Race Recap: Spartan Military Sprint - Colorado

A little nod to my own military
aircraft maintenance background.
C/W = Complied With

Race Date: Saturday, May 4, 2013Race 

Location: Fort Carson Army Base, Colorado Springs, CO

Race Day -1: Travel Day

Thankfully, this was one of the closer races to home...only a mere 6½ hours away. I was able to drop my long haired fur kids off to be groomed (their daddy picked them up) and leave town mid-morning rather than before dawn. This was a route that I had taken many times in the past 20+ years so there was little chance of getting lost. Aside from getting caught behind a semi towing a double wide house on a two lane road that went up and down hills and had no way to pass which extended the trip by about 30 minutes just outside of Logan, New Mexico the trip was rather uneventful. There were more deer along the drive between Logan and Springer than I had ever seen in the past.

We (myself and my race partner, Jeff) arrived in Colorado Springs at about 4pm and found our way to the hotel. When we went to check in the clerk couldn't find my reservation and I ended up having to call their toll free number to find out what was going on. While I was on the phone the clerk did find my reservation, but I had made it for April rather than May...my bad! I first tried to call the USAF Academy to see if they had any temporary lodging facilities (TLF) open where we could have a full kitchen, but they didn't. Luckily the Super 8 where I thought I had made reservations had rooms open and the clerk gave it to us at the price I had made the original reservation for.

We drove around to find our way to the two entrances to Ft. Carson (somewhere I had been back in 1985 on our way to New York to drop our car off at Bayonne and fly out of JFK to our new duty station in England). Unfortunately my navigation program was no help to find the main gate and I knew that Gate 20 was a ways down the road. Listening to my navigation set to "Fort Carson Gate 1" ended us up at the Colorado Springs airport! I finally figured out how to get to the main gate and estimated the travel time needed to get there at 6am on a Saturday morning to be about 10 minutes.

Now that we knew where we were going we made a trip to the mall so I could get a warmer shirt for the race (Underarmor mock turtle neck long sleeve) and then headed to dinner at Famous Dave's. We just hung out in the room for the rest of the night since we needed to get up at 5am to go grab some breakfast and then head over to the venue to volunteer at 6am the next morning.

Race Day:

I woke up bright and early, even before my alarm and got ready to allow Jeff  time to sleep in a little before waking him up. I have to say that I wasn't quite sure of what to expect for this race as I hadn't even looked at the previous year's video, so I was just a tad nervous. I also didn't know what to expect for volunteering all I really knew was that I'd be racing for free for half a day of work. We headed to breakfast at a nearby Denny's where the chicks sitting in back of us were talking so loudly that I was able to discern that they were both exotic dancers, one had a kid, the other hated one of the dancers at the club for thinking she was better than everyone else, etc., etc., etc. I mean  really, the few people in the restaurant probably knew these girls life stories since they had been there before us! lol!

We made our way to the base and checked in at the volunteer tent. We ended up in our stations at the registration tents. I was going to bail a little early to go run with the Weeple Army at 10:30, but the Army ended up being spread out throughout the day so I just opted to finish my half day and run the last volunteer heat at 4pm instead. The weather was a bit cold in the early morning, but the job I had at the volunteer registration table was pretty low key and we were next to the gas area heater so that made life better.

Spartan Race volunteer t-shirt - Front.

Spartan Race volunteer t-shirt - Back

We finished our shift at 1:30 (I think) and left the venue to go grab some lunch and a nap prior to our 4pm heat. We planned on heading back to the venue at 3pm which ended up being a good thing because when we did return at 3:20pm we found out that the last heat was at 3:30 instead. Talk about not being psyched up!! We rushed to check our bags and get to the start. I forgot to take off my sunglasses and to grab my gloves out of my bag. We literally got to the start and had about 30 seconds before the heat took off! From here I'll go thru the race (~4 miles, 28 obstacles) obstacle by obstacle:

1. Moats - A series of 3 muddy pits one of which was wide enough to jump over (for those with legs longer than mine) and the other 2 pretty much requiring one to settle in and hopefully be able to climb out. A lot of people needed to help each other out of a couple of these moats, Jeff and I included. The water was cold and was pretty much a shocker at the beginning of the race. This obstacle took a toll really early on some of us. I heard later that a chick had broken her ankle trying to jump across the moats. If you're not positive that you can make it take the safe route and suck up the wetness and the mud...heck, that's why your doing a Spartan Race right? To get muddy?

2. U-O-U-O-U-O (Under-Over series): Simple obstacle to go under some hanging mesh and over a short 4' wall three times.

3. O-U-T (Over-Under-Thru): Go over a 6' wall (couldn't use the side braces for support), under a wall and through a square hole in a wall about 3' high.

4. Monkey Bars: This is always such an epic fail for me when I try by myself that I just opted to do the burpees right away when I found out that no partnering would be allowed. I regret that decision. I mean, I was already the last one in the heat so I may as well at least have tried. lol!

After this we had to slog our way under a wet, slimy, stale smelling underpass and a little mud...I was still in last place and was walking and talking with the elite runner who was doing the route to let the officials know as each obstacle was clear of racers.

5. Hobie Hop: This was a little different from the hay bale jumping at Super. This time you still had to put the narrow exercise band on both legs above the ankles and below the knes but instead of hay bales, we had to jump over wires or duck under them on an uphill mini course. This was quite a bit easier than the bales IMHO.

6. Weaver: Basically a tall A-frame ladder build with cross beams about 3' apart. Climb up, over and back down.

Back under that soggy overpass..

7. 6' Wall (if you're running alone and need help, don't be afraid to ask for it!)

8. 7' Wall

9. 8' Wall

10. Atlas Lift: Carry a concrete weight across to a marked point (maybe 50' away) do 5 burpees and return the weight back to the start.

11. Log Hop: Logs on end, spread out at varying widths/heights. Step over them without losing your balance from one end to the other. I've seen some fairly nasty falls on this and I have terrible balance...you bet I accepted a spotter when offered!

12. Barb Wire Crawl: This one was fairly low...keep your butt down!

13. Spearman: Yet again another epic fail, but probably the closest that I've gotten the spear to actually hitting the target so far.

14. Traverse Wall: A longitudinal climbing wall with wooden blocks instead of climbing holds. Always an epic fail for me, but I did at least try. The blocks were covered with piles of mud and footing (at least for me) was impossible. As usual, couldn't even get on the damned wall! 30 burpees for 60 total so far.

15. Trenches: Water filled trenches with the occasional netting above. Easy peasy.

16. Slip Wall: A frame wall with a slick, muddy uphill slant and ropes with knots and cross beams on the back side to climb down. OMG!! I swear I did not think I'd get over this. Luckily the volunteers were helping almost everyone. This was the slickest slip wall so far...and I thought the one at NV Super was bad! The mud at the base had to be about 6-8" deep of clay mud and even with bungee laces my shoes almost came off many times. A volunteer was kind enough to support the rope in such a way that with a lot of work and coaxing I could push myself up with my left leg then pull up until I could get my foot to the next knot. I really felt like giving up on this obstacle but stuck it out and eventually got over. By the time I got off this one, my feet were covered in that heavy mud making even walking difficult.

Start mile 2...

17. Herc Hoist: One of my favorite obstacles! Pull a concrete weight attached to a rope/pulley about 20' high and slowly lower it. Just dig in, plop your butt on the ground and pull. Easy peasy.

18. Tire Drag: Pull a tractor tire out to the end of a rope and then drag it back to the start. The tires were smaller than at Super where I couldn't even budge the stupid thing. Part of it may be because we didn't have the deep sand in Colorado and the surface dirt was fairly even but I was able to do this unassisted.

19. Tractor Pull: Pull a concrete weight (deck pier) on a chain up a steep hill and back down. This was also easier than Super because the terrain was fairly smooth (even on an uphill) compared to the rocky terrain in Nevada but it was a hell of a hill!

Start mile 3...

20. Sandbag Carry: Sand filled "pancake" to carry up the other side of the steep hill and back down. Again a hell of a hill. By this time I had passed several people and was no longer the last in the heat.

21. Tire Flip: Just what it says...flipping tractor tires. Only 2 flips required which surprised me because at Super it was 3 if alone or 6 if partnered up. The tires seemed smaller here as well and I didn't have any problem doing this myself.

22. Rucksack Carry: Pack a weighted ruck up a very steep hill and come back down. The downward trip was much easier. This just about killed my back as I didn't stop to take the time to adjust the ruck. My least favorite, but doable obstacle.

23. 5' Wall

Start mile 4...

24. Rolling Mud and Balance Beam: A long barb wire crawl with steep hills and areas that were really close to the ground. A lot of water involved including getting sprayed over and over with the fire hose. I ended up getting caught up a couple of times and ended up with a nice hole in my new $50  UA shirt...at least I was expecting that as a possibility when I bought it so no worries. At the end of this was a moat where you could either go over a balance beam or just slide in and climb out. I love the barb wire crawl, but this one was long and tiring. I can't roll for too long because I just get too dizzy, but that's the way to go especially when things get really low.

Here's mud in your eye!
Contacts & mud don't mix.
I'm bringing swim goggles to Beast!

25. Rope Climb: 20' rope climb with knots. I so suck at this and by the time I saw how muddy and slick the ropes were I decided just to go straight for the burpees. When I finished the race Jeff told me that most people had done the same. 30 burpee penalty = 90 burpees for the day.

26. Cargo Bridge: This is becoming one of my favorite obstacles. Climb up and down a 20' high cargo net on either end and cross another 20' net at the top. A crab crawl using the net to sit on and crawl sideways works for me.

27. Fire Jump: I was tired, but nowhere near as tired as when I did the Arizona Sprint.

28. Gladiator Pit to the Finish: I think they took it easy on us back of the packers. ;)

I didn't finish last...not that that would be a bad thing just as long as I finished. Got my medal and headed to the "showers" (just hoses on platforms with sprayers). The water was fiercely cold and it was already just a bit cool out as well but at least the changing tent was heated...yay! I ended up talking to another girl there who had moved to Colorado from Sacramento...talk about a small world (I'm originally a NorCal girl).

Considering that I wasn't quite ready to start the race so quickly after we arrived on site I'm pretty happy with my 2:28:55 time. After returning to the hotel and taking a real shower we ended up eating dinner and doing our laundry before turning in early (or at least trying to) for a full day of volunteering the next day.

Sorry, between the sun flare and wiping the lens
with a muddy finger this came out terrible.
The muddiest I've been after a Spartan Race.

Military Sprint - Fort Carson, CO medal mud and all!

Race Day + 1: Volunteering for a Free Race

Again we were up at the crack of dawn. No race to worry about on this day, but a full 12+ hour shift of volunteering instead. We had breakfast at the Village Inn before heading back to the base to check in. The weather was significantly colder and windier than it had been on Saturday. I ended up getting a Spartan Race hoodie (using a $50 gift card for volunteering a full day) and wearing that plus a thermal UA mock turtle neck, a volunteer t-shirt and occasionally a sweater that I had brought. The wind was blowing things around and I was glad that I was assigned to the spectators registration table right next to the table with the gas powered heater.

I really felt sorry for the folks that were running on Sunday. I mean, I thought it was cold at the Arizona Sprint, but I think this one actually got colder than that one. I had heard that there were people being pulled off the course or just not finishing due to hypothermia. We had many more participants stopping by our heater just to warm up than there had been the day before.

With the weather turning bad, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that we'd be getting off early. After packing up the registration area we were sent down to the volunteer area to help unload a truck and then we were cut loose. We ended up getting off at about 3pm instead of 6 or 7pm as we had anticipated. It had been so dusty out that we had to take another shower before heading out to On the Border for a late Mexican lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We got back to the room and just chilled and packed until it was time for a late dinner at Arby's. The plan was to leave by 10am for the drive back home.

Race Day + 2: Travel Day

No major problems after leaving Colorado Springs at about 10:30am after breakfast at Denny's. It was a smooth cruise home and the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. We managed to make it home by about 5pm and I was basically a vegetable the rest of the night.

All in all it was a good trip. When we started out I was feeling a bit travel weary and really wasn't "feeling" the trip but by the end I had had a good time and enjoyed the volunteer experience. I really recommend that if you can volunteer for a race in exchange for a free race to do it! I mean it literally saved me nearly $300 and I was able to race the Military Sprint and will be running the Utah Beast next month for a day and a half of volunteering.

What did I like about this race?

This is what most Spartans would consider a runner's race. Most of the obstacles were spaced fairly far apart with only a few exceptions...usually after obstacles that were expected to wear you out. The trails were pretty tame compared to the whole of the Arizona Sprint and some areas of the Nevada Super. The hills for the obstacles were the killers.

What did I not like about this race?

The race itself was fine. I was just a little concerned that our volunteer heat was at 3:30pm instead of the 4pm that had been noted on our volunteer emails. It would have sucked not to be able to do the Military Sprint because there is not another one close enough for us to do. Luckily we got back just in the nick of time!

Would I do this race again?

YES!! From what I've heard there were more obstacles last year including a grenade throw (fake grenades) and I think a shooting obstacle as well. I'd love to do those! Jeff wasn't able to purchase a Military Sprint shirt so we'll probably head up here again next year.

Since I Can't Sleep #2: I Can't Believe I Won Something!

Well, maybe this post title will be a lucky theme for me! In my original "Since I Can't Sleep" post, I was notified about winning a prize! Of course, since I hadn't been blogging regularly I didn't see the notification and I don't remember getting and email notifying me of a new comment from Blogger. Oh well! I'll be getting a doozy of a prize to help pamper my feet and those hard, dry heels I've dealt with for most of my life (started when I danced as a kid and running isn't helping much!). I'll be receiving the Emjoi Micro Pedi sometime in the next week or so and once I've used it awhile I'll post a review. Thanks to Valiant over at For the Love of the Run for picking me!! :D

Anyway...tonight I'm sitting in the little temporary lodging facility (TLF - basically a small 1 bedroom apartment) here at the Indian Hills Lodging facility on Tinker AFB, Oklahoma on the eve of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon/Half Marathon/5K (I'm doing the half...maybe the full in a year or two). Of course my alarm (the first of 3) is set to go off in 3 hours and 3 minutes with subsequent alarms going off in 15 minute increments (no, I'm not just hitting the snooze button). The loss of 1 hour due to crossing an eastern border is not fun. I've been in bed for the past hour trying to sleep and I dare not take anything (natural or man made) that might cause me to sleep through my alarms. I'm really half tempted to open up the sofa sleeper and see if I can fall asleep on it. But truthfully, although I'm tired I'm not "sleepy" tired. Maybe it's also the fact that I'm sleeping next to the A/C unit and getting the air blown on me. I wonder if he would notice if I turned it off? Or maybe it's the fact that we sleep in a king sized bed at home and here we're in a double. Or maybe it's the noise from is bi-pap (similar to c-pap) machine and the fact that he is that much closer to me in the bed. I really don't know, but I guess I'll give it a try again. 

Another sticker I have to add to my car...
with all the others that still need to be added!

Well, please wish me luck...between the inevitable lack of sleep (which will improve at the memorial/prayer service at 5:30am) and my left hip/pelvis/piriformis/ITB./whatever...being pretty achy I'm definitely not looking for PR. However, if you ever have the chance to visit the OKC Memorial/Museum I recommend it highly. We visited it a few years ago when we were in town and I was in tears the whole time...very moving! Tomorrow will be a new experience being there in the memorial at sunrise, the 168 seconds of silence,  the service and finally the race...I can't wait! The race report will hopefully follow not too soon after! G'nite!

AFTERTHOUGHT: 

Oh, did I forget to mention that we're in a thunderstorm watch until 2am with the potential for 3" hail, severe lightning and wind gusts to 70mph...and I can hear it starting outside now? Not the hail...yet...thankfully! Check out the wonderful race weather I can expect...I'm just planning for rain and packing an emergency poncho in my hydration belt since I'm not too fond of being wet...joy. Last year the rain threw down and the runners got pelted with large hail. I'm hoping it's not going to be a repeat!!

Race Recap: Southern Illinois Classic HM

4/14/12 - Race Day

Camo outfit for the day since the charity benefiting was
Rolling Thunder, Inc. A charity for veterans.

Mini bibs that I wore on my back.

Well, this is the day that it finally dawned on me that all those rolling hills I drove over in my travels from New Mexico to Indiana may prove to be an issue. Thankfully the weather had cooperated and the thunderstorm from the previous night had moved on. I woke up early at 3:45am and I think I got a fairly decent night's sleep of more than 4 hours. Hey, that's really good for me on the night before a race! ;) Almost instantly got showered and dressed before heading downstairs to toast up my normal whole wheat Bagel Thin since the hotel leaves its breakfast appliances out. As I ate I did my normal Facebook check then began the 20 minute or so taping process needed for when I do long runs...turf toe on both feet, ankle support both ankles and both knees. Wait, did I do my knees this time? I can't remember. I got my refrigerated post-race snacks together in my little cooler and headed out the door at about 5:30am.

Starting area.

Part of the Half Fanatics/Marathon Maniacs/50 States
group. See me trying to hide my garbage bag,
evidenced by the blue cord below my hips? lol!

Since the race venue was literally only 4 or 5 miles down the road I got there fairly early and was able to park within the first four rows of field parking. I meandered through what remained of the expo, drank some G2, had a Honey Stinger waffle and just basically wandered the venue. They had several animal rescue groups and a few dogs looking to be adopted...you know I had to visit them. I was wearing my now normal warm up of a big, black garbage bag as I walked towards the start then realizing that there were a group of people there taking pictures...then it dawned on me. It was the group from last night's dinner! We were to meet at 6:30am at the start for group photos!! Eeek! I quickly jumped in (it was about 6:40am) tore open the front of my garbage bag so I could look somewhat normal. After several pics, of which Michelle was kind enough to post on Facebook for me, we headed our separate ways.

As I walked down to my starting corral I met another Half Fanatic who was starting in the same area. We chatted a bit, did some light warm up stretching, I snapped a couple of starting line pics and just basically hung out. Soon the national anthem was being sung and I think I remember an opening prayer (what can I say...we're in the corn/Bible belt). Soon it was time to go across the start.

I think this was the beginning of the second hill.

Now, since I normally try to drive the courses that I run but wasn't able to do it with this one I was quite surprised to find in the first mile or two a couple of hills. I guess in all reality I shouldn't have been surprised! We exited the recreational area where the start was located into a lush residential area with huge yards and few fences. As we came out of the residential area we ran along lush green fields, past a couple of landscaping businesses that appeared to grow their own foilage for clients and past more open fields. Not a hint of brown on the ground that I can recall. Around mile 4 we were hit with just a little, light rain lasting less than 20 minutes...it's wasn't even enough to soak through my clothes. I think it was just after this point that the full marathoners broke away onto their own route. There seemed to be a multitude of low, rolling hills with some flats mixed in as we continued on.

Mini/Half keg mailbox.

My all time favorite cheer sign.

The volunteers were great, cheering, they had some great signs and just overall I felt like it was a beautiful, relaxing run (not for time). As we came closer to the turnaround point I was comforted to notice that while I was still toward the back of the pack that there were plenty of people behind me...yeah, most were walkers! lol! I don't remember feeling too much of the wall by the time we got back into the residential area at about mile 9 or 10. I do, however, remember feeling it at about mile 11 when we hit more hills! Ugh! Hills!! Double ugh! I did my normal walk up and run down (mostly) and was a bit perturbed to see that there was a final hill in mile 12...well, and the incline to the finish line. I made my way up the last hill running as much as I could...which wasn't much, and finally hit the other side jogging. The final left turn towards the entrance to the recreation area and up the drive and I was done! Not literally when used as a description of fatigue...yes, I was tired, but I still had energy. I walked around a bit after getting my finisher's medal (smaller than I had anticipated) and dropping it off to get engraved and got a nice stretch from one of the chiropractors at the massage tent...OMG, that felt sooooo good! Especially after how sore I was after the drive. I headed out to the car and got my snacks and again walked around a bit contemplating whether to partake of the free hot dogs and hamburgers, but I just wasn't in the mood. I finally headed back to the hotel after picking up my newly engraved medal and just sat in a cold bath for a few (no ice) before showering and loading up the car for my trip back to Illinois.

After I checked out I headed over to Red Robin for a nice, big, thick, juicy Big Melt Bacon Cheeseburger. I made sure to gas up again to avoid that extra 20 cents per gallon once I hit Illinois and headed out for the 3 hour drive to my cousins house. Again the ride was uneventful and I managed to stay mostly wide awake for the duration. 

I arrived at my cousin's house, not too far from Scott AFB, around dinner time. After unloading, saying our hellos (I haven't seen her since they transferred to Japan from the base we live by back in 1997 or 1998) her husband was kind enough to run out to...wait for it...Fazoli's to get some pasta for dinner. :)  My cousin and I sat around catching up, trying to figure out the password to their wifi network (their son set it up and she had to text him since he lives about 45 minutes away) before the food arrived. After dinner it was a pretty quick return for me to go to bed since I again had to get up at about 3:30am to get ready for the race in St. Louis the following day. 

Read the next post for my experience at my second double in a month...

Race Recap: Bloodgusher HM

3/31/12 - Race Day - The first race of my first double (Sat/Sun races back to back)

After a 4 hour or so drive to Midland, TX yesterday I wasn't able to sleep as per my norm. I've feasted on pasta the past few days and have the location of the local Fazoli's memorized by now. I picked up my race packet at the stadium where the starting line would be and checked into the hotel. As I prepared my gear for the race I came to realize that I had packed my Nathan hydration belt but failed to grab the flasks (both liquid and gel) from the dishwasher. DOH! Luckily I had arrived early enough that the one running store was still open for an hour or so, so a quick run over there and about $45 later I walked out with a SPIbelt and a 20oz. Amphipod hand carried bottle. Now I am ready. It was time for yet another trip to Fazoli's and then bed. I wasn't happy that the race day temps would start in the mid-60°F and top out in the mid-80°F range...

First race with any Half Fanatics gear (visor).
First use of my handheld Amphipod bottle and SPIbelt.
Didn't care for either one!

I arrived at the venue fairly early having followed my GPS' long way directions. Am I the only one that the GPS on an Android phone gives you the longest way to get to a place when you're inside the city? It does fine (most times) when I'm on the highway, but in the city it seems to give me the run around. But I digress. As promised it was about 65°F at the start. This was a smaller race than I had imagined just a few hundred people for all events (half, 10K, 5K, kids run). Things started out okay...I stayed towards the back of the pack and ended up starting out faster than I should have. I seem to do that a lot. This course is FLAT...no kind of incline really. It does snake through a local neighborhood in the middle portion of the race and it's not the most scenic route either but it was something I thought I could deal with even with the heat. Boy, was I wrong.

Pre-race, waiting for the start.

Already at the back of the pack
less than a mile into the race!

As the race went on and the temp started to creep into the mid-70°s and above I found myself to be sweating heavily...no, not ladylike perspiration...just straight out sweating! I had beads of sweat dripping off my arms, face and rolling down my chest and legs! Thankfully the race director (RD) had arranged for some of the volunteers to hand out the heavy paper shop cloths doused in ice cold water at regular intervals throughout the middle of the race. By mile nine I was not only soaked from head to toe from pouring water all over myself, a la Flashdance...without the dance, and using the ice cold cloths to keep me cool. It was also at this point that I began experiencing cramping in my calves. Not sharp "you are going to stop if you know what's good for you" cramps but more like "if you know what's good for you, you'll start walking" type cramps. G2 didn't help at all with the cramping, just walking. I ended up walking most of the last miles with the occasional attempt at running only to start walking within a few steps...much like my experience at the Arizona Distance Classic. No matter what, I knew I was going to finish even if it was in last place. I kept moving, slowly at times and eventually finished 138/149 overall and 12/12 in my age group! lol!

By the time I crossed the finish line I headed to the food had the typical banana, grabbed a bottled sports drink, drank my chocolate milk and a cola (something I don't usually have right after a race). I didn't even stay for the awards ceremony since it was highly likely I didn't get anything so I went straight back to the hotel for an ice bath. I ended up making multiple trips to the ice machine and determined that if I had to take an ice bath in a hotel again (the next day) I'd just splurge and stop at a c-store to buy a few bags of ice. Thankfully I had arranged a 2pm check out so I was able to do everything I needed to at a relatively leisurely pace before heading out for my 6+ hour drive to Ardmore, OK for my next race.

Things I liked about this race: Flat course, smaller event (both a pro/con), good access to parking, good volunteerism.

Things I didn't like about this race: Heat (I know I can't hold the the RD at fault for that, especially since I had heard that the previous year involved some snow or rain), I think I'd still prefer an earlier start time (started at 9am) even if the weather was cold, I wish the course wasn't so winding through the neighborhood but it is was what it was, small bling (looks like it's the same year to year with the ribbon changed to express the date).

Would I do it again? Yes, but I'll run other races with better bling first, before repeating this race.

Pecos Valley Stampede Half Marathon Report

So,  today I went ahead with the already scheduled half marathon in the land of the UFOs...Roswell, NM. Even though I had not run for most of the week due to my nasty cold I want to join Half Fanatics so bad that I figured I'd walk the course if I had to! Thankfully that wasn't necessary. :)

The morning for me started out at 3am when I got up after only 3½ hours sleep...I'm showing a trend here for lack of sleep before races! Took my shower to wake up, taped up my knees with KT Tape and my both my feet (turf toe) with regular athletic tape. A quick breakfast of a whole wheat English muffin with 1 Tbsp of super chunk peanut butter and some lemonade started my carb load for the morning. We were on the road for the just over 1½ hour drive to Roswell by 5:05am...wow, pretty much on time!

We arrived in Roswell around 6:50am and since we had some extra time, since packet pick up didn't start until 7:15am, I stopped to get gas, my post run chocolate milk and to use the restroom because I was thinking that there would only be porta-toilets which I hate to use...especially when it's cold. When we got to Cahoon Park, where the race started and finished, I got out of the car and immediately jumped back in because it was so cold. We waited a few more minutes and at 7:15am we headed in to check in and get out bibs and shirts. It was cold! It really felt colder than the 30-something degrees that was forecasted. After checking in I just sat in the car until about 7:50am at which point I braved the cold and started walking around to warm up. I saw some of the other folks that had come down from Clovis and chit chatted until everyone started heading to the starting line. Thankfully it had started warming up, especially in the sun, so I wasn't quite as cold although I would have loved to have remembered my gloves because my hands are always cold when I run.

When the starting gun fired I was already in the back of the pack...my only goal was to actually finish the race even if I was the last one in. There were a bunch of cadets from the NM Military Institute who were either running or hiking the route as part of training for the Bataan Memorial Death March late next month. The first three miles...as usual...were my worst. I don't know why but it usually takes me the first 3 miles or so to find my rhythm. During that time it was me and an older gentleman bringing up the rear of the runners, there were several cadets hiking the course in back of us. I swear, I don't think he wanted to be passed because if I did get ahead of him he'd move to the left and at least get next to me or slightly ahead of me. lol. Anyway, by the 5K mark I had moved pretty well ahead of him so I was no longer the last runner! Also by this time I was running more than walking so everything was good.

Now, around this time I started to get hot and sweaty so I decided to take of my long sleeved tech shirt that I had over my running dress. It was then that I noticed that my running dress had hiked up to my waist!! Thank goodness I was wearing shorts underneath! :-o I got everything settled while running/walking and arranged the way it needed to be and went about my way. I wasn't tracking how fast I was going, I just kept at a comfortable pace that I referred to as my "sightseeing" pace. I think it was around mile 5 that I started seeing the Clovis group go by me one by one. In the group that was there I was the slowest one running the half marathon. We high fived as we passed each other and I just kept trotting on my way.

At the finish line.

I finally got to the turnaround, halfway point and headed back towards town. The first mile wasn't too bad and then I hit the wind head on. Now, I truly hate running into the wind...I can handle it from the side and I love it at my back, but a headwind sucks. I ended up probably walking much more of the next few miles that I should have. I should have just pushed through the wind, but since I was only in it to finish I wasn't too worried about my time. The final turn back into town was at the original 5K point. I tried to get myself to run more, but I was definitely starting to hit the wall. The Clif Shot Bloks that I had eaten for energy weren't sitting well so I stopped all intake to keep from hurling. I did about a 60/40 run walk for the next couple of miles until I hit the limits of the park. At that point I started to run a little more and did my best to push through the last mile which usually whoops my butt and where I just end up walking to the finish line, but not today. As I come jogging up to the finish I hear my name being called, there's like 4 cameras pointed at me and it's the Clovis folks cheering me on! :D It's the first time that I've had people I know at the finish line instead of only the husband. It was pretty cool!! :D

The race was over, I finished in an upright position and I set a new PR by what I think is about 8-10 minutes without even trying!! Not bad for being sick for the last week or so. It will be about a week before final results are in so I won't know for sure until then. I went to the car got my chocolate milk, walked back down to the awards area where they were just getting started handing out the awards. Over and over names from our little group of 9 were being called. Our members ended up walking away with 2 of the top 3 overall women's finishers and 4 age group award winners. Not bad!!

The Clovis Nine!

So, that's 2 half marathons down towards my Half Fanatics membership goal. One more to go and I meet minimum requirements to join! I'm actually going to see how I feel this week, if things seem to improve I may drive to Wichita Falls and run the new Xpress HM that they'll have next Saturday...if not, I have a half scheduled and paid for in Midland, TX at the end of the month. Woohoo!! Can't wait!

What I Ate Today:

• 1 whole wheat English muffin
• 1 Tbsp super crunchy peanut butter
• 16 oz pink lemonade
• 8 oz water
• 8 oz chocolate milk
• 1 banana
• 5oz smoked sausage with sauteed onion and green pepper
• 1½ cups white rice

Quick de-icing tip!

Last night we got about 1½ inches of decent snow with a frozen wintery mix during the day. When I had to leave to go to a physical therapy appointment this morning at 8am this is what I was faced with (see pic). After finally getting my frozen shut car doors open so that I could get my ice scraper/snow brush out, I brushed off the snow on the windows (which gets tricky when the wind is blowing) and found about 1/8 inch of ice covering the front windshield. I decided to try this idea for de-icing the windows that I found on Pintrest. This website gives three great ideas to help de-ice windows, prevent ice build up and how to de-ice a frozen door lock. I used the idea for de-icing windows...2/3 cup white vinegar and 1/3 cup water (a little less concentrated as the instructions state) and sprayed the window and it worked wonders! I was able to remove the ice with minimal effort after squirting the solution on the window. It took less than three minutes to clear a solid sheet of ice from the window. I'm going to remember this for future reference. Try it! I'm sure you'll agree with me!

UPDATE: When I went out this morning 12/6/11 there was a thick sheet of ice (2 days worth) on the husband's truck windshield. I used the above ratio in a solution to try to clear off the window, but I found I needed a second treatment at a 3:1 ratio which did effectively clear the ice after application.