Adventures

While I'm working on the Beast of the East post, here is something to think about.

Last weekend, Karen and I rode 85 miles on our bikes.  We did six loops of Mountain Park and some other stuff and were thoroughly tired by the end of the ride.  So tired, in fact, that the guy who stopped his car to yell encouragement to us and Karen's insistence that we only do a "half-goat" made perfect sense to us.  For those of you who were not depleted of glycogen, a half-goat is riding halfway down Natalie's parents' street where the goats live.  Of course, if you know Karen, you know that she and I are goal-oriented.  If we are close to finishing a certain number of miles or minutes or if we start down a road, we must finish.  So, the half-goat turned into the full-goat.  And then, when we wobbled into the driveway, we looked at our watches and wobbled right back out again to go back up the hill so that we could reach 85 miles and 6 hours.

Stupid?  Maybe.  What difference did the extra mile of the full goat or the extra three minutes to get to 6 hours make?  Physiologically, probably none  But we had an adventure!  How many 40-something-year-old women get to have adventures?

So, the following day ( Mother's Day) it rained all day so I was not able to get out in the morning for my long run.  Doug and I checked the radar obsessively and I sallied forth into the mist in the afternoon as soon as it looked relatively clear and after I put Dagny down for a rest.  Just past one mile from the house, the heavens opened and dumped on me.  I rationalized the rain with the fact that I was already going to be wet from sweating and kept going.  I was extra careful crossing the big road with the light so that I didn't risk falling in front of a car and mused about how the rain was an adventure.  And then the universe laughed at my big thoughts and I tripped on the sidewalk and fell.  Luckily, I remembered to roll, so it didn't hurt so badly.

But why not have adventures?  Why not run in the rain?  Why not ride bikes with friends?  Why not try tap dancing or Zumba or kickboxing?  Why not have adventures to anticipate or remember instead of marking time through the days?

2012 Roswell GA 100 Miles to Nowhere

Or, Time Keeps on Slippin' Slippin' Slippin . . .

Doug and I have been trying to set a date for the 2012 100 Miles to Nowhere since January.  With the lacrosse tournament, my sister's wedding, vacation, the Beast of the East, the 5K swim, etc. etc., there was really only one weekend that worked.

SO . . .

Join us on Sunday, June 3 at the Brown Dog House for 100 miles of delightful riding and running fun (and a yard party/aid station/sprinkler festival).

The Ride:
Ten (or however many you feel like) loops of a 10 mile loop (here is the route), from our house in Roswell, past the horses, through the City of Mountain Park and back home.  Riders of all abilities are welcome and there may also be a group of us riding a shorter flatter route from a nearby shopping area (directions will be provided).  We ride at dawn, but will be back by the house every 50 minutes or so, so start whenever works for you.  If you are nervous about riding with cars, plan to do your lap(s) earlier in the day.  I will draw a random winner of a GU prize from the waivers of the people who have ridden at least one loop and everyone gets a special GU surprise. 

There is NO FEE.  However, this is a fund-raising ride, so I ask that you please donate what you would have spent on the ride to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.  Here is the fundraising page for on-line donation.  We are raising funds to buy biofeedback devices and training programs for the AFLAC Cancer Center to help care-givers teach kids to manage their anxiety and pain better.  This will give you a good mantra as you go up Mountain Park Road. 

Due to the fabulous help of GU and my friends, tons of aid-station fare will be provided at the house. 

The Run:
New for this year's event is a run leg!  Bring your running shoes and once you have finished your bike lap(s), run at least one mile from the house (there are big hills whichever way you go) and your time will be entered in a drawing to win a FREE PAIR of Brooks shoes!  Thank you Brooks for this prize!

The Fun:
This is a family yard-party event.  Doug is making pulled pork, frothy beverages and other goodies.  Bring your kids, your neighbors, your ride buddies, and a dish to share and stay to cheer on the other riders or run through the sprinkler.  Childcare is not available since Doug will be cooking, so please bring an extra adult or swap off with another rider if you bring the kids and they will not be riding/running with you.

Sign Up:
Send Steph your email address to be added to the Evite invitation which contains directions and all of the other details.

Save the Date - 100 Miles to Nowhere

The Roswell, GA edition of the 100 Miles to Nowhere ride will be on Sunday, June 3, 2012 at dawn.

If you want to sign up with The Fat Cyclist to raise money for Camp Kesem and get awesome swag, go here NOW.  It will sell out today - I am not kidding.

However, if you just want to join me and my band of biking buddies in Roswell, I will post full information and directions as soon as I confirm our charity, but I can't wait to tell you that I have prizes!!

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

Last weekend, we all raced at the Red Top Rumble at Red Top Mountain State Park.

The Rumble is my very favorite race of the year.  Doug raced the inaugural running several years ago while the kids and I spectated.  From our car, we could see the lines of runners snaking through seemingly unmarked woods and I was inspired.  I was injured in year 2, so I volunteered at the last water stop with a nice guy from Big Peach Running Co.  In years 3 and 4 I got to run and it was beautiful.  Running around the lake on a pine straw trail watching the sunrise is fabulous!  Because there are no mile markers and Garmins don't work well in the woods, you can just run like a kid.  Here is a photo of *some* of the kids.  Top row from left: Katie, Jay, Daniel, John, James, Doug, Steve, Eric; second row:  Sarah, Michelle, Nat, me, Lisa, Michelle; front row: Eli, Dagny, Brady (in red), a girl I don't know and Annika. 

Greg was taking the photo, but for whatever reason, we missed Dan, Karen, Tom, Dave, Jason, and a bunch of other folks in the photo.  Red Top is like old home day because lots of peeps show up.

My knee has been bothering me since the Goofy, so I was not gunning for any particular time or place.  I knew that my run fitness was really good from last year's training plus the Goofy miles, but the knee . . . who knew?

I toed the line and went out pretty fast (it is downhill!  use the gravity!).  I chased Dave and then Nat and her sister.  I ran with Eric for a while and then James until I had to make a pit stop, and then my knee decided it was done.

So, I walked it in and picked up the trash off of the course.  Littering is a huge pet peeve of mine, and some buddies mentioned a lot of trash on the Mountain Mist course last week so with the potential for knee failure, I was primed to carry a lot of junk out.   

And?  There was not much trash at all.  I picked up what I found and deposited it in appropriate locations (cans or aid-station bags).  : ) Yay!

While I was still on the course, they ran the kids race.  It is so cool to watch.  Curtis rides his mountain bike out front to show the way and the kids chase.

Here are Annika, Owen, Dags, Jack and Eli talking some smack.

Racing!  Owen did not yet know that (1) Annika's goal was to win, and (2) that she is right behind him.  He picked up the pace when he figured it out.  Doug said the lookback was priceless.

Here comes Dags!  She loved the cheering and fun atmosphere.

Doug and Karen both ran PRs.  Jay and John passed me like I was standing still.  Nat ran with her sister and we all had a great time.  The food was awesome (egg strata, sausage and biscuits from Colonnade chef and ultradude Ryan Cobb) and a good time was had by all.

Here is hoping that my knee gets its act together so I can get back on the trails and roads!  The Georgia marathon is not looking good.

There's a Hole in My Bucket

The darn bucket song irritates me because I want to just take the stupid bucket from Goofy and fix it myself.  It makes me not like Goofy.

In the late 1990s, when we were just out of school and under-employed (but glad to be employed at all, because the market was bad that year!), my friend Stephanie made a list of the things she wanted to do before she died.  We talked about the inherent morbidity of the list, especially since she had no reason to think her death might be emminent (it was not - we work together now) but decided it was a good idea.   Why not make a list of the things you always meant to do but never got to?  Stephanie read some classics and learned to juggle and a bunch of other things.

I never made my list.

Since then, the "Bucket List" has made its way into the common vernacular and everyone has a bucket list, much like a "top 5 list."

For whatever reason, though, the idea of the bucket list also irritates me just like the bucket song because it seems to represent doing something just to check it off the list and not because of value of doing the thing or the reason that you put it on the list in the first place.  And, it seems that my bucket has only a very small hole because stuff keeps coming in faster than it comes out.


Anyway, about eight years ago, sometime after Natalie started running marathons, Joe told us about how he had been to Disney World to run the half-marathon.  A half-marathon!  It seemed to us like an amazing athletic feat.  I knew Natalie could do such things, but she is special.  However, if Joe could do it, maybe I could too.  Joe encouraged me to give it a try and Doug was game, so I signed up while Joe decided to attempt the marathon.

Here is my race report from that half-marathon.  Doug, Joe and I were astounded at the people who were doing the Goofy Challenge that weekend, which is completion of the Donald Half on Saturday and the Mickey Marathon on Sunday.  I remember standing in my corral at the start of that half, marveling at those uber-athletes wearing the orange Goofy bibs.  Soon after that race, Doug started running (and by the way, he is really good at it) and now we run all kinds of races.  So, last year when Doug signed up for the Goofy, I was jealous of him and then thrilled when he suggested that we invite my parents to join us so I could run too!  WHOO!

We had a great time doing the Goofy.  I still can't believe that we did it.  I walked around Epcot for the rest of the day telling Doug, "We did the Goofy!"  My friend Cathy from the Savannah marathon was there too, and I ran the marathon with her and her running buddies, including Moore on Running.  It was awesome.  My favorite part was singing "Sweet Caroline" with Annie coming down the exit ramp to Hollywood Studios.  I could go on for days about the awesomeness of Disney or the way they can put on an event. 

Instead, I will leave you with some photos and the memory my dad relates every time we talk about Disney World.  He recalls a girl with big glasses and long blonde pigtails in a homemade shorts outfit skipping down the path with her sister (in a matching outfit with long brown pigtails) singing "It's a Small World".

Crazy Train

The other day, I woke up in a crabby mood.  As is usual during the holidays, I felt overwhelmed and stressed out about work and the end-of-the-year craziness.  I had worked late, stayed up too late watching "It's a Wonderful Life" with Doug and the girls and did not feel good.  Rather than just rousing me from that drowsy almost-awake place like it usually does, my alarm jolted me out of bed.  Nevertheless, I sallied forth at 5am for my run.

UGH.  It was horrible.  My feet hurt, my knees hurt, the weird ache in my right bottom cheek flared up, my tummy was upset and I had overdressed so I was hot.  I made it up to the clubhouse, pottied and went on my way. 

I did not feel good enough to exit the neighborhood for my usual loop and bargained with myself about the easiest way to get my miles in.  I ran down to mom and dad's house and dropped off their paper, then headed back towards the clubhouse, thinking I'd just avoid the giant hill and maybe do loops of the regular neighborhood.  Stopped again for the potty.  My tummy was very bad and I started to think I might actually be sick - lots of viruses going around at school right now.  The general malaise that usually only comes with a fever enveloped me.  Rather than attempt any hills at all, I ran back to mom and dad's house (it is mostly flat to their house) and realized that running anywhere without bathroom access was going to be a very, very bad plan.  So, I hit upon the idea of running slowly up to the front of the neighborhood (2 miles uphill) since I could hit the golf course bathroom on my way if necessary.  If I felt good, I would turn around and return home the long way and go by mom/dad's one more time to hit my mileage.  If I continued to feel badly, I could just head straight home.

In addition to the tummy issues, my mind was in a bad place.  I could not erase my frown and the heaviness of being in that bad place made every step irritating.  I was mad at Doug for making ants in trees because it was giving me the GI distress.  I was angry at the work folks for all needing everything done at once.  I was crabby with myself for not being more efficient with my time.  Something had to give.  I gave myself a stern lecture. 

You have to snap out of this! 

Do you remember the T.V. show "Fame," where Debbie Allen says "You want fame?  Well, fame costs.  And right here is where you start paying"?  I told myself a variation:

You want to feel better?  Like a human? Well, you need a run to burn off the bad.  And this is your run.  This is where you make it better.

It was not working.  OK, maybe a little. But then those angry thoughts kept creeping back in to try and pull me down and exacerbate my foulness.

So, feeling a little desperate, I thought of something Rebecca told us at Hot Vinyasa class.

You have two sides, two wings - the feeling and the action.

Identify the emotion you are feeling, take it out and hold it in your hand.  It is good to have feelings.  Everyone has them.  Examine the feeling, its breadth and shape.  Then, YOU decide what to do with it on the action side.

OK. 

I took the hard, gnarled stub of my frustration and held it in my hand.  It was ugly.  It was muddy green and brown with an irregular knobby shape and needle-like thorns and it smelled like rancid meat.  I rolled it around for a minute and let the points bite my fingers and palm.  I thought about how I could be more productive and how I could have eaten less of the ants in trees.

Then I put the feeling back and kept on with my run.  The run to the front of the neighborhood plan was a good one because the long uphill is rewareded with an easy, non-GI-irritating downhill.  I made it to the front of the neighborhood and while the running part didn't feel any easier and my GI was still protesting mightily, I felt like me again.  Sure, I still had to stop at the dark golf course bathroom and I went home the short way so I didn't get all of my planned miles, but I got most of them and felt better for it.

A year ago, I read The Cranky Princess's exercise logs and Kate from Big Peach's blog posts about yoga and made faces.  Yoga might be good for them, but it was not for me. 

But after that Hot Vinyasa class, I thought, maybe it might be OK.

And this coping skill, the two-wings theory.  It might just prove it.

Or that I'm on the crazy train.  Either way.

Thankful

In November, several of my Facebook friends (they are real friends too) and Elena started posting one thing they are thankful for every day or week as a Thanksgiving project.  I could not remember the day of the week for Elena's thankful thing on BT so I just post my things whenever I think of them.

Thanksgiving came and went, but I'm still posting the things. 

Trying to think of a relatively new thing every day (or every couple of days) has been a good exercise.  It makes me stop and notice little happy things where perhaps in the past I would have rushed right by.  I see decorations, pretty trees, how the fish gets excited when he sees me coming.  [I am thinking right now that I should be looking for more of these things]  Looking for the thankful thing makes me look for the bright side of a bad mood, a bad situation, a disappointment, everything.  One morning recently, I got up in a terribly ugly mood.  Everything about me was foul and I just hated myself.  I got on the bike trainer (a stand for the bike so we can ride indoors) and rode my heart out.  I added some extra "personality" minutes the way we used to give the kids personality naps before dinner.  It worked!  That day I was thankful for endorphins and their capacity to smooth the bumps and for Doug for setting up the trainer for me.

A similar thing happened when we got the new Christmas tree.  Our previous tree (both trees are fake, by the way) was a stop-gap measure that we bought when we realized that Annika would be pulling up on or near the tree at her first Christmas.  The potential for disaster was too scary to imagine with a heavy real tree, so we got the fake one, planning to replace it with a "good one" after the holidays.  That was in 2003.  Things don't move fast at our house.  Doug found some trees on sale this year at Sams and brought one home the day after Thanksgiving.  The new tree is more telephone pole-shaped than tent-shaped and it did not make my heart sing.  So, I jumped on my bike and then took a nice, cool run and though the tree had not improved in my estimation, the kids were REALLY excited (jumping up and down) about decorating it.  And that day I was thankful for Dr. Seuss and the Grinch saying that "perhaps Christmas means a little bit more."

It is interesting, though, that most of my thankful things are repeating themes.  My family, running, my family, running, friends, my family, running, work, my family etc. . .   I think, perhaps, that they are so extra-great that I keep coming back to them for my thankful thing.  Then again, it could be because I am subconsciously making up for the years of not thinking of the thankful thing.

A Tale of Two Races

WTC v. Rev3 in a subjective race-off

WTC is the World Triathlon Corp.  They own all Ironman races, the Ironman name and all things Ironman.  They charge approximately $700 per full distance race and the races usually sell-out in less than 24 hours.  People choose to do Ironman-branded races because they believe them to be (a) better organized, (b) better supported and (c) bigger, showier, more exciting events than non-Ironman-branded races.  Ironman is not the easiest company to like.  They put on crowded events, disqualify racers if family members cross the finish line with them and take a hard-line with any races that use a name similar to theirs (iron-distance races, for example).  I raced Ironman Louisville last year and they ran out of water at several aid stations in the fourth hour of the bike ride on a day when temperatures reached 95 degrees.  I am not a fan.

Rev3 is Revolution 3, a challenger group that claims to deliver a family-friendly events and a racer-focused experience.  They charge approximately $425 for a full distance race and the races take a long time to sell out.  People do Rev3 races because they believe them to be (a) more fun for the spectators, (b) a lower-key atmosphere and (c) cheaper.  Rev3 is organized by pro triathletes, has great prize purses for the winners of its races, puts finisher photos up on the jumbotron at the finish, encourages family members to run through the finish line and makes personalized nameplates for each racer.  Before this year, I had never done a Rev3 race.  They looked nice, but were not much cheaper than Ironman-branded races, so I thought "meh?  what's the difference?"  However, this year GU sponsored Rev3, so I had the opportunity to race for free.  OK, my race entry was free.  Travel to Knoxville, the hotel and meals we had there were not free.

Rev3 Knoxville Half (race report here)

My only experience of Knoxville prior to the race was a UT/UGA game, that the Dawgs lost miserably.  It was hot, the stadium was steep and crowded, the food was uninspired and we were not impressed.  Driving in for the Rev3 race, though, we saw the other side of town. 

The Sunsphere and World's Fair park were beautiful green expanses along the river and we found a good brewpub for pre-race fueling.  Doug signed the kids up for the Kids Adventure Race (a family scavenger hunt) while I checked myself in.  Then, I joined them for the second half of the race until Dagny got tired and needed to ride on my shoulders. 

The kids practiced running down the finisher's chute in the grassy park where the expo was located.  I met Tyler, king of GU and spent the afternoon hobknobbing with him as we gave out samples of GU to the expo attendees.  Overall, Rev3 had a very welcoming, easy feel.

At the actual race, the swim was pretty cold and the current was challenging.  I just told myself that it was hard for everyone, so I did not stress.  The bike course was hilly!  I knew Knoxville was a mountainous place, but I was slightly under-prepared for all of the climbing on the bike.  This was my first try going easy on the bike, so I just rode along.  Coming off of the bike, I was a little loopy and lost my water bottle and then the jacket for the bottle before I finally started the run.  As you can see, I was a bit discombobulated.

The run was hilly, but not any harder than my neighborhood.  In fact, some of it was in a neat Knoxville neighborhood!  I had a blast and brought it home fast to find Doug, Phat and the Blackmons at the finish.  The kids didn't get to run it in with me because they were having too much fun in the bounce house.

I loved this race and would encourage anyone considering a Rev3 event to give it a try.  It was a lower-key atmosphere than Ironman races.  There was no rush to buy Rev3 branded goods, the expo was not crowded and the race course was not full of spectators.  However, I found this to be a refreshing change from the craziness of Ironman races.  All of the aid stations and other support were exactly where promised and plentifully stocked.  The finishline was exciting and it was very cool to be on the jumbotron.  : )

Ironman Wisconsin Full (race report here)


As anyone who has talked for me for longer than 3 seconds this year knows, we raced Ironman Wisconsin this year in Madison with Team Buttercup, Tom and Doug's awesome family.  If you have never visited Madison, it is just plain awesome.  Doug's family has been telling us this for years, I know, but sometimes we are just slow.  We had a blast checking out all of the cool stuff in and around Madison.  Doug's sister Michelle and brother-in-law John drove up and corralled the kids for us.  Here are my girls checking out the finish line.

Here they are with Owen at the Stube in New Glarus.  New Glarus Brewery is also a must-see.  We also tried Linberger cheese at Baumgartners in Monroe, and toured all of the good restaurants and the farmer's market in downtown Madison.

Here are Doug, Katie, Becky and me at the swim start.  I am on the left, then Becky in the long-sleeve, then Doug and Katie on the right.  We found Karen once we got in the water, so it was a perfect way to start.

Love this photo.  I look tough!  Grrrrr!

Here is John, who tirelessly cheered all day.

Uncle Ray and Aunt Rodonna waiting for the slower racers (me!).

I got to finish with Katie, which was AWESOME!

The gang, minus Doug, who was taking the photo.  Love these ladies.  The kids powered through and were up to watch the last finishers come through at midnight, which was really cool.  I cry every time. 

I loved this race, too.  However, after experiencing Wisconsin, Louisville and the Rev3 Knoxville, I would make the argument that the race-director/owner of an event does not matter as much as the venue.  After Louisville, I was really down on WTC, but Wisconsin was awesome in every way because the town was excited about the race and there were tons of neat things to do there.  Knoxville was great for the same reasons, plus the event venue was fabulous. 

However, the best thing about Madison was the monumentally huge bonus of Doug's family making the trip to support us.  We don't know if there could ever be another race as great as that.  : )

You Can't Always Get What You Want

I wanted to feel strong for the Savannah Rock and Roll Marathon.  My pals at GU gave me an entry for the race, so I wanted to represent!  I wanted to have an easy day on Friday, a good night's sleep and break four hours on Saturday.

Well, a bunch of life happened.  I worked the expo all day on Friday, ate peanuts/bananas/tylenol for lunch with GI issues, and could not sleep because I got another of those sinus headaches.  You are not supposed to take anti-inflammatory medicine prior to a marathon, but I took a LOT.

Here are Nat and Desiree at the expo.  From my place in the GU booth, I got to see all of my peeps come through on Friday and meet a bunch of racers, which was really neat. There was a great energy in the building, even when the traffic had people waiting for two hours to get in.  It was a good expo.

On race morning, Doug dropped Nat, Michelle and I off for the shuttle at 5am, and we made it onto the first bus.  Then, the driver promptly asked if anyone knew the way to the start.  Whaaaa?  But we got there, and dropped our bags and it was fine.  Natalie found some peeps and Michelle and I huddled in the lee of a building to stay warm.  Doug found us, which was doubly-awesome for me.

Michelle and I ducked into the nearest corral for the start and met a couple of nice ladies and then we were off!  I started with my race outfit, a long-sleeved shirt and garbage bag on.  It was that cold and windy!  I started out at a good clip for the first few miles (8:45; 8:12; 8:30).  I joked around with the people around me when I tore my garbage bag off like the Hulk, "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry." 

Crickets.

Sheesh.  Tough crowd!

I ditched the shirt at the first water stop in mile 4 (8:47) and worried that perhaps I was not going to be able to keep up a sub 9 minute per mile pace for the whole race.  I had picked 8:50 as my goal pace after narrowly missing the 4 hour mark at the Publix GA Marathon in March, which was way hillier, but who knew what impact Ironman Wisconsin in September would have on my speed.
I stopped for the potty in mile 5 (10:55).  I'm not fast, but I did find some sanitizer.  I told myself that potty stops are now called the Bachman/Galloway method and tried to relax while I was in there as if it were a planned break.  And, just like our dearly departed Annie-dog, I felt much better after stopping.  I got to see Doug and Amy in the next few miles (8:11; 8:52) and used my emergency Advil to shush the persistent pain in my IT band (should have worn tights!).  We ran through throngs of screaming people downtown and everyone sped up (8:24; 8:38; 8:38), but slowed down again exiting through the neighborhoods, on the highway, and entering the park (8:47; 8:47; 8:46).  Since the band was not playing on the highway, I amused myself by pretending I was Godzilla as I stomped on all of the discarded cups.  GRRRRAAAAHHHH!!!!  Then a guy and I made ourselves into torpedos for better aero-advantage in the wind.

The park, though it was a paradise of extra potties, was a dark place for me.  My body started to hurt and I wondered (like I do in EVERY race) why the heck I was doing this.

While I wallow in the valley of darkness, here are some photos that Doug took of all of the gang. 

Please note that my support tank provides very convenient glove storage in the rear.

Here comes Jerry!

Karen is still smiling.  Honey badger is still asleep.

Katie smiling, as usual.

It turns out that I just missed seeing Doug in the park, because you can see that he caught Karen and Katie and their color-coordinated outfits.  For me, mile 14 was 9:08 and mile 15 was 9:14.  I was convinced for a good half mile that after the mile 15 marker that I had only 9 miles to go.  Whoops!  Guess who had low fuel, despite never deviating from the one GU every 4 miles plan?

Then, I met my new friend Cathy in mile 16 (8:56).  She was looking for a buddy too, so it was perfect  timing.  Cathy raced at Kiawah when Doug and I did in 2009, has registered for this year's Goofy and was also trying to PR by breaking 4 hours!  Yay - tons in common!  We talked nonstop for the next few miles (9:11; 8:57; 8:51) and it was awesome.  I started feeling bad again before mile 20, though, and thought mournfully to myself, "wow, she is too fast for me - I am going to have to let her go."  : (

Seconds after I finished this thought and made the accompanying sad face, Cathy turned to me and said "Steph, this is going to be tough and I will need you to help motivate me to finish." 

AHA!  A job!

JUST WHAT I NEEDED! 

It was like a light turning on and I felt instantly better.  Mile 20 was 9:02 and though it still hurt, we climbed out of that stupid valley of darkness.  My GI got a bit uppity in this stretch and I had to stop again in mile 21 (9:57), but remembering how Nat recovered herself and chased Doug down in the Atlanta marathon a few years ago, I used my Bachman/Galloway relaxation trick and told Cathy I would catch up. 

And I meant it.

Mile 22 was much better (8:31).  It was great to have Cathy's pink socks as a beacon and then Doug was there!  He ran with me on the windy highway as we chased Cathy.  It was great!  After Doug dropped off to find the next buddy (he ended up running 17 miles total), I ran a bit with a guy named Gary who was using this race as a training run (he was not even breathing hard!) and he ran with me and helped bridge me up to Cathy.  I was very glad in this stretch that I had been too cheap to ditch my Red Top Rumble gloves and tucked them in my shirt instead, because I wore them on and off for the rest of the race.

Levitating!

Here is Jerry!  First marathon!

Amy ran this stretch with Jerry and her sign!

The remaining miles were tough and they hurt a lot.  Cathy and I cursed at the pain and wished for very loud, make-your-ears-bleed music, but we brought it home with only a little slowdown (8:53; 8:58;  9:00; 9:20) and sprinted in the last 0.2 at 8:20 pace!  WHOO!

Nat and I changed clothes and headed to the finish line to cheer in the finishers. I alternated cheering and tearing up as the racers came through.  It never ceases to move me to see folks when they realize that they have finished and it dawns on them that people like us can do a marathon or an Ironman.

Here is Michelle with her awesome Team Buttercup cheering section.  You can't see John because he was running down the other side of the road taking the photo. 

Here are Nat and I after some freshening up and the application of dry clothes.

I broke 4 hours for a PR and final chip time of 3:55:37, met a new friend, saw Michelle's first marathon and had a great day. : )  Now, to see if I can sign up for next year . . .

Happy Running!

The Agenda

No, not The Association.

The Agenda.

It turns out that I have one!

I had no idea.

Let me backtrack.  Last winter, when Doug and I took the girls to run in the Polar Bear Run, some ladies who did not recognize me as a runner remarked in my hearing that the winner of the race must have "an agenda" because she ran the race in capris and a jogbra.  Granted, it was cold that day, but WTH?  Who cares what she was wearing and how does the wearing of a jogbra turn into an agenda?

Anyway, this scene has replayed itself in my mind many times since that day.  I still can't figure out why those ladies thought the winner had an agenda.  And when I think about it, I say (in my head) "She must have an AGEEEENNNNDAAAAAA" in a very ridiculous voice.

Anyway, MY agenda appeared the other day when I was reading my blogs.  Yes, I keep a list of blogs in my Google Reader and new stuff just shows up when the writers post it.  Magic!  Anyway, I was reading along and it turns out that the writer of one blog that I have read since Annika was born (Dooce) has started running.  She wrote about some of her running and her first taste of GU.  And then, I had to reply.  You have to sign up for an account to post a comment and I never have because I never do anything that requires a sign-up.  Not even online shopping.  But I had to do it, because she was talking about RUNNING. 

So, I thought about it a lot that day and realized that I am like that kid in college.  You know, the one who would sit down next to you on the bench outside of the library in college and want to tell you about his best friend Jesus Christ.  If this never happened to you, you either did not go to college in the South or you were never alone in college because it happened to me a LOT.

Anyway, I am that guy!  I want to tell everyone about my best friend, running.  Running has helped me deal with stress (work, taking the bar exam, motherhood).  It has helped me avoid becoming the fat Steph from middle school.  It lets me get outside and see the town or just the neighborhood.  It helps me stop and smell the roses or taste the muscadines (just look at the vines in front of the VG Bistro!).  It helps me remember stuff that I have forgotten.  It helps me forget stuff that has irritated me.  It gives me the patience to do stuff that I don't like.  It lets me think through problems.  It lets me blow of some steam.  It lets me wave and smile at the cops and the neighbors and people I don't even know.  It helps me accept what my body is, but also tells me that I can do more than I thought I could.

Sure, I have bad runs or hard runs or runs where I have to go potty a zillion times or worse, when I can't find an open potty or where I chafe the skin off of my armpits, but every time I am always glad I went and I never return from a run wishing I had not gone.

In all honesty, Doug is my best friend, but running is right up there.  So, when I wave to you from my car or the sidewalk and am happy about my running, it is because running is my friend and I want to share it with you.

Try New Things - Class #5 - Hot Vinyasa Yoga

After the warm yoga experience in Class #4, my yoga-riffic buddies convinced me to try out a vinyasa class.  Apparently, vinyasa is movement-based yoga and each movement flows into the next.  So, we agreed to meet for a Hot Vinyasa class yesterday.

Elena, Karen and Mila are all experienced yoga students, but Michelle joined us and she is about my speed of yoga (remedial).  As is my habit in a new class (OK, in any class), I tried to get on the back row with Michelle, and not one, but two other attendees literally elbowed me out of the way!  Whew, who knew that people were so particular about their yoga locations!  So, I ended up front and center, which is way outside of my comfort zone, but it was probably better since it kept me on my best behavior and in the moment.

We did a warm-up with closed eyes, which was surprisingly relaxing.  It was really more of an ease-in because the room was plenty warm, but we started moving around gradually, which was a nice way to begin.  The instructor did not model the poses for the class, but walked around the room while guiding us with her voice.  While I felt a bit adrift at times when I didn't recognize the pose she meant, it was easy enough to open my eyes and copy what everyone else was doing.  And, while she was guiding us through our warm-up/ease-in the instructor told us about the meaning of the word yoga and gave us some deep thoughts on the idea of unity.  This part, when combined with some other stuff I was thinking about, made me cry.  Luckily, I am used to crying during the songs in church, so I didn't worry too much about it.  I learned that it is not unusal at all to cry in yoga.  The instructor also had a few things to say about accepting your body, which I thought was pretty awesome.  This jibed very well with the varying degrees to which we could perform the poses in the class.  Some could touch their toes, some could not.  Some were on left feet, some on right.  Some could back-bend, some could not.  It was nice to see all of the variations and hear that they were all OK.

The flow class really was about constant movement, which I appreciated.  We moved from pose to pose in a similar order to the sun salutations I remember from my last (only) real yoga class and did a LOT of yoga pushups in between the different poses.  The pushups were very difficult, but even some of the routine stuff like going from downward dog to warrior pose was challenging for me.  I liked this flowing kind of yoga a lot.  It was hard, but relaxing at the same time.  The heat, instead of being an afterthought, really wove in with the class so that while it was gently warm at the beginning of the class, it got oppressive at the end so that it was a complete relief to do the cool-down poses that felt most comfortable.

Our last exercise after the flowing exercises was to join arms for a last stretch (almost a runner's stretch) on each side.  While you'd think that we might have felt silly doing this, it was really nice, except that the lady next to me did not want to touch me.  Not her fault that I am a sweat monster.  The instructor left us with some good thoughts about the duality of emotions and actions, which was a good way to end.

All told, I give Hot Vinyasa an enthusiastic thumbs up.  I would definitely look forward to another class.

Try New Things - Class #4 - Warm Yoga

This class was supposed to be Hot Yoga, but the heaters in the yoga room were on the fritz.  So, we convened in one of the regular exercise studios with the heat turned up.  This provided a warm class (no pulled muscles) but not a hot class (no sweating).  I learned after class that the format of this class is similar to that of a Bikram class, in which you do a set of 26 poses (same poses every week) in a 95-108 degree room separated by rests between poses. 

I really dreaded this class because yoga is just not my thing.  I failed miserably at the class I took with the kickboxing ladies.  I would lie in corpse pose (savasana) and think "wow, I am not burning any calories here" or "how much longer?" or "what do I need to do at work tomorrow" or "maybe I can poke Michelle with my big toe".  Luckily, Mila and Elena (who are good at yoga and way bendier than me) agreed to meet me and Natalie told me what to do in the class. 

I arrived ridiculously early, procured and sanitized a mat, picked up towels, a block and strap and brought iced water with me.  As we went through the poses, the instructor told us to look ourselves in the eyes in the mirror, so it felt like cheating to watch what she was doing to emulate the poses (I still did it).  This class had the soothing music and dim lights, but it lacked a lot of the hippy-dippy stuff that intimidates or irritates some people about yoga.  After I worked through my desire for incense, deep thoughts and encouragement, I realized that if you just want to stretch your body without a lot of fluff, this is the perfect class.  Now, if you could eliminate some of the savasanas (boring!), it would be only an hour and perfect!

Interestingly, I really enjoyed the distractions of the karate class next door (they were breaking boards!) and when one of the other students' teenaged kids were dancing outside the door impatient for her to leave.  On the other hand, as I was struggling to turn my body around for yet another savasana (I am still ridiculously sore in my calves, core and triceps from Total Conditioning on Saturday), I had the nicest thought about the crisp, delicious apple that I had for snack before class.  It was nice to just think about that instead of being embarrassed at how un-bendy I am or how much struggle it took me to get into and out of the savasanas.

So, I give the class a thumbs up, despite the fact that it did not go according to plan and that I still suck at yoga.  It helped me stretch when and parts of my body that I otherwise would not have stretched and that is a good thing.

Try New Things - Class #3 - Total Conditioning

Well, as I type this, my arms are still wet-noodley from this morning's Total Conditioning Class.  It totally kicked my ass.

Total Conditioning is a lot like what I imagine Cross-Fit to be: intervals of strength training (weights), followed by more reps with a bit of cardio or cross-functionality (adding legs while lifting with arms, for example), followed by hard cardio (zone 4 or 5).  Go to the next interval and repeat that process for a full hour.

Before class, I met a nice man who showed me how to set-up my area and advised me to start easy with the weights.  He was really helpful and even checked in after class to see how I did.  LifeTime should buy him a coffee because he was an excellent ambassador.  He needn't have worried about me heeding the weight warning!  I selected the lightest weights (green, which are actually 3lbs and not 1lb like I thought and blue 8lbs that I didn't even touch).  I did go up one level on the bar to the yellow 15lb bar, which was OK.  I selected a red stretch band - huge mistake.  Midway through the first set (not the progression to add cardio), I had to drop it and go without.  My swim muscles are fine, but the rest of my upper body is still downright wimpy.  Seriously.  I had the lowest weights of any person in the class, even the grammies!

As with last week's Strike class, our instructor started early and we warmed up fast. I had tried out the '"floating" elliptical machine on the cardio floor to warm-up for 10 minutes, so I was fine with the fast warm-up.  Apparently, this is what everyone does, because I recognized a lot of the people in the class from the machines around me.  Quickly I realized that wearing my Vibrams had been a mistake.  While they were perfect for Strictly Strength (the instructor even wore them), I found them terrible for the cardio portions of Total Conditioning.  I gazed longingly at the cushy Brooks on the lady and man beside me while I changed some of my cardio to low-impact when my feet started complaining.  If you can run in your Vibrams, though, you could definitely do Total Conditioning in them.  I would have preferred a securely-laced running shoe or flat.

I really enjoyed the progression format of the class and the way you could do the low-impact, medium or hard-core versions of each exercise.  The class was all over the map on the variations, so I didn't feel self-conscious about modifying when I needed to do it.  I don't think the guy next to me was ever doing the same exercise as the instructor!  And the cardio was hella-fun.  I channeled my college step-classes and middle-impacted when my feet didn't want to do the high-impact stuff.  At one point, we did squat-thrusts, then had the option to (a) step up on the step, (b) jump with both feet onto the step, or (c) jump over the step.  At another point we did three two-footed forward jumps in a row, then spun around and jumped back to repeat.  It was awesome.  I was dripping sweat at the end of every cardio interval and it usually took me the whole first lifting set to recover.

Total Conditioning was fabulous.  It allowed me to bring it the way Strike did, but because the lifting was more controlled than my crazy punching, I don't appear to have hurt myself as badly.  I will try it again with shoes next time!  Thumbs Up!!

Try New Things - Class #2 - Strictly Strength

Today's class was Strictly Strength with Wendy.  I have never done a strength class, so I had no idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised.

I have not yet regained a full range of motion after Saturday's Strike! beat-down, but I gave Strictly Strength a try anyway.  To prepare, you set-up a step like in step class, lay out a mat, gather two sets of hand-weights (heavy and light) and a weight bar.  I picked the lightest weights possible (green 1lb and blue 2 or 4lb hand weights and my pal the 6lb pink bar) and set-up my area just like my friend Carolyn did.  Carolyn picked WAY heavier weights than I did.  My ego wanted to get bigger weights (some of the other class members had 9lb weights and a 15lb bar!), but I knew it was better to start low than have to swap out in the middle or drop the weights entirely.

We did a little warm-up, then two rounds of shoulders, chest, lunges, squats, calves, biceps, and triceps.  Last, we did glutes, abs, core and back.  I missed the last bit of this and the stretching because it was 6:15 and I had to leave, which is too bad because I am really good at the core.  However, I was able to do the whole workout, except for a few reps of the lunges and squats when my glutes and quads burst into flames.  Apparently, the exercises that you do in each workout change every time because Wendy mentioned that there would be no pushups today.  The music was good and my only criticism was that I had a hard time following the number of reps.  I think I will get better at this with some practice.

I would definitely do this class again, but I think I might run a few miles first to warm-up and after to cool-down because (a) I am addicted to cardio and (b) I am not young or flexible enough to jump right into the warm-up.

As of today, I hereby change the rating scale to thumbs-up v. thumbs-down instead of N out of 10 because the numbers are very likely to be very Steph-o-centric.  The overall quality of a class should not be evaluated on my foibles.  Other folks may just not like to punch or value the sweating as much as I do.  : )

So, Strictly Strength gets a thumbs-up!

Try New Things Offseason Challenge - Class #1 - Strike!

Climb every mountain

or just try every class at LifeTime Fitness!

Now that my triathlon offseason is here, I was thinking about what I could do to keep in shape and avoid the post-race lbs I put on last year.  So, I was thinking, maybe I could just try out all of the classes at my gym.  The gym has classes all day, every day and I have never tried any of them except for spin.

Class #1 - Strike!

So, this morning, I found a buddy and we gave Strike! a try.  It is basically an aerobic kickboxing class merged in intervals with a strength class.  You select a weighted bar and in between sets of kickboxing you do sets of lifting or sparring moves with it.  The kickboxing took me right back to the classes Corinne, Michelle, Katie and I used to take at Kim Brothers and LA Fitness ten years ago.  SO. MUCH. FUN!

We did lots of punching (which I love), lunges, squats, and cardio.  I picked the lightest bar (pink, of course) and was still dripping sweat for the whole class.  Some of the other ladies had really heavy bars, but I don't think I could have done the whole class with a heavier bar.  The instructor started early and appeared as if she would have kept going if not for the hard stop at 10am.  She gave good directions and played music with a good beat. 

My glutes are sore to the touch and I may not be able to move tomorrow, so I give this class a 10 out of 10.  I will definitely be back.

Brick the Cancer Ride Report

After the 100 Miles to Nowhere event, I swore off of events. I figured that the craziness of the ride was an indication that I was just not ready for primetime and hosting an event is a lot of work for the family, especially if I am riding in the event.
So, when Katie decided that she was going to raise money for Athletes for a Cure so she could do Ironman Wisconsin, I thought we would just donate some money. Those Athletes for Cure folks are doing such good stuff by even mentioning prostate cancer since no one seems to be able to mention a prostate without giggling – I am a sucker for them. Well, the donation turned into “let’s host a party to solicit donations for Katie.” Then Doug did the math and realized that we needed to widen the net. Couple that with the silly brick workouts we had been doing (10 mile Mountain Park bike loop + 3 mile neighborhood run loop) x 3 and voila – another event was born!

Brick the Cancer was held on Saturday, July 30 and we raised over $500 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation via cash and donations on Katie’s site. We planned to ride three circuits of the 30 mile down-to-the-river loop, alternated with running three loops of my street (3 miles with cul-de-sacs) for a total of 90 miles of riding and 9 miles of running. Doug made awesome boiled peanuts and BBQ and we got to ride bikes with a lot of neat folks.



Adam posing for Annika




Barry and his magic shoes.




The Blackmons




Brian - Mr. Speedy.  He was the only other person to ride all 100 miles of the 100 MTN




Cindi - fastest woman alive on platform pedals




Dave, my spin class buddy and superfast marathoner




Katie the Event Girl and awesome Doug, who manned the fort despite having the flu.




Doug's awesome sister Michelle, who is going to Wisconsin with us and who escorted Susan and Lynn on their ride before running with her sweet husband.




Susan and Lynn - their run plan sounds like the most fun ever.  They skip and dance and everything.




Tom.  We are going to convince him to do a triathlon one day.  He is already way faster than me on the bike.







GU donated GU Energy Gels, neat banners and schwag and allowed me to buy event-sized quantities of GU Electrolyte Brew and GU Chomps.

You'd think I would have made my artful arrangement so that you could see the labels on the GU and Chomps, but no.



Brooks Running chipped in some schwag and discounts too and everyone loved the Brooks transition zone in the driveway!



Betcha didn't know that trees and bushes make super bike stands!



Schwag box - choose your own!

My neighbors did not complain, we had a few flat tires and other than both of the crashes that I caused, no one wrecked! Katie and Greg brought their margarita machine and made alcohol-free GU Brew-a-Ritas to cool everyone off,

plus some lovely macaroni and cheese. Becky made awesome cake and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Tom made lemon cake and Karen brought peanut butter crackers to share. It was awesome.

On loop 2, we powered through the flat tire events – good practice to change them!  Then, as we climbed back from the river to the house, the sun turned into a ball of flame.   Doug had to hose Adrienne and Marlin (who, along with my buddy Larry, miraculously appear to have been immune to Annika's awesome photography skills) down to cool them off after they rolled in early after electing not to ride down Stroup Road to visit the goats with us.  Karen loves those silly goats!

This let to our newest running innovation – the hose chair. Some strategically placed holes in the chair, a cup of iced beverage and a hose = instant relief.

After the loop 2 run, Doug packed me zip-lock bags of ice to put in my shorts and all riders refilled our bike bottles with ice and the GU-a-ritas.  As we sallied forth (or ground painfully up the hill, whichever) on loop 3, we decided to do two 10 mile loops instead of a longer loop so that we could come back by the house for more ice.  It was that hot.
 
This proved to be a genius idea because loop 3 was blazing and miserable.  Luckily, as we came within two miles of home (I had to calculate this later because my math had escaped me by that point in the ride), the heavens opened and it began to pour with rain.  The rain was a welcome relief from the heat and oppressive humidity.  After a few minutes of wrangling, the group elected to run our remaining run loop and then reassess the weather situation.  After an uneventful and rather painful (at least for me) run or run/walk, we called it quits and tucked into the delicious BBQ, cakes and homebrew.
 
I am very pleased to report that Katie met her fundraising goal and that we are all looking forward to Ironman Wisconsin next week!  YES!
 
So, I am still pretty amateurish at the event thing, but we had a great time.  Who doesn't enjoy a yard party with a little exercise thrown in for fun?