Big Hairy Audacious Goal (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

Currently I don't have any Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) for running.  Or really anything grand like that.  Well except for retirement, but I don't think that was the intended for this topic.  I have done most everything running wise that is on my bucket list.  Except I'd maybe like to do a 70.3 or commonly known as a half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run).  I don't see that happening any time soon.  So I thought I would recap some of my BHAGs from the past.

My First 10k
When I first started running, thoughts of running anything more then a 5k was something I never thought I would do.  While I had walked the Ukrop's 10k a few years in the past, running it was nothing I thought I wanted to do.  In 2011 I joined the training team and each week I surprised myself and ran the whole long run.  And three months later I ran my first 10k.  It's funny reading back at that post as I said that I didn't think I would want to do something that long again.  I love the 10k distance now.  In fact I do the Ukrop's 10k almost every year now.

My First Half
I actually had a different blog when I wrote up my recap of my first half marathon in 2012, the Richmond Half Marathon.  I honestly don't remember what made me want to run a half marathon, but I joined the training team and stuck to the plan.  The funny thing about that is I didn't think I would want to do that distance more then once a year.  Since 2014 I don't think I've done less then 2 half marathons a year.

My First Tri
The next year, in 2013, I did my first triathlon.  It was the Pink Power Sprint, which was an all women pool tri, which is very first timer friendly.  This is another one that I don't remember why I made it my big goal.  I just knew that I had been swimming and biking since I was little and now that I had been running for a couple years putting all three together might actually be fun.  While I could run, bike, and swim with no problem, putting all three together was something I just knew nothing about.  I joined a local tri training group which helped conqueror my fear of doing something so daunting.  I was glad to have the training group as they showed us things that we would need to know, I also still have great friends that I met through it.

My First Marathon
In 2014 I had run a couple runDisney half marathons and started eyeing a new challenge.  I was one of those that said I would never run a marathon.  Never say never!  I had signed up to run the 2015 WDW Marathon as my first.  Despite having food poisoning and going to the ER the day before, it actually was a great race.  I followed my training closely and that really paid off.  Should probably remember that next time.  lol

First (and only) Dopey
In 2014 runDisney announced a new challenge, run the 5k, 10k, half, and full in one weekend.  They called this the Dopey Challenge, because you have to be, well, Dopey to do it.  I had always been intrigued with Dopey and after I ran my first marathon I knew it was something I wanted to do.  And in 2016 I did.  Luckily I am a stubborn person.  Training for this race was long and it was hard.  It was the hardest weekend I had ever experienced running.  By Sunday I was done.  I had pain in my calf before I started the marathon and just did everything I could to finish.  This is one that I don't think I want to do again.  I'm glad I did it cause now I know I can do anything as long as I put in the training and commitment.  


And then of course I went to Disneyland the next weekend to participate in the Inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend.  Yes, I did 7 races in 11 days covering 71 miles.  I didn't plan it that way.  They had announced the Star Wars Weekend after I signed up for Dopey and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to be part of the inaugural race and well it's Star Wars.  The funny thing is the Star Wars Half was the most fun race of all of them. 


Back to Back Marathons
After I finished Dopey, I knew the next marathon I wanted to run was the Marine Corps Marathon.  Since the Richmond Marathon is just two weeks after MCM I decided to join the Richmond Marathon training team.  This would be the first time since my first Half Marathon that I would be training with a group.  I was very excited to not have to worry about fuel since they would have SAGs.  And I would have the chance to run with others.  I knew that I would probably change my race distance at the Expo and just run the half or 8k.

The MCM was HOT and the last 8 miles were miserable as we were out of the fun part of DC and there was no shade.  While I am very proud of that race and did PR, I knew with the great training I had had, I could have done better if it weren't for the heat.  I left changing the race distance for Richmond at the Expo.  By then I felt great.  So I decided to run the Richmond Marathon 2 weeks later. I am now a Marathon Maniac. 

MCM Accomplished

Richmond Accomplished

We will see if I have any other crazy goals at some point.  You guys will be the first to know!

What have been some of your BHAG?  Do you have any coming up?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

2016 Races in Pictures (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I don't feel like I did many races this year, but after looking at my pictures I did.  They were all part of challenges.  I also had a huge gap between April and October, which probably is what made it feel like I didn't do many races.  But with all of the challenges, boy did I get a lot of medals.  19 medals for 13 races this year.



At the start of the year I did the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World in Florida.  At some point I want to see what I can remember of this race and do a recap.  It was something that I'm glad I did, but it's defiantly a one and done.  4 races in 4 days for 48.6 miles.

I then the weekend after that I turned around and did the Star Wars Light Side Challenge in Disneyland in California.  Yes I'm crazy, but I have to say that the half was the most fun I had in such a long time.  After the half, I had run 7 races in 11 days running 71 miles.

This year was the first year that they did a Star Wars Dark Side Challenge in Walt Disney World in Florida.  If you did both Star War races then you got a special Millennium Falcon medal.  You had me at Millennium.

Most of my summer was focused on training for the Marine Corps Marathon.  That was my goal race of the year.  MCM was the hottest marathon I have ever run and I felt a little disappointed with the conditions, but I was so prod of my 10 minute PR.

Because I signed up for the Richmond Marathon Training Team to train for the MCM I had entry to the Richmond Marathon.  I had decided to make the decision of doing the marathon or half at the expo.  I decided to do the marathon - the second in two weeks.  Plus another PR, 20 minutes faster then MCM.

This past weekend I did my last race of the year.  The Surf-n-Santa 5 Miler.  It was a really fun run with festive lights on the Boardwalk and a Guinness Book of World Records set for the most Santas in a race.

So what is up for next year?  I'm doing both Star Wars Challenges and that's all I have signed up for in 2017.  I have thoughts on other races, but with the limbo of the job, I don't want to plan any more big trips just yet.  Now that I am back in touch with some of the family, I have already been offered places to stay in MD.  Maybe I will do the King Crab Challenge.  Or maybe the Triple Dare Challenge with the J&A races in Virginia Beach.  Who knows, I have a feeling that 2017 will be a bit of spontaneity when it comes to races.

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Richmond Marathon Recap - Finally! (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I had another week of very little work outs.  I ran a couple of times, including a Turkey Trot, and went to the gym once.  I really need to get back on a good schedule.  Not a very exciting week, so I'll give you a more exciting (and a little long) recap. :)

So two weeks after I ran the MCM, I had decided to run Richmond.  Because I was signed up for the Marathon Training Team, I have entry to the marathon.  I wasn't sure if I would drop down to the half, or run my second marathon in two weeks.  I had gone back and forth on what I would do for the two weeks.  Come the week of the expo, I was leaning more towards the marathon and when I went to the expo, my decision was made to run the marathon.

So let's start off with the expo.  This race hosts the marathon, half marathon and an 8k.  I've done the half and 8k but this was the first time I would run this marathon.  The expo was the same as always.  We usually go to the expo on Thursday night and then go out to dinner.  This year was the same.  We went to the expo after work on Thursday and bib pickup was easy as usual.  The expo seems crowded and hot, but really there are no lines for anything.

I picked up my bib with no wait.  Went to the official merchandise area and decided that I wanted to get a marathon shirt since this probably is the only time I do that distance.

I walked through part of the expo to pick up my race shirt.  I do hate how the official shirts are so far away from bib pick up as I'm always afraid to put down my bib and lose it.  We get a bag with the shirt, but till then we just carry around the bib on its own.

I walked around a little waiting for my friends.  While I waited they had beer samples.  I don't mind if I do.  A couple of my friends showed up and we went on a lookout for cheap gloves that we could throw out.  We headed out and went for a very fun pasta dinner.

On Friday I decided to go check out the talk by Bart Yasso.  Both Bart and Don Garber were there to talk logistics of the race.  While I knew most of it, it was nice to hear it all again.  Both are fun speakers and people asked Bart a bunch of questions and I heard some of the same stories he shared at MCM.

I even got a picture with Bart Yasso.

Race day...

I met up with my running friends at one of the hotels.  The Richmond Marathon has been known as "American's Friendliest Marathon".  I didn't know this, but Bart Yasso said this of the Richmond Marathon because of the nice hotel and businesses that open up their doors before the marathon to keep us warm and let us use their bathrooms.  I did see Bart Yasso as I walked to the hotel and said hello again.  My friends and I hung out in the hotel and used the bathroom a couple of times and I ate my Honey Stinger Waffle.  Then we headed out.  They all were doing the half and I was the only one to do the full so we parted ways as each race has it's own start line.

I dropped off my bag at the UPS trucks.  I have to say that this is the only race that doesn't make you use a clear plastic bag.  I was able to check my backpack.  Then I headed towards the start line.  There also wasn't any security to get to the start line.  There were only 6 corals and of course I was in the last.  There really didn't seem like any structure to the corals so I stood on one of the corners and finished up my water and took a 5 Hour Energy.  I turned everything on and realized that my HR monitor would not stay on.  I know I charged it but it kept going off.  So I would have to run this without my HR monitor.  I wasn't going to run by my HR, but it would have been nice to have it to look back on.  I did run 30 second walk/1 minute run.  And before I knew it, we were off.

I had a throw away sweatshirt on as it was about 38 degrees as we started.  I also had my throw away gloves and a headband ear warmer.  We did a couple of turns and ended up on Broad Street where we could see the half marathoners on the other side of the street.  I kept looking over and I did eventually see my friends.  They didn't see me and they were too far away to yell at.  I wished them a good race to myself.

I was debating on when I should take off my sweatshirt.  It was still a little chilly but I was warming up.  We were in the shade of the buildings and I decided once we moved out of the shade, I'd take it off.  I did finally ditch it and decided that the first bank of port-a-potties I'd have to go.  What I loved about this race is that the first set were 10 long on both sides of the street.  No lines as this is where everyone decides to take a potty break.

The crowds were good.  Our bibs had our names on them and everyone was calling out by name.  I loved that.  Felt like they were all out there for me.  The first few miles went by quickly.  Everything was feeling good.  We made our way onto Grove Street and saw this wreath that was still up from Halloween.

I felt like I had to use the bathroom again.  I have never used the bathroom more then once during a race.  What was going on?  I saw another batch of port-a-potties and stopped.  We headed down to cross the river.  I ran into someone from the training team who is just a tad faster then me.  He was running with a bunch of people from out of town and they sounded like they were having fun.  I also ran into a lady that said that this was her 149th marathon.  I can't even imagine that.  How great.

As we were crossing the bridge about mile 7 I felt like the race was really thinning out.  Like a lot.  There were times that I felt like no one was around me.  I kept looking behind me to see if I was the last one, but there was a handful of people behind me still.  It was like this the rest of the race.  No wonder everyone on the training team was always ahead of me, this race has mostly fast runners.

We crossed the river and ran beside it for awhile.  We have run this road a couple times and I find it so pleasant to have such nice scenery right next to the road.  I felt like I had to go to the bathroom again.  What the heck?  I decided to ignore it to see if it would go away.  Eventually it did.

There was an older gentleman that ran past me and the back of his shirt said that his name was Woody and he was 86 years old.  We will see each other several times throughout the rest of the race.

We made our way away from the river and it seemed like every road was up hill.  Looking at the elevation chart, I was heading into 3 miles of rolling hills where most of them is up.

During the race, the coaches from the training team were all over the course.  They were there to cheer us on and run with us every so often.  At this time, one of the coaches from my team saw me and ran with me a little.  It was nice to chit chat with someone even if it was only for a few hundred feet.  He had said that he had already run about 11 miles back and forth at different spots.  So he was right about at the same mileage as I was without running the course.  I did notice about this time that every so often, even on my walk breaks, I was having a hard time catching my breath.  It wasn't bothersome, it was just weird as this has never happened before.

There were a few more miles till we reached the bridge to cross back over the river.  I heard stories of the wind on this bridge.  Everyone says to keep your gloves cause it will get breezy and cold while crossing the bridge.  I never took my gloves off, so that was no problem.  By this time it probably was in the mid 40's.  Before we turned onto the bridge, I could feel the wind.  I was a little anxious about what it would be like when I finally was on the bridge.

Once I hit the bridge, there really wasn't any breeze.  It was kinda nice out there.  At the end of the bridge, you could hear the after party.  Seriously, I had 10 more miles to go and the after party was so close, right under the bridge.

We headed up one of the biggest hills of the course.  I've run this a few times and hate it every time.  About this point, I started to feel nauseous.  It wasn't much, but it reminded me of the first 10 miles of MCM.  I hoped that it would go away quickly.

We made our way out onto Main Street and there seemed to be a bit more people out cheering.  It probably was cause they were hanging out at a bar and they were drinking.  That's OK, I was glad for any and all of the people out there cheering for the back of the pack.  They even had this cool drumming group from VCU.

Once we turned onto Boulevard we were on the half marathon course.  I was also so very nauseous.  I kept taking my Gu cause I didn't want to hit the wall hard cause I didn't fuel.  But the Gu made me more sick to my stomach.  Once I started to feel a little better it was time to take another Gu.  I was so excited for the last Gu I had to take.  We would pass a pizza joint and it made me want to puke.  We passed a BBQ place and it made me want to puke.

We made our way through some really nice neighborhoods.  I was so glad there were no more restaurants around to have to smell.  We have run this a lot, not only in marathon training, but for long runs throughout the year.  It was finally getting close to 50 degrees and I started to peal off my gloves and ear warmers.  Every mile during the last 10 miles I would skip one of my running segments every mile to take a break.  I knew if I kept up my pace, I would get a second PR in two weeks.

The course was so space at this time.  We got to one turn and the other two people that were around were not sure if we were supposed to go strait or turn.  We stopped and had to ask a volunteer that really wasn't paying attention to the runners.  That's how few people were still on the course.

I got to the last few turns and knew I was almost there.  The coaches were there and so encouraging as we made it to the hill.  If you haven't seen the end of the Richmond course, the last .2 miles goes strait down hill.

I was so happy to be done.  My legs held up and really didn't have much pain with them.  Crossing the finish line was very emotional for me.  I knew that my stomach would feel better once I stopped and I couldn't believe that I just finished a second marathon in two weeks.  Not only that, I couldn't believe that I made it under 6:30, which was my MCM A goal.  My official time was 6:26:45.

After I crossed the finish line I saw Don Garber, the MTT head coach, and I asked him for a hug.  I needed a hug so bad.  And then I heard that Woody (the 86 year old man that I saw many times on the course) finished right behind me.  I turned around cause I wanted to congratulate him, but he had stopped to talk to a couple people and I was just so tired that I needed to keep moving.

I got my finisher medal, blanket, and hat.  Along with water and snacks.  I couldn't even think about eating, but I did grab a bagel and was able to eventually eat about half of it.

I ended up buying the finisher jacket.  I have the finisher jacket from my first Richmond Half (which was my first half ever), and wanted one of my first (and probably only) Richmond Marathon.   They didn't have my size so they are shipping it to me for free, which was nice.  I just wish it was a full zip, but I love the color.

I started walking up the big hill towards where I remember the bag pickup was and my car.  I was just tired and just wanted to be home.  I was wrong about the bag pick up and ended up having to walk all the way back to the finish line to get my sandals and jacket.  It was probably good that I went back as I saw the PR bell on my way back up the hill to my car.

My breathing at this point had not gotten any better.  It was just like I had walked up 5 flights of stairs. Everything turned out OK, but it was really scary for a while that night.

Overall I was really glad that I had done it.  Except for the nausea (that stopped soon after the race) and the breathing problems after the fact, it was a great race.  The weather was great, the few crowds that stayed out for the back of the pack were wonderful, and the course was not too bad.  I know I felt like I was going up hill the whole time, but there were a few good down hills.  I probably won't do this race again, as I don't see me doing many more marathons.  I'd rather do a new marathon then this again.  I actually would like to do the half again.  Out of the many halves I have done, I've only done this one once.  Also, I'm officially a Marathon Maniac!

Have you done the Richmond Marathon before?  Are you a Marathon Maniac?  Have you ever felt really sick during a race?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Wrapping My Week with the Richmond Marathon (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I have my MCM recap almost done, but haven't had a chance to finish it up yet.  It should be my next post, I hope.  Till then, a quick recap of my week.

I had a pretty boring week, two 3 mile runs and two classes at the gym.  The big events happened this weekend.  Thursday I went to the expo and decided that I was ready to run a second marathon in two weeks.  I was physically feeling really good and I knew I'm not one to pass up a challenge.  I also knew that I wouldn't have a chance to do the Richmond Marathon as I don't think I would train just for that race.  I've been wanting to do the Richmond Half again at some point and really I don't have any wants to do more marathons right now.  I'd really like to lose 20-30 pounds before I go though that training again, and I don't see that happening anytime soon.

So a few highlights of the Richmond Marathon, I'll have a full recap soon.  If the one word for MCM was hot, the one word for Richmond is hilly.  I swear it felt like the whole course was up hill minus about half a mile.  The weather was great.  Started out in the mid-30's and by the time I finished it was about 50 degrees.  Also, probably 90% of the people running probably finished in less then 5 hours.  The course thinned out very quickly, like in the first 8 miles.  And the big news is that I PR'ed the second time in two weeks.  Not only did I PR, but I beat my A goal for MCM - finished faster then 6:30.  And now I can be a Marathon Maniac. 

During the marathon I had felt like I couldn't catch my breath.  Like the feeling that you walk up several flights of stairs and you just keep breathing heavy.  That feeling never went away after I stopped running.  It never went away after I got home and by that time my chest was feeling tight.  So I decided to go to Patients First cause I was scared to fall asleep.  Don't worry, nothing serious is wrong and I'm am a bit better today.

Patients First did an EKG, which was normal and then sent me to the ER.  They told me that if I every have problems breathing or chest pain to just go directly to the ER.  I was just wanting someone to tell me that I was over reacting and really to not want to pay ER fees.  Don't worry, nothing serious is wrong and I'm feeling a bit better today.

At the ER the doctor listened to my lungs and said that she couldn't hear any wheezing, so they would have to do further tests.  They did another EKG.  The nurse kept telling me I had to slow down my breathing.  I looked at her like she was crazy.  I was barely getting breaths in and she wanted me to slow down.  I basically had to hold my breath for her.  They took some blood and started me on fluids.  They brought a portable X-Ray too my room to look at my lungs.  I've never been anywhere where they bring the X-Ray to me.  It was kinda cool.

They were worried about a blood clot in my lungs so they wanted to give me a CT Scan.  By this time they had me move me around some, then I started coughing like I had bronchitis.  Every time I moved or talked a lot, I would cough.  I've never had a CT Scan and it was kinda cool.  A hell of a lot better then a MRI.  It's a pretty cool machine.  It's an open circular machine which moves you back and forth in the machine.  It would randomly move me back and forth and it would tell me to hold my breath and breathe. Then they wanted to add contrast to my IV.  It was a very weird sensation as it made my mouth tingly and made me feel like I peed myself.  It moved me back and forth a bunch more times.

They brought me back to my room to wait for the results.  As I said they found nothing seriously wrong, which is good.  They wanted to give me two more bags of fluid to help my dehydration from the day and gave me some steroids.  What they think happened is that I inflamed my lungs while I was running.  The paperwork they sent me home with called my diagnosis Chest Wall Pain.  It's like pulling a leg muscle, I'll just have to rest.  They also gave me some pain killers for the pain in my chest.

Today I'm better.  My breathing is mostly under control.  If I move around too much or talk a lot my breathing starts to strain and I get pain in my chest and I start coughing, so I have just been sitting on the couch most of the day.  I also took a 2 hour nap which was nice.  I just have to take it easy for the next week or two, which I already planned.  But this will defiantly make me take a break.

Have you ever run two marathons in two weeks?  Have you ever had a CT Scan?   

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

MCM Carbo Dining In (Friday Five Edition)

On Saturday evening we went to the MCM Carbo Dining In event.  Again, this was something that was part of the VIP package, but anyone could buy tickets.  Here are five things about the event.

In case you missed previous posts from the MCM weekend:

• Highlights
• Expo & Hotel
• White House Tour  
• bRUNch - 5K Shakout Run and Brunch

 

1.  There was an exclusive reception before the dinner.  When we went down we saw that it was some appetizers outside the dinning room and a cash bar.  We just wanted some water and they wanted us to pay for it.  The appetizers were OK and there was no where to sit.  We decided to go down to where the expo was because we knew they had water coolers.  We found somewhere to sit and just hung out till right before the dinner started.

2. The cheese tortellini was amazing!  Though they only had marinara sauce and I think it would be better with some sort of cream sauce.  I had to go back for seconds.  They had really good big cookies there too for desert, but I was too full of pasta for them.  Didn't stop us from taking a couple up to have for after the marathon the next day.

3. There was a fun USO type group of singers there to entertained us.  They did a lot of fun old time songs.  They were really good.  They also sang the national anthem right before the race started the next day.  They ended with singing the song for each of the branches of the armed forces and it was great to see the people from each branch stand up and sing. 

4. The speaker was Billy Mills, who was the winner of the 1964 Olympic 10,000 meter run.  No American before or after have won the gold medal in this event.  They showed us the film below showing his come back win.  It's amazing!  Seriously, watch it.

He talked about being young and losing his mother and how his dad tried to help him with his loss by telling him that one day he will fly like an eagle.  He said that he saw the wings of an eagle on one of the other runners and that got him sprinting at the very end, even though he had nothing in his tank.  He talked about getting into running and setting goals.  It kind of hit home for me as I'm in a bit of a transition in my life and I've been trying to figure out what I want to do.  Setting goals is something that I've been thinking about.

As I was running the MCM the next day it was so hot and I was so tired and I kept thinking about his speech the night before.  I knew that I would finish the race, but there wasn't a lot keeping me running.  And at the end of the race, I sprinted to the end just like Billy did.

5.  They had a fun raffle going on to win Brooks shoes and a goodie bag.  Neither Candace nor I won, but I would have loved to get a new pair of shoes.

We headed back to our room to get ready for the big day.

Continue reading about the MCM weekend here.

Have you ever won a raffle?  Do you like to go to organized pasta parties for the race? 


P.S. - Looks like I decided to do the Richmond Marathon tomorrow.  Wish me luck!!

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0