Tidbits on Cowtown Ultra Marathon

It's the DAY AFTER. Sounds scary right? Well, it's not so bad. Actually, I'm surprised at how forgiving my body is, considering I ran five plus hours yesterday. Thank you body for having mercy on me.

Isis, took this photo at mile 14. Gosh, I look like I need a hamburger/pizza/Twinkie or something! Before the race, I tried convincing Trey to meet me at mile 20 something to hand me a burrito, but that didn't happen. I was half-way joking/half way serious about him meeting me with food, but now --I know that even if he was there to hand me something, I would've passed it up. At times I felt extremely nauseous with all the water, powerade and gels. GAH! It was almost like I had too much electrolytes in my system. Anybody else ever feel like that during a race? I've only experienced that feeling with the marathon and this one.

Last night, I only had to take one dose of pain reliever. After Dallas White Rock Marathon, I recall being more sore than this. I didn't walk funny, but I felt stiff. I think the reason why I'm less sore this time around is because I didn't kill myself during the beginning of the race. In other words, I didn't run the race, like it was a 5K. I thought it was hilarious around mile 22 a spectator was waving a Costco size medicine bottle and yelling ibuprofen!!! 

Here is a visual snapshot of my race

Tidbits I forget to mention in my original race recap:

1. I ran with music this time around. My power song was Kanye West: Power (how appropriate). Something that really bugged me about my iPhone, during the race---Specifically, my iPod. The iPod was on for maybe two hours working like a charm and then all of a sudden it randomly started the voice control/command. I finally got tired of canceling the voice control and turned off the iPod.

2. During the race, I texted Trey multiple times. I was giving him quick updates. Apparently, the official Cowtown tracking system didn't work. I finally sent him a glympse so he successfully tracked me that way.

3. I considered tweeting during the race, but I thought that would be too much. Tweets I considering posting: Feeling great! 10 min pace shhhhhh, I could run this pace forever. Somebody meet me, so I can hand off these free gels....my sports bra can only hold so much! I'm seeing floating dots when I look in the sky, hmmm that can't be good. I'm dead tired. Why did I sign-up for this? I just crossed the finish line. That wasn't so bad. 

My Recover Plan:
1. Get an extra hour of sleep, each morning, since I won't be using that time to work out.
2. Eat more chocolate. I'm thinking Hershey's.
3. Watch some movies and read a book.

-Best Plan EVER.

PS:Here are some pictures Cliff took of us at the HoneyMilk™ meet-up.

Check out the burger Trey ordered. One Pound of pure beef. GAG!

2011 Cowtown Ultra Marathon (50K)

Distance: 31 miles

Duration: 5:27:24
Average Pace Per Mile: 10:33
Gender Place in the Ultra: Placed 15 out of 65 women
Age Group: Placed 4th out of 9 women

Weather: An hour before the race started it was 66 degrees with a South Wind at 12 mph. The wind got stronger towards the end of the race. At first, it was cool and overcast -- a few hours later the temps rose and the sun came out. I got a nice tan, borderline red.

Breakdown by Major Mile Markers:
10K – 1:01:20  ** 13.1 mile – 2:07:50 **  30K – 3:01:17 ** 26.2 marathon – 4:23:23

Ultra Marathon Eve:
I ate baked ziti and no I did not eat this entire dish by myself. Can you believe I had more pasta?! You could say I went a little crazy with the carb loading this time around, but I must've done something right. I didn't have any stomach issues and didn't have to stop once to use the bathroom during the 5 hour race.

I know a handful of runners who put their clothes and gear out the night before a race. This was my first time to do this. I'm glad I did because this morning I didn't have to scramble to find things. It made it easier to dress while I was half asleep.


Race Details:

I started the race with Lee, ½ of the running couple. We met here (see pic below) and walked to corral three. I didn’t feel nervous at all. When we started, we planned on running a 10 min pace. It took everything in me to hold back and conserve my energy. I'm use to gunning it from the get-go. Not this time. Long distance running is different kind of beast.

Lee and I ran about 5 miles together. He stopped for a bathroom break and I kept moving. I was hoping he’d catch back up, or at least that was the plan, but as I'm learning more and more with racing I have to be flexible, especially because half the things I plan for a race always seem to change on the fly, so we never re-uninted. Bathroom lines were crazy busy too, especially for the first 13.1 miles. Oh, so after Lee went MIA I saw a marathon pacer, his finish goal time was 4:15. I ran on his heels from mile 5 thru 21. Around 21 miles, I started to lose my energy. Pace went from 9:45 a mile to 10 minutes. Then when I parted ways with the Marathoners, there were only a handful of Ultra runners or so it seemed. We (the Ultras) ran a few miles loop/in and out type of route and then met back up with the marathoners to complete the last mile. Oh, I saw Travis and Jennifer during the race. They are the couple I ran the half marathon with a few weeks ago.

The Cowtown course took us to the stockyards. I saw Isis spectating at mile 14. Seeing her was like taking a shot of GU. It gave me some extra energy to pick up the pace.

Sherri ran her first full marathon. She is my Abilene running buddy. She blames me for running. Supposedly it's all my fault, that she is running/racing. Homegirl, is fast! She ran her first marathon under four hours and that's with FOUR bathroom stops! I hate her! HAHA! She met me at the finish line. She watched me cross the line and said I made her cry as I was finishing. I have that effect on people. :)

This is what marathoners look like after a race. Tired with frizzy hair.

I got so much "free" stuff. I guess the organizers had loads of yogurt they needed to get rid of. They were handing out cases of yogurt and I jumped all over it. Now, I have about a months worth of yogurt. Both cases are mine. Sherri got some too, not pictured. Check out the dude in the background sitting on the bench. Whoa.

I got a ton of compliments on my lululemon run skirt. Spectators were yelling out, "Ultra girl, I LOVE your run skirt." "Where did you get that?" "So CUTE." While I was running with the pace group, they were getting a kick out of all the spectators noticing me for another reason, my Ultra bib. The spectators would yell, "Way to go Ultra runner!" "Wow, ultra girl -- you're going the distance." "Or they'd point at me and say, "Look she's running the ULTRA." The pace group was all like...HEY, we're running too! Notice US! At the end of the whole event I got a cool finishers shirt. I'll see about posting that later.

I'll leave you with this video of me crossing the finish line. Watch the entire clip and notice the commentary--random girl tells Trey when she realizes I just ran the Ultra marathon. I LOVE her reaction! Note to self: watch clip if I ever need an ego boost.

P.S. Try not to cry, when watching. JOKING! maybe.

Spectating at The 2011 Cowtown 5K Race & Athlete's HoneyMilk™

This morning, Chey and I went to spectate the Cowtown 5K. I knew a handful of friends running in the event. Cheyenne and I met-up with Adam after the race and said hi.

The Cowtown organizers changed the location, from Downtown Ft. Worth to the Cultural Arts District. Originally, I HATED IT was not a fan of the location change, but I quickly changed my opinion, since I didn't have to deal with traffic or a parking headache. Way to go Cowtown organizers, you got this one right!

Runners walking to the start line.

Chey getting tangled in headphones

After the race, I walked the expo and picked up my race pack. I felt all cool walking up to the ULTRA line. Let's see how cool I look walking tomorrow, post race.

Here is one of the booths Chey and I stopped at. I won a chip/bag clip from Minute Rice. I was thrilled.

After that adventure, Chey and I left the area and I picked-up Trey. We went out for lunch at Magnolia Motor Lounge for an Athlete's HoneyMilk™ meet-up. Trey and I won some goodies!

I won a case of coffee flavor honeymilk and Trey won the chocolate flavor.

Here is a view of the ingredients. Good. Healthy. Stuff. Only 150 Calories Per Serving. Great recovery drink.

Mmm. Coffee.

Thirsty?

I'm thinking this will last us about a month or two.

Okay, that's enough for me. I'm going to get some rest and run tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Food that Fills Me Up & Race Goals

Eating healthy is easy when you don't have access to junk. Check out my brown bag special. When I made this at home, I thought no way am I going to want or be satisfied with this. The thing about packing a lunch is, once you're at work, that's it...You have to eat it or you don't eat. Or maybe that's just how I think.

To my surprise, this was the most satisfying meal. I added veggies, wild rice, turkey, chia seeds and to top it off, I made a red wine vinaigrette. Impressive, if I do say so myself.

My entire salad could not fit into the pita. The picture below were the remains, well -- until I devoured it. I'm trying to eat extra healthy before Cowtown. Last night, I wanted chocolate, but all I could find that was chocolate and worth eating was my protein powder. Good enough! I feel like I have to mention that I did not eat the powder by itself. That would be gross. Chocolate milk shake, oh yeah.

One more picture because it's so pretty and I feel like making you hungry. By the way, in case you were wondering why I was eating all that food earlier this week...(nasty food that Trey does not like)...well, it was because he was out of town (work-related). See, it's not so bad when he's away. He hates spaghetti, so I rarely make it, I guess you could say I went a little crazy, while he was away. NOODLES> PASTA>CHUNKY SAUCE!!!!! We're both glad I got that out of my system. It gave me an opportunity to carb load early in the week. MUST be ready for Sunday's big race. 31 miles. Honestly, this race seems less scary than the marathon.


Race Goals:
1. Complete my first 50K race
2. Try not to use the bathroom during the race.
3. Run the race in 5 hours 10 minutes (10:00 minute pace)
- This might be possible considering I ran the DWR Marathon at a 9:45 pace. Fingers Crossed! <---- The entire time I'm running, or not because that would be uncomfortable.

Side note: The calf still hurts. The pain is less today, but the soreness seems to be lingering.

French Tudor & PomoD Break-up

One of our favorite past-times is going to open houses. These days, going to open houses is a hard thing to do. One reason is because we are parents. Sunday afternoons mean nap time.

Saturday, when I was running in Abilene, I passed a home and noticed they were having an open house on Sunday. I was all over it! This home has so much character.

You'd be surprised how many houses in my old neighborhood, I've been in. Anytime there was an open house, I'd make it a priority to go. When I was running, every so often I'd say, Hey! I've been in that house, and that one, oh and that one too...next time I run that route I will count them. Hmm, sounds like a running game.

This is a picture I took of the backyard. Trey loved the trellis. One day he would like to build one.

Bedroom. This is not the master.


Bathroom: Vanity
In the process of taking this photo, Trey, mom, and I -- stood in the bathroom. We closed the door and my tin water bottle fell to the floor. BANG! This happened when I was trying to frame the perfect photo. SORRY! So much for being discreet. I'm sure the realtor thought I broke something valuable, nope...just dropped my water bottle aka security blanket.

Isn't this a lovely vanity? Trey could build this too. What? He's a woodworking natural. I'm just saying...


Previous Post About Open Houses:
1. A Contactor Exploded in Trey's Face
2. Shopping & Open Houses

-----------------------
Update: Pomodoro Sauce

I know in the previous post, I said I would retire the sauce -- WELL...........I was too lazy to make another meal just for my brown bag, so I packed the last bit of noodles+sauce.

This afternoon, I microwaved my spaghetti to the perfect temperature, took five steps, and the bowl slipped from my hands. NOOOO! It fell on the lobby floor. Yuck. I suppose this is Pomodoro's way of breaking up with me.

PomoD: It's ova. 
Me: Whatever, I was gonna dump you tomorrow. You did me a favor. 

Luckily, a co-worker brought a giant size enchilada casserole. She shared and it was delicious. Pomodoro who?

Recycled Pomodoro Sauce

Two things about the sauce:

1. Chey did not like the tomato chunks and mushrooms.
2. Once she plucked them out she devoured it.

Here face says it all. Mmmmmmmmm!



Let's see how many meals can this sauce appear in?
*I honestly considered putting the sauce on my eggs this morning, but I resisted.
1. Monday Dinner: Pizza
2. Tuesday Dinner: Spaghetti
3. Wednesday Lunch: More Spaghetti

How do you eat spaghetti? I like to eat my spaghetti with loads of veggies. I start with an oversized bowl 1/3 spaghetti and the rest is filled with an arugula/spinach mix, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes.

Okay, enough of this food talk, I think it's time to retire the leftovers to the freezer. Bye-Bye.

How Do You Taper?

Cowtown is Sunday, which means at this point, my training is all about the taper. I don't know what it is, but I'm struggling this time around.

I want to run! I want to move! It's Wednesday, which means I've usually racked up a minimum of 12 miles. Do you know how many I've ran so far? Three and that was with Cheyenne on Monday. Since last week, I've been dealing with mild calf soreness. I'm trying to play it smart, by resting as much as possible. I slept in yesterday morning and didn't workout. I know I needed the rest, but after dinner I put my workout clothes on and seriously considered walking on the treadmill or cross training on the elliptical. Somehow, the smart me, stopped me. Instead, I sat on the couch and read a book for two hours. The entire time the treadmill was staring me down. I ignored it and ate a bag of Trey's potato chips. I wanted chocolate, but we didn't have any.

Tonight, I'm going to do an easy run, after Chey goes to bed. I will do my best to hold back my effort. MUST conserve it for Sunday's 31 miler. No, that is not a typo.

Junkyard Parts

This past weekend, Trey went to the junkyard with his Dad and brother. They found three items for the truck.

1. Support Rod
2. Rock Guard
3. Fender

I think that's what they are called. What do I know? That's why Trey is restoring the truck and not me.

Pomodoro Sauce & Flaxseed Pizza Crust

I love to experiment with healthy recipes, especially Italian recipes. A few months ago, I found a pasta sauce recipe in Runners World. I bookmarked it and I've been planning on making it for a long time. Well, yesterday I finally made it. When I look for new recipes I look for simple ingredients, meaning if I look at the back of the label on the can or box I don't see a billion ingredients. Also, it has to pass the recognition test. I should be able to pronounce and recognize most, if not all the ingredients.

Pomodora Sauce
Pomodora is Italian for tomato. Runners World has the full recipe on their site, if you are interested.

Main Ingredients:

I was off to a good start, or so I thought. I had the extra virgin olive oil warmed and then I added the garlic.

Apparently, the oil heated too fast and burnt the garlic. YIKES.

There was no way I was going to eat that, so I started over.

Pomodora Sauce, take two. Yes, that's more like it.

After the garlic browned, I added the tomato sauce and sprinkled in oregano. It was optional to add Sicilian oregano, but my grocery store did not carry it, so I added plain ole' oregano. I wish I still had my rosemary plant, I would've stuck some springs in there too.

I let the sauce simmer for 45 minutes. Ohhh, Bubbles...
I set the sauce aside and used it on the pizza crust. I have loads of left overs. Hmm, sooo I'm wondering --- Is it safe to freeze this? I'm not sure since the tomatoes came from a can? Thoughts?


Now, moving on to the crust -----
Flaxseed Pizza Crust

Main Ingredients: Again simple ingredients
I found this recipe online, here it is if you are interested.

Is it just me, or does this look like a huge hamburger patty? I let the patty bake until cooked.

Toppings Galore! I reserved a section for Cheyenne. Do you see it?

The finished product, served with mixed greens.

Loads of veggies and healthy grains.

Now, that I've made this recipe and realize how thick the dough is, I will spread the dough out more and add less baking powder.

Overall Grades:

Pomodoro Sauce: A-

• I would like to make this again, but add my own garden fresh herbs. 

Pizza Crust: B-

• Only because the crust was so stinking thick. 

Abilene 10 Miler

Distance: 9.92 miles
Duration: 01:29:56
Average Pace Per Mile: 9:03
Weather: It was about 60 degrees and overcast.
Notes: Soreness in my left calf and at one point I got runners knee (right side).

Since I was in Abilene this weekend, I decided to run my old neighborhood. I started near a park and worked my way through several neighborhoods. I passed an old church and admired the architecture.

Taking a few photos, gave me a chance to catch my breathe.

The church sits on a hill.

I love to run this neighborhood and some days I miss it. I use to run the area with my doberman pincher. Aww, I miss him too. One of the main reasons I enjoy this area is because of the character of the homes. French cottage, tudor, craftsman, victorian style homes. They are all so lovely. Our current neighborhood has homes like that too, but they are new, they don't have the history and that extra charm.

I couldn't resist, I had to run past my old house. I didn't take a picture of it because I thought it would be creepy if my old neighbors spotted me...Anyways, the current homeowners are not really taking care of the exterior of the house. I'm actually disappointed to see the home in such a sad state. It's a shame because it has so much potential.

After my run, I stopped at H-E-B and treated myself to my favorite coffee, Taste of Abilene. AND I couldn't leave that side of town without stopping at La Popular for breakfast burritos, so that was my second stop before calling it a morning. Trey's mom watched Chey for me while I was running. It was nice not having to hurry back after a run. Thanks Jomi. 

Abilene, It's Been A While

It's been forever and a day, since we made a trip to Abilene. But here we are. It's been fantastic visiting and catching up with everybody.

Bella, my niece

She just got her ears pierced

Right now, she's in the beginning stages of crawling...go.go.go.

Amy scheduled for the three girls to take portraits together. We did our best trying to get Chey and Bella to cooperate, but it didn't go so well. As you may recall, my daughter has issues taking professional portraits. Well, some things don't change. We ended up with one "decent" photo, but Chey put her hand in her mouth. Amy said it's okay, because she's a baby. I'll post the photo when I receive it.

Here are a few photos I took, while the girls were waiting to take pictures:

Angelica is a doll.

I'm not sure why, but Chey put herself in timeout. What's up with that?

Natasha and I went shopping and found this pretty dress for Chey for only $14.99. Bargain shoppers, oh yeah. We call this dress, her princess dress.

Bella was drooling, so she wore her diva bib. And then she acted like a diva during the photo session. People, the bib don't lie! 

Chey wore her hair down. It's getting super long. I'm glad she has my curly-curls.

Baby curls

After we took pictures, we met up with mom and Frank at Texas Roadhouse.

The food was TERRIBLE! But the company was great.

Trey looks like he's a head taller, compared to us shorties.

Mom and I ordered a margarita, but they gave us water limeade. Even after they took the drinks back and doctored them, they still were a watered down version of a lime drink. GAH. The drinks were eventually taken off the bill. Thank goodness. I wish I had taken a photo to show you. There was no color to it. It was clear as day.

Today, Frank made me a drink while I was over there. It was perfect-O. It even had color! I should've paid him 12 dollars for it. Ha!