Half Marathon Recap

About 10 weeks ago my friend Anna texted me asking if I wanted to run the Seattle Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon.  I agreed and convinced Sarah to do it also.  Since then, I’ve been working hard getting in as many training runs as possible.  The race was last Saturday, and I couldn’t be happier with the results!

Anna flew in Friday and we met in Seattle to get some last minute details in place for the bridal shower we were hosting Saturday afternoon for my future sis-in-law, Erica.  We headed to the expo and picked up our packets and then went out for dinner.  Saturday morning came quickly.

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We all started together and kept a comfortable pace for the first several miles.  Eventually Sarah and I fell in together.  By mile 7, I was getting super hungry.  I hadn’t experienced that sensation in my training and started to feel frustrated.  I was glad that Sarah was with me because we supported each other and pushed through the miles one by one.  Mile 8 passed and I tried to put down a gel.  I was really struggling mentally.  My legs were tired, my feet hurt, and I was hot.  Eventually we made it through to 9, then 10 and 11 came quickly.  The last part of the race is along Highway 99, there are sweeping views of the Puget Sound and cars were honking and waving as they drove by.  Tons of racers were stopping to take photos.  Sarah and I pushed through the uphill and FINALLY rounded the corner to the last stretch of the race.  There were tons of people lining the course cheering for their family and friends.  There is a short down and then a steep uphill.  I could feel Sarah steps behind me and we both started to sprint.  I was scanning the crowd the whole time looking for Rory and just as I passed him I heard him yelling.  Crossing the finish line was emotional, but I felt so proud of myself, I couldn’t help but smile.   Anna finished shortly after us and we all met to walk back to Sarah’s apartment to get ready for the bridal shower.

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I finished in 2:32:14 via my watch and 2:38:07 via the timing chip, Sarah was 2:38:08, which was awesome considering she hadn’t been training much.

Overall it was a blast and we’re already scheming our next race!

xx

-h

Why Running/Working Out is a Gateway Drug

It all starts with an innocent gym membership. Lifetime fitness is the goal, via your parent’s habits. You use your old tennis shoes, shorts, and t-shirts.

You start working out at the college gym and acquire some yogis from Victoria’s Secret and a couple of bright v-necks because that’s what everyone is wearing to workout.

For Christmas you ask for personal training sessions.

One day, you innocently wander in to LuLuLemon and try a pair of compression capris on. You have no intention of spending $90 on black stretchy pants, so you bargain with your husband that if you meet some extremely attainable goal you have earned the lulu’s.

A couple months later you try trail running with a friend and realize she has some sweet kicks that are super grippy on the rough ground, you pick up a pair with a discount code of backcountry.com.

Your coworker does spin 3 times a week at 5am, you try it, and wonder about buying clip in shoes.

A few months after that, you ride bikes downtown with all your roomies and you can’t keep up on your cruiser so you decide to sell it for a real urban bike. You obviously need some padded shorts (skort) to go with the new bike because no one like a sore hoo hoo. You get a cute under seat bag to stash your phone and money for rides. Then you need a squeazy water bottle because you can’t take time to screw the top off your nalgene while you’re at a stop light.

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You’re husband convinces you to try mountain biking. It’s terrible.  You decide to never ride a bike again. At least you’ve dodged the bullet of having to buy a women’s double suspension bike plus a full face helmet, knee, elbow, and wrist pads.

A trip to the outlet mall includes a stop at Nike and all of a sudden you’re hooked a sports bra that’s is $60, at least it holds the girls down. You buy 2 more.

You try yoga for the first time and buy a yoga mat.

You move and rejoin the gym. You resort to wearing old t-shirts because you’re not impressing anyone at the neighborhood gym you grew up going to.

An old friend loses a bunch of weight and gets super fit doing Insanity, you buy it off Craigslist from someone in a very sketchy deal. Shaun T. tells you that a heart rate monitor is necessary, you find one and geek out on the technology.20130603-224453.jpg

Your sister convinces you to try hot yoga, you buy groupons and utilize first time memberships at 4 different studios before committing to 10 day passes at a couple of them. You buy a hot yoga towel.

For your birthday you get a Brooks reflective yellow jacket for walking/running at dusk.

You join a new gym and try zumba. You resort to not wearing anything zumba branded, that seems too far.

For Christmas you get personal training sessions again and the trainer convinces you to buy some protein powder.

You walk into TJMaxx and forget what you’re there for, you see a neon pink workout tank and thoughtlessly throw it into the basket. You see someone wearing a witty tank on instagram from Etsy and buy one for your friend’s birthday and one for yourself.

In a day drinking blur you agree to run a half marathon. You buy a SPI Belt to hold your phone in a “non dorky” belt bag sort of way. You get fitted for new running shoes and drop $160 at the running store, but earn $15 in credit for your next purchase. On the way home you think about how cute the running skort is and how it would only be $30 with your store credit.

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Pulling into the garage you see the ski gear needs to put officially away for the summer and your husband’s new golf shoes. Guess there’s two people with a bit of a product addiction in this house.

Now….how can I get my hands on another pair of those lulus.

Be active, be well, be wonderful!

xx

-h

Running – there will be days

Since I started training for the RnR Seattle half marathon, I’ve been spending a lot more time pounding the pavement around my neighborhood.  It’s funny how once you have a route you start to get used to it, we’ve living in our house for just over a year, and we always walk pretty much the same route with Judge or when we’re taking a stroll together.  Last night I had an “easy” 3 on my training schedule and I didn’t feel like doing any hills.   This is pretty much impossible because we basically live on top of the neighborhood hill, all streets lead to the waterfront areas.  I did 6 miles on Saturday and was still feeling it, and mostly, I was being lazy since it was like 80 degrees out.

I headed out from my house and my legs felt like bricks, I got down the street from the house and suddenly I felt a presence behind me, turning around, I realized Judge, had hurdled the fence apparently and wanted to join me.  I turned around and locked him back inside the fence, and then headed out again.

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Half mile from the house, I started doubting myself, thoughts entering my head in millisecond rounds:
– What was I thinking, agreeing to this?
– I hate running.
– My calves are cramping.
– I can barely run 3 miles, what makes me think I can run 13?!
– I wonder if this will ever be easy.
– What is easy running?
– What should I eat for dinner?
– Have I earned my dinner yet?
– What should I bake this weekend?

I headed further from the house in a different direction then normal, at 12 mins in, I thought, oh jeez, I’ve probably only gone like a mile.

Closer to the end of my loop, I got toward the house, I realized I wasn’t even near the 3 miles mark so went the other direction.  I passed my favorite froyo place and genuinely considered stopping (not complaining, but it was quite unseasonably warm yesterday).  I thought about how I could just tell them I’d be back to pay later and leave my house key, but then I thought, how would I get into the house.  By that point, I was past the froyo place and rounding the corner back into our neighborhood.  I looked at my watch and calculated that I had probably finally hit 2.5 miles and tried to turn the speed up.  My legs felt like they were bodies tied to cinder blocks being tossed into a river.   I started to wonder what runners high felt like, definitely the opposite of what I was feeling.  I finally finished and I had done 3 in 30 minutes –  10:08 miles, which is slower then I did my 6 on Saturday, but still good.   R and I talked about how there will be days like that, where even though my legs feel heavy, I’ll surprise myself.

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I had planned on going to yoga this morning but stayed up too late recipe testing grapefruit muffins.  But rest is just as important as exercise…right?

Make today wonderful!

xx

-h

Color Run Seattle 2012

On Sunday, S and I ran the Color Run 5k in Seattle. It was a total blast, every kilometer there is a color bomb area where they throw powdered chalk type color onto you. Everyone wears white, and ends up covered in a rainbow. Check out this video from the finish area.

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Looking for a fun way to get your first, second, or millionth 5k under your belt? I would totally recommend The Color Run.

xx
-h