RnR St. Louis Half Marathon 2012

Today I ran the Rock n Roll St. Louis half marathon. I signed up for this way back on 11/11/11 when the entry fee was relatively cheap. My running volume has been pretty good the last couple of months, at the expense of swimming and cycling, so I figured I could PR given good weather. The only problem was mental. I've had some changes at work that have increased my stress level and responsibility as well as decreased my free time substantially. Not good for racing. On top of that, I really don't like the stress of racing nor racing alone. I also didn't do myself any favors having a cookout last night and having a few cocktails. Oh well, I put on my big boy panties, sucked it up, and toed the line anyway :-).

Last night I feel asleep on the couch watching baseball, woke up at 3 am and ate breakfast, then went back to bed until 5 am to start my day. At that point I still wasn't sure if I was going to have fun by high fiving people, taking my time, and walking when I felt like it or go for a PR and suck it up even when things hurt. I got to the race site about 6:15, looked for some friends and didn't find them. I headed to corral 2 out of something like 16, took a Gu, drank some water and just hung out and stretched my IT bands. The weather was a brisk 55 degrees and since I chill easily, I brought a couple of those chemical hand warmers. They were wonderful! Note to self: bring spares. A woman standing next to me was shivering uncontrollably so I gave her one of my two hand warmers. She looked at me like I was a creep, but took it and used it :-).

The race started and I just started running with 16 plus thousand of my closest friends. I don't have a Garmin and had no idea what my pace was and just tried to stay comfortable. Mile one was ~8:20 and I was feeling decent so tried to keep about the same pace. Mile 2 and 3 were about the same, fast for me! but still feeling good. I did the first 5k in 25:40 and was feeling good. Next 5k was in 25:25 and I was stilling feeling good, but starting to get a bit fatigued. I knew I could PR at this point, knew it was going to hurt and decided to try to hang on. My pace started slowing a little on the stretch heading to the 10 mile marker, but I was holding it together. I was working hard enough that I decided to skip taking a GU at the one hour mark, wasn't sure it would stay down. I did take a salt packet instead. I know, nothing new on race day, but it sounded good at the time. I did take a couple sips of water at each aid station too. The last 5k was rough. My glutes were aching, I was breathing hard, my legs just ached, but I sucked it up and kept going. Trying to do math in my head, I knew I had my goal in hand (<1:55) and maybe my A goal (<1:50). Two miles to go and I was struggling. One mile to go and my left calf , hamstring, and glute were starting to cramp. I'm sure my form went to hell at that point, it was pure mental effort to PR for sure. Somehow I kept going, trying to smile for all the people cheering random strangers like me on. Crossed the line with a five+ minute PR (1:49:49) and staggered a little. Got some water, Gatorade and a space blanket and started making my way the 10 blocks or so to my car.

I was at the race by myself and get really cold right after races, so I made a b line to my car. Would have been fun to stay and hang out if I had some warm clothes handy, oh well. On the way home I picked up one of my favorite breakfasts, McDonald's sausage burritos, hash browns and coffee :-). Once home, the cold set in and I was shaking, so a long hot shower was in order followed by the burritos, then a nice nap.

After a second nap and some grocery shopping, my race number took it's proper position on the garage wall then I had another cookout.

Grill 2 was lobster and scallops.

Grill 1 was salmon, prime rib and potatoes.

 

Have a great week!

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Squash

This time of year I always get a craving for squash. Here is a quick and easy method for making squash on the grill, but it can easily be done in the oven as well.

First, pick up the squash of your choice. Acorn squash and Butternut squash are two of my favorites.

Acorn squash

Butternut squash

Second, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

Third, put some butter and brown sugar on each half and wrap in foil.

Fourth, grill on low/medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour.

Lastly, enjoy!

Oh, we had BBQ chicken to go with the squash in case you were wondering :-).

Have a great week everyone!

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September Training

September was a running month, and I'm good with that. I'm still enjoying the simplicity of running and getting out 4-5 times per week. I don't have many 100 mile months so I was excited to see a total of 116. A quick check showed I've only been over 100 miles in a month once before and it was two years ago!

I follow people that run 2-3x that every month, but 100+ is good for me. If I could just add a few hundred bike miles and 20k yards of swimming, I would be all set :-).

As I mentioned in my last post, I bought a running belt that can hold my phone so now I can take pictures. I made it out for an 8.6 mile run Saturday. The leaves on a few trees are changing, but not many yet. Here are a couple pics.

 

 

So I'm starting to make plans for Patrick's 12 hour run next month so I decided to hit the trail this Sunday to see what I'll be up against. The trail is fairly technical with lots of roots. I tripped several times and fell hard twice. I need to learn to pick my feet up or I have no business being out there :-). Luckily I didn't fall on a root or break anything, but I am a little sore today. Whenever I fall, I try to remember to take a picture once I'm done cussing and checking for injuries. Here are a couple I took yesterday. Sorry if you follow me on instagram and have already seen these. Oh, I also bought a headlamp since the beginning of the run will be in the dark. Can't wait to try it out!

The first fall wasn't too bad, but it happened fast. One second I was running and the next I was looking straight up at the canopy.

The second happened just as fast and I went down hard! Jammed my shuffle into the ground and jammed a bunch of dirt into the on/off switch turning off my tunes. After turning it off and on a couple times, it started working again, phew!

When I came out of the woods, a couple mountain bikers were staring at me with my right side, shirt, shorts, knee, calf, etc covered with dirt. I responded with, "just completed some full contact running :-)".

On to October!

 

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Longest Run Yet

My next race is the St. Louis Rock and Roll half marathon and my running is coming along rather well (for me). After two good 13.2 mile runs the previous two Saturdays, I decided to add a couple miles to my long run just for fun :-). I usually don't bring my phone running because I don't have a sports bra to tuck it in it is too bulky to carry in my pocket, but with my history of injuries and getting into mileage that has me a long way from home, I decided to figure out a way to carry it. After talking to other runners, I concluded the Amphipod belt would be perfect. Anxious to try it out, I headed out for my longest run yet. As a bonus, now I can take pictures too!

About 2 miles in, just West of my house

 

Beautiful day. 65 degrees, sunny and breezy. First fall run with a long sleeve shirt.

This loop takes me past a sod farm

I always think what a great thing it must be to grow and sell grass, but one look at my yard and it's clear I wouldn't make it as a sod farmer :-).

one of many fields I run/ride by

Stopped here for a GU

more fields

some of the field corn fields have been harvested

ok, you get the idea :-)

GU stop two

I ended up running 15.1 miles, almost two miles longer than my longest run ever. Cardio was no issue at all, leg strength was average, my left knee acted up a few times but got better when I stopped to take pictures. My running belt worked perfectly. I didn't even notice my phone being strapped around my waist. I only missed putting my phone back in the pocket correctly while running once which subsequently resulted in my phone hitting the asphalt and me kicking it :-(. The Otter Box case lived up to its name though and my phone lived to tell about it :-).

I was out of my normal tri-berry GU so I brought some untried flavors I picked up as race samples, yikes! First GU was peanut butter flavor and I liked it. Second was pineapple, and it didn't work out so well. I gulped half of it down and barely kept it down so I chucked the second half of it. I still need to work on taking in nutrition for 2+ hour events. When I finished I had a bout of dizziness and being nauseous. Luckily I held it together because I forgot to wear my road ID and I was over a half mile away from home.

I walked down another trail for my cool down to take this pic.

Our trails are old train tracks and this steam engine era water tower sits on one of them. Should make for a cool black and white pic in the winter when the leaves are all gone.

 

Overall a nice run. I have some chaffing and soreness, but nothing major. I am curious though, how do you fuel for 2+ hour workouts? What do you do to prevent chaffing on long runs?

 

 

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Simplify

Things have been very busy and a bit stressful lately. So much so, I've felt the need to simplify things. I've stopped playing hanging with friends and words with friends (sorry sis), I've stopped trying to get eight work outs in a week and stopped stressing about not getting up before work to run. I've stopped trying to fit in a ride after work and haven't attended one extreme fitness class for this session, even though I signed up. Instead, I've been focusing on the simplest of the three triathlon disciplines, running. It's so nice to come home after a long day, change into some running clothes and hit the trail. No tires to pump, water bottles to fill, gym back to grab, etc, just put on the run gear and go.

This trail is right across the street from my house and connects to many other trails offering miles and miles of running and cycling trails.

Training mojo update:

Swimming = none. I haven't been swimming since my half ironman almost two months ago.

Biking = none. I haven't been biking in over a week. I do miss it.

Running has been going quite well. I've been ramping up the mileage a little and would like to get it up to 30 miles per week and keep it there for a while and see what happens. I have a half marathon coming up the third weekend in October and if my running holds up, I'll be in a good position to PR it.

My bike mojo looks like my mtb tire :(

My bike mojo is like my mtb tire

 

Speaking of simple, here is a really simple way to make some veggies.

Wash and dice the veggies, add a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. You can also add basil, rosemary, and/or thyme.

 

Throw them in aluminum foil and toss on the grill for 30-40 minutes on indirect heat.

 

Then enjoy!

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Recovery week

In August I snapped out of my training funk and had a nice build (except for swimming). Three progressive weeks of longer workouts left my legs tired and sore but in a good way. They were sore enough that I scheduled a deep tissue massage. I'm kind of a prude when it comes to people touching me so you know I was hurting. If you've never had a deep tissue massage, they hurt but in a good way. Definitely no risk of falling asleep like you could during a gentle massage. As the therapist grinded away at the knots in my calves then proceeded to move my quads around feeling like they were slipping back and forth across my thigh, I winced a few times. Anyway, it definitely helped and I'll probably go back during my next recovery week assuming I keep building up though I have no real race to build up for :-(. I am doing a half marathon at the end of October and probably Patrick's 12 hour run November 11th. I probably won't run all of it but I'll stay and drink beer and cheer for Patrick and whoever else can run for that long.

Yep, no swimming in August. I just didn't feel like it the first two weeks and the pool was closed the second two weeks. I plan to get back at it this week.

With last week being a recovery week and this weekend being a three day weekend I decided to smoke some chickens. I like smoking meat but it's time consuming and with all the training I've been doing, just haven't made the time for it for a long time. I have a large smoker and if I'm going to spend a few hours prepping and the better part of a day smoking, I usually cook a little extra.

I decided to do pulled chicken since it takes a lot less time than brisket or pulled pork. Yesterday I prepped the chickens. Three have lowery season salt on them and one is done in soy sauce (for those that don't like pulled chicken.

First step, light the smoker and get it up to 220 degrees F.

2nd step - arrange the birds with care.

3rd step - add fuel and wood chips that have soaked in water all night. I'm using hickory today.

4th step - sit on the couch and blog while watching the temp. I have three remote thermometers so I have one measuring the air and the other two measuring the largest of the four birds.

Yum!

5th step - remove the birds when their internal temp is 165-170F.

6th step - let the birds rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.

While smoking the chickens for hours, I made some black bean salsa. One of my favorite side dishes. I posted the recipe here and refer back to it from time to time.



Happy Labor Day!

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