10 k pace

Was everyone able to successfully post their 10 k pace on The ragnar site? It does not give me the correct options when I try to post mine. I Have tried on different days even. let me know. Thanks.

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It's Official: I'm a Runner.

I have been trying to run for about 3 years now, and making a more earnest effort this past year. I have certainly accomplished some milestones – running distances I never thought I could, even in my wildest dreams – but I have had a hard time considering myself a real runner. When people would ask me “are you a runner?” I would always say, “kind of” or “I’m trying” or something passive like that.

The past couple of months I have been trying to decide what I would need to accomplish to make me feel like a real runner (whatever that means – and obviously it means different things to different people – I was just trying to figure out what it means to me).

So I decided that there was something I wanted to accomplish in order to make me feel like a real runner. I set a goal, made a plan (courtesy of Skip), snapped my fingers, blinked my eyes, wished upon a star, and… well, I guess I have to call myself a real runner now! And that’s not just because I got to run with reigning Olympic GOLD medalist Constantina Dita this morning.

This is Constantina at the finish, not me... someday, with lots more miles under my feet and some plastic surgery, maybe.  But probably not.

Since the race today was just 1 mile from my house, I had some cheerleaders who showed up at the finished line (somewhat unexpectedly – my husband sent me on an errand last night and I guess that’s when he had the kids make their signs).  There was nothing better than sprinting toward the finish and hearing your kids yelling, “GO MOM!”

In the few short minutes I got to talk with Constantina, I asked her if she was going to run in the 2012 Olympics. She’s said, “I’m trying… but it’s hard!” Then we just laughed (me more than her) – of course it’s hard!  Hey Constantina: I do hard things too!  (You Wasatch Back Ragnar ladies know what I’m talkin' ‘bout! :)


So, my point in writing this post is this:

1. If you are new to our team or new to running: YOU CAN DO IT. Seriously, if you knew where I started and how far I’ve come (with more to go) – you would really understand that you CAN do it.   And all of us are cheering you on - that's the beauty of a team, and friends!  Just make a plan and stick to it. Don’t be an excuse-maker. If you want to do it – then do it.

2. Those of you who consider yourselves runners I want to know: at what point did you feel like you were a real runner?  (Again, whatever that means to you.)

Barefoot Running

Everyone was talking about the new trend of running barefoot at our Ragnar meeting. I came across this article and thought I would pass it along.

4 new rules to run smart

Mileage

I emailed the So Cal race director to see when individual leg mileage would be posted. He said not until sometime in January. But, he did say that he was trying to keep each leg as close to 5 miles as possible. Interesting.....

So, for now, I'd start planning on running about 15 miles total, and then we'll work out the other stuff in Jan.

Red Rock Relay

I am on my way home from the red rock relay in southern Utah. It was just like a ragnar, 186 mile, 12 person relay. The race was awesome! We were van number 2 and had all couples. We started our legs at 4 pm on Friday. Van 1 started at Brian head and ran to the canyon. We ran up one side of the canyon and down the other to SUU. We got there around 9 pm and ate dinner while our other car started to run.

Our second set of legs started at 1 am. We ran from newcastle to Veyo, and finished around 6 am. It was pretty cold on our legs so far. the first set was 55 degrees, and my second leg was 43 degrees. I was worried about running in the night, but I did great. I ran an 8'14" mile up a canyon, entirely uphill, starting at 3:30 am, so I felt good about it.

Our last set of legs started at 9:45 am. I got about an hour of sleep between the second and third set of legs, and woke up with a horrible stomach ache. I was the second runner. When I started my leg, it was 70 degrees, and by 2 miles in, it was 95. It was a 6.5 mile leg. My first 2 miles were downhill, last 4.5 uphill. I ran a total of 15.5 miles, 13.5 which were all uphill. I had all hard rated legs. I hit a wall 4 miles in to my last leg, and it was so hard to finish. I had run between a 7 and 8 minute mile up to mile four, then I crashed. I finished though. I had numb hands and lips, going in to heat exhaustion but I finished!

Overall I loved it. Incredible experience. Lessons learned:

1) distribute legs more evenly. I had all hard legs, as did another runner on our team. 2 runners had all medium, one runner had all easy, and two runners had a mix. I was happy to take two hard, but with three hard I crashed with two miles left.
2) Prepare for all weather conditions. We ended up at Wal-Mart twice because we just figured southern Utah meant warm. we had a temperature change of over 50 degrees over the course.
3) Doing it with a spouse was awesome. Huge bonding experience. I have two kids, 5 and 1, that I have never left home before. My husband has never been a runner or done a race. He did awesome and it was a great bonding experience. Plus, when you are packed in a car its nice to have someone to snuggle up to.
4) Try a race with family. We were all related in some way in our car. Half our runners were not runners before this race. We still completed it in 30 hours, which was great, and our car averaged under nine minute miles most of the time.
5) Be prepared to learn a lot about your teams poop!

If anyone else has done a relay, I would love feedback on what you learned.

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Utah Marahton Relay

This morning, me and 4 of my friends ran a marathon between us. We each ran 5.24 miles to complete a marathon. We had a great time, and I ran my fastest race pace ever (woo-hoo and thank you 5 hour energy)! This was a great way to end my racing season for the year and I'm now looking forward to a couple months of cross and strength training. Here's a picture of my team.

Fall Racing

Hi Ladies -- old and new!

My fall plan is to back-off distance a little and work (half-heartedly) on speed.  On that note, I'm eyeing several 5k's before the end of the year (when I will start distance again).  I definitely perform better on race day which is why I'm doing these.  I LOVE to see familiar faces in the pack (even if I am the caboose), so if you're interested - please join me!

These two I am doing for sure (and they're run by our awesome teammate Kristin - BONUS!):

• September 25 - Dome Dash 5k - Erie
• November 25 - Turkey Day 5k - Anthem

And I'm on the fence about these two:

• October 30 - Eerie Erie 5k or 10k - Erie (I was kind of unimpressed with this one last year... but it would fit nicely right in between the above two... so I'm still thinking about it.)
• December 4 - Colder Boulder - Boulder (this was super fun last year, but it's only 1 week after the Thanksgiving day one, so maybe not).

Interested?