New shoes, traveling news & tutus

What a lovely weekend. Yesterday I woke up early with my littlest one and hung out having coffee and a super yummy smoothie with cantaloupe, cucumber and fresh ginger before a nice warm 5 mile run in my new kicks. I always know when it is time to get a new pair, as my legs, knees and hips start to ache.  I love the feeling of the first run in new running shoes. It feels like running on clouds to me after running on depleted shoes for too long. Instant love. I have to give props to New Balance, too, as the shoes arrived on Thursday after I ordered them on Monday night. I am glad to have them and be able to run a few times in them before Chicago in one week. I just hope they are broken in enough by then. 

Yup. So the Chi-Town Half is only one week away. I'm really excited about it and the fact that it is state #14. I can't wait to run in the beautiful city of Chicago. From what I can tell, the route is all along the lake front area. I traveled to Chicago for work several years back and loved it. I was lucky enough to be able to hear legendary young adult librarian and author, Patrick Jones, speak at a symposium. What a rock star he is! I loved every minute of it and loved the city of Chicago, too. I'm delighted to be heading back there and running the city. I think it is such a fine way to experience a place. I am also thrilled to be connecting with two of my college friends on Saturday night! I will post some pictures from our mini-reunion. 
So, I'm basically feeling good physically going in to this race, although my lower back has been a little tweaky lately. I know it is just from my lousy posture in my normal day-to-day mommy role. I bend down a lot to deal with little ones, and when I'm not careful, I put undue strain on myself back there. I really need to work on posture moving forward. But overall, my running feels good, so if the weather cooperates, it should be a fantastic run in Chicago. 
I'm still not sure what I'll wear for this race, as weather this time of year is so unpredictable. I'll likely bring everything from winter warm wear to spring strip-down. We'll see on the morning of the race what wins out. Speaking of what to wear when you run, in the headlines this week, a woman was ridiculed by SELF magazine for wearing a Wonder Woman costume with tutu for a race she ran. Turns out, she wore the outfit because she was battling brain cancer and wanted to feel strong on her run. Nice job, SELF-ish! The woman not only has received a huge outpouring of support since the article was blasted, she also has received great publicity for her tutu making business, Glam Runner. I hope she makes millions and can stuff it to that magazine. What is so wrong with wearing a tutu in a race if you want to? I haven't worn any costumes to date, but if it makes you feel good and you enjoy it, why not? What ever happened to just having fun? That SELF magazine thing makes me want to wear 10 tutus all at once just to support the woman. I think I'd get too itchy wearing one for an entire half marathon, but for a 5K? Bring it on. 
Time to head back to savoring my weekend and getting organized for my trip. See you in Chicago!

Fair-weathered

It is no secret that the weather has been all the buzz here in Connecticut in recent weeks. I’m grateful to say that I was able to get outdoors (finally!) for two runs this past week. One run was on Saturday in beautiful 50 degree sunshine for a lovely 7 miler. The other run was yesterday. Temperatures were in the high 30’s when I stepped out and were well in to the 40’s when I finished. I was very much on the fence about running outdoors yesterday because of impending rain, but I took a chance and managed to finish up 11+ miles well before any rain kicked in. It was invigorating and quite perfect, despite the many puddles and mud slicks around. I was just overjoyed to breathe real air. Slightly cool, slightly breezy. Color me happy.

I’m very much a fair-weather runner. Literally. I rarely run in the rain, and after this winter, I’m shying away from cold temps from now on, too. I’ll slog through heat just to bang out miles but with likely less than optimal performance. But I’ll do it. I will get out there. Add any precipitation, and I’m less likely to brave it out. I’ll hit the gym or do some other form of exercise instead. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t love running in the rain. I’ll suck it up if I’m out there on the road at the time of a passing storm or shower, but I never choose to begin a run if it is raining. I don’t love having sloshy running shoes. I don’t love having my t-shirts stick to me. I don’t find it refreshing. Ick.

I’ve noticed, too, that my fingertips randomly go numb from time to time now, and I blame the cold weather running for that. I wear gloves when I run, and a few minutes in to a run I’m usually all warmed up, so in general running in the cold isn’t a huge problem. What I find now though, is on cold days when I’m just out and about (grocery shopping for instance), my fingertips will go numb and turn rather white. Weird. Note to self to check in with a doctor. Hopefully the spring temperatures turn in to a regular trend very soon and all of this gets left behind. 

For the minute though, I’m feeling encouraged to be back out there on the streets, taking in the scenery and fresh miles. One more long run next week before tapering for Chicago. Inspiration back in motion. 

Uninspired

I haven’t blogged in a while because I haven’t felt like I’ve had anything much to write about. Talk about an uninspiring time lately. Last week I felt like I was just going through the motions of my daily world. Cooking healthy meals, getting to the gym, bringing the kids to their various schools and activities, working, etc. So unexciting. Today I mentioned to my Weight Watchers leader how uninspired I felt all week, and of course, the scale showed it with a slight increase. :( Time to change gears, I say!

I am exactly one month away from my next half marathon. This time I’m heading to Chicago to run in the Chi-Town Half Marathon. I really am so excited about it, and starting today, I’m putting my focus on that to break me out of my doldrums. I reached out to one of my college friends who lives in the area, and I’m thrilled that we are going to be able to meet up for dinner the night before the race. I really love the fact that setting my race goals also helps me to seek out friends and family around the country with whom I can reconnect. Seeing special people brings another level of joy and happy memories to these excursions. 

The Chi-Town Half takes place right along the lakefront in the city. I am sure it will be a gorgeous run, as long as the weather cooperates, of course. Let’s hope so, because after this wicked winter, I could sure use a weather reprieve. Time to visualize warm sunny 45-50 degree temps and light wind for April 6th in the greater Chicago area. Hopefully the race directors are not jinxing it by providing long sleeve hoodies as the race shirt. No matter what the day is like, I’m sure the race will be a great one to remember. 

So, I guess I just have to grin and bear these (hopefully) last treadmill runs as the freezing temps still linger and put on my best frame of mind as I pound away. The outdoor pavement will come soon...in fact, local meteorologists are forecasting temps in the 40s this weekend, so I may be able to get that momentum back after all. I think it is great, too, that this week's topic in the ww meeting room was moving for 5 minutes out of every hour. Time to think up some creative ways to make that happen and maybe even boost my fitness while I'm at it. 

One month til Chicago...one month til Chicago...time to get inspired!

Say it isn't snow!

I don't mean to be a complainer, but this weather is not runner friendly, and I am dying to be outside running! Spring can't come quickly enough this year. Here's the view from my front door this morning...

Pretty, yes. Convenient, no. I used to love snow when I was a kid, and I'd stay out for hours sledding, ice skating, building snow forts and throwing it, eating it and climbing all over it. Now I say, forget it! Bring on spring! My fingers, toes and nose are tired of freezing out there, dammit, and I can only stand so many long runs on the treadmill at the gym. 
Watching this morning's local news, it was announced that in addition to this latest storm, another one is currently moving across the midwest and is poised to hit here tomorrow with another possible 4-8 inches of snow. Seriously? Thanks a lot, Mother Nature. I can only hope and pray that in between these snow occasions we get some 40s-50s and sunshine to start to get rid of this nonsense around here. 

Snow, snow, go away. Come again next January! 
Ok, enough ranting for today. Happy Valentines Day to all. Think spring!

Race #13, State #13, AZ

Race #13, State #13, AZ

February 1, 2014

This was my first trip to Arizona and my first race in a western state. I was pretty worried about my run in Sedona, as I knew the altitude could affect my breathing and the hills could kill me entirely. My mom came with me on this trip, and we met my cousin Andrew in Arizona two days before the race. Andrew and I decided to run this one together as a "warm" climate race for the winter. While it was great to get away from the single digit temps back in CT, Sedona was hardly the hot, dry desert area I expected. (And actually that was great, as it was ideal running weather.) We arrived on Thursday in Phoenix and made the 2+ hour drive up to Sedona before sunset. It was beautiful, desolate country most of the way with the occasional small town popping up here and there. We saw lots of cacti and light colored soil all the way along, until we drove in to the lovely Sedona area.
The red rocks seem to come out of nowhere and all of a sudden, you are surrounded by them. And boy, are they beautiful. We pulled in to the Sedona Real hotel, site unseen, and purely chosen by its close proximity to the race start/finish. The view from our back patio was gorgeous. 

View from our room

Andrew wasn't due to arrive until later, so mom and I got ourselves situated and peppered the concierge with all kinds of questions about restaurants, sights to see, and other various hotel related info. He was very helpful and kind to us. We ventured out to a restaurant called the Barking Frog for dinner that night. It was a southwestern flavored local spot where we promptly ordered up a plate of cactus fries. 

Cactus fries, yum, yum!

They were super delicious. Dinner was perfect...fish and veggies for me, a bison burger for mom. We headed back to the hotel to relax and wait for Andrew's arrival. We were both half asleep by the time he arrived, so we didn't really give our proper hellos until the morning.

The next day, we started slowly and went to the number pick up which was located at a cute arts plaza called Tlaquepaque Village. The day was cool with temps hovering in the low 40s and a light rain started just after we collected our numbers. We decided we'd try to drive up to the Grand Canyon, seeing as we were only a couple of hours away. We headed out north and up through the ridge of the Sedona area canyons. As we drove, the rain turned to sleet then to snow atop the canyon. 
We stopped in Flagstaff to get gas and some snacks that were going to pose as lunch on the ride. The Circle K convenience store had slim pickings, but we did the best we could. Water and gatorade were a must. We hit the road again, jumping on the highway up to the Grand Canyon, and within minutes we were driving in white-out snow conditions. My mom's dear friends live in the Phoenix area (part of the reason she came with me...to see them), and all I could hear was her friend Ruth's voice in my head saying, "If you get caught in snow, you be very careful! These Arizona people do not know how to drive in snow at all and they are crazy!" So with that advice swimming in my head and the lack of visibility and knowledge of the area, we decided to turn back and just check out the sites in Sedona. Smart idea. We decided we didn't want to be a news story about the family who is found a week later with their car in a ditch surviving on Tic Tacs, Powerbars and Gatorade. 

Snow view after we turned around and started back toward Sedona.

The drive back down the canyons in to Sedona was beautiful but tricky,as the roads are twisty and the drop off the edge is impressive. The snow stayed with us most of the way down, but once back in Sedona, it all turned to rain again. 
We decided to check out the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a Catholic chapel that is built right up against the red rocks. It was beautiful and left me with a feeling of nature as faith. The red rocks are the backdrop to the rear of the chapel, and the view from the front window is stunning as it looks out over the land below and more red rock formations in the distance. 

As we exited the chapel, I noticed a shape in the rocks behind it that looked like an eagle's head. It was cool to start looking at the rocks as sculpture. You can see so many shapes in them. In fact, many of them are named for their shapes: Teapot rock, Snoopy rock, Cathedral rock, Courthouse rock. As I continued to look, I started to see faces looking back at me from the rock. It was almost as if the ancients are preserved in them, watching us below. It started freaking me out a bit, so I tried to stop looking at them like that.

Can you see any faces looking back at you?

We decided to take the rest of the cold, rainy afternoon to walk around and look at some shops, art galleries and stop for coffee. That evening, we had a dinner reservation at a top-notch Italian restaurant, Dahl & Deluca, so Andrew and I could properly carb-load. Dinner was awesome, and the three of us enjoyed the lively and lovely atmosphere of the restaurant as well as the live piano and bass music. We all ended up heading to bed early to prepare for the big run the next day.
The late 9 am start to this race allowed us to leisurely roll out of bed at 7:30, which was a nice departure to the usual 5 or 5:30 am wake-ups. The morning weather was a chilly 28 degrees F, which ironically was colder than temps back in CT that weekend. As Andrew and I readied ourselves for the start, my mom's close friends, Ruth & Don arrived at the hotel to help cheer us on in the race. They live near the Phoenix area in a town called Casa Grande. We said our hellos and said we'd see them near the start and at the finish.  With that, Andrew and I headed out for our short walk to the starting area. 

Views from the starting line area

As we got to the top of the hill where the start and finish lines were located, we saw the most amazing backdrop. Hands down, so far this was the most picturesque and beautiful race I have run. And without a doubt, Andrew and I decided, it offered the nicest porta-potty views ever! After a quick bathroom pit-stop, the singing of the National Anthem commenced and the marathoners started first. 

View from the porta-potty area

All the races were staggered by 5 minutes, so we (the half marathoners) were next, followed by the 10K runners and 5K runners, also in 5 minute intervals. The start was well-organized, and the officials were in good humor. The announcer said, "You are welcome in advance for the downhill start. I'm sorry in advance for the uphill finish." Something to look forward to after running all the other huge hills in between. 

Selfie just prior to the start

Anyway, we were off and minutes after starting, I spied my mom, Ruth & Don across the street cheering and yelling for me. Don had his camera and large camera lens out, so I waved and smiled. I always feel bad for running spectators, as they have about 10 seconds of excitement and two hours of waiting around doing nothing. They are a die hard bunch. 
The route was an out and back along Dry Creek Road and Boynton Canyon Pass. The sights were spectacular along the way. The red rocks provided a magnificent backdrop to the run. I won't lie. The hills were hard and plentiful, but somehow the views kept me inspired and so alive. I guess I just kept thinking about how lucky I was to experience this unbelievable place. At times, I'd get to the top of a long, difficult hill, and I'd just take a breath and a moment to pick my head up, look around and say "wow." It was truly stunning and humbling. 
Along the way, we passed some neighborhoods that you barely noticed because the houses were all built with colors that blend in to the surroundings. We saw many trail heads along the way, as the area is a hikers mecca. I can't wait to return someday with my husband and kids to get the full Sedona hiking experience. The water stations were manned with fun groups of people who were competing for their own "best water stop" awards. My favorite was at the vortex where a gypsy-esque group of people were playing drums and blowing whistles. It really helped pump me up on the way out and especially on the way back. 
I passed an older man along the way, probably in his early 70's who was wearing a t-shirt with his name on the back (Steve), a 50 States logo, and a 1 superseded by a 2 and then a 3 "times." He was my new hero. He was on his third time through the 50 states, assumably in full marathons? Holy crow! 
Just before the turn around, a huge hill loomed. I had heard rumors of this hill from the other runners along the way. I was getting pretty warm, so I decided to remove my running cap and outer jacket before the hill so I wouldn't overheat. The temperatures were getting close to the 40's by now, so it really was perfect running weather. Shortly after the turn around, I saw Andrew heading the other way. We made an embarassing attempt at a high-five and continued on our respective ways. Less than half to go, and one more mega-hill. I knew I could do it.
One thing that dawned on me as I ran was that the thin air really didn't affect me to the extent I thought it would. Perhaps arriving two days early allowed me to acclimate well enough. I wasn't having any trouble breathing. The difficulty was all in the hills. I tried to make the best of the downhills on the return to the finish line, and all was going well until around mile 10 where the largest hill was located. This one was way worse than the rumored monster at the halfway point, in my opinion. This hill was steeper and later in the race. So with very tired legs I hit it, and it felt like I was shuffling up, barely moving. I just kept pushing the best that I could, but it was a killer. 

Thoroughly enjoying the last few miles of the race in the beautiful terrain.

After that, it was smooth sailing. My next favorite moment was in the last mile. Two old guys sitting on their front lawn had a boom box blaring out Oingo Boingo's "Just Another Day." Exactly the best motivation to get me up the final hill in to the finish line. 
As I approached the finish line area, I started to look for mom and Ruth and Don. I scanned the people lined up along the barriers lining the finish, but I just didn't pick them out. I was pushing my hardest to finish as quickly as I could. As I crossed the line, I heard them announce my name, Kristen Frost, Enfield. I was done. 

Crossing the finish line

I entered the finisher's chute and got my medal on the way to the food/water/stretching area. I walked around and kept an eye on the finish line. A few minutes later I saw Andrew pumping like he just started racing, up the hill and across the line. What an awesome, strong finish! We met up, stretched and recounted some of our best/hardest moments. Neither one of us saw our cheering section at the finish line, so we headed back to the hotel to shower up and chill out. 
An hour and a half or so later, mom, Ruth and Don met us back at the hotel. They were so disappointed that they didn't see us finish. Somehow, from their location on the bleachers at the finish line (I never even saw any bleachers!), they weren't able to pick us out. They also were looking for me in my running cap and warm up jacket, which I had taken off mid-way. Such is life. Don, with his excellent photography skills, managed to create his vision of me crossing the finish line, thanks to the wonders of Photoshop. I love it! My net time on the race was 1:57:23, my slowest time to date, but I was pleased with it, as this was also my most challenging course to date, and I was under my "ultimate" cut-off time of 2 hours. When the results were finally posted the next day, I discovered I came in 7th in my age division! And I was the overall 55th woman to finish, and 142nd out of all half marathon finishers. I was pretty pleased with all of that. 

Uncle Don's rendering of me at the finish

I opted to relax for the afternoon, as my stomach was having some GI troubles. Andrew took off to attempt a visit to the Grand Canyon again (this time successful), and mom, Ruth & Don headed out to some shops in Sedona. We reconvened that night for dinner at the Barking Crab again (sans Andrew, as he was still en route from the Grand Canyon). 

The next morning we all headed out. Andrew to the airport and the rest of us back toward the Phoenix area where we met up with Ruth & Don's son, William, for a brief visit. He and I grew up as cousins back in CT, but now he lives in AZ where he works as a prison guard. It was terrific to see him after all these years! We then went to Casa Grande and toured around Ruth & Don's Palm Creek neighborhood. It was so beautiful, and I can see why they love living there. I left mom with Ruth & Don, as she was staying on in AZ for a couple more days, and I headed to the Phoenix airport to return my car and check in to my hotel. My flight home was bright and early on Monday morning. 
I wasn't too jazzed about the snowy weather waiting for me at home, but I was overjoyed to see my wonderful husband and little girls waiting for me at the airport. Another successful race done. Thank you, Sedona, for a spectacular race. 

Sedona up next

Only one week away from the Sedona Marathon/Half Marathon event, and I can't wait!!! I've never been to Arizona before, and from what everyone has told me, Sedona is an amazingly beautiful place. In fact, that's largely why Andrew and I selected this "warm weather" location for a winter race. From the website of the event, it is clear to see why this race is listed as one of the most beautiful in the country. I can't wait to fill my eyes with the red rock formations all around me as I run. I surely will post pics as soon as I can. I am a little worried about the elevation of this race, however. From the elevation map on the race site, there are quite a few substantial hills, and this on top of the race being at some 4000+ feet high to begin with. We'll see how thin the air is and if it affects my run. My guess is that it probably will. I'm hoping to keep up my streak of sub-2 hour finishes.
In watching the Sedona weather these past couple of weeks, the temperatures are very chilly overnight (20's to 30's F) with warming up to the 60's F during the days. To me, it sounds like pretty perfect running conditions. For that, I am super excited! Not to mention it will feel like a heatwave compared to how it has been here in CT lately.
This week, the taper has been in full effect. I haven't logged many miles at all, but I have been keeping up with the P90 sculpt & abs at least. I'm hoping to get in a couple of decent runs this weekend and maybe a short 5 miler before we leave next week.
I'm looking forward to this race for many reasons. First of all, I'm traveling out there with my mom. This will be the first time she sees me run one of my half marathons. We will meet up with her dear friends, Ruth and Don, who live in AZ. They will all be there to spectate and cheer. I'm excited to run with cousin Andrew again on our first race in the west. Fun! I think I will also get to see Ruth & Don's son, William, who I haven't seen in a million years. It will be fun to catch up with everyone in such a beautiful place.
So with all this swirling around in my head, I have less than a week to prepare and to finish up some home projects that are on my list right now. Refreshing paint in our master bathroom and hallway, hanging pictures on a long overdue family photo wall, and getting various things ready for the family to make things easy on them while I'm gone (groceries, outfits, etc.). Gotta dash...too much to do just now. See you in Sedona!

Race #12, State #12 DE

Race #12, State #12 DE

December 7, 2013

As soon as I discovered that there was a half marathon in Rehoboth Beach, DE, it was a no brainer that I had to run in it. My dearest friend Annie’s parents have a home there, and I have so many fond memories of times we’ve all shared together there. It had also been quite a few years since I’ve seen Carol & Charlie (Annie’s parents), so when I contacted them to see if they’d be open to having me visit, they didn’t hesitate a second to say yes. The great thing about this race location was that my husband and kids could come along and enjoy it, too. We all had fun catching up with Carol & Charlie. We all decided it had been way too long since we’d seen each other. Great fun was had by all.

Race morning was very windy, chilly and a tad bit rainy. Luckily, the rain backed off by the start of the race, which was a nice early 7:00 am. The race consisted of basically two out and back routes, the first of which went right by where we were staying. For any runners who have kids, this is HUGE! My husband and kids were able to sleep in until 7 am, hurry outside by 7:15 to see me run by at mile 2 or so, and then see me run by again a couple of miles later. And for me, it was energizing to have them cheering me along. 

This first stretch of the race started in the center of Rehoboth at the gazebo right on the main street. It headed up the main street and then turned right to head back along the beach area out to a protected seashore area where the turn around was. After that we went back toward town, but turned right down another access road then over past the little welcome lighthouse and over the bridge heading toward route 1. We took another right and headed through a newer neighborhood there which led out to some farm fields. At this point, the race turned in to a trail run. There is a walking/biking trail that winds through the farm fields out to some woods. The run through the woods was lovely, albeit muddy and sloshy at times. It was nice to have the race consist of part road and part trail. Little wooden bridges and areas of wetland peppered the trail route, keeping it interesting. The half marathon turn around was at the point where the trail entered in to a fairly new housing development. And the nice thing about the turn around was that it was at about mile 8, so the return to town was nice and short from that point. Bonus!

I felt like the trail running was a little slow because of the wetness and mud. At times the narrowish path was crowded with runners heading in both directions, and we had to run around each other and muddy sections to continue. Once off the trail, I tried my best to quicken my pace toward the finish. We retraced our path back to the main street and by the little lighthouse. As I came around that corner, a car drove by and beeped and waved at myself and the runners around me. The finish was less than a mile away at that point, so I waved, but my eyes were blurry with wind and the driving desire to get to the finish line and see my loving family. (It turned out to be Carol driving by at the exact moment I was running along! We were so excited that she got to catch a glimpse of me.) 

My wonderful husband and lovely girls were waiting for me steps in front of the finish line. They really put a smile on my face. I was happy with my 1:47 finish, and I found out later I was 13th in my age division. I was thrilled with that, of course! And, to date, this race boasts the largest finisher's medals. I felt like I just won a WWE belt rather than a half marathon finisher's medal. 

Post-race, the family and I took a chilly walk along the beach where the waves were absolutely huge and the wind was whipping. The girls didn't seem to mind very much, but my husband and I were freezing before too long. Still, the beach in winter is starkly beautiful, and we had fun letting the waves chase us up the beach. 

I highly recommend this race, as the area is beautiful, and the runners were hands down the friendliest I’ve encountered so far. The only tricky thing about this one is the weather at this time of year. Race day was colder than I was expecting, but luckily any precipitation happened the night before and held off for race day. We did, however, leave the next morning in the beginning of light flurries that turned in to whiteout conditions by the time we hit the Jersey Turnpike. We were glad to be back in CT after that. (I think the Philadelphia area picked up something like 10 inches of snow from the storm! Yikes!)

Many thanks to Carol & Charlie for hosting us and spending such a special time with us. We loved every minute.