Tag Archives: race

This And That

I think when last I left you, I had been in Hawaii then sadly came home to the freezing cold. I did post a picture of some snow, but here… I have a better one. My first day back at work, I got stuck, even with studded snow tires. I’m the blue SUV. I didn’t feel half as bad as the yellow JEEP who also got just as stuck. (Okay, so we both only have front-wheel drive.) No one got up the driveway that day. Eventually when it was time to go home, we who were stuck had to dig ourselves out. Gotta say, I have some really great co-workers as everyone helped (which basically consisted of 3 other women, but damn, we killed it with the snow shovels… boys, take note, 😀 ).

It’s the beginning of March and with all the snow and cold weather, we’ve yet to see any babies at the wildlife rescue center, for which I’m extremely grateful. History dictates that first up will be the baby cottontails or the baby raptors. But while we don’t have wild baby bunnies yet, I do have have one big baby that I care for and hug on daily… the clinic manager’s bunny that hangs out with me and guilts me into feeding him treats. Daryl got himself a nice polar bear knitted cap which he doesn’t really like wearing, but it doesn’t matter, he’s too freaking cute. (Just FYI… I do not cuddle on the wild baby bunnies… wildlife remains wild.)

This weekend was the Seattle Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k that James and I both signed up for to represent BibRave. It was the first race of 2018 for both of us. As this is a partnered event with Bibrave, I’ll cover the legalities now:

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Allstate Hot Chocolate Seattle race as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

Saturday had us going to the race expo and practicing travel logistics for the race on Sunday. But, I have to say, this race support has been great from the very start. Once I signed up, I was emailed a 10-week training plan based on my pace. They then emailed me every week to remind me which week I was supposed to be on for training. Fabulous support throughout the training. Kudos to them.

If you want to know how I did, you’ll have to stay tuned. Spoiler alert: I did not have a good day.

Lastly, today would have been my mother’s 81st birthday AND my brother’s 60th birthday. Yes, my mother’s first child was born on her 21st birthday… what a fabulous gift. For those who are new to my blog, my brother died in 2015 from cancer and my mother died several months later in 2016 of complications from a GI bleed.

Today, on their special day, this song is for them:

Lyrics:

Sorry I never told you
All I wanted to say
Now it’s too late to hold you
‘Cause you’ve flown away
So far away

Never had I imagined
Living without your smile
Feeling and knowing you hear me
It keeps me alive
Alive

And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way
And I know eventually we’ll be together
One sweet day

Darling I never showed you
Assumed you’d always be there
I, I took your presence for granted
But I always cared
And I miss the love we shared

And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way
And I know eventually we’ll be together
One sweet day

Although the sun will never shine the same
I’ll always look to a brighter day

Lord I know when I lay me down to sleep
You will always listen as I pray

And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way
And I know eventually we’ll be together
One sweet day

Sorry I never told you
All I wanted to say

Rock ‘N’ Roll San Antonio Race Weekend

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Are you ready for some pictures??!! Because you know me… my race weekend recaps usually contain more pictures than words, sooo… here we go!

James, AJ and I left a cold, wet Seattle on the morning of Friday, Dec 1, and touched down in warm, muggy San Antonio around 6 p.m. There is a two-hour time difference between Texas and Washington, which is kind of a big deal come race day. Getting up at 5 a.m. Texas time is equivalent to getting up at 3 our time. Painful.

Anyhoo…

Our first night there we left AJ to enjoy some peace and quiet in the hotel room (which is what he wanted) while James and I started to explore downtown San Antonio. Mostly, we walked the famous River Walk looking for someplace to eat. If you’re visiting S.A., definitely try to stay close to, if not on, the River Walk path. They have absolutely everything you need. We were mesmerized. With it being the holiday season, there were lights hanging from practically every tree, and the city was lit up in red and green (is this year ’round?). There were even carolers riding in the boats singing away.

The next day was reserved for the race expo and a river boat tour. Have you ever been to a Rock ‘N’ Roll race expo? They’re huge and so much fun. Here’s a bird’s eye view:

A couple of hours later, and after spending a small fortune at the expo, it was time to round up the child for lunch and the river boat tour (we don’t drag AJ through expos anymore; they’re quite boring for him). We settled on Mexican food for lunch. Okay… being born and raised in Arizona and eating Southwest Mexican food my entire life, I miss it greatly living in the Pacific Northwest. Needless to say, my taste buds were squealing with delight when the plate of rice and beans were placed in front of me! And I know what you’re thinking… Mexican food the day before a race!? Yeah baby! The key is to eat early.

Race Day

As I mentioned before, it was an early start. We were meeting up with another Bib Rave Pro before the race for photos. Ta-Da! Meet Kolbe from Dallas.

I was in corral 16, and the following is what the start line looked like from way back there. If you notice, it was quite misty and overcast, for which I was thankful as it had been hot-hot-hot that weekend (80s) and I was slightly concerned. At least the clouds hid the intense sun.

I was about a mile into the race when the heavens decided to open up and bring forth a monsoonal type of rain. I’m used to the rain, so no big deal. I wear a visor to keep the rain out of my eyes, and I was thankful to be comfortable and not hot. The Streets of San Antonio, however, were not so forgiving. It poured down solid for at least 1/2-hour, hard and fast, which was just enough to flood the streets. I was jumping through puddles where the water came to my shins. Enter the reason why I lost two toenails. My socks never dried out, so my feet remained wet until I reached the finish line. My two little toes blistered so severely that it lifted the nails right off the nail bed. Funny enough, this has happened once before… both times I was wearing Balega socks. Is it the socks? Maybe. Or is it operator error as I know I have sensitive toes and forgot to tape them beforehand? Most likely. C’est la vie. I finished.

I loved this course. It was flat! What a great way to end the year… with a flat course!! Okay, there was one hill that stretched from mile 10 to mile 11, but what goes up, must come down, so it made for a fast finish. I also had zero fueling issues and zero GI issues. I ate 2 quick dissolve glucose tablets every 20 to 30 minutes to keep me going. I even had a shot of coffee out on the course at mile 7. Minus the painful feet, it was a fantastic time.

After a nice long nap, we had dinner with my high school friend, Mindy, whom I wrote a little bit about here. She just recently moved to San Antonio from Arizona to be with her boyfriend and loves it. We met them at Margaritaville down on the river (yes! more Mexican food!).

Monday was spent touring the Alamo and flying home.

When we left San Antonio, it was 85 deg F. When we landed in Seattle, it was around 36 deg F. Apparently two days later, it snowed in San Antonio. A fabulous weekend, but there’s no place like home.

If you haven’t already, go check out James’s post on the race itself and for all the finite details that I tend to miss. After being injured and flat on his back for a few months, he somehow managed to complete the half marathon. Muscle memory is a beautiful thing. Don’t ever get down on yourself for being injured because, if you have the drive within you, you WILL come back. In spades.

Happy running y’all!

Williams Route 66 Marathon

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If you follow my blog regularly, you may already know that James and I ran Route 66 in Oklahoma last Sunday, November 20th (him the full, me the half). One word comes to mind… hilly. Okay… another word also comes to mind… fun. What a fabulous experience! We made a point to qualify for Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics earlier in the year specifically for this race and the VIP experience, and it did not disappoint. When you’ve had the extreme pleasure of standing in the never-ending portaloo lines pre-race, only then can you appreciate the serenity of a private row of blue cabins with zero wait time.

As I tend to suck at writing race recaps, I’m just going to stick to my little weekend summary with pictures, but do keep an eye on 50 in 50 Marathon Quest for the actual mile-by-mile breakdown.

2016-11-18-17.21.22.jpg.jpg

Soooo… my first impression of Tulsa as we were flying over it on Friday was flat. Don’t laugh… it’s true, it looks flat. You can see forever, until the earth starts to curve again, kind of like a never-ending horizon. However, I discovered our first night there that Tulsa is anything BUT flat. And it has gorgeous sunsets.

On Saturday, we had the race expo and blogger’s forum with which we were invited to participate. The expo was great… lots of fun stuff to be had. We came away with a bag full of swag and stuff we probably didn’t really need, but it’s all part of the fun expo experience. I even found some shoe charms that James was gracious enough to buy for me.

The blogger’s forum was also a great experience. Everyone was so nice and so friendly, and the social media director for the race was just amazing… super sweet! I had a blast getting to know the other bloggers and talking with them, sharing notes and ideas, etc. If you ever have the chance to participate on a panel, I highly recommend it.

Okay, on to the race… we met up with the Maniacs and Fanatics beforehand (remember… our very own portaloos with no lines… okay, well, maybe a little line). This is the official picture of all the maniacs that were there:

In case you’re having issues picking James and I out in the crowd, here’s a little help:

It was cold… very cold. And windy (we later learned that the wind always blows in Tulsa). I tried to get some video at the start line with the music playing in the background, but my phone didn’t do a great job at picking up the music. However, if you’re interested in checking out the buildings down town and all the people, here ya go:

The course started out relatively flat… yay! But then we went around a corner, and it was all up and down from there. Long rolling hills. You were either going up, or you were going down. There was 1 mile out on the highway that was also relatively flat, but we ran mostly through neighborhoods, so up and down we went (but oh, the neighborhoods were gorgeous).

The support for this race was amazing. People were everywhere, having block parties and blasting music. The chickens even came out to cheer us on.

At about mile 9, beer shots were handed out at one of the aid stations. I don’t drink beer, and I certainly don’t drink it at 10 in the morning; however, I will admit I took a shot. After all those hills, I needed the sugar and carbs to keep me going. There were also beer shots at miles 10 and 11, and then somewhere in there, they had jello shots made with Fireball. What can I say? I had a great time.

The hill past the above sign really, really hurt… just saying.

Once we crossed the finish line, we hobbled on over to the Maniacs party tent to partake of the barbecue and pizza. We also received the medals specific for our club (Fanatic or Maniac).

And, with the Turkey Trot 5K we did 4 days later on Thanksgiving, so endeth the 2016 race year. Route 66 was a fabulous finale race and a fabulous time, with the best bling of the year. It made qualifying for the Fanatics worth every single painful mile.

After completing 8 races this year, 7 of them being half-marathons in 5 different states (including Washington), and after the heartache I endured this fall, I leave you with this pre-emptive Motivational Music Monday song:

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar!

50 in 50

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Thank you to everyone. Your amazing support and loving comments have helped me tremendously in my most recent struggle to deal with my mother’s death. You have no idea just how much you’ve helped.

And thanks to James for all his loving support, help, and the kind words he has written. You can read about it here.

It’s a race weekend. In the words of Queen’s Freddie Mercury… The Show Must Go On…

Watch out Bellingham… here we come!

MMM #17

18 Replies

It’s time once again for Motivational Music Monday! Anyone can contribute, so go check out James at 50 in 50 Marathon Quest and add a song and/or link in the comments!

This coming Saturday is

Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle

our 4th race of 2016!

I’m doing the half & James is doing the full (may heaven help him on all those hills)!

And I couldn’t think of a more appropriate song for this coming week!

For everyone rockin’ it this weekend, we salute you!

Happy Monday! May you have a blessed week!

Salt Lake City Half-Marathon

45 Replies

I’m not that great at giving a race recap, so if you want the full 4-11 (do people still say that?), you might want to check out Jamesy’s blog for his race recap later in the week. In the meantime, I’ll give a brief summary of the weekend from my perspective.

If you caught my pre-race freak-out post, you’ll know that we had an extremely bumpy flight thanks to a snow storm. This is us on Thursday not long after that incident… celebrating being alive.

You might have also caught the part where I met up with some family on Friday where we toured Temple Square. A bit of history: My father graduated from Bountiful High School around 1947, so my family “base” is in Utah. I hadn’t been to Temple Square since before my grandmother died in 1981, and it was great to be there. When I was a kid, my sister and I would spend most summers with her in Bountiful. Utah was as much home to me as Arizona was.

The above was the morning of the race. The bright lights in the middle represent the start line. And it was cold. Luckily, James and I had brought a couple of space blankets from a previous Rock ‘n’ Roll event, so we didn’t freeze too much. Starting temperature was 38 degrees F.

The elevation of the course looked like this. While, yes, there is a huge downhill section, there were very painful uphill parts as well. Four of the most notable hills were two in mile 1 (not nice), the one from mile 5 to mile 6 (total energy suck), and a complete ass kicker in mile 7 that was comparable to my Mo-Fo Hill across the street. The marathon and half-marathon runners split up at mile 9, and when James made his turnoff, he went straight uphill yet again; thankfully, I went down. Not only that, we train at sea level, and I’m seeing that this course was between 4300 to 4800 feet. It took a little bit of breathing effort to go up those hills. By the 12th mile, I was knackered. I wasn’t hurt in any shape or form and my feet were fine, no blisters (yay Brooks!), but I was indeed tired. The finish line was such a sweet sight!

Post-race festivities were fabulous. Pancakes with boysenberry syrup. Creamsicles. Yogurt. Beer. Music. They did not, however, have chocolate milk, so we headed to the nearest coffee shop afterwards to get some hot chocolate. It was still cold, but I was thankful for not getting overheated.

Total miles logged for the weekend: 27.59
Total steps: 63,288
Total number of toenails lost: One (literally… it came off while I was slipping on my shoes after the race)
Number of celebratory drinks post race: 4
Post-race dinner: Mexican food.

It was a fabulous weekend and a fabulous race. I’m not hurt, so training begins right away for our next adventure… Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle in just a mere 60 days! And we are completely primed for that lovely hilly course! I have a beautiful set of rolling hills I’ll be training on to get my quads in shape for it, not to mention I’m going to attempt Mo-Fo Hill a couple more times.

Meanwhile, the karaoke celebratory night is this coming Saturday. Maybe I’ll set up the GoPro and get some random video…. hahahaha, not! Have a great week!

Weekly Wrap – Redmond Turkey Trot

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I’m linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for the Weekly Wrap!

Maui Half-Marathon Training, Week 6

Not a good week for training. Power outages, massive wind storms, rain, freezing weather… I pretty much just kept my legs loosened up for the 5K Turkey Trot on Saturday. I think I’ll just get right to that…

Inaugural Redmond Turkey Trot

Woke up on Saturday at a much earlier time than I do during the week (only for a race, right?!). Weather conditions were freezing and clear… and I do mean freezing.

The start of the race was in the middle of Redmond Town Center, Redmond, WA.

We picked up our race packets nice and early, took a couple of photos, then went back to the car to stay warm (especially as one of us was racing in shorts, of all things… hint: it wasn’t me).

Just wait until you take those track pants off, Jamesy.

The fountain froze along the outside edge.

We managed to snag a couple of hand warmers from a booth, which didn’t actually help the freezing fingers any, but it was nice being warm somewhere even if it was just the palms of my hands. They decided to start the race a couple of minutes early, which was fine with us as everyone was jumping around trying to keep the blood flowing. And James was in shorts!

I’m not used to running in such extreme conditions, so it was kind of breathtaking. Literally. I thought my lungs were going to freeze up with every breath I took. I didn’t regain feeling in my lips and face until after mile 1 somewhere. Everything was uncomfortably numb.

I was aiming for a 40-minute time goal (it’s perfectly alright that I’m slower than most, I’m okay with that), so I didn’t stop to take any pictures of the course. It was a nice running trail, mostly flat, next to a river or a stream (that I didn’t drink out of), and in places it was a little bit icy. I tiptoed very carefully through the icy parts.

James finished his race quickly, then came back to pace me the last half-mile or so. It was nice being able to trod along with him. He talked the whole entire time, and I listened; and for those who aren’t runners, that means I was running just hard enough that I was not able to carry on a conversation. James veered off just as I “entered the finish chute.” (There wasn’t an actual chute, just a nice red brick path in which to “bring it on home.“)

Unfortunately, I didn’t make my 40 minutes, I finished in about 44. BUT, the good news is that, according to my watch and Garmin Connect and Strava and Nike+, I had 6 personal records. I’m very, very pleased with how the race went and with my time and with how much effort I put into it. It’s proof positive that I’m getting better and faster as time goes on. All it takes is practice (and a whole lot of patience… oh, and hard work, can’t forget the hard work).

James had a stellar performance. He had never done a 5K before (a few marathons, but never a 5K, go figure), so his was a given PR. He managed to place 2nd in his age group. You can read his awesome race report here. He finished in 23:16 and won a pie. A freaking pie. So awesome. And so tasty.

Shorts and pie!

Afterwards, we headed off for our celebratory breakfast. We did have to change out of our race gear first. We were in the parking garage of the Redmond Town Center, and I crawled into the back of our Honda CRV with the hatchback and changed my clothes. Have you ever changed your clothes in such a tiny confined space?! Let me rephrase that… have you ever tried to get out of a sports bra in such a tiny confined space?! James held up a towel to shield me from the peeping toms.

We had breakfast at The Commons, just outside of Woodinville. They didn’t have my pancakes and bacon, so I went with biscuits and gravy… the next best thing.

It was a fabulous day, tons of fun, a great race with great results, a great breakfast, and great company! While this was not an official “race-cation,” this was a wonderful “race date.” Next up for us is the Mukilteo Turkey Trot this Thursday. James is doing the 10K, aiming for a PR, and I’m doing the 5K, still aiming for my 40 minutes.

And what makes this all worth it? Why, it’s all about the bling, of course! Happy Running!

Never A Dull Bling

The trials and tribulations of a 40-something novice runner

Tag Archives: race

This And That

Rock ‘N’ Roll San Antonio Race Weekend

Race Day

Williams Route 66 Marathon

50 in 50

MMM #17

Salt Lake City Half-Marathon

Weekly Wrap – Redmond Turkey Trot

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Race Day

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