(Photo credit: Dallas AM News)

I did it!  After 11 years and 5 marathons, I finally EARNED a PR.

And, by 14 minutes!

Despite this course being considered, "fast" - the weather made it by far the most difficult I've ever run.  But before I go any further, I want to commend the race directors, sponsors, police officers, volunteers and spectators for putting on an amazing race.  While the weather was out of their control, I can't thank everyone for the encouragement, support and keeping us safe out on the course. I've seen grumblings on their Facebook site and I have to say overall the race was a great experience and Dallas should be very proud of this world-class event.

2011 Dallas White Rock Marathon Finisher's Medal and long-sleeve tech shirt

My mom was amazingly supportive, as always, and I picked her up at 4:30am to head out to Fair Park.  After sitting in traffic last year for almost an hour, I was determined to get there early.  It paid off and we had premium parking. After chatting for a bit, we both fell asleep.  Thank goodness I got a text message at about 7:15am that startled us both awake.  The race started at 8am! I couldn't believe I could have almost missed the start!
 
The weather was a chilly 47 degrees (it's Texas- we don't deal well with the cold), raining and windy. Throughout the morning, it dropped 5 more degrees.  I could see my breath, I was soaked and frozen.  The hood on my poncho was full of water and every time I tugged on it from around my neck, it would pour down my back.

Many of the roads were flooded and the potholes on the course were covered with water, so you didn't realize they were there until you were ankle deep in water. My socks sloshed and even the generous amounts of Aquaphor that I used on my feet couldn't keep my shoes from rubbing off a huge chunk of skin off the back of my ankle, leaving my sock and shoe covered in blood. I didn't realize this until after I was finished, because my feet were so frozen. Bonus!

I had tried to stay as positive about the weather, but by about Mile 18, the rain picked up and it started to play with my mind. I felt pretty alone out there and was ready to be done. The pace group that I was trying to keep in front of, passed me looking strong. All I could think about was having a warm meal, taking a shower and getting into some warm, fuzzy pj's. 

I refused to look at my watch until Mile 25.  The clocks on the course were off because of the rain, so I had no absolutely no idea where I was in regards to time until that moment. I felt like I was on track, but I wasn't sure.  When I finally let myself check my watch and realized that I was going to easily PR, I was ecstatic. I kicked it into high gear and ran the last mile in as fast as I could.

I'm going to be honest, despite the PR, it was a hard race. I don't think anyone could classify a marathon as easy, but I'm pretty nervous about the double marathon coming up. The day after White Rock, I hopped on the treadmill and ran 3.1 miles and then did a recovery swim. My legs felt better than expected, but I'm not quite sure how 23.1 more miles are going to feel. Yikes!

Fun stats from RunPix:
- Of the 4530 who finished, 38% were Women and 62% were Men.
- I was ahead of about 35% of men runners.

- Over the final 6mi, I passed 111 runners and 61passed me

This weekend was a weekend of amazing PR's for a lot of people, including Lesley at RacingItOff, Jason at CookTrainEatRace, and his wife Karen, and a big congrats to my co-worker Christi who ran her first marathon and did amazing!  Way to go everyone!

Thanks again to Team Aquaphor for sponsoring me. I had many thankful people accepting samples to keep them from chafing with their wet clothing!

Shock! Awe! Oh my gosh.. it's a blog post. It was the birthday wish of BDD, that I come back to the blogging world, so here we go. Happy belated birthday!

So, where have I been for the last few months? Racing, training occasionally and setting up big plans for next year. I finished my last tri of the season at the Monster Tri in Keller, TX on Oct. 30 and just completed the DRC 1/2 Marathon in Dallas on Nov. 6. Unfortunately, I was sick at both of them, so my results weren't quite what I was hoping for.

Coming up next is the Dallas White Rock Marathon on December 4, followed by a back-to-back marathon on NYE & NYD. Yes, you read that right. 26.2 x 2!

The New Year's Double, being held in Allen, TX is my opportunity to join the Marathon Maniacs at the Iridium Level. I'm kind of excited about that. It's adds to my "She's Crazy" factor, too. Since finishing Ironman Texas, I feel like I've been needing a goal. I'm missing that distance fix, per se.

I like the challenge of the distance, but I also want to start "competing", too. So, after finishing the double marathon, I'll be focusing on the 70.3 distance. Lot's of work to do there. I already miss having a 140.6 on my calendar for 2012, but excited to see how my races are lining up! So far, it looks like I'll be racing in 4 different states. More to come..

I've been having a great time representing Team Aquaphor, too!

Fun pictures from the DRC 1/2 Marathon below. Despite dealing with a nasty case of bronchitis, I hacked my way through 13.1 miles with only feeling like I was going to black out 2 or 3 times. Good times!

So, I'm sure you've heard of being Chick'd on the race course, but the other day, I was Squirrel'd!  Say what?

Here's how it went down. 

I was minding my own business running my normal 6.2 mile course at lunch, when at about mile 3, a squirrel jumped out on the road ahead of me.  It's a country road, so I didn't think much of it. 

He continued running just ahead of me for a little while and I was thinking, "Awww.. how cute."

Then- with just about a couple hundred yards separating us, he stopped.  Turned around and stared me down.   His competition.  He taunted me like Usain Bolt in the Olympics. Then he about-faced 180 degrees and took off running like a shot, leaving me - his unworthy running companion in the dust. 

All I have to say is, "Fine.  You're faster than me on the run.  But, let's see how you do with the swim and the bike ahead of it, you fluffy little speedster."

Woo hoo!  I'm in!  I submitted an application a few months ago and found out on Friday afternoon that I made the cut for the 2011 Team Aquaphor sponsored athlete team! Very exciting!  :) 

I just sent back my Ambassador Agreement and look forward to connecting with my new teammates!

The cool part is that I've used Aquaphor since I was a kid.  My mom worked for a Dermatologist and it's been a staple in my household for dry skin (especially now with my daughter), for sunburns (like the one I have now) and if I do chafe on a run. It's also good for those long bike rides!!

Looking forward to sporting the new team kit and being able to offer some samples and coupons! I'll post pictures when I get everything in!  Thanks Team Aquaphor and Active Ambassadors!


About Team Aquaphor



Aquaphor is dedicated to providing athletes the ability to train and compete while being free from uncomfortable chafing, blisters, and other skin conditions that often occur during strenuous exercise. In its sixth year of existence, Team Aquaphor is comprised of 200 top-age group athletes who primarily compete in triathlons, running and cycling. Aquaphor thanks all past and present team members for their success, dedication, and support.

Sunscreen FAIL

"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!"   -Ozzy

82 mile bike yesterday afternoon... 14.5 mile run this morning! :)

* I took a half day off on Friday to get my 5 hour ride in.  It was a gorgeous 80 degree day.  Winds were nasty as usual at the Texas Motor Speedway, but this was my longest ride to date, so I was pretty excited to hit another milestone. 

* I sprayed sunscreen on like crazy... but apparently the winds blew it off before it hit my skin.  Well, at least it's going to be an interesting tan line. :P

* Putting on a sports bra to go run this morning was excruciatingly painful.

* I didn't succumb to using that as an excuse as to not go run.  I actually ended up adding an extra couple miles to the run, just because I knew I could.  (My foot is feeling great!)

* Leaving to go down to the Woodlands next weekend to ride the majority of the IMTX course.  I can't wait!  If you told me last year that I would be excited about riding 90 miles, I would have fallen over laughing.

* Riding 90 miles will be my "taper" for my half iron the following weekend.  Or is the 1/2 Iron my taper week...  bwhwahahah... crazy train.

* I've had a rough couple of weeks with some let-downs and now I'm back to my normal, happy self and having so much fun with this training.

* At the end of next week, I will have surpassed my entire training total for the bike of last year.


Hope everyone is having a great weekend of training!

I've posted before on how much I like the site, Athlinks.com. 

Here's another reason why:

Athlinks.com has been a sponsor of the IMTalk podcast for several years now. The show's hosts, John and Bevan, are located in the heart of Christchurch and in an effort to help out they have donated their full team registration for the Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon this August 26-27 to help the Christchurch, NZ Earthquake Victims. "The top bid gets the team. It's a 12 person team entry valued at $1320. Go grab 11 of your friends, each of you throw in $110 and you're off and rolling! Of course, anything above that would be fantastic! If you tried to get a team in this year - but didn't get in under the wire, THIS IS YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO GET A TEAM IN!"

Here's the Ebay link, if you're interested!  

My mom & me

What an awesome race! The Bold in the Cold 15k is held in Grapevine, TX by the Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers.  This was my first time running one of their races and my first time racing a 15k.  I've done pretty much every other distance -- other than an ultra -- so, it was fun to try something different and a 15k fit nicely in my Ironman Texas training schedule.

Marcy & Me Pre-Race

The name for this race didn't do it justice. "Bold" was not my 4 letter word of choice to describe the 34 degree weather at the race start and freezing wind chill. We were all so cold and there were no amount of layers that were going to keep us warm, although it was extremely comfortable once the race got underway.

The race was mostly on a very scenic trail which part of followed the shoreline of Lake Grapevine. It was gorgeous.  There were enough rolling hills to keep the course challenging. 

One of the best parts of the whole morning?  My mom ran the 5k race! It was the first time that both of us had competed at the same race together!  And, with no training... she kicked some major boo-tay! She placed third in her age group!  THIRD!  She got an awesome medal and I couldn't be more proud of her! 

Me, Jason & Allison

The other best part? I was able to meet up with IMTX training partner, Marcy at Team Village Idiots, and fellow bloggers Jason at Life of An Aspiring Triathlete and Allison at Just Tri and Finish!  I also got to meet Scott and Gary from BeginnerTriathlete.com.  Scott ran the 15k, and unfortunately his new IMAZ tattoo was covered up with compression wear- but it totally rocks!  And Gary was out on the course taking pictures.

Marcy's mom ran the 5k as well and placed 2nd in her age group!  Whoo Whoo!  And a big congratulations to Jason for placing 3rd in his age group!  He averaged a 7:21/min mile! En fuego!


Here's my stats on the race: 

Total time:  1:19:18
8:23/min mile pace over 9.3 miles.

5/29 age group

100/302 total runners

Marcy's Mom & My Mom with their 5k Age Group Win Medals!

77 seconds separated me from taking 3rd place.  There were 13 seconds between me and 4th place.  Not that I'm obsessing over the details. I am very happy with my 8:23 pace, it's faster than what I would have even guessed I could do for that distance and shows some serious progress in my running.

I feel like I'm really learning how to "race."  Normally, I'm in my own little world just ticking away the miles.  Today, I hunted down ponytails (in the nicest possible way, of course), but if I could see another girl in front of me, I was going for the pass.  My 10k runs at lunch with the hills paid off big time today.

Overall, I loved this race and enjoyed the course.  I thanked every volunteer that I passed and had a smile the entire time.  

Post-Race Pancakes! Yummm!

Today is also the birthday of my best friend, Chrys!  Happy Birthday B_ _ _ _ _ H!  Love ya!

A very good day!

Lunch Run Paradise

I can't believe it's been a week since I've been running.  How is that even possible?  I've been hitting the bike trainer and the pool, but have somehow avoided going out into the dark and cold to run.  So, I am so looking forward to getting in a 10k at lunch today.   I feel like a horse ready to get out of the gate. Let these legs stretch out and go!

The picture to the right is one I snapped the other day of part of my lunch time running trail.  It's a pretty quiet country road that has some nice winding turns and a couple of "wake your quads up" hills.  There's even a sweet Lab that comes out to greet me pretty much every run.  I remembered to bring a dog treat today for him, too. 

Hope everyone has a great training day! :)

I'm not a "fast" runner when it comes to long distances.  Over the last year, I've actually gotten faster and I directly attribute it to the cross-training of triathlons.  I used to be a consistent 10:00/mile runner.  I've dropped that now to about a 9:03/mile average. 

Still not stellar, but I shocked myself with a 7:33/mile at a sprint tri this year, so there's hope that there's a faster runner in there, somewhere...

So, this gets me to my point. I was thinking that it would be nice if there was an adjustable scale for Boston Qualifying.  They adjust for gender... they adjust for age... why not other factors?

My age jumps up next year to the 3hrs 45min qualifying category, so that's a start.

How about...

Kids?   +10 min/ each
Child not potty trained?  +10 min/each
Handle the majority of the grocery shopping, pay bills, cleaning,  etc.?  +5 min
Work full-time?  +10 min
Commute time in excess of 30 minutes?  +5 min
Triathlete?  (Have to split time between sports)  +5 min

That would get me to a 4hr 30min qualifying time, which I think is definitely doable.  Sigh.  :)

Or, I'm just going to have to break down and buy myself some "En Fuega's" like Jason's!

Ok, I'll admit it.  I'm going to race with a fanny pack.  Technically, it's called  a SPI Belt, which stands for a "Small Personal Item Belt," but when push comes to shove.. it's a fanny pack.  But, just like the closet Snuggy wearers out there, I kind of like it. 

It's small and works just like a race belt, and has these wrap around pull cords/ toggles that actually hold your race number (sold separately) and the model I purchased has six individual elastic sections to hold gels.  Then on top of that you have the zippered section to hold whatever your heart desires.  (Although the pouch looks tiny, it can actually fit quite a bit.)

I purchased one of these at the Dallas White Rock Marathon expo.  The particular sales lady that I had was umm.. how do I say this nicely... not in a good mood?  I was very close to walking away, but I could see the benefits in having one of these puppies for IMTX.  Since the course is a three-loop course, I think I'll just be carrying my hand held water bottle as normal instead of having some monstrous Fuel Belt attached to me.  I figured I'll have my gum stash, a couple "keep me motivated snacks" and whatever else I deem necessary at that point. 

Plus, they make my abs look good.  See photo.  Alright, I'm lying. Not my abs, yet.

I tried it out at the DWRM and it bounced a little, but I was able to tighten it up and barely noticed it. Overall, pretty happy with the little bugger.  Even if it is a fanny pack.

I will NOT be running with these guys.

Well, it's finally here.  Missing two integral weeks of training while being sick didn't help, but I did get in one 20-mile run and several other 16+ milers.  I'm definitely not feeling so hot in the confidence department, but I will endure. 

For the first 20 miles, I enjoy the scenery, the people watching, the atmosphere... then I'm sure I'll dive into the "Seriously, why am I doing this?" mode.  Then I'll finish. I'll hurt. I'll hate the idea of running.

Then, within about a 24 hour period of time, I'll be thinking about my next run. It's a sadistic cycle and it's why I'm on Marathon #6.  "Marathons... I can't quit you."   (That's an obscure movie reference that makes most Texas guys a little nervous.)

So, enough about me....  I'm excited that I have friends running marathons & half marathons in three different states all on the same day!! 


Craig - Looking to BQ at the California International Marathon

Mike & Katrina - Running at the Rock N' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon

Jason & Karen-  Running the Dallas White Rock Marathon -- Karen's first!!

Marcy-  Running the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon

And a special good luck to my co-workers and friends that will be participating in the relay at the White Rock Marathon and pushing Jackie Murphee in her modified jogging buggy.  Two years ago, 23-year-old Jackie Murphree was in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Murphree was left paralyzed and with brain damage. Murphree can no longer talk, walk or feed herself as a result of the accident.  She receives physical therapy at the hospital that I work at and this is the second year they have participated in the race.  


So, if you see a group of 2-3 people pushing a beautiful young lady in a jogging stroller/ buggy, please yell out your words of encouragement to them!!  Go Jackie and Team Fit-N-Wise!! 


A hilarious part of the DWRM this year:  

"Call Your Lifeline! – New to the MetroPCS DWRM this year: make a call to a loved one while you’re running! A MetroPCS volunteer will run alongside you as you call so you never have to stop. Look for MetroPCS calling stations along the course (one on half course, one on the full). Calls limited to 30 seconds. May call any number in the continental USA."

Seriously, folks.  I couldn't make this up!!   I'd like to see one of those "volunteers" keep up with the Kenyans!!  Ha!!

And, if you're shooting for a specific time, don't forget to download one or two (if you want a back up plan) of the free pace bands from Clif Bar!  I love 'em.  No math required!  Woo hoo!

http://www.clifbar.com/play/pace_band/

30 weeks or 206 days.  However you look at it... THE JOURNEY HAS STARTED!!

This last week has been a transition period- from finishing out the 2010 triathlon season and sprinting (!) to beginning marathon training and now this week, I begin IM training.  Not much of a rest period, that's for sure. But, switching gears to start going "long" is an adjustment.

White Rock 2009

I had a great 12 mile run last Saturday morning.  That was seriously double  the longest run I've completed in more than 3 months.. at least?  Nothing like crash coursing into marathon training.  I'm only 6 weekends away from the White Rock Marathon, so I have a lot of running to catch up on. I had a nice invite from Jason over at Life of An Aspiring Triathlete - also running White Rock- to join him for a 16 mile run, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hang.  Trying to take it slow and easy and trying not to get injured, but thanks Jason!  You Rock!  (We'll train together at some point - promise!)  

Ironman training (today) consisted of a 2,500 yard pool swim at lunch and then a 10k run this evening.  The run is more than what is called for, but I'm having to adapt to keep my mileage up.  I'm typically swim between 1,500 and 2,000 during a session, but at a greater intensity, so upping the mileage wasn't too bad- but still seemed like a long time to be water-logged.  My swimming will be dropping from 3 days/ week down to 2 so that shouldn't be so bad.

As always, I have my wonderful swim partners to thank (Blake & Michelle) for keeping me motivated in the water.  I've always preferred being a "wolf pack of one" when it comes to training, but I always enjoy their company.

Hope everyone is having a great week.  :)

Amy & me at a 1/2 marathon in  2003.

I ran across an article today that said "A record-high 467,000 people ran marathons in the United States in 2009, according to Running USA, which tracks industry trends — and running for charity has been a driving force. Even if the exact number of charity runners in the country cannot be documented, according to Ryan Lamppa, the media director for Running USA, participants in United States road races from the 5K to the marathon raised an estimated total of $1 billion in 2009."

Those numbers are amazing to me.  I ran my first marathon back in June 2000 with the Leukemia Society's Team in Training.  Without that group, I would never have attempted to run a marathon. I was an occasional 5k runner, at best.  My friend, Amy, said that we should try a 10k one weekend and I honestly thought I was going to die before I finished that race.  I told her that I would "never run that far again in my life."  Less than a year later, with my friends, Amy & Shelley, we ran the Governor's Cup marathon in Montana. They were the ones who had signed up to go to a Team in Training informational meeting and I went along with them- thinking that they were crazy.  They had originally had the idea of attempting a 1/2 marathon in mind, but by the end of the night, we had all signed our names on the26.2 mile dotted line.

It was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it.  I have gone on to complete 5 marathons (6 by this December and 7 by next May.) I can honestly attribute my triathlon success and drive to complete an Ironman to the day that I signed up for that full marathon.  Because on that day, I made a decision to reach for a bigger dream and I took a chance on myself, that I could accomplish what I thought was impossible. I changed my own life that day, as it has shaped who I am in many ways.  And, I was able to help a very deserving organization in the process. I don't train with TNT anymore, but I am so excited to cheer every one those athletes wearing a purple jersey on in any race that I'm in and still support them through my friends that do.

Anyone else a former TNT'er or other fundraising charity team?