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.

And It FINALLY Ended (2013 Recap)

Much like last year, no need to do a giant flashy recap. I can sum things up with a few videos and a picture:

I managed to close out the year with less than TWO MILES more than I ran last year. Which, was the ultimate goal for me once I saw how close I was at the beginning of the month. Considering I took like a 6 week run hiatus, I'm really proud of that number. Not sure what is in the cards for 2014 yet...

 

And it was, of course, a great year with my kiddo. (Yes, I realize some of these pictures are not from 2013, but they were really adorable and I had them from "Throwback Thursdays" so I tossed them in anyway)

 

How was your year? Did you meet your goals? Anything fun lined up for the first part of the year?

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!

May Rewind

I managed a decent number of miles this month (87.79), mainly because I ran FIVE races (4 half marathons and a 10 miler). Subtracting out the race miles I ran about 24 miles. All month. Remember that "run hiatus" I was on? Still on it. I have not run on a treadmill in over three weeks. I was debating about never running on one again, but that just isn't feasible since today is J's last day at the house, which means I won't be able to sneak out for early morning runs since L will still be at work.

Current Aches/Pains

My right knee. It's not so much IT band as a weird pain under my knee cap. It's been bothering me since the trail half I did at the beginning of the month. It's "mostly" ok, but it cracks a lot and hurts a bit on hills. Even when I was hiking with A, the downhills were a bit problematic. The issue with THIS ache is that I have Big Horn in two short weeks (which is obviously hilly) and then the week after that, the "Slacker" half marathon, which is a mountain, net downhill course. So. We will see.

Not Eat All The Things

I mean, I guess I have been doing ok with this. I have not been to the bakery ALL MONTH. It was my birthday in May, so I indulged in a lot of cheesecake, but for the most part I behaved. I will now post an obnoxious selfie:

 

It certainly appears (to me) that I have lost some of the "pudge" I've been harboring. The scale isn't moving much and since I'm too lazy to measure, I'll have to judge by how I look (half) naked.

Running Goals

I guess I should actually be running to HAVE running goals? I ran 6.5ish miles on Memorial Day and it was... ok.

The other B is trying to sell me on speed work, which involves a 2 mile time trial. I almost dropped dead when she said hers was 17 minutes. That pace would kill me dead. That's faster than my 5k PR!! lol!!! I mean, I guess it's all relative.

How was your May?

Tinker Bell Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, January 20
Anaheim, CA
Half Marathon #75 (!!)
California Half #4
Weather - Chilly at start, mild, sunny

Friday

Because I'm weird about not missing work if I don't have to (I KNOW), I scheduled the latest flight out. Which meant I did NOT leave work early. I picked A up at gymnastics, stopped and picked up Subway, and met my dad at my house, who then drove us to the airport. The terminal was the craziest EVER. Like 6 flights leaving all at the same time, billions of people, and all the agents talking over each other. Flight uneventful, A passed out.

Our flight landed around 10:30. I think we pretty much went right to bed? Well, after watching some bizarre show called "Lost Girl" - has anyone seen it? WEIRD.

Saturday

The kids actually let us sleep until like 7:45. CRAZY. Lounged around, had delicious waffles and coffee for breakfast. We decided to expo early, maybe around 10. Only Heather's oldest wanted to go with us, everyone else stayed home. Parking wasn't too bad and expo wasn't too crowded. There was nothing I saw to buy (a first).

Headed back to the house after a stop at Trader Joe's (can you believe I had never been to one?) We watched Catfish (BEST SHOW ON TV) and then had Chili's for lunch. We had to head back to the expo/Downtown Disney area so that I could pick up my bib for Team AFSP.

While waiting for the kids to eat cupcakes, I spotted Dave!

Downtown Disney was a zoo, and after a quick trip to Build-A-Bear, we headed back to Heather's. She made delicious mac and cheese and BACON. Then we finally decided to tackle our race outfits. After you see it, I know you will be STUNNED to know that we didn't really do so great in the planning department.

So I bet you are wondering...

1. DID YOU REALLY WEAR LONG SLEEVES? Yes.
2. DID YOU REALLY WEAR LONG PANTS? Yes.
3. DID YOU REALLY WEAR A SKI HAT? Yes.
4. WHAT ARE YOU??? Um. I was Adorabeezle and Heather was Swizzle. We did the best we could. (We ran with our friend Krissy, who was Vanellope)

So lights were out... early-ish. I think we had plans to be in bed by 9 or something, but I think I was still awake at 10:30.

Sunday

Alarm goes off at 3:13. 3:13!! Disney fun started at 5:00, and we still had to drive to Anaheim, park the car and get to the start. I think we were out the door just after 3:30. We made a very important stop at Donut Star, where we picked up donut holes, coffee and diet coke. Yep. 

Parked the car... um, around 4:10? Then walked (FOREVER) to the start area. We used the bathroom. Well, we had to wait a bit longer than we needed to because a girl CUT IN FRONT OF US. After Heather confronted her, she said "but my line wasn't moving." WHAT.

We saw Skinny Runner and Sandy on our way to the start line. Pretty much walked into A corral right as the gun was going off.

Goal? Fun. All of the pictures. Possibly go for a Disney PR??? Heather and I joint running Disney PR was currently 3:20ish at Tink 2012. We had warned Krissy that we were SLOW and "FUN" (her marathon PR is something insane like 3:42 - which is practically what we ran WDW half in...)

Neither Heather nor I wore a watch, so I have no clue what we ran pace-wise or where the pictures were on the course. We stopped for every single one.

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE RACE PICTURE.

We had been leapfrogging with Dave - and we finally got a picture with him (and Nadia - who is ALSO a speedy fast runner):

Heather suggests we do yoga poses... and then only I do... 

It's a Small World LOOKED AMAZING

And then the magic stopped. I think we left the Magic Kingdom around mile 6. We had a quick run through Downtown Disney, where I had to stop and use the bathroom again. We ran past the red hats - who were the CUTEST AND MOST FUN EVER.

Then it was ALL running until we finished. Boo. Other than having to stop and stretch my calves somewhere around mile 7, we actually ran the whole course. Arguably, faster than I wanted to. The second half of the course runs through Anaheim and is under-whelming. Somewhere around mile 8 or 9 I was sure I was going to spontaneously combust or burst into flames. Why on earth I was wearing so much clothes, I will never understand.

The finish this year was WEIRD, we had a weird out and back through the parking lot. LAZY COURSE PLANNING, DISNEY. And then high fiving (Daisy?) at the finish with a finish line jump that I do not think was caught on camera. (Edit: See below)

I DIE.

We collected our food boxes and then headed back to the car.

My 100th race of 13.1 or longer (and 75th half marathon) - was a success.

Run in memory of Bob (1974-2012)

Bib #2102
Overall Place - 7225
Division Place - 1381
Official Time - 3:11:22 (Disney PR for Heather/Becka!)
5K Split - 44:17
10K Split - 1:52:20
15K Split - 2:28:35

Tink and Coast to Coast Medal

• FUN FUN FUN
• Costumes are the best, but man, I need to plan accordingly. I have never even worn that much clothes to race in Colorado. I was the sweatiest human ever.
• So glad Krissy ran with us and didn't give us a hard time for being slow. She was FUN!
• The course is... just ok. The first half, in the park, is GREAT. The part not in the park? BORING.
• Fueled on gummy bears and one Clif at mile 9ish. I think I'll continue to fuel with candy, although I haven't tried it in races where I actually have to RUN.
• Disney races are really organized, we didn't run out of water, powerade and there were potties at all the aid stations. 
• Did not have the over-crowding issue we had at WDW. Even though we were SLOW, the course is not as narrow and it was not as frustrating to navigate.
• Donuts as pre-race food is great. Again, I think we will continue to do this.
• Not wearing a watch is pretty great. I kinda wish I had used mapmyrun just to see my splits though.
• Our pictures are The Best.
• Final fundraising amount - $651.00. THANK YOU EVERYONE.

After the race, we stopped at Souplantation for breakfast. Wearing bibs and medals and everything. We are hilarious. We got back to Heather's, showered, and took the kids to the pool. Then we picked up Krissy and her mom and sister and met up with #vanawesome (minus Sandy) for Heather's first trip to Pho.

It was so nice to see all my friends out there. Food and company was GREAT! We stayed a few hours, then dropped Krissy and family back at the hotel. Dinner was ordering in pizza. I can't remember the rest of the night, but I think we went to bed early, like 9:00.

Monday

Up stupid early for 7:05 flight out of Orange County. The end.

Random lessons learned:

• I don't want to fly out late Friday night for these races. It is worth taking that whole day off and coming in late Thursday.
• I also do not like flying OUT early. That was stupid. 
• I have not slept in weeks. I'm exhausted and I should sleep more.
• I'm sure there are more lessons, like not wearing ALL OF THE CLOTHES, but I can't remember what they are.

I'm totally running this one again.