Nikki ROCKS And A Half-Marathon PR Is How I ROLL

What an awesome weekend of running and running friends!

Saturday afternoon we drove out to Reading to meet up with the Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club for their annual family picnic.  GREAT food (they even had a fish sandwich for the veggie freaks like me) and even better company!

Hanging with our Pagoda Pacer friends.

Hsin-Hua had a great time running around with all the big kids, and was even willing to share her Barbies so they would play with her!  At races and running functions there is never a shortage of sweet and creative kids who entertain themselves in the great outdoors while their lunatic parents run 8-12 hour ultras!  Hsin is no exception, and she always seems to come alive at a race and is energized by the atmosphere.  Future runner and ultra runner?  Boy do this Mommy and Daddy hope so.  We never say "we want Hsin to be a runner".  That is too much pressure.  We say "we want Hsin to WANT to be a runner".  It really is up to her, but it sure would make us happy :-)

Hsin hanging with the big girls

Sassy Hsin-Hua and Mommy at the Pacers Picnic

Unfortunately we had to leave just as the party was really getting started.  It was an hour and a half drive home to meet Hsin's babysitter and head downtown to our hotel.  We had secured ourselves a room at the hotel that literally overlooks the start/finish for the ROCK N ROLL Philly Half.   While the price and the location couldn't be beat...the hotel itself was FREAKY!  It felt a little like the Shining.  The hallways were dim and had strange twists and turns and the whole hotel looked like it hadn't been updated since the 60's or 70's.  Weird or not, I would stay there again in a heartbeat for any of the Philly Marathons or Half Marathons.  2 minute walk to the start.

After a fitful night's sleep we met up with Kelly and Jo and Nikki who were also running the race.  While this was just another race to some of us, it was Nikki's FIRST!!!  BIG FREAKING DEAL!  I don't think I will ever forget the feeling I had during the final mile of my first half marathon.  The emotion and sense of accomplishment was overwhelming!

We all fought our way to our corrals.  Funny moment for the "slow as sh*t" runner married to the "wicked fast" runner.  Paul was in corral #1 based on his estimated finish time.  I was in corral #17.  If it wasn't so funny it would be kinda sad :-) 

Nikki pushed me to run harder than my comfort zone, which was a good thing.  My goal was to hang with her and her adreneline for as long as I possibly could.  I wanted more than anything to cross the finish line of her first half marathon with her, but in reality, I knew there was a good chance that wouldn't happen.  I hung strong for almost 9 miles.  We were running 10 minute miles almost exactly, and this is about 1 minute, 37 seconds per mile faster than my personal record.  I knew at this rate even if I lost her at some point, she would run a kick a** time and I would set a PR.  So a few feet before mile 9, we popped in our earphones, and Nikki took off.  My legs just couldn't keep up.  I kept running strong and pushed to run at my max until the finish. 

Crossing the finish line I was mixed with emotion.  Pride for Nikki who ROCKED her first half marathon with a final finish time of 2:18, and pride for myself for having set a PR almost 5 minutes better than my previous with a final finish time of 2:25.  I knew that for this race, neither Nikki nor I had left anything of ourselves back on the course.  We gave this race every ounce of strength, guts, determination and speed that our bodies had in them.  The sore feeling of a race well run is a feeling like no other.  HUGS Nikki!  I am so freaking proud of you!

After our race we all met back up for lunch, a few beers and a lot of laughs. 

Paul ran a great race!  After an adventure run through the Wissahickon River on Friday night and his winning 100K 2 weeks ago, Pauly did not set a PR, but ran a kick a** race anyway.  It is an honor to be married to this wickedly cool (and good looking I might add) guy!! 

Kelly ran a PR and even after running a great time at a trail 20 miler just the day before!  Congrats!

Jo ran an awesome race, and even through she started 2 corrals behind me, she beat me by 5 minutes :-)  Congrats Jo.  We need to get you ready for your marathon and ultra next!!!

Stephanie ran with a girlfriend for her first half and they rocked an awesome time of 2:06.  Steph and I will be running the Sloppy Cuckoo Trail Half next weekend as well!!!

Memorable race.  Great time.  Awesome friends.

What more could a Runner Girl ask for.

 Nikki, Jo, Me, Pauly, Kelly - 5 of the most kick a** runners I know :-) and ready for some BEER!

* and a HUGE congrats to our friend Derek who finished 3rd overall in the Pines to Palm 100 mile trail race this weekend.  Absolutely amazing...but not at all surprising if you now Derek and the amazing runner he is!!!

OK...Now THAT Was F*cking Cool!!!

This exact weekend last year I ran my first, and what I thought would be my only half marathon.  I wanted the sense of accomplishment and the medal for doing a half marathon, and then I thought that would be enough.  Then I did 2 more within 2 months.  Then I did a few trail runs and fell HARD in love with trail running.  Then I decided to train for a full marathon.

THEN...1 year after that first half marathon...I RAN A F*CKING 50K!!!  That is 31 miles for those of you who are "K" challenged.

HOLY SH*T!

So here is how the day unfolded.

Paul and I arrived at the Hampton Inn the night before, laid out all our stuff and got a good nights sleep.  Up bright and early at 4am to shower, get dressed, fill the coolers at the hotel ice machine and head over to set up camp for the day.  As early as 4am I was already getting my inspirational text messages from Kelly (http://www.slippingslowlyintopain.blogspot.com/).

We arrived at the Leiderkrantz at 5:15am and we were the first to set up camp.  Our tent was literally steps away from the turnaround/start/finish.  PERFECT!!!  By about 6am there were about 12 of us all packed into our tent and we actually set up a second tent just for the gear!  The group of people that running has brought into our life is hard to describe in words.  They are amazing, inspirational, strong, supportive, funny and just plain cool.  If I didn't love running so much, I would keep it as a hobby just for the friends it has made for Pauly and me.  Everyone was pumped up, ready for a long, hard but awesome day.  There were a bunch of us that were there to set personal records and run our first Ultra.  How cool to share that experience with the other awesome runners in my life.

7:30ish I found myself at the start line, ready to blow some minds in my running skirt.  I had no idea what the next hours would hold for me.  Ron, the awesomely hysterical race director from http://www.pretzelcitysports.com/ told us the course was a mess from Irene, so all I thought was "hey, I got that going for me".  I kissed the hubby, gave a high five to Mr. Schultz (also running his first 50k) and we were off!

Not 1/4 mile in, and I already had to pee.  That seems to be happening  more and more these days.  Well, I was told that it didn't really count as an "ultra" if I didn't go in the woods, so at least I was getting that little detail out of the way early on.  So I lost most of the crowd while I tinkled on the poison ivy, and settled into my own rhythm and pace.

At about the 2 mile point of the first 5 mile loop I ended up running with friend Dan.  He and his partner Anh (an accomplished runner, swimmer and tri-athlete) are familiar and friendly faces at many races!  Dan was nursing a sore knee, so didn't mind hanging with a slow chick like me for a while.  He kept me company and running a solid time for the rest of that loop and a portion of the next 5 mile loop.  Dan rocked out 10 miles that day, and Anh did 30 miles to claim their relay team a 40 mile total finish!  Thanks for the company Dan!  I'll run with you anytime!

I felt great after the first 10 miles!  A third done, half a pbj sandwich and I was ready for the next 10.  These miles were aided by my friend i-Pod.  Paul lapped me on this loop, no surprise...he is wicked fast...and he spared me the great big "slap on the a**" he had been promising for days.  Hey babe, thanks for opting to just call me "crazy lady in the running skirt".  Love you like a fat kid loves cake.

15 miles down, some pasta salad, and propping my legs up  for a few minutes and I felt AWESOME heading out to hit 20 miles.  I couldn't believe how good I felt!  It was like I'd only run 10 miles or less.  All I kept thinking was "I got this".

Along the next few loops I saw a few other runner friends.  Lou who was using this race as a training run for his first 100 miler in a few weeks.  GO LOU!  And his awesome wife Heather (training for her first triathalon) and their two cool kids were at the turnaround.

I also saw Rob, who we met at the North Face Endurance Challenge in DC where Rob ran a 50k.  At Labor Pains he crushed that distance clocking 45 awesome miles!!!  Next one is 50 miles friend1!!  I also had the pleasure of seeing Rob's wife Steph (an awesome half marathoner) and their 2 adorable boys at the turnaround.

So I finished 25 miles, my longest ever and knew this next loop would get me the title of marathoner!  Holy Sh*t!  I was tired, but could taste the marathon and then the ultra!

Kelly offered to run the last 5 mile loop and then the additional 1 mile with me (super fast guy had already finished his 50K AND had a beer...or two).  I opted to do the 5 miles alone with my thoughts and emotions, but agered I wanted him with me that final mile and at the finish!

As luck would have it, guess who lapped me RIGHT as I was approaching the marathon marker???  My Pauly P.  My one true love, my best friend and my biggest inspiration and biggest fan!  He stayed with me until the marathon marker, gave me a huge hug and told me how proud he was!  That was awesome!  He also told me he was currently in 5th place overall, so I promtly told him to get his a** moving, to "runny fast" and to win a damn Pretzel City Sports award.  So off his tiny hiney went, racing through the woods.

The remainder of that loop from 25-30 miles was emotional and painful.  There were moments I teared up with emotion about what I was doing!!!  I never thought I'd run a 5k 2 years ago, and here I was with a f*cking 50K around the corner.  Then there were moments, especially in the second half of that loop where I was crying from the pain.  I had at least 8 blisters that were throbbing, 2 toenails that were jet black and falling off BEFORE this race and my legs felt like I had been hit by a car.  The pain was excrutiating.  Weird though, it hurt less when I was running and walking hurt the worst.  All that kept crossing my mind was "if it wasn't this damn hard, everyone would do it".

As I approached the turnaround I knew there was 1 mile left to make me an Ultra-Marathoner!!!  Just 1 stinkin mile!  I saw Kelly at the turnaround ready to go.  It was awesome to see him and all our runner friends (that weren't out on the course) cheering and SO excited for me to reach this milestone!  Words can't describe it...it was f*cking amazing!

So Kelly and I headed out.  The half mile out was mostly uphill so we walked a bit.  Once we hit the woods, Kelly said he could smell the 50K turnaround.  I could too and my legs just got their groove back.  I don't know where the energy came from but I felt like I hadn't just run 30 freaking miles.  I smacked that sign, about-faced and ran out of those woods like my hair was on fire.  We had 7 minutes to break 9 hours, and I told Kelly we were gonna do it.  He said ok, and talked me right through that last 1/2 mile.  Kelly was an awesome coach for that final stretch, and not only couldn't I have done it without him, but I wouldn't have wanted to.  I won't ever be able to express how much that meant to me...to have a friend, and kicka** ultra runner run me through the finish line of my first ultra...priceless.

We entered the parking lot and the finish was in sight!  My legs and adrenaline took over and I felt like I was f*cking flying.  I can't describe how AWESOME that felt!

50K

I did it!!

I'm an Ultra Runner

I did this for me.  For the personal satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment...but...

if you are reading this, don't EVER think you can't do something.  If you put your mind to it, and work hard for it, you can do amazing and seemingly impossible things.

Nobody can say you "can't" other than you.

Go out there and turn "I can't" into "I DID!"

******************

Here are some pics from one of my loops.  If they are blurry its because I took them WHILE running.

Some sweet guy who's house we ran by left out this hose with a sign that said 'hose yourself off".  It was very hot and humid!

Single track shortly after entering the woods.

Bridge over a creek.

Loop around a lake/pond.

Water fall.

Trail along the pond.

You can see this is a steep uphill by the person up at the top in the red shirt.

Another rocky uphill.

This picture says "marathon finish line".  When I took this...I had officially ran 26.2 miles and joined the 1% of the population who has run this distance!

Mr. Schultz, JC and I...all Ultra runners as of this moment!!! (My eyes aren't facing the camera, they are facing the finish line...I was anticipating Pauly any minute).

Pauly approaching the finish line...only little did we know, he wasn't done yet.

And this is where Paul threw his water bottles at me and yelled to Ron "I'm going out for the 100k" and then like a streak of lightning, he was gone with 37 minutes to hit the 100K turnaround and make it back!

And he did it!  3rd overall, and 1st male under 40!!!  1 of only 3 guys in the whole race to hit 100K.  Freaking amazing.  I am SO proud to be this dude's wife!

And he won that award I told him to go get!!!

Freaking amazing!

Awesome running day for the Peters family!

Now we just need to get Hsin trained for her first 5k :-)

Reviews

So these aren't official product reviews or anything...at least no one gave me free sh*t to do them, and I got no money.  I just thought I would share what "stuff" this Damn Slow Runner likes.

Starting from the bottom of the bod and working my way up...

Shoes
I have run in Saucony, Nike, Newtons, Brooks and New Balance.
LOVE  the Saucony Kinvara!  I am currently training in these about 50% of the time, and I am pretty sure I will run the road marathon in them.  I also bought them in black to help ease me into the whole "running skirt" drama.  I wear black compressions socks (I will rate them next) and the black sneaks blend right in.
LOVE the Saucony Fast Twitch.  These are my short distance racing shoes, but I also wore them for a few short trail runs before I got trail shoes.  They are super light weight and the ones I have are in a really wicked lime green that is totally kick a**.  Sometimes I even wear these sneaks for fun.
LIKED the Saucony Xodus.  Last years was black and had hot pink accents.  With my leg swelling issues, they were a little too heavy.  I keep meaning to sell them on ebay or something. 
LIKED the Saucony ProGrid Guide.  They are the Stability sneaker.  When I was a little heavier I think I pronated a little more, and these were recommended as good shoes.  They did end my knee pain and for a while they were my "go to" training shoe.  I wore 4 pairs of them over time.  The reason they aren't in the LOVE category is simply that they are too heavy.  Given my leg condition, I need to give my already heavy legs any break I can, and every ounce counts.  If you don't have that issue, and need a stability shoe...they are great.
LIKED the Brooks Unisex Racer.  I had the white ones with the red and black accents, but TOTALLY should have gotten the white with canary yellow.  What the he** was I thinking, they were SO fun.  Anyway.  When I was still needing a stability shoe, I wanted something a little lighter for longer distance races.  My Fast Twitches were a little too light on stability for a half marathon, so I tried the Racers since they offered more support but were still pretty light.  I found them to be super comfy, and I ran 3 half marathons in them, and trained a bunch of long runs of 8-12 miles in them.  Other than the fact that they were Unisex and therefore really boring, they were good sneaks.  They are in the LIKE category because now that I have a lightweight shoe for training and racing, I don't really need them.  Plus the white upper makes for a dirty shoe all the time.  I have OCD people...it makes me a little nutty.
HATE Nike sneaks of all kinds.  They hurt my feet, don't offer enough support, they are weird shapes, cause blisters in weird places, they discontinue shoes every 5 seconds and generally they just get on my nerves.
LOVE New Balance Minimus.  These come in black so they fit in with the whole "blend with the knee sock thing".  LOVE LOVE LOVE them.  They are wicked comfy, cause NO blisters even after over 3 hours of running in the rain and through mud puddles.  I have run short trail runs, a trail half marathon, and a few short distance road training runs to break them in.  The hubby just bought himself a pair too.  They actually fit orthotics.  He has been coveting mine since I got them :-)  They are minimilist though, so you feel the rocks under your feet so it forces you to step lightly.  It all depends on if you like this.  I love it.
LIKE Newton Distancia.  The husband SWORE by these.  He ran in nothing but Newton's for almost all of 2011 and the latter part of 2010 I think.  He felt like they made him faster and a mid-foot striker.  So I tried them.  The result...I like them.  I don't like to wear them every day...the thing on the bottom of the mid foot is a little weird.  I have never run farther than about 8 miles in them, and don't think I would like to.  They were also VERY pricey.  I train in them and work them into the rotation with my Kinvara's.  I feel like they give my calves a workout and that doesn't suck...I just don't want it everyday.  They are a screaming hot pink which is fun.

OK...I think that is all my sneakers.

Moving up.
Socks
So I have to wear compression socks.  That isn't an option.  So here are my thoughts on the few I have worn.
LIKE VITALSOCKS.  These were the first ones I bought at the Pittsburgh marathon expo.  I had never run in compression socks before and wanted to give them a shot.  I had also never run a 5k faster than 38 minutes, so I wanted to see what they did for me.  Well...they made my legs not hurt and throb so bad, and they allowed me to get my 5k time down to 29 minutes in a few months with no additional training.  The only reason they are a LIKE is that I found something better.  Honestly if you want compression just for recovery purposes, these are probably fine.  I have a medical issue that requires additional pressure which is the only reason they aren't good enough.
LOVE CEP.  Bought my first pair of these at the Philadelphia marathon expo.  Since I only had 2 pairs of the VitalSocks and had to keep washing and drying them (compression socks are freaking expensive) I finally was breaking down and buying more.  VitalSocks wasn't at the expo, and CEP said that the compression on theirs was even tighter and therefore better.  So I bought 2 pairs.  Instantly felt even better in these and was washing these 2 pairs over and over because I no longer wanted to wear my VitalSocks.  I just bought 4 more pairs (holy sh*t was that expensive) so I don't have to keep washing them in the sink and hanging them to dry.
I have been told now that I need to get hot pink ones, and have also been told that I should get white ones, a plaid running skirt and wear just a sports bra so I can be the Brittany Spears of the running world.  If I look like "Slutty Runner Girl", noone will notice my wide legs!!!  (Hsin-Hua is obsessed with "helping", so she LOVES to help me grunt and groan while I struggle to get these suckers on.  She says "here Mommy, I help you" and grunts and groans with me.  They are SO tight they are really hard to get on).

Speaking of legs...on up to "The Skirt".  So I just jumped off the deep end into showing my legs in public and I have opted for the skirt over shorts.  Shorts tend to ride up and chafe on a girl with thicker thighs.  Just saying.  So here are the ones I have worn.  I am also going to throw in my favorite pants since I wore a lot of those...I'll spare you the ones I didn't like.

LOVED ADIDAS pants.  I ran in a lot of different pants through 20 degree weather, rain and 100 degree weather.  I'm pretty sure that noone else has tested a pants comfort level for running quite like I have.  Adidas duodry type pants were the best.  They had a wide but not baggy leg, drawstring waist (why would anyone want pants without the ability to adjust the size) and long enough but not too long legs.
LIKE ATHLETA running skirts.  I bought one that has little pleats on the side, and has pink accents.  Super cute.  It is longer so has coverage, but it feels a little big despite the fact it fits.  I can't explain.  It is fine for training runs, but I probably wouldn't wear it for a race (watch me wear it this weekend).
LOVE Nike Pacer running skirt.  It has a full split on the side for extra mobility, but it overlaps pretty far for full coverage.  It fits secure without feeling tight, restrictive or too small.  It breaths really well, has the little bike shorts underneath for extra coverage and to help with chafing.  I think it looks cute and "athletic".  I just bought 2 more to round out the running clothes drawer.  I'm pretty sure this is becoming my "go to" skirt.  I guess I need to see if they have it in plaid though :-)

Shirts.  I need to throw out a lot of my shirts because the long sleeved ones have lived through 3 seasons and the armpits are pee yellow.  The tank tops and short sleeved shirts from last year are too big since I was WAY fatter then.  So I get to go out now and buy more of the ones I like and chuck the ones I have decided I don't like.  Or I could chuck all of them and be "that girl" who runs in  nothing but a sports bra.  Hey, I may have wide legs...but I do have a pretty kick a** stomach!  One of the upsides to adopting a kid is no stretch marks :-)

DO NOT LIKE Under Armour regular stuff.  It says it is moisture wicking, but I don't believe them.  These are also the shirts that turned yellow in the armpits like I peed on them, but none of my other shirts have done that...so NO it isn't that I sweat pee.  Good thing these shirts are too big on my anyway...time to toss them and start over.
LOVE Nike long sleeve lightweight shirts.  Wicking material is good and I feel like they are well ventilated.  I do sweat a bit, so that is a good thing.
LOVE Ink N Burn stuff.  I am a bit bummed they don't have long sleeved stuff (they do have short sleeves and then the arm sleeves...but I'm not really a fan of that look).  I have 2 tank tops of theirs and here is what I love about them.  First, they are cool.  One is gray with  orange Koi swimming around on it, and the other is light blue with cherry blossoms.  They also have actual crew necks vs the highly annoying scoop necks that most women's shirts have....I HATE those.
LOVE Champion stuff.  I have gotten it at the Champion outlet for pennies, and they also sell it at Target.  For the money, the quality is really good, and the stuff is cute.  I just bought an awesome white windbreaker with reflective stuff all over it at the outlet for like $16.  Can't beat that.  No it doesn't have the cool "name" on it like North Face, or whatever...but it works...so deal with it.
LOVE North Face.  To be honest though, I only have 1 running shirt from them and it is a really thick winter wear one that has the "loop over your thumb" feature.  I wore this shirt to run all my winter, trail 10K's last winter and LOVED it.  Paul got it for me for Christmas, but I am assuming it wasn't cheap.  My vote...worth the money even if you only own one like I do.

The rest of my stuff I don't have a ton of, so I'll give a summary of each...
Sunglasses - have Oakleys and love them.  Don't slide off my head, aren't too tight, and make me look cool as he**.  Had Red Star that I got as a sponsor gift, and the nose guards fell off after I sweat on them.  I'm running people...I'm gonna sweat.  If your gonna use glue to hold somehting on, it kinda needs to be sweatproof.  Just saying.
Hats - Winter hats, I have a Nike one with the ponytail hole and love it.  Its comfy, warm, sweat wicking and it lets my ponytail bounce in the wind.  Win Win for everyone.  Baseball type hats and visors.  I have a Nike visor and I dig it.  It keeps sun and sweat out of my eyes.  Its comfy...so it works.  I have an Adidas brand baseball hat that Pauly got me at the Boston Marathon.  Love that too if I want full coverage on the head, like when it rains.  It also makes me feel really cool to wear something with Boston Marathon on it.  Our general rule in the house is "if you didn't run it, you can't wear something from it", but since Boston is kinda a BIG F-ing DEAL...we agreed I could wear the hat out of "pride for Pauly" and therefore it didn't break the rule.  You will never catch us wearing a 5K shirt even to bed if we didn't run that race.  We take this sh*t seriously people.
Water bottles - currently have the Amphipod bright a** yellow handhelds with the black hand strap.  Freaking love them.  They are snug so you don't have to grip the bottle, ergonomical to your hand so its comfy, and the handle even has a pocket that will fit like 2 Gu's, or your key and chapstick.  BONUS.
Water backpacks - we have a few brands and I feel pretty strongly about each.  I'll start with the hate.  HATE the Camelbak one.  It is uncomfortable to wear, and the bladder is dificult to fill and close.  NOT A FAN.  Nathan, we have owned two, and I love both.  Its my fav.  I have even used a bladder I liked better in that backpack because I like it that much.  It fits in a way I barely know its there, the pockets are just enough for all my sh*t, it clips snuggly right under my boobs, so I feel like they considered the fact that chicks might wear it (others want to clip right ON them).  They even redesigned the bladder to be the fold over kind which is WAY easier to dry and clean.  YEAH!  We also have a North Face one.  It is bigger, holds more water and has a waste strap with additional pockets.  It also has the fold over closure for easy cleaning and drying.  I would never use it for a shorter run, but for an ultra, or multiple hour trail run, it has the added space for things like spare socks, toilet paper, food, etc.  It is good to have in the rotation, and Paul used it for his 50 miler, and for longer training runs.  We're fans.
Watch - Pauly has a Garmin something or other and loves it.  For a guy who needs to know all his "stats" its great.  I on the other hand have a $9 watch with a stop watch feature from KMart.  I love it and it works fine for me.  It even lights up in the dark as an added bonus.  Hey, whatever works.
Road ID - We both have one, I tell everyone I run with to get one...if you run alone without one you are stupid.  That is all I have to say.  All I know is if I get hit by a car, I want Pauly to know and I want the EMT to know how old I am and if I have any allergies or medical condidtions.  They are like $15...so buy one if you don't have it.
Reflector vests - again...if you don't have one, you are stupid.  Even in dim light, drivers will see you better with one.  I do not run at night, dusk, severely overcast days or in snow without one.  They are lightweight and cause no harm, so what excuse is there to NOT wear one.  I've had a few over time but really like my current which is the Brooks vest.  It is black and yellow with reflective strips.  It is form fitting and the size small seems to be built for a woman.  I hated some older ones I've had because they were too baggy and bounced around when I ran.  LOVE the Brooks one, but get ANYTHING if you don't have one already.  My running partners know I am pretty strict about this one...I won't run with them if they aren't wearing one...I don't need to see someone squashed by a car.  C'mon now!

Well, I think that is all my sh*t.  For anyone who gives a cr*p :-)

Labor Pains 12 hour Ultra is this weekend and don't forget...I'm aiming for at least a marathon, and hoping for a 50K.  Let's hope the weather holds up!!!