Monday, October 25, 2010

The 1st Annual Mt. Lemmon Marathon VOLUNTEER Report




So, I didn't run this one because honestly...it was intimidating. Uphill for 26.2 miles? I don't think so. Not this year, anyways. Maybe someday I'll have the balls to run this race. The runners who did have the balls, I applaud you! You all did great! I'm super impressed and very jealous.

My Sunday begun at 2:30am, when I woke up. I then drove over to the Northeast side to help load marathoners into buses at 3:30am. I love the traffic at this hour! I'll drive in that any day. I met my friend Kevin (who volunteered with me) to help with the buses. It all went pretty well, everyone was really friendly at this time of the morning (even the bus drivers, they were very helpful and talkative!). I even met another blogger! Renee at Pinkcorker's Desert Trail Running Blog was getting on to the bus when I reconzied her! I asked for a photo (of course, we bloggers need that stuff) and she thought it was really funny and cute. I hope I didn't seem too awkward. She was really nice (Thanks Renee!) I just thought it was cool to meet another blogger.


So, if you want to feel like a celebrity, you should meet me at a race! :p

Kevin and I got everyone on the buses and hopped on the last one (just us, the bus driver and a really late runner) to head up the mountain. It was still so dark outside and I felt like I had been up all night (even though I got 7 hours of sleep!).


We got to the base of the mountain after waiting in a loooong line....


so we got off the bus and half ran to the start (it helped that we were talking about the Ragnar Relay to get us pumped...).


I didn't get any good photos of the start because we were running around so much and sometimes I forgot I had a camera, there was just so much going on. I wish I did get some photos, I loved the buzzing activity of the start line. Next year, for sure :)

After we got in the race directors wifes car (I know, wth? I'm pretty sure she doesn't know us...) we headed up to the mountain. Our first task was to stop at all of the water stations/aid stations and make sure they had everything they needed. 

We were held up at Windy Point because the half marathon started, so I got  few good photos. 



Looking South, towards Tucson



Windy Point


This is where we saw the first and second runners for the first time. 

Trying to see the runners

Can you see him?


As soon as the line of cars began to move, we hopped back in the car to find that it wouldn't start. Apparently, I left the door open/Kevin left the lights on in our excitement.OOPS. Thankfully, people are nice and they gave our *borrowed* car a jump.


We drove to the next aid station/water station. We handed out some trash boxes and played some Bop It with the nurses.

 







The 1st runner


The 2nd runner, about 5 minutes behind

The next water station was a high school group. They probably got the absolute worst spot...it was freezing. We pretty much left right away. It was just too cold! Sorry high school kids!

This is the 4th water station we stopped at. These BTE gals were pretty awesome. They handed me pamphlets about their half marathons and tried to get me to do a few. They even do training programs. I'm looking into it!









We were getting closer to the end with the last water stop before the very very very big hill up to Ski Valley. 






Making sure no one misses the dreaded hill
We finally arrived at the finish line and gave the race directors wife her car keys back. Oddly, she didn't look surprised when we handed them to her. She's a brave woman for letting complete strangers drive her car. We did bring it back in one piece though. Go us.

We got to meet Bart Yasso! Check out this months Runners World for more info on him. Or go HERE.






The 1st runner finishing!



1st and 3rd place


Bart interviewing the winner


The 1st female finisher of the marathon!


Kevin and his friend


After watching about 30 more people finish, I got on one of the last buses and went down the mountain. I had a great time volunteering at this race! There was a lot of excitement and energy for it being the first one. I hope there is more to come. I know Lazlo, the race director, wants it to become HUGE. So, sign up for this race next year and make his dream come true. :)


I plan on either volunteering or running it next year. I have to be involved somehow! It was so exciting to watch. And I'm really proud of all the runners who attempted this race, and finished! Running uphill for 26.2 miles (even 13.1 miles) is a difficult feat and I'm impressed! Great job!!


This week I'm upping my mileage to start my "official" training for the Ragnar Relay! WOO-HOO!


Happy Monday!


Tuesday, October 19, 2010

200 Miles

I made it to 200 miles on my run this morning!!!

YEAH!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Joggin' with the Dog


Changed my layout again. It just didn't feel right! It may happen one or two more times, but eventually I'll get it!

Today, I went to Reid Park with my mom and the two dogs. I was hoping to run with my pup, Sookie, but since it was 10am it was a little too warm for her (It's Tucson, go figure). So, we ended up running a little up the track and then back to my mom and our other dog, Ellie. We did this around the entire Reid Park, which is roughly about 3.1 miles, but the running ahead and backtracking added a little more.

Miles: 4.19
Time: 1:34
Avg Pace: 22:35


I didn't pause my Nike+ when we took water breaks and when I was walking, so the pace is really slow. We want to try and do this loop once a week. I was trying to talk my mom into running a 5k eventually (hopefully Race for the Cure this April). We'll see. :
After taking Sookie out today, I realized again (for like the 50th bazillion time) how hard it is to run with a dog. Or maybe it's just my dog. Either way, it was tough. She kept zig-zagging across my path, slowing down smell something, speeding up to catch a rollerblader or another dog, and when she got really stubborn/tired, she would just stop and sit down. What a pain!! I hear about all these other dogs and their owners having a great time running! And here I am, with an ADD/world's most stubborn/lazy dog.


After our run


Pooped pup

I read the Runners World section on running with dogs  and took some advice on how to start out running with dogs. I started slow with her, only took her running for about 10-15 minutes a few times a week. And I thought as I worked with her on this, she'd eventually build up endurance. Granted, I don't live with her (yet) which makes it harder to train her, but I thought she'd get the idea.
Well, she hasn't yet, but I'm hoping it won't take too long before I can run a little farther with her. Especially since it's cooling down. I may head up to Mt. Lemmon and go trail running with her sometime. But before we do that, she definitely needs some more training.

And speaking of Mt. Lemmon, tomorrow is the Mt. Lemmon Marathon! I will not be running it, as it's said to be the worlds toughest road marathon. But I will be volunteering. I get to wake up at 2:30am tomorrow morning (hello sleeping pills) and help load the marathoners on the buses. Then, I get to ride up with them to the base of the mountain, change cars, ride up with the event organizer to the top and start handing out t-shirts and medals. Tomorrow should be a very exciting day. Supposedly, Bart Yasso (Runner's World Chief Running Officer) is running it. So, maybe I'll get a chance to meet him and usher him onto the bus. How cool!

Off to get some homework done and then I'm going to sleep at 6pm...oh boy.
Have great rest of your weekend!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Ragnar on the Brain

All I can think about lately is the Ragnar Relay! I think about it when I'm running, while I'm biking to school, at work and so on. It's on the brain, that's for sure. And recently, I achieved what I thought was going to be pretty much impossible: find 11 people to run this with me.

Coincidently, my Daily Mile friend Kevin had the same idea. I talked to him about it and I wrote a note on DM and wall-ah! A relay team. A whole team in under a week! We were aiming for tomorrow, at the latest, because we wanted the early registration price. And we got it. OH YEAH.

So, my team is registered and ready go. Most of us want to run it right now. We are so excited. :)  Thanks Daily Mile for being awesome.

Our current team consists of 6 girls, and 5 guys (we have one slot
sort of open, it keeps jumping between people, but we already paid, so there's no turning back!). 

The next step we're taking right now is looking for vans. Many of the rental vans in the area are already sold out for that weekend. That's so crazy. It's in February and the early registration date hasn't even passed. I can imagine the kind of people I'm going to see at the race (awesomely crazy people?).
The next step I want to take is picking who runs which legs. There are 12 runners and each runners run 3 legs, of varying distance. I really really really want to be Runner #1. This runner will run the hardest leg of the course (according to the Ragnar website) of 8.3 miles on an incline that rises 400 feet. I'm not afraid. I'll step up and take on this leg, as for the other two I'll have. I can do it!


Okay, that's all for now. I save more details for later. And I'll let you know the outcome of who gets what leg. Friday is almost here!!!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Columbus Day = My Lifesaver

So, yesterday didn't work out. I was planning to run the Phoenix Race for the Cure with my sister Sunday morning. Unfortunately, the night before, we stayed up late with her friends playing Settlers of Catan (a board game) eating cookies and having a drink or two. BAD idea before a race. Joann woke up feeling sick to her stomach and I felt a little dizzy. My guess is that since we knew it was only 3 miles we could do it on lack of sleep, sugar highs, etc.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. Get plenty of sleep and eat well before a race. No matter the distance. Basically, we showed you what
not to do.

I was tired that whole day too. What a bummer. But I did get to hang out with my sister and her family. So, at least there was an upside. :)

Fast forward to today. I get up at 6 (okay 6:15, darn that snooze button!), get ready and head off to work. I get to work and see that no one is in the parking lot. Okay weird, I think, but think nothing more of it. I go in, sign in, and de-arm the workroom. I get to my desk and start entering worksheets. After a while, I look up and see an email attached to the top of my desk, highlighted. Thinking it's a note my boss left me about turning off the lights in the repository or something like that, I semi-ignore it, but then become too curious. I pull it down and it's a note about the holidays for the building. And guess what day is on that list? Columbus Day, October 11th. Off to the right it says
no student work, sorry. Sorry? That's it? That's all you have to say to me? The building arms up every hour, on the hour, on holidays. So, basically, I had to get out of there at 8:00 or else it was going to go off. And it was almost 8.

Luckily for me, someone else set it off at 7:45 and that gave me time to gather my stuff together. However, before I could get out of there, the maintenance man came in and told me I should probably leave. How embarrassing. I really wish my bosses told me on Thursday that I wouldn't have to wake up early on Monday to come in to work. Would have been really helpful. UGH.

 Anyway, I decided that Columbus Day is my lifesaver because I didn't have to work. And
that means I had time for something else. Running! I had 5 hours to kill before classes so I decided to get a 6 miler in before I went to school. And it worked out perfectly because by the time I got home I was already completely awake (no sleeping in for me today!) and I got home early enough that it wasn't too hot. I was dying for time for a run like this and I'm so grateful for this day!

I decided to run down to the U of A, lap around Old Main and come back home for a total distance of 6 miles. But, I was so happy that I finally had some time to run a good distance, I added a few more streets to make it a total of 7.2 miles!

Miles: 7.20
Time: 1 Hour and 23 Minutes
Avg Pace: 11'33"

I felt really good...
mentally. However, physically was a different story. Around mile 4, the left side of my chest began to hurt so badly! It became hard to breathe and I had to take a few walking breaks. I stretched a little to see if that would do the trick, but nothing. I am full of mysterious pains lately. Hopefully this one won't come back. It really hindered by running and hurt for about half an hour after I cooled down. Otherwise, this run was awesome!!

I got home and enjoyed a bowl of Moroccan Chickpea Bisque with dill weed and olive oil and a side of warm wheat tortilla. Tasty! I would have taken a picture, but I was so hungry and it was so good! Next time I'll snap a quick photo before I scarf it down. :)

My Ragnar Relay team update will have to wait for another post. We have a team and a theme! 

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Is There A Fast Forward Button On This Thing?

And by thing, I mean life. And by fast forward, I mean to this weekend. I have quite a few fun things planned (maybe more things than the weekend has time for) to get me pumped up again. :) It is October  which = my favorite month…for now (not my birthday month but I don’t particularly like the month I was born in…it’s too cold to do anything!). There’s so much to do in the fall, especially when you live in the desert. Fall means cooler temps which (for me) means more hiking, running and basically any outdoor activity. Awesome. And this year, I have a whole new way to celebrate my favorite time of year…racing! 


First off, I am running a race this weekend! Nothing like a race to get me pumped up again. :)

Joann @ Teach. Mom. Run. (my sister!) convinced me to drive up to Phoenix (she knows I can't pass up a good race, even in the midst of school/work overload craziness) and run with her in the Race For The Cure. I love races with a cause, especially something that effects so many people. I recently found out (at my last Race For The Cure in April) that my grandmother was diagnosed with it. I never knew this! My sister told me it was probably because I was young. I figured no one wanted to trouble a kid with something so horrible. And then it just never came up again. Until last April. So, now I feel way more connected to this race and its cause. I'll let you know how it goes, of course.

This Friday night, I'm doing something really spooky. I'm getting together with a few friends and going to a haunted house! It's called Slaughterhouse and it has a really interesting location. The Tucson Screamers (our local haunted house operators) took over an old...wait for it....slaughterhouse. So, this old, abandoned slaughterhouse (called Farmer Johns) has now been transformed into a HUGE haunted house. AWESOME. I'm excited to go and I plan to take a lot of creepy photos (unless I'm too scared to take out my camera). 

This is what it used to look like. 

Lastly, for my activities this weekend is an extra credit geology field trip with my class. Not too exciting for the running world, but very exciting for someone who loves rocks. Like me. We'll be collecting samples in the field and crushing them later in the rock lab (sounds way cooler than it probably is). 

Now, I'm really REALLY excited for this announcement. That's why I saved it for last. 

RAGNAR RELAY!!!

That's right. Ragnar Relay Del Sol is almost here (or at least the early registration date is).
A team is forming and I'm in it and we need your help.
We need more runners.

Here's the quick and dirty version:
---Teams of 15.
---202 miles from Wickenburg to Tempe.
---Each runner will run three legs ranging between 3 to 8 miles.
---About 24 Hours.

That's the scoop so far! I'll put up some more details later.

Finally (I swear this is it), I went for a quick run today on the mill. I had about 20 minutes of free time and I took it!

Miles: 2.4
Time: 23:00
Avg. Pace: 9:36
It felt pretty good using my time wisely. :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

A Bad Week For Running

Life can be busy, especially when you throw running into the mix. I’ve been slowly discovering this the hard way. As my plate fills up, it seems that running is the one thing really pushed off to the side. And this depresses me. Mainly because it’s the only thing that’s really only for me. My other activities involve others and I think that great (I don’t want to be a hermit), but I always end up putting ‘me’ time on the back burner.Not healthy. I never really had a desire to be alone. I love being surrounded by people, they make me happy! :)  But I have become so busy that I’m sort of craving a few good run with just my iPod and myself (good times). I’m currently eyeing the Tucson Mountains for some alone time. They’ve been calling my name for awhile now. 
The Tucson Mountains
This week, I only ran 0.66 miles. I pushed myself to get out the door, but I lacked the drive that would help me tackle the distance, so I headed back. I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m disappointed with myself about this run as well as another important issue: The RnR Arizona. I was planning on running the full marathon this January, but then realistically took a look at my training and how I’ve been doing. Truthfully, it doesn’t look good. I got behind when I went to the UK (running is hard to do while traveling!!) and I missed some very important long runs. So, I backed out of the marathon and signed up for the half instead. The half is also an excellent goal, but I was so psyched to run the marathon. Instead, I am aiming to run the full marathon at RnR San Diego this coming June! That gives me another full semester to train. I basically just need more time to train and to dedicate more focus on running. I would also like to join a running group to help me with my training which is something I should have done this year (I need all the help and motivation I can get!). 

So, yes, this week was a bad week for running, but I’m ready to get the most from it and learn from my mistakes. I’m determined to run a marathon (damn it!) and I will! 

“Running is a big question mark that’s there each and everyday. It asks you, “Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?”
                                                                                ---Peter Maher

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