Dirty Dash pics and story

So a few months ago I got roped into decided to do the Dirty Dash with my friend Emily and some other gals I didn't know.  Never done a mud run before, never even considered it.

The wave before us

The Delicious Dirty Delicates!  Before. l-r, Claire, Emigh, Ashley, Emily and me!

We were in the 4th wave to start and by then the first hill was thick gooey muck, thanks to the huge sprinkler showering down on us.

The first wall climb (of three)

Emily and I made it over!

Doin' the happy dance

Excited or Falling?  you decide

Heading for the Filthy Finish

Never been grosser or had more fun!

Oh my gosh was that some muddy fun! The costumes were hilarious.  One of my favorite scenes was the "brides" being chased by the "chain gang" and the "Muddy Butties" (with fake bare butt shorts).  Had to yell Freedom every time we saw the Braveheart warriors!   We had a BLAST!  I highly recommend doing a mud run!   

Don't forget to post your results of the September Challenge!

Have been humbled

Saturday I ran the Top of Utah Half Marathon.  Awesome course, well supported, perfect weather.  Yet I failed.

I did this one last year and had a stellar experience.  Under 2 hours and felt great.  But this summer has had more down time (some injury, some pure lazy)  There were a couple weeks where I only got a long run in.  

Given that last spring I had hoped to hit a pretty lofty goal and had revised to "please let me beat last years time", I really bombed.

My chip time was 2:07:12.8, or 7:50 slower than last year.  What happened?  PRIDE.

Despite low weekly mileage, I assumed that because I did it last year, I could do it this year.  Wrong.  Running is not a forgiving sport.  There are no gimmies.  You will earn every second shaved off your time.

Since I don't get any bragging rights on the time, I'd better learn something out of this.

1. Don't sing along out loud to your ipod.  Not only do people stare at you, you get out of breath and get a stitch in your side that takes a mile and a half to get rid of.  


2.  When you are out of breath, keep jogging even slowly.  Walking a little to catch your breath lets your muscles get cold and you have a hard time getting going again. Thus resulting in more walking.

3.  Having a rocking playlist tailored to the race is AWESOME!  Just don't let the item number 1 happen because your playlist is so awesome.  (#1 started up because Living on a Prayer came on at exactly the right time--half way through the race, think about it)


4.  When items number 1 and 2 happen, don't let your brain tell you all the reasons you can't make it.  Your body will go as far as your mind will.  Unfortunately mine shut down all positive thinking around mile 8.


5.  When you finish the race and you are in more pain than you have been in since you gave birth 10 years ago, forget the awards and drawing and go back to the hotel room for an ice bath.  Thus avoiding limping down the street to the car in front of 2396 other racers and their families.

Looking back, it wasn't the worst experience of my life.  (I thought that when I crossed the finish line)  I know I need a bigger running base.  I worry too much about speed work when I should be focused on endurance.  I lost this race because I assumed once you do it you own it forever, because I didn't keep my breathing under control, and mostly because I didn't keep my mind under control.


In spite of my time, I did place 28 out of 103 in my division.  So that helped me feel a little better.

I'm not letting go of my goal.  Next year, I want to run this race in 1:44:48.  


The training begins NOW!

Day 3, half marathon training

This week begins the countdown for Top of Utah Half. It's on Aug 28, and I really want to blow last years time away. Don't get me wrong here, I am really, really super proud of my time of 1:59:23. I had two goals last year, finish, did that, and break 2 hours, did that. Why I wanted to break two hours, I have no idea. Somewhere I got the seed planted in my brain that it was a good first showing, so there you go. Not that I'm competitive or anything...

But really it was a great showing for me. According to all my other race results, I should have been closer to 10 minute miles. My 10k pace from 5 weeks before was 9:25, so to get a 9:07 avg pace was a huge shock, awesome, but huge shock to me. I placed 58 out of 183 in my age group, which is top 32%. (another way I grade my success)

So this year, I graduate an age bracket. This is huge, as you age, times typically slow down. But I'm young in running so I still have a lot of improvement left in me. I have yet to peak! Last years time would put me 28 out of 88 in the 40-44, which happens to again be top 32%. So I still have to improve in order to get better ranking.

So I decided that I really needed to be able to do 8 min miles. Which is hilarious to think about. I did a 5k 5 weeks ago and got 8:36 pace. However I was still worn out from the century, so it was hard to base it on that. And I'm not able to race as much this year, so I don't have anything other than training to decide how well I can do.

Anyway, I decided on the 8 min mile pace because, last year if I had that time (1:44:48) I would have placed 13/183, top 7%. And in the 40-44, it would have placed 5/88, or top 6% and got me an award. (they awarded top 5 in each age group)

OK, that's the real reason there. I want an award. In my mind if I get 1:44:48 I will win an age group award. Don't bother telling me that the competition is different every year, and this year might attract faster people, that others moved up too and they might be faster than me. I don't care. If I hit 1:44:48, I win an award. Even if I have to go buy it for myself!

So Monday I went out for day one. I actually had forgot to print out the training plan and was flying blind for what I should do, so I just ran to the soccer field and back, 4.5 miles, and then up the big hill and back, about 1.9 miles (locals know what that is) to simulate the end of the TOU half route, which is mostly downhill and then has one mile near the end with a slight incline and then down again to the finish. I died on that mile. I don't want to again. And I also wanted to run real slow and easy. I've been nursing two injuries in a row for the last 2 weeks and wanted to be cautious. But I came back feeling great and didn't have any problems yesterday, which was a rest day, but I did spin.

So finally we are to day 3, today. The plan called for 2 pace intervals (PI). Meaning I did two runs, separated by a recovery jog, each was 2 miles long and were to be run at race pace. Hmmm, since I've never run any distance longer than a mile at my race pace goal, this was going to be interesting.

I have a loop around my neighborhood that is almost exactly a 1/2 mile. So for accuracy, despite total boredom, I decided to use that for my PI. First PI (two miles) rocked! 15:51, so less then a 8 min mile pace. YES! But I was dying, did I mention I'm also trying to acclimatize to running in the heat? Rather than run in the morning when it's cool, I started at 11:30 am. So in the house, drink and potty break. Then back out for the recovery lap. Then PI #2, not quite as good, 16:42, but still not bad. This was followed by some strides, to work on running fast at the end of the race.
Definitely a good session and I'm feeling like I just might reach my goal. It's pretty aggressive, but doable.

And I want an award!

Hello again...

Hello again, it's been a while. I feel like I have neglected my blog for a while and we have been super busy.


Another blog I follow asked what have you accomplished today? Well I got the 44 lasagnas I made two weeks ago out of my freezer and with the help of 43 ovens and the friends who own them, got them all cooked and off to youth conference for all the kids on trek. Thank you again to all my wonderful and kind friends who made this possible. I should have taken a picture of my freezer, it was packed and in the few spaces available, we froze otter pops for the youth too.

Then we went to dinner, yummy bento boxes! Love Won Won Wok! And then off to go over the race route for tomorrow.

On tap for the morning is the first Tri of the season, thanks to my spin friend Trevor, who organizes a fun, free tri. Perfect way to see where I am to start the season. Well, I know I am no where near where I wanted to be, but hey, I do this for fun not just for the times. (That's the lie I tell myself when I don't feel prepared)

So see you tomorrow for a race recap and layout of what I need to do to get ready for the next race.

BTW, locals, he organizes a kids one in August and another sprint tri in September. I'm going to do a couple clinics for anyone who is interested in trying a tri! So if you were ever curious what it's all about, this is a great no pressure way to check it out!

Nite!

Virtual 10k triumph!!!!

Today I ran my first ever virtual 10k sponsored by racingwithbabes. My only goal was to beat my best 10k race time, well my only 10k race time, lol. So goal time to beat is 58:23. I'd planned to get up early before clients got here and run my 10k, but when I woke up and heard the rain pounding down that got nixed. So I went back to sleep and got up an hour later for my group, (who totally rocks by the way!) Then I hurried off to teach spin...killer class! By now the weather had cleared, so I could do my run outside, YAY! I like the treadmill, but it doesn't really seem fair to run a 10k race on it.

So ate some breakfast, did some chores and then headed out. My hubby took his garmin to Africa with him, so I didn't want to try and figure out an exact 10k so I just looped my exactly measured 5k route twice. As I got going, I was feeling kind of sluggish and kept thinking up all the justifications I would use for not meeting my goal. I didn't get enough sleep, I did a killer leg workout yesterday, still recovering from the 56 mile ride on Thursday, already did spin class, you never run as fast by yourself as in a "real" race, its hot outside..... on and on... Then as I hit the 1/4 way mark, I realized I was ahead of my needed pace! WOOHOO!

My legs still felt like lead..... but it was encouraging. When I finished the first loop of my 5k route and headed out for the second loop, I was still ahead! On the way back I have my "5 minute" mark. Meaning I know that I will be done in 5 minutes. Ok, right on schedule to do it! What a surprise, I was sure I wouldn't make it. Coming back into the subdivision it was all I could do to keep putting one leg in front of the other... My friends lawn looked so inviting, I just wanted to collapse on it! But I had to make it to Karen's mailbox, the magic finish line. About a hundred yards out, I gave everything I had, "GO LEGS GO" Crossed the line at 57:40!!!!!!!!!! 43 seconds better than my 10k last year!! The Pink Flamingo flies again!