The Vernonia Half Marathon marked my 5th half in a year, as well as my 5th half marathon ever. Last May I ran my first half at Disneyland. Apparently the enjoyment outweighed the pain and agony since I keep going back for more. I commemorated #5 by wearing the same outfit as I wore at my first one. Trust me, I felt like I needed all the help I could get to finish this race. As it turned out, I did better than I dared to hope for.

Getting to the Start Line

This was a point to point course, which I believe is a first for me. I parked in Banks and at the High School were buses ready to take us to the start line at Stub Stewart State Park.

The Start

Fairly typical start line routine.

The Course

The course began uphill, but amazingly enough that first mile went by quickly. My time wasn’t faster than normal, it just seemed to go by quick. It was a great way to start the event.

A little after the mile 1 marker were two people cheering us on in critter masks. I took a selfie with them because I really appreciate people going out of their way to make sure we have a good race.

The next number of miles were downhill. Downhill! Woop, woop! It only seemed like a steep downgrade for the first little bit, then it felt very gradual.

By about mile 7 the course flattened out and was fairly flat the rest of the way… no wonder I enjoyed this course.

Mile 10 tends to be where I slow down. I don’t often run over 10 miles while training, so it’s no wonder that I’m not used to it. However, this time I kept my pace and was still feeling good past mile 10!

I don’t know who the photographer was who took this photo, but I’d like to thank him. This is the first professional race photo I’ve ever liked of myself. And, even better is that it was taken during a PR race and is taken on my home turf in the Oregon Coast Range.

Map My Run Stats

I did 5min/2:15min intervals throughout the entire race. Those times seemed to work perfectly that day.

Eats

I have never been so happy to see olives and oranges. By happy I mean I nearly started crying. Two weeks prior to the race I began the JJ Virgin Diet. I realize starting a new way of eating 2 weeks before an event is not smart. But, lately I always seem to be training for an event and at some point I was just going to have to go for it. So, I went for it. I am not bashing the JJ Virgin Diet, but I have never felt worse than I did those 2 weeks of starting that diet. I think there were a few contributing factors that were out of my normal. But, whatever the reasons, I had been miserable.

Because of the diet I couldn’t partake in my normal race gu’s, gels, gatorade, etc. I hadn’t cheated one tiny bit during those two weeks and I had one week left to go. I didn’t want to mess it up because of the run. However, I did want to have a good event. So, I made an electrolyte drink to take with me and packed filberts for a snack. Unfortunately, I forgot the filberts in the car and the electrolyte drink was so horrible I could hardly drink it.

So when I got to the aid station to find not only the normal gu and gatorade, but also a wide range of other snacks, I was ecstatic. They had gummy bears and m&m’s, which I couldn’t have. They had bananas and peanuts, which I also couldn’t have. They had oranges and olives and I couldn’t believe my luck. As stupid as it sounds – and maybe I have a food issue – but those few olives and orange slices were the encouragement I needed. I was getting slightly concerned how I was going to finish the race strong on just water and a few sips of disgusting homemade electrolyte drink.

They had these treats at 2 of the aid stations. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The Finish

Coming off the trail and into the town of Banks I realized I could actually PR this race, so even though I was getting tired I gave it all I had ’til the very end. I knew it wouldn’t be the case, but I was still hoping that once I got to the high school track the finish would be right there. But, nope. Of course I had to do a lap around the track. I completed the lap and sure enough I PR’d.

My chip time was 26 minutes faster than my chip time at the Star Wars Half in January.

My Food & Drink

As I mentioned earlier, I was doing the first phase of the JJ Virgin Diet when this half marathon came around. This screwed up my typical food options before, during and after the race.

I typically have water at the aid stations and often also have the gatorade or other similar drink. Not this time. I found an electrolyte drink to make at home and brought it with me. I guesstimated on the amounts when adding the honey & sea salt. I may have over done them. Or, I’m not a huge honey fan, so I may just not have liked it. But, either way, the drink was horrible. So horrible it was all I could do to drink the amount I did. After I found the olives and oranges I quit drinking it all together. FYI: honey was technically a no-no on the diet, too. But, I figured I would have it anyway since I was opting out of the gatorade.

Another missing drink from my normal was Advocare’s Spark, or some other drink with caffeine. I usually drink it on the way to an event. Then, I’ll have a gu or clif shot blok during the run. All of those items were out this time. So, I opted for a caffeine tablet. I had never bought them before and was shocked to see how much caffeine was in one tablet. I cut it in half and had one section before the race and the other half during. Maybe that’s what put a little boost in my step.

And finally, my post race food. I would have loved to partake in the soup and stuff offered at the event. Unfortunately, not this time. I wasn’t sure what I would want afterwards or how hungry I’d be so I packed an apple, cutie, almonds, rice crackers and gimme chips.

Music

The final difference during this race than previous races was my music. Maybe I need to climb out of the rock I apparently live under, but I had know idea until recently that you could download your amazon prime music to your phone.

Normally I buy the music I want to listen to from Amazon and download the mp3’s to my phone.

However, I have Amazon Prime. So, most of that buying wasn’t necessary. I listen to Amazon Prime music all the time when I’m at home and sitting at my computer. I have hundreds of songs in my library and have a few playlists set up. I stream it when I’m home. I assumed that’s how it worked on your phone, too. A fabulous friend of mine recently told me, though, that I could download the songs using the Amazon app on my phone. This tidbit of info saved my patootie. About a week before the race I got a new phone and when I went for a training run I realized I hadn’t downloaded any music on it. Dang it! How was I going to run an hour and a half without music? Then I remembered what my friend told me. So, I thought I’d try it. And sure enough. Using wi-fi at the library, I quickly saved a number of songs using the Amazon app, went for my run and enjoyed some tunes. The nice thing about this method was that it gave me a whole new playlist to listen to during this half marathon than what I usually listen to run after run.

Fitbit Stats

Not all 30,000 steps were from the race, but the majority were. Ironically, the 30,000 step badge is named a trail shoe. Fitting since I just ran on a trail.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this event a lot. It was definitely the pick me up I needed from the last 2 weeks of feeling miserable. The people running the event seemed efficient. Taking the bus to the start line went smoothly. I loved running on the Banks-Vernonia Trail. The people at the aid stations were friendly and encouraging. I felt good the majority of the race. And, the PR was amazing. I’m not gonna lie, though. I was sore the next few days. More sore than I had been in a long time. Maybe it was those miles of downhill? Maybe it was my lightning quick feet that day? Maybe it was all the fatigue from the 2 weeks prior? I’m not sure, but wowzers I was feeling the pains of this race for days.

The post 2016 Race Recap – Vernonia Half Marathon appeared first on .

In May, I ran my first half marathon – it was the Tinkerbell at Disneyland. That was an accomplishment I was super proud about. Who knew I could do such a thing?

And now I can say I’ve completed two half marathons!

Besides a Disney event, the other event calling my name was the Rock n Roll half marathon in Las Vegas. I thought it would be a year or two before I’d do it, but it ended up working out to go this year. So, two RunCations in one year. Amazing! It’s getting slightly addicting. Somehow I convinced two of my very best friends to tag along with me. They aren’t runners, but they are always up for a girls weekend away.

It was a quick trip leaving early Saturday morning and arriving back home early Monday morning. We’ve all been to Vegas a number of times, so a quick trip was perfectly fine.

Heading to Vegas

Believe it or not, the carpet throughout the Portland International Airport has become a thing. The old carpet was being replaced and it became a game to find sections of the old carpet and take a pic. The old PDX Carpet was even the Grand Marshal in the Starlight Parade and has its own Instagram hashtag. There’s not much left of the old carpet, if any at all, so our obligatory pic is with the new carpet.

The Expo

First thing we did once landing in Vegas was take the monorail to the Expo.

I grabbed my bib, bag and shirt – which was a simple process. Walked through the Brooks/Rock n Roll merchandise area. Bought a shot glass. Exited into the main vendor area. And left. I would have liked to check out the vendor area more, but I could tell my friends were bored already so we moved on.

The Strip

We spent the rest of the day and most of the next day wandering the strip.

The only extra thing I did was the CSI Experience. It’s in Vegas, so of course it wasn’t cheap, but it was a fun way to spend an hour. And, we did solve the crime.

Our Hotel

This was our first time staying at the Monte Carlo. I don’t have much to say about it. It was a typical Vegas hotel room. However, we did get one with a view of the strip – so that was freaking awesome.

Race Attire

In my head I had a fabulously blinged out Vegas/Elvis costume planned. However, time and reality toned down the entire idea.

Here is what I ended up wearing – still Elvis inspired, but not so much in the bling department:
Shirt: From Kohl’s, with an added red “scarf” sewn on by me
Pants: Nike
Elvis Glasses: From Amazon

Before the Race

The strip was closed well before the start time, so many people walked down the road to the entrance. Many people, myself included, were taking pics standing in the strip with all the famous hotels in the background.

I got to the pre race area a little later than I would have liked, but it worked out fine. I watched the end of Kid Rock’s performance, tinkled, then it was time to head to my corral.

I knew these dark clouds rollin’ in couldn’t be good…

The official start time for the race was 4:30pm. However I was placed in corral 39, so I had a long wait until I made it to the start line.

Waiting is the worst part. But since I’m not fast, it’s expected and I usually am prepared for the wait. This time, though, it was particularly rough. I wasn’t dressed for cold weather (rookie mistake), and it was cold. Then the rain came. Not a drenching mass of pouring rain, but enough to make the cold seem even colder. Plus, I’ll admit, the rain just made me grumpy. I live in Oregon; I’m used to rain. But, I didn’t travel to the desert to stand in the rain. Then the wind joined the cold and rain.

Finally, around 5:35, my corral made it to the start line. It was still cold, rainy, and windy, but at least we could finally get going.

Miles 1-2

The first attraction to see was the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. It’s at the far end of the strip, so I’ve only seen it once before. Seeing the sign slightly regained my excitement.

The blustery weather stayed with us throughout this section and it seemed to take forever to make it to the main part of the strip.

Miles 2-6

These were the good miles, from about New York, New York to the Stratosphere. The rain had stopped, although wind gusts still came and went. The scenery was fabulous. And most importantly, I felt good.

There were a number of photo ops, although none with Elvis like I was hoping. I did find a “Run now, Tequila later” guy, though.

The Eiffel Tower at Paris had gone dark due to the recent events in France.

Maybe I missed something, but I only noticed a couple stations playing music, no actual bands playing until about Mile 4 when I ran by the KISS stage. And, I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t Kissed Alive playing like what was advertised. I enjoyed whoever was playing, though, for the short time I stopped and listened.

Miles 6-11

Around mile 7 my hips started bothering me, so I started walking more. I’m not sure why. I haven’t had hip pain while running in a long time. Since it was cold, maybe my body stiffened up in that hour while waiting to cross the start line. ??? Being in pain makes the moment less enjoyable, but I tried to keep positive.

After the Stratosphere, we went into an older section of Vegas. We went by many wedding chapels and the Pawn Shop from the show Pawn Stars. We went through a neighborhood and ended up on Fremont Street before making our way back to Las Vegas Blvd.

Thankfully, the rain didn’t return. However, strong wind gusts would come plowing in occasionally. I don’t know exactly how strong they were. I’ve read some reports of 25mph all the way up to 60mph. I can tell you, though, it was strong at times, making it difficult to continue running. About 30 feet in front of me a metal gate that was being used to block a road was picked up and blown across the entire road right in front of a group of runners. Thank goodness they were paying attention and dodged it.

I was happy to hear 3 or 4 bands playing throughout this section of the race.

Miles 11-13.1

Unfortunately my phone died during this section, which means I don’t have any pictures of the finish. Boo! My hips were still bothering me, but I did pick up my pace hoping to make my phone last all the way to the end. No such luck.

I don’t remember a whole lot about this section except being thrilled once I passed the Stratosphere and the main part of the strip was getting closer.

A little more than 3 hours after crossing the start line, I crossed the finish line. Woop, woop!

The finish section was long, but I didn’t mind. It was like a built in cool down. There were lots of snacks available and a much needed heat sheet.

Celebrating

Remember that “Run Now, Tequila Later” sign? Well, I finished the run part. Now was time for the tequila (or two) part.

I probably didn’t express it, but it meant the world to me that my girlfriends came with me to Vegas.

Swag

I run for bling and I absolutely love the medal! The shirt is awesome, too.

Rock n Roll Finisher Badge

I was emailed a bunch of badges from the Rock n Roll series. I am nerdy enough that I thought they were all awesome. My favorite, though, was the one saying I finished 13.1 miles.

FitBit Info

It’s interesting to me to see my heart rate throughout the course. It’s exactly as I remember it. The first half is fairly steady, then the second half clearly shows many walk breaks.

To Sum it Up

I’m not going to lie, I preferred the Tinkerbell Half to this one. I think there are a few factors weighing my decision. One – I’m a morning person. I prefer to run in the morning. The Tinkerbell was in the morning. I was sleepy tired by the time the Rock n Roll race even started. Two – The wait time for the Tinkerbell was 26 minutes. Rock n Roll was 65 minutes. Three – The weather totally sucked at the Rock n Roll. I was tired, cold and wet before I even embarked on the 13+ miles.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the Rock n Roll event. It was a good experience and I loved running down the strip. I even enjoyed the section off the strip. By then I was hurting, but I still enjoyed the atmosphere. The lack of bands was disappointing, but maybe I went there with false expectations. I came home with aching muscles, an awesome medal and a fabulous feeling of accomplishment.

Apparently I’ve already forgotten about the less than ideal weather and achy breaky hips because once home I signed up for 3 more half’s, on top of the one I was already signed up for in January.

The post 2015 Race Recap: Rock n Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon appeared first on .

About a year ago, I gave myself the goal of completing a half marathon. 13.1 miles is a long way & I wanted my first one to be fun. So, I chose the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland. I trained & the event had finally arrived. I completed the half and it was better than I dared to think it could be. Here’s my recap of this awesome event hosted by Run Disney:

COSTUME

Since this was going to be my first Disney run & it is Tinker Bell themed, I really wanted to dress as a fairy. I chose Fawn. In reality, my costume resembles Fawn very little. But she was my inspiration. I wouldn’t typically pay good money for an orange shirt.
Headband: From Sparkly Soul. I hadn’t decided what I was going to do with my hair. Typically I do a basic pony tail. But, Fawn wears a braid. I also wanted to add a dash of green to my costume & hadn’t quite figured that out. When my friends & I went to the Expo Sparkly Soul was selling sparkly green headbands. The day of the race I wore the sparkly green headband and put my hair in a side braid. It worked perfectly. The headband stayed put and the side braid didn’t drive me crazy like I was afraid it might.
Shirt: Nike
Skirt: From Sweet Spot Skirts. When I ran the Heartbreaker 10k, Sweet Spot Skirts was there as a vendor selling their reversible skirts.
Leggings: Nike
Socks: Nike
Wings: From Sparkle Athletic. Before I left home I sewed the middle part of the wings to my shirt. The day of the run, I put one safety pin near the top of each shoulder. Totally worked. The wings didn’t shift or bobble. I could hardly tell they were even there. Awesome! I should run with wings more often.

I also wore pretty magenta Jamberry nail wraps that had a woman running on them. Super cute. However, I really don’t like the nail wraps. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe my nails are too curved. Maybe I’m too picky. But, I can’t get them to be wrinkle free no matter what I do. And, it never fails that whenever I do my hair one strand gets caught under a wrap. Annoying. I knew I wouldn’t like wearing them, but I had them and saved them for this run. So I wore them.

WAITING TO START

The run started at 5:30am. I left the hotel at 4:30 and headed over. It was a little bit of a jaunt, but I figured it was a good warm up. I stopped at a restroom in Downtown Disney for one last tinkle. I’m glad I did because the lines at the porta potties closer to the start were crazy long. I didn’t really know where the start line was, but I just followed the crowd & eventually found my corral, which was D. Then, I waited impatiently. Right around 5:30 the elite racers & Corral A began their run. According to my phone, I crossed the start line at 5:56am.
I was happy to see the 3 hour pacer nearby, as that was my goal. I figured if I stayed near her, I would make my goal and have no need to worry about getting picked up by the sweeper. However, I lost sight of her by Mile 2, probably from me stopping to take a million photos once we entered the parks.

AWAY WE GO!

I was so excited & could hardly believe I was about to actually run this race. Tinker Bell began the countdown and Minnie & Daisy cheered us on. The first mile, or so, was outside the park. Rounding a corner and seeing the beautiful California sunrise was a perfect start to the race.

RUNNING THROUGH THE DISNEY PARKS

Right around Mile 1 we made it into the Disney parks. We ran through California Adventure, Disneyland, Downtown Disney & the Disney back lots. I had the music on my phone playing like I usually do while running. But, there was so much excitement & other music around that I ended up taking out my earbuds.

CHARACTER SIGHTINGS & PHOTO OPS

Throughout the parks were various characters ready for photos. No offense to the others, but I only stopped for the fairies. Oh, and a horse. I took a picture with a Disneyland horse. Yes, I did.
I was thoroughly impressed with how efficient the lines for the character photos were. At the main characters, there was a professional photographer. But also there were plenty of Disney cast members ready to take the photo with your own camera. The lines moved quickly with everyone antsy to continue their run.

Holy cow, there’s Jack Sparrow! He was up on a ledge, so we couldn’t take a pic with him. But, it was still fun to see him.

Left: While running through the back lots, there were a variety of items on display – like this Toy Story float from a parade. So, so awesome!
Right: The Lost Boys on King Arthur’s Carrousel. I loved those guys.

RUNNING THE STREETS OF ANAHEIM

This was the section I was worried about. I was afraid I’d get bored once out of the parks and therefore notice how tired I was. There was still about half the race to go and no Disney fun to entertain me. But, nope, I didn’t get bored.
While running through the parks, I stopped a lot. Outside the park, I focused more on my running. But, took walk breaks when needed. I know the reason my spirit was high even at Mile 10. It was all the people cheering us on. It’s hard to feel defeated when so many people are rooting for you. Hundreds, thousands, of amazing people making my first half marathon a truly great experience.

NEARING THE FINISH

I DID IT!

I don’t even know how to describe the feeling I had at that moment. I did it! I completed a half marathon! And, I even felt good at the end.

PLAYING IN THE PARKS THE REST OF THE DAY

After I finished, I was tired. But, not too tired to enjoy the parks. I absolutely wore my medal that entire day. I was/am proud of it.

FIT BIT

A little extra bonus for me that day was my phone chiming at me telling me I had new messages. Five messages throughout the day, to be exact. It was Fit Bit alerting me that I earned a new badge. I’ve been wearing my Fit Bit for almost a year and the highest step badge I’d earned was for 25,000 steps. That day in May, I earned the 30,000, 35,000, 40,000, 45,000 & 50,000 steps badges. A half marathon + playing at Disneyland the rest of the day = 51,746 steps.

SWAG

I couldn’t have dreamt about a better race experience. My costume came together and worked well for 13+ miles. 16,000 runners/joggers/walkers and very little chaos. Many bathrooms & porta potties throughout the entire race, so lines weren’t long. Running down Main Street, USA! Captain Jack Sparrow & The Lost Boys spunky attitudes to make me giggle. Hundreds of Red Hat Ladies. So many fun signs to read & entertain me. The weather was coolish & only started getting warm near the end. Plenty of water & powerade stops. My friends that came with me on the trip were so, so encouraging and proud of me. An awesome medal with a twirling Tink.

There is only one damper on the whole event. And, that is that I do not have an official race time. My e-chip never registered me going over the start line. Boo! This explains why my hubby never received email notifications as I was running. Thank goodness I had set both my Nike+ and Map My Walk apps to record. I also took plenty of pictures with the time listed in their properties. So, I have an idea of my finish time. The Nike app recorded about a half an hour less than the Map My Walk. That’s because whenever I stopped & waited in line for a photo or bathroom break the app paused. Which tells me, I stood in line about half an hour through the course. On my Bib & Bling Board, I recorded my time at 3:19:56. If I had an official time, it should have been close to that. It wasn’t quite the 3 hour mark I was aiming for. Although, the Nike app recorded it at under 3 hours. I don’t mind that my “official” time is 20 minutes more than I was hoping for mainly because I felt good all the way to the end. Had I pushed myself even more, I don’t think I would have felt as great when I finished. So, I’m glad I went at a comfortable pace, finished strong & was able to spend the rest of the day enjoying Disneyland.

Now my dilemma is which half to do next?

Click here to read my recap of the Neverland 5K.

The post 2015 Race Recap – Tinker Bell Half Marathon appeared first on .