Spartan Beast NorCal

Last weekend I ventured up to Sacramento to run the Spartan Beast NorCal.  It was definitely a spur of the moment race.  One of the guys I work with had signed up and wanted someone to run it with him.  I checked out the race website and decided it would definitely be something up my alley!  13.something miles and a ton of mud later, I'm glad I decided to sign up.

The volunteers were amazing!  It was cold and rainy on Saturday, but they all showed up ready to help ensure the race ran smoothly.  We arrived early for our 0830 start time and stood around shivering waiting to start.  Originally, both of us had planned to run with Camelbak packs because we thought we might need our own water and food.  After some thought, we both opted out of that and decided to just hope that the water stations would do the trick!  I'm so glad that we did because navigating the barbed wire obstacles would have been awful with a pack on!

The course was laid out on pasture lands at the Van Vleck ranch.  Lots of hills and mud!  There were balancing obstacles, rope climbs, monkey bars, cargo nets, barbed wire obstacles, and some other crazy stuff!  We had to tie a rubber band around our ankles and hop up and down a hill.  We had to drag a cinder block hooked to a chain up and down a hill.  And all of it was a ton of fun!

For anyone looking for something a little different from the standard half marathon or trail race, Spartan Races are for you!  They do a fantastic job running these events.  Aside from how cold it was, I thought the race was awesome.  

The Joys of Coaching

Ok, so let me start off with the fact that I'm not talking about joys I get out of coaching...I'm not the least bit qualified to coach anyone when it comes to triathlons!!!  However, what I am talking about is how ecstatic I am about having signed up with Mike Plumb from TriPower.  I was a bit hesitant at first to spend any money on a coach, because in theory I should be able to use all of the available resources on the internet to find great training schedules.  However, that rapidly became overwhelming.  

I went ahead and decided to try it out for a few months and see how it went.  It's only been about a month, but I can already tell that I love it!  Mike e-mails me my workout schedules on Sunday.  It includes everything I'm supposed to do each day of the week, to include the swim workouts.  I've never actually done a real swim workout.  I just go to the pool, hop in, and do laps until I'm tired.  Now I have guidelines for how to push myself in the water.

Additionally, I have unlimited e-mail contact with him and can ask him as many questions as I want.  He has us log into Beginner Triathlete to log our training on a daily basis.  This helps him tailor our weekly schedules.

So, I'm not sure I can effectively say what kind of difference this will have in my race performance, but I do know that I'm super excited to be training with a purpose.  To have someone with years and years of knowledge help me prepare to move up in race distance and to improve myself!  

MCM Recap

Last year, one of my fellow Stroller Warriors decided to run the Marine Corps Marathon just a few weeks before the event. (One of our other members was planning to do it, but sadly sustained an injury leaving a free bib.) We all logged on to watch her 10k updates as they posted, constantly streaming comments on our SW Facebook page, I started to get the itch. Yes, I have done two previous marathons, but that was before I ever liked running.

So with high hopes and a stomach full of nerves, I sat down at my computer moments before the event registration opened and managed to secure one of the slots that sold out in 2 hours and 41 minutes! That brought on the mad search for the "right" training plan. I ended up with a mix of a couple plans that my dear husband helped me figure out.

I briefly wrote recaps of my training weeks, but then we packed away our computer and embarked on our third move as a married couple, my 15th since 1998! We lived with my in-laws for nearly 6 weeks and then finally moved into our rented house in Mt Vernon. Those first 6 weeks were a blessing for my training. I ran stroller-free most days and had the company of my husband who had also decided to run. Unfortunately, those weeks were plagued with PF, a sore right hamstring, and several runs that left me thinking, "What on earth have I signed up for?!"

I had not printed out my training plan and couldn't access the computer until post-marathon, so my training was scattered at best. My focus was getting the house unpacked and livable for the Weasel, and while I did manage to get a few longer runs in, I wasn't feeling super confident. I originally started out with a goal of sub-4. I quickly changed that to just finishing the race.

On Saturday morning, Grandpa came and picked up Weasel (she was spending the night with them so we wouldn't have to get a sitter on Sunday) and left us to relax. Sunday morning arrived and we woke at 4:40. That gave us enough time to eat breakfast and for Jason to down some coffee. We hopped on the Metro and rode to King Street where we met a friend. Neither of us carried anything we couldn't run with because we wanted to avoid the chaos of the bag drop at the end. (Hence the lack of photos in this post!)

After catching up with LOTS of my Stroller Warrior buddies, we made our way to the 4 hour corral and got ready for the canon to sound. We crossed the start line just 3 minutes after the bang and quickly found our stride. It was Jason, me and our friend, Pat. The first few miles were crowded with spectators cheering loudly.

Mile 1 - 9:24
Mile 2 - 9:25
Mile 3 - 9:00
Mile 4 - 8:50
Mile 5 - 9:15

There were a few hills that were challenging but not terrible and we made our way into Georgetown which offered a huge downhill! The main road was packed and there were so many people cheering! At that point, Jason said, "Hey Jen, do we know anyone up here in Georgetown?" As he said it, we saw our friend, Sean Cox (in uniform as he was working the race) and that was quite a pick me up!

Mile 6 - 8:37
Mile 7 - 9:04
Mile 8 - 8:54
Mile 9 - 8:58
Mile 10 - 8:33
Mile 11 - 9:11

We cruised just ahead of the 4 mile pacer and I was running quietly, but still feeling ok. Jason was great as he occasionally asked how I was doing and if I needed anything. Then we came to Hains Point (the dreaded part of the MCM course regardless of what year you're running). It's mostly free of spectators and often produces winds due to the fact that it's surrounded by the waters of the Potomac. The first 1/2 mile of it was lined with large pictures and names of soldiers, sailors, and Marines who have been killed since OIF and OEF started. That gave me the motivation to keep running. But I was starting to hurt.

Mile 12 - 9:01
Mile 13 - 9:05
Mile 14 - 9:49
Mile 15 - 9:52

Around mile 14, I could feel my pinkie toenail on my right foot throbbing. I had issues with the nail earlier in my training and figured it was probably working its way off my toe! I just kept running. As we left Hains Point, I started taking brief walking breaks. I stretched a couple times too. Jason would run ahead and get cups of water and Gatorade for both of us, bringing mine to me so I didn't have to alter my path. BEST HUSBAND EVER! He was looking good and could have finished well before me, but said, "We started this thing together and we will finish TOGETHER!"

Mile 16 - 10:16
Mile 17 - 10:38
Mile 18 - 10:56
Mile 19 - 10:29
Mile 20 - 11:34

As we turned into Arlington, we ran by places we used to walk to from our first apartment as a married couple. It was full of cheering people and even though I still stopped to walk a few times, I was feeling better.

Mile 21 - 10:18
Mile 22 - 11:46
Mile 23 - 11:24
Mile 24 - 11:14
Mile 25 - 11:56

You can see just how much our pace had slowed by this point. My legs felt like lead and even though I knew I was running, it felt like I was being sucked backward. I should mention that the weather was phenomenal! Those winds and rain predicted for the day had held off and it was truly spectacular running weather. We ran that last mile and then made the left turn to run up the final hill to the Iwo Jima Memorial (Marine Corps War Memorial). It felt amazing. We were 25 minutes off my original goal, but I couldn't have cared less.

Mile 26 - 11:44

We ran around people who were walking that final hill, linked hands and crossed the finish line at 4:24. Most people would look at these splits and say we went out too fast. I disagree. The first half of the race was awesome. If I had run any slower, the pain in my legs and my little toe would have just come along at an earlier mile marker. I was happy with our race.

We made it home about 2 hours after finishing the race and I finally took off my shoe. My pinkie toenail hadn't come off, but the enter toe was one big blister! I wish I had pictures to share with you from this race, but I'll always have the memories of a successful challenge completed with my best friend at my side.

As for my future in running? Who knows! I will not be signing up for any more full marathons, but I definitely see a few half marathons in my future. I'll probably stick to 5ks and 10ks for a while though:)

Thankful Thursday: What are you grateful for?

Because this is a running/tri blog, I'm going to try to keep the list narrowed down, but five things I'm thankful for right now are:

1) The number of races here in SoCal - seriously, if you wanted to race every single weekend of the year, I'm pretty sure there'd be one within 50 miles of where I live.  Granted, you'd need an unlimited budget, because it gets pretty pricey, but you could do it.

2) Other athletes - last weekend I ran a sprint triathlon down in San Diego and I went by myself.  At first I was kind of bummed, because after the race I didn't really think I'd have anyone to hangout with until the opened the parking lot.  However, I met some really awesome women standing in the line waiting for our results and we had some great conversation.  Turned out that one of the ladies has the same triathlon coach as me!  Small world.



3) My best buddy Leonie - she's the one who got me started into this crazy world of triathlons.  Although I had NO idea what I was getting into, I followed her to my first race and absolutely fell in love with multi-sport races.  She's been an inspiration along the way and I love her for that and so many other things.  She's taught me simple things like how to maintain my bike, how to pack for a race, and how to push myself when I don't think I have it in me.  Unfortunately she's all the way on the east coast now :-(


4) Gorgeous Weather - living in SoCal, I've become soft.  I expect the weather to be 70 and sunny year round.  Pretty spoiled living we have out here.  But while I am stationed here, I have the privilege of enjoying how wonderful it is!  Even when it rains, it's still warm enough to head out on a run and not bundle up.

5) Running Skirts - I only have one of these, but their flagship store is right here in Encinitas!!!  I absolutely love my running skirt and will definitely get down there to get another one.  It's super comfy.  

Wordless Wednesday

Tracking Progress

I'm a huge fan of spreadsheets and data crunching...yes, I lead a thrilling life.  There's something exciting about putting a bunch of numbers or data points together to identify a trend, whether it's a positive or negative trend.  I despise statistics without meaning.  I want to know what factors haven't been included, what have, and how accurate the results are.  

So, where am I going with this?  Since I started doing triathlons, I decided it would be important to keep track of how I did in each one.  Unfortunately, triathlons are a bit different than your standard running races.  A half marathon, regardless of where you run it, will ALWAYS be 13.1 miles.  However, a sprint triathlon can have varying differences for the swim, bike, and run distances.  This made tracking my progress somewhat difficult.  Therefore I decided to add a few more columns to my spreadsheet and it involved a bit of math (not my forte), but I calculated out my pace per kilometer or mile (depends on how the race distances are calculated).  

Do you track your race stats?  How do you do it?

Race Prep Helpers

The most nervous part of a race for me is the night before any race.  When I was only doing running races, it was easy to get my gear together.  I never forgot my shoes or my race number.  Then I ventured into the world of triathlons...that added a whole new aspect to the pre-race night jitters!  There's so much stuff to remember!  

For anyone that's venturing out to do their first triathlon, I highly recommend you use a racing checklist.  You can find great ones at any of these sites:

http://triathlon.racechecklist.com/

http://www.onetri.com/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=1

http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/triathlon-checklist.html

Here are some other tips that can help you ensure a smooth morning on your big race day:

1) Fill up your water bottles the night before with whatever electrolyte replacement drink you want to take on the bike with you.  

2) If the bike portion of the ride is long, use a small piece of electrical tape to attach an energy gel pack to your bike.  If you just tape the top of it to the bike, you can easily tear off the top and eat the gel while on the go!

3) Put your bike, bike shoes, helmet, wetsuit (if you're wearing one), and post-race snacks in the car the night before.  Helmets and shoes are commonly forgotten items!

Sleeping the night before is always tough for me.  I toss and turn and worry about waking up late. 

Does anyone have some tips for how to get a good night's rest before the race???