Run the Bluegrass Half

Most of our RUI Bourbon Chase running team ran this race! Plus there were  A LOT of local people at this race. This race takes place at Keeneland in Lexington and is a beautiful yet hilly course. 

Very happy with my finish time of 1:57:14 on this course! I was not feeling like I was race ready at the start of the morning but I had ran many long runs since January since I am supposed to be training for the Nashville full at the end of April. However, I have a lot going on right now so I am thinking it will be another half in my future at the end of April 

This race made me feel strong! Between mile 3 and 4 I had this feeling of "lets do this". I decided to dig in and run hard. I did not talk (shocking I know) to anyone around me and always worked to pass the person in front of me. I love the uphill and had plenty of them today! There is nothing better than digging in and passing someone on an uphill. My marathon base kicked in around mile 9 and I found a second wind and ran my fastest 4 miles of the race. These miles were around a 8:30 pace! I had to walk one hill right after the 9 mile marker but that was it. 

If every race and every long run felt like this morning I would be a happy girl all the time! Happy to remember why I love to run and feel like a strong, determined, motivated woman this morning! I can do anything I put my mind to no matter how challenging. A much needed reminder at this time in my life. 

Get Moving Kentucky

Awesome website that is being started to connect the fit people of Kentucky! 

Get Moving KY 

Check it out! There are a lot of giveaways, race calendars and links to local bloggers like me! 

Successful Long Run

My long runs have been hit or miss here lately. Either really great or really bad. Last week due to weather and lack of motivation I only ran 12 miles or so instead of 14 or 16. This week I knew I had to run 16 miles and maybe 18. I started off with most of our usual running group but I knew I would have to drop off by myself so I could take it easy on my hip. When we hit 11 miles I decided to head back the "flat" way to avoid some of the bigger hills on the Pike. I could have made it 15 miles or 17 miles and I was good with that. Then I remembered I don't run odd numbers : ) So I went for 16 and was happy with the decision. Slightly challenging but I felt good and not injured when I was finished. I just have a few more weekends before my marathon. My next few weekends should go like this:

18 miles, 20 miles, 1/2 marathon, 18 miles, 20 miles, taper and then RACE weekend. 

I am hoping to go into Nashville well trained with out overtraining! I would just love to get around a 4:15 and finish strong since the last 2 have been pretty miserable. 

  New plan for the week is:

Monday: Ripped/Elliptical

Tuesday: Run and maybe Spin

Wednesday: Ripped/Elliptical

Thursday: Run/Ripped

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Long Run

In some ways it is less mileage but my long runs are to the point that I have to cut back. My hip can't handle 40 mile weeks all the time so I need to change it. I would rather run less and be able to run than hurt myself so much that I can no longer run. 

Sunday: Easy no watch run 

Back to Blogging

After a very long break I am trying to get back into the blogging world. To be honest it is hard to blog when there is not a lot going on.  There is nothing different to report about my working out. I run as much possible because I am training for a marathon like always. Here are a few photos to catch you up on the last few months!

I run 4-6 days a week depending on the week. Weekday runs are 3-6 miles depending on how much time I have and are on the treadmill at the gym a lot of the time. My weekend runs are up to 16 miles and I have 6 more intense weeks of runs to get me ready for my Nashville marathon on April 27th. I am also taking a class called RIPPED 2-3 days a week for my cross training. The biggest change in my running is I have turned into a social runner! Basically I never run alone anymore. Never thought I would be that person. 

Parker is getting so big and is so much fun! It is so neat all of the things we can do now. We went to Great Wolfe Lodge and I overcame my fear of big water slides so that I could take him. He has no fear! So much braver than Mommy :) 

 We sad good bye to our Pug Rancher that we have had for almost 11 years. He was mine and Scott's first dog and we loved him dearly. Unfortunately he had some stomach cancer that was getting the best of him and we had to have him put to sleep. Below is a picture of me holding Rancher for the first time and under that is me holding Rancher for the last time. We will miss him greatly! 

Every now and then I get all dressed up and wear clothes that are not running clothes or work uniform clothes! I am starting to love dressed and have been getting my nails painted. Watch out! This tomboy might be finding her girly side after 31 years. 

My race calendar should stay about the same minus Tough Mudder. It will not be coming to Nashville in May so Scott and I are looking for a different summer event. There are some fun local 5Ks coming up that I will add in there. But my big races will stay the same. Hope everyone out there is uninjured and training hard. Hoping to blog a lot more! Stop by and say Hello! 

2013 Goals

My goals for 2012 are pretty simple and as usual will be based around my race calendar. Here are my most likely races for 2013:

March 30th: Half Marathon in Lexington, KY 

April 27th: Nashville Rock n' Roll Marathon

May 11th: Jennie Carol 5K (this is my 4 year running anniversary, the race that started it all)

May 25th: Tough Mudder in Nashville 

June: Brass Band 5K

July: Buffalo Trace 5K

August: Railroad Days 5K and Sarah Hart 4 miler

September: Constitution Square 5K

October 6th: Wineglass Marathon in New York

October 13th: Iron Horse Half Marathon Midway, KY

October 18th & 19th: Bourbon Chase 

December: Find a "Christmas" 5K

This is 13 races in 2013 : ) 

Goals:

1200 miles in 2013 (100 miles per month)

Cross Train more; 2-3 days a week of spin/elliptical

Lift weights and strength train on cross training days

Eat less sweets 

Blog more

Walk/Run the dog more 

Nothing too exciting here.  I am scaling it back in some ways from last year. 4 marathons was too much and 1500 miles was a stretch. I should easily hit 1200 miles but it won't make me feel guilty about taking days off to spin or take a class. 

2012 Goal Met

I set my mileage goal at 1,500 miles at the beginning of the  year knowing it would be a challenge. Basically I needed to run 28 miles per week which is 125 miles a month. I am more of a 25 mile a week runner and a 100 mile per month kind of runner. Training for 4 marathons helped get in the high mileage I needed and I hit my goal on December 20th. 

Here is to a happy and healthy 2013 full of running, races and fun. 

Marathon #8: Huntsville Alabama

On December 8th I ran my eight marathon and it was in the great state of Alabama! I want to start with saying what a great race it was! Huntsville is a small town but they know how to put on a marathon! I stayed at the host hotel (Holiday Inn) and they took care of us! Nice small expo, LATE check out and an awesome spread of food after the race. The best marathon I have ran to date! Well in some ways : ) 

I drove down by myself and had a hotel room by myself so I was well rested and able to take care of all my pre race routines. I knew the weather was going to be warm but I was really hopeful that this was going to be a perfect race! Even though I had limited runs going into Huntsville I had just ran in Georgia on November 10th so I thought I would be well trained yet rested. 

Miles 1-10 were pretty good! I was right on pace for a sub 4 hour and hanging with the 4 hour pace group. At mile 8 I noticed I was super sweaty and already coated in dried salt. Not a good sign when so early in the race. I figured I should start taking in powerade and eating a little more than usual to ward off dehydration. 

Mile 11-13 These miles were slightly slower and I had to stop to take a porta potty stop; the kind you don't want to take during a race. I feel back from the 4 hour pace group but was well ahead of the 4:10 pace group. I was still hopeful for a good race and feeling average. 

Mile 13 My belly was rumbling : ( and I knew something was going to go bad. I was hoping it was just going to be another porta potty stop. However, when I tossed back a cup of powerade at mile 13 it decided to take a quick exit. I threw up for the first time ever! For the next three miles I "ran", walked, shuffled, puked, walked, "ran" and shuffled. 

Mile 16: I looked at my watch and realized I was walking as fast as I was "running" so I did some math and realized I had enough power walking skills to cover 10 miles in 2.5 hours which would let me still break 5 hours. 

Miles 16-26.2 The longest walk of my life! However, I had so much fun! I talked to everyone and kept a huge smile on my face the whole time. I was still going to cover 26.2 miles, cross that finish line and claim my hard earned medal. While the race might not have been the best day of my life I had still trained to get there and I fought hard for 16 miles. 

The great people of Alabama made these 10 miles so much fun! Awesome volunteers and residents. I have never ATE so much food while running (well walking) in my whole life. There were bananas, oranges, pretzels, water, powerade, beer, candy, and peanut M&Ms. Since it was a "heat wave" (mid 70s) there were people out with their water hoses and sprinklers. 

I finished in an amazing time of 4:57:53 and I am proud of every second. No more back to back marathons for this girl. My next marathon will be on April 27th in Nashville, TN! 

Check out my newest marathon accessory: Marathon Nails! They were so fun and gave me something to look at. This will be a new tradition for sure. 

Thanks to everyone that follows my less than exciting blog! 

Marathon #7 Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon

On November 10th I ran my 7th marathon, Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon in Georgia. It was my second attempt at Georgia so I was mainly hoping for a finish and not worry about a goal time. We all know I want that sub 4 but it is so hard for me for some reason. I started running with Vanessa from Gourmet Runner and was running around a 9 minute mile but was feeling really good and I think I started to speed up but I didn't think I was doing that much damage. Vanessa held back so she would have some left in the tank. It might only be her second marathon but she was a much smarter girl than me. I ran a little fast for a little too long. Around mile 18 I was starting to hurt and could see my pace was around an 8:56 which is much faster than the needed 9:09. Mile 18 to Mile 22 started to hurt pretty bad and then at the water stop at Mile 22 I was basically cramped up worse than I ever have. I was seeing double, arms tingling and I felt like I was going to pass out. The volunteers wanted to get me a medic but I refused to get help with only 4 miles to go. I spend the next 2 miles struggling to walk while I watched all the people I had passed run past me well on their way to a sub 4 marathon. I was able to muster the strength to run the last 2 miles and was able to finish at a 4:15:53 which is not my slowest marathon.

Hopefully this video will work. My husband and Parker went with me since it was only 4 hours from home and Parker wanted to run across the finish line with me. I am almost glad I wasn't coming in for a sub 4 finish because I know I would not have slowed down to enjoy that moment if I was seconds from making my goal time. 

I really enjoyed the race and would recommend it too anyone looking for a nice, small, pretty, fall race! I am in my last week of high mileage before I start to taper for my Alabama race on December 8th. 

Still Running

When I returned from Disney on October 13th I could not believe I had a half marathon the next day! I had been running great in September but being at Disney World was exhausting. We walked ALL day for 4 days and traveled for three days. I did run some while I was there but not enough to keep me in shape for a fast half marathon. So I ran with my friend David, in the "Just Run" shirt, to help to a PR. He really wanted a sub 2 but we were happy with a 2:04 since there were a lot of hills. Great race and I would like to add it to my calendar every year. 

Since I have a marathon coming up soon I should probably spend my weekends doing long runs but I went to play in the mud instead! I did the Tough Mudder in Kentucky on October 20th and it was BRUTAL! It was in an ATV park so the terrain was basically mud covered mountains for over 12 miles. Then on top of that it was low 50s and we were freezing. One of the first obstacles in the ice water in the dumpster so you were wet the whole time. By mile 8 my lips were blue and I had no feeling or control of my body. So I pretty much walked the last 4 miles with a Mylar blanket just wanting it to be over with. However, I WILL do another one and I am planning on going to Tennessee on May 25th do it again. Hoping it will be plenty warmer then and I can attempt the obstacles I went around. 

We did the Black Cat Chase in Frankfort, KY on October 26th. It is a huge race at night and it  a lot of fun. This year I decided to wear a costume and went with a sparkly witch idea. I have not enjoyed a 5K since August of 2011 so I was not sure what would happen. But I decided to go all out and see what I was capable of. Bad news... I forgot my watch : ( Finished fast and strong and had to wait until the next day to see my results. I ran a pretty fast race with a time of 23:23 which is only 28 seconds slower than my current PR. With a watch I think I might have made my PR but who knows. I might have freaked out when I saw some of my paces. I know I was flying down the big hill. 

Now it is time to bust out a 20 miler, get in a bunch of runs this week, taper, run a marathon, bust out another 20 miler, taper and run another marathon : ) Looking forward to ending the year strong and hitting my goal of 1,500 miles!!! 

Bourbon Chase 2012

Van 1 ready to run the Bourbon Chase! 

Van 2 is ready to go at Maker's Mark! 

My van (and mom) waiting on my in downtown Springfield. 

The whole team crossing the finish line! We were faster than last year and almost an hour faster than our predicted times! I was super happy to average an 8:30 pace on all three of my runs. My runs were 8.4 miles, 6 miles and 4.6 miles! Seriously the best race EVER and I am pretty sure I am on board for next year. I have some marathons I want to run buy honestly this is the best race! We have SO MUCH fun! 

My goal this year was to have more fun and drink more! I was able to try 4 bourbons this year and actually found one I liked. Marker's Mark 46 may be making its way to my liquor cabinet!