Well, obviously I haven’t been good about updating my blog on a regular basis, but this morning was the 3M Half Marathon and I always like to do a race report on here.
Race morning was cold (in the 30s) but we got lucky and did not have the 20mph winds that we had yesterday. I debated about what to wear as usually when the temps are in the 40s I wear shorts and a long sleeved tech top over a sports tank so I can shed the long sleeve later if I get warm. With feel-like temps in the low 30s at the start and barely getting to 40 by the time I expected to finish I was wishy washy. I dressed in shorts to begin with but took the tights with me.
I got to the race site in plenty of time and sat in the car for a while to stay warm. I did start to get a little cold with the car turned off and decided in the end to put the tights on. I didn’t think I’d hit a PR today anyway, so I figured if I got a little warm toward the end of the race that would be ok.
The race start was at 6:45am so at 6:15 I left the car to drop my clothes bag for after the race and to get in line for the port-a-potty. What I didn’t expect was a 20 minute wait just to drop my bag off. People were waiting until they got to the front of the line to ditch their warm clothes and they didn’t even have the tag on their bag. Come on people. Finally they got some more help back there, I dropped my bag and found the shortest line I could find for the port-a-potty. It took a little time to get to the front, but I got in and out and to the start line with just a few minutes to spare.
I was glad to finally be moving. I was shivering before the start. It didn’t take long to feel comfortable though. The first few miles were actually kind of a blur. I think I was just glad to be moving. At mile one I went to hit the split button and apparently hit the stop button. Luckily I noted the time and then a short time later looked at the watch again and realized what I had done. I hit start again and kept moving.
Mile1: 9:40
Mile2: who knows?
I hit the split button again at mile 2 and was back on track.
Mile 3: 9:03
Mile 4: 9:16
At this point I’m comfortable temperature wise and kind of wish I had just stuck with the shorts. I started looking around at people and noticed a lot of people had ditched their jackets at this point. I also notice a male with a tramp stamp. Yep, that’s right. Kind of scary, but whatever floats your boat. I also notice a lady running in full makeup. Her checks were bright pink and I promise it was not from the cold or from the effort. She had full eye shadow and mascara on as well. Wow. Should have noticed her number so I could look up her time. I wear make-up every day, but not for races. I sweat too much. People watching in a race is very interesting.
Mile 5: 9:15
Mile 6: 9:17
At this point we are approaching the relay exchange point and for a brief moment I wish I had found someone to do the relay with me and I’d be done. But I’m actually feeling pretty good and wonder how I will end up. Of course, I won’t know at the end if a PR is close or not because of the mess up with the watch earlier so I just don’t worry about it.
Mile 7: 9:11
Mile 8: 9:17
I knew from a facebook post that a friend of mine from high school would be around mile 8 or 9 so I started looking for him during this time and actually found him. I gave him a wave and kept going.
Mile 9: 9:18
The course is relatively flat with a negative elevation gain overall, but there was a gradual incline at this point and it slowed me down just a bit. I have exercise induced asthma that is unfortunately triggered by cold, humidity, or hills. Going up the incline I could feel it a little bit. Oh well.
Mile 10: 9:33
Mile 11: 9:32
Ok, it’s back to flat or downhill now and I know I’m close to the end.
Mile 12: 9:18
Mile 13: 9:50
I guess I got a little tired that last mile and of course any race that ends in downtown has some kind of hill at the end. It wasn’t a big one, but it must of got me. I turned the corner and headed to the finish line.
Last .1: 1:07.
I crossed the finish line, got my medal and went looking for the bag claim so I could put on my sweatshirt. I was already getting cold because of the sweat. I didn’t find the bag claim right away, but I found the line for the breakfast tacos, so I got in line. I’m not passing that up! Once I had my taco I went to find the info tent and ask where the clothes were. Finally found it and no one was monitoring the area. Anyone could have walked away with anyone’s bag. I put an old pair of sweats in my bag so it wasn’t a big deal for me, but I wasn’t impressed with how that was handled. I ran into some old Team in Training teammates and then headed for the shuttle bus to get back to the start. I was freezing again and just wanted to get warm.
Overall, it was a good race. I’m pretty sure I could have gone faster on the level of training I’m at right now, but I’m happy with my 2:02:46 finish. I think somewhere around 6,000 folks registered and I was 2326 overall. My 10K time was 57:39 so I definitely slowed down a little the last half, but overall I ran a fairly consistent race.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year!
I haven't updated in a while although I will admit there have been times I've had thoughts about posts I needed to do. So, with the new year, I thought I'd post a bunch of random thoughts. Hopefully my year won't be so random.
2011 In Review
In looking at my workout logs for 2011, I have done the following:
Biked 748.02 miles in 7 hours, 23 minutes and 11 seconds
Run 1185.3 miles in 211 hours,12 minutes and 42 seconds
Swam 30,334.03 yards in 11 hours, 23 minutes and 11 seconds
Strength Training for 9 hours 20 minutes
Adventure Racing for 4 hours
Hiking for 1 hour 25 minutes
Massage for 5 hours 30 minutes (clearly not enough!)
P90X for 24 hours 15 minutes
Paddle board for 1 hour
Race Volunteering for 9 hours
Snorkeling for 45 minutes
Stretching for 30 minutes (ok,I stretched more but didn't log it)
Surfing for 1 hour 45 minutes
Walking for 6 hours 18 minutes and 21 seconds
Yard Work for 3 hours
Yoga for 26 hours 15 minutes
Clearly my focus of the year was on running. In fact, my run total for the year was about 100 miles more than the year before when I did IMFL. It will be interesting to see where my numbers fall this year in training for IMAZ. The swim and bike miles will definitely be more than 2011, but ideally they will also be more than 2010. I still need to finalize my race schedule for this year and determine what I need to do to make sure I am where I want to be in November.
Houston Marathon 2013
A few weeks ago we were in Houston for a volleyball tournament and my Aunt came by to watch Madison play. While there, she was saying that she wants to do the Houston marathon in 2013 and she wants me to do it with her. The Houston marathon was her first (and I believe only) marathon. The 2013 marathon will be 25 years since she did Houston and she'd like to run it. The only problem is that Houston has gone to a lottery system for entry. I'm more than willing to run it with her. We just need to figure out how to get both of us in.
Hectic Schedules
Speaking of volleyball, Madison's volleyball schedule this spring is a little more intense than it has been the past 2 years. Combine that with Dalton's soccer (which will also be more intense) and Yikes! It will be hard to fit my training in, especially the cycling, so I need to figure out a way to do it. Maybe I'll be taking my bike and trainer to some of the tournaments.
More Outside Workouts
Speaking of cycling. One thing that went through my mind after Ironman Florida was that I would have liked to have done more of my cycling workouts outside. Due to time contstraints, safety, and weather, I did a lot of the weekly workouts on the trainer. The long rides were generally outside, but not the shorter workouts. I'd like to change that this year. AND, I really need to start ramping up the cycling now. December was a good start, but I need to get outside and do some longer rides when I have the chance.
Swimming
I've also been back in the pool a little bit in December. I don't feel like I've lost a lot of fitness there, but I do still feel like I have a lot of room to improve. I'd really like to get faster so that I can get out of the cold water in Arizona as fast as I can. I am considering taking a semi-private lesson with a local pro.
Getting Organized
Another thing I really want to do this year is get more organized and stay that way. I spent a couple of days of my time off over Christmas cleaning and organizing. I went through the filing cabinet in the office and pulled old bills (some from 2009). I organized stacks by years and shredded what could be shredded (LOTS). I am finally going to bite the bullet and get organized with paying bills online and am really wanting to scan documents as well. The less paper I have in my house the better in my opinion.
I'm also trying to minimalize somewhat. I've read a couple of books on minimalist living. I don't think I'm one that can take that to extreme (by only having two towels per family member for example), but I do believe that I keep too much stuff and can stand to get rid of some of it. I've already got a few stacks of clothes and stuff. Some I am donating to a friend for a garage sale, some we took to Goodwill and the rest I am going to try to sell on Craig's List or eBay. I'm also trying to figure out the best way to sell some of my books that I know I will not read again. If anyone has suggestions, let me know.
Better Eating
As always, I would also like to try to eat healthier this year. I already eat pretty healthy since I am a vegetarian, but I still have my downfalls. I try not to eat out at lunch very much, but sometimes a lack of preparation means eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a couple of times a week. While not entirely bad, it gets old. I need to find some good recipes that will provide good, healthy leftovers.
Well, those are some of my random thoughts for now. I will try to post a little bit more in the coming year to keep you informed about my training and how I'm doing with staying organized.
Happy New Year!
2011 In Review
In looking at my workout logs for 2011, I have done the following:
Biked 748.02 miles in 7 hours, 23 minutes and 11 seconds
Run 1185.3 miles in 211 hours,12 minutes and 42 seconds
Swam 30,334.03 yards in 11 hours, 23 minutes and 11 seconds
Strength Training for 9 hours 20 minutes
Adventure Racing for 4 hours
Hiking for 1 hour 25 minutes
Massage for 5 hours 30 minutes (clearly not enough!)
P90X for 24 hours 15 minutes
Paddle board for 1 hour
Race Volunteering for 9 hours
Snorkeling for 45 minutes
Stretching for 30 minutes (ok,I stretched more but didn't log it)
Surfing for 1 hour 45 minutes
Walking for 6 hours 18 minutes and 21 seconds
Yard Work for 3 hours
Yoga for 26 hours 15 minutes
Clearly my focus of the year was on running. In fact, my run total for the year was about 100 miles more than the year before when I did IMFL. It will be interesting to see where my numbers fall this year in training for IMAZ. The swim and bike miles will definitely be more than 2011, but ideally they will also be more than 2010. I still need to finalize my race schedule for this year and determine what I need to do to make sure I am where I want to be in November.
Houston Marathon 2013
A few weeks ago we were in Houston for a volleyball tournament and my Aunt came by to watch Madison play. While there, she was saying that she wants to do the Houston marathon in 2013 and she wants me to do it with her. The Houston marathon was her first (and I believe only) marathon. The 2013 marathon will be 25 years since she did Houston and she'd like to run it. The only problem is that Houston has gone to a lottery system for entry. I'm more than willing to run it with her. We just need to figure out how to get both of us in.
Hectic Schedules
Speaking of volleyball, Madison's volleyball schedule this spring is a little more intense than it has been the past 2 years. Combine that with Dalton's soccer (which will also be more intense) and Yikes! It will be hard to fit my training in, especially the cycling, so I need to figure out a way to do it. Maybe I'll be taking my bike and trainer to some of the tournaments.
More Outside Workouts
Speaking of cycling. One thing that went through my mind after Ironman Florida was that I would have liked to have done more of my cycling workouts outside. Due to time contstraints, safety, and weather, I did a lot of the weekly workouts on the trainer. The long rides were generally outside, but not the shorter workouts. I'd like to change that this year. AND, I really need to start ramping up the cycling now. December was a good start, but I need to get outside and do some longer rides when I have the chance.
Swimming
I've also been back in the pool a little bit in December. I don't feel like I've lost a lot of fitness there, but I do still feel like I have a lot of room to improve. I'd really like to get faster so that I can get out of the cold water in Arizona as fast as I can. I am considering taking a semi-private lesson with a local pro.
Getting Organized
Another thing I really want to do this year is get more organized and stay that way. I spent a couple of days of my time off over Christmas cleaning and organizing. I went through the filing cabinet in the office and pulled old bills (some from 2009). I organized stacks by years and shredded what could be shredded (LOTS). I am finally going to bite the bullet and get organized with paying bills online and am really wanting to scan documents as well. The less paper I have in my house the better in my opinion.
I'm also trying to minimalize somewhat. I've read a couple of books on minimalist living. I don't think I'm one that can take that to extreme (by only having two towels per family member for example), but I do believe that I keep too much stuff and can stand to get rid of some of it. I've already got a few stacks of clothes and stuff. Some I am donating to a friend for a garage sale, some we took to Goodwill and the rest I am going to try to sell on Craig's List or eBay. I'm also trying to figure out the best way to sell some of my books that I know I will not read again. If anyone has suggestions, let me know.
Better Eating
As always, I would also like to try to eat healthier this year. I already eat pretty healthy since I am a vegetarian, but I still have my downfalls. I try not to eat out at lunch very much, but sometimes a lack of preparation means eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a couple of times a week. While not entirely bad, it gets old. I need to find some good recipes that will provide good, healthy leftovers.
Well, those are some of my random thoughts for now. I will try to post a little bit more in the coming year to keep you informed about my training and how I'm doing with staying organized.
Happy New Year!
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