Here is what I did to get prepared. First of all, I've been running a very long time. Never really far or faithfully, but my body is used to some light running, like 2.5 miles at a time with a 5K every year for the last many years. So, the foundation was there. I consulted with my beastly sister, Emily--who just completed her first triathlon, for tips to push further. She and her hubs follow the Jeff Galloway training method and so did I (well, a modified version anyway). On Tuesday mornings, I ran 3 very hilly miles with walk intervals every 4 minutes. On Thursday mornings, N, C, and I ran 5 miles no walking. On the weekend we met up for a long run, adding 1 mile to our distance each weekend (we started with 7 miles since we all had a solid running base). On the long runs, I did run/walk/run intervals with the app Runkeeper on my phone. It beeped and told me what to do on each interval and for how long. The off days we generally rested. Then, we got interested in the benefits of cross training with bicycles. So, the last several weeks I've been riding about 2-3 miles on my bike 2 days a week. Amazing to see the completely different set of muscles that biking uses.
For health boosts, I completely cut out sodas the last 3 months. I try to drink a lot of water and eat more complete proteins. Oh, on the long runs, I eat 1 Cliff Shot Block (organic fruit gel type thing) every mile after mile 4 to keep my energy and blood sugar up. I also have been seeing a wellness chiropractor to help with my uneven hips and mild scoliosis. It seems my right foot goes numb when I run long distances due to my right hip being rotated forward. The spinal adjustments have been really nice.
The morning of the race I walked out to a decorated car and yard. N and C had made cheer posters for me. This one was my favorite! I always wear my hair in a long braid and a Bolder Bands headband. My Brooks Ghost shoes are bright yellow. They captured the image just right :) What sweet friends I have.
As for the race, it was crazy. We were bussed out by yellow dog (school bus) to a country road out of the city and ran back to the middle of the city. It was very sunny and warm! I always run really early, like 5am, and in the dark. This change of environment was nerve-wrecking and my body wasn't used to the sun blazing on me. Luckily, N and C had been texting me all week to drink lots of water. I was well hydrated. Emily and I kept up a good pace. We had to make a port-a-john stop at the water station at mile 5. I paused my Runkeeper app during that time. Unfortunately, the official timing chip did not! My timing was 2 hours and 18 minutes but the official timing chip put me at 2:22--boo! We got a cool medal and had a blast. I learned valuable race lessons and will be better prepared for the next running adventure
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