Pound the Pavement 10k

My friend Ann asked me to run this race with her... I thought it was last weekend, so I signed up without looking at the date. When I received the race confirmation, I realized that it was actually on August 24... the weekend I was out in Denver for my friend's bridal shower and bachelorette. Oops.

Partying in Denver!

Since I couldn't make it, my husband ran it for me!

I asked him how 'I' did, and he responded, "Well, you weren't in last place. But I'm afraid you didn't have a great day." hehe

He didn't enjoy the race, said it was hot and you had to run the 5k course twice. booooring.

Third to last:

:)

Anyways, happy that I got Josh out there to run. 

Happy to finish!

The SeaWheeze lululemon Half Marathon 2013

Well folks... this is my FAVORITE race. Ever.

2012 was good. I wondered how lulu would top it, but they did. I told myself I wasn't going to Vancouver in 2014 (because of the cost), but now I feel like I have to. I'll let you know if I do sign up in January.

I love Vancouver. It's such a fresh city. Clean, active, beautiful.

SeaWheeze Poster.

My husband and I flew into Vancouver on the Wednesday before the race. I enjoyed several Caesars (which is Canada's fancy Bloody Mary)...

mmmm

We spent a lot of time walking the sea wall...

Beautiful Vancouver Day.

Walked the Lions Gate Bridge. Basically spent a lot of time walking!!

I knew that packet pick-up would be packed because of the showcase store. We arrived at the Vancouver Convention Center around 7.30 am and the line was already long. This was so not like last year, where we arrived at 9 am and there was no line... The only line we saw that day was the checkout. Anyways, once the doors opened at 8 am, we were in there by 8.30. I found everything that I wanted in the store, and checkout moved relatively fast. 

My loot!

I woke up feeling pretty refreshed race morning. We stayed at the Westin Bayshore, so it was only a 10 minute walk to the race start. The weather was lovely!!! Overcast, 60s. 

Race Start.

I knew that this isn't a race where you can PR. It's a beautiful, flat course, but it's congested and you are running the majority of the time on bike paths and the sea wall. Passing is difficult. Since I had tired legs, I just went a comfortable pace and enjoyed myself. 

I took a picture here last time. Blue skies last year, much appreciated cloudy skies this year.

Saje had the best signs on the course!! I also loved their gift at the finish line!!! My favorite sign said this: 

"You have a running chance of living a longer life."

That sign made me smile.

I always love running around the sea wall... such a beautiful sight. We had cool winds as well, and that was nice.

The sea wall.

I got tired around mile 12. This makes me nervous for the October Marathon. I should be a lot further in my training. I didn't even push myself. I finished at 2:15:02. This is about 13 minutes faster than last year. I'm happy with myself, big improvement from last year. I had to laugh to myself when a lady told me that she thought that the course was hilly. Where does she live??? Must be a pancake or something. 

With my awesome medal.

I loved the race medal. So cool that it is made from local birch trees. Great to see something different, meaningful, and local. You can also open the "locket" and insert a picture. I didn't know that there was a photo booth near the finish line... I was a bit bummed that I missed out, but it worked out in the end. Josh and I were able to take a picture at the Sunset Festival and we only had to wait 5 minutes or so. I heard the line was an hour and a half at the finish line. I also got to get cleaned up for the picture, which was nice. 

My medal.

I don't know why people are complaining about the race medal. It's different and it's awesome. Such a great memory.

The Sunset Festival was also amazing. I joined in on the group yoga and it was such a great experience. I loved the yoga instructor. He had a great personality and makes me actually want to do yoga on a regular basis. 

There I am!!

If you are able to do the SeaWheeze... do it. They closed the Sunset Festival with a concert. I got to see Passenger and he is such a great entertainer. Funny dude. Xavier Rudd took that stage last. He is a bit hippy, but highly talented. 

Sunset Festy.

Thank you lululemon for an amazing weekend!

** You can read my 2012 post on the SeaWhere here. 

Not sure why the elevation is out of whack. 

My favorite song from the weekend:

Seventh Inning Stretch

Last night I had the opportunity to do yoga at Busch Stadium!! I typically don't do yoga, but last night was a magical experience. I definitely want to get more in to yoga, and can't wait to go to Vancouver next week to do more group yoga.

Ann and I at Busch Stadium

What a fun night!!

Loved stretching on the grass!

14 Miler

Today I joined the Big River Running training team at the Katy Trail. The schedule that they sent out said the advanced marathoners would be running 12-14 miles today. I have been following the advanced marathon training schedule not because I'm advanced... but because my marathon falls in early October, whereas most of the people training for a marathon are running the late October marathon here in St. Louis.

The pacer that I ran with two weeks ago couldn't make it today, so I ran with another girl that was supposed to be at a 9-10 minute pace (I run 9:30 to 10 minutes pace for my long runs). She wasn't in the mood to run 14 miles (only was going to do 12), so I knew I'd be on my own for a bit. However, when we started running we were at a 9:17 pace. I knew I wasn't going to be able to last 14 miles at that pace, so I slowed down. I ended up running 14 miles today, 13 which were by myself. Next time my pacer is gone, I'm going to get in the 10-10:30 pace group... Lesson learned.

The first half of my run went really well. I felt strong and the weather was BEAUTIFUL. Plus, I was running on the Katy Trail and this was my first time on that trail. I wish I took some photos.

Like most of my runs lately, I crapped out. This time around mile 9. For the last 5 miles, I ran what I could, walked a lot, and kept thinking about food. I must not be getting enough energy because hunger seems to be slowing me down. I hate energy gels, hate the fruit chews. I just can't find anything that doesn't make me want to puke. I did have nuun in my water, and I did like that.

I am not happy with this run. Why did I sign up for a marathon again??

crap-tastic.

July Training

I haven't updated in a while, but I promise I've been out there running.

July Training

I did take a break on my long run last weekend because I was out of town enjoying life. My last long run was with the Big River Running training team and I really enjoyed it!! It was so nice running with others and they really motivated me to keep running. I really started to crap out the last two miles, but they stayed with me (until I flat out had to walk it). I am running with them again this weekend, planning for 14 miles on the Katy Trail. Super excited because I've never been on the Katy Trail.

We are having incredible weather at the moment. The most amazing running weather (lows in the 50s tonight, high 70s tomorrow). Hope we keep this nice weather in August.

I'm heading to Vancouver for the SeaWheeze in August. I'm SUPER excited for the race. I'm hoping for a PR... but we'll see. Might not happen since the SeaWheeze last year was my slowest half marathon EVER. Although scenic, it's a crowded race (running on bike paths and such).

Trail Running

I signed up to train with the Big River Running fall training team. We have a meeting next week and the running starts next Saturday. I'm really looking forward to running with others, but a bit nervous about being able to keep up. I've been slacking on my long training runs, mainly because it's just boring spending the amount of time running by yourself. Instead, I've been enjoying running the trails. I was flying down the trail this morning when I tripped and banged up my left leg. Hurt my ego a bit.

I posted one of my photos on 500px and I'm very pleased with the rating!! You can see it here: Sparkling Sky.

Freedom 4 Miler

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays, so I really wanted to dress patriotic for this race.

On my way to the race!

I wanted to run some extra miles, so I ran from home to the race start, which is just under 2.5 miles. I had a good 10 minute rest before the official start of the race. I was sweating extremely bad, so I felt pretty silly.

I absolutely loved the race route. There was the right amount of hills, got to run down Leonor K. Sullivan, great views of the Arch and Busch Stadium... Lots of patriotic people out there and welcomed the National Guard to the finish line.

Even saw these guys rolling their keg to the finish line:

That has got to be tiring.

I'm okay with my finish time. I think I could have done better if I didn't run to the race... I was even going to run home after the finish, but I got lazy and called my husband to come get me :).

Almost there. Love these horrible pics.

Happy Independence Day!

54/234!

Smiling at the Finish!