Wednesday, February 29, 2012

RagDelSol 2012 Recap

Official Results: 31:17:27


Overall feelings at approximately 2:30 pm on Saturday"

Mentally - happiness, relief, success, pride
Physically - sunburnt, dehydrated, surprising awake, alert and almost pain free!


Leg 1 Stats:

8.63 miles. Started at 5:24 pm. Warm at the start, saw the sunset and almost dark by the end. Ideal temps. Slight incline first half, slight decline last half. Gorgeous scenery. I got passed at the beginning by a few Ultra dudes and passed several dudes at the end. Sorry boys. Slight pain in the IT band the last few miles. Average Pace: 9:02

Leg 2 Stats:

4.05 miles. Started at 4:03 am. Cold as balls. Major pain through this run. Like I almost cried, pulled over and sat on the curb and pretty much pouted to myself the whole run. Flat the first 2 miles, uphill the last 2. Average Pace: 9:09

Leg 3 Stats:

6.49 miles. Started at 1:24 pm. Hot as balls. The course was really pretty but through a golf course/bike path and had a ton of little hills...which normally I wouldn't mind, but the downhill really hurt my knee. I was in a lot less pain on this run surprisingly. I passed a lot of bikers and leisure walkers who smiled and helped me along the way...and few fellow Ragnarians. I passed a young guy near the end who had cruised past me in the beginning and he gave me "knuckles" and a few words of encouragement...that helped. I almost cried when I got to the crew directing us up onto the major roads towards the exchange. And again when I saw Ann's face at the exchange. Average Pace: 9:36

*MY PACE
My goal going into the race was to stay right around 9:00/mile for the first 2 legs and whatever I could muster up for the last leg...hoping for under 10:00/mile given my potential IT band pain. I was pleased with what I did. I wasn't trying wasn't to be super fast, but to run pain free and comfortably. Achieved. Kind of.

*MY BODY
Overall....this race was 100 times easier on me mentally and physically than Ragnar Vegas. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect...maybe it was because there was no travel involved in getting there. Maybe I was better prepared as a runner? I was in SEVERE pain after my 2nd leg and was really worried about finishing my 3rd leg. Fortunately we finished near Ann and Marcel's house and got to go back to shower, take a 2 hour nap and get doctored up a bit. I was among 2 nurses who hooked me up with ice, ibuprofen and instructions to lay off the stick/rolling. I think all of that really helped because after 3 icings, I felt like a new woman. My hamstrings are a bit tight from the hills and bracing against my knee on the downhills and my IT band is still tight...but everything else feels good. 
 
*MY TEAM
Awesome. Funny. Prepared. Relaxed. We had a good mix of newbie runners and experienced runners which made it pretty cool. And of course, no one was running for time, just fun, so it kept things light. We laughed a lot, slept very little and encouraged each other throughout the whole race. It was so nice to see my other van/teammates between legs as well as other running friends along the course. No one got lost, injured or was too grumpy to handle. There was a lot of farting and stinky bodies though...which was to be expected.

*THE COURSE
Pretty damn good. Super volunteers. Spirited runners. A lot of skin, costumes and nutty people along the way. A love of running, camaraderie and laughter make this race what it is. FUN.

*OTHER STUFF
We didn't stop and have meals this time and instead ate at one major exchange and snacked along the way. This was WAY better for me as it gave us time to rest, relax, stretch, change our clothes and do whatever instead of wasting time at restaurants. We brought tons of snacks and drinks. A lot of baby wipes, sunblock, cowbells and of course...our cameras.

Sorry for the photo bomb...






Oh and another thing....my husband is fast. I think his average pace was around 7:15-7:30 the entire time...which I think is pretty rad for not sleeping for 30+ hours and running around 20 miles total. He already has his eye on the Ultra team with his buddy Brian for next year. Nut.

One last photo for you which pretty much sums it all up. Last leg. Yup. Ignore my man thighs please.


Will I do it again? Absolutely.


Sunday, February 26, 2012

RagDelSol 2012



200 miles. 32 hours of running. 12 smelly and sunburnt friends. A lotta memories.

We finished. We are tired. Follow up post to come...after I lay around some more.



Thursday, February 23, 2012

DS Bitches

Clothes are laid out. Bags are packed. Carbs are in my belly.

Ragnar Del Sol Baby.

12 people. 2 vans. 200 miles.

A lot of laughs, weird jokes, inappropriate behavior, and of course copious amounts of candy.

I have RICE'd the shit outta my IT band and put new insoles back into my shoes...let's hope I live.


Chuck Ragnorris is in the house...See y'all Sunday.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

How to Stress Less

My week has been hellacious, stressful and has left me with a constant twitch in my right eye. I almost cried with my head to the steering wheel yesterday - not a crier, so I sucked it up and moved on.

Tips for relieving stress in the world of Lindsay:


1. Take a long walk with Husband and Pups.


2. Drink Wine.




3. Get an email at 7:30 that causes a happy dance, in the kitchen.

 (like i would actually allow that to be documented on film)



4. Watch this while waiting for dinner. And laugh. Really hard.

 (good thing he doesn't read this, he would kill me)


5. Get a good night's sleep.


Life is too short to be stressed, pissed or unhappy.


Saturday, February 18, 2012

Double Down

Welp....my leg pain is back...it's dull and minor, but still frustrating. I think I got a little overzealous when it disappeared so quickly and in an attempt to get my ass in gear for Ragnar, I pushed a little too hard. 

Operation Don't Die in The Streets of Phoenix:
Monday - 30 minute bike intervals + abs
Tuesday - 6 mile run
Wednesday - 3 mile run/2 mile run
Thursday - 35 min bike intervals + arms/abs
Friday - 5.5 HILLY miles
Saturday - 8.5 mile run
Sunday - Active Rest, hike

Total Miles - 25

I was hoping to squeeze in two days of double runs with Friday and Saturday being 17 total miles over a span of 24 hours. Mimicking the shit show that's about the happen in less than a week makes me feel a little better. BUT, I don't want to be a moron and irritate the leg anymore....soooo I'm gonna scratch run numero dos tonight and deal with it.

Pure delirium, sore legs and of course, 6 smelly people in one van is something only really mental people do on purpose. I guess I'm mental. Even worse, my van is man heavy with 2 women and 4 men. Hold me.


I'm working today, so cramming my double runs in would have kinda sucked, at least I was mentally prepared for it. Tonight, I'm going to murder some Bryan's BBQ with the Wadester and drown out the sorrow of missing a run. Totally kidding. I like to enjoy my unhealthy and beer laden dinners out, so I chose to do it this way and have ALL day tomorrow to jack shit. (God, I hope I don't have to work for even one second)

Tomorrow will be an "active rest" day so I'm going to take Wade and my pup (sorry Lowell) on a hike...weather is amazeballs right now.

Enjoy your weekends my darlings.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Chuck

One week from tomorrow...Team Chuck Ragnorris will be in the house. Yup, this fool is running another Ragnar.



And it's on my home turf...with some super fun people. And because my weird leg issues are gone for the time being (cross my fingers) I am even MORE excited! Let's hope I don't die.



Get excited.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

It's a Miracle

Yesterday was one of the best days I have had in a long time...I mean, I have good days a lot, but this one was super rad. And yes, I'm bringing the word rad back. Eating sweets and decadent food with ZERO guilt kinda helped push it over the top in terms of awesomeness.


Super Rad Ways to Have a Super Rad Day:
  1. Wake up feeling rested and good.
  2. PRESENTS from my sweetheart.
  3. Find a little heart sticker on your steering wheel.
  4. Find cupcakes & chocolates on your desk at the office.
  5. Have a very productive workday, cleaning and organizing of files included.
  6. Grocery shop like it's nobodies biz.
  7. Bake cupcakes.
  8. Work more.
  9. BEST THING EVER RIGHT HERE!!!
  10. Make fancy dinner with husband.
  11. Eat fancy dinner while drinking fancy wine with husband.
  12. Eat cupcakes from #7
So in between baking cupcakes, working and making fancy dinner, I ran. Big surprise, right? Not really? OK, fine. I had this run planned into this specific time spot all day...and my body was ready for it. I know that sounds weird, but I really felt excited to run, like I needed it. My knee had felt totally normal since Sunday.

It was cold as balls last night, so I busted out my leggings and long sleeve t-shirt and off I went, without my husband who insisted that it was too cold and needed to light a fire and sit by it. God, what a wiener.

From the moment I started running I knew I was going to have an epic run. And I did. I mean, for me anyway.... but I really really needed that. Mentally and physically. I needed to move my legs fast and breath hard. And I did, with ZERO knee/IT/leg/whatever pain at all. I felt a small twinge around mile 5.5, but wasn't to concerned with it. Running the past 2 weeks over a 9:00/mile was hard on my ego.

I don't want to jinx myself, but I think my issue has been miraculously resolved. I feel good today. No soreness whatsoever. It's so crazy that one day I can feel like a damn sloth, heavy and slow and the next run, I feel like a goddamn gazelle.

Happy.

I walked in the front door with a shit eating grin on my face and when Wade said "how was your run babe?" I told him...It was fu&*$% amazing.

I showered and got my butt in the kitchen. And I ate a lot. And that was my rad day.





Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Love and Stuff



I'm not a mushy type of gal, but I do tell my husband I love him and appreciate every single day (well unless he's being a real turd)...but today is special because I get to eat candy, wear pink and not feel the slightest hint of guilt about any of it.

Happy Valentine's Day.




Monday, February 13, 2012

Raspberry Love

I've had a love affair with this color for quite some time...I've often found myself gravitating towards and purchasing various pieces of clothing and baubles in this lovely shade. Example, my sassy new jeans...


A little taste...


And of course....we can't forget the little guy who started this little obsession...



Sunday, February 12, 2012

Quick Weekend

Weekend at a glance...

  • Friday night movie night (my sick day)
  • Overdue morning of sleeping in (9:00, eek!)
  • 10.5 mile HOT and sweaty run. Minor knee pain (yesss)
  • Double date night with the parents (VIP duck x 2)
  • 1 AMAZINGLY beautiful run with the pup, followed by a killer plyo circuit with the hubs (ouch)
  • Work, work and more work...but one "event" being over cosmos and lemon cake (rough gig)
  • A mini shopping session (finally found the perfect color of colored jeans, raspberry...not too Winter-y, not too Spring-y)

And now, I'm very busy watching The Grammy's....ummm Adele, you are gorgeous and amazing. 

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Upgrade

Now that I have my grubby little paws on this guy...I am 110% over mourning the loss of my beloved Forerunner 305.


I went with the "older" model (versus the new 410) because I got a super duper deal on it, it does all the same things my previous 305 did, and it's SO much cuter and smaller than the old clock I used to wear around my wrist. Granted, I loved that clock, but I figured since I was buying a new one, I might as well go for it. I debated getting the light green, but settled on the black cuz I'm practical like that. It wirelessly syncs and does a bunch of other shit I haven't figured out yet.

She's charging and then I'm going to go test it out...nothing like a new toy to put a little excitement into a run!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Pep Talk

OK, so after my glorious post yesterday and being happy and excited (insert unicorns and sparkles) about my training, I went for a run....and it all came crashing down...

I waited for Wade to get home from work so we could go together, we started out laughing and talking...getting into the groove and then honestly, I don't know what happened.

My IT band started hurting me, I felt naked without my Garmin, I felt fat and turtle like, my stomach was gurgling (please don't poop my pants was racing through my mind for approximately 2.76 miles) and I literally felt like a dark cloud was hovering over my head. I walked 3 times and the last mile was painful.

When we hit our 6.25 miles we started walking. Tears formed in my eyes. I don't know what my deal was...I'm not a crier, I don't get discouraged easily and I certainly don't act all crazy for nothing when life hands me lemons. I prefer lemonade. With vodka.

Wade actually said to me "you can't be all negative babe, it's not you"...which I quickly snapped back "yes I can, I never act like this so give me 5 minutes to be pissed off".


 What he said next stuck with me...


"You have years to get fast, lots of races ahead of you and you will be injury-free in no time, stop freaking it, it's OK".

I'm usually the pep-talker in our relationship. This was odd. He reminded me of the time he was in so much pain he had to turn around mid-run. He healed and got over it. And I must remember, I'm not an "athlete", this isn't my job, I don't NEED to run. It's just hard knowing you have races on the horizon that you are excited for...and need to be running for.

I had my 5 minutes and got over it. Sack up.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Weekly Freakout Diverted

I noticed while glancing through my Facebook news feeds that some photos had been added this morning to the OC Marathon and Half Marathon page. It made that little lump in my stomach appear at the thought of running a FULL marathon. I get this feeling on a weekly basis when I am reminded that I signed up for this beast...

I just looked at the updated photos.

I just squealed with excitement.

Seriously. If I'm going to torture myself with running 26.2 miles, I might as well be getting a nice misty ocean breeze in the face.

Plus, exciting plans are being made with one of Wade's best buds friends and his darling wife who live in Newport. Champagne brunch will be flashing through my head the last 13.1 miles.

Check it.




I feel a teeny bit less freaked out now. Just a little bit.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Another One Bites The Dust...

Another weekend flew by...why does it feel like it's ALWAYS Monday? Granted, with my job...they all tend to blend together, but a weekend at the cabin always makes it feel like a real weekend.

I won't bore you with Superbowl details because despite being invited to 3 different parties (we pay to have friends or they just feel bad for us) we choose to stay at home in our sweats and compression socks.

Rewind.

Weekend involved this...


All coolness and fashion goes straight out the door up North. And makeup. Wade's super lucky I shower and brush my teeth when up there. So hot. 

3 movies...Sideways (oldie but a goodie), Friends with Benefits (love me some JT and Mila), and Contagion (Holy Shit that's creepy).

We had a 10 miler planned for Saturday, but it was SO cold and we were SO unprepared so we decided to do it Sunday at home (in warm weather) and instead got our hearts pumping with a little sweat sesh on the front patio and long dirt (aka soft) driveway. It was fun and refreshing AND made me feel less guilty for eating a large sum of cookies over the weekend. On the plus side, we ate healthy home cookin the whole weekend...


We had a great time, just relaxing and being nature loving nerds. We stopped at "our spot" along the creek on the way home for a picnic lunch to break up the drive and enjoy the weather.

I was a little weary of this 10 mile run...after last weekend and a week of extremely tender IT band/leg issues. But I really wanted to try it out and promised myself to take it slow and cut it short if needed.

It was on the slow side. It was pretty warm. And I almost cut it short at mile 7 when I felt a twinge in my leg...but I pushed through and was really happy I did.

And remember that whole home cookin and healthy comment above...hmmm yeah. We ordered pizza and wings for Superbowl. And it was deeeelish!

Friday, February 3, 2012

A Random Post

1. I got my hair did yesterday. And went to a work Happy Hour afterwards where I got a lot of compliments. Guess I should brush and/or wash my hair more often cause I didn't think it was anything too special/noticeable. Guess I need to lay off the ponytails at the office. Hmm.


2. I'm 29 years old, yet still get zits on my face like a teenager. WTF.

3. I started my day out with a 6+ mile hike with my hiking buddy Lynn, Wade and my furry BFF. Longest she (the dog that is) has ever been. Champion. Oh and get your dirty grill OFF my pillow. Rude.


4. Spring has arrived in my eyes....it's been BEAUTIFUL out this week. I have ran in shorts and tanks/t-shirts everyday and was even slightly warm. And then I drove up North late afternoon today and saw this...


5. I booked Wadester and I a week at this little gem today...Marathon training doesn't look so bad now that I know this is my reward. Countdown is ON.


...Off to be classy and drink some beer. ;)

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Home Gym

After a 2.5 year relationship with my lovely gym, I have broken up with him. My visits had become sporadic, the dues were very high and quite frankly, dealing with all the people that were there was just downright annoying. I personally have never been a social butterfly while exercising...a smile or a wave is fine...but creepy stares and attempts at conversations get really old. Really fast. Oh and the family that drenched themselves in cologne/perfume before every workout...I could smell them as they entered downstairs as I was upstairs. Nauseating.

So that's that.

Before I starting running, they gym was perfect for me. I could go and get some weight training done, hop on a cardio machine, stretch or do some yoga all while under the same roof. And I'm not saying I'll never belong to a gym again...but right now, it's not working for me.

Running and training for half marathons takes a lot of time so my gym visits had been lacking in lieu of running. I'm OK with that. Being outside vs. in a cramped gym, yes please!

So I accepted my change, cancelled my membership and purchased a couple new small pieces of equipment to satisfying my need to lift weights and strength train. Body weight and plyo is all the rage right now, so why not jump on the wagon?

Cross-training has translated into my road bike + trainer = killer workout, no impact. I've even switched things up by putting it outside on my back patio, listening to music, using the gymboss for intervals, watching a cycling video and even a Lifetime movie.....sweet!

Don't worry, that's not my house.

I have been more consistent with getting in small but effective workouts at home. It's easy...I run and then bust it all at the same time...no getting in my car to go to the gym. I've been searching the net for a few fun, fast and intense workouts using the bare minimum for equipment.

Ab Work....in the comfort of my living room.

I borrowed this workout from Julie over at PB Fingers and it's awesome, sweaty and effective.


My attempt at 7W2R is not done...I'm going to skip over the first few weeks and move to the advanced workouts....the first few weeks were too basic for me, too quick and too boring (sorry Brett).

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Be Patient

I ran yesterday. It wasn't epic or anything. But I ran.

I had 5 on my schedule and I planned on running 5 unless I felt pain. I was actually excited to run...the weather was gorgeous, I was excited to get a few miles in and I was excited to start being consistent with my weekly mileage and of course, running pain free. I started out with a slow pace (I think, I was running garminless) and was running with a huge smile on my face when I realized I was feelin good.

I was secretly fist pumping in my head.

And then I hit about 1.75 miles and I got a dull pain in the same spot I had last Saturday...I brushed it off and then had a little pep talk with myself:

Bad Me: It's fine, just shake it off
Good Me: Turn around, danger

This went back and forth for a few seconds. Good Me won. I kicked it in reverse and headed home. I walked a couple times and worked on running really slow. It wasn't an awesome run, but it was something...and learning to take things slow is something I am learning in this "sport" of running. It's supposed to be fun, not painful.



I'll try again today.

On another note....my official race time from Saturday was 1:53:45 - average pace being 8:41.

4 seconds slower than my official PR, which is nuts considering this course was much tougher, uphill and I was hurting. One reason running with a watch kinda sucks.....however it is a confidence booster - I CAN be faster and I WILL be faster ;)

P.S. Wade and I went to dinner with a good friend last night...Mexican food. It was delish but man I felt like I had a salty taste in my mouth when I woke up. Blech!