The Marathon, How I Met Your Mother Style!

I’m sure you are all familiar with the show “How I Met Your Mother,” right? I’m pretty sure I’m the last person to jump on this bandwagon and I recently went on a HIMYM binge and watched every episode in a row. (Not all in one setting, I swear, I do have a job and a social life).

I had seen a few episodes here and there but all my friends suggested that I watch it.

Well, they really do know me well, and thanks to NetFlix, it only took one episode to realize it was just my humor style. It is hilarious!

In season two there’s an episode about running the marathon that I thought all of you would find hilarious! (Episode 15 of Season 2 called “Lucky Penny”). It especially struck home because I had just started marathon training when I started watching HIMYM.

Here’s how it goes:

I was unsuspecting that they would start talking about running, but sure enough, Ted and his girlfriend Robin miss a flight and are trying to figure out whose fault it is that they missed the plane. They flash back to a conversation starting out with Marshal breaking his toe…

Robin: Well, you must be really bummed you’re not going to be able to run tomorrow.

Marshall: Yeah it sucks, all that work I put in training for the marathon was a total waste.

Barney: Pssh, Training for a marathon?!

Marshall: What?!

Barney: You don’t train for a marathon. You just run it.

Lilly: You’re kidding right?

Barney: Not at all, I could run a marathon anytime I wanted to.

Marshall: So, like tomorrow, you think you could wake up, roll out bed and just run the NYC marathon

Barney: Absolutely.

Robin: Barney, were talking about 42 kilometers.

Ted: Thanks Canada, I’ll take it from here. Barney, it’s like 26 miles.

Barney: Here’s how you run a marathon. Step 1. You start running. There is no step two. (My favorite line!)

Marshall: Ok prove it. Take my number and run in my place. I bet you 50 bucks you don’t even finish the race.

The next day they track his number and he finishes with a respectable time. He easily walks into the apartment to collect his winnings, medal around his neck. The best part comes at the end. Barney decides to ride the light rail for the first time because it’s free for the marathon runners. He ends up getting “stuck” because his legs are so tired and fail him.

If you haven’t seen it, you need to because it was Legen ……. wait for it ….. DARY! Legendary!

 

Is it seriously JULY!?! (Updates)

I cannot believe it’s been over a month since I’ve last posted!

I’ve even gotten a few new followers during that dead time. To those of you, Welcome! I swear, I do actually write a blog. Ideally, I would like to post at least once a week, and if I had time, more often. If you’re new, I write about all things running related: my training, my work (I’m a personal trainer, coach and group ex instructor), race recaps, group runs, places to run (in the Colorado area), book reviews on running, movies on running, traveling (when I do actually get to travel, hence the name “Racing the States”), and the occasional zombie topic (that’s not a joke. I love zombies).

Um, where to start…..where… to… start…that’s the question….

How about right from where I last left off.

My last post was my Bolder Boulder Recap….and so much has happened since that post (or even that race!) The Bolder Boulder actually took place on May 26 and I didn’t post about it until June 9th. Before that, I had updated you on my crazy life circumstances.  You can update yourself HERE if feel so inclined.

Since that month and race, I’ve done so much (running related) things it’s ridiculous. And a lot of non-running related things as well.

Running Updates:

The weekend after the Bolder Boulder, I took the Track and Field Level I Coaches Certification class. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot. Finally, as in yesterday, I sat down and took my test and passed! I am officially a Level I Track & Field Certified Coach!!

Then I did the Ragnar Trail Relay (I actually have MOST of that blog post written, I just haven’t finished the last little bit. You can expect to see that soon).

The weekend after that, I did the Father’s Day  Classic with 3W Races….where I took 3rd overall Female!!! WOOT!

The weekend after THAT, I was the warm-up trainer from the gym I work at for a different local racing company called All-Out Multisport. That was a flop. No one wanted to warm up with me. I kind of expected this because if you are like me, you already have your own warm up routine or you don’t warm up before races. That’s how the running community is. That’s what we do. Their concept of wanting a warm up trainer at all of their events is foreign to me, but I still will do it (as long as I’m working at this gym) because it could possibly open up business opportunities for me.

I also did my first double-digit run for marathon training that weekend (yes, I am marathon training. There’s a few reasons I haven’t written about it; one being that I don’t want to psych myself out about it – and I probably just jinxed myself). I actually had lovely company with a special friend for this sunset run, followed by delicious homemade food and hot tub. A lovely running date, if you ask me! (HINT: If you want to date a runner, this would be a WONDERFUL date idea!)

Olympian, Kara Goucher and myself

I attended a few Run Groups in the last month (the Boulder Running Company Wednesday nights and Bentgate Run Club in Golden Tuesday nights) where I saw Kara Goucher and Scott Jurek speak! I even got to run with Kara ….. for about a block until she passed me! And I spoke with Scott Jurek about his upcoming races and told him that I met him when he wasn’t looking so hot at last year’s Leadville 100 when I was volunteering. I used to own his book, but I had lent it out to a friend and never got it back. I wish I had it for him to sign! DANG IT!

And after that, the next weekend, I ran two races and did a pub crawl. The first race being with 3W, the Neighborhood fun run on saturday. Followed by the Surf’s Up Pub Crawl in Denver where I was one of the group leaders. It was a total blast! Then on Sunday, I randomly decided to run the Heart and Sole 10K in Boulder, CO….where I achieved a new PR (my last one being two years old). Since I am indeed marathon training, I needed more miles, so I found some company to get five more miles in. All followed up by pool party!

Somewhere in there, I got some outdoor climbing in! YAY! Love climbing!

That now brings us to the most recently passed weekend, 4th of July weekend. I spent four days in Snowmass, Colorado working for Kashi at the Wanderlust Festival. If you haven’t heard of Wanderlust, you should definitely check it out. It’s a yoga/outdoor activity/music festival. I mostly worked and didn’t get to participate in any of the yoga stuff, but definitely a fun experience. I got to go hiking, running, and enjoy free concerts all weekend in addition to making money!

And my last, but not least, running related event took place yesterday. I did the Westminster Road Runner Sport’s Adventure Run. It you have one of these in your area, you should definitely check it out! For one, it’s free. Two, simply, it’s a blast! You get a map emailed to you right at race time (or at the event, they hold up a map), and you run to as many check points as you can to get raffle tickets. At the end, you place all your raffle tickets in the bucket and they raffle off tons of prizes! It was a lot of fun, and I got in about 5.25 miles. With stopping at the check points, it was almost like an interval run!

You can expect write ups on each of those events. Duh.

Career Updates:

I am still working at Prestige Fitness, but only barely. Being a personal trainer in the summer is hard!! I’m really having trouble establishing a client base. I am working hard at it, but it’s just not paying the bills, hence why I take random jobs like working for Kashi for a weekend.

There’s been a lot going on with that, I’m really re-thinking what I want to do/be when I grow up… and when your boss tells you “to doll yourself up” to sell training, you may re-think being a trainer as well. That elicited a lengthy debate on my Facebook page!

I have a lot of moral dilemmas pushing people hard to spend money on something so expensive, even though a lot of them need the help health wise. There’s got to be a better way! Before I get too involved in that topic, I’ll move on…

I am still at the City of Golden teaching a handful of group exercise classes, and I am hoping to get on board again this year and help coach cross-country.

Other than that, I still pick up random promo gigs (like the Kashi thing), and I’m thinking about other things (like teaching…maybe!) for the future.

Yes, having summers off is persuading the possible teaching career. No joke.

Personal-ish life updates:

Just kidding! I’m not going to write about that here. You can check out my dating blog for more info on that…..JUST KIDDING, I don’t write a dating blog, but if I did, you would get lots of laughs! I would call it….”Chronicles of: Just how many frogs DO I have to kiss before one turns into a prince!” Is that too long of a title?

What’s up next? This weekend I need to get in a 14-ish mile run at some point, but other than that, I have no official plans! Which is a WONDERFUL feeling, let me tell you! This is a first for a really long time. Maybe I’ll climb, maybe I’ll try SUPing, or maybe I’ll just sleep all weekend!  My next race coming up will be with 3W and its the Prairie Dog Half! Unless I decide to run another random one.

 Your turn: What have YOU all been up to??? (I do actually read your blogs, but for those of you that I have yet to discover, let me know)!

Sedona Marathon Training – Week 7 and 8 Recap(s)

We have all talk about “the wall” we hit when we are actually in a race. I think I have hit that wall in my training. I’m having a hard time finding my running motivation and I’m not entirely sure why. A lot of it has to do with the below freezing, and even into the negatives, temperatures we been having here in Colorado. I tell ya, I’m a pretty tough runner. I’ll run in the snow, rain, sleet, wind, super hot temps, etc. But this cold of weather is not ok. It’s not that I don’t have appropriate clothes; most of me stays plenty warm. Sure, my face and hands will get cold, that’s bearable. But really, it’s about the breathing. It burns!!

So, I haven’t run much in the last two weeks. I also don’t have that easy of access to a treadmill, even though I hate the treadmill with a passion. I used to have a 24 Hour membership, but I cancelled it back before I was even done with school. I occasionally use the gym where I coach boot camps out of, but due to recent changes to our agreement with the community college, it is not as appropriate to use the gym for my own fitness. Let alone is it a little too far for me to drive there just to work out. Driving there for work is one thing, but it is fairly distant from my house.

I’d be lying if it was just the weather decreasing my running motivation. And even though I know that it’s not just the freezing temps and lack of a treadmill, I don’t honestly know what else IS contributing to it. I think this happened last time I was marathon training, if I remember correctly. I hit the same training “wall.”

Even though I’m kinda sad, bummed, and curious as to why I’m having trouble running, I’m not discouraged because I know that a) I’ll regain my motivation and break through the wall and b) I’m still fine when it come to marathon training, especially considering I don’t have plans of breaking any world records during my next marathon; my goal is just to finish.

Sedona Marathon Training Week 7 – while in Arkansas (keep in mind this is Thanksgiving week. I was on vacation and visiting family, so my training schedule was anything but perfect).

Monday: 10 miles complete. Because I wasn’t able to do my long run over the weekend, I planned to do it at the beginning of the week. It was a nice easy run as I explored the trail system in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Tuesday: About 3 miles. I took a self guided tour of the campus of the University of Arkansas. It was a little warmer this day with the sun shining, so I had a lovely time looking at all the buildings I’ve seen a kid. At the U of A, they etch all the graduate names in the sidewalks all over campus. I spent part of my run looking for my grandfather’s and parents’ names. I found them, of course, but not without some strange looks from the students watching me run back and forth over the names!

Wednesday: Race Day Eve – I went out for an easy 2.75 miles.

Thursday: RACE DAY!!! I did a local 5K Turkey Trot in Arkansas. Recap to come. Hint: NEW PR!!!

Friday: Post Thanksgiving feasting tempo run. I was so tired and my legs felt so heavy. I ended up running 6 miles, but I took my time and walked on and off. See, tempo run! hahaha. What? You’re saying that’s NOT how it works. Semantics.

I did get to follow up my run with some horseback riding. That was pretty fun, but I DEFINITELY a city girl!

Saturday: 0 miles – spent about 13 hours in a car heading home to my wonderful Colorado.

Sunday: 16 miles due, I busted out 15.25. Literally at the 15 mile mark my legs we done. With the last three miles, my hip and knee pain was striking hard. This might be leading to my de-motivation for running. I’m kinda worried that I’ll always have pain with long runs. Which would be really disappointing considering I DO want to run a marathon in all 50 states!

Sedona Marathon Training – Week 8

Monday: Supposed to start right up with 4 miles, easy. I’m coming to realize that I actually don’t like the training plan I picked mostly due to this. From my knowledge of fitness and training from school and running experience, I think taking the day after the long run off is beneficial to recovery. So, needless to say, I rested.

Tuesday: Due to my schedule, I didn’t get a run in this day. And this is when the temperature dropped drastically in Colorado.

Wednesday: Phew, finally got in a 4 mile run, but on a stinkin’ treadmill. I kinda struggled through this run, not physically but mentally. I hate the treadmill.

Thursday: The temperature was in the negatives! I didn’t have to leave the house for work, so I didn’t even change out of my pajamas this day. I have no shame.

Friday: SNOWBOARDING!!!!!!! I upgraded my season pass to include another resort, so I joined the special someone, his friends and a friend of mine up in Breckenridge for a frigid day of snowboarding. Yes, I realize the irony of this: I’ll get up and out in the cold for snowboarding, but not for running. What did I tell you before?? A day of snowboarding definitely equals a medium length run. At least in my book! And being all bundled up, I actually stayed quite warm. Just my face was cold (and I put toe warmers in my boots). With access to a hot tub after our boarding session, it was a great day.

Saturday/Sunday: Since the previous weekend was 16 miles, this weekend’s training run called for only a 10 mile, step back, long run. With the temperature being as cold as they were, I honestly didn’t even care, I didn’t go out and run. Hence the lack of motivation! Ugh! I did get stuck working the Broncos game in the cold. BRRRRRRRRR! BUT GO BRONCOS!!

I did vow to myself though to pick up my training plan where I am.

Even though I’m not running as much as I should/want to, I did start some exercise challenges at the beginning of December. I am doing a month-long plank challenge and an additional exercise challenge that includes push ups, sit ups, squats and lunges. This is mostly a way to get me motivated in to resistance training again. I’ve been wanting to start lifting again, but due to the gym situation as mentioned previously, I haven’t been too pro-active about it. I also need a workout buddy for resistance training. I’m working on that still. So, these challenges will help me get back into resistance training as well as help with my fitness just in general to complement running.

Maybe that’s why I avoided my blog last week, because I didn’t want to admit that I haven’t been running that much. Phew, now that that’s off my chest…

What else has been going on?? The company I’ve working for has some big news involving getting our own facility. While this sounds exciting on paper (er, screen), when it comes to my specific job, it actually means less hours for me right now. More opportunities in the FUTURE, but for now, with a tight budget and crazy schedule, I’m back to square one that I started with.

So, I’m back at the job searching, looking to get a second job. But, I already have an interview!

OH! And something exciting to look forward to this weekend. The special someone I keep mentioning is working up in Breckenridge for the Dew Tour (a ski and snowboarding competition where the winners will be part of the Olympic Team I believe) and I get to go spend the weekend up there watching the competition as well as just getting in some boarding myself. Ahhh, a weekend in the mountains. Hot tub included!

What about you guys?? Anything exciting/new in your neck of the woods? Tell me!!

Also, and what I’m more curious about, does anyone else hit “the wall” in their training plan?? Not just in a specific race, but the training process?? How do you over come it?

Sedona Marathon Training – Week 4 Recap

Well, I’ve got a month under my belt….only 3 months left! (Oh my, that sounds daunting). I am not happy to report that I’ve finally hit a bad week of training – totally due to my own fault though.

Sedona Marathon Training – Week 4

Monday: 4 miles due and complete. We’ve had some pretty agreeable weather here in Colorado over the last week. So it hasn’t been the weather that made my training not up to par.

Tuesday: For some reason, I don’t like running on Tuesdays. hahaha I pushed this day’s workout to Wednesday.

Awesome seats for my first Av’s game, huh?

Wednesday: 4 x 1000s. I actually made it through this workout very well. I squeezed it in at work in between training and a meeting with a client. I ran on the treadmill and made sure to increase my 1000 meter pace to potential race pace. (Honestly, with the way the race profile is for the Sedona Marathon, I have no goal race pace; the course is super hard!). Once I finished running, I joined my boss in a quick workout using the TRX, a BOSU and weights. It was fun – I love working at a gym!

Wednesday night, after work I was invited to my first ever Avalanche Hockey game!! I’m pretty lucky; I spent it with a special someone and enjoyed my first time watching the Avs play. We lost, unfortunately, but it was still a blast.

Thursday: Not gonna lie, I had no desire to run. I work up with a hangover headache (shhh don’t tell), from the previous night’s activities. I was supposed to do a tempo run, but I also woke up with some incredible knee pain out of nowhere. At work, I spent a good amount of time foam rolling my legs. My idea worked, and the pain subsidized for the rest of the night, but came back the next day. I think it just a matter of stretching and foam rolling MORE than I already am.

Chillin’ and Grillin’ on the mountain

Friday: 4 miles due……SNOWBOARDING DONE!!! I caved and ended up getting a cheap snowboarding pass. I spend the afternoon, after work, up in the mountains getting my first day of riding in for the season. Ah, the joys of living in Colorado! And if you don’t think snowboarding equates to running three miles or so, get your butt out here and try it. When you’re constantly up and down the mountain, you’re getting PLENTY of exercise.

Seriously, I LOVE living in Colorado…take a look at my day… I worked early in the morning, coaching boot camp, finished up some administrative duties, then met my special friend, headed to the mountains (only an hour and half drive) and we were snowboarding all afternoon. Then, we brought out the grill and had brats before we heading back to town. Fantastic, right??

Saturday: Rest day.

Sunday: 12 miles due…3 complete! What an AWFUL running attempt. I felt weak, my knee hurt, my stomach hurt, I was light-headed, my legs felt like jello…shall I go on? It was totally one of those days. I’m guessing it just because of my altered training schedule from earlier in the week, but I vowed to be diligent to training this week, and will still attempt my next long run this weekend. So what did I do when my training run goes horribly? Bottomless mimosas and football watching. 🙂

Other than training. What’s new?? Work seems to be going well – I have been doing a LOT of thinking on the future, career wise. I’m getting really antsy to write down a plan of my goals and where I want to be in the next few years. It’s an intense project.

And otherwise, life is good. Your turn: Since I had an awful run on sunday, what do you do to overcome these? Bottomless mimosas like me? Or do you get mad at yourself? When your body is just not feeling it…do you just call it a day, push through it, run half your mileage, etc, etc?