Week in Review (March 30 - April 5)

Tuesday (15,379 steps) - Work in the office. I was pretty busy and didn't even get out for a walk at lunch. Met Mo at Dino Ridge for a small out and back - and it was pretty awful... worst calf cramping in AGES. I hate that I feel like I make two steps forward and then a million steps back in how I feel and how hard running can be. Anyway, I love running with Mo, so that was the good part.

Then we headed over to Green Mountain Brewing for run club! I had hoped that running slow and easy would be better, but it sadly wasn't. It's like all my "training" for these days is gone after just a week or so of skipping runs. Grrr. Stuck around for just one beer.

Wednesday (14,195 steps) - Up early to go to the dentist! So our friend Jeramiah finally opened up his new dental practice, so after many years, I've switched to "shop local." He did a great job with his building, and he is also a wonderful dentist. Plus, it's fun to actually have a conversation with your dentist and know that he's actually absorbing what you're saying, since you're friends. Then, work from home. Quick row, took Pika for a quick walk, then headed up to Lafayette for...

I could not believe how fast it was! No line, no wait. I just had to sit there for 15 minutes after to make sure I didn't have any negative side effects. On my way home I stopped for a quick "celebratory" beer. I have to admit I feel really relieved to start the vaccination process.

Got in a 20 minute Peloton ride, finished up work, then Ariel and I took Pika up to Boulder for a hike.

Abs video and dinner.

Thursday (10,830 steps) - Work from home. Took Pika for a walk and... the owls are finally back!! Their nest is pretty high up in the trees, and I just see an adult head sticking out, so that maybe thinks there are babies in there! Ben had to head out for the road trip to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, so in the afternoon did a Peloton ride and got my abs video out of the way. Picked up Ariel from practice, stopped by for a "treat" to add to our dinner. 

We stayed up kinda late and watched a scary movie since Ben hates them so we never watch them anymore.

Friday (14,968 steps) - Work from home! Since Joyce is on vacation, I didn't have to go into the office, so that was nice. Ariel spent her last day of spring break at the park with a friend. Took Pika for a walk at lunch - they are filling the canal for the summer, which always makes me happy. 

Did a Peloton ride, strength video and abs video, THEN, Ariel and I went back up to Boulder for another hike with Pika.

We picked up Tokyo Joe's for dinner on the way home - which is one of our favorites when it is just the two of us. We watched another kinda scary, but mostly just weird movie.

Saturday (23,519 steps) - Drove to Brighton for Runs With Scissors. The race started at 7, but we were not racing, just hanging out and possibly running a few laps, so we didn't plan on getting there until closer to 8:30. Ben called right as we were leaving the house, he was getting ready to pick up the camper (yes, that is why he drove all the way to Wisconsin), and I just needed to send the rest of the payment. Well, long story short, I have never had problems with Venmo. I had already sent 50% of the money as a deposit and there were zero problems. I tried to send the balance and kept getting an error message that my transaction was declined and to try later. Tried lesser amounts, nada. The largest amount I could get to go through was about 10% of what we needed to send, so after about an hour, I finally had to Zelle Ben the money, he was also only able to Venmo a very small amount, but the seller had to set up Zelle so we could get her the balance. It was REALLY a giant hassle, still not sure what happened with Venmo - anyone ever have similar problems??

Once we saw Mo, we got her keys so we could get Colfax out of the car. Colfax was pretty upset not seeing Maureen, so we decided to run a loop to maybe release some of his energy. Pika and Colfax were both in the mood to RUN - they clocked low 9 pace on this one. Once Colfax saw Mo he felt a bit better and we did a few loops with Maureen and Jandy.

It started to get pretty warm out, so I had Pika and Colfa sit out for the rest of the running after doing three loops. I opted to do two more loops with the girls (last one Lisa joined us also), and Ariel and Colfax walked a loop with Ang.

We were having a fun time, but we had to head out so that I wouldn't miss my flight. We ran into a tiny snafu when we couldn't find Mo's keys, but luckily we found in them in the grass after looking for about ten minutes.

Colfax was going to hang out at our house until Mo finished her race and he seemed way more relaxed in that environment. Tyler picked me up at 12:45 to head to the airport for my first flight since January 2020. Security was quick, MOST people were wearing masks. I had a quick beer while watching Schitt's Creek. Boarding was quick. The one hour flight to Omaha was uneventful and totally worth the $27 I paid for it. After landing I ordered a Lyft into downtown. Checked in at our hotel and then walked over to the brewery. (Yes, we planned a hotel to be only a few blocks from where we would be staying).

The brewery was super cute and thankfully, had DELICIOUS beer. Since they didn't serve food, I ordered a pizza from the place down the block, figuring Ben would need food later as well.

We finally decided we were spending enough money, so we grabbed a growler to go and walked back to the hotel. Watched a movie.

Sunday (12,978 steps) - Up early to go for a run around town before starting the drive home. I had mapped out a run that would take us through both Nebraska and Iowa - because who doesn't like hitting up two states in one run? The route was fine, although I felt awful. Not sure if it was because I was mildly hungover, or because I was still surprisingly sore from the strength video I did on Friday. Anyway, we had a BLAST running around town. Omaha was not nearly as boring as we thought, and the story of Bob the bridge and Omar the troll were amusing enough to entertain us for an hour of running.

We had hoped to pick up coffee on our run back to the hotel, but we forgot it was Easter and everything on the way was closed. The adorable cups at the hotel almost made it ok, though, even though the coffee wasn't very good.

Quick showers, packing, and we were out the door for the LONG drive back to Denver. We really only stopped to get gas, use the bathroom, and for food in North Platte. We got home around 6:30 - Shelly, our new camper, is very happy to be home! We can't wait to take her for adventures!

Monday (17,910 steps) - Work from home. Pika walk at lunch, and then after I picked Ariel up from practice, Ben and I took Pika up to Boulder for a run.

It was a beautiful night and I actually was running fairly well. We stopped at Rails End on the way home to celebrate finally being home from the whirlwind of a road trip.

Apparently I was exhausted, because I fell asleep on the couch during our after dinner movie. It's been a long few days!

Stats:

• 109,779 steps
• 17.4 miles run (Did add in 6+ miles of hiking, that counts, right?)
• 55 minutes Peloton
• 5 minutes rowing
• 45 minutes cross training

Week in Review (April 29 - May 5)

Tuesday - Dun dun dun... first time attempting "speed work" in a hundred years. I pulled up paces based on a recent half marathon time of 2:18 and it gave me times of 9:10 for a 1200 and 9:05 for 800's. Now, at some point in my running life, I was able to run such paces. And I was able to do so for an entire half marathon. I won't lie, these paces terrify me now. I did my mile warm up, and felt pretty good. That is, until I actually started the speed work. On schedule - 2 x 1200 @ 9:10, 4 x 800 @ 9:05. What I managed to pull out was NOTHING close to that: 1 mile @ 10:59, .60 @ 9:20, .25 @ 9:52, .25 @ 9:32, .25@ 9:16, .35 @ 9:03, .30 @ 9:00, .35 @ 9:37, .25 @ 7:52, .50 @ 9:12, 1 mile @ 11:45 (with first 90 seconds walking). So basically, I was able to do one 800 sort of close to pace, that's it. I'm trying not to beat myself up over it, I haven't done speed work in a LONG time, and the whole point of this program is to improve my running so I can have a great race in NYC.
Wednesday - Walked a bit on the treadmill during lunch and tried the new abs video. I am amazed how taking just a little time off from doing core work makes it SO HARD again. After work, went to BodyPump. I'm killing the cross training part of my training!
Thursday - DUN DUN DUN (again). First TEMPO run in ages. I was actually dreading this more than the repeats, and was sort of surprised that while it was HARD, it was not AS BAD as I thought/expected. Goal - 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ 10:05, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ 10:05, 1 mile easy. Actual - 1 mile @ 10:53, 10:07, 9:57, 1 mile @ 11:17, 10:06, 9:53, 1 mile @ 10:55. So... pretty decent!
Friday - Nada. Ate pizza. Drank some beer.
Saturday - Runs With Scissors half marathon. This was dismal. I was tired from the beginning. Maybe I need two rest days after a tempo run for a decent race? I forgot to look what the goal pace was, but I think it was around 10:55? I was closer to 11:35. Wah. A and I spent the remainder of the day at another BBQ.

Sunday - Lower body sculpting video.
Monday - Upper body superset with cardio. This one is ok, although when I selected it, I stopped reading at superset and didn't realize there were minute long cardio intervals. At least there were no jump squats? Then I did the abs video again. A joined me for a bit, which was mildly hilarious.

Weekly Miles Run - 25.21 (12.1 treadmill, 13.11 racing)
Weekly Cross Training - A bit of walking on the treadmill, nothing exciting
Minutes of Strength - 161

Weekly Gain - 0.8 pounds

• And with that weigh-in I am officially at the highest weight I have been in a year.
• Clearly, I am not putting in the effort, it just seems crazy how easy it comes back, and how hard it seems to lose it?
• The other day I finally started tracking again, which is the Worst, but it worked for me the first time around, so I guess I have to do it if I truly care.

Everything Else 

• My friend that is going to NYC with me so I can bring A and I have decided to add a day to our trip. We are going all the way out there, we might as well see everything we can. We will be going out the Wednesday before and coming back the Monday after the marathon. Hotels are booked, I'm just eyeballing airfare for now.
• Related: I AM THE MOST EXCITED EVER FOR NYC.
• Related: A week into the training program and I think it will be a good fit. I think I have a good schedule going, and I'm excited to see where it will take me. 
• Related: Hearing about my friend Elizabeth PR'ing the shit out of a half marathon this weekend makes me sort of want to work towards getting some of my "speed" back. But then I remember how hard running fast is, so nevermind. 
• Work is still really busy and I'm still doing 95% of the support work. WTF. At this point, I don't even bother complaining because I'm at least busy. But really, WHAT DOES SHE DO ALL DAY???
• Nothing else. Nothing nothing nothing.

Runs With Scissors Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, May 3
Brighton, CO
Half Marathon #105
Colorado Half #41
Weather - Sunny and warm

I somehow found the Runs With Scissors half marathon when I was looking for an ultra marathon. There wasn't too much information on the race, but obviously, we had to run it. A very affordable opening registration fee of $40, but by the time I signed up it was $50 (still very reasonable).

The race director, William Morton, had a basic, yet informative website set up, and sent out pre-race emails that were humorous and informative. As per the norm, I had not bothered to read much about the race itself, so when L told me the course was 10 1.31 mile loops I was not exactly surprised.

The week of the race we had been having a cold front, with 4-5 very windy and chilly days (highs in the low 50's). Of course, by the time race day rolled around, it was warmer than that when we left the house just before 6:00. The race started near the Adams County Fairgrounds, and we made excellent time getting there. We walked over to the pavilion to get our bibs and found out we had already won door prizes. The RD had also made name tags for our backs so we could "cheer people on" -- best race ever!! We moved our car closer to the starting line, cycled through the bathroom line twice, and spent the time leading up to the start chatting with Ross about our upcoming races.

Pre-race picture

Race started on time, at 7:00. It was already sunny, and hot. My legs were tired from the beginning on what was promised to be a "flat" course for Colorado. It WAS mostly flat, although arguably, it felt uphill to me at the start of every loop. As soon as we crossed the entrance to the parking lot, we were on some packed dirt "trail" -

For about 3/4 of a mile, and got to run by some pretty trees:

And then about a half mile on pavement...

 With NOT the worst view I have ever seen on a loop course:

Before heading back out for about .20 on dirt to get back to the aid station. I had brought my own little handheld, but I left it under the pavilion after the first loop because I was already tired of carrying it. They did have cups of water and two flavors of Gatorade (lemon-lime and orange) available.

Back to the race. I have not had a good race in a while, and with this being a loop course, I had a goal of running the entire loop, every time, and just walking the aid station. WHICH, I did. Of course, I spent a LONG time at the aid station every time, and I also walked longer than I usually do.

So... how did this go? Not well. As I said, the course "felt" uphill and I was tired from the beginning. I had quite a bit of the weird numbness in my feet (AGAIN) and my left food ached a bit in the later loops across the top of my foot. I'M FALLING APART. My calves felt a bit tight, but not to the point where it should have been an issue. Maybe I was just tired from finally putting speed work back into my training? I really should take two days off before races. Anyway...

L passed me the first time (yes, she passed me twice) when I was finishing up my fourth loop. I wasn't surprised. She passed me the second time when I was finishing up my 8th loop. I can't remember if she took this picture of me hydrating at the end of the 8th or 9th loop...

She decided to run with me for my final loop, and man, I was TIRED. It was nice to have the company though.

DEAD at the end - can you tell? (LOL)

Official Time - 2:32:02 (womp)
Garmin Time - 2:31:59
Garmin Distance - 13.11
Garmin Pace - 11:36
Mile 1 - 10:30
Mile 2 - 11:57
Mile 3 - 12:06
Mile 4 - 11:07
Mile 5 - 10:49
Mile 6 - 11:42
Mile 7 - 12:06
Mile 8 - 13:00 (bathroom)
Mile 9 - 10:32
Mile 10 - 12:03
Mile 11 - 11:49
Mile 12 - 12:04
Mile 13 - 11:00
Mile 13.1 - 11:27

Since there were only 9 runners in the half, I was third overall, and 2nd female, over 30 minutes slower than L. L got a coffee mug for winning and I got a blanket. I LOVE PRIZES!!!

We of course had to pose with the giant scissors when it was all over:

We stuck around to see how Ross did, and he finished only a few minutes after us. There was tons of food at the finish, candy, fruit, and PIES. An unbelievable spread for a small race! Literally, tables of food.

In addition to the coolest medal ever, we got a pint glass and a beanie for finishing:

Thoughts:

• I really don't mind loop courses, but keep in mind, that's what this is. 
• The course measured dead on, which I always appreciate.
• There were plenty of bathrooms on the course.
• The main aid station was very well stocked, friendly and helpful volunteers.
• Even though there were less than 30 participants across the distances (half marathon, marathon and 50k), the course was not crowded and yet, there were always people in my line of sight.
• The race director was AWESOME. I really enjoyed talking with both him and his wife. It was obvious that he was a runner, as he really thought of everything.
• Unique swag - the medal ranks in my top 5 favorites.
• I would recommend this race for sure.