Runcation 2013 - Part 1

Travel Day - Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Well, the trip started off rough when we overslept about an hour and a half and instead of leaving at 3am we ended up leaving at 4:30am. When we head up to Idaho we plan on an 16 hour drive but the older we get the longer the drive gets, this time it took us a total of 18 hours. It was an uneventful drive but it seemed to take forever. One thing that we did differently was to stop and eat in instead of eating on the road…that probably account for one of the extra hours of the drive. I don’t know where the 2^nd hour came from. We finally arrived at my mother in law’s house at about 10:30pm. The hubs spent about 2 ½ hours just talking and catching up with his mom while I was unpacking and going on a 1 mile run to start up my run streak again…hopefully to last until Labor Day. I also did the scheduled workout for Focus T25 and got my ass handed to me, but it wasn’t bad considering that I had been on my butt for 18 hours. I got both the run in well before midnight and finished the workout just after midnight. It was time to head to bed because I was finally feeling sleepy.

Packet Pickup Day - Thursday, July 18, 2013

After getting a few hours of much needed sleep, about 4 hours actually, we went out for a 3 mile run and did the scheduled T25 workout right after getting back. We hung out at the house and relaxed for most of the day until the MIL drove us out to the greenway so we could have a place to run without worrying about the traffic on her busy country roads. The greenway goes around/by a lake and some canals and runs about a 7 mile loop. Did I mention there are trees, shade and nice scenery here in Idaho…totally different from the high desert of New Mexico. We also stopped by Anytime Fitness to pick up two temporary memberships so that we could work out, especially since I had just had a workout plan designed for me by a trainer at home.

We headed up to Idaho Falls (about 30 minutes away) at about 3:30pm to go to packet pickup which was starting at 5pm. We were about 45 minutes early so we looked around the store where the pickup was and then drove the course for the Idaho Falls 13.1. We got back to the store at about 5:10pm and went into the store. The pick-up was kind of weird in that you chose your own bib and entered your own name and bib number into the computer. It seemed like a kind of self service registration. There wasn’t much (really anything) for swag aside from the shirts and a water bottle. We were going to stay for the guest speaker at 7pm, but I got to antsy and didn’t want to wait another hour and a half so we headed back to the MILs house.

I decided that we needed to start some carb loading and we made some baked rigatoni and sautéed squash/zucchini for the in-laws and ourselves. We just spent the rest of the night just hanging out before everyone headed to bed. Of course, I couldn’t sleep so I headed out to the gym (24/7) and did my prescribed workout and by the time I got back to the house I was ready to sleep.

Rest Day (Sort of) – Friday, July 19, 2013

With nothing on the agenda we planned to take it easy for the day and just relax. Our nieces came to the house while their parents were at work and we ended up playing croquet with them and MIL outside in the 90°+ degree temperature. I never realized that croquet took so much time. I was doing a load of laundry (tech stuff from previous days) and sat out the second game to hang the clothes to dry. Wow! Imagine that, you can actually hang clothes on a outdoor clothes line and not have them be dirtier than when you hung them up (never ending blowing dust/dirt in our neck of the woods). After getting the clothes hung I decided it was time for a nap, I must have been out for close to 2 hours because the girls mom was there to pick them up very shortly after I got up. The hubs mom had made some tapioca so they were all having some (I don’t like the stuff) and the girls were headed home about 20 minutes after I woke up.

The MIL ordered pizza for dinner and I prepped a chicken with the rub from Roast Sticky Chicken. We just sat and watched TV until about 9pm when the hubs and I went to sleep. The big question was if I’d sleep more than my traditional 3 hours of pre-race sleep.

Half Marathon Race Day - Saturday, July 20, 2013

The hubs and I woke up at 3am after he had slept for at least 6 hours and I had managed to get just over 5 hours in. We were both ready to go and had eaten breakfast (whole wheat English muffin and OJ for me) by 4:15am so it was time to leave for the Idaho Falls 13.1. We did a double check of everything and headed out for the approximately 30 minute drive to the finish line where we would be bused to the start. I had to answer the call of mother nature and the race info said that permanent, real restrooms would be available at the finish line…well, they were locked. Bummer. I ended up having to use the port-a-john which I really dislike except in emergencies so I guess I’d count this visit as an emergency. 

Flatrunner Beth (my gear for the day).

By the time I had made my way back to the car, the buses had arrived and I saw the hubs heading over to get on one…he didn’t even wait for me! Lol! Anyway, we were bused 13.1 miles to the start of the race right amongst a windmill farm. The weather wasn’t  bad…a very light breeze and temps in the high 50s. On the ride up a small group of us were talking about the race and other races we had done and just enjoying the company. We arrived at about 6am, start time was 6:30am, and took pictures talked with more people…one guy was intrigued with my Bataan Memorial Death March tattoo since he was a history buff and had grandfathers who were at Pearl Harbor and another base during WWII. 

As the start time got closer, we all inched our way towards the start. The hubs and I knew we’d be back of the packers so we were in no hurry to get to the front. All of a sudden everyone started running! We, and others around us, never heard a “Ready, Get Set, Go!” or a starting gun going off. We took our time and were actually DFL for the first 3 miles. At the water stop a group of 5 guys stopped and we passed them as well as a couple who were also doing run/walk/run.  Also at the 3 mile mark was the one uphill section. It wasn’t a small uphill either, it was pretty steep but we managed to run about half before beginning to walk. We continued our run/walk/run, the other couple eventually passed us up at around mile 7-8 and the group of guys was nowhere to be seen. At least we weren’t DFL, close to it but still not DFL.

The view towards Idaho Falls.

Sunrise behind the windmill farm.

2nd bus walking down to the start.

Yours truly.

Pretty bling

During the race I had one GU and sucked down 4 packets of mustard. Yes, mustard to help alleviate and prevent any cramping. Now, I’m not a fan of mustard but this is the first race that I had only one tiny moment of cramping and nothing else. It wasn’t very smart of me to try the mustard for the first time during the race, but it worked effectively with minimal GI issues. Mustard packets will now be on my person for any future races…now I just need to figure out where to buy/confiscate some!

We didn’t make our sub-3 hour goal, missing it by less than 2 minutes but we did finish and that’s all that matters. After getting my neck adjusted by the chiropractor on site, we made our way to the car and stopped at a convenience store to get some chocolate milk to drink. After the drive back and getting cleaned up we headed to a local restaurant with the MIL and had lunch. The hubs went for a huge Louisiana style burger while I opted for a prime rib  sandwich with sautéed onions and mushrooms.

After lunch we just hung out at the house with the old man complaining of his sore calves. We eventually decided to use some leftover hamburger to make nachos for dinner along with shrimp and deviled eggs…yup, weird combination! Now I’m just typing this up and getting ready to watch “21 &Over” on my laptop since I don’t think the in-laws would enjoy the movie and the rough language in it. So I guess that’s it for now, more later…The M.A.D. Marathon is next on the book next Saturday. Whoa.

Video: Troy and I crossing the finish line.

Finishing Time:  3:01:45

What did I like about this race?
Scenery is pretty, even running through the shopping district wasn't bad. Great volunteers and police traffic control. It was mostly downhill! Nice medal.

What did I not like about this race?
The big hill that we had to go up. The fact that my GI tract did not agree with the mustard too well. There was one turn that wasn't marked well and no one was there to make sure you went the right way. The starting gun/yell/whatever was not loud enough for everyone to hear.

Would I do this race again?
Yes, it's a nice course and it would work into a visit with the in-laws so it's a 2 for 1 type situation.