DONE AND DONE!!

Quick facts-
Goal accomplished: I ran the whole thing no walking
Finishing Time: 2:34:15
Sister Moment: Start line then ER was gone.
Would I do it again: yes
Could I eat After: yes and Drink:)
This post is to let you know that I had a great time and was happy with my finish I will be posting a more detailed account of the day later on when I am not using "work time". But I wanted to give you the bare minimum so that you knew that the day was a success. I have pictures documenting most things to: night before, morning of, and directly after. I also will post some during the run pictures as well I just have to touch base with all the peeps that took them. But here is one pre race snap of the Runners ER and RR Cell pic so forgive us the quality also 4:45 am:

Pre Game Plan.

Background:
I have a sister who is running this race too (which I have mentioned before) we shall name her E.R. ( Experienced Runner). I say "too", and not "with", because well she is a sports bean, and will be done about 30 mins before my fastest goal. She may not agree with this because she wants to run with me and take it slow and have a sister moment. I see our sister moment being the start line and the first few miles until she realizes its not easy to run slow if you are 5'10 and run 8 min miles. Which is completely fine with me we have a plan of meeting at the finish line and having a sister moment there as well. Our parents will be in town for this race: My Mom, Dad and Step Mom (ER's mother). Our cheering section is about a party of 6 at this point I believe. We've got mom, mom, Dad/step Dad, Husband/brother in law,and a very dear friend of mine (who has heard and or dealt with me and my training for the past 3 months and training through round one of this crazy adventure for Denver R&R 2010). With everyone at their post we should see a friendly face a couple times on the course.

Pre Game:
Today My mom will be arriving here in Seattle at about 6pm and I will be packing a to go bag for her to have for me post race change or clothes and my GU Brew aka saving grace when it comes to my post running stomach cramps. I have to run (drive) to REI to pick up some last minute GU gels and then I'll be ready. I plan on getting to sleep around 9pm so that I will have a good night sleep under my belt for our early morning.
Our early morning starts with E.R. heading down to my house where we will be meeting to catch our shuttle to the start at 5:15am. I'm having some concerns about what to eat and how much to eat because I do not have as much time a I usually do before a long run, but I'll be fine and will have game day jitters to help me out. :) Once we head down to the race we are thinking that it will be about 45 mins before the start which is at 7:00am. We are starting a bit further back in the pack so we will probably cross the start line about 7:30 ish. Then it will be bands playing and people running until we are done. I am really amped up for the race already trying think how I am going to sleep tonight. I think that pretty much sets up our plans for the race A post race rundown to follow...... and it will not be a month from tomorrow promise.

Checking in....Finally

Well it has been one month since my last blog post. I wish I could say it was because running over took me and I just got lost in the training. That however is not the case. I have been training and doing I'd say a rating of B-. I have not miss a long run but there have been a few delays in doing them and I have skipped a couple of week day runs... But it happens right?! I will add that I did my 12 mile run last week 2 hours 26 mins. Itwas just what I needed to give me the boost to know that I WILL be able to run the whole entire race tomorrow... Yep that's right I said tomorrow. Its go time, time to dace. I feel ready excited and motivated to keep up with this running sport I still love to hate 50% of the time. After this one is over I will be able to do my next one with a timed goal and really push it. As for tomorrow Finish line is the only this I am concerned with.

Self proclaimed rest week

Here it is I skipped a run this week and it felt great to do so. I was supposed to go on a easy 6 mile tempo run on Thursday and I got a call from my friends that were catching a few drinks on the lake I run around. My plan was to park my car at the Cantina and then run around the lake and meet them later... So I found myself a parking spot and had my running skivvies on with my tech t and I was ready to run but I thought that I would say hello first. That was my big mistake, I said hello and never said goodbye and before I knew it the sun was no longer out and our waitress refused to bring us more wine. Obviously this place is new and does not under stand that a table of three girls can put down a bottle of wine or three in a three hour period. Needless to say that we will probably not be going back to the Little Water Cantina anytime soon. So if I have three glasses of wine I'm not going to be running so I skipped it and felt a bit guilty but I have had two 12+ mile bike rides this week so I think that helps. And by helps I mean helps me not feel as guilty. So the great part about skipping this run is that I ran my 9 miles on Sunday ( yes a day later then my usual long runs) and it was my best run to date. I felt my best I have felt yet and my stomach problems were nonexistent. I think/know now that I need to eat more food I had pasta before my run accompanied by a Clif bar and this was with in an 1 and 1/2 from start time and I did great. I had chomps and a gel but I only drank water because I didn't have any sport drinks on hand but it worked. Just three days before my run I was at a bike rally for biking to work. I got the opportunity to chat with a gal that had said she had the same problem with feeling terrible after a run, and for her it was because she was not taking in enough fuel. We started talking and she told me what she takes before and during her training sessions. She starts gels 15mins into a workout and has one pre run as well, and once she upped her calories she felt better. So I followed her lead this weekend and was pleasantly surprised. Love this running/biking world you get to meet such great people and learn a ton about how to be a better athlete. Thanks to my random friend and some gels and chops for a very successful 9 mile this weekend.
-RR-

8 Miles... Check

I have recently bought some new items like Body Glide ( new found love!), wool running socks ( I love them as well), running shorts, and a GU recovery drink. So here's the breakdown. Body Glide rocks the house and the peeps that told me I have to have it were right I can now enjoy a post run shower without crying/screaming which is a high light in my world these days. The reason why it is such a high light is because after running for a solid hour and a half and or two hours the only thing that you want to do is shower off all the grossness on your body, but you know that its going to hurt so you are stuck with the debate of when to get the stinging task over with. Thanks to Body Glide, not anymore!!!!! post game shower happens as soon as I walk in the door. Now for those new shorts, well they were $10.00 bucks and so why not right I mean they were North Face so you have to buy them, right!! So I get home to try them on I bought an XL because I'd rather them be too big then too small for running. So I go to try them on and soon find myself cursing the North Face brand because I can not get them pass my thighs. I was ready to file a law suit for discrimination of fat people like what, they don't want "normal" people wearing there clothes. So I forced them up/on success..ish. I now have to waddle around like a penguin because I can't move my legs. Then I realize I have to get them off. After another round of swearing and scrolling through my phone wondering who I can call to help pull these things off of me I finally have them off. I look at the size one more time and realize I can cancel the lawsuit I bought "girls" shorts, yeah that's right they were not womans they were made for a ten year old girl yeah way to go me! Now that my self image was restored I geared up with my new socks and my recovery drink and I was out the door to my run. Post run the socks were great and the blisters bothered me but not bad getting better and these new socks were amazing. Now for the recovery drink it taste like very lightly flavored water so you can actually drink it and it was perfect no stomach cramps at all!! I have found my answers we shall see if they are still answers after the 9 mile run next week.

-RR-

It was time.

New purchases :) Now at the risk of grossing some of you out I will not go into details ( really not bad but I'll spare you) about by foot blister problem I will just have you know that the arch of my foot is a problem or will be if I do not solve some things like socks or shoes or sweat.
So today I was with my boss and we took a lunch time stroll to my favorite store......REI!!! I got a pep talk from him on the way over, saying that maybe my bad attitude going into this establishment may have something to do with my experiences here. I reluctantly agreed but still a touch apprehensive about it. Of course today the people helping out are walking on sunshine so while I was picking out new gels, socks, chomps, and running shorts I kinda of enjoyed this place called REI....but barely. My running shorts (which I have never run in shorts ever even in Chelan Chelan the magical land when it was 90*) were just 10 bucks so I thought that was a good price for an experimental gear. On to my next item Body Glide aka the best invention in running since the shoe. I spent some time looking at my different options and was convince that this is a must have. So I walked out or REI with some new goodies for my 8 miles I will be doing tomorrow and a little better attitude about the place but we shall see if that holds up.

10 MIles or Bust

I did it and completed my first big big run at least how I look at it. I have 3 big run before the half 2, 10 mile and 1, 12 mile. I really felt a sense of accomplishment and like I said all of these long runs I have to do are the farthest I have ever run before. I did not beat the stomach cramps after the run but I just forced myself to eat and it was a bit better. I made a rookie mistake on this venture though I could not find my running socks so I just went with a pair I thought would work. They were thin and cotton...Cotton I know better but thought it would not be a big deal. Well come mile 4 I could already feel a blister on the arch of my right foot forming. I had 6 miles to go and knew that I would have to fight this the rest of the way. When I was done I had two very large blisters on the arch of my right foot, but I had two days of rest coming so I a was happy I would have time recover. I think that the only other thing that I need to buy for my training is body glide and I will be all set to go as a "runner".
Now on to what feels like a rest week, because all the totals for training this week are smaller then the week before WAHOO!!! Yesterday-4x800, Thursday- 5 mile Tempo, Saturday- 8 Mile long run. All these seem like a breeze now that I have hit the 10 mile mark.
Yesterday's run 0f 4x800 went great I was really able to push myself and each half was under or at 5min for each. That is about 15 secs faster then I am supposed to run them ( which resulted in a PR for me on my green lake course) and I felt wonderful and am excited for tomorrow's 5 mile tempo run.