The Slacker Half Marathon - June 23nd, 2012

This is it. My first half marathon. The longest I have ever run. Something I thought was impossible just a few months prior. An idea that started over margaritas back in April, was now a reality.

I could barely sleep the night before. Partially because our motel room had no air conditioning so it was incredibly hot and uncomfortable and partially because of nerves.

The morning of the race, I was the first one of our group awake. Honestly, it was only because I hadn't slept. I had gone over it a hundred times in my head. I needed to get the baby powder and anti-chaffing gel on my sensitive bits, eat some carbs and protein, pull my short hair back out of my face and hydrate. My stomach was in knots, and my body was already tired. It was a relief when the other girls woke up, because at least talking and joking around helped to take my mind off of things.

The Slacker Half Marathon boasts that it is "the highest, downhill marathon in the country" and as we drove up the mountain to the base of the Loveland Ski Resort, which would serve as our starting line, that OH SHIT feeling was crawling up the back of my throat and becoming more and more nauseating with each mile. What on earth did I sign up for?

I didn't bring my iPhone with me on this run, because I didn't want to drain the battery. Instead, I brought my little shuffle, so that comforting voice telling me my distance and pace every 10 minutes from my iPhone ap, was not going to join me on this run. It was up to my watch and the mile marker signs, to judge pace.

When that gun finally sounded at the start of the race, 1,667 people inched past the starting line and down a dusty path. The first few minutes of the race are filled with memories of kicked up dust, people shoving past one another and surviving other bottleneck issues that tend to happen in situations like this.

Then I got into my groove, found my music, marveled at the glorious Colorado scenery, and ran. The first 4 miles were a breeze. The downhill was working in my favor and I was feeling good. Then, out of no where, there was a hill to climb. I looked at the hill and assessed my skills and said, "Screw this, I'm walking". Since I had only run 9 miles at my max before, I didn't want to burn out on the steep uphills. I climbed the hill at mile 4 and then continued with my run. Thankfully, when I was starting to feel tired enough to talk myself out of running anymore (around mile 6 or so), I saw my friend Ashley up ahead. I sprinted up to her and she was my Godsend for the rest of the run. She motivated me, encouraged me, and even got me to do those crazy jumping photos with the photographers. I am sure that she slowed her pace to stay with me on the second half of that run, but I am thankful that she stuck with me.

Things were going well until around Mile 12. All of the miles had been marked on the same foam like poster board along the race. It had felt like it had been awhile since I had seen mile 11, so after running down several steep switch backs, I saw a turned over foam board sign. In my head and in my heart, I knew that must be the mile 12 marker and I looked at Ashley and said I wanted to finish strong and sprint the last mile. So I gave it my all and started running my ass off. A few minutes later, a sign came out of no where and what it said literally stopped me in my tracks - Mile 12. What the fuck?!? Mile 12? I have been sprinting my ass off for the past 5 minutes and I am just at Mile 12? Ashley realized that I was no longer next to her so she turned around and saw me standing a few feet back, with my mouth gaped open, and my feet heavy as concrete. "No!" she shouted at me. "You are not stopping now". I shot her a painful, puppy dog look and she snapped me a "Bitch, you are going to finish this race" look, so I begrudgingly picked up my feet and started running. Mile 12 was my 'Runner's Wall". I was making deals with myself, one more step. One more light pole, only 10 more minutes. Only 9 minutes and 59 more seconds and so on. But Mile 12 wouldn't end. Mile 12 was twisting and turning through the downtown dirt roads of Georgetown, CO and at every dusty bend, there were more encouraging people, telling us we were almost at the end, the end was two blocks away, the end was at the next corner and lies, and lies and lies. Finally, when I really thought we were almost at the end, we turned a corner and there it was... A WATER STATION? WTF? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! WHERE IS THE FUCKING FINISH LINE!?!?! And next to the water station was the 3rd big hill of the race. So not only was Mile 12 never ending, it was adding an uphill obstacle, while dust and dirt flew into my face. Mile 12 was a total bitch. I couldn't run anymore and I had to walk up the hill, at the end of the race. And I felt totally defeated. Thankfully, there were curses from other runners and it seemed like everyone around me, walked up that hill. For a minute there, my skin went clammy, and I was covered in goosebumps and thought I might pass out. But I shoved some nuts and Gatorade in me and that feeling passed. At the top of the hill and around another corner, the finish line rose up - and Ashley looked at me, and in her Southern accent she said -"Finish strong girl". So I started running the last tenth (ish) of a mile and crossed the finish line.

My goal was to finish in under 3 hours, so even with 'Mile 12: Soul Sucker' in the mix, I was incredibly surprised by my time for my first half marathon:

Time: 2:25:54
Pace: 11:09

Lesson Learned: Most of the lessons I learned during this race, have to do with taking care of myself. I should have stopped at some point between mile 6.5 and mile 12 to get some food in me. I needed some nuts or a gel or something to keep me going at the end. Sprinting into uncertainty is not a good idea. And I am much, much stronger than I think. I am proud of myself for finishing, for running the majority of the race and am thankful for the friends who did it with me.

It has also been determined, we are going to run The Slacker Half Marathon again this year. And this time, I am going to make Mile 12 my bitch.

Run #17, June 16, 2012

Fort Collins is covered in a cloud of smoke, ash and dust. Running over the past few weeks has been brutal because of the constant 100 degree weather, which is now coupled with a plague of fires that has descended on our state, leaving its evidence lingering in our previously pristine air.

The half marathon is a mere six days away and breathing has become a difficult task. Because of the running challenges were a facing here, my friend Sara and I decided to go for a trail run out of town, to give our lungs a break.

We woke up early to beat the heat and drove south for about an hour to link up with the St. Vrain trail in Longmont. My plan was to try and hit 7 miles, while Sara was going for 9-10. I am a much slower runner, so we figured that Sara would lap me at some point, and we would both just run at our own pace.

We started out on a beautiful trail and it didn't take long for Sara to pass me with her gazelle stride. It was nice to be on an unknown path, which mean my run was not predictable, and held no expectations except to run.

I planned to run on the trail until I had gone 3.5 miles and then turn around. But between the music and the scenery, I decided to go a bit further. I turned around at mile 4 and was fairly excited that I might make it 8 miles today. Then at mile 5, I was slapped with an crippling side cramp. I stopped for a minute, drank some water, ate some nuts and stretched it out. After a few minutes, I was up and running again.

There was so much activity on the trail, including a man juggling while running, a really tall man on a really tall bike and to top it off, every so often the horizon was filled with an array of colors as sky divers pulled open their parachutes. It was a really entertaining run, which kept me distracted from my own thoughts, which are the biggest barrier in my running.

When I hit mile 8 and was at the end of the trail, I felt like I could keep going, so I lapped a lake a few times, thinking I would stop when I saw Sara, but when I iPhone announced I had hit 9 miles, and my feet felt like they had been standing for days, I decided it was time to stop, sit and hydrate. Sara resurfaced a bit later. She had her own side cramp issue that she had to battle through as well.

I can honestly say, I am starting to understand the 'runner's high' I have heard referenced, but always thought was a delusion. There is something to be said about how good you feel after a really strong run. And although, I still hate running, I might be starting to understand it better.

Lesson Learned: I need to get out of my head.
Distance: 9.03 miles
Time: 1:40

Run #16 - June 11th, 2012

Monday night is Girls Night for my friends and I. A group of us get together to watch the latest Bachelor/Bachelorette series, eat popcorn and share our woes and triumphs of life. We typically take turns on where we gather each week, and tonight, we were meeting at my friend Sara's house. He rhouse is about 3.5 miles from my house, so I decided to get in a short run and hit the pavement.

Going out for a run was a risky move, as the smoke in the air from the various Colorado wildfires was continuously polluting the air, while at the same time, we were facing our hottest June on record in years. But all that said, I tied my shoe laces tight, chugged some water, strapped on my iPhone and CRAP! I had updated my phone over the weekend and now, my whole running playlist was gone. The sounds of Florence and the Machine, Nicki Minaj, and LMFAO were now lost in a sea of music, that I didn't want to sort through and pull out right now. So I decided to put my music on shuffle and hope for the best in terms of motivational running songs, amidst all of my Damien Rice, Mumford and Sons and Mat Kearney music.

I started off on my usually route and began my 3.5 mile run to Sara's house. Much to my surprise, today's run was going great, considering how much I had struggled a few days prior. When I hit mile two, I made a snap decision to turn left instead of head straight to Sara's house. I was feeling great and decided to add another mile to my run.

As I headed down the busy street, still keeping my stride, I couldn't help but wonder where all of this energy was coming from. Then it hit me - I was listening to my music. I was so absorbed in the lyrics and the feeling of the songs, that I wasn't focusing on the heat, the sweat, or even physical act of running. I was just doing. So I kept running. I added the extra mile and I was still feeling good, so I decided to detour around a neighborhood and add another mile. And beyond that, I kept running a little further.

My phone started blowing up a bit later, from the other girls wondering where I was. The show was starting and I was missing, so I decided that I should probably head that way. Plus, I  had never run that far before, so I didn't want to do more harm than good, by continuing to push myself into an unknown place.

In the end, I ran a tad over 6 miles, reaching a new distance. This was the furthest I had ever run, and the least amount of angst I had felt since embarking on this running adventure.
 

Lesson Learned: I run better with my slow, alternative music, I might actually be a 'runner',  and I need to carry a snack with me. 
 

Distance: 6.10 miles
 

Time: 1:10:59

Run #15 - June 7th, 2012

Today's run was tough, not to mention a giant wake up call. I hadn't run outside in two weeks because of the conference. Then some post conference crazy at work happened and I needed yoga more than I needed running this week. But when I woke up today and realized it is already June 7th, which means this half marathon is literally 2.5 weeks away. 

It has already been ridiculously hot this June and even the thought of running after work makes me sweat, but I honestly cannot drag myself out of bed to do a morning run before work. So today, I had to do an evening run. 

I wanted to push myself to do another 5 miles and I came close, but ultimately I lost the battle with my feet. I started out on my 5 mile route and was doing good for the first mile, but miles 1-2 was full of side cramps and sweat. At one point I got smacked in the face by a sprinkler, which would have felt good, if it had been a gentler sprinkler, but that one almost knocked me right off balance. Around mile three, my feet began hurting and that little running enemy called blisters, started to form. I kept going, because I had no other way to get home and I wanted to end the pain as quickly as possible, but around mile 3.5 - 4.5 it became a pretty painful run/walk. Thankfully, at mile 4.5 a woman had found a lost dog and needed help locating the street name on his collar, so I sat down with her and we looked it up on my phone. I helped her get the dog to its owner and then took off my shoes and hobbled the last half mile home.

There is no way I am going to be able to pull this off. The furthest I have ever run was 5 miles and that was three weeks prior. How on earth am I going to add another 8 miles to that is 2.5 weeks? This half marathon was really a bad idea. 

Lesson Learned: I need to buy something called 'wicking socks', to keep my feet dry and blister free.  

Distance: 4.51 miles

Time: 50:16

Run #12/13/14 - End of May 2012

Running in Texas sucks. Running on a treadmill also sucks. Trying to cram in a few runs is while also attending a national conference sucks too.

It was way to hot and way to humid to run outside while I was in Houston, so I decided to get a few treadmill runs in at the hotel. I can say with confidence, that I cannot stand running on a treadmill. I could only make it one mile before I thought I might collapse from boredom or suffocate on the stale air blowing into my mouth from the treadmill fan. I made it a point to run as fast as I could for 1 mile, I think I even broke 10 minutes one day! Then I would do some weights and core work but forced myself to end the workout with another painful mile.

I did it, but I didn't like it. I must ask, how do you treadmill folks do it? I know when I started to run outside, it was incredibly hard, but running on a treadmill is sheer brutal torture!

Run #11 - May 26th, 2012

Today was a monumental day. After months, I finally solved a shopping cart mystery & I kept my pace under an 11 minute mile. I didn't think the latter bit was all that exciting, but my friends Bruce & Julia, who are more established runners than myself, are baffled by my consistency to always run an 11:06 ish mile. My pace doesn't seem to wavier. It doesn't seem to matter if am running 1 mile or 5 miles. But, what they are saying, is if I am running just a few miles, I should be going faster. Alas, this is not something I have learned yet in my running experience. At this point I am just trying to run as far as I can, without dying. So today, I was pretty impressed with myself for logging an average pace of 10:52 per mile. 

I have to be completely honest though. The extra speed in today's run did not come from a place of challenging myself, building motivation or even just growing athleticism. It came from a place of anger. 

You see, for the past several months, someone has been shoving empty shopping carts in front of my condo door. I have always suspected it was my upstairs neighbors, but they kept blaming me and my roommates for it, telling us we were junking up the neighborhood. We talked to some other neighbors, left notes asking people to please return their carts, but alas, they kept showing up in front of our door. 

I decided to wake up and go for a morning run today, since I would be packing to leave for Texas and running errands the rest of the day. But I also needed to pay my bills. So I decided to change up my route a bit, so I could run by the post office box in front of the grocery store nearby and drop off my bills. 

As I was crossing the street, I see my upstairs neighbor, pushing a shopping cart across toward our building. This is the same neighbor who blamed me and my roommates for leaving shopping carts around and insisted they never took shopping carts from the store. So right there, as I passed her in the street, I confronted her and said, "If that shopping cart winds up in front of my door, I will know who to blame". She looked a bit shocked at first, because I don't think she realized who I was at first, since the setting was out of context.

I spent the entire run fuming mad and wondering if that damn shopping cart would be there when I returned from my run. Wondering what I would say if it was. And apparently running faster than I had run before. 

When I returned home, the cart was there, but it was actually in front of their staircase and not our door for once. And by the time I had showered, the cart was gone. (And since I am actually writing this post several months later, I am happy to report, there have not been any stray shopping carts in front of my door since, although they are winding up in the parking lot now...)

Lesson Learned: Passionate running = faster running

Distance: 3.55 miles

Time: 38:33

Run #10 - May 21st, 2012

I finally bought a few new songs to add to my iPod playlist - Nicki Minaj! I was pretty excited about adding two of her tracks to my overused playlist, because I love singing the songs, they are poppy and peppy and figured it might bring a little skip to my step if they popped up in the middle of a longer run. I was determined to run 4 miles this morning, wishing I could somehow make it more, since I am still fairly far behind on being ready for this half marathon which is now a month away.

A mile into my run, that lingering thought was still in my mind. "Why couldn't I add on to my loop and make it a little longer? Maybe I should continue down the road for just a half mile more and turn around. I know this stretch of the road is flat. Then I would finally be at 5 miles." Then I was there, at the stoplight, wondering if I should make the initial turn on my loop, or challenge myself to run a little further, when Nicki decided to grace my ear buds with her bubble gum melody. To hell with it, I should enjoy the motivation and add to the run. If I die out here, my roommate knows to come looking for my body (I give him strict instructions before I leave the house on a run, letting him know where I might be lying dead from exhaustion, and to come find me if too much time has passed). 

And that was that. I was off for my first ever, 5 mile run. The music was pumping, the sun was blaring, but the pavement was flat and made it easy to add the extra distance on my run. About mile 3, I realized I was just over halfway home and that made me a bit sick, thinking I still had two more miles to go, wondering if it would be possible, but then Nicki came back on and shouted "BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BABY!" and that is all it took to get my feet back in a rhythm. 

Around mile 4, I discovered running blisters. Then my friend, negative profanity came seeping back into my running repertoire. "Fuck. I hate running. Who likes to exercise when it brings this kind of pain? Running this much obviously isn't good for people. 4 miles must be the boundary between a good workout and pushing yourself too far. Screw this half marathon".

Logical thought took over a little while later, reminding me that I had literally come so far and I only had a short distance to go and that quitting now, would be, well, quitting. And I should take this moment to appreciate the challenge and to finish the damn run and deal with the growing pocket of pain once I got home. I also reminded myself that the faster I ran, the sooner it would be over, so I might as well buck up and get it over with. 

So I made it. 5 miles. First time ever. 

Lesson Learned: Spicing things up is good. Sweating on your feet is bad. 

Distance: 5.16 miles

Time: 56:53