Running and Race Schedule

This past weekend was the lottery drawing for entry into the Wasatch 100 mile trail run. There were 272 spots for 383 applicants and I, unfortunately, was not a lucky entrant. That does mean that I am freed from the burden of having to decide which Hundy to do this year, as I had it narrowed down to 2 choices. Tahoe Rim Trail is the winner!

Now I just have to confront my self doubt and believe that I can actually finish the race. I know success is dependent upon my state of mind and that will be my biggest challenge by far as I work toward this goal. Right now, I consider myself pretty out of shape and I have a lot of work ahead. My IT band was inflamed for nearly a month after the Vegas marathon, so I had to take it easy. Workout options in this small town are somewhat limited in the middle of winter: the nearest pool is 30 minutes away (with a full time job and an infant, I don't think so...), biking on the ice is not ideal, I'm too cheap to buy a membership to the one gym in town, and I would rather rub salt in my eyes than ride the bike trainer inside. So, I stuck to running much less than normal, maybe 10-20 miles/week. The last few weeks have been better and I'm now up to my regular 40 miles/week, but it doesn't feel very easy and I haven't done a run longer than 9 miles since the marathon. Alas, it is really okay and I'll be in shape by the time the first race rolls around.

Here is the official race schedule for the year (subject to change, of course):

April 17th, Desert RATS 25 mile: I've done this race 3 times in the past, '06, '07, '08 (I watched with 3 week old Selah in the Bjorn in '09). My goal is break my PR of 4:38.

May 1st, Collegiate Peaks Trail Run 50 mile: This was my first ultra ever in 2007. My goal is to break my 50 mile PR, 10:31.

June 26th, Seattle 1/2 marathon. Mike is doing the full marathon and I get to push Selah in the Chariot. I consider this a just for fun race. Hopefully, we'll be able to hook up with our friends Joe and Heidi while we're up north.

July 17th, the big one! Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile. Goal? finish without dying :)

October 17th, Denver Rock n Roll Marathon.

December 5th, Las Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon. I did the 1/2 at 22 weeks pregnant in 2008 and this was my first "official" marathon in 2009. My goal is to break my marathon PR of 3:30.

It's going to be a big year!

Iowa!

Mike and I successfully traveled to Iowa Friday night. . . just barely. Our first flight was delayed by 70 minutes, leaving us with 20 minutes to catch our second flight. Of course, the second flight was in a different terminal and we got there with less than 2 minutes to spare. Mike's bladder was on the verge of bursting, so he had to stop to pee while I ran to the gate. The woman at the gate told him, "You better burst next time!". Amazingly, our luggage made it through the short layover! We had a race Saturday morning and would have been very very very disappointed to not have our bags.

We took advantage of the delayed flight by heading to the park to play. Selah loves swinging, slides, grass, rocks, and playing in general.

Mike and I ran the country's largest cross country race on Saturday morning, the Living History Farms Race. He ran it several times in and after college and actually won it about 10 years ago. The race has now grown to 7500 runners!! We had so much fun! It is all on the LHF, literally through multiple shin to thigh-deep creeks (I think there were 6 or 7 crossings), up mud walls so steep you need ropes to get up them, through corn fields for 7.25 miles. Many dressed up in silly costumes--we saw a pack of Crayons, Santa and his reindeer all tied together, lots of prom dresses on men, men with not nearly enough clothing on, etc etc.

Here we are after the race.

I felt pretty good despite the chill and was happy when I got to mile 2 in 17:30. I didn't have a watch and asked another runner for the time at 4 miles. He said "40:00" and I couldn't believe I had slowed down so much! He must have given me the wrong time because I crossed the finish line at 57:56, about 7:58 pace. That was good enough for 12th in my age group and the 54th woman of 3200 overall! The race gave me a confidence boost for the upcoming Vegas marathon (my goal is 8:25 pace to qualify for Boston). I figure if I can do 7:58 pace through the woods and over logs and through creeks, there's a decent chance I can do 8:25 pace on the flats. Mike ran it in about 45 minutes, good for 8th in his age group and 72nd man.

Selah got to hang out with Grandma while we ran--a treat for everyone involved! Marge is coming to Vegas with us as well.

We're in Monticello now for a few days before driving South to Missouri for the 16th annual AGRA, Annual Great Rieken Adventure. Marge's family has been meeting at her brother Tom's place for Thanksgiving and fun and this will be our first year going. We are so excited!