Commitment Day Race Recap

When I first began running while living in Virginia, one of my favorite races was the Rotary Resolution Run on New Year's Day.  There is something about kicking off the year with a race that just cements your commitment to health and happiness in the new year.  Northwest Arkansas has lacked a New Year's Day race for many of the years that I have lived here...until now.  I was excited that 2014 got to be kicked off with the Commitment Day 5K in Bentonville.

You know I love a good theme run so I went shopping for some fun headwear.  Unfortunately I couldn't find anything ideal with lights and sparkle.  Sadly there were a lot of options but very few had the year 2014 on them.  I wanted something that had the year on it so I got crafty.  My original plan was to attach a table decoration to one of my fleece hats but once I tried it out I realized it wouldn't work.  Thankfully from various races in 2013 I had a good stash of safety pins and I put them to use by taking apart the decoration and attaching the pieces to the hat.  Behold...my crafty creation!  The danglers were fun but quite noisy!

Race morning arrived and it was cool but sunny.  I got to hang with my friend Mandy before hand while staying warm in her car next to the start line.  About 15 minutes before race start, I made the trip to the real bathrooms located at the park.  It was great to have real bathrooms even if there was a line for the 3 stalls. Then I joined my friend Jody for a short warmup run before the race.

My buddy Jody - she topped off 2013 with her first 100 mile run! 

The race course was great and very easy to follow.  We began with a quick visit to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art with a run down their grand driveway.  After heading around the circle drive we began the slight uphill climb to return to Orchards Park.  We ran past the park and then continued to go past one of my favorite summer haunts...the Memorial Park pool! We got onto the Memorial Park running trail and did one loop and then returned to Orchards Park for the finish.

I joined up with two great running girls, Jenni and Jennifer, for the race.  Our paces naturally aligned so we stuck together and chatted along the run.  The time flew by and we held a steady pace throughout...until we neared the finish! Mike Rush was hanging out at the final turn to the finish chute and he provided the inspiration for us to pick up the pace and actually race to the finish!

Jenni, Me, and Jennifer with Mike yelling us on in the background! 

It was a close call but Jenni beat us to the line!  Jennifer got the ultimate win with the fastest chip time for the race.  Great job ladies and thanks for pushing me to a strong finish!

After the race, I enjoyed a relaxing day until it was time for dinner.  I joined my sister and her family for a traditional New Year's meal which included black-eyed peas and cabbage.  Between the fun race and the lucky meal, 2014 is bound to be a great year!!!

Thanks to my bud Chuck Cates and PodiumImages for the great pics!

The Mystery Race Recap

It was a dark and stormy night...perfect for a mystery! Just kidding...It was actually a Thursday night when about 100 runners gathered for a Mystery race.  A Rush Running buddy, Jeff Genova, had put together a fun race format for the night.  He promoted the race as the Mystery Race...the distance would be anywhere from 4-8 miles and racers would have up to 4 hours to complete.

When we checked in we all received an even number race bib.  This was a critical piece of the race!  We received our bib inside a Ziploc bag which also contained a list of 10 clues.  The fastest to cover the ground between all 10 clues would be the winner.  One clue included a 5 minute time bonus and was optional but had to be done to receive the bonus.

Most of the crowd took off in one of two directions from the square heading to some of the easier clues.  There was Bogle Park and The Hare which seemed to be the two popular ones.  The Hare is a sculpture on the paved trail to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  It is actually just one half of the sculpture...The Tortoise and The Hare.  There was quite a backlog at the stop as people searched for their page number within the book there.  Remember how we all had even number bibs?  That allowed us to tear out our page from a book so we could confirm we had been at the stop.

The complete list of a Mystery Locations was the list of clues below. We were given boundaries for the search area so that we knew at most how far a place could be.  The boundaries included three trail systems...the Slaughter Pen single track trails, Crystal Bridges art trails, and the city's paved multi-use trail.  We also had other resources like cell phones and people we might encounter which we had to use a couple of times.

THE CLUES:
5. Rock
The Place Where They Cry
Angus Chute 10
Base of the Bush Push
The Track
The Hare
Safety Point 16
Bogle Park
Park Springs Spring
Safety Point 14

The hardest places to find were the 5 Rock and Angus Chute 10.  The 5 Rock is one of the numbered rock sculptures along the Crystal Bridges art trails.  There is just a small problem...they aren't placed in numeric order.  We finally ran to the front of the museum and asked the shuttle driver where the rock was and he pointed us in the right direction.  There was no one searching for this particular clue so we felt like even though it took us a while to find it we were ahead in the long run.

Rock 5 and getting our sheets out.

The other challenging location was Angus Chute 10.  We knew that this was a checkpoint on one of the trails called Angus Chute.  We just couldn't figure out the best way to get to that point on the trail so we got some extra trail time in and we even bushwhacked our own path to connect to the Angus Chute trail from the Urban Trail.

Finally found it! 

Running the single track

The Safety Points were two safety entrances to the Slaughter Pen trail system...both of which were well hidden by the spring foliage   Also on the trail system was the Base of the Bush Push.  This is a notorious hill that was ridden by former President George W. Bush when he visited the area and rode mountain bikes along the trails.  The Slaughter Pen trail system is something that we are so lucky to have just a short 1 1/2 miles from the town square.

Off the trails, there were a couple clue spots including the local Track where the book was hidden near the PortaPotty.  Park Springs Park is a park near the track and Bogle Park is about 3/4 mile away closer to the downtown square.

One clue that could have gone two different ways was The Place Where They Cry.  The options were either the Crystal Bridges Hill or the local Cemetery.  Both were within the boundaries of the race course.  We were closest to the Crystal Bridges hill after doing our jaunt through the art trails so we went ahead and checked that location and sure enough that's where it was at!  The book was on the other side of a small creek so we nominated one of our crew to get all of our pages!

Rock 5 helped us out for a group self portrait. 

Our race crew was Mandy, Jody, Mark and Pauline, and me.  We stuck together pretty well through the first half of the race.  We split up around the half way mark so that a couple could walk out some leg cramps thinking that by the time they walked to the next clue we would catch up to them.  We did not estimate how long it would take us to find Angus Chute 10!  We regrouped at the last clue and ran it in to finish together.

Joining me on the run was my dog Sidney...I was expecting to run about 4 miles which is the perfect distance for Sidney.  Surprisingly we went over 7 1/2 miles for the night.  It was Sidney's longest run ever and she was a total champ.  I took some walk breaks with her over the last mile.  The race was a lot like doing intervals.  We would race to get to a clue spot and then have a little time to breathe while getting our pages torn out and figuring out where to head to next.  Sidney won the dog division...she was the only dog tough enough to enter!

Overall, it was a fun race event.  It was similar to the Hash House Harrier runs that I did when I lived in DC. It's not really a race but rather a scavenger hunt for grown-ups!  We came in within the top 25 and our mileage was right in the middle.  The shortest distance was somewhere around 5 1/2 miles and the longest distance people traveled was over 13 miles.

2013 Bentonville Half Marathon Race Recap

The last two months have been rough for my running as I have navigated recovery from a foot injury.  I injured my foot on January 26th after a 13.1 training run leading up to what was supposed to be my first 25K.  I couldn't identify anything in the training run that would have resulted in the injury and my x-rays came back clear so the official diagnosis was Peroneal Tendinitis.  If you remember, I took off just shy of 2 weeks and then raced an 8K and was in pain from the start of that race. I scrapped the 25K and took another 3 weeks off and then eased back into running with some easy runs.  In mid-March I tackled an 8 miler and my foot was tender afterwards.  Yep, another 2 weeks of rest just to be safe!  Last weekend I did a sprint triathlon to test things out. (Race report to come this week!)

All week I debated on what to do for the Bentonville Half Marathon.  I have done this race every year and I didn't want to miss a year.  The race had posted photos of the race medal and it was huge...and you know I love bling!  Around Wednesday I decided that I was doing the race for sure.  I talked it over with friends and debated on what strategy to use for the race.  One 8-miler in the 8 weeks leading up to a half marathon isn't exactly the best training plan.

Race morning dawned and the temps were perfect for running in the mid-50's.  I got a text during the night from my friend Mike Rush who was the race director requesting tutu assistance.  My first order of business on race morning was delivering a tutu to him at the finish line.

I'm lucky to call this crazy man my friend and running coach! 

This task threw off my plans for meeting with my friends.  I headed to the porta potty line and then set about trying to find them.  I wandered around the start line looking for them and should have known that they would be running late! I ran into my sister and her running group and wished them good luck.  Finally I found my friends and we had just a few minutes to snap a picture before the crowd started moving forward with the starting gun.

Cathy, me, Rhonda, and Maja

We wished each other luck and split up based on our paces.  Rhonda and I were together and talking about our friend Renee who we couldn't find before the start.  All of sudden she ran up behind us and found us, said hi and then dropped back to her pace!  The first 1/2 mile of the course is a sight to see...the crowd of runners is just amazing for our small town.  There were over 2500 runners signed up for the race!

Before we knew it we had passed the first mile marker.  My foot was feeling fine and we were just taking things easy.  Near the church between mile 1 and 2 we watched the crowd ahead part and move to the side.  One of the runners had fallen and was having a seizure.  It was a very scary sight but the runners around were providing him with emergency assistance as best they could.  (The runner was taken to the hospital and ended up okay just really scraped up from the fall.)  One runner was on her phone calling 911 as we passed and I was thankful that I was running with my phone too.  You just never know what will happen in a race and I will be ordering a new RoadID after this.

Rhonda and I talked about the incident for a minute and then began a set of rolling hills over the next 1/2 mile.  We talked with some other runners around us and encouraged them that soon we would be in the flat section of the course.  At this point in the race, everyone was in good spirits! The next few miles were very uneventful and we just kept trucking along until just before mile 5.  We were passing by our office building and it was a flat section of road and I naturally picked up the pace.  Rhonda called me out on my little giddy up moment!  We were expecting to see her boyfriend around mile 5 and our race partnership split up there.  We thought we saw his car pulling into a lot that we had just passed so she wanted to stop and let him know we were passed that point.  Turns out it wasn't him and he was in a different spot from the previous year.

I was sad to be without my running buddy so I started to make new friends along the route.  I became that super annoying girl in the race talking to everyone.  I was so nervous that my legs would fall apart on me so talking to other people helped me focus outward and not on myself and lack of training.  I talked to several first timers, complimented another runner on their Balega socks, chatted with a fellow Rush Runner's mom, high fived the race volunteer coordinator Mark, and just had fun running along.  I didn't pay much attention to my watch or my pace.  I was running by feel and running strong for as long as I could.

Around mile 7 we passed by the local cemetery and I swear they were playing Thriller.  They also had some funny signs up advertising plots available...yes runners have a sick sense of humor! I kept chatting with those around me and before I knew it was near mile 8.  I got the biggest blast from my friend Kyla who was working a water stop there.  It was so much fun to have my own personal cheerleader! It was just the thing I needed since I was entering uncharted territory from mile 8 on.  It had been over 2 months since I had run more than 8 miles and I had to trust my heart to make it through the next 5 miles.

I called out to Mark before he realized it was me so this was a very fast response photo! \
I was still smiling even though this was near mile 9.5.  

I reminded myself several times to Run with Heart...that was my motto over the last few miles.  This race was about heart for me...I knew it wouldn't be fast but I knew I could do it.  My goal was to go as far as I could before exploding and then trust my stubbornness to carry me over the finish line. I passed by mile 9 and I still felt good.  I ran through the PowerBar zone and mile 10 and still felt good.  The inclines started and  my pace slowed slightly but I still felt okay.  I told myself that I had to run to see my friends at mile 11 and 11.8 water stops.  I cheered for the band along the trail and joked with some of the other runners near me about who was whose rabbit.  I got a huge kick running through the F5 water stop and kept telling myself to run with heart.

Photo by Podium Images

I hit the base of Crystal Bridges hill and my pace slowed considerably BUT I kept running.  I'm going to own that hill this year...it's my goal for 2013!  I took my only walk break after that hill and walked about .15 until I got my head back into the game.  Other than walking through water stops this was my only walk break on the course.  I caught up to a co-worker running her first half marathon and chatted with her for a bit.  There is a second sneaky hill at the top of the trail system and I put my head down and tackled it before making the turn to finish the race.

In these photos, I had no clue that Mark was at the finish taking them. And he couldn't get a clear shot because this lady  in front of me thought he was an official photographer for the race. 

I couldn't believe that I had made it through the race without exploding.  Bentonville knows how to put on a finish.  I felt like a Tour de France cyclist as I was running through a tunnel of people cheering in the street.  Mike Rush was yelling out my name and I was running as fast as I could to pass those last few people possible.  It hurt but it was worth it!  My finish time was 2:24:23 which turned out to be my best time on the Bentonville Half course.

I walked back down the finish chute to watch for Rhonda to finish.  As soon as I stopped moving and stopped to cheer my legs seized up and my calves got really cramped.  It was painful and had me worried.  I drank some Gatorade recovery shake and did some toe touches and that seemed to help.  After all my friends had finished, we grouped up for a photo and then enjoyed the rest of the race festivities.  Everyone had great runs and did really well.

Photos from Rhonda's sweety Mark Frentz and PodiumImages.com

Valentine's 8K Race Recap

The City of Bentonville recently launched a race series and last weekend was the kickoff event, the Valentine's 8K.  There will be seven races in the series and will cover a variety of distances up to the half marathon.  I'm really excited to see our running and race community growing!

I hadn't done an 8K in over 10 years so I went into the race with very little expectations.  If you remember, I injured my foot at the end of January and had been resting a lot for the two weeks prior to the race.  I ran on Monday for a short easy test run so that I could know how my foot was doing for my follow up appointment on Tuesday.  My doctor okay'd me to run and we even discussed what distance would be appropriate given my 25K planned for the next weekend.

Sunrise on a beautiful race morning! 

 Race morning dawned cold and chilly with temps in the low 30's.  Wouldn't you know that the majority of the Rush team picked the same outfit to wear in the chilly temps.  I guess none of us were willing to race in singlets in that cold!

Jody, Kim, and Me

I was aiming for some extra mileage so I got to the race site about 30 minutes early to allow for a warm up run.  I was careful to time my warm up because I didn't want to finish and stand around and get cold before the start.  The race started from the downtown square and covered a new course route.  There were two options either a 4K or 8K distance.

The 4K race started about 5 minutes before the 8K.  It was confusing since the split start was a last minute decision that the race organizers hadn't communicated.  They definitely needed a better sound system with over 650 runners...there was some confusion for sure.  One thing that the change provided was the chance to watch the 4K group head out...it is so awesome to see the street full of enthusiastic runners.  I never stop loving that sight at the start of a race.

I didn't have a race plan for this race.  I ran along with friends for the first mile or so and then we turned into the wind.  I felt my pace slow and watched my friends pull away.  It was okay though because I had my own demons to tackle that day.  My foot was not happy and it soon let me know that.  As we entered Memorial Park I had thoughts of ditching the race.  I could tell that my foot hurt but I was able to keep up my pace and not alter my stride so I kept going.  Around that time Caleb from the Rush team caught up to me.  He has recently recovered from a stress fracture in his foot so we talked a little about the pain that I was feeling.  It felt good to hear some of his experience with recovery even though I was praying that I wasn't going to be in the same boat.

My friend Mandy was running so fast I completely missed her in this pic! 

We came out of the park and ran around the round-about and then headed towards the highlight of the race route...a trip to Crystal Bridges.  Crystal Bridges is a beautiful art museum right in our backyard.  It is a true gem and this race was the first to ever cover the main drive as part of the race.  The museum has a lot of art in the outdoor spaces including sculptures along both paved and natural trails.  The driveway however doesn't contain that much art...but the one piece it does contain is spectacular.   I was looking forward to it so much that I carried my phone with me during the race to take it's picture.

This sculpture is called Yield and always amazes me when I arrive at the museum.

What I didn't realize was that it was a downhill jaunt down the driveway.  I was surprised by the return trip up the driveway but had fun cheering for others as they passed on their way down.  One women near me asked how I knew everyone in the race.  I told her about the Rush team and told her my theory that if you put out positive energy for others you'll get it in return.  It has taken me a long time to realize that a smile truly can change your mental picture in the middle of a race!

Cheering on Kayle! 

We returned to 2nd street for the race finish and I knew that I was in for another hill treat.  Yes, this is another Bentonville race course that managed to finish on a hill.  I tried my best to push for the finish and I didn't even pay attention to the clock.  I actually never even saw the clock!  I stopped my watch but in the post race blur of tired body and foot pain didn't pay much attention.  After removing my race chip, I was given a carnation flower by one of the volunteers.  It was a great touch for a Valentine's race.  I hung out with some of my Rush friends and cheered others in to the finish.  My foot was now in serious pain and not happy with me at all.  Eventually I decided to check out the race results which were posted near the finish.  My chip time came in at 48:00 flat or a 6:00 min/k pace.  Yep, per K pace which meant nothing to me.  I just limped away happy with my overall time.

Rush teammates and awesome friends! (clockwise from lower left)
Kayle, Mandy, Jody, Shannon, Matt, Mark, Pauline, Me, and Cord

  Later at breakfast I checked my Garmin to get the minutes per mile conversion and was really happy with my performance.  My group of friends had breakfast together at one of the coffee shops off the square.  They have a simple selection of healthy breakfast dishes and its one of our post-run hangouts.

Overall, I thought the city did a great job putting on the race.  They had the streets virtually closed to all vehicle traffic.  The city crews were out at all the intersections and it was great to see them being so supportive of all the runners.  There was one water station that we passed by twice which was perfect for a cool day.  We also got a 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover instead of a t-shirt.  It will be nice to have another light weight long sleeve to run in.  The only change that I would make is to start the race closer to the Downtown Activity Center so that runners could have had a warm building to stay in until the race start.

About my time...it was a huge PR by over 6 minutes! I hit the Interwebs to find my previous time from the Potomac Valley Track Club's Go Fourth 8K in 2002.  That race was in the heat of July just outside Washington, DC along the Potomac River trail system.  It was the only race when I have ever stripped off my t-shirt and ran in just my sports bra...until just before the finish line when I put my shirt back on.  My friend Mary and I ran the race and after I think we went outlet shopping with her parents.  Below is my 2002 performance...hard to believe that my bum foot 34 year old self kicked my 23 year old's self so big!!!

I'm seriously very proud of myself for staying in the race and dealing with the pain in a healthy way during the race.  Mental strength during races is something that I have been working on.  I didn't pay much attention to my pace during the race but focused on staying strong, not walking, and sharing positive energy with others.  My foot is slowly getting back to normal and the race was probably too much too soon after the injury.  I'll go back to rest and plan a smarter comeback and try to prevent any more setbacks like this one.  It did mean that I had to take a DNS on my 25K planned for yesterday.  I was bummed out but knew that my foot could not handle it.

Celebrate and Be Jolly!

It's the weekend before Christmas and what better time to break out the festive spirit than this weekend! 

The Bentonville Half Marathon training program started last week and this week was my first week to help with the group.  Mike Rush and his store manager Drew lead the training group and provide weekly training topic discussions before the group training run.  Because there are so many people (200+) in the training group, members of the Rush team like myself join in to help run with the group. 

My sister and her family were in town so I was slightly timed strapped on Saturday.  The group run was scheduled for 2 miles but I needed to get in 9 for my long run.  I decided to split the run up and try to get in some miles early before the group so that I could get done earlier afterwards.  It was cold on Saturday morning with temps only in the low 30's.  I wore some Aesperis Pivot compression shorts under my tights to keep my bum warm! 

I got to the Activity Center just after 6 am and figured I had enough time to get in 4 miles before the training group would start.  I selected a route to follow and headed out and enjoyed the peaceful quiet and holiday lights.  There wasn't much traffic out and it was so quiet running through the downtown neighborhoods.  I loved seeing all the houses with lights... from those with the most simple light displays to the houses with every light and yard art imaginable.  It was great! 

I finished up just before 7 and headed inside...it felt so hot in the activity center.  I found a spot on the floor and listened to Mike's talk on form and why good fitting shoes matter.  He ended up the discussion by detailing out the route to the group and covering safety on the roads.  We headed out and I did my best to hang towards the back to pace some of ladies who are all training for their first half marathons.  It felt like just a blink of the eye and we were at the 1 mile turnaround. 

I ended my 2 miles with the group and then caught up with a friend to run a few more miles.  The sun had risen by then and it was definitely warming up to be a beautiful day.  I wore my santa hat which really warmed me up too.  It felt so great to get the miles in and have a good long run.  Then I was off to celebrate with my family...we had a little one turning 5 and that requires lots of celebrating, playing, and all around fun!!!

Bentonville Half Marathon Race Recap

On Saturday, Bentonville hosted its 3rd Bentonville Half Marathon and Running Festival. 

With over 1800 runners I was really surprised to find an easy parking space.  I got to the race site about an hour early which gave me plenty of time to get parked and meet up with friends.  I was a little disappointed to see that the race had just a few porta-potties set up.  I got in that line early and tried to not think about how I normally go to the bathroom 20 times before a race!

Weather this March has been warmer than normal and race morning was no exception.  Even though temps were warm I still saw a wide range of apparel choices from the other runners.  I went with some Nike half tights and my Nike Rush Running race team singlet.  This was my first time to wear the new singlet and it was actually much cooler than I thought it would be.  I also added my pink Headsweats visor since it was a sunny morning.

Rhonda and I before the race

The race was fairly uneventful...except for the fact that I mentally checked out of the race around mile 3.  It was warm and my right hip was feeling tweaked and I just didn't feel into the race.  I knew that pretty much at all times I was within one mile of the start/finish line and it was sooooo very tempting to get a DNF.  I've never had a DNF and thankfully my friends talked me out of that.  I joined up with Mandy and Pauline around mile 5 and we did a 4/1 run/walk ratio for the rest of the race.  I have no shame in admitting that I walked up the Crystal Bridges trail hill at mile 12.  It is a bugger of a hill and at the end of the race it is just rough!

It was fun to see so many people around the course and running the race.  Around mile 8 my friend Kyla was out spectating and ran a block with us.  I saw a former co-worker around mile 10 as he was spectating for someone on the course.  I got a kick out of 3 high school boys singing "Living on a Prayer" in a slightly off-key acappella style.  There were goofy signs all over the race course and then there were signs for the town's Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by Hersheys.  Unfortunately, there was no chocolate at the finish line:(

I definitely do Run for Chocolate!

Overall, my time was well within my range...not my best and not my worst.  The key accomplishment was that I finished my 15th half marathon.  I'm still a fan of the half marathon distance but maybe not a fan of the Bentonville course.  It always manages to kick my booty! I guess the medal was worth it...one of the coolest medals I've gotten so far!

Pauline, Mandy, and Me showing off our new hardware!

Memory Lane - My First Half Marathon

Today Rhonda and I headed out for an easy run as we finish up our training schedule for our half marathon next weekend. Bentonville was packed with runners and it was fun to see so many people out enjoying the weather. Rhonda picked a route that was two miles down the trail so that we could run up the same finish hill we will encounter next weekend. We hit our 2 mile turnaround point and headed back up the trail. As we were running along we saw a couple people out with a camera and poster. My first thought was that they got the date wrong for the race but we just ran by. As we got closer to the start of the BIG hill, I saw some cars parked alongside the trail. Sure enough, we got to the hill and there was Mike Rush of Rush Running. We chatted for a minute and he told us that one of his training group runners was going to be out of town for the race so he was doing his own personal half marathon a week early. Mike quickly pushed us on our way with some rousing cheering and we tackled the hill.

We finished up our run with a quick tour of downtown to add on some extra mileage so we were closer to 5 miles than 4 for the day. As we got back to our cars, Mike and his cheering squad had made their way to the square and the finish line. We asked about the runner and decided to do our cooldown walk in the direction that he would be coming. We found Shaun and his crew right as they finished the mile of hills and were at approx. 12.95 miles. Shaun was struggling with some leg cramping and his crew was encouraging him along. Rhonda and I both got sentimental as we watched Shaun make that last turn onto Main Street where he could see the finish line and crowd waiting for him. He perked up and found that last bit of strength to finish strong. I don't know Shaun at all but because Rush Running is like family I feel so proud for him and what he accomplished.

Watching his finish got me thinking about my first half marathon. It was the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach in 2001. I had seen an ad in Runner's World for a training/fundraising program called Courage for Cancer and decided to sign up. I remember being so scared and nervous about the distance and whether I could do it. I think I had some tendinitis issues during the last few weeks of training but since this was before blogging I don't have a detailed recap of that time.

My precursor to the blog...my fundraising page where I kept a very brief weekly recap of my training.

My first Half Marathon bib!

The race singlet that the charity provided was a little awkward in style so I tied the straps shorter. I also used iron on letters to add my name the night before in our hotel room. I even managed to iron on a letter to one of my sister's sheets that she had brought for us to use on the beach. Ooopsie!

First finish!!! It was a tough race with warm temps and a never ending last few miles on the boardwalk but I ran most of the race with two other members of the charity group and had fun chatting with them. Random side note...I would go on to wear those gray shorts out...literally! Several years later in 2006 I would run the OKC Memorial Half Marathon in those shorts and discover a huge rip in the crotch after finishing. I loved the fit of those shorts and still have no clue of how they fell apart during the OKC race.

Official time for my first half 2:54:34 and the bug was set for me to go on and do many more half marathons. Next week will be my 15th half marathon (16 if you include my Half Ironman in there.) I have a lot of respect for the distance and love the accomplishment I get each time I finish.

Please share your first big race experience in the comments below. I'm always looking for new races to try out!

Weekend Recap

Saturday I played hookie and skipped a morning run.  It was a super cold morning and I already had plans to run Sunday so I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in a little.  My morning instead got started with a funeral service for a local runner who passed away this week.  Frank was a frequent attendee of the Rush Running speed workouts and was someone who inspired me to get my butt in gear at many a race.  You see Frank was in his mid-60's and he kept beating me at 5k's so one race a few years ago I finally decided to make Frank my pacer.  I just followed along behind and tried to keep up.  This would go on at other races and even during our weekly track workouts with one of us taking the lead and the other chasing depending on the day.  He always motivated me and as someone who took walk breaks he was an instant compatriot for me!

The service was very uplifting and featured an eulogy by one of his sons.  He spoke of always asking his dad for a story before bed by asking him "Tell me a story of when you were a kid."  That struck home to me because my niece Lily Cate always asks the same thing.  I struggle sometimes to come up with a story to tell her and now I know how important those memories and connections are.  It was very sad to lose a member of our Rush Running family but I'm thankful to have known such a great man who was dedicated to his family, fitness, and his passions like hiking and tennis. 

After the service, some of the Rush crew headed out for a bite to eat.  Isn't it strange that we always eat after funerals? We went to Wesner's in downtown Rogers and they only serve breakfast on Saturdays.  It was good...I especially liked the biscuit with Apple butter!

Below is my best interpretation of 80's style for a murder mystery dinner party that I went to at my friend Cathy's house that night.  It was a fun night and we all had a good time and none of us guessed who the murderer was. 

Lolita Xposure - I turned out to be an photographer/assassin who would kill with darts that I stored in the lens of my camera.

This morning I met up with Rhonda for a run.  We started at 11AM in order to let the day warm up a little and it was a great decision.  The sun was out and it was a perfect run...not too cold and not too windy.  We did an easy 6 miles that included the Crystal Bridges hill which we will be running during the Bentonville Half Marathon next month. 

This afternoon was another Sunday Funday swim with Brent, Lauren, Lori, and Kyla.  Today's agenda kicked my booty.  We did a warmup and then our first set was 6 x 125 with the final 25 being a sprint.  I ended up going on a 2:15 for the interval on this one. I did have to interrupt my first one in order to rescue a dinosaur from the deep end.  I don't know whose toy it was but the lifeguard was trying to get it out and having no luck.  The next set was supposed to be 8 x 50 of kick with some being under/overs.  I didn't have fins and decided to just swim instead and got in 450 yds while they did the kick set.  Then we finished up with 12 x 50 and we split them up as 6 x 50 with 25 stroke fast and 25 free cruise. The second set of 6 x 50 were done 25 cruise free then 25 sprint free.  These were all done on a 1 min interval which equated to about 15 sec rest between each.  I ended up with 2500 yds after warmup and cooldown were added in.  We finished up our workout with hot tub time! The best part of the workout for sure. 

Big Ride Kickoff

Today was the kickoff for The Big Ride which is a weekly group ride hosted by one of the local cycling clubs and my favorite bike shop.  The ride began on the downtown square and was supposed to start with a ceremonial tour of the downtown area with the mayor.  My friend Mandy and I decided to sneak out of the group before that and headed out on our own.  We were meeting another friend to ride at a stop along the route and didn't want her to have to wait too long for us. 

Pauline, Mandy, and Me

We picked up Pauline and then headed out for the ride.  Mandy is just coming back from a knee surgery so she was only taking a one way ride while Pauline and I were in for the round trip.  We had parked Mandy's car at the turn around point and did she luck out with a nice downhill finish.  It was a gorgeous day and the three of us enjoyed the company and had a nice pleasant ride. 

I ended up with 36 miles which was a little more than I was hoping for the day.  I also ended up with a little after effect from the ride.  My first sunburn of the season:( I completely forgot to put on sunscreen this morning and ended up with crisp burn lines from my jersey and my bike shorts.  Whoops!  

Bentonville Half Marathon Race Report

Today marks a special day...I've come full circle with one year of blogging.  Looking back my very first Race Report was for the Bentonville Half Marathon and today I completed the Bentonville Half Marathon again!

Bright and sunny start for the race.

Last year I spoke of the weather and how horrible it was with cold and wet conditions.  Today was far from that with temps quickly warming up into the 60's during the race.  I actually got overheated but still would pick today's weather over last year's any day!  The course didn't change so there was still the horrible hill to deal with at mile 12...in fact the last 3 miles of the course are pretty much uphill. All of the elevation change for the course seems to happen during the last 4 miles of the race when you drop down a steep hill throughout mile 9 to begin the climb back up at mile 10.  Just the spot where I'm usually feeling less than perky during a half marathon!

About 900 runners completed the half marathon.

Today was my 14th half marathon and I definitely am continuing to learn more about running these races as I go along.  I wasn't very motivated for the race and had a horrible training schedule. I skipped long runs and even had weeks with only 1-2 runs total during the week.  That lack of consistent training showed in my performance today.  I'm not upset with my time by any means just know that I'm capable of more (when I train for it!) I would like to lay out a more structured training plan for my long runs for the next few months.  I would like to keep up the longer distances and work at building up to fewer walk breaks and more consistent pace on long runs. 

Another big lesson was in some choices I made for apparel and gear.  I chose to wear capris, short sleeve tee, and singlet.  I should have skipped the tee and worn shorts because I was miserably hot throughout the race.  The second choice I made with my gear was to skip wearing a water belt.  I hate to wear them in a long, organized race since it is extra weight and things to think about.  However, from mile 10-12 all I could think about was water and how thirsty I was getting.  The final mile uphill was also tough for me and one of the volunteers had a stash of some Gatorade that really helped me out.  I will probably wear a water belt on my next half marathon for sure.  It's just nice to be able to drink when you want to. 

He was out playing some tunes on the saxophone for all the runners.

The race was well supported with awesome volunteers from a teen leadership organization called HOBY.  They were always cheering and had great signs along the course too.  There were a few music spots on the course including the high school band at the top of the dreaded mile 12 hill.  The finish line was 100 times better than last year because there was actual food this year and people stuck around and created a fun atmosphere. 

My sister outgunned me by 12 seconds at the end.  My legs just didn't have any get up and go left!

Overall, this continues to be a great race and something that I hope to be able to run for years to come. 

Today I ran the first 6 miles with my sister and my running partner Anne.  Anne then did some tempo work for a few miles and left Lindsey and I to finish the course on our own.  I was thankful to have my sister by my side during my low moments on the hill when all I could think about was how much my stomach hurt and how badly I was overheating.  She thoughtfully suggested I puke it up and get moving! I think my nutrition could have been better and that's why my stomach hurt...I was running low on fuel in the tank.  We took some walk breaks at water stops and then a little more frequently in the last 2 miles.  Time wise, she beat me by 12 seconds with an awesome finishing kick! My time this year came in at 2:27:39 (about 1:30 slower than last year.) It wasn't my best and wasn't my worst and I finished  (though the smile didn't come until after I crossed the line!)  My unspoken goal for any race is to finish with a smile! 

Any suggestions for my 15th half marathon? 

Half Mary Tune Up

Most of the local running community is gearing up for the Bentonville Half Marathon on Saturday.  Mike Rush of Rush Running incorporates local races like this into his training plans for our weekly speed workouts.  This week we did a tune up workout that was geared towards making race pace feel easy. 

Each week Mike holds the workout top secret until after the group warmup.  Tonight though the white board with the workout was out on display as the group was huddling up for announcements.  The big news was that Mike has a new speaker system and microphone...let's hope he was just testing this out and won't have the microphone at all of our workouts! He's loud enough without the speaker system but the music playing during the workout was kind of fun. 

We should all know by now that Mike's workouts can be deceiving.  Tonight the white board displayed the following: 400 at half, 400 at 10k, 400 at 5k, 400 at faster than 5k. No rest between, 1:30 rest after times 2. 

He described the workout to us and the entire group was visibly excited for a 2 mile workout.  If only! Hang on for the surprise...written on the back of the board was the conclusion to the workout.  800 all out, 30 sec rest, 400 all out, 30 sec rest, 400 all out.  Whooooo, killer finish!

The initial two miles were actually kind of fun to do.  Mike asked us to hit the line and change gears for each pace change and then hold that pace for the full 400 versus fluctuating pace within each 400.  I struggle with that and normally have a much faster 2nd half of any repeat.  It was good to think about maintaining a steady pace during each 400.  My first two miles came in around 9:18 and 9:24.  I didn't take splits on each 400 and totally got called out for not doing so during our all out set. 

For our all out set, we descended the pace on the 800 since we were both a little nervous about the pace over that distance.  Mike wanted to know what our 800 time was and just laughed at both of us for not knowing. In our defense, we both were wearing our Garmins which aren't the best for stop watch capabilities. I think we hit around a 9:10 pace on the 1st half and 8:50 pace on the 2nd half but don't really know.  It felt fast and like we had picked up the pace!  Needless to say, we paid attention to our start/finish times on the last 2-400's and got 1:53 for both of those...that's definitely ALL OUT!!!  I definitely felt the workout even though it was short. 

Only a few more runs this week until the race.  I'm planning to take the race easy since my fitness over longer distance isn't quite where I had hoped it would be.  I always lose motivation in February and March and this year wasn't any different.  I see 5K's coming in the not so distant future so that should keep me motivated.  The race calendar just explodes once we get into April so I have no choice but to lose this winter weight and get race ready. 

If you are looking for a good workout, give this one a try.  It seems deceptively easy but you'll finish it up and have put in a hard effort. 

Race Recap - Bentonville Half Marathon

This past Saturday I took part in the inaugural Bentonville Half Marathon put on by Reinke Sports. It was an overcast and cold morning with temps in the high 30's and a slight spitty rain. My sister Lindsey and brother-in-law Tim came to visit and run the race with me. Over 1400 people were signed up for the half marathon and 5K event. We owe many thanks to Harps for not commenting on all the runners heading inside the grocery store for last minute potty stops. Of course, with 5 minutes to go before race start I was making a mad dash for the porta pottys!

The race start was so much fun with a downhill start that was a sea of people. It was so exciting to see this many people participating in a race in Bentonville!

Near Memorial Park we saw the Mulkey family cheering!


The race had lots of great volunteer support including a fun water/gel stop sponsored by PowerBar at mile 8. I got lucky and saw my friend Kyla here since this stop was just a few steps from her house!

My favorite part of the race was probably these middle miles from 6-9 miles! After that it was onto the city trail for the final 4 miles to the finish and I knew I would have to face the Crystal Bridges hill. I was excited at mile 12 to see my friends Lori and Amy at the start of the hill, I just wished there had been a water stop there. Next up at the top of the hill was Jon, Nikki, and Desiree with the encouragement to go the last .75 to the finish. Overall, it was a good race but that hill was just brutal. I was glad to finish and have a decent time for having missed several key long runs due to snowy weather. My official time was 2:26:06 but since I was using this as a training run, I could also go with my Garmin time of 2:23:20 which omits my stopped time while waiting for a bathroom at mile 9.5!