organized event, but it seems that the 5K could be organized a bit better (more cones or even chalk or tape on the sidewalk?) so the leaders knew where to go?

Week in Review (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6)

Tuesday - New Years Double "Eve" marathon. An uneventful New Year's Eve, as for the third year in a row I did not make it until midnight.
Wednesday - New Years Double "Day" marathon. After lunch/showering, we had to drive back to Austin from Dallas. LONG, LONG, LONG drive.
Thursday - Lisa had to work, so I spent most of the day on the couch watching a Criminal Minds marathon and dozing off. That night, 1ish mile sloooww around the neighborhood with Lisa. I finally got to see A for the night, and we played a fun game of "Beat the Parents" (which, by the way, THE PARENTS WON):

Friday - Lisa had to work again, so I dropped her off at work. Spent part of the morning watching more crime tv before I finally decided to go for a quick run - on the Brushy Creek trail. Legs felt pretty good and I knocked out a fairly solid 3.3 miles.

Lisa had a date, so I took my oldest niece to go see the Hunger Games. We went to a 9:40 showing, and holy cow, did you know it didn't get out until after midnight?? I'm too old for this.
Saturday - Again, spent a lot of the day on the couch, resting. Mid afternoon, we headed towards downtown, where we ran by Town Lake. First 1.5ish was slow run/walk with Lisa and then I just had to get some real running in and ran other 2/3 of a mile. Wish I would have had more time for this one, it was a great trail. So pretty!

Last "kid free" night, so we went out to the karaoke bar. Surprisingly, I can spend about one evening with the ex without my head exploding. Apparently, I'm the only one that didn't know we were doing goofy face pictures:

Sunday - Repeat couch time. FAAAAAAST mile around the neighborhood before decided to go "hiking" near Georgetown on the San Gabriel trail with Lisa and my niece. They called it a "hike" - but really, 99% of it was paved and it was mostly flat. So maybe, I should just call it a long and windy walk?

Monday - Initially, I had planned on heading to the gym and trying to knock out 5-6 miles. Then,  my ex called to say he was dropping off A earlier than expected. I ended up just doing a mile around the neighborhood. Rest of the time in Austin spent packing and going to the airport. Flight delayed (what a shock), and by the time L picked us up it was already almost 7:00. So glad I chose to fly in on the "early" flight or I could have ended up not getting back until the middle of the night. Rounded out the #eatallthethings vacation with pizza. Delicious.

Weekly Miles Run - 61.83 (8.49 outside, 53.34 racing)
Weekly Cross Training - 6.3 miles hiking
Minutes of Strength Training - ZERO (I failed big time this week)

Weekly Gain - 2.0 pounds 

• I'm actually a little surprised it isn't worse. But... what that DOES mean is that I've gained about 6 pounds in the last month. I've historically never had this happen over the holidays, I typically maintain pretty well.
• Related: I don't care. I enjoyed a lot of foods I normally skip over due to "being bad" for me.
• Related: I must have had GALLONS of beer on vacation. GALLONS.
• Related: Back on track now that I am back from vacation and things are going to go back to as "normal" as they ever get.

 Everything Else

• Back at work, and still the only legal assistant. All of the attorneys are SUPER HAPPY to see me. What that means is I have a crap-ton of work to do. Apparently, time stood still while I was gone.
• Related: There was a woman interviewing this morning - CROSSING MY FINGERS.
• Related: Apparently, our firm is relocating to another building, about a mile south of here. What that means for me is a longer commute, actually having to drive INTO the city, instead of being able to park on the outskirts, and my "cheap" lot is waaaay too far for me to continue to park in. The move is rumored to happen by April 1. I am very unhappy about this, as this will end up costing me at least $10 more in parking, and of course, longer and more angry commute. Sigh.
• Still haven't heard on the interview I went on before Christmas. Still hoping that it was just really busy over the holidays and I will  hear something soon?
• Noooooooooothing else.

New Years Double "Day" Marathon (Race Recap)

Allen, TX
Wednesday, January 1
Marathon #24
Texas Marathon #4
Weather - Chilly at start, sunny, WINDY

Continued from Day 1...

After the race we stopped to get lunch at Chili's. I was pretty sore, and not as hungry as I usually am after a run, which was weird. We headed back over to our friend's house to shower. And then, we did NOTHING. We sat around and watched tv and eventually ordered pizza. Had a few beers, and before we knew it, it was already after 9:00. We went down the street to a New Years party but didn't stay long. I was in bed by 11:00, still unsure of what distance I would be running in the morning. The thought of another marathon seemed EXHAUSTING.

Race Day

We got up about 10 minutes earlier, to allow time for me to drop to the half if that is what I decided to do when I got there. We stopped again at Shipley's - donut, kolachi and coffee. Arrived at the race, and while sitting in the car trying to decide what I wanted to do, I realized I didn't have my wallet on me so I didn't have the cash to drop down. FULL MARATHON IT IS. Womp.

We got in line for the bathrooms and it was WINDY AND COLD. After cycling through the line, we headed back to the car and I decided to just wear my jacket. Like the day before, there was not much time for standing around and I started toward the back of my corral.

The plan all along was to start out slow, run as much as possible and not die.

Well, I succeeded in starting out slow. My legs felt tight, but not terrible, and unlike the day before, I did not have the numbness in my feet/legs. RIPPED the jacket off within the first 15 minutes. Somewhere towards the end of the first loop I saw Beth and Teal running (and looking adorable) and they both said a brief hello to me. Of course, I had to use the bathroom earlier than the day before, around mile 7. I saw Lisa (sister-in-law) and Alyssa (niece) on the course a bunch of times. I was still feeling good the first half, and they snapped this picture of me:

I think I was screaming and flailing my arms. Hard to say. I managed to run the first half without any unplanned walk breaks and had I stopped there, everything would have been fine. Heading into the second half was when I really started to feel all the wear and tear on my body. I overall was just sorta achy and tired. I made a promise with myself that I would not take any walk breaks until mile 18, and succeeded. BARELY.

Like the day before, the last 8 miles were terrible, only obviously, today it was worse. It was SUPER windy, so even when I felt like I had more energy I was working a lot harder. Man. I really hate the wind. The last loop I had to run in the grass on the side of the trail because the bottoms of my feet hurt so bad from all the concrete.

HOWEVER, I managed to get it done, and in a fairly respectable time, especially considering I had just run a full marathon the day before.

Official Time - 5:11:06
Official Pace - 11:52
3.6 Split - 40:54
6.55 Split - 1:12:45
10.15 Split - 1:56:11
13.1 Split - 2:27:57
16.7 Split - 3:09:34
19.7 Split - 3:44:03
23.3 Split - 4:33:36
Overall Place - 96/154
Gender Place - 39/66
Division Place - 10/12
Garmin Time - 5:11:03
Garmin Distance - 26.65 (Whee, ran better tangents!)
Garmin Pace - 11:40
Miles 1-5 - 11:22, 10:53, 10:27, 10:52, 10:47
Miles 6-10 - 11:43, 11:17, 12:27, 10:53, 10:33
Miles 11-15 - 11:00, 11:03, 11:03, 10:46, 10:53
Miles 16-20 - 11:26, 11:02, 11:13, 12:31, 11:24
Miles 21-26.2 - 12:22, 12:44, 13:50, 14:08, 13:50, 13:15, 11:11 (can you tell how much I struggled at the end??)

Full Challenge Plate - GINORMOUS

Thoughts:

• In all the other insane things I have done, I have never done "official" back-to-back marathons. It wasn't especially fun, especially on such a flat/paved course, but I do LIKE the course. HOWEVER, I don't think I ever need to do this again.
• Very well stocked aid stations, very friendly volunteers.
• LOVE the out and back course. So fun to continually see the same people over and over. I love it!!
• We got different shirts this year, a long sleeve and a short sleeve in different colors. Female and male cuts, which I loved. I have already run in the long sleeve shirt and it was great.
• LOVE LOVE LOVE the medals and the challenge plate. Libby outdid herself this year and as you can see above, the plate is bigger and better than ever. This race always works out well with my schedule of picking up A from her Dad after Christmas, so I will be back next year, likely to run the only combination I have NOT done - double half marathons.
• The INKnBURN "ugly" sweater was a huge hit, got TONS of comments on it.

New Years Double "Eve" Marathon (Race Recap)

Allen, TX
Tuesday, December 31
Marathon #23
Texas Marathon #3
Weather - Chilly at start, sunny

I waited a long time to register for my third trip to Allen, Texas for the New Years Double. Somehow, I ended up registering for the double marathons (again), even though last year's attempt was a giant fail.

We had stayed up a bit later than we wanted and I was FULL from all the Mexican food and beer. Nothing about my night was leading up to a successful race.

Race Day

My niece was going to be the slowpoke of the group. We were staying with a friend only about 15 minutes away, but got up earlier to allow for everyone to get ready. Alarms went off at 7, and we got out the door later than planned, closer to 7:40. Our first delay was the weather:

We were not expecting to have to sit in the car to let the windows defrost for over five minutes! Then, we had to stop at Shipley's and to get a kolachi and a donut and coffee. We arrived at Celebration Park with enough time to get Alyssa (my niece) pins for her bib and to use the port-o-potties. It was MUCH colder feeling than last year, although there was no wind and the sun was out. And of course, no rain.

I have run the marathon course twice, and the half course twice. It is a flat and a fairly "fast moving" course. I headed out with some basic goals.

A - 4:45 (this was a HUGE long shot, as I only recently have gotten my half back under 2:30)
B - Sub 5
C - Fastest marathon of the year (sub 5:16:47)

I started in the back of Corral F and settled into an "easy-ish" pace. By the time I passed through the first aid station at mile 2 I was already HOT. The problem was that I was wearing my long sleeve shirt UNDER my tank. The mile I was undressing and redressing went by pretty fast. I don't even know how I managed to do it without hurting myself.

I was NOT feeling super great. You would think that the big problem would be GI issues from my Mexican food, but it was a newer issue. No actual calf tightness, it was numbness in BOTH feet, and it went all the way to my knees. Lasted for at LEAST one loop. It was very uncomfortable.

Passed through loop 1 with a decent pace and headed out for loop 2. That loop was uneventful, and towards the end the numbness in my feet/legs finally went away. I crossed through the half way point around 2:21. On the way to meeting my "A" goal, but it was going to be tight. Coupled with having to stop and use the bathroom around mile 14. THEN, I finally felt better. The race sort of fell apart around mile 18. That was when the unplanned walk breaks started to happen. My feet were achy, my legs felt tight. I saw Lesley by the drop tent and gave her my long sleeve, ski hat and gloves. THANKFULLY. Sooooo hot.

The last loop went on forever and ever.

The course was thinning out, but there were still a decent number of people out. I was eyeballing my watch quite a bit the last few miles, but knew that I was not going to make my goal. However, I was guaranteed a sub 5, something I hadn't seen since I ran Grand Valley marathon in May, 2012.

The course has consistently measured (substantially) long for me.

Official Time - 4:52:12
Official Pace - 11:09
3.6 Split - 40:00
6.55 Split - 1:10:29
10.15 Split - 1:51:02
13.1 Split - 2:21:43
16.7 Split - 3:03:53
19.7 Split - 3:36:35
23.3 Split - 4:19:18
Overall Place - 105/179
Gender Place - 44/86
Division Place - 11/19
Garmin Time - 4:52:13
Garmin Distance - 26.69 miles
Garmin Pace - 10:57
Mile 1-5 - 10:26, 10:20, 10:31, 10:43, 10:10
Mile 6 - 10 - 10:38, 10:41, 10:05, 11:34, 10:29
Mile 11 - 15 - 10:51, 10:19, 10:44, 12:00 (bathroom), 10:28
Mile 16-20 - 11:09, 10:28, 10:50, 12:10, 10:40
Mile 21-26.2 - 11:45, 11:25, 10:46, 11:41, 11:57, 11:50, 10:58

I collected my medal, and met up withe Lesley to get my stuff back. Brief hello to Libby (race director), and then some finisher pictures.

As soon as I was finished, I was already thinking - HOW ON EARTH AM I GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN TOMORROW?? Initially, the thought was to drop down to the half marathon like I had done last year. 

Stayed tuned for day 2...