Tag: runnergirl

50 States Half Marathon, adventure, fitness and nutrition

Halloween Half Marathon

2chicksandapen

I wrote a post a while back about my cross-country adventure to Disneyland. I loved exploring those parks and wish I had a few more days there. But, it was time to run my September race, the inaugural Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon.

Unlike several of my friends, I am not really a Halloween person. I did this race because it fit my schedule, I would get a special “Coast to Coast” medal for completing long races at each U.S. Disney in the same calendar year, and because it seemed like fun.

I learned that Disneyland races are different than the Disney World races in Florida for many reasons. The main ones draw from the fact that Disneyland is SO much smaller. In Disney World, you can run a whole marathon and never leave Disney property. For Disneyland, the Half Marathon was more off-property than on.

The walk to the start line was a breeze. No fireworks at the start though, since we were outside of park property and Anaheim has a noise ordinance. It didn’t take us long to run through both Disneyland and California Adventure. I LOVED being able to run through the little (comparatively speaking) castle. They had a lot more “at a distance” photo opportunities with characters, which was fine since Disney is more aggressive with pulling people off the course if they don’t keep pace. I knew I wouldn’t get my challenge medal if I didn’t finish, so I was not going to get swept.

I did stop at a character or two and many of the other photo opps along the way. Inside the parks it is fun and scenic.

Once we hit mile 5, we were outside the parks and it was all Anaheim roads. This mostly felt like other large races, just with lots of runners in costumes. Some fans came out to support and held signs. Local groups helped at water stops. A fun highlight was running through the Angels stadium and having our names announced over the PA system.

One memorable thing was this race happened to be during an exceptionally awful heat wave. We were warned repeatedly about hydration, electrolytes, and so on. This can be hard to do when you’re in the parks! The days leading up were filled with speculation of whether or not the race would be canceled or shortened due to heat. It was a long way to go for that to happen, so I was glad to finish all the miles and finish safely. I will say I was unbelievably hot by the time I crossed the finish and did not stop for the after party. I got my medals and slowly walked all the way back to the hotel and laid in the air conditioning before taking a cold shower and flying home. The race went under black flag conditions shortly after I finished. It was rough. But, I finished safely and managed to make it to the airport and back home.

This was a long trip for a weekend. I would probably do a Disneyland race again but only if it fell on a school break!

#TinkRuns2024

My 2nd Half Marathon

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November is here. It’s been such a long journey to this point in 2024. A 5-year stint after my first half marathon. A few of the same friends participating. A few new friends added this go around. A few friends even turned into spectators but still are a part of the journey.

I took a few minutes to look back on photos from 5 years ago when I did my first 1/2 marathon. It was a wild weekend. I almost forgot we signed up for a 5k the next day to get an extra medal. To think about doing that now is just mind boggling. I guess I get a little more wiser with age!

I didn’t know what to expect my first half and really I don’t know what to expect this go around either: I’m packing more stuff this time. I’m wearing a vest. I feel like I have a plan, but no plan at the same time. Such a quandary in my mind. Hoping to avoid a long potty break. Hoping to avoid chafing of any kind. Time will tell.

So many ups and downs on this journey. 10 months of training was planned. Injuries took a toll on that timeline in a big way. 3 friends followed the training plan to T and their performance will reflect that effort. Another friend trained solo on a run-walk segment that worked for them keeping up with many races along the way. Although different training, the consistency will yield results.

Then there is me. The one person plagued with injuries. The one who took off almost three months from running. In that time my mobility has suffered. My stamina has diminished. My weight has gone up. The list could go on and on. The reality is still the same. I will put on my race bib and lace up my shoes no different than any other racer that day. My race may look different. It may feel different. My mental preparation will undoubtedly be different, but we all cross the same finish line. A finish line many will never attempt to cross, ever. For that reason I will feel successful no matter what time is recorded:

My effort.

My outcome.

My race.

My pace.

100 percent my effort to start and finish. Talk about a feeling of exhilaration. How powerful is my body, my mind and my spirit? I’m about to see. On race day so many conversations were had with myself. Some to pass the time. Some to reflect. Some just ramblings of being tired I guess. I enjoyed the solitude of my race day for the most part.

The day arrived. 4am wake up. A little travel time. A time change. A little morning drizzle. On the road as the sun rose. The portapotty adventure. The hills. Whomever designed this course was a bit demonic. It started with the hill and ended with a continuous hill that lurked around multiple corners. The finishing mile was a grueling mile to say the least. One of the fun parts of being slow was reading all the chalk messages written along the way. A pleasant surprise and fun way to have cheerleaders where there were no actual cheerleaders on the course.

Speaking of cheerleaders, there was a high school drum line playing on this course. Such a fun experience along the way. The drum beats definitely gave me a little pump up as I passed by. Great to see kids supporting the community as well.

Met some new faces at this race. Passed some folks. Got passed by some folks. Walked a little. Ran out of water for 2 miles when a watering station ran out. All in all I survived to tell about it. I was slower than 5 years ago but I am older and don’t move as well as I did back then, but I did it. I was one of 6 strong friends who adventured out for the half marathon. All of which completed the task. The same six will meet once again but for a full marathon. Double the distance. Double the challenge!

Two of the six have completed a marathon before. 4 are new to the challenge. All with different paces. All with different stories of their why. For me it’s why not. Why not give it a go. See if I can be one of the 1% to complete a marathon.

As 2025 approaches I will be setting out to balance my half marathon series. I will be completing my third half marathon in February 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A travel race. A few days of the same friends embarking on the trek. This will most likely end my marathon series, but will allow me to have another time stamp to wrap up my trifecta experience. Looking forward to a few cold training days between now and then. Hopefully no injuries as well. Maybe I can clock a better time in a couple of months, too.

Officially old.

Officially slow.

Learning to embrace the back of the pack at these races. Each and every time I show up. Back of the pack isn’t so bad. Plenty of time to observe the surroundings, chat along the way and really enjoy the event.

I also vlogged this race which gave me a great memory reel to view in the years ahead!

#TinkRuns2024, challenges

The Marathon Vision

2chicksandapen

Month seven.

A deep breath after month six. 

The month started with a physical therapy appointment for knees, but one can consider that progress. Hoping the 10k is smooth this month or at least I’ll be there for the boom on the 4th of July.

I see the lucky 777 come up on the slot machine in my mind. Boy am I lucky to be where I am today. Happy. Healthy. Hopeful. I sure do hope this is the turning point month as I head into heavy training. Stay tuned!

I’m beginning the heavy lifting phase of my running training. The Marathon. 26.2 grueling miles. My race. My pace. My story. How I get there is up to me. How prepared I am rests on my shoulders. How I handle adversity is on me. That’s a big deal when you think about it.

Each month you will get a glimpse into not only my training but my mindset. Both of which are equally important parts of my preparation. I’ll be trying out clothes, fueling options, technology and gear. I’ll be thinking about contingency plans. One being the bathroom dilemma. This one sort of freaks me out and untiI I experience the full 26.2 it will be somewhat of a mystery.

Curveball alert! I broke my wrist. Yes that’s right. I do all my own stunts. Laughing as I type this. Seriously, a scaphoid fracture takes my forearm, wrist and thumb out of commission via a cast. We will now classify this as orthopedic visit one for the month.

It looks like Dr. and PT appointments now take up part of my valued training time. For a visual running in a cast is like moving with an extra 5 pounds of disproportionate weight you don’t know what to do with.

The 10k race is here. Day four of the month. A cast, physical therapy and a race oh my. I had no choice but to run in a cast. My fingers looked like little sausages by the end. No joke! I survived the course despite the extreme heat advisory issued just before they cut off the race. This was by far the hottest day in event history, and I had a cast as an accessory.  The race was actually shut down not too long after I finished. The sign had just switched to high alert at mile 5 and went to black while I was leaving. Such a close call for finishing.

As we enter the second half of training I opted for one photo from each of the first six months to post below. A glimpse of how far I’ve come and a little celebration of me and my progress. It’s been a journey so far. I also have an uphill battle in front of me.

Big race recap this month. A local event that attracts 50,000 runners and a lottery entry. The peachtree 10k. A little train ride downtown for this big race. I ran this race over 20 years ago in the mid 1990’s just to experience the hype. I ran it a couple times before the pandemic, consecutive years with my daughter. I see many friends each year as well. This year I even met up with a friend from Hawaii and her daughter. This race experience is one of my bigger races as far as people volume goes.

I was somewhat reluctant to sign up for this particular race, but when I did I had a goal in mind. See if I can beat my past best race time. Not a have to, but more like a little test of age, mindset, and overall circumstances. How did I fare? I survived that’s all. This was probably my slowest time for this race ever. The combination of the heat advisory, the cast and and and just all my body woes took their toll from mile 4-6. I did finish. That’s the main point. I never quit.

Takeaways: I showed up after a rough injury patch in prior weeks. I’m still going. These running lessons, sacrifices and challenges can be great life lessons to apply elsewhere. Life isn’t easy. One just has to attack each day with positivity and a will to get out of the hole one is in.

As I finish off this post for July it’s ending differently than what I would have planned. MRI results are in. I’ve been waiting restlessly for answers. Well, not good news. A patella fracture on left knee. That one I didn’t see coming but does explain the pain. A torn meniscus on the right knee, this I was expecting. So more rehab for this girl. Walking is not restricted but running is! My body can still move. I just need to modify movements for my situation. Below I am strength training though the weight is light.

If I follow instructions I can still have hope to run in late September. The training will be rough to cram in for the marathon but I will hopefully cross that finish line in November. Stay tuned for updates.

More walking miles than running in my future! And boy is it hard to see my training buddies pounding the pavement while I am sidelined.

challenges, fitness and nutrition

Flying Pig Half Marathon

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May’s choice for my year of race-cations was the Flying Pig Half Marathon.

Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Flying Pig was voted the #1 marathon in the US according to USA Today. I figured the half marathon, run at the same time, must be awesome as well. Leading up to the race, I joined a thriving online community that shared tips with racers, offered support, and went hog wild on the awesome theme. Needless to say, I was totally pumped up when I flew in to Cincy on Saturday.

This race is so big, there are even multiple Flying Pig welcome signs and structures in the airport. The 5k and 10k took place on Saturday, so traffic was already pretty gummed up on my Uber from the airport. In case you don’t know, Cincinnati sits on a river. I ended up staying in Northern Kentucky across the river, where the hotels were a bit more affordable. (I later learned that there were a ton of events in town that weekend, including a huge baseball series, that probably contributed to the extremely high cost of hotel rooms.) There was a welcome sign for Flying Pig runners in my hotel lobby. I dropped my luggage then made my way to the expo.

The expo was honestly amazing. Tons of vendors, balloon displays, pig statues, and amazing swag. For this race, half marathon runners receive a shirt, a commemorative item (this year it was an athletic duffle bag) and a race poster. There was also a huge line at the Proctor and Gamble (sponsor) booth where there is a famous freebie giveaway. From deodorant to beauty products and more, they give away bags full of full-sized items to runners. I wanted to see the city and not drag around a big bag of shampoo and razor blades, so I skipped this benefit of the race (sadly!) If I ever do this race again, I’ll plan better.

After I got my bib and swag, I hopped a city streetcar to the Findlay Market, a famous longstanding market in Cincy. I walked through the booths and took the recommendation of someone I met on the streetcar to get a breakfast sandwich from one of the booths. It was truly a gooey salty something special. I grabbed the streetcar back to the expo area to stop for Graeter’s ice cream, a local chain of creameries. I got the special Flying Pig flavor that they make each year. Awesome carb loading with local delicacies. I also walked through the Cinco de Mayo celebrations taking place on the square. I could have used another day in Cincy to enjoy all the murals, activities, and see the sign museum. It’s sort of bittersweet, but on the other hand I actually do like the feeling of wanting to come back for more.

After laying out my race gear, I set about my restless prerace sleep. I rose at around 4:30 am to get my caffeinated life together and start the walk to the start line. All the roads were already closed at that hour. I rolled into the lobby to piles of granola bars and racers bustling around. We all collectively started the mile or so walk in the dark to the start, which included crossing a beautiful historic bridge.

The start corrals were packed, organized, and filled with energy. Music was blaring. My nerves were definitely joyous. People of all shapes and sizes come out to walk and “Run the Pig.” People proudly wear walking club shirts. Women who appeared to be about 20 years older than me clustered in groups as we inched our way forward. Finally, after what seemed like hours, we crossed the start line.

I loved the first few miles. I was feeling good. The weather was still cool. We got to go over some great bridges back and forth between the states. I was smiling and my pace was solid.

Mile 5 is when things started to go off the rails a bit. I knew this race was described as hilly. But, reviewers had said Little Rock was hilly, but I didn’t find it troubling. But Cincy was different. It wasn’t really hilly so much as a single 4 mile long hill. Straight. Up. I guess I didn’t study the elevation of the race as well as I should have. The sheer length and relentlessness of this hill caught me completely off guard. I continued to run / walk as best I could, but my energy was completely wrecked by the time I got to mile 10. My pace had gone from the 13s to over 15 (even 16!) minutes per mile. In the mean time, the sun came up and I never recovered. Wearing full length pants was a huge mistake. I was overheated, legs were overtaxed, and I struggled to finish.

The crowd support was great. I had learned the trick of putting my name on my bib so people cheered for me by name as I shuffled by. I laughed at the signs and took the high fives. But honestly, I was fighting to get to the finish line. But, finish I did! As ugly as it was.

I physically sat down about 100 yards after receiving my medal. I NEVER sit down that soon. I couldn’t stomach the famous LaRosa’s pizza at the after party. I nibbled just the corner and hobbled to the shuttles back to the hotel. All I could think about was a cold shower and air conditioning.

At the time I said *NEVER AGAIN* to this race. But now that I’ve had some time to recover and get a little perspective, I can imagine myself seeking redemption someday. This may be a race to revisit once I am wiser about fueling and energy management (not to mention wardrobe!) I also have unfinished business with the city and the expo, so I won’t say never! When pigs fly!

June brings summer heat and shorter distances. I’ll confess I wasn’t totally sorry for a step back from the half marathon distance for a few months. Stay tuned to find out where my trusty Brooks will test themselves next.

fitness and nutrition

Chilly and Chocolate

2chicksandapen

One of my goals for 2024 is a chip-timed race of 10k or longer each month. Six need to be half marathons. I’ve written about my first half marathon in Little Rock, which was amazing. But that was in March. I thought I’d share a quick recap of my January and February races as well.

You may be wondering why I skipped them to begin with. To be honest, my year of running started with pain. And walking. I’m not exactly sure why, but in December 2024 I had some lower back pain that was difficult to work through. Running seemed to be one of the things that made it flare. So, even as I set a goal to complete races, I started 2024 by learning to walk as fast as I could for longer distances.

You may think walking is easy. You may also think it is just running in slow motion. Neither of these things are true. Maintaining a decent pace (under 15 minutes) is tough for multiple miles. And walking, in my experience, actually fatigues very different muscles than running. So they may seem similar, but the physical and mental efforts required are different.

I showed up to the Chilly Willy 10k EXTREMELY nervous. It was a small local race. Would my back flare up? Would I be pulled off the course for being too slow? What would people think of a walker? Can I actually do this? I was an honest-to-goodness wreck. I was quiet, evasive, withdrawn, generally flustered…those who know me well can see this happening. My heart rate was super high even before we started. Maybe 100 of us were there to participate. Thankfully I had a couple of my running buddies joining me. There were 5k, 10k, and half marathon racers all starting together. After a quick wait at the start line, away we went.

And, as I watched most of the other racers take off running, I walked at a quick clip. There were maybe a dozen of us walking. The first mile was almost all downhill, which meant (as an out and back course), the end would be a trudge. It was extremely cold at the start…there were patches of ice on the concrete path. But in the sun it was not so bad. Once I found my groove, playlist in my ears, I was just moving right along with a smile on my face.

It didn’t take long for the first 5k participants to come racing back. Focused, quick, intense, they floated by. I cheered for them. I finally made it to the 5k turnaround / water station. And as everyone else I was pacing with turned back for the 5k finish, I continued onward on the 10k course.

From that point on, I was alone. I had no idea if anyone was behind me. Once in a while, another 10k participant would breeze by in the opposite direction and we shared smiles. At this point, I was just grooving along. Nothing hurt. I was making decent time. I really couldn’t ask for anything more. I saw my friends flying by after their turnaround. Both were looking strong. I continued to move right along, dodging icy patches before I turned around.

There weren’t many people behind me. Once in a while I’d see a half marathoner (a double out-and-back course) coming by. I held my pace fairly well until the end. My friends had been texting for updates. I knew they were waiting for me. I walked myself all the way in to the finish, feeling pretty good. I know I was smiling as I finished and got hugs from my friends.

I was so happy to have finished and grateful that I felt fairly good physically. It wasn’t until later that I learned I actually got 3rd place in my age group in the 10k. I laughed. Ok, it wasn’t a huge pool of people but you can bet I requested my medal and displayed it happily.

I continued to walk until the February race, the Hot Chocolate Atlanta 15k. This is a much bigger race with lots of fanfare and fun. My plan for this race was to walk the first 7 miles and then try running until the end. I was feeling physically good. I was happy to be running with my daughter (ok, she’s much faster than me, but we did participate together) and a group of friends. So I went along with my plan and hoped for the best.

The race itself felt sort of unremarkable. I had done the course before. It’s not my favorite. After seven miles of walking, I held my breath and ran. I figured at that point, if pain came up, I could just go back to walking and still manage to finish.

Gratefully, there wasn’t any pain, and I got to celebrate with my friends and daughter at the finish line. Time for a new training plan and hitting the road for racecations.

I learned patience in this time of pain and frustration. I worked around my injury and still continued to move every day. Sometimes progress isn’t linear. Sometimes it doesn’t look like we hope it will. I can take pride in not giving up and just keeping my head up. Forward is a pace is my new mantra.