lost dutchman half marathon Archives

Change of Plan

February 21, 2012 · by Ari ·

Can I just say that I didn’t ever, for one single minute, consider that the idea of finishing my second half marathon 9 minutes faster than my first, only a month later, even possible! The thought never crossed my mind. I knew in the month I had in between that I wanted to get faster. I read a lot of speedy peoples’ blogs, I got some help from the amazing Margot of The Faster Bunny, and I ran with some speedy friends, but pretty much I made up my own plan, just like I had the first time.

Apparently, something worked? I am, of course, no expert on speed, or running at all for that matter, but I figured I would at least share some of what I did that seemed to work out pretty well, and maybe it will help other turtles out there like me! 🙂

Here is what a typical week looked like:

Mon: 3 mi with sprint intervals
I kept my intervals really short–like the distance between driveways. I didn’t go for any specific times, I just set out points of distance in my neighborhood and kept my jogging and my sprinting distances about even. I kept my jogging pace around a 10 min/mi and just went as fast as humanly possible on the sprints. I don’t know is this is good, bad, or if there is even a technical term, but I did it, and I felt like it kicked my butt and was really helpful.

Tues: Spin
I love spin, and I really think it helps with my running. My favorite teacher Linda is a racing machine and she also believes this. The woman is 50, does several races a year (including tris), and teaches like 20 gym classes per week. If she told me standing on my head would help, you better believe I’d be posting upside down right now.

Wed: 5-6 mi tempo run
Most of these did not end up being tempos because I ran with speedy gonzales AKA Ashley who runs at a 7:30 pace. We would warm up for a mile around a 10 min pace, run the first “tempo” mile around where I thought I should be–like 9:10ish–and then negative split from there, then end up with a cool down mile. These runs killed me, but this girl got me to run a 7:33 mile!!!! Granted I made her stop 3 times because my lungs felt like they were on fire and my whole body was going to burn down with them, but even so, it was the fastest I have ever run. Running with fast people is pretty much the secret to running fast yourself. In my expert opinion.

Thurs: Rest or bike ride
Rest is nice. Bike rides are fun.

Fri: Long run
I only really did 2 long runs, but they were good ones. 15 and 12. I think going beyond the race distance gave me more confidence. I knew that I could, in fact, run longer than 13 miles, so I could actually push it a little during those 13 and not spend all my time worrying about the distance. The last 2 miles of my 15 mi run were ridiculously hard, but it may be my favorite long run I’ve done, and even though I don’t plan on training for a full for a while, I can’t wait to complete some new PDRs just because I want to!

Sat: Rest or bike ride
See Thurs.

Sun: Spin
Even with perfect weather and a bike of my own, I am still inspired to spin twice a week. That’s how good Linda is!

So, how is this different from my first training plan? You know, the other one that I just decided I was smart enough to create on my own even though I had never run before. Well, that one was totally focused on distance for me. I ran 3x a week, with two 3-4 mi runs and one long run. I tried to get faster on the short ones, and worked on having negative splits, but did absolutely no legit speed training. I thought you just got faster by running more, and I did because it was so new to me, but this time around, speed was my main focus. I feel like in my first plan, the miles mid week were more like junk miles because they had no plan, and no real purpose. My very favorite running blog taught me that every run should have a purpose.

So there you have it. I still don’t know if any of this is good, or right, or whatever, but I know that I shocked myself on Sunday, and that I am beyond excited for what I can accomplish in the future. Which brings me to the question….

Now what???

Well, there is a very small tri that I’m planning on doing with Nicole at the end of March. I am planning on the Firefly Run, and Pat’s Run in April, and I am this close to registering for the Disneyland 1/2 in September. But I want something more than that, and I want it sooner. It is kind of killing me that there is no full marathon I can sign up for right now, and I really want to do one more half before the weather turns to burn. I feel like I need a big goal to work towards that will happen soon. Any suggestions? I’m already antsy! This running thing is like crack.

Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

February 19, 2012 · by Ari ·

Best.Race.Ever.

I could honestly leave it at that. But I won’t. Don’t worry, I will give you a long 2000 word post with all the deets.

You didn’t click the little x yet? Awesome. Thanks for that 😉

Lisa arrived into Phoenix Saturday afternoon and we headed over to the race expo. We received these emails about the “record crowds” they were expecting.

"Where are they?"

The expo was pretty small, so we picked up our bibs, looked around a little bit and I bought a headband.

Definitely different from the Rock N Roll one, but honestly, I don’t know that I need all the bells and whistles. After the expo, we went home for some carb-o loading goodness! I made Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese (YIKES! I need to update that recipe with better pictures. It’s from a long time ago!) and roasted broccoli. Yummmm. Healthy, carb-full, and deliciousness.

After dinner, Lisa and I proceeded to give our husbands a concert of ~~our favorite show tunes~~ every song we both new with really simple chords that we could actually play. We ended with Do You Hear the People Sing, I sang my ~~best~~ loudest high C, and ~~Steve and Sam simultaneously asked us for divorces~~ we went out to get some Gelato before heading to bed early for our 4:40am wake up call.

This morning, we woke up, had some coffee and toast with sunflower butter and banana, and some iced coffee and we were out the door by 5:30. It was still pitch black outside and collllddddd (for Phoenix). We arrived at Prospector Park where race volunteers literally escorted us into the proper parking space and immediately found our way onto a bus to the starting line. This race was incredibly well organized and all of the volunteers were super friendly and helpful! I was impressed!

We hung out for a bit with the boys while we waited for the start, then did a bit of a warm up jog and made our way over to the starting line. I felt pumped and super excited. I was running a race with one of my long time best friends–her first race, and my wedding gift to her. I just felt so happy for the entire experience.

I was also super nervous though. I signed up for this after Diana highly recommended it, without even looking at the elevation. Then, I heard from other runners that it was super tough and HILLY.

Oyyy!!! Then, I read the reviews which claimed it was “A great course for serious runners”. But I’m a comedic runner. Not serious at all. Nope. Not one bit. I was sure that I was going to run this slower than PF Chang’s. In fact, I even added more music to my playlist so I wouldn’t run out! I intentionally did not talk about pace goals on the blog because I was sure I would end up embarrassing myself. But I did have one, and it seemed totally out of reach, but it was there, burning a hole in the back of my mind. 2:09:XX. I figured there was no way I’d make it just a month after finishing in 2:13:58 on a more challenging course, so I only told Lisa and Steve–and only when Lisa asked.

Anyway–back to the race. We got to the starting line and I was surprised because at 7:15 on the dot, there was no announcement, no Star Spangled Banner, just a sudden gun shot and the race had begun! Well, okay, if you say so! About 1/2 a mile in, we saw Steve and Sam ~~and kept it totally cool~~.

Soon after we turned the corner and were running right towards the sunrise in the mountains. Holy crap, it was gorgeous. I felt so honored to be running into something so beautiful and I realized for a second how awesome my life is. I can run into the sunrise. That is something I never thought I would appreciate, but my views and ideas of happiness have change…a lot.

I had told Lisa we needed to start slowly so we wouldn’t burn out. At PF Chang’s, I got tired at mile 8 and had to walk/run until the end. In fact, in every single race I’ve done, I’ve gotten tired from going beyond my pace and had to take walking breaks. Even all of my 5Ks. So when we ran the first mile in 9:33, I was getting ready to yell at Lisa for not starting out in the 10s like we had discussed. I had all of this fear about not being able to keep it up, and how I would burn out, but then I realized I felt great. The pace felt dare I say easy. And I thought to myself… What if I can keep this up for the whole race?

I made a little goal with myself right there–if I ran every mile below 10 minutes, I really could meet my goal of finishing sub 2:10, so I was going to not be a little bitch and tell my friend her pace was not maintainable. I was going to suck it up, keep running and really go for a PR.

For the next 4.5 miles until the turn around, it was pretty much rolling hills the entire way. Nothing super steep, but pretty much just a lot of running and nature. The crowds were sparse to say the least–it was all about me running because I love to run. For the first few miles I was definitely pushing to keep up with Lisa, which was good–it kept me going. We reached the turn around at mile 6.55, I took my Gu, and I realized I still felt really good. I had already maintained this pace for half the race and I really felt like I could keep it up. A PR began to feel really doable and I felt so motivated and excited!

It was an out and back, so the rolling hills continued, but mile after mile ticked by and I kept feeling good. Lisa and I stayed together, but didn’t really socialize. We were both just focused on the task at hand and enjoying being focused on the same thing together. It was perfect because I felt like I had support, but it wasn’t a lets-chat-about-life type of thing.

Before I knew it, we were at mile 8, which is where I crashed and burned at PF Chang’s. But this time, it felt totally different. I felt like I had the energy to push through until the end. I started to get really excited. And even better–we were still completely on track! Every single mile had been below a 10 min pace! We kept trucking along, and then at mile 9.5, we reached the toughest hill of the race, and it lasted for a good mile! I was tired, and I felt like I was slowing down, but we still kept our pace, and finished our toughest mile in 9:58.

By mile 11, I was tired. Seriously, tired. But Lisa was still going and I hadn’t walked yet (excluding for a couple seconds to take water at stations), so I kept pushing. This is the time I would usually think “Oh, if I’m gonna finish strong, I’d better take a walking break”, but I didn’t, and you know what? It didn’t kill me.

At mile 12.5, we saw Sam waiting on the side lines. He came out and ran with Lisa and I started to get a little teary. This was my first time meeting him, and I realized one of my best friends found a husband that will come out and push her to the end of this race–he gets her, and she is so happy, and we are running fast, and I have this awesome life-long friend who has pushed me to the end of this thing.

I started to think that maybe, just *maybe*, I could even finish in a new goal: sub 2:05. I would really have to push it til the end, and I was beyond tired at this point. I could tell Lisa was feeling slightly better than me, and I encouraged her to go up ahead, and I tried to keep her in sight. I wanted to stop about a million times between mile 12.75 and the finish line. Right about mile 13, I saw Steve and tried to look happy in the pictures.

This one's my favorite 🙂

After this point, I looked down at my watch and gave it absolutely everything I had left. I stopped my Garmin just after the finish line, check it and it said 2:05:02. Not quite my late race goal, but honestly, I was ecstatic!!!!!!! I shaved 9 freaking minutes off my time in ONE MONTH!!!! I ran at a pace that i thought was completely out of my abilities. I set a record in a race I didn’t think it was possible. I could not believe that I had done all of these things. It seemed unreal, and almost more exciting than my first half marathon.

2:05???? That’s almost like the times I read about on other blogs!! That’s a 9:32 average pace!!! 9:32!!!!!!! Single digits!!!! Are you freaking kidding me? And this course was not easy! Holy crap,

Lisa had finished just seconds before me, so I quickly caught up to her, hugged her, and told her how incredible she is–or at least I hope I conveyed that! This girl decided to train for this race a month ago! It was her very first race and she practically carried me to the finish line! She forced me to see that I am better than I give myself credit for. That’s what the friends do. They help you to discover that you are better, faster, stronger, and more capable than you knew. I have so many things to say about what I discovered today, that I am going to save my post race thoughts for an other post.

After we finished, we sat in the grass to stretch for a few minutes before getting back on the shuttle.

Sam & Lisa--aren't they the cutest couple?!

"Look!!!! We have medals!!!!"

"2:05!!! What? That says 5:02? Oh...."

We never claimed to be smart...

"Take more than 1 picture so we're smart twice as often as not smart!"

"Let's lunge to each other"

You wanna know the icing on the cake?

I checked my official chip time. You wanna know what it was?

2:04:59

And now, I’m crying again.

I just can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe the pride I feel in myself since I took up this little “hobby”. I can’t believe how much my life has changed.

Hey Lisa! Thanks for being my inspiration today. I am beyond grateful to you.

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading and making me feel like I have a place to share about my accomplishments. I am a happy girl today. 🙂

Trusting of Naive?

January 19, 2012 · by Ari ·

Yesterday I went out on my first post half marathon run! Holy crap, my hamstrings are still so very angry with me! Now that I’m finally feeling less sick I really need to schedule a massage.

It was super short and slow, but it felt nice to get back out there and move my feet again. A girl can only take so many days of lying on the couch complaining about being sick. Seriously. I was really hoping to get to Linda’s spin class on Tuesday, but I just did not feel up to it, so I listened to my body and focused on getting better. I still definitely don’t feel 100%, but I feel much, much closer.

After hearing rave reviews about the Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon, I decided I was ready for round 2! I texted my fabulous, newly married, speedy friend Lisa and asked if she would be down to do it with me. She wanted to run the RnR, but had some family stuff come up. She’s been a runner for years, but has never done a race. After a few minutes, I finally asked her if buying her the race would be a stupid and crappy wedding gift (the wedding was all of the sudden, and she’s having her reception in March, so I hadn’t figured out what to get her yet…and Lisa, are you even registered? You should do that!) Luckily, she loved the idea and so I took the liberty of signing us both up! Hopefully I will get to meet her new husband (they live up in Flagstaff so I haven’t even gotten to see her since she tied the knot!) and get a chance to do some post race celebrating with both of them. I’m super stoked!!

On a totally separate topic…

Are you someone who trusts strangers, or are you more guarded and suspicious?

The other day I met my mom at The Bux. I go there pretty often to do my prep work since I don’t have an office, and I can hardly ever get anything done at home, plus I am a social creature and need to be around other humans, even if they’re strangers. I left my laptop as we got up to order and she asked “Aren’t you worried about leaving that there?” I shrugged it off and mentioned how many people were around. I’ll often get up, use the restroom and just leave my things because I trust that people have mostly good intentions and that if a stranger saw someone try to take it, they would help. I often brush off things that concern other people, or that some might consider dangerous because I truly like to believe that people are inherently good, and I really don’t prefer to live my life in a state of fear. Let’s be honest, I am an anxious person by nature, I get quite enough of that!

Well, yesterday I walked into The Bux and one of the baristas told me that only a day before a woman had been there with her laptop and this man had been sitting, watching her and waiting. The second she got up to do something, he grabbed the laptop and ran into his getaway car. Seriously, it was 100% planned out. I couldn’t believe it. I tweeted about it, and then heard that at a different location, a woman had her laptop grabbed straight out of her hands and stolen! Are you kidding me?!?! I literally had to take my laptop with me every time I used the restroom while I was there yesterday. It makes me sad that people can be such jerks, and honestly, I don’t really get it. What I want to ask them is why? Maybe that sounds naive, and perhaps after nearly 27 (oy) years on this Earth, I should just know better, but I still hang onto a shred of hope that although some people are legitimately sick, we can, every single one of us, be kind to others.

For right now, however, I think it’s time for me to be a little more careful, because as frustrating as it would be to have my laptop stolen (I really love this baby and it was a Christmas present from Steve), reading this post on running safety, brought up even more concern. I guess although being trusting and generally idealistic has it’s benefits, I may need to re-evaluate how far that trust spreads.

What do you think? Are you trusting? Suspicious? How far do you extend your ‘benefit of the doubt’?