Race Report * Little Rock Marathon!

This past Sunday I ran my FIRST FULL at the Little Rock Marathon! Since I live in Little Rock now I had the advantage of running with the amazing training group lead by Tom & Hobbit here every Saturday. Even after following the training schedule and running parts of the course I was scared, but I gathered all my running junk and went to bed early.

Got to the start line about 10 minutes before the early start (at 6am.) It was the perfect amount of time to take a few photos, chat with some fellow runners and not freeze my butt off for too long.

The early start (for slow people like myself) had several advantages: 1. we got to see this amazing sunrise on the river  2. we got to see the elites effortlessly fly past  3. we finished before the medals ran out and before our friends and family lost interest.

We missed some of the course entertainment because we started so early, but all of the water stops were open and a few people were awake in North Little Rock to cheer. My apartment was further along the course and Michael came out to cheer for me. 

The crowds kept my mind off the hills. It's just not a party until you see a dog in a dress.

Made a quick stop to sign THE WALL. I think I run too slow to actually "hit the wall" but I did have to walk a lot of those last few miles.

My goal for this first marathon was just to make it to the finish and get that medal. I'm never going to qualify for Boston and am perfectly happy being passed by people in their 70s. The race, volunteers, police, entertainment and crowds were amazing and I walked away with a medal that is as big as my face! I might just have to try it again next year.

Race Report * New Years Double!

For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to run back to back half marathons on new years eve morning and new years day morning. It sounded like an appropriate challenge on the road to my first FULL marathon. I have to admit that the well designed race shirts and awesome medals were a big reason I signed up. Everyone (including the 5k runners) got an individual medal for each race. If you completed both races you also received a large magnetic challenge plate.

The weather was kind of cold and rainy at the start of both races, but thankfully it was a small enough event that you could hide out in the car and be at the starting corral with not much time spent in the elements. I tried to run with a poncho for a while, but I found I just cant stand it for too long.

The first race was good. My time suffered due to a bathroom stop and much hip/ankle pain, but I finished! Michael did really well with his first 5k in a while. We spent the day recovering and trying not to ruin the next race by eating crazy holiday things or drinking too much- Happy New Year!

The second day I was so sore. Unfortunately the pain in my hip and ankle decided to hang around and become even worse for the second race. I ran the first half and painfully limped the second half. My time was terrible, but I was just glad to finish and walk away with a huge hunk of a medal and only one blister. I would love to do this race again, but hopefully free of my pesky hip injury. I resolve to STRETCH more in 2013.

Race Report * DALLAS (half) MARATHON

Last Sunday I ran the Dallas Half Marathon! My hip injury had me pretty worried that I wouldn't get to run much of it, but I made it through. This was my second Dallas Marathon. This year could not have been more different from last year's race.

The name and logo for the event changed, along with the race course and start line. All the runners lined up on Main in downtown Dallas. The weather was much warmer and more humid than I had expected, but was a welcome change from last year's cold, windy and rainy race day. The course was great (even though the half-marathoners never get close to seeing White Rock Lake.) I miss Dallas anyway, so it was great to run through the streets again.

We all ran across the new Margaret Hunt Hill bridge and took in an amazing view of the city. None of the hills were too bad and there were tons of people out cheering. Several bands and a choir played along the course. I had some tightness and pain in my hip, so I walked some sections and avoided a total hip flip-out. I was pretty happy with my progress until mile 12. I was nearing the last mile when I realized I REALLY had to find a port-o-potty. With no businesses or port-o-pottys in sight I ran to the nearest bush, but quickly realized I just couldn't do it. I guess I'm just incapable of going to the bathroom in a large decorative bush in the middle of downtown Dallas - who knew! I had a long and painful walk to the next port-o-potty line. Needless to say I did not PR or have any type of a respectable time, but I finished and walked off with my medal. I'm extremely grateful that my hip didn't start snapping again and that I was able to finish with minimal pain! 

Maybe next year I'll PR.

141 days and NOT counting

Back in July I started a running streak. I'd run my normal training days and then make sure I did one easy mile on days when I wasn't scheduled to run. Up until yesterday I had run 141 days in a row (almost all of the days that I've lived in Little Rock.) I know we need rest as runners, but 1 easy mile is *practically* nothing once you are used to high miles- right?

Over the weekend I ran my first 14 miles ever and it actually didn't feel too bad. Tuesday was a 7 mile day. I don't often think to myself "I feel great" while running (that usually comes after I'm finished) but on Tuesday I remember feeling really strong. That good feeling ended at mile 6. I felt a weird sensation in my hip, almost like muscles were moving in a way they shouldn't. It felt a twinge of pain and it seemed as if my hip was dislocating slightly. I stopped running and the sensation immediately went away. Thinking it was a fluke thing, I cautiously started running again. The sensation came back about .25 miles later. The pain stopped as soon as I began walking again.

The next morning I went out for an easy 1 mile, and it happened again. I've never had a serious running injury, so this is pretty troubling. I'm not sure what it is or what to do about it, as I am "between health insurance policies" at the moment. Are my hips tight? Is it bursitis? Should I stretch? Should I rest & ice? Whatever is happening, it's clear that I should probably stop running and cross my fingers that it clears up before the white rock (Dallas Marathon) next weekend. 

So, my running streak has bit the dust and the upcoming races that I'm signed up for suddenly seem like scary question marks. I'm signed up for White Rock (half), New Year's Double (double half)  & Little Rock Marathon (full) *gulp* Being injured is a drag. I miss the beautiful trails already.

Race Report * THE COLOR RUN Little Rock

WOOO! This was my second COLOR RUN, a 5k race in which you are sprayed with a new color every kilometer. Even though I had to run before and after this race to get in my training miles for the day, this run was a must do.

Everyone lines up at the start in their white shirts, white headbands, white socks, white tutus... etc. There was a couple at the start in white hazmat suits- brilliant! We stood in the corral for about an hour listening to pop music while the color run people launched socks, bags and other color run swag at us.

The event was fun (thats the point!) I ran with Angela and it was never too crowded, even at the color stations. As you can see I was a candy colored mess by the time I finished.

The color party is where everyone hangs out after the run. They play music and tell everyone to throw their color packets in the air every 15 minutes. If you didn't get much color on your run, you will definitely get more in this huge color cloud.

I got a few weird looks running back to my apartment, scared a small child and had pink on my face for the rest of the day, but it was worth it. 

Race Report * Tyler Rose Half Marathon

I couldn't wait to finish my last half marathon in the Four Seasons Half Marathon Challenge.  The weather for this race would obviously be better for running than the Hottest Half, but I heard from a fellow Half Marathon challenger that the hills on the Tyler Rose course never stop. As a true lazy runner I had definitely not done the proper hill training!

After a long drive to Tyler I picked up my race packet and scoped out the rose garden where the races start and finish. It may not have been the best time of year for the roses, but the gardens made for a beautiful finish line and post race party zone.

I had booked a room at an adorable b&b fairly close to the race. The stiffness of the bed had me worried at first, but I ended up getting a good amount of sleep anyway. It felt like I was staying with the weird texan grandma I never had. The innkeeper left out bananas and protein bars and made a nice vegetarian breakfast for me even tho I told them I wouldn't be needing breakfast before the race.

Got to the race bright and early. I'm always worried about having to park far away, but here was plenty of parking right next to the start line. There was some concern in the crowd when the race didn't start at the scheduled time. I heard a rumor that the person with the race timing equipment had been mugged earlier that morning. Not quite sure what actually happened, but the Half Marathon started later than expected, and we all funneled through a very unusual chip timing sensor. This was the the first race that I've run where the timing chip is in the bib, and not meant to be worn on your shoe.

The course ran through a lot of pretty neighborhoods. We ran on pavement as well as some more difficult brick roads. I normally listen to music during my races (or training for that matter) but this time I ended up meeting and running with an ICU nurse from Brownsville, TX named Wayne. It was good to run and chat with someone and he pushed me to run much faster than I normally would have. The hills were even worse than expected. None of them were too long, but they just kept coming one after the other. I'm not sure there was a flat spot in the entire race!

  

This might be the largest race that takes place in Tyler, but it still felt like a good medium sized crowd. The water stops were well placed and a few people came out of their houses to cheer the runners. I was tracking my run with my Nike+ foot pod as well as the WalkJogRun gps app on my phone. Around mile 9 or so I started noticing that the distance recorded on my phone was VERY different from the mile markers set out on the course. I'm used to my phone being slightly off, but this was crazy- at one point they were almost 1 mile off. When I get tired towards the end of a race I really use those mile markers to keep me going, so it was definitely messing with my head. Maybe my apps were malfunctioning? Maybe they screwed up the distance of the course and we were all running 14.1 miles instead of 13.1? After being exhausted by hills and confused by markers I finally finished. The finish line is great at the Tyler Rose because you take your last few strides across a beautiful green lawn in the rose garden (makes for great race photos.)

The race bling. Its a great relief to have the Four Seasons medal, if you don't complete the 4 consecutive races you don't finish the challenge. I also got a Four Seasons and Tyler Rose tech shirt, but all of the shirts in the Mellew series have been pretty boring (some may say ugly.) I often wish I could have designed them, because my closet runneth over with ugly race shirts!

All in all it was a good race experience. Even with the hills I had a half marathon PR by about 6 minutes thanks to Wayne making me run faster. I'm a super slow runner so my time is still unimpressive, but at least I'm shaving off some minutes here and there! Since the Tyler Rose is so far from where I live I may not run it again, but I definitely enjoyed it & met a new running friend along the way.Check out the TYLER ROSE site.

Plant Based Diet * Eat to Live

I've been *trying* an unprocessed vegan diet. Most days I've been following Dr. Fuhrman's EAT TO LIVE 6 week plan. I've been wanting to try a more raw vegan diet and after reading Dr. Fuhrman's book I felt like I had to take the leap. PHYTOCHEMICALS! I'm slightly nervous to be on this program while training, but according to the book (and the people who have reviewed it) I should have more energy on this diet, not less. There will be a lot more HUGE salads, beans and weird smoothies in my future.