frogprincess72’s BodyBlog

What an experience. I’ve done it before, but 16 years ago. Makes a huge difference being in better condition!

So I meet half my all-female team last Thursday. We get in the van and drive to Timberline Lodge, where the race begins. WOW! I was so excited to finally meet the women! Our ages ranged from 20-49, so we were in the Open Division, and all very experienced runners, and like-minded. I was in pure heaven! We have our team dinner that night, and walk around Mt. Hood and the Lodge. And it’s an early bedtime for us, as half our team is from NY and Boston, and they were sleepy lil girls!

Friday morning, we get up and meet at 7:30 am to meet the rest of the team that showed up later and to decorate our van. Team name "does this van make my butt look big!?" Awesome name, considering 10 of the women couldn’t have weighed over 90 pounds!  Our start time is 9 am, and we hang out at the start line to cheer the other teams on, and to take pix.

So once 9 am hits, and our first runner is off, Van 1 takes off to run their first legs. Van 2 (mine) has about 4.5 hours to wait…. SOOOOOOOOO we enjoy a nice warm breakfast (the last one for awhile) and chilled until it was time to go to the first van exchange.. And let me tell you! After taking the week off for "recovery", I was rarin’ to go! I either wanted to take a nap, or get my first 6.4 miles under me! But alas, I had to wait! and wait.. and wait… UGH! I’m not a waiter!

FINALLY it came my turn. We got lost and I got to the runner exchange with just a few minutes to spare. I see Cap, the gal who’s passing off to me. And I’m beyond excited. I’m no longer tired. I’m pumped! I get the green wrist band and off I go, to "I got a feeling" by Black Eyed Peas. It’s a beautiful run, along the Springwater Corridor. Paved trail with lots of nature around. AND FLAT! I make it to mile 5, and there’s my son, mom and step-dad waiting to cheer me on. gave me some pep in my step to finish the last 1.5 miles. Then I caught up to the most annoying runner of all. there are many types, but this on is the worst… The one who can’t stand to get passed! UGH! I’m a steady runner. I keep my pace steady no matter what. This gal did anything but. She’d sprint ahead and once I caught up to her, she’d sprint again.. then fall back.. I could take her no longer, and was so excited when I saw "the hill".. I train on hills. HA! So I just keep my pace steady and wait for her to trail off. I give her credit, she held strong.. Being "roadkill" is tough on the ego. But I just ran my hill and took the inside corner on the turn and then it was all downhill (literally) to the finish line, and I never saw her again.. PHEW!!!!!

My next run was at about 2 am in the middle of nowhere. It was still so warm and humid (unusual for the coastal mountain range), but the little bit of mist really felt good. I started my 1.5 mile hill climb, again holding steady. And it was dark. SO DARK! I could only see what my headlight illuminated. But I loved it. I had no ipod. No distractions. Just the sound of my breathing and my feet striking the pavement. I got in my zone. It was amazing. Nothing was getting me out of it… UNTIL….Finally, the peak of the hill came, and it was 5.4 miles downhill. OUCH! Hello quads! But fast.. so fast.. I saw the line up of all the vans to get into the exchange and I saw my runner and I heard my team cheering for me and it felt so good! Honestly, this was the leg I was most concerned about and I did it 90 seconds faster than projected

 Now it was just a matter of time waiting for my last leg, which was just over 4 miles and flat. I wasn’t worried about it at all. I was still flying high after my 2nd run and it was 3 am and cheering on the rest of the runners in our van. Once we got her, we were off to the "sleeping area".. I didn’t wait.. My sleeping area was the back seat of the van. And I was out. Suddenly, I got a nudge and a "better wake up Sleeping Beauty.. The line to the Honey Buckets pretty long and we need to get a move on"… UGH.. And it was raining. Heavenly!

My last 4 miles was very uneventful, except to see all the runners who were breaking down. There were so many. I almost felt bad running by them…… ALMOST! But I gave them a cheer and a "only ………. till the exchange and we’re done" and then suddenly, I was done..

I can’t wait to do it again next year. Really, what an experience. And now, I’m helping my son train for a kid’s marathon at the end of October. I think I can handle the 1 mile/day runs

Well, I did my first complete relay simulation. Sunday, I ran just under 7 miles at about 4 pm, on a comperable course as my first leg on Hood to Coast. Monday, I got up and trained the college kids (yup. it’s that time of year again!) and then went home to run 6 miles of hills (my 2nd leg is actually 6.81 miles) at 11 am. At 3:30 pm, I ran my 3rd leg, 4.25 miles of fairly flat. MAN ALIVE, did that feel good!

 So, today I’m actually not sore. I have a blister on my left foot, but I think that was from the shoes I was wearing last night, not from running. And my left soleus is tender, but if I HAD to run again, I COULD.. but I don’t wanna…

 I also bought a bodybugg. It’s gonna be cool to see how many calories I actually burn with all this running! And with the Cross Fit WODs. Today, I cleaned our soccer camp (about a 3 hour job) and I burned over 700 cals. And today was my recovery day! Oiy vay!

 OH, and did I mention??? I"m famished! Like a bottomless pit! Time to get my grub on ..

So I got my leg assignments for Hood to Coast. Leg #1 6.43 moderate miles and fairly flat. There’s only about a 50 foot change in overall elevation. I’m guessing I’ll be running this leg about 10 pm at night (depending on our start time).  About 7.5-8  hours later, I’ll run 6.81 very hard miles on paved, country back roads (que banjoes). UGH! The first 1.7 miles is uphill, with an elevation climb of 400 feet (starting at 850 feet sea level).. Then, it’s pretty much rolling hills down, ending at 625 feet sea level.. This may just be kinda brutal! And honestly, I’m just a little bit nervous about this one, mostly because I don’t tend to be a big fan of running in the dark. Pure, back country, deliverance darkness in a little logging town we like to call, Vernonia! (que more banjoes) And my last leg is 4.13 moderate "short" run of more rolling country hills.

 Overall, I have the 3rd longest legs overall (out of 12) and the 3rd hardest overall (based on terrain, miles, and perceived exurtion).

 So Sunday, I decided that since I really only have about 3 weeks left to train before I start my taper, I’ll do some race simulation runs. This should help my muscles get used to the lack of recovery time, not to mention my brain!

Sunday’s training consisted of 9 miles of a very easy paced run. I believe my average pace was 8:49/mile. Slow but steady. Then Monday, I had the lofty goal of running hills around the lake when I got off work. BUT, once I got home and sat down to put on my runners, the work-every-other-night schedule I’ve been on, caught up to me and I crashed on the couch. But I did manage to get it done in the afternoon. One of my girlfriends told me I looked like poo, when she saw me and told me to go back home and go to bed. Told her, "I’m gonna be sleep deprived in the vans during the relay and I won’t be able to tell them "sorry i’m really tired. Mary, can you run my leg for me?" So, off I went to run my 2nd leg simulation…. I did pretty well. My quads didn’t give me much grief until the last 0.5 miles…and I averaged a 8:30/mile

Then I went to pick up my son from camping with friends, got home to get 4 hours of sleep, then up at 2:45 am to come in to work for a few hours. Quite honestly, I’m goofy at this point. One more hour, and I get to go home for a 2 hour nap…………. to be continued……

My training for the Hood to Coast relay is going really well. I’ve been averaging about 35 miles the last few weeks (up from about 20) and MAN ALIVE, am I feeling this increase! But I love it, so I’m far from complaining.. (except when I do.. haha) But this increase means that my weight training is cut short. BUT I don’t want to lose the muscle I have, so I’ve been doing full-body circuit training on my non-long-running days. Instead of waiting 45-60 seconds to recover, I’ll jump rope.. mt. climb.. throw in some jump boxes.. walking lunges.. whatever it takes to get it all in.. And I’m seeing the results.. I put on my super tight non-spandex jean capri’s this evening before work, (I don’t dare wear these out of the house.. these are my ‘progress’ pants) and they had some give.. See why I’m not complaining????

 I’ve also been concentrating on training in my heart rate zones. It’s been fascinating to learn more about this. And I’m seeing the results. (reduced resting heart rate.. 51 this morning and increased threshold HR) Again… no complaints

 Besides training, life has stepped up the busy factor.. Of course, its by choice. Call me crazy, but I do enjoy working. Not so much the night shift hours, but I do enjoy the money. And I like being able to provide my son with a good life. Of course, I do not do this alone. My husband does more than his fair share. But summer is his SUPER busy time, as we have a soccer camp and he’s a soccer coach. Suffice it to say, that once summer hits, I become the married-stay at home-married-working mom.. It gets tough. I know others have it tougher, so I"m not going to take this time to complain. So,  I do what I do and get it done….usually with my running shoes on

 btw.. today’s workout looked like this……

10 assisted pull ups; 100 ft. walking lunges (50 no weight/50 20 pounds) x 4 rounds

15 lat pull downs; 30 mt. climbers x 4

12 1-leg dead lift; 1 min jump rope x 4

12-15 seated cable rows; 20 18 inch jump box x 4

12-15 bent over 1-armed row; 30 sit ups x 4

15 bicep curls; more abs x 4

15 hammer curls; 1 min jump rope x 4

10 min’s on step mill…… total time 1:10.. total cal’s burned 515.. Max HR 150. Avg. HR 123.

Sunday I did a really fun Earth Day 5k. It was the first year of this run but it was very well organized and a great course. It was a mix of paved and trail running with steep downhills and steep uphills.. And ya’ll know how I feel about hills! haha.. The weather was perfect (kinda cool with a slight breeze).. My son enjoyed the kids fun run (tho you wouldn’t know it by some of his grumpy mcgrumperson pix) but he enjoyed it when he came in 2nd and made friends with the 1st place kid..

My run started 15 minutes later. Not sure how many runners/walkers there were, but it was small.. MAYBE 150 total.. MAYBE… I usually do city/paved running since Kirby’s passing. I just have trouble getting back on the trails alone. But this was great. I really enjoyed the different terrains on this course. And at the last 0.1 I made my push past one last guy, as did another woman. When he saw the 2 of us passing him he kicked up his speed, but we held him off
So when all was said and done, I finished in 25:11. Not super fast for a 5k but given the fact that I train endurance and not speed I’m ok with it.. AND i forgot my IPOD I was 5th place for all women.. 2nd in my age.. and 26th for ALL runners..

Time to train for my 10K memorial day!

So this past weekend, I went to Portland to visit my family. It was amazing NW weather.. Warm sunshine. The daphne and cherry trees were in full bloom. I was in the City.. I got up Sunday morning and ran my favorite route. It winds me around my old neighborhood, so it’s a run down memory lane, to say the least. I put the IPOD on random shuffle and EVERY song put a little extra pep in my step. And I used that 6 miles to really think.. and here’s what I came up with…….

I’m a city girl. I love being able to walk pretty much everywhere I want to go. And if I can’t, I can hop on a bus (yes, i have actually hopped on a bus) and get everywhere. I love sidewalks. I love curbs. I love the curbs that are all broken up because of the really old tree roots have buckled them. I love running up hill (ok.. maybe not WHILE i’m running up that hill but it is all about the bootay).. I love running up hill in a head wind..I love looking in the mirror after a good run and seeing my bright red sweaty face looking back at me… and i REALLY love that first glass of cold water post run….almost as much as I love that shower

Later that day, we got together at my sis and bro in law’s house for a tandom birthday celebration. It was so fun. My BIL’s a Naturopathic Doctor, and needless to say, we eat HEALTHY when we eat there! haha.. No wheat, dairy, gluten, or soy for us! As I was there, surrounded by all the festivities,  I again, got to thinking… and here’s what I came up with….

 I Love that 11 days shy of my 37th birthday, I’m the closest to knowing who I am.. who I want to be.. and how I will get there.

It was as simple as that…….

So this past weekend, I went to Portland to visit my family. It was amazing NW weather.. Warm sunshine. The daphne and cherry trees were in full bloom. I was in the City.. I got up Sunday morning and ran my favorite route. It winds me around my old neighborhood, so it’s a run down memory lane, to say the least. I put the IPOD on random shuffle and EVERY song put a little extra pep in my step. And I used that 6 miles to really think.. and here’s what I came up with…….

I’m a city girl. I love being able to walk pretty much everywhere I want to go. And if I can’t, I can hop on a bus (yes, i have actually hopped on a bus) and get everywhere. I love sidewalks. I love curbs. I love the curbs that are all broken up because of the really old tree roots have buckled them. I love running up hill (ok.. maybe not WHILE i’m running up that hill but it is all about the bootay).. I love running up hill in a head wind..I love looking in the mirror after a good run and seeing my bright red sweaty face looking back at me… and i REALLY love that first glass of cold water post run….almost as much as I love that shower

Later that day, we got together at my sis and bro in law’s house for a tandom birthday celebration. It was so fun. My BIL’s a Naturopathic Doctor, and needless to say, we eat HEALTHY when we eat there! haha.. No wheat, dairy, gluten, or soy for us! As I was there, surrounded by all the festivities,  I again, got to thinking… and here’s what I came up with….

 I Love that 11 days shy of my 37th birthday, I’m the closest to knowing who I am.. who I want to be.. and how I will get there.

It was as simple as that…….

Today I finally got to do a Cross Fit WOD that I’ve been wanting to do. I don’t get to do many as prescribed cuz I can’t do more than ONE measly narrow grip pull up! (but i’m working on it.. promise CG!!! my wings ain’t this sore for nuttin!) So I was excited about this one…

10 rounds of :

110# dead lift

10 20 inch jump box

10 push ups with 10 pound weight on my back….

Not sure if this sounds like a lot to anyone else but me (yes, DOC.. i already heard thru the grape vine that you didn’t feel "challenged" by this.. to which i say POPPYCOCK! haha) But to me the DL’s were freakin heavy.. If you’ve read past blogs of mine, you know that I don’t lift heavy.. Never have.. Really still don’t like it.. But I did it… And that’s what counts…

Now I’m fixin to get my tail feathers back to the gym for spin class.. OR an easy 4 miles on the treadmill… hmmmmm… guess it depends on if I can even get into class tonight..

So so much has happened over the last few weeks.. But the highlight was for sure my Whirlwind Midwest tour last week! I started it off on Wednesday, spending the night in Indianapolis.. Freakin’ LOVE that city! Ima hoosier by blood and I get all twitter-pated when I’m there… The next night was in Chicago! WOO HOO… went to a great martini bar and danced my tail feathers off in my new 3 inch red heels and up-to-there black skirt.. the band was the BEST 80s cover band I’ve heard in a very long time.

and then… dum..dum..dum…. COLUMBUS OHIO TO MEET MY GIRLS!! i was exhausted.. averaged about 3 hours of sleep both nights prior, but I wasn’t letting that stop me! Fitnblnde5 met me at the airport, and even tho we’ve never met, we talk via text/email/phone EVERY day.. sometimes ALL day..  We hung out till it was time to pick up Crlgrl.. THEN the party started once  Charlies Angels were there… (FNB = Blonde.. CG = red head.. Me = brunette).. We went to the Arnold Figure/Fitness/Bodybuilding finals friday night (and got to meet nursnic.. YOU, my friend, are a DOLL and i’m so sorry we didn’t get to hang with you more! ) .. and then the expo on saturday.. I can’t remember the last time I was poked.. proded.. and felt up by some many!!! haha..

And finally, SUNDAY! We had a little too much fun Saturday night, so we didnt get much sleep, but CG and I were pretty excited about finally running TOGETHER!!! I had about an hour of sleep, and she about 2.. It was perfect weather.. We started about mid-pack but it opened up very early on.. Our first mile was a 7:30 pace. DANG.. how you feeling? good? keep up the pace? slow it down? oh you can’t hear me cuz you got your tunes on too loud?? my bad, CG! haha.. our 2nd mile was 8:00… still going strong but then CG got a side cramp so we decided to slow it down.. we didnt’ care how long it took us (it was for fun afterall) but we were NOT walking.. then the last 0.1 mile came and I said "let’s finish strong" and we sprinted for the finish line… DAMN! she’s a speedy lil thing!

We finished 41st and 42nd overall and 4th in each of our age groups, with times of 24:30 and 24:31.. And we got medals I’m waiting to get the pix from FNB.. who, by the way, is the BEST photographer/cheerleader EVER! I’ll post them when I do cuz we got some great ones

 Today, I did the Cross Fit WOD which was max lift of squat, deadlift and shoulder press… I got 175# squat.. 140# DL and 60# SP for a CF total score of 375#.. CG said it was OSM.. and i’m happy, especially considering it’s my first ever max lift of anything!!!

I was going to go to the Cross Fit affiliate yesterday but I didn’t. Bad me. So instead, I decided I’d run around the lake.. WHY?! i know it’s all hills.. You’re either running up or down.. TO the right or to the left.. Blah.. Blah.. Blah.. So all in all, I went 5.5 miles in 50:39. Sounds really slow and it felt even slower but when I look back at my time and distance and the fact that I no longer have to WALK after the hills, I was rather impressed and happy… And my glutes and hamstrings feel like they went thru a CF WOD.. SUCCESS!!!