Ragnar: The Extended Edition

So I posted all the details and such on my family website here: Ragnar Post

But I always like to do a few more of the "running" details on this blog. So here we go.

Best Parts of the Ragnar:

1) Number one would have to be running with Taber. If you've been following this blog you know about the ups and downs he has had with knee injury this year. It's been a rough road to recovery but I am so happy to say that he is BACK!! and He totally rocked it at the Ragnar. He was taking it really easy in his training because he didn't want to re-injure himself before the race. Once he got out there though he really let loose and not only ran his 18.1 miles but he also biked 12 more so he could shadow me and another runner on our team. The man is a machine!! So yes, VERY happy to be running with my man again and also just pumped to see him tearing it up out there again!

2) Bonding with friends in the van. Yes, it got a little stinky in there. (okay, A LOT stinky!) But there is just something really bonding about sweating together.

3) Gorgeous trails and scenery

4) Being part of the "running club" with all the other crazies on the course.

5) Running in the middle of the night. That was seriously awesome

Tough Parts of the Ragnar:

1) Sleep deprivation. Due to some delayed flights (my parents flew in to watch the girls and my sister and her hubby flew in to run) and some cranky babies we literally only got 2 1/2 hours of sleep before the race. That wouldn't have been so bad if we were only running one leg, but pushing through 30 hours without sleep was TOUGH. Have you ever been so tired you thought you were gonna puke? Well that's pretty much how I felt several times through out the race. Luckily the adrenaline before my legs got me pumped up but in between I was kind of a zombie.

2) Nerves: I get really nervous before a race. Don't know why but my nerves wrecked havoc on my digestive system and I ended up in the bathroom before EVERY leg!

3) Nutrition: We naively thought that we'd be able to eat on the road in between our legs. Um yeah, that didn't really happen. We were running in some pretty remote areas and at some really crazy hours of the night so we were only able to grab some junk from a few gas stations. That combined with my nerves made for a very unhappy tummy and a rough last leg due to lack of fuel. Next time we'll bring our own food!

Other than those minor details though the whole experience rocked. I was really happy with the way I ran. I was strong and steady the whole time, (even on the last leg when I thought I was moving like a turtle I actually ended up being faster than I thought)

Here is the breakdown of my running times. Time doesn't matter, I know that. But, it's always fun just for my own personal improvement to see how fast I run.

Leg 1: 8.3 miles, finished in 1:16 min. Average pace: 9:39 min/mile
Leg 2: 7.5 miles, finished in 1:04 min. Average pace: 8:40 min/mile
Leg 3: 3.9 miles,finished in 38 min. Average pace: 9:44 min/mile

(If you want to figure out your pace when you run here is a cool website with a pace calculator. You just enter your mileage and time and it figures out your pace.)

So there you go, the inside scoop from our latest running adventure. Not sure what we'll do next. I imagine we'll take a little break but knowing us, I'm sure it won't last for long!

Pumped!

I love the week leading up to a race! Especially a big one like the Ragnar, which will be more of an experience really. I had a nice week of training last week, here's what it looked like:

Mon: cleaned my house and worked on some long neglected projects. Didn't run but what can you do?

Wed: 4 solid miles on a blazing hot day. The heat was like kryptonite sucking my energy but I finished and gave myself a high five when I was done.

Thurs: 3 miles pushing the baby in the jogging stroller. Couldn't get under a 9 minute mile but wasn't trying too hard either.

Sat: Beautiful 6 mile loop that included the trails around Rice Lake. 9 minutes miles with a sprint at the end, even powered up the giant hill at the end. Thought my legs looked a little bit buffer after that. ; )

And today I ran a fast 5K (finished in 25 minutes, one of my best times!) With hills and everything. Dude! This is the week of self high fives. One more (smack!) Aw yeah!

Tomorrow is just strength training, Wednesday will be an easy 2 miles and then it's rest and RACE!!! Woo hoo!

Well that was a new experience!

This morning as I was getting ready for my run I noticed it was a little overcast. I thought it might rain a little but I wasn't too worried since I've run in the rain before and it was quite refreshing. By the time I got out the door though the clouds were so dark it looked more like night than morning. I put a wind breaker on just in case it rained and headed out. About 5 minutes into the run the rain started falling. I guess I was in a goofy mood because I went all "singing in the rain" and was just laughing at the sky and jumping over puddles and having a jolly old time.

But then it started to POUR! We're talking buckets of water being dumped from the sky! Add the wind to that and things started getting intense! My windbreaker was soaked all the way through in a matter of seconds. The rain stung as it pelted my face and I literally wished I had worn goggles because I COULD NOT SEE! There was so much water on my face and eyes that my contacts kept folding over. I finally just started running with my eyes closed and opening them every few feet to get a handle on where I was going. 2 miles into it my iPod shorted out. I tried to keep it dry in my coat pocket but since my coat was drenched the iPod didn't have much hope. There weren't many people on the trails (obviously) But I did see a girl running in a full on swim suit! That was funny!

Luckily after 4 miles the rain let up and by the time I finished my 6 miles the sun was shining again. Running in the rain I've done before, running in the POURING crazy torrential rain, well that was a new experience! I'm glad I made it through and have to say it definitely shook things up from the normal routine! Oh yeah, and on a happy note, my iPod survived and after drying it out and giving it a little TLC it is fully functioning once more : )

Fast!

Today I was fast! Maybe not compared to other runners but for me, I was booking! I haven't had a run like that in a while. I knew from the minute my feet hit the pavement that it was going to be a good run. Normally it takes me at least 5 minutes to warm up, then I need to stop and stretch because my legs have been so tight in the past. Not today though. I stepped out of my friend's house (who was watching my kids) and it was on! I starting at a 9:30 pace to warm up but when I got to my normal stretching spot I didn't stop to stretch, I just kept going. Half a mile into it my pace was 9 minutes, I hit a mile and my watch started beeping to tell me I was going faster than an 8:30 pace. I normally slow down when I hear it beep but today I wanted it to keep on beeping. I pushed a little harder and ran miles 2 and 3 between an 8:10-8:15 pace. I was sweating hard and it felt awesome. When I'd get to a hill I would sprint up it. My legs and lungs were burning but it felt so good! I know I pushed under an 8 minute mile several times during the run. My total distance was 4.3 miles, my average pace was about 8:30 (given my slower start and cool down)

Running fast is fun! My friend recently got 2nd place (and a medal) in a 5K she did. She was REALLY booking, I think her average pace was around a 7:30 minute mile. I'm definitely not even close to that right now but going "fast" today made me think that maybe someday I could be...

6 together 6 alone

My last two runs were both 6 milers. On Sat Taber and I did our run together. Our friends from our Ragnar team swapped with us so they watched our kids while we ran and then we watched theirs while they ran. It was really cool to do a longer training run together and just be able to chat and hang out on our little "running date." We went nice and slow (about 10:30-11 minute pace) and stretched half way through since Taber's knee still isn't 100%. We were on some really nice trails and even went into a pretty nature preserve for a little bit. It's sounds funny, since we were both all sweaty and stinky, but there's something kind of romantic about running together. Maybe it's just being outside on the beautiful trails together, being able to talk about anything and everything, and of course seeing my husband in his athletic gear, I don't know, I just like it : )

Anyway, today I ran 6 miles again. This time by myself and staying between a 9-9:30 minute pace. I did the same lake trails I did last Monday and felt like I got a really good workout with the hills and everything. My energy got a little low towards the end but I think that's just because your body starts needing fuel every hour or so and I ran for 55 minutes. So yeah, good work out today but not nearly as fun by myself! I'm glad we'll be running together for the Ragnar in a few weeks.

Hot and Cold

I like running. I mean really, I really truly enjoy it. It's fun, it feels good, it makes me happy and I look forward to it. However, I do NOT like running in the heat! (And heat to me, since I live in Minnesota, is anything above 78 degrees. I know, I'm a wimp!) When it's hot I just lose everything I love about running and it turns into a chore instead of a retreat. That's exactly what happened on Monday. My friend was watching the kids so I thought, I should take advantage of this and go on a 6 mile run. Unfortunately I didn't leave until noon, when it was 85 degrees outside. I started out slow, thinking I'd speed up, but I never could. The first 3 miles were all about 9:30 miles. The last three were even slower. I had to stop a couple times to drink and pour water on myself to cool down. I ended up finishing in exactly 1 hour, blah! The whole run just felt like so much work. How the heck to people who live in Arizona or other hot places do it?

Anyway, today was the total opposite. It was a cool 65 degrees when I went on my run at 10am this morning. Teya was at preschool so I just had Brinley and was able to push her in our single jogging stroller. She did awesome, fell asleep before the first mile and slept the whole time. I felt awesome too. I ran 4 miles in 36 minutes, not bad for pushing a stroller! The best part was it was fun! On Monday I thought I was losing my love for running, but now I know it was just the heat! : )

Pioneer Day 5K

On Saturday our church put together a little 5K run to celebrate Pioneer Day. It was very low key, no official clock or anything. But we had a really good turn out and it was fun running with so many great people I know. Taber was able to run it with me which is the first time we've run together in over a month. We kept around a 9 minute pace for the most part but on the final 1/4 mile Taber really started to kick it in! There was a huge hill too and he just owned it! I looked down at my watch and he was running around a 7:20 pace. I could barely keep up with him and he ended up beating me to the finish. He's knee was bugging him after but man was it good to see him running hard again!

I ended the week with a total of 12.5 miles. Not as much as I hoped but better than last week's 7. I DID cross train twice though so that counts for something right? Next week will be even better. I'm shooting for at least 15 miles. 4 tomorrow, 4 Wed, 2 Thurs, and at least 5 (but preferable 7 or 8) on Saturday.

Much Better

This week I am back on track, as promised! On Monday I even did something that is completely outside of my nature, I woke up early! We're talking 5:30 am so I could go running before the kids got up. I gave myself a big fat pat on the back for that one. ; )

The run was GREAT! Taber's friend is letting us borrow his Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch and I got the treat of running with it. Taber has the Garmin forerunner 50 which measures your pace and distance by a foot pod. But the 305 tracks you by satellite. It's super accurate and it tells you your time, distance, and pace all on the same screen so you don't have to switch back and forth. I LOVE it! I will be so sad when we have to give it back. (I think I'm gonna have to start a fund right now to save up for my own, it's just too awesome!)
Another cool thing about it is that after each mile it pops up your average time for that mile. So On Monday my first mile was 9:22, second mile was 9:03, third mile was 8:28 and 4th mile was 8:16. My fastest pace during the run was 7:11. I loved having the watch to measure my run and it definitley made me want to work harder.

Besides wearing the fun watch I loved Monday's run because it actually felt like a run, not just a jog. My legs are feeling better than ever and the IT band issues have improved almost 100%. Heck, I bounded down the stairs today. BOUNDED! I haven't done that in a long time. With my ITB syndrome I wondered if I'd ever be able to just walk down them normally, let alone bound. It's very exciting to have my legs back, although I'm still being cautious and not pushing up my mileage or pace too fast because I don't want to go backwards when I've come so far.

Today I had another good run. Not as fast as Monday, but I did 4.5 miles at a solid 9 minute pace. It was fun because we had playgroup at a park by a lake with running trails. So I left my kids with one of my friends at playgroup and ran around the lake a couple times. The kids had a great time and I got a work out and social time all in one deal. Gotta love multi-tasking! I'll do one more run tomorrow and then we have a 5K on Saturday. So yes, this week is going much better than last one!

Slack attack!

Wow, last week was BAD as far as running goes. I ran a grand total of 7 miles! Yikes! I don't have a good excuse either. My legs are fully recovered and I'm totally back up to speed and everything. I think I was just in a little bit of denial about my next race coming up in just over 30 days. It's a relay race that covers 200 miles and is split up in legs between 12 runners. Each runner does three legs in a 24 hour period (meaning I'll run one of them in the middle of the night) Anyway,I thought, "oh it won't be so bad, I ran a marathon after all, I can just slack off a little and be fine. Well then we had a team meeting yesterday and I was assigned my route. Here's what it looks like (They assign you miles for each leg and then a level of difficulty according to elevation and distance):

Leg 1: 8.3 miles/very hard
Leg 2: 7.5 miles/very hard
Leg 3: 3.9 miles/moderate
Total distance: 19.7 miles!!!

Aye aye aye! For some reason my team thinks I should run the 2nd longest and most difficult route (My brother in law Kevin is running the #1 longest and hardest leg haha!) Guess after you run a marathon people have higher expectations of you. That's a good thing though. I've been needing a boost in motivation lately and this is it! Now that my route is assigned I know exactly what I'm up against and I'm ready to work for it! Yeah!!! So good bye slack attack! I'm ramping up the mileage this week and back into full training mode! WOO!

Slowing down to speed up

3 weeks now since the marathon and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm getting my legs back. It's been a slow process getting back. I've only been doing 3 mile runs a couple times a week and they've been hard. My IT bands have been really tight and last Wednesday they hurt so bad I limped through the first mile. I went in for a deep tissue massage and have been doing lots of stretching and resting.

On Saturday I ran 6 miles which is the farthest I've gone since the race. I started out really slow, about a 10:30 minute pace. I kept that up for the first three miles and the longer I ran the better I felt. each mile I felt like I could go a little bit faster. The coolest thing is that for the last 1/2 a mile I was running! almost sprinting, and I didn't get tired or feel any pain. I haven't "flown" like that in forever! I was surprised my legs could do it! I credit it mostly to the fact that I slowed down for the first half of my run so my legs and IT bands really had a chance to warm up and get loose. I also did a lot of stretching before and after. Anyway, it was exciting to have a good run and to feel like I'm still in the game.

Also on a happy recovery note, Taber ran 7 miles on Saturday. That's the most he's been able to run since his injury 2 months ago. When he first got hurt he couldn't even run 1 mile. He had to take 3 weeks off running and has done some physical therapy and lots of streching and icing and strengthing. He's really been careful as he's eased back into it. Slowly increasing his miles each week, sticking to his rest days, and not pushing his pace. It's been awesome to see him running again and to know that there's a light at the end of the injury tunnel.