Race Day Insomnia

Race day tomorrow and I can't sleep. Argh! Trav is racing too! Should be a fun and rainy adventure tomorrow AM.

Good luck to all you others racing this weekend!

Lord Hill 5 Mile Trail Race Recap

It's a wee bit late, this recap, as the race was over a month ago...but it's been a busy month.  ;)

My first ever real "trail" run was this race put on by the awesome people of Evergreen Trail Runs on February 26th.  Since the course was way up North compared to my current dwelling, I decided to stay at my oldest sister Kristal's house the night prior.  Perfect timing as it was her birthday that night and I got to hang out with my siblings for a bit.  Also, it was my first official night away from Goober, and it was a little strange (yet free!).

The weather was looking pretty mean--snowing/hailing/raining on and off--but the forecast was promising sun breaks for the day.  As I parked the car (super early, I might add) I completely bottomed it out on a big bump in the muddy ground.  OoPs!  Luckily no damage.  Sorry Volvo.  I was over an hour early in order to find the best parking, so I hung out in my car, trying to chill out without "chilling" out.  I nervously watched runners around me in their cars, getting gear together and chatting with each other.  To be honest I felt a little out-of-place being a trail newbie, and I wore capris.  Um, not a single person I saw around the area was in anything that revealed calves or ankles.  Oh boy.  Quick change into my RunningSkirts.com RunLove socks and my calves were protected.  Go me!

The course start/finish in panoramic view.

Once I headed to the start area for the briefing of the 5 & 10 mile runners I saw a lot more leg...more shorts, capris and even a skirt (yeah!).  The 20 mile & 50K runners had already started their loops.  

GO!

Mud mud mud MUD.  Almost felt like I was going to lose a shoe a couple times, the mud was so deep.  I wasn't exactly sure how to handle the hills once we got to them.  There were people starting to walk up the hills, and others slow jogging (kind of bouncing?) up them too.  I noticed that if I did long-stride walking, I conserved energy, caught my breath AND went faster than the jogging.  Whatever works, right?

But those little hills were NOTHING.  Really.  Nothing at all compared to THE "Lord Hill." See the little orange flags on sticks at the bottom?  That's about the size of a person.  Holy moly.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

Here's me after I "tackled" this bad boy.  I could barely get myself moving!  The view from the top was pretty epic, though.

Photo courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

After the giant hill, the participants were more scattered and I even found myself running alone in the woods at one point.  Thank goodness Evergreen T.R. marks the course with bright orange flags really well!  I was truly enjoying myself and reminiscing about hiking with my mom and sisters.  Whoever I met on the course I would cheer for or even make small talk (Jay ran the 20 miler!  Yay!  And Ryan was running the 5 miler).  Seeing the super hardcore ultra runners made me feel like I needed to step it up a bit.

Here's me crossing the big creek towards the end.  No avoiding the water on this one!  Actually, the water felt good (and it cleaned my shoes...kinda...before I found the mud again).

SPLASH!
Photo courtesy of Evergreen Trail Runs

The end was in sight, and I was gaining on the two people in front of me.  Kick it to the finish!  Through the mud!

Finishing strong.
Photo courtesy of Evergreen Trail Runs

And by the time I finished, the sun was shining.  

Great start to the day!  

Muddy shoes!  BEFORE and AFTER. :)

Post-race pic. Muddy, wet and happy. 

Final stats:
Mileage - 5
Time - 59:28
Overall - 35 out of 94
Sex Place - 21 out of 66
Pace - 11:53

Watch Out!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More information regarding this awful character to follow.  Hee hee!  

HINT: I'm applying to be part of Nuun's Hood to Coast Relay team!!

St. Paddy's Tacoma 5K Race Recap

You know it's super lucky to see a double-rainbow the day before a race, right?  Oh.  It isn't?  Oh well, now it is.  Behold!

A faint double-rainbow. Ohmygosh! SO INTENSE! ;)

Since Travis was out-of-town for the weekend, Lolo was going to sleepover (girls' night!) on Friday and then we'd carpool with Kerrie and Karla to Tacoma the next morning.  Of course we had to fuel up for the race by having some yummy pasta, a beer and part of a pazooki at BJ's restaurant that night.  Delish!  Goober was super helpful reading the menu to Lolo and I.

Check, please!

This race was a couple firsts for me: first time I've paced a friend (my best friend, Lolo, who is a newbie runner) and first time Goober has run with me in the jogger during a race.  And perhaps a couple other "firsts" I'll mention later.  It definitely was memorable.

Saturday morning came too fast after a late night chatting with Lolo and attempting to watch some Bridesmaids (Lolo hadn't seen it yet! Say WHAT?!).  I scrambled to get all our lovely St. Patrick's day garb on, wake Goob up, feed Goober, get the jogger in the SUV and try and remember to eat something before Karla and Kerrie showed up.  Oops. Forgot to eat something!

We piled into the SUV and it was a cozy ride to Tacoma.  Oh, and it was snowing.  Snow/raining actually.  Did I mention it was freaking snowing?  Oh goodness, this will be interesting.  Another first for me: not wearing a billed-hat at a rainy race (not the best decision).  Anyway, we parked in a lot that was a couple blocks from the start, which wasn't too bad, but since it was freezing out and pouring rain we all jogged to the start.  Karla was doing the 10K and didn't have that much time to pick up her packet before the race.  Bad omen...the packet pick-up line was ginormous, longer than the porta potty lines.  That's another first.  We waited in the rain and finally got our bibs, shirts and timing chips.  Goober was holding it together despite wanting to rip off her warm hat every so often.

Lolo & I all green'd up

I was already soaked to the core.  Rain was dripping off my eyelashes and running down my face.  I couldn't feel my hands, so thankfully Mel helped me pin my bib on my Brooks jacket (a gift from Mel!), which was over my long-sleeved Brooks shirt (another gift from Mel when I had Goober).  Another first: I wore two long-sleeved shirts at a race...WOAH.  We waited under the awning of Hal of a Sub with Mel, her sister J, Kerrie, Jill, Tiffany, Alma, Kim, Jamie, Chelsea (such an awesome chick for spectating this crummy race day!), Lolo, Karla and Goob.  Now, Goober was throwing a fit because she does NOT like to sit still in the stroller for very long now that she's an official "walker," so Kerrie, Tiffany and I ran around the block to warm-up.  This calmed down the Goob until I started my iPod on speaker, and she was all set to race.

Since I was running with Lolo and Goober, we took our place near the "walker" start line.  FINALLY the gun goes off and we start to make our way down a big hill to the waterfront.  Lolo is being a rockstar and keeping an 11:00 pace for a bit.  YEAH!  At the 1.5 mile turnaround the 10K runners were swishing past us slower 5K'ers, but some people just didn't listen to the shouts of "on your left!" and "runners coming through!"  I felt kinda bad, but I think everyone was just soggy and waterlogged.  Kim (running the 10K) shouted my name and held out a hand for a high five as she passed...but my slowness with the jogger caused me to miss.  Whoops!  Sorry Kim!
The rain still doesn't let up, and at around the 2 mile mark we do a little long-stride walking.  I'm proud of Lolo!  Then there's a giant, long hill back up to the finish and after catching her breath, Lolo finishes strong with Goober and I trailing behind her.  Way to go, Lolo!

Jill, Tiffany, Chelsea, Mel, Kerrie, Lolo, me and Goob post-race

We find the girls and are told that Kerrie not only got a 1 minute PR but also was 2nd in her AG!!  How awesome is that?  I'm stoked!  A couple pictures are taken but we all need food and warmth badly...so we head back to the car in search of Harmon Pub & Brewery (of course The Rock was our first choice, but it was still only 10:30am).  Why not hit a pub on St. Patrick's day?

Tiffany's hubby was a great photog...here's some pics he took:

Tiffany, Chelsea, Kerrie, Lolo, me & Goober, Karla, Mel, Jill and Kim

Waiting and waiting and waiting for brunch to be served

Although the spiked coffee was warm (albeit small) and delicious, the food took over an hour to be served after we ordered.  We were hungry runners!  Thankfully our cheerful conversation and race recaps took our mind off the wait.  These ladies are so much fun to be around...I'm a lucky runner!

I got pancakes and scrambled eggs for me and the Goob.  She devoured the eggs (I swear sometimes she doesn't chew) and decided to try on the RazzyRoo tutu I was sporting (yet another gift from Mel!).

It was more of a "dress" on her

It was a really fun day, and of course the SUN was shining when we exited the restaurant...go figure, huh.  I think we were all ready for a hot shower and a nap, especially Miss Goober.  Poor thing was falling asleep on the ride home and I made Kerrie & Karla keep her up as long as possible (or else she would never have napped well at home!).  Success!

Yay!

Other race recaps:

Tiffany @ Musings of a Runner Girl

Kerrie @ Mom vs. Marathon

Karla @ Running On Eagles Wings

Alma @ The Average Woman's Running Blog

Jill @ Running to Sanity

Mel @ Tall Mom on the Run

Kim @ (Just) Trying is for Little Girls

Final Stats:

Mileage - 3.1

Time - 42:19

Overall - 1238 out of 1698

Division Place - 140 out of 179 (F25-29)

Sex Place - 827 out of 1184

Pace - 13:39

The Bunny Rescue Long Run

My intentions for today's "long" run was to go about 7 miles.  3.5 out and back on the Soos Creek Trail, with Goober in the jogger along with her water bottle and pink/brown bunny.  Her bunny is her best friend while in the car (where it lives) because she sings and talks to it while we are out and about.  So naturally since I forgot a bink, bunny saved the day from a grueling long run...or so I thought.

The only pic I have of L.R.B. ---thanks Karla!

Of course I didn't really fuel up for this run, as I didn't think it was necessary since my breakfast was hearty.  I did however bring along a water bottle with a lemon-lime nuun tab mixed in, as well as a pack of my favorite Fruit Punch Clif Shot Bloks (my long-run necessity!).  Thank GOODNESS for the "food!"

So, the run was going really well and we were making pretty good time.  Hello 9:14 pace!  And at around mile 4 we were bombarded with some local high school track or x-country team on the trail.  It kept my mind of my legs and I just ran and ran.  Then I realized that it was already mile 6 and there was a little more than a mile left.  Woot!  Turns out my last mile was 8:35 pace.  "Chasing" the young kids on the team helped keep me motivated.  I honestly was amazed.

Then disaster struck.

As I was taking Goober out of the jogger in the parking lot I noticed that bunny--now dubbed L.R.B. aka "Long-Run Bunny"--was nowhere to be found.  Goob didn't like this and was pissed off; screaming and crying.  Crap!!!  Ok ok ok, we're going to find it.  So I retrace our steps.

Mile 1 goes by.  No bunny.

Mile 2 = no bunny. ERGH BUNNY!

Mile 2.5...no bunny, BUT I did find Goober's green hair bow that she dropped.  Didn't even know she was missing it!

Well, hello there green bow. Fancy seeing you on this trail.

All along the way I'm frantically looking back and forth from one side of the trail to the other.  As people are passing me I'm asking if anyone's seen a pink and brown bunny.  "Nope." "Sorry, no." "Haven't really looked, but no." Some people say they will keep their eyes peeled.  Thank you! :)

Then I run into this older gentleman and ask him the same question: "Have you seen a pink and brown stuffed bunny along the trail?"

Dude proceeds to tell me this...in seriously one breath it seems.

"Lost your bunny?  Sorry, I haven't seen any pink and brown bunnies running around.  Speaking of pink, my brother was a lifelong quadriplegic and he died last May.  He had a Pink Panther stuffed animal that he loved and would hug and nod when he wanted to hit at Blackjack.  Well, I got that stuffed Pink Panther and kept him in my front window.  Turns out he didn't look after the house that well because my $50K trailer that I pull my horses in was stolen and a whole lot of other stuff from the house.  I race horses and I'm training for another 50 mile race.  I'm not on a horse today, but I will be soon.  You might have seen me on my horse last summer on the trail.  Well, turns out the robbers left their ID, wire cutters and hammer in my home but the police didn't do sh*t.  I talked to a Private Investigator today and he's going to help me find out who did this and get my stuff back...."

---At this point Goober is really anxious to keep moving and I'm just nodding and saying "oh dear."---

Mr. Horse Racer goes on rambling for another minute or so and then says good luck to me in my bunny rescue.  Um, thanks?  That.was.odd. :-/

Anyway, we hit the turnaround point of Mile 3.5 and still no bunny.  It's not looking good.  I had already eaten the rest of my Shot Bloks and my legs were feeling a little like lead.

Unfortunately the way back didn't give us any better news either, despite my huge "Mommy Effort" in searching for Goob's beloved L.R.B.  Stupid bunny.  You doubled my long run today.  I ended up running 14.4 miles today with Goober in the jogger.  At least I tried...

...but I did find her hair bow!

Goober's First "Race"

Random thoughts about today from my iPhone as I'm trying to sleep:

-Today was Goob's official first "race" since she was in my tummy

-My friend Lolo kicked butt despite the awful weather and circumstances.

-I wear a billed hat for a reason at rainy races. Ugh.

-Pancakes and coffee post-race = nummyness.

-Goober is my little Rockstar. I love her tons.

More later....