Spring Training and Racing Schedule

So I know I've been somewhat of a stranger lately. You know that whole grad school, full time job, full time kid..err..boyfriend. Those things take up A LOT of time. Who knew?!
I'm definitely getting the itch to start training again. Too bad the weather here is pretty much going to be below freezing until who knows when, and I FREAKIN hate the treadmill! I did throw on my bad-ass-ness yesterday though and plunge into the freezing weather for a nice little run.
I was worried that my speed may have declined a little, since I'm not officially training right now. But I was pretty surprised with my splits!

• Mile 1: 8:02
• Mile 2: 8:06
• Mile 3: 7:54
• Mile 4: 7:50
• Mile 5: 7:52
• Mile 6: 8:16

Total Miles: 6 in 48:05
Not too bad em, not too bad.


I will say that the one thing that I like about running is cold weather is the gear. Here are some of my favorite things to where when the temperature drops.

Nike Element Jacket. I got mine last year at TJ Maxx for a steal! And it is always my go to jacket when I run in colder weather.

Mizuno Running Tights. These things are the best! They feel like you are hardly wearing anything at all because they move so well, yet they keep me warm and toasting in the CO weather. PLUS they are my favorite color (purple) and the boy says I look like a pro when I wear them!

Fleece earwarmers. They have a variety of colors at Wal-mart for $3, not kidding.

I also really like this app from Runner's World. You just give a little info, like the temperature, wind, etc. and they will suggest what to wear for your run. I also read once that you should always dress for 20 degrees warmer when you are running, because that is how much your body temperature goes up. I generally find this to be a good rule of thumb.

As far as training and more races, I have a few cooked up for the spring. So far for sure I'm doing the Colorado Marathon and attempting to get a BQ from this one. Its in May, so come January I'll be training my ass off for that time!

I have a few other races on the agenda, such as a Turkey Trot (of course), a few halfs, and maybe a relay. so stay tuned!


P.S. If any of your girls reading this are from Colorado, or think you may want to join a team for the Wild West Relay, go to the website: www.wildwestrelay.com, check it out, and leave me a comment or send me an email telling me you are interested. I really think it would be awesome to get some bloggers together to do this! Plus you need 12 people on a team, and I just don't know that many people around here that are THAT into running.

Halloween and Football

This weekend was filled with fun "fall" type events. On Saturday I finally decided what I was going to be for Halloween:

Black Swan!!
 
Among my friends were a soccer player, Keith Stone, and a Geisha

Pilot and Keith Stone, again
 

After partying all night for Halloween we woke up the next morning and hiked to Sports Authority Stadium for my very first pro football game
 

Ready for the game!
 
We had amazing seats! 14 rows up from the field!


This was the boy's favorite part...the cheerleaders

Pretty fun weekend, and now its time to get back to work.
Happy Halloween everyone!!
What are you dressing up as?

You guessed it!

After carefully tallying all of the votes and taking into consideration all sides, we have a clear winner...
It was a landslide win for pumpkin #1

Who carved this work of genius you ask?....

Yes, I guess you could say my pumpkin trumped pumpkin #2

On the running front I have been DYING to do another race! I loved all of your suggestions from a couple of posts ago. I looked into some relays and this one seems pretty freakin cool...
 
Its not until August, but that would give me plenty of time to get a team together. Anyone wanna join?!
I also would LOVE to do the Vegas Half Marathon, like ALOT of you are doing. My roommate is actually going to be in Vegas that weekend, so I might just try to make it happen, we will see. 
And now I leave you with the most important question of all....
What in the world should I be for Halloween?!!!

You Be the Judge

Tonight was the second annual pumpkin carving contest between the boy and I. We already went through two rounds of judging..and now its your turn!

So take a look at the two jack-o-lanterns that we whipped up last and tell me which one you like best...

Contestant #1:

Contestant #2:

Ok, make your decision. Contestant #1 or #2. We have a little bit going on to see who will win this round of judging ;) I'll let you know whose is whose after you vote!

First Award on My New Blog

I was pretty pumped when I was browsing through blogs this morning and came across Happy Healthy Runner's blog. This is because she had tagged me in her post to receive this award:

So here is what this award entails, according to Happy Healthy Runner's Post:

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award and provide a link to their post.  CHECK!
2.  Share seven things about yourself.
3.  Award this award to 15 recently discovered blogs

So here it goes, seven things about myself...because I know that you are DYING to know more about me! ;)

1. I have THREE tattoos...where you ask? I'll keep that a surprise for now ;) But one of them does have to do with running.

2. My all time favorite food is toast and jelly. Im not kidding. I could LIVE on this. And I also like to mix up the jelly flavors too. You know. Keep life interesting.

Image found here

3. I am SO ADD that I can barely sit through a movie without wanting to get up. The only movies that can hold my attention for longer than about an hour are scary movies.

4. Speaking of scary movies, Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday. I love the costumes, haunted houses, candy, and carving pumpkins.

Image found here

5. I have never once broken a bone, nope not ever.

6. I only own two pairs of jeans. I never wear them! Its dresses and skirts in the summer and leggings and tights in the winter. Hey, once you get used to the elastic waist, its hard to go back!

7. My family has their own gospel band. Yep. They are called the Harvey's. Google it.

15 Blogs that you should read NOW:

1. Miss Erosion
2. Southern Girl Running
3. Chic Runner
4. The Skipping Pixie
5. Lilly's Running Momma
6. Workout Warrior
7. Cynthia's Adventures
8. Neon Blonde Runner
9. The Health Nut
10. Once Upon A Lime
11. Wealth is Health
12. Bety Bliss
13. Confessions of a Fitness Instructor
14. Blonde Ponytail
15. Mandi with an I

Alright girls! Go for it!!!

What's Next?!

Well, it hasn't even been a week and I am already itching to start running again!


I took a good solid 3 days off and just rested and relaxed. Yesterday I was about to chew my arm off because I wanted to go for a run so bad! SO today I threw on my running clothes and grabbed my playlist from the marathon and did an easy 3 mile run on the treadmill...and ALOT of stretching.

After that I came home and sat on the computer for hours trying to plot my next running move! Another marathon? A half marathon? Maybe a few smaller races over the next few weekends? Ahhh, the possibilities are endless!

And the boy thought that he would get to stop hearing all the running banter every night after I ran the marathon ;) It didn't burn me out at all, only encouraged me to do more! And hey, if I put up with him looking like this when he takes me out to dinner...

Then he can put up with my "running-obsessive-ness".
AND he isn't the only one that can dress up with balloon accessories either!

Anyone have any suggestions for future races?! Tell me about your races coming up!

Denver Rock N' Roll Marathon Race Recap

SO here it is, finally getting to my marathon review. It has been a CRAZY and amazing weekend and I am sooo happy to report that on Sunday I successfully completed my very first marathon! And here is how it went:

The race was scheduled to begin at 6:55AM. The start line was only about 1.5 miles from my apartment and the boy had decided he would drop me off and then head for the first park that we were going to run through and wait there for me. This meant I didn't have to wake up TOO early, so that was great!

I woke up around 530 (except I think I was waking up every hour the night of, because I was afraid my alarm wouldn't work and I would miss the whole race.) I threw on the clothes I had strategically picked out the night before, loaded up my spi belt, and strapped on my garmin and my ipod..and I was ready to go!

What I wore: Mizuno Wave Elixir shoes, Mizuno compression capris, Nike DriFit Tank, and Nike Jacket.
I was so nervous that I didn't think I could eat a damn thing, but I knew that I was about to be running 26.2 miles, and I should probably eat something. So I brought a banana and a CLIF bar in the car with me. I ended up only choking down the CLIF bar.

The boy got me pretty close to the start line, so I jumped out of the car and walked a few blocks to my Corral, just as they were telling people to start lining up.

The sun had not come up yet, so it was still pretty cold. (about 35 degrees). But as we were standing there waiting for the start the sun started coming up and you could tell it was going to be a PERFECT day for a run!
They made a few announcements, sang the national anthem, and then we were off!

My plan for the marathon was to run the first 10 miles at a conservative pace and then pick it up for the last 16. And it turned out to work pretty well that way.

I knew that the boy was going to be waiting in City Park, which was at about miles 6-9. So I kept counting down the miles until I got to see him.

First 6 mile splits were 9:26, 9:01, 9:02, 8:54, 9:08, and 8:41


We made our way into the park and I saw him! It was pretty quick though, because I just got a chance to chuck my gloves at him and keep going. But then a little ways into the park I see a boy racing through the field on a bike with a little dog trailing behind. It was the best/funniest site I have ever seen. He made it to the next turning point in the park before I ran by, so of course I had to run and jump into his arms and give him a big kiss.


We ran through the park until about mile 9. I knew that we were going to split with the half marathoners at about 11.5 miles, so I used that as my next thing to count down to.

Mile 6-11 splits were 8:52. 8:49, 9:05, 8:50, 9:05, (took a GU at mile 10), 8:31. Notice mile 11...told you I was going to try and pick it up after mile 10 :)


We finally made it to the point where the half marathoners went one way and the full marathoners went to other way. I remember running by this when I did my first half, and being so glad I was almost done and not regretting just running the half AT ALL. But this time, I felt SO PROUD to be splitting with the full marathon runners, and everyone waved and cheered when we split and it was the best feeling in the world.


From here I decided that the next check point would be the half marathon mark. Up until this point the 4 hour marathon pacer had been slightly in front of me. I didn't want to push it to catch up with them, but I knew if I kept up my pace I would eventually catch up. And right before the half marathon mark I found myself right in the middle of the 4 hour pace group!


Miles 12 and 13 splits were 8:59 amd 8:35.

I realized that the average pace of the 4 hour pacers was about 8:30 and this pace felt pretty comfortable for me, so I decided to just stay with the pace group and not try to run ahead until the last 10K.
Well, I did that for about ohhh a mile, and then I thought, "what the hell, I'm feeling good, I'm going for it!!"


I knew that we were going to be running through another park at about mile 19 and I secretly hoped that the boy would have taken it upon himself to be there too. So I made this my next check point.

Miles 14-19 splits were 8:41, 8:35, 8:39, 8:47, 8:45, and 8:40. (took another GU at mile 19).

We made it to the park and there was the boy, the puppy, AND his sister and her whole family!! This really gave me that extra little boost that I needed at this point. I passed them and high fived them all as I ran by.
Then I see the same awesome sight that I saw in the park before. Except this time it was even more awesome. It was the boy, with his niece on his shoulders, his other niece running with the puppy, and his sister pulling the twins in a red wagon...all sprinting across the field so they could meet me again!


When I ran past the boy the second time, I took off my headphone and yelled "I passed the 4 hour pacers!!!" He gave me the thumbs up, said I was doing great, and I kept on running.
From here I didn't have much of a checkpoint, except for the end! I knew I just had a 10K left to go, so I settled in and kept running.

Everything was going great...until it hit at about mile 22....I HAD to use the bathroom!! There was no more water going into my body until I could let some out, and I knew trying to run 4 more miles without drinking anymore water would have been stupid.

I kept looking for the next port-a-potty. I wanted to keep going SO BAD and I even considered just letting it go while I was running. But it was so damn cold, I knew that probably wouldn't be a good idea ;) Finally I see one up ahead, so i book it for the closest one and speed-pee as fast as I possibly can.
I was so disappointed that I was doing so well and had to stop, I just knew that the 4 hour pace group had passed me, but as I kept running I never saw them, and I was starting to see some of the same people that I was running with before I stopped.

Miles 20-24 splits were 8:46, 8:43, 8:41, 9:19, 8:49.


And then it happened. The wall. A big, huge, ugly wall. Right at mile 24. I decided I might need to take in more calories, so I got out my last GU. I squeezed a plop into my mouth....
and almost barfed. Then the guy in front of me stopped and barfed, and I REALLY thought it was going to happen then. Then I started thinking about the huge spaghetti dinner I had the night before....

I knew it was all mental from here. Yeah, my body wanted to stop. I had been running for over 3 hours!! I pushed bad thoughts from my head and told myself "just 2 more miles and you will be a marathoner". So I put my head up and kept running for the finish.


Miles 24-26 splits were 9:19, 8:45 and 8:17. Yeah I think I picked it up the last mile because I was so ready to be done.

We turned a corner and there was the finish line. I started tearing up because I couldn't believe I had accomplished something this big. I knew I was going to beat my goal and I was going to be a SUB4 marathoner! Then I saw the boy and his family all cheering me on at the end and I REALLY lost it!
I crossed the finish line at 3:55:28. (The clock time shows the time from the very start and my coral started about 5 minutes later)

Official Stats:

• Finish Time: 3:55:28
• Average Pace: 8:59
• Overall: 618 out of 2381
• Division: 39 out of 210
• Female: 136 out of 1020

Im so proud that I can now say "I am a SUB4 marathoner"

NEXT UP...BOSTON QUALIFIER!! :)

Official Marathoner!

I made it through alive!! I am now an official marathon runner! :)
Race report and weekend update coming tomorrow....but I'll give you a little teaser now....SUB4!
Thats all I'm sayin' :)
Hope everyone else had a great weekend
Anyone else run any races this weekend? How did it go?

Its the Final Countdown

Thats right people, after the 4+ months of training and doing nothing but think about running, talk about running, and actually running...it has come down to one more 2 mile run tomorrow and then BAM:

Im pretty sure I spent a good 3 hours last night on the website reading every. single. sentence. about the marathon. And I'm pretty sure my stomach was doing flips the whole time.

Im nervous! and excited! and FREAKING OUT! all at once. man this whole running a marathon is GREAT!! I just hope I make it across the finish line without having to crawl or be carried across. Everyone cross your fingers :)

Tonight I planned on going to the expo, since they say that locals should take advantage of the Friday expo because Saturday will probably be packed with people traveling for the marathon. However, one thing I did not want to miss was this girl speaking at the expo:

Yep. Kara Goucher is going to be there! I'm thinking about getting her to sign my running shorts. You know. maybe the speediness will rub off!

She is scheduled to be there on Saturday, but I really wanted to go to the Expo today, so I may just be the biggest dork in the whole world and go both days. I was thinking about wearing a disguise in case anyone noticed me and then getting double the free stuff.

SO stay tuned on a recap of the expo! It should be a good one!

In other news, I got the most excited email the other day from Honey Milk, and guess what?!

I'M ON THE TEAM!!! Thats right, I am a HoneyMilk Athlete :) You can go to their athletes page at http://www.honeymilk.com/athletes and scroll through the bazillion athletes and find me if you want. Its a horrible picture and a horrible write up. But do I feel pretty awesome about it?! You betcha'

Also, today and tomorrow will be spent trying to put together 4+ hours of awesome, adrenaline pumpin' music for my marathon playlist....AND I NEED YOUR HELP!! Everyone tell me some of the music that you love to run to, so that I can fill my time listening to the music that gets you going while I run 26.2 miles. Thanks!

P.S. I LOVED reading everyone's comments on waving to fellow runners. It looks like an overwhelming majority of you are avid wavers. And for that I salute you! Maybe its just because ALL bloggers are super awesome and nice. Keep those waves coming!

Are You A Waver?

OK friends, its time to discuss a hot topic in running....waving.

Its been something that has been on my mind every time I come back from running and I want opinions!
Being from the south (and we ALL have heard of southern hospitality) EVERYONE waves. If you are a runner and you run past another runner you are more than likely going to be greeted in some way. Nothing big, a nod, a wave, a "good morning". You know.

So then I move to Colorado and its a gamble every time. Are they going to wave at me? Should I wave at them or will I look cheesy? What about bikers, they can't really take their hands off the wheel, so I guess they have an excuse.


I am most definitely a waver. I'll say it proudly. I like to acknowledge a fellow runner with a little smile and a wave. And I like it when they do the same back.

According to an article that I found in Runners World Magazine, age matters when it comes to waving. According to the article, older people are more likely to wave than younger people. Which I find to be mostly true, but then again, I am an avid waver. hmmm...

What if I told you Kara Goucher was a waver? Yep. In her book Running for Women, she clearly states that you should "wave to runners as you pass, this is an old custom among us. Let's keep it going". Read it and weep.

So I now I ask your opinion. Are you a waver or a nonwaver? And what are your reasons for either one?


P.S. 10 MORE FREAKIN DAYS UNTIL MY FIRST MARATHON!!

Wedding Time!

whew! What a BUSY weekend! The boy was the best man in his best friend Justin's wedding this weekend and it was a PACKED weekend of events. I had the whole weekend off of work, but I felt just as tired because of all the activities that were involved in the weekend!

It turned out great, though. The wedding was gorgeous and it was a fun time. Of course, I got some pics to show off...so nice of you to ask! ;)

Me with the in-laws

The groom and his mother walking down the aisle

Saying the vows

The first kiss

The boy walking down the aisle

The two groomsmen....they clean up well

The boy and I

     

Me with the gorgeous bride

And thats it for now! The boy is yelling at me to make dinner so I gotta run :) Ok, maybe my tummy is just yelling at me to make dinner!

Oh yeah, and did I mention....12 MORE DAYS UNTIL MARATHON DAY!!!! AHH!!  

Denver Half Marathon Recap

This weekend was the Denver Half Marathon. As you guys know, I was kind of worried about this race because it was my first trail race and it was small. I was worried my time would be super slow because of the trails or that I would get lost because there was not that many runners to follow. So heres how it went down:

• 6:30AM: Alarm goes off. Roll out of bed, throw on my running clothes and gear, brush the teeth.
• 6:55 AM: Punch the still asleep boyfriend in the face and tell him he has five minutes to get ready because that is when I'm leaving. (Ok, you guys know I'm kidding, I was actually really sweet and nice about it) Plus we made a deal that he would get up and go with me if I got up and made him coffee. I make the best coffee. It gets me things.
• 7:10 AM: We leave the apartment 10 minutes late. What the hell? Why am I always freakin late?!
• 7:40 AM: We get to the park where the race is being held. 20 minutes from the start time. We kind of speed walk to the start line, while the boyfriend makes jokes about how dorky runners are. Thats right fellow runners, this guy thinks your a dork:

lk

• 8 AM: Line up at the start line. The race announcer talks for a little about the course. I don't really listen. Figure I'll just wing it. Why was I afraid of getting lost on the course?
• 8:10AM: These things never start on time.
• 8:11AM: WERE OFF!!
• Miles 1-3: Feeling pretty good. The trails haven't really started yet, but they said that they wouldn't until about mile 4 or 5. Mile splits are 8:15, 8:03, 8:02. I'm on pace so far to beat my 2 hour goal.
• Miles 4-6: Hit the trails. they are single track, so if you get stuck behind a slow poke your doing some bush waking to get around them. Luckily I got just the right distance behind a girl that was right on pace with me. It kept my pace up and kept me confident that I following the right course. Mile splits are 8:12, 7:54, 7:58.
• Miles 7-9: HIt the half way point still feeling pretty good, it starts to warm up a little but right about then we go through a wooded area. I keep thinking "THIS IS SO COOL!!" we ran across streams, rocks, and the whole time it was shaded by trees and prefect weather. Mile splits are 8:16, 7:59, 8:05.
• Miles 9-11: I knew that this was an out and back course and on the way into the wooded area I saw the sign for the 11 mile mark. I just kept waiting to come back through those woods, because I'm tellin ya it was awesomeness! About this time I catch up with the guy that has been slightly ahead of me the whole race. We stop at the water station and he asks me what mile we are on. I tell him and for the rest of the race we are BFFs. Mile splits are 8:19, 8:13, 7:53.
• Miles 12 and 13: Last leg of the race. I keep counting down the mileage to my new BFF who is pacing off of me now. I also tell him not to use me for an unfair advantage. (Totally kidding). Finish strong! Mile splits are 8:19 and 7:40.
• The last leg: My watch says 13.1 but the finish line is no where in site! "Oh yeah, I think I remember them saying it was a little more than 13.1, Ok now I see it...wayyyy up there....at the top of that HILL!" What kind of cruel joke is this?! I have a little "Kara Goucher-esk" race with a girl right at the finish line. Smoke her. See the boyfriend and the dog, high five em'. FINISH!!
• My watch ends up saying 13.6 miles. Geez can we adjust my time for that?!
• I FINISH 13.6 IN 1:50:02!!!!! WOO NEW PR!!

I was so proud of myself for reaching my stretch goal. I had a blast and spent the rest of the day looking up what trail race to do next. Its love.
Oh yeah, and if you want to see some awesome (in a totally "I'm running 13 miles, don't even THINK about taking my picture" way) you can go to this link: PBC Sports Photography. This guy did a great job with the pictures. Im thinking about buying one in poster size for the living room. The boyfriend and the roommate would LOVE that huh?!

20 Miles..In the Books!!

Thats right kiddos, I tackled the 20 miler this morning! And it actually wasn't so bad.
I didn't even have to get up at the crack of dawn to run either because the weather has been PERFECT here. It was about 65 this morning, with a little bit of a chilly breeze, so it was great for running.
I woke up around 730, strapped on my camelback, packed up some GUs, ate a cliff bar, started up the Garmin and the Ipod, and was out the door by 8!
I swear sometimes I feel like I'm bogged down with all the crap that I have to bring on long runs, but it really does make all the difference to have all of that when you are running for more than 3 hours at once.
I ran on my usual running trail, out and back. The first 10 miles were great, I started out slow and just tried to enjoy the run and before I knew it, it was time to turn back around and head for home. I stopped for a bit and stretched out my legs and ate a GU and then booked it for home.
I was planning on stopping at mile 15 and stretching again and taking another GU, but when I hit mile 15 I was still feeling pretty good so I decided to keep truckin'
I'm not gonna lie, my legs are pretty mad at me, but I still feel good about the run and feel like it was a strong run. This makes me SO excited for the marathon! Let the taper begin!
Here are the splits:

• Mile One: 9:45
• Mile Two: 9:27
• Mile Three: 9:28
• Mile Four: 9:31
• Mile Five: 9:36
• Mile Six: 9:28
• Mile Seven: 9:24
• Mile Eight: 9:23
• Mile Nine: 9:27
• Mile Ten: 9:19
• Mile Eleven: 9:14
• Mile Twelve: 9:25
• Mile Thirteen: 9:07
• Mile Fourteen: 9:08
• Mile Fifteen: 8:57
• Mile Sixteen: 9:12
• Mile Seventeen: 9:04
• Mile Eighteen: 8:59
• Mile Nineteen: 9:16
• Mile Twenty: 9:09

I feel pretty good about the splits! I don't know if I can do the sub 4 hour marathon that I would LOVE to do, but we will see! The half next weekend will be a semi-determining factor. So we will see how that goes :)
Does anyone have any Labor Day races this weekend?

Earndit

Earndit...have you guys heard of this website? If you haven't you should totally click on that link and check it out. My friend from work, who is also a runner and training for a half marathon, told me about it and its awesome! Basically you just go to this site, sign up, and then you can upload all of your runs from your garmin or any other device you use. Certain mileage gives you a certain amount of points, and once you save up some points you can cash them in for things like gift cards, etc. If you are a runner you should totally check it out NOW!
In other news....I GOT SIGNED UP FOR THE HALF MARATHON NEXT WEEKEND!! I had mentioned in my previous post that I wanted to run the Denver Half Marathon next weekend, but it was limited to only 1000 runners and they were full by the time I found out about it. Well, I did a little begging (no shame here) to the race director and he let me in!!
It looks like a pretty cool race. Here are some of the details:

• 13.1 miles
• Only 1000 runners
• 90% dirt tails, bike paths, and roads
• Paths mostly take you along the Cherry Creek Reservoir
• Elevation: around 5,500 feet

Here are some awesome picture from their website of some of the trail.






All images are from Denverhalf.com
I am kind of nervous about it being such a small race because of issues like getting lost, not enough water stations or course support, etc. I also have never done a trail race, which worries me a little as well.
BUT! I am just going to use this as a fun training run and do my best :) I am aiming for under 2 hours for my main goal and a stretch goal of 1:50 or better. Stay tuned for the race review after next Sunday!
Anyone else have any races or events coming up?
Any advice for trail runs?