Running Goals

I was asked the other day what my running goal was. For the first time in about a year I do not have an active running goal. I went from running my first 50k at the end of January to pulling my back out during my recovery in February and now with it being the middle of March it's time to work something out. I am not sure I want to take the next step distance wise to run a 50 miler, so I guess that sort of leaves me with maybe working on improving my race times. My PR's are starting to look a little stale, well except for that 5k PR at the ABB 5k in January. Maybe it's time to finally bring my Half Marathon time down under 2:30. I guess I need to figure out which race this fall/winter season I want to work that towards so this goal gets time bound. 

I wear a VivoFit2 by Garmin and it has a feature where it will set your daily step goal. For the month of March my goal has been to reach this step goal everyday. Today is day 11 and so far so good.  Today is the first day the step goal has reached over 10,000 steps, it's not a very challenging goal to reach on runs days but on non-run days I find myself doing hourly laps around the office, sometimes around the entire building, and I have now made the stairwells my friends again. I am looking forward to the up coming time change so I will have an extra hour after dinner to get those last few daily steps in. 

Does anybody have any tricks they use to get their steps in? All suggestions welcome.

The Woodlands Half Marathon

I actually ran two races this past weekend. I headed up to The Woodlands for their marathon weekend. Friday night there is was family 2k run/walk. It started at the marathon start and finished at the marathon finish line and was really kind of a hoot. I conned my husband into joining me for it and we mostly walked but he actually did a little running with me. For such a small distance I was surprised at the fact that there were t-shirts and medals involved, and I do mean real medals. 

With my back still not quite 100% I had come up with a plan for to run the half, run for the first 6 miles and the walk to the finish. I had done a few test runs using a 1:1 interval so I stuck with that and had hoped to finish in about 2:50.
At the start I ended up behind the 2:45 pacers. Kind of a blessing. These two girls were fantastic. Plan A immediately went out the window. I decided as long as I stayed close to them, even tho I probably would have run passed them early on with all that start of race adrenaline, I didn't. I'm glad I didn't just blow my plan and go all out, it would have been so easy to do. The weather was perfect, 50 degrees with a slight breeze. The course, although it was quite hilly was more than manageable and beautiful. The streets were lined with large trees on both sides until the final mile. It isn't one of those courses with tons of turns, just a few and long stretches of open road. The aid stations were great! Every mile and a half as advertised, well manned with cheering volunteers and fully stocked. By mile 8 I was still feeling really good, I was still right behind the pacers. By mile 11 I was questioning if I should stop and walk for a mile and then run the last mile, but I didn't. At mile 12 I realized course had rounded back to where the startline was. It was starting to warm up, but what ever I was going to finish my first half for the year. I lost sight of the pacers but oh well. I finished in 2:46:05. That's only about 2 minutes slower than my road half average time. 

Big round of applause to the management of The Woodlands Marathon, they put on a really great race. This may not be an every year race but it is definitely worth a repeat. 

Coming up I'm heading back to Seabrook for the Lucky Trails race weekend. Saturday and Sunday Half Marathons. 

Can't believe it's March

I am not sure what happened to February. It really seems like the month just started. 

Let me catch up since my last post. I RAN MY FIRST 50K, the Miracle Match! and then fell off the face of the earth. At the end of January I took a much need runcation, leaving my family behind and just spent the weekend working on me. I went to the glorious town of Waco, TX. I actually had a friend say "not the place I would go, and I certainly wouldn't be that excited about it." Truth is I had a blast. I had the entire weekend planned. Friday after a 2 1/2 hour drive I picked up a restorative yoga class at Yoga Bar and since it was my first time with them it was a free class. This is really more of your hippy mothers yoga place, incents burning, light down low, heat up, calm yogi. I would totally go back. The outside doesn't look like much, mainly because of the crossfit place next to it but it could not have been a more enjoyable class. 

Team RWB cups for the 5k.

Saturday morning I ran the 5k (yes, it's a double race day weekend, what could be more fun!) which was a really good for getting my legs loose. The 5k is run along the Brazos River which was extremely beautiful at dawn. There was no medal for the 5k and since I was running both days I was running with the same bib. Still totally worth it. 

Sunday I choose the early start option. I am really thankful that I did. They actually allowed runners to start as early as 4:30, but 5 am was early enough for me. I was really enjoying the race until 2 things happened. My knee came loose on the down hills at about mile 8. I spent the fall season learning how to power up hills, and then walked down them, now I'm thinking I should walk up them and learn how to power down them. This is twice that downhill running has effected my knees, so it's time to learn a bit more from it. I kept at it. About mile 13 I called my husband and I am glad he didn't answer cuz I was a mess. I left him this long "How stupid am I for doing this, I just want to quit now" type of message that in reality once I had said all those thoughts out loud, letting them leave my head I was good again. I kept at it. The view in Cameron Park was fantastic! Yes the hills were rough but so worth it.  Mile 24 I came to the Jacob's Ladder challenge. I took a good minute to stare at it and decide if I were up to it and then went for it. At the top was a guy serving up shots of Coors Light. 

Jacob's Ladder 100 steps to the top.

About a mile from there is where things got crazy! I came to the point where the marathon and 50k split. Left for the 50 and right to the finish. Well, to the left was a 2 loop course that since it was now getting to the early afternoon was not really in the shade and it was reaching 80 degrees out. In January! I persevered the first loop and about 1/4 of the second before I realized I had a monster blister on my little toe. I stopped in the shade to change my socks and get a real good grip on what I was trying to do. The running in the heat was doing me in, if I was going to finish I would have to slow down and slowing down meant walking. Now a month later I have come to grips with that but it was a rough decision to make on race day. At the 3 miles to go point I stopped running and did my best to walk it in. I crossed the bridge and got my medal and hobbled to the middle of the road, stripped off my socks and gave my feet the best ice bath they ever had!

Would I do this race again, looking back ABSOLUTELY! The aid stations were plentiful, the race crews were fabulous.  The RD was there from early start to final finisher. The race jackets were late but to their credit they mailed the to us with in two weeks of the race. When my only complaint is the weather, it was a well run race. 

Yoga Pod Waco had just recently opened and partnered with the race and offered runners a free yoga session, so guess where I was Sunday night. That's right, second free yoga session of the weekend. This is more of your trendy yoga studio, bright lights, modern music, quirky yogi. Still good. I felt so good when I left I signed up to come back to their 6 am class before I head back to Houston. 

I really think the 2 post run yoga classes were the best way to start my recovery. Yes I was sore but I did not have issues with walking or stairs as can be the case with really hilly races such as this one in Waco. A day or two later I was back running. A week later I was back out at the races. 

Beginning of February I ran the Katy Half's 5k. Perfect timing post 50k. My running life is now measured by pre and post 50k standards. That is until I threw out my back on Valentine's Day. Now it's when I had a good back and now. I ended up only walking some miles a week in and then threw my back out again. After another week, I had become gun shy about doing too much so I walked 4 miles and then followed the next day with 3 miles running at a :30 to 1 interval. During this time I also had to DNS the Millican 25k, much to my disappointment. I thought about walking it, but I have so many other races on the deck I decided on another week of walking. Ironically, on the day of Millican I joined the CYfit group for miles and Rob Goyen with Trail Racing over Texas was speaking to the group and raffled away two race entries, one of which I won. In my head Karma was letting me know I made the right choice. Now I am running Brazos Bend again! 

My only real goal for March is to reach my step goal everyday. I have 4 races in March, The Woodlands 2k and Half Marathon and then both days in Seabrook. 

Happy Running!!

Kingwood New Year's Day 2016

WOOO HOOOO!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Ok, I know that's a tad bit late but you know....whatever. 

I have a great race to report about. 

Marathon Manics photo credit Hoang Hung

I ran the Texas Marathon in Kingwood on New Year's Day 2016 and what a blast it was. 

First off the RD for the race is Steve Boone (who also runs in the race), who in case you don't know is one of the Big Dogs over at the 50 States Marathon Club. Their club as well as the Marathon Maniac's (I'm #10767) were well represented at the race.

It's run on private paved trails so it is much more scenic than many races out there. This also gives it that trail race type of feel, as it winds out with a path that is very well tree lined until it comes out at the lake you run around before heading back to the start line turn around.

The race is 4 loops for the marathon and (obviously) 2 loops for the half. Here's the thing even if you sign up for the marathon and decide 2 loops were enough for you, you are able to drop down to the half and still get a medal. This sort of messed with my head. I wasn't really in the mood to run after being up so late, it being New Year's and all, so I spent the last half of the 2nd loop debating if I kept going would I even finish and then the first half of the 3rd loop debating if I made the right choice. This is why they tell you running is really a mind game. Some where in that 3rd loop I righted my thinking and began enjoying the race again. Switch from 2:1 to 1:2 probably helped my attitude also.

At this point the runners really started thinning out. Most of the half field had finished, I think there many have been a few half walkers still out but not many. So what was left was us die hard 5 1/2 hour - 6 hour plus runners. As I came to the turn around aid station it was starting breaking down, they don't need so many people with so few runners left. Mind you they did not step down on their enthusiasm as runners made their way in and out of them. I finished my 4th loop actually passing two other runners, well they were finishing their 3rd loop but who cares, that sort of boost does wonder at the end of any race. 

The race has good swag, a really good size bag (my yoga mat fits in it), long sleeve race shirt and matching hat. Along with your medal you also get a squishy toy that has your place number on the bottom of it. For all you bling whores at the finish is a medal that is only rivaled in size by the Little Rock Marathon, except this year the Texas Marathon medal out weighed Little Rock by 3 ounces.

I would do this one again. 

Coming up is the Houston Marathon weekend followed two weeks later by my goal race the Miracle Match 50k in Waco. 

Happy Running

Last race of 2015

I finished out 2015 by running the Santa Hustle Half marathon in Galveston yesterday. Not going to lie it was rough. I'm sure I am not anywhere fully recovered from the BCS Marathon the week before but I really think the weather played a bigger part in my struggle yesterday. It is really hard to stay acclimated to any type of weather when it is constantly changing. Saturday it was a cool 40, beautiful for running, Sunday it was 60 with 90 % humidity, icky conditions and currently it's 70 and raining. The plan was to be festive and run in the long sleeve tech shirt the race provided and be all "Santa'ed" up but there was no was I would have survived if I had. However if I had I wouldn't have a slight sunburn right now. 

It was a really cool race. One of my favorite 10'ks The Toughest 10k Galveston allows runners to run over the causeway heading onto the Island. This is the first time I have run actually on the Island and Galveston did not disappoint. 10 miles or so of the run are on the seawall. What does that mean to you, fantastic view of the Gulf of Mexico and the gulf breeze. The course is not shady so December is probably the correct time of year to run this course, any time after April and it would be a "found dehydrated on the side of the road" kind of race. Eeven with the unexpected warmer day it was worth it. Always being leery of enough on the course water support, I did bring my own but for those who didn't there was only one 2 mile stretch it might have been an issue. Otherwise there was more than ample hydration support for the day. They also had cookie and candy stations along the course which I felt was very festive.

2015 total race count: 1- 1k, 1- 3k, 4- 5k's, 1- 5 miler, 4- 10k's, 5- Half's, 1 - 25k and 4 Marathons. 

Total racing miles for 2015 230.48. Total all miles for the year (with 9 days left to go) 753.59. 

Almost 200 miles fewer than last year. I am going to have to take that into consideration when I make my goals for 2016. 

Until next time, may all your runs be merry and bright.

I'm still here

I know it looks like I may have abandoned my blog and maybe running since my last post BUT...I'm still here. It's just been a rough year. A few weeks after Little Rock, my boss of 8 years, my mentor, my pseudo-father killed himself. As you can imagine all of this, this blog and my running and what ever goals I had for the year were put on hold. I was going thru the motions but not really connecting to anything.

By the end of March I had pounded out so many miles trying to make sense of what happened I managed to give myself quite a knee injury. I would like to say I took enough time off to heal it properly but I didn't. In fact in April I ran the Hog's Hunt 25k and ended up face down covered in mud on the trails wondering how I had even gotten there. I guess you have to move on. I pushed thru running a little here and there until June came when I started back up running with the Cyfit group. My little group of me and 4 other dedicated runners saved me. Week after week they were there, in the heat, mile after mile. Our coach, bless her she's one of a kind, told me after I spilled all that had been going on since we last ran together said to me, "I'm not going to give you my number, that way you can't skip runs on me." She knew being out there with them was just what my soul needed. 

Nutrabolt Half medal.

So now this season I have set a goal, my first 50k. The Miracle Mile Match in Waco on January 31st. Along the way now that racing season hit Houston I have run 3 half marathons, the Buffalo Stampede, the Nurtabolt, and the Harbor Half (which ran out of medals and still owes me one) and the BCS Marathon last weekend. Still on the schedule before Waco, I have the Santa Hustle and the Kingwood Marathon January 1st. 

I would like to mention a few things about a some of the races listed above. The Buffalo Stampede is a nice small home town race, it was a repeat for me so nothing new to report on it. The Nurtabolt race is put on by the same folks who do the BCS Marathon. In fact if you plan on doing BCS I would do Nurtabolt as a warm up since. It will give you a good feel for how to run the hardest parts of the marathon. The Harbor Half was a beautiful run along the Corpus Christi bay water line. Only complaint is that they ran out of medals and promised they would send them out to those who didn't get them. They said they were shipping on Dec 3rd but I have yet to receive mine.

As for BCS, I have now run both the half and the marathon they put on. This years race was in horrible weather, again, rained pretty much the entire time. I couldn't feel my toes, pretty much the entire time. In the end, I really had quite a fantastic time. It's a marathon so yes there were some rough spots but keeping going is the name of the game and that's what I did. One of the head coaches for the Cyfit group told us this story about how the Navy Seals have a 40% rule, your mind gives out at 40% effort but your body still have 60% more it can go, and it stuck with me throughout the race. In the tough moments, even if that 60% was me telling myself I could do anything for a minute and then running for that minute, it helped me get to the finish. 

 Looking forward 2016 is going to be a big year. I have booked the follow, so far:

Kingwood Marathon Jan. 1
Abb 5k (part of Houston's marathon weekend) Jan 16
Volunteer Houston marathon Jan 17
Miracle Match 5k Jan 30
Miracle Match 50k Jan 31
Katy 5k and hopefully volunteer Feb 6
The Woodlands 2k March 4
The Woodlands Half March 5
Seabrook Half day one March 19
Seabrook Half day two March 20
Clear Lake 10k June 5
Cypress Half Nov 13
Route 66 Marathon Nov 20

I'm tired just reading that.

Happy Running

Little Rock Marathon

A few months back I won entry into the Little Rock Marathon via a Twitter trivia contest. Before that Little Rock was just another bucket list race for me. And now I am happy to say I have crossed it off my list. I am so glad I made the journey to run it.

First off the weather. I would be driving up from Houston where it was cold and drizzly but still extremely tolerable. Unfortunately a storm was heading south and I was driving up into the storms drive line where not only was it in the 20's but there was a good chance of frozen rain or some sort of rainy icy mix.  I made good time, making the 450 miles in 6 1/2 hours. I was lucky there was snow on the ground in some spots but the roads for the most part were clear and I was able to drive fast enough to keep ahead of it.

Bib, shirt and swag

My first stop, of course, was the expo. No issues getting my bib, checking my chip and switching to the early start. Houston's expo is my gauge (only because it's my home town) so I would say that Little Rock's expo is about half it's size with about the same number of speakers. Later in the day as the weather became a bigger issue for runners traveling in, the RD's made the decision to keep packet pick up open to 10 pm and then worked things out for those who still wouldn't get in by then. I love when races make these last minute concessions. It shows that they really care for their runners and want everyone to have the best experience possible.

In the morning, I was lucky that my hotel was only 1/2 mile walk to the start. It was fantastically cold

Flat Joules, all the gear 

and drizzly out and warmer than it would be later in the race. We started with Bart Yasso on the mic and a recording of the National Anthem. It was a bigger crowd than I expected for an early start. The race wound snake like thru the Little Rock downtown area before branching out towards the Governors mansion and then on to Central High and then just after mile 11 we ran back into downtown into the crowd of regular start runners who were on their way to mile 3. The first time thru here I read the signs, right to mile 3 straight ahead to mile 12, it was an unfortunate split for at least one guy who asked somewhere on the way mile 13 which mile I was on when he realized he missed his turn and was only at about 4 1/2. This is the point where the route takes the major up hill climb. My feet were beginning to burn due to a combination of cold and rain soaked socks so I ducked into a bus stop and changed them out with some dry ones. That was better for the time being. 

The course up to this point has been rather boring but on the back side of the hill it turned into a small street that wound down along a bayou on one side and interesting old houses on the other. The lead runners began to pass us along this point. We headed to the a long stretch that would be 3 or so miles out and then back. As part of the rules for the early start crowd we not allowed to go any faster than the 6:00 pacers but at this point in the course with regular start runners coming passed us they were allowed to let those who wanted to run ahead of them go. So I went. These miles from 16-23 were really nice, it was along side the water in a park setting and probably the best part of the course. When we popped back out of here the course once again became an up hill battle and my feet once again began to revolt on me. On the last up hill around mile 25 I swapped out my intervals and instead of running 1:1 I ran 1:3 so I more or less walked the last mile until the final turn where I could see the finish. I was able to run to the finish where once again Bart Yasso was on the mic and giving high 5's to runners as they finished. Officially 5:57:47. 

Highlights from the race. The course was fully open for the early start crowd, some races don't have support for the early crowd until the regular runners start. The course aid stations were fantastic, this seems silly but there were more than 2 port-a-potties (more like 6-8) at every other aid station. The support from spectators in between the aid stations made it really no more than a 1/2 mile with out a cheer section. There are a few more notable in between spots on the course, such as the couch potato mile, the runners blessings and the lollipop stop. The full medical tent at mile 20 which was covered and dry. Also the super (no longer secret) secret hush hush boozy aid station handing out bloody mary's and "adult" fruit and moon pies. The lipstick spot on the way to the finish is something new for me too. 

Replica medal

This is not a race I would do for the Half distance. Unlike the Louisiana Marathon just running the Half distance would be worth doing, on this course I think you would miss so much just running the Half. The course doesn't really get interesting until that 3 mile/12 mile split and the part before there is really nondescript. I am giving this race an 'A'. I am not even really disappointed with the replacement medal. Sure the real medal would have been great but the fact the weeks before the race we were notified it wouldn't be there and the CIC's got the medal company to come up with something was really better than nothing. In all honesty it's better than some race medal I have earned. 

Coming up a few the Bayou City Classic, Law Week 8k and the San Felipe Shootout.

I should have updated this months ago. I did finally receive my actual Little Rock Marathon medal and it was all they had promised. 3 pounds of I can't wear this thing around my neck for very long. As you can see it dwarfs every other medal I have earned this year.