Crazy Horse, One Year Later

So remember last year when I ran my first half marathon- the Crazy Horse Half Marathon? I'd hoped to run it again this year, but training mostly got away from me, and while I had run up to about ten miles, I knew I wasn't strong enough for a good showing. However, my BRF (best running friend) Jennifer WAS running Crazy Horse, and while I didn't do ALL her long runs with her, I did run quite a few of them, and I wanted to be supportive... so I ran my own private half marathon at home this weekend.

You got this!

I plotted out a route that I expected to be right at 13.1 and decided that if I were hurting at any point after ten that I would walk.  I got to the gates leading out to one of the islands on our trail, which I expected to be at 5 miles, and it was dead on 5 miles. This is what running all over all summer will do- it will build a perfect map of your frequent mileage in your head.

After hitting the island my pace slowed down a good bit. I realize around mile 7 that I was not going to be well fueled and I let myself take a couple of walk breaks. I could not have asked for better running weather, and it was beautiful out in the woods alone. There were very few other runners and only a handful of dog walkers. I hit the gates to leave the island at 8.2, and knowing I had 5 miles to go made me happy. Such good math!

I struggled a bit until around 9.5 where I ate my second and last Gu, and then perked up at about mile ten. Ten miles down, only a 5K to go! At mile 12 our theme song come on, and I stopped to take this picture of me in "Beast Mode" (wow, this is incredibly cheesy to tell non-runners!) and then kept on running. My last three miles were nearly as fast as my first three miles, and this made me really happy.

I learned that running your own private half marathon is really hard. There's no one around to cheer you on, and the miles feel fairly endless. I thought it would kill me to have this internal map of just how far I had to go, since I was running in familiar trails, but in the end it was nice to be able to not wonder at all. I bought myself a new running watch this week, and it's fairly big compared to my old one. I thought it might be hard to learn to use it, but turns out it was excellent, and I LOVE being about to change music tracks from my watch and review texts I don't need to reply to immediately.

My time ended up being slower than Crazy Horse (2:36) but faster than the River Rat Half in April (2:52). I suspect that if I'd done Crazy Horse that the crowded energy would have brought me a nice PR, but not nearly as well as Jennifer, who ran an amazing 2:17!!

NEXT YEAR IT'S ON, CRAZY HORSE.

2016 River Rat Half Marathon - Yankton, SD

Last weekend we took a running vacation and ran the River Rat Half Marathon in Yankton, SD.  Mike and I have been training for this basically since New Year's, and it was always the SD half that Mike wanted to run the most. This was his first half, and my second.  Training went well for both us us, up until about three weeks ago. That week was birthday week at our house, and neither of us ran for the entire week. Mike returned to running that weekend, and I followed up on Monday the 11th with my 12 mile long run, and then disaster struck. My right shin started to hurt, in the same area as my previous stress fracture. The pain wasn't the same, but I was incredibly anxious about it. Mike continued to train, and I proceeded to not run again until the half two weeks later.

Before.

I was determined that Mike would have a terrific first half, so I decided that I would register for the race and continue like I was going to run, but reevaluate often and bow out if it hurt at all.  The first mile I could feel the sore area, but I concentrated on short, fast steps and kept going. At the end of two miles I could not feel it at all, so I kept going... and it never hurt again. Even after it was over, it did not hurt. I was thrilled to be able to run, and since I didn't think I would make it I had no time expectations, so I was able to run slow and careful and not concern myself with pace.

High Fives from Noah at the start line.

The route for the River Rat begins on the Missouri River, very near the bridge to Nebraska. You quickly leave the waterfront, and run past the hospital and monastery to get onto Highway 50 out of town. As you leave town, you run down a giant hill, and the entire time all you can think is that you have to get back UP that hill at some point.  There's a couple miles of out and back, and then you're staring down that hill again. The half marathon route loops around a shaded, semi-residential route, but ultimately the elevation climb is the same, because at the top of the climb it meets back up on the same road. (The full marathoners have to run back up the highway.)

See the giant hill behind me?

 After the giant hill, it winds around by the high school before dropping onto the Auld-Brokaw trail through town. The trail is concrete (the entire race is on hard surface, fyi) and there are several little pigtail loops under roads, but you don't have to wait for traffic anywhere. There's about 2.5 miles left at this point, and I was getting a little tired. (Remember, I'd only run once in the preceding three weeks!) I was faster than the walkers but slower than the other runners so I was weirdly all alone on the route. For several miles I couldn't see any other runners at all. The last mile and a half were back near the river and the wind had picked up significantly. At once point there was a break in the wind and I literally stumbled from the lack of resistance.  The route takes a right turn and you can see the finish line ahead of you in the park, but! jokes on you! cause they route you all the way around the park to come back at it from the other direction. I was pretty beat by the end of it, but if I learned nothing from Crazy Horse it was to smile for the camera.

Finish line!

Mike finished about 15 minutes behind me, and while neither of us were last, it was not a fast run. We were both thrilled to have finished at all tho, and felt like the run was a complete success. The race seems fairly unorganized- there aren't any emails telling you where to go or where to line up or if there is any food after. There are no vendors at packet pickup and no options to buy other swag. You show up at the start line and follow the crowd, but it's a small crowd, so it's ok. That said, the volunteers are terrific and even the slow runners at the end get kudos and cheers as they pass the water stations, and there are volunteers at literally every turn cheering and clapping and helping out. The SD National Guard is on many of the corners prior to getting on the trail, and every single one cheered and clapped for me. There were only 162 runners for the half, and a $60 entry fee, and even with the giant hill I think it would be a great first marathon.  My knees hurt quite a bit that night, but my shins were/are fine and three days later I only have a little quad pain, and am ready to run again.

Family finish photo!

The best part though, hands down, was that our chosen family, our family BFFs went with us.  The got a room next to ours overlooking the pool and hung with us for the entire weekend. We made signs the week before when Mike was gone, and they hauled our three kids, plus their own, around the race to cheer and were at the start and finish lines for us. I can not express how much this means to me, and how much I love those guys.

Our signs included:
-Hurry Up So We Can Drink
-YOU are my favorite runner!
-Run Faster, I just Farted. (Kids, what are you gonna do?)
-Run Like You Stole Something
- GO Mike and Lisa GO
-Go Dad Go I Love You
-Run for the Hill (with detailed illustration)
- You aren't slow, you're getting your money's worth!
-Power Up Here! (with a green power up "button")
Plus pom poms and a cowbell!

The boys helping me at the bottom of the big hill.

Mike gets a boost from Lauren a few minutes later.

The hotel had a terrific pool, a little kid pool, and a hot tub and the kids played for hours and hours, and slept really well. My niece came over the night after the race to babysit poolside and the grownups went to dinner and relaxed. It was such a great trip.

Noah trying to stare holes through their closed curtains. He was the first kid up on Sunday.

Next up: the Aberdeen Bull Run Half Marathon on July 30th!

Hurry Up So We Can Drink!

Run Crazy Horse - My first half marathon

Yes, I said "first", but definitely not my last!

So first and most importantly, Mike made it terrific. He couldn't run it with me and I know he was bummed, but he did everything he could to make it special for me. He made signs and the kids decorated them. He hauled the kids around for the 3 hours I was busy running/waiting and tracked me by my phone on my iPad. They met me at mile 3, 7, 9 (almost, they waved from the car), and the finish line. I started to cry when I found them at mile 3, and again at the finish.

Yes, Tristan was there, but wasn't close enough for me to wait.

The weather was pretty wet. It rained all day Saturday (the day before) and I made Mike take me to Walmart for a cheap rain jacket because I couldn't imagine running 13 miles in the rain, but then it was just very heavy mist/fog and I didn't end up wearing it. You couldn't actually see Crazy Horse at all. It was about 40F so pretty cold, and around mile 7 it got super cold and we could all see our breath, but the really cold part was only for about 2 miles. The run is mostly on a maintained gravel path except for one bit at the beginning that was a largish down/up hill on pavement. That was pretty slick the first time we ran it (had to do it twice).

This hill is a lot steeper in person, I swear.

The route itself is about 3 miles on the grounds of the Crazy Horse Memorial- a big loop around mostly on gravel roads. It was a LOT of uphill right at the beginning. At three miles you come out of the park  and then turn onto the Mickelson Trail and run downhill for 10 miles into Hill City, SD. The trail is wide, fine sandy gravel, and exactly the surface I was used to for my long runs. This was a very gradual decline and never felt like running downhill. I was hoping this would give me a little extra speed so that I'd make my goal, but it didn't happen. I did maintain a good pace (for me, I'm a slow runner) on the uphill parts, but didn't gain any on the rest.

Crazy Horse! Isn't it majestic??

Somewhere between miles 8 and 9 I realized that I wasn't going to make my A or B goal and got pretty down on myself. I thought I'd still be able to make my C goal, but was still feeling pretty disappointed. Just after I realized this, Mike had to abandon a cheering station, and I only got to wave at them as they drove past instead of getting some in person encouragement, which didn't help. (He had to leave because Noah LOST A SHOE at the previous stop so they went back for it. That kid continues to amaze me.)

Me, being discouraged at mile 9.

Other random things, for the first 6 or so miles I kept passing and being passed by two girls dressed as My Little Ponies.

My little ponies. I think they beat me.

There was a cat at one of the water/volunteer stations- she was just hanging out with everyone. My cousin ran her first half marathon in Portland Oregon at the exact same time and every time I wanted to walk I'd think "I bet Lara is running right now" which really helped. By mile 11 it hurt more to walk than it did to run, so I kept running. I hurt a lot more overall than I expected.

I finished in 2:36:47. My average pace was 11:58, which is pretty much exactly where all my long runs in training were, except I never started any of those with 3 miles of hills. So in hindsight, I'm ok with that. My cousin finished in 2:34:47, so we really did run it together.

If you ever consider making a sign and cheering for a half marathon/marathon DO IT. It was SO great to have strangers cheering. Some signs I saw:
Go Random Stranger GO
Whine Now Wine Later
I've done smarter things drunk!
Dig deep, like a kid seeking a booger

Worst Parade Ever
Your feet hurt from kicking so much asphalt
Running is cheap therapy- and we're all insane
Tag here for a power boost (this one was a little kid, and the sign had a big red circle in the middle to tag.)
and a bunch of "Go Leah!" "Go Savannah!" type signs.
Plus my two, which are now hanging in my bed room- Run Mommy Run and Way to Go Mommy.

Mike said some other women said they were mommies too and could they have some cheering? Lauren gave out some high fives, but the boys couldn't be talked into it.

So was it worth training for 18 months to do this? Heck yes! I'm incredibly proud of myself. I feel like such a rock star for doing it. 13 miles is a REALLY LONG WAYS.  Mike and I are already talking about winter running and cross training and both of us being prepared for the River Rat Half Marathon next spring. I have a PR to beat now, so GAME ON.

My Year of Running DangerouslyL A Dad, a Daughter and a Ridiculous Plan by Tom Foreman

I'm going to go ahead and admit that it's probably a good thing for our friendship that none of you actually see me in person or are on my frequent text list (Sorry, Trish, love you!) because it is embarrassing, even to me, how often I bring running up in a conversation.  I am slightly obsessed. I think about it nearly as much as I think about books. Which naturally means I must read books about it too, right?  I got this one (My Year of Running Dangerously) from NetGalley without even catching the part about the author being a CNN news anchor.

Here's the summary from Goodreads:

CNN correspondent Tom Foreman's remarkable journey from half-hearted couch potato to ultra-marathon runner, with four half-marathons, three marathons, and 2,000 miles of training in between; a poignant and warm-hearted tale of parenting, overcoming the challenges of age, and quiet triumph.

As a journalist whose career spans three decades, CNN correspondent Tom Foreman has reported from the heart of war zones, riots, and natural disasters. He has interviewed serial killers and been in the line of fire. But the most terrifying moment of his life didn't occur on the job--it occurred at home, when his 18-year old daughter asked, "How would you feel about running a marathon with me?"

At the time, Foreman was approaching 51 years old, and his last marathon was almost 30 years behind him. The race was just sixteen weeks away, but Foreman reluctantly agreed. Training with his daughter, who had just started college, would be a great bonding experience, albeit a long and painful one.

My Year of Running Dangerously is Foreman's journey through four half-marathons, three marathons, and one 55-mile race. What started as an innocent request from his daughter quickly turned into a rekindled passion for long-distance running--for the training, the camaraderie, the defeats, and the victories. Told with honesty and humor, Foreman's account captures the universal fears of aging and failure alongside the hard-won moments of triumph, tenacity, and going further than you ever thought possible.

Before Mike and I started running last year, I really had no idea that a marathon (26.2 miles) wasn't really the longest race for non-professional runners. I mean seriously, who would ever WANT to run more than that?? For that matter, who'd want to run 26.2? But the more I (we) run, the more into we get. I don't see myself ever considering a run longer than a marathon, and at a current long run record of 10 miles, 26.2 seems a long long ways off, but it was still incredibly interesting to see how Foreman handled the training.

The book opens with Foreman's college age daughter asking him to run a marathon with her. He goes from zero to marathon in 16 weeks and assume that was it. Training was hard and took up all of his spare time. (Sounds familiar!) But once that one was over, there was this other marathon that looked fun. And then a coworker mentioned ultra marathons, so he read up on them. He circles this decision for a while, and then ultimately commits to a 50 mile run.  The training for this is insane. Training runs for an ultra are longer than full marathons. His life became narrowed down to eat, sleep, work, run. He questions himself, repeatedly. This is crazy, what am I doing? What human would choose to run this far?? This training is at times dangerous to his heath. He's out in the dark, in the cold, and in remote places where injury is likely.

Foreman is not alone. Ultra running has become a big deal in running worlds. Scott Jurek recently broke the record for the Appalachian Trail and Mike and I followed it along daily on Facebook. Matthew McConaughey has signed on (requested even!) to play a role in a book to movie adaptation of the ultra running book Born to Run. (Mike and I both read it, but apparently it never occurred to me to blog about it.)  My Year of Running Dangerously fits neatly into this category. If you want to read a running account that is easily accessible to runners and non-runners, or you just enjoy this type of stunt memoir, I can easily recommend this one.

Five (more) things about Running OR Dear God woman, enough about running already!

1. Jenny Rosenstrach, author of Dinner: A Love Story, which I loved, wrote this terrific post about why she runs. She talks about Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I have GOT to read that book!

2.  I ran 66.12 miles last month. I have no idea how that compares to most people training for a half marathon, but it feels far to me. I've run 120 miles since I got my Garmin on June 26th. That's just crazy. The Crazy Horse Half Marathon is one month from tomorrow. Lucky you, I probably will shut up about running for a while once it's over.

3. I've decided to start the 30 Day Yoga Challenge with Yoga with Adriene. If I start this evening I'll finish up the day before my half. Anyone want to sign up with me and be my accountability buddy? (Note: I'm starting Thursday evening, as I write this post.)  Most of the videos are under 20 minutes.

4. You may recall that last year I injured my knee after my 10 mile run. I'm pretty confident that I've trained carefully enough this year that I'm not going to injure myself. I've now done a 10.1 and two weeks after that an 11 mile run with no problems. I'm supposed to do 12 this weekend. Eek.

5. I've been listening to Cheryl Stray'd Wild on my runs for a while now. I'm maybe 2/3 of the way done. It's not that it's super long, but it takes a while when you only listen on runs. I'm enjoying it a lot, but I'm still waiting for all the scandalous s-e-x she supposedly has. Maybe I got the abridged version?  In any case, reviews seem to be at one extreme or the other, with very few people landing in the middle. I read a handful of good and bad reviews on Goodreads, and while I don't see myself praising it as a masterpiece, I can't actually recognize the book I'm listening to in some of the 1 star rants. (That is, I CAN, it's clearly this book, but it's like we're reading two totally different accounts of it.)

Five Things about Running

Mike and I had a chance to run together last week. We have completely different running styles- he runs slow and steady, and I run less slow (still slow) but take more walk breaks. We ran at his pace and it was actually rather pleasant.  I'm actually considering finding a regular sitter for two hours a week so we can do it again.

I got my new Garmin Forerunner 10 watch and am already in LOVE. I love that I don't have to listen to the Runtastic lady tell me how far I went and I love that it's instant feedback without fumbling for my phone. Now if I could find a pair of wireless headphones and curb my need to stop and take pictures on my runs I'd be able to run forever. Right?

I really seriously want these trail shoes. First, they are Brooks. Second, they are pretty! Third, HEXAGONS.

Babies.

On my dad's side of the family I only have two cousins. One of them ran a half marathon this spring, when her baby was about 6 months old.  The other one is running her first half this fall, when HER baby is about 6 months old. MY baby is almost 5.  It's a gauntlet they don't know they threw.


Ultrarunner Scott Jurek broke the supported thru-hike record of the Appalachian Trail this week in just over 46 days. He ran 50+ miles a day for 46 days. I'm not sure which is more amazing to me- that he could run that far that many days in a row... or how obsessively Mike and I followed his updates. While I have no desire to run the entire trail, it does make me want to run a bit of it...

The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by The Oatmeal, Matthew Inman

Now that Mike and I are both full fledged running geeks, there are a lot of books on running being read.  In the last couple months I've requested three of them from NetGalley alone, and several more from the library. The best of the NetGalley books is this one: The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by The Oatmeal.  Most of you are probably familiar with the webcomic/books by The Oatmeal and this book is exactly that style. It's funny and sad and very very short.




Here's the summary, tho the title alone should explain it well enough:


 This is not just a book about running. It's a book about cupcakes. It's a book about suffering.

 It's a book about gluttony, vanity, bliss, electrical storms, ranch dressing, and Godzilla. It's a book about all the terrible and wonderful reasons we wake up each day and propel our bodies through rain, shine, heaven, and hell.

 From #1 New York Times best-selling author, Matthew Inman, AKA The Oatmeal, comes this hilarious, beautiful, poignant collection of comics and stories about running, eating, and one cartoonist's reasons for jogging across mountains until his toenails fall off.

 Containing over 70 pages of never-before-seen material, including "A Lazy Cartoonist's Guide to Becoming a Runner" and "The Blerch's Guide to Dieting," this book also comes with Blerch race stickers.



As you would expect from The Oatmeal the humor isn't all politically correct, but it is pretty funny. He blames his running on being a inherently fat and lazy kid, and an adult who wants nothing more than to eat junk and look at a computer screen.  He pokes fun of everyone at the gym, and all the other runners. He wanders off on asides about Japanese hornets. If you are a runner you'll see a lot you relate to. If you're not a runner, you'll wonder why on earth anyone would want to be one.  If I had any complaint about  the book it's that occasionally he seems not just snarky, but snotty towards runners who do it differently from him. He clearly feels that his way is the best way (ie, extra long distances, no gear, no earbuds, just running through the pain) and anything else is doing it wrong.




This book will be published on September 30th.




Other running books I've read this summer and not yet reviewed:

Older, Faster, Stronger by Margaret Webb
Interesting, with lots of science-y details, but I have to admit I don't want to think of myself as "older" yet. I did admire what Webb was doing in trying to make herself the best she'd ever been, but I occasionally found her voice hard to take. She's a bit more brash than I usually enjoy- which is saying something in the same blog post as a review of a book by The Oatmeal! This one will be published on October 7th.

July's running report

I can hear you asking, "hey Lisa, just how far did you run in July?" And since I know you are all just as obsessed with my running as I am, I'll tell you.

 

I ran 63 miles in July. This was over the course of 16 runs, with the longest run being 7.8 miles. I'm still much slower than I'd like to be and there were some incredibly tough runs, but there were also several great ones. I even ran on vacation!

Chances are excellent that I'll run much more than that in August.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Run Run Running Run Run

This winter when things were pretty darn cold and grim Mike and I rejoined the YMCA. He'd been working out at his office gym for a while, but the cold and the relentlessness of winter were starting to get to me as well.  At first we skipped around from machine to machine, mostly doing cardio but also playing a little raquetball and admiring the weights.  Slowly, we started to focus more on running, in preparation of our first 5K in May.  We both got Fitbits and became obsessive about tracking our steps.  We started using MyFitnessPal to track calories as well, tho that's fallen aside a bit. Mike has lost a lot of weight. (Think of a big number, now double it.) While I haven't lost weight, I am in much much better shape and have toned up a lot. (I kinda hate the word "tone".) We can both now run 3 miles without stopping and without dying. I am incredibly proud of us both. The biggest issue, by far, is figuring out WHEN to run. My children aren't quite capable of keeping up, and they don't all ride bikes. Plus this is South Dakota, where it's still freezing in the mornings before work. (Literally, freezing.)

The Fitbits have been very inspiring. I have the Fitbit Flex, which is the bracelet that does not cause a skin rash. You sleep in it, shower in it, wear it all the time. I rarely forget it, unless it's charging, which it does about once a week. It tracks steps, miles, sleep and "active minutes." Mike has the Zip, which is your basic pedometer. It doesn't track sleep and you have to remember to pick it up every morning, but it never needs charged.  His was about half the cost of mine.  They both sync wirelessly to bluetooth devices (not to the iPhone 4, sadly, but to the iPad) or your laptop. Just like any other internet application these days, you can have a friends list and taunt or congratulate each other. Right now we only have each other, so if you have a Fitbit, come find me!

We both agree that the pleasure of running is up and down. Some days we hate every single step. Some days you finish with the legendary runner's high. There's really just no way to predict which way the day will go. We both find that the good days outweigh the bad ones tho, and we are both obsessive about getting a chance to run and browsing for running gear. I've found myself reading running memoirs and talking about it way too much to people who don't care at all. We are both very excited about the race next weekend (May 17th) and just hope to not be dead last.  I have always always wanted to be a runner but have never managed to do it long enough for it to stick. I'm optimistic that this will be a lifelong habit. I look forward to the day that all the kids can ride a bike along with me, so that finding time to run is no longer a giant challenge.

How about you? Do you run? Do you want to? What kind of exercise regimen has "stuck" for you? Do you think I'm completely insane? (Don't answer that one.)

Ready, Set, RUN!

For at least the last 10 years I've said that I want to start running. I think running is so meditative, with the rhythm of the run and the solitude, but I've never actually forced myself off the couch and out the door.  But now, finally, with my new iPrecious iPhone, I have followed through on my intent to start running, just in time for the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge. I've only been twice (life got in the way of my third date with the pavement) but I can tell you that it's going to stick (at least until winter.)

How do I know this? I spent money on it. I bought running shorts (a skort! but mine is navy), a sports bra, an arm band for the phone (that doesn't fit me, but does fit Mike). I bought the Couch to 5K app AND the additional GPS app. I started collecting workout music (more on this momentarily). I'm planning to try and run on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday and take Friday and Saturday off to rest, but it largely depends on Mike's schedule. I'm so looking forward to that 45 minutes alone three times a week (yes, this may be part of my new found motivation!) I would love it if I could talk one of you into doing the C2K program with me. If you start now I'm only two days ahead of you and it would be easy to catch up.

Meanwhile, I'm looking for more running music. Here's what I have so far:

• Shut Up and Drive- Rihanna
• Lose Yourself- Eminem
• I Gotta Feeling- The Black Eyed Peas
• Boom Boom Pow- BEPs
• Rock That Body- BEPs
• Fighter- Christina Aguilera
• See You Again- Miley Cyrus
• Girls Just Wanna Have Fun- Miley Cyrus
• Song 2- Plain White T's

I know it's not a lot. Music isn't something that I've ever really collected. I like pretty much everything but don't have a constant need for music. It took me two months to finally settle on a ringtone to download to my phone!  So I need your help, what music do I need to add to my playlist? I've been diligently downloading the free song on iTunes every week, but none of those have been very workout inspiring, yet. 

So what else do I need? What music? What gear? What motivation? I'm all new to this, I need to stock up while the motivation is so high!


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