She Likes Purple

Race Recap: 2012 Cowtown 10K

I ran the Cowtown last year, and it's become one of my favorite courses, which doesn't make much sense because it's a bitch of a course with a few really stupid hills and one part in the middle where a wide road narrows down to a trail so everyone just sort of slams into each other. (I like to think of this particular part as the time I find motivation to run faster than everyone who is annoying me, though.) Also, this year the course was exactly the same as last year except for the finish line, which was moved a few tenths of a mile further down the road. I don't know how that happens either. 

But there's a steady crowd cheering, the course weaves the runners through a nice part of Fort Worth, and each mile is a little different. Also, plenty of water stops.

I didn't train nearly as much for this race (or the 3M) as I wish I had. Oh hindsight! You are so cruel! I told Kristie, when she asked if I'd been training regularly, that I wish you could count watching a pathetic amount of Sons of Anarchy as training because then I'd probably win all the races.

Unfortunately, evolution and science have failed me again, and knowing the intricate details of Jax Teller's tattoos and having just watched the season three finale TWICE IN A ROW the night before did nothing to help me across the finish line. 

I actually hurt my foot mid-run, either because of uneven terrain or needing new shoes or, as Mike so sweetly said, "maybe you shouldn't run the next race without training." THANKS BABE. YOU GET TO RUB MY FOOT FOR BEING SO SPOT-ON. It's feeling much better today, thank everything, because yesterday I was convinced I'd never run (or work-out or walk without a limp) again. 

(That's a little peek inside my fun brain. I hurt my foot in a race and five minutes later I'm convinced life as knew it is over.)

Anyway, my finish time was 1:16:33, so about five minutes slower than last year. This is the wrong way, I know! Oof! But, we have lots of months left in this year, so I'm still gunning for a PR time next 10K. 

Thanks to Kristie for snapping my finish line shot. She got a shot right before this of someone else entirely, thinking it was me, so I'm just impressed with her camera's recovery time. Or perhaps that's a sign of how slow I was moving.

After the last two races, I feel dusty as a runner and have some questions for the runners among us to recharge my running mojo.

1. I need new music suggestions. I tend to lean on Pandora a little too much when I'm running, which is great if the song that kicks on in my headphones is a good running song. Not so good when the song is a ballad and I have to fetch my iPhone out of my belt to switch songs. Any good songs you've been working out to lately?
2. Do you have a pair of running shoes you love? I plan to get re-fitted, just like I did last time, but my foot and gait seem to be relatively normal so, last time, I was offered a few shoes that would fit my needs. I picked the one (at the time) that felt most comfortable in the store and on the in-store treadmill, but I'd love to go in armed with even more information, if possible.

Finally, if you are a runner too, how funny is this shirt? Order by March 1st, and you can have it in time for St. Patrick's Day!

3M Half-Marathon Race Recap

I hadn't really run since my half-marathon in Vegas, in early December. The plan was to run a lot of January and, yeah, I just couldn't muster the energy or motivation to do it. I worked out often, but I sincerely thought I had hit my running wall. 

But, well, I had already signed up for the 3M Half-Marthon in Austin, along with Kristie, and apparently Kristie takes registering and paying for races seriously. As in, she actually wants to run them once she's signed up. I don't know what's wrong with her either. So I couldn't back out, even if the idea of backing out sounded really, really fantastic and the idea of shopping in Austin instead sounded really, really, really fantastic.

Kristie and I drove down to Austin Saturday afternoon, where we were hosted by the always-lovely Natalie, who I wholeheartedly plan to revisit this summer with Kyle in tow. It's a damn shame our kids haven't played together, and we're gonna fix that.

Saturday night we had dinner with a table-full of bloggers, all such lovely people, and I got this crazy idea at the table to someday have a Texas Blogger RetreatI haven't shared that idea until just now so all the other Texas bloggers may hate it and it could just be me in a hotel somewhere but, no worries, I'll just bring more books in that case.

Anyway! We called it a night early because the race's start time was 6:45. IN THE MORNING. That's the earliest race time I've had so far. I mean, early is early, sure, but this felt especially brutal. 

It was cold at the start -- 37 degrees, I think? -- but we didn't have to stand around long. We took off and the first mile was a bit of a blur. Kristie and I split around mile two, and I'm glad we did. I didn't want to hold her back and it was actually nice to stop and start when I needed to. 

There was a lot of walking. Oh, a lot. I decided around mile three that if I was going to get to the finish, I needed to enjoy myself, however much I needed to walk, and that's what I did.

{The finish line!}

I finished slow (2:57:27) but I finished with something much better than a fast time: a renewed love of running. Something sort of shut off in me after Vegas. That race just did not go as planned, and it was super discouraging. This race -- small and well-organized, mostly flat and on what turned out to be a beautiful day -- was so different from the nightmare that was the Rock n Roll.

I'm ready to get back to fun running, shorter distances and nightly runs of a few miles. I'm going to shelve half-marathons until the fall, when I have a cool one planned that I'll tell you about later. But I don't know if I'd want to tackle any distance without the half I ran this weekend.

It was just what I needed.

Remind me, though, next long distance that I run to take the next day off work. Ouch!

Rock N Roll Half-Marathon Recap

So, yeah, this is overdue (and it's just a small part of my Vegas recap, too), and we may all be past the half-marathon chit-chat 'round these parts anyway, but it would be a very anti-climactic half-marathon training recap without the half-marathon race recap, I think. So, sit down, make yourselves comfortable, this may take a while.

First, Vegas is and will probably always be a favorite place of mine. I simply love a place that is all "hey, I am ugly and crowded and blinding and very, very drunk, and, FUCK IT, TAKE ME OR LEAVE ME. Also, here is an escort card while you drink your champagne from the bottle on the street." It's just so unapologetically itself, and I love it.

So, when I saw the chance to combine a favorite city and a huge life goal -- run a half-marathon -- and I wanted to go to Vegas to celebrate my 30th birthday anyway, it all seemed very perfect, and in many ways, it was. It was perfect that I got to run this race, after all this time, with so many people I love.

But, okay, let me back up a bit. The day after we got to Vegas, we headed to the race expo, to get our bibs and race bags. It was an incredible expo (best I've been to, honestly), and if we didn't have a show to see that night, I would have stayed until it closed.

Then came Sunday, and, OH BOY, was I nervous. I was nervous that it would be tough, that it wouldn't be fun, that it would be really cold or that I'd hurt myself mid-race or something else sucky-yet-predictable, but I wasn't expecting what happened.

First, we had to gather at our assigned corrals (of which there were 40-or-so, total) and we probably stood around for over an hour waiting for the race to start, maybe longer. I turned on "The Cave," right before we started inching toward the starting line, and I felt good. I teared up in anticipation of doing it and I felt, right then, that I was ready.

We finally got to the starting line and took off. Kristie and I had talked about walking every two miles starting at mile three, but we both felt great at mile three and kept going. The first 4-5 miles were on the strip, and it was incredible to see all the lights around us and hear the spectators cheering. I felt great, other than a slightly annoying foot cramp (maybe because of the cold?), but it wasn't anything impossible to deal with.

Once we got off the strip, the race started to feel less organized. The bathrooms seemed to disappear, the lights were sporadic, the water stations became more insane, and we decided to stop around mile 8 (still feeling good) to use the bathroom at a Burger King. Unfortunately, the lines weren't budging, at all, and we probably waited a good ten minutes and, shit, I just got stiff. When we started running after that, it was pretty painful. Miles 8-9 were just hard, but not impossible, and then we hit mile 10.

I've run 10 miles, I've even felt good running 10 miles, but miles 10-13 of this race were excruciating. What was so frustrating was that, mentally, I was there. I was repeating every mantra I've ever used, I was looking at this beautifully lit-up strip and trying to channel all the energy of it, I was reading every handmade sign I passed, and I was thinking of every single person I loved, but I felt my body begin to shut down. I've honestly never felt like that during any run. It wasn't exhaustion or being mentally beat down, I just felt sick and it was very strange for me because, well, I so rarely get sick.

I will never know how I made it across that finish line. It wasn't sheer determination or strength or willpower, it was just autopilot, and I think that's why I feel so crappy about it. I didn't feel anything but pain when I finished.

Once we finished, everything got blurry. I couldn't think of eating or drinking anything, but I knew I needed something. I tried a bite of (green, under-ripe) banana, and wanted to throw that up. I tried an energy drink and wanted to throw that up. I couldn't really speak, which felt weird, but I finally saw Mike and kind of lost it for a bit. I finally felt a little relief after seeing him, and I knew that no matter what, thank goodness, I'd at least have him. From there, we went inside Mandalay Bay, the hotel where the race ended and tried to work our way back to our own hotel.

{I did not want to take this photo, but I'm so glad I did. Thank you Kristie for making me!}

Oh, guys, inside the hotel is when things really got awful. I don't know if the race organizers didn't communicate well with the hotel staff, but they somehow let thousands of runners (there were 44,000 total runners) walk through a somewhat small corridor of the hotel when a show was also letting out (and foot traffic was allowed the opposite way). I don't know why so many runners felt like I felt -- very, very sick -- even though there's speculation on the race's Facebook page and in articles around the web that there was contaminated water at one of the water stations, although who knows if that's true -- but it just got nightmarish in Mandalay Bay. Runners were fainting and vomiting but medics couldn't get to them through the wall-to-wall crowd. I was getting panicky because I'm short and in claustrophobic situations, I feel, well, claustrophobic, but I also felt really sick, and it was bad. Just bad bad bad.

It took about an hour to get through the crowd and when we finally did (oh, thank goodness), I finally got sick in a Luxor trashcan (and felt much better) and then had to walk another half mile or so to our hotel. I kept saying to Mike, "I honestly don't think I can do this. I don't think I can keep walking." And he kept saying, "I know you can, I know you can, I know you can." And that's all that got me through it. Oh, shit, it sounds so dramatic, I know, but it was hard and I've never been so happy to see a hotel room in all of my life. I collapsed into bed and slept until the next morning and it might have been the best night's sleep of my life.

I kind of hate that it all ended with a tough last four miles and a really tough trip back to the hotel, but I like to think any race I run from here on will be better. This is a race that took in nearly SIX MILLION DOLLARS and while a big chunk of that, presumably, went to charity, it just seemed that for the sheer SIZE of the race, it would be meticulously organized. It actually fueled my desire to organize a race one day because so many of the issues seemed preventable. (So many aren't worth getting into, either, but OH THERE WERE A FEW.)

Putting all that aside, can I just say, I am so glad to have had Kristie running with me and Mike waiting for me at the end. Shit, for a solitary sport, I sure do require a helluva support system to do it, don't I? (And I have one HELL of a good support system, too.)

All that really matters is that I finished the half-marathon. I somehow dug deep enough to do it, even though every part of me screamed to stop. I kept beating myself up because it wasn't fast enough or I didn't feel strong enough but screw that, right? I did it. I crossed the finish line (in 2:47:44) and I know that every half-marathon from here on will be better because of this first one. And, yeah, I can actually think of running more now, even though if you had asked me right afterward, I would have said NO NO NO NO NO NO, NOOOOOO, HAAAAA, NO.

Good thing, too. I run another in six weeks.

(The End of) Half-Marathon Training: Week 18

Well, friends, this is officially the last recap before the race recap when I return from Vegas next week. I bet you're all a little relieved this space will stop being about running and here's where I destroy your wishes and dreams by confessing I've already signed up for a a few races in 2012 including both a 15K and another half-marathon in January (the 3M half in Austin). I know, I know, I'm insane, but runners are known to be a very strange group. A group that basically lives by the mantra: "This is crazy, I hate it, let's do it again next weekend."

For anyone interested in reading every single half-marathon related post I've written (I'd wager no one!), here they all are anyway, in one organized place.

Wednesday: 2-mile run

I got my running partner back this week and Kristie and I reunited for a morning run and post-run coffee. It felt great to get back to our regular routine and while I don't think we'll be as insane about our morning runs beyond Sunday, I do hope we continue to work out together. It's been invaluable having her throughout this process.

Thursday: 10K Turkey Trot

Texas is flat, you often hear, and whoever goes around promoting that bag of lies never ran the Fort Worth Turkey Trot 10K. Boy, was it hilly. Kristie and I struggled a little around mile 3-4, and probably walked 2-3 times total but still managed to finish in 1:08, my personal 10K PR (a 10:58 pace).

{My first mid-running photo!}

It did feel great to kick off Thanksgiving in a healthy way even if I put those calories right back on my hips after one (of four) helping of mashed potatoes.

{Part of our Running to Drink group!}

I also need to write an email to the organizers of the race, who we watched pour out all the extra water in a parking lot instead of taking it back with them to donate to a needy group or keep at the YMCA of Fort Worth, who the race benefitted. I have no idea their rationale behind doing that, but I'm going to try my best to find out.

Sunday: 10-mile run

Kristie and I planned to meet early Sunday morning, to knock out our last (and longest) long run. She texted me the night before and said, "It's going to be 38 at 7:30 tomorrow. OMG." I don't often wish for Kristie to be wrong, but OMG IS RIGHT. It was that cold. Our usuallly busy trail was empty, but we set out to do what we needed to do. Run 10 miles. 10 MILES IS A LOT OF MILES, and the only reason I believe I finished is because I had someone with me as a witness. But, I do have something to say about running long distances in general:

Do whatever you have to do to finish.

For me, especially in training, this (now) means walking when I need to, stretching when I need to, stopping to fill up my water bottle when I need to, slowing down when I need to, grabbing a bite of something half-way when I need to, and on and on. We walked four times: at miles three, four, six, and eight, for about a minute each break. (There was a bathroom stop at mile four, so that was probably a little longer.)

Our final time was 1:52 (that's an 11:12 pace).

This run didn't feel impossible although the last two miles were tough and the last half mile was really tough. It felt long and hard and boring at times, sure, but it was possible, and that's maybe the big-picture message to take from all this training, all this running: it's possible.

You don't have to be skinny (I'm annoyingly bigger now than I was when I started training), and you don't have to be in perfect shape, and you don't have to run the fastest, and you don't have to run without stopping. You can still be a runner regardless of any of those things, and you can run 10 miles (or 1 or 2 or 7 or 8). You can do it. It is possible.

Trust yourself.

I've felt discouraged often throughout this journey because it's just been so hard, so trying. But, I finally know I can do this and I'm finally looking forward to it, too.

***

In case you're interested (my mom, for starters!), the race is this Sunday, at 5:30 PM PST, so you might be asleep on the east coast by the time I finish in Vegas, but I'll update Twitter, for sure. Before I wrap up this long final recap, I want to say a huge thank you to each person who's supported me, in all the many different ways I've felt supported. Through comments, emails, tweets, my awesome running group, those traveling to Vegas with me, or those staying behind to watch Kyle so I can take this trip at all. All of your faith in me has helped me find faith in myself.

I'm so very grateful and humbled to know each of you.

Race Recap: Arbor Day 10K

Last week was another week I didn't get many training workouts in but, oh guys, last week was full of suck. Not to be confused with full of sick, although they're both totally accurate. I got sick, then Kyle got sick, then Kyle got sicker, then I felt a little sick again, then we all got better, then I ran a 10K.

Obvious chain of events, no?

Anyway, Saturday was the Arbor Day 10K, which was my very first 10K last year. I definitely wanted to go back and run this one again, to see if my original time could be squashed like I recently squashed my original 5K time. 

It was a beautiful day (albeit pretty chilly starting off) and I felt reasonably good the entire time. The last mile was tough in the way that all last miles are -- "I'm so close, I'm so close, WHY ARE YOU THE LONGEST MILE EVER?" -- but I felt good. I thought I was pushing it, but turns out, not really.

2010 time: 1:19
2011 time: 1:11
Pace: 11:25 (nearly a minute and a half slower than my average 5K pace)

Sure, that's eight entire minutes I shaved off, but I was actually aiming for 1:05. Now, I also stopped at various times to stretch out my tight left calf and I walked through every water station, so I could really drink the water (drinking from a paper cup while running is not super effective), but I think it's ok that I was a little bummed about my finish time.

That feeling stems from thinking I could have done better and, you know, I could have. So, next race, that's my goal. In fact, I'm running another 10K Thanksgiving morning. (I also have an 8-mile run planned this weekend and a 10-mile run the following and, along with some shorter runs and work-outs, I'll be just about to race day.)

(HOLD ME OMG)

Anyway, after the Arbor Day race, we went to a delicious brunch at Whiskey Cake, and I cannot recommend this place enough if you're in the DFW area. Three words for you: pulled pork benedict. I KNOW, RIGHT?

***

Also, a very enthusiastic shout-out to my mom, who ran her first 5K in 20 years the same morning as my 10K. My mom who finished THIRD IN HER AGE GROUP and then got her PHOTO TAKEN with HER AWARD and was less than a minute shy of the second place runner and, how inspiringly awesome, right? She said to me, after she got her award, "I want to sign up for all the races now!" Congrats, mom!

Race Recap: Fort Worth's Vampire Run

In addition to my weekly half-marathon training recaps (although I'm skipping last week since I did nothing beyond this 5K, I KNOW), I've also decided to recap each race I run. (You can see my last race -- the Rahr's 5K -- recap here.)

It was the Vampire Run's first year, which meant there were certainly a few kinks, but I was eager to run an afternoon race since my half has a 5:30 PM start time. I gathered my Running to Drink crew and nearly all of us signed up or showed up. (We have a Facebook group where we post runs, happy hour invites, links and tips, and it's been awesome.)

I hadn't run in a week before the run, and I never know if a few days off will recharge my batteries or suck the will to run straight from my bones. This was a little of both.

The run kicked off fine, although my entire group shot out in front of me. I couldn't find the energy to push myself much at the start, but I'm glad, since I needed that saved energy for the last half mile, WHICH WAS AWFUL.

A few pros:

• The course. It was through a local park and on a trail, which was nice, and it was well-marked (I've run quite a few races where the miles aren't even marked; what the hell is UP with that?)
• The weather was amazing.

A few cons:

• One water station. Most 5Ks have just one water station, and I'm sure this is a budget issue (right?) but, man, I need more water than that even for just three miles. I think I'll try running with my own water next race. 
• The kids. I know! I sound like an asshole, but (generally speaking) kids aren't the most considerate runners. They sprint at full speed and then stop right in front of you to walk or tie their shoes or talk to their friends or dance (I wish I were kidding).
• Timing. They timed us on the gun time, not our chip time, so I have no real idea what my time was.

My time:

Gun time: 31:26
GPS time: 31:54 (Of course, I forgot to hit stop until I was at the post-run water table chugging water, so....)

Then my entire group went to eat Mexican food and drink margaritas because our Running to Drink name isn't about gatorade, as if you thought it was.

Next race: A local 10K in two weeks

Race Recap: Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest 5K

Last year, the Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest 5K was only my second 5K to finish, so it felt good to return to the course this past weekend and see if I could smoke my time. Last year, it rained the entire race (which I actually didn't mind) but this year it was the exact opposite: really sunny and really warm.

I've been training for my half-marathon with Kristie, but we're lucky to have other friends who run, too, and this group of ladies has dubbed itself the Running to Drink Team (fitting, right?). We run, we brunch, we laugh, we high-five. They're fantastic.

We even have our own signs bedazzled for us.

We all run at slightly different speeds, but Kristie and I took off at the start together. Pretty soon after that, though, she pulled ahead. It was hot, and I didn't want to force myself to go any faster than I could, especially not at first. I knew the run was going to end on a tough hill, so I tried to focus on that as I slowed down a little.

My initial goal was to finish under 33 minutes but not even a half-mile in, I didn't think that was going to happen. The sun! Oof, it was a bitch.

I somehow caught back up with Kristie around mile two, and that re-energized me to push on. On that last, horrible hill, I saw my friend's husband, holding the sign above, and it was then that Mumford & Son's "The Cave" came on, which pushed me over that hill, feeling pretty good.

Then, right at the finish, I saw Mike. All it took, and we finished strong!

Last year's time: 45:38 (a 14:41 mile)
This year's time: 31:17 (a 10:04 mile)

I shaved over 14 minutes off my time and over 4 minutes off my mile pace. I'm running another 5K this weekend (in addition to a five-miler) and I'm hoping to finish under 30 minutes, if the weather cooperates and everything else falls into place. Cross your fingers!

It was a hard but good run with an incredibly supportive group of friends around me. We headed to The Pour House afterward for oh-my-goodness-so-good food and cheap brunch-y drinks.

It was such a nice day.

(Well, until kick-off of the second half of the A&M game. Ouch.)