Gonna Fly Now – 2015 Philadelphia Half Marathon

November 25, 2015 by Meridith

The Philly Marathon holds a special place in my heart. This race is THE ONE. The one that inspired me to run.

In 2010, I cheered Victoria during her first full marathon and that was where I was officially bit by the running bug.

In 2011, I ran my first road race, the Rothman 8k, which is part of the weekend’s events with Brooke (and cheered Victoria the next day during the half).

2012 was a year of volunteering – I gave out heat wraps and medals – giving back to the running community that has provided me with so much.

2013 was a year of cheering Kyle at HER first marathon. Are you sensing a theme here?

And finally, in 2014, I ran the half, while Victoria ran the full.

This year I once again registered nice and early for the half. As the date drew closer I asked my dear friend, Chrissy, if she had any interest in joining me. Chrissy is newer to the running game and we had a lot of fun at the Broad Street 10 Miler in May. She and I have been friends since 3 grade and I always have a blast with her. After talking her into it (not difficult, for the record) we were ready to embrace the race!

The most important thing, besides the running, was what we were going to wear. Since we are from the Northeast and since we love coffee, hot chocolate, donuts, bagels, and everything else Dunkin’ Donuts has to offer… we settled on this!

Flat us, practicing holding hands.

We woke up bright and early on race day and made our way to… Dunkin’ Donuts. Because, you know, priorities.

Got the train to Philly and walked the mile or so to the start area. The goal was to meet up with Bonnie pre-race to give high fives, hugs, and pep talks.

But that’s not exactly how it played out.

There were security lines that seemed to go on for blocks, serpentine-ing around streets and buildings.

Since the Boston Marathon tragedy occurred, they’ve added security check points at the Philly Marathon. I sincerely appreciate and completely understand the efforts.

However, this was like nothing I’d seen before. I know recent events had an effect on this but there was a lack of communication, volunteers, and general knowledge for the runners waiting in line. Additionally a lot of people who were cheering were in this line and I think that made the quantity of people more than the checkers could handle swiftly.

We waited on the line for an hour, without seeing much movement. Once the clock struck 7am (the time the race was supposed to start), all of a sudden we moved at a fast pace, streaming through the gates. The first racers were off at 7:13.

That said, that was the only snafu that we encountered that day. Everything can’t be perfect, right? We still made it into the blue corral with plenty of time to spare. Sometimes being in the last corral has its benefits!

We danced our way up to the start line, jamming to songs like the Percolator and Murder She Wrote over the sound system. Kicking it old school!

Soon we crossed the start line and took off to the sounds of the Rocky theme. Obviously! We heard that often throughout the 13.1 miles and I pumped my arms over my head each time.

I think one of the (many) reasons I adore running in Philly because I know where we are at all times. It’s my own personal tour of Philly, via foot! We passed the church my friends recently got married in and then a bit later on, the Moshulu, where their reception was held. In October, Jay and I drove from point A to point B. Not so much on Sunday!

Chrissy and I were doing 1:1 intervals and keeping our eyes peeled for fun things. Like all the Dunkin’ Donuts along the course. I’m pretty sure we saw at least 6!

Instagram friend and fellow blue buddy Rachel found us and we got to see her several times throughout the race, which was awesome.

Running a course you know is also sort of a mixed blessing because you know what to expect… and where the huge hill is. We hit several smaller hills and Chrissy would ask me each time, “Is THIS it?” And my answer every time was, “No. But you’ll know when it is.”

Now?

And she did. Because it felt like it was never ever going to end. Once we finally got passed it, we resumed our 1:1 intervals throughout Fairmount Park.

I listened to an awesome pep talk that someone else was getting from their personal cheer squad. I decided that I too, needed a pep talk, which I voiced. An awesome man on the course did just that. You can always rely on fellow runners to pick you up!

After the rough uphill a bit early, there was a glorious, glorious downhill. Hurrah! At the bottom of the downhill was a cheer group that I was very much looking forward to.

Turn up your speakers and get ready to boogie!

Are they not freaking awesome?

From there, we knew we only had a few miles left. Our goal was to finish under 3 hours and we knew if we stay consistent with our intervals, we would achieve it!

I focused on my breathing and listening for the beep of Chrissy’s watch. We didn’t talk much the last couple of miles, we just wanted to get to this point.

Jokers to the left, clowns to the right?

Once we got passed that sign and saw the front of the Art Museum, it was go time. We started to pick up speed and crossed the finish line, hand in hand!

And then we got medaled. Which was when all the emotions hit.

And there might have been a few happy tears shed between the two of us.

We did it! Furthermore, we did it together and felt really accomplished about the entire experience.

Chrissy has told me a few times that I’m one of the reasons that she started running and I can’t even begin to tell you how special that makes me feel. I know what running does for me and to have her be able to experience that and feel so positive, it’s truly a blessing to be part of her journey.

This medal is the BEST. It rings!

We found Rachel again while waiting for the finish line snacks and goodies and it was great to be able to catch up with her and learn of her 32 minute PR. Freaking awesome! As was the warm chicken broth and rice that they give at the end of the line of goodies. I told the volunteers how excited I was for it and they seemed surprised. No way, man! The salt and the warmth is perfection.

Momentum Jewelry helped me keep my CAN DO attitude!

On the train Chrissy and I took our banana phone picture, as is standard practice here!

We also rang our medals incessantly. I’m sure the other passengers loved us. No shame!

Once the Philadelphia Marathon weekend is complete, I feel like it’s the official start of Thanksgiving and holiday time. So, come at me, sides! My body is ready!

The Scoot a Doot Chicks hope you all have a very happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving! We’ll see you back around these parts on Friday.

Race Recap: 2015 Solemates CollaBEERation 5k & Brewfest

November 9, 2015 by Jennifer

Only in Colorado would we combine two of our favorite things, craft beer and running, in one location. Shoes & Brews, half running store half craft brewery, is doing just that. It’s the only place in the nation where you can shop for top-of-the-line running gear AND enjoy a pint of tasty craft beer. It also happens to be a mere 25 minute drive from my house.

Mer and Jenn sampling the brews at Shoes & Brews May

When I found out about the Solemates CollaBEERation 5k & Brewfest hosted by Shoes & Brews and Left Hand Brewing, my husband said he’d run it with me. This made me super excited because my husband doesn’t run; a lifetime of playing hockey makes for uncooperative knees. Instead, he supports me by being my race photographer (because he’s the bestest). So I signed us up, and then we learned were there was unlimited beer samples at the finish!

I picked up our packets and was thrilled with what was inside, and with the lack of what was inside. Included were a sweet, light-weight race hat from Headsweats, a granola packet from Barbara’s Better Granola, a Honey Stinger Energy Gel, and a coupon for a RoadID bracelet. What was missing was excessive flyers and advertisements and other things that normally end up in the garbage or recycle bin. One of my very favorite things about this race is that it was at 10 am not at 6 am. I appreciated the extra blanket snuggling time, specially since it was cold that morning!

Warm clothes for the race!

I love small races where the mood is fun and festive and this race is both of those things! The crowd was smiling and eager to get the race started.

At the start

Pre-race stretching

The course ran along the St. Vrain Greenway in Longmont, CO, and we enjoyed great views of the Front Range and Longs Peak.

We ran intervals because my lungs were not happy and my husband was sore from skating. Our pace was 12:31, which is about average for me and I loved being out there him. We held hands when we walked and cheered each other on as we ran. It was one of my most fun races!

We crossed the finish and smiling volunteers cheered for us, all the volunteers were great! The expo was rocking with live music, and we hurried to get our free beer sample because we were THIRSTY!

The guy in the tutu wins at life right now.

The free samples ended up being free PINTS, so that was awesome!

We enjoyed our beer and the band, but decided not to have a second cup. We were hungry and went and ate eggs benedict instead. We opted not to take the shuttle limo, hilarious as it was, and chose to walk the 700 meters back to the parking lot.

The shuttle back to the start

This was such a fun race that I think it will be my new favorite local 5k!It had a great vibe and chill atmosphere. It’s a young race so they are working out kinks, (some porta potties at the aid station would be great), but they do a great job and the volunteers were fantastic. I’ll definitely be there next year!

Did you run a race this weekend? Were you at Wine & Dine? Tell us all about it in the comments!

How Sweet It Is – Hershey Half Marathon

October 21, 2015 by Meridith

Think back to what you were doing in January of this year. Usually I can’t remember what I did yesterday, let alone what was going on in January but I can tell you broad strokes. It was cold here, probably snowing, because it snowed all winter. I wasn’t eating sugar (errrrr, I really need to get back on that for a bit). And I was dreaming of fall racing.

Naturally, when my Florida buddy, Meredith, messaged me asking if I was interested in doing the Hershey half I said, “You betcha!” After checking on logistics of the date, and stalking the website to see when registration opened (May 1st, for the record), we paid our registration fee and processing fee of $81.31.

We love you Mr. Hershey!

We both went about life after that until September rolled around and we realized, “Oh crap! The Hershey Half is next month!” My foot was still on the mend and training was less than stellar but I badly wanted to do this race so I figured that I would be able to keep the 14 minute mile course requirement. Plus MEREDITH! I hadn’t seen her since January when I got a brief glimpse of her running her first marathon in Disney.

Our planning was minimal. Our mindset was to just have fun and see where the course took us (aka, the finish line). With Hershey Kisses on our Sparkle Athletic visors, of course.

Meredith made the kisses! Always doing my part, I supplied the tape.

The expo was small and simple, although a little on the breezy side since it was held in the walkway between the arena and outside. The weather had us worried, with temps only reaching 34 degrees.

This race comes with lots of perks, besides the basics of the shirt and medal. At the expo we were given cinch bags that had the 13.1 magnets, candy, and two tickets for the amusement park! We put those to good use both Saturday and Sunday.

Is she not the cutest?

Meredith is used to Florida weather and I’m used to… well, I’m used to this type of weather but I can’t say I love it. As long as there wasn’t wind, we assumed we would be okay with our layers upon layers. On Sunday morning we bundled up; I brought extra tights so we’d both have warm legs and Meredith hand warmers for us.

The start of the race seemed a little chaotic. There were no corrals and we weren’t exactly sure where we were going or even where the start was in relation to where we were. We followed the hoards and eventually found our way to where we needed to be.

The first mile was crowded as the 5,000 runner took off all together; Meredith and I got separated nearly immediately but I could see her just a little bit ahead of me. I ran the first mile before settling into 1:1 intervals.

Right around mile 2 I caught up to Mer and we decided to stick together for the rest of the race with the 1:1 intervals. After that first mile, the course opened up and never felt crowded.

Mile 3 was in the park.

What you did feel were the hills and they were numerous! Again, I’m in a flat area of New Jersey, so what I consider a hill isn’t really a hill. These were HILLS, all capital letters.

May you run and not be weary.

The crowd support was really nice during this race. It wasn’t Philly marathon sized crowds however, it seemed like the spectators were spaced exactly right. They knew where they were needed. Always on hills (which, remember, were never ending) and always with a kind word. Everyone was in good spirits on the course, too and I had fun chatting with people throughout.

The views were pretty spectacular. Fall in the Northeast, not too shabby.

Just after the hydration stop (which were plenty and well spaced) my foot was a little achy. I think it was right around mile 5; I knew that we just needed to push on and get it done.

The Meridith/Meredith team cannot be stopped!

There was a relay option so at mile 6.55 it was the hand off for that. Usually seeing people with their medals at this point might have been a little disheartening. However, we were thrilled to actually see the medals, as we hadn’t up until this point. They were adorable Hershey Kisses and that put some pep in our step up a hill.

The ladies of Desserts, Etc. were handing out COOKIES on the route, so you can bet we grabbed those.

The next few miles were through the Milton Hershey School campus and oh my gosh, those kids. Those kids. What a boost!

The only sad part was somewhere along this stretch is where I lost my KISS! My taping skills need work. Whomp.

We hit mile 11 which lead us back through town. They were giving out Hershey Kisses which we were pretty happy about and we laughed at these signs.

Up another hill and then a blissful downhill during the Children’s Miracle Network mile. I’m pretty sure that was the only downhill the entire race. (I might exaggerate slightly.) (But only slightly.)

We knew we were in the home stretch at this point. My watch had been reading .25 ahead the entire race but even still, when it alerted me to the fact that I’d run 13 miles and the finish line was nowhere in site, I was a little despondent.

The finish was in the arena and I knew we had to be inside but we kept going and going and going.

FINALLY, we turned, made our way into the arena and ran as fast as our legs would carry us over the finish line!

At the end of the race we were pretty excited to get our Hershey Kisses medals, heat wraps, and recovery bags which were little cooler bags with pretzels, a cookie, granola bar, apple, whey protein bar, and a Hershey bar. Chocolate Town Challenges spares no expense for their racers and it’s appreciated!

Overall, I loved this race. I’ve found my most recent races have renewed my sense of strength and self and for that, I’m so grateful.

What are your bucket list races?

Run Army Strong: Army Ten Miler

October 12, 2015 by kpjenn

As my marathon training winds down (it’s this weekend, guys!), I’ve sort of been struggling to keep my head in the running game.

Life gets busy sometimes, and priorities change. Motivation changes. I made the decision a while back that following the marathon, the next couple of months were going to focus less on racing and more on my other fitness goals. Running just isn’t giving me the same balance that it used to.

So, as I’ve been struggling through this “running is meh” mindset, I’m glad that the “I love running!” version of me decided to sign up for a handful of races as part of my marathon training. It’s definitely been a little bit more motivating to have events to go to and publicly accountable reasons to get my training miles in.

In the last month, I’ve done the Navy/Air Force Half Marathon (which I’ll re-cap soon!) and the Army Ten Miler. This is the cool thing about living in Washington DC: lots of opportunities to run really fun, well-organized races put on by different branches of the military.

Obviously, the big one that everyone recognizes is the Marine Corps Marathon – I haven’t run this one yet, but I have spectated it! It’s on my bucket list… maybe next season? If I feel less meh about running then?

But after MCM, the Army Ten Miler is probably the second most well known. At 35,000 runners, it’s the third largest ten miler in the world.

Yesterday morning, all 35,000 of us descended upon the Pentagon to get things started. Because there are so many runners, ATM does a wave start, with eight waves that start roughly eight minutes apart. It works pretty seamlessly. Both times I’ve run this race, the start was smooth sailing.

The only downside to yesterday morning? It was CHILLY. Like 44 degrees by the time I got to the Pentagon. I had worn capris and a tank to run in (which was ultimately the best call), and had brought a sweatshirt to throwaway at the start, but because I didn’t want to have to check a bag o’ stuff, I decided not to wear anything else to stay warm.

Consequently, that also meant that because I got there STUPID early (I’m talking 2 hours early, folks. I’m an idiot. Or I just wanted to get there and get it over with.), I was faced with the prospect of standing outside in the cold for far too long. So, I decided to huddle in the Metro station until the security guards threw us out. Ultimately, that ended up being about an hour.

I was warm for an hour. And then I was banished outside to wait for the sun to come up and bless us with her warm, inviting rays.

This is the face of someone who just wants to be warm.

I went to my corral, found a curb, and proceeded to sit on it with my knees up around my ears until it was time to start.

Fortunately, that happened quickly and as my wave rolled forward, I kind of scooted into the wave in front of me and ended up starting with them. Ultimately, this worked out well for me, because it was clearly the pace group I should have been in.

My race plan was to stick to my marathon training strategy: 5-1 intervals, pacing around 10:30-11:00 min/miles. But then I thought about it some more. “It’s only ten miles.” “You can run faster than that.” “Why the hell not?”

So, I decided to push this race. I had a time in mind to finish by, one that I haven’t seen in a couple of years and knew I was more than capable of achieving. As we started, I kicked it out a bit, not going too fast, but hanging with the swifter-moving folks in our group. Turns out, I banged out the first two miles (without walking) in 8:20 and 8:14. Not mad about it.

After Mile 2, I decided to implement the intervals again, because I know they work for me. So I did. Stopping to walk for a minute every five definitely affected my pace, but I was surprised to see that I was still moving at a good clip. Miles 3-9 were all between 8:58 and 9:30 min/miles. And then I ran Mile 10 straight through, without intervals, to finish that one in 8:20, and ultimately meet my time goal for this race.

I don’t know what happened, but I was pretty stoked on it.

Today, however, my legs are a liiiiittle tired. I’ll have to be nice to them this week as we go into marathon day.

Here’s to knocking out that last bit of training and looking forward to 26.2!

East Coast Beat the Blerch 10k

October 2, 2015 by Meridith

In the past I’ve talked about the differences between North and South Jersey. Besides sports team preferences (don’t tell anyone but I give not one iota about sports), city preferences, and the way you say water, there is also a very vast terrain difference.

Which normally is not a big deal. A non-issue really.

Except if you sign up for a run in North Jersey.

When you’re from South Jersey, you’re used to all smooth sailing with the occasional bump that we call a hill down here. But if you sign up for Beat the Blerch at Lewes Park in Morristown you can expect trails, hills, and rugged terrain.

Which I knew when I registered because my dear friend Sharon hosts the Phillips 5k/10k Trail Run/Walk there each year. I’d seen the pictures.

But um, I sorta forgot.

Until we were driving up a deep winding road to get to the parking and the reluctant runner, Jay, turned to me and asked, “So, what do you think the course will be like?”

Not wanting to lie, I said, “Well, I think we’re in for an adventure.”

It’s like Jersey, only NORTH!

At that point we made our one and only race goal: don’t get hurt.

We want to LIVE.

Solid plan, right? We decided that we would run where we could and just try not to get hurt and/or hurt anyone else. We arrived early (because we are those people, always) and it’s a good thing that we did because there was a bit of a line for the buses to the race site.

This was the first time that Beat the Blerch came to the east coast, based on the popular comic by The Oatmeal (if you haven’t read it, stop reading this and go check it out. Seriously. Go. I’ll wait!) so we expected there to be a few snafus on the inaugural race. And there were, but we rolled with it. Because it’s so much easier and we were going to expend all energy on the course.

The 10k was slotted to start at 9:30 but from what I understand, there was an issue with many people getting there in time for the half marathon (which started at 9am) so they pushed the 10k start time back to 10am. A small wrinkle as a 10k runner, but one that if I were a half marathoner, I would have appreciated.

We used the extra time to hit the line of portapotties. Given the size of the event, they probably should have had twice the amount, at least.

Visiting with the Blerch was a must and he even offered us a seat on the couch. What a great guy!

All races should have free pictures! MAKE IT SO, UNIVERSE.

“Just go. I’ll catch up. Never.”

We somewhat reluctantly made our way to the start (those couches were really comfy) and soon we were off to the sounds of the Lion King and an announcer in a bacon suit. Mmmm, bacon.

Me = optimist
Jay = realist

Very, very quickly we realized it was survival mode. Game on. We ran when we were able to. We walked when it wasn’t possible (for us – I’m sure those who run trails regularly were just fine). I stuck to the right hand side, trying not to fall off any slopes and also making myself as small as possible as to not be in the way of those who were confident to run.

I watched the trail runners for tips, their toes pointed slightly out and their quick light feet, especially on the downhill. The trails I have run are compacted dirt and this one was filled with roots and rocks so the tripping potential was high.

The trail was gorgeous but I can’t really say that I got the full beauty feel of it because I was busy looking at the ground the majority of the time. It was also very narrow at certain points so unless you decided to run through the brush (some did, I did not), it was very single file.

How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?

While neither Jay or I got hurt, we saw people getting busted up left and right. We saw bloody knees, bloody elbows, sprained wrists, twisted ankles. There were emergency vehicles placed throughout the route and they were being fully utilized.

This was right around mile 3. After I took this pic I ran up the hill because Jay texted me that there was CAKE.

The day was gorgeous but I felt a bit dehydrated throughout. Thankfully it was cool enough and the tree coverage made it less of an issue, but the tiny cups at the water stations weren’t doing it for me. The volunteers were trying their hardest to keep everything filled but I don’t think they were prepared for the amount of people coming through.

You complete me.

We took a selfie at the stop, hitched up our boot straps and prepared for the second half of the trail.

Note: while I have the earbuds in, there was no tunes. I needed all my senses out there.

Here’s where things got a little (more) hairy, because the half marathon and 10k routes converged onto one path. I hugged the right as much as possible while walking and made sure to check behind me if I planned to hit the left to run.

I questioned my sanity multiple times. The miles dragged and while I was fine endurance wise, around mile 5 I was ready for the race to be over.

Soon enough, we came to a clearing and we had about a quarter mile to go. At least that’s what the volunteers told me at the bend. My watch lost signal while we were romping around in the mountains (I might be exaggerating slightly but it felt mountainous).

And the Blerch was there, right near the finish line! He quite obviously missed me.

He tried to sideline me with the offer of a selfie, which I happily accepted. Because when you can take a selfie with the Blerch, even if the finish line is 300 feet away, YOU TAKE IT.

And then I politely said, “Excuse me, I have to go beat you now.”

And then I got my medal and my banana (which tastes really good with Nutella) and the aforementioned Nutella and cake and purple drink.

So the good? The medal, banana, Nutella, cake, and purple drink. And free race pictures! And the Blerch! Also the fact that I didn’t die, fall off a cliff, fall in any which way (and trust me, that was a real possibility for me, the girl who falls often).

The “needs improvement” category is basically just logistics. The Interwebs rumblings are that transportation company that was originally supposed to work the race backed out. There were 6 school buses that were making the rounds for a lot of runners to get to and from the parking lot to the race site.

The line to get to the race was a bit long but bearable.

The line to get from the race site back to the cars was much more tedious.

Additionally, there were just too many people out on the course for the size of the trails. If everyone were going the exact same speed, I don’t think it would have been a problem (or maybe less of a problem?) but it was tough with everyone at different skill levels – it felt very “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”.

But despite all that, I beat the Blerch. And for that I call it a win!

Have you Beat the Blerch? What do you prefer, roads or trails? North or South? East or West?

Race Recap: Rocky Mountain Half Marathon

August 3, 2015 by Jennifer

On Saturday, I participated in the 2015 Rocky Mountain Half Marathon presented by Vacation Races, who, in case you aren’t familiar, hosts races at various national park locales across the country. I was super excited to register for this one because the Rocky Mountain National Park is celebrating 100 years this year, and as a proud native of Colorado, I really wanted the commemorative medal!

Got my bib and my shirt!

I’ve been to the location of the race, Estes Park (pronounced Estis) many times, but I’d never gotten up at 3:45 on a Saturday morning to get there before. The race started promptly at 6:00 am, and we arrived at about 5:35 with plenty of time to park and walk to the start. My saint of a husband came with me and brought his camera. He’s a keeper for sure!

Not quite awake but I’m ready to run!

Sunrise over Lake Estes

The race entry was limited to 1500, and 1329 raced. I felt this was a perfect number of people for the course. There was lots of room to move and maneuver, and I was never alone on the course even though I was running by myself.

Just keep waiting, just keep waiting…

And I’m off! I’m the one in purple (of course).

The first hill is in sight.

People are walking a half a mile into the race. Altitude + hills = no bueno.

I love when the mountains are pink from the sunrise!

I scoped a lot from the course, starting at mile 1. The course took us around the eastern edge of Lake Estes, and the views were pretty grand just like they were every mile of the course! Although the National Parks Service supports these races, we didn’t run through Rocky Mountain National Park. Instead, the course runs along the paved streets of the town, but the scenery is still spectacular. Nestled in a small valley with the lake and surrounded by Longs Peak, Mount Meeker, and many other peaks, Estes made sure the Rocky Mountain Half lived up to its name!

The weather was perfect for running. It was 54 degrees Fahrenheit when we got to the race, and by mile three, I was stripping off my hoodie and tossing it to my husband as I ran by! They also had a gear check at mile three for you to leave your jacket and they’d bring it to the finish for you. Nifty!

Mile 3 and I’m feeling strong.

It’s so pretty!

A bit further along came the first long hill of the course. I ran/walked it and felt good at the top, only I knew what was coming ahead. A slow, gradual 4 mile uphill slog where most of the 490-ish feet of elevation on the course is gained. There was a lot of walking going on in this section, folks. At least it was pretty!

The long, slow climb.

This is about the time that Meri texted me to see how I was doing. I whined to her about the never-ending hill of little oxygen, and she reminded me of something very important.

I love this girl.

Then I rounded a bend and saw this view. I stopped complaining.

At mile 9, the hill ended! HOORAAYYYY! I stopped for a potty break, grabbed some Honey Stinger energy gels, half a banana, and some Nuun and was off again. I loved that the aid stations had water, Nuun, energy gels, bananas, and orange slices. Way to keep us hydrated and fueled, Vacation Races!

It seems that mile 10 is were my body starts to whine and get annoyed. My hips start to get tight and pinchy, and I’m ready to be done. I put my head down and slogged through the rest of the race. I didn’t take any photos or video. My husband was down at the finish waiting for me and he got to see the elite runners come in. They were lucky enough to see some elk on the course!

Elk are a common site in Rocky Mountain National Park. That buck has HUGE antlers!

The elk were not cheering for the runners, and moved on to the golf course.

The finish is in site and I CANNOT WAIT.

Aaaand DONE!!!

I finished with a time of 3:17:47, much slower than my 1st half marathon. It’s okay, the elevation at this course was just under 7500 feet, plus there were lots of hills and no cushy Boardwalk to run on. I expected that my time would be quite a bit slower than at the April Fools Half. All in all, I’m quite pleased with myself!

It’s so pretty and special and I love it!

The medal for this race is really fabulous. It’s huge and heavy and bronze plated and I can’t wait to get a medal rack!!

I think I need to get this baby engraved.

I’m so proud that I ran this race and accomplished it. I knew going in that this would be the hardest thing I’d aver asked of my body, and I did it. It was hard and it hurt, but it wasn’t as hard or as painful as I expected it to be. This is something I’m super proud of, and will be for a long time. I conquered the Rocky Mountain Half!

Then it was time for recovery. Pro Compression socks, Mexican food, and vintage Batman. Perfect ending to a prefect day!

If you’re considering a Vacation Race, I would recommend you do it. I have nothing negative to say about the race. It was well organized, well sponsored, and well stocked. They fed us generously, gave us a pretty shirt and a GORGEOUS medal, and we got to run in a spectacular setting. Really, what more can a runner ask for?

What’s next on your race calendar? Have you done a Vacation Race Series race in the past?Do you like Mexican and/or classic sci-fi? Let’s chat in the comments!

*No compensation of any kind was given to me by Vacation Races for this race review/recap.

Race Recap: Skirt Sports 13er

July 6, 2015 by Jennifer

Hi all! Today I’m recapping the Skirt Sports 13er that took place on June 14^th at Davidson Mesa in Louisville, Colorado. I know it’s a little late, but trust me when I say the lateness of this post doesn’t mean the race wasn’t fantastic, because it totally was. And not because there was cake at the finish, but that didn’t hurt, either.

Photo Credit: Skirt Sports Website

I ran the 10k, mostly because I know the area very well, and let’s just say that there was no way I was running the last hill in the half marathon course. No way. It’s classified as a cat 5 climb, but, yeah, my eyes say it’s more like a cat 2. It’s a brutal hill, man, and I knew my butt was not ready for that action. So I skipped the half in favor of the 10k. I swung by the Sport Skirts headquarters to pick up my packet the Friday before the race. One of my favorite things about this race was the bib! I loved how they incorporated the elevation map in the design!

See the “get over bad relationship” hill? Yeah…I’m OUT.

The 10k course suited me just fine, nice and flat after the first long hill, and the views can’t be beat. I’ve run/written about this trail before, and it is one of my favorites along the Front Range. As usual, I ran the race without a partner. No matter! The weather was GORGEOUS, and I was looking forward to getting some sunshine and fresh air.

So much inspiration!

I know it says finish, but it’s really the start.

The only real hill on the 10k course is still no joke; it’s long and slow, and most of the 338 feet of elevation on the course is gained on that hill. It was less than fun, but I pushed myself to jog as much of it as I could. I didn’t even put my earbuds in. Instead I focused the birds chirping and the beautiful day.

I ran alone for the first two miles until I stopped to take a photo and a nice lady named Rachel Taylor stopped too, and offered to take a photo of me if I’d return the favor. Runner code, right!? Of course I was down, and she snapped this shot of me with Boulder in the valley behind me.

Rachel and I ran intervals the rest of the race and I told her the names of the mountains in our view as we ran. She was from Texas, and had driven up for the race. We talked about running, races, and how the running culture is so different between Texas and Colorado. The rest of the gravel trail was flat as we ran along the top of the mesa. Then, we ran through a paved business district to the finish at a local Home Depot. The course was easy and breezy, and Rachel made the race a lot of fun. Before I knew it, we were crossing the finish line! I even PR’d by 6 minutes!

I had completely forgotten about the cake! Luckily Rachel reminded me, and we made our way over to the cake tent. The cakes were all gluten free and there were so many to choose from! Rachel grabbed a slice red velvet, and after hemming and hawing between the carrot cake and the chocolate, the chocolate won out. IT WAS SO GOOD! I never knew gluten free cake could be so divine!

SO delish!

Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of Rachel, mainly because I suck at remembering to do that kind of stuff, but she is awesome. And so was this race. I am in love, and if they do it again, I’m all over it. There was such a great supportive vibe throughout the entire experience. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll do the half. Let’s face it, there’s CAKE at the end, and half finishers get a cute running skirt! Done and DONE! I highly recommend this one, folks!

Baby Got Wasatch Back

June 24, 2015 by camoozle

Best team name ever.

Yes, those are ninja stars.

Now that that’s out of the way, let the race recap begin! I’m still recovering from the epic experience that was Ragnar Wasatch Back. Utah brought all the extremes…heat, cold, elevation gain and loss: this race was no joke. I’m a bit of a Ragnar Veteran, so I thought this weekend would be just another Ragnar. I was prepared for the lack of sleep and the shenanigans. I had hydration under control thanks to the NUUN station at the start line. I had my new Skora Tempo and my Core…just in case. I had brought my biofreeze and compression socks and my DoTerra Blue Rub.

Most of all, I was so very excited to see my friends!

Ninjas, Ninjas, Ninjas!!!

I was not, however, ready for the elevation. Altitude is a real thing, people.

My Ragnar weekend started on Thursday with a 12 hour road trip to Salt Lake City, Utah from Riverside, CA with my fella and teammate, Ian. Yes, it took us 12 hours. Mostly because of the Electric Daisy Carnival happening in Las Vegas. Stop and go from Baker to Vegas surrounded by kids with drugs in 115 degree heat. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but we had a race to get to!

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The 15 freeway is a really, really long freeway.

Once we got into Utah, though, the 80 mph speed limit sure brightened things up. All the ninjas had already gathered at our fearless leader, Eric’s, parent’s house, who so graciously let 13 runners take over their house. We didn’t arrive until around 2 am and our wake-up call (or rather violent shake) was scheduled for 4:30 am so that we could get to the start line in Logan, UT by our 8 am start time. And so it begins…

Ninjas at the Start!

Being in Van 2 has its advantages. Once we kicked off the start with Van 1, we were able to grab some food and prepare aka screw around before our actual legs, which didn’t start until around 1 pm. So we hit up the IHOP and ate all the pancakes, then followed some of the runners of Van 1 to check out their course.

Shattered glass at breakfast: bad omen or bad ass?

Ragnaring like a boss…in business casual attire complete with phone and belt clip.

Around this time we also learned that a fellow Ragnarian had collapsed on the course. A 46 year old man from Park City, Utah, Tyler “Ty” Rasch, collapsed and later passed away (more information here). While the cause of death is still unknown, this was frightening news. I didn’t train in the altitude or heat at all and here this guy, who was used to this climate, had just died during this race. It was a very sombering reality check. I take this race stuff for granted. My heart goes out to his family and friends, who were with him during this race and had to watch all this go down. Just terrible.

We met up with Van 1 at exchange 6. El Capitan Eric took over as runner 7 and our van headed out to kick some serious miles. Around this time the temperature was reaching into the 90’s and our elevation was up in the 5000’s. This sea level SoCal girl was definitely feeling the altitude.

When Vans Collide

The handoff! Go, Eric, go!

I was runner 8, the second runner in our van, which means I got to run and be done. Seriously, having to wait around to run when your van is “on” is torture. My first leg was 7.1 miles of what seems like perfectly nice, flat land.

Looks nice, right???

The first few miles felt like I was drowning. I could not get a hold of my breathing. Once I got into a nice steady breathing pattern, that’s when I realized I was melting. I could not drink enough water. I had my NUUN on hand but my Van had to stop twice to refill my bottle.

The rest of the van had very similar legs, with lots of heat, lots of hills and lots of miles. By the time we handed off to Van 2 for the night runs, we were desperate for rest. Luckily, Eric’s folks were close and we were able to get some food from an actual kitchen, take a shower and use a real toilet, and actually get a little rest in a real bed before our projected early, early morning runs.

The hills are alive! With red ants and selfies within selfies within selfies…

The second leg of our race started at 1 am and we had some pretty quick runs with elevations in the 6000’s and temps in the 50’s. My second leg was super short and super cold!

There wasn’t a mile marker on this run, though, so the only way I knew it was over, was the mile long back up of vans at the exchange. This race had about 1000 teams! That’s a lot of vans, man. I came into the exchange looking to hand off to Tim, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. I stood there about 10 minutes before we found each other. Turns out, he’d been standing out there the whole time. Doh! Things you miss at 2:30 am.

I was feeling pretty good after my run, so I took on the role of driver. The head honcho, Eric, needed to rest as he was gearing up for the gnarly run up Ragnar Hill in the morning. Traffic was pretty heavy at every exchange and by the time we arrived to handoff to Van 1, I was suffering from severe nap-jerks. Runner 12, Jana, came in around 7 am, and then it was time to fuel! We headed to this really cool diner that seriously had the best breakfast food I’ve ever had.

I’m not quite sure what happened after this. All I know is I was eating and then I was asleep and then it was time to run again. But first we had to support the big cheese, Eric, on this baby:

Ragnar Hill

Yes, that is a 2000 ft. elevation gain over 10.3 miles in 90 degree heat on a few hours of sleep and after already completing 2 grueling legs. This is the shit that legends are made of.

Waiting to support Eric on this monster. That’s a ski lodge. A SKI LODGE!

I was up next, so I got to watch these runners come into the exchange after this run. It was the most inspiring thing. I was in awe after watching them grind up this mountain and then cry when they passed on to their next runner. Seriously, the most breathtaking view of the whole course was the determination and then elation on these runners faces. And they got a special medal!

Oh, Captain, my Captain

So Eric ran up this mountain, and it was up to me and Tim to run down. This was my last leg. The downhill was really freaking hard on my feet. I hadn’t had any issues at all thanks to my new Skora Tempo, ProCompression socks, biofreeze, and KT Tape (this is my recipe for success, btw), but on this leg, the back of the shoe starting cutting into my achilles and all I could think was PAIN. I also developed big huge blisters on my arches from this leg.

But the view was spectacular!

I was done! Time to relax and take some pictures. Here’s a wrap up of the rest of Van 2’s legs and bringing it home to the finish line. That’s probably the best thing about being Van 2…you’re done at the finish line.

Jana ran us into the Finish Line in Park City after about 30+ hours. Time to celebrate!

And the coolest bling in the race game! All 12 of our medals connect to form one super badass medal. Mine is the one that says “eries”.

Ragnar Wasatch Back was the very first race in the Ragnar series. It is definitely the most difficult Ragnar I’ve ever participated in. What an honor to be among these fine adventurers! I’ve been out of the Ragnar game for a year but the bug is back! I’m thinking Vegas? There’s a double medal series for Utah and Vegas…Saints and Sinners, anyone?

Tough Mudder Virginia

June 15, 2015 by kpjenn

Apologies for the late post today, friends. I promise it wasn’t because I’m terrible at remembering things. Okay. Maybe it was. But I have a reason…

On Saturday I did a Tough Mudder and my body is still recovering. Needless to say that Sunday night? I passed out HARD and completely spaced the whole “oh yeah, you did that crazy thing yesterday that you have to blog about” thing. There may also have been tequila. Which may have had something to do with the forgetting important things.

Oops?

Anyways. Lesson learned. Tough Mudder + tequila = dead to the world.

I suck.

Today, however, I’m feeling a little bit more human, although I’m still sore as all get out. My upper body took a beating – those obstacles are no joke. Seriously. I tried to do a pull up this morning and the best I could get was a dead hang. My arms literally could not even.

5/6 of our team

Anyways. Saturday was an early morning. We were up at 5:00 to hit the road by 5:30 for our 8:00 start. My dude and I were running this TM with my friend Nichole and her hubs, and two of their friends. Saturday morning, the sun was bright and hot, and I was sweating just standing still. Needless to say, I was a little bit less than amped to climb over walls and haul through mud trenches in that heat.

These are our excited faces. Can you tell?

The course itself was just over 10 miles of running through fields, gravel, trails and pavement, with obstacles spaced out every half mile or so. As a team, we wanted to stay together, because some of the obstacles would definitely require teamwork to complete. The first obstacle we came to was no exception. An inclined wall angled toward us that was roughly 10 feet tall. Nichole and her husband and I are all pretty short, so we knew that to get the whole team over the wall, we would need some help. I got hops, but I’m not Michael Jordan.

Our two tallest guys hauled themselves over first and then it was my turn. I jumped up, grabbed their hands and pulled myself up as far as I could. Then I hiked my leg over the edge of the wall and with my teammate’s help, I was able to push the rest of myself over. It was tough and that was just the beginning!

There were log carries, Army crawls, more walls, crazy American Ninja Warrior-style monkey bars, fireman carries, tear gas (not really, just menthol, but still), electroshock therapy, rope walls, shoulder-deep mud trenches, just to name a few! My favorite obstacle though? Arctic Enema. It was SO hot and jumping into a dumpster full of ice water sounded like the best thing ever.

I wasn’t wrong. It was amazing. So freaking cold. But amazing. As soon as we finished, I told the boy that I wanted to go again. Like, four more times.

As the course went on, it just got hotter and hotter. Running between the obstacles got harder and harder. Fortunately, there was plenty of water along the course, and at most stations, they offered us food of some kind. Energy gummies, protein bars, bananas, jerky… lots of options to stay fueled and hydrated.

By the time we got to Mile 7, we picked things up a bit. Pushing through the run portions and resting a bit while we waited to go through obstacles. These last three or so miles were on trails, which was a nice change from running through grass or on pavement. It was also more shaded, which felt really good, too.

One of the last obstacles was Everest, a quarter-pipe that you have to sprint up and haul yourself over. Teamwork is a definite requirement, because while I was able to run up it with no problem, by the end of that course, my arms were shot to hell.

After we finished, it was time for beer and pictures, because you feel pretty badass once you’re done.

As absolutely wiped out as we were when we finished, it was pretty much decided that we would be doing another one of these crazy things. It was far too much fun not too, and if I actually trained? Pretty sure I could slay it.

Of course, after we got home, we didn’t want to move. But, in our infinite wisdom, we’d already made plans to go to the ballet. So, we swapped out our sweaty, muddy selves, for the cleaned up, classier versions. Because we’re cool like that.

Have you ever done a Tough Mudder or another obstacle race? What was your favorite part? How ridiculously sore were you afterward?

Fangirling at the BolderBOULDER

June 8, 2015 by Jennifer

When Meridith was in Colorado visiting me for the BolderBOULDER, we had the chance to attend the race press conference the day before the race. We weren’t told who would be there, only that it was with the elite athletes. We did our research and assumed it would be with the elite runners who were making up the international teams at this year’s event. Excited to hear these pros speak and share their training and racing wisdom, we jetted off to the conference with notepad and very giant, press-like camera in hand.

After arriving and finding the person who could give us our press pass, we stood near the food, feeling in the way and wondering what to do next. That’s when we heard someone speak into the microphone to say that Meb would be coming into speak shortly. Meri and I looked at each other with eyes as big as saucers. Meb?! Meb Keflezighi would be speaking in this tiny room to a handful of people which included us?! Needless to say, we were fangirling hard. But we kept it on the inside and remained calm and professional. I think.

Abdi Abdirahman in yellow, Meb Keflezighi in navy, and Frank Shorter in blue.

Not only did Meb come in to talk to the press, but so did Abdi Abdirahman and the legendary Frank Shorter. They offered some advice on training and achieving goals as well as what makes the BolderBOULDER special. Here, Meb and Abdi comment on how they train for the big races and win, and how the BolderBOULDER has helped them in their careers.

When asked what makes the BolderBOULDER special, Meb remarked on the stadium finish and how it feels similar to an Olympic finish. He noted the race’s rich history and traditions (this was the 37th year of the race). He enjoys how exciting it is to see the elite runners race at the end and how inspiring it is for young runners and said “we’ll see those kids grow up and become the next running stars.”

Abdi reminded us that the race was special because of its Memorial Day significance. For him, it’s about freedom, liberty, and those who sacrificed so that we can have those privileges.

Both athletes are looking forward to the next Olympic trials and hoping to get one of the coveted top three spots. When asked about what time he was hoping for at the trials, Abdi laughed and said it made no difference, as long as it was one of the best three times. As they said in the first video, age isn’t holding either one of them back.

All three athletes said that it was important to surround yourself with people who love, support, and push you to be your best. Both Meb and Abdi have been with their coaches for many years and feel that their long standing relationship and the familiarity that brings is an advantage for training and racing. Meb commented briefly on his former sponsor and how they dropped him once he reached an age that they felt was too old to be competitive. Meb found a new sponsor in Skechers, who went out of their way to support his goals and give him what he needed. He went on to win Boston. It’s all about who’s on your team and what you want to accomplish.

The last special guest to speak was renowned coach Joe Vigil. He said what made the BolderBOULDER so special was is that the stadium finish makes everyone feel like an athlete, and gives each participant an immense sense of accomplishment, whether you’re a beginner or a life-long runner. No other race makes everyone feel like a star athlete. It was truly an honor to hear his perspective on this event.

Having the opportunity to see these gentleman speak was really fantastic. One of my favorite things about the #BB10K is that it’s for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned pro or you’ve never run before, this race is for anyone who is a fan of running. It’s clear that these guys feel the same way!

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