CIM Recap, The Real Deal

Let’s get right down to it. It’s gonna be a long one. For lessons learned, etc, scroll to the bottom:

I woke up at 3:45am on race morning before my alarm went off with this cheesy message: “Let’s DO this!” Despite the forecast for the worst, I knew it was going to be a great day. I braved the wind and rain to get my coffee at the Starbucks on the corner of our hotel. The Starbucks was set to open earlier than usual for the marathoners, 4am, and when the employees saw the long line of people waiting in the rain for their cup of joe, they opened 10 minutes earlier. THANK YOU STARBUCKS EMPLOYEES!

Back in the room with my Tall Blonde, I ate a plain bagel with almond butter and drank a bunch of water. When I got dressed, I noticed the Oiselle tattoos I applied the night before were destroyed. That’s what I get for applying tattoos on lotion-y legs. Darn!

Jason and I left the room just before 5am so we could head over to the Sheraton, just a few blocks away, to catch the busses to the start. The marathon starts in Folsom and ends in Sacramento. It’s about a 45 minute bus ride to the start.

On the way out, we took another elevator mirror pic.

We got on the 4th bus in the big row of busses. They were playing Christmas music. Jason and I started singing along, then went to cracking jokes and laughing hysterically. We talked the whole way and kept the tone light. I had maybe 2% excited nervousness, 98% happy-go-lucky.

bus to start of CIM

The busses were really hot and I was layered up in Oiselle outerwear so I had to slide my arms out of my funnel neck top and pull my pant legs up to my knees. Ahhh, much better. Time for another sibling pic! Jason seriously looks how he did in middle school in this photo!

After the blinding camera flash in the dark bus, I decided to check the weather at the start line. I took a screen shot. I don’t think I need to explain anything. You know we were going to be running into the wind and the race started at 7am…

california international marathon weather 2012

When we arrived, we walk/jogged through the rain looking for the elite tents. We found them after 4 failed attempts. They had a lot of tents around, it was dark, and in the rain and wind, it was much harder to find than it would be on a clear morning. We went straight into the porta potties where the toilet paper was so moist it was swollen. Made for a soft, slightly damp wiping experience though, so that was cool…

When I got into the elite tent, and boy was I happy there was an elite tent, I noticed my Raynaud’s problem was starting.

I had cotton throwaway gloves but knew they would be soaked before the gun went off. Thankfully, I saw a box of latex gloves sitting on the table. I put them on over my “throwaway” gloves and ended up wearing them the whole race. It was the best my hands have ever felt during a race! Perfect temp! (Though I did rub my under-eyes raw during the race without knowing it. With the rain I was constantly wiping my eyes and I guess latex and sensitive eye skin don’t work well together.)

Ok, onto the real deal. Time to race!

I planned to run as much of the marathon as I could with my friend Mason. Mason was in incredible shape, but I figured I could stay with him for 16 miles and after that he would probably cruise along to a great finish as I survived the final 10 miles. That was the plan in my head anyway. When I went to the starting line, we immediately spotted each other, gave some “let’s get pumped up!” hugs, hand squeezes, etc, and got our game faces on. I also saw my Oiselle teammates Allison, Stacy, and Marci on the starting line. We all looked cold, wet, and focused.

The race was off and the first mile went by with no problems. (Other than the rain, which felt like sharp pellets in my eyes even though it wasn’t sleet or hail. It was knocking my contacts down each time it landed on them and I would blink to push the contact back in place. This continued the whole race.) I wore my Garmin so I could have splits post-race, but decided I wouldn’t look at it. With my training and the weather, I was just going to run by feel. The miles clicked by, Mason a step ahead of me most of the time. Sometimes we would run side by side, and maybe there was a mile or two where he ran behind me, but for the first half, we just ran, exchanged words, shared Nuun bottles, and enjoyed each other’s company.

I couldn’t help but feel so thankful for all the volunteers out on the course. What we were doing was EASY compared to their day of standing in the wind and rain, helping us achieve our goals. THANK YOU CIM VOLUNTEERS AND SPECTATORS! I also couldn’t help but feel thankful for Mason. His presence made me feel relaxed and comfortable, exactly what I needed the first 13.1.

At the half point, I looked at my Garmin for the first time. I saw we were right around 1:25:40, EXACTLY where we wanted to be. My calves started cramping, tightening, showing the first signs of failure at mile 11, but other than that I felt good. I was optimistic. Then I had a problem grabbing my “special needs bottle” at mile 13.3 followed by a problem picking up a GU from a volunteer and lost a good 10 seconds (I actually stopped trying to get both items and in the end, the GU flew off the course into the grass and I didn’t get it anyway.) I had a quick thought of pity for myself. I knew I would need that GU soon and I wasn’t sure when the next one would be available.

I snapped myself out of my pity party and continued on. Alone. In fact, other than passing a few people and a few passing me, I was alone the rest of the race. I usually had no one 20 meters on either side of me. I was alone with my thoughts.

On the flight to Sacramento, I had read Duel in the Sun and remembered reading about Alberto Salazar’s faith. He mentioned praying on flights, in the car, on his daily runs. Though I don’t remember ever praying on a run in my life, I spent many of my marathon miles talking to God. The prayers gave me strength, passed the time, kept me hopeful. I also thought about where my little brother was on the course. I imagined him running strong through the same elements I was facing. It filled me with joy. I had a feeling he was feeling as good as me. (Turns out, he was doing great!)

I don’t remember when I found the next GUs after missing the one at 13, but I think it might have been around mile 17. It was vanilla flavored and I had to stop at the table, ask a volunteer if they had any, and wait for her to get one and give it to me. A few seconds spared there were more important than minutes spent after a bonk. She gave me a vanilla flavored GU, and just like the one I took around mile 9, I took it without fluids. I just put a little squirt in my mouth, opened my mouth to the rain until it formed more of a liquid and swallowed it.

At mile 20, they had a brick wall poster on both sides of the street, like we were running right through the wall instead of hitting it. I was ecstatic to not have any feelings of hitting the wall. Around mile 21, volunteers were handing out GU again. I took 2 by accident. One was Espresso Love, the other was Strawberry Banana. I went with the caffeine and put the other in my back pocket. At this point, I knew I was going to make it. I knew I was going to be sub-3 (my goal) and I was feeling better than I have ever felt at that point in a marathon! The pain in my calves was getting more intense, but I knew it wasn’t enough to stop me from finishing happily.

The last few miles were just maintaining, trying to keep myself under 7:30 mile pace. Usually, by the end of a marathon, my pace slows drastically (hello 8:30 pace) and I just wanted to keep my miles as steady as possible, no slower than 7:30. I checked my watch on a few of the miles and saw I was just over 7 min pace and I told myself to just keep pushing.

With 2 miles to go, I knew I was going to be way under my goal of sub 3. I got excited. I joyfully ran the last few miles and couldn’t wait to see how Jason and Mason finished. Right when I crossed the finish line, Mason was waiting and we hugged! It was such a good feeling to know he had a PR (2:51!) and I ran my 3rd fastest of my 8 marathons (2:54!).

I was given a medal, offered chocolate milk (which I declined-lactose) and given the finishers blanket. Some people started asking Mason and me about the course. He, in a better state-of-mind having finished a few minutes earlier, knew we were being interviewed for TV. I had no idea until about a minute in when I saw the microphone. I assumed we were talking to race volunteers. I blame the marathon haze effects on the brain.

I found my brother in the Sutter House where they had the elites and found he placed 4th and got $1000! Woohoo! He took a picture of Mason and me.

Jason forced me to eat from the breakfast buffet they had for us and I’m glad he did. Though I wasn’t hungry, I think it helped me recover quickly. After I changed out of my wet clothes and had breakfast, we got sibling massages. PAINFUL sibling massages. Nothing was fun about this, but we figured our muscles would thank us later.

After the massages, we went to our room to shower and hang a bit, then went to the elite room for some more food and drinks. An hour later we attended the awards ceremony where Jason was awarded with his check. He is pictured below with 5th place finisher, Nick Arciniaga.

A few points of interest, things I learned…

You know, I never wanted to run a marathon. The only reason I ran my first in 2004 is because I wanted to impress my new boyfriend who is now my husband. We both ran Seattle as our first marathon. I was more into heavy weight lifting at the time, was running 3 days a week, and said I’d never run another. Well, I did run a few more, as this was my 8th marathon and it was my favorite because I felt good the whole time. I’ve always felt like a mid-distance girl who is forcing marathons. Now I truly feel like I have a future in the marathon.

At first, I was shocked to run so fast given my short buildup and my half-hearted training, but thinking about it, I’ve been running all year so I was only lacking in workouts and long runs, but I had a great base. And I was in awesome shape last year which I know means something.

This marathon gave me the opportunity to do new things like fuel the way I have always wanted to – the way that always scared me with my sensitive stomach. I ended up taking a GU with caffeine 15 minutes pre-race, another GU with caffeine around mile 9, a GU without caffeine around maybe mile 17, and a GU with caffeine around mile 21. I drank a few sips of Nuun at 4 locations, took powerade and/or water at every station except the last one (so 16 stations) and my stomach felt great.

My mile splits were the most consistent they’ve ever been. Yes, they consistently got slower, but I never completely fell apart as shown below:

  • 1:   6:09
  • 2:   6:15
  • 3:   6:10
  • 4:   6:15
  • 5:   6:20
  • 6:   6:22
  • 7:   6:29
  • 8:   6:35
  • 9:   6:42
  • 10: 6:34
  • 11: 6:34
  • 12: 6:29
  • 13: 6:31
  • 14: 6:37
  • 15: 6:34
  • 16: 6:25
  • 17: 6:30
  • 18: 6:45
  • 19: 6:49
  • 20: 6:55
  • 21: 7:03
  • 22: 7:17
  • 23: 7:08
  • 24: 7:10
  • 25: 7:00
  • 26: 7:07
  • 1:49

People always say don’t do anything new before the marathon. Well, here’s my list of old, normal things:

  • Oiselle racing kit
  • Shoes
  • Brand/amount coffee
  • Breakfast
  • Healthy
  • Confidence
And here’s my list of NEW things for this race:
  • Fueling during race – I will continue this in the future!
  • Crazy weather – I would prefer nicer weather and a tailwind! :)
  • Friend to run with first half of race – I would love this for the future!
  • Stayed in a hotel night before – This was nice, but I like my own bed.
  • Raced against super elites (there were big names, super speedy people running. I never felt so slow with a sub 3 hour marathon!) – Want to do more of this!
  • Training – Would definitely like a longer training cycle next time!
  • Actually got sleep, 10 hours 2 nights out, maybe 8-9 night before. – This was great!
  • Ran last half of race totally alone – It worked out ok but it’s nice to have people around.
  • Lots of laughs, much more than usual in days leading up to race – Would love to spend days leading up to marathon with my siblings for future races!
  • Completely cut out dairy in 3 days leading up to race – I will definitely do this in the future!
  • Latex gloves over throw aways – I will do this in the future!
  • Travel east coast to west – Loved the time difference. Getting up at 4am (7am) was easy!
So there you have it! A recap of the marathon that made me feel like a true marathoner! I can’t wait to see where I will go next with this distance!

 

 

ShowerPill to the Rescue!

Many of my days involve a morning workout with no shower until the evening. Here are two common scenarios:

  • I get started on my run later than expected. I get home the second Jeff has to leave for work.
  • I have a morning and evening run on the schedule, and I don’t want to take a shower until my exercise is completed for the day.

I always have something planned within 30 minutes of finishing my run. Because of that, I’m usually rushing around, spilling coffee everywhere, trying to get Currie and myself presentable enough to face the world and our day. I must admit that many days, I change clothes, throw on some deodorant, and hope the little lady naps so I can shower before 9pm. I go through the day feeling grungy, grimy, just plain dirty.

I recently found dry shampoo which has been a wonderful solution for my hair. As far as my body goes, I’ve been known to use baby wipes (flimsy, sticky, tiny) or a wet washcloth (not exactly doing much) to clean up a bit. Just a few days ago, a little thing called ShowerPill came into my life and I’m in love!

ShowerPill

Cue heavenly music

What is a ShowerPill? Well, it isn’t a shower and it isn’t a pill. It’s an Athletic Body Wipe that  comes in a convenient little package that you can take with you anytime, anywhere. Each ShowerPill is:

  • An individually wrapped Athletic Body Wipe, conveniently packaged for on-the-go use.
  • Thick, durable, 9×8 inches of body-freshening goodness
  • Germ killing, but safe on sensitive skin (like mine) infused with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E.
  • Dries quickly on it’s own, no extra drying, no residue, no lingering scent.
  • Very light scent that reminds me of something from my childhood. I can’t think of what it reminds me of, but it’s very pleasant.

I was ready to put the ShowerPill to the test on my double run day. Here’s how it went down, in picture form:

showerpill

Sitting in my own version of Pigeon Pose post-run, ready to rip into the ShowerPill

showerpill

Open up!

showerpill

Where should I start?

showerpill

The face, definitely the face first!

showerpill

Getting a little race (ha), we’ll end with this shot.

Of course a real shower is always best, but for times when I really need to freshen up and don’t have time (or not near a shower) I have to say I’m 100% satisfied with the ShowerPill! It was the perfect size, cleaned my whole body, left no residue, left no scent, was extremely durable, and made me feel clean until my second run 11 hours later.

ShowerPill is having a Black Friday Sale on Amazon from 11/23-11/25 for Buy two (2), get one (1) FREE! You just place 3 boxes in your cart and enter the code SPFRIDAY to receive the 3rd box free. I will definitely take advantage of that deal from the comfort of my couch, pajamas (or running clothes) on, coffee in hand!

All opinions on this blog are ALWAYS my own. I was given the ShowerPill samples through my relationship with FitFluential and truly love the product! I hope you do too!

 

 

 

This Feels Like Cheating

A post about a crazy runner mind!

I’m very honest with my training. I log my miles down to the 0.01. If there’s ever a question, I round down. I never want to look back at my training and have any questions, any doubts. I always KNOW I did AT LEAST what my training log says. In my normal life, I like to exaggerate, or “add a little flair” to my stories. With my training, it’s the opposite, always recorded exactly or downplayed. It gives me confidence looking back, knowing I did every single workout at least as well as stated, most likely better.

running log

Snippet of my online running log, down to the 0.01

So as part of my crazy little runner mind, there are a few totally normal things I do that feel like “cheating” to me. The one I want to address today is: wearing racing flats for workouts.

Nothing about wearing flats for workouts is cheating. In fact, it’s common practice. Still, I like to do my workouts, even track workouts, in my regular training shoes. Then when I’m done with the workout, I can look back at my splits and say, “wow, and I did all that in regular trainers!” In my crazy runner mind, training shoes add a second or two per lap on the track. I leave those workouts feeling confident, fast, super tough, knowing when it’s race time and I’m in flats, I’m totally golden.

Then there are workouts like last night. I had a great workout on the track. My paces were faster than expected. The workout felt easier than expected. I left the track feeling like I had more to give. Like I could have run more repeats, at the same pace. Everything was clicking. But… I wore my flats for the workout. So this tiny little voice in my head was saying “well of course it was fast, you were wearing flats! You were cheating!”

new balance 1400 racing flats

My current racing flats

Thinking about this, I know it doesn’t make sense! I’m laughing right now just writing it. I race in racing flats, why not train in them? I’m not cutting a course, I’m not dropping out of part of the workout, I’m just wearing the same shoes that I wear when I’m racing. Yet somehow it feels like cheating. Maybe sharing this crazy little thing with you will help me realize it’s ok.

What do you think? Do you do workouts in lightweight shoes like racing flats? Do you have any crazy runner “things” that are normal but feel like cheating? 

Racing Update – Next Goal

Quite a few people have been asking “What’s next Jen? What are you training for?” I finally have an answer for you. I’m running California International Marathon!

California International Marathon

Picture straight from the CIM website… oooooo… ahhhhh….

As my “year of no marathons” was coming to a close, I started to feel a little sad about 2012 being an empty marathon year. The Columbus Marathon on October 21st would mark my one-year-away date. Just a week before that half, I was having a rough time personally and decided to medicate with more running. I started plotting a potential December marathon. It worked perfectly with my “train through Columbus half” plan. I applied for the elite field at CIM and told myself if I was accepted, I would run. The email response came after my long run on October 14th. I tweeted about it.

Just got an interesting email. #exciting #purposelyvaguetweets

Yes, I was accepted into the elite field. Very cool. Also, I was feeling extremely out-of-MARATHON-shape.

That was a rough 17 miles, but it was 17 miles!

I almost died (drama queen) doing 17 miles. It could be because I had been running 30-40 miles a week with an 8-10 mile long run most weekends up until that week. Then I applied for the marathon and got fired up and decided to run 60 miles with a 17 miler to finish up the week. #ouch

Maybe you wondered why I ran Columbus Half as a training run if I had no bigger race coming up. Or maybe you wondered why I was feeling insane enough to do a workout after my 5k race this weekend.

2nd place in the 5k. off for remainder of workout now.

Well, now you know.

I’m not out of shape. I have a good base. I was doing 12-13 mile long runs all summer along with lots of stroller running. I even did a 17 mile long run for fun one day in Seattle this summer. As you can see from my recent race recaps, I’m not in PR shape, but I’m in pretty good shape from 5k-half marathon. You saw in my Goals and Believing post that I’ve been working on hip/glute/hamstring strength in the month of October so I’m feeling strong. (More on how the month of strength went in a post later this week.)

believe i am journal

It’s all going in my Believe I Am training journal

The question is… how ready can I be for this marathon on December 2nd? I had 7 weeks until marathon day when I started training. That leaves about 5 weeks until taper… maybe 6 if I make it a short taper. In an attempt to remain injury free, my plan is to run 60-69 miles per week for the next 3 weeks with one workout and one long run. The other days will be easy so I can recover.

marathon pace chart

Hello old friend!

I will be ready for this marathon. Will I be PR ready? Not likely. Will I be ready to have fun AND run fast? Yes! I will be racing with a friend whose goal is slightly faster than mine. I will dig deep. I will be tough. I will see what I’m made of.

Why CIM?

  • My brother Jason Ordway will be running and it’s good family bonding time.
post race massage, columbus marathon

We bonded over post-race massage and a family cool down the last time we raced together!

  • Lots of my Oiselle Team birdies will be racing. I love a good meetup.
  • Other friends will be running.
  • Not many big marathons in December and I like the big race feel for 26.2 distance.
  • A history of great running weather usually ranging from 40-60 degrees F.
  • Strong field of runners.

So here I go! This is going to be exciting!

What’s your shortest marathon buildup? How did you do?

 

ME Monday – Smoothie Addiction

If you follow me on Twitter (@jenbigham) you know I’m addicted to smoothies. I make one almost every day. Berry/fruit smoothies, green smoothies, protein smoothies – I love them all and switch it up often. I love drinking smoothies post-run.

green smoothie

My little helper add spinach and mixing up a green smoothie.

This is not a food/recipe blog, but I’ve had a lot of questions about my almond milk smoothies, so I thought I’d share here. For the past 6 months, my family has been hooked on this smoothie which involves just 4 simple ingredients (plus optional ice, so I suppose you could say 5 ingredients).

almond milk smoothie ingredients

I just throw the ingredients together to my liking, and I think that’s the best way to do it. You really can’t mess up the ratios here. But, for those who need amounts, you can read below to see approximately what I use.

toddler making smoothies

Currie is going to town on the cinnamon. She loves to help.

Almond Milk Smoothies! (makes 2 adult glasses, plus a toddler serving)

  • 2 cups almond milk (I initially used the vanilla flavor but have switched to unsweetened.)
  • 2 frozen bananas (keeps it nice and cold, more like a milkshake)
  • 3 huge spoonfuls of almond butter/peanut butter
  • Cinnamon – I let Currie do this part, and she often pours way too much in, but it has never ruined the flavor. So sprinkle away!
  • 2-4 ice cubes, optional

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend well, at least 30 seconds. Then pour into cups and enjoy! We like to drink these from tall wine glasses with colorful straws. And if I make too much, I pour the extra into popsicle molds and Currie and I enjoy it as popsicles later! YUM! Enjoy!

Almond milk smoothies

Finished product from today!

What’s your favorite smoothie? Tell me about your weekend of running. Any racing? 

 

Scare Away Brain Cancer Race Recap 2012

I ran the Scare Away Brain Cancer 5k today, and was 2nd female in 17:39. I didn’t know it at the time, but the woman who beat me, by about 2 seconds, was Canadian steeplechaser Dana Buchanan (10:02 steepler and winner of Canadian Olympic Trials). I didn’t know she was living here in Rochester, but am excited for another speedster in town!

scare away brain cancer 2012

Peace… and second place.

Last night Jeff and I were able to go out to dinner because my in-laws were in town for the night. While I wanted to eat some pasta at home like I usually do for 5k distance, I also wanted to take advantage of the night and eat at one of our favorite restaurants The Owl House. So, out to dinner we went. I knew this would come back to haunt me. I had water, vegan bruschetta, and the Buffalo Stance sandwich (which is like a buffalo chicken sandwich but vegan – spicy seitan sandwich).

We got home and Currie was having a rough time. I’m getting a cold so I wanted to get good sleep. Unfortunately good sleep wasn’t in the plan for the night. 6:03am came too soon!

iphone alarm

I went with the regular almond butter sandwich and 40 oz of water but drank one cup of green tea instead of coffee, mostly because we are out of coffee and I didn’t want to walk 2 blocks to Starbucks in the rain.

We got to the race, and I ran just over a mile warmup with Jeff because we were running a little late on time. I noticed my calves were a bit tired and my glutes, super high by my hip bones, were sore. I’m not sure why, but my guesses would be either:

  • The 10 strides I did as part of my run on Thursday before driving for 8 hours.
  • The higher mileage I started 2 weeks ago.
  • The general lack of stretching this week.
Back to the race: I did some dynamic stretching and some strides and it was time for the gun to go off. I actually know this race course, even though I haven’t done this race before, because it uses the same USATF certified course as a race I ran in the summer of 2011.
The first mile was rough for me. I was feeling out of sorts and was about 20 meters behind the first 2 ladies at the one mile mark. I ran a 5:40. Somewhere in the second mile, though it was more of an uphill mile, I started feeling good. I decided to catch the first 2 ladies. I got them by the 2nd mile, which was a 5:49 (more uphill), I went back and forth with the girl who won on the last mile, the whole time dry heaving and gagging. My food last night didn’t sit well. I felt like my legs and lungs had more to give, but my stomach didn’t. I was fighting angry bowels and a queasy stomach most of the race. My last mile was a 5:36, then 34 seconds for the close. I was very happy.
After the race I did 3 miles at 6:2x. I felt great other than the stomach problems. I did a slow mile then headed back for some food.
scare away brain cancer
There was quite a bit of food but by the time I got done with my workout and cooldown, there wasn’t much left. I ate 2 bites of a veggie/cheese/mayo sandwich and a had a small cup of coffee, got my awards (medal, Nalgene water bottle, $150), chatted a bit, and headed home.
scare brain cancer away awards 2012

A few things to note:

  • Did you notice my 99 cent “throw-away” white gloves in the picture at the beginning of this post? Some lady actually yelled “nice gloves” in an enthusiastic voice during the race. I sure hope she was talking about my Oiselle armwarmers!
  • I wore my Garmin during the race, never looked at it until I got home, but it sure was nice to have splits automatically taken. (I usually don’t race in a Garmin, superstition.)
  • There were just over 500 people in the race today.
  • We had to slow considerably on each turn (there were quite a few turns) because it rained last night and there were lots of leave on street corners. I was worried someone would trip, but I didn’t see any falls in front of me. People were being very cautious. Wet leaves are treacherous!
  • It was about 50 degrees with a slight mist during the race. I couldn’t have asked for better racing weather. I was worried about it being really cold and rainy, but we got very lucky.

There you have it! How is your weekend of racing shaping up?! Good luck to everyone racing on Sunday!

5k Tomorrow!

Just a quick post to say I’m racing a 5k tomorrow. There is money for overall male and female 3 deep, plus nalgene bottles to all finishers.

Today it’s about 70 degrees and sunny. I was sweating just playing with Currie on the playground. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be a high of 49 and rain. Could be worse…

Today I ran 4 miles as my pre-race run. It was almost 60 degrees at the time, but there was a cool breeze so I wore a short sleeve Oiselle tee, roga shorts, and my arm warmers slouchy style. I was the perfect temperature!

oiselle arm warmers

After the race, my plan is to do another 3 miles of speedwork. Maybe it will be a tempo, maybe it will be a fartlek. Whatever my body and brain tell me they want to do, I’ll do! Should be a good, hard, soggy day of running!

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend! I’m sending fast, long distance vibes to all my marathon friends this weekend! 

Let’s Talk about the Positives

Not to be a downer, but I’ve had a really bad week. Last Friday through this Friday was probably the roughest week of my life. That’s all I’m going to say for now. I’ll fill you in someday. Until then, I’ll leave you (and myself!) with some good things that happened this week!

Positives:

  • Currie (2 years old) has successfully learned to race. She’s always been a runner, but she’s tactical now. She’s particularly interested in cutting people off and boxing them in if they are likely to beat her. I can see this helping her perform well in her college conference championships and also in the 2032 Olympics. (Heh…)
toddler running at myrtle beach

The kid loves to run!

  • We live 2 blocks from Starbucks and some combination of Jeff, Currie or I go there every day. When I walked in alone on Tuesday and ordered a pumpkin spice latte my barista asked, “where’s your Short Blonde?” I went into a long story about my mother-in-law being in town and all the reasons Currie was staying at home with her. I had to blush when I realized she was asking about my normal drink order… short blonde (veranda blend).
starbucks blonde roast

Short Blonde. Cue heavenly music… ahhhhhhh!!!!

  • My mother-in-law brought gifts, including an OSU shirt, some dark chocolate covered pretzels, and a pumpkin cookbook. She has also been complimenting all of my outfits and hairstyles. Flattery works, people!
trendy braid

Just a simple braid I wore this week. Thanks for the inspiration SarahOUaL!

  • If you follow me on Twitter (@jenbigham) or know me IRL, you may know that I see deer on my trail runs almost daily and love to shout out “Go Bucks!” when I see a male deer. (Cheesy Ohio State humor, always funny to me!) Yesterday, I FINALLY got to share that cheesy joke with Jeff as it was happening. We ran past a buck and a doe together on the trail and I shouted “Go Buck(s)” about 7 times. I pretended Jeff was laughing along with me. You were, right honey?
  • Trader Joes opened here in Rochester! When we moved here 3 years ago, one of the first things I did was email Trader Joes, asking them to come to town. I obviously have a lot of influence (ha) because they came! YES! I’ve been there 4 times in this first week. I had to stock up on grains, freezer goods, oils, and of course, Halloween Joe Joes.
trader joes rochester

Opening day groceries!

halloween joe joe's cookies trader joes

If you haven’t had these, you are not living a full life. Please go buy some. Now.

  • And finally, this isn’t exactly positive, but it’s something to laugh about. Jeff and I went out to dinner at Good Luck on Wednesday night and one of the specials was sweetbreads. Being the crazy-running-carb-lovers that we are, we eagerly ordered them, thinking cinnamon bread style goodness. Boy were we surprised when we (a couple who rarely eats meat) bit into the sweetbreads. We called the waitress over to say there must be some mistake, these weren’t sweet and they weren’t breads. “Oh yes” she said. “Sweetbreads are cow thymus gland.”
sweetbreads

Not sweet, not bread. Cow thymus gland. Barf. Yes, we ate it all.

And with that, I’lll ask…

How was your week? Ever order something at a restaurant and find out later it was VERY different from what you expected? Tell me some good stuff about YOUR week! Any racing this weekend?!

 

Casa Larga Race for Grapes 5k “Peoplechase”

I got another win today, but it came very easy so there wasn’t much glory!

casa larga race for the grapes

First 50 meters of the race – was waving at Currie which is why my arm is in an awkward position. Big smiles the whole time!

Let’s start at the beginning. I was invited by the race director to run the Casa Larga Race for Grapes 5k “Peoplechase” (I got a free entry). The race was at a local winery, Casa Larga, and I was a little hesitant to run it because of the “peoplechase” concept. The women start at 10am and the men start at 10:03am. This gives the women a 1 minute per mile head start over the men and awards are given in the order people cross the finish line, male or female. So, the men are chasing the women down the whole race.

  • It’s a cute idea in a way. In high school my coaches would tell me the best guys would be about a minute per mile ahead of the best girls so I could gauge my performance on that. Turns out, that advice might be an “ok general rule”, but it easily places people in boxes of where they “should” be finishing and I don’t like sticking people in a box.
  • I can compete in the top 10 overall at most local races, and don’t need a head start.
  • I need competition to race well, and with this being a small race, I knew the chances of fast women showing up wouldn’t be good so I wanted to start at the same time as the guys.

I decided to do the race because:

  • I checked the forecast and the weather looked good, 50s and sunny.
  • Our friends live close to the race site and we planned to have lunch with them afterwards.
  • I figured it would be a good workout.
I had my usual pre-race meal. Pasta! I added bell peppers and “asian greens” from our CSA. I have no idea what the actual name of the greens were, but they were pretty bitter (still tasty). If you can tell what they are, I’d love to know! :) And no, they are not bok choy, as google tried to suggest, though we got some of that too.
runner's pre-race veggies

bell peppers and mystery greens

I woke up this morning to a downpour, an upset stomach, a kink in my back and a strange ache in my heel. I got online to read about the race and saw last year’s winner was over 22 minutes (5k distance). I briefly considered staying home and going back to bed, but my love for racing took over and I decided to go. I drank about half a cup of coffee with my usual almond butter sandwich, but my upset stomach just wasn’t liking the coffee so I dumped it. I downed some water, packed up my stuff and family and noticed the clouds were clearing. We headed to the race.

Casa Larga race for grapes shirt

The race shirt

Number pickup and restrooms were quick and easy. I got my t-shirt and started my warmup, which was running the course so I would know which way to go. I was also wondering about this “challenging course” I heard about.

The course was hilly, but it was out and back, so for every uphill there was a downhill. It was sort of in a Y shape, so you went out a little over a mile, then went down a no outlet road and back, then out another no outlet road and back, then back to the start. I’m simplifying the course here, but that’s the approximate shape.

I guess if you think hills are really challenging, then yes, it was a challenging course. For me, hills really help break up a course that might otherwise be a little… uh boring… so I really enjoyed them.

The race went like this. Women started at 10am. I guess the men started exactly 3 minutes later. By the first half mile, I had a really good lead and by the one mile the lead car stopped leading me and went to the second place person. The out and back style is nice because runners can cheer for each other along the way. I said some sort of “good job” to every person I saw and most did the same back. It really had me smiling the whole time.

casa larga race winner

I was smiling here, you just can’t see it. Trust me, friends!

I actually raced in my Garmin since I was doing miles before and after to make this a longer mileage day. My first mile was 5:59, second 5:59, last 5:59, (so cool!) and finished somewhere around 18:50. This is much slower than my usual 5k pace, but with the stomach problems I woke up with and knowing competition was going to be slim, I told myself I was going to really enjoy the scenery and people, and make it more of a 6 min/mile tempo run. Looks like my body knows a 6 minute mile! I came in first overall, by almost 3 minutes. 2nd and 3rd place were men. 4th place was the next woman.

casa larga race winner, finishing

Bringing it home for the win!

The race was SO MUCH FUN! I don’t think the hills really slowed my time much. I was taking it easy so I wouldn’t discourage someone from racing based on the “challenging” aspect. That being said, my hamstrings were sore within 2 hours, so the hills were definitely there. I don’t get sore like that very often!

I was very confident that I would get at least a bottle of wine for winning and breaking the course record. I thought I would potentially get a case of wine. Instead, I got these:

Casa larga race wine glasses

Positives:

  • Out and back course good for cheering competitors.
  • Quite a few spectators for a small race. All very supportive and energetic.
  • Currie did such a great job cheering for me today. She yelled “go mommy, you can do it mommy!” so many times in a row! I love when she gets excited about my racing!
  • Pumpkin maze for the kids!

casa larga pumpkin maze

Negatives:

  • Not good competition – not a PR race!
  • Stomach issue I woke up with and monster sideaches for entire warmup and first half mile of race. (heel pain went away and was able to stretch out the back pain to almost gone by race time)

I’m glad I raced today, and very happy to have my family there supporting me! On to the next!

Did you race this weekend? How did it go? Any idea what the asian greens are and how they should be properly prepared? What do you think about the peoplechase concept? Have you ever run an entire race smiling?

 

The Week of Running

Well, I guess last weekend was exciting enough to have a very lame week of running.

brueggers bagels race jcc

After a race, I like to give my 31-year-old-self at least 2 days to recover. Since I “raced” Friday and again on Sunday, I knew Monday and Tuesday would definitely be easy days. On Monday, I felt surprisingly good. It was one of those days I wanted to run forever! Those days always seem to coincide with the days I am on the biggest time-crunch of the week. I took what I could get and completed a few glorious miles.

On Tuesday I was reflecting on 9/11/01 and totally zoned out most of my easy paced run. With 3 miles to go, I found myself within 10 feet of a large buck. I kept yelling “go buck”! It was not as much fun as the day I ran into 2 bucks on the trail and yelled “Go Bucks!”, but it did help lighten my mood.

ohio state women's cross country 2001

Go Bucks! A little Ohio State humor for you. Pic taken during cross country 2001. Look, I’m Pippi Longstocking!

Wednesday was supposed to be a workout. I set my alarm for VERY early. My daughter woke up 10 minutes before that so I was on child duty. I decided to do the workout that night when Jeff was home from work. Unfortunately, I ate something that didn’t agree with my stomach so Wednesday turned into another easy run.

Thursday was going to be a workout for sure. I set the alarm early again, and my little lady was up early AGAIN! So, a medium length trail run with the stroller took the place of speed.

running trail pittsford ny

Playtime on the trail post-run.

Currie and I are headed to the beach on Sunday morning so I’m doing my long run on Saturday. I figured today might as well be another easy run then I’ll hit the long run hard with a few quality miles mixed in tomorrow. During my easy miles today, I added 7×100 meter strides on the track. I had to remind my legs they were fast before tomorrow’s run!

What do I do when I am forced to run easy when I planned to do speed? Run with my phone and hope to see something entertaining! Here are a few things I saw.

upside down road sign

Second road sign prank on this corner within the past 6 months.

decorative tree

This tree is along my every day running route. It gets dressed up according to holidays, seasons, etc. Here the tree is sporting the “end of summer” look.

decorated tree

This is the tree back in the spring. It likes to dress-down too. Sometimes, all you need is an umbrella.

That was my week of running! I was trying to find a race for tomorrow (Saturday) before we leave for vacation, but I couldn’t find anything too exciting so I’m sitting this weekend out of the racing scene.

What’s going on in your running world this weekend? Have you ever seen a fancied-up tree?