OK, so I haven’t been writing much on my running since I posted about doing the Hot Buttered Run way back in November. That is because, I haven’t done much running.
My running tappered off in December for two reasons. One: Christmas, I hand-made about 100 Christmas cards to send out, plus other hand-made gifts and crafty things. So the time when I would normally be running I was crafting instead. I was OK with that, I knew I wanted to get these items done and I didn’t want to give up time with my family. Two: a sinus infection. I started getting really bad headaches, like knock me out headaches. So when I would run the increase blood flow would cause tremendous pressure in my head, resulting in bad headaches. A week or so ago I finally went to the doctor and found out I had a bad infection in my left sinus.
I have run a few times, for short durations with mixed results. Sometimes my head would get worse, sometimes it would stay the same. What I did do though, was start walking. My work place is linked to another building via a sky bridge, that building is linked to two others via different sky bridges. So I can get a two-mile walk in during lunch with out going outside in the not so pleasant weather.
While walking has kept me active I am yearning for a run, a long run. (I am hoping to this weekend, 10 miles on Sunday!)
I have a race coming up in March, so I need to get some distance in before then. It also has a nasty hill, so I need to get some training in on hills too. I just can’t seem to set the incline on the treadmill when running, I always feel like I’m gonna fall off.
Last weekend we had unseasonably warm weather so my mom and I took the boys for 1.6 mile walk to a park. We had lunch and the kids played for a few hours. I can’t wait for spring. With the nice weather on Monday I thought I would go for a run at work, brought all my gear but my sports bra.
OK, next try Tuesday, I mapped out a 2 mile run on the trail and road around my work. I started out and it was colder than the day before and there was a slight mist. I didn’t mind at first but then my hands started to freeze. I thought the trail would be ok, since it hadn’t rained in a while, but I had never been on that trail.
It wasn’t fine. It was steep, narrow, muddy and slick. There were tons of switch backs where I had to slow way down so I didn’t fall. There were steep slippery slopes I had to walk up. I took a wrong turn and ended up adding two miles to my run. So while I felt great that I went out, it was not an enjoyable run. There were a few times it was nice, but over all not my best.
New plan: run on the road at work only. Part of the March race, the part with the hill, is basically at my work, so I can get some good training in. I will vary a two-five mile run during the day, depending on how much time I have. That way I know I won’t get lost.
Just. Keep. Running.
Just a reminder that with my running I am raising money for St. Jude’s Hospital, click on the picture below to donate.
This post has been a long time coming. The race was actually Thanksgiving weekend, but I just haven’t had a chance to tell you about it.
I really wanted to do a Christmas themed run this year. After looking into the ones that were available I decided on the Hot Buttered Run. It sound fun and Christmasey and there was Hot Buttered Rum at the end. What could be better.
The race offered two distances; a 5K and a 12k (7.28 miles). I picked the 12k race. The course was mostly flat and wound through downtown Vancouver, WA and through Fort Vancouver. This also put us in the industrial district for a couple of miles, which wouldn’t have been bad except the smell coming from one of the plants. It was either tires or asphalt, think burning rubber. Not the best thing to inhale while running.
12k course
Because of the distance and the small town, we had to run by the starting park twice. Around mile 3 we run by the park, but that is ok, because the race just started and I was expecting to double back. But then at the end, close to the 7 mile point we run along the park and you think you are going to take a left turn at the corner and cross the finish line. WRONG! You keep going, granted it is only about a 1/4 mile, but mentally it throws you. The course took us down another block before turning left to come around the other side and up to cross the finish line.
close up of mile 3 & 7
The day was beautiful and cold. I mean cold. OK, it wasn’t below zero or in the single digits but it was cold. However the sun was shining and there were parts of the run that I actually felt warm.
I-5 bridge and Fort Vancouver
Running through the fort with the sun on my face was glorious. In fact it was so great I stopped to take a picture, which paused the Map My Run app and I lost about 3/10 of a mile. Which means my split records are not really accurate. My times were about ten and a half-minute miles to eleven and a half-minute miles.
there was ice under the leaves on the path
There were less than 500 finishers with over 300 of them females. I wanted my time to be under 90 minutes, and it was. So I am happy about that. I averaged an 11:18 min/mile officially running 1:25:50. I am hoping that next year I will finish closer to an hour. There was a few slippery spots of ice where it was better to walk than run and I stopped to take a few pictures. I also took a walking break to have some Gu for refueling.
View at mile 6
Then as soon as I was done I started to freeze! Did I mention how cold it was?
Of course I made a shirt to wear for the race, but I had to put my coat back on, which covered it up, as soon as I was finished!
The other reason I picked this race was because of the Kids Kandy Kane Race and the fact that Santa would be there. Ian has been talking about doing a race with me and I figured this would be a fun one for him to do.
There was two divisions of kids races. One was a fun run, for the kids under the age of 8, and was supposed to be a distance they could reasonably finish. There was two waves, the first one was for kids ages 3-6 and running with a parent, the second was 7-8 with no parents. So if you had to run with a parent you went first. The second kids race was a 1k (.62 miles) for kids older than 5 and could run without parents. The other benefit of this race is they had a kid zone, a secure area where the kids could play while parents raced. The thought was, Ian would go to the kid zone, I would run. I would come get him, see Santa and do his race.
The kid zone had one of those bounce house things in it, and was under a covered area, with only one wall, and no patio heaters.
Did I mention how cold it was?
The poor kids had to hang out in freezing weather while we ran. I really felt bad at the end of my race. Sure he had gloves, layers of clothes and a hat, but only one pair of socks. Which would have been fine, but he had to take his shoes off to go in the bounce house. (after we did his race he told me his feet hurt because they were laughing so hard) The kid zone had hot chocolate and snacks, and he didn’t complain, I just wish I was faster. I kept running and tried to run faster because I wanted to get Ian out of the kid zone as fast as I could.
The line for the rum tent was so long, Ian couldn’t come in with me and I didn’t want to leave him in the play area any longer….so I didn’t get my Hot Buttered Rum. But that’s okay, I got to hang with Ian until his race started. He decided he didn’t want to go see Santa just yet.
The kids races couldn’t start until all the other runners crossed the finish line. Then they packed us all back into the starting gate and organized us by waves while Santa walked around talking to the kids.
For our wave, the first wave, they told us to just run around the park, which ended up being 0.45 miles. The actual course was supposed to cut through the park, giving a 0.34 mile course. But all the kids made it around the park, including Ian and me.
When the kids crossed the finish line they were handed a medal from either Santa himself or an elf.
Ian with his new medal and a super runny nose
Seriously, that made it all worth it. Ian had a great time, loved his swag and loved the fact that he got a medal from Santa Claus. Since the race area was at a park, there was a playground. We went and played on the playground for a little bit then went to Starbucks for more hot chocolate and a cake pop & cookie for Ian.
However we talked about his next race happening when it is warmer.
I do plan on doing this race again next year and hopefully Ian will too. Although we might figure something else out, like having someone with us to hang with Ian, or bring him before it is his time to race.
Today is Globally Organized Hug A Runner Day (GO HARD).
A couple of years ago some friends wanted to get some runners together to recognize what they do and that has now turned into a running holiday that keeps getting bigger and better.
This year the folks from Run the Edge (the people behind GO HARD) decided they wanted to raise money for the charity Girls on the Run. This is a wonderful charity that I heard about this past year and I hope to be a part of next year.
GO HARD is hosting a virtual run, and all the proceeds go to Girls on the Run, plus you have chances to win some cool prizes. You can join the virtual race for a mere $5.95 and run any distance you want, just sign up for 5k, 10k or 13.1 miles. You then post your times and see how you placed. You can run outside, inside, on a track or treadmill. You have till Nov 30th to post your times.
You can also register for the race and get a medal and/or shirt (with a higher registration fee.
(above images are from hugarunner.com)
Once you register you can download and print out your bib. Take a picture of you with your bib and post it to the Hug a Runner Facebook group.
If you are not a runner but want to support one you can send them a hug. Or you can just actually hug a runner that you know and support.
I registered for the virtual 5k race and got the shirt. I have to run on the treadmill at the gym because I run either too late at night or too early in the morning for outside runs this time of year.
Go ahead, hug your runner.
Just. Keep. Running.
Want to find out what races I’ll be doing next year? Check out my list.
Before we talk about my experience with the race, let’s talk about the name of the race and the what the race is fundraising for.
The Mustache Dache takes place in November (mostly), because it is also Movember.
But what is Movemeber you might ask? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you.
About a decade ago some Bros in Australia decided to challenge other men to a Mo* contest.
*A MO is a mustache, short for the English spelling of Moustache.
The Bros decided that during the month of November they would grow their mustaches for a cause, after some research they decide their cause would be prostate and testicular cancer, as well as depression. After a couple of years donating their proceeds to local charities they ended up creating a charitable organization of their own.
Fast Forward to now: Movember is a world-wide charity raising money and bringing awareness for men’s health. You can go to the Movember website and donate, or participate in the Mo growing contest during the month of November. You can also find tons of information on men’s health issues and look at pictures of men with awesome Mos. You can also read the whole story behind the campaign.
Us women have October as breast cancer awareness month, and the men now have Movember because these guys wanted to change the face of men’s health.
picture from race site, click image for link
Now that the history lesson is done we can talk about my race. (OK, maybe not yet) The race was put together as one of the ways to raise money for the above mentioned charity. It is a fun 5k, there are lots of costumes, booze, fun prizes, kids race, humor, awareness and mustaches everywhere; the real ones and fake. This race is held in various location across the country. It is a fun good time.
I thought ‘5k (3.1 miles), easy peasy’ I could do that in my sleep. In fact I do that on multiple times a week. I wanted to get my 5k time down to (and below) 3o minutes, giving me a 10 min/mile pace. In my last treadmill work out prior to this race I ran a 10.07 min/mile 5k. So, I was ready.
I read a race recap and looked at the course map, and so I knew there would a hill. But I didn’t really comprehend what that meant. The course is a 3.1 mile loop with over 400 feet (435 ft gain, to be exact) of elevation gain in the first 1.7 miles (aprox.). That is about a 5% pitch for this race. At times, I seriously thought I could reach forward and touch the road in front of me with my hand. Remember when I was complaining about the hills in my Wine Country Half Marathon? Well during that whole 13.1 mile race there was only a 328 foot elevation gain.
Yep, you read that right.
So I will confess that I did not run a 10 min/mile. In fact, there was a great deal of times that I didn’t even run. And I was questioning my ability to even walk up those ridiculous hills. It wasn’t one big hill though. The first 9/10th of a mile had ups and downs with a couple of flats. After running too fast up the very first hill (I was running 8:30 min/mile) I realized I need to walk up the hills. So I would walk up and run when it was flat or down. You get caught up in the moment, everyone was running fast, I felt great, so I did too. So the first mile I clocked in at about 11:30.
The last hill though, that one was the killer. At mile 0.91 were were at an elevation of 372 ft; at mile 1.73 we were at 660 ft. That is 288 ft in less than a mile! It was anything but ‘fun’! Oh and did I mention it was a balmy 30°F out that day too? Have you ever had your lungs freeze while you were breathing? The second mile took about 14 minutes.
But what goes up must come down. I could have made up a bunch of time on the downhill but I didn’t want to lose control and fall. Cause you know, I would be the one that rolled down the hill to the finish line. So I ran and I tried to keep my pace to a manageable one, on both the down hill and the flat part. I ended up completing third mile in about 9:30 minutes.
I had a chip time of 0:36:46, giving me a 11:50 min/mile pace. I finished 360/827 overall and 119/321 for my age. Pretty good under the circumstances.
These are the friends who did the race with me
Even with the deadly hill the atmosphere was fun and enjoyable. Everyone was having a good time and wearing mustaches.
Finishers all got these awesome medals (which is also a bottle opener),
a free beer and a free tequila drink;
you also received a shirt with registration.
However, if the race is in the same local next year, I might have to pass.
t wasn’t fine. It was steep, narrow, muddy and slick. There were tons of switch backs where I had to slow way down so I didn’t fall. There were steep slippery slopes I had to walk up. I took a wrong turn and ended up adding two miles to my run. So while I felt great that I went out, it was not an enjoyable run. There were a few times it was nice, but over all not my best.
I Tri and Craft 