Recap - Salt Lake Half Marathon 2012

This recap is so much later than it should have been.  Never the less .. I'm finally writing it!  Settle in .. this could be a long post.

There was so much debate over whether or not this race was even going to happen.  Even with the debate I still went ahead and registered Jeramie and I to run.   This would be his first half marathon.  I was really excited for him too.  Not to mention I had some big goals for this race, which I talked about here.  I ran my first ever half marathon back in December with a finishing time of 2:45.  It was my first race and I went into it fully trained, but definitely with the goal of "I just want to finish and not have to walk."  I was also really leery of going out too fast and ending up having to walk towards the end.  It was a really good race experience and it taught me that I still had plenty of strength at the end and I had trained well.  All of that to basically say that even though my goal was to shave 25 minutes off of my last race time, while this sounds like a lot I thought it was very reasonable since I knew I could have given more at that race.  My secret goal was 2:15.  I knew that would be hard, but I also knew that I had trained well and if I really worked for it I thought it might be possible.

On Friday night we had a plan to ship our four kids off to my parents house for the night and stay home and kick our feet up with a bowl of Macaroni and Cheese.  This seems to have turned into my night before the race meal.  I ate it once before a long training run and had felt really strong that next morning.  This is somewhat monumental because we don't get to go out much without our kids together, so to pass up a meal out is a big deal for us.  I think it turned out to be a good decision though in the end.  We headed to bed pretty early and next thing I knew the alarm was going off at 5:45am.  As I rolled out of the bed there was Jeramie with his classic, "just five more minutes ..."  I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to make my staple pre-run meal of Peanut Butter on toast, just once slice please.  Before we knew it we were driving up town.  The plan had been to meet my friend Rebecca at the church her husband goes to which was right next to a trax station and then we would ride the trax train to the starting line.  We arrived right on time and walked over to the station where we found a few other runners waiting as well.   The nice thing about being able to ride the light rail system is that runners could pick it up from basically wherever and so there weren't massive amounts of people all trying to do the same thing at the same time.  I liked this about the race.  My brother Evan and his wife Rachel were just going to meet up with us around the start line since her parents were going to drop them off right there. 

When we climbed off the train with all the other masses it was still dark.   However, as we were standing in line for the honey buckets it quickly lightened up.  The start line was fun.  LOT'S of people milling about.  It was still chilly and so I had opted to keep my long sleeve on at this point knowing that not soon after we actually started running I would be pulling it off and tying it around my waist. I had done that a lot during my training runs so I knew this wouldn't bother me.

 

We took a couple obligatory pre-race pictures.  I love that my husband isn't afraid to rock the headband!

 

Once we finished up at the potties we headed up to the actual start line.  Evan and Rachel had arrived and so we were hoping to catch up with them up there.  I ran into one of my Daily Mile friends, Stephanie.  It was SO nice to put a face to the name and meet her actually in person.  She was just as nice in person as she has been on Daily Mile and I'm hoping to actually hook up with her for some training in the near future.  After talking with her for a few minutes and wishing each other luck I tried to track down my family again.  Turned out as we headed up to the start line, they had headed down to the honey buckets.  Oh well, wasn't meant to be.  So we headed to find our pace groups instead.  Our goal had been for Rebecca to start out with the 2:30 pace group and Jeramie and I were going to start with the 2:20 pace group.  Well once we got up there there was only a 2:30 pace group sign. I saw at one point someone walking around with a 2:20 sign but it's almost like they were looking for someone to run with it.   Oh well, I had my Garmin .. we would be fine I told myself.  About 10 minutes before the start I sucked down a Gu and felt good to go.  Before we knew it the gun went off and we slowly started moving forward.

Mile 1:  Felt FUN!  It was a bit downhill.  Jeramie and I were running together and really I was just trying to find a groove amongst all the other runners running at such radically different paces.  Before I knew it I noticed up ahead that someone was wearing the same tank top as I was .. duh it was Evan and Rachel. I bought her the top for her birthday so we could match on race day.  I wasn't expecting to see them in front of us and I guess that's why it took a minute to register in my head that it was them.  We kicked it up a small notch just to catch up to them to say hello and wish them luck.  They had lofty goals too of a 2:10.  One thing I noticed was that there were people lined up for the porta potty in this first mile.  Seriously?!  You've got many more to go.

Mile 2:  Headed out along a road I drove daily while I was getting my undergraduate degree from the University of Utah.  It felt like a slight uphill but was probably only flat, feeling uphill because of the downhill we started with.  Jeramie was holding up strong at this point and I felt like we'd found out groove.

Miles 3 - 4:  I was still feeling really good and Jeramie appeared to as well.  We headed down into a park for a little out and back. Considering I had heard this was a relatively downhill course it kind of sucked to literally run down into the park only to have to run back out uphill.  That hill was a bummer.  The whole time though I was looking for Evan and Rachel when I went down the hill.  I never saw them but apparently they saw us right as we turned into the park and they turned out.  Then I watched the whole time going up that hill for Rebecca behind us.  Never saw her either.  Once we turned the corner of the hill we took our first shot bloks.  We were both carrying our own water and fuel so that we never needed to stop at any aid stations.

Miles 5 - 8:  Pretty uneventful.  We were running strong and at a very consistent pace.  I felt good.  The time was going by and I couldn't believe when we passed the mid-point.  I remember thinking, wow this thing is almost over already.  There were occasionally people on corners cheering but for the most part it was pretty dense.  Jeramie continued to seem like he was doing pretty well.  Although he wasn't occasionally pulling ahead like he had been doing early on.  I was pacing for a 2:10 finish which was pretty remarkable.  But I also knew of the dreaded hill right before the end.

Mile 9:  At this point I started to get a bit of a belly ache.  Nothing too drastic.  Just uncomfortable.  All I kept thinking was that I should have done all Camelback Elixer in my water bottles instead of the Nuun.  I don't know what it is about Nuun but it seems to mess with my tummy sometimes.  At this point we were running through neighborhoods and the weather was definitely warming up some.  I welcomed each spot of shade I passed through.  It was also at this point that Jeramie dropped to run right behind me.  He was on my tail for maybe a quarter mile before he started fading farther back.  We had talked about this before the race and I knew he wanted me to push on and do my best.  I was disappointed not to be running with him anymore.

Mile 10:  I think it was about here that we lapped around another park.  There were quite a few people there.  I was definitely having to dig a little deeper.  I was getting tired and I knew I still had that hill to deal with.  I was trying hard to keep my pace up so that I didn't lose time here.  I wasn't passing many people anymore.  Most people were getting tired too.

Mile 11:  This is about where we turned onto State Street.  And the beginning of a flat turning into moderately slow incline.  I knew I was still pacing for a good time but man .. I was just tired at this point.  I focused on watching to see if I could find Evan and Rachel up ahead.  I was really grateful that although I was tired my knee's were holding up great. I had no dreaded knee pain like I had had on my last training run.

Mile 12:  Here we go I thought.  This is it.  This is the mile that I have to deal with the hill.  I was trying to muster the energy for an extra kick.  But it was quickly becoming apparent that the incline was growing steeper with each step.  It was a nice wide road at this point with lots of room and that was nice.  As I headed into the steepest part of the hill I saw a guy running towards us with his finishers medal and he looked familiar.  Sure enough it was this guy I work with that runs lots of marathons and he's FAST!  I was happy to see a familiar face and put my best smile on as he saw me and stopped to take a picture.  It actually turned out to be a great picture.  I was so grateful for the encouraging words as he called out to me that I was almost to the top.

Mile 13.1:  As I turned the corner at the hill I was looking forward to picking it up on the downhill into the finishers chute at the bottom.  Oh boy did my legs have a different opinion. I was amazed at how fried they were after that hill!  They literally felt jello-like and as if I couldn't control them. I was afraid to go too fast for fear of actually face planting because I didn't have the necessary muscle control in my legs.  So I actually finished that last little down hill at a much slower pace than I expected.  As I got close to the finishers chute and began to watch for my family there they were all of a sudden!!  I very well may have teared up at this point.  I was SO happy to see them.  AND my daughter was holding a sign for me!  Best surprise EVER!  I didn't expect a sign.  I waved and put on my best smiley face.

As I approached the chute I could see the time on the clock and I knew I had run a GOOD race.  I knew I had killed my time goal and I was overwhelmingly proud of myself.  I had worked so hard.  And I was still smiling!

 Official Chip Time:

2:12:27

Overall Place:  1973 / 3496

Gender Place:  1027 / 2132

Division Place:  187 / 380

Pace:  10:06

I did it!  I beat my notsosecret goal!!

As I finished and grabbed my medal I ran into another one of my Daily Mile friends, Alison.  So excited to see her and she was REALLY nice too.  As it turned out she literally finished as the runner right in front of me.  We definitely should do some training runs together since our paces match so nicely!

After talking to Alison for a minute I excused myself so I could hurry up the road to try and catch Jeramie coming in.  As I walked I tried to watch over peoples heads to see him.  When I got to where my family was they said he had already passed by. I was disappointed to have missed him.  Apparently he didn't even see them, nor did he see the sign they'd made for him either.  So proud of him for finishing his first half marathon.

Official Time:  2:23:47

Better than my first.

Evan and Rachel snuck in their goal with a 2:10:02 and 2:10:03!

Here is our whole group.

Rebecca missed her goal but already has plans for redemption at Timpanogos in July.

Overall, I thought the race went off well.  Especially given the fast that the new race company didn't take over until this year.  I'm glad that they came in and saved the race and the medals were AWESOME and the t-shirts were good too.  All of the aid stations were stocked well as well as the finishing area.  I would recommend this race.  I think it will only get better next year as they now have an entire year to plan it.

I hope so because I registered us for next year at the discounted price this morning!  So we WILL be back.  And I WILL make that hill sorry it ever messed with me.

Three Things Thursday

1.  Okay, so I saw very little discussion about this weeks Biggest Loser in blog world this week and it was a pretty big week.  I just have to say my peace.  I am so disappointed in Mark and Buddy that they quit.  I think it was unbelievably ungrateful of them and disrespectful of them to the show, to their trainers, and to the previous contestants.  Granted my kids were bouncing around during the show and I know that I missed some bits and pieces.  The show always pulls twists like this.  And if the eliminated contestants have gone home and worked hard to continue their journey without the help and support of the show then GOOD FOR THEM.  Really I was disappointed that they all pulled that little stunt that they did.  I thought they all looked like spoiled brats.  Ahhh .. the whole show just make me so mad.

2.  I'm also disappointed that it's Kim and Conda as the final two.  I don't much care for either one of them.  So I'm really hoping one of the eliminated contestants that I previously liked comes back to give me someone else to cheer for!

3.  Thank you for your comments after yesterdays post.  I think I'm going to listen to you all and start out at a 2:20 pace and then after 2 miles see if I feel like I can push it some more. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to respond!

3.1  I opened these today and let's just say I ate a lot of them!  I have been so hungry this week.  I think I'm embracing the "carb load" idea a little too much!

My mum brought me the whole packet back from England.  They really are one of my favorites.

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So did you have any thoughts about this weeks Biggest Loser?

Are there any cookies that you just can't stop eating?  Maybe I'm missing out on some American ones.

Training Cycle Complete

Well this week I completed my training cycle for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon this Saturday. I used the Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan this time around.  I really liked the plan because I had heavier mileage on the weekend (when I'm not working) and shorter runs during the week (when I did have to work).  I didn't miss a single training run this entire cycle.  It certainly helped that we have had such a mild winter here in Utah this year. 

This past weekend I peaked with my 12 mile long run.  It was the longest I've ever run on a training run.  I felt amazing until about mile 9.  And then those last 3 miles I was miserable.  Both of my knees were killing me and I was just physically done.  It was really strange and honestly freaked me out a ton.  I had done long runs where I could pull out a 9ish minute mile the last mile only weeks before.  But on Sunday I was running 12 minute miles the whole time and I had nothing left those last three miles.  It was all I could do just to put one foot in front of the other.  I would be lying if I didn't say it shook my confidence big time.  I'm a big believer in sticking to a training plan and you will be successful. 

Here are a full family of deer we saw right in the middle of our run.  Beautiful!

I tried to figure out what I had done differently that led to a bad run.  I had hydrated well the day before. I hadn't had a "bad" dinner (I've made that mistake before).  I was wearing my calf compression sleeves for my run and I haven't been wearing them, but that shouldn't cause my knees to feel so awful.  I've run long runs before wearing them.  I ran an extra day during the week that week, perhaps that had a negative affect.  I mean maybe my legs were just plain tired.  That's possible I suppose. 

So I adjusted my schedule this week.  I had originally planned to run 3 miles on Tuesday, 2 miles on Wednesday and then rest two days.  Instead I ran my 3 miles on Monday, 2 miles on Tuesday and picked up an extra rest day before the race. I hope the extra rest helps. 

I'm also a little worried about my pacing strategy going into Saturday and I guess I'm still a little undecided.  My first half marathon I finished in 2:45.  I knew I could have ran it faster.  At the end I really wasn't spent the way I felt I should have felt.  So I know I will PR this weekend, it's almost a given unless something tragic happens.  My goal I feel comfortable that I could push myself decently and still accomplish is 2:20.  My pie in the sky goal is a 2:15.  When running my pace runs on my training plan I ran them usually between 9:30 and 10 minute miles.  Based on that I should be able to run a 2:10 race.  But I just don't know that I can hold that kind of pace for 13.1 miles.  I feel like that's way too aggressive.  But could I maintain a 10:18 pace the whole time?  That should shoot me in at 2:15 and I think it's "possible".  It's a slightly downhill course, with a moderate hill from mile 11-12.  I don't want to bonk at that hill.  They have pace groups too, 2:20 and 2:10, but not 2:15!

*sigh*

See my dilemma?  I also had one training run where I went out way too fast and I had to walk just to get my heart rate down.  I don't want that to happen on Saturday either.

My sister in law has lofty goals for a 2:10 and by brother is running with her.  Do I try and keep up with them some?  My brother was a great rabbit for me when I ran my PR 5K back in November.  Do I use him again? 

*sigh*

I have trained in rain and snow this time too.  Evidence here:

However this Saturday lookie what we have: 

SEVENTY NINE DEGREES!!

I'm thinking the 7am start will not be the usual chilly we've started with most Sunday's.  So that's good. But with a 79 degree high that day I bet by 7am we could be close to 50's.  And that is perfect running weather to me.

I guess the only thing I know for sure is what I will be wearing:

Lululemon Race Back Tank (matching my sister in law)

Running Skirts Sparkle Heart Skirt (matching my BFF)

They don't actually match that great .. but I will match my two ladies and that means more to me anyway.  At least I know what I'm wearing right?

I'm really excited that this will be my husbands first half marathon.  And we will be running it together, unless of course he leaves me behind like he did the last long run we did together.  It was actually kind of funny.  He came with my run buddy and I.  We all started together.  We joked about how it was like having our own bodyguard.  Then when I was dealing with some Garmin issues he pulled ahead.  But he doesn't have a Garmin and he hadn't started his Runkeeper app on his iPhone.  So I kept wondering how the heck he would know when to fuel and when to turn around.  Well he didn't.  After about 4 miles Rebecca dropped back and so the three of us were very spread out on the trail.  I started closing the gap on him and once he saw me coming he sped up some more.  At which point I was like, whatever.  As we hit the hill and also hit the turn around point I called his name (he listens to his music really loud) and he didn't hear me.  So I turned around to find a guy coming up close behind me.  He laughed and said, "he missed the turn around didn't he?"  YEP!  It was funny.

I digress .. hopefully he doesn't pull ahead on Saturday and leave me in his dust.  haha.

Well there you have it.  I've dropped off the face of the blogging world for over a month and here we are. 

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Does anyone have any advice .. suggestions  .. experience they can offer me with regards to my pacing debacle?  I would really appreciate any help.  I've got to figure this thing out and soon.

Daily Fruits and Veggies Requirements

So at my work we have an opportunity to earn credits in order to get a discount on the following years insurance premiums.  I'm very diligent about getting all of my credits in nice and early.  No waiting until the last minute for me.  We have to earn 25 credits.  Already I have earned the following:

5 pts     Personal Questionnaire
10 pts   Officially Tobacco-Free (that was a hard one .. NOT)
5 pts     Maintaining or Losing Weight between Thanksgiving and New Years.  I maintained.

So I only have 5 points left to get.  Easy peasy and we're only 2 months into the year.  This months healthy challenge is to strive to get 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day for a total of 80 points for the month.  Now if you do the math you only actually have to accomplish the 5 servings 16 days out of the month. However, basically as long as you have a total of 80 servings you're golden and get another 5 credits. 

I like to think that I eat relatively healthy.  I am currently obsessing over the 3 pounds I gained in a single week last week .. seriously WTF??  But, I know I can drop them all again this week with a little focus.  Let's just say that I refuse to buy any Cadbury Mini Eggs because I know I don't have the self discipline to not eat them sparingly.  It doesn't help that my mother sent home with me the leftovers of her "better than sex" cake she made for dessert last night. It happens to be my very favorite dessert.  It's not going to be easy to not eat more of it when it's calling my name from the fridge.

So anyway, I thought it would be a fun challenge to try and get all those fruits and veggies in for a month. As I looked at the tracker the following was staring at me:

What counts as a cup of fruit of vegetables?

• 1 medium piece of fruit or vegetable - about the size of a baseball (apple, pear, tomato, potato)
• 2 cups of raw leafy vegetables - about the size of two handfuls (lettuce, spinach, kale)
• 8 strawberries; 2 large plums; 2 large stalks of celery; 10 broccoli florets; 12 baby carrots
• 1/4 cup of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, apricots)

It sounds kind of simple.  But then when you really think about it, two cups of leafy vegetables isn't really a "side salad" but more like a full plate of salad!  10 broccoli florets, sounds like half a plate.  Same with the 12 baby carrots.  And poo on the dried fruit, that's a lot of calories for such a small serving.  Then combining all those servings to add up to FIVE!  That's a lot of food.  And I always tend to look at my fruits and veggies as kind of filler foods, they don't really ever seem to satisfy actual hunger.

I however shall not be discouraged.  I think it's a great habit to form.  And it will be a challenge.  I like challenges.  The funny thing is that I like fruit and I like a lot of varieties of vegetables. So this shouldn't really be THAT hard.  We shall see.  To assist with my goal I purchased some V8 this weekend.  I'm not really that big on drinking my calories, however I might make an exception here.  And at only 50 calories per glass I think I can afford it.  I tried the Pineapple Mango Green Tea first and let me tell you it's YUMMY!!

I also have a half a container of V8 soup every day with my lunch. So I'm almost half way to meeting my goal for the day.  I was already doing this before and love that it's a full serving of veggies.

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Do you get 5 servings of fruits and vegetables in each day?  Is it easy?


Any tips or tricks?

Is this a joke?

So I headed out for my usual noontime run this afternoon.  Got a quick 3 miles in.  I always wait and eat my lunch after I run. I do not enjoy running on a full tummy.  And I pretty much eat the same lunch every day but Friday's.  Then I opened this:

MOLD

I thought, well crap this must have been sitting in the back of my fridge.  I quickly found the expiration date, nope should have been good through 3/22/12.  What the heck?  I feel cheated.  Target owes me a new yogurt. These puppies aren't cheap!  I ate my sandwich and my cup of soup.  Alas, I will be hungry later.

The good news is I hear we're supposed to get some super warm weather this week!  YAY!  Because today was really cold.  I said to my running partner this must be what real winter running is about.  I didn't even bring my iPod today because I knew I was running with my co-worker and we'd just talk the whole time. 

As I look at my training schedule I am reminded with how far I've come.  This weekend is a cutback week.  I only have 3 miles on the schedule.  My immediate thought was 3 miles?  That's hardly worth the effort.  And yet this time last year I was in the thick of my 5K training.  I'm also very excited for the new running vest that will be arriving in my office at work tomorrow!  I have been eying a particular one for weeks now. Then randomly came across last years model for half the price.  I can't wait!

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What do you do when what you've packed for lunch ends up moldy?  Go hungry or resort to something less healthy?
       --  I am trying to hold out until I get home. But that fudge cake bite in my mini fridge is calling my name!
Do you eat the same things every day out of convenience?
       --  I eat the same breakfast and lunch Monday through Thursday.  I know I won't gain weight and it     
            takes the thinking out of packing my lunch.

A bit of randomness.

Training is going really well.  These past two weekends I've done my long runs with my husband.  And failed to take a picture of us together on both.  My normal long run buddy has been on vacation.  So Jeramie stepped up to fill in.  Since he's currently training for his first half marathon he's using the Hal Higdon Novice 1 plan.  I've been using the Novice 2 plan. Which means shorter runs during the week and running longer sooner on the weekends. I've really liked the way this plan fits into my home life.  I have more time on the weekends to fit in the longer miles than I do during the week. 

When we started out on Saturday it was unbelievably windy.  I kept saying to Jeramie while we were driving, "this is gonna suck."  I guess I shouldn't have been so negative.  But wind is probably my least favorable running condition.  As we got started I kept thinking that at least we were running into the wind on the way out, so it would be at our backs coming back and with quite how windy it was it would practically carry us!  We're talking SO windy that when I talked to Jeramie spit would fly out of my mouth! haha.  And oh did it make my nose run.  Ironically enough the direction we ran our turn around point ended up being literally across the river from my work.  We could see the building when we turned.  Then on the way back the wind completely died down.  So much for it carrying us back!  It was a good solid 8 miles.  My legs felt strong all week. 

I did notice that one thing I don't love about running long on Saturday's as opposed to Sunday's is that normally after my long run on Sunday I meet up with my mum and head out to do our grocery shopping together.  So I'm on my feet and moving the rest of the day without really thinking much about it.  But these past two Saturdays after we run we've basically come home and I feel exhausted and don't even want to move my butt from the couch.  It's amazing to me how much it feels like it takes out of me. And yet I love it and look forward to it so much. 

As I was stretching after our run I noticed how pretty the mountains looked behind me.

  I had to share the view!

One of my favorite pieces of running attire.

My vest.

I love that it keeps me warm when it's windy, but I don't get hot.

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So tell me, what's one of your favorite pieces of running attire when it's windy out?

Three Things Thursday

1.  I think I'm in love with sandwich rounds.  I switched from deli meat to an egg salad sandwich every day at work.  Well really it's only 4 days per week because I treat myself to a hot lunch on Friday's.  This past weekend I grabbed a package of multi grain sandwich rounds.  Ever since I heard on CNN that bread is the biggest contributor of sodium to our diets I've been looking at sodium even more than before. These sandwich rounds had less sodium that the Sara Lee bread I was eating and they're only 10 more calories.  And I think I love them.  So delicious!  I highly recommend giving them a try, even though they don't look very big.

2.  I found out last night that one of my second cousins husband passed away from a massive heart attack. He was only in his 50's.  It makes me so very sad for them and their family.  They had two children.  A son who is getting married in June.  And a daughter, unmarried.  She will not have her father to walk her down the aisle and that makes me very very sad.  She was in my wedding and recently went through a very rough break up.  Life is so short.  I watch as my brother is going through a terrible divorce right now.  Battling depression.  Paul's death reminds me that life is short.  I hope my brother is reminded that life is short too.  I just want him to be happy.

3.  On a happier note.  My other brother called me last night on his way home from work.  He said that he'd gone online to register for the SL Half Marathon.  He was complaining that the price had gone up to over $70.  Then he says he noticed that it was only $14 to do the full marathon.  And did I want to do it with him?  I laughed.  HARD.  I said no.  As much as I would love to run a full marathon and I'm actually seriously considering the SL Marathon next year as a very viable option for my first.  So I pointed out to my brother there isn't nearly enough time to train for it.  There are only 9 weeks left.  This week we're scheduled to run 8 miles for our long run on our HALF marathon plan.  That if we had 9 weeks left of a FULL marathon plan that we'd be needing to run 17 miles this weekend!  His response, "Well I ran 3 miles last night.  I felt pretty good.  I could have run another 14."  *sigh*  To which I reminded him he's 10 years younger than me, 6'4 and very naturally athletic.  While he may be able to crank out 17 miles .. I could not.  Sadly I will NOT be switching to the full.  But this time next year I could very likely be running 17 miles this coming weekend!  And THAT is very exciting.

Peace.  Love.  and Happy Running.