- You wonder if you're going to be warm enough in two moisture-wicking shirts, a fleece vest, fleece jacket, running hat, gloves, insulated tights and warm-up pants on top.
- Less than half an hour into your long run, despite being fully charged, your iPod says "I don't want to run in this weather-okay?"
- You're bummed about this because you were listening to the new Phedippidations where that crazy Steve Runner guy was swimming in Boston Harbor on New Year's Day. Now THAT is nuts. Running when it's subfreezing, on the other hand, is perfectly normal.
- Your Garmin is very slow to update your pace, the display looks faded, and at more than one point during the run indicates that you are a running at a 10:99/minute pace. You think you must be crazy the first time you see this. It happens again and you realize that you did not just hallucinate this.
- You hear layers of thin ice sloshing around in your insulated hand-held water bottle.
- Passing that 60-something old-school runner lady who likes to run early on Saturdays, you say hello and think "man, her hat, jacket and face are COVERED in icicles!"
- The drivers who normally pay you no mind as they drive past on the road next to your regular running trail are turning and giving you double-takes.
- Upon returning to your vehicle to swap out water bottles, you look at your reflection and think "man, my hat, jacket and face are COVERED in icicles!" and understand why the drivers are giving you the Stone Phillips eyebrow.
- Your energy gel in no way resembles a gooey, smooth substance, and you must bang the packet against a rock to soften its contents.
- Double chocolate coffee......caramel delight coffee.......vanilla nut coffee........swiss chocolate almond coffee.....straight up hot black coffee........er-whoops. Lost a mile there lost in my brain, dreaming about steaming hot caffeinated beverages.
- You can't see...the no-fog sunglasses are fogging up.
- OUCH. Just slid on the ice that couldn't be seen through the fogged up glasses.
- You realize that you only THOUGHT you hated that treeless section of trail that was always so miserably hot in the summer. You soak up the sun's warmth-just a few degrees below freezing on this side of the trail-and realize that this is THE most awesome part of the trail after all.
- You have the best final mile of a run in a long time, realizing that you didn't die or freeze to death after all.
- You get home, get in a hot shower, and decide to go back to graduate school just to write a master's thesis proving that indoor plumbing is the greatest modern innovation ever. You commence research with twenty good, steamy minutes.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
You Know You're Running In Really Cold Weather When...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Just Dropped In
To see what condition my condition was in. And, you know-it's not where I'd like it to be right now.
After finishing the year with a bang and chomping at the bit to really power through the first month of 2010, I was sort of forced to hurry up and wait. I've always said how I am slow to recover and just tend to get lots of aches and pains, and just kind of figured I needed to harden up and deal with it when I had some extreme soreness in the lower left leg that wouldn't go away. It came on right around Christmas, but I didn't pay much attention to it. Frankly, I get things like that which always seem to come and go. You stretch, you foam roll, you get over it slowly. It first seemed like the calf muscle but I could feel it in my shin and front of my knee too.
I finally got to a point when I got real and knew that it was time to punt on third down. Taking a few days off now sucks, but when this pain remained unchanged for over a week, I declared it time, and counted my lucky stars that it's right now, and not the mid-March when this pain cropped up. It could be nothing but I don't want to run my way into a long term injury, so three days off was what I went with, followed by a test run on my treadmill last night (meh-but nothing felt worse), and the regular early morning run outdoors with my running buddy (meh at first-better by the end). It doesn't hurt now other than regular post-run soreness levels, so this is encouraging to me.
One other thing I did-and this was hard to do, after I was all excited to do the ultra-was write to the race director AGAIN and say hi-sorry-not trying to be a total pain in the butt, but I've been dealing with a minor injury and think I'd be the queen moron to try to tough my way through 50+K when it would've been kind of a training cramming session anyway, but had to take injury time off. I was not feeling good about doing the ultra in a month when I just took some days off-and that's not the kind of event where I want to show up feeling undertrained. It would make for a LONG day. Much to my relief, he wrote back and said no worries, he doesn't move names around until two weeks out anyway, so he'd just remove my name from his list of names to shift. PHEW! Seriously. I feel very well prepared to do the 33K already, and it just seemed like the wise thing to do to prevent a more serious injury when my body's already saying "whoa" a little bit.
Another bit of good news-my husband put screws in a pair of my running shoes, and I tried them out this morning. Wow! These things really do work. A lot of our snow and ice has melted from our Wednesday route, but when we hit icy and snowy patches, it was like it had me perched above the muck with a firm grip on the frozen stuff. One little issue I had was the screw near the pad of my big toe. It wasn't poking me but I could feel it pushing just under the surface-just a totally annoying feeling the entire time I was running. When I finished and came home, I found that I had a lovely new blister there. So, that screw will need to come out and go somewhere else. Beyond that, though-screw shoes are great. They sounded funny on the road, but also didn't bother me.
So, off to a bit of a slow start for 2010. I'm trying to stay positive, and remember that there are still 359 days left to pick things up a bit.
After finishing the year with a bang and chomping at the bit to really power through the first month of 2010, I was sort of forced to hurry up and wait. I've always said how I am slow to recover and just tend to get lots of aches and pains, and just kind of figured I needed to harden up and deal with it when I had some extreme soreness in the lower left leg that wouldn't go away. It came on right around Christmas, but I didn't pay much attention to it. Frankly, I get things like that which always seem to come and go. You stretch, you foam roll, you get over it slowly. It first seemed like the calf muscle but I could feel it in my shin and front of my knee too.
I finally got to a point when I got real and knew that it was time to punt on third down. Taking a few days off now sucks, but when this pain remained unchanged for over a week, I declared it time, and counted my lucky stars that it's right now, and not the mid-March when this pain cropped up. It could be nothing but I don't want to run my way into a long term injury, so three days off was what I went with, followed by a test run on my treadmill last night (meh-but nothing felt worse), and the regular early morning run outdoors with my running buddy (meh at first-better by the end). It doesn't hurt now other than regular post-run soreness levels, so this is encouraging to me.
One other thing I did-and this was hard to do, after I was all excited to do the ultra-was write to the race director AGAIN and say hi-sorry-not trying to be a total pain in the butt, but I've been dealing with a minor injury and think I'd be the queen moron to try to tough my way through 50+K when it would've been kind of a training cramming session anyway, but had to take injury time off. I was not feeling good about doing the ultra in a month when I just took some days off-and that's not the kind of event where I want to show up feeling undertrained. It would make for a LONG day. Much to my relief, he wrote back and said no worries, he doesn't move names around until two weeks out anyway, so he'd just remove my name from his list of names to shift. PHEW! Seriously. I feel very well prepared to do the 33K already, and it just seemed like the wise thing to do to prevent a more serious injury when my body's already saying "whoa" a little bit.
Another bit of good news-my husband put screws in a pair of my running shoes, and I tried them out this morning. Wow! These things really do work. A lot of our snow and ice has melted from our Wednesday route, but when we hit icy and snowy patches, it was like it had me perched above the muck with a firm grip on the frozen stuff. One little issue I had was the screw near the pad of my big toe. It wasn't poking me but I could feel it pushing just under the surface-just a totally annoying feeling the entire time I was running. When I finished and came home, I found that I had a lovely new blister there. So, that screw will need to come out and go somewhere else. Beyond that, though-screw shoes are great. They sounded funny on the road, but also didn't bother me.
So, off to a bit of a slow start for 2010. I'm trying to stay positive, and remember that there are still 359 days left to pick things up a bit.
Friday, January 1, 2010
2089
That's how many miles I ran in 2009. A little less than two full weeks spent on roads, trails, and other surfaces. It's absolutely not a bragging point-many more have logged far more miles in the past year. It's a shout-out to anyone who has ever watched others completing various physical endeavors and thought "that's cool-I wish could do that!" Because you CAN. Even if you're truly convinced, as I once was, that fitness was only for certain people who possessed certain special athletic traits.
I was a couch surfer not too long ago, and couldn't run more than 30 seconds a few years back. I truly didn't believe I could ever get up and do stuff like that. The truth of the matter is that ANYONE can take that first step-so go for it. What have you got to lose? At worst, it might be a few pounds. What do you have to gain? Pride, enjoyment, and satisfaction in taking the time to take care of yourself-for yourself, and for those who matter most to you. Think about it-people spend hours upon hours watching television, playing video games, or other sedentary recreational activities to unwind and it's a non-issue. Take whatever time you've got each day for free time, and dedicate it to yourself. Though you may not always want to start every workout, I can guarantee that you will leave each one feeling physically and mentally stronger, and more able to tackle anything that goes down in your day-to-day life. Go for it. You're worth it. And you'll be amazed at where that simple "get in shape and get off the couch" choice can take you.
It's taken me over once of the most breathtakingly beautiful mountain passes from Ouray to Telluride, through the Canyonlands of Utah, and countless roads and trails in my home state of Colorado. It's going to take me to Boston on Patriots Day THIS year (holy shiznit....it IS this year!!!). It's going to take me somewhere I've NEVER thought of going, and am frankly a little tweaked about-that 34 mile thing in Moab. But, it really all started with a 200 pound woman going out to jog with her kid and be a decent support for her first 5K. Who huffed and puffed her way to a finish where she couldn't even keep up with her kid. If I can do it, anyone can do it, and I just hope that many people this year realize that they've got it in themselves to get moving and shoot for whatever goals are swirling around in their heads. Name that goal, don't apologize for it or consider it unrealistic, and go for it. There's an expression that sounds kind of cheesy but I've found to be true-shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.
I was a couch surfer not too long ago, and couldn't run more than 30 seconds a few years back. I truly didn't believe I could ever get up and do stuff like that. The truth of the matter is that ANYONE can take that first step-so go for it. What have you got to lose? At worst, it might be a few pounds. What do you have to gain? Pride, enjoyment, and satisfaction in taking the time to take care of yourself-for yourself, and for those who matter most to you. Think about it-people spend hours upon hours watching television, playing video games, or other sedentary recreational activities to unwind and it's a non-issue. Take whatever time you've got each day for free time, and dedicate it to yourself. Though you may not always want to start every workout, I can guarantee that you will leave each one feeling physically and mentally stronger, and more able to tackle anything that goes down in your day-to-day life. Go for it. You're worth it. And you'll be amazed at where that simple "get in shape and get off the couch" choice can take you.
It's taken me over once of the most breathtakingly beautiful mountain passes from Ouray to Telluride, through the Canyonlands of Utah, and countless roads and trails in my home state of Colorado. It's going to take me to Boston on Patriots Day THIS year (holy shiznit....it IS this year!!!). It's going to take me somewhere I've NEVER thought of going, and am frankly a little tweaked about-that 34 mile thing in Moab. But, it really all started with a 200 pound woman going out to jog with her kid and be a decent support for her first 5K. Who huffed and puffed her way to a finish where she couldn't even keep up with her kid. If I can do it, anyone can do it, and I just hope that many people this year realize that they've got it in themselves to get moving and shoot for whatever goals are swirling around in their heads. Name that goal, don't apologize for it or consider it unrealistic, and go for it. There's an expression that sounds kind of cheesy but I've found to be true-shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.
Friday, December 25, 2009
It's Time For Screwing
No no no. Get your mind out of the gutter.
For the first time since I've lived in my fair city, we've been in a freezing and thawing cycle from our big snowstorm two weeks ago without much melting off. It forced my early morning training partner and I to totally call off one of our runs, and as soon as we started seeing a little bit of melting earlier in the week, we got another smaller storm that dropped a few more inches. Running in broad daylight today, I had to keep my eyes peeled on the ever-changing surface under my feet as it changed from damp asphalt to mushy snow to slick, deep ice. I first thought I could ride it out, and wait for the snow and ice to melt, but now I think that for safety's sake, it's time to screw my shoes.
I looked into some Yaktrax in previous years, but the snow would always melt off before I had a chance to think too deeply about it. For you warmer weather folk, these are devices that you strap to your running shoe for better traction while running on slippery or snowy surfaces.
In all fairness, these would probably be great if I lived in a place where an even layer of permafrost or snow was the norm, but I could see these things getting annoying in a hurry where I live. We so rarely get measurable snow, and the dumpage we received earlier in the month has been melting, albeit unevenly. It would probably drive me nuts to have something attached to the outside of my shoe for sections of road and trail where I don't need it at all. Still, I was seriously fearing a broken ankle or other stupid injury in the slickest spots today, so I think it's time to take action.
Screw Shoes are simply your regular running shoes, modified by placing short screws in the bottom of your shoes to provide better traction. You can put them in the shoes in whatever pattern you like, and unless you're using a screw as long as the one in my screw shoes link that says "don't use this!" you don't have to worry about anything poking through and hurting your foot. Unlike the Yaktrax, this method means doesn't add an extra step of having to strap something to your shoe before heading out the door when you might have already been unmotivated for a yucky weather run to begin with. And, if you don't like them or the weather finally goes away-just take them out.
I won't be able to screw my shoes until after tomorrow's long run, but I am looking forward to doing it some time this weekend, and then trying them out soon after. Then, I might be able to run without baby-stepping and feeling super-cautious everywhere I run outdoors.
For the first time since I've lived in my fair city, we've been in a freezing and thawing cycle from our big snowstorm two weeks ago without much melting off. It forced my early morning training partner and I to totally call off one of our runs, and as soon as we started seeing a little bit of melting earlier in the week, we got another smaller storm that dropped a few more inches. Running in broad daylight today, I had to keep my eyes peeled on the ever-changing surface under my feet as it changed from damp asphalt to mushy snow to slick, deep ice. I first thought I could ride it out, and wait for the snow and ice to melt, but now I think that for safety's sake, it's time to screw my shoes.
I looked into some Yaktrax in previous years, but the snow would always melt off before I had a chance to think too deeply about it. For you warmer weather folk, these are devices that you strap to your running shoe for better traction while running on slippery or snowy surfaces.
In all fairness, these would probably be great if I lived in a place where an even layer of permafrost or snow was the norm, but I could see these things getting annoying in a hurry where I live. We so rarely get measurable snow, and the dumpage we received earlier in the month has been melting, albeit unevenly. It would probably drive me nuts to have something attached to the outside of my shoe for sections of road and trail where I don't need it at all. Still, I was seriously fearing a broken ankle or other stupid injury in the slickest spots today, so I think it's time to take action.
Screw Shoes are simply your regular running shoes, modified by placing short screws in the bottom of your shoes to provide better traction. You can put them in the shoes in whatever pattern you like, and unless you're using a screw as long as the one in my screw shoes link that says "don't use this!" you don't have to worry about anything poking through and hurting your foot. Unlike the Yaktrax, this method means doesn't add an extra step of having to strap something to your shoe before heading out the door when you might have already been unmotivated for a yucky weather run to begin with. And, if you don't like them or the weather finally goes away-just take them out.
I won't be able to screw my shoes until after tomorrow's long run, but I am looking forward to doing it some time this weekend, and then trying them out soon after. Then, I might be able to run without baby-stepping and feeling super-cautious everywhere I run outdoors.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
"The World Is Full of Bastards, The Number Increasing Rapidly The Further One Gets From Missoula, Montana"
Yeah, yeah, it's an extra-long title, but a lot catchier than "Races in Places that Start With The Letter M."
I seem to have figured out a trend here. When I'm tapering for a race, I buy running gear. Of all kinds. Because, you know, I might need some of that stuff some day. Maybe even use it all at once. Who knows. You can never be too prepared on race day, right?
When I am recovering from a race-and, more particularly, when I'm nearing the end of a recovery period, I sign up for races. Lots of them. Almost as a preventative measure because of some deep-seated fear that I'll lose all motivation and ability to run. If I'm registered for something, it means I need to get out there to train, or I'm just burning money for no good reason. Okay, okay-it's not anything as deep as that. I think I just like to pick new goal races as soon as possible, and keep that motivation level high without a down period of doing nothing in particular. So, without further ado...here's what I've been doing with a my bank debit card behind the computer screen:
Beyond the things I've already had on the schedule for awhile, I've recently added the Missoula Marathon. I joked that I am a big sucker who was caught, hook line and sinker, by the "Best Overall" title that Runners World magazine bestowed on the race in an article in the most recent issue covering some of the best marathons in the country. I'd never heard anything one way or another about the race, but when I read the article, so many reasons to do it, and reasons I would like it jumped out at me.
I had been wanting to add a third marathon to the schedule next year to go along with Boston, and the TBD fall marathon depending on how the New York City lottery works out. Missoula is in July, and splits the difference between summer and fall. It's not too big and not too small-my favorite kind of race where you have enough runners that there's kind of a festive environment, and good sized crew running the race, but not so huge that you're getting up at midnight to catch planes, trains and automobiles to the start where you wait sardined with 30,000 friends for hours. I love my long runs here with mountains in the background through our rural city, and, well-Missoula would be an opportunity to run past scenic mountain vistas to the heart of the small downtown of a fun rural city. That's also our idea of a good family vacation for a lot of reasons-we don't have the dough, nor do we have the interest in jetting off to some exotic beach for weeks, but we love loading up the family van and taking off on long weekend adventures. My husband already found a couple of nearby mountain biking routes, and can do a little of that while we're there. It's SO close to Glacier National Park, too-so that would be a fun place to take the family some time while we're there. I don't know if the race is filling at record pace, but after a few hours of talking about it with my better half, I decided I'd better go ahead and register just in case. Cha-CHING...done deal.
The other thing I've got going is this little event down in Moab. The Moab Red Hot 50+K/33K takes place in February, and I had originally signed up for the 33K. The change in elevation is not anywhere near the craziness of the Imogene Pass Run, and there's lots of nice flattish slick rock and dirt trails. Now, my friend Jen has been wanting to do an ultra for awhile. The girl started working on me to do the 50K. HAAAAAAAAAAAIL NOOOOOOOOOOOOO was my initial response, and subsequent response the next few times she brought it up.
She must have stuck some mind control device in my brain, though. By about the twelfth time she brought it up, saying "oh, you know, we just do it as a training exercise-no pressure!" I said "FINE. I will email the race director to see if I can switch divisions." I fully expected the answer to be no. You all know how these deals with races go. No cancellations, transfers, upgrades, downgrades, running backwards, in fuschia and orange striped shorts, or anything else that's different than what's in the strongly worded race rules and regulations. The longer race also costs more, and I knew that would be a pain to figure out how to pay the difference even if he said yes.
So, imagine my surprise when I got a response from the race director. "Sure, you can change to the 50K! I'll switch your name over to that list, but you might not see your name show up on that list until after registration closes. Bring an extra $16 with you on race day, and just find me and give it to me." How's that for low-tech and easy peasy? But, CRAP, I thought-what did I just do? Over the next twenty-four hours, my head was filled with thoughts like "You moron, what did you do that for? That's too far! You're going to get hurt! You're not ready! You're going to ruin Boston-MORON!" Oh, and only after the fact did I notice that it said 50+K (a little less than 34 miles) and not just 50K. Um, how did I miss a major detail like THIS IS A 34 MILE RUN?
After I got done with all that, on the verge of wanting to write him back with the tail between the legs, saying "just kidding," I checked out some slide show photos of the race. It looked REALLY sweet. Not easy (not that anyone would ever call an ultra easy), but there were lots of smiling faces, great views, excellent aid stations, and the route did indeed look somewhat manageable for a first ultra. This was confirmed by a RWOL forumite who ran it last year, and who was thinking of doing it again. Like I said, no huge, steep climbs, but kind of a rolling route for much of the way, going up for awhile but coming back down a bit at the end.
So-nervously, I decided to not chicken out, and really do this thing as a no-pressure day of trying something new that I think could make me a better runner in the long run for getting over my fears. I'm going to carefully bump my mileage up a bit now, make sure I get in some long runs on trails, and make that long run longer than it's been before. I'm kind of scared, for sure-but are we really getting anything out of our running if we never step out of the comfort zone or give things a little push from time to time? That's the story I am telling myself, anyway.
I seem to have figured out a trend here. When I'm tapering for a race, I buy running gear. Of all kinds. Because, you know, I might need some of that stuff some day. Maybe even use it all at once. Who knows. You can never be too prepared on race day, right?
When I am recovering from a race-and, more particularly, when I'm nearing the end of a recovery period, I sign up for races. Lots of them. Almost as a preventative measure because of some deep-seated fear that I'll lose all motivation and ability to run. If I'm registered for something, it means I need to get out there to train, or I'm just burning money for no good reason. Okay, okay-it's not anything as deep as that. I think I just like to pick new goal races as soon as possible, and keep that motivation level high without a down period of doing nothing in particular. So, without further ado...here's what I've been doing with a my bank debit card behind the computer screen:
Beyond the things I've already had on the schedule for awhile, I've recently added the Missoula Marathon. I joked that I am a big sucker who was caught, hook line and sinker, by the "Best Overall" title that Runners World magazine bestowed on the race in an article in the most recent issue covering some of the best marathons in the country. I'd never heard anything one way or another about the race, but when I read the article, so many reasons to do it, and reasons I would like it jumped out at me.
I had been wanting to add a third marathon to the schedule next year to go along with Boston, and the TBD fall marathon depending on how the New York City lottery works out. Missoula is in July, and splits the difference between summer and fall. It's not too big and not too small-my favorite kind of race where you have enough runners that there's kind of a festive environment, and good sized crew running the race, but not so huge that you're getting up at midnight to catch planes, trains and automobiles to the start where you wait sardined with 30,000 friends for hours. I love my long runs here with mountains in the background through our rural city, and, well-Missoula would be an opportunity to run past scenic mountain vistas to the heart of the small downtown of a fun rural city. That's also our idea of a good family vacation for a lot of reasons-we don't have the dough, nor do we have the interest in jetting off to some exotic beach for weeks, but we love loading up the family van and taking off on long weekend adventures. My husband already found a couple of nearby mountain biking routes, and can do a little of that while we're there. It's SO close to Glacier National Park, too-so that would be a fun place to take the family some time while we're there. I don't know if the race is filling at record pace, but after a few hours of talking about it with my better half, I decided I'd better go ahead and register just in case. Cha-CHING...done deal.
The other thing I've got going is this little event down in Moab. The Moab Red Hot 50+K/33K takes place in February, and I had originally signed up for the 33K. The change in elevation is not anywhere near the craziness of the Imogene Pass Run, and there's lots of nice flattish slick rock and dirt trails. Now, my friend Jen has been wanting to do an ultra for awhile. The girl started working on me to do the 50K. HAAAAAAAAAAAIL NOOOOOOOOOOOOO was my initial response, and subsequent response the next few times she brought it up.
She must have stuck some mind control device in my brain, though. By about the twelfth time she brought it up, saying "oh, you know, we just do it as a training exercise-no pressure!" I said "FINE. I will email the race director to see if I can switch divisions." I fully expected the answer to be no. You all know how these deals with races go. No cancellations, transfers, upgrades, downgrades, running backwards, in fuschia and orange striped shorts, or anything else that's different than what's in the strongly worded race rules and regulations. The longer race also costs more, and I knew that would be a pain to figure out how to pay the difference even if he said yes.
So, imagine my surprise when I got a response from the race director. "Sure, you can change to the 50K! I'll switch your name over to that list, but you might not see your name show up on that list until after registration closes. Bring an extra $16 with you on race day, and just find me and give it to me." How's that for low-tech and easy peasy? But, CRAP, I thought-what did I just do? Over the next twenty-four hours, my head was filled with thoughts like "You moron, what did you do that for? That's too far! You're going to get hurt! You're not ready! You're going to ruin Boston-MORON!" Oh, and only after the fact did I notice that it said 50+K (a little less than 34 miles) and not just 50K. Um, how did I miss a major detail like THIS IS A 34 MILE RUN?
After I got done with all that, on the verge of wanting to write him back with the tail between the legs, saying "just kidding," I checked out some slide show photos of the race. It looked REALLY sweet. Not easy (not that anyone would ever call an ultra easy), but there were lots of smiling faces, great views, excellent aid stations, and the route did indeed look somewhat manageable for a first ultra. This was confirmed by a RWOL forumite who ran it last year, and who was thinking of doing it again. Like I said, no huge, steep climbs, but kind of a rolling route for much of the way, going up for awhile but coming back down a bit at the end.
So-nervously, I decided to not chicken out, and really do this thing as a no-pressure day of trying something new that I think could make me a better runner in the long run for getting over my fears. I'm going to carefully bump my mileage up a bit now, make sure I get in some long runs on trails, and make that long run longer than it's been before. I'm kind of scared, for sure-but are we really getting anything out of our running if we never step out of the comfort zone or give things a little push from time to time? That's the story I am telling myself, anyway.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The (Wickedly Cold) Winter (and not so much) Sun 10K Race Report
It was nasty cold (for here, in December, anyway) this past Saturday when I headed down to Moab with several fellow runners for the traditional season-ending 10K race. Normally, we can count on it being slightly warmer down there, and it was-but this is not saying very much when it was five degrees in our fair city when we headed out at 6:30 a.m.
After picking our race packets, we were trying our best to hang out inside the high school and ride the second of two waves of buses to the start, but the race crew shooed all of us out and said they had to have people on the first wave of buses and then come back for the other half. So, we took the first buses up. I was in seventeen layers of warmups (okay, not that much-but it felt like it), not really wanting to remove them, and was not really feeling racey at all which was oddly comforting. When we lined up, though, I was still telling myself I was going to take some chances and see what happened. When the gun went off, there were some amazingly fast ladies-at least a dozen-who were out ahead of me from the very start. I thought, oh, no shot for an age group today with all these people but any kind of PR would be very fulfilling.
I got passed by several people in the first three miles but also passed a couple...so that seemed like a wash. I passed a couple more folks in the middle miles but again it seemed like I was being passed by the same number. This was harder than I ever ran the race the first two times I did this race...no "comfortably hard" here at any point. It was just plain hard, and a little part of me was tempted to kind of do that 90% effort where it is a little bit comfortable just to catch a slight breather here or there. The other part of me said go all out for the best PR possible, you can't control results but get a good PR. So that I did, and I tried to give extra kick *just in case* I was close to age grouping and/or had anyone right behind me. Splits looked like:
6:54
6:53
7:31 (the hilly mile)
6:51
6:56
7:11
last .2 on a 7:02 pace, Garmin time 43:46, official/gun time 43:48. This was a PR of almost 2:30, so I was thrilled with that. I couldn't have picked it up any more today than I did and felt like that is the best fade-fighting I've ever done late in a race. My friend and regular race buddy Jen looked great coming in too. I could see her checking out the time clock and pushing it right to the finish, and it resulted in about a three minute PR for her.
I really and truly didn't think I was going to nab an age group award, though. I saw how many ladies were ahead of me and my age group (a ten year group) is always strong, and represented 20% of the entire race last year. So, when they called my name for third I was truly taken by surprise, and I said "I'm shocked!" before going up to collect my cool looking medal with the KoKoPelli engraved on it. I figured there was absolutely no way and was watching to see which ladies in front of me had placed. When I checked the results later at home, I was the 12th female out of 416 total, and the luck of the draw for me this time was that five of the women ahead were 20-29, three were 40-49, and three were 30-39-BUT the overall female champ was in my 30-39 age group so I was "lucky fourth" and slid up into that last age group slot when they pulled her out for her overall win.
Besides that, I picked up my guaranteed entry form for Canyonlands, got a tote/duffel that all "Triple Crown" runners got (if you run Canyonlands, Winter Sun and Other Half in the same year), and got a door prize of pizza and an appetizer from a Moab restaurant. So-I guess my moral of the story is-it paid off to not take breathers or cruise easy anywhere. The next person in my age group was twenty-one seconds back, so I absolutely would have been out of age groups with any letup any time in the race.
Another nice surprise and twist this year was that the Taiko Dan drummers who I love so much from the half marathons in Moab on the 10K course for the first time! I wasn't expecting to see them at the 10K and they are always a pick-me-up, no matter how well or poorly you're running. They were in a residential area near the bike path, and it didn't seem to be the full group of drummers that they have on the highway. The pick-me-up that I got from the drumming was the same, though! And, going back to that female champ whose win allowed me to place in age group-she obliterated the women's course record with a 35:XX run, finishing fifth in the combined male and female results, barely a minute back from the winning man. When she went up to get her award she was holding her baby, and I was duly impressed that someone who is still in the night-waking phase of parenting was also finding a way to make a little time for her own running and training.
That completes my 2009 racing schedule. It's been a lot of fun, and the training time for those races equally so. As I post this, I'm about sixty miles short of 2000 miles for the year, so it's my final goal to make sure I finish out the year and hit that mark. I probably would've said "you're crazy!" if someone had told me five years ago that I'd be running 2000 miles in 2009, but today it seems like a totally normal thing to just get out the door on a regular schedule, and have it all add up. Shoot, there are lots of other runners who put in slightly higher mileage consistently, and they wind up at 3000 or 4000 for the year, so I look forward to that being my "normal" a few years from now. Here's to running toward the new year, setting, and working toward new goals in 2010.
After picking our race packets, we were trying our best to hang out inside the high school and ride the second of two waves of buses to the start, but the race crew shooed all of us out and said they had to have people on the first wave of buses and then come back for the other half. So, we took the first buses up. I was in seventeen layers of warmups (okay, not that much-but it felt like it), not really wanting to remove them, and was not really feeling racey at all which was oddly comforting. When we lined up, though, I was still telling myself I was going to take some chances and see what happened. When the gun went off, there were some amazingly fast ladies-at least a dozen-who were out ahead of me from the very start. I thought, oh, no shot for an age group today with all these people but any kind of PR would be very fulfilling.
I got passed by several people in the first three miles but also passed a couple...so that seemed like a wash. I passed a couple more folks in the middle miles but again it seemed like I was being passed by the same number. This was harder than I ever ran the race the first two times I did this race...no "comfortably hard" here at any point. It was just plain hard, and a little part of me was tempted to kind of do that 90% effort where it is a little bit comfortable just to catch a slight breather here or there. The other part of me said go all out for the best PR possible, you can't control results but get a good PR. So that I did, and I tried to give extra kick *just in case* I was close to age grouping and/or had anyone right behind me. Splits looked like:
6:54
6:53
7:31 (the hilly mile)
6:51
6:56
7:11
last .2 on a 7:02 pace, Garmin time 43:46, official/gun time 43:48. This was a PR of almost 2:30, so I was thrilled with that. I couldn't have picked it up any more today than I did and felt like that is the best fade-fighting I've ever done late in a race. My friend and regular race buddy Jen looked great coming in too. I could see her checking out the time clock and pushing it right to the finish, and it resulted in about a three minute PR for her.
I really and truly didn't think I was going to nab an age group award, though. I saw how many ladies were ahead of me and my age group (a ten year group) is always strong, and represented 20% of the entire race last year. So, when they called my name for third I was truly taken by surprise, and I said "I'm shocked!" before going up to collect my cool looking medal with the KoKoPelli engraved on it. I figured there was absolutely no way and was watching to see which ladies in front of me had placed. When I checked the results later at home, I was the 12th female out of 416 total, and the luck of the draw for me this time was that five of the women ahead were 20-29, three were 40-49, and three were 30-39-BUT the overall female champ was in my 30-39 age group so I was "lucky fourth" and slid up into that last age group slot when they pulled her out for her overall win.
Besides that, I picked up my guaranteed entry form for Canyonlands, got a tote/duffel that all "Triple Crown" runners got (if you run Canyonlands, Winter Sun and Other Half in the same year), and got a door prize of pizza and an appetizer from a Moab restaurant. So-I guess my moral of the story is-it paid off to not take breathers or cruise easy anywhere. The next person in my age group was twenty-one seconds back, so I absolutely would have been out of age groups with any letup any time in the race.
Another nice surprise and twist this year was that the Taiko Dan drummers who I love so much from the half marathons in Moab on the 10K course for the first time! I wasn't expecting to see them at the 10K and they are always a pick-me-up, no matter how well or poorly you're running. They were in a residential area near the bike path, and it didn't seem to be the full group of drummers that they have on the highway. The pick-me-up that I got from the drumming was the same, though! And, going back to that female champ whose win allowed me to place in age group-she obliterated the women's course record with a 35:XX run, finishing fifth in the combined male and female results, barely a minute back from the winning man. When she went up to get her award she was holding her baby, and I was duly impressed that someone who is still in the night-waking phase of parenting was also finding a way to make a little time for her own running and training.
That completes my 2009 racing schedule. It's been a lot of fun, and the training time for those races equally so. As I post this, I'm about sixty miles short of 2000 miles for the year, so it's my final goal to make sure I finish out the year and hit that mark. I probably would've said "you're crazy!" if someone had told me five years ago that I'd be running 2000 miles in 2009, but today it seems like a totally normal thing to just get out the door on a regular schedule, and have it all add up. Shoot, there are lots of other runners who put in slightly higher mileage consistently, and they wind up at 3000 or 4000 for the year, so I look forward to that being my "normal" a few years from now. Here's to running toward the new year, setting, and working toward new goals in 2010.
Friday, December 4, 2009
BRRRRRRRRRR And The Interrupting Cow Joke
Wowza, it's cold out there. Now, I can hear the few of you who read this saying "Hey, genius, you live in Colorado," but it's sort of a myth that we're under six feet of snow and freezing our butts off all the time. With a very low relative humidity, it's really pretty darn comfortable here in the winter, coupled with the fact that I'm in the high desert so we normally get the highest temps of the state and lots of sun. This morning, I found myself hashing out race day clothing options with fellow running friend Jen. We'll both be heading over to Moab tomorrow, and hopefully setting some 10K PR's.
I have a history of bad-attitude-itis to start the day before getting to this race. It's a two hour drive, which means an early wake-up call instead of getting to putz around the house and wait for it to warm up before setting foot outdoors. It can get pretty breezy while waiting to start up at the golf course in Moab, and we've got to catch a shuttle up there to begin with. That said, both times that I ran this race ('07 and '08), I woke up right after that starting gun sounded, and that inner drive to race kicked into gear. And, each time, this race resulted in what would become a then-PR. So....I'm trying to stay in "don't care" mode but I kind of have a bug up my butt to not just set a new PR, but blow my current 46:06 PR out of the water. That's from way back in February, and the only other 10K I've run since then was a trail race the next weekend, and the Bolder Boulder in May. That was at a higher altitude, on a hillier course, and a month after my spring marathon when I was recovering slowly and running easy.
Getting back to the cold issue, though-as much as I hate the feeling of standing around in below-freezing temps, and wearing piles of clothes, I seem to have had some of my best race days in that kind of weather. I must admit, too, that it feels great after the first mile. It's why I SO love my wintertime long runs, when the trails become less crowded and I'm not melting off my weight in sweat. So-here's to just a little, itty, bitty, teeny bit of motivation and interest in having a great Winter Sun this year.
Switching gears-BlackBear asked about the "Interrupting Cow" joke. I wish I could find the version that was told on the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba, but I did find a pretty decent YouTube clip here from South Park. Warning-if you have kids or interact with kids regularly, and they don't know this joke....be prepared for the joke to never, ever go away if you decide to tell it.
I have a history of bad-attitude-itis to start the day before getting to this race. It's a two hour drive, which means an early wake-up call instead of getting to putz around the house and wait for it to warm up before setting foot outdoors. It can get pretty breezy while waiting to start up at the golf course in Moab, and we've got to catch a shuttle up there to begin with. That said, both times that I ran this race ('07 and '08), I woke up right after that starting gun sounded, and that inner drive to race kicked into gear. And, each time, this race resulted in what would become a then-PR. So....I'm trying to stay in "don't care" mode but I kind of have a bug up my butt to not just set a new PR, but blow my current 46:06 PR out of the water. That's from way back in February, and the only other 10K I've run since then was a trail race the next weekend, and the Bolder Boulder in May. That was at a higher altitude, on a hillier course, and a month after my spring marathon when I was recovering slowly and running easy.
Getting back to the cold issue, though-as much as I hate the feeling of standing around in below-freezing temps, and wearing piles of clothes, I seem to have had some of my best race days in that kind of weather. I must admit, too, that it feels great after the first mile. It's why I SO love my wintertime long runs, when the trails become less crowded and I'm not melting off my weight in sweat. So-here's to just a little, itty, bitty, teeny bit of motivation and interest in having a great Winter Sun this year.
Switching gears-BlackBear asked about the "Interrupting Cow" joke. I wish I could find the version that was told on the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba, but I did find a pretty decent YouTube clip here from South Park. Warning-if you have kids or interact with kids regularly, and they don't know this joke....be prepared for the joke to never, ever go away if you decide to tell it.
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