Not dead...just in Omaha.

Weeeeell, we finally got 8/10 of the way moved (that's a fully-certified calculated figure). Close on our new house in 20 days and then we'll be all offically re-transplanted Omahans (yes, living in my parents' basement with two kids, two dogs, and a whole lotta loud tv upstairs has been fun and all, but hubs and I are ready for our own house again. Like last month.). Anyway, I have still been running consistently though it has been a stunningly harsh adjustment to this moistly-evil humidity. Not gonna lie, I am not at all a pretty picture after a run in these parts; I finish even a short 3-miler literally soaking wet. Head to toe. Soaked. Every time. Even when it's "cool" (and no, it is NEVER cool in Nebraska in July).

I had a short work-related trip to Boston earlier this month and had a fabulous time running around the city. It was ungodly and unnaturally hot, but still good, sweaty fun. There were also a couple yoga sessions (I was stressed, bored, and traveling on my own) which had the effect of making me desperately crave more yoga. Like Starbucks, only ah, better for me.

I was all prepared to run the San Francisco Marathon last Sunday, but ended up having to eat the registration fee when it became apparent a couple weeks ago that it was simply not going to happen. I ended up having to go back to Denver to deal with stuff instead, and so I had to kiss my hopes for SFM and a run across the Golden Gate Bridge goodbye for this year...ahh well, maybe next year. So, since the homefront will be a little more settled in the near future, I am now setting my sights on the Omaha Marathon in September instead. (can't beat a local race, even in Omaha) And of course, I did my crazy-ass preregistration for the Denver Marathon waaaaaay back in January, so I've got that one in my sights for October as well. I've really been having the itch to race the last couple of weeks, so I think I'll have to snoop around and see what's happening nearby in the meantime. Maybe just a little old 5k to get the race juices flowing, no?

And oh yeah, my dear old buddy Cross Country Squared managed to birth her twins in 4 minutes flat (running isn't the only thing she does fast), as well as lose damn near every bit of baby "weight" she gained growing them. She is my new pregnancy role model (thank God I've given up pregnancy, I could never live up to that pressure).

Superbowl 5K: PR?!

Ah, more like DNS.

Yeah, so I bagged the 5k last Sunday. Reasons why (all excuses, I know; feel free to chastise me in the comments):

• It was snowing, with full snow groundcover, at racetime
• I ran 11 on Saturday and technically was supposed to "rest" on Sunday (per my very official marathon training plan which only calls for 3 days of running per week...best not to contradict the Marathon Training Plan Gods, I know what happened last time I did that, hello fress stracture)
• Hubs wanted to sleep in (if I had raced, he'd have had to get up to deal with Shorties, which he had already done on Saturday so I could long run and meet up w/running group)
• I hadn't registered, so I wasn't out any money by choosing not toget out of bed and go get soaked and cold in the snow. In fact, the raceday registration would have cost me $10 more than had I registered early, so I actually saved myself money by sleeping in--win-win! (see how I can manipulate anything to my "benefit" Yeah, it's a skill.)
• I wasn't really going to race it anyway
• Did I mention it was snowing--and cold--at racetime...and...cold, and snowing? Only the hard core runners come out to race in that $hit, which means I would have probably finished 10 out of 10 in my age group, instread of the 10 out of 200 like I might otherwise (who are we kidding, it's probably more like 30/200, whatev). No it wasn't DC-level snow, but it was snow all the same.
• Needed sufficient time to prep for the Super Bowl Pizza Orgy that was scheduled to occur that afternoon
• 99% chance the t-shirt was ugly anyway (per the HRCA racing series Offical T-Shirt Design Guidelines)

Yeah so I bagged it....I have 14 miles on-deck for this Saturday but there are a couple of fun-looking Valentines races this weekend, so we'll see...I won't pre-promise any race reports to avoid disappointing you all. Nor will I commit to altering my trainng plan, in order to avoid the MTPG's wrath. You'll just have to stay tuned.

Pseudo-Race Report: Wildcat Mountain 1/6 Marathon

On Saturday, I ran my first pseudo-race. It was a certified* 1/6 marathon course of 4.4 miles.

The first HRCA Wildcat Mountain 1/2 Marathon was held on Saturday. The HRRC running group had 6 members who were planning to race; the rest of us non-racers met near the course start and ran a portion of the course before turning back to cheer our fellow clubmates on during the race.

In true Colorado fashion, the weather was iffy. (The race had 235 racers, but as of late afternoon on Thursday, just 42 people had registered for the race--guess no one was too motivated to lose $50 on the race fee if it ended up being snowy weather.) It was kind of chilly and damp and we had a bit of snow Friday night. The course was mostly cross-country style dirt and grass trail through the backcountry around Highlands Ranch. But, miraculously, it wasn't nearly as muddy as I figured it would be.

Us non-racers ran out a couple of miles and decided to come back along the course, passing the racers as they started the first 2 miles. It was kind of fun to be going the wrong direction on the course, and I could see the wheels turning in each racers head as we passed, "Why are they running the wrong way on the course? Why are they smiling? Who are these strange runners on the course, clearly not racing but out here in this marginal-ass, chilly, damp weather nonetheless? Did they do the whole course already? Is is that easy? Are they that good?" (While I can only wish I was indeed THAT good, we actually DID have a running star in our midst, a real pro runner: one Cassie Slade. Athlink HER ass, she is GOOD.)

We got to cheer on our running group mates, which was cool. And we got back to the start in time to chat a bit (heck, I even had time to go inside the Rec center and do a core workout) and still see the winners finish. Even though it was cold, it was a good time. The HRRC runners had a good showing, with one of our own winning the race (yay Kyle!).

*It's important to remember that the certifying body may have permanent peanut butter M&M-induced brain damage and be slightly lacking in exact math skillz--yeah I know 4.4 is more than 1/6, but it is close enough and I don't really care that much about precision anyway.