Surf City Half Marathon Race Recap

I haven't done a race since the Snow Canyon half in Nov. 2013.  Not one race last year.  Crazy.  I wasn't sure what goals to set for this race or really what to expect at all.  I wanted to finish the race and that was all I was willing to say about it.  But really that's not me at all - I need goals.  I finished under 2:00 hours and am happy about that.  And now I am totally motivated to run more.  Apparently, running one day a week isn't great training for feeling good while racing.  The main thing that I am struggling with the most these days in all my workouts is my mental edge.  I am so not mentally strong right now and that needs to end.  One thing I've always been good at is pushing through things and staying tough.  Right now instead I seem to find every excuse in the book for why I can't do things instead of just powering through it. 

The race was so much fun and so pretty.  But, it was a little hot and muggy for me (I got chaffed so bad - maybe my worst ever).   At one point when I was starting to go to the ugly place in my head (around 9.5 miles) I looked over and the waves were coming in and the beach was just beautiful.  Right then Happy came on my iPod and I remembered how awesome it is that I can run and how beautiful this earth is.  I wore my back brace for extra support and it was driving me crazy - luckily I saw Laurie and Suzette at mile 12 so I took it off and threw it at them.  Poor girls had to pick that nasty sweaty thing up but it made my last mile so much more enjoyable :)

A few things I loved about this race:  no busing to the start.  We just headed over to the start at 7:30 and ran.  It was so well organized with 20,000 runners that can't be easy to do.  The scenery was amazing.  Plenty of porta-potties and water stations with amazing volunteers.  Cute surfboard medals.  The expo was 3 days long and had lots of great vendors.  Shirts are cute and fit right.  Did I mention how pretty it was?

 Post race smiles

This cute gal Nana is 81 years old and set a course record for her age group. 
She ran it in like 2:10 is was so awesome!!

Best support team around

 

After the race we did a quick epson salt/ice bath. 
I mean we frolicked in the ocean :)

 

Lessons the Crossfit Open Taught Me

One of the reasons I love racing is to see my hard work pay off.  I love to set goals and train for them then race as hard as I can to make my goal.  I try to make my goals hard but also something that I can accomplish.  So when my trainers at Generator Crossfit challenged us to compete in the 2014 Crossfit Open I thought they were crazy.  Then with more explaining I learned we do the workouts at our own box and then post our scores online.  You get judged and can't scale the workouts.  So I decided this was a great event to participate in.  Check that off my 2014 goals.  

Each week they post a different workout on Thursday and you have until Monday to complete it.  Every single one of them have pushed me to the limit and have uncovered my weaknesses.  So I've come up with my top 5 weaknesses.

Week 1:  

The WOD: 

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
30 double-unders
55-lb. power snatches, 15 reps

My Weakness:  I need to develop the double-under skill.  This will just take practice, practice and more practice.  My goal is to be able to do consistent DU's by the end of the summer.  And I am completely ready for the beatings this will bring. I bought a training rope and have already started practicing a couple times a week.

Week 2: 

The WOD:

Every 3 minutes for as long as possible complete:

From 0:00-3:00

   2 rounds of:

   10 overhead squats (65-lb)

   10 chest-to-bar pull-ups

My Weakness:  I totally suck at overhead squats.  This one was my complete failure.  My mobility and strength are both weak in this area.  Developing this is going to take time and lots of strength training.  One thing I plan to do to get stronger is to go into the box 1 extra time each week to work on strength.  Starting with my front squat my current 1 rep max is 125 pounds.  I would love to get to at least 150 pounds by the end of the year.

Week 3:

The Wod:

Complete as many reps as possible in 8 minutes of:
95-lb. deadlifts, 10 reps
15 box jumps, 20-inch
135-lb. deadlifts, 15 reps
15 box jumps, 20-inch
155-lb. deadlifts, 20 reps
15 box jumps, 20-inch
185-lb. deadlifts, 25 reps
15 box jumps, 20-inch
205-lb. deadlifts, 30 reps
15 box jumps, 20-inch
225-lb. deadlifts, 35 reps
15 box jumps, 20-inch

My Weakness: Strength again!  I made it to the 155 lb round but just sat at the 185 lbs because it's higher than my current 1 rep max.  Again I will be focusing on building leg strength through 1 extra day of just weights a week.

Week 4: 

The WOD:

Complete as many rounds and repetitions as possible in 14 minutes of:

60-calorie row

50 toes-to-bars

40 wall-ball shots, 14 lb. to 9-foot target

30 cleans, 95 lb.

20 muscle-ups

My weakness:  I hate to admit it but strength again.  I made it to the cleans and couldn't clean 95 lbs.  I'm sensing a pattern here.  I need to lift more weights and get stronger in a bad way.  I had almost 2 minutes left when I got to the cleans and just sat there attempting to lift the bar and had no luck - not even 1 time could I clean that darn bar!! 

Week 5: 

The WOD:

WOMEN - includes Masters Women up to 54 years old

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time of:

65-lb. thrusters

Burpees

My weakness: Muscle stamina.  I was able to do thrusters at the 65 lb mark but my arms got very tired very fast so I had to break it up into chunks.  The more I can do unbroken the faster I can do this.  

I have decided that I am glad I signed up for the 2014 Crossfit Open because it forced me to take an honest look at where I am right now and where I want crossfit to take me.  I have a good benchmark to look back at for next year when none of the workouts end in a 0. 

2013 in Review

Overall this year of running has to be the best ever.  Running in the Boston Marathon was simply amazing and something I never thought I would do.  To top that off I set PR's for my 5K, 10K, half and full marathon distances.  I can't look back at 2013 and be sad.  However, I also ended the year on a sad note with issues on both of my feet and not being able to run pain-free.  I miss running so much and these injuries have helped me see just how much running means to me.  

Top 10 Running moments of 2013:

1.  Running the Boston Marathon with my brother and sister

 

2.  Wasatch Back with the Housewives

3.  Being a pink emissary

 4.  Setting a new PR for every distance race

 5.  Ragnar Trail - and trail running in general

6.  Running the STG marathon in 3:32:00!!

7.   Running the Disney Cruise 5K

 

8.  Running 16 and 20 miles on the treadmill

 

 9.   Wearing pink for every run in October

10.  Running with my new puppy

My 2013 goals:  
My goals for 2013 seemed simple when I set them in January.  However, I only completed 1 of the 3.  Sad. 

1.  Run 1000 miles.  This one I completed and then some.  I ran 1588.80 miles this year.  This is a big deal for several reasons.  First, it's not an even number.  I'm a bit OCD with stuff so that fact that I didn't force myself to run 1600 miles shows I'm a changed woman.  Second, with my injury I barely ran in Nov and Dec - so to have this many miles is awesome. 

2.  Do a half-ironman.  I didn't do a half-ironman because I signed up for the STG marathon and wanted to focus on that.  I think I made the right decision and I'm glad I did because that race was amazing for me.  

3.  Do 2 unassisted pull-ups.  I still can't do these.  But I'm stronger than I was at the start of the year so I'm still happy with my progress.

2013 Races:
I am so glad this year of races is over.  I did more races this year than ever before.  Here's the list:

April:  Boston Marathon
April: Pink Series 5K (PR)
June: Utah Valley Half Marathon (PR)
June:  Ragnar - Wasatch Back
July:  Freedom Run 10K (PR)
August:  Ragnar Trail Race
September:  Disney 5K
October: St George Marathon (PR)
October:  Pink Series Half Marathon
November: Snow Canyon Half Marathon (new PR)
November:  Courage 4Kuu 

Now onto 2014.....

2014 will be a very different year for me with running.  This is the first time in more than 5 years that I haven't already been signed up for a race before the year starts.  I don't even have any races planned out on my calendar.  I'm going to be out of town during Wasatch Back so I'm not even doing that race (sad, sad, sad).  I'm not sure what I want out of my running this year, except that I want to let my body rest and recover and simply get back to the fun part of running.  I don't want to train as hard as I have the last 2 years - instead I want to try new things and have fun. Wish me luck - this is very hard for me.  :)

My goals for 2014:
1.  Run 1200 miles
2.  Do 2 unassisted pull-ups
3. Compete in a new event (anything I haven't done before - distance or type)