Another day closer

Today brings me yet another day closer to the big race. My husband (Don) and I decided to lower our mileage and step up our pace for our run today. The weather was lousy all weekend so we figured we'd head out in the early evening. The temperature was perfect for running (low 60's) and I got a chance to try out my running skort....anything to detract from these lily white legs.

Our pace was decent; we averaged 9:30 minute miles for a 3 mile run. I wish I had felt better. That burning pain on my inside left arch was still there for the first mile or so of the run, and was soon joined by his friend stomach cramp. That cramp lingered with me for the entirety of the run. I have never been one to stop running and walk out a cramp, I usually just power through them. Today the cramp was having none of it. I'm confident that on race day, the cramps will be too afraid of my wrath to show their faces. They'd better be if they know what's good for them.

Despite having the foot pain and the cramp the pace was good and I imagine will be slightly faster on race day. You can always expect to goose a little bit off your time when running in actual competition. If you know me, you know that I am an incredibly competitive person. I am really looking forward to having other runners out there on the course to set my sights on. I'm not expecting miracles out there on the course but a few "feel good" moments might be nice.

We're hoping to get one last run in on Wednesday and a nice little 1-miler in to keep our legs loose on Thursday. Will keep you posted. Wish me luck!

Less than a week and ready to go!

The big race is less than a week away and I've got a healthy dose of excitement and nervousness going on. I think I've done well with my training and only get slightly nauseated at the thought of my longest leg. My thighs are already quivering at the thought of a 6.8 mile stretch all down hill. If you live in the Reno area then you are familiar with Geiger Grade. My leg (Leg 33) has me running down pretty much the entire thing. While downhill running might sound easy (hey, it's all downhill!) it's actually murder on your quadriceps. I imagine that Monday at work I'll be begging for a piggyback up the stairs to get to my classroom. Perhaps the custodian will load me up on a dolly and cart me up there if I ask him nicely.

We've gotten our supplies in order and it's starting to look like we actually know what we're doing. It's actually quite difficult planning for a 24+ hour race when you've never done one before. There's lots of information on the RTO website and a few of our teammates have run the race in the past so we've been relying on all of that expertise (shout out to Nico-hollah!). Still, there's always a little part of me that wonders, "Do we have enough stuff? Are we bringing the right stuff?" Guess there's only one way to find out.

The RTO makes safety their number one priority. As such, regulations on mandatory nighttime gear are pretty strict. To keep with the rules Don and I both got ourselves reflective vests, headlamps and reflective wristbands. We took them out for a test run earlier in the week and once I managed to look at RoboDon without having to pee my pants from laughing so hard it wasn't a bad run. It shouldn't be too bad during the race.

We also had to think about our food/drinks while out on the course. We hit R.E.I. to pick up a few different kinds of energy gels (shudder) to see which ones would be palatable. The GU brand was a huge disappointment. They were overly sweet and had a very grainy texture. They also left a lingering gummy feeling in my mouth that left me needing more water than if I hadn't had any of the GU. Upon the recommendation of a friend of mine who is an ultra runner we tried Hammer Gel. It wasn't bad. The flavor (raspberry) was yummy and the texture didn't make me feel like I had a booger in my mouth. Win-Win! Hammer Gels it is! We also tried a chocolate concoction called #9 that was super tasty! It wouldn't be very good during a run but we picked up a few pouches for a sweet treat while we're chilling in the van.

All in all, the only true test of our preparedness will come when we're actually out there next weekend. Our start time is 11:30 Friday morning. We should be finished by 4:30 Saturday afternoon. I will be posting information and pictures during the race on Twitter so follow me-my username is roguepixie.

I hope to post once more before race day but if not, wish me luck!!

Countdown Begins

I've been slacking again. Things at work have been a little crazy in the last few weeks and I haven't really had the time nor desire to blog about my runs. As it stands right now, one month from today my RTO team will be somewhere in the midst of our 178 mile relay race and I think I'm going to do alright.

A week ago, my husband and I got together with our friend for a nice Sunday run. Nico is much younger and in much better shape than my husband and me, but we held our own with him as our pacer and we ended up doing a fairly hilly 5.5 mile run with our average pace hovering right around 9:36/mile. Not too shabby.

Right after that run I started noticing a pain in my left inner ankle. It's weird. It's not swollen and it's not all the time, but throughout the day and always for the first mile of my runs I've been having this terrible burning pain just below my inner left ankle bone. It doesn't last too long, but it's excruciating while it's going on. It feels like my ankle is touching a hot stove. I have been doing some stretches in hopes that it will help alleviate some of the discomfort. Here's hoping that they work. Cross your fingers for me. :)

Sunday, my husband and I decided that we needed to up the ante. Our slots for the race have been assigned and now we both know what our longest leg will be. His is 6.2 and mine is 6.5. We needed to tackle a run that was further than 6.5 miles so that we knew we could cover the distance on race day. We ran the same course as we had done with Nico the week before, but instead of starting at the park we started from our house which added more mileage. When all was said and done we had run 7.01 miles in 1:12:22 at an average pace of 10:20. Sure our time was slower but (hot damn!) we ran 7 miles!!! It was a great run and we finished with giant smiles on our faces. I've had several moments in my life that have made me proud and finishing that run ranks right up there.

Which brings us to today....not my finest run. Don (my husband) and I went out for our run right around 4:30. The sun was shining and it seemed perfect. We took off and by the time we hit the end of our street I was already regretting it. Neither of us had remembered gum and a quarter mile into the run I was super phlegmy. My ankle was burning like crazy and this grody blister on my right foot was screaming at me. I ignored all of that nonsense and we kept on running. We ran loops around the park and by the time we hit loop 2 (nearly 3 miles into our run) I was running with such a full bladder I could hardly stand it. We stopped by the restrooms. Bad move. That small break caused the muscles in my legs to seize up and when we started back up it was like my shoes had been replaced with cinderblocks. The blister was throbbing so much I kept imagining it like one of those huge cartoon toes, that pulsates rhythmically after someone drops an anvil on it. The final mile back to the house was the worst mile I've run so far. I just felt bad. We made it home after running 4.02 miles in 37:03 at an average pace of 9:13/mile. I wish my body didn't feel so awful so I could celebrate pulling a decent time.

Friday will be a nice easy run because Don and I have entered ourselves in the Run Amuck on Saturday. Our costumes are almost put together and I'm keeping it a surprise because they are going to be pretty funny. I'll throw some pictures on here after the race so you can see them. It should be a fun day. I'm looking forward to having some quality goof-off time with Don and this event is just the place to do it. Don't forget to check back on Saturday to see the pictures.

Wish us luck!