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Comments: Slowly we got closer and closer to the big balloon arch. Someone on the sidelines was reminding those of us that would be out there for the 3+ hours that we were in very dry AZ…. so KEEP HYDRATED! I kept that knowledge in my head and made sure to keep reminding Karen and Megan. I knew only too well how horrid you could fee with out good hydration. FINALLY… corral 23 was at the start line!! ooohhhh excited. We started walking. Karen was setting the pace – though I think she thought I was. We actually jogged a little.. short bursts of just 30 seconds to 1 minute, followed by a good fast walk. When we hit mile marker 1, Karen and Megan were excited that we had ALREADY made 1 mile! we were actually doing about a 14 minute mile! Karen was absolutely thrilled as she had never done that!! I was totally thrilled that I was able to do this too!! With NO ISSUES from my foot! Yes.. I was listening to it the entire way. Each mile, we had a couple of jog intervals, then, when we saw the mile marker for the next mile, we sprinted past the mile marker. Around mile 3, I reminded everyone that we needed to be fueling or eating NOW.. not after we get hungry, otherwise it is way too difficult to catch up and the wall would be horrid. I had 2 sport beans – the blue ones. Each mile, I had either a Cliff shot Block or 2 sport beans, and in between, a couple pretzel sticks for the salt. At each aide station, I had the others also have 1 cytomax, and 1 water. I also had 2 x 10oz bottles of water, one bottle of electrolytes that was 2 powerbar gels mixed with water for 10 oz, and one Crystal lite strawberry with energy in the 4th 10oz bottle. At mile 6, I shared a few of the pretzels and beans with Megan. she was doing a lot of sweating, and by mile 6 really starting to tire too fast, so I wanted to make sure she was fueling and hydrating. All three of us were very pleased with where we were for our 5K: around 43 minutes, our 10K around 1:25, and our 10.2 mile which I am not sure anymore where I was at for that one. I know that if I were running those would be better times, but I was happy that I was doing the times as well given just 3 months prior I had foot surgery and 2 other surgeries. I was feeling pretty happy. I was also still feeling VERY energetic… no walls!! sweet!! I just was hoping Karen and Megan weren’t hitting them. I kept jogging up to Karen, then hovering back to Megan, talking them through whatever was going through their heads. after I saw my 5K, I took a peek on my blackberry at Renee’s stats thus far. Her 5K, 10K and 10.2 miles were in there.. and she was BOOKING!! I knew she didn’t have her phone along yet at that point, so just kept saying in my head to keep it going.. keep it going.. hoping she would feel the vibes. LOL after our 10K, I figured she would be close, but no finish yet.. hmm… but by the time I hit mile 8 or 9 I checked once more and there was her finish time… 2:01:26… SWEEEEEET!! I had to text her a big WHOOOO HOOOO!!! I was jumping up and down on the course.. people around me must have thought I was NUTS!! LOL At mile 10, I HAD to hit the portapotties.. no questions asked… so I ran over, let the other 2 go ahead.. and got relief! AHHH… I jogged up about a half mile till I caught up to Megan. I walked with her till we hit the 12 mile mark, then she assured me she was finishing and that I could go ahead to get Karen across in record time. I told her I would be there at the finish for her. I jogged up until I found Karen. We did the last mile together, and since that last .1 mile was downhill, we jogged it into the finish line together… hands held, and up… what a sweet finish. 3:08!!! So much faster than ANY of us had anticipated.. I am sooooo proud of them all. Renee was at the finish line waiting for us… she LOOKED like she was in pain, and crashing fast! OOHHHH… I gave her a huge hug! and Congratulated her again for a SAWEEET RACE!! I was so excited for her. Then I went back to meet Megan as she crossed the line. :D She did sooooo awesome! We each did individual post race pics, then a group picture of the 4 of us. Then Karen and Megan went off to find family, and Renee and I went to find my bag, and get some post race nutrition. They had a lot of things there that were just more of the same – energy bars, etc… my stomach was just not up to that.. I needed fruit, meat and fluids! LOL my body gets way too specific some days. I had a banana, some of the bean chips, and WATER!! They also had a bottle of cytomax, so I sipped on that a bit. I was tired, but could have gone further – or harder. I knew that for once.. I had stayed ahead of my hydration and fueling.. that felt sooooo good!! I got my race bag, and then had a protein bar – one of the Cliff Banana Bread ones. That held me over for a little.. I really had no energy at all to change, and honestly, inspite of the heat, I did not sweat a lot. but I did not feel I had worked real hard either. Though my HR’s throughout the race indicated differently. shoot.. they ran way higher than I normally experience walking! could the heat do that? because my perceived exertion was nowhere near what the HR’s indicated. I had decided mid race to go by the perceived exertion. We sat on the little curbs for quite a while when the two Boston ladies came up to us asking if we were heading to Scottsdale as they needed a ride. They were a delight to talk with. Both had awesome times! Both had similar aches and pains… LOL.. fun to hear their stories too. Before we left, I realized my foot was a little crampy, so I tried to stop at the medic table to get some ice, but was asked to sit down, and then.. the medic got detained??? and she just didn’t come back. So instead, I hit a rest room, and we took off walking – hopefully in the direction of the garage. I did stop to ask frequently if I was heading toward the intersection I wrote down. We actually walked right past the garage, I think looking at the sub shops! LOL.. so we stopped in, hit a rest room again, and had a sandwich… ohhhh goodness.. that hit the spot! We dropped the Boston ladies at their hotel… such sweet ladies, then headed out. I stopped quick at a shop that had COFFEE!!! and a rest room, as I was in need of both.. LOL.. all that hydrating on the course was coming out!! What would you do differently?: nothing. It actually went way better than I anticipated given the surgery, and lack of being able to train till right before.  Post race
Warm down: When we got back to Susan’s house, ohhh.. what a wonderful delite of a reception. Then, I hit a SHOWER!! because by then, I was feeling the salt on my face. Apparently I had been sweating more than I knew – but maybe in the heat it evaporated as quickly as it came out??? My skin was FULL of salt! That, actually is new for me. Usually, after a long race, I hit a low blood sugar, and wall, and I am no longer sweating salt, but instead have a very ammonia smell to my sweat… this time.. not so much… :D maybe a sign of great electrolyte refueling?? I sure hope so, because it sure still felt awesome. The shower felt awesome, and I dressed immediately into my swim suit, and then out to the pool!! we swam casually for about an hour, and then played a light game of water volleyball. After a quiet dinner of Chicken, spinach salad, and tortilla’s… I iced my foot and packed my things for the journey home the next day. What limited your ability to perform faster: This was 3 months post foot surgery, and 2 skin surgeries, so actually a rehab race for me. I was expected to take it slow. I did, and it felt awesome. Event comments: I was so happy to share this day with so many friends. I still feel great post race, and am enjoying a few days with a little slower moving. I have a blister on my right second toe, but other than that, my foot (the right one that had surgery) is feeling awesome. I have been on my feet all day at work, and still the foot feels great. I learned a lot this race about fueling as it all came together for me. I learned that starting a couple of days BEFORE the race sure can make a difference. I also learned to not be afraid to do both – they electrolyte AND the water at each aid station. But now, I am soooo ready to get on back to some speed work and get to running for that Half in May!! Last updated: 2009-01-03 12:00 AM
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United States
Elite Racing Inc.
78F / 26C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 17714/21990
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 586/1018
Wow.. this came up so fast. Up until late December, I was horribly unsure if my foot had healed enough to be able to do this race. Even with that, I knew I needed to use it only as a training “run”. I needed to walk most of it, per my surgeon. Because of this I set it up so I would be coaching a young lady through her very first half marathon. She intended to walk it, and could barely make it one mile when she began her training just 3 months prior. This gave me the incentive to get in whatever training I possibly could tolerate as soon as I was out of the walking cast. The cast came off the first week of December, but even with it off, my foot was horribly weak, and it tired easily. Pain was imminent if I went more that 2 miles.
So… my training was a bit piece-meal… I did a lot of cross training. Twice a week I would do 40 minutes on the elliptical or stationary bike while wearing the boot. One or Two times a week I would do a 2 – 4 mile walk. Each week I was able to tolerate a little bit more. By end of December, I was able to jog a good 2 miles… and do a walk jog for a 4 mile run. Each weekend I did a “long” run – mostly walk, but until Dec 21, all I could handle was 4 miles. On Dec 21 I had a bit of a break through that gave me a bit more confidence. I was able to do a walk/jog of 7 miles! I ran at least ½ of it… on the treadmill. It felt awesome during the run – my foot seemed to tolerate it very well. At the time, at least. I was unable to do a lot for 3 days after that as my foot was very uncomfortable. It wasn’t pain so much as muscle fatigue. Slowly that week I babied it, and allowed it time to heal, doing my toe stretches along with other stretches. I concentrated on core workouts during this time.
I continued my training for the next 2 weeks in much the same way – cross training and “long” runs not exceeding 4 miles, mostly walked. It wasn’t until the final 2 weeks before the race that I started feeling absolutely awesome on any of the training. My long sessions; I made totally walks. Tough to do, but it seemed to help. I was able to get in a great 9 miles walk three weeks prior to the race, and was able to keep going with shorter walk/jogs and some elliptical during the week. I also added in some swimming to take the stress away and start preparing for a new training plan to follow this race.
Two weeks prior, I was doing an 11+ mile walk when the weather went horrid. I felt a lot of stress on my foot, so I called it at 9 miles. This really paid off. I just continued with the rest of my training during the week and my foot was feeling awesome. The muscles of my foot were finally conditioning and everything was coming together.
By race day, I was feeling really good. I was having no pain or stress no matter what length of walk/jog. I knew I could do this now.
Thursday night, Jan 15 I returned from my site in Montana to the need to prepare my race day and the following week’s site needs. It was a late night at best, but I was watching my nutrition quite well. I had added in a few carbs during the week to prepare, though still keeping it all well in calorie range. Surprisingly , I still had a loss on the scale for the week… hmmm..
Friday morning Jan 16, I had to leave early to the airport. It was all of NEGATIVE 35 DEGREES!! Yes.. BELOW ZERO!! BRRR… Soooo happy to be heading to a warmer climate! I was excited as all get out for this race, and the friends I would be meeting up with! I was ready! I knew Karen was ready, and had worked up from that barely making 1 mile to long walks of 12 miles and keeping a pace of 16 minute miles. I was very confident the race day would take her all the way.
I got into Phoenix at about 2pm. I had some work to get done, and the others wouldn’t be in for a couple hours. So I set up shop at the airport, got my work done, made some calls to sites, and felt really good having it all done and not hovering over me.
I then got up and walked around a bit, keeping loose. It was a slow walk – with luggage – but moving all the same. I grabbed water so I could be well hydrated going into the weekend.
Friday night was pretty much just relaxation, meeting up with friends, and enjoying life! It was so splendid. I was also so happy my work was done, and nothing was hovering over me. Man does that make a HUGE difference in how a race weekend goes! Last year, every race weekend was clouded by undone reports, and the stress of not getting it done. I am working on that, and seeing the value of not having the stress.
Saturday, Renee and I started with an EASY warm up 2+ mile run. I did not run much, as I did not want to tire my foot muscles. It really was so beautiful there. What a wondrous early morning run. Then we headed into the Expo. We were able to listen to an expert panel, and got some great strategies for race day, fueling, inspiration to takes us to the finish, etc. I was able to meet John Bingham. I let him know he was a huge reason why I now run. We also met up and talked with Mikahela (the triathlete from Australia that has won many tri’s – the fastest woman on the IM) She was totally inspiring! wow! Got some thoughts out there on the triathlon training. Wow!!
Saturday night we had dinner out with our friends. I had fajitas. Chicken and beef. For once, I chose to eat the wheat tortillas, rice and black beans for my carbs. It was all very mild, so not an issue. I only put in the ingredients that I knew my body handled well. After dinner, we hit the pool, for a very relaxed, and fun swim. No drills, just moving about, letting the body rest. It felt very nice. Why can’t it be this nice in MN??? LOL
Before bed, I had some fruit, and lots of water. Saturday night I also went through everything I needed for race day, pre-planned my fueling, prepped my fuel belt and drinks, had them cooling in the fridge, got the fuel belt filled up, etc I also planned out how we would get to the race! That was a big task, as I came to understand! Then, it was off to bed. Hard to do when all the others are still up and enjoying friendship. I did not get nearly enough sleep, as I was in bed a little after 11, and needed to be up around 5 am.
Sunday morning. I overslept! shoot. Renee, of all people woke me up! that never happens! LOL. Still, I had plenty time. I had a cup of coffee to wake up, then switched to water and Cytomax since that was the fuel of the race. Sitting by our breakfast supplies was a wonderful sign made up by the other ladies wishing us luck.. what a sweet thing to wake up to on race morning!
For breakfast, I had 2 english muffins (higher fiber, 110 cals each). One with 1TBS PB, the other with Cream Cheese. This was about 3 hours pre-race. So, I also had a banana and water on the way to the race. We headed to the Finish area where there were open parking ramps and shuttles to the start. It was not marked very well, but once we were near ASU, the racers were walking all over, so I knew we were close. I found a parking ramp that seemed close, and also had several of the shuttle busses sitting out front. The shuttle ride was a good 40 minutes, time to go back over my plan for fuel, and getting Karen across the line. Once at the start – we met up with Karen. I found out her friend Megan would also be joining us, though she was not quite as strong of a walker as Karen, I knew she could do it. I was very happy to have everyone together so early, so we could stretch, and move around, and they could express any concerns. Basically, I just pumped them up for success. They had originally signed up to make the Half in 4 hours. Based on what I knew of Karen’s times for training, I suggested she move up to the corral for a 3:30 finish. I felt Megan could also handle that. They both were excited that I thought they could do that. I reminded them the energy of the race would take them farther than they ever dreamed. I got in line for a restroom immediately after this, since they were still short, and the water enroute from Susans was coming through. LOL
I brought along a small bottle of Cytomax (very diluted) for the wait we would have for the race, and our wave to start. I wanted to go into this race very much ahead of the electrolytes, as that seems to have been an issue every endurance race I have done. I slowly sipped that up until about 1 hour pre race. Then I had a protein drink ready (2 Tbsp Lean Muscle meal[10gram prot and 65 cals] and water) that I drank, a little more water, then hit the rest rooms one more time.
I wanted to walk with Renee up to the front where her start corral was, but by then, the crowds were just plain horrid! so I went back to Corral 23 to be with Karen and Megan. We knew we would not start for at least 45 minutes after the true Gun start. So we stretched more, talked, enjoyed, and danced around to the music. I think we were quite a sight. LOL