Run RUN RUUUUNNNN + Deserted Island

After Vegasssssss, I had planned to take roughly a week off from running.  Saturday morning I woke up raring to go for a run, and realized that I would have to rent a toboggan to make it to my gym.  Sunday I woke up with a cold to end all colds, and by Sunday evening it had progressed in to full on bubonic plague (I tend to be a bit of a hypochondriac....no worries).

Andrew commented on one of my Vegas posts wondering:
BTW how many germ-filled hands pulled on those knobs huh? 
In reference to the giant slot machine (I still giggle whenever I say slot FYI).  Answer:  at least one with the bubonic plague.

Monday and Tuesday were spent sleeping or laying on the couch, resulting in me freaking out about not having run in a week and a half.  I'm fairly certain this is the longest I've gone without running since I started running regularly 2 years ago.  I was feeling better Tuesday night and knew I'd make it to work on Wednesday.  As extra incentive to make it through the whole day, I laid out my running clothes and darted off to bed.

Wednesday I was counting down the hours and Kleenexes I was burning through in anticipation for THE RUN.  I hit the treadmill, although looking back it was perfect winter weather for running outside:  20 degrees, but almost no wind.  Thick beautiful snowflakes falling.  Sigh.  Next time.  Anyway, my legs felt like garbage starting out, but only took about a quarter of a mile to loosen up.  There were some random knee and hip aches during the run, but nothing I would consider actual pain.

I did 3 miles in 28:20 for a pace of 9:27.  I heart running.

I also got to try out my new Wave Rider 14s that I got today.  Has anyone switched from the 13s to the 14s?  I kind of hate them.  They feel giant compared to my cute little 13s.  But they're so cute in their pretty pink.  Hmmmm.

_________________________

So Miss Susan tagged me in her deserted island post as one of the 7 people she would want with her on an island.  Yay!  As part of the tag, I am to answer 7 questions that she has posed to me and 6 others, and then make up 7 new questions for my deserted island pals.

1.  What’s the latest book you would recommend reading?  
The Raw Shark Texts.  I actually hope to re-read it somewhat soon.  It's pretty out there but oh so good.
2.  What’s your favorite holiday cookie?  
I love my Grandma's molasses cookies.  I've tried to remake them with her recipe but they never turn out right.  :(
3.  You have to sing karaoke:  What song are you singing?  
Since it's Christmas time, I would do Glee's version of Last Christmas.  Any other time of the year I'd be all about Alanis.... probably Head Over Feet.
4.  When you were four years old, what did you want to be when you grew up?  
I wanted to be a baby doctor.  Pediatrician was a tough word for a 4 year old.
5.  What are you most proud of in 2010?  
Running my first marathon.  Loving it enough to train for and complete the second one as well.
6.  You have the day off to do whatever you want…what are your plans?  
Barnes and Noble to wander around the books with a pumpkin spice latte in my hand.  Lunch at sushi masa without having to wait in line for a table.  Ice skating at an indoor rink, or a 10 mile run in freakishly warm temps that feels effortless.  Someone to cook me a really great homemade dinner and then head to Falls Park to look at the Christmas lights.  And then magically have this last season's episodes of Dexter so I can catch up.
7.  What’s on the top of your holiday wishlist?  (I need ideas!)  
A nook.


Now it's my turn to tag 7 folks.  Obviously Susan would be on my deserted island as well, but since I don't want her to have to answer more questions, I will choose:

• Alyssa
• Jenn
• Luke
• Heather
• Morgan
• Laura (with a twss daily cap, of course..haha)
• Melissa

**Man, apparently Luke's going to be a lucky lucky man on this island. :p

1.  Since you're all runners, what has been your favorite race you've done to date?
2.  And which is your dream race?
3.  What is your favorite holiday and why?
4.  What is your favorite running blog to read (no need to suck up and say mine, as that's a given....)?
5.  What is your favorite non-running blog to read (clearly I'm looking for some new awesome blogs to add to my reader)?
6.  What is your favorite guilty pleasure TV show?
7.  When are you going to run a race with me?  :)


If you're not tagged, do not feel left out.... answer a question of your choice.  :D

The End of the Vegas Shenanigans

Tuesday was spent 100% Jeri style.  We slept in, threw on our swimming suits, grabbed starbucks, and laid out by the pool.  Heaven.  Give me a drink in my hand (even if it's a hot latte) and some sun on my face and I'll be a happy girl.  I had to laugh at the lifeguards who were wearing parkas and shoes.  The weather was tropical compared to the teen temps back home!

Since it was our last night in Vegas we decided to do it up large, Vegas style.  We spent some time in Paris where I insisted on talking with a French accent (which later segued into a French/Russian hybrid accent).  And decided to go up in the Eiffel Tower (aka Ifeeeeel Towaiiiiiiiiirr).  There is nothing cooler than seeing the strip all lit up at night.  But wait... there is.... getting to see the Bellagio light and water show from up above.  So. Stinkin. Cool.

I was super impressed with the extent of all the Christmas decorations around the casinos.  It was like a different winter wonderland with every different building we stepped in to.  "I just like to meet other humans who share my affinity for elf culture......"

And apparently at one point I thought I was a fish.... so that was cool....

After some more drinks it was finally on to our much anticipated sushi dinner.  Mmmmmmmm.  Luke is demonstrating the proper way to drink wine with chopsticks.  Please take note.  The food was soooooo good. 

And then we were off to Treasure Island for the highlight of the trip (IMO):  The Cirque du Soleil show Mystere!  The show was absolutely amazing.  It was so eerie and out there, and just fabulous.  There were moments that I had to remind myself that I wasn't on any hallucinogenics because everything was just sooooo crazy!

After the show, we randomly met up with one of my best friends who ended up being in Vegas for work.  Extra random is the fact that I went with him on my initial (and only) Vegas adventure in college.  A few short hours later it was time to say goodbye to Vegas.  See ya Sin City.

Adventures in Vegas

After the race on Sunday we all hobbled back to our hotel room to find the other boys fast asleep in our hotel room.  Jerks.  We decided that post-race drinking was far more important than rest or hygiene, so we threw on our compression socks and headed down to a casino bar.  A drink and a half down and my rage window was quickly slamming shut.  

We got all gussied up (aka de-salted ourselves...ok just me...hello salt block!) and hit up a buffet for our post-marathon meal.  Random note:  This is the first time that I've ever eaten my moneys worth at a buffet.  Shocker.  I know.  I think the full plate of desserts really did it for me.  Mmmm desserts..... 

There was some Kitty Glitter losses by Laura and I, and some major winning by the boys (jerks, AGAIN!) and far too much walking for my brokey hips and knees.  I also spent far too much time finding a dollar bill to get my fortune told by Zoltar and then found some random wedding bubbles in my purse.  Clearly this is an everyday use purse for me..... or not.  What better place to blow bubbles than on the Vegas strip?  There isn't.  

Once Luke revealed that he was trying to make us walk to a club in Canada, we all cried foul (and I literally almost cried because my legs hurt sooooooo baaaaaaaaaaad) and we parked ourselves in some random Harley Davidson bar.  The walk home in the pouring rain (I thought this was a desert G.D. it!!!!) with broken legs was less than awesome.

Monday morning we set out to see the strip before Laura had to head back hooooooome.  Mission A:  Find a giant frozen drink.  Check!

I think this was my one drink before I gave it back to Luke.  Oy sugar....you kill me sometimes.  We wandered along the strip taking gazillions of pictures.  And I proved that yet again I can't take reflective photos.  Oh well.

I happened upon some old friends.......

And then found the perfect photo location to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and reveal that I'm moving to Colorado!!!

Juuuuuust kiddding....hehe.  Man that was mean. :)

Before long it was time to say goodbye to Laura, and continue on our PRR session.  

Bai friend!

(P.S. I kind of love this picture of us.)

For those of you following along at home for my fun and festive tweets, here's what it looked like behind the scenes.  Yes, at some point I thought it was clever to actually type on my qwerty keyboard using proper typing form.  Once I had perfected it, Luke made me try on his touch screen phone.  Sidenote:  I can't use a touchscreen keyboard normally.  I probably should've tweeted those tweets just for fun.

TWEET!

And then we ended the night with me not winning any money, but WINNING the impromptu PRPRR.  WINNAAAAAAAH.  Better luck next time Luke!

Vegas Race Expo

So you've all ready about the marathon, but I'd like to back track a bit to explore the rest of the weekend.  I'd been putting off packing until approximately 45 minutes before I was set to leave for the airport.  Granted, everything was laid out, but I have this weird thing about packing before I walk out the door.  Chalk it up to the double, triple, quadruple checking that must occur.  I thought my packing pile was pretty intense and worth sharing. :)

Upon getting into Vegas on Friday I was all by my lonesome.  Laura was set to get in late and I was bored.  I resisted the urge to pull up a spot at the bar and latch my hand around a yard long margarita.  And let's just say that resist is a pretty large understatement.  Before too long I was napping (lil Jerbear was all tuckered out, I guess), and then was ready to meet up with Jenny for a drink!  Random note:  She had actually saw me at Curly's Pub when I was in Green Bay and was too cool to say hi (jk!), so when I realized we were at the same hotel this time around we HAD to meet up.  ;)  We talked racing, running, and then had a random cowboy join our fun.  There was a big bull riding competition going on so Vegas was crawling with cowboys.  YEEHAH!

After falling asleep yet again and being awoken by the LOUDEST fire alarm, Laura had finally arrived.  Is it weird to meet your roomie for the weekend at midnight?  I didn't think.  Welcome to our hotel room, please don't chop me up in to bits, I'm too tired to fend you off.  Of course we had to talk for a gazillion hours, and a few short hours later Luke was at our door donning Starbucks deliciousness.  Mmmmm.  We waited around for Ryan and Dan to get in and then it was off to the Race Expo.  I probably walked much too far to get there, and my lesson was learned. 

We got our bibs, did some more standing around, and then because everyone was sick of listening to me whine about being hangry we finally made our way to find food......at 5pm.  Yes, I didn't eat until 5pm the day before a marathon, and spent way too long on my feet.  Anyone else seeing some rookie mistakes for a non-rookie?  Uh... I am.

Awkward family photo? Check!

Hanging out with our best good pal Meb. NBD.

We hit up Buca di Beppo for my first experience with their food, and it left me 100% satisfied (twss).  I managed to eat about 3 meals worth of food in one sitting.  I heart carbs.

When we got back to the hotel, Laura and I met up with Sam whom I had met pacing the Mankato Marathon/Half Marathon.  I may have had my second dinner of chips and quac while listening to Sam's stories.  The fact that I was falling asleep at the table while Sam was going a mile a minute was quite the turnaround from Mankato where Alyssa and I were dance partying it up pre-race with Sam was grumbling about needing coffee.  Early bird, meet night owl.  :)

The rest of the night was spent talking (ie:  me freaking out about the race) with my legs up on the headboard (that kind of sounds dirty, but I'm going to leave it regardless.....hah).  Light's out!  There's a race in the morning.  :)

Race Report: Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon

Race morning started at 4:45am, and Laura and I were up and at em.  Nerves were in full force, so I was glad that everything was set to go for the morning, and I all I had to concentrate on was forcing food down my throat.  Before too long, the gents, Dan, Ryan, and Luke were at our door ready to head to the start.  My stomach was maaaaaaaad as normal.  We left our hotel and I was perfectly content in my shirt and shorts.  I laughed on the inside at all the wussies out there in pants, jackets, headbands/hats, gloves, etc.  Seriously, it was like 40 degrees out there!

We stayed at the Excalibur so we were right around 1 mile from the race start.  It was pretty crazy/awesome to see all the throngs of runners migrating to Mandalay Bay.  We saw some totally douchy guy strutting around smoking a cigarette thinking he was the coolest thing EVER.  We were all pretty annoyed, so we couldn't help but laugh that he tripped trying to climb over a fence.  Karma is a B.  Some people just look really good bright and early before races, no?  :)

I ditched the boys early on since they were heading for corral 1, and apparently I'm not quite that speedy.  I found the bag drop and met up with Slomohusky!  It was great to finally put a face to his writing and comments.  Unfortunately my stomach was still in freak out mode so our convo was cut short to accommodate yet another port a potty wait for me (I think this puts me at 5 for the morning :/).  And to make matters worse, not only was I in line for the bathroom as the star spangled banner was being played, I was also waiting while the first 2 corrals were released.  Stress meter:  max.

A couple of minutes later it was our turn:  marathon #2 here I come!  Because I spent 97% of my race morning in line for the bathrooms I didn't get much of a warm up in.  As in, I got zero warm up in.  No biggie.  When I first started out, I was a little concerned about how tired my legs seemed to be.  I chalked it up to not getting the warm up in, and after the first mile they did appear to warm up a bit.  The course was packed.  There was a lot of dodging and weaving for the first 4-5 miles.  It was so cool to be running down the strip with thousands and thousands of runners.  I tried to keep an eye out for Luke and Ryan who I knew would be towards the front of the marathon pack on the out and back portion of the strip but didn't get to see them.  Boo!  I was keeping a 9:20-9:30 pace, but it definitely wasn't feeling as effortless as it should have.  

I decided from the race start to run ~9:20 for the first half of the race and then either maintain the pace the second half for a PR or drop the pace for a sub-4 if my legs felt good.  Based on how fatigued my legs felt just 5-6 miles in, I decided to shoot for a PR party!

1. 9:28
2. 9:24
3. 9:20
4. 9:20
5. 9:26
6. 9:20 

I had my music off for the first 9-10 miles just to really take in the experience.  There were a ton of bands along the course, lots of spectators, and plenty of scenery to take in.  Around mile 6-7 my left hip started to throb.  Uh oh.  I've had issues with this hip when doing some aggressive speedwork this summer, and again during my 20 mile long run while training for Vegassssssssss.  Sadly, once this hip pain presents, itself, it doesn't disappear.  At this point I still thought a PR was possible, but the hip pain was also around a 2-3.  Within a couple of miles of the hip pain in the left leg, I had a ton of pain start up in my right knee.  Oy.  Clearly I was compensating my form to try to ease the pain and aggravated something else.  I decided right around the halfway point that a PR was just out of the question for the day, and I was just going to enjoy the race as much as I possibly could!

At the point that the half and full split, I was a little jealous of everyone who was just about done.  I was starting to make my trek out in to no man's land when I heard, "yeahhhhh TEAM GREEN!!!!"  Uh wha????  Laura!  No idea how she saw me, but she had already finished with her crazy fast half and was heading back to our hotel room.  We had discussed her possibly pacing me the last couple of miles if I needed it.  I yelled out to her that I WOULD need her and to try to find me at all possible.  :)  I started counting down to mile 24 from that point on for my company. :p

7. 9:25
8. 9:30
9. 9:31
10. 9:37
11. 9:53
12. 9:48

Once we split off from the half we got to the sucky part of the course.  There were some crazy hills and not much for shade.  Swell.  I just kept running and trying to give myself pep talks along the course.  I was bummed that I felt soooooooo terrible for this race that I had trained hard for, but kept reminding myself how lucky I am that I can run!  I just kept taking in all of my surroundings and kept a smile on my face.  At one point I thought I saw Luke off in the distance (if you saw his race outfit, you'll be able to see why I could pick him out from a mile away).  And he was walking.  Uh..... I yelled out to ask him what the heck he was doing, and realized that he had gotten hurt along the course.  0/2 for us for the day I guess.  I told him I was enjoying a total suckfest as well.  Hey-o!

13. 10:27
14. 10:24
15. 10:13
16. 10:26 

As much as the course sucked, the out and back areas were actually pretty cool for seeing other runners out on the course.  I saw Sam and yelled out to him.  Later I saw Emil as well.  Both of them weren't able to see me waving frantically and screaming their names....not sure how this is possible given my highlighter yellow shirt, but whatevs. :p  Eventually I caught up to Emil and we ran together for awhile.  Nice to meet you Emil!  You know you're a runner/blogger when:  you "meet" someone during a marathon.  :)  

At one point, Natasha Beddingfield's Strip Me came on my iPod and I desperately wished that Jenn was out there working on that $hit $how with me.  I had to listen to it on repeat for a couple of miles, and it helped to pass the time.  

17. 11:10
18. 10:21
19. 10:37
20. 11:31 

I was letting myself walk through water stations to give my hips/knees some reprieve, and because I was running ~10 minute pace otherwise, my legs weren't too fatigued to get going again, which was good.  I was also struggling with my GUs (I know, I need to try something new, because I always have problems, I'll learn eventually).  I kept burping/puking up GU flavored bile.  Sexay, I know.  Ickkkkk.  

It was entertaining assessing how my pain would rotate every half to one mile:

"Oooh left hip hurts the most..... oh wait... congrats left knee.... you're now in the lead.... but look out..... right knee is coming on strong in the back stretch!"

I had to stop a couple of times during the final 10k to try to stretch my hips out.  Not sure how I went from B.A. sub-4 finish to being ok with walkbreaks and all out STOPPING in a race, but whatever. :)  During a water station, a guy stopped to walk with me and asked how I was doing.  Apparently he had been pacing off of me for much of the race and was finally catching up.  We talked running/racing/life for a bit and it was so nice to not be alone in my misery (he was shooting for a 3:45 finish).  He finally had to take another walk break, and my legs had gone slightly numb so I figured I needed to go with it!

The last 4-5 miles were HORRIFIC.  They were just the worst out and back/curvy/unscenic route ever.  Being able to see the Mile 25 sign when you're at Mile 22 should not happen.  Seeing so many people just struggling to put one foot in front of the other really messes with your brain a bit at this point.
21. 12:18 
22. 11:28 
23. 12:53

With about 2 miles to go my savior, Laura, came to join me.  She was exactly what I needed.  She told me how her race went, and how the boys' races seemed to be going.  With about a mile to go, I realized that there was a bitch of a hill standing between me and the end of my race.
Me:  Uh.... does the course go up that?
Laura:  Uh..yeah.  I was hoping you wouldn't notice that.

Haha.

We made our way there, and I resolved to run up it until my hips felt like they were going to fall off (oh wait, that was mile 7).  She just kept babbling at me to not stop, so we just kept plugging away.  Hill win o' the day.  :)  Just shy of 26 miles I realized that I could come in under 4:30 if I hauled some booty (I had stopped looking at my watch around mile 14 for sanity sake so had no idea what my estimated finish would be).  I picked up the pace and just tried to pick off people.


I saw the finish line and ran as hard as I could counting all the dudes I was chicking in my head in the process. ;)
24. 12:13 
25. 10:39 
26. 11:02 
.39 1:56 (9:10 pace)


It wasn't pretty, but it was done.  Marathon #2.  :)

Sadly, because I suck at math while running, I ran fast enough (under 2 minutes) for the final .2 to put me under 4:30, but failed to remember that I had ran almost .2 extra.  Haha fail.  :)

I finished 26.38 miles in 4:31:53 for a pace of 10:18.


I was really bummed early on to realize that it was simply not.my.day. from the get go:  stomach issues, tired legs, intense pain in my hips and knees, puking up GU, but I was beyond proud of myself for sucking it up and gutting it out.  I have never felt that bad for a race right out of the gate, and many times I thought about quitting because I was afraid I was going to hurt myself by continuing with a different running form.  While a 4:31 is pretty far off from what I wanted to run, it's a damn good time all factors considered, and I really did enjoy about 95% of the race, which is what it's all about.  :)

There will be others, and redemption will taste oh so sweet.  

 Of course I had to take my finisher photo with the green showgirl. She said she liked that we matched. WIN!

Apparently I'm so excited that I'm rocking the Harrison squinty eyed smile.  Oh well. :)

**Oh and all is not lost.  At least I got some great race photos, which is really what running/racing is all about. :p

Las Vegas Marathon Race Goals

Usually my race goals are my favorite blog post to write (behind race reports that is), but for some reason I'm freaking out a bit about putting my goals in writing.  Not that I've kept my race goals a secret, but it still makes them serious being typed out.  But anywhosits, without further adieu here are my race goals (sorry Neal, no sweet dinosaur inspired goals this go around [sad face]).  (Sidenote:  I just re-read my race goals from Green Bay, was I on crack back then or what?!?!?!?  Seriously...suffering from some MAYJAH taper brain at that time like whoa.)

Goal C:  Finish marathon #2.  Enjoy the race.  Burst in to "Vivaaaaaaaaa Las Vegasssssssssss" no less than 6 times throughout the 26.2 miles.  Avoid accidentally getting married at mile 5 with the masses.  Avoid accidental prostitution.  Avoid running off with a showgirl.  Avoid becoming a showgirl.  If a blue man is encountered along the course, make sure to ask him how look it took to blue himself.  [Perhaps I should have a separate post for these "personal" goals throughout the race. :p]

Goal B:  PR.  My current (and only) time is 4:12:00.  Assuming nothing goes wrong on race day, I should be able to crack this puppy.  I was a pretty consistent 9:23 pace for the first 20ish miles of Green Bay until my legs gained 900 pounds out of nowhere.

Goal A:  Sub-4.  I've gone back and forth all throughout training about whether I would or should shoot for 3:5x.  My biggest fear in the marathon is crashing and burning after going out too fast, I want to enjoy the race as much as I can.  It's doable, just dependent on whether I can quiet the wussy part of my brain down come race day. :)

See ya'll in Sin City!  Vivaaaaaaa Las Vegassssssssssssssss!

November in Review + Last Run before Vegassssssss

November in Review

Total Miles: 119.7 down from 151.2  last month. Should've been about 40 higher if I wasn't sick for a week. :(  (Last November 80.1)

Total Time:  18:02:34 down from 23:52:41 (12:21:07 last Nov.).

Total Runs: 14 for an average of 8.55/run

Highest weekly mileage: 11/8-11/14:  45 miles 7:07:35

Favorite run: While parts of the 22 mile long run weren't super awesome, I felt like a B.A. for doing my longest training run ever.  And a lot of the miles were really really awesome.  So it counts.

Most hardcore run: Frightening mile repeats aka the Devil's workout.

Favorite Race: None.  Sniffle.

Bike Miles: 0 which is exactly the same as last month's 0.  Sorry Princess Leia.

Favorite Jams: Glee's Marry You, Just the Way You Are, and Cory Monteith's--Losing my Religion, Rihanna--What's My Name?, Katy Perry--Fireworks.

Tonight I hit the jim for my last run before I toe the line for 26.2 #2.  Also 26.2 #2 in my 26 year.  Whoa, mind blown yet? Awesome.  Moving on.  I skipped out on my tempo run last night to finally get my back adjusted at the chiropractor, and figured it wasn't worth it to run hard after that.  The good news is:  I can breathe!  Apparently I had a rib out of place.  So my assessment of "I feel like something's pressing on my lungs and innards that shouldn't be." was a pretty accurate.

My legs felt fab-u-lous on my run tonight, and literally felt like I could run forever.  Which is probably a good thing, because I think that 4 hours slightly under 4 hours is almost the equivalent of forever.  I did 3 miles in 28:09.

Marathon race goals to come tomorrow before I board the plane for VEGASSSSSSSSSSSSS!