OK- The Salt Lake City Marathon was not on my to-do list this year for two reasons. First: It was my first marathon last year and out of all of the Utah marathons, this one is the least scenic of them all. Running through neighborhoods and downtown SLC is not my idea of scenic when Provo Canyon, Ogden Canyon and St. George are so close. Second: I am running the the Tacoma City Marathon on May 2nd (Marathon Maniac reunion- whoo hoo!) and wanted to be "fresh" for that.
I was intending to run the 1/2 just for fun, until I started looking at my Marathon Maniac stats. I only have one star (the lowest level Maniac) even though I have run 7 marathons in less than a year. Looking over the info, I realized that I could get that second star by completing 8 marathons in 365 days. I called my friend Teresa (who is in the same boat) and filled her in. "We are only 1 marathon short of our second star, but we only have until April 18th to complete it!" Darn!
With this years marathon falling on April 17th, we bit the bullet and today I paid $100 for a race I find not so scenic (nothing like waiting until the last minute) so that we could covet that second Maniac star by one day! So Salt Lake City Marathon, I am waiving the white flag! You got me!
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Hi, My Name is Angie and I am a Marathonaholic!
I have a problem. So Wednesday, I am waiting on pins and needles for the NYC Marathon Lottery to take place. I ran NYC last year and had the time of my life. I really wanted to get in this year too, that is until I looked at my credit card bill. Now one of my New Years resolutions was to pay off my credit card. Then my little dog Zoe got sick and the cash earmarked for the credit card went to the vet instead. Anywhoo, while waiting to hear my NYC fate, part of me was hoping NOT to get in as that would result in another $190 added to the credit card!
At 10:30am (mountain time) I logged on to the NYRR website to see my fate: Entrant #460203= Not Accepted! OH NO/WHEW!!! I was happy and mad at the same time! It's OK if I can't really afford to do it, but don't you tell me I can't do it!! After the initial shock of not doing NYC this year wore off, I tried to console myself with thoughts of saving money and counting the numerous marathons I have done and/or have on my list for this year. Let's see: In February, I did the Surf City Marahton, in March, I did the LA Marathon, on April 17th I will do the Salt Lake City Marathon, then in May the Tacoma City Marathon, in June, the Casper Marathon, in July the Missoula Marathon, in September, the Top of Utah Marathon and on October 2nd, the St. George Marathon!
One of sound mind might be content with a list of races like that to look forward to and called it a day,but like I said earlier, I have a problem. How DARE NYC not let ME into their race this year! I was a tax paying New Yorker for over 15 years and this is the thanks I get?
Instead of licking my wounds quitetly, I fought back in the only way I know how, I signed up for the MARINE CORPS MARATHON on Oct. 31st!! OO-RAH!! So much for saving money! I hope I don't have to turn to selling drugs to support my running habit!
At 10:30am (mountain time) I logged on to the NYRR website to see my fate: Entrant #460203= Not Accepted! OH NO/WHEW!!! I was happy and mad at the same time! It's OK if I can't really afford to do it, but don't you tell me I can't do it!! After the initial shock of not doing NYC this year wore off, I tried to console myself with thoughts of saving money and counting the numerous marathons I have done and/or have on my list for this year. Let's see: In February, I did the Surf City Marahton, in March, I did the LA Marathon, on April 17th I will do the Salt Lake City Marathon, then in May the Tacoma City Marathon, in June, the Casper Marathon, in July the Missoula Marathon, in September, the Top of Utah Marathon and on October 2nd, the St. George Marathon!
One of sound mind might be content with a list of races like that to look forward to and called it a day,but like I said earlier, I have a problem. How DARE NYC not let ME into their race this year! I was a tax paying New Yorker for over 15 years and this is the thanks I get?
Instead of licking my wounds quitetly, I fought back in the only way I know how, I signed up for the MARINE CORPS MARATHON on Oct. 31st!! OO-RAH!! So much for saving money! I hope I don't have to turn to selling drugs to support my running habit!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Antelope Island Buffalo Run 25K!
I am a little late posting this but, oh well. This trail race would be a first for all of us. Teresa, Josh and I signed up for the 25K and Bob B. and Bob K. signed up for the 50K. I was a little worried about getting through this race after running the LA Marathon 6 days before. Our training run out on the island a couple of months ago proved that course was not a piece of cake (even though we were lost and not even on the course most of the time ;-) )
Since the 50K started at 8:00am and the 25k started at 10:00am the two Bob's left for the Island early and Teresa and I drove together. The morning started off with me arriving at Teresa's house and realizing I had left my bib, chip, and can of food (for the huge stew) on my kitchen table! Luckily, I live about 10 minutes from Teresa and we had time to rum home and get it!
The energy on the island was great. By the time we got there the 50 milers and the 50Kers were already running. We had just enough time to use the potty and hang out and meet a few new people before the race director said "Ready? Set? Go!" and we were off!
Saying this course was hilly would be an understatement! The first 1 1/2 miles was straight up this mountain. We lost Josh from the very start. I kept thinking "what goes up must come down". We relished the downhill when it came, only to have another hill smack us in the face. These hills were so steep and rocky everyone walked up them (which was no easy feat). Our legs were burning!
The first aid station was at mile 5. We filled our water had a snack and off we went to meet Elephant Head, the hardest climb of the course. Teresa and I were glad we were only doing the 25k because we did not want to conquer that mountain again!
At the mile 10 aid station, we met up with the two Bob's who were about 21 miles into their race. We stopped for a few minutes to eat something and chat with them, then we were off again. After another climb, the last 4 miles were pretty much downhill. I was loving it and had caught my second wind. Teresa and I were hauling it down the hill when all of a sudden, I tripped over a rock! I fell just right though, rolling into it. The only damage was scraped up hands and (more) dirty clothes. As we came to the last couple of miles, we could see the finish line tent from above. We went for it and finished! Besides having sore legs, we both felt pretty good!
As we waited for the two Bob's, Teresa and I met up with Josh, drank some cold pop, ate some buffalo stew and chocolate doughnuts and picked up our award mugs (which had a bottle of chocolate milk in it-Yummy)!
We hung out for maybe an hour when we saw the two Bob's coming in! It was quite impressive! This was the longest distance either of them had run and on this hard course, we were in awe!! YOU GUYS ROCKED!!! The cutest thing ever was seeing Bob K's mom and her husband out there in a lawn chair, with a sign and as cowbell cheering them on as the crossed the finish line! It was AWESOME!
After the Bob's recovered a bit, we all went for a lovely lunch at Cafe Rio (the perfect recovery food). THANK YOU BOB!!!
We couldn't believe this race took us all day, but it was worth it. We had a blast! The best part was not having to use my pepper spray on stampeding buffalo and hearing Bob K's story of how he fell a mile form the finish (Ha Ha)!
Since the 50K started at 8:00am and the 25k started at 10:00am the two Bob's left for the Island early and Teresa and I drove together. The morning started off with me arriving at Teresa's house and realizing I had left my bib, chip, and can of food (for the huge stew) on my kitchen table! Luckily, I live about 10 minutes from Teresa and we had time to rum home and get it!
The energy on the island was great. By the time we got there the 50 milers and the 50Kers were already running. We had just enough time to use the potty and hang out and meet a few new people before the race director said "Ready? Set? Go!" and we were off!
Saying this course was hilly would be an understatement! The first 1 1/2 miles was straight up this mountain. We lost Josh from the very start. I kept thinking "what goes up must come down". We relished the downhill when it came, only to have another hill smack us in the face. These hills were so steep and rocky everyone walked up them (which was no easy feat). Our legs were burning!
The first aid station was at mile 5. We filled our water had a snack and off we went to meet Elephant Head, the hardest climb of the course. Teresa and I were glad we were only doing the 25k because we did not want to conquer that mountain again!
As we waited for the two Bob's, Teresa and I met up with Josh, drank some cold pop, ate some buffalo stew and chocolate doughnuts and picked up our award mugs (which had a bottle of chocolate milk in it-Yummy)!
We hung out for maybe an hour when we saw the two Bob's coming in! It was quite impressive! This was the longest distance either of them had run and on this hard course, we were in awe!! YOU GUYS ROCKED!!! The cutest thing ever was seeing Bob K's mom and her husband out there in a lawn chair, with a sign and as cowbell cheering them on as the crossed the finish line! It was AWESOME!
After the Bob's recovered a bit, we all went for a lovely lunch at Cafe Rio (the perfect recovery food). THANK YOU BOB!!!
We couldn't believe this race took us all day, but it was worth it. We had a blast! The best part was not having to use my pepper spray on stampeding buffalo and hearing Bob K's story of how he fell a mile form the finish (Ha Ha)!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Los Angeles Marathon!!
OK, this race was on my calendar for about two weeks, so I didn’t have much time to think about it too much. I convinced my hubby (David) to load us and our pups in the car for a mini vacation (aka 10 hour road trip) to Los Angeles for some fun in the sun. The marathon just HAPPENED to be that weekend (wink, wink).
We decided to leave Thursday night, drive a few hours stay the night in Cedar City, and get to LA a with a little more rest. Good call. Once we made it to LA we headed straight to the Expo which was at Dodger’s Stadium.
Great expo! Picked up my race number, tech t, stocked up on KT Tape and free samples, bought David and I some really comfortable flip flops and headed over to my dear friends Heather and Jesse’s house, where we were staying. Not only are they 2 of my dearest New York friends, they lived in a beautiful home minutes away from the start! Perfect!!
We spent Saturday seeing the sights. Exhausted from the heat and walking around, Jesse offered to fix us our own pre-race pasta feast, his special baked ziti, salad & garlic bread! YUM!!
Sunday morning I got up at 5:00am, ate breakfast and got dressed. Jesse drove me to Dodger’s Stadium at 6:30am (so David could relax and not get lost with all the road closures- so nice of him).
The race started about 10 minutes late, but that was fine with me. The port-a-potty lines were long and it gave me plenty of time to “evacuate” before the race. It was really cold at the start, but I was concerned about the heat later in the day. The forecast was a high of 79 degrees F and it was really hot on Saturday. I began drinking water all day Saturday and continued drinking up until the start. Even though I had just waited in line for the port-a-potty, by the time the gun went off, I had to pee before we got out of the stadium! At mile 1 (which was still at the stadium), I stopped as we passed the same bank of port-a-potties I used earlier, knowing that the lines on the course would be twice as long. I was right.
As we headed out of Dodger’s Stadium, it was super crowded. By mile 2 I had already shed my throw away shirt and arm warmers. At mile 3, we passed the Chinatown Dragon Gate. Between miles 5 & 6 we ran along Echo Park Lake.
At mile 7, Heather, Jesse and their 3 pups were there cheering! That was way cool! At around mile 9 I met Carlos, an 18 year old boy who was running his first marathon with the “Students Run LA” program. We ran together until mile 13 passing the Capital Records Tower, Hollywood & Vine, the Hollywood Walk of Fame & Grauman’s Chinese Theater, when he held out his hand and showed me 4 Gu packets. He asked me “When should I take these?” I asked him “How many have you taken already?” “None” was his reply! I told him that he needed to fuel to keep going. I had decided to be smart this race and slow my pace to accommodate the heat, so I stuck with him for another ½ mile and he faded back. I really hope he finished.
Right before mile 14 I stopped to potty again, and passed the famous Whiskey A Go Go.
Right after taking a photo of it, I met Oscar. Oscar was a 60 year old man with many marathons under his belt. He was very friendly and began talking to me. He was hurting pretty badly and when my Garmin beeped for my one minute walk break, Oscar walked with me.
I told him about the Galloway method as we walked and when my Garmin beeped again, he ran with me. Around mile 16, Oscar said “this just might save my life!” We stuck together as we ran down Rodeo Drive at mile 17 & the LDS Temple at mile 18.
At each beep, Oscar would say “tell me when coach!” He was a hoot! At mile 20, I hit the wall when I saw another hill going up by the Veteran’s Administration. Oscar encouraged me to keep going. I pushed through the wall pretty fast thanks to the policemen squirting water on everyone with hoses. The cold water really put new life in me! We pushed up the last climb, just trying to do our best to get to mile 23. At mile 23 the course went downhill to the finish!
When we hit the mile 23 mark, Oscar and I relaxed and just enjoyed the last 3 miles.
With the finish line in sight, Oscar told me to go for it if I could. I ran strong into the finish with a finish time of 5:04:55. Not a PR, but with 2 potty stops during the race, the heat and the hills, I was happy and I felt great! Oscar’s goal was to finish under 5 hours. He finished in 4:59! He gave me a big hug after and thanked me for “saving” him. He is now a Galloway believer!
I got my medal, photos and food and I met David, Heather, Jesse and Snake (Zoe’s new boyfriend) in Santa Monica where we walked around, met a few Maniacs, drank Diet Cokes, then headed home for a shower and pizza! What a great time I had thanks to David, Heather, Jesse, Carlos & Oscar!!
We decided to leave Thursday night, drive a few hours stay the night in Cedar City, and get to LA a with a little more rest. Good call. Once we made it to LA we headed straight to the Expo which was at Dodger’s Stadium.
We spent Saturday seeing the sights. Exhausted from the heat and walking around, Jesse offered to fix us our own pre-race pasta feast, his special baked ziti, salad & garlic bread! YUM!!
Sunday morning I got up at 5:00am, ate breakfast and got dressed. Jesse drove me to Dodger’s Stadium at 6:30am (so David could relax and not get lost with all the road closures- so nice of him).
As we headed out of Dodger’s Stadium, it was super crowded. By mile 2 I had already shed my throw away shirt and arm warmers. At mile 3, we passed the Chinatown Dragon Gate. Between miles 5 & 6 we ran along Echo Park Lake.
Right before mile 14 I stopped to potty again, and passed the famous Whiskey A Go Go.
Right after taking a photo of it, I met Oscar. Oscar was a 60 year old man with many marathons under his belt. He was very friendly and began talking to me. He was hurting pretty badly and when my Garmin beeped for my one minute walk break, Oscar walked with me.
When we hit the mile 23 mark, Oscar and I relaxed and just enjoyed the last 3 miles.
I got my medal, photos and food and I met David, Heather, Jesse and Snake (Zoe’s new boyfriend) in Santa Monica where we walked around, met a few Maniacs, drank Diet Cokes, then headed home for a shower and pizza! What a great time I had thanks to David, Heather, Jesse, Carlos & Oscar!!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Are You Wearing Green?
LA Marathon This Weekend!!
With work and getting ready for our Galloway kickoff meetings, I have had no time to wrap my head around running LA (this might be a good thing). David and I are really looking forward to taking the pups on a fun little road trip to see my dear friend Heather and her hubby Jesse. This will be my 7th marathon, I hope it's lucky!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
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