Okay, sports fans, another race report is due. I'm excited to write it, but at this point it's 2pm, I've been up since 3:45am (after getting a whopping 4 hours or so of sleep last night). I've been out in the sun since the sun came up. Oh, and I ran a half-marathon. So right at the moment I'm ready for some food and a nap. There's a pizza and a movie waiting for me in the living room.
But I know some of you are DYING to know how it went, so here's a little teaser....
We finished.
Okay, okay, a few more tidbits. We finished super strong, and neither had too many pains or problems, save for a few minor incidents. Here's the mile-by-mile breakdown of time splits and my average heartrate (and rough % max):
Mile 1: 9:45***, 158 (76%)
Mile 2: 11:37**, 160 (77%)
Mile 3: 11:28, 153 (74%)
Mile 4: 11:20, 160 (77%)
Mile 5: 11:07, 160 (77%)
Mile 6: 11:06, 163 (78%)
Mile 7 & 8: 21:17***, 165 (79%)
Mile 9: 10:54, 171 (82%)
Mile 10: 10:41, 171 (82%)
Mile 11: 11:16, 169 (81%)
Mile 12: 10:40, 172 (83%)
Mile 13 (plus .1): 10:08, 174 (84)
* all agreed the first mile was marked incorrectly
** second mile marker made up ground for mile 1
*** didn't see the mile marker
Total time: 2:25.18
Total time spent running: that minus a 4 minute bathroom break and walk breaks through each aid station
Pride level: high
Number of people we picked off as we increased our speed in the second half: lots
Certainty that we can go faster next time: very high
I hope that gets everyone their fix for now. I promise to write more after food, a nap, and some chores (laundry, dishes... yay).
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Therapy Run
As aforementioned, this week has been rather stressful and busy. I haven't gotten much good sleep. Had a lot on my mind. (more on this later, I promise)
So by yesterday afternoon I was tight, tired, a bit dazed. Mamie said I looked "shell-shocked."
I needed to run. I was hungry. It was warmer than I usually like. I was tired. Usually I could use any of those excuses to talk me out of a run, or at least make it feel more like a chore than something I really wanted to do.
But yesterday afternoon, the one thing in the world that I KNEW would make things better was a nice run.
Mamie joined me, and we took off at a nice, slow pace. Really slow. Like when I first started running.
I left my watch behind. Didn't bother with a heart rate monitor. Didn't have a route planned and pre-mapped ahead of time to know how far I needed to go. Nope, this wasn't a workout. This wasn't training. This run was all about running because running is good to me.
We jogged along, chatting about some lighter topics (I've written before about how hard it is for me to think or talk about heavy subjects while running). So we talked about buying shoes, about our new toys (my bike, her kayak), about how pretty the neighbor's flowers were. And we just ran around.
After a while, my nicely-tapered body was ready to rock. I did a few bursts of speed, and enjoyed the feeling of my legs turning over smoothly and quickly. But there was no intended purpose to this. It just felt good.
With each step my mood brightened. The heaviness on my mind lightened. I became more human again. I smiled a little bigger. And I gave thanks for the fact that running can fulfill me in so many ways.
Ahhh.
(Tomorrow I'll try to remember that feeling as I go out for 13 miles of "therapy"!!!)
And now the rest of the story:
How was my eating for the day (especially after the run, when I was super hungry and headed out for Thai food?)
First, I'd done fairly well earlier in the day: a bowl of cereal for breakfast; half a bagel with light cream cheese mid-morning; a half roast beef sandwich (no cheese, no mayo) for lunch when I went out with co-workers; and a 12 oz skim iced latte mid-afternoon. Good mix of good carbs and protein. Very low on the excess sugars/fats end of the spectrum. Good portion control.
So for dinner, 4 of us went to Sa-Wa-Dee for Thai. We rode our bikes there from Kev & Mamie's house, which was fun. We decided to order 4 different entrees and swap around family-style. So I had a small portion each of: Pad Thai, MaSaMan curry with chicken, Curry fried rice, and Red curry shrimp. I probably ate a total of 1/2 cup of rice (rather than the full cup that I could've easily shoved down). And I didn't dig in for seconds (except for grabbing one more shrimp!). Oh, and I had one glass of white wine.
We got done, and I felt satisfied (and slightly warm and fuzzy from the wine), but definitely not stuffed. It was a nice feeling. Then someone said Ice Cream, so we hopped on our bikes and rode down to Big Dipper. I ordered a kid-size cup of El Salvadore Coffee ice cream. I ate it slowly, savoring the flavor, and didn't even want more. The half-scoop was plenty.
So, a successful day. Even though I went out twice, for lunch and dinner, I was able to maintain good portion control. And as a result, I felt so much better at the end of the day than I would have if I'd done my usual tact of eating double the portions. And instead of waking up this morning feeling fat, I feel flat (in my tummy area, that is). So I'm going to put on a skirt and tank top, and head down to the Expo to pick up my race packet, then wander over to the Farmer's Market, and perhaps stroll around downtown looking for new shoes... basically dawdle around all day and enjoy the "calm before the storm"!!!
So by yesterday afternoon I was tight, tired, a bit dazed. Mamie said I looked "shell-shocked."
I needed to run. I was hungry. It was warmer than I usually like. I was tired. Usually I could use any of those excuses to talk me out of a run, or at least make it feel more like a chore than something I really wanted to do.
But yesterday afternoon, the one thing in the world that I KNEW would make things better was a nice run.
Mamie joined me, and we took off at a nice, slow pace. Really slow. Like when I first started running.
I left my watch behind. Didn't bother with a heart rate monitor. Didn't have a route planned and pre-mapped ahead of time to know how far I needed to go. Nope, this wasn't a workout. This wasn't training. This run was all about running because running is good to me.
We jogged along, chatting about some lighter topics (I've written before about how hard it is for me to think or talk about heavy subjects while running). So we talked about buying shoes, about our new toys (my bike, her kayak), about how pretty the neighbor's flowers were. And we just ran around.
After a while, my nicely-tapered body was ready to rock. I did a few bursts of speed, and enjoyed the feeling of my legs turning over smoothly and quickly. But there was no intended purpose to this. It just felt good.
With each step my mood brightened. The heaviness on my mind lightened. I became more human again. I smiled a little bigger. And I gave thanks for the fact that running can fulfill me in so many ways.
Ahhh.
(Tomorrow I'll try to remember that feeling as I go out for 13 miles of "therapy"!!!)
And now the rest of the story:
How was my eating for the day (especially after the run, when I was super hungry and headed out for Thai food?)
First, I'd done fairly well earlier in the day: a bowl of cereal for breakfast; half a bagel with light cream cheese mid-morning; a half roast beef sandwich (no cheese, no mayo) for lunch when I went out with co-workers; and a 12 oz skim iced latte mid-afternoon. Good mix of good carbs and protein. Very low on the excess sugars/fats end of the spectrum. Good portion control.
So for dinner, 4 of us went to Sa-Wa-Dee for Thai. We rode our bikes there from Kev & Mamie's house, which was fun. We decided to order 4 different entrees and swap around family-style. So I had a small portion each of: Pad Thai, MaSaMan curry with chicken, Curry fried rice, and Red curry shrimp. I probably ate a total of 1/2 cup of rice (rather than the full cup that I could've easily shoved down). And I didn't dig in for seconds (except for grabbing one more shrimp!). Oh, and I had one glass of white wine.
We got done, and I felt satisfied (and slightly warm and fuzzy from the wine), but definitely not stuffed. It was a nice feeling. Then someone said Ice Cream, so we hopped on our bikes and rode down to Big Dipper. I ordered a kid-size cup of El Salvadore Coffee ice cream. I ate it slowly, savoring the flavor, and didn't even want more. The half-scoop was plenty.
So, a successful day. Even though I went out twice, for lunch and dinner, I was able to maintain good portion control. And as a result, I felt so much better at the end of the day than I would have if I'd done my usual tact of eating double the portions. And instead of waking up this morning feeling fat, I feel flat (in my tummy area, that is). So I'm going to put on a skirt and tank top, and head down to the Expo to pick up my race packet, then wander over to the Farmer's Market, and perhaps stroll around downtown looking for new shoes... basically dawdle around all day and enjoy the "calm before the storm"!!!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Blow Me
Weather forecast for Sunday:
Sunny, with a high near 86. South wind 5 to 13 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Let's hope that's a Tail Wind!!!
Sunny, with a high near 86. South wind 5 to 13 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Let's hope that's a Tail Wind!!!
Still Here...
My, where has the time gone? I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted anything on the blog.
This week has been super busy with work, considering new opportunities (more on this soon), and doing some good socializing while in Missoula for the week. A few highlights:
* Riding my bike to or from work a few days this week (a 17 mile one-way trip through the countryside!)
* Swimming laps in Missoula's new 50m pool with Jenny
* Swimming laps in Missoula's new 50m pool with Jenny
* Enjoying the taper before this weekend's race
* Watching Mt. Sentinel burn while enjoying a margarita and delicious veggie salad with sashimi tuna at the Iron Horse on Wednesday evening
* Getting a goodnight kiss from Jim every night for the last week * Feeling The Gut begin to recede a little bit more every few days :)
The next few days will be devoted to hydrating, eating some good carbs, and taking it easy before the 13.1 miler on Sunday. Amy and I are both a little nervous about how we'll be able to perform-- she's had some dental issues in the last few weeks and is on antibiotics and other meds to get the swelling and infection out before her root canal next week. Ugh. And I've been getting sharp, stabbing pains in my right lower ribs area every time I've run lately. Not really sure what that's all about; hope it decides to subside a bit for the run on Sunday. So we'll just have to try our best to do the run despite our freakishly failing bodies. We know that we've put in some good training and that under ideal circumstances could run a good race. So all we can do is hope and pray for good health, but accept whatever conditions may come on race day.
Goals for the race:
* ME: get a second 1/2 M under my belt, and further build my confidence in my distance-running abilities
* AMY: complete her first real 1/2 M (she did the Snow Joke a few years ago with two other gals, but they walked much more of it than they ran, so she's hoping to truly run a 1/2)
* AMY: complete her first real 1/2 M (she did the Snow Joke a few years ago with two other gals, but they walked much more of it than they ran, so she's hoping to truly run a 1/2)
* BOTH: Have fun; Appreciate the fact that Missoula now has its own Marathon/Half-Marathon event; Run as well as we can given our physical conditions on Sunday; Thank the volunteers and spectators who'll cheer us on; Cheer on our friend Regina who'll be running her first full Marathon!!!
Cross your fingers for us... and if you're in Missoula, come out and cheer everyone on. The finish line is at Caras Park, along the river in downtown. We hope to be there around 8:15-8:30 a.m. (after a 6am start!)
(Photos of fire on Mt. Sentinel behind the UM clock tower on Wed night; and of the burned area on Thursday morning... both gotten from Missoulian.com; check the archived stories for more articles and cool photos!)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The bestest, raddest, funnest weekend!!!
Boy, this week has sure flown by. I meant to get this post done on Monday... Anyhow, last weekend totally rocked. Here's a re-cap:
Friday night: Margaritas! And super-humongous nachos at the Iron Horse with Jim, Jenny, Liz, Dan, Kevin, Mamie, and Chris. Sat on the patio, chatted, lounged. It was great. Those ‘ritas hit the spot!
Saturday early morning: Thanked myself for only having 2 drinks :) Felt great, got up early, enjoyed hanging out in the house with the windows open and a sweatshirt on, enjoying the cool morning before the onslaught of the sun. Washed dishes, did laundry, etc. Appreciated quiet time.
Saturday mid-to-late morning: Did some more bike shopping. Rode several different makes and models at several shops. All seemed “okay,” but not great. Even the higher-end ($2200) Ruby Elite I test-rode just didn’t seem as great as I remembered the Trek being last weekend. So I returned to Open Road bike store
and asked to ride the Trek 2.1 again. As soon as I hopped on, I knew. It was my bike. I giggled the whole ride, and went back to the shop with wallet in hand.
Saturday afternoon: Headed up the Blackfoot to go kayaking with Kevin and Mamie. Had a blast! It was my first time in a kayak since 2002, and it was great. I really felt like I was better than I was before! Perhaps the arms and abs are useful for something besides just triathloning!
Saturday evening: Kev and Mamie joined Jim and I for a cookout at our
house. On the menu was grilled BBQ chicken, fresh corn on the cob, a big green salad, and lima beans. De-lish. Made even better by the fact that Kev and Mamie did most of the work while I sat on the porch and got toasty off of two light beers :)
Sunday morning: Met Amy for a 2 hour (approx. 11 mile) run in the Rattlesnake. The first part of the run was pretty nice, but by the end it was really getting hot (like, oh, 80 or so). Ugh! I got a super painful side cramp for the last few miles, which put a damper on things. But otherwise the run was okay. Hard, though. Nice to have that over with. It was our longest run before our ½ mary on the 13th.
Sunday mid-day: Went to the Good Food Store for salad bar and bread after the run. Then went back to Open Road to meet my awesome bike salesman Arthur who came in on his day off to help me get acquainted with my new ride. We spent a little over an hour going over the mechanics, ideal gearing, maintenance, tire changing, brake care, etc. It was totally cool of him to help out like that (new bike, dubbed “McDreamy” for it’s dreamcicle colorations and dreamy feeling, wouldn’t fit in the car the day before, so I had to pick it up on Sunday).
Sunday afternoon: Joined Amy and Jenny for an afternoon at the water park! We had a blast riding water slides, lounging around the “Lazy River” on inner tubes, and even doing a few laps in the 50m pool. A great
way to spend a hot afternoon!!!
Sunday evening: Tracked Jim down in the hay fields. Took him a much-appreciated bottle of COLD water and rode around with him for a bit while he baled hay. It’s a little loud, but at least the tractor’s air-conditioned, so it’s not a bad place to hang out and chat on a hot evening (okay, so not really, but it was the only chance to get to see him, as he was going to be working til after my bed time).
Whew, what a great weekend. Exhausting, though!
And, as a note, I did really well with my “mindful eating” program this weekend. While Friday was an intentional splurge night, I planned well the rest of the weekend and ate well, enjoying good, tasty foods, but watching my portion control. For example, on Saturday for dinner I had just one piece of chicken (rather than the two or three I would’ve normally eaten), and shared an ear of corn with Mamie, used a smaller than normal amount of dressing, and had just one serving of the delicious limas. No seconds. No dessert. Two beers. I went to bed feeling satisfied but not overly full, and felt great the next morning. Yay.
This coming weekend’s agenda:
Fri: Get up and run 8 miles, shower, then hit the road for Livingston. We’ll meet up with Jim’s mom at the rodeo grounds in Livingston, where his brother David will be working the rodeo as a pickup man. I love rodeos on the 4th of July—what better way to be All-American?! It’ll be nice, too, to spend some more time with David’s fiancé Sarah, whom we’ve only met once. We’ll share a model room with Jim’s mom that night (ooh, yeah, romantic, I know— we all decided that with gas prices and such, saving $100 on a room would be worth it for one night).
Friday night: Margaritas! And super-humongous nachos at the Iron Horse with Jim, Jenny, Liz, Dan, Kevin, Mamie, and Chris. Sat on the patio, chatted, lounged. It was great. Those ‘ritas hit the spot!
Saturday early morning: Thanked myself for only having 2 drinks :) Felt great, got up early, enjoyed hanging out in the house with the windows open and a sweatshirt on, enjoying the cool morning before the onslaught of the sun. Washed dishes, did laundry, etc. Appreciated quiet time.
Saturday mid-to-late morning: Did some more bike shopping. Rode several different makes and models at several shops. All seemed “okay,” but not great. Even the higher-end ($2200) Ruby Elite I test-rode just didn’t seem as great as I remembered the Trek being last weekend. So I returned to Open Road bike store
and asked to ride the Trek 2.1 again. As soon as I hopped on, I knew. It was my bike. I giggled the whole ride, and went back to the shop with wallet in hand.
Saturday afternoon: Headed up the Blackfoot to go kayaking with Kevin and Mamie. Had a blast! It was my first time in a kayak since 2002, and it was great. I really felt like I was better than I was before! Perhaps the arms and abs are useful for something besides just triathloning!
Saturday evening: Kev and Mamie joined Jim and I for a cookout at our
house. On the menu was grilled BBQ chicken, fresh corn on the cob, a big green salad, and lima beans. De-lish. Made even better by the fact that Kev and Mamie did most of the work while I sat on the porch and got toasty off of two light beers :)Sunday morning: Met Amy for a 2 hour (approx. 11 mile) run in the Rattlesnake. The first part of the run was pretty nice, but by the end it was really getting hot (like, oh, 80 or so). Ugh! I got a super painful side cramp for the last few miles, which put a damper on things. But otherwise the run was okay. Hard, though. Nice to have that over with. It was our longest run before our ½ mary on the 13th.
Sunday mid-day: Went to the Good Food Store for salad bar and bread after the run. Then went back to Open Road to meet my awesome bike salesman Arthur who came in on his day off to help me get acquainted with my new ride. We spent a little over an hour going over the mechanics, ideal gearing, maintenance, tire changing, brake care, etc. It was totally cool of him to help out like that (new bike, dubbed “McDreamy” for it’s dreamcicle colorations and dreamy feeling, wouldn’t fit in the car the day before, so I had to pick it up on Sunday).
Sunday afternoon: Joined Amy and Jenny for an afternoon at the water park! We had a blast riding water slides, lounging around the “Lazy River” on inner tubes, and even doing a few laps in the 50m pool. A great
way to spend a hot afternoon!!!Sunday evening: Tracked Jim down in the hay fields. Took him a much-appreciated bottle of COLD water and rode around with him for a bit while he baled hay. It’s a little loud, but at least the tractor’s air-conditioned, so it’s not a bad place to hang out and chat on a hot evening (okay, so not really, but it was the only chance to get to see him, as he was going to be working til after my bed time).
Whew, what a great weekend. Exhausting, though!
And, as a note, I did really well with my “mindful eating” program this weekend. While Friday was an intentional splurge night, I planned well the rest of the weekend and ate well, enjoying good, tasty foods, but watching my portion control. For example, on Saturday for dinner I had just one piece of chicken (rather than the two or three I would’ve normally eaten), and shared an ear of corn with Mamie, used a smaller than normal amount of dressing, and had just one serving of the delicious limas. No seconds. No dessert. Two beers. I went to bed feeling satisfied but not overly full, and felt great the next morning. Yay.
This coming weekend’s agenda:
Fri: Get up and run 8 miles, shower, then hit the road for Livingston. We’ll meet up with Jim’s mom at the rodeo grounds in Livingston, where his brother David will be working the rodeo as a pickup man. I love rodeos on the 4th of July—what better way to be All-American?! It’ll be nice, too, to spend some more time with David’s fiancé Sarah, whom we’ve only met once. We’ll share a model room with Jim’s mom that night (ooh, yeah, romantic, I know— we all decided that with gas prices and such, saving $100 on a room would be worth it for one night).
Sat: Drive down to Red Lodge and tool around for the afternoon, then attend Jim’s cousin’s wedding that evening. It’s at a super nice looking lodge, and we’ll have our own room for the night (no, we’re not TOTAL tight-wads), so that’ll be fun.
Sun: Head back to Missoula. Be glad to be home.
Then the next week I’ll be in Missoula for work the whole week, which will be nice. What will Jim and I do with all this time together?!?
The travel and weddings and such will present some challenges to the diet goals. Anyone got tips or suggestions for how to stay reasonably on track when out of your normal element? I’d love to hear them!
Then the next week I’ll be in Missoula for work the whole week, which will be nice. What will Jim and I do with all this time together?!?
The travel and weddings and such will present some challenges to the diet goals. Anyone got tips or suggestions for how to stay reasonably on track when out of your normal element? I’d love to hear them!
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