Summery Mud Fun

Summer is definitely here. Temps have been in the 90's, which when you are indoors or at the beach soaking up rays, isn't so bad. When I want to run hills at 6:30/7:00 it really kinda sucks. I am good at hydrating. I coffee it up in the morning, water and juice during the day and maybe a Gatorade with the evening run.  But what really kills it is the darn humidity. I have to wear a visor with a built in sweat band to keep the stuff from running into my eyes. Yesterday it was a little cooler after our afternoon shower so I thought it would be good to get 4 miles in. Ha! I did my four miles but the humidity was so thick I might have not had anything to drink that day. And I was nervous about the heat for Run for the Dream in Williamsburg.

Run for the Dream was wonderful! I will definitely be running it next year. Up hill both ways and I still liked it. I just hope the guy with  the sign that read "this stranger is proud of you" will be there again. Support like that rocks!

This is where I should be running. Then I can just jump in when I am done.

 

With no more races until September I find I am antsy. I run in the evenings and do my best to make the schedule work so I can meet my running friends for a long run on the weekends. However, there is nothing like the excitement of a race and the feeling you have stepping up to the start line and the finish. To fill the gap I had signed up for a 5k mud run. This small balm on my running soul was the Great American Mud Run. This was MUCH better organized then the dirty girl and it was timed to give it that edge a race has. With all the rain we've had, it made for great mud. They had advertised jumping over fire at the end. How super hero! I was in. I met up with some running friends and we headed over early to make sure parking and sitting in traffic wouldn't be the focus of the day. We got in with no problem, got our numbers and of course, like at any good race, our beer cups. We didn't run until the 11:30 wave so to kill some time we listed to the awesome music and managed to insist on winning the neon group award. Yeah us!

 



Finally it was time to run and we were off. Through the bubbles and we hit our first obstacle. Barb wire splat. (I am sure they another name for it, but I like mine better.) Down in the mud we went. We went up and over ropes, swung through hoop rings, across ropes and final hit a wall. Straight up, just high enough that I couldn't jump and reach it. With a little help from my friends I made it over the slip slab of wood and dropped down on the other side only to see...yep, another one. The next one was too slip. Too many muddy hands had tried to grip it. I got my buddy over, but couldn't get up it myself so I went around. Not a complete failure, but definitely disappointing. However, that didn't stop us! Muddy ditches, a swim in the drink since I can't run on barrels, more barb wire splat and a HUGE slide at the end. I think it said it was 80 feet high and all you can do is laugh on the way down, its that much fun. The three of us crossed the finish line seconds apart.

Before.

After.

 

The line to the showers was long and our patience was not. Some one slipped by whispering about a pond so we calmly walked off like we had places to be and found the pond with a few other folks. A quick jump off the dock and a little scrubbing and we were much less muddy. Though I don't want to know what goes in that pond, I really don't. Some beer, food and more music to round of the day and we were done and quite pleased with ourselves. I was 550 out of a whole lot of people and I now know for sure...I have no upper body strength. Weights and push ups here I come. BUT I WILL beat my time next year. This was too much fun not to try.

 



Last weekend I ran a half marathon through Colonial Williamsburg. It was hot, hilly, sweaty and ...I loved it. I will definitely be running this again next year. I went up Friday night with my 8 year old daughter to meet my running friend Jessica and her family for the weekend. Both her big boys and my daughter were going to run the "fun run" Saturday and then she and I would run the half Sunday while her poor, gracious husband managed 4, yep, I said 4, kids. (He had a little help, but still...gold bars for that or something!) Friday started out with crazy traffic. I had time to call my husband, my mom and my sister, we sat in traffic for so long. Once we got there we went and got our numbers and then checked in. My daughter is a patient kid, I have to say. My the time we got to the hotel, my patience had run out, and I was cranky and still she smiled and put up with me. Going up to our room we ran into my running friend and made plans for in the morning. Since it was suppose to be 90 friggin' degrees I was a little worried about my daughter. She has this massive head of hair that has to add 50 degrees to any temperature. The day started hot and she started whiny.  We were all sweating by the time we got to the stadium they were running at. The kids sat in the shade while they waited for their turn. One miler's were up first and so I took my daughter to the start. They would go down the track, outside the stadium and then back in to finish where the marathoner's would. Which meant she ran outside of my sight. Time for mommy panic. Now I know, I have brought her up to be safe, they block in the track they run, there are police, etc. but as a mommy, you still swallow and tell yourself not to panic. A few minutes later I was telling her to just do her best, its hot so just have fun, its OK to walk if you need to, and they were off. Just a few seconds later, she was out of sight. I moved to the finish to wait for her to come back. Some of the older kids came through fast, like Lightening McQueen fast! Holy crap! Wish I could run like that for a whole race! Then before I knew it, around the corner she came! I met her at the finish and made sure she got her water and led her to the shade, cheering her the whole way! Next up were my friends big boys. They were pretty awesome too. 90 degrees and they all did an awesome job. As mommy's we couldn't have been prouder.

After a hot afternoon, we went to bed. Up early, I took my daughter to my friends room and off we went. The air was hot and humid at 6:30 in the morning. We knew it would be hot and we knew there would be hills. I was a little worried about the hills, but hey, bring it on, right? Knowing I was nervous and having more faith in me then I did, she made sure I grouped in with the 3:15 pacer and stayed there to start with me. Thank goodness for good running friends. Thank goodness for Jessica. Before we knew it, we were off and running. I thought she was next to me, but when I turned to look both ways I couldn't find her any more. Rather then kill someone in the shoulder to shoulder start crowd, I kept going. We were off, hills, heat and all.

We ran through some rough gravel areas, dodged the horse poo and off to the rolling hills. I started fast like I always do below a 10 minute mile. I had to really focus on slowing down so I would last the whole way. I kept reminding myself it was going to be hot and hilly and I didn't want to loose my legs half way through.

The half way point was pretty and sad at the same time. I made it to the turn around before I knew it. Hills were easier then I thought they would be and I made sure to stop for water at each station because it was also as hot as I thought it would be. The good thing was, almost the whole way was in the shade. The sad part was, someone didn't account for the heat and I saw them packed in ice, being taken away to the ambulance. As hot as it was, I am grateful there weren't more incidents like that. I started taking a cup of water to drink and one to dump over my head. Best advice I got all weekend. My friend said it would feel yucky, but do it as it would help keep you cooler. I am glad I did. Thank you Mo!

This is one of the easier hills. Yes, its really up hill both ways. After you make the turn to the finish you realize all the down hill you had is now up hill and the up hill from before is now down hill and you kinda say "well, crap".  So back up the big hill we went. Thank you Williamsburg for showing us the true meaning of "rolling hills". The best part was getting to the top of the bigger hill and some guy had pull off the road to the side (they split the street so traffic could still move) and he had a sign saying "this stranger is proud of you" and was high fiving people. There were people like that along the whole route. They cheered you, encouraged you, smiled at you. People checked on other people walking to make sure they were OK in the heat. They made it a wonderful race. It is why I will run  it again next year; even if its 90 degrees again. I finally came to the finish and found a little bit left in my legs to push it to the finish at a faster pace. My daughter jumped up and down and waived at me and I blew here a kiss and went for the finish. Even my running friend's husband and boys cheered  for me. I don't get that at many races. It was really nice to have that. I crossed the finish and grabbed two waters. I made it. Later when I got the final time I realized that even with the heat and hills, I only missed beating my PR by 40 seconds. Crazy. But I totally had fun! A running weekend with a good running buddy and my daughter trumps a PR any day. Its why I love to run.

My new favorite place to run is on the beach. Even which %100 humidity which will make you sweat rivers, I loved it. The smell of the ocean when you breath it into your lungs just makes you want to smile. I joined a couple of running buddies, which made it even better.  Good company always equals good times.  It wasn't a long run, but it was certainly enjoyable. And I gotta say, it works the butt. After a mile I didn't feel it in my legs but I sure felt it in my glutes. I head read various articles that said it was good practice for hill running. Now Virginia Beach ocean front is pretty darn flat. I can count the "hilly" areas on one hand. Hard to train for something when it doesn't seem to exist. BUT it definitely exists in Williamsburg, where the half is in June.
For which I am woefully under prepared for, hence the beach running.  There are two weeks left and the last three weeks have been spent on vacation and juggling some smaller runs while my husband and daughter had things to do. I should have planned better, but we'll see. Again, going with a friend, so even if it ends up being an awful personal run it will be good times with a running friend, and better yet, my daughter is going with me to run the 1 miler.

So I have been totally slack with keeping up with the writing, but not so much with the running. I ran my very first half marathon; the Pirate Half on the outer banks in North Carolina. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. I liked it soooo much I signed up for three more, even after asking myself why I would pay someone to just to torture myself only to claim the very next day that it was complete and total fun and I couldn't wait to do it again. ha! In the meantime, I have run a couple of 5k's and for Mother's Day weekend I went coast to coast for a 10k in Cali.

Mission Bay was beautiful. The weather not to hot, not too cold and the company was the best. I was staying with a long time friend who moved to Cali years ago. She walked the 5k and I ran the 10k. It was nice to see all the mother/daughter duo's out there and I gotta say, the freebies at the booth's for the after race expo were delish! Ice cream sandwich, a whole bottle of Activate water and my favorite was a sample of after run drink called Core Power. Yummy! The race offered a 5k walk or run, a 10k and a half marathon around Fiesta Island in Fiesta Bay. It was a lovely place to run. Being a small island you did a little up and down, but honestly, I was just enjoying the run so much, I didn't even notice. There were boaters, skiers, and people fishing, just at 7am when the race started. The path was paved so we didn't have to run on sand and they had water stations at just the right spots.

They began with the half at 7 am on the dot (timely folks too), the 10k a 7:10 and the 5k at 7:20 so that everyone was paced very well and not running into each other on the loops. I left my friend to her 5k and at 7:15 I was off. The first mile I did what I always seem to do and went too fast. I can't seem to help myself. That first mile always feels so good and this one was no exception. Miles two and three flew by and my little Runkeeper was telling me I was at a 9:49/10 minute pace and I started to get excited that I might actually break the 10 minute mark. Then I realized I was only at mile 3.5 and I still had more to go, so I slowed down, afraid I would die at the end and totally blow it. However, as I said, it felt good and I was just enjoying it, ups, downs and all arounds and stopped paying attention again, right into a 8:35 minute pace- yeah, that fast. I must have been running down hill. It was also about that time GPS lost me. Apparently I have learned to run on water and managed to squeeze in a visit to a near by aquarium while running this race. Told you it was a good one!

So I just stopped listening and kept running. I hit all the water stops because the heat in Cali is different then what I was use to in Virginia Beach and I didn't want to do something silly like pass out or not be able to finish. Even so, I still crossed the finish line, glanced at the clock and wow!, 1:15:45! I knew I had to back off 10 for the time we started at which meant 1:05 and change. My best time yet for a 10k and I hadn't even gotten the net time yet. Better yet, it had felt good, so very good, even up the hills, though they weren't really very big. I got my medal, banana and water and went to sit and cool down. My friend wasn't at the meeting point so I checked in with her via text (gotta love technology) to make sure she was good (she was) and it turned out she was only 5 or 10 minutes behind me. Way to go Lisa! Medals in hand we checked out the booths to stretch our legs then went home for showers and a quick nap. (I was a little jet lagged.)

I would absolutely do this again. It was a ton of fun to try a new venue in a new state and with a great friend. I truly just enjoyed the race and since I didn't know anyone I didn't feel any pressure to do well so I really could just run. I surprised myself. I really didn't think I could run that fast, but now that I do, you can bet I will be pushing even harder on the next one!

I have this crazy idea that despite what all the training plans say, I HAVE to run the full 13.1 to make sure I can do it. That whole the race fever will carry you, I just don't believe it. So Sunday I have 11 on the books but was planning on 12. I started with a couple of girls I always have fun running with. Julie is game for adventure and Jessica just makes me laugh. If I can run and laugh, I know I am doing ok. They didn't have as many planned. Julie had six and Jessica had gotten there an hour earlier for her 12 so they both only did six with me. BUT IT WAS GEORGOUS! After cold, rain, sleet and yes, even snow, I was ready to run on such and amazing day. Julie had the bear mace at the ready, but all we saw were butterflies and bunnies. It was too pretty to just do 11 or 12 so after my 6 I went back for more. I went out 4 with the intent of stopping at the 12 marker on the way back, but I just kept going. It was warm but not hot. Peaceful, but not too quiet with other runners and bikers sharing the path. So I did it. The whole 13.2 and now I can assure myself I can do it. Flying Pirate, here I come!

You have a bad day. You're lonely. You're angry. You name it and running seems to make it better. Even when you are happy, it makes your happier. Endorphins rock! And best of all, when you are done, all the crazy thoughts make sense. See, I'm really not crazy! (Shhh! Don't tell her its the endorphins talking.) Lately, there have been a lot of ups and downs for me. I only work part time and I have a hard time with that as part time work is part time money. Sure, I get more time with my daughter, which is awesome, but then I feel guilty because I do work part time and want to work full time, and working part time I can't buy her everything I want, but working full time I won't have time to buy her everything I want...you can see the crazy. You don't even have to come close. Throw in a bad day at work, or more friends moving away (we're Navy) and the inadequate feeling of only two BA's and no master's (yep, going for broke on the guilt train) and what's left is running. My five miles last night, in the cold rain, felt GOOD. I left feeling crappy, wanting to cry a little, angry and I was definitely having a "fat" day. After mile 1, I had a grove. By mile 2, my breath was even and I could feel my legs work. Better yet, by mile 3, GPS confirmed I was still running at the same pace, a pace a little faster then normal. By the time I had gone over the bridge, to the stop light, back through the neighborhood twice and finally hit mile 5, I felt...normal, even keeled, almost...dare I say it?-sane. My legs felt strong, my head was clear, I was breathing fine and the world was back to normal. Running might not be a complete cure all, but it sure works wonders for me.

This was by far the BEST race I have ever been too. J& A Racing's Shamrock is always a ton of fun. The excitement is something that can be physically felt in the air. With over 8,000 running the 8k and over 4,000 running the final mile, how can it not be? Energy like that can only come from lots of happy people. This would be the second time I ran the race and was hoping, but doubting a sub 50 would happen for the 8k. What can I say, I am not a fast runner. But I am getting faster. I cleared 6.9 minutes off last year's time, which is awesome! But that wasn't what made it so great. I had a wonderful running buddy come and cheer me on. Even though she wasn't running it is always amazing to know people are cheering for you. Better yet, my daughter was running her first race that day. That meant I got to share the whole experience with her. I have made some wonderful running friends since I first ran it all by myself last year. Some ran it with me and one stayed with my daughter while I ran since she was doing the half marathon the next day. When I hit mile 4 and realized I had stopped and really I was only frustrated by the walkers getting in the way (can't they hand out etiquette manuals before a race?) I smiled to my self. Last year was hard and I was just glad I didn't quit. this year, I was actually sad it was over so fast and wished for a longer race. It wasn't nearly as hard and I didn't have to walk at all. I even made up time the first few miles running a middle 9 mile (probably slowed me down at the end, but oh well). The rain held off until I finished then my daughter and I dashed for the tent with hot soup and live music. People were mashed in, but the soup was good and the music fun, and better yet, my daughter was smiling. By the time her race rolled around an hour later the rain stopped, the sun came out and the temp had warmed up. Perfect timing. She ran her mile in less then 9 minutes! I was so proud of her and she had so much fun! It truly was the best race I have run to date and I can't wait to do it again. This is why we run.