North Face Endurance 10K

For the 2nd weekend day in a row, my alarm clock went off at 5:20am.  They day before I had to wake up early to drive down to Luray for a practice open water swim as part of the bay swim training.  I haven't had a weekend like this with back-to-back early workout days since Ironman training!

Me, Lacey and Jessie before getting on the shuttles!

I made the drive out to Loudoun County and met up with Lacey, Jessie and Mindy before catching the shuttles to our various races.  Lacey and I were doing the 10K and Jessie and Mindy were doing the half marathon, which started in a different location, but we would all end up at the same finish line.  Between the shuttle ride, picking up my packet and shirt, dropping off my bag at bag check, and using the bathrooms, we didn't have much time to get bored before lining up for the start.  Lacey was wave #3 and I was wave #5 but they seemed pretty relaxed about the whole thing so I went ahead and started with Lacey.

Lacey, Mindy and me

Of course, Lacey and I only stayed together for about a quarter of a mile as we ran through the grass around the field.  This was the same course as the North Face Marathon Relay that I did last year, but luckily not *quite* as muddy.  I jogged the entire field portion, a little less than a mile, before giving myself a walk break.  I did my normal run when I can, walk when I need/want to routine as I went through the golf course, onto the wide path and crossed a couple bridges. 

When I got into the trail section, I saw the leaders returning from the out and back course.  I decided to jog until I saw Lacey.  This was mostly single track, so everyone was running single file, and it was a little hard to run past everyone going the other direction.  Everyone was so freaking nice, cheering me on, giving me high-fives.  It was to the point that I thought maybe they felt sorry for me being so far in the back.  I glanced around and was happy to see that there was a steady stream of people behind me also. Phew.  Then I saw Lacey, gave her a high five, and rewarded myself with another walk break. 

Lacey and I finished the 10K!

The sections back in the woods were really nice and scenic.  A girl passed me about halfway through the run, and I managed to keep up with her for the second half of the race.  We leap frogged each other and it was nice to have the motivation to keep going.  I was in the last mile or so when the lead half marathon runner passed me.  Luckily we were back on the wide trail by then and he was able to pass easily.  Back through the golf course, and I was almost done!  I started running just before the 6 mile marker and jogged my way into the finish, thankful I hadn't decided to sign up for a longer distance race as I had been tempted to when Mindy and Jessie sent out the link.

Mindy and Jessie after the half marathon finish!

I got some water, met up with Lacey and got my bag.  We walked around for a little while before Lacey had to head out to make it up to Philly for work.  I hung around for awhile and cheered in the half marathoners, waiting for Jessie and Mindy.  Then it was off to Joann's house for a shower and a day of lounging around on her back deck.

preparing for the bay swim

By the time I actually got into the bay swim in the 4th (and final) round of the lottery, I was already 4 weeks into the training plan.  The plan called for 4500 that week but I could barely swim 3000 (hadn't really been in a pool for about a year, and not consistently since ironman training).  I made myself a modified plan that gave me a build up to the mileage, still making sure I got in 3 workouts of 7000 before the event.  So far, I've only missed one!

Literally, the idea of swimming more than 3000 yards during a single swim workout has been mind-blowing.  The monotony of swimming back and forth, back and forth, back and forth... it would make anybody want to scream in absolute boredom!

That's my brother and JJ in the top, and Seamus on the bottom.. no photo op with my SIL, Jessi

I did my longest workout ever of 5000 yards before driving down to the outer banks to hang out with my brother and his family for the weekend.  I was so freaking proud of myself. I mean, FIVE THOUSAND YARDS!!!

Me, Paula, Cindy, Joann and Anjelika.. one of the few shots of all 5 of us!

Then I headed down to Fort Lauderdale for a girls trip and let's be honest.  It's amazing that I even made it to the pool.  This is the one that I missed, but I did get in a decent workout, swimming long course at the swimming hall of fame. 

And then I did 6000.  I did it twice.  And then once more. 

And then this happened.  7000 yards.  LONGEST. SWIM. EVER. It really sucked, mostly mind-numbing swimming back and forth for that long.  Holy goggle eyes!!  It's a little daunting to think I have to swim this distance in the pool two more times before the bay swim.....

I did my first practice open water swim of the season this past weekend down in Luray.  First time in a wetsuit since October 2015, and wow was that a struggle!!  I'm not sure what happened the first loop (course set up in 150m loops) - my goggles were leaking, I was uncomfortable in my wetsuit, I couldn't get my breath to even out. I stopped and switched goggles, adjusted the wetsuit, and was fine after that....but slow!  Makes me a little nervous.

There are 3 more open water swims on my calendar leading up to the big day.  3 miles in a river that is similar the Choptank (think Eagleman.. Ironman Maryland) just a bit past Cambridge in Salisbury on the eastern shore.  Then there is another 3 miles in Reston over Memorial Day weekend, broken up into 2 events, a 1mi and then a 2mi swim back to back.  Finally, the week before the Bay Swim, I'll be swimming across the Potomac for one more practice.  Oh and I signed up for a 3 day swim camp in North Carolina later this month - so excited!

Albuquerque Half Marathon

Going into my 3rd week of travel in a row, I flew into Albuquerque, arriving around noon on Friday.  Deb picked me up and we went straight to packet pickup after checking into the hotel.  We had a quiet evening and got to bed pretty early.

When I woke up - well before my alarm, thanks to the time zone change - 13.1 miles was seriously the last thing I wanted to do.  I got up though, got dressed and ate some breakfast at the hotel.  We drove to the race start, still dreading what was to come.

Did I mentioned I hadn't really trained?  I've been doing Orangetheory which includes a good amount of time on the treadmill, but that's about it.  I've really been focusing on swim training for the Bay Swim that's coming up.

Once the race started, I got into an easy jog and trudged along.  This was a really small race, much smaller than I had anticipated, and suddenly thoughts of being DFL (dead f'ing last) popped into my mind.  I glanced around and noticed a few others going a similar pace, some slightly faster and some slightly slower.  I actually wish I had a pocket or something to carry my phone because the course was really pretty and I would have liked to capture a photo or two.

I really do love traveling for races like this because it's such a good way to see new places.  The race took us all through Albuquerque, over the Rio Grande River, through some fields and a bunch of interesting neighborhoods.  I jogged when I could walked when I wanted to.  A few times I would spot somebody ahead of me and make a concerted effort to catch up.  Eventually there were 5 of us, pretty well spaced out, bringing up the rear (though I *know* there were more people behind me and think they turned off a the 10K race for a quicker route to the finish).  We kept plugging along, all of us in a solid walk by this point, ticking off the miles one at a time.

Finally, I was in the service road leading up to the finish.  The time limit for the race was 3.5 hours and I jogged across the finish line with 15 seconds to spare!  Though, they did let the woman behind me finish as well.  Then there was the LONG walk to the shuttle bus back to the car.  And when I say long... I mean a full mile.  My legs did not like that!  But we did it, albeit with some chaffing...

We rewarded ourselves with a massage that afternoon, dinner in downtown Albuquerque and then had another early evening.  Facials were on tap for Sunday morning, and we enjoyed a nice dip in the hot tub at the spa before heading out on a little hike at the Petroglyph National Monument. 

And then you know I can't visit a new state without visiting a local winery!  A busy day for sure, and I slept well before the long travel day home.  Phew... This ended 3 straight weekends of travel and I was happy to be back in my own bed!