70.3 Love

I now not only owe you 1 race report (RnR Providence), but now 2!

Sunday, I surpassed all my expectations finishing 30 minutes faster than planned, and feeling incredible for the entire race.

I am in love even more with triathlon

and now,

with 70.3!

I can't wait to give you the full report!

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Boston's Run to Remember Race Report

I know this is a little overdue...

Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, S & I packed up the car & headed to Boston. We were staying at the Hotel exactly at the expo & race start, which was a first for me. After checking in at the hotel, we headed to the expo to pick up our packets.

Nothing special here.

A boring plain white cotton T, and that was about it, besides the coupons and race fliers. After a quick lunch, we headed to the Prudential Center for a little shopping, followed by dinner at Cheesecake Factory.

Back at the hotel, I got my gear together...

My first race in my Team Tough Chik outfit!

In the middle of the night, I got awoken by a call from my alarm company. Kevin's friend set off the alarm at our house and the police showed up, nice. Finally I made it back to bed, in time to wake up a few hours later.

Race morning, we ate breakfast, got ready & snapped a quick pic.

I was nervous about this race, as most of you knew. I hadn't done a long run in probably 6 weeks, and it was only 8 miles. For the few weeks leading up to the race, I had only been running once a week for about 4 miles at a time I knew my endurance was lacking, and was hoping my knee would hold up. At least I looked cute!

We headed down to line up in a self-seeded corral, and opted for the 10:30 group. I knew I'd lag behind that, but I wanted to start up with S. The race started with the police helicopter flying overhead, and circling over us. We started off... but didn't know where the start line was! There was no area marking the race start!! I just started my Garmin over one of the timing mats & hoped it was the right one.

My plan was to go as slow as I needed to, walk when I needed to, and try hard not to DNF.

I started off slow and steady, and really started to slow around miles 6-8 and on. 

I saw S before I hit the turn around, and cheered her on. I stopped for more water at almost every water stop. One of the water stops manned by Police Academy students ran out if cups, thankfully I had my bottles to refill! The weather was hot, but thankfully there was a nice breeze as we ran along the Charles River, and lots of shade from trees lining the sidewalks. The views were pretty, so I took a couple minutes to take a picture or two as an excuse to stop.

From mile 7 on, there was a group of girls I was getting used to seeing. Many of them would pass me, I'd pass them back, for almost the entire rest of the race. There was one girl in particular, who cramped up at mile 11ish i think... I passed her & she never passed me back. Then after a short side loop, she was in front of me. I'm pretty sure, she skipped the loop, boooo!!

The hills were wearing me out!!

I started running 2 minutes or 3 minutes and walking 1 minute. My knee was achy & I was exhausted. I just wanted to be finished!!

Thankfully, I was soon recognizing the waterfront where we started, thank god, I was going to make it!! However, the same problem we had with an unlabeled start, we had with the finish line. Where was it?? Could I sprint to the end? I guessed it was the timing mat when I saw it, and picked it up to an 8:47 pace for the final push and passed a girl I had been battling the whole race.

We exited back into the expo center, there were bagels, fruit, and coconut water. I grabbed an orange and a coconut water and headed back to the hotel room to meet up with S.

Even though it wasn't pretty, I finished Half Marathon #10!

2:50:24

13 min/mile pace

1373/1394 Females 19-29

5336/5400 overall

yikes, I really was back of the pack in this one!

Good news?

I had plenty of time to think out there about how important training is, and how I need to get everything in for 70.3 training so I make it!

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Rock N Roll DC Race Report!

Pre- Race

We flew in to DC early friday morning, which left us plenty of time for sight-seeing. Kevin, S & S's boyfriend and I hit the sights one by one. Washington monument, Lincoln memorial, Korean & WW2 war memorials, the white house. We probably made 5-8 miles on foot with all the walking we did.

Cherry Blossoms in bloom at the Washington Monument!

Lincoln Memorial

White House!

After, we hit the metro to get to the Expo at the DC armory. It was a quicker ride than expected, and there was no line to get in the building as perviously told there would be. All in all, it was smooth sailing, as we headed in to pick up packets & meet up with T, who was running the marathon.

Major downside? My bag was lacking swag. Coupons only, where S had free samples in hers. Bonus? Race shirts came in women's sizing, but dark blue only in XL. Since we were in a hurry to get to a tour of the capitol, we had to rush through the expo. I grabbed some free LARABARs (YUM!), and talked quickly with the KT tape guy. Unfortunately the line was 30+ minutes, but he gave me a free sample, and told me I'd be able to figure it out with the videos on the website, especially since I'm a Physical Therapist.

Next, we headed to the Capitol Building for a tour. After a ridiculous security screening (they forced me to toss my plastic Nuun water bottle pictured above), we were in for a quick video and tour.

After our tour, we finally made it back to our room to relax before heading to dinner at Founding Farmers. I got a delicious dish of scallops and butternut squash risotto, then we headed back to the hotel to get ready and go to bed early.

I laid out my gear, filled my bottles, and got all my St Patty's Day gear together.

Time for bed!

Race Day

I woke up at 5:45am, feeling completely rested (I love those Marriott beds!). I started to get ready, then headed downstairs to the hotel's starbucks to grab 2 bananas. Back to the room to get ready. S was planning on coming to my room at 6:30 since she had the bread & I had the peanut butter, but I got a text from her at 6:20 saying she just woke up. I was already getting anxious about getting there on time. I passed the time by applying as many glitter shamrock tattoos as I could.

skirt: Lululemon, tank & arm warmers: Tough Chik

Finally S arrived. I shoved down my breakfast & we headed for the metro. I was aiming to meet up with the Tough Chiks at 7:15, so we had a half hour, which we thought would be plenty. Unfortunatley the Metro was crazy. Packed trains, broken doors, and large crowds of people slowed us up BIG TIME.

Our packed train

Trying to escape the Metro

We didn't make it to the race area until 8am. Did you know the race started at 8? I definitely missed that team photo, and practically our VIP porta potties, which we got to sneak into quick before they broke down the final one. The waves were already going off, so we stood by an opening waiting for our corral.

We finally got tired of waiting, and decided to jump in and start. I came up with a race plan to work on keeping my knee happy, and getting me to the finish without limping. I would start off without S, so I wasn't pressured to go out too fast. I would walk the hills that aggrevated my knee. I would walk through the water stops. I would have fun and go at whatever pace felt right. My goal time was anywhere between 2:30-3:00.

The first half of the race was a breeze it seemed. Not too many hills, I started thinking "This could be a PR race for next year."

mile 1 10:59

mile 2 10:42

mile 3 10:38

mile 4 11:35

mile 5 12:45

At mile 5, the hills started

mile 6 11:40

I met a couple Tough Chik Teammates Lindy & Katye. They were running the relay, so we spent a minute chatting before they headed off to finish their race. It was great to meet them, even for a quick minute.

I was expecting to see Kevin between mile 6 and 7, but he was nowhere in sight. I texted him during a walk break, and I must have passed him by. I was feeling good. Stopping to stretch as needed, walking when needed. The miles were clicking by fast for me, even though I was moving slow.

mile 7 12:57

mile 8 13:05

mile 9 12:32

mile 10 12:44

mile 11 12:51

mile 12 13:46

Right before the marathon split, I saw these girls I met on the metro. They were running the full marathon in a nude bodysuit with shamrocks sewn onto strategic spots if you know what I mean. They were still going strong!

I was starting to get tired. Which weirdly made me very happy. My knee has been hurting so much lately, that I've been limited by pain & haven't been able to get tired or sprint to a finish line.

mile 13 12:23

Uphill toward the finish, toward the end I picked it up to a fantastic sprint & finished strong, squeaking right in under 2:45.

After picking up some food, I headed to find S & Kevin, listen to a little music & enjoy the 70+ weather.

T finished the marathon in 3:31.. yikes!

The good

the scenery

frequent water stops & great volunteers

Race shirt

weather

The bad

the Metro

chaos waiting for food, very disorganized

Mile 9 waterstop... only 1 side of the street & narrow!

The medal... wish there was more of a DC feel to it!

I'll turn this the right way later

Overall Stats

Pace 12:35

5K 34:12

10K 1:13:08

10 mile 2:02:19

HALF MARATHON 2:44:54

overall 14074/16321

Division 2683/3027

Gender 8910/10725

Post race adventures to follow soon!

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(Long Overdue) My Brother's Goofy Race & a Half Race Report

Sorry it took me so long to post this! I know several of you asked to read my brother's recap of the races, here is the short & sweet of it.

This has been a long time coming. All the blood, sweat, and yes even tears have finally paid off.

It was almost a year ago when I decided I wanted to run the Goofy’s Race and a half Challenge. What’s that? It’s when you run the Disney World half-marathon on Saturday, followed by the Disney World full-marathon on sunday. 39.3 miles in 2 days.

Am I crazy?

Let me answer your question with a question: am I a runner?

When I decided this would be my goal over the last year, I immediately enlisted the help of my coach Sara Bernard (http://runninginpink.com) to help coach me through the process. Her words to me were along the lines of “You’re nuts, but if you really want it, I’ll coach you” and “You should really do a 26.2 first so you understand what it takes.”

Unfortunately I’d injure myself trying to do barefoot running too quickly and had to delay my first marathon which was scheduled for July, to October. I was heartbroken, but worse, I was starting to burn out. In August I just didn’t think I could run anymore. With the help of my amazing girlfriend, Annette, I managed to keep myself from falling apart and make it to Hartford.

Hartford was amazing. One of the best races of my life. For a full recap, check out my post on my sister’s blog (Couch Potato to Marathoner). I had never been in more pain from running in my life, but it was totally worth it. I was a marathoner (and earned my post-race beers)!

Now my training shifted focus to Disney. Finally, what I’d been waiting for, for as long as I can remember. It was finally coming. After a week break (no running allowed said Coach Sara!!), I was burning and ready to go! I started my back-to-back long runs and off I went. Nothing would get between me and my goal. I would train like never before, I would do whatever it took. I’ve never wanted something so bad in my entire life.

Not only did I get stronger, faster, but my recovery shot through the roof. I could run back-to-back with no pain, no weakness. I felt like I was becoming invincible. Eventually during my training runs I capped out at 13 and 20 miles back-to-back. At this point I knew I was ready, and my taper started.

1/8/2012 – The Disney Half-Marathon. Oh you cruel heartless thing. I had ran the same course 2 years prior and had never been more miserable in my entire life. I’d say this picture accurately describes how things went this time…

Easy, almost effortless. Oh, and I still managed a new PR of 2:23:50, a nearly 14 minute improvement over my old PR. This was at a comfortable pace I could have run for another 20+ miles, but I needed to save my strength for day 2. I finished the race and waited for my family. My mom had been running the race too in her first half-marathon. I was so proud of her. We hugged, she cried, I cried. “I did it Jay” she said. That was enough to make me break down.

The rest of the day I relaxed and mentally prepared for the 26.2 to come the next day (oh and I ate an entire medium pizza). My sister, poor kid, had been sick. She was worried about the race. She’d been feeling sick lately and I told her I’d run with her to make sure she finished. It was the least I could do for her, after she did the same for me two years ago in the 2010 Disney World Half-Marathon. She was worried about messing up her time, I told her, my time didn’t matter, there will be other races, and making sure she finishes is more important.

The race was very difficult for her. She felt ill nearly the entire race, and we had to stop a couple times for her stomach issues. Remember runners, rule #1, nothing new on race day (except stuff like my silly Goofy hat, the power-aide did not agree with her stomach). We chugged along and I felt great the whole time, pacing her out, telling her to shut up and conserve energy. Eventually towards the end my calves started getting a little tight, but not too bad overall. For the full race recap (she did a fantastic job), check it out over on her blog.

(home stretch!!)

While at Disney and on our celebratory cruise, I also had the chance to read “Born to Run”. Whilst running my races that weekend, it struck me, I had a huge smile on my face; I love running. The problem with running for many, is that they’ve forgotten how to love running. We were, in may ways, born to run, and it just feels so natural, but many have been conditioned to think of running as punishment, and that is truly unfortunate. While on the cruise, Coach Sara told me I could do anything I wanted to do.

I ran.

Not only did I run, but I ran about 10 miles total that week, doing laps on a cruise boat. I was just as happy running those laps as I am when I hit the Charles River during the Spring.

It’s funny because we were never a super athletic, or even healthy family. Now we’re a family of healthy runners, and even better, marathoners.

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Disney Marathon Race Report (Part 2)

So we left off our pre-race story with sickness, and a sleepless night.

Did you miss the pre-race recap? read it HERE.

Race Day

The phone rang at 3am. Instead of listening to what Disney character had called to wake me up, I picked up the phone and slammed it in place. I was exhausted. I was mad. I started sobbing.

How am I going to do this?

I'm exhausted.

I can't breathe.

My nose is filled with snot.

If I felt like this at home...

I would call out sick from work.

I would totally skip my run.

I would take Nyquil and sleep all day.

My mom and Kevin tried to comfort me. "You don't have to do it. If you don't feel up to it don't worry."

"But this is the WHOLE reason we're here!"

I cried, got up from bed, and started putting on my race gear. My brother came over and told me he'd stay with me the whole race. He'd repay the favor I gave him 2 years ago in the Disney half by not leaving his side. I knew I needed him on this marathon morning.

I made up a piece of bread with banana and peanut butter (my usual pre-race fuel), packed my honey stinger chews and waffle into my skirt and, grabbed a protein bar, and stuffed as many kleenex as I could in my skirt, pack and hands as I could. Soon, jason, S and I were boarding the bus to get to Epcot.

I tried eating my breakfast, but I really couldn't stomach it. I knew it was bad to head into a marathon with such little fuel in my body, but I just couldn't eat. I finally threw it away in the trash so I could concentrate more on blowing my nose.

We finally got to the staging area, we didn't have bags to check, but headed to the information tent to see if they would let my brother change corrals to be with me in corral D. Thank god they did based on his word of half marathon time the day before. While we were waiting, I txtd Sara from Words to Run By & found her!

Sara & I pre-race

She was on day 2 of her adventure of the Goofy Challenge, She was battling a toe blister, and was worried about finishing. I wished her good luck, but unfortunately Sara got pulled from the course not far from the end. Visit her recap HERE, it is an absolutely amazing story of perseverance, determination, and that stubbornness we all display as badass runners. If you need inspiration, you need to check it out.

We took a couple more pre-race photos. In pictures I didn't look too horrible...

S & I pre-race

Jason & I pre-race!

We headed to the corrals, stopping twice at porta potties on the way. I felt like I went through a million kleenex. We headed to corral D, and on the way I saw Team Hoyt on the big screen. They are such a huge inspiration to me as well. I love hearing about them racing, and was so excited to be racing the same race as them!

Soon with fireworks and cheering Corral D (for Determination!), was off! I was excited to get going, but felt sick, tired, and sluggish. I had my Garmin on, but my brother told me not to look at it (it was pitch black and I couldn't anyways). He told me to let him know if we needed to slow down, or stop to walk. Disney Highway to Epcot....

mile 1: 13:07 (quick bathroom stop)

mile 2: 11:44

at 2.5 we hit Ecpot, it was dark and all lit up. We ran through the countries and out by the Epcot ball.

mile 3: 11:46

Back to Disney highway. I was still feeling awful, constantly blowing my nose. We walked through the water stations, and I tried to drink some powerade figuring it may give me some calories since I barely took in any that morning. Big mistake realized later in the race. Overall I was feeling ok, my knee was behaving, and we kept plugging along, chatting with other runners along the way.

mile 4: 11:41

mile 5: 12:22

mile 6: 12:10

mile 7: 12:16

mile 8: 12:23

mile 9: 12:09

mile 10: 12:30

Our pace was slowing, I was getting tired and light headed. I had to walk a little when the dizziness got bad. I was looking forward to hitting the Magic Kingdom. Mentally, I tried to break the race up into parks, with a goal to make it to the next one. Once we passed the Contemporary hotel, I got excited to get to Magic Kingdom. Running in and seeing the people cheering, and the castle was just as great as the last 2 times I've passed through, although this time we were about double the distance in. We stopped to take a couple pictures.

I didn't want to stop and wait in character lines, so instead I took pictures from the side if there was someone good. As we ran through tomorrow land we saw Buzz LightYear, and since my brother always loved him growing up, I had to get a picture for him.

By one of his favorite rides... Splash Mountain

And me by mile 11, because I honestly couldn't believe I had made it that far.

mile 11: 12:50

Leaving the castle!

After exiting the park, we knew we had only a little over a mile until we saw Jason's girlfriend & Kevin at the Polynesean. We ran by the resort looking for them, but couldn't find them. I was afraid we missed them, and started txting Kevin. Finally there they were! Jason changed from his long sleeve into his tank top, and we headed on after a hug and kiss from our biggest cheerleaders.

I ran away from them feeling happy, but tired. Sick, but ready to go on.

mile 12: 13:26

mile 13: 14:16

Next goal was to get to Animal Kingdom. I was going downhill. I felt sick to my stomach, I was barely able to eat any chews. I tried to eat part of a waffle, but couldn't get it down. I was able to drink water successfully. The lightheadedness came and went. I shed my arm sleeves and had run out of kleenex. I decided to keep my gloves and use them as a disgusting handkerchief.

mile 14: 12:51

mile 15: 14:04

mile 16: 15:23

Slightly after mile 15, was when I really felt sick to my stomach. I had that feeling that if only I could throw up, I'd feel better. So my brother told me to pull over and try. So I did. Power Aid. Nothing solid, I barely had anything in my stomach. After getting up the power aid I started feeling a little better nausea wise. I was able to eat more chews and drink water. My Nuun had gotten warm, so I stopped drinking. It was getting hotter and hotter out. I tried focusing on getting to Animal Kingdom.

Finally we were there!

There were animals by the gate to greet us.

I wish I had taken more pictures throughout Animal Kingdom. The Tree of Life, Expedition Everest. I was so focused on getting out of there so I could head to Hollywood Studios. In my mind, I knew if I could make it to Hollywood Studios I'd make it to the end.

mile 17: 17:20

mile 18: 15:10

Then came 19, which I had heard was the worst stretch of the race. All Disney Highway to Hollywood Studios. I'm pretty sure it was around this point where I started feeling overheated. I remember saying things to my brother who told me to quit spending extra energy, I wasn't even making sense. I made a comment that I've never run this far before. I knew I needed to take care of myself to avoid a repeat of what happened to A at Disney Princess last year. I stopped at a med tent and asked for ice. They asked me to sit down and they would tape it to me. I told them I wanted it just to cool down. 

I was thirsty and hot. We started walking more. My brother was encouraging and motivating, I teared up a little telling him how much I appreciated him. 

mile 19: 16:55

mile 20: 17:34

Then I saw it!

The sign for Hollywood Studios!

I started crying,

"We're gonna make it! We're really gonna make it. We're gonna finish!"

My brother calmly said, "Steph, of course we're gonna make it. We did well the first half, and you're doing fine, just keep going."

Then through a cruel twist, we realized that before entering the park, we had do an out and back loop, which totaled a mile. Such a cruel tease. I stopped at another med tent, I decided to try tying the back of ice to the back of my sports bra so I could try running with it, since prior I was only walking when I had ice. It worked, and I was able to pick it up, and alternate more running with the walking.

mile 21: 15:47

mile 22: 15:53

We hit Hollywood Studios! I honestly barely remember what we ran by, We were running through the Backlot tour and looped through NYC.

mile 23: 17:56

Past Mickey's Fantasia Hat...

Bye bye Tower of Terror!

My dizziness was still there, I was guzzling water. I was so thirsty and hot. My legs were getting tired, not pain, but just exhausted. My feet were aching, I just wanted to be finished. We headed down the walking path to Disney's Boardwalk. I remembered making this walk last year from my hotel and felt like we were getting so close to the finish. We alternated running and walking along the riverside path.

mile 24: 15:29

 We headed onto the boardwalk where there were people everywhere cheering for us. Most people had been walking the last 4 miles or so, I got excited passing people when I was able to run. My ice was sliding all over my back, but felt so good. We were almost there!! Only the back gate of Epcot and through the countries to go! I teared up again, but tried to calm myself down to prevent my heart rate from creeping up even higher.

mile 25: 15:48

There were people all over Epcot. I remember taking off my ice pack to give to a cast member to throw away. When I had to stop to walk, my brother would ask if I needed to stop stop. I told him no, we needed to make forward progress, I just wanted to be done. Then we saw Snow White! I HAD to stop, I was dressed up like her!

I'm pretty sure I teared up again here too.

Then we were running by the Epcot christmas tree & toward Spaceship Earth.

mile 26: 16:13

Just before this, Jason was asking me how bad did I want it? I told him I just wanted to be finished. Lets go. I think I may have needed one walk break backstage before running out in front of the crowd. I saw Kevin again cheering us on with my mom and everyone else.

We gave a wave, and headed toward the finish, I was sooooo ready to be done!

That last bit I picked it up to a 12:51 pace.

I crossed the finish.

I started sobbing.

I hugged my brother.

I thanked him and told him I owed it all to him. I would have never made it without him. I've dreamed about this moment for 6 years and he made it possible on a day where the conditions made it seem unlikely to happen.

We did it.

Him 39.3 miles

Me 26.2 miles

I was ready to collapse. 

I got more ice, grabbed some water and food I knew I wouldn't be able to eat.

We went to our meeting spot, and sat down. My feet felt swollen and I couldn't wait to get my sneakers off. 

I'm a Marathoner!

Despite the horrible conditions thrown my way, I'm incredibly proud to say I did it.

And you know how I said I would never run another one unless a 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike were before it?

Now I need to do another solo 26.2 to see what I can do when I actually feel well.

So be assured, there will be another marathon in my future!

Look at that sweet bling!

Overall Stats

overall place - 11313/13478

gender place - 4979/6315

division place - 897/1114

Half Marathon split -  2:45:52

Marathon time - 6:17:06

Post-race recap will be part 3!

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