Spring cleaning...'bout time I dusted off this blog!

What have I been up to lately in addition to ignoring this blog?

Breaking 1:45 in a half marathon last weekend, that's what!

And completing my 20-mile trail race in late February (though with less impressive results, IMO).

The Psycho Wyco 20 miler...well, I did it but I lost a little love for the trail-racing process.  What a great race day - late February and 60s and sunny with no precip in the preceding weeks?  Great conditions!  All of my worry over inclement weather gear was for nothing.  Good thing I procrastinated the purchase of any...still procrastinating in fact. 

The first 10-mile lap went well.  The few wet/muddy parts were no match for my new Balega socks which saved the day with such a dry, cushioned ride.  On the second lap of the race, I lost a little interest.   I was lonely and I felt as though I were just pounding out miles in single-file in packs of random strangers along a 10-mile lap.  Maybe I was just too familiar with the course, having run those same trails while training?  I don't know.  Just not as fun as I expected, though I can't really complain about a beautiful day in a beautiful park.  Really not every day can be magical run-nirvana, but it can still be a great day, and it was.  Also, I have never seen better aid stations or support crews.  I felt well taken care of -- a truly top-notch production, which is standard for the Trail Nerds. 

Also, I love the hoodie and super cool race medal with a spinning tornado!

Hoodies for everyone!

I did take this trail race opportunity to eat real food while running.  I hate gagging down gels and I get real sick of stuffing little bags of gummy candy in my sports bra, which is a sweaty tacky mess by the time I want a lickie/chewie.  The night before the Psycho Wyco i made some frozen peanut butter energy balls (no recipe needed, just scavenged ingredients from my tiny kitchen) which D loved and tested thoroughly.  I am not much for peanut butter, but with ground oats, pretzels, dates, honey, and just a little peanut butter to bind it all in little balls, I had a nice compact treat for me on the trail (and for D at the aid stations).  Of course, the aid stations were so well stocked that I would've been fine (and likely overstuffed) even without my homemade fuel.  Still, it was a fun project and I'm glad these treats provided a more palatable alternative to normal race "foods."  And as a bonus, I suffered no GI emergencies as a result.  That can be a real issue for me and hence why a lot of my training is on treadmill or in vicinity of facilities. Bummer indeed.  Pun intended, bien sur.  At this point I think I just need to get some bentyl. 

After trail running so much this winter, I missed the almighty road race.  I know, I know, it's a completely different gestalt but I am in love with asphalt's ability to test my training and my mettle and really challenge the clock.  I do not reach that happy I-can-barely-hold-on-to-this-pace-and-yet-here-I-am-holding-it-while-the-miles-whiz-by feeling while on the trails.  For me, the trails are pure fun/playtime and that's the mindset I should've embraced at the Psycho Wyco.  The road?  Well, that's where I see if my horsies can still take the age group. 

Last weekend I ran the Ray-Pec Lucky 13.1 Half Marathon in Peculiar, MO.  How could I pass up a race in a town with such a cool name?  Actually, after the 20 miler I felt trained up and ready for a nice road race half and the most convenient one happened to be sponsored by the Raymore-Peculiar High School cross country team.  The price was right, and my training was right and the weather cooperated too - gorgeous 55 degrees and light rain.  Perfect recipe for me to break the 8:00 pace, which I finally did after years of banging my head in the wall about it.  Nice that my time allowed to me win the age group, but the two ladies who finished overall ahead of me were like for reals light years beyond.  Maybe one day, that'll be me, when I drop 10 pounds and find a less all-encompassing job and stop knitting, and cease watching Acorn TV while eating Cheetos...lol...NEVER is more like it :)


The chip-timed course started at the high school with a lap around the track and then departs into the rolling hills of farm country.  It ends with the same lap around the track and at the end there is mac and cheese, fruit, raffle prizes, and an "old as dirt" cake for the 72-year old gentleman who was this year's most senior participant.  I hope that's me someday.  He finished in the low 2H area I believe.  Dang.  There is also a 5K race option.  The turn around was along the same course as the 13.1.  Some real quick kiddos out there, in both the 5K and the half!

The high school sports teams provided nice aid stations along the out-and-back course.  It's always refreshing to see high schoolers acting so courteously and with such pride in their school and community.  Man do I feel old having written that!  Anyway, I felt like Peculiar would be a nice place to live and raise a family (or chickens and dogs, also known as "family" in my world) not to mention a nice place to break 1:45.  

Remember all this blather?  Well I tossed training plans out the window long ago in order to de-regulate a little.  My go-to workouts have been like this:

• Long runs of ~10 miles or so at a chill pace.  Boring but necessary for endurance.
• Speed work: 6 or 7 miles of warm up mile/ half on 3:30 or faster, half mile at 4:00 or faster x 4 or 5 sets/cool down mile.  These are my favorite days.
• Tempo runs, done properly. Embraced, but not beloved.
• Hilly runs of about 5 miles done for mental fortitude. 

In other recent events, work is going well.  I got promoted, so that's cool.  In my free time I have been knitting a lot and tried using cotton yarn for the first time.  What was I waiting for?  It's lovely to touch.  It feels solid and American and resilient and doesn't stretch :).  I'm currently working on a washrag for the dog.  Yes I know, a hand-knit washrag for my dog.  It's just that she likes being lathered in the bath, and I don't want to use our hand-towels on her.  She abhors having water poured over her and yet loves to be scrubbed, so for $1.77 in Walmart cotton yarn I will aid in her bathtime compliance while keeping D happy that we don't share bath towels with a floor-licker (The dog.  Not me).  Long-haired short-legged dogs in muddy Kansas spring get bathed, often.  So it goes. 

Easter is around the corner and I am ready for Spring....though yesterday it snowed!  My neglected bulbs have prospered and popped up in huge patches and are unfettered by the chill so we enjoy some lovely blooms.   

I have two trips to Texas coming up (one for work and one for a wedding/follow on 10K, but as a workaholic they will both be mega-fun of course).  Unfortunately my medical mission trip to Haiti for April was cancelled.  I'm bummed and annoyingly out some $$ but it wasn't meant to be.  I am frustrated as I feel like I could have made a difference there -- yes, in a small way, but so important to me (and how I view my professional and moral responsibilities) and to the orphans we planned to treat.

Yesterday D and I finally had the chance to eat Korean food at Hyundai Korean restaurant in Leavenworth.  Boy oh boy -- good authentic bibimbap.  The restaurant appearance may dissuade you but be not afraid, the food is top notch and took us back to all the time we spent in Korea.  The huge portions may intimidate you (D couldn't even finish his) but be sure to make room for kimchi and all the little banchan sides that accompany your meal.  Prices completely reasonable.  

We love bibimbap in all forms but I suspect we will have it hot-pot style next time.  They also feature my other favorites of standard Korean fare- jap chae, bulgogi, khalbi.  Luckily I am going to take some leave to Korea this fall to visit friends, and for now this restaurant makes me miss them a little less.  The building is redolent with the scent of the land of the morning calm which I think crucial to any amazing Korean dining experience.  

We also enjoyed browsing in the attached Asian market.  I picked up some jasmine tea from China and wanted to grab piles of sweets too but Easter is next weekend and we have a pastel candy explosion in our house right now.  It's for Easter baskets for my coworkers, I swear!!

 In other news, I got my bangs back.  Finally feel like myself again.  The Division finally made its way into our home so D feels like himself again now too.

Happy Easter and enjoy your spring running.  I am looking forward to longer days, and sweat and shorts.  Sending lots of love your way:

So...yeah...maybe I was having a rough last mile and D suffered the wrath...SR-71s for everyone!!  Carefully displayed without any other witnesses of course.  This remains a favorite photo of his and may or may not grace the fridge at home :)

Reinke Sports Group and the USRA: Garbage.

Yesterday I ran a the Ft Bliss 8K holiday run with Leah, her two daughters, and Nugget.  We finished in dead last, thanks to diaper changes, screaming children who alternately wanted to be picked up, put down, fed, watered, and entertained, a flat tire on the double stroller (nicknamed the Rolling Aid Station), and the chilly chilly air as well as Nugget who made some nuggets along the way herself.  I hadn't actually registered for the race (bandit runner, what what!) as I did not intend to run.  I wanted to meet up with Leah at the start and wish her well and hold onto her extra clothes etc.  But like any great friend and race wife, she talked (guilted?) me into accompanying the girls and she was right- the 5 of us just had a blast and there are no other chilly morning runs around post where I've ever had so much fun.  I am sure CPS had us on their hot target list, but hey, everyone defrosted well and Nugget is still tired this morning, and unlikely to trust me with a car trip again :)  I hate not registering but it was unintended.  Due to the icy weather several people offered me their bibs just to have an excuse to head home but I declined :)

Now, let me tell you an interesting story of how I failed to run my half marathon this morning.  It has much to do with the sketchy so-called USRA and Dean Reinke, things with which I was unfamiliar until late Saturday night.

How so?  The half-marathon is a part of the "USRA" half-marathon series.  When I registered for this Las Cruces race, I thought very little of it.  I was excited to be running near home, and the Las Cruces area has a great running club with some top runners, whom I've seen (from afar!) at some local races like the Desert Dash and El Paso Transmountain Challenge.  So far so good, I thought.  A half-mary to really challenge me.

After the 8K, I met up with a friend.  I adultnapped her and we traveled up the interstate to Las Cruces, (about an hour) because packet pick-up was advertised as Saturday only, from 2-5 pm.  A little strange, right?  Three hours?  No race-day registration or packet pick up?  Odd, but ok.  The only other time that's happened was in Salt Lake City and Auckland New Zealand, both large races with thousands of racers, where it's understandable both from a security and organizational perspective.

This Las Cruces "expo" consisted of a section of a hallway with two tables, maybe three.  With cotton t-shirts on one.  And bags and race numbers on the other.  My friend was not racing, so I breezed through in order to hurry on to more important things, like lunch!  I think we were the first people there at the pick-up in fact.  

Which is why when I returned home after some holiday shopping, and went through the packet, that I thought it my fault that I didn't get a timing chip, for a race where timing chips are included, per the website.  At about 6:30 pm I called the front desk of the hotel where the "expo" was held, to ask if any of the running folks were lingering.  I wanted to ask about the timing chip, thinking I had been first to the expo and thus overlooked, no big deal, I understand these things.  I had no local contact info for the race, so the hotel front desk was my only option.  The lady answering the phone at the lovely Hotel Encanto kindly stepped into the hall to check if any USRA members were around and of course they were not.

I then emailed the usra@gmail.com email address from the website.  "Did I somehow miss my timing chip- it's not integrated with the bib as I expected- and can I pick it up tomorrow at the race?"  No response until 1 am, when I received this email: there are no timing chips.  That was all.  Passive voice is so useful when refusing personal responsibility!

For $60 entry I get a cotton t-shirt, no swag, and a non-chip timed race?  The website sure indicated it was chip-timed!

Enter the gut feeling of "something's afoot."  

I remembered, then, that the registration website had a multitude of problems: the date of the race was incorrect.  The website inconsistently referred to the 8 Dec race as both the third and fourth annual.  The 2012 results file didn't populate.  And on the registration page, via "ngin," whatever that is, it thanked me for registering for my upcoming race in Greenville*, a place I am sure is quite lovely, but not at all where I intended to run.

I actually received 2 emails from USRA and the Reinke Sports Group this morning.  First, the aforementioned message that there's no chip-timing (c'mon now!) and then a second email that invited me to race-day registration and packet pick-up beginning at 6:45 for this morning's marathon and half.  What in the world?  First off, the website overemphasized no race-day pickup or registration.  Second, there's no full marathon.  It's a half, 5K and fun run event.  Why can't they get anything to match? I wondered, aloud, to D.

It's a hodge podge of charities mentioned, too: per the website, bring a toy for Toys for Tots?  Ok.  The shirt promotes Habit for Humanity?  These are both great causes, but I don't know that any of them are aware of their "involvement" in this race- there was no toy collection bin at registration, so I doubt the USRA's commitment to anything more than manipulative words.  I wonder if these fine organizations will see any donation, and for $60 in registration I would hope they receive more than a token contribution.  I have the same feeling about this USRA operation as Amway or Melaleuca or Herbalife or any of those fringe-of-legality business plans...and it doesn't sit well with me.

Other things weren't sitting so well with me either.  I spent the night on the bathroom floor, which is just what I do when I can't decide which end needs the toilet more urgently.  Dan woke up and wondered "if it was that time of the month" and for his obtuseness I would've punched him a few feet north of the ankle had I the strength :). No, dear, it's not -- I guess he has not noticed that I don't go through this monthly, but his oblivion to such matters is quite gentlemanly and endearing.  The culprit in fact: grocery store pre-packaged sushi I ate a day earlier. 

So what I'm saying is that we had the time, me and my tile floor and my pink owl flannel PJs, to check out the USRA and Reinke Sports Group.  In hindsight, my concerns about the registration website and race organization should've brought me to investigate the USRA and Dean Reinke before registering.  But it never occurred to me that I'd need to do so!

Here's what I found, in sum, with some excellent and personal accounts (links at the end):

1.  This guy, Dean Reinke, is well known for organizing races, cancelling them due to lack of city permits, and continuing to accept registrations for a race that will never happen, which he then will never refund.  With the right lawyer it may not be a "scam," but it certainly falls under "shady business practices" in my book.
2.  The Reinke Sports Group is rated F by the BBB.
3.  USRA races are often not timed, with missing water stops and little or no post-race refreshments.
4.  Dean Reinke fails to pay his debts and often breaks contracts.
5.  He's been known not to pay for the police to close roads or direct traffic- this is not safe.
6.  He's skipped out on promised charitable contributions in the past. 
7.  Purdue University is suing him.
8.  Active.com does not do business with him and his "USRA" - unusual for a "race series!"

This guy and his "group" are sleazy deal-breakers with a fancy (albeit inconsistent) website and I refuse to deal with them.  I lost $60.  I was under the weather, yes, but my desire to run and the joy I have in the camaraderie of racing was shattered this morning.

In fact, I met Dean Reinke at packet pick up yesterday.  I only realized this after I saw a photo on the internet last night.  At the expo, he was oddly interested in if I was staying overnight in Las Cruces (I laughed- I said I lived in El Paso, which he did not recognize as less than an hour away) and my watch. My watch is a fairly basic red/magenta Timex.  It was a nice present from D.  It is not GPS equipped.  It is a women's watch.  It has a timer.  I like it very much.  I don't know why it was a conversation item.  It was barely visible under my long sleeved shirt.  He said he'd had the same watch in white, what an odd thing to say.  I looked around for the used car lot that maybe I'd missed in the hotel lobby, but no, this guy was just organically creepy.  His interest in my accommodation, it turns out, is to calculate how many hotel rooms worth of revenue he brings to different cities, stats he uses inflates to sway local visitor's bureaus when seeking support (see links below).

An older guy from a Las Cruces running club busily name-dropped some of the local speedy girls that I'd raced against at Transmountain Challenge and Desert Dash, but I didn't recognize the names.  He seemed like a nice enough guy but I am sure he believes he is on Dean's payroll as some sort of local ambassador, but he's going to be sad when the check never arrives, as so many other people have found out.

Runners are some of the most understanding and welcoming people on the planet.  I'm sad that Dean Reinke includes himself and his sleazy operation among our ranks.  

I'm running the Ft. Bliss half on 11 January instead.  Dean, please keep my $60 since money is all you want from the running community.  You offer nothing in return.  I'd pay a great deal more than that to keep the likes of you from tarnishing future races, cities, charitable organizations, runners and our spirits.

To be fair, no, I didn't run the race, but even if it were the most transcendent and beautifully organized running event in the history of Las Cruces, I've decided I want nothing to do with USRA and the Reinke Group and I'd like you to be educated about this to make your own decision.  As runners, I believe our hard work, the reasons we run, and the causes we believe in are worth so much more than this shyster. 

At best, it's a bad value.  At worst, well, read these links:

• Negative reviews of Reinke Sports Group
• BBB rating of Reinke Sports Group
• Personal Account of Cancelled Race (from a blog)* check out what happened in Greeneville!
• Details of a(nother) lawsuit against Dean Reinke (from a blog)
• Reinke's troubled past as a race promoter, Palm Coast, Florida
• Purdue U's lawsuit against Reinke

I wish you all happy racing, far from this "sports group!"  Anyone else ever get involved with the USRA and have an experience (good or bad!) to share?

My experience with RSG is certainly not the worst, it's really just an eye-opener, and a good lesson.  I'm going to stick with local races from now on.

Finally, I'm curious about the race shirt:

Did any of these folks actually sponsor this guy or did RSG create all these "sponsors" without their consent, as he's done in the past?

Half Marathon Training: break 1:45?

I'm almost embarrassed to re-announce my goal to break 1:45 in my half-marathon since I don't have a wide margin of comfort that I'll make it.  And nothing is more embarrassing than failed anonymous internet middling-pace running goals...oh wait...

I've been training according to this:

Runner's World 1:45 Half Marathon Plan.

 which I found by googling, for free, although it seems Runner's World wants to charge me $24.99 from other googlings?  IDK...I didn't obtain this illegally, it's just a pdf in my search results...maybe the joke's on me and this is a 2:00 plan...ackk!  I haven't read any reviews of the plan, so I guess I'll critique it myself after the race in 2 weeks.

I've been sticking to it at an overall B+ level.  I took a few days off last week when I was ill and BFFs with the toilet but I hopped back on the training train right after.  

My overall impression of the RW plan?  It seems like it's LESS running than I normally do, but with more speedwork and slower, longer runs than I would normally tolerate.  So, fewer garbage miles traded for some higher-quality workouts?  I hope so.  I incorporated some of my races into the training schedule, and I hope that won't degrade my 13.1 performance.

I've run much of this on a treadmill, and wonder...how does that compare to running outside?  Yes, it feels easier.  So I add 1% incline and I run 0.2 to 0.3 mph faster than the prescribed pace.  I don't know if that's an adequate adjustment.  Someone commented previously that the mental rigor that running for an hour+ on a treadmill requires is all part of the game.  A really boring game at times, but necessary for achieving one's goals (I hope!) all the same.

The weather and my late start on the training are working against me, but I've been close to a 1:45 in half marathons before so I feel like I can gut it out in Las Cruces with enough internal fortitude.  The altitude is tricky as well, but I'll spend a few days running at 7000' elevation in Taos the week beforehand, maybe that'll help as long as I don't end up with pulmonary edema.  In general, I am never fully prepared for races.  I take a lot of strange pride in knocking out fairly decent times without the most rigorous preparation.  I'm working on changing that just so I can see what some "focused" training will do.  The hardest part has been relegating my pace to the 9:12 prescribed in the long runs.  9:12?  Why in the world would I do that, when I spent so much time digging my pace out of the 8s and 9s and edging slowly towards the 7s?  I cheat and use 8:49 to 8:41.  For pride's sake.  Which I may come to regret 1:45 after I start my halfsie and have yet to finish...

In other news, San Antonio has taken a turn towards winter.  My 10K tomorrow morning is sure to be character-building...I didn't bring my winter running clothes with me (uh, when I got here in July, because I am a normal person and did not plan on being here after Labor Day).  Yesterday, 82F all day.  Today and for the rest of the week?  Wind, rain, highs in the 40s, yeah, these are the whines of a Texas winter.  I went to survival school in Washington state in February one year, and that is the yardstick by which I measure my tolerance for miserable weather and tomorrow could come close.  D says "people love to read about self-induced misery!" and he eagerly anticipates my cyanotic and goose-bumpy race report tomorrow.  As I hope you do too.

My big challenge for tomorrow's race...restraining my new haircut, or as I like to call it, the Flock of Seagulls.  Serves me right for going to Great Clips.  Cheep, cheep, did my hens have chicks this winter or is that just me?  I don't like hair in my face when I run.  I don't like it swinging against my neck and shoulders.  Love a ponytail, when it's not too long, because I am a sweaty sweaty girl and my hair becomes a mop of head sweat, sprinkling to and fro as I run, a censer of perspiration.  That particular avenue of simplicity is now gone, thanks to my [new] complicated bangs arrangement.  Seriously, Teri from Great Clips, I've had the same haircut since I was 5.  I know what I like and what I don't like is having to think about how I'll configure the Seagulls tomorrow.  I'll otherwise be mistaken for Mike Score!

Who can tell me, how do you accommodate for treadmill vs outdoor running?  What sort of conversion factor do you use?  I base mine on perceived exertion...not sciency indeed.

11.1 miles to go before I reach 100 miles in November.  Not as difficult as I thought!  I'll try for 125 in December.

El Paso Transmountain Challenge 2013

I would love to be that skinny one day!

 I ran the 36th annual 2013 El Paso Transmountain Challenge half marathon on Sunday.  I liked it - just like last year- and when I finished, I had the same thoughts as the year before: I could be a whole lot better at this thing if I practiced!

Please note I only think that after the downhill portion, not on my way up-up-up the initial climb where I generally wonder if I can gracefully tumble down the side of the thorny mountain just to get out of the event.

No matter how often you drive this road, you will wonder, "how did this thing double in uphill grade overnight?"

The weather last year fought us runners- as if the terrain weren't challenging enough- with biting wind and an unseasonable chill in the air.  I was also glad that there was no baby stroller involved this year, but thinking of that, I missed my friends who have since moved to New York. 

Last Sunday at 7 am?  Warm, still air, only a breeze picking up as the path crested the mountains.  This time D was with me at the start and he too ran the race.  We don't run together at these race events.  That's a subject for another post though :)

Just like last year, the path is a one-way half-marathon, climbing 1300 feet in the first half of the race, only to descend, once midway, to the end.  It is a challenge indeed. 

The border patrol delegation ran in a nice tight formation again.  Lots of elite-looking runners, and lots of people who are new to fitness and have chosen a challenge up front.  That's what I like about this race, the terrain is intimidating yet so many people start and finish the course regardless.

I believe a 5K is also available, with a start and end point coinciding with the end of the halfsie. 

Aid stations were as great as ever, every 2 miles, with liquids and potties and medical staff.  Such enthusiastic volunteers- and I love forever the guy who coined the term that today was just another great "El Paso Sunday!" as we ran past his aid station, less thirsty and far more motivated than when we arrived.

I love that you can see the immense 50' x 100' flag at the Old Glory Memorial finish line from several miles out.  The silence as you run along, at a tenth of the speed you'd drive, allows the beauty of the Franklin Mountains and El Paso to impress and distract you from the uphill plod.  

After the descent, a sharp right turn along an almost flat frontage road leads you just over a mile to Diana Drive.  A sharp left- and ahead you see the cheering finish line corral and the taunting clock.  I crossed the line, with water and a medal and time to enjoy the Old Glory Memorial Plaza and all the post-race treats!  Such yummy burritos, from Crisostomo I believe? 

From the snack-filled finish, buses await to take you back over the mountain to the start, where we parked the car.  This is maybe the one day a year the entire Transmountain Road is closed- which we didn't know prior to the race- the only real hiccup of the day.  As compared to last year, though, the parking was much closer to the start. The bus situation is really no hassle at all.  It's nice to have a 15 minute ride to chat with the other racers and point out the spots along the course where we all felt miserable. 

The city of El Paso executes this race flawlessly and safely.  The road is closed, and there are no cars anywhere near the path, even along frontage roads toward the end. 

Anyone can do this race, and everyone should.  The prices, even at the last minute, are in the $40 range.  I am thankful again for the military discount this year.  The packet pickup is Friday and Saturday but not available on race morning.  It's fuss-free, and the shirt is pretty stylish for a race shirt, and a nice technical material in sizes from XS-XL.

I could've run faster, but I didn't.  I had a great race all the same.  I am back from San Antonio (6 weeks early, thanks to the shutdown) and waiting to see if I'll be called to return today.  

Always surprises!

And Turkey Trot season is nearly here!  I am ready!!!

Who else is excited for autumn racing?

Reciprocal pain and injury

New Math

 I alluded to this problem earlier: running injury, err, pain in one place quickly migrates somewhere else.

In my case, I seem to trade sides and of course, my right plantar fasciitis has now manifested as left Achilles tendinosis.  This stinks worse than the original problem!

That is what I think of heel pain

 This happened previously with a right metatarsal stress fracture which morphed into left knee pain, culminating in right hip pain.

Now I see why physical therapists always check "one joint above and below" the site of injury.  The thighbone is connected to the leg bone, after all- and didn't we all learn that in nursery school?

It makes sense that pain on one side of your body affects your gait pattern, causing reciprocal problems elsewhere, especially as we compensate for the pain, weakness, instability, blah blah blah.

How to break the cycle?  And don't you dare say "rest!"  Strengthening and balance training is probably a good place to start.  One day I will learn that that should be done continuously and not only after the pain sets in...hmmm.

So far, my answer is to stretch, ice, take ibuprofen, ignore the pain, and be thankful that I am rarely injured.

Lately I've been doing more hill training since the Transmountain Challenge is next weekend.  This could be the culprit, too.

I'm not ready for the race, but I wasn't ready for it last year either and it ended up as such a fun time.  What's the big deal, it's just a 1300' elevation gain in the first 6.5 miles, and a 1300' foot drop over the last 6.5 miles....

Just have to keep the finish line burritos the main thing in your mind :)  Of course, it takes me so long to get over that Mountain, I could probably order a pizza on the course for a mid-race snack.  

You can still sign up for the race, and it's very value-priced, too, even at the last minute:
2013 Transmountain Challenge

Shutdown...yet still running!

So the government shut down...is not good for anyone.  I am thankful that my job is intact, but we certainly haven't been spared the insanity.  Two days ago, we were sent home in the middle of our training course, just to be called back a day later.  We will likely be sent home in the next coming days, over a month early, only to have to return again later in 2014 or beyond.  This is frustrating, and yes, will end up costing our government even more, but it's all about timing and flavors of money and other things I understand only well enough to know that one ought not mix them up!

It's a mess- yes- a lot of important folks are furloughed, and that frustrates me on their behalf.  But I still feel that we have it really good in this country, which you know if you've traveled anywhere else.  We aren't living under an oppressive regime (though you may have thoughts otherwise!) and we live in relative safety and security.  I learned from others earlier this summer during the furlough, that you've got to keep more in your savings account than you think and that no job or retirement plan or anything is guaranteed.  I made some changes in these lean times, too-- I cut out going to Starbucks, foremost because it's way too pricey and I don't need it, and second of all because of their rumored idea not to allow firearms, carried concealed with a permit, in stores.  I'm a little confused, though, since at some point in the past, they were on the other side of the firearms story.  I just feel like if people are carrying gun, I want them caffeinated and alert to their surroundings.  Oh yeah and I also think we should endorse our Constitution.

This morning, we (well, 4,000 of my closest friends and I) met up at 0445 for a unique concept...the Brigade Run.  So despite being broke and shutdown, we are still running!  What a metaphor!  What is this nonsense, you ask?  A celebratory event?  Sometimes.  A way to bring local festivities to the post, albeit very early in the morning?  Oh yes.  A commemoration of the retirement of a distinguished individual?  Occasionally.  Super annoying to all those involved?  Always.  The good news is that in these broke times, this is a free event, powered only by tired Soldiers, too tired in fact to gripe much about it. 

If you like to stand around for 45 minutes, then sprint madly down a dark street, followed by walking and bumping into the lines of people in front of you for periods of time, then more sprinting, walking, stumbling, over a course of about 3 miles, then this is an event for you.  For the rest of us sane people, it's tolerable and amusing.  The best part is when you smell the bacon, because that means you're near the chow hall, and there physically isn't much road left at that point.  It also means that you can quickly replace both the calories burned, and then some.

Next up...the Transmountain Challenge 2013 in El Paso.  I signed up!  Hope you are there...here's how it went for me last year.  I'm looking forward to a weekend home.  D promises to run this year too.  He is such a trooper and responds fairly well to my "guess what I signed us up for?" announcements.  Fairly. 

Who's doing more running now that the government's shutdown?  I sorta am!

When did races become so pricey?

While doing some booooring online training this morning (all morning, rather, which is about to morph into an all-day) I again failed to find the end of the internet but I did register for another race from the Running in the USA online race calendar.

During my search for local races, I stumbled on the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon and Half, scheduled for November 17 and I was all ready to sign up until I found this nonsense:

And now I have many questions.

Most of all, when the $&@!*$ did road races become so expensive?

I know nothing about race direction or organization but I am very curious about how the race fees are broken down.

Let's do the math: if I signed up today for the half, that's $120/13.1 miles or $9.16 per mile. Does this seems prohibitively expensive to anyone else?  I measure everything in plane tickets these days, and that's a plane ticket home for me.  Roundtrip.  

Or maybe those are fair prices nowadays and I've just been lucky enough to stumble on races that are more inexpensive.

I ran my first marathon (Cleveland, OH) in 2002 and I solidly remember the price in the $40 range.  Today, it's increased to $95 for the full and $80 for the half (if I register two to three months out).  We all know that the RNR series is more expensive than other races, but $120 for a half marathon is too steep for me.

So to satisfy my urge for another morning race I signed up for the Gruene 10K instead of the RNR Half.  I love Gruene Hall and the environs.  And I like the $30ish pricetag, which is $5.65 per mile, not that that's a useful measure of anything other than my inability to register for a race early, ever.  Cost aside, I'd really rather support a local club than the megawatt Rock and Roll series anyway.  And the race is next weekend.  

Happy Saturday running...back to my online training...zzzzzzzz

Race report: Mayor's Half Marathon (Anchorage, AK)

Everybody loves a parade but Anchorage loves a half marathon.

These are people who have changed my life

 This 40th Annual Mayor's Marathon half-marathon is responsible for convincing my husband that we should retire to Alaska.  We bought property based on this race and the incredible beauty of the day.  For serious!

Future home?

I ran more slowly than I planned and it didn't get to me as it normally would.  I was really happy to be running with UJ, his CSM, and Dan.  UJ has always pushed me to do my best athletically but we have never been able to compete together before.

UJ's daughter ran the kid's 1.6 mile race in under a 7-min mile pace, putting us all to shame.

The half marathon is a scenic course starting (and returning) to the Delaney Park Strip between 9th and 10th Avenues.  The course sets out along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail with a uber-narrow half-mile trail run in the middle (through Kincaid Park) and a killer hill at the end back to the Park Strip where the race began.  You are not running in the mountains but there are some naughty hills along the way.  Don't let sight of the airport fool you into thinking flat!

I ran this race in 2005, much more quickly, when it was a slightly different course.  I think I placed so well then because it was a chilly rainy day and there was a much smaller field.  This past Saturday was quite different, with sun, many more runners, and great views of the Chugach Mountains to the east and the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet to the west.  

A kid's 1.6 mile race and a 4-mile race also start with the half-marathon.  The full marathon and marathon relay start an hour earlier out east but end at the Park Strip with the half.  The race is always held on the Saturday nearest the summer solstice.  I didn't see Mayor Sullivan there but I assume with one's title on a race he might have been there, at least ceremonially.

Dan loved that this race begins later than most, at 0900.  No groggy morning rush!  There were ample potties at the start/finish and great end of race snacks (Great Harvest Bread Co cookies, drinks, bananas, watermelon, etc).  Nice technical finisher's t-shirt and medal, each distance a different color. Finish-line beer garden for those of age. The aid stations are well-spaced and overrunning with drinks and snacks and music, lots of Psy on this particular day...I guess if you can see Russia you can almost see South Korea too?  Why not.

We didn't look very hard for parking in the morning and we found plenty of spots close by, had we searched a little more tenaciously we could have parked right along the Park Strip itself.  The only downfall of the race was that the start was tight...sardines.  We waited a good few minutes for the crowd to thin and it didn't so if you need a PR in Anchorage, you had better line your tush up in the very front on race day.  The trail is narrow and we were stuck in a thick crowd for about 2 miles. One day, I'd love to meet my goal and break 1:45 on this course, on my turf, in my town.

Packet pick up was the day before the race.  No race day registration or pickup available.  They let Dan and I pick up UJ's number, a convenience I wish more races allowed.  We didn't have a lot of time to explore the expo but the official race ambassador greeted us there.  He has a prosthetic leg and there are more than a few wounded warriors and others with prosthetic appliances running the race.  It's Alaska, so there's not much judging going on.  Run with legs or without.  Or with your dog.  Or a stroller.  Or walk.  There were for sure all skills, ages and abilities present.

The four of us running very much appreciated the 50% military discount. We will be back to run this again.  Annually, if I had to guess. 

North to the future...back from Alaska!

Lately I have been ignoring the simple fact that stress is negatively affecting my running.  Where I used to be a solid 7:45-7:51 minute per mile runner, for the past month or so I am thrilled just to hold 8:30s or so.  I'd love to blame the arid triple digits but I know that the stress of the boards and the trepidation in waiting for score reports just about knocked me over.  We planned a week trip in Alaska immediately after my test day to enjoy some stress-free (oh my gosh, what a joke, waiting for scores was actual test stress x ONE MILLION) time off together and with friends.

I lost a lot of sleep while waiting for scores but I finally found out last Thursday (while standing at a mosquito-laden river landing at 0500) that I passed the boards and the best part was that I was in Alaska with my "family," the mentor who started it all and gave me the courage to keep pushing forward with my studies and army career.  I have been friends with UJ and his wife CB for 7 years and I would not be myself without them.  They have also adopted Dan into their family and we love their 3 beautiful and spirited children as our own. 

We found time to eat way too much good food with our great friends

This is about oh, 9 at night

 And celebrate UJ's change of command

i would never be so lucky to have UJ as my boss one day

Fish for king salmon on the Deshka River (we took pictures of all the fish we caught as you can clearly see)

True.  There are no fish in any of our pictures.

Ride horses up the butte in Palmer 

up a butte...it IS funny

 Cruise around Portage Glacier 

Run a half marathon

photo of a photo...only the best for you

 We enjoyed the midnight sun and we successfully shopped for real estate.

The biggest victory of our trip north was finally convincing California Dan that we should retire to Alaska.  Our last visit (his first) was in winter and not surprisingly, skiing through blustery -9F did not win him over.  The summer sun and beautiful landscape and opportunity for so much coffee (seriously, I've never seen such dense per capita coffee shops) and he was hooked (unlike our fish, sigh).  Maybe he just drank in too much clean air.  Or coffee.

Either way, we now have 2.3 acres of an empty wooded lot with some nice views of the Kenai Peninsula...and we have a few more years to decide (argue) what to do with it!

For now the running is not going too well.   The halfsie was a beautiful course but I just held a nice pace and didn't push myself.  I couldn't.  I changed shoes, training plans, hydration, everything, and still I can't trim the fat off my pace but I am content to work with this slower pace for now and then ease back into it.

It's nice to be back home.  The chickens did fine without us and their abandoned heap of 12 eggs demonstrated yet again that they'd be terrible mothers.  Nugget enjoyed her time at sleep-away camp.  Back to running, back to hoping I can clean up my pace!

Any suggestions to overcome my training troubles?