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:

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• 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?

Getting Organized

I am now down to 5 more weeks until marathon day! That means that next week will be my biggest week as far as mileage, and then starts the taper. Next week I will total almost 40 miles if I get all the runs in that I am on schedule for. Here is what it looks like:

• Sunday: 20 miles
• Monday: REST
• Tuesday: 5 miles
• Wednesday: 5 miles
• Thursday: 10 miles
• Friday: REST
• Saturday: Cross Train

I also am looking for a half marathon for Sunday the 11th. Hopefully I can find one, because I haven't done a race in a while and I think that would be a fun way to get my long run in. I found one but it was full, I emailed the race director but I have yet to hear back :(

Hopefully I can get all those runs in this week, because my schedule is getting filled up pretty quick! The last semester of grad school starts today, so in honor of that I went out and bought me a nice little planner...and already have it filled.

Yes I am a super nerd, but hey it helps to be organized!!

Speaking of organization, I had a little spurt where I kept losing EVERYTHING! I left my ipod at the gym (thank GOD someone turned it in), I left my phone at work, etc, etc. So the boy gave me a little tip. Have a home for everything and always make sure whats supposed to be there is there. Sounds easy enough.

So on my next Target trip I picked up this little baby on clearance for $1!!

It holds all of my running gear:

Anything that I use for running is in here. My ipod and headphones, my RoadID, my Garmin and all its little plugs, my Spibelt, and everything in between. So far I think its a pretty awesome idea. And great for my because I tend to "misplace" things pretty easily.

Do you have any of your own organizational tips or tricks?

Anyone else running any race on the 11th?