Helvetia 1/2 Marathon: Recap

The 2011 Helvetia 1/2 Marathon is officically in the record books and I am very pleased with how well I raced.

I paid attention to my pace more than I ever have before and it paid off. I knew that if I was patient I would run well and get a PR, I just didn't realize my PR would be 5 minutes!

I was pretty tired when we got into PDX Friday night. No matter how comfortable your car is, it never feels great to have to sit in one place for 5 hours. I drove most of the way and stopped in The Dalles so we could grab some dinner and get gas. I wasn't sure what I should eat since the restaurant didn't have any pasta, BUT they did serve breakfast all day. I decided on the pancakes with marionberries because I knew I would be getting in my pre- race carbs and I was actually craving pancakes. They pancakes were awesome so I think I made a good choice.

Once we got into town we stayed up and chit chatted with Cass & Scott and I got my race bag ready. I don't like to feel rushed the morning of a race so I try to make sure that everything is packed and/or layed out the night before.

Saturday morning I got up at 6 am to start getting ready. I had my pre-race oatmeal and made sure that I wasn't forgetting anything important. I decided to bring my IPOD just incase I wanted to use it at the last minute. Normally I feel really jittery the morning of a race, but I felt particularly calm. It was a good feeling. After stepping outside to survey the weather I decided that it was colder than I was anticipating. Luckily I had packed my arm sleeves so I decided that I would wear them to warm up in and then decide if I wanted to wear them for the race.

After a brief warm up and stretch I took some sports beans and was ready to go. At this point it was still chilly so I decided to wear my arm sleeves for the race. We took some group photos and made sure that we were sporting our Portland Running Co. tattoos so that we could be entered into a drawing for a free pair of running shoes (unfortunatley, we didn't win-boo).

Cam walked me over to the start line and I did some quick strides and was feeling ready to rock and roll. Once the race started I zoned in on my pace and tried to keep it as close to the 7:45 range as possible. I knew that if I kept it in that area that I would have plenty of gas in the tank to knock out some faster miles towards the end.

A lot, I mean a lot of people were passing me in the first 3-5 miles. I hate it when somebody passes me!!!! I kept my cool and just stuck to the plan knowing that I would more than likely be passing them later in the race. When I came to the first hill (which I had forgot from last year) I thought "oh crap, this is a big one"! At that point I was starting to pass people for a nice little confidence booster. I even had a conversation from a really nice gentleman for about 1/2 a mile who finally told me that he couldn't keep up with me anymore and that he was going to be the first person for me to pick off. I slowly started to pass larger packs of runners staying at my 7:45 pace going into mile 6. Mile 6-7 is an out and back with a large hill. I passed a lot of runners on the uphill portion into mile 7.5. After that is where I really started to push the pace. I could see the 7:30 pace balloon about 1/4 a mile ahead of me. I knew if I passed him I was doing good. I eventually passed him around mile 9 with a little smile on my face. At that point I felt really good I knew that as long as I held it together I would have a PR. I passed 2 more girls in the last 5K and a bunch of men, at least 10, maybe even more. I was hauling at that point. When I would come up on someone they would try and speed up, but they didn't stay with me for very long before they backed off. I heard a few curse words from men in the last mile that I passed. Haha.

When I crossed the finish line I was beyond excited- I had just ran the fastest 1/2 marathon in my life and had a 5 minute PR. The best part was that I felt great and I have the confidence to know that next time I can run just as good, if not better. This was definitely the confidence booster that I have needed since Boston.

Cam met me at the finish line and then I felt really sick to my tummy and made a beeline for the bathoom. After hanging out over the garbage can for a couple of minutes I felt better. Cam was hungry (its hard work sitting around waiting for me to run 13.1 miles) so we went up to get our Helvetia hamburgers. I hadn't had a hamburger since December and it was ah-mazing! I enhaled it, haha. After that we walked over to the beer garden so we could sit in the grandstands and watch for Cass & her friend Jen to finish.

A couple months ago, Cass had sent out an email with our times from last year- my time was quite embarrassing at 1:59:25, my slowest 1/2 marathon time. She asked what our goals should be for this year. I told her that both her and Jen should shoot for running at least 10 minutes faster than last year and that I would like to run at least 15 minutes faster than my previous time. They both ended up running Helvetia 15 minutes faster than last year and had a 4 minute 1/2 marathon PR. I am so proud of both of them- they have come along ways since they first started running together. I shattered my goal and ran 23:34 seconds than last year. Finally having that break through and getting my 5 min 1/2 PR was the greatest feeling. I am back to running and I am feeling healthier and stronger than ever.

My next race is a 10K in Portland on July 10th. I am also running this Cass and I am looking forward to having another fun weekend and perhaps even a 10K PR.....

--Tasha

Training for Helvetia

After work tomorrow I leave for Portland to run the Helvetia 1/2 marathon Saturday morning. Where have the past several weeks gone!? I signed up for Helvetia back in February and June 11th seemed so far away then.....time flys when you are having fun!

This will be my second year running Helvetia with Cassie, and I hope not the last. I already have a feeling that it will be a great weekend! I am really looking forward to my Helvetia burger after the race too...I can't remember the last time I had a hamburger-December??? January?????

Helvetia is a pretty challenging course- there are a lot of rolling hills! They seem never ending, but I have been running hills like crazy on all of my runs to try and be prepared. Luckily, it shouldn't be as hot as it was last year so I am hoping that I don't die on the course like I felt like I was going to last year. I have been tracking weather.com all week and it looks like Saturday will be a high somewhere between 65-70 degrees and partly cloudy. Perfect morning running weather.

After much thought over the last week I have decided against wearing my IPOD. I am hoping that this decision doesn't come back and bite me in the butt. I figure I need to really keep my pace in check and my music/IPOD might be distracting. I am also always in my "zone" and don't ever really pay that much attention to my music during a race like I would on a training run anyways. At Windermere I was so yucky and sweaty that the last couple of miles my ear buds wouldn't stay in place and it was annoying having to mess with them.

It has been almost 4 weeks since Windermere I am feeling fantastic. I have gotten in several solid runs and mixed up my cross training with class, spin, and TRX. I am pretty stubborn (SHOCKER!!!), but I am finding that by listening to Amy, I am actually making some great strides in my running. On my 10 mile run, I took 3 minutes off of my overall time and on a 5 mile tempo run I averaged a 7:04 pace (these runs were in the same week!!!). I don't think that I have ever ran a 5 mile tempo run that fast before. I was shocked, but mostly shocked that it felt awesome. Woo! Hoo! I am mildly obsessed with spin- it is incredibly addicting. I like to "compete" against myself to see how many miles I can get in. It is also some of the best cross training I have ever done.

I will admit that I have struggled a bit this last week. I only had 2 runs which felt weird- I have always struggled with tapering. On Monday I went to spin at 6 am and then I had a 5 mile tempo run after work. I was tired/crabby and it was cold outside, but I pushed through the run. I couldn't get my pace right so I was getting frustrated- first I was going too fast so I would slow and then I was going to slow. UGH! I finally got into a rhythm about mile 3 and pushed through with an average pace of 7:03. It was faster than the week before, but it didn't feel good because I was exhausted from running so late in the day and from spin class. If it hadn't started to rain on me I probably wouldn't have picked up the pace that last mile.

The last couple of weeks I have also been really focusing on what I eat. I was watching my food intake before, but now I am focused on eating a little more everyday 1300 calories or so and watching my % of fat, protein, and carbs more closely. I also have one day a week where I eat about 1500-1800 calories- that is usually on Saturday so that Cam and I can eat out. Currently I am trying to maintain my daily carb intake to 45%, protein to 30%, and fat to 25%. It took a couple of days to get into the swing of watching my %, but I think that I have gotten it down. I am finding that it helps to plan out my food the day before so that I can make sure that I am eating the correct amounts. I would usually plan out my lunch and snacks, but now I plan everything that I will eat the day before. I am telling you, this being healthy is time consuming- but so worth it.

After Helvetia I am just going to spend the summer focusing on getting stronger, faster and having solid runs to take me into CIM in December. I know that CIM is still months away, but I want to be as prepared as possible. I plan on running a couple more 1/2 marathons and some 10Ks prior to CIM. December will be here before I blink!

So much to be looking forward too in the coming months! :-)

--Tasha

Windermere!

The last couple of weeks have flown by! I had every intention of updating Healthy Diva, but I had way too much going on to even think about updating. It all started with selling my Jeep which escalated into this huge 2 week ordeal where that could have possibly gone wrong did (most of you have already heard the story). In the end I go the car I wanted and everyone, including the husband, is happy. On top of the car, I was busy at work etc. Bad excuse I know. Lets get to the fun stuff!

My last couple weeks of training went good and I felt great overall. I was pretty nervous for Windermere, but excited to be racing again. It has been how long????? The week seemed like it took twice as long as it should have to be over. I hate that!

The weather in Spokane has been crap lately so I was really starting to get concerned about the rain/wind that was being forecasted. Luckily, it wasn't so bad. Little chilly/windy at the start, but it wasn't what I had imagined. Out on the course it got pretty warm and there was quite a wind in spots. Wish it would have been more of a tailwind, but I will take that over rain any day. I felt great running wise until about mile 5 when my feet really started to hurt. I made the mistake of wearing my Nike Frees (which I had been training in) which probably weren't the best option for running a 1/2. Once my feet started hurting then my legs started cramping. It was a good lesson learned and I went home and ordered a new pair of Brooks (I know those work great!!!)

Overall, I finished and was happy that I was even in shape enough to run a 1/2. Of course I wasn't thrilled I didn't get my PR, but then again I haven't raced in how long????? I was more happy that I was able to get an automatic qualifying time for the Houston 1/2 in January.

Saturday also marked the last day of my most recent session with Amy. Now that I have been training with her for 18 weeks I am starting to see some muscle definition. Who would have thought?! I still have pea shooters, but they have a touch more definition. :)

Our next official session doesn't start until June, but in the meantime we still get to workout on Tues & Thurs mornings. No more Saturday class for the summer....what am I going to do???? Angie came up with the brilliant idea to start a class running group for Mon & Wed mornings. Should be fun!

I can't say enough just how amazing Amy Black is. She has done so much for me physically & mentally- I can't even begin to describe how much I have transformed since January. I am only a couple of pounds away from where I need to maintain my weight. If you would have asked me in January if I thought I would weigh 125 lbs in May I would have laughed at you and said "NO WAY". My skinny clothes that I wore the summer Cam & I got married are falling off of me. If my wedding dress wasn't boxed up I would put it on- I bet it would be too big.  I am telling you, Amy Black is WONDER WOMAN!!!!!1

Next up on my schedule is the Helvetia 1/2 on June 11th. Last year I "wogged" it in 1hr 58min. This year it would be nice to run it at least 10 minutes faster, even though I would prefer 15 minutes faster. :) I will be wearing better shoes for it!

The rest of the summer I just plan on training for my 1/2 in October and start my marathon training for December. I am doing a 10K in July and will also be doing the Warrior Dash in September (yes I am stoked to get a viking helmet). Warrior Dash is a 5K, but like Cassie said, there probably isn't much running involved. I might have to sign up for the Pints to Pasta 10K for the next morning......

--Tasha

Medals

I love getting a medal at a race. Sure, nobody sees them, they collect dust, and they aren't useful, but I still love my race medals. Looking back at them I can have a sense of accomplishment that I worked my butt off and that I earned them. Each medal contains memories, whether they are from the race or from training for it. I have close to 10 medals, but there are 4, that are extra special to me.

My favorite medal of course would be from the Boston Marathon. Not only does it look cool, but it is the one medal that every runner dreams of having someday. The race itself was hard. I wasn't prepared, I had been sick, my foot hurt, and I went into the race being exhausted. The experience, however, was absolutely amazing and something that I will never forget. The crowds were incredible! The course was beautiful, challenging, but beautiful. I had only gotten to train for about 9-10 weeks prior to Boston so I wasn't in shape for it at all. I never felt like I hit the wall when I ran Portland, but I hit the wall hard at Boston. Or I should say the wall hit me! I started feeling really crummy about mile 8 which is any runner's worst nightmare in a marathon. I had to constantly tell myself to put one foot in front of the other. I ran one mile, walked for a bit, ran another mile, walked for a bit and repeated for the whole race. I was in so much pain! Every part of my body just hurt. By the time I saw my husband about mile 21 I was near tears. The last 5.2 miles were the slowest and longest miles of my life. I have never been so glad to see a finish line in my life. I wished that my training would have gone better, but nothing in life is perfect. Some races are good, and some not so much. The marathon itself was something that I am so glad that I was able to do. Boston is an amazing and gorgeous city and I am glad that my best friend, Cassie, and her boyfriend, Scott, were there to partake in all of the fun with us!

My second favorite medal would be from the 2008 Portland Marathon. It is extra special for two reasons. #1 it was my first marathon and #2 I qualified for Boston. I trained harder than I have ever trained before. In the back of my mind I thought I had a chance of getting a BQ time, but at the same time didn't have a lot of faith in myself. I had ran several 1/2 marathons at this point, but never a full. 26.2 miles seems so intimidating! I was really excited for the race and I felt prepared. I was so thankful that my parents and aunt were there to cheer me on. I was so nervous on the morning of race day. The conditions to run couldn't have been more awful. It rained, no actually it poured the whole entire race. I was a drenched rat and I was freezing! At one point, about mile 6, I actually stopped running and almost dropped out. I kept on thinking how hard this was race was. I had gotten some really good advice from one of my running mentors, who also happened to be there to watch me. He told me that everybody goes out too fast in the beginning because the course is so flat with a slight downhill. He told me if I kept my pace under control I would be passing all of those runners at mile 17 going over St. John's Bridge. I kept that thought in the back of my mind and also the thought that my parents and aunt were somewhere along the course. They would be so disappointed in me if I just quit. Especially at mile 6! I jumped back in the race and kept on telling myself I COULD NOT STOP. Once I hit mile 17 I did start to pass all of those runners who had gone out too fast and that give me a boost of confidence. I saw my family about mile 19 and that was yet another boost of confidence. Once I hit mile 20 I put everything I had into that last 10k. I knew since it was less than Bloomsday I could do it. It hurt so bad, but by the time on my watch I knew that I was going to get my BQ. When I crossed the finishing line I was so incredibly proud of myself. I had accomplished something that every runner aspires to have. I don't know one runner who doesn't want to run Boston someday. I don't remember for sure, but I believe I placed within the top 20 of my age division. I wanna say I was like 17th place, but don't remember for sure.

My third favorite medal is from the Helvetia 1/2 marathon last year. It is one of my favorites because it was the first 1/2 marathon I got to run with my best friend, Cassie. The medal is also pretty cool looking. The race was fun, so fun that I am running it again this year. It was a little warm on race day and the course had quite a few rolling hills, but I like the challenge. After the race you get a Helvetia Tavern hamburger and it was so delicious! I hope to beat my time this year by at least 10 minutes, wish me luck!

My fourth favorite medal is a Bloomsday division winner from Corporate Cup. The last year I ran for the EWU women, 2009, we won our division. I think that we beat most of the men's teams in our category as well! If you aren't that familiar with Bday CC, the EWU men's team wins every year. They are incredible runners. It was just the cherry on top of the sundae to have the EWU men's and women's teams sweep first place for their respected categories.

--Tasha

Summer Races

I am very excited for this summer. For the first time in a year I have officially signed up for some races. The best part is that I get to run them with my best friend. I am excited to get back into the competition side of running and also even more excited to get to spend time with Cassie.

Bloomsday, May 1st **Still on the fence as to whether I will sign up**
Bloomsday

Windermere 1/2 Marathon, May 14th
Windermere

CityScape Adventures, June 4th in Portland
CityScape

Helvetia 1/2 Marathon, June 11th in Portland
Helvetia 1/2

Go Girl Trail Run, July 10th in Portland
Go Girl

Girlfriends 1/2 Marathon, October 16th in Vancouver, WA
Girlfriend's 1/2

I am still on the fence about signing up for Bloomsday. I really don't like running it, I actually hate running it for multiple reasons. I am going to think about this one before I officially sign up.....

I have never ran Windermere before, but I know from experience of running many long runs on the Centennial Trail that it is a pretty flat course. It should be a fun race to start off with. I have no expectations, other than finishing and having fun. I am still trying to get Cam to sign up, but so far I have made no progress so I am giving up.

CityScape Adventures is an Amazing Race themed race in Portland. I am so excited for it and so glad that Cass found it on active.com. My dream in life is to be on the Amazing Race someday, I love that show! The best part is that Cass and I are on a team so it should be a lot of fun.

Helvetia is a fun, but challengeing course. Last year I ran it for the first time, I was slightly out of shape having not really ran since Boston in April. It was a little warm, I was little dehydrated, and I was a lot out of shape! The course is mostly rolling hills with one out and back portion. The whole course was gorgeous, but I didn't really get to enjoy it last year because I was just hoping that I would finish! This year I would obviously like to beat my time from last year, I think it was 1 hr 56 min, but have fun. I am using it as more a training run, with my real 1/2 marathon race being in October.

Both Cass and I have never ran Go Girl before. It is a 10K trail run that is just for girls. I like that! It is only limited to 500 runners. I heard from a couple of runner friends who have done this race in the past and they said that it was super fun. The 10K will be a good gauge for me so see where my training is at. I am training for Windermere, but not all out. The real training begins after Windermere for my 1/2 in October.

I found the Girlfriends 1/2 on active.com. I started searching for a 1/2 marathon in the fall in or around Portland because I was disgusted that the Portland 1/2 was a $125.00. I thought that was way too much to be spending on a 1/2 marathon, especially in Portland. I thought it was a complete rip off and Cass agreed. We still wanted to do a 1/2 since we had planned on running Portland together. This course is supposed to be scenic and flat; the perfect course for me to actually race on. I am looking forward to training hard all summer and then having a good race. The countdown to October 16th has begun!

--Tasha