Phoenix Marathon 1/2

As Kristin said, this race was great!  I was a little worried that it would be chaos (packet pickup was!) since it was the inaugural year.  Turns out, it was a fun race, with lots of great swag, and PRs all around. 

The Phoenix Marathon (1/2 course)

First, the course.  It was great.  Beautiful scenery starting at Usery and heading down hill for 3 miles.  Then it leveled out and stayed level or slightly downhill for much of the remaining 10 miles.  The only challenges on the course were some stretches that were directly into the wind (luckily the wind was pretty mild, but you could definitely feel it when you were running into it).  And, there were some hills in the last 2 miles that felt tough, but were probably not as bad as we thought they were (but coming off all the downhills and being the end of the race they felt tough). 

Second, the weather.  It was perfect.  It definitely felt cool while we were waiting at the starting area.  They had some campfires set up so we could stay warm.  However, once we started running, the cool air felt wonderful.  I loved the temps throughout the race and I felt fully comfortable running! 

Another Medal and another PR!

Sunrise at the starting line

Third, other race logistics.  It wasn't crowded.  There was plenty of room on the course.  I didn't feel like I was adding extra mileage dodging other runners.  Additionally, there were plenty of port a potties at the starting area.  So, I could use the potty just before the race started and I didn't have to stop on the course.  This was huge--the last couple of races I ran I lost between 5 and 10 minutes waiting in line to use a port a potty.  It was nice not to have to worry about that.  The race crew also did a nice job of keeping water, powerade, and gels stocked at all the aid stations.  The finish wasn't too crowded or chaotic and there were lots of goodies to be had (even cotton candy!!). 

The other great part about this race was that I got an awesome PR--2:12!  I've been chasing 2:15 for my last couple of halfs and I was happy to beat it on Saturday.  This PR is about 9 minutes faster than my previous PR.  It's also a almost a full hour faster than the first half marathon I ran 6 years ago.  It's crazy to think of how far I've come since then. 

Also, I placed 11th for the Athenas!  Not too shabby overall.  Next big race-Marquee 1/2 Iron Tri!!

Phoenix half marathon

Wanted:

Bandits!!

Yep, we did it. Jumped in and ran the Phoenix half without paying. But hey, I would have gladly paid for it, but they sold out a month and a half ago.

This was the BEST half I've ever done! The course was almost entirely down hill, nice, decently staffed, and the finish line goodies were amazing. I wouldn't know since I didn't pay, but apparently the goodie bags that were given at number pick ups were pretty sweet too.

So I got a PR of 1:48:49! I'm very happy with that, especially considering my legs are still tired from the Ultra Ragnar last weekend. But this is all in the name of training for the Utah Valley Marathon in June where I'm hoping I can do it under 4:00.

And IRONMAN... training starts in a month!! Right when final prep, and paper writing will be in full swing. :(

Oh, and if you didn't hear about Ironman New Zealand this weekend, it was postponed a day due to a storm, and then they were only able to offer a 70.3 to the athletes. I have a friend who went down there for that. I'm crossing my fingers that nothing like that happens to us!!

Follow me!

Hey all! I'm on twitter and you can follow me at @ndnjd

I do more retweeting than originals posting, but I'm starting to pick it up. I follow mainly NASCAR and triathlon folks, but I also follow Oprah, Rosie and Gayle King too.

I'm using hashtag #ironmoms2012 too for tweets relating to us.

I'm baaaaaaaack!!!

As one of my favorite movie lines goes, I bet you were wondering, "Now why don't she write???" Ha ha. Well I have probably one of the lamest excuses - the space bar on my laptop broke. I could still write stuff but MAN it is a pain! For my birthday, my dad got me a Kindle fire and I love love LOVE it!

So....how's the training going you ask? It's going. I've. Been riding and made February a month to appreciate running. I can appreciate it. Still working on the "love" affair part. I have a partner, however, on my learning to tolerate running though. Lance Armstrong himself has a hard time with running too. So that figure I'm in good company. : )

Still need to register for races. I'm afraid that time is going to be getting away from me here soon. My plan though is for Marquees OLY, SOMA for the half-Iron. I'm gonna join Kate for a distance race in July in San Diego.

Ragnar

Kim with Ragnar teammates Mary Jane and Brynne

Kate's right--February has flown by. It's hard to believe that Ironman is only 8 months away!
I ran Ragnar this past weekend. For those of you who are not familiar with Ragnar, it's a 12 person relay race where each runner runs 3 legs of the race over the 24-30 hour period. The Del Sol race runs from Wickenburg to Tempe.

This is the 2nd year I've run Del Sol (I ran Great River MN/WI a couple years ago). My first leg was about 5 miles and was during the hottest part of the day on Friday. It did not go well. I overheated and was sick. I did recover and my 3.3 mile night run about 12 hours later went great! My final run on Saturday afternoon was also about 3.3 miles and went well despite the heat.

As is the Ragnar norm, all of this was done on about an hour's sleep!! This year I decided not to follow Ragnar with a tri on Sunday morning. :) So I was able to recover and rest. I actually felt pretty good the next day. As one of my teammates said--my leg must've been too easy for me.

And, our other Ironmom, Kristin, ran on an ultra team (only 6 runners instead of 12!). She's amazing.
I am looking forward to the Phoenix 1/2 marathon on Saturday!!

"Women of Your Age"

Hey ladies!  I thought I would report in.  Can you believe it is almost March already?!  How did that happen? 

Since I last wrote I ran another half Marathon.  I ran a race called the Lost Dutchman.  It was awesome.  It was a small race out in Apache Junction.  Most of the run you are running toward Superstition Springs Mountain.  Verry Pretty. I highly recommend it.

I ran with my bro-in-law Peter again again.  This time we ran 4:1s instead of 3:1s.  I felt much strong than the last race.  I ended up taking 10 minutes off my time.  I still wasn't rocket fast but my final time was 2:37.  I felt pretty good. 

I'm hitting a spin class twice a week during work and getting a long ride in on the weekend.  I am not close to ready for a Half Ironman.  I looked at my training from 2010 and I was much farther along than i am now.  I feel much more balanced than I did the first time but that might not equal great training.  We shall see. 

One more thing, I have a fitness guy at work that is helping to keep me on track.  He is actually doing a workplace wellness program and he knows I'm training for the Ironman.  He makes sure I'm not slacking and heckles me if I slack.  Thursday he said "Women of YOUR Age" need strength training.  He said my body is losing muscle and bone density.  If I don't replace it my metabolism will slow way down.  I was thankful for his tip and offended I was THAT age!  Ugh.  Oh well.  At least I'm trying. 

SWIM!  BIKE! RUN!

 

Training?!

Can you believe that we are already a week into February?  Time is already flying by in 2012.  I am trying to recover from a cold (colds really) that has plagued me since the first week in December.  Every time I think I'm recovered, I seem to get a new bug.  So, I have spent the better part of the last 2 weeks focusing on getting rest.  It also means that my training has taken a pretty big hit. 

In order to be ready to hit the ground running when I start my "official" Ironman training regimen, I want to lose some lbs and so I have been learning about training for weight loss v. training for performance.  Now, I have to admit I haven't really looked at training with a specific goal other than to get in better shape.  I have been frustrated when the numbers on the scale don't reflect my efforts in the gym.  I am finding that I am getting my heart rate too high for too long to train for weight loss.  I am learning how to better maximize my work out for my goal of losing weight.  So, as a result here are my new training goals for February and March:

1.) Eat more calories, but choose healthier calories--my body thinks I'm starving so it's holding on to weight I want to lose.
2.) Lift more weights--more muscle=greater calorie burn.
3.) Focus on heart rate during cardio workouts--try to stay in the "fat burning" zone.
4.) Be o.k. with slower times in upcoming races (Ragnar, Phoenix 1/2)--since I'm training for weight loss I might lose ground with performance a bit.
5.) Train intervals--weight loss can be enhanced by incorporating more interval training into a workout regimen

Now, it's time to get on track and start moving!