Lexington Run the Bluegrass - In Review

Third Stop:  Lexington, KY

This was my first trip to Lexington.  My impression is this - they LOVE their horses and bourbon in Kentucky!  Horses & bourbon seemed to be the theme everywhere we went.  My other impression was TRAFFIC!

Again, a quick race weekend does not give much time to make an impression, especially considering our post-race exhaustion due to the brutal nature of the course.  We did, however, find this really cool place to carb up Friday night before the race.  It was a place called Joe Bologna's where they had converted a church into a restaurant, resulting in a pretty cool atmosphere.  

The only other place we really got to experience was Keenland, the location of the race start/finish.  Other than the construction mess getting to Keenland, it was absolutely beautiful.  I am not a horse race fan, but it might be a nice place to visit someday if I am up that way for another reason.

Race Review:  Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon

I originally chose this race as part of the Rock & Roll race series to work toward earning the Rock Legend Heavy Medal.  Sometime after we signed up for the 2013 Tour Pass and registered for the race, the decision was made that this race was better kept as a locally managed event.  They still kept some of the elements of a Rock & Roll Series race (bands on the course, female shirts, etc.), but it definitely was not an R&R event.

They weren't kidding when they said Bluegrass

Here's the skinny . . . 

The good:

"Little" pink houses for you and me

• Peaceful rolling hills through Lexington's farmland - the course was full of beautiful scenery and no traffic.
• Well-managed Expo - big enough to be interesting, but not overwhelming
• Female cut race shirts - they went with a really nice quality Nike tech shirt whose cut is not a fitted as typical women's race shirts
• The band around mile 6 - they were rocking out (not all Bluegrass, yay!) just when I needed a boost
• The most interesting spectators I've ever experienced - where might some horses trot along beside you as you pass their pasture?
• True wave start - the took this straight from the R&R handbook
• Fully closed course - I love the safety!
• Willingness to adjust - there were some traffic/fog issues, so they delayed the start.  I think this was a good call.

Spectators watching those crazy bipeds

The not-so-good:

Welcome to the hill show

• Peaceful rolling hills through Lexington's farmland - OMG!  I don't think there was a flat stretch, ever.  This was a REALLY challenging course.  I would definitely not recommend it for beginners.  And the quiet rural course meant no spectators to cheer you up that hill just when you need it.
• Poor planning for traffic - there was construction on the main road to get to Keenland which resulted in a traffic mess.  We gave ourselves plenty of time, but still would have missed the start if we had not created our own detour.  It seems like race management could have coordinated with the local planning authorities a little better.  Even with the delayed start, there were people who missed the start.  This also created a traffic nightmare to leave the race.  Even for late finishers like me.  Hopefully this was a one-year challenge.
• Finish line management - I did not witness this, but Jeff expressed frustration at the non-race traffic that kept crossing the course in front of runners near the finish.  He said there was no attempt to curtail it at all.  This is a pet peeve of both of ours.

They nailed it

Next review location:  Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon, Nashville, TN

Tomorrow - we hit the Charity Chase!

Twue Wuv

Have you ever had anyone love you so much they paid to have someone push you out of an airplane?

Let me back up.  If you haven't picked up on it, I really like celebrating my birthday.  Last year, I got this crazy idea to celebrate by being active and trying to push my personal boundaries.  Mission accomplished.

Getting to the top of tower was enough of a challenge . . . zip-lining off?  CRAZY!

A group of us went to the National White Water Center where they had many opportunities for me to encounter and attempt to overcome some of my crazy irrational fears (heights, natural bodies of water, heights, white water rapids, and, oh, did I mention heights?).  I am seriously afraid of heights.  I am known for not being able to make it to the top of the look-out towers when we go hiking.  So, how did we start off the day?  We climbed up the tallest tower there and zip lined over the white water course.  We followed that up with some white water rafting, canoeing in the river, another smaller zip line, and what one of our members called "the wienie" ropes course.  I may have freaked out a bit on the wienie course.  It was a great experience, but by the end of the day, my boundaries were pushed out.

Nothing but net.  And harnesses.  And fear.  Lots and lots of fear.

Somewhere during that day a conversation began about sky diving.  I think I may have said something along the lines of, "I'd totally do it as long as I had someone to push me out of the plane!"  Be careful what you say, people. 

Fast forward to almost a year later.  This past weekend, Jeff and I loaded up our car to head to Ohio to visit family and attend a wine festival.  At least I THOUGHT the purpose of our trip was a wine festival.  It turned out there was some conspiring going on.  Nearing midnight on Friday we were discussing our itinerary for the next day when my sister April declares that we need to get up around  6:30am and on the run road no later than 7:30.  What?!?  Knowing that mornings are like Kryptonite to me, Jeff decided to 'fess up that we had an 8:30am appointment to jump out of an airplane.  Apparently, he loves me so much; he had been holding on to that little conversation and plotting to make me put my money where my mouth is.    I thought, "Cool?"  I was too tired to freak out too much at that point. 

I spent most of the morning trying not to think about my impending fall from the sky.  I had plenty of other things to occupy my thoughts, like not losing my breakfast from nerves.  My anxiety level tweaked when I saw the very small, very old-looking plane that would take us to our doom, er, glory?  The plane could only take 2 jumpers and 2 tandem instructors at a time.  After signing away our lives and first born children, going through a very brief orientation, and being strapped into prison jump suits and harnesses, we were ready to fly.  Literally.

This is the face of anxiety.  Just a hop, skip, and a straight jacket away from full blown panic attack.

Oh, hey, did I mention that I am also claustrophobic?  (Why yes, I DO have a lot of issues.  Thanks for noticing.)  Fitting a pilot and four adults into this plane was like trying to contain a womp biscuit after the package has been popped.  Originally, I had thought that it would be better to go first.  Less time to fret.  Less closed in.  However, the instructor decided that I would go second.  This might have been due to my resounding "YES" in reply to his half-joking question, "Now, once we are up there, if you tell me you don't want to do it, do you want me to make you go anyway?"  Going second proved to be a good call, since I would only have to dangle my legs out of the moving plane rather than try to maneuver them out onto this little platform.  (Because dangling your legs out of an open airplane seems SO reasonable).

Not much wiggle room and we still had one more tandem instructor to add to this happy little plane

The airplane ride up was fraught with anxiety.  Did I mention that the plane was really small and really old?  And that it was a really tight fit?  It did not feel very stable.  I kept repeating the orientation instructions in my head to try to focus.  Soon enough, the door opened and I watched as Jeff and his tandem instructor left the plane.  I have to admit, the whole open-door-at-9000ish-feet thing gave me a major case of the wiggins. 

Have you ever seen the cartoon Ugly Americans?  Does this remind you of anyone?

I am not sure that I could have moved over the door if it weren't for the nice gentlemen strapped to my back pushing me toward it.  And then we were out of the plane and flying.  It was amazing!  You would think that my naturally obsessive brain would be worried about the whether or not the chute would open.  Nope.  In fact, I forgot all about it.  I was lost in the moment and the thrill of soaring through the sky.  All too soon, our momentum was jerked to an abrupt slow-down as the parachute deployed just as it was designed to do.  While not quite as exhilarating as the free fall, the slow glide back down to earth was wonderful, until I came crashing back down to earth. 

Snap back to reality, oh there goes gravity

At least, that is how it felt.  Apparently, there was a bit of a wind issue that caught us as we were landing, which resulted in a really hard landing directly upon my tailbone followed by my tandem instructor landing on me.  As I witnessed, this type of landing is not typical.  I'm just lucky, I guess.  At least it was not a Peggy Hill experience.  (Not a Kind of the Hill fan?  Google it.)

Twue Wuv?  Or a failed attempt to get an insurance payout?  Hmmm.

So, I was right.  I totally jumped out of that plane, even if it took having someone strapped on my back to push me out!  So, maybe I do have a bruised tailbone and I have to sit on a dorky little donut pillow at work.  What of it?  I freakin' flew! 

Now, I just have this tiny little challenge of surviving the Charity Chase Half Marathon on Saturday with a bruised tailbone and limited training this month (thanks to a lovely little respiratory infection that settled in my chest).

Flashing Back

Over the past few months, I've not been so good about updating my blog.  Ok, let me frank - I have not been that good at all, despite my best intentions.  The last three races have been a struggle, earning me three of my worst finishes ever.  I am not at all confident about my ability to finish my June race.  On the dietary front, I will get on track for about five minutes and then cave to temptation.  Maybe if I did a better job of blogging, I would do a better job of being more accountable to myself?  Hmmm.  Time will tell.  For now, let's play catch-up.

In March we did the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon in Lexington, KY.  When we originally signed on for this race, it was going to be part of the Rock & Roll race series.  For whatever reason, the decision was made that it would be best to keep it a locally managed race.  Since we had not yet done a race in Kentucky, we decided to go for it!  Kentucky is HILLY.  I mean REALLY HILLY.  I don't know that there was a flat section on the course.  Plus, the grades were pretty steep.  I felt great until about mile 9, when I took a potty break.  That brief pause convinced my body that it was done, and my performance reflected my body's decision for the remainder of the race.  

April seemed to be coming along with a much brighter outlook.  After recovering from Kentucky, my training was on track.  I was excited about heading to Nashville for the Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon, despite the IQ points that I was sure to lose from the music.  The day before the race, I turned the wrong way and threw my back out.  Riding in the car to Nashville did not help.  At one point, I could not even stoop down to get a PowerAde from the bottom shelf.  Good thing the Rock & Roll series races have big Expos.  At the Expo, there was a booth that featured a device that uses electrical impulses for massage therapy.  I was skeptical, but after about three minutes, my mobility was significantly improved.  I purchased a Magic Massage unit (I heartily endorse this product!) and used it the night before the race and the morning of.  It was enough to reduce my pain so that I could walk the race.  Considering that this was the start of back to back half marathon weekends, I decided not to push things and kept it to a walk. It was a long, wet, walk in continuous a downpour.  There was so much rain that I almost think I should get credit for a biathlon.  Regardless, my time was not too bad, considering.

This is MAY??? (Erin, Jeff, & Valsicle)

The very next weekend (I know - TOTALLY crazy, right?), we did our May 4th race, The New River Marathon & Half Marathon in Todd, NC.  During the week between races, I pampered my back with my Magic Massage, and it felt significantly better to start the race.  This was a small race in the foothills of Western North Carolina.  There were only three hills of any significance; however, they were of great significance (those three hills comprised close to half of the race).  As our friend Erin put it, they were mountain goat grade hills, meaning they were pretty steep going both up and down.  It was an unseasonably cold day.  Again, I started off well.  About mid-way through, the second major hill took the wind out of my sails.  I was just starting to recover when I got to the final hill.  Not sure if it was a protest to my Billy goat gruff impression or to the second race in a week, but my back decided it had had enough.  Oh, and at that point, it started RAINING!  Let me just say I am SO done with cold & rain this year.  Thank goodness that there were several walkers behind me.  If the sag wagon had caught up to me during those last couple of painful miles, I just may have hopped on.  

Bigfoot sighting near the finish

The Monday after the race, I woke to a lovely surprise in the form of a sore throat that quickly turned into some sort of respiratory infection that settled in my chest, which came with a heaping side of fatigue!  The running rule of thumb is above the neck, its okay to run, below the neck, take time off to recover.  Grrr!  I think I finally have the infection out of my system, but I still have little bit of a lingering cough and tightness in the chest.  The two workouts that I have been able to do have been slow and my energy wanes quickly.  
I have just under two weeks left until the Charity Chase on June 1st.  It is not looking good.  I may end up walking yet another race.  I may not be able to keep up with the pace requirement.  It's okay.  I know the way to the finish line.  The official finish line may be gone by the time I get there, but get there, I will.  

**Stay tuned for race reviews for:  Run the Bluegrass, Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon, & New River Marathon & Half Marathon**