Marathon Relay

Yesterday was the big day.  I got up at 4:45 AM.  If you know me, you know that I don't do 4:45 AM.  I met up with one of my teammates, Becky, and we carpooled downtown together.  We joined the rest of the team (aside from our first leg who was already at the starting line) at the shuttle buses.  Around 6:30, we said our "good lucks" to one another and parted ways.  The next couple hours for me were spent on a bus with other people running the 3rd leg of the relay.  We were driven to our exchange points.  Since it was cold and dark outside, most of us stayed on the bus where there was heat.

I got a phone call from Mallory right around 7:30 saying she had finished the first leg of the race with a sub 25 minute time.  Woohoo!  Bobby was next and he was running a 6 mile leg, so I had about an hour before I had to run.  Around 8:15, I got out and starting stretching and warming up.  Mallory ended up joining up with me and saw me off when Bobby got to the exchange point.

I took off and tried to keep up with the pacers.  After the first mile, I started falling back a bit, but I was still running sub 9:00 minute miles (I never said I was fast).  Around mile 2, it started to get really hilly.  At first, I felt like I was doing okay, but then after a while, I was pretty sick of hills.  Around mile 3, my back and ribs started to really bother me (I've had a history of this since a bad back injury 6 years ago).  They continued to bother me for the rest of my leg and I feel like that slowed me down quite a bit.  In the end, I ended up with a time roughly around 37 minutes (a little over 9 minute mile pace).  Overall, I was pleased.

When I was done with my leg, the officials grabbed my timing chip and gave me a participation medal.  I hopped on the bus and once it was full, they took us back to the finish line where I met up with Bobby.  We watched the marathoners run in, which honestly, was a little emotional for me.  It was just so inspiring to see these people finishing strong (or not so strong for some of them) after running over 26 miles.  I can't even imagine.

Mallory and Becky met up with us and we cheered Jenna on and she came barreling down the finishing chute like a champ!  We ended up finishing in 3:54.  Not too bad.  We then went around and got some fun team pictures taken, enjoyed a post-race free beer, and then headed home.

I'll be honest, this past week was crazy (grade cards, field trips, and upcoming conferences).  I was starting to wish I wouldn't have signed up for this relay...especially when I realized how early I was going to have to get up.  But when it was all said and done, I was glad I did it.  It was a fun experience and I like being able to say "I participated in a marathon."  I don't think I'll ever have the desire to do a full marathon myself, but maybe in a few years, if my body cooperates with me, I'll try out a half.  We'll see...

And now...some pictures:

Our Team - Post Race

Kickin' Asphalt

Runners or Olympic Gymnasts?

                                                            

October Running Log

Once October hit, I kind of started freaking out.  Less than 3 weeks until this marathon relay thing!  So, I decided I should probably start running again.

10/1 - 3.64 mi

10/3 - 2.74 mi

10/4 - 1.27 mi (not much, but I was rushed on time and figured something was better than nothing)

10/7 - 3.0 mi

10/8 - 4.15 mi

10/12 - 2.5 mi
10/13 - 2.5 mi
10/14 - 2.5 mi
10/15 - 3.23 mi
10/16  - 3.0 mi
10/17 - 3.83 mi (6 days in a row...woo!)

10/20 - Race Day - 4 mi

Total mileage - 36.06 miles...not bad for three weeks!

September Workout Log

9/1 - Ran 2.56 miles
9/2 - Ran 2.15 miles
9/3 - Wii "Just Dance" 30 minutes
9/4 - Walked 2.03 miles (with hubby and dog)
9/5 - Wii "Just Dance" 30 minutes
9/6 - Walked 1.05 miles (in the heat with 100+ lbs of bad dogs...harder than it sounds)
9/7 - Didn't get a workout in
9/8 - Ran 3.15 miles
9/9 - Ran 3.2 miles
9/10 - Ran 2.5 miles
9/13 - 20 minutes cardio
9/18 - Ran 2.02 miles
----------------------------
9/19-9/30 - Runner's hiatus (initially due to a foot injury, which then turned into laziness)
----------------------------
Total mileage for the month - 15.06 mi.

Getting Back in Shape!

Over the past year or so, I've been really unhappy with my body and weight.  I've kind of become one of those people who complain about how I look, but then I don't really do anything to fix it.  It's become somewhat of a trend for me to hop on the "My Fitness Pal" bandwagon for a couple weeks or so, then let it go for a few months.  In doing this, I've never really made enough of a commitment to see any results.

I decided I'm over that.  

I recently committed to doing a marathon relay with some coworkers on October 20th.  I'm really determined to do a good job because I'm on a team with people who are all better runners than I am.  To help get myself into shape, I've set a goal for myself.  During the month of September, I'm going to try to exercise in some form EVERYDAY.  I know that life gets busy, so I'm going to define "exercise" as some type of physical activity for 20 minutes or more: walking, running, exercise videos, etc.  

To hold myself accountable, I'm going to keep a log of my exercise on this blog.  Here's what I've done so far:

8/26 - Walk with dog and hubby 3 miles

8/28 - Walk with dog and hubby 1.88 miles

8/30 - Walk/Run with dog and hubby 3 miles

9/1 - Ran 2.56 miles

9/2 - Ran 2.15 miles

Total mileage for the week - 12.59 miles

Hoping I can keep this up!  I'm thinking it's time to buy some new shoes!

Waddell and Reed Marathon Relay

A coworker of mine recently sent out an email to our staff asking if anyone was interested in doing a marathon relay with her in October.  I've always wanted to participate in a marathon but know that I don't have what it takes to run the full 26.2 miles.  So, a marathon relay would be perfect for me!

http://www.waddellandreedkansascitymarathon.org/race-info-team-relay.php

I'm probably in the worst shape of my life right now, so I'm thinking this will be good motivation for me to get back into running/exercising.  I'm running one of the shorter legs (4 miles), so it shouldn't be too bad.

I've already paid and committed, so there's no backing out now!  I'm going to be "Kickin' Asphalt" in T minus 48 days!

Note to Gold's Gym

Dear Gold's Gym,

It was good seeing you today. It's been a long time. Hopefully we'll see other again soon!

Love,
Becky

Goals for 2011

• Lose the 5 lbs I gained over the holidays...and keep it off.
• Get on a regular work out schedule. I say this every year. The first half of 2010, I did a great job of this! In April I logged 1,000 minutes of exercise. The second half of the year...I worked out like 5 times. Not good.
• Participate in the Brew-to-Brew run (and hopefully some other 5K, 10K, or marathon relay runs).
• Make at least 3 recipes from my "Top Chef" cookbook.
• Continue to cross off items on my 101 in 1,001 list...in particular the "Buy a House" one.

What are your goals for the new year?

Marathon Relay

www.waddellandreedkansascitymarathon.org/marathonrelay.php

About 5 months ago, I got back into running. I was running 2-5 miles a day, 6 or 7 days a week. During this time, I decided I really wanted to do a marathon relay. My sister, Nicole, is a runner and has a good friend who she ran track and cross country with in college. I asked the two of them if they would want to do it with me. They said they did. So then I talked to my friend, Jenna, who is also a great runner. She said she was interested as well. We hadn't really decided on our 5th team member, but figured we would be able to find someone.

So now, months have passed by and needless to say I haven't been running (at all). Now this marathon relay is a little over a month away and I'm totally out of shape. So I have to decide...do I want to train over the next month in hyperspeed so I can still do this? Or do I want to accept that I waited too long to make this happen and try again next year?

The shorter legs of the relay are only 3.1 and 4.0 miles. I feel like I could get myself there within a month....though I wouldn't really be "fast". I'm guessing I'll talk to the rest of my teammates and see what they think...

I feel...accomplished

If you've been reading my blog at all lately, you know that I've really gotten into running lately. And I've been feeling great! Our school has a "walking program". Each month, if you log the time you spending walking (or any form of exercise, really) you get to wear jeans on Mondays. I don't really go walking all that often, but I spend a decent amount of time at the gym, running, etc. For the past couple years I've recorded my minutes each month so I can wear jeans on Mondays...you'd be surprised how much better your day is when you feel comfortable!

Anyway, it's actually been pretty interesting to see how much my exercise minutes vary from month to month. For example one month I only exercised 240 minutes, another month I did 610 minutes.

This month I've been a running machine. So on Monday, I was curious how many minutes I had exercised so far this month. When I realized I had already logged 800 minutes, I decided I was going to make it my goal this week to finish the month strong. I figured I could put in another 200 minutes, giving me a total of 1,000 minutes for the month of April.

And....I'm happy to report that 20 minutes ago, I put in my 1,000th minute of exercise this month. Go me! I feel so accomplished!

Running Log - 4/25-5/1

Sunday, 4/25 - 3.74 mi.
Tuesday, 4/27 - 4.28 mi.
Wednesday, 4/28 - 4.15 mi.
Thursday, 4/29 - 3.47 mi.

Total - 15.64 mi.

Running Log - 4/18-4/24

Sunday - 3.1 mi.
Monday - 3.13 mi.
Tuesday - 4.6 mi.
Thursday - 2.29 mi.
Friday - 3.68 mi.
Saturday - 3.46 mi.

Total - 20.26 mi.

mapmyrun.com

One of my Facebook friends (a girl I used to run track with in high school) had this link posted on her profile today. I decided to check it out, and....I love it! Super fun for any outdoor runner!

www.mapmyrun.com

Race Results from Sunday

The results from Sunday's race have been posted. My one wish is that they would have had someone yelling split times at the mile markers or at least the half way point. I meant to start my Nike+ when the race started, but I totally forgot...so I had no idea how fast I was running. I think if I had known, I would/could have gone faster. Oh well.

Out of 394 runners...

Overall place: 41st
Female place: 22nd
Female/Age bracket (20-29) place: 6th
Time: 28:54.8

Keep in mind, this is only the 2nd 5K I've ever done. I used to run road races with my sister when I was in middle school....but I believe all of them were 2 mile fun runs. So the Hospital Hill was actually my first 5K. I'm planning on doing it again this year. Can't wait!

Running for the week

I ran a 5K today. So naturally last Monday, I decided to start training. Better late, than never, right? So I've been using my Nike+iPod Sports Kit. It basically calculates how many miles each of my runs are. It's not 100% accurate but it gives me an idea. Most the time the mileage it says is slightly more than what I actually run. But anyway, here's my mileage for this week.

Monday - 3.63 mi.
Tuesday - 4.15 mi.
Wednesday - 2.25 mi.
Thursday - 3.29 mi.
Friday - 2.22 mi.

Total - 15.53 mi.

I'm going to try to continue keeping track of this.

Manhattan's St. Patty's Day Run - The Most Unorganized Racing Event of the Year

Last Saturday, the hubby and I made the trek down I-70 to good ol' Manhappenin, KS. Aggieville was having Fake Patty's Day Part Deux, so we decided we wanted to partake in the festivities. Part of this included the St. Patty's Day 2 Mile Fun Run. My sister, Nicole, and her friend Lexy decided to join us. Nicole and Lexy ran track and cross country together all throughout college and are actual "runners". James and I each used to run back in high school, but haven't really done much since. So our expectations for the race were slightly different than Nicole's and Lexy's.

Overall, the actual race went fine. I was a little surprised by how much 2 miles kicked my butt. But at the end of the race, I was able to kick it into high gear and pass a bunch of people at the finish line.

Here are my complaints about the race:

• My sister was unable to pre-register, due to a problem with her debit card. So when she went to register Saturday morning, they had run out of t-shirts. So, she didn't get a shirt. Let's be honest, most people who run road races, do it for the shirt. So not getting one sucks.
• In addition to running out of shirts, they also ran out of shoe tags (the chips they use to record your time). So my sister (and MANY other same-day registerers) did not get one of those either. We figured that wouldn't be the sole way they had of keeping track of times and places...so it must not have been a big deal. We were wrong.
• After the race, we went and had some beers at Pat's with my parents. They ordered food, which looked delicious. But we all opted out, because we were going to get "Free BBQ" at the awards ceremony. I thought I loved free BBQ, until we got there and found out that it was Burger King hamburgers with Kroeger chips. I'm not sure what makes Burger King "BBQ". There wasn't even BBQ sauce. Lame.
• At the awards ceremony, they were supposed to announce the top 10 finishers in each age bracket. We all figured Nicole was going to win her age bracket (30-34) because she was one of the top 10 overall female finishers. When it came to announcing the places, she (according to them) didn't place at all. However, the winning time for the 30-34 age bracket was 16 minutes and some odd seconds. Nicole's time was 15:16. So, she SHOULD have won it...but they screwed up and she walked away with no recognition and no medal.
• When the announced the top 10 finishers for my age bracket (25-29) I was not mentioned. I figured it was because I sucked and wasn't one of the top 10 finishers. Turns out I got 9th...they just messed up, again.

James called me this morning to tell me the times and places from the race were posted on their website. Despite the race coordinator's screwing up 100 times on race day...here are the actual results.

Nicole Taylor - 39th place overall (that includes men and women), 9th in the overall women's category, 1st in the 30-34 year old women's category, with a time of 15:16.

Lexy Schwartz - 57th place overall, 13th in the overall women's category, 2nd in the 25-29 year old women's category, with a time of 15:46.

Becky Asher - 115th place overall, 48th in the overall women's category, 9th in the 25-29 year old women's category, with a time of 17:25.

James Asher - 142nd place overall, 75th in the overall men's category, 7th in the 25-29 year old men's category, with a time of 18:14.

So, as you can see...all four of us placed in our age brackets, yet only one of us got her medal (we accepted Lexy's on her behalf, because she left early). I want my medal, Manhattan!

Running Schedule

This is mostly just for me. I don't assume anyone cares about how much I run each week, but it's a good way for me to keep track of it for myself. Everything has been on the treadmill this week, as it's been too cold to run outside.

Sun. 2/7 - 1 mile
Tue. 2/9 - 2 miles
Wed. 2/10 - 3 miles
Mon. 2/15 - 2.5 miles
Wed. 2/17 - 3 miles
Sat. 2/20 - 2 miles
Wed. 2/24 - 3 miles
Fri. 2/26 - 2.25 miles
Sat. 2/27 - 2 miles
Wed. 3/10 - 1 mile
Thur. 3/11 - 2 miles

Just wanted to add that I've ran everyday this week...each time around 3 or more miles. Go me!

Running

Those of you who have known me for a while know that I used to be a runner. My (4 years) older sister Nicole ran track and cross country in high school. When I was in middle school I wanted to be a distance runner just like her. After two years of running the mile in middle school track meets...I was undefeated. I would also run the 1/2 mile and 2 mile run. I was never beat in the 2 mile and was only beat once in the 1/2 mile. I'm not trying to make this a bragging session, but let's just say I was good and I LOVED it.

In high school, I did both cross country and track. In cross country, I was decent, but I was no longer the best person on my team and it took a while for me to be okay with that. However, I still loved it. The cross country girls had a comradery that, to this day, I will never forget. Despite being from completely different cliques in the school (kinda like in Glee), we were all extremely close and the State Cross Country meet my freshman year still ranks as one of the most memorable days of my life.

When I started track, it was not the same. Being a freshman, I didn't really get any say in the events I did. Coach would always put me in the 4 X 800 relay (1/2 mile each) and the 3200 meter (2 mile), when my best event was the mile. I never got the chance to prove myself because he'd never let me run "my race". Our freshman year our relay team made it to state and despite me running the best 800 time in my life, we missed getting a medal by less than a second. Bummer. My sophomore year of track, I ended up injuring my back and quit the team. It's one of the only things I've ever quit and I'm disappointed that I did it.

I bring all this up because I USED TO be a runner. When I went off to college, I never competed again. I guess I was just done with it. Last summer I ran the Hospital Hill 5K with my friends Diane and Jenna. I trained for about a month beforehand, but nothing too extensive. It ended up being a fun race and after running it, I decided I would have to do more. So just this past week I started running again and I've already decided on two races I'm going to participate in in the next couple months:

My sister and I decided today that we're going to run the St. Patty's Day 2 Mile Fun Run in Manhattan on March 13th. I've always enjoyed Manhattan's St. Patty's Day festivities but I've never actually participated in the road race. It should be fun. I also got an email this past week for a 5K race in April that will benefit the son of woman who works in our district. She's actually the person who hired me 3 years ago. Her son has been fighting cancer for a couple years now and is not doing well. All the proceeds will go to pay for his medical bills. I'm looking forward to the race and I'm glad that I'm able to contribute to such a good cause.

So this is it...I'm getting back out there in the running world. Wish me luck!