Tag: slacker

Run or Dye 2014

Back in January, it hit Facebook that our little neck of the woods was getting a Run or Dye race. I swear my Facebook feed lit up like a Christmas tree. C and I had always said that we wanted to do a fun, less based on pace race, and the fact that we didn’t have to drive far for this was perfect. I had also promised her that I would run in a tutu. When sign up time came around, there were so many locals signing up that the website actually crashed. I probably should have taken that as indicator of how may people were attending this shindig. But, Team Slacker (discount!) was able to register fairly quickly so I put it out of my mind.

When I picked up my packet, I found out that 8000 people registered. What?! That didn’t even seem possible. Friday night before the race, I was texting C back and forth about where we were going to meet up, texting NikeC about what time I was picking her up and texting ME- ok, every time I type that I feel narcissistic, so from now on ME will be ML- about where we could meet up with her group as well. The race was taking place in a park/ golf course across from a community college. Parking was in a few a of the college lots. It wasn’t enough.

After picking up NikeC nice and early in the morning, I decided to take the back way there. It’s the same rural highway I drive to work everyday, actually. I had mentioned it to ML the night before and she thought it would be slower, plus everyone seems to hate this highway. Not me! Halfway there, ML starts texting me about traffic and C is calling tell me that the left hand turn lane is backed up for literally miles. Another plus about the back way- I got to make a right hand turn onto campus with no traffic! Woo hoo!! We were directed to a lot where we parked. Then it was the walk to the actually event. If you add in the walk to and from the park, we probably did 5 miles overall that morning 🙂

The crowds were ridiculous. The highway patrol was out directing traffic so everyone could cross the highway safely. I had hoped that the majority of people would still need to check in and get packets but judging by the sea of white shirts in front me, most everyone picked up early. We finally tracked down C and her husband, from now on called C-Hub, R and T. We could not find ML and her crew. We were looking for them when we were just absorbed into the crowd and wound up at the starting line; which turned into a mini dance party and the first throwing of dye. Part of packet pickup included a packet of dye, which everyone opened and started to throw around.

That stuff is cold! I don’t know what I was expecting but it felt cold when it hit you. There was a countdown and we were off! Well kind of, even with a wave start it was crowded. There was never really a time when there wasn’t a crowd on the course. That was partially aided by the course being in a golf course, so we running the path. A very incline-y path at that. We did a lot of walking with some sprinting in between for the whole course. Let’s call it fartlek training! We lost R and T fairly quickly, so then it was just the four of us. The first dye station was pink and not too bad. Ran through it and continued on. The stations after that were more aggressive. One purple station was so cloudy, I couldn’t see the ground or my feet.

I love running with C and her husband. They crack me up, plus C-Hub has great drill sergeant moments. 🙂 Then we hit a blue station. They were hardcore! It seriously all went right down my bra, blech! It was starting to get a little sweaty too. About a mile in, I was also feeling pretty stinky. Which is weird because my mother insists that I don’t smell even after my half marathons. I mentioned it to NikeC and she felt the same way. Maybe it was something about the way the corn starch reacted with your skin? Who knows? All I know is that C mentioned it later too.

We kept trucking along, it really was great getting to run with everyone. I got in some sprinting while trying to run away for C Hub, he didn’t think there was enough dye in my hair yet. 🙂 Walking up a little hill we saw turkeys!!!! Don’t know why they were there but we had to try and get pictures of them. I had my phone in a plastic bag so please enjoy the filter de plastic 🙂 It works pretty well, just kind of blurry sometimes.

By the time we went through the later dye zones, I was walking like a mummy, hehe. My arms were at my sides, eyes closed and mouth squeezed shut. It was fun and all but I had kind of had enough corn starch. 🙂 The last pink station was so backed up that we came to a stop while waiting to get through it. C thought about skipping it, but C Hub wouldn’t let her.

There was one last color station after that and then we were running through a campground to get to the finish. It ended up being after a single track stretch of trail and a little wooden bridge. We also met back up with T and R right before the finish line. The finish line was seriously anticlimactic. We crossed the bridge and that was it. No one was cheering as you came across and people were just milling about. There was the color party going on in the middle of the field and some booths selling stuff to the right. That was kind of a bummer. 😦 NikeC and I stayed on the outskirts of the party while the others waded their way into the middle. They had the crowd pleasing moment of everyone throwing their remaining dye packs in the air. I tried to get a pic but was a little late-

Then it was photo time!!!

I texted ML, wondering where they were at on the course but they had already left 😦 We started the long trek back to the cars thinking about lunch. I couldn’t handle the blue boobs anymore so I took off my white tank. I was wearing tanks which might be why I was so warm but I took that white one off while we were walking and shoved it down my bra. So classy, right? But I felt so much better after that. The shirt actually worked pretty well at cleaning myself off as we walked back to the college. NikeC and I managed to get pretty clean by the time we made it to lunch. 🙂

It was around 10:30 when we were walking out and we could see about 1000 or more people still coming as well as a long line of cars still trying to park. The pre-race info has said that the last wave was at 11:00 so I hope all those people had the chance to run. I don’t think they were adequately prepared for the amount of people who signed up. Another beef- strollers. There were so many parents with the kids and babies in strollers going through the course. Not only was the path not that wide, did you really want your poor kid breathing all that in and getting it in their faces?

Lunch was awesome. We hit Firestone in SLO because they have outdoor seating. Yeah we were not the only people from Run or Dye to think of that. It was packed! The food was amazing though. We had to laugh because we notice that us girls all ordered burgers and both guys were eating giant salads. 🙂 Then we all headed home where we were met with the task of trying to get clean. It actually came out of my hair fairly easily which I had been worried about. It did not come off skin quite so easily. C and I texted each other later that our underarms still had a blue tinge no matter how hard we scrubbed.

Overall it was a good run. It needed to be in a bigger location and a little better organized but it was the chance to run with everyone that made it great. Would I do it again? Ask me again when I am sure that there’s no lingering dye anywhere. 🙂

April Recap

April was a busy month. Not just for me but most people I think. I mean taxes and Boston in the same month, right? Or in my case, the SLO Marathon weekend. So my month brought me this-

Miles- 70.4
Races-2 – Firehouse 5K & SLO 1/2 Marathon
Money spent- quite a bit
Toenails- 1 almost gone 🙂

I actually felt pretty good after Sunday’s race even with all the hills. I took Monday off, both from running and work, planning to return to both on Tuesday. Work went great on Tuesday and I was looking forward to my run. What I did not account for was the freak heat wave we have had lately. Even work town was friggin’ hot and it rarely gets above 70 there.

I went to the lake after work hoping for an easy 4 miles. I was warm, not hot but uncomfortably warm. It was 88º when I set out. I called it after 5K and just walked back to the car. I didn’t see a need to push it. It was a bummer because my legs felt good but I need to acclimate to the coming summer heat a little better.

For some reason, I thought Wednesday was Thursday all day long. Not cool. I had planned on running after work but for the first time ever, this Slacker forgot her running shoes. How does one even do that? I do have a spare pair in my car (and socks, shorts, shirt and sports bra) but it was hot again, so I decided on another rest day. I did just run 13.1 right? Sadly it meant that my monthly mileage stalled at 70.4 and I had really wanted to get to 75. But I am still on track for my yearly goal, so yay!

Thursday, well yeah. I felt like Thursday turned into a mayday, and not the fun dancing around the May pole kind. Work bordered on insane and the town was crazy. My original plan was to run 3-4 miles in work town before heading to SLO for packet pick up for tomorrow’s race. But there is a huge car show in town this weekend and people were pouring in so I just got the heck out of dodge. I was halfway to SLO when it occurred to me that I had lost $200.00. I could not remember what I had done with it but I did not have it. That was the final straw and I burst into tears while driving down the highway. 😦 Once I made it to packet pick up (Sports Authority), I was texting all of my co-workers in a panic. No one could remember seeing it. There was nothing more that I could do about it then, so I dried my eyes as best as I could and went to get the packets. I figured I would be in and out and hardly anyone would see me, so the red eyes wouldn’t be so bad.

Wrong. This pick up was for Run or Dye. The line was wrapped around the interior of the building. I was in line for over 30 minutes. Seriously?! I am still on the fence about this race as it is. Then when I was picking up my bib and for 4 friends, the Run or Dye staff told me 8000 people registered. I’m sorry what? How do you fit that many people in a smaller park and where do they all park? I was still super cranky so I think I may have given the poor guy the look of death at that news. Sorry!

I was still so frustrated that I was torn between getting a pizza on the way home and eating it all or trying to run it out. I chose the healthy choice and took the freeway exit to run town. I was running behind on time so I was thinking 2 laps of the lake would be good. Apparently there was some function at the pavilion because I had to circle around a few times and ended up parking on the backside of the lake. Which was weird but I jumped out, walked a quick warm up and then just ran. 2 miles later, time had run out but I was feeling a little better.

I am something of a clean freak about certain things, so I am really not sure how I will handle people throwing colored dye at me as we leisurely ramble through the course tomorrow. Plus, I am wearing a tutu. I had always promised C that we run a race in tutu’s. Why, I am not sure, I always feel awkward in costumes or outfits. I am still just getting used to running in shorts. But, I did buy a bright pink tutu and I will be rocking it tomorrow. Along with all black. 🙂 I’m picking NikeC up early so we can hopefully get a good parking spot. Then it is time for a Team Slacker meetup! On the upside, I think we have a group of 10 or more running tomorrow! Plus no pre-race jitters. 🙂

And the lost money? Found today, I have awesome co-workers. 🙂

How was your week?

Ever done a Run or Dye or Color Run? Any advice?

Good luck to anyone at Wildflower this weekend!

My First (real) Expo

I took a vacation day yesterday and it was nice. I slept in, met some friends for lunch and finally followed through on some errands. Who has time for the dry cleaners anyways? I spent most of yesterday pretty relaxed so I am not sure why I slept so crappy last night. 😦 Maybe the nerves were starting to kick in?

Lunch with the girls :) — Lunch with the girls 🙂

Once I finally managed to make myself move this morning, I got ready and headed for SLO. My mother and I were planning on lunch before heading to the expo. It was super yummy.

Carb loading right? That is a burger at the bottom corner

Parking was fairly quick and painless. From there it was just a short walk to the expo. While it may have been small by some it was the largest that I have been too. It also had the most vendor’s. The vendor’s were local shops and bakeries or other races.

Packet pick up was fairly easy, and then it was off to pick up my shirt. This was the only awkward bit, the shirts were being distributed on the other side of the tent, through the crowds of people shopping. It wasn’t a huge thing at all, just seemed awkward. The shirts varied by race. Full marathon shirts were an orange color and long sleeves. The half shirt was blue and long sleeved and the 5K was pink and short sleeved. All were technical shirts.

Really wanted to but it all... restrained myself to lower left corner — Really wanted to buy it all… restrained myself to lower left corner

Mom's favorite color — Mom’s favorite color

From there it was shopping time. I came prepared with money and plastic but didn’t really have anything I needed to buy. Famous last words. The trouble spots were the booths for LeftLane Sports and Left Coast Shirts. Leftlanesports.com is an online sports stores that offers things at pretty awesome discounts. Plus when I have ordered from them, the shipping was awesome fast. If you haven’t checked them out you should. I left that booth with a new pair of compression socks and arm sleeves. Left Coast put a serious dent in my pocket. Everything was just so cute! I could have spent much more. I picked up a shirt and sweatshirt for me and an early Mother’s Day gift for my mother. I actually left without buying myself the sweatshirt but ended up going back for it after the meet and greet.

After that all the shopping, there was still time before the scheduled meet up. So we headed to the car to leave everything there and get out of the wind a bit. This area has been having some freaky strong winds lately. My work town got up to 54 mph gusts the other day. Luckily the weather reports says that wind should be calm for the race tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

The meet and greet was great. I had the chance to meet most of the other ambassadors. It is a great group of people. We hung out and talked and met some other people. The SLO Marathon has a challenged athletes team. We also met a person who traveled all the way from Australia for the race and a former local who will be completing his 100th marathon at the race tomorrow. 100!!!! I won’t lie the jacket was pretty awesome too 🙂 The only thing that threw me was the interview. I’m horrible on tv! My voice sounds so funny. Even my mother remarked that it sounded odd after she played back what she had recorded as well.

We headed out after the meet and greet. We took some time to drive a portion of the course. Oh my, that’s a long slow climb right at the start. Mile 1-4 is all incline, maybe I should have just been surprised! It ends with a small downhill, so yay for that! I felt like we drove too far and looking at the map again tonight, we did. So woo hoo for that! Then it was time for a little carb loading before heading home.

My gear is all laid out for tomorrow and by bag is ready to go. The plan is to be dropped off about 1/4 mile from the start line. I thought about changing the planned outfit to match my new socks but chose to stick with the original.

And now it’s off to bed for me and hopefully better sleep than last night!!

How was your Saturday?

A Little Taper and SLO Strategy

For the first time, I think I am fully embracing taper week. Saturday’s race left me a little sorer than I thought I would be so taper has come at the perfect time. However that also means that the SLO Marathon-1/2 is only 4 days away. How did that happen?! Where has the time gone?

After resting on Sunday, I headed to the lake on Monday for an easy 4 miles. I completed 3.5 and they were not easy. I don’t remember being this sore after last years Firehouse 5K. I would have said that I was better trained this year but the calf tightness and overall soreness told me differently. Not cool. The first mile was rough, my legs were so not happy. Mile 2 was wonky but a little less awkward. Mile 3 involved a short walk- got a text message, it was the perfect excuse to walk a bit. 🙂 That mile actually felt the best by the end. 3.5 miles brought me back to the car and I figured it was best not to push it, so I called it and stretched before heading home.

On Tuesday, I managed to wear heeled boots all day. Sometimes I feel like heels help stretch my calves and ease them somewhat. You know what else helped? Foam roller and ice. It was a rest day from running but I did some yoga poses and stretches and spent some time with my roller. I also slept in a pair of compression socks. 🙂 And I wore a pair to work today (under my dress pants) with flats. Gotta change it up right?

Tonight I met my mom and the puppy at the lake path. She had heard me talk about it had never really seen it. It’s very dog friendly and I always thought the puppy would like it. She loved it- so much to see and smell- she was in doggy heaven. She was also very behaved. I walked a 1/2 mile warm up with them before running ahead. I felt a little lingering stiffness but was overall better. Since we were planning on doing dinner after, I figured the same 3 laps as Monday (3.5 miles) would be good. I finished up and saw them getting water at her car, so I turned off my Garmin. My mom decided the path was fun, so we ended up doing another lap of jogging/ walking. I hadn’t turned the Nike+ app off it so I let it gather mileage until 4.5 miles.

collage4-23 — Why is that visor so purple?!

Tomorrow will be another rest day, loving this taper right now, so I am heading into SLO to pick up a cake from the Madonna Inn. The Madonna Inn is also the finish line and expo location for the race. The cake is my thank you to my mom, since I have hired her as my driver all weekend. 🙂 I think that’s a promotion from race photographer to crew chief, right? I bought a bus ticket for the race on Sunday but I get antsy if I have lots of time to think. The plan is for her to drop me off as close to the start as possible. 🙂 This might mean a walk, but that’s just warming up right?

I am so excited for this race weekend to come. I’ve accepted that this is probably not going to be when I break 2 hours in a race. While the medication my doctor prescribed has helped me feel better in some ways, my system does not like it in other ways. 😦 My last dose will actually be Sunday evening. Ugh. My goal for the race is to hang out with the 2:00 pace group as long as possible. I was in front of them for 9 miles at City to the Sea, so maybe if I start slower, maybe I will get closer to the 2:00 mark. Fingers crossed!

In other news, I have vacation days coming up!!! Friday and Monday, I will be sleeping in!!!! Another thing to look forward to this weekend!!! The day off on Friday gives me time to contemplate the serious things. Like, what does one wear to a race expo where they are an Ambassador? No really, I mean it. I am looking forward to the expo, it will be the biggest one I have been to and I am excited to check everything out. I am also looking forward to meeting all of the other ambassadors.

Happy Hump day!!!

How has your week been going?

What’s the biggest expo you’ve been to?

Lies and squats

It’s Thursday!!!!! (By the time I post this it will be) 🙂

In keeping with the “get some rest’ theme, when work ran a little late on Monday, I kept my running gear in the bag and just headed home. Sorry Garmin. On Tuesday, 4 days off were making this Slacker feel a little lazy and a little puffy 😦 I went to the lake path for 3 easy miles. This runner lies. I either tell myself I am going to do an easy 3 and then do more or I tell myself that I am going to run and then don’t. This night, my easy 3 turned into 4.5 miles followed by a cool down walk. I did keep the pace relatively easy and took a walking break or 2. I felt a little sluggish but that’s too be expected after 4 days off. Plus I am still trying to work out the inhaler. I am supposed to use it before running but I noticed it takes an hour before I notice anything even slightly different. I need to remember to use it about a 1/2 hour before I leave work. It felt good just be running, though.

Oddly my left ankle felt a little cranky during the run. Which is leading me to think I forgot how to squat. I used to do squats every single day but when I was having left leg issues back in February I took a break. This past week, I was having an attack of vanity and noticed that my butt isn’t where it used to be (such a girl thing) so I started the daily squats again. Aaaannnd, my ankle hurts. Hmmm, think it’s related? Ha! So maybe no more squats until after next weeks half marathon. And I should probably try wearing shoes too. 🙂

Today, I had planned on running but a late doctor’s appointment and the almost 90º temp at my house after 5:00 put a kibosh on that one. Plus I had to get to Target before the pharmacy closed to pick up a prescription. My appointment today was a follow up to last weeks’. Apparently I have been a fighting a lingering infection for the last month or 2. Oops. So now I am on antibiotics. Which I will be on for both of my upcoming races. I am still cleared to run; I just might not be at my best. Which in one way completely sucks, but it has a glass half full side to it to. Thanks for taking the pressure off Doc!! And the nurse who took my blood last week was a sadist! This is my arm a week later-

My race this Saturday was never going to be a PR anyways. When I ran this race last year, it was advertised as the toughest 5K in the county. Which I chalked up to hype. It was supposed to be part road and part trail and I figured I had run both types before, and knew the town as being flat, so how hard could it be? I even talked my friend, Bix, into running with me. We stayed together for about 1/4 mile before she told me to just run, that she was going to take it easy. The first 1/2 mile was flat and on the street, so no surprises. Hit the trail and still mostly flat, and then… what the frak? Where the hell did the freakin’ mountain come from! I now know that we gained 500 feet in about a 1/2 mile. And the only reason it was even a 1/2 mile is because it was all switchbacks. My first thought was- Bix is going to kill me, second thought- breathe! My first 2 miles were in the 12:00 range, mile 3 (downhill and flat) was in the 9:00’s. Finish time 33:31. My only goal for this race this year is to be better prepared and maybe finish a minute or so sooner. And have fun. 🙂

Last year- post race. This picture makes me laugh

With the temperature’s steadily rising here, I need to get used to running in the heat again. How is the weather in your neck of the woods?

How has your week gone so far? Everyone get their taxes done?

Anyone else been totally surprised by a race’s course?