CDA Half Marathon: I Survived! (Race Recap)

I ran/walked the CDA Half Marathon Sunday morning.

This was my second year running this race.  The course was entirely different this year: still some hills but very shady and beautiful.  I thought it was a great course.

The race benefits the Centennial Trail Foundation, so it makes sense to have the course feature some of the most beautiful stretches of the Centennial Trail.

I woke up at 5 for the 7:30 start.  Last weekend before my trail run, I felt like I didn't have enough to eat and had too much water before the race.  This time I got it right: I had 1/2 a bagel, banana and half a cup of coffee.  I also sipped some water occasionally up until about 15 minutes before the race started.  I drove downtown around 6 because I wasn't sure how tough it would be to park.  Needless to say, I got a spot 1 block away from the start, whoop whoop!  #winning  I walked down to try to exchange my shirt at late packet pick up in the resort, but they were only doing exchanges after the race.  I tried to use the bathroom in the resort across the hall from packet pick up and they had locked the doors!!  Boo on you, CDA Resort!  #notrunnerfriendly.

Marathoners started at 7 am and Halfers started at 7:30.  It was nice and cool, in the low 50s for the start.  There was an adorable kid playing his guitar and singing just around the corner from the start - he was rocking out! 

I planned to take walk breaks every 5 minutes so I wouldn't completely bonk.  I ran the first 2 miles and then started my 30 sec walk breaks.  I didn't end up doing this exactly every 5 minutes because I walked thru a few of the water stations and didn't walk any downhills.  I didn't take my gel until 1 hour in, which might have been a little too late because I started to feel pretty pooped around miles 7-8, and I think those may have been my slowest miles.

I chatted with a really nice woman around mile 10 - she was from Naples, FL!  She had the prettiest southern accent and we traded stories about the Sunshine State.  We parted ways at a water stop, but she totally zoomed by me shortly before the finish line.

My time was 15 minutes slower than last year.  Yikes!  That's a lot, but that is what I get for not getting the long runs and workouts in.  I have been running a couple of days a week, but just jogging along for 2-4 miles is not the path to improvement.  I am still glad that I did it and glad to have finished healthy.  Here's to a great start to summer. 

In Brief:
Expo: small, packet pick up is a breeze, shirts are good
Half Mary: About 900 runners/walkers, out & back course (marathoners do 2 laps, so you get to see them run by), some teeny hills, 1 moderate hill, shady with good crowd support, except for coming up out of Sanders beach - where was everyone??!!
Post-race: line for water (wish they had bottles, or some prepped!) was kind of long, bananas, bagels, oranges, cookies, beer garden (but we didn't stick around for it), cool medals (much better than last year)

Trail Maniacs State Park Series #1 - Farragut State Park 5 Miler

Last weekend I ran in the first annual State Park Series hosted by the Trail Maniacs.

What a blast!

The SPS is a series of trail runs held at gorgeous state parks in Idaho and Washington all summer long.  There was a 5 mile race and a half marathon race, I opted for the 5 miler because I have my half marathon this weekend (gulp).

I did not have a fast race, but it was a ton of fun!  The scenery is incredible and the atmosphere was really nice too.

We drove up as a family, and D & M were able to explore and play while I ran.  The course had some ups and downs, with one steep hill that I had to walk up.  It was very shaded and picturesque as we ran along the shoreline of Lake Pen d'Oreille.  I was amazed at how sore my feet and lower legs were on Sunday and Monday - mostly from the rockiness and unevenness of the trail - but that is trail running in north Idaho!

It took me about an hour and three minutes to complete the run.  Whew, it was tough - trail running is so different from road running.  They had a great set up of grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, chips, cookies, beer, water and soda available as some post-race goodies.  I ate more than I should have - doesn't everything taste better after a nice, hard run?  There was also a raffle for some cool running gear - sadly, I didn't win anything - next time!

After the race, we hiked around and checked out some of the views.  The park was a Naval Training Station in WWII (yes, I said Navy in land-locked Idaho), so there are some old remnants from those days.  Then we got on our bikes and biked over to one of the campgrounds where our friends were camping.  We will definitely be back to camp this summer.  We've heard the park gets pretty busy as it warms up, but there is so much more there that we want to explore.

The race and the day spent at the park was a lot of fun and I am hoping to participate in some of the other races in the series this summer.  M was in heaven just getting to wander around, play in the woods/grass, throw rocks, etc.  When I picked him up after the race, I noticed that his shoes and pants were wet.  D said he had looked away for .02 seconds and of course, he was already in the water.  Haha!  He is definitely an outdoorsy kid, isn't he?!  It was a long day with all of the running, biking and hiking, but being outside was good for all of us.  We are so lucky to have such beautiful resources so close to home. 

I highly recommend a day (or more) at Farragut State Park and a run with the Trail Maniacs!

Have you done a trail run?  Tell me about it!

Ironman 70.3 New Orleans in Photos

Paratriathlete heading out to the water.  These competitors were very inspiring!

Female age groupers - my sister is just to the right of the girl in the pink top.

Organized chaos in the swim

Wet suit stripping - this volunteer was impressively fast - I think the athletes were surprised at how fast she could get them out of their wetsuits!

An elite athlete starting the run course

Another elite athlete on the run

My sister in black - heading out for her final 13.1 miles

Headed to the finish line!

Final thoughts on this race, from a spectator's POV.  Hope they might be helpful if you have a friend/family member considering this race and you'd be supporting them!

Pros:

• Its really easy to watch all of the swim because it is in a marina so there are several different vantage points
• You can also hustle around to watch swim exit and bike start, bike finish and run start
• Easy spectator parking near transition and the start
• Fun atmosphere at the finish line

Cons:

• It's humid!! (yes, I've become a humidity wimp)
• Not a ton of shade for the athletes on the course and in most spots to watch and cheer
• Host hotel and most hotels are all located across town from race site - approximately a 20-30 minute drive - so you definitely want to rent a car and note that parking isn't easy downtown!
• Not super easy to park at the finish line
• Not a ton of food options for spectators at the finish line party, didn't see any restaurants/food trucks close by if you want to grab something to eat while you wait for your athlete!
• Small expo

It was a fun weekend and I am super proud of my sister for committing herself to a challenging goal, sticking with her training and rocking the race.  She's inspired me to keep pushing myself in running and I hope we'll get to do another race together some day.  Now I just need to convince her to sign up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene!

Trail of Terror 5k Race Report

Saturday I did the Trail of Terror 5k with M in the stroller -- our first stroller race!

There was a 1/2 marathon option too.  Considering he was yelling "All done" when we still had a quarter mile left to go in the 5k, I think we made the right choice by not running the longer distance. =)

This was a fun race.  The weather was perfect - cool and crisp and the race is out on country roads that back up to the mountains so it can't be beat.  People dress up in costumes, so M wore his Leopard costume.  He was a fan favorite of course, and it kept him warm too!

Staying warm in the car before the race

We finished under 30 minutes (barely) which I was glad to see, but my mile #2 was pretty slow.  There was another lady pushing a jogging stroller too and she and I kept passing each other on the long uphill during the second mile.  I'm sure we were quite a sight, and she had a dog with her too!  I was impressed.  I was dragging on the uphill and even walked for a minute or two so I tried to let it loose on the downhill.  Happy with my 8:35 mile #3!

Pre-race snuggles!

 We got a fun key chain and a growler at the finish line, along with a bunch of Halloween candy.  You can tell I don't drink beer much because I didn't even know what a growler was.  1/2 marathon finishers also got a medal.

Post-race, trying to catch my breath!

A fun race with a nice and chill post race party.  M and I shared some pizza, watched the awards and listened to the music at the after party.  He also enjoyed running around after the race, hopefully he'll want to do his own 5k some day!  I  really liked this race - we'll be back next year!

Gorgeous North Idaho!

Hayden Lake Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K

Last weekend I ran the first annual Hayden Lake 10k with my runner girlfriends!  What fun!

This was the first year for the Marathon, Half Marathon and 10k.  The full marathon goes all the way around the lake!  I'd like to do it one day, but for this year we settled for the 10k distance.

It was a ton of fun - a gorgeous course that climbs up gently in the first half, has a steep downhill around the halfway point and then rolls gently along the lake shore back to the start line.  The 10k started at 9 (the longer distances at 7 am) so it was still a little chilly at the start, but we warmed up pretty quickly as we climbed the hills.  We started out slowly, chatting along the way and admiring the views.  There wasn't much traffic along the roads and there were plenty of volunteers holding traffic at a few spots.  I know some folks had written in to the local paper to complain about the race, but at least for the 10k, we didn't see much car traffic, so I don't think we impeded the folks driving along the road all that much.

About halfway through the race, we turned down a sharp downhill and at this point I lost my friends because I just let the hill take me down.  This probably wasn't the most responsible way to run, but all I could say was "whee!" and be glad that I didn't trip and fall and roll right into the lake!  Then it was flat to gently rolling back to the starting line down at Honeysuckle Beach.  I finished in a hour, so I was pleased considering that I hadn't done any specific training and didn't study the course beforehand.  I set out to have a fun experience, and that is what it was.

The 10k was super scenic, so I know the other distances were too.  The half marathon runs through some very pretty neighborhoods on the northwestern side of the lake, and we all agreed that we wanted to train for that distance next year.

The finisher shirts were awesome, and the half and full marathon finishers got some cool medals.  They had plenty of food at the finish, including three different kinds of delicious soup and free Qdoba!  (Yeah, I kind of stuffed myself after the race!)  And yes, we waited an hour after we finished for our free food, haha!  But we got to watch the half marathoners and full marathoners finishing and that was super inspiring!

Modeling my finisher t-shirt!  Half marathoners and full marathoners got long sleeve shirts.

I also have to mention that this race is a bargain - we paid $25 as the late registration for the 10k.  I think the longer distances were good prices too.  I only heard one half marathon finisher mention that the first aid station was at mile 6 and she wished it had been earlier.

This was a wonderful way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning!  I hope to make this an annual event!

Coeur d'Alene Half Marathon Race Review

It's been almost a month since I ran the Coeur d'Alene Half Marathon, so this recap is way overdue!!
I haven't seen any other CDA recaps online, so maybe this will prove helpful to someone thinking about running the race next year.

This race was a lot of fun.  I think I'll try to run it every year (but maybe not race it!), because it's on a beautiful course, the perfect size and just plain fun.

It starts out in the Riverstone development (a kind of outdoor shopping area close to, but not in, downtown and just off of the interstate).  Packet pickup is super easy and there is not really an expo, but you can browse the stores in Riverstone and Fleet Feet set up a both too.  I liked the race shirt (tech long-sleeve, white) and I've already worn it a bunch.  Plus, it only says "Marathon" and not "Half Marathon" so you get to look like a full marathoner.  Ha!

The full marathon starts 30 minutes before the half, and then they kind of loop around so that the half start folds in to them so both groups are running together for approximately half of the half marathon distance.  (Does that make sense?  We ran together until the turn-around point for the half)  There were a lot more runners doing the half as opposed to the full.

The weather was gorgeous and cool at the start.  I rode my bike down to the starting line, and that was probably the coldest bike ride of my life, ha!  I found my training buddy at the start (we had done nearly all of our long runs together) but since she was aiming for 10 min miles and I was aiming for 9 min miles, we split up pretty quickly.

There are no pacers or waves, the race is small enough that its easy enough to just start at once.

The first mile was super crowded since we were all crammed in one lane on Northwest Boulevard, the main drag into downtown.  This police car was actually cruising down the lane next to us with an officer on the loudspeaker repeating "you are off the course!" to anyone who was running on the outside of the cones.

The route is gorgeous because it has a lot of shade, runs through some lovely neighborhoods and along the lakeshore and on our great paved trail.  The full marathoners continue out to Higgins Point and then retrace their steps back along the same route as the halfers.  There were plenty of water/gatorade stops and the volunteers were super positive and helpful.

The only downside was the finish was very disorganized and there were only 2 people pouring water into small cups for finishers.  There were tons of people waiting for water and this was just taking too long.  Individual bottles of water would have been much more efficient.  They have a live band at the finish so it was quite a festive atmosphere.  The full marathon was not a Boston Qualifier this year because of construction going on downtown, but the construction doesn't block the course, I think they just had to change it around some.  I would describe it as a rolling course, and hill training definitely helps.

Other than the lack of drinks at the finish, I would definitely recommend this race to start off your summer!

The final 400m, up the hill and then they turn right to the finish line.

My little guy enjoyed the spectacle!

Post race breakfast at Le Peep - a MUST!  It is delicious!