Wordy Wednesday: Impossible to Say No

Happy Hump Day!

It’s Wednesday (love how quickly Wednesday sneaks up on you when Monday is a holiday!)! Which means I’m too lazy busy to come up with an actual post so I let the pictures do the talking.

I stopped by my parents on Monday to drop some winter clothes off and pick up my summer clothes, my parents were out but this little guy was home.  His cuteness makes it damn near impossible to not say no or feel guilty when leaving.  I ended up staying longer than anticipated cuddling and playing tug of war:

Who in your life do you find it impossible to say no?

2012 Run the Remember Half Marathon Recap

I finally accomplished my goal of running a sub 2 hour half marathon! 

On Sunday, I completed the Run to Remember in 1:55:20, a 12 minute PR.  After my bomb at the BAA half last October and having to drop down to the 5 miler in last year’s R2R because of a broken rib this little victory felt really good.

I’m going to keep this recap short because the only part of the race that felt good was the finish (and who really wants to read complaining on a Tuesday morning after a long weekend?!). 

By mile 3 I knew this race was going to be a struggle, my legs are tired from my previous two races this past month.  I believe this is the first month ever where I’ve run double digits miles each weekend.  I knew this would be an issue so I toned down my weekday workouts and add more rest days so it could have been worse. 

Since I’ve started blogging I find myself running races thinking about what I’m going to say in the recap, I made every effort to not do that this time.  Often I focus way too much on how I’m feeling and the majority of the time I end up stressing myself out.  So I allowed myself to zone out and not think about how heavy my legs felt.  It worked for the most part.

The race course is one I normally run, differing ever so slightly in that I normally run on the sidewalk and not down the middle of the street, so I didn’t feel as though I needed to taking in my surroundings and enjoy the view.

Instead I focused on how I’m going to decorate my condo and what new clothes I’m going to buy once I can start shopping again.

Dear Visa, You should start funding my running habit, it appears as though it could be very beneficial to you!  Love, Kristen

Around mile 8 I saw my friend Sarah.  Sarah is a fantastic runner, she was pacing a friend looking to PR at 1:57.  I was able to keep up with them during their “easy” pace at mile 9, but quickly lost them when they picked it up at mile 10.  They ended up crushing their goal and finishing in 1:53! 

I hit mile 10 around 1:30 and told myself that if I could keep a 10 minute mile pace for the next 3 miles then I would reach my goal.  Based on the gun times shown at each mile I knew I was running between an 8:30-9 minute mile which is my typical pace.  I had been running fairly consistently throughout the race at this point so I knew I had some wiggle room.

I also knew that I couldn’t slow down because I didn’t have it in me to pick it up if I needed to at the end. 

At the 11^th mile mark I saw I had about 22 minutes to make my goal.  At this point I just wanted the race to be over, I honestly didn’t care about the PR.  I pushed myself to finish strong so I could get the race done sooner. 

I tried picking it up a little at the end, last 100-200 meters, but my legs honestly didn’t have it in them. 

I crossed the finish line with a gun time of 1:56:17 and a net time of 1:55:20.  Crushing my goal by 4:40! 

The next few weeks will consist of weekly runs and lots of rest.  I’m registered for a 10k at the end of June, but other than that my race calendar is open for the summer.

Wordy Wednesday: First Condo Purchase

Happy Hump Day!

It’s Wednesday! Which means I’m too lazy busy to come up with an actual post so I let the pictures do the talking.

During the Reach the Beach Relay this past weekend, I snuck into a little country store while we waited for one of our teammates.  I found this sign and thought it would be perfect for my condo! 

Reach the Beach Relay Recap 2

In case you missed it, here’s Recap 1

After our van completed our second leg around 4:15am we headed to my parents’ house to wash up, rest and eat.  I had a bagel for breakfast, which proved to be a mistake, I battled a stomach ache for the rest of the day, not ideal when you don’t have access to a real bathroom or have to run just under 7 miles.

I was dreading the 3^rd run, I was scheduled to start the 6.9 miles at 12:30pm in perfect beach weather, 80’s and not a cloud in the sky, horrible running weather.  The transition area where the run began was next to a farm so the smell of cow shit was prominent. 

So if you’re keeping tally: upset stomach, relentless blazing sun, 80+ degrees , cow shit aroma.

It was like an episode of Survivor.

My goal was to suck it up and  finish the run as quickly as possible, I was honestly hoping that I would throw up during the first mile and that would make me feel better. 

Luckily the stench only lasted for the first half mile of the run, then I was left to find other things to complain about.

 The course was really pretty, when you’re used to running in the city it’s a nice change of scenery, the green grass and trees looked vibrant against the bright blue sky.  Though I would have prefered flat green land to rolling green hills.  Funny how running out in the middle of nowhere I was more nervous about getting hit by a car than I’ve ever been in the city.  The closest I came to getting hit was actually by a lawnmower. 

My legs felt strong and my stomach held up.  I was trying hard to stay out of my head and not feel sorry for myself.  There were a couple times I wanted to stop and walk, but decided that would just prolong the run. 

I brought my water belt and a goo with me but didn’t use either for fear of disturbing my stomach. 

It was hot, in the rare instance that there was shade, it felt 15 degrees cooler.  I kept telling myself that I was lucky it wasn’t humid.  How’s that for looking for the bright side?!

At the 5.9 mile mark there was a big hill, just long and steep enough to discourage and next to a farm so the stench of cow shit was back. 

I wanted to cry, I felt like the smell in the air and still had a mile left to go. 

Crying wasn’t going to get me over the hill or to the transition area any faster, when I got to the top I was determined to finish this last mile as fast as I could, which meant walking or crying on the sidewalk was out of the question.

I’m such a tyrant sometimes.

The last mile was flat so I took off, at this point I was hot, uncomfortable, discouraged, vowing to single handledly wipe out the entire cow population and wanted nothing more than for the run (and the relay) to be over. 

I finished the run in 59 minutes, or a 8:55 pace.   I was completely in shock that I kept that leg under a 9 minute mile pace, I was anticipating closer to a 10 minute mile pace. 

I’d be lying if I said this didn’t improve my mood, unfortunately it did nothing for my stomach.

 While I had a fun time, and it was a really cool experience, I’m not sure if I’d ever do a 200 mile relay again.  I loved that the race forced me to push myself both mentally and physically and build friendships that I might not have been able to otherwise.   I loved the team aspect of it, and definitely wouldn’t have finished the 3^rd run if it hadn’t been for the fact that I knew 11 other ladies were relying on me.   

There was a lot of hurry up and wait associated with the race as well as a lot of downtime.   I had a tough time with this as I’m more of a get up and go person.  As much as I love to procrastinate, I also love to get what needs to be done out of the way as soon as possible.  Sitting around waiting to run was very tough for me, I hated having it hanging over my head. 

We lucked out and the weather was gorgeous, I cannot imagine how miserable it would have been if it rained and we were mainly stuck in the van during downtimes. 

I got home around 9:30 Saturday night and crashed.  Sunday I didn’t do much besides sit on my deck and read before meeting some friends for dinner and calling it a night around 8:30pm.  Monday I was absolutely exhausted, I could barely keep my eyes open at work.  My body physically felt fine, but holy tiredness. 

I’m still debating running the Run to Remember half marathon this weekend.  My body has felt surprisingly strong all month, even with two races and a 11 mile run.  I feel if I’m going to break a two hour half marathon now’s the time to do it, but taking some time off to relax would be nice too.

Reach the Beach Relay Recap 1

This past weekend I took part in the New Balance 2012 MA Reach the Beach Relay, 24 hour, 200 mile running relay from Wachusett Mountain to Westport’s Horseneck Beach.  Teams of 12, split into 2 vans of 6 runners, take turns running legs of various distances and difficulty.

I had wanted to run an overnight relay for some time, so I was excited when Lisa and Maureen invited me to join them as part of the Hotsteppers! 

In total I ran 19.75 miles, by far the longest I’ve ever run in a 24 hour period!  All of my legs were essentially the same distance between 6.3 and 6.9 miles. 

I was a little nervous on how my body would hold up as I normally don’t even run on consecutive days in fear that I’ll aggravate my plantar fasciitis.  Even with limited stretching (I forgot a tennis ball) this turned out to be a non-issue.  My legs felt surprisingly strong throughout the entire race. 

My first run was 6.3 miles and rated difficult.  It was a very hilly run, most of the hills were steep but short which allowed me to power up them.  The roads were very curvy and narrow so one had to be on the lookout for cars.  The run started around 4pm so it was still pretty warm out, luckily there was some shade.  I brought my fuel belt with me, there weren’t any water stops on the route, but only ended up having a couple sips.

I finished the run in 52 minutes for a 8:25 mile pace. 

After my van finished our legs around 7:30pm, we found a sub shop and refueled.  I was only able to eat half my sub, which was my only real meal in the 34+ hour journey.  I mainly fueled on bagels with peanut butter, bananas and granola bars.  After dinner we went to the next transition area and slept for about an hour and a half before getting ready to run again.

My second run was the one I was looking forward to the most, a 6.5 mile run in the middle of the night, which required a headlamp and reflective gear.  I carried a flashlight in my hand in addition to the headlamp and blinking lights on my reflective vest, I thought it would make it easier for cars to spot me if they saw a dancing light in the road. 

The run started around 2am, and I absolutely loved running in the dark.  Besides getting passed or passing someone I was mainly alone.  I had told my van to go ahead and I’d meet them at the transition area.  I had my cell phone on me and there were other vans leap frogging their runners so I felt really safe.  I was elated to see how fresh my legs had felt after a 9 hour break and 1.5 hours rest.  The run was rated difficult but I found it much easier than the first run. 

I was running through an empty Foxboro center when Rihanna/Jay Z “Run This Town” came on my ipod (I had my ear buds snaked through my headband and not directly in my ears), I love it when the song and run completely sync.  This had been a fail in the first run as when Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory” came on and I was convinced it was going to carry me to the transition area, in reality I still had over a mile to run.

I finished the run in 54 minutes, a 8:30 pace.  I honestly thought my pace was going to be faster, but I’m not complaining.

More recap to come!

Beach Trip!!

Happy Thursday!

How’s everyone’s week going? 

Mine has flown by, I have my last condo class tonight and my first beach trip planned for this weekend!

Of course I’m choosing to get to the beach the hardest way possible, just a 200 mile run with 12 friends. 

Luckily I’m only running 19.75 of those 200 miles, broken up into 3 6-7 mile runs.

I’ve always wanted to run an overnight relay, so I was pumped when Lisa and Maureen asked me to join their team. 

ed. note: yes I do think it’s slightly crazy to volunteer pay money to run at 2am in the morning and then “sleep” in a sleeping bag in a parking lot.

Then again, the “crazier” something is, the more fun.   I’m sure a couple good stories will come out of this weekend.

In the meantime here’s a little karma story for you…

Last year after the Tough Mudder I posted this fabulous picture for Wordy Wednesday. 

Take a moment to check it out, I’ll wait.

I had a similar issue this year, luckily my rip wasn’t as bad. 

On the last obstacle, a half pipe which you have to run up and jump on top, I missed the top and slid down the ramp.  No big deal I’ll try again.  Mid-slide I hit a screw which tore my pants and left me with a sweet scrape.

The tear wasn’t huge, but it left my right cheek exposed (new scrape and all!).  I’m normally one who isn’t shy about being in a bathing suit, I’ve been known to answer the door in my underwear, but there is something about ripping my pants that made me really uncomfortable (probably as uncomfortable as the poor kid living upstairs when I answered the door in my underwear). 

I will say that I was extremely grateful for every lunge and squat I had ever done, and may or may not have vowed to do more!

Luckily I had two shirts on so I took the top one off and tucked it into the back on my pants.

I ended up skipping the last obstacle for fear that the rip would get worse.

Hopefully there won’t be any wardrobe malfunctions this weekend.

Weekly Workouts: 5.7.12

Hello!

How was everyone’s weekend?!  My 3 day weekend was way to short, so I can only imagine how miniscule two days would have felt.

Besides a few scrapes and bruises I felt fine after the Tough Mudder last week.  I was really surprised, I was anticipating not being able to walk for a few days.  To be honest I didn’t feel I was as prepared as I should have been going into the race.  I think the stadium workouts and all the lunges at Crossfit made a huge difference this year. 

While I feel that some of my training was lackluster and I anticipated the two weeks I had to take off when I twisted my ankle really setting me back, I realize that’s life and not every run or workout is going to be amazing.  Work, life and dinner/drink invitations sometimes get in the way. 

Monday: 6 mile run.  Nothing too speedy, through an extra hill in for “fun”.

Tuesday: 20 kettlebell swings, 20 plank rows 3x.  150 lunges, 150 ab mat sit ups. Followed by some stretching.

Wednesday: 30 minutes of spin.  My legs were so tired, even the slightest resistance felt extremely heavy.  I cut the class short by 15 minutes because I had to get to work (aka couldn’t pedal anymore)

Thursday: Rest Day.

Friday: 11 mile run. I met up with Ali and ran the first 8 with her before finishing a 3 mile loop on my own.  The run flew by as we chatted. 

Saturday: Rest Day. My legs were tired after Friday’s run and dancing all night at a wedding.

Sunday: I attempted a 5 mile run, around 2 miles I felt sick so I turned around an walked back.  I had a feeling that would happen, but it was either run or read condo docs, which I ended up doing when I got back anyways.