RAGNAAAAR!

Check out our awesome team shirts!!!

The DMC stands for 2 things: The obvious, of course, the band. And also the Daily Mile Connection. It's where we all met and formed the team. Notice the Daily Mile leaf? :)

I'm super excited for Ragnar! It's going to be a crazy awesome experience and I can't wait to tell you about it!
At 7:30 AM tomorrow, I'll be starting the first leg of the relay! O.O

Wish me luck!!!

Hiking as Cross Training

First of all, Happy Valentines Day!!! Hope your day has been wonderful and full of love. Chance took me out to dinner tonight and I got some sweet gifts. You'll have to wait until the end of this post to check them out...or you can scroll down and cheat...  :p

Secondly, I have less than two weeks before the Ragnar Relay. I'm a little nervous. So, this weekend I tried some cardiovascular cross training: hardcore hiking. Chance, 3 friends, five dogs and I took to the Santa Catalina Mountains last Saturday and hiked the Green Mountain Trail.





This hike was tough, as you can see. I was a little worried that I wasn't able to get in a run this weekend, but after the hike, I decided this was even better than a run.
We parked at the General Hitchcock Picnic Area and hiked uphill for 3.9 miles. Plus, there was ice on the trail (really bad in some parts) which called for more coordination.

Seriously Uphill.

Aside from certain parts of the difficult terrain, this is a great hike. It's challenging and a great workout (for us humans as well as for the dogs). I'd love to run it one day.

..............

Now, on to some new awesome stuff!

These were gifts from my parents/Chance, mainly to help out with Ragnar. Thank you!!!

  

I'm definitely feeling better about Ragnar knowing I have the necessary items!
Only 11 more days! O.O

17 Days

17 Days until Ragnar!

I've been doing the usual: training, mentally preparing and, of course, freaking out.

It's hard to imagine how incredibly tired you'll be feeling during a 24 hour relay. Rae from Ragnar told us to train like we would run during relay. For example, I'll run my longest run (8 miles) in the morning before work/school, continue my usual daily schedule, then head out again and run my longest leg. I may even add another leg onto that. That's about how exhausted I should feel. And yes, I'm doing this for fun. :)

The big weekend is getting closer and I still have yet to meet most of my teammates. While some may think this could be problematic, I think it could be fun. If I end up meeting most of them the day of Ragnar, I wouldn't have a problem. I enjoy meeting new people!  However, as of this moment, I am posting to our team page on Facebook about meeting up next week, so we won't be complete strangers. :)

I'm not really sure what to expect. This will definitely be an experience, and hopefully I'll come back with loads of information to share with you. Until then...I'm not quite sure what I'm doing. *crossing my fingers*

RNR AZ Official Photos

I love these photos! I had so much fun at this half! :)

Snot Rockets

It's an art, people. And perfecting it takes some skill. 

For those of you who don't know what a snot rocket is (from Urban Dictionary):
When you plug one nostril with your finger, and blow out of the other nostril with everything you have, sending a snot projectile out of the nose.

"Without tissue, all I could do to clear my nose was to blow a snot rocket."

I was first introduced to a form of snot rockets by my friend Margo. We were hiking in the Tucson Mountains when she suddenly needed a tissue. I had none so she quickly resorted to bending over and slowly blowing the snot from her nose. Her method was slow and drippy and messy (she thinks its funnier that way). I would not recommend it. But, I got the idea. No tissue? No problem. 

Kind of like Margo's method...except this one is for sale on the internet somewhere.

When I run, I become a snot factory. No joke. A few months ago, I decided I should bring along a washcloth on runs because it was so bad. even in one of my race photos you can see where I wiped my nose on my shirt (I forgot the washcloth). Classy, right?
Honestly, it doesn't bother me. Running is a messy sport. Blisters form, pus oozes, skin chafes,  sweat drips, noses run, body parts swell, toenails turn black and fall off, etc etc. However, to the rest of the non-running population, it's pretty gross. Especially snot rockets.

When I was training for my half marathon, I felt very comfortable launching snot on runs. It may have helped that I was usually alone when the deed occurred.  But on Sunday (the RNR AZ half), I became super nervous about doing it! There were so many people! Then my nose started to run and I knew I had to (washcloths look so tacky in race photos) . I ran off to the edge of the course, made sure I wouldn't hit a spectator, and gave it a try. 
Surprisingly, I didn't feel too awkward. I had seen other people spit (I'll have to cover that one in a future post) so I wasn't nervous about that. But not once did I see a snot rocket in progress. Seriously. 13.1 miles and no booger launch from nada. WTH? I thought "Am I the only one with this problem??"

I know I'm not. But I always wondered about etiquette during a race. I looked around and I think Made to Run said it pretty well:

"Race day etiquette suggests you do a couple of things as the nose blow’er. First thing, check to your left and to your right and immediately behind you before you launch a snot rocket. If there is someone behind you please make sure they are at least 3-4 strides behind so that they don’t run through the mist of your nose blow. If you are crowded in during a highly populated race, then you can always take the sleeve of your shirt and blow/wipe accordingly. If you end up running into the path of a nose blower please don’t lose your cool. It certainly wasn’t intentional and running is a friendly, community oriented sport. Let them know to be a bit more careful next time and go on your way. Lastly, if you decide to run with a cold I would recommend stuffing some tissue or a hankerchief in your shorts pocket so that you can wipe or blow frequently without disrupting others."

I wish there was some sort of cure to this. I pretty much despise shooting out snot rockets every so often. I like my runs to be snot rocket free please!
Does anybody else have this issue? And what do you do about it? 


Happy Monday Y'all! :) 

RNR AZ Half Marathon Recap!

I'm a half marathoner! :D

The weekend began with the RNR AZ Expo in downtown Phoenix. My sister drove us there (thankfully, otherwise I would have been very lost) and took us around the expo.

We won some awesome Brooks beanies and posed for some photos. Check out our awesome time! 

They also had wine at the expo. Great idea! 

I also met Lauren from When I get a little, run run run. It's so cool to meet other bloggers!  I swear I looked around for you Adam, but you weren't anywhere to be found! :p

It was great meeting you! We'll have to meet up again next time I'm in Phoenix. 

And I got some free stuff and my RNR t-shirt, of course. 

 

The next morning was the big day. I'll admit I hit the snooze button a few times. I didn't have to be there until 8:54am technically, so why wake up so early? 

Joann was trying to convince me that getting there early would be a good idea. It probably would have been. Considering I ended up in the wrong corral. 

The race begun at 8:30am and my corral (20) was set to leave at 8:54am. I was dropped off at about 8:25-ish and then I stood in the horrendously loooong line to the smelly port-a-potties. 

And that took a few minutes. I jogged down along the fence that held the runners (like cattle, seriously) and had to jump the fence because there was no way to get in. 

I stood among the other runners for about 10 minutes, getting very antsy. I decided at that point I came too early and the waiting was driving me crazy. That's when I started to look around and I noticed a sign that said Corral 22. Oops.
So, I darted through the crowd and under some ropes and I was finally in the right corral. Yay.


The beginning was in sight and we were off!

My family was waiting for me up the road, which meant that they got to see Kara Goucher! Jealous.

It's a little blurry, but she's behind that guy. And she has pink shoes.

Unfortunately, I am not elite enough to run at Kara's speed so I was not able to meet her. Sorry.
But I can give you a mile by mile recap. 

Mile 1: It was very cold and since I didn't want to wear my sweatshirt, I was freezing in the beginning. I remember my hands being very stiff and cold. I kept shaking them out and it probably looked like I was dancing.

Mile 2: I saw my parents, my sister and Chance here! I loved that they came out to support me! :)

Mile 3: This was somewhere in a neighborhood and this is when the muscles/tendons/I'm not exactly sure what it was above my ankles started to hurt. I felt both sides pulling and I was freaking out that I may have injured them. 

Mile 4-5: Just cruising along to my music. Taking in the sights of Phoenix.

Mile 6: I was eating a Gu when I saw my family at the 10k mark! I had texted them at mile 6 (yes, I was running and texting, but only a little and off to the side of the road, promise) and I wasn't sure when I would see them again. Apparently they got there a few seconds before I did. Great timing!

Mile 7: Zoning out to my music.

Mile 8-9: At this point, all of the  cytomax drinks they were handing out (and I'm sure the Gu too) kicked in and I got this weird energy boost. I was speeding down the road, passing people like crazy! I felt really good and unstoppable. I also saw my family again at mile 9-ish. I was in a little pain, but nothing too bad.

Mile 10-11: At the end of mile 10, I really started to feel the pain creeping up my legs. I never felt this pain before! It totally freaked me out but I just kept running. It was really hot at this point and I remembered I didn't put on any sunscreen.

Mile 12: We ran over the bridge over the lake. It was beautiful! Best part of the course in my opinion.  Near the end of this mile, I saw people wearing medals. That gave me a kick in the butt to keep moving! I also saw the more photographers. I took off my sunglasses and flashed a few smiles. :)

Mile 13-13.1: I remember seeing so many people with medals along the side of the road and I knew I was close! My legs were screaming at me and I'm sure my finishing photo is a look of pain. I saw my family a few seconds before I crossed the finish line. Wow, I saw them 4 times!  They were really running around! And I finished!!!!

Time: 2:41:22
Overall Place: 13141
Sex Place: 7212
Division Place: 712
Avg Pace: 12:19

I got in line to get my photo with my medal, got some snacks (they had Mojo frozen yogurt!) and went painfully in search of my family. Thankfully, Joann found me wandering (I had NO idea where I was going) and we took some photos (again, pain face Jamie).

Overall, I had an awesome time! At some parts of the race, I wished I had someone to run with, but it was also nice at some parts to enjoy it by myself. I wish I wore sunscreen. I have added some more weird tan lines to my collection. And I wish I trained harder. I would have been in less pain at the end had I done that. But it was fun, and I'd like to do the marathon someday. I wasn't particularly fond of the scenery at the beginning of the race (at least up to mile 9). How is the scenery with the marathon? Any different? I know it's not all about the scenery, but it's sure a plus! 

This recap was very detailed, but there was a lot to say! I would totally recommended running this half at least once. It's a nice tour of downtown Phoenix and some surrounding areas, and the views at the end + party are well worth it. :)

RNR AZ - It's almost here!

My first half marathon is in 1 day! I'm excited and nervous and unsure and intimidated and etc etc... I know I can do this. Sure, I never ran 13 miles before. Okay, let's be honest, I never ran more than 8. This will be interesting! Remember, they say it's 10% physical and 90% mental. Let me just say though...it's very hard too keep to a schedule when you go to college and have 2 jobs. I am exhausted from all of that during the school year. And I know everyone has jobs and they are exhausted too. So. I'm not complaining, I'm just trying to do the best that I can do. And 8 miles was the best that I could do last year. 

This semester, I have my weekends free (yay!) and a little tiny bit of time off during the week. I feel a running schedule may be more manageable. I never actually stuck to a schedule last year, I pretty much just got out there, ran short-ish runs during the week and saved my long runs for the weekend. Very simple. I never did any speed work but I hope to incorporate into my training this year. 

I'm a little worried right now though because I don't have a big race planned...yet.

I'm looking at either the Mt. Lemmon Marathon to be my first marathon 

vs. the Tucson Marathon.

 However, those are both at the end of the year. Would I go crazy with the wait? Who knows. But that's all I got so far. 

RNR San Diego (in June) is sort of an option, but the cost to get over there worries me as a college student. I do have cousins in San Diego, but I'm not sure they'd let me stay over; I haven't seen them in years. But we are family, so I'll ask. Does anyone know of any marathons (or half's) in the SW US that I may not be aware of?

.......

So far, I have new music from iTunes and a CD from my sister. I'm making a playlist tonight after class. I'm staying hydrated, especially for the next day. I'm trying to eat well, but it's hard when ramen is soooo cheap. :)  (just kindding, I don't eat ramen all the time...)
 I think I'm ready. 

Oh! And I'm going to the expo packet pickup on Saturday. I'll probably get there around 9-10 am and hang out for a bit, maybe go hear some people talk about running, you know. So, if anyone is running the race and will be there around that time, let me know!! I'd love to do a blogger meet up! That would make me so happy!! :)