Kristin's SLC Half Marathon race report

It's Kristin!  Brace yourself- this is a long one.

Woot!  I ran the SLC Half last weekend and had a great time!  The weather was perfect, and I was in good company.  I haven't raced since October, so it was so exciting to be there among the HUGE crowd of runners again and feel the race adrenaline.  I must admit to feeling jealous of the full marathoners, and also being in awe of them a bit (despite having recently run a full myself!).

The morning went like this:  Matt gets up after a sleepless night worrying about the race (to race or not to race with his lack of training and bad knee).  He finally decides to bag it and come cheer instead.  I go through the whole lengthy race morning routine including: Glide, sunscreen, belt prep, makeup (and next year I'll be adding self-tanner!  Don't hate, low maintenance ladies!  See my white flesh in the pictures below and understand.), outfit, nutrition, etc., etc., etc.

Then we go to pick up Danna and her madre.  Danna has a near panic attack when Matt changes his parking spot in her driveway "Kristin!!  YOUR CAR'S MOVING!!!"  I have a near panic atack thinking...What?!!  Isn't Matt driving it?!  Are we having a race morning emergency?!  Waaaa!!!  ...But no, it's just Matt moving the car and we laugh and realize the race morning jitters are fully upon us.


We take the TRAX train to the starting line.  This part of the day includes such fun stories as: meeting up with Ksenia (D's quasi-sister), lots of racers giving us advice as runners on race day are want to do, a sardine-packed and smelly train ride (How do people already stink?), and me playing a trick on an over-zealous and insane public transit man.


Then the wait.  I love looking at the other runners, their routines, their outfits, their race day choices.  There was some excellent people-watching that morning.  Rock music blared, and we waited in line at the bathrooms most of the hour.  The national anthem was awesome- so many thousands of people watching the flag- I love it.  Then the gun went off!


We started mid-pack which was new for me (in the full marathon we let the crowd go before we began wayyy back there).  It was fun to run in the crowd! We started nice and slow which was tough- I hate having so many runners pass by- and our first walk break felt downright embarrassing.  I wanted to tell the runners, "Hey, we don't really need this!  We're just trying to be smart, okay?!" 

There were a few organization issues this race- looong lines at the bathrooms, ran out of cups at one of the aid stations, and the bag drop was a mess (more on that below).  D and her mom stopped for a bathroom break and Ksenia and I continued without them for the rest of the race.  We bonded (huh, Ksenia?) big time, which is what happens when you train and race with someone.  Danna and I are tied together for life fo'sho'.  Ksenia and I had a great time chatting about running, enjoying the course and the perfect weather, checking out all the interesting people (like the guy on the side of the road cooking bacon for any interested runners, and the [then soon to be] winner of the full marathon passing us with a huge, honking police entourage).  My favorite part of the race was the trek toward the city and capital building (uphill in fact).  It was very epic.


I sprinted at the end which was probably not wise.  In order to knock mere seconds off my time, I got some foot soreness I think.  It was just so fun!


Okay, after the race there was a big issue.  The drop bags (these are bags of your stuff that you go pick up after the race- such as your jacket, and extra gear) were not well organized and you had to stand in a huge line that wasn't moving much and wrapped all around the post-race grounds.  I figured it was a 2-hour wait which is ridiculous after you've just raced and want to get off your feet.  Matt said, "Let's just ditch your stuff and go pick it up later."  But my cute new running shirt was in there and I was not about to ditch it.  We went to the back of the park- the area where the bags were held and tried to sweet-talk volunteers into looking for my bag.  It was total chaos and we were clearly not the only people who were trying to do so.  The poor volunteers were getting lots of angry hassling, the bags were still not fully sorted and poorly organized.  After lots of attempts at getting the bag in different creative ways, Matt had had it and said, "I'm going to go get the car, and by the time I get back if you don't have the bag, let's head."  Well, I tried, but it was just crazy and impossible.  I was about to give up and sure Matt was about to pull up, when I looked over at a strikingly handsome volunteer inside the fence sorting bags- it was Matt!!!  He had somehow obtained a volunteer shirt and was gathering mine and my friends' bags, as well as a few other desperate/begging runners around the fence.  He looked up at me with a mischievous grin and held his finger to his lips.  A few other runners said, "Wait, isn't that your husband?"  We all burst out laughing at his cleverness, and I ended up getting out of there much faster.  Matt loves me to tell this story.  It totally saved his "I didn't end up racing today" blues, and...well now he has a cute new shirt!

Well, that's race day for ya.  I am so glad I iced, so glad Ksenia had bottles, and so glad I discovered GU Chomps.  Enjoy a few pics!

XOXO
~K

Waiting for the TRAX with our fellow runners.

The bathroom lines at the starting line!          -and-         The first few minutes of running- check out the runners allllll the way down the street.

Mid-race and lookin' gooood ladies!

The finsihers.  Hotties!

The icing...oh the agony- this icing session hurt!

The finish line!

Bag chaos!  Can you spot Matt and his big grin here?
(Right in the center.)  Hee hee.

My most memorable run.

Hiya, It's Danna. If you are my mom reading this, warning, you are about to hate this.

This past Saturday was the Salt Lake City marathon and half marathon. As you all know, we have been helping my mom and Ksenia to train (or hindering their training is probably more accurate!)



Post run stretch!



Training run on the Parkway.


Runners World has been publishing a series of articles every month about "my most memorable run". They often say how difficult it is to narrow down your runs. I imagine that may be because of sheer quantitiy we runners tend to do, and also because of those endorphins- they make ya happy. Almost every run is a good run!

Saturday was a specail day for me. Running with my mom in her first race was the opportunity of a lifetime. She is amazing. To train and run your first race in your 60's is admirable. To train and place 7th in your age category is astounding. But it isn't her pace that is most special about my mom. I watched her work to finish training runs, and when it was hard, she would walk- for only a few seconds, then run again. She did this over and over until she reached her distance. One time we were all about half a mile from home when we reached distance. We all said, "Phew!" and began walking. Oh no, not my mom. She ran the rest of the way and waited for us on the porch at home. She never, ever gives up. I learned to just keep going when it's hard, from her. When we crossed the finish line, I was so proud of her. I will forever remember that smile on her face. It was perfection.

I got a real kick of watching my dad rush to several aide stations to cheer her on. I was proud of him too. They are who I hope to turn out to be.

And so Saturday, was my most memorable run.... I think it will be for a very long time.

There is something that bonds running partners together forever. How blessed am I to have it all wrapped up in one person- one of my best friends, my training partner, and of course, my mom.

I'm so proud of you mom. Thanks for running with me. I literally loved every minute.
Way to go 'she runs like a girl' team!!!!

Giveaways

Here are some giveaways I'm trying to win!

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Good Luck Salt Lake Marathon Runnners!!!

Good Luck to Danna, Kristin, Matt, Rick, Danna's mom, Kesenya (sorry about the spelling) and all others who are running in the Salt Lake half-marathon tomorrow! Good luck to Hayley with the 5K. I am excited for you all.
Hayley and I had a great run yesterday. It was Hayley's longest run ever (10 miles) and my fastest in a while (11 miles in 2:23)! I tried mixing my honey with water at Hayley's suggestion and it worked really well. I take that instead of GU because it is much cheaper. We also saw Mitzi, Larry, Judy, and another regular trail walker. It was fun to be out. I'm looking forward to the Ogden half-marathon in about a month.

8 thoughts

Dear readers,

It's Kristin!

1.  No that was not me that posted the pregnancy post ("Running with Baby") recently.  Nor was it Danna.  We've received some hilarious and angry responses from friends (i.e., You're pregnant!?!?!  And this is how I find out?  Your blog?!).  It's Suzy!

2.  If you are a person who prays, pray for my foot this weekend, will you?  (The race!)  Right now, say a little prayer in your heart...go on...

3.  Why does Blogger mess up when you try to push the enter key to skip to the next line.  Anyone relate?  Super annoying.

4.  Danna and I registered for another marathon in the fall!  This is a BIG deal for us.  I won't say which marathon so as to keep you in suspense.  It's a really cool one.  And out of state too!  Hope we get in- it's very popular.  I am confident that we will get in.  

5.  I accidentally posted last night when I added something to my on-going list of blogging ideas.  What a nerd- I'm totally embarrassed!  Now you know all my inner thoughts and future posts- try to forget this ever happened, K?

6.  Danna got in-grown toenail "mini-surgery" yesterday from her podiatrist!  Yes, YESTERDAY!  And she's planning to race with me Saturday.  (Do another prayer in your heart, k?)

7.  I didn't run today.  Curse early morning meetings at work!  And now I feel fat and frustrated.  And frustrated and stressed about many other things in life, so I really NEED a run.  But tomorrow there's another meeting.  Looks like my next run is the half marathon.  Well, I hope my PF enjoys the rest at least.

8.  If I can't run, at least I can blog.  Which makes me feel a part of that runner/blogger community and is comforting.  (Only then I look at your blogs and get a big of mileage envy.  But I'm happy for you.  And I wish healthy feet upon ye.

Happy running or resting.

XOXO

~K

Race week and Giveaway winner!

It's Kristin.

This weekend is the SLC half-marathon and I'm hoping my body gets over this sluggish period by Saturday.  This will be our first race this year!  My husband Matt is all signed up and registered but not ready and having some knee issues so that registration may go straight down the drain.  Oh well!  He's thinking of just starting the race and running as long as he feels good.  But dropping out mid race may be complicated.  How do you get back to the car?  Walk?  :)  Danna and her mom and sister are running it too.  I've heard this race is not very organized so that should be interesting.  

  My friends, I have a new relationship in my life.  The Strassburg sock.  I have been wearing it every night for almost a week.  I have not yet reached my full conclusions on the sock but will be in-touch.  I have also been inspired by this blog and am considering running barefoot after this race!  Crazy as it sounds, I think it may help my PF!

Thanks for all those who participated in the giveaway!  I love the running/blogging community.
As for the winner- random.org selected comment # 18- and the winner is:  

Mikelle!!!  

Congratulations!!  I'm sure you're going to love all this stuff, since I know you're a poor college student/runner.  One load of laundry soap is solid gold in college, right?  Ha ha!

XOXO

~K

Some girls chase boys- I pass them!

 It's Kristin.

Tomorrow is the last day to enter our giveaway!  It ends at midnight so do your entries and I wish you luck!  Don't forget- leave a separate comment for each entry.  I am so excited to see all the new followers!  It's been fun checking out all your blogs and reading your comments.

Yes, I passed a couple of guys on the trail today.  Feelin' proud.

What a beautiful day!  I absolutely love it.  I saw so many people out and about with dogs, canoes, running shoes, bikes.  It feels so right.  I even took my warm up to the dog park and walked around looking at all the dogs.  Interesting people watching too!

It was rough running in the heat again.  I ran at about 3 pm.  I was running into the wind for half of it too which really felt like it was slowing me down.  Body's still a little sluggish since last weeks long run (14 miles).

Running alone can be so good for my head.  I get a rush of ideas, I sort out my thoughts, I silence all the chatter in my head, and I run at my own pace.  I used to need music to keep me going, but now it just seems to clutter my run and my pace and I don't need it!  I like to hear the birds chirping and the river flowing. I sound so cheesy!  It's the runner's high talking I think.  Yea for weekends and 68 degree weather!

Happy running.

XOXO

~K

Running with Baby

As Kristin mentioned in her last post, I am expecting a baby! First, do any of you have any experience or helpful hints to running while pregnant? It has been an interesting challenge for me to figure out how much jogging I can do and have the baby be healthy. At first, I was trying to keep my heart rate under 150 bpm. I finally asked my doctor and she told me not to worry about that. She said to keep really hydrated(curse my small pregnancy bladder!) and watch out for running in the heat. So in the last week my speed has increased a bit and my heart rate has been between 150-165 when I am going my hardest. I did 10 miles yesterday, 7 of which were Hayley (bless her for getting up way before the sun shines to come with me). I plan on running in the Ogden Marathon in a month. It has been good to have a goal because my natural state during pregnancy is laying down on the couch.

The wimpy half of the orange.

Don't miss our giveaway...which is about to end!!

Well, today's run was rough.  Have you ever felt like the partner that holds your friend back from running at her true speed and distance potential?  Well that is me all the way.  I know D won't like me writing this, but she has done tons of speed, distance, and hill training the last few months, and I'm pretty sure she's ready for a whole new level of running partners.  Not that I'm going to allow that to happen or anything!!  Don't get any ideas, D.  I think she's at the verge of doing "high knees" during the runs now.

When I started running back in Jr. High, I ran with my friend Krissy Rosser.  We would run almost ever day just a mile or 2, and it was the same deal.  I know Krissy could've done double the speed and distance easily.  But she ran with whiny, wimpy me anyway!  She got me into running in the first place.  I dedicate this blog entry to you, Kris!  I remember she dragged me to my first race- an 800 meter on the H.S. track.  I wore my Keds and my levi overalls and came in dead last of course.  I think Krissy won which was very common.  She even decided a few years ago to do her first marathon.  She didn't even train- she just basically showed up and rocked it and felt great!  You suck, Krissy.  She was born to run.  I was not, but I run anyway because of what it does for me. 

Anyway, in Chile, people referred to their spouses as "the other half of my orange."  Kindof the Spanish version of our, "my better half."  I thought it was so cute to think of you and your honey as 2 halfs of an orange.  But in D's and my partnership the halfs aren't matching up lately.  My half is shriveled and discolored a bit.  And has PF.  Danna almost daily wither gets up before I do to run hills till I show up, or keeps running hills after I leave.  I mean, I have no desire to do those hills and extra miles right now, but she's getting fast and strong, people.  And I don't like it one bit.  Suzy's pregnant but will surely be back to kicking my booty in the summer.  Hayley is gaining speed faster than should be possible.  And me?  I'm the mediocre runner these days. 

Well, if I could just get rid of this blasted PF!!!  I got my Strassburg sock today and will give an update soon!  I've been reading so much about PF lately- it's ridiculous.  I'm think of even doing a little barefoot running.  I know it seems counter-intuitive, but what I've read about the impact on PF is very compelling. 

Anyway, happy running! 
XOXO
~K

New girl, big run, little secret

PS: Check out our recent giveaway!

So there's a new girl who joined our little running group recently.  Allow me to introduce cute little Hayley.  She and I ran 8 miles together today ( I did a total of 14).  Always nice to break up the run with friends.  Hayley and I gabbed about running plans, life story-type stuff...and then we confessed.  Sometimes running makes us feel...bloated.  Do you guys relate?  I mean, could it be the sugar?  The agitation of bouncing along?  The metabolizing?  Or maybe it's not running related at all?  We need advice, runners.  Or at the very least, I'm wanting a little validation and reassurance. 

Hayley:

This was my longest long run since the Marathon back in October!  I'm so proud- my foot really held up well!  I've been trying to run more on my mid-foot lately which seems to help.  Eat it, PF!!  During the run I tried the GU Chomps for the first time and loved themmmm!  Much easier, cleaner, and yummier!  I thought they tasted like a really great fruit snack.  I'm a fan-- goodbye gels!  I also ran a couple miles with a random gentleman on the trail.  He gave me some great advice.  One of those veteran runners who's done every race out there and loved all my questions.  We're tight now.  I also found it interesting that he too runs with pepper spray.  Keeps it right in his hand, finger on the trigger!  He says he's used it several times on charging dogs.  Hmm.  Hayley and I later ran into him and he convinced us to look into the Hobble Creek half marathon- apparently the best in UT.  Anyone done it?

Well, after the run I'm just feeling great!  I felt well prepared for it, the air was clean and refreshing, Hayley and I commented that the wildlife sounds in the air were great!  And the ducks are so funny to watch as they waddle around the grass.  The book I just finished- Committed- described ducks as "walking around, muttering to each other about the latest duck scandal."  That's exactly what it seems like- I love it.  I did get cold on the run.  My bum was so numb I didn't even realize my red Gatorade had dripped all down my shirt and pants (I've washed my white stuff twice today...with both sports wash and stain sprays and can't get it out!)

Today I also watched General Conference and it was fabulous!  Matt and I hung out and lounged around the house.  Conference weekends are my favorite!  We also ate tons of Easter candy and have decided Milky Way eggs are the best.

Happy Easter!
~K

The report from this morning...

So we ran this morning in the snow.  It was a nice run!  Once a blog I like had a little post about running in the snow.  I thought it summed it up perfectly.  I always remember the line "we relish running through the stillness."  I think it describes a winter run in the snow so well!  The way the snow absorbs all the sound, the snow crunches under your feet.  This morning there were even a bunch of birds chirping.  Danna, Hayley and I recently commented that winter running has shortened the winter for us, and made the weather tolerable and even...lovely.  Don't get me wrong- can't WAIT for Spring!  And even more- Summer!  I am a warm weather woman through and through.  But winter running has grown on me to the point that I now, well, hate winter less.  :)  

Okay, so I tried out the Stabilicers as noted in my previous post.  They really stay on nicely.  I thought they were comfy too!  They make a nice little clicky, crunchy sound when you walk which I thought was fun.  Fun in the same way it's fun to wear tap shoes on a stage.  It's got that gratifying click.  There was no chance of slipping with these babies on.  Bottom line- I love em!  I took them off mid run when the trail was clear and they just peel right off.  They look easier to keep clean than Yak Trax, and they have better reviews online in general!  They come in a nice little zip-up plastic bag too.  Thank you so much Heather for the recommendation and sample!  I'll re-post about them at the beginning of next winter too, but now that the season is over, this is a great time to buy them for cheaper!  Check out 32North.

Well, my friends, happy running!  Do a nice long run on Saturday, drink some chocolate milk, and ice those lower extremities.  Hope to see you on the trail!  I've got 14 miles to do and Danna's OOT.  Hope old PF can handle it.

XOXO

~K

PS:  Check out my new widgets- the books I'm reading/have read, the local temp., and the countdown.  Fun!
PPS:  Check out our giveaway!