Fit for Life Half Marathon recap

Last Saturday I ran the Fit For Life Half Marathon! It was my third half marathon in 84 days that means that I am qualified to become a Half Fanatic! Considering I have only ran three half's total doesn't seem like I should be qualified to be a fanatic but I guess if you run all three in such a short amount of time that must show you are some kind of fanatic right. I really want the awesome half fanatic race shirt!

Back to the race recap. Packet pickup was Wednesday and Thursday before the Saturday race. I recevied my bib and a tech shirt, the rest of the "goodies" that normally come with packet pickup were emailed to me a few days before that. Random fact: One of my B.R.F. (best running friends) actually got to pick the color of the shirt because she called to find out what the shirts looked like 3 weeks before the event and they told her to pick the color. Pretty cool!! The race started at 7:30 in the parking lot of Hawks Stadium. The course was an out and back along the Boise Greenbelt. My last half 3 weeks ago actually started where this race had it's turn around point.

I was warned ahead of time by a friend that they didn't have tons of water stations along the course so I brought my own. Also they only had water and gatorade along the course, no gels or anything. It is kind of a good thing that I am an over researcher because otherwise I might have assumed that enough water would be provided that I would need. Also on their website they do not list where the porta potties are located. I know why they didn't list it...because they only had one porta potty. It was at mile 4, since the race was an out and back race I guess I could have used that one porta potty again at mile 9. Thankfully it was an area I knew well since I run the exact location on my lunch break at work and with my training runs with Boise Run Walk. I was able to point out along the course to others where the "secret" bathrooms were that weren't far from the greenbelt but unless you knew about them you would run right by them. FYI: The "secret" bathrooms are located around miles 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 (there are only three but with running back on the same route you get to enjoy them twice).

The first half of the race I was running strong and then I realized maybe I started out a little too fast. Plus my lovely IT band started to sing. I am so sick of that stupid IT band trying to talk to me when I am running. I just want some peace and quiet during my races! Is that too much to ask?! Anyway so at mile 10, I decided that I just wanted to be done with the race, I was tired (silly me thinking I could push myself too much) and hurting (I hate you knee). I sped up, annoying my knee further, and after a mile found one of my friends. I called her on the phone to let her know I was stalking her. I ran faster to catch her and we got to enjoy the last 1.5 miles of the race together. We arrived back at Hawks stadium where my husband and kids (my friend's too) were waiting for us. Like any race, you want to finish strong. What happens if a kid walks into your running path? You dodge him and make an awesome "oh crap" face then you pray that is your awesome finisher photo! Well I am in luck! It is my finisher's photo however it doesn't look as awesome as I had envisioned.

After the race they had free hot dogs and beer, water and some gatorade. After a race I want chocolate milk. After doing a bunch of races I now realize that maybe this isn't a standard thing that every race carries. Last year this race had chocolate milk (I did research), that knowledge is what fueled me the last mile of the race. However no chocolate milk this year :( The Race to Robie Creek had chocolate milk (lots and lots of it, I had two), See Jane Run had chocolate coconut milk (it was frozen and they gave me two to enjoy once they thawed), Fit for Life gave me none. I'm still bummed out!

Overall the race was cheap and a pretty area to run. They had 300 runners doing the half so maybe if it were a bigger race and had more man power then we could enjoy more water, maybe orange slices or some gels along the course. But then the race wouldn't be so cheap and low maintenance. It is a race I would recommend to others assuming they did their research and knew what to expect when!

Did you race this weekend? Did it have chocolate milk? What do you look forward to enjoying after a race? 

Reasons to keep training!

I just ran a half marathon last weekend therefore I am super excited to sign up for more races. I have a problem where I actually want to run most races, so picking only a few at a time is hard. In three weeks I have the Fit For Life Half Marathon. But a few days before that is the sign up date for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon in Disneyland. I have been planning for this race for almost a year now. Even though I will sign up on July 9th, it is still forever away. I won't be running in the promised land until January so I have to find races to keep me busy until then.

I have the Dirty Dash the first half of August. This will be my first year doing the Dirty Dash and I couldn't be more excited. I have always wanted to do a mud race. Maybe this is because I didn't play in the mud enough as a child.

The Color Run is at the end of August. Last year my focus was: run and get some color. This year is to see if I can be the most colorful person ever. I am going to make the Blue Man group look normal. I am thinking I will make color angels (much like snow angels but with color instead of snow). This is a fun race that isn't timed so why not try to get as much color out of it as possible.

In September I have to get back to running without the assistance of mud or color. I'm doing the FitOne 9k. This race is formerly know as the Women's Fitness Celebration and this will be the first year that they offer a 9k in addition to the 5k. The 9k will start at the Old Penn and travel to the Boise Train Depot then end in Ann Morrison Park. It is going to be a beautiful course.

At the end of September is the Idaho Wine Run. It is an amazing awesome race. Perfect for any runner since they offer a marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k! You run through beautiful wine country and enjoy wine tasting from many different wine vendors in the Snake River Valley. I ran the 5k last year and I'm looking forward to running the 10k this year.

Those are a few of my upcoming races. What races do you have on your calendar? Any in Boise? 

My first Half Marathon

I did it! I am a Half Marathoner!!!! I ran what is said to be the Toughest Half Marathon in the Northwest. 

I have nothing to compare it to as it was my first half marathon but I will say I ran it with a smile on my face the whole time! Before the race I spent a lot of time at the stamp station. They had many Shakespeare themed stamps along with stamps from all the previous years. I was covered with Shakespeare's head, dog prints, the outline of the half marathon route, and even a MOM stamp. I also loaded up on Powerbar gels and sipped some water while waiting for the race to start. 

 The race started at high noon with perfect running weather. Within half a mile we were already climbing our first hill. The energy from the people lining the streets to cheer for us and wish us good luck was amazing! I was racing from side to side giving little kids high fives! The first drink station wasn't until mile 2 but one sweet little girl and her family were handing out cups of water about a mile into the race. Many people appreciated it. The first few miles were uneventful with the exception of the beautiful view of Boise every now and then. Around mile 4 my crappy knee started aching. It started out as something small and quickly grew to throbbing pain. Finally the uphill part of the course ended after 8.5 miles of it and we had hit the summit. At this point my knee was feeling horrible but I grabbed a gel and used it like a stress ball as we descended the hill. As we started running downhill at first I ran with a limp and then I learned to ignore the pain (the best that I could) and just enjoy it. We passed a bunch of people who I tried to cheer on and encourage them to keep going. A few looked at me like I was crazy and it was strange I was still so happy after the mountain we had just climbed. I was on cloud 9 and no one was going to bring me down. As I ran around the last bend in the road and finally saw the finish line I increased my speed. I saw the photographer and saw the lady in front of me and smiled as I sprinted passed her right before we finished. I wanted that memory forever. However my finish line picture was less than stellar so I guess I have to run Robie Creek next year just to get a better finish line photo. But I did it! I ran my first half marathon! 

I already can't wait for next year. I plan to train better for the hills and also not be injured going into the race and hopefully shave off at least 30 minutes from my time this year. I would run the Race to Robie Creek again just for the view alone. This is where the finish line and after party took place. Can you think of a prettier place to finish a race.

A few days ago I started my Spring Training with Boise RunWalk. I am really excited to improve my half marathon time and get some great running advice and tips and find people who want to run races with me! The first day we ran at intervals, two minutes of running then one minute walking and repeat. Apparently running intervals in a half marathon or marathon will help improve your time and help you save energy and finish stronger. I want to improve my time but it always made me feel good to say I can run ____ amount of miles without walking. We will see if I stick to this training program. 

Have you tried run/walk intervals during a big race? What's your experience? 

Birthday 10k recap

Last weekend I ran my very first 10k, The Shamrock Shuffle! To make it even more special it happened to be on my birthday and it was a themed race! It was the perfect birthday event because of all the above plus running with good friends. I was all dressed up in green! Green sparkly skirt, green socks, green headband, you get the idea. I would have loved to run in a TeamSparkle skirt but due to slacking and not ordering in time I was forced to make my own. I used this tutorial for the skirt. While the tutorial was great and easy to follow, my sewing machine did not want to cooperate so I think next time I will just order one instead of redoing the whole skirt twice!

The Shamrock Shuffle was located at the Ste. Chapelle Winery. I ran a 5k out at the Winery for the Idaho Wine Run back in September so I was able to anticipate some of how the course would go. However this course was slightly different (instead of turning right we went straight) but still very beautiful area. The course started off flat taking us out of the winery and onto the paved road. Once there, the course went up hill. When we reached the top of the hill we were overlooking part of the beautiful lake. The view of the lake didn't last long but the awesomeness of the view helped fuel me and push me forward.

 

 Mile 2 was flat and easy. However mile 3 was a little irritating with a bunch of loose gravel.  Mile 4 was similar to mile 2 since it was flat and easy. However I did get passed by a tractor which made it a little more memorable!

Mile 5 we hit another hill and powered through it. It was probably the toughest section of the race. Once we got over the hill then it was smooth running for the rest. I finished with a time of 1:09:37! That is my fastest time for that distance and given the fact that the course was kind of hilly I was super excited! It was a fantastic birthday and I can't wait until next year when I can run another race on my birthday!

What is your idea of a perfect birthday?