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?

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!! :)

18 Miles...CHECK!

Today I completed the longest run of my marathon training so far. 18 miles! Oh yeah!
Last night I got everything ready...my camelback, my ipod, my garmin, my running clothes, my GUs...man it takes a lot to be a runner huh?!
I set the alarm for 6AM and went to bed ready to tackle my long run this week! I'm not gonna lie, I was DREAMING about being finished with this run. I know pretty nerdy. I kept waking up thinking it was time to get up. Man I really need to get more of a life outside of running! ;)
Before I knew it the alarm was going off and I was rolling out of bed to start my 18 miles.
I'm pretty sure that I was still half asleep for the first 3 miles, but after that I snapped out of it and really started feeling good. It is such a confidence booster when you can run like that and still feel good afterwards. Maybe I actually will complete this marathon! :)
I ate one GU at 7 miles and then the other at 14. And I stopped at 13 miles to refill my camelback. Here are the splits:

• Mile 1: 10:08
• Mile 2: 9:50
• Mile 3: 9:32
• Mile 4: 9:30
• Mile 5: 9:08
• Mile 6: 9:04
• Mile 7: 9:03
• Mile 8: 9:27
• Mile 9: 9:06
• Mile 10: 9:06
• Mile 11: 9:22
• Mile 12: 9:06
• Mile 13: 9:25
• Mile 14: 9:12
• Mile 15: 9:02
• Mile 16: 8:46
• Mile 17: 8:20
• Mile 18: 8:24

Total Time: 2:47:12 
Those are some weird splits! The first mile was slow because after about half a mile I got a nose bleed! I had to stop and walk for a bit and I almost turned around and came back home. But I kept walking and after a few minutes it stopped. I took it easier for the first few miles after that just in case, but it never came back. Weird huh?! I also worked on picking it up and paying more attention to my pace on the way home. The first half of my long runs I usually don't even look at my Garmin and just try to stay at a comfortable pace. I am pretty proud of my time thought, because I was really planning for about 3 hours.
Good thing I have the rest of the day off because I am taking it easy! I have a Target date with the boy tonight when he gets off work. Gotta replenish that toothpaste and paper towels. Oh we live exciting lives :)
I leave you with one of my favorite pictures from the Double Birthday Weekend:

Anyone else have any good runs this week? Any long runs planned?!

Fourth of July Weekend: Part One

Thats right, this weekend was so JAM PACKED with activity that I have to split it up into several parts. Well, that and to add a little level of suspense to the blog! And just to keep you interested...there was hiking, picnicking, racing, and cute family pics.
SO lets get started...
Saturday night I got off from work, ran home and packed and we hit the road! Right when we got into we met up with some friends for the night.

Here is the boyfriend with some of his old friends from back home.

I was happy that my friend Kirsten showed up so that I wasn't the only girl!

I'm really good at taking centered pictures....NOT.

After a bit we were wiped out, so we called it a night and went home. The next morning the whole family woke up early to go hiking.

The whole family preparing for the hike.

The boyfriend with the kiddos.

Hiking up to the lake.

One of my favorite pictures from the hike.

So there is a little teaser for now...stayed tuned to see the pictures from the lake at the top and the picnic...oh yeah, and my awesome fishing skills!
Hope everyone else had a great Fouth of July weekend!

It's Officially Official

Good morning everyone! Its hump day which mean we are officially half way through the week...which mean I am half way through the last week of my single life. Come Monday I will FINALLY have my long distance boyfriend of 2 years LIVING WITH ME!! In case you are new to the blog and don't know, the boy lives in California...I live in TENNEESSEE! Yes, that right on the complete opposite side of the country! Not for long though :)
I have also been informed that it is officially National Running Day as well!

Click on the link to learn more about how you can participate, even if you are a non runner. You best believe I will be throwing on my running kicks for a nice little run today. Update on that later!
Continuing with the "official-ness" of today, last night it was officially my best friend Kelli's 21st Birthday!  This is exciting news, because I am 24...so it has been verrry difficult having a bestie that is not 21 yet! No longer will she have to worry about getting caught sneaking a sip of my drink or not being able to get into a place where we are all hanging out! It was a HAPPY day FO SHO!
And little Miss BIRTHDAY DIVA went all out! We had a fancy dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant. Her boyfriend and myself went early to decorate the entire restaurant for her 21 guests yes, she made sure to have 21 guests! haha. It turned out so cute and she had a great night!
 
This was my substitute date, since my boyfriend still lives on the opposite coast line for now. Cory is one of my very best guy friends! he came early to help set up too!

The birthday girl and I. Her hat has a huge "21" on the top and says "Where's the Bar?" haha.

The table all set up! We had 3 DOZEN BALLOONS!

My date and I

This is Tanya, my boss, and one of my very best friends

Kelli made everyone party favors...they were plastic martini glasses filled with margarita flavored jelly beans and dots gummies for the olives, pretty clever huh?!

me, the birthday girl, and tanya

Kelli and her boyfriend Jimbo. He did such a great job with everything! What a sweetie!

A shot of the whole table

Her first "legal" drink! hehe

Cheers to the Birthday girl
 
the birthday cake

blowing out the candles!
What a fun night! Everthing turned out just as planned and it was great! Happy Birthday KELLI!
<3

Tip and Tricks

So last night my roommate (nonrunner) sent me a text on her way home from work that said a little something like this:
"I want to go for a run when I get home!"
Music to my ears! I just love introducing people to the wonderful world of running and helping them get more into it. Although, sometimes I'm not so good at it. The last time she asked to go on a run with me I told her we were going 2 miles and I think we ended up somewhere around 4.5. That was about a year ago and she has not asked to go for a run with me since.
This time I was not going to push it, I was going to make sure that she stayed at a comfie pace and didn't try to do too much the first time. She is active and does go to the gym a lot, just doesn't run, so I figured she could probably handle 2 miles. I told her that we would run down a path that I knew of that was pretty flat, for 1 mile and then turn around.
 source
This picture is probably exactly what I looked like (on the left). I keep giving her thumbs up, smiling, and telling her "YOU CAN DO IT!" I'm sure she probably wanted to punch me in my cheesy grinned face! haha.
The run started out great and she was shocked when I told her that she had almost ran the whole first mile without stopping! She said that she felt good, so we went another .5 miles before turning around (making our estimated total 3 miles instead of 2). After the first mile we ran an average of about .5 miles before stopping for a walk break, but those were never longer than a few minutes and then we would pick it back up. We ended up with some pretty good stats for a beginning runner. Maybe I have a marathon training partner now?!....or maybe we should just stick with building up slowly. haha

Total Miles: 3.31
Total Time: 42:35
Total Calories Burned: 253
Average Pace: 12:52
Mile One: 11:14
Mile Two: 13:05
Mile Three: 12:15

I happy to say that I think she enjoyed it a lot more than last time! When we got home she was asking me questions and I was giving her advice on things that have helped me run better. This gave me the idea for the blog, so I decided that I would put some of my little tips and tricks that I have picked up over the years with all of you!
*Disclaimer*: These are things that work for ME. Everyone is different and everyone will have different running styles and techniques. These are just a few things that I have picked up that have really helped my running. So, with that said....herrrreee weee goooo.....
Em's Two-cents Worth of Tips and Tricks for Beginning Runners:

• Always run in clothes that you feel comfortable in and that you like to wear. Having cute AND comfy workout gear always motivates me to put it on, and once its on...well, you HAVE to workout! haha.
• Set small goals and take baby steps. Starting with an over ambitious goal when you first start to run can burn you out and make you hate running. Start small and build your milage over time when YOU feel you can.
• If you set a goal of 2 miles and still feel good after you have ran that far, add half a mile or even a whole mile. Pushing yourself just a little more is what builds up your endurance.
• However, don't push yourself TOO hard, this can lead to burn out or injury. Know your body, what it can do, and what it's limits are.
• It always helps me to set smaller goals within your run. Such as "run until the end of this song" or "run until you get to that lamp post" more often than not, once that song is over, or once you reach that lamp post your fine to keep on a truckin'
• DRINK PLENTY OF WATER (DUH!)
• Pay attention to your breathing. I find it best to breath through my nose and out my mouth. If you are finding it impossible to control your breathing, it is time to take a walk break and get it back under control.
• Pay attention to your stride. Longer strides make you run faster without putting the pounding pressure on your legs that smaller strides do.
• TRIM YOUR TOENAILS! (learned that the hard way)
• Stretching before a run (before the muscles are warmed up) can lead to pulling a muscle. It is best to warm-up before you stretch, or stretch after the run.
• Don't overlook the importance of stretching! Stretching can help you become a better runner in so many ways. It helps with flexibility, keeps muscles lose, and prevents injury.

So now that I have put my two cents worth in, what are your favorite tips or tricks for running?