...maybe.
A pretty busy weekend, if I do say so myself (and I do). This was not only due to the fact that I ran 16 miles on Saturday morning (iiii KNOW!), but also...I'm in the market for a house. Yeah. It's a little scary, but also pretty exciting.
HTD and I spent Saturday afternoon driving around with my real estate agent looking at houses. Some were preeetty scary - and no less than three of the otherwise great houses had the pervasive odor of cat pee. I mean come on, people. If your house smells like urine, your walk-in closets and vaulted ceilings are pretty much lost on me. A lot of them were really nice, though...so we'll see.
On another note, I'm really looking forward to Thursday. I'm flying to Omaha for the Labor Day weekend and I finally, finally get to see my little niece! Yay!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Mud, Miles, and Magic
the Big Brothers Big Sisters Run for the Magic Half Marathon!
I ran my first half marathon on Saturday! And yikes, what an introduction to the world of racing it was...
I headed up the mountain to Flagstaff on Friday night and met up with my fabulous cousin Cassie. We braved the rain and went to pick up my race packet at the park where the race would start the next morning. Neil, the race director, was going from person to person handing out the course map and describing the recommended race strategy: walk most of the first two miles. What?? Apparently, the first two miles of the course were going to be incredibly steep and, according to the veteran runners, it was a better use of energy to walk those sections and make up the time in the last half of the course as it headed back downhill. Yeah, this wasn't your typical road race - we're talking full-on trail running here. Hoo boy.
Saturday morning dawned cool and partly cloudy - perfect running weather and like nothing I've ever experienced running here in Phoenix. Cassie and I arrived at the park around 7:00 - she rolled out of bed early to come cheer me on (and take some pictures). I was a little nervous and spent most of the 30 minutes before the race bouncing on the balls of my feet and trying to remember to loosen up a little.
I had on my usual hat and sunglasses (neither of which I ended up needing), a water bottle with a couple gus in the pocket, a small camera*, and my big yellow number 53. The starting gun shot rang out at 7:30 on the dot and we were off!
Neil wasn't lying. The first two miles were just brutal. As we left the park, the course wound through about a half mile of city streets before we hit the trail head and the uphill climb onto Observatory Mesa. Mile 1 was a constant, not-terribly-steep incline - just enough to make your hamstrings burn.
Going into mile 2, we hit the tough stuff - about a half mile of incredibly steep, alpine-mountain-climbing-like section of trail. And I thought mile 1 made my hamstrings burn!
After coming off of this steep section, we hit the mud bogs. Flagstaff has been getting lots of rain in the past few weeks, turning this years' race into the wettest on record. The mud pits took up almost the entire trail at time, forcing us to pick our way around in any semi-dry strip of land we could find.
Other parts of the trail were so choked with rocks, I'm surprised I didn't come across sections littered with the bodies of runners nursing sprained ankles.
The course continued steadily uphill as I came into mile 5. The aid station here was being run by one of the city banks and they were pretty clever.
As I ran through and snagged a cup of Gatorade from one of the volunteers, he said to be sure and vote. Huh? Well, about 100 yards down there were two containers and a big sign that said "Vote with your Cup!" One container had a picture of Obama on it, and one had McCain and all the runners were tossing their cups in the bin sporting their candidate of choice. I thought it was pretty creative.
Mile 7.5 brought us to the apex of the run - about 800 vertical feet above the starting line altitude of 7,000 feet. Wow. The downhill direction was a more-than-welcome relief for my poor hamstrings. This section went a little faster. Some of the mud had dried up by this point and there were whole sections of trail that were smooth. Rocks and potholes were still a concern, but the miles seemed to go by much more quickly. I even got to chat a little with a gal I'd been running close to since the starting line (in my head she was Red Headed Pink Shirt girl - whose name actually turned out to be Jodi). 
Going back down the steep section that we had climbed up back at mile 2 was much faster, but also much more nerve-wracking with the loose gravel underfoot and no guardrails on the steep dropoffs.
Mile 12.5 put me back on the city streets for the final .6 mile sprint to the finish line. The big blue banner seemed to move farther away the more I ran, but I finally crossed the finish line sweaty, mud-spattered and smiling.
What an exhausting, amazing experience! The course was beautiful, but brutal. I would recommend training with trail running before going out and doing a 13.1 mile trail race. Might help a little. But overall, I was really happy with my performance, especially considering how difficult the course was. And especially considering that 8 months ago, I couldn't run for a minute without feeling like I was going to die.
We're heading into the big mileage month for Team in Training. In the next six weeks, we'll be conquering 16, 18, and 20 mile training runs. Here's hoping that those runs go well. I have a feeling that running on the smooth, flat canal trail is going to feel like heaven in the morning. :)
*-I searched high and low for a really small, portable camera to take with me on the run because I knew it would be beautiful. I ended up buying an egg-sized Disney Pix Micro, Pirates of the Caribbean mini-camera. It was either that or Hannah Montana. I mean, please - no contest. I wasn't sure what kind of picture quality you'd get with a Pirates of the Caribbean camera, though. Turns out: not great. But it was better than nothing.
I ran my first half marathon on Saturday! And yikes, what an introduction to the world of racing it was...
I headed up the mountain to Flagstaff on Friday night and met up with my fabulous cousin Cassie. We braved the rain and went to pick up my race packet at the park where the race would start the next morning. Neil, the race director, was going from person to person handing out the course map and describing the recommended race strategy: walk most of the first two miles. What?? Apparently, the first two miles of the course were going to be incredibly steep and, according to the veteran runners, it was a better use of energy to walk those sections and make up the time in the last half of the course as it headed back downhill. Yeah, this wasn't your typical road race - we're talking full-on trail running here. Hoo boy.
Saturday morning dawned cool and partly cloudy - perfect running weather and like nothing I've ever experienced running here in Phoenix. Cassie and I arrived at the park around 7:00 - she rolled out of bed early to come cheer me on (and take some pictures). I was a little nervous and spent most of the 30 minutes before the race bouncing on the balls of my feet and trying to remember to loosen up a little. 
I had on my usual hat and sunglasses (neither of which I ended up needing), a water bottle with a couple gus in the pocket, a small camera*, and my big yellow number 53. The starting gun shot rang out at 7:30 on the dot and we were off!
Neil wasn't lying. The first two miles were just brutal. As we left the park, the course wound through about a half mile of city streets before we hit the trail head and the uphill climb onto Observatory Mesa. Mile 1 was a constant, not-terribly-steep incline - just enough to make your hamstrings burn. 
Going into mile 2, we hit the tough stuff - about a half mile of incredibly steep, alpine-mountain-climbing-like section of trail. And I thought mile 1 made my hamstrings burn! After coming off of this steep section, we hit the mud bogs. Flagstaff has been getting lots of rain in the past few weeks, turning this years' race into the wettest on record. The mud pits took up almost the entire trail at time, forcing us to pick our way around in any semi-dry strip of land we could find.
Other parts of the trail were so choked with rocks, I'm surprised I didn't come across sections littered with the bodies of runners nursing sprained ankles. The course continued steadily uphill as I came into mile 5. The aid station here was being run by one of the city banks and they were pretty clever.
As I ran through and snagged a cup of Gatorade from one of the volunteers, he said to be sure and vote. Huh? Well, about 100 yards down there were two containers and a big sign that said "Vote with your Cup!" One container had a picture of Obama on it, and one had McCain and all the runners were tossing their cups in the bin sporting their candidate of choice. I thought it was pretty creative.
Mile 7.5 brought us to the apex of the run - about 800 vertical feet above the starting line altitude of 7,000 feet. Wow. The downhill direction was a more-than-welcome relief for my poor hamstrings. This section went a little faster. Some of the mud had dried up by this point and there were whole sections of trail that were smooth. Rocks and potholes were still a concern, but the miles seemed to go by much more quickly. I even got to chat a little with a gal I'd been running close to since the starting line (in my head she was Red Headed Pink Shirt girl - whose name actually turned out to be Jodi). 
Going back down the steep section that we had climbed up back at mile 2 was much faster, but also much more nerve-wracking with the loose gravel underfoot and no guardrails on the steep dropoffs.Mile 12.5 put me back on the city streets for the final .6 mile sprint to the finish line. The big blue banner seemed to move farther away the more I ran, but I finally crossed the finish line sweaty, mud-spattered and smiling.
What an exhausting, amazing experience! The course was beautiful, but brutal. I would recommend training with trail running before going out and doing a 13.1 mile trail race. Might help a little. But overall, I was really happy with my performance, especially considering how difficult the course was. And especially considering that 8 months ago, I couldn't run for a minute without feeling like I was going to die.We're heading into the big mileage month for Team in Training. In the next six weeks, we'll be conquering 16, 18, and 20 mile training runs. Here's hoping that those runs go well. I have a feeling that running on the smooth, flat canal trail is going to feel like heaven in the morning. :)
*-I searched high and low for a really small, portable camera to take with me on the run because I knew it would be beautiful. I ended up buying an egg-sized Disney Pix Micro, Pirates of the Caribbean mini-camera. It was either that or Hannah Montana. I mean, please - no contest. I wasn't sure what kind of picture quality you'd get with a Pirates of the Caribbean camera, though. Turns out: not great. But it was better than nothing.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
The Running Continues
as does the heat.
Holy cripes it's been a hot week o' runs. And not in the good, "look at me kickin' ass" kind of way. Last Saturday was a 12-miler with the team (pictured) and it was completed on the day of our highest low temperature of the summer so far. It was 95 degrees at 3:45am. That was the low. Yikes.
[htd and me with several of our fellow Full Marathoners at Saturday's practice. I was doing my post-run stretching and chatting with the ladies, hence facing the wrong way.]
And my running partner has been out of commission for the past week and a half. HTD got sidelined by an injury - but, thankfully, the sports medicine doc says she can start running again on Sunday. Yay for that - she's been going stir crazy and worrying about training time lost, and I've been lonely.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm headed up to Flagstaff to spend the weekend with my fabulous cousin...and to run my first ever road race. Scary! I signed up a few weeks back for the Run for the Magic Half-Marathon, which benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff. My training schedule calls for a 12-14 mile run on Saturday, so the 13.1 miles fits perfectly. I'm trying to stay calm about the whole thing since I've done 12 miles several times and a 15.5 mile run already, but it's weird how much scarier it is going into this knowing it's "official." Especially since the course starts at 7,000 feet (that's a higher altitude than Denver) and climbs almost 1,000 feet in the first half of the course. But, it's supposed to be a really beautiful trail run, mostly on forest service roads with great views of the mountains. So I'm going to think calming thoughts and go for it!
Calmingthoughtscalmingthoughtscalmingthoughtscalmingthoughts...
Holy cripes it's been a hot week o' runs. And not in the good, "look at me kickin' ass" kind of way. Last Saturday was a 12-miler with the team (pictured) and it was completed on the day of our highest low temperature of the summer so far. It was 95 degrees at 3:45am. That was the low. Yikes.
[htd and me with several of our fellow Full Marathoners at Saturday's practice. I was doing my post-run stretching and chatting with the ladies, hence facing the wrong way.]And my running partner has been out of commission for the past week and a half. HTD got sidelined by an injury - but, thankfully, the sports medicine doc says she can start running again on Sunday. Yay for that - she's been going stir crazy and worrying about training time lost, and I've been lonely.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm headed up to Flagstaff to spend the weekend with my fabulous cousin...and to run my first ever road race. Scary! I signed up a few weeks back for the Run for the Magic Half-Marathon, which benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff. My training schedule calls for a 12-14 mile run on Saturday, so the 13.1 miles fits perfectly. I'm trying to stay calm about the whole thing since I've done 12 miles several times and a 15.5 mile run already, but it's weird how much scarier it is going into this knowing it's "official." Especially since the course starts at 7,000 feet (that's a higher altitude than Denver) and climbs almost 1,000 feet in the first half of the course. But, it's supposed to be a really beautiful trail run, mostly on forest service roads with great views of the mountains. So I'm going to think calming thoughts and go for it!
Calmingthoughtscalmingthoughtscalmingthoughtscalmingthoughts...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Paparazzi Are Just Relentless
~sigh~ it's such a burden.
HTD and I are famous.
:)
(in the actual printed paper version, that picture took up half of the front page of the Living section... yikes.)
HTD and I are famous.
:)
(in the actual printed paper version, that picture took up half of the front page of the Living section... yikes.)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Warning:
I cried for pretty much the entire four minutes.
(But it is an amazing video, so you should watch it.)
Father and son went on to complete the race together. View this.
I have read about these guys before, but had never seen any video footage. Go here for a great Runner's World article about Team Hoyt.
Amazing.
(But it is an amazing video, so you should watch it.)
Backstory:
A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'
The father who, despite having a heart condition, said 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together.
Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request to race together.
One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes'.
For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile marathon along the coast of the Big Island in Hawaii.
Father and son went on to complete the race together. View this.
I have read about these guys before, but had never seen any video footage. Go here for a great Runner's World article about Team Hoyt.
Amazing.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Terrible Haute:
The Disgusta of the North.
I spent the week before last in Indiana visiting some dear friends and attending the annual med. illustrator's conference. I flew out on Saturday afternoon (the 12th) after a quick 12 mile run that morning (fun times). My friends Aunnee and Heath picked me up at the airport in Indy and drove me an hour back to their little parsonage in Terre Haute. Heath is a vicar (not the "Joey decked out in hockey gear" kind - the "going to be a pastor" kind) at a church there and Aunnee does substitute teaching for the school district. It was so good to see them! They're getting ready to move to Latvia for a year to do mission work - exciting!
It was kind of weirding me out, though - Terre Haute reminds me SO much of Augusta. Everywhere we went things just kept jumping out and saying "hey, remember Augusta?" (not literally. that would be weird. and creepy.) The city has lots of trees and vines and things. It's a little ghetto-y. They have a paper factory that smells like death. The buildings look similar. There are many mulleted people there. The list goes on...
I spent the rest of the week and weekend in Indianapolis for the conference. I saw lots of old friends and met lots of new people, which was fun. I won another award this year, and I was not in the bathroom this time (yay!). I ran 15 miles with the Indianapolis Team in Training group (ohhhh the humidity. blech.). And I went to lots of really interesting lectures and presentations. All in all it was a pretty great week in the great state of Indiana.
And Emma is still adorable. I'm going to meet her over Labor Day weekend. :)
I spent the week before last in Indiana visiting some dear friends and attending the annual med. illustrator's conference. I flew out on Saturday afternoon (the 12th) after a quick 12 mile run that morning (fun times). My friends Aunnee and Heath picked me up at the airport in Indy and drove me an hour back to their little parsonage in Terre Haute. Heath is a vicar (not the "Joey decked out in hockey gear" kind - the "going to be a pastor" kind) at a church there and Aunnee does substitute teaching for the school district. It was so good to see them! They're getting ready to move to Latvia for a year to do mission work - exciting!
It was kind of weirding me out, though - Terre Haute reminds me SO much of Augusta. Everywhere we went things just kept jumping out and saying "hey, remember Augusta?" (not literally. that would be weird. and creepy.) The city has lots of trees and vines and things. It's a little ghetto-y. They have a paper factory that smells like death. The buildings look similar. There are many mulleted people there. The list goes on...
I spent the rest of the week and weekend in Indianapolis for the conference. I saw lots of old friends and met lots of new people, which was fun. I won another award this year, and I was not in the bathroom this time (yay!). I ran 15 miles with the Indianapolis Team in Training group (ohhhh the humidity. blech.). And I went to lots of really interesting lectures and presentations. All in all it was a pretty great week in the great state of Indiana.
And Emma is still adorable. I'm going to meet her over Labor Day weekend. :)
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