The Half Marathon I Didn't Train For

I've talked a little bit on here about how running has been going since the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon, but here's a more detailed summary:

Somewhat consistent. However, if I had planned on training for the Amica Seattle Half Marathon on November 30, my training should have looked something like this:

The blue is what I actually did, the orange is what I should have done. Along with interval, speed, and tempo workouts. Granted, the first week is a little skewed because the Bellingham Half Marathon was on 9/28, so that mileage (13.1) is included in the first week's count.

If I took that out...

The fact that some of my weekly totals were the same distance (a little less if you count that .1!) as the half marathon is really telling.

So, why did I sign up for the Amica Seattle Half Marathon the day before the race? To put it simply, because it was going to be a beautiful sunny day, my sister-in-law was running it, and I had participated the two previous years. Plus I was kind of curious as to how I would do, going into a race under-trained.

Trying to ignore the fact that it was 25 degrees, and my dismal training, here are the results!

My first half marathon in 2011 was my slowest at 2:14:04, so with almost no training whatsoever, I'd say 02:10:17 isn't too shabby!

My sister-in-law, herself- she's the whole reason I ran this! She's the one who ran her first half marathon in October and loved it so much that she immediately signed up for the Seattle Half. We took the above picture about 10 minutes before we started.

The beginning of the race was much better than the second half, for me - Rachel and I knew that we were going to split up, so I went ahead pretty early because I was feeling good. It was going to be a beautiful day, but it was still really cold - under 30 degrees.

At least the view was awesome.

There was still ice in the grass.

But there wasn't a cloud in the sky!

I started feeling pain probably around Mile 9- my hips were really killing me, and my feet started to cramp. Rachel and I talked about it later and realized that was the benefit of training - our feet and our joints would have been trained, as well as our cardiovascular system. I had just never thought about it that way!

29 degrees, 9'36'' pace. Not to bad, but not awesome either. Oh well.. now I really understand the benefit of training.

Bellingham Bay Half Marathon

Saturday began with the long drive up to Bellingham. We rode with Chelsey and Aaron, who picked us up around 2, and after a pit stop to UPS, a detour to the start line (where I thought packet pickup was - whoops!), and finally arriving at the Expo, it was already 5pm! Chelsey and I ran inside, got both our bibs and her friend Larissa's, Chelsey bought a headband, and I grabbed a free packet of Gatorade gels. Score!

We drove over to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, about 3 miles away from the start line, to hang out so Chelsey could finish some homework (she just started her MBA!) and to wait for Larissa and her husband, Abel. They brought their cute dog Dexter with them and before we knew it, we were on our way to Olive Garden to carb load it up.

Unfortunately.. Olive Garden was a 40 minute wait. We waited it out, and then when we sat down, it was nearly another 30 minutes before our food was brought to us. We were dying and our eyes were WAY bigger than our stomachs, as we all bought the never-ending pasta bowl.. but barely finished one bowl with how many breadsticks and salad we stuffed ourselves with. Haha! I was so full, but I had my eye on their seasonal pumpkin cheesecake, so I of course had to get it. All in the name of running, right??

After stuffing ourselves silly (JW also got a dessert..!), the girls went to the grocery store so we could pick up a few things, and after getting lost several times (Bellingham is kind of confusing and I'm sorry but Google maps should not put a Safeway on its map if it's "coming soon"), we finally made it back around 10. Well, I was ready to go to SLEEP, so JW and I retired to our room... only to watch 2 hours of Friends. Whoops! This is what happens when you don't have cable at home.. you become transfixed in hotel rooms that do have it!

I ended up going to sleep around 12:15 and though I felt restful, my sleep app says I pretty much moved all night. Oh well! I woke up around 6:52 to get ready to go downstairs and get some breakfast. Larissa needed to be finished eating by 7:30 (2 hours before the race - she cramps at Mile 4 otherwise - I was so impressed by her knowledge of that fact! I wish I was as aware of my body!). I grabbed an english muffin with cream cheese, half a banana, some coffee with creamer, and a Greek yogurt container that was 70 calories. I think I ate the perfect amount, considering how full I still was from Olive Garden the night before!

I went back up to our room around 8 and got ready to go - we were gonna leave at 8:45 and had to check out of our room and move our stuff into the room where the other 4 were staying - the only room that got late checkout. (At least one room got it!) Before we knew it, we were on our way!

We all piled into Larissa's car and the boys dropped us off at the start line around 9. I was weirded out because there weren't a mass of people hanging around - but then I remembered this was only the half marathon, not all the participants. The full and 5K started at 7:30! I was so happy it was only 9am!

We used the port-a-potties (virtually no wait!) and I felt really great after that - I felt like I had eaten just enough and didn't feel weighed down from the pasta or my breakfast. Love it when that happens. It was around here that I started to feel really positive and like I might actually do well at this race. It was about 55 degrees and foggy, but I knew it'd turn sunny soon - it was gonna be a beautiful day! And what more can you ask for, running in beautiful weather with wonderful volunteers and great friends cheering you on?

We got in line, saw where the 1:45 and 2:00 hour pacers were, and got somewhere around the middle. We knew that we were all going to run it at different paces, but we wanted to chat right before the start of the race. We asked someone to take a picture of us:

I was pretty cold when I was packing, and all my capris were dirty, so I ended up wearing the pants pictured above - and I kind of regret it. I also regret wearing long sleeves! I just didn't want to be cold. This picture is kind of awful- I had just handed off my phone to this woman and still had my headphones around my neck, with my water bottle awkwardly not in my hand...?? Oh well!

We got situated, counted down with the rest of the runners, and started moving towards the start line, which doubled as the finish line. Then the gun went off! It had begun - my 4th half marathon!

Almost within the first few steps, I completely lost Larissa - she must have bolted ahead to get right behind the 1:45 pacer - and then within about half a mile, I saw Chelsey up ahead (it's so funny how you can get so separated from people you started out with in races) and passed her with a little wave. It was Chelsey's first half marathon, and she was a little worried about going too fast, so she was trying to stick with 10 minutes/mile.

My goal was just to not hit a wall. I didn't want to feel bad or like the course would never end (like my very first half marathon), and I didn't want to go out too fast (like a lot of my training runs), but I didn't want to be looking at my numbers all the time. To me that's what a race is - constantly running (hah) numbers in my head and doing math. I just didn't want to do any of that this time. I just wanted to feel good... and happy that I was running. I wanted to get the joy back in my running.

So, I started out and focused on not passing people - just running a comfortable pace. I was told there would be water stations every 2 miles, but I found out later that the first water station wasn't until the 2.5 mile marker. The mile markers were on the flags, but there wasn't any wind, so they were all limp - so I had no idea where I was in the race at any time. I had even set my Nike+ to "Basic", so I didn't even get a "Halfway point!" vocal cue like I usually do.

The first and second mile were average 8'54"- obviously much faster than I'm used to - but it's just so funny how the miles felt pretty easy. I ran through the water station and continued on what seemed to be the longest straight road I've ever ran on in my life, and I was getting pretty bored. I was trying to sing along to the songs in my head and keep up with the people in front of me, but I needed something more. Suddenly the 2:00 hour pacer passed me. I knew she had started behind me, so I knew I was screwed to beat 2 hours if she stayed in front of me. I stayed with her for maybe the 4th mile?

I was starting to feel tired, around what I thought was during mile 4 (but it was actually Mile 5) and then suddenly I remembered! I had packed Gatorade gels in my water bottle! Hallelujah! So, you can see in my chart that I started picking up speed after Mile 4 and I definitely think it's because of the Gatorade gels!

Near the halfway point, we were running in this weird little park that had a really narrow trail and tiny rocks everywhere. Definitely not my favorite. We crossed a timing mat in this park, and I was so confused that I had only seen two water stations that I was almost convinced this was the 4.5 mile timing mat (some races have that), and not the halfway. Welp, it was definitely the halfway mark. My halfway time: 0:59:06 - faster than the split last year..! Of course, at that point, I didn't know it.

I slowed way down in the next few miles. As we approached the mile 9 marker, we were nearing where we would finish - we were about to make a smaller loop and come back around the other way - so it was kind of disorienting to hear the spectators and see downtown and some of the marathoners finishing when we still had 4 miles to go. But still, at this point I had no idea what mile I was at. As we passed the mile 9 marker, I finally saw a portion of the limp flag's number having a round bottom. I thought it must be 8 or 9, because there had been 4 water stops, but I erred on the side of it being Mile Marker 8 because I'd rather be pleasantly surprised that I was farther than I thought than be devastated that I had that much farther to go.

After the ambiguous 8/9 mile marker, we entered the large park where the terrain was mostly gravel. This kind of sucked. I saw some marathoners coming back on a path a bit higher than us, so I knew there was some kind of hill. Plus, Larissa had told us there was a hill right along the end (she ran it two years ago), so I knew it would eventually come... didn't make that fact any easier.

Mile markers 9-11 were really beautiful, despite the bad terrain, and I kept a remarkably steady pace. It was right alongside the Bay, and the view was really breathtaking. However, there were spectators, casual runners not wearing a bib (meaning they weren't a part of the race), and casual walkers out for their afternoon stroll on the same trail as all of us. So, I found myself dodging regularly clothed people quite often. Also, I saw three runners down - like, in the process of being put in stretchers. It was pretty scary, but they had people tending to them, so I knew they were being well cared for. Still!

Mile marker 11 - clearly marked - started the uphill, and I lost about 16 seconds in the mile that followed. Granted, I knew I was almost done, but it was mostly uphill until the Mile 12 marker, where there were still some uphills. However, now I knew that there were literally only 1.2 miles to go, so I started to really pick up the pace and start to pick people to pass.

It really gets me that I had so much gas left in the tank, so to speak, at the finish line. As soon as I saw it, which was right at Mile 13, and I had .1 left to go, I just flat out sprinted. And it kind of sucked because the finisher's chute was pretty narrow and kind of crowded- I had to leap over a couple of the metal bars and weave in-between people pretty badly. I saw the clock and I thought it said 1:55- which I was basically SCREAMING in my head, "so close!!" but as I got closer I saw that it actually read 1:58 - but at least I was going to beat 2 hours!! So I gunned it as hard as I could, and crossed the mat at the fastest pace I think I've ever crossed any finishing mat (about a 7'30" pace). I felt so winded after it was over.

Final time: 01:57:58. Just 1 minute, 52 seconds slower than my half marathon PR. Agghhh!

JW watched me cross the finish line, and I talked to him a little bit before I got my water and food. He said - "You were fast" - which was nice to hear, and I'm sure I did look fast since I passed a lot of people near the end... but again, I just wish I hadn't had so much energy left in the end that I could have pulled out much earlier in the race, to potentially get another PR. Ah well.. live and learn!

I refueled with pretzels filled with peanut butter (YUM), and then went to stand with the rest of the group (Larissa beat her personal best by 5 minutes!!) to wait for Chelsey, who we knew would be finishing within the next 15 minutes. Lo and behold- we spotted her and cheered for her while she crossed the finish line! I think this was the first time I had cheered on a friend in a race, so it was really fun!

Though none of us were very hungry, we brunched at the Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro, and once we got some actual food in our stomachs that weren't gels and pretzels, we felt a lot better.

We hurried back to the car - it was so cold! - and drove back to our hotel where the girls took turns showering and the boys continued what they had been doing all morning - relaxing :). We left the hotel right at 2 and were on our way back to Seattle before we knew it.

It was a great race - great support, great weather, and the course was really beautiful and not too repetitive. Though I do wish I had PRed, I'm very pleasantly surprised with how well I did, considering how training went. I think I would definitely race Bellingham Bay again!

Columbia Winery 10K Charity Run & Walk

On Saturday, August 16, I raced in the Columbia Winery 10K, benefiting Seattle Children's Hospital. It was a somewhat last minute decision, but my Bellingham Bay Half Marathon training plan called for a 10K on Saturday, and it seemed like fun, so why not?

I think this was my first run using my new name!

I woke up around 6am on Saturday morning to eat a banana, but I didn't need much because I had demolished a cheesecake the night before. For real. It was glorious and I regret nothing.

I headed over to the race at 7:30- it was 20 minutes away, and I took the back roads - and realized this was near where I normally ran, on the Sammamish River Trail! Plus I got giddy thinking about all these wineries that are 20 minutes away from me. I never knew!

I arrived right at 7:50 and sat in my car for 10 minutes, as the race didn't start until 8:30. At 8, I walked over to registration to check in and get my gear, traded in my medium shirt for a small (and it was still huge), and jogged back to my car to drop off my stuff. I also put the timing chip they provided on my shoe, which was a different model than I was used to - it was a hard plastic and had to be attached by zip ties, and we had to return it after the race lest we pay a $30 fine.

The start line

I meandered over to the start line and waited for the gun to go off. The announcer was really funny, and he made the time pass by quickly. I queued up the running playlist I had prepared and before we knew it, we were off!

I created the playlist with one thing in mind - keeping my pace consistent, around 180 steps per minute. So, I was looking for songs with a 180 BPM (hard to find), or a 90 BPM, which I would just run to double-time. So, you can see that some of the songs didn't fit either of this category (re: "Runaway Baby", "What You Waiting For?", and "Everything is AWESOME") - but that was because the songs were generally upbeat and gave me a little boost of energy anyways.

I strategically put Thrift Shop at the end because I knew it got my blood pumping, but other than that I didn't really have a reason for putting the songs in the order that I did. I started with The Reason by Hoobastank because it was kind of mellow and I tend to go out fast, but I think I need to put another not-quite 180/90 BPM song after that because I sped up a lot the second mile because of the songs that followed.

Anyways!

Before the race, I was feeling pretty good! Ready to get started and glad that it was a little overcast, but still beautiful. I wasn't hungry and I didn't need to use the bathroom, so all good things!

(from the Columbia Winery Facebook Page) - this was the start line. We would finish from the other side!

I didn't take any pictures of the course, but it was gorgeous - it started on a road, and then went onto the Sammamish River Trail, with which I am very familiar.

I was happy the 10K wasn't an out-and-back, but I didn't realize exactly how long the turn around point was for the 10K- and was pretty upset when I noticed that the people running in the opposite direction were a part of the race I was in. It's always discouraging in a race (especially because I run out-and-backs for my training runs all the time!) to know that you have to turn around and run the exact same road that you are running.

There was a 1 mile marker, but that was pretty much it - and I'm pretty sure that was for the 5K. I had turned off my vocal feedback on Nike+ (a good thing, I think) so I had no idea how long we had to go or how much farther we had to run. At the turnaround point, however, I did notice a small "5" taped to the trail, so I guess I just hadn't been on the edge of the trail for the rest of the race to notice the other mile markers.

On the way back, I saw someone wearing a Nike Women's Marathon Finisher shirt as well! As I passed her, I pointed to my shoulder and made a face and she noticed and pointed back and we had a moment and those kinds of moments are why I kind of love races.

I was tailing a couple of women on the last stretch but ended up passing them as I surged towards the end - I was really giving it my all and didn't really have that much left in the tank when I crossed the finish line, but my goal was under 55 minutes and I surpassed it by ending in 53:31!

It's actually kind of hilarious because for the Turkey Trot, I wanted to get under 25 minutes but surpassed it by getting 23:31. Isn't that funny how it was so similar?

The last mile was the fastest! But, see how much I speed up in the second mile? I need to get that under control.

Now I'm kind of worried for this Saturday, the Seattle Marathon 10K - I don't think I'll do as well because I'm still kind of fatigued, but oh well. At least I did well in this race? My goal, still, is under 55 minutes - and I'll switch around my playlist to see if that helps keep my pace more consistent... we shall see!

I Ran The Highlands!

Hello from Dallas! I arrived last night (Friday) around 10 and went to sleep as soon as I unpacked and my head hit the pillow. I was exhausted!

At least it was a nice day!

This morning, Saturday, I knew that the Run The Highlands 5K was going to start at 8:45am- a pretty early start (that's 6:45am Seattle time!) for not a lot of sleep the night before. But, I also knew that I needed to run at least 3 miles this week, so if I wasn't going to do it at 8:45, I knew had to do it at some point in the day. With my second bridal shower later that afternoon, it might as well be when I'm half asleep!

This was a hard sight to leave!

The other benefit of running this race was that it was only about a mile away from my house. So, I figured I would make it a little tempo run - 1 mile warm-up, 3.1 miles tempo, and 1 mile cool down. Even though I haven't really been running a lot, I figured it was too perfect an opportunity to pass up.

Run The Highlands, hosted by the Lake Highlands Junior Women's League, is a certified 5K Race, 1 Mile Family Walk, and Carnival to benefit the Lake Highlands community. I grew up and went to school in Lake Highlands, and couldn't believe I had never heard of this event, so I was really excited to learn that I would be in town to participate, and make this race my first official race of 2014!

I started running away from my house at 8:25- enough time to get me to the race, and registered, in time for the 8:45am start.

I had to literally slow to a walk when I ran into a narrow sidewalk behind two ladies that were on their way to the event. Ah, well. I was averaging about 9 minutes/mile before I had to start walking.

I got there with just enough time to register and get in line before I heard the countdown begin!

A good crowd! The final number was 335 registered participants- the smallest race I've ever participated in!

Tired, but ready to run!

So many puppies!!

The race started promptly at 8:45am, and I realized I was at the back with the strollers too late - so it took a little bit to get going. Had I been in the front where I probably should have been, I would have gotten a better start. However, considering I had just run a mile, I was faring pretty well.

There were two aid stations - one at the 1.6ish mile mark, and another at the 2.6ish mile mark. Kind of random, but I didn't need any water since I had my handheld with me. I think from now on, I'm never running a race without it!

Picture is from December - but I use this during almost every run!

They also had a decent amount of spectators. Since the race went through neighborhoods, a lot of families were on their front lawns cheering us on (one family had a little water station!), and at almost every curve, there were even people with signs! I'm sure they were really there to protect the cones marking the curve, but still! I felt really supported throughout the race.

Despite that emoticon, I felt really, really tired throughout. There were a surprising amount of steep hills that I wasn't anticipating. I also hadn't been running a lot, and when I was, it certainly wasn't at race paces. But, I did feel the itch to start racing again. I'm excited - I have a 5K on my calendar for when I get back to Seattle, which is the beginning of a whole lot of races for the summer and fall in Seattle. I hope I get to go to as many as I can! I can feel the racing bug has bit :)

By the time the race was over, the sun was shining!

After crossing the finish line, I walked around for about 30 seconds, found a water bottle, and guzzled it down. I felt really nauseous after the race - I had really pushed it and gave it my all at the home stretch. My Nike+ shows my speed at the end as 7 min/miles. Wow! So speedy. Glad I still have that in me.

I noticed the people at the finish line giving out medals, and I can never resist some sparkle.. so I swallowed my embarrassment and went ahead and asked if the medals were for everyone. The lady looked at me and said, "Well, technically they're for the kids - but if you want one, we have plenty extra!" and honestly in a situation like that, what can you do but take it??

The cutest medal I have ever received- and the cutest I have ever looked.

After a minute or two of rest, I ran home.

Altogether, 1+3.17+0.83= 5 Miles for the morning! I felt really, really accomplished and so glad I got up to run. Run The Highlands is a fun run, with a challenging course, and not too tightly packed that you never feel like you actually got a chance to race. I really enjoyed it!

I ended up getting 2nd place in my division! I thought that was super, SUPER cool. This 5K is technically my slowest, if you look on my sidebar under "Races", you can see that it's one second slower than my very first 5K. But you know what? That's fine. I didn't train at all and I had no expectations. I ran because I wanted to, and that is enough!

Have you ever registered for a race on a whim?

The Ugly Sweater Dash 5K

Saturday morning, I completed another 5k! The race was held at Remlinger Farms in Carnation, WA - about 30 minutes away from Bellevue.

I had a choice to try and beat my Turkey Trot time, or to run it for fun. I ran it with two friends: one who had a 5K PR much faster than mine, and one who had never run a 5K all the way through. I decided to stick with the latter, and ran and walked when she did. I didn't race. I couldn't have even if I tried - it was MUDDY.

Mud, everywhere. Ugh.

My training plan was specifically for a 5K, but it was barely a plan at all - really it was just to maintain. I skipped a long run of 8 miles, and I did every single run since the half marathon on the treadmill. I hadn't even ran since Monday!

Me and my running buddies :) (My shirt says "Paw Humbug", if you're wondering. Hah!)

They had little stations you could take pictures at!

Ready to run!

The tiniest Start line in existance - we had to wait for the 4th wave!

Around the halfway mark, there were more picture-taking opportunities.

We crossed the Finish Line probably about 35-40 minutes after we crossed the Start Line.

Some sugary cider that I had a sip of

Happy to be finished!

We walked around some afterward and saw all the festivities (hah, hah, GET IT).

These were awesome!

Sweet Potato Syrup?? Ummm yes please.

Overall, a pretty fun race - purely for fun, but muddy as hell. Lots of hills, actually- and we only really stopped to walk once! It was really, really crowded... and the only aid along the race was that halfway point picture-taking opportunity where there was some water. So, not a very supported race, but I guess it's just meant to be fun anyways.

Going to and coming from the race was a pain, since it's this one long road that comes to an intersection with a busy street that doesn't stop, so it took us about 15 minutes extra of just sitting in traffic before we really got on the road again.

Would I do it again...? Meh. :) Probably not. A fun experience, but not one that I would repeat! I've decided I never want to do a Mud Run, either!

Ever done a Mud Run?