Monday, October 29, 2018

Quivering Quads II - 2018

This was my third QQII and the second on this course. I love the course! It's very picturesque and there aren't too many hills! It is somewhat challenging though because you run right by the lake and you can fall in if you trip on a rock or branch.

I finished 26 minutes faster than the last time I did this race (2016).

Time: 1:25:18 (10:31/mile). I'm pretty happy with my pace for this trail run!

I am running the Skippo this weekend, but looks like rain may be in the forecast. I hope the trails don't get too muddy!

Sunday, October 21, 2018

The Great Go! Halloween Half Marathon - 2018

Today's half marathon was number 36!! This is my fourth time running the Halloween Half, and this is usually a faster race for me. I know the course well and I've been able to PR on this course. Home court advantage! Anyways, weather was good, although a bit on the chilly side. I layered up and ran in a short sleeve for the majority of the race.

I decided I wasn't going to push it... especially since for the last month I hadn't really got a lot of miles in. I checked my pace after each mile and I was pleasantly surprised with myself. I was hanging around the 8:50s to 9:00 minute miles. Around mile 10, my knee started to hurt and then I finally checked my time at mile 12 and was happy to see that I was going to make it to the finish line under 2 hours. I ended up PR'ing the course with a sub-2 hour time (01:56:28 - 8:56 pace).


Sunday, September 23, 2018

SeaWheeze 2018

Another year, another SeaWheeze!!

We arrived on Wednesday and the weather was lovely! Blue skies, nice temps. Rain had been in the forecast all week for basically our entire trip. So we took advantage of the blue sky and biked around Stanley Park.


The rain was expected midday Thursday so we made our way up to Grouse Mountain early in the morning to do the Grouse Grind. Very smart to do before a half marathon. We did it last year in the rain, and I really wanted to do it again sans rain. It's a hard climb!! We also overdressed because we thought we'd get rained on eventually. Also, I saw Chip Wilson at the trailhead. I wanted to get my photo with him, but you could tell by the conversation he was having with two other gentlemen that he didn't want to be bugged. He was "listening to his book audio" on the way up.


We got back to Vancouver City and then the rain started... I guess you can say that we got the real Pacific Northwest experience. We've been blessed with nice weather pretty much every time that we are here. After a little shopping, we made our way to packet pick-up and that was super easy.

I decided to volunteer this year, and I did that on Thursday evening. I mostly did it to gain a new SeaWheeze experience. Volunteers also receive a pin and a shirt. I took photos for 4 hours. I think people were mislead and believed me to be a "professional photographer," but I was basically thrown the camera and was told to take photos. It would have been nice to know the camera a bit better. Lighting also got difficult in the evening, so then again I had to figure out the best setting. I also received a lot of questions that I couldn't fully answer and I had one lady vent her frustration to me about not receiving the race shorts. I enjoyed volunteering, but I felt like I didn't have all the information to a) take photos and b) answer questions.

Now the SeaWheeze showcase store... and this one irks me. I LOVE the SeaWheeze and I LOVE the clothes. But this is the only part of SeaWheeze that makes me not want to do it anymore. I liked the fact that people had to register for a time to entire the store. I thought that was a fair process, even though it was a nightmare to even get on the site to register. I also liked the fact that I didn't have to wake up super early to get in a line, especially since it was raining. I woke up naturally around 4:30 am (since I'm still stuck on central time) and I started to read posts that people were already lining up.


They said NO LINES this year... if you arrive early you will be kindly told to leave. I knew that people were already in the "6:30 am line" that had later time slots, so I made my way to the convention center. I got in line and then I felt guilty that people with the 6:30 am slot were behind me, so I jumped out of line. I did that twice. They need to have better line management... I eventually got to pass people with later time slots to get in the store, but if you didn't hear what they were yelling, you were shit out of luck. I HATE this FOMO mentality. The store was crazy. So many people. It was annoying for me because I wear two different sizes, and both sizes were on opposite ends and I had to cut through a lineup of people that were waiting for reflective gear. That being said, I do love what I picked up in the store. I got exactly what I had my eye on, plus a jacket that I probably don't need. When I got out of the store, I seriously felt like a zombie. I didn't participate in the yoga this year... I wanted to do the noon session, but I was just too tired.


The run... I'm dealing with an injury (lower back and hammy). It basically started after the Iceland half in June and has been lingering ever since. Plus all the walking, biking, and hiking made my body even more sore and tired. There was a light drizzle for the first mile or so, and then it turned into a hard rain. Even though I was bummed that it was raining, it was nice to be in Vancouver during a different time of the year. I loved the fall foliage.


I had such a good run last year, so I was hopeful this year would be good too, but it just sort of sucked. My legs felt tired, the seawall was hard... I never felt 100% at any point. Around mile 10 I started to feel queasy and then I got scared that I was going to be sick the rest of the day. But the rain was clearing, and I decided to walk a little to let my heart rate go down. Walking actually made me feel better, and then I did a walk/run to the finish line. The course is super crowded from start to finish. I think all of the weaving makes it more tiring as well. I didn't PR the course, but I did get my second best finish.


I always love SeaWheeze weekend. It still is my favorite running event, I think I just need to stop caring about the showcase store so I can fully enjoy it.

Race recaps from previous SeaWheezes:
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Need for Speed 2018

I was doing well with speed work until we went to Iceland. After Iceland, I didn't go to one single session. Therefore, I wasn't expecting much of myself at this race. I told myself that I was going to run up the God awful hill, but otherwise I wasn't going to push it. We did have very nice weather for the event, so that was a bonus.


There is this nice long downhill during the 1st mile. I was pretty conservative because I didn't want to tire myself out to get back up the damn hill. First mile was a 7:51. I knew I could have ran that faster, but again, I wanted to get up the hill. Second mile was an 8:02. Okay, not bad. Definitely not negative splits. The 3rd mile is always the toughest. I kept wanting to walk and I'd start to talk myself into it, but I just pushed and ran the entire sucker. Third mile was an 8:25, which I think it rather impressive on tired legs and a long climb. I finished the 5k with a time of 25:31, which was a minute faster than last year's race!!!


I'm pretty sure I have drool coming out of my mouth here... Another awesome finish photo!

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Midnight Sun Half Marathon - Iceland

I'm writing about this one a few days late... I think I'm finally over my jet lag!

My husband and I have been wanting to visit Iceland for a very long time. We finally decided that 2018 was the year and of course I had to see if there were any interesting half marathons that we could do. I found the Midnight Sun Half Marathon and thought it sounded unique. Plus, I've never done an evening half marathon. We flew into Iceland a week before the race and toured waterfalls, glaciers, ice caves, and fjords along the ring road.


I didn't want to do this race... it was raining and cold, plus I was hungry and tired. Never a good mix. I kept trying to talk Josh into just doing the 10k race, but he kept pushing us to do the half. The race starts at 9 pm and I honestly just wanted to be in bed. But I knew that I'd regret it if I didn't do it.


I also didn't know what to expect about the race course. I read from the race website that it was challenging and demanding. Hmmmm, yah, that scared me too. Well, after the first mile I realized that I overdressed. We were running on road and then we moved to a biking/walking path. It was lovely!! We were running alongside small waterfalls and the lupine.


The course had rolling hills, and there were some pretty steep climbs between miles 3 and 7. Also, at one point it got pretty windy and I was so cold. But we also had an amazing downhill between miles 7 and 8. Then it was relatively tame, but I was so so hungry and so so tired. At one point, I was running with my eyes shut.


I pretty much hit the wall around mile 11. My right hip flexor was bugging me and I also started to feel nauseous. I finished with a time of 2:10:39. I'll take it. I walked quite a bit those last two miles. As I was coming towards the finish line, I heard Bonnie Tyler singing Total Eclipse of the Heart. There was a music festival going on close to the finish line and I thought that was pretty fun. I wish I could have enjoyed the finish area better, but I wasn't feeling so hot. I'm not sure if I just allowed myself to get too hungry or if I was dehydrated, but I was dry heaving. They give you free entry to the geothermal pool close to the finish line, and I'm bummed that we didn't get to go. Anyways, this is the most beautiful course that I've ever run. I also love some rolling hills! Just wish that I put more food in my belly before the race started!!

Monday, June 4, 2018

Summer Running

Make Tracks Through the Zoo: I signed up for this race because we got to run through the zoo! Right before the race started, the weather looked pretty threatening. Thunder and lightning. The rain cleared before the start, but then it was super humid. And the race had some mega hills. I enjoyed running through the zoo; the giraffes were very curious! I finished the 5k with a time of 26:58, a pace of 8:41. I also placed 14/283 in my division F 35-39!

KT82: This was my third time running the KT82 relay and it's a full day! It starts with a 4:35 am pick up and ends with a 10:30 pm drop off. The race took about 13.5 hours to complete. I had three legs and ran 13.35 miles total.

Leg 1 - I started out way too fast. My first mile was a 7:52. 3.2 miles total with an 8:11 pace.


Leg 2 - It had just started to rain and it actually felt cold. The first three miles were on the Katy and then we entered single track in Klondike Park. I would have liked the single track more if it wasn't muddy. I HATE MUD. 
1-8:20. 
2-8:21. 
3-8:41. 
4-14.3. HAHAHAH. I was very cautious on that single track. 

The last 0.93 was pretty much a steep downhill. IT HURT. 4.93 miles total with a 10:05 pace. 

Leg 3 - The last leg. I was happy that it was the last leg, but my legs were dead and I was tired. I played mental games and just tried to get through each mile. I ran through the first three miles and then I took a 10 second walking break when I hit the third, fourth, and fifth miles. I thought this leg was six miles and I told myself I'd run/walk that last mile. I knew at the end of my leg we'd exit the Katy and talk a steep uphill to the Lost Creek Winery. To my surprise (and happiness), this leg was actually only 5.2 miles!! I was so grateful when I saw people exiting the Katy at that fifth mile. 5.22 miles with a 9:22 pace. 

The 82 Problems but the KT Ain't One team finished with a time of 13:28:11. Another fun year with an awesome team!


Next Race: Next stop... Iceland!!

Saturday, March 17, 2018

St. Patrick's Day Parade Run 2018

I was hoping to have a PR (actually, I was hoping to come in under 40 minutes)... but I was two seconds short off my PR. I was too conservative on the Market Street hill. I also overdressed and was super warm for the majority of the race.


Mile 1: 7:49
Mile 2: 8:09
Mile 3: 8:45
Mile 4: 8:15
Mile 5: 8:11

I finished with a time of 41:17.

Overall: 579/4538
Female: 133/2442
F 35-39: 20/402

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Little Rock Half Marathon

I didn't know much about this race, only that the race medals are pretty sweet (and huge). Plus Little Rock is only a 5 hour drive from St. Louis.

Expo: I was a bit frustrated at the expo because I had absolutely no idea where to go. I would have appreciated some wayfinding inside the Statehouse Convention Center. I wandered around for a few minutes before I realized you had to go downstairs. Once I actually found the correct area, it was super easy to get bib and shirt.

Race Shirt: I thought the race shirt was okay... Mine had a printing error, and I wasn't a huge fan of the fit. And what's with women shirts always having a v-neck. I'm over it.

Race: I wasn't too happy about the corral starting area. My corral was covered by a building. Before I entered the corral, it was such a pretty sunrise... but then I couldn't see it. I also couldn't see the start line, so it was just kind of blah. I thought they would do a phased start. I was in corral C, so I thought I had time to get my music set. NOPE. I actually stepped to the side of the start line to get my stuff in line.

Race start.
It's always both scary and exciting to not know the course. I enjoyed running around downtown Little Rock and over the Arkansas River to North Little Rock, but miles 5 through 9 were just kind of, um, ugly. It was an industrial area, and I seriously was like... pretend that this is Monterey Bay and you're running alongside the ocean. It was also threatening rain, and I normally like rain, but the weather folks had it ALL wrong. I checked the weather daily for a good week leading up to the race. No rain. Friday, the local news meteorologist said that rain will move in during the late afternoon. Then Saturday night, they said there was a chance for light rain during the race. GRRR. I typically like running in the rain, but I have to be prepared. Heavy rain started falling around mile 9, and it lasted pretty much until the end of the race. I didn't have a hat, my shorts were chaffing my thighs, I feared for my phone. They had all this yummy food (and beer) along the course, like grilled pineapple (yum!), but I didn't want to mess with it since it was raining.

I thought the lipstick station right before the finish line was fun! I was a bit confused at first... were they going to put lipstick on us for a sweet finish line photo? Nope, they were handing out lipstick or gloss!


I almost had a PR! I finished in 1:55:57. I'm not going to say it was an easy run, but it wasn't hard. I didn't intend to PR since this was my first half marathon this year.

Mile 1: 8:36
Mile 2: 8:24
Mile 3: 8:30
Mile 4: 8:39
Mile 5: 8:30
Mile 6: 8:35
Mile 7: 8:47
Mile 8: 8:43
Mile 9: 8:59
Mile 10: 8:57
Mile 11: 9:07
Mile 12: 9:00
Mile 13: 9:05

Finish Area: This was super impressive. I liked that it was inside the Convention Center and it was super organized. I was so thirsty, and they had so many options!! I got water, OJ, 2 different chocolate milks, Diet Coke, and a Michelob Ultra. They also had pasta which looked delicious, but I was too cold and wet so I didn't want to eat. I loved that they had seating in the finish area.


What I loved most about this race is that I did NOT have those pre-race jitters. I'm hoping for a PR at my next half marathon (whenever that will be, hopefully before Iceland).

Mardi Gras Run for your Beads 5k

This race took place on February 3. I've been really lazy at blogging. I know nobody reads this blog besides myself, but I really like being able to look back at how I felt during a certain race. So I'm going to keep on.

This race in particular was really big for me. It was the first time that I placed!!! I ended up getting second in my age group (2/77), and I didn't even PR. If I did PR, I would have gotten first place.

I know the course well... I had been outside running in cold temps (like single digits). It wasn't THAT cold for this race, but I felt well prepared.

Monday, January 8, 2018

2018

I just realized that I never blogged about the Webster-Kirkwood Turkey Day Run (November 23, 2017). I decided again to run the 3 mile race and the 6 mile race. I was a little under the weather for the race, but it's always one of my favorites. The 3 mile starts at 7:30 am, and then the 6 mile race starts at 8:10 am. It is a bit challenging because you have basically enough time to cool down before the 6 mile race starts. Anyways, I didn't push it, but still felt good out there.

3 mile race:
25:51
8:34 min/mile
Female 35-39: 24/233

6 mile race:
53:03
8:51 min/mile
Female 35-39: 33/82

Which brings me to 2018... I'm not signed up for any races, but I have a few planned:

ICELAND, the midnight sun half marathon
SeaWheeze??? (will I have FOMO??)
Moab??? (this one is on my bucket list)