Race Recap: Rudolph's Rampage

My first trail race is in the books!  Despite the unholy freezing temperature at start time, which can't be helped, this race was super fun.  It was definitely a learning experience, and I felt a little outside of my comfort zone at times.  Trail runners definitely do things a little differently.  

For example, I had no idea I was supposed to check in, so I got called out at the starting line.  I picked up my packet, I had my bib on, what else do you want from me?  Oops.  Also, I started pretty slowly because I wasn't sure what to expect (and I was pretty cold, so I just wasn't moving very quickly), so I eventually wanted to start passing some people, but it took me a while to work up the courage.  The course was almost all single track, so passing was tricky.  I was terrified I'd try to move around someone and end up eating it.  Luckily I wasn't that lame, and I got the hang of it eventually.  I also got passed (um, a lot) myself, and I was trying to be nice and kept moving off the trail to let people go by.  Apparently that was not the right thing to do because I got yelled at not to go off the trail.  (I was off like literally two steps, but ok.)  Now I know all the rules though, and I'll be good to go next time.

I didn't fall at all, thankfully, but my right arm did start going numb/feeling tingly.  (And after seeing my atrocious form in this picture, that makes a little more sense. Yikes!)  I also felt a little under-fueled.  We didn't have a very big dinner the night before, and even though I ate my usual pre-race English muffin with PB and banana, by mile 3.5, I was hungry.  I've made a pretty major change in my diet recently, so I think that was a big factor, but that's for another blog post.

Anyway, the course took us on some trails that I'd never been on, so it was cool to see new parts of the forest.  The only problem was that I really had no idea what was ahead.  About 20 seconds after this picture was taken, there was a big hill and I looked/felt like death for the rest of the race, so I'm glad they chose the bottom of the hills for the photographer.  My splits make much more sense when you compare them to the elevation chart.

I walked around for a little bit at the finish before I remembered to stop my watch, but J took some finish line photos, which I shall not inflict upon your eyes (back side angle, no thank you), that show my finish time was 1:04:34.  I would've liked to be closer to an hour flat, but given my recent lack of training, I was pretty happy with my performance overall.  I will definitely be doing more trail races in the future!

I did notice that my calves are very sore today, which I'm guessing is from the fact that my trail shoes are minimalist(ish).  I took a planned rest day today, and will take one again tomorrow, then Tuesday is my first training run for the Columbia half.  The offseason is officially over!

Planning Plans.

I'm racing this Saturday, but not race-racing.  It's my first trail race, so no matter what happens, I get a PR.

I am planning to race-race the Columbia half in March.  This is the race I was training for last year before I got sidelined by the stress fracture/shin splints.  It's pretty hilly, but I've got the hometown advantage, and I will definitely be doing some of my training runs on the course.  

When I started making my training plan and counting back 12 weeks from race day, I realized... oh crap... I'm gonna have to start training on Monday!  That was not very well planned on my part, but what can you do? (You can look at your calendar when you plan your race schedule, that's what.)  Anyway, since I haven't been running very much the past few weeks, I don't want to jump into too much too soon and end up sitting out this race for the second year in a row.  Also, I will be in Florida for like 9 days at Christmas, so the first 3 weeks less intense - more rest days, no speedwork.  We'll see how it goes.

The Make My Day 12K is a trail race, and I'm hoping that some of my weekend runs will be on the trails as well.  I definitely slow down on the trails and use different muscles, so hopefully mixing in that off-road time will add something to my training.  Plus, I just love being out there, especially since J seems to enjoy it too, so it's something we can do together.

The Columbia half is the first goal race for 2013.  It's also part of a larger plan, which isn't finalized just yet, but if everything works out like I'm hoping... 2013 will be the year of the marathon! Eeek!  That's the whole reason I started this blog, to document getting to the marathon.  Running one has been something I've wanted to do for a looooong time, but I never actually did anything about it because it seemed so overwhelming.  Hopefully next year will change that, but first things first.  I'll be Rampaging this weekend, then we'll take it 12 weeks at a time. 

Race Recap: Main Street Crit

So, it might be hard to tell since my posting on here is pretty sporadic and lame anyway, but I haven't been running much in the past 2 months.  I've talked a couple times about my family situation, and I actually received the first bit of bad news like maybe 20 minutes after crossing the finish line in Georgetown.  Since then I've lost count of how many trips I've made back and forth to Florida, plus things have been very busy at work, and mostly... I just haven't felt like running.  I'm tired and stressed out.  I'm also getting fat, so thankfully my motivation suddenly reappeared this week.  

Just in time, because I raced last night!  

A few weeks ago, J and I decided to run the Main Street Crit.  This was the inaugural running, and it's really a unique race - at night, in downtown, 8 loops of a 1k course, with elite runners and prize money.  J and I are really big supporters of Columbia's Main Street, which our mayor has/is working really hard to revitalize.  We live downtown, and we both work on Main Street.  We also really try to support local businesses in the area, and the pastor of our church (which is also downtown, of course) was one of the organizers for the race.  There was also the Willie Nelson concert in town, so I debated which one we should do (I LOVE Willie and have never seen him live), but in the end, running and supporting Main Street won.

It was billed as an 8K, though the course ended up being short (about 4.3 mi).  I actually wasn't sure I had run the correct number number of laps because my Garmin was showing me 4.29, and I was expecting 4.9ish.  Turns out I did run all eight, and I ended up finishing in 35:29; J finished in 33:31.  I only had 2 goals: (1) finish under 45 (I was expecting 5 miles, not 4), and (2) don't get passed by J.  Done and done.  I did get passed by the guy who ended up winning... twice.  But overall I felt really good.  I thought there was no way I could run 8:20ish pace for that long, given that I've taken about 6 weeks off-ish, but even if I had needed to run another lap, I felt like I could've kept it up, so I was very pleased.

There was also a team competition.  You could sign up as many people as you wanted on each team, and the top 4 times were totalled up - lowest total time wins.  The team from J's Crossfit gym took first, and the Cola Run Club took second.  I actually ended up being the fourth person on the CRC team, so that was cool.

After us "regular" runners were finished, there was an elite race, with $8000 in prize money up for grabs.  Holy Guacamole, those peeps are faaaaast!  The top guy came in at just over 21:00, and the top girl ran just over 23:00.  I also had my first celebrity runner sighting - the second place female finisher was Alissa McKaig, (look on page 32 of the January Runner's World).

Even though the course was a little short, the rest of the race was really well done.  It was pretty cool to be running downtown and at night.  There was a band on every corner, and because the course was confined to such a small area, there were lots of people cheering you on.  It was a really fun event, and we would definitely do it again.

Next weekend is my first ever trail race, and then it will be time to start training for the Columbia Half coming up in March!  Taking this downtime was the right thing to do, but I'm really glad to be running and training again.  

2013 is gonna be big! 

Christmas cheer.

We had some grand plans to put up all of our Christmas decorations this weekend, and uhhh that did not happen.  We went to Festivus on Friday night, and ended up being mostly useless on Saturday.  All of our inside stuff is up though, and I think the tree looks pretty darn good.

I also put up our stockings.  Penny and Charlie's are the big ones on each end, obviously.  

This picture would be so much cooler if there was a fire in that fireplace, but we don't actually know how to work it (it's gas).  Lame.

I told y'all about the Pinterest project my mom and I made when I was home for Thanksgiving.  This is the finished product on the front door.  I think maybe it needs a big bow.  What do y'all think?

J is working on getting the lights up outside.  Target was out of garland for the porch, so that project is stalled for a few more days.  Thankfully, I finally bought matching lights for the porch and garage.  One string was warm white and the other was that LED blue, and it drove me crazy for the past 2 years that they didn't match.  This year, we also finally sprung for a tree skirt.  Movin' on up!

I feel like such a real adult... I have a Christmas tree, with a tree skirt, and stockings, and matching Christmas lights.  Yikes!

Are your Christmas/Hannukah/Festivus decorations up?

Thanksgiving Recap

I've been in Florida with my family since Tuesday night, so the idea that I'm going to have to go to work tomorrow for a whole week is not my favorite thing ever.  

However, I am really grateful to have had so much time at home with my parents.  I alluded to it in a post a few weeks ago, but my family is dealing with a lot of bad news right now.  The biggest crisis is that my mom was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in her bones and liver about a month ago.  She was originally diagnosed when I was in college and had been in remission since then.  She's getting chemo again and is feeling ok right now, so that was a huge blessing for our time together this week.  It was hard to leave today, but we'll be back together with them for Christmas in just a few weeks.  In the meantime, I had 5 great days hanging out with her and my dad (with special guest appearances by my brother, J, and my grandparents), so that's the number one thing I was thankful for this Thanksgiving.


 J and I had been planning to be in Columbia this year, and I had signed us up for a Turkey Trot here, but I needed to be in Florida, so we changed our plans.  (I guess that makes my second DNS this month.  Woops!)   Last year, my dad, J, and I ran the Subaru Distance Classic in Jax on Thanksgiving morning.  Given everything that was going on this year, no one seriously contemplated doing that again.  Dad and I went on our own little 5k trail run near the house instead.  We took the pups with us and did about 3 miles.  I got to test out my new trail shoes, burned enough calories to account for like 1/16 of what I ate later, and the dogs were worn out for a few hours while I cooked.  Win-win-win.

Since my mom got her chemo dose on Wednesday (a 9 hour ordeal), I put myself in charge of planning and executing Thanksgiving dinner.  I recruited my Gran to make the turkey and the green beans, but everything else was my handiwork.  Or really, the handiwork of The Pioneer Woman and Cooking Light magazine.  I don't think I can really take credit for just following recipes.  (Apple pie not pictured because it was devoured, but it was awesome.  You should definitely make it.)  I did most of the prep on Wednesday, so all Gran and I had to do was coordinate when the different items needed to go in the oven on Thursday.  It was actually harder than I thought, but eventually dinner was ready, and no one went hungry.

{Plate #1 of 2... that day.}

We also managed to sneak in a few minutes to take Christmas card pictures.  I will show y'all what the cards look like when they come in, but this is the picture my mom ended up using on hers.  With a little cropping, it's definitely a framer.

{J, Me, Dad and Mom, Bro and his GF, plus Charlie, Shellie, and Penny}

My dad, unbelievably, got up at like 6:30am on Friday morning to go shopping.  If you know my dad, you know this is basically the most shocking thing he's ever done in his life.  He hates spending money almost as much as he hates crowds and idiots.  I also cannot deal with crowds (or idiots... the spending money part I am fine with), so my mom, my Gran, and I opted for pedicures instead.  We ended up going into Target for some essentials (Coke and magazines), and I did make a quick stop to pick up one of J's presents while it was on major sale but that store was directly next door to the nail salon, so it wasn't bad at all.  After pedicures, we met up with my friend Jesse and her mom, Gina, for lunch.  Gina and my mom met in a Mommy and Me class when Jesse and I were like 18 months old, and we've all been friends ever since.  It is hard to find friends like that, and it was awesome to see them.  We took pictures in the parking lot of Panera to document to the occasion, obviously.

On Saturday morning, Dad and I did another trail run with the dogs.  This time we did a little over 6 miles.  It's almost exactly 3/4 of a mile from their driveway to the trail head, which we walked in each direction, so it was about 4.5 miles of running at approximately 10:00/mile pace.  My Garmin was dead, so I used RunKeeper instead... this time with the sound off.

The dogs were dunzo for the rest of the day, which was awesome.  The chemo really hits my mom about 2 days after getting a dose, so she was pretty wiped.  We made one quick trip to town for craft supplies, then settled in to make Christmas wreaths and watch football all afternoon/night.  We made these letters, which we (i.e. my dad) then attached to wreaths bought from Home Depot.  I am not usually very crafty, but this was super basic and I think it turned out pretty cute.

I left Florida around 12:30 this afternoon and finallllllllly rolled into Columbia about 7:15.  It is normally a 4.5 hour drive, so, yeah, traffic was terrible.  Of course I turned into our driveway just as my audiobook was getting really good, but c'est la vie.  

If you're still reading after all of this... thanks!  Now tell me about your Thanksgiving!

Did you race?  What did you eat? Do you listen to audiobooks when you travel? If so, leave me a recommendation!

Adidas TechFit Long Sleeve T.

I bought this t-shirt from Dick's because it was on sale, and I only have one other long sleeve tech shirt. Turns out, it's the best thing ever.  

It's really soft, with just the right amount of stretch, and it's fitted, but not overly tight.  Here in SC, I rarely ever need more than one layer, and this shirt is thin, but warm. It would be a great base layer if you live somewhere where that kind of thing is necessary.  (I'm sorry.) I got the gray, and I definitely want some more colors.

Carry on.

*PS - This isn't a sponsored post.  I bought this shirt with my own money. I love it, so now I'm telling you about it.  That is all.

Firsts.

I registered for my first trail race tonight, and I am pretty pumped about it.  On December 15, I will be running the Rudolph's Rampage 10K.  Not gonna lie, Rudolph scares me a little.

Last weekend, J and I ventured out to Harbison State Forest (where the race will be) to revisit our favorite trail from this summer.  We bought a yearly pass, but we stopped using it when training for Georgetown started this summer.  It felt so amazing to get back out there.  And I was shocked at how different the forest looked.  Almost all the leaves were gone from the trees, and there is one part of the trail that runs through a meadow, which was gloriously green this summer, and now it's just brown grass.  The leaves that were left were super colorful, though, so it was still really pretty out there.

So, when we went out there, I forgot my Garmin.  I also forgot my headphones for my phone.  This meant that the only way for me record our pace/distance was to use RunKeeper and just leave the volume turned up so I could hear it announce the mileage.  This seemed like a good plan until we got to the first mile, and I forgot that the RunKeeper lady would be talking to me.  I shrieked, very loudly, and jumped a good 5 feet into the bushes because it scared me so badly.  Luckily J had his head phones in and was far enough in front of me that no one heard or saw... because it happened again at mile 2.

About the last third of a mile, I chicked J, and not wanting to get un-chicked, I booked it to the end.  I thought for sure I was going to eat it so hard because we were flying down a rocky, washed out hill, but I didn't, and it was by far the best part of the run.

I was really hoping to get back out there for little bit today (or yesterday, since it's technically Monday morning now), but J had to work all day and I *might* have been over served (umm, by myself) some sangria on Saturday night.

We had some friends over for dinner, and while I was getting the house ready, I realized that I had all of the ingredients for a sangria, so I whipped one up.  I am not normally a "whip something up" kind of girl - this was definitely a first for me.  I usually need a recipe, and I need it to be very specific.  So, obviously, I was quite proud of myself, and ended up going slightly overboard.  In my defense, J and I decided to watch Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer after dinner, and I need some alcohol to make it through.  Even though this morning was rough, it was delicious, and you should definitely make some.

In case you're interested:

1 bottle of champagne

1 bottle of pinot noir

1 shot of 99 Apples liqueur

1 shot of triple sec

1 shot of Patron

1 Honeycrisp apple, chopped

2 cinnamon sticks

*Combine all the ingredients in a pitcher, stir, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.  YUM!