A long time ago I signed up for See Jane Run. It would be my first all women's half and it would be in Austin. I honestly can't recall the last time I was in Austin. It was quite possibly my freshman year in college...uh...a long long time ago.
I decided to make a whole weekend of it, though probably I should have dropped the race all together given my ridiculous lack of training. Someone asked me why I was even going through with it. I said that dropping from it gave me a license to continue along on the bad path I've been traveling. Facing what would no doubt be yet another humbling/painful experience (see Kim versus The Half Marathon - Hottest Half) would hopefully be just what I need to once and for all get back on the right track.
I booked myself a room on Hotwire conveniently located a half a mile away from the "recommended hotel" (for significantly cheaper) and planned to leave after work on Friday. I was really looking forward to the escape.
As I drove into Austin on the same street as my hotel, dread began building in my very being for the road leading to my hotel was extremely hilly. I'm not dumb...I know Austin and the surrounding cities are called "the hill country", but seeing it was another story. My only race with true hills to date was the Orange County half I did back in May and those hills were brutal. Something told me this was going to be even worse!
I valet parked my car, lugged all my belongings to the lobby, and checked in. My room was lovely, really. A very comfy bed, a nice tv, and a strong cold blowing A/C. I didn't have any real set-in-stone plans other than hitting up the Expo the next morning and visiting with a friend from college who I had not seen since those good ol' days.
I woke up on Saturday morning and read a bit, played my FB games, showered, dressed, went down to the lame continental breakfast, back up to my room to do my hair, and headed out to the hotel the Expo was being held at - just a half mile away.
sCaRy pic of me - hahaha!
I got there early, so stopped at Starbucks for my non-fat lite salted caramel mocha frappacino (no whip) and played around on my phone until it was time.
I always find it awkward to do a race alone...especially out of town. I felt...lonely. I got my bib (no pins - rar), my t-shirt, and my goodie bag. I perused the vendors and got myself a free sample of Pinot Grigio courtesy of Barefoot and my free Luna bar sample, and then headed back to my hotel to examine my swag.
I read some more of my book and decided I should go find food. The night before, That Pink Girl recommended I go to Kirbey Lane for a meal. They are several around town, so I decided upon the original.
What a lovely atmosphere, a delicious menu, a nice waitstaff, and next to me sat a friendly woman who chatted with me throughout our respective meals. I ordered the Kirbey chicken which was a marinated grilled chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese mixed with kalamata olives and mushrooms. It was served with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. I also had a mimosa and loads of iced tea. Seriously delicious meal! Seriously.
After lunch, I left out to go find my friend who lives in Round Rock. She hadn't changed a bit in appearance and we chatted and caught up while her nearly 2 year old napped. Right before he woke up, her parents arrived in town - visiting from Houston, as well. We had the most wonderful visit and they even took me to dinner at Fuddruckers that evening. After dinner, Monica took me to Academy so I could buy a hand-held for my race. I didn't want to bring my Camelbak - thinking it wasn't as hot as The Hottest Half and therefore a bit overkill for the race, but I also didn't want to only rely on the hydration stations as that as lead me to dehydration (cramping) in the past.
We said our goodbyes and I headed back to my hotel - hoping for a good night's rest. I never really sleep well before a race, by the way. Before I went to bed, I discovered an email from See Jane Run letting us know the medals had been lost by Fed-Ex, so that we would not be receiving one upon completion of the race, but once they were found they would mail them to us. This saddened me. It's nice to have that medal once you cross the finish line. Ah well...
I knew the forecast screamed rain, but that was the way the cookie crumbled, I supposed. I worried a bit about that and went to sleep waking up twice in the night. I never really sleep well before a race.
I woke up on Sunday morning, hopped in the shower, got dressed, geared up, threw back breakfast, and headed out in the rain. I was very confused while trying to park. There were no signs...just a bunch of fellow confused participants. I ended up riding around in circles for a half hour and then rolled down my window and asked someone once I noticed cars leaving. Turns out the race was canceled - no reschedule, no refunds. I felt somewhat relieved - again...wasn't prepared...wasn't happy about walking in the rain, but then I felt somewhat sad. I mean wasn't this the reason why I left town - spent money?! Didn't I want that pain and suffering to get me on task?! Wouldn't it have been awesome to start off my week with a 2,000 calorie burn?! What about my chocolate and champagne?!
These were posters at the Expo - there were more, but here are my faves:
I returned back to my hotel, crawled back into bed and read for a bit before dozing back to sleep for a bit. I then collected all my belongings and checked out - riding back home to Houston in a whole bunch of much needed rain.
It was a nice get-away in that I was able to visit with an old friend, but really...the whole trip just left me feeling lonely. It could be that it's "that time of year" or the rain. It could be many things. Maybe I was just missing the camaraderie I would have felt on that race course.
So, I have no race to report, no finishing song...BUT, I do have a next stop! It's the Monster Dash in Chicago on October 29th. Costumes are encouraged and I'm working on mine. Right now I feel motivated to battle the bulge and train for the race, so cheers to a fresh start and 3 weeks to get ready!
Have I ever mentioned how much I love vacations? Oh I do, it's quite true! It can even be said that I live for them. To me, vacations are the reward for...life.
I know I've spoken of my love for Playa del Carmen, but alas...Mexico can't be in the cards for me. You see, I have to plan my vacation with the thought process that I will be "all by myself" (sing it Celine). I don't know for a fact that I will have anyone to go with me and so I have to choose a vacation spot that would be safe for me to travel to alone.
One of the huge appeals of Playa for me...or any beach, for that matter...is that it's AWAY and it's peaceful. I can choose to do everything or nothing. This got me wondering what it is that I could do here in the states that would give me that same sense of utopia. Then it dawned on me. I can choose a hot springs resort and spa escape.
I then began my research. My requirements were - hot natural springs, adventurous activities nearby, and of course...a spa.
No matter how many different search options I Googled, I kept coming back to this place - Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa in N. Bonneville, WA. The only downside I can think of is that the high temp will be around 56 and the low 31 (ye gads!) while I'm there (early May 2012). Oh...and brother-in-law Jay wanted to point it out to me that I might not be safe in the Pacific Northwest because there are a lot of serial killers from around those parts. WHAT?! Well you know that lead me to serial killer research! I'm morbid like that.
The resort also has a lovely restaurant with wonderful meal offerings, but if I wanted to eat off-campus, so to speak, Portland Oregon is only 35 minutes away with some great offerings like Veritable Quandary and Salvador Molly's.
The spa menu is superb. I've already picked out several services I want such as:
Ultimate Relaxation Bath, Wrap & Massage
Our Chamomile bath and wrap or our Lavender bath and wrap followed by a relaxing 80-minute massage is perfect for those days when you just want to relax. This ultimate treatment also includes a foot massage followed by a warm towel foot wrap and a warm towel face wrap.
140 minutes
Just for Women Bath, Wrap & Facial
Enjoy a bath in YonKa Phyto Bain bath oil followed by a warm wrap and an
80 minute European Facial. 140 minutes
Rock N’ Rain Signature Massage
Try our Bonneville Hot Springs Spa Signature Massage. Six therapeutic essential oils are delivered down the spine in the Raindrop Technique, and then massaged in with warm basalt rocks followed by a full body massage.
80 minutes
Having something relatively planned for the future gives me the motivation to commit (fully) to getting to my goals. Now, unfortunatley I have a bit more ground to cover than initially because I went wayward, but the point is I'm back on track.
Speaking of track...I decided this is going to be key in transforming me into the girl I want to be. Starting today, I am tracking EVERYTHING. I have Daily Mile to track my exercise. I have Myfitnesspal.com to track my calories and water consumption. I have Sleep Bot (an app on my phone) to track my sleep.
If only I could mentally get beyond this ridiculous weather. I'm sure you are sick and tired of hearing me (and every other Texan) complain about the heat this summer, but I can honestly say that in all my 24 years of living here, this is by far the hottest summer. Yesterday around 3:30pm, I took this picture (and no, my car had not been sitting in direct sunlight...this was after I had been driving for over 20 minutes).
So, what kind of vacation are you planning OR do you prefer?
13.1 is far, y'all. For reals. 13.54 is even further! I don't know about you, but there is nothing that agitates me more than seeing the distance I truly traveled in a race you only get credited for 13.1. Usually I can look back and see where I did some weaving (or...um...getting lost), but since I put myself at the very back and walked The Hottest Half, well...there wasn't much weaving at all. =/
So, it would be VERY easy for me to tear myself apart with regard to this race. I mean I hadn't trained for it except for a few longish walks and a couple of weekday jaunts - none of which ever attained my goal pace and none of which lasted more than 8 miles. As I've mentioned before, I've gained some weight back and I just haven't been eating as well as I should and I haven't been moving as much as I should. To bottom-line it, I'm out of shape. I thought about opting out of the race altogether and/or knocking my registration down to the 10K (which also would have granted me a medal upon completion), BUT I decided I was to be punished for my wayward lifestyle as of late and that come hell or highwater (in Houston? in Dallas? in this drought?) I needed to complete this race and use the blood, sweat, tears, and pain to catapult me into getting back on the right track.
I will say that this was one of my most humbling experiences of all time.
After splitting a peanut butter and honey sandwich with That Pink Girl, we headed out to White Rock for our race. On a side note, I think I liked the PB&H over oatmeal as a pre-race breakfast. This was a smallish race in that there were 1375 finishers. My goal was to not be last. haha! Well I had more goals - although I wanted to finish in legal time, I knew my lack of training would probably not allow it. I was right. So my other goals were to not dehydrate and just to finish. Pretty simple, right?!
I had a hydration plan. I was going to take water from all 6 hydration stations on the way out (it was an out and back course) and then drink from my Camelbak (filled with G2) on the way back. It became clear pretty early on that this plan wasn't going to work for me. It was hot y'all AND I'm one sweaty girl AND seeing as I was walking the course (not in the best shape), I knew early on to avoid cramping calves and other symptoms of dehydration, I needed a new plan. I ended up grabbing a water from all 6 hydration stations on the way out while sipping on my Camelbak in the interim. On the way back, I alternated between water and Powerade at the stations. This all paid off - by 10.5 miles, I had drained my Camelbak. By mile 11.5, the twinges started in my left calf. Some volunteer had offered to let me re-fill my Camelbak around 9 miles, but silly me thought I still had plenty left. =/
Mile 1 was pretty smooth sailing save for the bridge located around 0.5. Now, I'm not one of those chickies afraid of a bridge, but I am a chickie with some equilibrium issues and many runners/walkers and bike riders trampling over a bridge makes for quite a bouncy experience. Can you believe there was another bridge around 1.5 miles? In my head there were two more, though I might be mistaken. The one that was located right before mile 5 (and mile 8 on the way back) was by far the worst. Coming off that cRaZy bridge was a hill. We all know how much I love to hate hills. My legs felt disoriented from the bridge and it was just a bad feeling all the way around.
I still felt strong Miles 2-5 as there was quite a bit of shade along the course. During Miles 4-5 I practically had my own cheer squad. As the runners on their way back passed me, many of them would high 5 me or clap or shout out encouragement. It truly brought both a smile to my face and some tears to my eyes. It was extremely heartwarming that people were so awesome to take the energy out of their own race to help motivate mine.
Miles 6-8 were okay. At some point, I made a friend. He was walking the race, as well, and we just chatted along for a couple of miles.
Miles 9-11 were rough. I wanted to quit half a dozen times, but I reminded myself that punishment isn't supposed to feel good. I wasn't hurt, mind you, so there was really no reason to stop...I was just tired (well except for that stupid left calf that started acting up right past mile 11).
Miles 12-13 felt like they took an eternity. The aid vehicles kept passing me and the girl in front of me. She was struggling with a hurt leg, so they asked her a time or two if she needed help, but she declined. We both just wanted to be done.
Around 12.9 miles, TPG came from around the corner and I swear to you that she was the best thing I'd seen all day. She instantly put a huge smile on my face before she put her coach face on told me to start running to the finish line. I tried for a few hundredths of a mile, but that lame calf was threatening me. I started walking again and I was telling TPG about a dude who almost knocked me over around mile 4. He was coming in the opposite direction of me and stopped to tie his shoe - without pulling to the side. Some girl told him to get off the course and without looking, he scooted over onto my side of the course. I girl-screamed in fear of falling over and somehow managed to avoid him and the ground. TPG pointed out that if I had enough energy to tell a story, I had enough energy to run the rest of the course (I love when she goes all coach on me), so I started running and as I neared the finish line, the MC shouted my name and where I was from. A fairly large group of spectators cheered for me as I crossed the finish line.
The Hottest Half peeps handed me a medal and I thanked them for allowing me to finish and giving me the medal even though I didn't finish in legal time. She laughed, congratulated me, and told me she was proud of me.
Nice people rock my world!
After some much needed water, TPG and I headed towards the car. A nice aid guy stopped us and offered us a ride. I didn't want to take him up on it because of pride issues, but then he said if we didn't let him take us, he was going to have to go back and become part of the clean-up crew. We laughed and thanked him for the ride.
I will say that this was one of my favorite races as far as organization, staffing, and hydration stations go. It was the absolute best race as far as my fellow racers go. AND if I could ever get my act together...despite the heat...I would consider doing it again (the right way).
I will leave you with a couple of pics and my stats.
This is a pic of my fingers after the race (no, they were not painful, but definitely uncomfortable)...
These were my fingers 24 hours later...
This was my post race AWFUL pic, but hey...it's me with my medal and TPG was kind enough to take it...
Time - 3:57:57
Calories Burned - 1989
Finishing Song - Lady Gaga's Paparazzi
Next Stop - Beach Palooza (5K obstacle course) in Galveston on September 24th.
I went through all the motions of yesterday in anticipation of heading out to do 6 miles once I got home. Yeah, that didn't happen. I just could not make myself get out the door...probably because I didn't leave work until 7 and my car was still registering 104 degrees. =/
I vowed to go to bed early so that I could wake up early to get my 6 miles in.
Yeah...bed didn't come early. I got this wild and crazy idea to download an audio book onto my iTunes account. No, sillies...I didn't pay for it. It was a "book" from the library, so I suppose I was really "ripping" it (my brother-in-law told me that was the right word). I chose James Dashner's The Maze Runner. I then replaced my iPod Shuffle music with the book. Quite proud of myself, I headed to bed at 11pm. I still dutifully set my alarm for 4am and hoped for the best.
My alarm went off at 4am and I did what I usually do...I reset it for 6am, BUT...then...I felt soooo guilty. I just knew there was an imbalance in the world and that only I could solve it by hitting the pavement. Apparently at 4am I have a whole lot of self-importance going on.
I don't know what it is with me and crack-of-dawn wake-ups, but it takes me FOREVER to get out the door. So, this translates to I started my WALK (yes, still walking it out vs. running) at 5am. No 6 miles for me with that late start. =/
So, I geared up like a superstar - you know with my tunes, my Camelbak (overkill, yes, BUT I'm trying to get used to it for my upcoming The Hottest Half), my Road I.D., my Garmin, etc. I'm pretty sure I looked like a crazed hitchhiker (who recently escaped from the circus or an assylum - whatever) to anyone who had the pleasure of seeing me. I pressed PLAY and Chapter 1 started as I struggled through my first mile.
Something weird happened...apparently I didn't turn the shuffle function off, so the book started jumping from this to that. I pulled over to try to fix the problem, but I couldn't, SO...I turned the whole thing off. It made me a sad girl to have no entertainment. =(
My first mile was wretched. I keep having issues with tight calves no matter how much stretching I do. I powered through it and eventually gained my momentum. It's peaceful out there in the dark with very few peeps and very few cars. I even saw a deer (or a cheetah, it was dark out) in the distance, so that kind of made my day.
When I made it back to my house, I was .10 mile shy of 4.75 miles, so I bypassed home to the end of the street and then came back. 4.75 miles / burned 696 calories / 15:48 pace. I want to...need to go faster, so I'm hoping practice will make perfect before race day (8/14).
I do not recommend procrastination, by the way. It is not paying off.
Oh and one last thing. I HATE when the "terrain" I'm running or walking on changes. It really messes with my head. I'm talking dead grass in the street, pine needles, dirt, or just a change in materials - black top to cement. Am I alone in this? Please tell me I'm not! I would be terrible at trail running!
After 4.75 miles (note: same wardrobe as Sunday, but I promise it was clean when I started and that this is a new pic):
My road is always paved with good intentions. I was so drained on Friday after work, y'all. I mean like the life was sucked out of me. I didn't even get home until 8:15pm. That's a long a$$ day. I had planned on doing a 4-mile walk or heck...I would have even been satisfied with hitting my new exercise bike, but alas...I was burned out, so I went to bed at 9pm with no exercise.
I had thought to surprise myself by getting up at 5am to go ahead and get my long WALK in. When I woke up and put the dogs out, it had already started drizzling. By the time I let them back in - it was a storm. Ugh.
I went back to bed.
When I finally did get back up, it was HOT, HUMID, STEAMY, and every other adjective you can think of to describe miserable conditions for outdoor training. I decided to do my missed 4 miles. I only ended up doing 3 and the last mile was just awful. I felt defeated. I then hit my exercise bike for 30 minutes before showering and dressing for family lunch at BJ's Brewhouse.
After our lunch, I went to get a facial at Visage Salon and Day Spa. I had purchased a Groupon for a 50% discount a couple of months ago and was excited to use it. I really loved the relaxing music playing in the room and the fact that my esthetician didn't try to sell me the products that I knew I wouldn't buy. Once my massage was over, I did something I've never done. I cheated on my hair stylist. I've been going to Leena for 13 years now, but I just couldn't deal with my overgrown bushy mop-top any longer. Visage also had a hair salon, so I asked if they could squeeze me in and I only had to wait 15 minutes to become publically acceptable once again. I don't have a picture, so sorry, but really I didn't do anything extreme - just cut a couple of awful inches off and then had my layers "tuned up".
I wanted to get up at 5am again on Sunday for my long WALK, but I stayed up too late on Saturday night (bad Kim) and managed to head out for my WALK around 7:15am. It was already ridiculously hot and humid, but so what? I mean it's going to be this kind of weather for The Hottest Half on 8/14, so I might as well get used to it. This was the first time I used my new camelbak. The night before I filled the bladder with water and added 3 Nuun tablets and then put it in the freezer. Maybe I should have put it in the pack first because it was a real struggle on Sunday morning to get the frozen bladder in the pack. =/
I looked ridiculous....overkill for a walker, but whatever, I mean the camelbak prevented me from having to hit home for additional hydration before my 8 miles were through AND this is imperative for me because I have a bad habit of hitting home and not resuming my mileage.
The first mile was ROUGH. I was having some major issues with my calves being super tight. I had even foam rolled and stretched before going out. 1/3 of the way through my first mile, I pulled over to stretch my calves against the curb. They still hurt, but I kept on going. They loosened up during my second mile and I could finally speed up. I did really well until I hit the 6th mile and then I struggled for the last two, but not because I was hurting...it was because of a lack of fuel. I just wasn't hungry in the morning before I headed out, so I choked down half a Clif's bar. I didn't bring anything with me, so I ended up burning 1157 calories only having had 120 in my system before I left out. I know for this coming Sunday's 10-miler that I will need to plan out my fueling better - in other words, make arrangements to eat something halfway through my WALK. Oh...and in case you were wondering, I did drink the entire 72 oz out of my camelbak by the time I hit my front door. I was kinda bummed about this because I had hoped the 72 oz would be enough for the entire half marathon, but...apparently that won't work.
I immediately took off my shoes and socks once I got inside...RELIEF! I then noticed chafing! CHAFING! I didn't think about my arm hitting the strap from my camelbak. Doh! I will know where to Vaseline it up next time! I took this picture of myself with my phone cuz the battery was dead in my camera. There was one small area on my shirt dry. Weird. The rest of me was soaking wet. I couldn't wait to hit the shower and use my minty wash to cool me down.
After I was all clean, I got dressed for my MUCH needed massage. It could not have come at a better time. I went ahead and made an appointment for another one after this coming Sunday's 10-miler!
I grabbed lunch at Lenny's Subs. I was ravenous at this point. Then I took my lunch to my parent's house and hung out with them until later when my mom and I met older sister Cathy and brother-in-law Jay at the movie theater to see Friends with Benefits. Probably not the most appropriate movie to watch with one's mother, but it was hilarious!
All in all, it was a lovely weekend - once again rejuvenating me for the week ahead.
I hated June. I think I hate June every year come to think of it. Oh well...it's neither here nor there cuz a new month is upon us.
One little cool thing about June though is that mi casa turned 11. Ye gads, can you believe it?! 11!!! How am I old enough to have bought and lived in my very own home for 11 years??? I can tell it's 11, though. Ruben is needing some work. My second garbage disposal blew out and needs replacement. The whole interior of the house could use a fresh coat of paint. The master bathtub/shower is needing some retiling. Pretty sure two new toilets would be lovely! Once I open up the can of worms called home-improvement, there will be no turning back. The cool thing is that in less than 7 years, Ruben is 100% mine...all mine thanks to some refinancing I did several years back. Now that is a good feeling! =)
Let's look at July...
The parentals are abandoning ship AGAIN. My father is heading out to Scotland on a golf trip with two of his brothers and my mother is going out to Los Angeles to visit with my brother and sister-in-law and then continuing her jaunt out to Vegas for some R&R. This means I head to their house for Oliver-sitting. I thought to ask Linda and Craig (and Coco) to join me and my monsters for a long-weekend staycation. We plan to eat, watch movies, and soak up the sun poolside.
I also plan to get some mad mileage in. We need not mention how The Hottest Half is *gulp* six weeks away and how this chickadee isn't nearly where she should be training-wise. I blame work for zapping the life out of me, by the way....well and a stupid blister on the back of my heel, but whatever....
Since I'm gonna be at the parental's house for about a week, I figure it reaps a couple of advantages. It saves on my electric bill at home (thank God) and they have a home gym. I can cross train my heart out on the bike when I'm not walking, running, skipping, crawling out my mileage on the pavement in this AWFUL heat.
So happy July to you all! May you have a wonderful much needed holiday weekend filled with fun, family, and friends!
There are some things that are making me happy this summer. I thought I would share.
The Voice
Have you seen it? It's a new singing competition / reality show on NBC this season. I find the celebrity judges/coaches to be particularly amusing, of course, but some of the talent on the show are truly incredible. I can't wait to watch the rest of the season!
So You Think You Can Dance
Do you watch it too? Oh you so should! My parents got me hooked on this dancing competition / reality show on Fox a few seasons ago and I've been obsessed ever since. I never realized you could get so caught up in the story line of a dance and that you could be moved to such emotion by the brilliance of choreography.
Movies, in general
Every weekend so far, I have managed to sneak in a movie at the movie theater with my family. Seeing movies has always been one of my favorite activities anyway, but over the past few years I just haven't made it a priority. Times have changed! It's a way to escape this awful summer heat and my cRaZy life for a couple of hours - count me in! I like to go to the Santikos Silverado theater because it's clean and nice and they have an amazing drink station. You can get Coke Zero, for example, in 6 different flavors. sooo cool.
Oatmeal
I want it. I love it. Every morning I take my half cup of oats and add in a tablespoon of Splenda brown sugar blend, loads of cinnamon and a cup of water. I zap it in the microwave for 2 minutes and let my mouth go to its happy place.
Chicken salad
I want it. I love it. I bought the pre-seasoned sweet chili chicken breasts from H.E.B. I boiled them, chopped them up, and added Mayo made with olive oil and then some dill pickle relish. I found myself some nice multi-grain hearty bread, toasted it up, and piled on my chicken salad.
Crystal Light iced tea
If I'm not drinking water, I'm drinking this delightfulness. It's refreshing and lovely.
Relax and Sleep
application on my phone. There are many options to choose to listen to, but I only listen to one - monks chanting - I set the timer for 40 minutes each night and it helps me fall asleep.
C.O. Bigelow Mentha Body Vitamin Body Wash That Pink Girl mentioned this product in a blog post a couple of months ago. It sounded like something that would do a hot and sweaty body good. You see, it's a cool and refreshing body wash that leaves you feeling all tingly and happy. It definitely helps beat the heat and that puts a smile on my face. That's all I ask.
I'm gonna be an aunt
Just before Easter weekend, when our whole immediate family was in town and gathered at my parent's house for dinner, younger sister Linda and brother-in-law Craig announced they are expecting their first child. This will be my first niece or nephew and our parent's first grandchild. Our family is on cloud 9. Linda *finally* lifted the gag order on Tuesday AFTER she informed our grandmother herself, so now we don't have to keep our excitement a secret any longer. The baby is due December 27th which means for the first time in all of my years, our family will not be traveling to Chicago for Christmas as we want to make sure we are in town for the birth of the newest addition to our family. I've been wondering what happens in Houston while we are away...
I was gone for 8 nights. I traveled on 4 different flights - Houston to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Chicago, Chicago to Greenville (SC), and then Greenville to Houston. I read 4 books - The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins and The Search by Nora Roberts. I saw 3 movies in theaters - The Conspirators, Something Borrowed, and Water for Elephants. I participated in 1 half marathon - The OC Half. Wowsers - I was a busy girl!
I don't want to bore you with all the sordid details of my vacation, so I will hit you with the highlights.
I left Houston on Saturday, 4/30, Los Angeles bound. I chose L.A. as the beginning of my adventure because my brother Eddie and sister-in-law April live in Huntington Beach and because I could coincide my visit with The OC Half Marathon.
Eddie picked me up from LAX and took me to Pinky's. He assured me it was an L.A. staple. So, hot dogs we had.
Eddie's on the left and mine on the right.
Next, we happened across the Hollywood Forever cemetery. Not to be all morbid or anything, but we were kind of looking for celebrity graves. We managed to find Estelle Getty and Johnny Ramone and, of course, the lovely peacocks you see pictured below.
After a crazy turn of events which were detailed in my race recap, we ended up arriving a bit late to our dinner reservation at Bandera's. We met up with our friends and coworkers (from New Jersey) Joe and Carie. I somehow never did manage to get pictures with them or of them (bad blogger). Joe and Carie's son and daughter-in-law just so happen to also live out in HB, so they came along to dinner as well so that Eddie and April could meet them.
Saturday was half marathon day. After the race, we met up with the gang at their hotel for breakfast. It just so happens when we finished that Muscle Milk decided to stop right outside their hotel and hand out free bottles, so I had myself a bottle of Muscle Milk Lite - mmmmm....tasty.
Later Eddie and I went to see The Conspirators. I knew nothing about it and found it fascinating. I was so exhausted from the day, however, and couldn't wait to crash and burn that evening.
On Monday, April and I got foot massages. $25 for an hour - awesome!!! Just what a girl needed post half marathon! We also hung out at the beach for a while.
On Tuesday, I had lunch with Eddie and then later April and I took their dog Roxie to the dog beach. so much fun!
I enjoyed my visit and can't wait to go back to sunny beautiful Cali!
Wednesday was a day full of travel. I headed out bright and early for my first flight of the day to Chicago. Unfortunately I ended up delayed once in Chicago for an extra hour above and beyond my layover. =( Ultimately it took me 12 hours to get to Greenville, SC. Factor that in with a 3 hour time change and I was beat!
My friend Dana had to work a half day on Thursday, so I decided to power walk the hills - yes, my little lamp chops, Greenville is one hillatious city. yikes! I managed 6 miles and I was one sweaty mess! I got cleaned up and once Dana got home, we decided to get pedicures. Next up was our little Cinco de Mayo celebration at Senor Salsa's.
Dana was able to take Friday off. We were lazy bums half the day. yay! Then we went to lunch and saw Something Borrowed.
On Saturday, we had a picnic in the park. It was a beautiful day and downtown Greenville was having a Duckie Derby. It was fun to people watch! Later we went and saw Water for Elephants and then headed back to the house for a cook-out with some of Dana and Michael's friends.
We convinced Dana's parents to come up to Greenville on Sunday. I had not seen them in 3 years (since Dana's wedding). We had lunch with them and it was great to catch up. Before you knew it - my vacation was over and it was time to come back to reality.
My next vacation won't happen until AFTER the summer craziness that is my job. Hopefully this one will carry me through the rough days ahead.
I totally had a bad attitude about this race. It's not like me to have a bad attitude about a race. It started out with the fact that I have been sick for nearly 3 weeks and unable to run do to a bronchial cough and major congestion. Then my bad attitude grew wings and took off from there. I found out there were only 375 registrants. Pretty sure this is the smallest race I've "run" yet - and it was a half marathon! BUT then I found out it was capped at that amount and that there was a waiting list...that made me feel a little bit better. I have to admit I thought it was awfully cute that there was an Expo. I mean my two Rock 'n' Roll half marys had Expos, but The Houston Half (that hurt me) didn't have one and the RunGirl 13.1 I was signed up for but couldn't run (because of the pelvic stress fracture) didn't have one.
I'm a bad blogger. I totally forgot to take a picture of the Expo. =( I was uber impressed. There were a few local businesses pushing their products - kettle corn, I believe, and a massage place, amongst others. The thing that turned my frown upside down was the packet pick-up. In my head, I had decided this was a rinky-dink race that wasn't even going to have a tech t-shirt. I knew they had gender specific shirts (which I appreciated), but I was wrong...it's the best tech shirt I've received yet! Normally a packet pick-up comes in a paper envelope or a plastic bag. This one came in a purple reuseable bag - something you could use for grocery shopping should a girl choose to go green. There were all kinds of awesome swag goodies inside. Check it out! Yep, a reflector for night running, a water bottle with the race logo, sports beans, 2 Gu packs, and a Chomps pack. Best swag bag to date! So...total shift in attitude.
Race morning I made arrangements to meet up with my race buddy Melissa in the parking lot of the high school located across the street from The Bridgeland Community. Once there, I completed gearing up (accidentally leaving my visor behind - MISTAKE #1) and we trekked over to the porta-potties. It took us about 30 minutes or so to get through the line and then we stretched and grabbed a place at the start. This was where I found Bobbi Jo! Remember her? We did the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago half together last year - my very first half!
Now I decided I was walking this whole race - something I've never done before - because I had not run in 3 weeks, I was still a bit congested, and I have another half marathon in 8 days. I had a goal in mind of 15 minute miles, but secretly, I knew I could maintain a faster pace - at least for half the race. Since I wasn't running, there would be no sloshing around of my system which meant I should be able to make it without a bathroom break AND I did just that. I knew without a bathroom break I might just have a chance of PRing the race (sad, but true story since I'm THAT slow of a runner -ha!).
I started off incredibly strong.
Mile 1- 14:33
There was a water/Gatorade station around 1.5 miles. I bypassed it. MISTAKE #2.
Mile 2- 14:28
There was a water/Gatorade station just past mile 3. I grabbed one DIXIE cup (yes, that small) filled with the most watered down Gatorade you could ever imagine. MISTAKE #3.
Mile 3- 14:29
Mile 4- 14:22
Just past mile 5 there was another water/Gatorade station. The Gatorade wasn't quite as watered down, I grabbed two Dixie cups. At the start of Mile 4, I could tell I was developing a blister on the upper edge of my right heel. Courtesy of wearing brand new socks, perhaps? MISTAKE #4
By now the wind had picked up, but it was a weird wind. Sometimes it was hitting us dead on. Other times it was coming at us from the side. Since there were so few people in this race, most were runners. I was with a group of about 8-10 walkers. There were 5-6 behind me. As the mileage grew, so did the gaps. Eventually I was alone.
Mile 5- 14:43
Around 5.5 miles or so, I passed Melissa and then Bobbi Jo as they had done the turn around and were headed back in the opposite direction. It made me feel good that I wasn't TOO far behind them considering I was walking. I couldn't wait to get to the turn around - this was an out and back course as described in the information packet. I figured with having the drink station at Mile 5 and the advertised drink stations every 1.5 miles, that the turn-around would surely have another drink station. I WAS WRONG.
Mile 6- 15:04
Wind was still very much an issue. It was HOT outside. This course offered no shade at all and remember I left my visor in the car. I could have cried when around 6.65 miles or whatever when we did the turn around and there was no drink station. This meant I would have to wait until I go back to the one that was at Mile 5 - which would now be Mile 8 to have another drink. I was dying.
Mile 7- 14:54
As soon as I saw the water station ahead, I got my Larabar out of my Spibelt and started eating it. Now, I had made the executive decision to bring a Larabar instead of my usual Clif's Shot Bloks because my Larabar had 200 more grams of potassium in it and I was trying to avoid Charlie Horses - MISTAKE #5. The only flavor I had was Chocolate Brownie. I was overheated and despite the fact I was chewing gum, my mouth was dry. Trying to eat the Larabar was like trying to eat dirt or mud - it was disgusting and so hard to digest. When I hit the drink station, I discovered they were out of Gatorade. They handed me two Dixie cups of water. I took them, gulped them down, then went behind them to the table and just started slamming Dixie cups like I had been in the desert for years without water. I had to have taken another 6 to 8 of them.
Mile 8- 15:44
I was trying my best to ignore the blister. My mouth still felt so dry. I knew I just had to make it another 1.5 miles until the next drink station. My pace was slowing. I kept trying to will myself to go faster.
Mile 9- 16:43
I was getting hit pretty hard by the wind. It was a weird feeling. On one hand, it felt really good, but on the other, it was getting harder and harder to walk through it. I started feeling dizzy. I got to the drink station and they still had lots of VERY watered down Gatorade left, but they actually had some bigger cups. Some kids handed me two Dixie cups. I slammed them. A woman handed me a larger cup. I slammed it. They could tell I was dehydrated. Another woman filled up two more of the larger cups for me "for the road". I slammed them both and kept going. So many times I just wanted to pull over and just stand there, but I told myself to just keep going.
Mile 10- 18:06
I started feeling that all too familiar twinge in my left calf. I didn't understand it. I ate two small bananas with breakfast. I had a banana every morning all week long. I hydrated all week and even had 32 oz of water in the morning before the race. I swapped out my usual plain oatmeal from the cannister that I make every morning for the pre-packaged crap (as recommended by some peeps on the internet because of the sodium content). I tried to ignore it and kept going. I felt so alone. At this point I knew there were still 4 people behind me, but they were so far behind me that I couldn't see them anymore. The two that had passed me were so far ahead of me that I couldn't see them anymore. There were hardly any cops out at all - just a bunch of cones where we were supposed to make our turns (or so I thought).
I just kept telling myself I had to make it to 11.5 miles or so for the next drink station and then I would be okay. My Garmin was showing 11 miles, but I never did see the mile marker. I was confused. I know I was walking a lot with my head down because of the sun, so maybe I missed it? I just kept walking, but so slowly now.
Mile 11- 18:58
At some point, I crossed paths with another girl. She was one of the people who had been behind me. Yes, you read that correctly...we CROSSED paths. She asked me which way to go. I was confused. We were passing each other. Up ahead I saw a yellow-shirt wearing volunteer on a bike. I called out to her and asked where we should be going and she pointed to the right up ahead - not the direction I was heading. I then asked her where I was supposed to be coming from and she pointed in the direction the other girl came from. OH NO! I had somehow gotten lost. I trudged back up the road and turned right and saw a mile marker in the distance. Imagine what it did to my head and heart when it read - Mile 11.
Mile 12- 21:41
My Garmin was reading 12 miles. I had somehow managed to walk an extra mile! At this point, I had gone 2 1/2 miles without a drink and the drink station was another 1/2 mile up the road. My calves started seizing up. First the left. I would stretch it and try to walk again. Then the right. I would stretch it and try to walk again. They asked me if I wanted a ride. I said no. I had to finish. For the next half mile, I pulled over several times to stretch my tortured calves. They must have radioed ahead to the drink station because as I approached it, one of the volunteers met me and asked me if I was okay. She said she was a nurse and heard I was having trouble. I explained that I got lost, it had been 3 miles since my last drink, and that my calves were in bad shape. She hurried me over to the drink station and they put wet towels on my neck and started giving me cup after cup of ice cold water (they had also run out of Gatorade). They asked me if I wanted a ride. I told them that I needed to at least complete 13.1 according to my Garmin. I said I would accept a ride after that. The nurse, her name was Anita, said she would follow along in her car and I should just come to her when I had hit my 13.1. My calves didn't seize up on my anymore once I had that water in me. They were still so sore, but at least not seizing. I finished up the 0.6 miles remaining and then let Anita take me to the finish line. Once there, I briefly explained what happened to the race director and asked her if I could cross the finish line. She said, "well you sure did do your half marathon, now didn't you!" I said, "yes, ma'am"! and then she crossed it with me and a little boy handed me the medal.
Mile 13- 23:52
Mile 0.1- 19:09
They explained to me they still had water left, but that they were out of cups. I was desperate for more water. A man had an empty water bottle. I didn't care that it had his germs. I filled it, slammed it, refilled it, and slammed it again. Then I felt like I wanted to throw up. I then hobbled to my car - pretty far away - and had to wait for my calves to stop screaming before I could drive home.
When I switched out my running shoes for my flip flops, this was the loveliness that awaited me:
I've never had a blister like this in my entire life. The only other time I formed a blister while running was during my first 10K - HEB's Bayou City Classic - last year - when I didn't know about moisture wicking socks and just wore regular cotton socks.
So, yeah...this was a PW - personal worst. I stopped my Garmin at 13.1 and my time was 3:39:27. Whatever the official time is will be worse than that given the time it took to drive around avoiding the closures and my time explaining to the race director, etc.
Lessons learned:
#1 - remember the visor
#2 - get drinks from all drink stations
#3 - get the appropriate # of drinks based on the size offered
#4 - don't wear new socks
#5 - don't switch out products that have been tried and true
#6 - start carrying some type of Electrolyte drink on me
#7 - pick up the pieces / suck it up - many more races to come
Finishing Song: Gnarles Barkley's Crazy
I think I've also determined that my issues with my Charlie horses come from dehydration after all. I hydrate plenty the week before the race. I just dehydrate during. I usually don't drink the electrolyte drink offered during a race as I try not to drink my calories. I made the exception during this race since I didn't have anyone passing me off drinks and I was trying to avoid Charlie horses. Unfortunately, skipping the first drink station, the fact they didn't have a water station where they should have (at the turn around), and my getting lost amounted to three 3-milers without drinks, all leading to my demise. During the Houston Half (that hurt me), I didn't experience Charlie horses at all. I took water at all the drink stations and my siblings met me at various spots along the course with G2. It was a hot/humid day that day, as well.
One of these days, I'm gonna get this whole fueling/hydration thing right. One of these days...
At the end of last year, I listed my goal of running 4 half marathons. Yes, 4.
I've since upped it to 6. Yes, 6.
My parents think me nuts. I prolly am, but not for this.
Many of you agree, but there are those out there who do these things like once a month. So, when you compare my measley 6 to...say 12, well I'm not so hands-in-the-air-like-I-just-don't-care cRaZy, now am I?!
What if I were to add one more?
What if that one more were...um...say in August...in the Texas hellish heat?
Then would it be safe to say I've gone completely loony-toony?
Here's my thought process on the matter. I have 3 half marys within 5 weeks - all of which will be completed by 9:30am (PST) May 1st. My next one isn't until October 9th (which I totally officially registered for on Tuesday - yay!). That means I will go 6 months without one. 6 WHOLE MONTHS. I'm pretty sure medals keep me motivated. 6 months of Texas hellish heat...and let's not forget HUMIDITY...without a medal dangling in the distance will make it really hard to stay motivated to keep that mileage rollin', don't ya think? Yes, I do.
So, I did a wee bit of research and found The Hottest Half in Dallas on 8/14. They only promise that "it will be hot" and that I "will survive". Hmmmph...well...it will be hot in Houston and I will survive it as I'm putting in my long run that weekend, so why not visit some friends in the Dallas area and get a medal while doing so?
I mentioned this race to my buddy Melissa a couple of months ago when I first found it during my research. We chuckled at the very notion of it. BUT...it remained lurking in the back of our minds. Could we? Should we? Melissa (clearly the crazier of the two of us) brought it back up to me when we did our 10K this past weekend. Now it's all I think about (slight exaggeration).
I mean they do promise I will survive it...they wouldn't lie, right?!
That Pink Girl is considering this race, too, for what it's worth and we all know she is perfectly sane.
This is my first repeat race EVER and it will be only one of two repeat races that I have scheduled for the year (though, of course, I reserve the right to add to that list as the year progresses).
I had two goals for The Bayou City Classic.
1) PR (last year's time was 1:26:38)
2) Run the entire distance, walking only through the water stations
I did have one friend to run this race with me - Melissa - who, consequently, ran this race with me last year, as well. I love knowing at least one other person running a race. It doesn't matter to me how much faster they are - it's just nice knowing someone else is experiencing the same conditions and that there is a natural built-in support, you know?!
I wish I could say I prepped all week long for this race like a true champion, but sadly...I'd be lying. My diet plan was practically non-existent. I have a bit of insight into my psyche as to why that occurred, though, and I'm working on it so that I can get back on the right track and stay there. My running plan didn't happen. A little birdie barely managed to convince me to hit some minor mileage on Thursday night, but other than that I hadn't done anything since last Saturday's 9-miler. My hydration plan was lacking. I finally got the water thing down on Friday, but that's not saying much when I had caused such a deficit in my system. =/
Enough about my downfalls...onto the recap:
Saturday morning, Melissa and I agreed to meet at my work so we could drive together to the race. We got there VERY early so that we wouldn't have to deal with road closures and all that jazz. It was quite windy, though not really cold. We met up with a couple of her friends and started the race just after 8. My legs felt kind of heavy right from the start. I had some defeatist thoughts come through my head. I fought them. For the first mile, we navigated down town and then we hit Memorial Parkway. I really don't know how they get away with calling the course "flat and fast" because Memorial Parkway is anything but flat. I had forgotten this from last year. =/ I thought about walking up the hills, but then I reminded myself that wasn't what I had set out to do (see goal #2), so I just pumped my arms and carried onward.
There were water stations set-up every 1.5 miles. Initially I had considered skipping the first and third, but since the sun was beating down on us pretty brutally and I could feel the salt caked on my face, I knew I needed to hydrate, so I did walk through all of the water stations. I was happy when I finished drinking my water just past mile 3 and I heard Melissa and her friend shout my name from across the median as they were approaching mile 4 on the opposite side of Memorial Parkway.
I started getting a bit discouraged as I hit the 5th mile marker and realized I was going to be cutting it SUPER close to last year's time. I knew there was one last big hill to conquer and I thought about giving up and just walking the rest of the race - see...total defeatist. I didn't register for this race to give-up on it, though. I pumped my arms hard up that hill. I rounded the corner and saw the 6th mile marker. I looked at my watch and knew I had to high-tail it to have a hope of PRing. I sprinted my heart out. It worked.
I look like a VERY serious runner here.
Official Time: 1:25:50 (48 seconds faster than last year)
Finishing Song: Dead and Gone - TI featuring Justin Timberlake
Melissa and her buddies were there to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line - awesome! I then consumed massive amounts of water and we got our finisher's t-shirts. Then came the swag. Wowsers - check out the loot I got!
Yeah, buddy - I got 3 packs of Shot Bloks, a 5-hour Energy, and many Clif's bars. Sweet!
All in all, a good race, a positive experience, and I was quite proud to say I accomplished both of my goals - a PR and I ran the whole thing, only walking through the water stations.
Lessons learned: eat right, stick to running/training schedule, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate as my actions for the week will affect my performance!
