First Race Report of 2011

I finished my first race of the year and it went...well, not so much fun. It was my first full trail running race. I've done some trail triathlons, but not a full running race. It GPS'd at 12.6 miles and took me longer than it takes me to run 16.6. It was 6 miles of climbing up a trail over rocks and boulders. I couldn't even run a good portion of it. Plus, not many aid stations existed because it was out in the middle of nowhere Arizona. It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to drive to the start line, literally out into the mountains of nowhere. If you looked for this place on a map, I don't think it would be there.

Well, not only was it hard, but I fell. I fell and sprained my wrist, twisted my ankle, bruised my hand until it turned blue, skinned my knee and elbow to the point it burned, and ended up with about two pounds of cactus needles in me, which I spent the race of the race pulling out as I plugged along. It can only go uphill from here right? I managed to finish covered in blood and cried my way to the aid station. I was crying like a baby to the man trying to clean up my dirt and blood-soaked body. Poor man.

This weekend

I have two races this weekend: one short, one half marathon. One of my favorite half marathons is this Sunday and just happens to fall on Valentine's Day this year, the most sickening of all the holidays.

When I was a kid, I loved getting cards for all 30 members of my class and eating candy. In my twenties, I was pretty indifferent to Valentine's Day. I never celebrated it, but didn't care. In my thirties, I have come to loathe this Hallmark holiday. I love the color pink, but hate seeing it plastered over the grocery and drug stores only to be reminded of this dreadful day. I do like conversation hearts, but that is about the only thing I can muster up to say nice about V-day.

But, this year I have this race. A beautiful run through the Superstition mountains in their beautiful brown and reddish colors, along with saguaro cactus lining the course. Part of the run is through neighborhoods in which children come out with buckets of cut up oranges for the runners. The view is spectacular and you feel very much in the heart of the southwest desert and cute spectators cheer on the participants. It isn't a typical asphalt run and I love it.

But, I am dog sitting for my parents who have taken a vacation to San Francisco for the holiday weekend. I do not get President's day off like they do. So the dog will be my date this year and will unfortunately be the only thing I have to talk to Valentine's night.

I will treat myself to the movie appropriately titled Valentine's Day and see Dear John once again and probably again. I will pretend Channing Tatum is my Valentine's day date.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Groups

I joined a group on linkedin called "Ironman Finishers." I like being part of this exclusive group. It's like this special club I'm allowed to join.

I can't join the group "50 Marathons in 50 States" or "Boston Qualifiers". But I do have this and it is nice.

Discussions take place on the best Ironman courses and goodie bag swag and the expensive price tag of these races.

I have joined a number of groups on linkedin of which my favorites are the writers' groups. I learn a lot from those experienced with the written word.

This weekend I have a race, but unfortunately I did this workout video a couple of days ago called Insanity. It is the most befitting term for this form of workout. I am incredibly sore, just as I would be if I had run a marathon. Shame on me for trying a new workout days before another race.

Earth Day Recap

I ran the Earth Day 5K last evening and it was...hell. How ironic is that? First of all, it was 99 degrees during the race and actually seemed to get hotter. I'm sure it was just my temperature going up from running. Second, it took me a long time. I spoke with some people after the race who said that it was measured incorrectly and was actually longer than 3.1 miles. I need a GPS system. I think I may go buy one soon, especially for upcoming marathon workouts.

So then I went to the grocery after the race and the conversation with the bagger at the checkout went like this:

"How are you doing today miss?"
"I am doing great. It's Earth Day."
"Is plastic okay?"
"Yes."

Shoot! Of all the days not to use plastic bags. I even received one of those organic shopping totes at the race expo and thought "I will always use this shopping now. Now I can be hip and trendy and environmentally correct and save myself $.10." But alas, my attempts to be loving to this earth were for nothing.

Happy Earth Day!



Today in celebration of Earth Day, I will be running in the 2nd annual Earth Day race. It is 99 degrees and probably will be about that temperature during the race. Lucky me! Global warming is upon us and all of us out there today will definitely feel it.

Yesterday I ran just under 9 miles in hot temperatures. It wasn't so pretty. I had to walk more than ever. I am a bit worried at this point in my training. I signed up for a marathon for Memorial Day weekend with only 1 1/2 months to train: 45 days total for training. I figured I would just do it slow and stop and take pictures along the way. It would be more of an experience than a race. Although I think I will end up caring about my time, which is too bad because I don't think it will be a good. But now training is harder than ever with this blistering heat. I have to make sure I'm hydrating properly and not hitting snooze when my alarm goes off. It is better to get out running early. Although I am quite tan now. It's a joy to look at this stranger in the mirror. I also discovered spray on sunscreen. It's the best thing for a desert lover since sliced bread.

Happy Earth Day! Happy Administrative Professionals Day! and Happy 5 days till my birthday!

Pain, Pain Go Away Don't Ever Come Any Other Day

I am having neck pain for the first time since I was 14. I think it is biking too much or running too much and hunching my shoulders...I don't know. It was difficult to sleep last night and driving to work was tough, as I couldn't turn my head to check for cars when switching lanes.

Might be time for my first trip to a chiro since I was 14 when I sprained my neck.

Yesterday I did a bike ride and a short 3 mile run. Today I am scheduled to bike and swim, but we'll see how that goes. My range of motion in my neck is very limited, so I can probably bike, but turning my head to breathe when swimming may not be very comfortable or even doable.

I have a triathlon on Sunday and a running race on Saturday. Not sure how that will go. I am worried about my triathlon. I haven't been biking much and there will be a very heavily populated bike course. Ick. I really need to be biking much more than I have been...it's just so much easier to run than all that gear I need for biking. We'll see how my neck feels through all of this. It's not looking good. But trying to stay positive. Don't want my registration fee to go to waste and it is for a good cause. The race is for breast cancer. It will be very early mornings however. Have to be up at 5am for the races. I am not a morning person.