Girl Power

Remember when I was debating with myself over how I should register for Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas, full or 1/2? Well, after much thought and a very insightful email discussion with Tricia, I registered for the 1/2.  The main reasons:  I don't want the Vegas race to be stressful (hello..it's VEGAS.  It should be about FUN!), and as Tricia pointed out, the Vegas marathon has a pretty strict time limit which I don't want to have to worry about in my very first full.  

So what else did I do?

I registered for Rock 'n Roll Arizona.....for the full. Yes, I registered for my very first marathon.  This will be good for a few reasons.

1.  It's in Arizona in January, and the running weather in AZ in January is right up my alley.

2.  I live here, so no traveling.  My husband can pick me up at the end of the race and wheel me home on a stretcher drive me straight home to my own bath and bed.

3.  I have my support system here, namely my two of my closest friends and running buddies, Monika and Tracey.   They are both planning on running it too, although they are both much faster than me, so I only expect to see them at the start and the finish!


Tracey is our "guru" and main cheerleader.  This will be Tracey's 8th (I think!) marathon (she even did one while pregnant with her second son...she ROCKS).  Tracey is the one that I credit with all my running successes.  She drug me out on a mile run (which was tough for me at the time) about 4 years ago, and hasn't let me stop since.  When I finished RnRSD with a new PR, she was the first person I texted.  And she promptly answered back telling me how proud she was.  I think she was just as excited about my run as I was. That's Tracey...the most genuine and supportive friend you could ask for.

Tracey and I before one of our 1st races together....

Then there is Monika.  One of the most peppy and positive people I have ever met.  She's like a human anti-depressant....you feel happier just being in her orbit.  We leaned on each other a lot through RnRSD and I don't think I would have done as well as I did without her.  And this girl is up for anything.  Wanna try running a 1/2 marathon? "Sure!"  Wanna run a full marathon?  "Why not!?"  She's just not scared of anything....at least not outwardly.  And here's another great thing about Monika:  she can come up with song lyrics to fit ANY situation at the drop of a hat.  She is the soundtrack to our adventures. Top 40, classic rock, obscure 70s hits, bad elevator music....she knows it.

Monika and I after our first race together, Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas 2010

So it will be the three of us hitting the course in January.  Tracey the "Pro" and our steady rock, Monika the Entertainer, and me...the Nervous Nellie of the bunch.  Good times ahead, for sure.  We have some other races planned between now and then, and I know we're going to have a blast.

I scared, excited, and especially nervous about making this jump from 1/2 to full.  I waffle between "Of course, I can do it!" and "Holy hell, what am I thinking?"  Sometimes changing from one to the other in a matter of minutes.

But one thing is certain:  I'm looking forward to taking this BIG step forward in my running with two fantastic women.

Monika, Tracey and Me on the 4th of July

Back to Reality

Whew!  It's July already...where is the summer going?

We have been off on a whirlwind three week vacation.  And it not only ended up being a vacation from housework, children's activities, work, insane Arizona heat, and everyday life, it ended up being a vacation from working out too.

Oh sure.  I threw my running shoes and some workout clothes into my suitcase.  But I was simply too lazy busy to pull them out and put them to good use.

We started our vacation with a couple of days in New York City, hitting as many sights as we could: Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Center just to name a few.

The kids in Times Square

We walked a TON.  And since I had completed the Rock 'n Roll San Diego 1/2 just two days before we left, I didn't feel guilty taking a break from working out.  

Next we boarded the luxurious Queen Mary 2 and set sail on the last remaining transatlantic ocean liner, bound for Southampton England.

Ready to set sail!  

Sure, there was a fitness center on board.  Sure, you could run around the ship on the observation deck (ummm...cold North Atlantic temps and very windy, no thanks!).  But I choose to spend my time exploring the ship, taking part in on-board activities, spending time reading (uninterrupted time...what a treat!), and enjoying the fabulous food (four course gourmet dinners every night!)  I still did quite a bit of walking and we always took the stairs, even if we were going from deck 2 to deck 14.  

After a week on the ship, we had two weeks in England, visiting my husband's family as well as quite a bit of sightseeing.  

We took the kids sightseeing in London for the first time (they've been to England before, just not into London). 

Along the Thames, with the Tower Bridge in the background

We took the Eurostar train to Paris for a couple of days (first time to Paris for the kids and I):

 On a cruise along the Seine

In front of the Arc de Triomphe

I enjoyed myself.  I ate what I wanted (and drank more cider, beer, and wine than I usually would)...fish and chips, desserts, crepes, cornish pastys, sausages, breads, cheese, British bacon (so much better than the bacon we get here) etc.  But I didn't gorge myself.

Needless to say, I was scared to get home and step on the scale.

But to my surprise and delight, I only gained 1/2 a pound, which is nothing in the scheme of things.  Why?  Honestly, I think it was because of the lifestyle.  Lots of walking (including always taking stairs) and fresher (not processed) foods.  Not that I eat all that badly on a normal basis.  But there wasn't any fast food and very little soda (diet Pepsi has been my weakness), and no mindless snacking.

This is a trend I'm going to try to keep going at home.  It might mean more trips to the store than normal and more pre-planning on my part, but I think it's worth it.

Now that I've had a chance to recharge my batteries, it's time to get back onto the workout wagon....

Hope you are having a FANTASTIC summer!

Personal Record

Fantastic.  That's the best word I can think of to describe my race.  

I've mentioned before how 2:15 has been my goal for the past two races.  It's been taunting me.  Plagued by hip flexor issues, I just couldn't manage to get there.  2:18:30 was the closest I managed to get.  

This time around I was determined to hit that 2:15 mark.  I talked with the track coaches at the high school where I teach, picked the brain of the running coach at the gym I belong to and managed to work out my hip problem. With that under control,  I trained a little harder than before (although there's still a lot of room for improvement for next time) and at one month out, I felt pretty good.  Then I got hit with allergies and the sinus infection from hell.  It knocked me on my ass for about 2 weeks.  I still ran, but 4-6 miles was all I could manage at a time.  I tried to make up some slack in the 2 weeks before race day, but there was only so much I could do.

So I left for San Diego really unsure about this race.  My friend Monika and I drove down on Sat morning and went straight to the expo.  After checking in and browsing all the vendors, we stopped at the pace team booth.  Monika and I both have the habit of starting out way too fast, then falling off at the end.  She is usually  quite a bit faster than me, but was laid up for 6 weeks with a stress fracture in her shin, and had really only just gotten back into it.  She was just as unsure as I was about this race.  We had decided that we would sign up for a pace team.  We'd never done it before, but a lot of people swear by them, so we'd thought we'd give it a try.  

We signed up for the 2:10 group.   Yep, 5 minutes faster than my goal of 2:15.  

I have to admit, I was scared.  I didn't know if I could pull that out.  But Monika and I had agreed that this race we'd try to stay together, and I told her that I really wanted this and her job was to not let me give up.  

Monika and I at the start (me on the right!) 

Race morning we woke up at 4:30 am, got dressed, and walked the mile to the Start Village.  We checked our gear, then headed for the porta potty line (with my roll of toilet paper in hand!).  And it was the porta potty line from HELL (surprise, surprise).  But I had to go.  As we inched closer to the front, and time ticked closer and closer to start time, I have to admit....I almost had a panic attack. (Not to mention we had to listen to this annoying girl brag about her running exploits the entire time....ugh).  I got to the bathroom as the first two corrals started. 

[Side note:  My roll of toilet paper was much appreciated by many of the people in line with us...told you, instant friends.]   

We raced to our corral, #18, then shoved squeezed our way through the mass of people to find the 2:10 pace team.  

Our orange "beacon"  

About 10 minutes later, we had made our way to the start line and we were OFF!  And it wasn't long before I knew that the pace team was a good idea.  Our pacer was awesome.  Not only did he keep us at a nice, steady pace, he told jokes, gave encouragement, and was our own personal cheerleader.  

We stayed right with him until the second aid station (can't remember what mile that was).  At that point, the group walked through the aid station and grabbed water.  We chose to keep going.  After that, we didn't see or hear the group again until near the end.  But we knew that as long as they didn't pass us, we'd meet our goal.  

And then came miles 4 through 6.  What was wrong with those miles???  Why, a nice little climb.  It wasn't terrible, just a lot more than I was expecting.  And by mile 6, I was hating it.  But Monika (who is now officially the Wind Beneath My Wings) kept me going.  She pushed me.  If she hadn't of been with me, that stretch might have blown my whole race. 

But as much as I hated the uphill, the downhill between miles 6 and 7 was glorious.  We definitely made up the time we had lost between miles 4 and 6 and then some.  

We trucked along pretty well until mile 10.  And that was when we both had to dig deep.  I can't explain what happened to me during that mile, but I KNEW I was going to make my goal. I was mentally focused.  I have never felt that good that late in the race before, and at mile 11 I got a little bit of a second wind.  

But that was when Monika hit her wall.  I suddenly noticed she wasn't with me anymore, so I slowed down and looked for her.  She was back about 10 yards or so, kind of run/walking.  I thought it was her leg, but later found out it was her stomach.   And just like she did for me during miles 4-6, I slowed down and pushed her.  She got back in there (she's a champ, I tell you), and we kept on going. 

Now, the San Diego course is simply beautiful...everything except the end stretch going into Sea World parking lot.  I mean, it's a parking lot.  How scenic can it be?  I kept looking for a peek of the finish line, but it never came.  That stretch of the race seemed sooooo looooong.  As we came up on about 12.5 miles, I heard the 2:10 pace guy yelling somewhere behind me.  And that lit a fire under me.  No way in hell was I going to lose my 2:10 in the last 1/2 mile!  So I picked it up a little.  Monika fell back a tiny bit, but I knew she wasn't too far behind and that she would want me to go ahead if I felt good.  When I look at the data from my Garmin, I can see where I kicked it gear for the last stretch to the finish line.  

When I crossed the line and hit stop on my Garmin, I had done it.   2:09:25.  (2:09:23 official chip time).  Monika crossed the line at 2:09:37 (The one and only time I'll beat her, I'm sure!)

After the race

Nine minutes faster than my old PR.  

I'm so damn proud of myself.  I really am.  I felt like I ran my best race, and that's such a good feeling.  

And that 2:15 won't be haunting me anymore.  

Now I need to set a new goal.  Maybe I should shoot for sub-2 hours.   Hmmmmm.......maybe I'll shoot for that in Vegas!