Chubb 25k Trail Run

 Whew! It's been a while, eh? Only like 6 years! So I've had another baby in between this post and my last. She's now 4-1/2 years old! I've kept active but really missed the comraderie of racing and training with other people. Of course, the pandemic did nothing to help with that aspect but it did allow me some additional time to get out and run a bit. Not having to commute for over an hour a day as well as being able to run during my lunch break has been life-changing. I'm not taking this time for granted as we the return to an office environment over time is inevitable.

So, as per usual, I dove into running headfirst and likely was a bit aggressive in my buildup. I ran quite well over last summer and leading into the fall which culminated in a 13.1 miler that took me from my doorstep to my HS alma mater and back. Was it too much too soon? Probably but I felt decent. Slow, but decent. The winter was a challenge and I didn't run as much. Historically, I've hated running in cold weather. That still holds true today. However, without the added push of racing and/or events to get me out the door, I did not run much this past winter. Of course, as soon as the weather improved, I jumped back into running distances my body wasn't ready for. As a result, my hamstring has been screaming at me. I have a history of high hamstring tendonopathy with avulsion fractures and calcium deposits. I haven't taken a complete break from running but I've been monitoring how I feel and will back off as needed.

I started running a few days a week with an old running buddy and have definitely needed to reign it in a bit as my friend likes to push the pace (somewhat unnecessarily). 

I'm a sucker for signing up for races that have a history of selling out. FOMO at its finest. So when Jason signed up to run the Chubb 25k, I did too.

Fast forward to the actual race and I had only been running about 12 miles a week on average. Not at all enough for me to expect to perform well but by this point my only goal was to finish. Additionally, all the rain that we had been having contributed to flooding on the flat portion of the trail. So the course was re-routed to double the elevation to keep us dry. 15.5 miles of pure hilly glory. My most favorite running is on flat roads so this race was clearly going to push my comfort zones.

Race day arrived and it was sprinkling and about 45 degrees. Yippy! I put on my trail shoes that I'd never run in! Ha. Put on a base layer and then topped it off with my Big Shark technical shirt. I had a multitude of headbands/gaitors etc. - one for my hair and one to use as a mask at the start of the race. Wireless music accompanying my most favorite Garmin of all time (Fenix 6s Pro) and I was ready to go!

The hills were no joke. The first lap I stuck with a group for the most part. I passed a few people and a few people passed me. I let one girl go in my wave and distanced myself from another. Turns out the girl I let go ended up 2nd so that was a good call. Since I had never run this race much less this trail, I had zero expectations of what pace I should be running. However, running at about 11 min/mile pace was superbly humbling. 

The second lap was brutal as my ankles and joints began to ache from the pounding and uneven ground. Even the flat mile in the clearing was rough and took effort to even dip under 9:00 min/mile pace. I was somewhat comforted by the fact that the grass was not cut and its length was adding to the difficulty. I spent most of the second lap by myself and hoping that I didn't make a wrong turn somewhere.

Each lap ended with a hill straight from hell - Chinkapin its called. I walked it the second time. Once I got to the top, my entire body was screaming at me but I ran down to the finish to the best of my ability. I knew I was going to have to rely on muscle memory for this race. There is a benefit to getting older and having the experience of pushing your body. I know what my body is capable of. It certainly wasn't happy with me after this race. But I'm happy. I was the 5th women to finish. I managed to dip just under 11:00 min/mile pace by the finish. My body revolted for a few days but once the soreness subsided, I was able to run an easy 8 miler later in the week and the confidence that I can complete these distances did a lot for the psyche. 

So here's to signing up for races I'm not prepared for! Up next - Tour of Hermann and I haven't ridden my bike once this year! Hahahahaha. 

Boston Marathon 2015

Saturday - My mother and I departed St. Louis at 9:00am and arrived in Boston around noon. Our first mission was to purchase a Link Pass/Charlie Ticket so that we could use the subway all weekend. Tickets in hand we then had to find the right shuttle bus to get us to said subway. Easier said than done. There had to be no less than 30 different shuttles to various locations. After we found the right one, we were taken to the Blue line station. We then had to take the Blue line to the Green line. Unfortunately, the connecting station was undergoing renovations. Supposedly there was a bus that would shuttle you from the end of the Blue line to the Green line but we never found it. So with the help of Google Maps we walked to the Green line station. I had a backpack. My mother had rolling luggage. It was going to be a long day as our next stop was to Packet Pick-up to get my bib and shirt.

The Expo was at the Hynes Convention Center and it was packed. Uncomfortably so. We had to make it to the third floor to get our numbers. No one was in line for numbers similar to mine so I thought it would be a breeze. Ha. I handed the volunteer my driver's license and race "passport" and upon checking my bib proceeded to tell me that he couldn't give me my number because the address that the BAA had on file (on the passport) did not match my license. Of course not. My license is six years old and I've built a house during that time. The house where I live and receive all my mail. He directed me to a race booth where I was supposed to have a new "passport" printed. I told the volunteer there the problem and she said no sweat. So five minutes later she prints up a new one. Its identical to the first. Whatever. I return to volunteer to pick up my bib and he just says whatever as well and gives me my bib. Next up, t-shirt pickup. I ordered a small. Of course, the small is ginormous and goes down to my knees. Bummer. Oh well, off to the expo to see what they have.

Not gonna lie. The Expo sucked. Sure, Adidas had all kinds of cool things to buy and I really wanted a blue shirt but was not going to pay $45 for a freaking t-shirt. My mom kept telling me she would buy it, but it was a matter of principle. The shirt cost all of a dollar to make. I was not going to pay $45 for it. We moved on to other areas but I really wasn't impressed with anything. I bought a Christmas ornament to commemorate but that was it. I did get a poster with all the runners' names on it for free. Hear that Ironman, I said free. After deciding I was done with the Expo, the next goal was to find lunch. It was closing in on 3:00pm and we hadn't yet eaten.

Boston is a big town but with the number of people roaming around for the marathon, finding a place to eat was challenging. I had gone into this weekend with grand illusions of eating somewhere cool and very Bostonian and order local fare. I soon realized this was not going to happen. California Pizza Kitchen had a 15 minute wait. Done. Put our name on the list. It never felt so good to sit down. My mom ordered a salad that we shared. And we each got a different pizza and shared those too. We had a ton of leftovers that we took with us. Good thing the apartment we would be staying at had a fridge.

By the time we ate and got back on the subway to head for our accommodations, it was nearly 5:00pm. We got checked in to the apartment we were staying at via Airbnb. The girl we were renting from wasn't at home so we had the place to ourselves. There were directions to a grocery store in our room so my mom went and got some groceries while I read a book and relaxed. It took everything we had not to fall asleep by 6:00pm. I think we finally passed out for the night around 8:00pm.

Sunday - Sunday morning came and we met our host, Victoria. Super nice and helped us with some touristy questions. We signed up for a Duck Boat ride which was pretty cool and since it involved sitting down was a much better option than most others considering I'd be running 26.2 miles the next day. After the Duck Boats, we decided to stop by the Expo again since we didn't have our luggage with us this time. I don't know how we ended up noticing that there was a T-shirt Exchange booth but we did. I inquired about an x-small shirt and they had some. Bad news was that my shirt was back at the apartment. I asked if they could hold one for me as it would likely be over an hour for me to retrieve mine and come back. They said they couldn't because they were about to change shifts and they were sure there would be some by the time I returned. So off we went. Ran to the subway and hopped on. Only this time, the driver informed us that the last stop on this train would be 4 stations before the one we needed. We had to get off and walk over a mile to the apartment. Arrgh! 1. I didn't have time for this and 2. I shouldn't be walking this much. We made it back, grabbed my shirt, and then hopped on a bus because we weren't entirely sure that waiting for the subway would end in actually getting a train. The bus dropped us off about a half mile from the Expo. My mom was exhausted and told me to go ahead without her. I told her to wait at Walgreens and I'd meet her there. I ran up the stairs to the t-shirt exchange booth completely out of breath and asked the new shift of volunteers if they still had x-small shirts. "No, sorry we don't." I thought I was going to cry. I exclaimed, "You have to be kidding!" And then there was some blabbering about how I ran all the way back to our apartment to get my shirt because I had been there earlier this morning. One of the volunteers paused and said, "Are you the girl that was here this morning with her mom?" "YES! I ran here and left my mom at Walgreens!" The other girls had put a shirt aside for me. Oh. My. Goodness. Thank. You. I exchanged shirts after almost having a heart attack.

Found my mom at Walgreens and told her the story. She about died too. We bought some "lunch" of yogurt, popcorn, and a veggie tray and sat on Boylston Street eating. It was nice to sit. After that, we hit up the Expo to see what we had missed but once again, we made it through the Adidas stuff and decided to leave. The only thing that had looked good was a different Adidas jacket that was more like their warm up track jackets in black. But, of course, they didn't have my size. So off we went to walk along Boylston and Newbury Streets. We went in Marathon Sports and found the jacket in my size and I also bought some compression socks. My mom bought some shirts. We went in a few stores on Newbury Street but didn't buy anything. Pasta Dinner was at 4:30 so we headed in that direction.

Dinner was nice. It didn't take too long to get in. We had pasta and meatballs, salad, bread, fruit, and an assortment of drinks. They had beer but I stuck with lemonade. After dinner, we headed back to the apartment where I kept checking the weather and it kept getting worse. I had been in denial about how cold, wet, and windy it might actually be. So after some googling, we took off for Walgreens to see if they had some cheap "throw away" clothes. I got a brown hooded sweatshirt for $2.50 and some rubber kitchen gloves to hopefully keep me dry for as long as I could make it. I laid out my stuff for the race before heading to bed.

Race Day - My alarm went off at 5:30am. We got dressed and packed for the day and headed out to grab the subway. It was cool but dry. Arriving at Boston Commons, there were thousands of people waiting to load the buses that would take us to the start at Hopkington. I sat and ate some Pop Tarts (breakfast of champions for sure) with my mom before hearing the call for Wave 2 to load the buses. Neglecting to use the porto-o-potties before getting on the bus, I was very uncomfortable the entire ride. Once the bus let us off, I made a bee-line for the bathrooms which were actually not that busy yet. Business done, it was starting to rain and I had to claw my way into the tent where everyone was huddled in blankets, heat sheets, etc.

I sat there for over an hour trying to stay warm and not really knowing what the heck I was doing. I ate some Shot Blocks and drank some water and Diet Mountain Dew. One of the faster men in Wave 1 gave me a wool shirt which I gladly accepted as if it were a gift of gold. I met a woman from Michigan that helped pass the time. We slowly started to notice that most of Wave 1 had departed and got a little antsy. Someone next to us had a schedule that had the times we were supposed to make our way to the start and it indicated that I needed to get moving. So I walked to another corral area with more bathrooms and put on the wool shirt, then the brown sweatshirt, and then my black trash bag. It was at this point that I noticed that one of my GUs in my tri top had burst and I was a sticky mess and down one gel. Oh well not much to do at this point. I put on my gloves and put the rubber gloves in my pocket. I also found a ponch which I stuffed down the back of my shorts for potential need later. They started calling Corrals 1 & 2 so off I went.

We had to walk nearly another mile to get to the start line. I tried to fight my way to the front of Corral 2 the best I could. I had to retie my shoes. And I had to go to the bathroom. I had a heat blanket tied around my waste which I used to try to hide the fact that I was peeing in the corral with thousands of people. It had to be done though because I cannot run when I have to pee and I refuse to stop and use port-o-potties. The start was not far off...

Here we go! I started my watch a little early to help give me a little buffer with my pace/time. I crossed the line not too long after and it was cramped! There were so many people running different paces and swerving in and out. It was quite the mess but over the years has become something that I've gotten used to because people are getting ruder! I may have started out a little quick but figured that the beginning was downhill and it wouldn't kill me.

Twenty minutes into the race and it started to rain. At this point, I knew that I wasn't going to enjoy this race. The weather conditions were my worst nightmare. I hate being cold. I don't like being wet unless I'm swimming. And to top it off we had a 20mph headwind the entire way. That is not to say that I didn't make the best of it that I could. I'm just not going to lie and say that I enjoyed any of it. Four miles in and I had sufficiently warmed up enough to toss the ugly brown sweatshirt. Plus it was becoming heavy from soaking up the falling rain. I instantly felt lighter but colder. I told myself that I would be wearing the oversized wool shirt for a while to stay warm. Somewhere around the 15k was a race photographer spot so I pulled up the shirt to reveal my number. I didn't want to miss any opportunities to prove I had indeed run the entire race (thanks Kendall Schler for making me paranoid). I was holding a pretty even pace and noticed that for the most part I was around the same people for long stretches. I made every effort to stay tucked in behind people to block the wind. Because I sure noticed as soon as no one was in front of me. Running was 10x harder to maintain the same pace. I took a gel about every 4-5 miles and planned on grabbing one at the gel station to make up for the one that exploded all over me. Water stations were a challenge. People have no idea what they are doing. There were people running all the way to the right that didn't even make attempts to get water getting in the way. There were people swerving from clear over on the other side of the course cutting you off. And then there were the people who got their water and proceeded to stay in the way of those of us who hadn't gotten any yet. I was cautious as the last thing I needed to do was trip and fall.

Reaching the halfway point at 1:36 and change I felt okay but noticed that my pace didn't feel nearly as easy as it had during my marathon debut at MO Cowbell. I was hoping that adrenaline from fellow racers and the crowd would help carry me to the finish. I ditched the wool shirt around mile 14-15 because I knew my mom was going to be in Newton at 16.8 miles and there was no way she would see me if I had all black on. So I threw the shirt and was now wearing my Big Shark tri top and my arm warmers. It was chilly but manageable and again, I felt lighter getting rid of a water logged shirt.

I saw my mom in Newton and waved. And kept on running. I grabbed a gel at the 18 mile station but couldn't get it open so that was a bust. My legs weren't tired but they were getting sore. Its the soreness and tightness that gets to me. I think I could run 7:30 pace for days if those didn't set it. We started to see some more hills at this point. We came up a little longer hill that I passed a lot of people on. At the top, I saw someone with a sign that said "Congratulations, you just conquered Heartbreak Hill!" Wait, what?! That was Heartbreak Hill? No way. I actually chuckled to myself thinking that was nothing. Living where I do in Kirkwood, I have no shortage of hills to run up. I run north on Ballas and Old Des Peres. I run Marshall Road on nearly a weekly basis not because I like to run hills but because some of my routes require it as a means of getting where I want to. Heartbreak Hill was nothing like any of these hills. I had prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised in the end.

Only 5 miles to go! They weren't the easiest five miles but they certainly weren't the worst. The only bad part was that the people around me seemed to be running faster. I wasn't certain if I could run any faster. I seem to be programmed for 7:30 miles. But with 4 to go I certainly tried to pick it up. I guess I did not succeed. And since I wasn't looking at my Garmin for anything other than distance by this point, I couldn't tell. The crowds started to get larger the closer we got to the finish line. I glanced at my average pace once and saw 7:25 so I thought I was on pace to run faster than the 3:16:02 that I had qualified with. A mile to go brought us to a "hill" that I nearly didn't make it up. My legs were really sore. I feel like I sprinted the last mile when I noticed my Garmin said 3:16. I couldn't see the seconds but felt that since my pace said 7:24/7:25 coupled with the fact I started my watch early that I should still come in under my first time. I did not. I crossed the finish line in 3:16:06. Four seconds slower. This will probably eat me up a little for a while but I'm sure I'll get over it.

In the week or so after the race, I've come to terms with the time. I weighed 10 pound more than I did in my debut. And I'm fairly certain that my body composition was also much different then as well. I was still breastfeeding Alex and had much less fat than I do now. Training through the winter was also much harder than I thought. MO Cowbell was in the fall and training was easy. I'll have to look up how much I ran in training to compare. But here is what this round looked like...

Training Totals for 16 Weeks Leading up to Boston -

Week 1 -   1.5 miles
Week 2 -   16.38 miles
Week 3 -   17 miles
Week 4 -   20.77 miles

Week 5 -   22.59 miles
Week 6 -   24.43 miles
Week 7 -   26 miles
Week 8 -   16.87 miles

Week 9 -   27.72 miles
Week 10 - 21.25 miles
Week 11 - 43.71 miles
Week 12 - 36 miles

Week 13 - 43.25 miles
Week 14 - 35.25 miles
Week 15 - 21.16 miles + 4/12
Week 16 ...

After reflecting on this... I ran a pretty decent time in 3:16:06.

Castlewood Cup

I toyed with the idea of giving my race bib away for the past month. Winter in Saint Louis has been miserably cold. Having been sick for much of December and pulling my hamstring, I have not been running as much as I should. Some will say, yeah sure. But I really mean it. I'm averaging 2 runs a week for a total of anywhere between 16 and 25 miles. Running the Boston Marathon hasn't even been motivation enough to run.

So, race day rolled around and I had no idea what to expect. One thing was for sure though. It was also my day to run long. So no matter how the race unfolded, I was running home to tack on some extra miles. Jason and Alex dropped me off at the race start with plans to meet afterwards so I could change shoes and get some dry clothes. After getting out of the car, I shivered near the portable heaters until I nearly missed my wave start. Wave 2. Got to the start line with about 15 seconds to spare. And we were off. I wasn't feeling particularly speedy but I wasn't too bothered as I had resigned myself to thinking this was merely a training run with other people to push me a little. Not knowing what shoes to wear with the icy conditions, I settled on my Brooks Racer STs. Crazy. No trail shoes, no Yaktrax (don't even own any), no screws, etc. Everything was frozen so what good would they have done anyways... Of course, I was rethinking my decision when I slipped on a solid bed of ice going up the first hill climb.

The first 3 miles or so were very slow going. Everyone was feeling each other out and being extra cautious given the conditions. I mean a group of about 20 of us walked for nearly a half mile on the ice covered trail before finally spreading out. I passed a lot of people in frustration after the first few miles. Literally throwing caution to the wind and descending like a madman because I couldn't take the slow pace.

The middle of the race was pretty uneventful - lot of ups and downs. Didn't feel great but I didn't feel bad.

Now the last 3 miles of the race were actually pretty awesome. Most of it is flat or downhill. Very icy but at this point I just wanted to be finished. So I told kept telling myself that if I fell, I fell. Oh well. I had some bobbles but managed to stay upright the rest of the way which is quite the feat for me. I bombed the flats and downhills as much as I could and was super glad that I wore my flats instead of my trail shoes. My feet were amazingly comfy. I came upon a teammate a mile or two from the finish who looked like she was having a rough go. I knew how she felt. My ankles were killing me as it was clear that mountain bikers and hikers alike did not stay off the trails when they thawed the past few weeks because the ruts were really, really bad.

Jason appeared about a minute after I finished and offered to drive me outside the park to start my run home. Our original plan had been to meet outside the park so it wasn't an unpleasant surprise to see him. The 2 miles out would have been hilly and I was appreciative of the short break. I changed shoes, got my jacket loaded with nutrition, dry mittens, and some water. And I took off like a snail for home. My legs hated every step of the way home. Lesson learned: do not add miles after a race. It hurts. It hurts really, really, really bad. It still hurt the next day. And it still hurts 2 days later as I type this report.

Found out later that I finished 4th OA female and 2nd in my age group. It was something new to me to have almost no socialization before or after the race. That's usually why I do these things in the first place. I think I'll go back to that because this left me feeling pretty lonely.

Rocheport Roubaix

So I am signed up for Ironman Boulder this year. And as someone that has always hated training in the cold, I am also signing up for things that challenge me to train. So I signed up for the Rocheport Roubaix. What I thought was going to be a leisurely ride on a trail proved to be anything but. I obviously had no concept of what a "gravel grinder" really was. I do now. There were 4 race distances: 20, 30, 55, and 70. Of course I had signed up for the 70 mile route. Of course. The meteorologist was predicting a snowstorm on the day of the race starting around noon. With ten inches of snow expected. Awesome. I had no idea how woefully unprepared I really was for such an event. Although to give you an idea, Jason and I were trying to fix my rear brake cable wire at 10 o'clock the evening before.

I grabbed a lot of random clothing and food and threw it in the car before taking off for Rocheport at about 6:30 in the morning. I had 2 different jackets to choose from, several base layers, long socks, 2 pairs of cycling shoes, toe covers, 2 different pairs of gloves (lobster and mittens), thermal bibs, a full head covering, etc. For nourishment, I literally scavenged for gu's that I found in the laundry room and old race bags. I grabbed some GU chomps and a granola bar or two. Filled up my Solomon pack with 1.5 liters of water and took a spare bottle (ya know just in case it wouldn't freeze). Oh yeah, did I mention that the temp was in the single digits and I hate the cold?

After arriving in Rocheport, I drove around until I found the start. Not a whole lot of fanfare for this one. Got my race number and sweatshirt. Thankfully took a map and route cue sheet. I have no idea why I thought it would be a well marked route. And on top of that I thought that I would be riding with a group so it wouldn't matter anyways. How naive I was...

Mark Livesay started asking for the racers to assemble at the start line. I still needed air! I was riding my cyclocross bike with deeper rims that had tubes in them with the shortest valve stems on the face of the earth. And with only 30 psi of air in my tires I knew I needed more. I asked a random guy for a pump and he handed it to me. And I was like, yeah, I actually need some help though as I pulled my crack pipe out of my bag to jam onto the tip of the stem. Of course the pump didn't engage so although we were putting air in we had no idea how much. Hell I laughed and said I don't even know how much to put in for a ride like this! He said he was running 50 psi and took off. Wait! I still have the front tire to do... but it was too late. We had to line up. There were thirty of us in all - 28 guys and 2 girls. So there I was on the line with 30 psi of air in the front tire and who knows how much more in the rear. Off we went! I figured that somewhere along the course, there would be a pump and I could fill up the front tire too.

I rode the first 12 miles with a group of guys and the only other girl riding. Wow. It was tough. Fresh gravel (boulders) and hills. Not anywhere near what I was expecting. I was at the back of the group barely hanging on when we reached the first aid station. My water was already frozen - including my hydration pack which was insulated AND underneath my wind jacket. I stopped to get some water knowing it would be a long day and lost the group. I rode the next 20-25 miles on my own. They were terrible. Horrible. Hilly. A lot of "guys named Eddie" decided it was a great day to help me get my heart rate up. In case you missed the reference... that meant dogs. Lots of them. Pit bulls and rottweilers oh my. The more I rode the more grateful I was that I no longer lived in Columbia. Roads became familiar and I'm damn near sure that I've been chased by those same animals in the past. The girl passed me at mile 20 and I didn't even care. I was increasingly questioning my mental fortitude and ability to finish the race as the miles passed. I came upon a rider on the side of the road, slowed, and asked him if he had everything he needed (as if I could help! Ha!). He asked me if I had a minute and I said sure. So I pulled over and got off the bike. He had a flat. "Do you know how to open these brakes?" Ahah! Why yes, I do, actually. Amazed that I could actually help. He successfully opened the cantilever brakes and got to work changing the tire. I took off as it was about 7 degrees and I was starting to get cold.

Somewhere around mile 35 or so was the second aid station. There were riders there! Yay people! The Mickster was there and looked like he had called it a day as he was sitting in a car warming up. Another rider with a yellow jacket was using the heaters to warm up his hands. Other riders were coming back from a loop they had completed. One rather speedy dude had lost the main group and said he had walked up the KOM. I thought he meant the KOM that we had already completed that wasn't all that bad. Bummer for him I thought. I downed a red bull and took off with the guy who had been warming his hands. I tagged along with him for about 10 miles (awesome wind blocking) until we reached it. There it was... KOM #2. Oh crap. This is what the other guy was talking about. I knew I was done for before I even started but I gave it a go. The guy I was with told me I had it. But I didn't. I had built this cross bike up myself with parts from an old tri bike. I had a 50/39 chainring coupled with a 12-25 cassette. I was severely limited on gearing. I even tried to bob and weave my way up the damn thing. It was not going to happen today. When I could rotate the pedals no more I stopped. And walked my ass up the hill. I haven't walked up a hill in years. Humbling to say the least. I struggled to finish the loop as it was windy with lots of fresh gravel. Upon returning to the aid station again, I chugged another red bull and continued on.

I rode the remainder of the ride by myself. I kept telling myself that there was no way I could make it. But I had the sweatshirt that said 'FINISHER' on the sleeve. So I had to keep moving. The fresh gravel and hills never really ended but for some reason the last 20 miles didn't seem nearly as terrible as the middle 20. Maybe it was because there was more pavement. Maybe it was because I wasn't chased by any dogs. Maybe it was because I was numb. Maybe it was because the granola bar I ate tasted like the greatest thing I had eaten in years. Maybe it was because I didn't want to hear Jason say 'I told you so.' Whatever it was... it worked.

I made it to the finish line...crossed... and just kept riding straight to my car. I sat in the car trying to warm up. Knowing that I needed to start the drive home, I quickly gathered my medal. There were quite a few people hanging out enjoying beer and food at the General Store but I was mentally exhausted and had no strength to catch up with people from a past life. I gave Chrissie a hug and told her to thank everyone for the work they put in. Of the 30 that started, 26 finished. I finished 18th and 2nd/last woman. The 2 hour ride home was a much needed time to reflect on what had just transpired...

Resurrection

A lot has happened in the past 5 years. Wow. It's been five years since I composed an entry for this blog. Since then, I've pushed myself farther than I thought I could in all areas of life. I've qualified for and raced the ITU Long Course World Championship. I raced my heart out in my first Ironman at Louisville only to find out that if I had stayed for rolldown I would have been racing in Kona too. We built a house. Jason was the general contractor. It was the longest 3 years of our lives. I traveled by RV with some racing friends to support Jason in Ironman Coeur d'Alene... all while being 7 months pregnant. What an adventure it was. We had a baby. A beautiful little girl named Alex. I love her more each and every day. I raced my first marathon and qualified for Boston. After applying for dream jobs for over 6 years, I finally landed it. I'm no longer an unappreciated, micromanaged, underpaid clinical dietitian. I work at Purina where I am appreciated, well-compensated, respected, and trusted to do my job. For those that say the grass isn't greener on the other side... I can tell you that it is. So much greener. So much happier.

GO! Saint Louis 1/2 Marathon

This would be my second real half marathon race. And the first of which I have actually trained for. My first half was the Joker's Wild put on by Ultramax in 2007. It was a miserable 2 laps of Creve Coeur Park on a 100 degree day in July. I had never run that far in my life. It was hot. There were not enough water stops. I hit a wall at 11 miles. But all I had to do was finish to get points toward the Ultramax Championship Series (of which I ended up winning!).

So back to this year's race. I bit the bullet in January or so and registered. Seeing as how I had been running throughout the winter, I figured why not. Training was going well. Running on a treadmill was not the most fun I've ever had but I got through it. Then came spring in St. Louis. Maybe it's just me but it seemed like we skipped it. I was able to go from running indoors every day to running outside every day in little more than a tee-shirt and shorts at times. I was running higher mileage weeks than I have ever done (40 miles) and training on hills. Now I'm sure it was a culmination of things including overuse... but I acquired a pain in the ass. And no, I'm not talking about Jason. Nope. I'm talking the kind of pain that made me fear my run every afternoon. The kind that was so painful I felt as if I was only running with my right leg and dragging my left behind me. Hills were soon out. Running outside quickly followed. I resorted to running on the treadmill the last week or so before the race. I just couldn't bear the pain. And it wasn't just when I was running. It was longer car rides and sitting in chairs. I prayed to just get me through the race.

Race day came. Woke up early and had a bite to eat. Left the house without the customary race morning poop. That worried me a little bit. That's part of the morning in all my important races. Putting it out of my mind, I arrived downtown. There was a single port-o-potty right by the parking lot so I figured I'd use it since once I got to the start line, there would probably be a bazillion people. It was super nice not to have to wait in line. And I finally pooped. That put my nerves a little more at ease.

Now seeing as how this is only my second half I took to heart the words of advice from those who had raced before. This was mostly from my fellow dietitians at work who had run before. They reported that it was possible that I would not cross the line for near 10 minutes after the gun went off. I am not afraid to admit that this fact scared me. What?! There are so many people that I might not start for 10 minutes... you have got to be kidding me. Well, once I got there, I came to the conclusion that they were wrong or I was expecting to run much faster than they anticipated I would. My goal was a 1:35 (ambitious since my first was 1:42) so I lined up with the 3:10 marathon group. And to my surprise, my friend Kevin was racing the marathon and that was his goal. So I got to run some of my race with someone I know! Neat.

After the gun went off, I'm pretty sure I crossed the line within 30 seconds or so. There were not all that many people ahead of me considering there were like 20,000 people racing. Scary stuff. So I ran with the 3:10 marathon pace group for a while. I was actually feeling kinda sluggish from the get go. I felt heavy for lack of a better description. But I was running okay. Stayed with the group until the hill near 6.5 miles. It killed me. I tried to hold some semblance of a pace but could not. And I did not want to anger my butt. So the pace group left me. Although I was able to keep them within 15-30 seconds or so until they turned off on the marathon course. Miles 8-11 had been relatively uneventful. But the last 2 miles felt pretty horrible. I was struggling. And it had gotten warmer than most had expected. The last 2 miles are not easy. I don't care what anyone says. I wanted to kill the woman standing on an overpass yelling at me to "Keep moving, don't walk, you're almost done." Excuse me? Listen here lady, I'm still holding 7:30 pace. I'm still RUNNING. And you are just standing there. Don't I look like I'm running? Because I sure felt like it!

Anyways... I finished in 1:36:38. I was a little bit off my goal but I was pleased. I guess I could run the NYC Marathon if I wanted to now... ha. I only had to run 1:37 or better to qualify with a half but would have to run a 3:23 to qualify with a marathon. I don't think I'll be pulling out a 3:23 marathon any time soon so I think I'll pass.

St. Patty's Day Run

Wow... I had only done this race once before but this year it was BIG. So big that it was by far the largest road race I have entered to date. I didn't know where to start. My bib was yellow meaning that I was supposed to start down past Clark St. which was forever and a day away from the start line. I mean really, there were people with jogging strollers ahead of me. Jason insisted that I just move up and start closer. So I timidly placed myself about 25 yards from the start line and hoped I didn't get in trouble.

Once the race started, I quickly realized that, yes, I should have moved up even closer. There were still people with jogging strollers and walkers in my way. I actually ended up running on the sidewalk for the first half mile opting to dodge mailboxes and newspaper stands instead of humans. I must have been pretty excited because I came through the first mile in 6:05. Yeah. My mile PR (as an adult) was 6:13 last year. So I was thinking, oops, that was a little fast.

Came through the finish line in 34:18! Fastest race to date....

Castlewood Cup

Long story short... I felt great and raced well. I had been working the hills during the winter quite a bit and dropped about 10 minutes off my Pere Marquette time from the previous year. So I headed into the Castlewood Cup with a pretty nice base. I settled in with a woman from Ghisallo who was running at a decent clip. Towards the 5 mile mark, we came up on about 4 or so girls running together. She tucked in behind them and I was left with a choice... stay or go? What the hell, I went. And nobody followed. I raced the last 4.5 miles by myself and ended up coming in 2nd. Had I known that the girl in front of me was only a little over a minute ahead... ah, oh well. I was pleased with my effort. Especially because the course was a mess this year. I think everyone agreed that the ruts left by the mountain bikes on the upper parts of the course were really tough on the ankles. And the lower half of the race was still a wet, sloppy mess from recent rains. Needless to say, my shoes didn't make it out alive. I think that means I get to buy some new ones!!

Running Fool

I am a terrible blogger. Inconsistent at best. But I'm trying. So an update on 2010 so far... The first half of the year was consumed by running. And pretty much only running. Jason and I got a little crazy and signed up for both the Frostbite Series and Snowball Series (long of course). All of this was a ploy to keep us running throughout the winter. Jason has seemingly never had a real problem with this besides the fact that he can't feel his hands 5 seconds after he steps out the door.

Me on the other hand, well, I am pretty much terrified of cold weather. I train and race in the temperate months only. For the past 10 years or so, it is safe to say that I stop training and racing in late November or early December and I don't come out of hibernation until April. This usually does not bode well for early spring races. But this year... I got crazy. Signing up for long distance races lit a fire under my a@% ! Never one for running on a treadmill, I was religious. I headed to the hospital gym nearly ever day after work and put in the needed miles. Let me just preface that impressiveness with the fact that I DON'T DO TREADMILLS... EVER. Until this winter that is. And not only did I run on a treadmill but I actually went outside on the weekends (yeah, I wasn't going to drive to work to run on the treadmill). I was that girl running down the road in 4 long sleeve shirts and a windbreaker, often 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of gloves, a hat/headband, and the trusted Oakley shades (more for wind protection mind you). Jason gave me a hard time about wearing so much clothing but I figure if it got me out the door and was working for me then so what...

Anyways, the Frostbite and Snowball Series came and went and I did pretty good... especially for someone who has NEVER run all winter before.

Summer is HERE!

It has been a sweltering 90+ degrees for nearly a week now so I think it is safe to say that summer has arrived. Normally I LOVE the heat of summer. I live for it. I constantly complain about how cold I am whether it be the winter, spring, or summer. I just get cold easily. Working outside at pools all summer for years upon end really built up an immunity to the heat that affects so many others. Which is why I have always loved to race in the heat of the summer. It's not that I race better but I have always been less affected by that heat than my rivals. However, I don't think this is the case anymore. The daily grind of my inside job has likely put an end to my immunity to racing in the heat.

I was on the fence too long regarding registering for the summer version of the Rec Plex Triathlon. I finally bit the bullet a week prior to the race knowing full well that I would be one of the last to start this year. Once Fleet Fleet posted the swim start times and the weatherfolk were predicting a 95 degree weekend, I knew I was in trouble. The only help was that the organizers of the race moved the start time up a half hour from the normal 6:30 start to 6:00. As racer 432, I was set to start at 7:47. This is actually still earlier than most other tris start so I thought I had a chance... I did not.

The swim was slower than I would have wanted but I had a feeling it would be as I was waging battle with some lane hogs who weren't incredibly gifted in the water. Transition was likely no slower or faster than normal. The bike was actually better than I've felt in a while. It was by no means my fastest on this very flat course but it was the fastest bike split I've had in the past 2 years. So I was happy with that. Rolling into transition I thought I was ready for a good run. Ha. The heat had other plans. I started off at a blistering 8:00 mile pace expecting to drop that pace substantially as I ticked off the miles. Nope. It just wasn't in the cards this time. With the heat index that I swear had to be approaching 100 or more, I just settled for finishing the race standing up. I did. I didn't walk. I didn't quit. I just finished. Not the results I expected but not utterly disappointing either. I was 10th OA and 4th in my Age Group.

The most important part of the day was that my family was there. I had talked my mom and brother into driving my dad to the race. My dad took me to my first triathlon ever (Lake Saint Louis 2001) and hasn't seen me race since. So with the race falling on Father's Day this year I thought it would be nice to have my dad there watching me do what I love. Something he helped get me into in the first place. Even though it was hot, I think everyone had a good day. We all went out for lunch afterwards and likely headed home to take a nap by midday.

My first race of the year was OctoMax out at Innsbrook this year. I really wasn't ready for it but Jason had won a free entry to QuarterMax so I thought I might as well do it if I was going to be out there anyways. The swim was fine (I chose not to wear a wetsuit although most did). The bike was absolutely atrocious. I have never been strong on the hills of any bike leg and it showed. The run was a challenge as I had my left calf cramp up and left me walking a couple times. Got the cramp worked out and continued running. Not my finest hour but I somehow managed to win my Age Group nonetheless which included a bottle of Les Bourgeouis' cheapest, dry, white wine!

I would love to say that these races have served the purpose of my typical early competitions and lit a fire under my ass but alas they have not. I am content with enjoying one more year without the competitiveness I have shown in past years. With getting married, working to finish my Master's degree, remodeling the condo, selling the condo, looking for a house, and who knows what else... I will likely continue to train as I am able and just sit back and enjoy another triathlon season.

Sick of Being Sick

Not that my training regime was really headed anywhere fast to begin with this spring, but coming down with something (definitely more than a cold) really took every once of desire and strength I had to train out of me.

I started getting sick last Saturday. And I'm still sick today. First it was just a sore throat. Then it got so bad that I winced every time I had to swallow. Wow did my throat hurt. Bad. And no drug store remedy was doing much to relieve me of my pain. Next, I pretty much lost my voice. Then I entered this realm of congestion vs. constantly draining. This usually only occurred at night seemingly just to rob me of the sleep my body so badly needed.

All of this was really convenient as my job as a dietitian dictates that I speak with patients on a daily basis. Needless to say, I didn't see any patients the last week unless I absolutely had to. And if only they knew why I didn't see them, I'm sure they'd be very very glad that I didn't drop by to leave my germs.

So I imagine that I am finally on the upswing of this thing. However, I still sound like a chain-smoking 60 year old, my nose will not stop forcing a pleasant green phlegm out, and I'm still very tire.

I did manage to ride the trainer for a whopping 30 minutes yesterday. Maybe I'll run today. Who knows... Happy training!

I Hate To Be Cold

Winter is the most miserable time of year for me. Every year I tell myself that I'm going to keep running, swim if I have access to a pool, and ride the trainer consistently. Well I successfully ran through December with my last long run of 10 miles successfully kept at 7:30 pace. After that, I was pretty much done for. As for swimming, well I certainly had access to a pool (heck, I had access to an entire civic center) and only managed to use the faciliy one time... and no, that one time did not involve use of the pool. Damn. Indoor trainer usage was minimal. I think I had the bike on the trainer all winter so far and managed to get on the darn thing all of 3 times. I did get a "solid" 30 minute ride in on one occasion. Ha. I was not built for cold weather. I was not built for windy days. I was not built for sleet, snow, or ice whatsoever. I was designed for those 90 degree days when most people can't stand in the sun without sweating profusely much less compete successfully in a sporting event. These are the days I long for. The days when the heat makes your car so hot you burn your legs on the seats, the days when even the pools start to feel like bath water, the days when your sno-cone melts before you can even get the first spoonful of 1/2 watermelon, 1/2 wedding cake icy goodness to your mouth, the days when you can run in nothing but a pair of shorts and a sports bra... ah, how I long for some nice hot days.

2008 Race Schedule (tentative)

3/15/08 St. Pats 5 Mile
4/19/08 MaxTrax Duathlon
5/4/08 Race for Sight
6/15/08 Rec Plex Triathlon
6/22/08 Kirkwood Webster Connection Run 5K
7/5/08 Jokers Wild 1/2 Marathon
7/8 or 7/13 South County YMCA Triathlon
7/13/08 Ballwin Triathlon
7/20/08 Show-Me State Games Triathlon
7/20/08 Missouri State Time Trial Championships
8/2/08 QuarterMax
8/2/08 Steelhead 70.3
8/?/08 Wood River Triathlon
8/?/08 Babler Beast Triathlon
8/17/08 Alligator Creek Triathlon
8/30/08 Lake Saint Louis Triathlon
9/1/08 JCC Labor Day 5k
9/14/08 NEMO Triathlon
10/11/08 Rec Plex Fall Triathlon
10/18/08 Halfmax – USAT Long Course National Championship (Las Vegas, NV)
10/18/08 Pumpkinman – USAT Club National Championship (Las Vegas, NV)
11/27/08 Kirkwood/Webster Turkey Day Run 5k

No Excuse

I have absolutely no excuse for not posting race reports this season. I just didn't want to do it. I had a bad year and didn't really feel like sharing much of it.

A lot has gone on since the Spring though... I graduated from Mizzou for the second time, started a second summer job, was recruited by BJCs Parkland Health Center in Farmington to be their clinical dietitian, quit the second summer job, continued working two jobs for the month of June (one was in Farmington, the other in Columbia about 3 hours away), finally resigned from my job in Columbia, ended a long-term relationship, completed my first and second 1/2 Ironmans, qualified for Duathlon Worlds, almost killed a $3000 tri bike, found a pretty amazing guy despite not looking, and just kept enjoying only being an hour away from St. Louis.

I'll have a tentative 2008 race calendar out soon...

2007 Race Schedule

4/21/07 - MaxTrax Duathlon
5/6/07 - Race for Sight
6/17/07 - Rec Plex Triathlon
6/23/07 – QuarterMax
6/24/07 - Octomax
6/30/07 - USAT Age Group National Championship
7/9/07 – South County YMCA Triathlon
7/14/07 - Tour de Donut
7/15/07 – Ballwin Triathlon
7/21/07 - Show-Me State Games Triathlon
7/22/07 – Kirkwood Triathlon (volunteer)
7/22/07 - Missouri State Time Trial Championships
7/28/07 – Prairie Duster Duathlon (Worlds Qualifier)
8/4/07 – Steelhead 70.3 (extremely tentative)
8/12/07 – Wood River Triathlon
8/13/07 – Babler Beast Triathlon
8/19/07 - Alligator Creek Triathlon
8/26/07 – Jackson Country Triathlon
9/2/07 - Lake Saint Louis Triathlon
9/3/07 – JCC Labor Day 5k
9/9/07 - NEMO Triathlon
9/15/07 – Halfmax – USAT Long Course National Championship
9/16/07 – Octomax – USAT Club National Championship
9/30/07 - USAT National Long Course Duathlon Championship--Powerman Ohio
10/7/07 - Rec Plex Fall Triathlon
10/21/07 – World Long Course Duathlon Championship – Richmond, VA
11/22/07 - Kirkwood/Webster Turkey Day Run 5k
12/31/07 – First Night 5k

The Look

I needed some inspiration that I can keep on hand... so here it is. I think that watching "American Flyers" this evening might be the final touch.

Driveway Rash

This would be "road rash's" cousin... I suppose I will never learn "not to run in the house" or out of it for that matter. I have always had this strange urgency to run up my driveway to my car or run down the driveway to my house. I cannot walk. This driveway does not allow the word "walk" in its vocabulary.

So I found myself heading out to the car to get something out of the trunk. I walked out the back door. I walked down the stairs from the deck. But once I hit solid ground... I RAN... but not for long. The driveway that had been my running buddy for over 2 decades turned on me...

I have run up that driveway 1000s of times in my life and have never fallen, not even once. Today everything changed. The driveway reached up and grabbed my foot... I began to fall... slow motion style... to the ground. I have always chuckled to myself when I hear "old people" recount falling and how they "just don't roll like they used to." Well, I think I've become an old person because I sure as hell didn't roll. I hit my driveway like a ton of bricks. First came the hands... I felt one hit followed by a bolt of pain, the second hit moments later with keys in hand and I knew that one was gonna leave a mark. Next came the knee... oh, god, not the knee that has been plagued with pain and stiffness for the past few months... oh, yes, that knee. I could feel the sting of a nice ripe strawberry (I hoped for the best) through my pants. Why didn't I roll? I'm only 24. I'm too young for this kind of fall... the kind of fall that causes bones to break, and egos to bruise...

But alas, I was on a mission... I needed that bag (of miscellaneous items) from my car. And by god, I was going to get it. So I walked it (hobbled) off and got the bag. Once inside, I could tell that my limbs were going to retaliate against me. My hands began to sting uncontrollably. My knee was already stiffening up and becoming glued to my pants.

Headed to the bathroom my mother could only bow her head in disbelief as she scavenged for medical supplies as if I were 4 years old and just fell on the playground. I knew it was coming... "When are you going to learn how to walk?"... I ignored her. With hydrogen peroxide staring me in the eyes, I defiantly chose to clean my wounds with tap water. I'll rely on my own immune system to take care of these little puppies. I had had enough pain for one night. So, the irrigation process was complete but I still had to take care of the debridement process... carefully trimming those poor pieces of skin that had been torn from my hands and knee. Finally, at long last Bandaids were applied so that I didn't bleed all over the house.

I have this nagging feeling that I'm not as young as I used to be... and tomorrow is going to hurt a lot more than when I was 4 years old...

Kirkwood Webster Turkey Day Run - November 23, 2006

Sucked... my knee really hurt. I had it wrapped up in everything but the kitchen sink. Mile 1 - 6:30, Mile 2 - pain, somewhere in between 2 and 3... I stopped... yeah, I actually stopped running because my knee hurt so badly...

And then I saw Sparkle (yes, that is actually someones name) and vowed that my knee didn't hurt badly enough for her to beat me...

So I sucked it up and ran to the finish... along the way I saw out of the corner of my eye a familiar figure with sunglasses on running the other direction on the side... hmmm... and then the finish line swallowed me up and spit me out... I was not happy. I just kept walking... all the way back to the car...

Rockbridge Revenge 10k - October 22, 2006

Coming soon...

Land Rover Pumpkinman, Las Vegas - October 15, 2006

Coming soon...

Rec Plex Triathlon - October 1, 2006

This was by far the best race that I had during the entire 2006 season. My swim wasn't fast by any means but I certainly wasn't tired out by it either, although, truth be told I never am. I started early this race which I usually hate doing since its so cold this time of year but it was sooo much warmer this year. I'm talking shorts and tee shirt weather... yay! But the morning was still slightly cold. Once out of the pool, I definitely felt the chill but it was sunny which I knew would make my time on the bike so much nicer... I had my fastest bike split of the entire year... I felt good and it really showed. I almost averaged 21mph. That was my goal but I always forget that the end is slightly more technical than the rest of the ride and that usually brings averages down a bit....

now for the best part of the entire day! The run? Yeah, the run... I felt amazing. I had my legs. I mean really had them. They not only could move but they could move fast. I started out really quick and tucked in between a guy from St. Louis Triathlon Club which was the best move of the day. The guy was holding a pace that was comfortable but quick and one I knew that I would not be able to hold on my own. I also took a look at his race number and noticed that he had started a couple minutes ahead of me but in reality I was actually a couple of minutes ahead of him if I could stay with him... ah, reminded me of "American Flyer" when David Sommers and the "Cannibal" were racing in Hell of the West, ya know. Anyhow, We ran together the entire run leg although there was never any communication or formal acknowledgement that we were doing this. He led during the flats. I pulled him up the hill in the subdivision parts. He promptly passed me and took the lead again once we were out of the hills... and continued to sprint ahead of me at the finish... I didn't care in the least bit... I was already on cloud nine before I even saw the time clock... and boy, when I saw that clock I thought I was seeing things. That clock had to be wrong... there is no way that I could have finished a full 5 minutes faster than in the spring on the EXACT same course. When the results were posted... it was true. And to top that off, those 5 minutes actually came from the run. I had averaged nearly a full minute faster per mile than the spring version of the race. I had run 6:56 pace for 5 miles!

And I finished 3rd... that's right no longer the 4th place loser that I had come to know so well this season. I got 3rd, a plaque, and $50... a check for 50 bucks too, not a gift certificate... AWESOME!!

NEMO Triathlon - September 10, 2006

Ah, NEMO... and I'm just now posting a race review in... February. I am terrible. I can't find the splits for the race anymore as they are no longer posted online. But I'll do my best to recount the experience...

Last year I got 6th OA, 1st AG... and cursed at the hills during the entire run. I vowed that 2006 would be different. It was... I got 5th OA, 1st AG.

The swim was as cold as always. My swim time was 20:17 compared to 20:00 last year. At least I can swim consistently when I only actually get in the pool about 4 times a year. Definitely something I need to work on...

Out of transition and onto the bike... I had a pretty quick bike last year but was still hoping to improve upon my time since 2006 has seen my fastest bike times ever... 53:06 out on the bike this year compared to 53:14... a whopping 8 seconds faster than last year... not quite the improvement I was expecting but at leat its not slower than the previous year...

on to the run... my nemesis... those hills that can break my spirit in half... the hills that saw me in 2nd place last year at the start and that brought me to my knees in a 6th place finish as women just kept passing me mile after dreaded mile. My run split was 37:38 this year compared to 39: 21 last year. I will most certainly take that. The hills and I came to terms with each other. I certainly did not conquer them but at least they did not conquer me...