Canyonlands 5-miler

Canyonlands is a little more than a normal race weekend.   We hit the road on Thursday morning; surprisingly we actually made it out the door right about the time I wanted! The drive out there was pretty uneventfully.  We decided to take a slightly different route into town, we went down the Colorado River instead of going I-70 to US-191.  It took a little bit longer but not enough to make any difference.  We got to our hotel and there was one person working the desk and three people wanting to check in, so it took a little while, but she was very friendly and very helpful.  Since it was about dinner time, we took a peek into our room and then went and got dinner at Zax. I was excited when I found out they have veggie burgers! Food was good.  We then hit “the town”!  After a little wondering we called it a night.  WAIT! We hit the pool and then called it a night!!! Friday morning We had breakfast at Pancake Haus. Again, there was only one person working the floor so service was slow.  We could tell the poor guy was moving as fast as he could.  He was very apologetic about everything, but the food was good (they had egg whites!!!!).  Again, we slowly hit the town.  I decided to check my bank account and noticed I was a lot lower than I should have been!!! EXCUSE ME???? We had two reservations, one at Best Western Plus Greenwell Inn and Best Western Plus Canyonlands Inn. I had cancelled my reservations at the Canyonlands Inn, but I still got charged!!!! I called Best Western, and they told me I would get my money back but it wouldn’t be until the beginning the week, at the earliest.  That was NOT going to work (that was my food money)! So I called my bank.  I love them, I love them, I love them!  I explained the situation and the nice lady said she could release the funds back to my account if blah, blah, blah. So we walked over to the Canyonlands Inn (the nice bank lady was on the phone with me while I walked the whole block to get to the hotel).  I went into the front desk and I am SO glad I cancelled that reservation, talk about RUDE!  I need to contact Best Western and let them know about how bad the service was.  Anyway, long story short (after about a half hour of dealing with these people) the nice bank lady was able to release the funds back to my account and all was good again. We did some more wondering and it was lunch time.   We went to Pasta Jay’s for lunch.  Luckily we avoided the rush, that place can get PACKED! We enjoyed a nice lunch outside, then it was time for packet pick-up.  It is a quaint little set-up, works great!  Because of my knee and back I had to down grade from the half marathon to the 5-miler.  Once I got my bib and goodie bag I checked out the comings and goings. After a little while it was back to the hotel and more pool time. We had an awesome parking spot at the hotel so I wasn’t really fond of the idea of moving the truck to drive around such a small town.  We called Moab Brewery and placed an order for dinner.  It was about a mile away so we walked to pick it up (we knew everywhere would be a zoo so we weren’t going to dine in).  We get there, pick up the food, pay the standard 18% gratuity on pick-up orders (I say that is a bunch of bull), and head back to the hotel.  We get back and my dinner is not there!  I call them up and let them know we have food missing.  So we get in the truck and drive back there to pick it up.  Back at the hotel the chili we had ordered was burned, my food was greasy and on the gross side.  We had eaten there the first time we went to Moab, but I don’t remember it being that bad.  Not a place we will be returning.    Waiting for the start Saturday morning was race morning! I got up nice and early, busses started at 7:30 so I was up at around 6:30.  I wore my White Paisley Capri Skirt from Running Skirts, a nice emerald green long sleeve shirt (that came off by Mile 1) and a black shirt over the top. I had plenty of green on!  Left the hotel at around 7:00 and slowly walked to the bus.  I realized about half way there I forgot my gum, but I did have my inhaler.  Oh and for breakfast I had a Luna Bar.  Got to the busses and I was on the first one up the canyon.  It was a little chilly up in the canyon, but then again I had plenty of layers on so I really had nothing to worry about.  At about 9:00/9:15 we started heading to the start line.  The gun went off a little early, but we began down the road with no issues.  I ended up walking most of it because I could not get my breathing under control (I need to talk to my doctor about that).  It was still a nice outing.   View from the start line The views are amazing! I still wish I could have done the half, but my back and knee were very grateful I did the 5-miler.  Crossed the finish line, checked out the finish area activities.  We headed back to the hotel so I could wash off and get cleaned up.  I took a while getting organized before we headed out by the time we were out we were hungry! We figured we would stop by Slick Rock Café, we were seated quickly, yea, after being ignored for a while, we finally got water.  A while longer we had our order taken 20 minutes after that we still had not received our drinks let alone our food.  There was a table next to us who were in the same boat so we upped and left! We wondered a little bit more and returned to Zax for lunch.  Service was amazing! Food was great, they were insanely busy, but you couldn’t tell that by the time it took to get stuff. We did some more wondering and then back to the hotel for more pool time. Sunday morning was entertaining.  I woke up before everyone else.  I tried turning the light on next to me, but it wouldn’t go on.  Ok, maybe I was just being stupid.  Tried turning the TV on, that wasn’t working.  We had a few lights on, so I figured I was just being slow.  I realized that most of the issues were on the same wall, so I went down to the office (in my jammies) to ask about the possibility of blowing a fuse.  Turned out the power was low all over town.  I went back to our room and everyone started showering.  Yea, power went completely out! Luckily I was not the one in the shower at the time!!!!! The power finally came back on, we finished getting everything out of the room and into the truck.  Across the street to Zax for breakfast, made a few last purchases, checked out of the hotel and hit the road.  The weather back was not as pleasant.  Actually we really didn’t want to stop because nasty weather was right on our heels and I did not want to be driving through the mountains in crappy weather.  We made it home picked up the babies and called it a weekend!

Beliefs

11 March 2012

This morning I saw something on Facebook that I had to borrow.  “Your Beliefs don’t make you a better person, your Behavior does.” I have met a multitude of “Christians” who try to make people believe they are good people JUST because they are Christians.  I have also dealt with a number of atheists who are the most kind hearted people I have ever met!  Now, I am not saying all Christians are bad people (I was born and raised Catholic), because they are not nor am I saying that all atheists are good people because that isn’t the case either!  Don’t tell me you must be a good person because of what you believe; it is all about how you behave!

Today completes week #2 of training.  I have heard taking a rest day can be the hardest thing to do.  Today is one of those days for me, I want to go get some pool time in, but I had my sister hide my suit from me! Yesterday was group run with BRC FIT Team.  I wasn’t really feeling it, at first so I took it as an enjoyable walk.  Once I finally started getting into it I was able to start running.  My left shoulder (usually it is my right shoulder that gets mad, but that is becuase it is "an old army injury"!!!!!!!) was oddly tight, but I finished happy and feeling good! Next week starts recovery week, but I have a 5-miler (which was supposed to be a half marathon) next weekend.  The weekend after next group runs move to Garden of the Gods; if you want a run that will kick your butt, run there!!!!!

Oh! And during my run yesterday I was keeping an eye on which zone I was in, kind of interesting really!  I usually run in zone 4/5. I focused yesterday on staying out of 5. This week during my runs I want to see what happens to my pace if I stay in 3/4.

Here is to a good training week before recover week!




~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Outside the box

1 March 2012

I knew from the get go training would be difficult for my full iron distance race.  But in a way it has become an exercise in thinking outside the box.  I need to get my training in, but I am still dealing with a baby flare up; my back is not cutting me any slack.  It hurts to run sometimes (more often than not) but I still need to get my training in, and it has to be quality, it can’t just be miles for the sake of miles. 

I am a little too excited that my back is more than happy to go to spin class (my butt doesn’t like it, but it needs to get over it!).  There is also my friend the elliptical machine, which is something my back and my knee (which was smashed into a corner yesterday) really enjoy.  When those fall though there is nothing like water running or for that matter just hanging out in the pool and relaxing!

I am also one who needs rewards! I want my rewards! SO I made a deal with myself that every 50 miles (not including miles on the bike) I can get a mani, every 100 miles I get a pedi. I got a whole 3 miles today!!!! J

On the support front… I have to do a shout out to my favorite running store in the entire world… Colorado Running Company!  I love the fact that I can go in and the help I get is amazing.  I don’t get judge by my size, I am seen as a runner/triathlete . I can go in there and say this or that is going on and I need help.  On Monday I went in and asked about my back.  I had some inserts put into my shoes and was able to complete a 2.5 mile run without as much pain.  I love the fact that whenever I need help I can go in there and I get the help I need. 

~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Take 5 in the Garden

The last time I ran this race was back in 2007 and I only ran it as a 5K, this time I did the 5-miler.  The morning was beautiful! The temperature was amazing, I mean really, you couldn’t ask for better weather!  I got to the start about an hour before the race (I like being nice and early).  The parking lot was a good distance from the start (which was very understandable); busses were provided if you didn’t want to hoof the distance (less than 2 miles).  As we pulled up I noticed there were only 10 port-a-potties.  With more than a half hour before the race the port-a-potty line was already out to the road (not a good sign).  The race finally started.  Luckily they started putting a start line down so your time didn’t start until you crossed.  I have said time and time again, I suck at hills (which is part of the reason my goal was so slow), nearly the first mile was uphill so I walked the majority of it.  The temperature was raising and the sun was beating down.  Finally we got to go downhill, the 5K-ers split off and the 5-milers kept going downhill and then some uphill, I was getting thirsty. It a race, they have water stops, I didn’t bring my own water (STUPID mistake!).  I get to the first water stop and they were tearing it down, no water was left! I was not the last person there was still at least a dozen plus behind me.  I trudged back up the hill, saw Coach Judy, posed for a picture made it to the second water stop and waited in line for a few drops of water, it was enough to keep me going.  Continued up the hill and to the next turn around point and then towards the finish line.  The last downhill before the finish line was finally right in front of me and there was a gal who was a good distance ahead of me I decided I would beat her! I started picking up more and more speed, I beat her! Thank God my sister was at the finish line, all I could get out was ‘no water on course’ she handed me her water bottle and I started drinking!  I would have to say the only saving grace to the race is the scenery. 

“Over 1000 runners will choose to run a 5Mile or a 5K course through a "picture-perfect" park, running amongst towering red sandtone formations on a paved, hilly course. Garden of the Gods Park, the crown jewel of Colorado Springs' Park System, plays host to this race on a beautiful May morning! In appreciation for using the park, we hope you will consider making a donation to the Garden of the Gods Foundation to keep this "jewel" a truly sparking gem!”

The lack of port-a-potties and water seriously dropped it on my list.  There is no excuse for running out of water and even their site boasts of the number of runners and they only have 10 potties?  Not good!

~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~