Runners Roost Race Team and Run Club

In November and into December I felt “blah” about running.  I wasn’t looking forward to running, I was going through the motions, my legs never felt fresh, and I wasn’t improving.  I knew I was getting burned out and decided to take a little break from training  in December and January (I still ran a little but wasn’t training).  I also decided I needed to change things up if I wanted to continue to enjoy running and start improving again.

I knew I needed to run with different people and to make running “fun” again.  Hopefully running with different people would also help motivate me it and to get out there to meet more people in my “new” city (who also ran).

I decided to apply for a running team through a local running shop called Runners Roost.  In early January, I found out that both Jeff and I made the team; we made the Runners Roost Race Team!

Not only would we be representing “something” when we ran, but we would be part of a running community.  I couldn’t wait to meet our “teammates” and start running with a “team.”  I didn’t really know what to expect or what being on the Runners Roost Race Team meant (and I am still learning what it means), but I was excited to find out.

Jeff and I attended our first Run Club at our “home store” in Lakewood, Colorado a few weeks ago.  For me, it was like going to try-outs for club soccer.  Who would be there?  Would I have anything in common with anyone?  Would they all be better than me?  Would they like me? 

Jeff and I got there to find over 20 people milling around the meeting spot.  For a dark winter night, I was impressed with the turnout!  All of a sudden the group of people took off on the route and Jeff and I followed along. 

Luckily, everyone was so friendly and welcoming!  There was a great mix of men and women, different ages and backgrounds, and all sorts of running abilities.  The 5 mile run flew by as I chatted with various people.  Pace didn’t matter, we just ran and got to know each other.  After the run, everyone proceeded down the street to local bar for drink and for more conversation.

Jeff and I both decided Run Club was a success and will be a weekly occurrence.  Its a great change up to our weekly routine and is a fun way to meet all sorts of different people.  And hopefully it will push our running comfort zone and lead into some other events (speed or track workouts anyone???) and friendships.

Thanks Runners Roost for everything!  I can’t wait for what 2013 brings!

Crawl before you walk…5K before a marathon

I recently read an article about the risks involved in putting on a marathon. It looks into marathons that take place in hot/unsafe conditions and who is responsible if a runner is hurt or gets sick during the event.  The article also goes into discussions about the levels and types of runners that toe the line; many participants are beginning runners who are ill-prepared regardless of race day conditions.

Now more than ever, EVERYONE wants to run a marathon.  It used to be that only the serious, well-prepared runners signed up for a marathon. Today, people who have never ran a mile or participated in sports decide to sign up for marathon to cross that item off their “bucket list.”  Running a marathon is the thing to do!

Although it is commendable that people want to run a marathon, sometimes these new “runners” bite off more than they can chew.  This decision can be dangerous to their health and also to their views on running. 
It got me thinking about my own start into distance running and how I went about things all wrong.  Granted, I had an athletic background in which I played every sport under the moon growing up and went onto college for soccer, but I had never ran more than 2 miles before signing up for a half marathon.  And that first half marathon was a TERRIBLE experience.

I was ill-prepared; only running a maximum of 6 miles before the half marathon and only “training” for a few months (I don’t even think I knew what a training plan was).  I was absolutely clueless; not knowing how long a half marathon was (seriously, I didn’t know it was 13.1 miles).  And I paid for it.  I got to mile 8 and wanted to die.  I hated every 2 hours and 7 minutes of that first half marathon and I couldn’t walk for days following the event.  I vowed NEVER to run a full marathon and even quit running for 2 years.

Then 2 years later I forgot about how terrible that half marathon was and stupidly signed up for and ran an ill-prepared FULL marathon.  It was again the most awful 4 hours and 47 minutes of my life (it was also during the Chicago heat wave of 2007).

Why did I skip past the little stuff and sign up for these long distances?  Why didn’t I start with running a 5K, then a 10K, then a 10 miler… why didn’t I gradually build my endurance until I was fit and ready to run the half and then eventually the full marathon?? 

The answer: I was clueless.

I didn’t fully understand what it takes to run 26.2 miles or how long I needed to train to be adequately prepared.  I think it is safe to say that a lot of other beginning runners have found themselves in this same situation.  I have seen these people during races; they are the ones at mile 10 of a half marathon miserably walking.  I have been there too and it sucks.

How do we get beginning runners, like I was, to GET it??

Have them PROVE it.  The article proposes a qualifying standard for marathons.  And not necessarily a specific time, but that they have participated in a 5K, 10K, and half marathon.  I honestly wish this would have been the case before I was able to sign up for that first half marathon I “ran.”  Maybe I would have had a better idea of what it took, performed better and actually enjoyed the experience. 

After 6 years I finally enjoy running.  For probably the first 3 years of that time I didn’t particularly enjoy running and at times dreaded lacing up my shoes and hitting the road.  Most likely it was because of my rough start.  But I kept with it and now I look forward to each run and I keep improving.  I have learned many lessons and am constantly figuring out what works best for me. 

If you are beginning runner, learn from my mistake…crawl before you walk…gradually build up your endurance…run a few 5Ks, 10Ks, and 10 milers…then sign up for that half marathon and eventually that marathon.  You will find the whole experience to be much more pleasant that way!

(Well that certainly was a rambling of running thoughts, thanks for hanging in there!)

Closing out 2012

(I know this is a few days late…but oh well, its not like anyone really cares...)

Jeff and I were able to spend time with the family for Christmas, once again driving to KC and STL so we could see each of our families (and our newest member of the family, Bethany who was born a week before Christmas!).

It was a quick and busy Christmas, so busy that I wasn’t even able to get any pictures.  I can’t always be the annoying event photog, maybe next time.

We got back from STL/KC and immediately transitioned into New Years festivities.  Our friends from Chicago were in town so we took them up to the mountains, went to our first Broncos game, and hit up several eateries and breweries (big surprise).

Saturday was in the mountains…. Sunday was for football.

We had perfect weather for the Broncos game and had an absolute blast.

We cheered loudly to watch PFM (Payton Effing Manning) lead the Broncos to a win over the Chiefs.  And yes, I was wearing Broncos apparel even though I am from KC…. the Chiefs are just so terrible I have never really been a fan.  Might as well cheer for a team that wins.  Though Susan wore her red proudly and cheered for the Chiefs even when they were playing quite pathetically.

 

Our seats were in the very last row.  But that didn’t stop Jeff and Nate busting out some sweet dance moves.

We then rang in 2013 the next day at Prost Brewery.  It was a low key night, but so much fun!  I guess we are getting old because playing Scrabble and Yahtzee at the bar made our night.

2012 definitely has been a great year and I can’t wait for what is in store for 2013!!!!!!

(Although I enjoyed my time off from seriously running during December, I am ready to get back into training.  AND I will have more of a reason to run since Jeff and I were selected to be a part of a local running team!!!!)

Brothers (some of them) in Denver

Last weekend 2 of Jeff’s younger brothers came to Denver for the weekend to sample some of Denver’s finest brews and to get in a little skiing. 

(Jeff really isn’t significantly smaller than his brothers, it just looks like it in this photo.  So tiny.)

We took them to some of our favorite establishments over the course of the 4 days they were in town:

• Right Coast Pizza in Wheat Ridge (they only serve beer and liquor made in Colorado)
• Hogshead Brewery in the Highlands
• Falling Rock Tap House in LoDo
• 1UP Arcade Bar in LoDo
• Wynkoop Brewery in LoDo
• Forest Room 5 in the Highlands
• Williams and Graham in the Highlands
• The Highlands Tavern
• Denver Brewing Co in LoDo
• Prost Brewing in The Highlands

(It was plaid shirt night and I didn’t get the memo.)

(We were joined by other friends which made a great night even greater!)

We also headed to the mountains where is was finally SNOWING!  We skied at Keystone in surprisingly good conditions and then stayed the night at the Inn at Keystone before returning to Denver.


I’d say we had a busy weekend….And TONS of fun!  Thanks for visiting Patty and Dave!

4 Years

Apparently Jeff and I have been married 4 years… I only remembered because I received the following text from my father-in-law this morning:

I don’t think my father-in-law was impressed. 

I just have trouble remembering things like that.  Birthdays are the same way.  In fact, I have trouble with knowing what day of the week it is.  I went all day on Tuesday thinking it was Wednesday. 

Whoops. 

Maybe I should have a calendar reminder for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  Although, even if I do remember I never say anything.  I just think “Oh its So-and-So’s birthday, I hope they are having a nice day.”  That’s as far as I get, so people probably think I am a big jerk. 

Well anyway…without further ado, in honor of Jeff and I being married for 4 years, here are photos from the best celebration I have ever attended (in my opinion):

Our wedding party was very small (HA!).  My mom MADE all the bridesmaid dresses and we gifted them to the girls (total cost per dress, $10).

Best. Party. Bus. EVER.

  We had a photo op at Busch Stadium.  We took several serious photos.  We have a boring group of friends and family.

Our reception was at the Mad Art Gallery in STL; it used to be a police station so photos in the jail cells were a must (and were very entertaining to us).

We drank, we danced, we laughed.  The reception was a HUGE party!

Can’t forget the cake and gelato!

The night was a blur, but so much FUN!

Happy Anniversary Jeff!  It started as a wild party and still is :)  Can’t wait for all the future adventures with you!

Relaxing is so…BORING

Since the Las Vegas Half Marathon, I have had a nice week off of running, or doing anything that would make me sweat.  It has been a very relaxing week. 

But…BORING!  After work, I have NOTHING to do if I don’t work out?!? 

To top it off, I was planning on filling every free moment with skiing.  But it is hard to ski if there is no snow in the mountains!  It did snow a bit this weekend but it will need to dump another foot or two to really be worth it.

To keep from getting insanely bored during the week, Jeff and I have been heading to the nearest bar or restaurant.  All this eating out and drinking beer will start to add up financially (and on our midsections) if we don’t start working out again.  But at least our taste buds are happy.

Jeff and I also woke up Saturday morning and were bored (again).  So what does one do during the weekend when you don’t have training runs or races?!? 

You learn to Home Brew!  (We really like beer, if you hadn’t noticed…)

Or you dress your dog up in a Christmas sweater!

Or you see all your friends that you had been neglecting while running all those training miles and races! 

Or you sign up for Spring running races!  Whoops…

Well, that whole relaxing thing was short lived.  Now it is time to start training for the next few races!!!!  WOOO HOOO!

And start skiing as much as I possibly can when the snow starts to fall…um, this could be a very tiring and busy winter…which is not a bad thing since I hate being bored :)

Las Vegas for the RnR Half Marathon

This is the third year that Steffanie, Jessica, and I have met in Las Vegas to run the half marathon and to enjoy a boy-free weekend.  Girls weekends are always the BEST, especially with fellow organized Type A personalities!

Back in March, we decided we would do this trip and had the foresight (thanks Jessica!) to book a hotel right away at the new finish line (they changed the course from the previous years).  We ended up getting a KILLER deal on a premium suite at Treasure Island (TI) for booking so early; it was approx 1,000 SF, had two rooms, and an amazing view of the strip (see below).  We DEFINITELY had many cheers to planning way in advance and getting such an awesome room!  And TI is in a great location for the half marathon and is in close proximity to where the post-race parties were located. 

We all arrived Saturday and took the day to catch up, hit up the expo, and RELAXED.  Originally we wanted to go out on the town Saturday night, but we all were tired from the day and ended up agreeing that staying in, ordering room service, and watching a movie was the way to go.  It was so nice to relax with the girls, even if we all felt old and lame.  Oh well :)

Sunday morning we all slept 10+ hours and leisurely got up and ate breakfast.  We then did some more relaxing in our awesome hotel suite and watched another movie.  The afternoon rolled around and it was RACE time.  After I French-braided the girls hair (yes, it is a cliché but we totally had a slumber party and hair braided) we headed to the start line.

The race started at 4:30 PM right as the sun started to go down.  I was in corral 1 and decided to run as fast as I could until my legs gave out (totally going against my race plan as stated in the previous post, whoops).  Steffanie and Jessica started in a different corral and decided to really enjoy the race, stopping to take pictures, talking the entire time, and ended up having an absolute blast.  I was extremely jealous that I did not stay with them.  Sad.Instead I stupidly started running fast down the strip, getting carried away with the wind at my back and on a slight downhill.  Weeee!  I never looked at my watch and couldn’t see the numbers either way because it was dark out.

Soon my legs started to feel heavy at mile 8 and at this time we made a turn and the wind was no longer at my back.  Instead the wind was right in my face.  In fact, there was a wind advisory that day and there were gusts up to 40 mph (so I hear).  I could definitely tell as I felt like the wind was stopping me in my tracks.  I began to slow and the last 3 miles felt like a death march.  My legs felt like crap and I was ready to be DONE.  I also had some GI issues and was happy I didn’t crap myself.

I didn’t know there was a wall to hit during a half marathon, but apparently I found it and ran smack into it.  Another horribly paced race by yours truly.  Damn.

This year they had photographers every 3 feet (well not really that many, but it felt like it) and got a TON of photos of me.  I didn’t look as tragic as I felt, I guess I hide it well when I see the flash of a camera.

I finished in 1:37:41, about 6 minutes slower than last year (and about 7 minutes slower than my half split during my marathon 2 weeks prior, RACE FAIL).  But everyone else must have totally sucked as well because I finished higher in my age group and overall as compared to last year. 

After I finished, I headed straight to TI where I ordered room service and food arrived right before Jessica and Steffanie made it back as well.  We ate and got ready for a night out.

See, we clean up well!

We hit up LAVO night club where we tricked the bouncer into thinking we were a big deal and they let us sit at a VIP table.  We did NOT order a bottle, because they mark those up ridiculously; a $30 bottle of vodka costs $300 (shame on you if you are stupid enough to pay for a bottle at a Vegas club).  Instead I reached into my purse (personal bar) where I had stashed mini bottles and I drank for free all night.  Yep, that’s how I roll.  Eventually some females with larger boobs and who were stupid enough to buy a bottle came around and the bouncers kicked us out of the VIP area.  We were left to standing around with the rest of the masses the remainder of the night.

We had a fun night and got very little sleep Sunday night, but it was worth it!

I love my girls!!  Miss you already!!