Ragnar: Hot Cops

Here is my team at 7:30 am on Friday.  We were just about to start our first runner and it was freezing!  Literally.  30 degrees.

I thought this was great.  I'd say we were ragnasty by the time the race was over.

All geared up for my first leg--8.5 miles averaging 8:30 miles.  Since I didn't really train I didn't set time goals so I was happy with that pace.  My only goal for this race was to finish my legs, which I did!  This leg had hills and I realized that if run this race again I will have to train for hills--they are hard!  (That's a big IF!)

Getting the "baton" for the first exchange.  It was a slap bracelet.  

Action shot

Water break minus the break.

Here's kinda how the race goes.  2 vans with 6 girls each.  The runners in van 1 run their first legs first. Then the runners in van 2 run their first legs.  While your van isn't running, you can eat or sleep.  Sleeping is hard to do.  After my van ran our first legs it was van 2's turn to run their second legs, and so on.  

Here we are at about 2:00 am.  Van 1 just finished their second legs and van 2, my van, was just about to start our second legs.  My van had gotten dinner and slept while van 1 ran their second legs.  We got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep that night before we were up to run again.  That was not the fun part of the experience.  

While my van's first runner ran her 2nd leg, we got word that one of the runners had been hit by a car and killed.  Everyone couldn't believe it.  We were so sad for him and his family.  We were confused as to what they were going to do about the race.  They had everyone stop where they were and wait while they decided. After 2 hours of waiting we were told they were going to continue the race, but not where everyone left off.  We were to go to the exchange to start van 1's third legs.  This meant that all but the first runner in my van (since she finished hers right after we got this news) weren't going to run our second legs.  I'll admit, I was relieved when I realized I wouldn't be running my leg in the dark!  I was totally scared of that.  But, I was bummed I wouldn't be running three legs.  Some of the girls in van 1 were sick and couldn't run so those of us who had to skip our second legs picked up their third legs.  So, instead of my 6.5 mile night run in the dark, I split a 4.2 mile uphill run and ran 2.2 miles of that.  

We did find out later that the runner who was hit did not die.  He was alive, but in the ICU.

Here I am running my last leg (3.4 miles) down in the valley.  Devin got to see me on this leg.  He was so sweet.  He was really looking forward to going to a gun show that day, but he came to watch me finish instead.  He kept driving past me and whistling at me and cheering me on.  

Coming in on my last leg!  I was glad to be done!  My knees were really hurting by then.

It was a fun experience and I'm glad I did it.  I don't anticipate doing it again because running in the dark is pretty much terrifying for me.  But, if I do, it would only be with girls that I know because with all the down time, it would have been much more fun with friends.  There were 3 other girls who didn't know the group so luckily we had each other.  

There were 350 teams.  These are some of my favorite team names:

"Haulin Asphalt"

"Scrambled Legs & Achin'"

"Gently Rolling Hills My A$$..."

"Knights of the Buffet Table"

"Ragnar, huh...welp, see ya later."

"6 Sweaty Chicks & Their Disco Sticks"  (I'm assuming this was a team made up of couples.)

"Bros and Hose"  (This was a team of firefighters we cheered for because we saw them a lot and were keeping pace with them.)

"9 Dudes and 6 Boobs"

"Hot and Sweaty Cact-Asses"

"High Speed Fartleks"  (Fartleks are a running training drill.)

"My Third Leg is the Hardest"

Marathon Day

I bet anyone who reads my blog is thinking something like, "Geez, all Ruthann has posted about lately is her marathon/running/training/the gym and now that the race actually happened, she hasn't even posted about it!"  (Like anyone really cares, but I like to believe people do.)

So if anyone is still interested, here is how race day went down...

Here we are right before the race started.  It was SO cold!  In my marathon training book, it suggested wearing a big plastic trash bag to stay warm before the race.  That way, it's easy to toss and not be sad about lost clothing.  I told Devin I wanted to do it and he laughed at me and acted like it was a dumb idea that no one would do...so I didn't do it.  There were lots of people using the trash bag!  Next time, I'm totally doing it.  Oh, except there will NOT be a next time! I don't ever want to run another marathon in my life.  I'll definitely do some more halves, but running 26.2 miles at once is just madness!

Here I am at mile 12.

And here I am rounding the corner to head to the finish line...

Al...most...there...........

Yea!!!  I'm done!

Two of the three of my favorite boys in the whole world.

Here we are after the race in our complimentary plastic blankets.  They were so warm!  When your body stops running after it has been going for so long, it gets cold really quickly so these blankets were very helpful.

My mom, dad, Devin, and me

Here are my boys in the shirts I decorated for them to wear (and Jaxon in his Spiderman mask).

They say "My Mom Runs 26.2" and my number 6745.

Here's Devin in the shirt he made.  It says "I think my wife's secret identity is Wonder Woman.  Here's the proof:  she's hot, sexy, nice legs, oh yeah, and 26.2 miles."  He's very creative, huh?  :)

My sister-in-law, Elisha's sign said, "You go girl!" with a pair of cute Nike shoes she drew.

My sister-in-law, Reina's sign said, "6945 Ruthann is gonna stay alive!"

My mother-in-law's sign said, "Ruthann's got the jive 6945"

So there are the pictures from the day.  Now, the story...

About the last 2 weeks of training I started getting really nervous.  I was mostly nervous about not performing as well as I wanted to (not getting a fast enough time).  Then, a few days before the race I realized that it didn't matter what my time was and that by making a big deal about my time I was sucking the fun out of it.  So, I told myself the race was just another run and I really started to look forward to it.  By the day before the race I wasn't nervous at all.  I was pretty calm when I thought about it.  My heart didn't start pounding when I would think about the race anymore.  That was a good sign.

Race day eve we spent the night at Devin's parents so we wouldn't have to wake up so early to drive to get there in time.  That was a great idea and I'm very glad we did it.  We went to the expo that night to pick up our numbers.  There were some bumper stickers and shirts that said, "If found on the ground, please drag across the finish line" and "My sport is your sport's punishment."  I liked those.  Oh, and "Toenails are overrated" and "I know I run like a girl.  Try to keep up."  I like the toenail one because during this training I lost a total of 4 toenails, one of them twice.  (All little toes.  My big toes are fine.)

On race day, my mom and I got to the start line with some time to spare.  We stretched, but mostly just huddled by the light generator to keep warm.  We got excited as the time got closer and we filed into our corrals.

As we started, we ran behind a girl whose heels never touched the ground.  Can you imagine running like that?  On your toes the whole time?  Try it.  I did and almost fell.  I don't know how she does it and I wonder if she made it the whole way...

We also ran behind a girl with a shirt that said, "In memory of my mother."  I almost started bawling because I felt to lucky to be running the race with my mom.  My mom is amazing!

At about mile 2 we stopped for a potty break.  We stopped at some porta potties that didn't have a line to make it as quick as possible.  About mile 3 we shed our pants (we had shorts underneath).  The volunteers were gathering the dropped clothing and donating it to the homeless.  I'm glad our "lost" clothes weren't lost after all.

At about mile 4 I started running on my own.  I enjoy running with my mom, but my pace is a little faster so I went ahead.

I started looking for Devin with the kids at about mile 10.  He said he's be somewhere around the half way point.  I finally saw him, along with Jaxon, Henry, my dad, and my mother-in-law at mile 12.  I gave them my gloves and coat.  Seeing them really gave me a boost!

About a mile later, my hands got really cold and were cold for a while.  I wished I hadn't given up my gloves so soon.

I thought about a lot of things while running.  Mostly, my husband and kids.  They are so great and I just love them so much.  (Running endorphins make me a little over-the-top-thankful sometimes.  If you ever feel down, start an exercise program.  It'll do great things for your overall happiness!)  I liked seeing all the spectators.  They were all so nice and smiling and cheering for everyone.  I pretended their that said, "Go Mom" were for me.  And I loved the sign that said, "Go everyone!"  How nice is that?  They are cheering everyone on!

Miles 15-18 were rough.  I stopped again for a potty break at about mile 18 and felt a little better.  I felt good for a while until about mile 22.  Then, I wanted to die!  From that point on until the end, I literally kept telling myself over and over, "Just keep going. Just keep going.  Just keep going."  One thing that kept me going was the fact that I hadn't walked yet so I didn't want to break that streak now.

There were times during the race when I knew I had slowed my pace down, but I just couldn't speed up at that moment.  I feel like I really did the best I could and gave it my all.  I have never been so exhausted at the end of a run.

I started by the 4:30 pacer, but caught up and passed the 4:00 pacer.  Before I started the race I thought a realistic goal was about 4:30.  I thought 4:00 would be great, but probably impossible.  Then, when I caught the 4:00 pacer, I decided that was my goal and I needed to make sure I was ahead of him at all times.  A few times he got close, but I was not going to let him pass, so I sped up.  I'm glad I pushed myself to do something I didn't think I could do.  Because you know what?  I DID IT!

Overall, I loved this experience and don't regret it for a second.  The training and race were a lot of fun.  All of it required sacrifice--from me and from Devin and my boys.  I am thankful for their support.  And my fabulous Oma who watched my boys for most of my long Saturday runs.

Though it was an incredible experience, I do not want to do it again!  Once was enough for me.  I will do more half marathons, but I am happy with my performance and do not feel like I need to do it again...though I was only 17 minutes past the time to qualify for Boston...

AND...Special thanks for all the thoughtful texts, calls, e-mails, and treats from all my sweet friends!  It all meant a lot! :)

Oh, and I saw Debbie Downer before the race started and wished her good luck.  Devin saw her at the Y and she said she ran a 4:15.

hehe

Bib 6745

Chip Time 3:57:10

Overall 1777

Women 524

Division 58

Age Grade 57.1%

"Age Graded" results are calculated using tables developed by the World Association of Veteran Athletes.  

100% - Approximate World-Record Level

Over 90% - World Class

Over 80% - National Class

Over 70% - Regional Class

Over 60% - Local Class

The Results Are In...

At the half marathon I ran 13.1 miles in 1:44:58. That averages out 8:01 a mile.

I came in 43rd out of 269 runners. I was the 12th female runner and 4th in my age bracket.

I'm pretty proud of myself! I hoped to make it under 2 hours, so I was very surprised and excited to see my time as I crossed the finish line.

It rained on us for a little bit. As the rain washed down my face it tasted salty. I don't think I've every prayed so hard for it to NOT rain than I did then. My hip also started hurting before the half way point. It's an old injury I first got my junior year. I'll be taking Glucosamine from now on.

Devin was there with Jaxon and Henry. They were so cute in the stroller all confused about why mommy was running like a crazy person. My Aunt Alisa and Uncle Danny and their 3 little ones were there for the whole race moving from spot to spot to cheer for me. They were even out there in the rain. It really meant a lot to me and I almost bawled every time I saw them. My grandpa lives near the course so he rode his bike and caught me once along my run to cheer me on. That almost made me burst into tears too! But each time I saw one of them, it made me run harder and do better.

I am excited for the marathon. It's hard to imagine running twice as far as I just did without stopping. But, when I started the training I never thought I could run 13 without stopping so it just takes time to build up to.

The results website also had this info:
4 Mile 32:03
10 Mile 1:19:15

Tri it! You might like it!

This weekend was the 1st Annual San Tan Triathlon! I loved it! Well, parts of it:) Like, the swimming, running, and finishing part, but not so much the biking part. Originally I wasn't going to participate because of my marathon training (and the fact that I didn't even know how to swim, nor did I own I bike), but I decided, what the heck? It could be fun! It was and I'm SO glad I did it!

There were 27 participants. The winner had a time of 1:13:45. I came in 9th overall, 4th out of the 13 women, with a time of 1:35:30.

I am really proud of myself! Swimming and biking were both things I had never done before, so to learn how and practice then see improvement was exciting! The improvement was mostly on the swimming part. The 400 meter swim took me over 10 minutes the first time. On race day, I swam in 8:26. It's 2 seconds slower than my best, but I had to stop once for a few seconds because Jaxon was about to jump in after me!

I was so much fun to race again. I haven't competed in 5 years (since high school). The night before I couldn't go to sleep! I think if it had been running only I might not have been so nervous, but since I've never competed in swimming and biking, especially at the same time, I didn't know exactly what to expect. Once I got there and it was about to start, my nerves calmed down and I wasn't so worried.

The transition from swimming to biking wasn't too bad. I didn't towel off much, but it didn't take long to dry. I took a few extra minutes getting my iPod on, but I wanted to have the music. My legs were pretty tired on the bike and it was SO windy I felt like I wasn't going anywhere! Oh it took forever to bike those 11 miles! That was the hardest part--biking in strong winds. There were times where I was actually talking out loud to myself to pick it up. I had a chocolate GU packet stashed in my bra that I gulped down during those hard moments. That helped.

The transition from biking to running, now that was tough. My legs wanted to quit, but I wouldn't let them. After a few minutes, I was able to get into my pace I was enjoying myself. It was a little warmer than I'd like, but not bad. I love running. I really do.

Oh, a few times I actually had to turn around because I realized I had gone the wrong way! That was a bummer since I lost time.

My sweet husband and kids were there to support me. My brother came from school to see me finish and my mom, who had worked from 3:00 pm to 1:00 am the previous day was there before it started to help me get set up and plan my transitions. My dad had to work, or I know he would have been there to support me too. Devin, the boys, and my mom drove along the way and cheered me on at certain points. That was helpful and so sweet. I have an awesome family and I'm so thankful they were there. It really meant a lot.

My number 1 fan

About to start...

I was in the first lane so he was able to run along side me. It was so cute!

On the bike

Just dropped the bike and off to run. Notice the wet spot...I didn't pee. It's from my seat where my shorts didn't dry.

Right after I finished

Rehydrating

Jaxon playing with my iPod

Henry being supportive

My brother and mom

Not all, but most of the group