Rage In The Sage 2012

To quote my friend Emily: "Marriage makes you fat." Add a couple of children to that, staying home all day long, love of food, and inactivity, and this is what I looked like at the same event two years ago.

Two years ago I started to run again. I used to run semi-regularly when I was single, but as I just mentioned I just sort of stopped being active. I was never heavy before. Never! Being overweight was a new thing for me, and it was not pretty.

One thing I love about this area is that there are a lot of sporting events you can participate in all year long. But I suppose it is the same for most cities of any significant size. In 2010, I ran two 5K's and did the Duathlon and then devel0ped some lower back issues and stopped running. With the help of a horrendous year of G.I. problems I dropped 25 lbs. In December of 2010, a friend challenged me to train for a 1/2 marathon. I was really nervous. I had 5 months to get ready and I wasn't sure if I could do it. But I did! So in 2011 I dropped another 21 lbs, ran two 1/2 marathons and a RAGNAR relay. Truthfully, I went through a couple burn out periods with the running, but I didn't want to stop. I knew where I had started from and I did not want to go back. In November I started having foot pain, but was able to run with it for a while. I ran the 2011 Turkey Trot 5K and finally finished under 30 minutes (29:30).

The foot pain got worse and worse, so I finally saw a Podiatrist, got an injection and then went on to PT in February. I've been going for 2 months now and I am finally seeing improvement. It has been a long haul. I got discouraged with the foot issue (Plantar Fasciitis), even felt a little "down" about not being able to run, but I didn't want it to get the best of me. I decided that if I couldn't run anymore, then I would just find something else, like biking. Which is why I decided to do the Rage in the Sage again this year, but just do the bike part.

During the 10 miles, I thought to myself a couple of times that I would rather be running, but in the end I really enjoyed myself. My goals were: to not crash, not get a flat tire and not have to walk my bike up any hills. Goals met!



My friend Jen was my teammate. She is 6 moths pregnant, but really wanted to do it. It was a gorgeous day!

finally, a ragnar post :)

About the RAGNAR

My team: Speed Sold Separately

This is Cami, who was our team captain, who also ran the RAGAR at 5 months pregnant with TWINS! She was pretty much our hero.

I loved this! (I am a LOTR fan)

putting on our ragnar tatoos

sleeping on the gym floor

This is at the last hand off, waiting for runner #11 to come in

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(sorry for the layout of this post. sometimes blogger is irritating, and I'm too impatient to switch all the pictures around)


OK. So because 1 person requested to hear about the RAGNAR I will do a post. It was a little over 2 weeks ago, that I piled in the van with these 5 lovely ladies to embark on my first RAGNAR experience (notice I didn't say last). We did the Northwest Passage Relay, which as I mentioned before is a relay race that starts in Blaine, WA and ends on Whidbey Island, WA. It was a total of 190 miles. There were 12 of us on our team. The 6 of us in the picture below are from Van #2.

Our van only had to drive to Bellingham, WA because that is where our first runner would start. Between all of us, we each ran 3 times in the same rotating order. I was runner #8. We all had different miles and each of our legs varied in difficulty. My legs were: 2.8 miles, 7.7 miles and 4.8 miles. Mentally, the 7.7 mile run was the hardest. And it was at night (I started around 11pm), but I felt pretty good after it anyway. Physically, those last 4.8 miles were really hard for me. After doing the half marathon and prior to doing the RAGNAR, I got into a running rut (frankly, I am still trying to climb out of it) and so I didn't really "train" as hard as I should have for this relay. My body was sore from my 1st two legs, I had only gotten roughly 2 hours of crappy sleep on a gym floor (hey, that's part of the experience I guess) and to top it off I got my period. Anyway, I struggled to finish those last 4.8 miles. I tried to pep talk myself and AC/DC myself the entire way. I just realized that I had never pushed my body this much before and when I finally finished that leg, something came over me and I just started crying. It was really weird.





























































So, more about the RAGNAR. It was a lot of fun. I definitely recommend doing it. Everything from the individual team names, to the costumes, to the decorated cars, to the lack of sleep, torturing your body (just a little). It was all just a great experience. There as a great feeling of team spirit among all of the participants. It was fun being at the major exchanges (where the last runner in van 1 and the first runner in van 2 would hand off) because they were the biggest and everyone was cheering for each other as we all came in.

So, in a nutshell, I would do it again in a heart beat! Pure fun, even amidst the painful parts.





(below: me finishing my first leg. I was running down hill. there was a lot of bounce going on in this picture...ugh)

RAGNAR BABY!

Let the countdown begin! I am so excited about my upcoming relay race. In just three weeks I will participate in my very first Ragnar Relay with 11 other awesome ladies. We are doing the Northwest Passage Relay, which begins in Blaine, WA and ends 187 miles later, at Whidbey Island, WA. Each of us get to run 3 legs and we run all through the day and night, non-stop. We will take two vans. Runners 1-6 in the first and runners 7-12 in the second. Did I mention how EXCITED I am??? When my friend approached me (back in March) about participating, I was already training for my 1/2 marathon and I said "yes" right away. Didn't even have to think about it. I love having something to work toward, especially a physical goal, such as running. I'm still not an amazing runner or anything. Probably never will be, but I love to run because it pushes me to work hard. Sometimes I find myself waiting for it to become "easy", but lately I am beginning to wonder if that is realistic or not.

I will keep running as long as I am able.

This evening we went out for a Sunday bike ride as a family and when I got back, I was reflecting on the journey I have made over the last year and a half, physically speaking...I saw a picture of myself from last April when I ran in the Rage In the Sage Duathlon. (cringe!) How could I have let myself go so, so far?!? Ugh! I do not EVER want to go back there. I am so much happier with where I am now.

Mostly though, as I was relfecting, I just feel so grateful for my health and strength. I am so extremely grateful my internal problems seem to have been resolved, and I am so happy that I have the ability and the desire to lead a physically active life. It doesn't only benefit my body, but it does wonders for the soul and the mind!

It feels so good to move your body!

Go team "Speed Sold Separately"!

ran 7 miles this morning. 76 minutes. not too bad.

10K

Gross. I don't like this picture. At all. Oh well. I did the St. Patty's Day 10K today. I was kinda nervous/excited about it. I haven't really loved 6 miles. I just went out nice and easy, set a steady pace for myself and blasted the Black Eyed Peas as loud as I could. Will.I.Am carried me through I tell ya!

I ran the entire way without stopping once, which for me is a major accomplishment. Not that I didn't think about it a few times though.

I was so excited when I came up the hill and saw my time. I thought it would take me around an hour and 15 minutes, but I did it in an hour and 2 minutes. Pretty happy about that.

I wanted to feel good when I was done and I did! It's amazing what training can do for you...instead of just running willy nilly here and there and irregularly. Onto the 1/2 Marathon!

muffin top challenge week 5, 6 & running

Last week was not a good week for the Muffin Toppers. As a group, we gained 1 pound. Individually, I gained .2 which in the big picture isn't that big of a deal, but of course I was hard on myself. There's no one to blame but myself either. However, I sure did enjoy that pizza and those cookies :)

This week I lost 2.6 lbs and that puts me at a total of 9.6 lbs since the start of the challenge.

Last week I ran 4 miles (on the treadmill) and 3.25 miles (outside) without stopping to walk. That was good for me. I have been wanting to work on my endurance. Yesterday we ran 5 miles in 52 minutes, which I thought was great. We beat our last 5 mile time and I felt good. Not as tired. We took it nice and easy, which apparently paid off.

2010 Rage in the Sage Mt. Bike Duathlon

Saturday I did the Rage in the Sage Mt. Bike Duathlon with Justin and my sister in law Gretchen and a brother in law, Corey. It was held in Benton City, WA at one of the Winery's in the vineyard. We got to run on dirt and gravel and rock with winds going at oh...about 200mph. Kidding! It was extremely windy though and very, very, cold. It wasn't really the cold that got to me, but just the wind. I probably wasn't dressed appropriately, but I am really glad that I at least had that little jacket on.



Gretchen and myself getting ready for the first 2.5 mile run.



Taking it nice and easy.



Gretchen finishing the first run.




Me finishing the first run. Came in around 30 minutes and was the very last person to finish the first run. Even that 68 year old woman beat me!



Next the guys took off for their 10 mile bike ride. This is Corey coming through the first 5 miles.



Justin after the first 5 miles.



When they finished the bike ride, we went out for the same 2.5 mile run to finish up the course. This is Gretchen.



I was determined to run the last stretch all the way. Originally I wasn't planning on doing both runs, but Gretchen talked me into it and I am really glad I did it. That's the most I have run in one day since I started running again. I walked some, ran some.



Smiling because I am almost done!



Sprinting to the finish!



Ahhhhh! I DID IT! I had a really good time, even in spite of the freezing, windy conditions. Gretchen has challenged me to do a 10K, so I think I will work towards that next. Oh yeah, I didn't come in last overall, but I did beat that 68 year old woman, who WAS the very last to come through (she did the whole course by herself) and she even won a prize! Pretty cool accomplishment for a woman that age.