Friday Five: Fave Race Memories

Posted by hellyontherun in Race, Running, Uncategorized and tagged with Favorites, Marathon, Memories, R2R2R, Race, Running, Top 5 August 8, 2014

Hooking up again today with the DC Trifecta girls Mar on the Run, You Signed Up For What!?, and Eat Pray Run DC for this week’s topic of “Favorite Races”.

This is a tough one.

But, if I had to narrow things down, here are my top 5 so far:

1. Bisbee 1000

My husband and I did the Bisbee 1000 Ultimate Stairclimb race a couple of Octobers ago. Bisbee is 25 minutes away from where we grew up and we actually had never heard of the race til a few months prior! Once we did, we knew we had to do it. It was actually my husbands first race ever!! What a way to start–with a 1000 stairs to climb lol! The steps weren’t consecutive, but they totaled 1000 once all was said and done. The course ended up being a little over 4 miles and it was definitely a challenge but sooo much fun.

2. Rock n Roll Arizona 2014

This was my first big race post baby #2 and I had the ambitious goal of getting a 1/2 marathon sub 2 hour finish.

And I did it!!!

I trained so hard for this race and knew that I was putting maybe too much pressure on myself considering I had given birth to my second child 6 months prior. But I really wanted to challenge myself and I really wanted to work towards something. My husband also ran this race and the feeling I had when I finished and fell into his arms is something I’ll never forget. 1:58:11!!!

3. Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon–Madrid, Spain

It’s Spain, need I say more? 🙂 This was another fun race my husband and I did. Actually, I’m noticing a trend. All my faves so far I’ve run with my husband 🙂

It was a hilly couse and definitley different in a lot of ways compared to American races but I was extremely pleased with my 2:08 finish.

4. Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim

Doing R2R2R is something I will NEVER forget. By far the most challenging and most exciting thing I’ve ever done.

Over 45 miles in two days. 100+ degree temps. Insane elevation changes.

It was simply amazing.

at the finish line of the Canyon 🙂

5. Phoenix Marathon

My first. You’ll never forget your first.

Again, I was ambitous attempting this 7 months after having my son, but I wanted to do it. I didn’t have any “real” goals. I had a time I was shooting for but wouldn’t be devastated not getting (I didn’t get it)–I just wanted to cross that finish line.

And I did in 4:44:12 🙂

My husband didn’t officially run the race but he might as well have as he carried my the last 6.2 miles. When I hit the wall, I thought I was done and I was frustrated I couldn’t keep going. He kept pushing me though and ran/walked with me those last miles. And I’ll never forget his words when we saw the “final mile” sign: “This is the last mile of the first marathon of your life. Finish strong.” I ran that entire last mile.

Crossing that finish line=best feeling ever (my husband took this pick 🙂 )

Yep, I’m a finisher!

–What would say is your favorite race or race memory?

Have a great weekend amigos!!

Unexpected Rest Days

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Healthy, Life, Race, Recovery, Resting, Running, Sickness, Unexpected Rest Day June 10, 2014

I had mentioned I was feeling under the weather and I truly felt that I was on the mend but….

I’m not. I still feel icky 😦

Today is day 5 of no running and I can’t remember taking this long of break.

And I’m getting a little antsy.

But I know that rest is necessary for recovery, not just from running injuries but from other illnesses too. My head hurts, my eyes burn, my nose is stuffed and runny, my throat aches, my body aches….it’s just not a good situation. And I have two kids I run around after all day lol.

I have my 27k trail race on Saturday and the likeliness of me running before then isn’t good. My husband often travels for work and when he does–like this week–I take my kids to the gym daycare where I usually cross train. If I have to, I will get on the ‘mill but most times I’m on the elliptical or bike. I think this is what I might do the next few days.

— How do you handle unexpected rest days? Days when you had running on the schedule and life threw you a curve ball?

A What’s Next Update

Posted by hellyontherun in Race, Running and tagged with 27k, Adrenaline, Aravaipa Running, New Things, Race, Run Steep Get High, Running, Running at Night, Trail Running May 30, 2014

I hadn’t planned on doing any summer racing but my running group advertised a popular trail run that many said they were participating in.

So I’ve never done an actual trail race.

And I’ve never raced at night.

Totally seems like a good idea to do both for the first time together, right?

The race is put on by Jamil Coury, the guy I wrote about a few weeks ago who did the Barkley Marathon. He founded Aravaipa Running and I’ve heard nothing but good things about their races. I’m super excited to finally have a chance at participating in one.

I’m pretty excited about it actually. Nervous too, but definitely more excited. There’s a 10k, a 27k, and a 64k option and I decided to go with the 27k. AZTNT, my running group, has a ton of people signed up for it so it’s going to be a great time running with friends. I don’t have any goals or expectations with it; I just plan on enjoying myself doing something different.

I feel like I need things to look forward to to kinda help the days go by. With this 100 Days of No Soda starting, I’m going to need all the motivation I can get. I plan on also looking around for a 4th of July run. August will be plenty busy with me going back to work (this news will be elaborated on in a later post 🙂 ) and once fall gets here, race season comes with it full throttle.

But for now, this trail race in a couple of weeks has me counting the days. I’ve got my head lamp ready and we’ll just see what happens!

–Have you ran a race a night? What tips can you give me?

–Do you schedule races to have something to look forward to? What’s the method behind your planning, if any?

Have a great weekend! Tomorrow’s the last day to think of something for the 100 Days of Summer Challenge! Keep me company (and help hold me accountable) as I try to go without soda 🙂

The challenge starts June 1st and ends September 8th. Click here for details.