Distance Dreamers Wednesday

Race Recaps:

Jessica - Outback Distance Classic

Luke - Turkey Trot Half Marathon

Katie - Turkey Trot 10K

Becka - Atlanta Half Marathon

Sherry - Turkey Trot 8 Mile

Bobbi - North Shore Turkey Trot 10K

Katie - Christopher Dailey Turkey Trot
Jen - Bethleham Turkey Trot
Julie - Anoka Jingle Bell Run

Good Luck to: Pam, Julie and Sherry! Rock those marathons this weekend!

One Year.

I keep debating whether or not to actually push 'Publish' on this one. It just sounds a little too over-indulgent (I guess that's part of the purpose for a blog though). But, honestly, that's not the point here. I'm not trying to fish for compliments. The point is set your mind to a goal and achieve it. Bag the excuses - all of them - and work hard. I don't care what the goal is, that is what this year has truly proven to me. Anything is possible. OK, I feel better now and suddenly a bit more motivated myself.

I mentioned in my last post that running the 5K on Thanksgiving Day marked my one-year 'Runiversary'. I use that day because it was the first time I actually committed to running. Running with actual goals and trying to go beyond the 3 easy, slow miles that I would regularly crank out on the treadmill.

Last year, I completed that 5K in 41:05 by walking/jogging it with my husband. That moment sparked some sort of internal competitiveness that I didn't know I had in me. I've never been the least bit competitive yet have always considered myself a hard-working, motivated person. I know how to work towards a goal. It happened when I lost 50+ pounds a few years ago and there have been lots of other non fitness/weight loss things as well. At that 5k though, I realized these races could be a form of competing against myself. I'm never going to be winning any races, but I can certainly compete against myself in them. I finally understood!

One year later and I completed that same course in 25:07. Funny what you can do when you have an actual goal to work towards. Ever since the weight loss, I developed a love of exercise. I loved the energy boost and craved it if I started to slack. That feeling kept me going back. However, I will say things were a bit stagnant. I was in maintenance mode. I lost all the weight I wanted to lose. With the new lifestyle of healthy eating and moderate exercise, it wasn't that difficult to simply maintain. There weren't really any more goals to work towards, it was just maintenance.

After that first 5K on Thanksgiving day, I signed up for a 5-miler in January. I had a blast at that one and the feeling was even more incredible? Why? It was a longer distance and I actually pushed myself beyond a comfortable limit. That first, slow 5K I didn't push myself at all. After the 5-miler, I was on a high I can't even describe and knew I wanted more, and more and more. Suddenly, I decided on my goal. Build up my endurance to run everything from a 5K to a marathon within one year. I quickly discovered I liked trying to go longer rather than just trying to go faster.

Over the past year, I completed four 5K's, two 5-milers, one 15K, three half-marathons and one full marathon. Never did find a 10K close by that fit in to the schedule! Hooked? Just a bit. Can't wait to start figuring out my goals for the next year!

Greencastle Turkey Trot

I've been looking forward to Thanksgiving for quite some time. The local 5K Turkey Trot would be my first repeat race ever and was officially the one that got me hooked on running last year. That also means I've 'officially' been running one year now!

The forecast leading up to Thursday was calling for freezing rain and cold...lovely! After sleeping in until 7 AM on Thursday (felt wonderful), I woke up to rain tapping on the windows. And, it continued to pour down. I had my husband signed up as well and it took some major convincing (perhaps some name calling as well) to convince him to actually participate in this run!

Luckily, as we were pulling into the parking lot, it stopped raining and there was just a mist in the air. Thinking it was going to be a bit miserable, I dressed for rain with a hat, windbreaker, no mp3 player and just my normal Timex which is all I ever wear for races.

Since it stopped raining, I figured I'd do a little bit of a warm up before lining up. I tried to position myself in the middle of the group but I was thinking just before we started I was probably too far back - this is a small event of 300-ish and certainly not chip-timed. I start slow but have been getting a little better at judging where I should start because I've often found I'm way too far in the back.

Anyway, soon we were off and luckily everyone spread out fairly quickly. The course is pretty boring, just a loop through residential areas that starts and ends on the high school track but still certainly a fun way to start Thanksgiving!

I spent the first mile passing people and the guy yelling out times said something around 8:06 when I past so that sounded reasonable to me but I continued to try to pick it up a little and kept passing people. A little before 2 miles, another girl who I anticipated was close to my age caught up to me and just started running right beside me. I wasn't sure how to take this at first, did she just want to pass me or did she want to stick with me? Either way, I figured I'd just try to stick close to her but we ended up running side by side the rest of the race. We never said a word to each other and it was kind of strange yet kind of good at the same time.

As we were coming into the last half mile, we started in an area where it was sidewalks so it was harder to run with this girl. I was trying to be considerate and trying to let her go just a few steps in front of me, yet at the same time, I was wondering if I should have just pushed it to pass her? I probably could have if I really gave it absolutely everything I had but I was already giving it a pretty hard effort (for me) at the pace we were going so I just stuck at it. We were still pretty much side by side until she took a quick sprint right at the end to pass me. Either way, it was a new 5K PR of 25:07 so I'll take it...very close to the 25:00 time I had in my mind as my ultimate goal! I said something to the girl afterwards thanking her for helping me keep up my pace but that was pretty much the end of the conversation. Kind of odd.

My husband had a good race as well and it was his best 5K yet as well. He's not really one for sticking around much so we left just as soon as he finished...we had a dinner to get to anyway! A great way to start Thanksgiving!

Distance Dreamers Wednesday

Race Reports


Allie - Philadelphia Marathon
Meggan - Philadelphia Marathon
Amy-Philadelphia Marathon
Natalia - Philadelphia Marathon
Chris - OBX Marathon
Jill - CSCC 5K
Zaneta - United Way 5K
Bobbi - Clear Water Outdoor 10K
Linz - Gobble Wobble 5K
Aimee - Muddy Buddy Race
Becka - Brighton Turkey Trot 5K
Rene - Milford Turkey Trot



Other Updates

Pam had a successful 20-mile run...but also lost her running buddy due to injury. :(
Julie is in taper mode for Las Vegas as well. Sherry is also tapering for her fast-approaching marathon. Caroline officially kicked off her half marathon plan this week.


Good Luck to: Jessica who is running her first half marathon on Thanksgiving Day!

Connections

Out of the blue on Friday, I received an e-mail from Rebecca at Running Becca saying she saw what town I lived in and was going to be staying here with some running friends. The people in this group were either running or doing course support for the JFK 50. She wanted to know if I'd like to meet up with her and this group for breakfast Sunday after JFK. Sounded like a great idea to me!

This turned out perfectly because I actually got to officially meet some local running people. I've been trying to figure out and contact different people in the area because I know there are groups that meet but I've never been successful at actually tracking anyone down before. Not sure why it took a runner from out of state to bring it all together, but thanks Rebecca!

Oh, and huge admiration for her and everyone else who completed JFK. Everyone looked and seemed to feel great on Sunday after the 50-miler. When I went out for my measly 5 mile run Saturday morning, all I could think about was everyone who was out the trails cranking through 50 miles! Maybe someday...

Three Things Thursday

1. During a sponteneous 3-ish mile run a couple weeks ago while on vacation, I hit the 1,000 miles run for the year. I started tracking miles mid-January and am still pretty shocked by the number. I became more laxed in updating my spreadsheet after the marathon was over, and I didn't start DailyMile until later in the year. I was happy I took the time to get the Garmin data into my spreadsheet to see the progress!

2. I've been lacking motivation lately. I still love the get out there and run (especially on the weekends) but it's been hard to get out there early in the morning on weekdays when it's still pitch black out. If I wait until it's light out, I love it, but that is often difficult scheduling wise. Guess, I'll figure it out soon, because...

3. Marathon #2 is confirmed:

Distance Dreamers Wednesday

Race Reports

Chris - OBX Marathon (will link to full report when posted).
Raquel - Rock 'N Roll - San Antonio Half.
Mindy - Pensacola Half Marathon.


Other Updates

Sherry completed her 22-mile long run this week and is starting to count down the days to her marathon!

New member Jessica is training for her first marathon and has her first half coming up next week! Also, check out the following new members: Donna, Caroline, Elizabeth and Irene.

Late last week, Pam was looking for advice on how to tackle the rest of her training for the Rock 'N Roll Las Vegas Marathon given her recent injuries. I hope whatever you decide to run this weekend works out! Julie continues to train for Vegas as well!

Good Luck to: Allie, Amy, Meggan and Natalia - all running the Philadelphia Marathon this weekend! Can't wait to read the Philly recaps (I considered Philly so I'm a little partial!).

Also, good luck to Jill who will try to beat her 5K PR!

Days 7 & 8 - Final Day at Best Friends and Travel Home

Day 1: Travel
Day 2: Hoover Dam Half Marathon
Day 3: Best Friends: tour/orientation/dogs
Day 4: Best Friends: cats
Day 5: Bryce Canyon National Park
Day 6: Zion National Park

It's crazy how quickly a vacation passes after month and months of waiting in anticipation. Before I could blink, it was already Thursday, our last full day at Best Friends. We were scheduled with dogs the whole day.

We were assigned to puppies in the morning (wasn't going to choose puppies because I figured everyone would want puppies but they didn't have anyone for that time!). After completing a puppy socialization class, we cleaned their kennels and took several on walks. So much fun. I got trapped in a kennel with an energetic set of 4 puppies:

After lunch at Angel Village and getting to listen to the Thursday meeting updates from all the areas at Best Friends, we headed back to Dog Headquarters and chose to spend the afternoon at 'Old Friends'. I love working with older dogs and shy dogs and the kind souls housed at Best Friends didn't disappoint! We spent the afternoon cleaning and feeding before it was time to load up that night's sleepover buddy. Here's Reuben, an older dog who is very sweet and laid back.

We took him to Coral Pink Sand Dunes for a quick walk, picked up some takeout for dinner and then start packing up and loading the car. Before we knew it, it was time to return Reuben to Best Friends and make the trek back to Las Vegas and fly home. I'm usually ready to head home at the end of a vacation - this is one where I wanted to stay longer!

It was an amazing week, learned a lot, had lots of inspiration and ready to find the next challenge for myself. Back to normal, running related posts now.

I have been running the past couple of weeks, but nothing of great importance or interest!

Day 6: Zion National Park

Day 1: Travel
Day 2: Hoover Dam Half Marathon
Day 3: Best Friends: tour/orientation/dogs
Day 4: Best Friends: cats
Day 5: Bryce Canyon National Park


Next up, Zion National Park. First impressions...gorgeous (obviously) and amazing how different it looked compared to Bryce! They've been doing a lot of road construction in Zion so we got a little bit delayed heading into the park, but nothing major. The two hikes I had my eye on were Angel's Landing and The Narrows. I knew we wouldn't do much of the Narrows, but I wanted to at least do a little bit of it. Since it would involve wading in the water, we started with Angel's Landing.

Shortly into this, we knew we were going to actually get some exercise in this day! Up, up and up we continued to climb. I had every intention of the doing the full hike to Angel's Landing. It's a 2.5 mile hike to the top. At two miles in, you reach Scout's Landing. From there, you can continue to go up to the summit but it's a narrow ridge with chains bolted to the rocks to help you hold on. I have a mild fear of heights when I'm near edges of tall drop-offs, etc. Just a few steps into this section and I started wondering how in the world I was going to get back down. I thought I could get up, worried about getting down. Then, there was also the thought back to the previous day where I slipped on some rocks and fell flat on my face. If I did that here, well, I'd fall off the side of a cliff. So, I chickened out! :-(

( We hiked all the way back down and headed up to the next location. After a break for lunch, we hit Weeping Rock Trail and then decided to try Hidden Canyon Trail. After hiking up, up, up we hit more chains...damn! OK, first set of chains weren't bad, keep going. More chains...argh. Went a little ways and started to feel a little funny in the legs and I decided I was chickening out again! Back down we went. I'm not sure how much farther that trail went up but I think we were nearing the end when I chickened out.

Next up, hit the Riverside Walk to head towards the Narrows. The Narrows is a 'trail', but it's really just the river. You can hike in several miles and need a special permit to do the whole thing. I didn't plan on going very far but at least wanted to experience a little bit of it. Raring to go, I hiked up my pants, made sure my shoes were tied and started wading in the water. It was cold and the rocks were so slippery. The current of the river was a little stronger than I expected as well. We zig-zagged from side to side for a little while but I was so slow trying not to fall in between the current and the slippery rocks. It seemed like we were already knee deep and weren't very far in at all. At this point, we pretty much concluded we weren't going to go too much further because it was starting to get late in the afternoon and we weren't really equipped to go too far. The smart people apparently rent suits that protect you from the cold...oh, ok...that makes sense. One guy who passed us was waist deep in the water because he was heading straight down instead of zig-zagging from side to side like we were to avoid the really deep water.

On the way back, despite walking very very slowly on top of wet, slippery rocks, I finally took my tumble into the water. Somehow I saved the precious camera with my 1,000 pictures on it and it didn't plunge into the water like the rest of me! I should've prepared much better like packing something to protect the camera from the water! But, I didn't, I was just enjoying the moment. At least it made it memorable.

Knowing we'd get wet, we saved this little adventure for the last of the day. We eventually made it back to the car, changed out wet socks and shoes (and pants and everything else for me!) and headed back to Kanab. Exciting, tiring day. Overall conclusions - very glad we went to both Bryce and Zion. Bryce had spectacular scenary. Zion did as well, but not quite as unique, but the hiking was more exciting at Zion!

Hikes completed:
Angels Landing
Weeping Rock Trail
Hidden Canyon Trail
Riverside Walk plus a small portion of the Narrows

Next Up: Last day at Best Friends

Day 5: Bryce Canyon National Park

Day 1: Travel
Day 2: Hoover Dam Half Marathon
Day 3: Best Friends: tour/orientation/dogs

Day 4: Best Friends: cats

Day 5 was scheduled for hiking. We weren't sure if we wanted to do Bryce or Zion first but we were planning on doing one day at each. Last year sometime, I started researching a possible vacation for my husband and I. I was looking at Costa Rica and ordered a bunch of adventure vacation company catalogs. I wasn't planning on using some organized group but there were great reference material as research for possible iterniaries. In many of those catalogs, there were trips to Bryce and Zion. I don't think I'd even heard of either park before that time. I was just used to hearing about the Grand Canyon as the destination for a vacation in this area. After seeing the pictures, I knew I wanted to visit both Bryce and Zion. The plan for Costa Rica was nixed (everything I wanted to do would've been super expensive), and somehow the trip morphed into a trip to Best Friends for just my sister and I and hiking in the national parks. Neither of our husband's were very interested in either.

Anyway, on Tuesday morning, after a quick morning run, we got ready and drove the hour and a half to Bryce. The entire trip we realized how remote this area was - gorgeous, with nothing around. No cell phone reception and on the way to Bryce we lost all radio stations, including the satellite radio we found on the rental car. All we could get was the ads for Sirius with the channel guide...which got quite annoying after listening to it for so long.

When we finally made it into Bryce, we parked and started at Sunrise Point. I had previously concluded the best hike option would be to combine Queen's Garde, Peekaboo Loop and Navajo Loop. This was supposed to be a 6.4 mile hike combination but we must of cut Peekaboo short because I know we didn't cover 6.4 miles. However we did it ended up being perfect though because we got a great view of the land, starting at the top, hiking down into the canyon amongst the hoodoos and then out the other side. From there, we walked back to Sunrise Point from Sunset Point.

We took a break to eat our packed lunches and then headed up to Rainbow Point which is the end of the scenic drivce through the park. From there, we completed the Bristlecone Loop hike and jumped back into the car and hit all the viewpoints going back out of the park.

From that point, we then hit a few souvenior stores before heading to the last hike of the day which was a very short one named Mossy Cave. I have a habit of being clumsy and as we were walking through a dry creek bed, I had my first fall of the trip. My leg is still all bruised up from tumble number 1, which I actually think it pretty funny.

I cannot believe the number of pictures I took on this trip. Bryce was so worth the trip and I absolutely loved seeing all the rock formations.

Trails hiked (well, walked the hiking here wasn't that strenuous):

The Figure '8' (combination of Queen's Garden, Peekaboo Loop, Navajo Loop)

Sunset to Sunrise Point (to get back to starting point)

Bristlecone Loop

Mossy Cave

Next Up: Zion National Park

Distance Dreamers Wednesday

Race Reports:

Ann - Marine Corps Marathon
Becka - Athens Classic Marathon
Rene - Manchester City Marathon

Other Race Reports:

Zaneta - Grace Race 5K
Katie - Squirelly Six Mile Trail Race
Jen - Squirelly Six Mile Trail Race
Jen - Stockade-athon 15K
Olivia - Marine Corps Marathon 10K
Pam - Clarksville Half Marathon
Luke - Fall Harvest 10K

Other Updates:
Natalia completed her first 20 mile long run. And...umm...that's all I have. It seems like lots of people are sick, slightly injured or wrapping up running races for the season. If I missed anything after being away for a bit, feel free to yell at me.


Additionally, if anyone is planning their first full or half marathon for early 2011, e-mail me at highermiles (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll add you to the rotation list. The list is starting to dwindle on upcoming people to feature but I'd like to keep this up! Thanks!


Good luck to: Chris, Raquel and Mindy! Have fabulous runs this weekend.

Day 4: BFAS, Catworld

Day 1: Travel

Day 2: Hoover Dam Half Marathon

Day 3: Best Friends: tour/orientation/dogs

I'm recapping last week's vacation. Picking up where the last post left off:

Valentino was a great dog for a sleepover, and I hope he gets a home soon. The one thing we can feel good about though, is when we returned him in the morning and handed his leash over the caregiver, he was wagging his little nub of a tail as he was walking back into his building. Although it's great when as many animals as possible get adopted, they certainly have a great place to live at Best Friends until they find a home.

For this day at Best Friends, we were scheduled to volunteer in cats the whole day. After the cat safety video, we were assigned to Benton's Place for the morning session. This is a building with special needs cats.

In most of the buildings, the cats live together in rooms that have both indoor and outdoor sections. In addition, there are usually several cats who live in the lobby. In the lobby of Benton's place were Cagney & Lacey who were two young cats with neuorlogical issues. They were quite sweet and cute, especially Lacey who stumbled around as she walked but was a sweet, playful kitten.

After a little while with them, we were assigned to clean one of the cat's rooms, Tomato's room. Each building and each room are named for a cat from the sanctuary at some point. I'm not sure what all issues the cats in this room had but we had a good time re-arranging cat beds and perchs, cleaning all the surfaces and mopping. These cats have a great life as well. At one point, I was gathering up beds to brush off or throw into the laundry and I stumbled upon a cat under one of them. I don't think she was too happy with me disturbing her, but eventually she met up with her sister and snuggled into another bed.

Since it was Monday, we were able to eat lunch at the sanctuary where they offer a fabulous vegetarian lunch for $5. It was great and had amazing views that couldn't be beat. We were also lucky enough to overhear some other ladies talking who said something about Rocking V, which is a restaurant in town we were planning to eat at, at least once. Since we were in Utah in what is considered the off season, many places are either closed for the season or on off-season hours. It sounded like we should hit that restaurant that night since it would be closed the next two nights.

In the afternoon, we went to another cat building, the Colonel's Barracks and did another round of cleaning a room from top to bottom. The outdoor cat areas are cool because the rafters are designed so more feral cats can stay up there where they feel safe. The goal is to get everyone socialized but that takes time so up in the rafters there are plenty of cat beds, food, water and litter boxes. The caregivers wanted us to take a sleepover cat for the night, but since we were planning on hiking the next two days, it wasn't in our plans.

After finishing up volunteering for the day, we decided to take the time to visit Angel's Rest, which is where any animals who pass are buried - both from the sanctuary or anyone else who wants to bury their animals there. It's so peaceful and there are something like 5,000 wind chimes in there. It was a calm day so the sounds from the chimes were very faint.

We went to Rocking V that night and had an absolutely amazing meal. The owner of the restaurant was a hoot too! I ordered some wonderful banana bread pudding for dessert but I was so stuffed I couldn't force it all down. When I left a couple of bites, he told me I better eat it because his wife got angry if any food came back uneaten. A little while later (we visited the art gallery upstairs), as we were walking out, he said to me: "I saved your skinny asses and ate that last bite". As if I wasn't already wanting to return to the area sometime, having a meal at this restaurant could definitely be enough to make a trip worth it!

Next Up: Bryce Canyon National Park

Day 3: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Day 1: Travel

Day 2: Hoover Dam Half Marathon

After finishing the half marathon, we wandered around the Lake Mead area for awhile. Then, we drove down to the Hoover Dam to grab some pictures and back-tracked a bit to walk a few portions of the half marathon course again.

By mid-afternoon, it was time to get in the car and make the 4 hour drive to Kanab, Utah where we were staying for the rest of our trip. After a stop in St. George, Utah for dinner, we eventually arrived in Kanab around 8:30 PM. Kanab is an tiny town of 4,000 people (and the largest town in 80 miles in all directions). We were pleasantly suprised by our room at the Bob-Bon Inn. We booked it ages ago because it fit our criteria of having pet-friendly rooms and was inexpensive so we were just hoping it would be decent.

The next morning rolled around and we were on our way just north of town to Best Friends. Like many others, I first heard of Best Friends from the Dogtown show on the National Geographic channel. I watched every single episode of it from the very first episode. When it was on, the new episodes were on Friday nights at 10 PM and were before the days of our DVR. Since I'm an early to bed, early to rise kind of person, it was always hard for me to stay awake to that time but I made sure I did every week. I also cried at every single epiosde, usually out of happiness. After seeing the show, I did my general research on the charity rating sites and was happy with what I read. I became a member and love their bi-monthly magazine.

Side note here - you can find plenty of negative information for this group as well as pretty much any other non-profit out there if you dig enough. You'll probably find some shady information on every group, regardless of size, if you start questioning things. I've done all that research. I know this group brings in millions and millions of dollars. Sure, they have the money for fancy marketing and they exist to bring in money for their cause but overall all experiences I've had with them have been positive.

The popularity of Best Friends Animal Society has surged in the past few years from the exposure of the Dogtown show, publicity from receiving a large number of the Michael Vick dogs as well as their many other programs and campaigns. They receive a huge number of visitors and volunteers each year so I kind of wondered how it would all work out and what our experience would be like --would we just feel like two more bodies in their huge sea of volunteers?

I'm somewhat involved in local animal groups in this area and really wanted to see how Best Friends operated. I made a little stir at a local shelter over the summer (the politics and differing opionions appear at all levels in the non-profit world!) so I had a few specific things I wanted to check out as well.

When we made the turn into Angel Canyon, I started to get a little teary-eyed. This trip really meant a lot to me but I was shocked I was already getting emotional. I got it together but later found out my sister felt the same way, so I guess it was normal!

We made our way into the welcome center and were greeted by an adorable little dog named Dolce. He actually belonged to our tour guide so he rode along with us on the tour as well. He'd had an injury in the past and had one bad leg which made the way he hopped around even more adorable. After watching a brief video (and crying again), we loaded up into a van to go on a tour of the entire santuary. It was even more amazing than I had anticipated. The size, the beauty of the land, the organization of it all, and the people were all wonderful.

After our tour, we had to go through our brief volunteer orientation. After that, we headed back to our hotel for a quick lunch of PB&J sandwiches and were back at Best Friends by 1:00 PM where we were scheduled to volunteer in Dogtown for the afternoon. I felt we really started to see things at this point. The tour was wonderful, I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who is close to the area, but it certainly had a bit of fluff as well. After a safety video, we were assigned to the Fairway, which consisted of the Dotty and Petey dog octagons which housed younger, energetic green-collared dogs. Green-collared dogs are all the ones who are perfectly fine with people so anyone can volunteer with them. I was amazed at these dogs. Having been around plenty of shelter dogs, they are usually full of energy after being cooped up in a kennel so it usually takes a little bit to get out their energy and see their true personality. The structure at Best Friends allow the dogs to live together in runs where they have both a large indoor and outdoor area, which is an ideal setup and the dogs seem peaceful and happy.

After some poop-scooping and some dog walking, it was already time to leave for the day. On this night, we were taking a sleepover dog with us so we had to get him checked out early. The caregiver at the Fairway asked if we'd take Valentino for the night. I had already had some fun with Valentino earlier in the day because he loved pouncing on the light reflecting off the poop-scooper and then digging himself a nice hole in the sand where he last saw the reflection.

We loaded him into the car (that poor rental car had no idea the kind of week it was in for), checked him out at headquarters and picked up his overnight bag.

Since it was still before 4:00 PM, we decided to head over to Coral Pink Sand Dunes, which is a state park nearby. We'd researched ahead of time and knew dogs were allowed and had planned on doing this at least with one of our sleepover dogs.

After a workout on the sand dunes, we headed into town to order some take-out at a Mexican restaurant called Nedra's Too. The people in the town seem quite used to people with the sleepover dogs from Best Friends so they didn't think it was the least bit odd when I was taking menus out to the car before ordering!

Next up: Day two at Best Friends.

Hoover Dam Half Marathon

Short Version: Gorgeous course, wasn't my day.

Long Version:

On Friday, October 29th, my sister and I left my house for the Baltimore airport. After a long 5 hour flight, we arrived in Las Vegas. We picked up the rental car and drove down the Vegas strip. That drive concluded our time in Vegas. Neither of us had any desire for anything Vegas has to offer so we drove through to say we saw it and made our way just slightly south to Boulder City. I was pretty much prepared for our hotel this night to be a dump. It was adequate enough for one night but I'm glad it was only one night, because it certainly wasn't very nice or clean. The sign sums it up pretty well:

We grabbed our race packets, headed into the town to grab some groceries for the week and picked up a Domino's pizza for dinner. Due to the 3-hour time difference, it was an early bedtime this night.

The next morning, we headed just down the street to the Lake Mead Recreation Center and took in the gorgeous views. Pretty quickly, it was 8 AM and we were off. The first two miles of this course felt hard to me and I knew at that moment I wasn't going to have a stellar day. I was really thirsty already and know I hadn't hydrated enough the day before with the traveling. I also had a big of an upset stomach and the sun was beating down already. The first few miles were a slight, but constant uphill. Shortly after the uphill portion, we hit the trail which which was the surface for most of the race. It was a packed-gravel trail but it was looser trail than the rail trails that I'm used to around here. The scenary made the next few miles go by quickly though.

Along the trail, we also ran through a series of tunnels.


Shortly before the half-way mark was the turn-around. We had a short section of switchbacks, which were fun to run down and harder to get back up! They took us down to the top level of the Hoover Dam parking garage which gave us the view of the Hoover Dam and the new bypass bridge. The parking garage can be seen in the middle right side of this picture. All these pictures were taken after the race was over. We went back and walked several portions of the trail and did a drive-by of the Hoover Dam as well, so it is from a different angle.

Although I struggled a bit in the first half, I had finally gotten into a little bit of a groove and hit the half way mark a little over an hour. Then, I started feeling worse and worse and I walked...a bunch. It was a pretty big blow to the ego because I haven't really ever had to walk that much before, especially not in doing 13 miles. I've had to slow down before but usually I could still keep a jog going...not this day. I was really, really hot and my stomach still wasn't doing well.

My sister told me to take off my shirt. I'm not really one comfortable running in just a sports bra but after several minutes of saying no, I eventually said screw it and off went the shirt. I figured I didn't know anyone in Nevada anyway. This helped a bit but I still struggled and kept having to walk.

I believe it was around the 10 mile mark when there was an aid station with oranges instead of just water and Heed Energy drink. That orange slice was the most glorious thing in the world and I finally started to feel a little better. I thought I was going to be able to finish running the final 3 miles but I did take one more walk break with less than a mile to go.

Eventually, I crossed the finish line with the official time of 2:19:00, which is by far my worst half marathon...which really sucked considering I did two earlier in the year on very little training that went much better. But, there's always more. I was on vacation so I wasn't going to let it bother me too much!

The after part of this race was absolutely fabulous. They had the Salvation Army Emergency Response crew out cooking for us and since we finished in the breakfast-time range, we had the options of pumpkin pancakes and scrambled eggs (both made for you and served to you on a plate, no disgusting buffet lines that people had been scrounging through!). Plus there was plenty of fruit, pretzels, yogurt, granola bars and more. It was fabulous and after eating and drinking a bunch, I felt much, much better! The event had a marathon as well, and as those people were finishing, they had the options of chili, cornbread and more. It was a small event (I seem to gravitate towards these!) and I'd certainly recommend it. This day was sunnier than I thought it would be and a bit windy. Although it was rough on me, it was a great event presented by Calico Racing.

I actually really like a couple of our photos from the event as well and might actually break down and purchase them even if it wasn't stellar running day.

Coming up next: a bunch of posts non-running related about the rest of our trip which was an fantastic trip!