I’m determined to get my March/April events cataloged
before May but before I dive into my recap of events 16, 17, and 18, I have
some race announcements to share. First, as a lot of you saw I signed up for
the Honolulu Marathon in December! This will be my final race, the grand
finale, the big kahuna… you get the idea. But, what a lot of you don’t know is
that before the marathon in December, I’ll be participating in the Indian Creek 51K in October. It’s a 30-somethingish mile trail race through the South Platte Ranger District
of Pike National Forest. I’m expecting it to be beautiful and amazing and also hard.
After taking some time off after my Ironman in 2013, I’m
ready to have a real goal again and to have some structure around my training. And
I’m really excited to do some great trail runs this summer! The only downside
is that as my race draws closer, I’ll probably have a harder time fitting in other
races. I learned my lesson in Moab and will be taking this training
seriously. Because of that, I’m going to focus on getting some races done in
the next month or two so get ready for some “May Madness” (come on, it can be a
think, okay?). There are some really good events coming up and I’m looking
forward to having you guys along for the ride!
With that said, here’s what I’ve been up to in the last
month:
 |
| 15.5 |
#16 – CrossFit Open 15.5
Date: March 28
Type: CrossFit
“Distance”: 27-21-15-9 reps for
time of: Row (calories) and Thrusters
I feel like the Open ended just as I was getting used to
it. Unfortunately, I missed 15.4 because of Canyonlands. No matter how much of
a badass I want to think that I am, running an under-trained half marathon and
then doing a crazy CrossFit workout two days later didn’t seem like a good
idea, especially not with some mountain biking in between.
I lost a little bit of momentum from
skipping 15.4. In years past, I would have let that affect me and probably
would have skipped 15.5 as well. But the older I get, the better I get so I got myself together on a Saturday and headed into the gym. Even though
I had been through this a few times before, I was still a little nervous. I texted my friend Ali in the parking lot and told her I was
scared. She wrote back and said, “You’re an ironwoman, you
can do this!” My response was, “an Ironman is easier!” because sometimes it
feels that way.
I had signed up for the second heat of the day but got there
a little early to warm up and cheer on the heat before me. In retrospect, I’m
not sure that was the best idea because I saw just how much
suffering I was in for. While the workout doesn’t appear that terrible on paper, it was brutal. I’m not sure anyone finished it and didn’t have to lie
on the ground for at least five minutes.
They say that sometimes when you experience great pain, you
block out those memories and I think that’s what happened to me because
the whole experience is a blur. I only remember bits and pieces but here’s what
I remember:
- As I was working through the set of 21 thrusters I thought, “When I only have to do a set of nine, that’s going to go by so fast.” Yeah, it didn’t.
- My judge, Amy A., was the best coach and cheerleader. I’m not sure I would have gotten through it without her.
- I remember someone calling out my name and yelling “you can do it!” I think that was Anne G? Whoever it was, I heard you and appreciate it!
- 45 lbs gots really heavy after a while, and I was really struggling to lift the barbell over my head towards the end. I remember thinking about how Elmer weighs over 90 lbs. and I have a long way to go before I’ll be able to comfortably lift him over my head. Why would I ever need to lift my dog over my head? Who knows. I was obviously under duress.
- When things got tough, I thought back to Ali’s pep-talk text, gritted my teeth, and kept going. You may not think that something that small will make much of a difference but it will. Send an encouraging text to someone this weekend if you can.
- Somehow, I got it done but I don't really remember finishing so much as I remember lying on the ground for a significant amount of time. A few people high-fived me while I was lying there. I can’t remember who they were.
- After I picked myself up off the floor, I realized I needed to compose myself a little more before I was ready to drive home.
 |
| I'm a sucker for a sandwich |
#17 - Thunderchief 5K
Date: April 11
Type: Run
Distance: 5K
Shwag: I think I was supposed to get a t-shirt but things
were a little disorganized at registration so that didn’t happen. However, I
got a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich when I picked up my Bolder Boulder packet after
the race so here’s a picture of that.
So, why do I love CrossFit so much? Because I PR-ed a 5K for
the first time in four years! And, to be completely honest, my previous 5K PR
happened at a triathlon where, rumor has it, the course was a little short. And
by rumor, I mean the GPS devices of several hundred data-obsessed triathletes
who crossed the finish line and then said, with a hint of annoyance in their
voices, “That run was short!”
The Thunderchief was one of the more interesting race
experiences I’ve had so far this year. It’s put on by the Air Force ROTC at
CU-Boulder and when I showed up for the race, I was one of the only people who
wasn’t a student or a parent of a student. I felt like I was crashing some sort
of school function and I have to say, is it just me or are college kids getting
younger? Or is it that I refuse to believe those kids are, literally, half my
age? Let’s not answer that.
Luckily more people showed up but overall I would say the
demographics were: 75% students, 15% parents of students, and 10% randoms like
me.
The race takes place on campus and it’s not a closed course
so we ran a 5K on sidewalks, amidst hung-over students, tour groups, an ultimate frisbee tournament, drum circles, you
name it. I think it probably wouldn’t have been too bad on a normal Saturday.
After all, how many college students are generally up at 9:00 am? However, it
was Admitted Students Weekend, so the place was crawling with prospective
students and their families. The crowds definitely added a sense of excitement
to things! Normal races are so boring. It’s much more interesting, and surreal, when
you’re running through an environment where people are just trying to go about
their normal day, oblivious to the fact that a race is happening.
 |
| Leann Banrore's Race Bib |
I went into the race with no performance expectations. My goal
was to work on pacing and try to negative split the miles. Did I achieve my
goal? Well, there were no mile markers on the course so I have no idea. That
means I had no idea I was on track for a PR until I saw the finish line, looked
down at my watch and realize that I had a chance to run a 5K in under 25
minutes for the first time ever. I knew it was going to be close but I gave it
everything that I had and crossed the finish line at 24:54. I was barely under
25 minutes but I was a minute faster than my previous PR and I’m pretty darn happy
about that.
Race #18 – Dash and Dine #2
Date: April 14
Type: Run
Distance: 5K
The Tuesday after my triumphant PR I decided to do the Dash
and Dine at the Boulder Res. This is a great race series for a number of
reasons: it’s really affordable, it has a great vibe and, most importantly, they
feed you at the end.
We had perfect spring weather and it was a lovely evening
for a little jaunt. Fast Forward was also doing the race that evening so
there were lots of amazing peeps with me for this one, including Therese who
has been a training and racing partner (and great friend) of mine for a long
time now. And, since you’re allowed to have dogs at the Res for a few more
weeks, in addition to the F4 crew, Elmer joined me!
I knew this wasn’t going to be a fast race for me. For
starters, I made the mistake of doing CrossFit in the morning and if that
wasn’t bad enough, I did the endurance class, which was especially tough that
day. I can’t remember what we did but I know that it took me over 24 minutes
and I had to lie on the ground for a while when we were done. Also, Elmer is
incredibly athletic and fit but he’s not an endurance kind of guy. In fact, I
feel like he would be great at CrossFit. He has a lot of power and is fast in
short bursts. But when it comes to grinding it out at a steady pace, that’s just
not his thing. He was also really excited and overstimulated and I was a little
worried about how that would translate in the run. Also, I was 90% sure he
would stop and poop along the way.
Taking all of those factors into consideration, Elmy and I
started in the back and let pretty much everyone go before we took off. Elmer
runs with me a lot and so I know that he generally doesn’t like to go faster
than 9:00 minutes a mile. I figured we would take it slow and enjoy the
evening. However, I didn’t consider the fact that Therese was in
front of us and Elmer loves Therese. He was on a mission to catch up to her and
we cooked along at a pretty good clip until we caught up with her right before
the turnaround at the halfway point.
By then, he and I had settled into a good pace and so we kept
it up to the finish line. I had been worried about Elmer at the beginning of
the race but he did a great job running right next to me, staying out of the
way of other runners and not peeing on things. There was also no pooping, for
either of us, which was a nice bonus. All of those factors contributed to us averaging
a pace of 8:54 a mile, which is a PR for Elmer! He also came in first place
in the canine division. (He was actually the only dog but does that matter?)
 |
| There's always room for ice cream! Wait... I don't think that's how that goes. |
I spent some time after the race catching up with friends
and enjoying one of the most amazing burritos I’ve ever had. I’m not being
insincerely enthusiastic – that thing was exceptionally good, or I was
exceptionally hungry, or both. I’m serious when I say I’ll probably do another
Dash and Dine just so I can have another one of those burritos.
As an added bonus, it was Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry’s
so Therese, Sarah B. and I all headed to Pearl Street after the race to snag a free cone. It
was a lovely way to end a great night!
No comments:
Post a Comment