I survived Muddy Buddy!

Sunday began early. And I mean early. 4:10am to be precise. Jason & I left the house by 4:45 to make our way toward Pedernales Falls State Park. The actual race was at Flat Creek Crossing which is next door to the park. Since I wasn't able to pick up my packet with my partner, Shana, on Saturday, we had to pick ours up between 6 and 7. The goal was to meet about 6:30. Jason & I arrived by 6:15.

And it was pretty dang chilly....probably the low 50s. After all this 90-something-degree weather, the cool front was not welcome.


Shana & I picked up our packets and then waited for our time to go. Here's team "Running for Booze" with our leied bicycle. Trust me, decorating your bike makes it soooooo much easier to find!

Our start time wasn't even until 9:00am! The nerves were starting to set in, as well as a bit of hunger, but I couldn't do anything about it until after the race. We were in line waiting in a sea of people and bikes.

Finally, our turn came. I rode the bike for the first leg while Shana ran. Other than the night before, I hadn't ridden a bike in YEARS. And I have never in my life mountain-biked! The start was a little rough because there were so many people trying to go all at once. Luckily, most people in this race are amateurs and complete newbies to the race as well. There were MANY times I had to dismount the bike to get up a rocky hill or keep from flying over the handlebars on a steep decline. At the end of the first leg, I had to climb a "rock" wall for my obstacle. I nearly laughed when I saw it because I could almost see over it! It took me two steps before I got over the wall. Then, I started running.

I passed a friend of mine, Deseere, of team "Send in the Bitches." You can see her (middle) and her teammate, Shawna (far right), below:

Holy bad camera angle, Batman! (Memo to self: don't turn to the side while wearing patterned tops and standing next to someone way smaller than myself.) You can see the obvious height difference between Deseere and I. My legs have a longer stride, but I tire fairly quickly. Even though I passed her up, I had to walk a little and she was able to catch up with me. I kept at her pace and she got me through the second leg. (Love you girl!) The second obstacle was a rope climb that ended in a slide. It wasn't too bad, but some girls seemed to slip on the rope. The slide was fun, but I tried to slow myself down so I wouldn't end up in some water at the bottom. I was not about to run the rest of the way with wet shoes!

I quickly found my bike (thank you leis) and moved on to the third leg. I lost Deseere here because her teammate hadn't arrived yet. Even though Shana dropped off the bike, neither of us remember passing the other. The third leg was very quick. The ride wasn't too bad, save for a vicious downhill that I dismounted and walked, and was over too quickly. The third obstacle was an army crawl across some astroturf. This probably didn't feel so good on the knees, but I was high on adrenaline, so I didn't even notice.

I grabbed some water and started jogging. The 4th leg shall now be named "the hill from hell" because it was rough! According to the Muddy Buddy website:

"This short, but unrelenting uphill is the steepest section of trail in the entire Muddy Buddy Series."

Let me tell you, they were not exaggerating. I walked all the way up the hill as did 99.5% of everyone else I saw. The bikers had to dismount and walk up it as well. The Muddy Buddy site also said that only the most experienced mountain bikers will be able to ride up that hill. I didn't see ANYONE ride up that hill! After conquering that hill (with a short stop 3/4 of the way up to catch my breath) the course did flatten out a bit until I got to the last obstacle. It was a balance beam. Normally, I'd say balance beams are easy, but when you're exhausted and just are ready to finish, it's not nearly as easy as you would think! That said, I easily walked across the balance beam, grabbed some water and the bike, and got moving.

The last leg of the race was extremely challenging for me. By now, my legs are tired and I'm having a lot of trouble breathing despite taking both asthma medications that morning. The course wasn't too steep, but it was slightly uphill. I had to stop two different times for several minutes to catch my breath. One girl even asked if I was okay. I knew I was so close to finishing, so I kept telling myself to keep going! Even though that last leg was tough, I made it through and met Shana at the mud pit for the last obstacle.

Every participant must crawl through the mud pit with their partner and we did a great job with that! After the mud pit, we had to run a few feet through the finish line. Here we are running through the finish line:

And here we are just afterward (like the crooked helmet....it's all the rage):

We waited around to letting our mud dry until we saw Shawna & Deseere cross the finish line as well:

We all rocked it! Shana & I finished in 1:01:52 which was amazing. I was hoping to finish in about an hour and we did it! Also, I did accomplish my two goal for this:

1. We finished!
2. We didn't finish last!

My goals may have been simple, but I was happy to get them done. I've never done a race before, so I am so unbelievable proud of myself. Here's the group afterward:

Now, you may notice that we have a little bit of mud on us. That mud is extremely heavy. It weighs down our clothes, making them look like they are ill-fitting. Also, the freaking mud got EVERYWHERE. And I mean EVERYWHERE. We had to use water hoses provided by the event to hose ourselves off in public. Then, rather than change in a nasty porta-potty, Shana & I changed outside Jason's truck!

Each participant gets 2 free beers, but we were so exhausted and cold that we just headed for home and I had a nice nap. It was an awesome day! We're already planning for next year, too. Team "Running for Booze" and "Send in the Bitches" unite!!!

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Rock on!

I did my new run/bike workout today again. And it went great! I started with a 1 1/2 mile bike (about 6 minutes) and ran a full mile, no stopping (11 1/2 minutes at a 5.2 mi/hr pace). I followed that up with a 5 minute bike (about 1 1/4 mile) then ran 7 minutes. I walked 2 more minutes, then rounded out the mile to finish it in 12 1/2 minutes (5mi/hr pace). I think I could have gone longer than 7 minutes, but I didn't want to overdo it for the last mile. I promised myself that I couldn't take a break before the 1/2 mile mark. I did another 5 minute bike and then had to go fill my water bottle. I sweat a LOT. Especially in hot, humid weather. Oh wait, that's all year long. Finally, the last mile. By now, I'm soaked all the way through. I'm tired. I'm hot.

But I pressed on.

I started running at a 5 mi/hr pace and I felt good. Tired, but not too worn out. Not like Tuesday.

So I ran.

And I ran.

And I finally decided that I should take a break at 9 minutes in. Now I'm kicking myself for not just finishing the whole mile! I walked for 1 1/2 minutes, then finished out the mile for a total of about 12 1/2 minutes again. And when I was done, I wasn't completely exhausted. I felt tired yet energized. Does that make sense? During that last mile, I think I felt what some runners felt: good. They get into their pace and they feel like they can keep going for miles. I felt a glimpse of that. I know it's there inside of me, but I just have to reach for it!

After I finished, I stretched out and thought, "How am I going to get through Muddy Buddy without my iPod?" Seriously, I love it so much and it keeps me going. But I love it too much to get it dirty and possibly kill it. Oh well. I guess maybe following other runners will have to motivate me. Remember people, the goal is to finish and not come in last!

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The results are:

That I actually don't have exercise-induced asthma as we originally thought. The asthma is actually triggered by the outdoor elements like pollen. Since the oak pollen has been in the 1000s, it was no wonder that I had trouble breathing. My doc gave me Advair to take on the days that I run along with the Proventil that I had already been using. The Advair takes 45 minutes to kick in, so I just take it when I wake up in the morning. He said that if I still had problems afterward, that I would just have to continue my C25K training indoors. This was not exactly the news I wanted, but hopefully the pollen will be long gone by the time Muddy Buddy comes along.

I think that I will drop back to Week 5 this coming week. Since I didn't get to finish the W5D3 run and this week went horrible, I think it's best to go backward. No one said that you couldn't repeat weeks. In fact, on the Cool Runnings site, it's encouraged to do so if you need it. This would put me finishing Week 9 the week before Muddy Buddy. So, I should still be on track.

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C25K Week 6

Well, I've got some semi-bad news. I have completely failed this week. But it's not really my fault. It's my body's fault. It rebels. On Tuesday, I started Day 1. I got through the first 5 minutes okay and started walking my 3 minutes. I was having trouble breathing again, but I recovered somewhat. I then started in on my 8 minute run. That's where the problems started. I think I made it maybe 5 minutes before I had to stop. I just couldn't breathe at all. I tried walking for a minute or so, then finish out the run, but I couldn't make it. I walked until the next 5 minute run came up. I started in and did about 2 minutes before I had to completely stop and sit on a curb to recover. My chest was killing me. I stayed there for a couple minutes, then walked the rest of the way home. It took me almost 2 hours before I felt normal again.

Today was not too much different. I was going to press on into Day 2, but I decided that probably wasn't a good idea. I tried to do Day 1, but it didn't go well. Again, I did the first 5 minute run, but after that, it went downhill.

I've been taking my inhaler at least 15 minutes before I go outside, but it wasn't really helping me. I know that the oak pollen was part of it. But, because I had such a bad episode on Monday (the worst since I've started C25K), that I called my allergist up and made an appointment for tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get some answers.

It is so irritating that I have some friends who can pick up and run a few miles without having worked out in weeks.....or even months. Meanwhile, I work out 6 days a week, have become pretty strong, and yet I can't make more than a 5 minute run outside. It makes me feel very weak and I hate that feeling. Some of my friends look at me like I'm crazy because I have such a hard time running. They think it's fairly easy. Running is the only physical thing I do that causes the problems I have. But I still want to be able to do a 5K. And I will. I'll let y'all know what the doc says tomorrow. Obviously, Race for the Cure on Saturday isn't going to go so well. I'll probably walk most of it, but that's okay. At least I'm participating. There's still Muddy Buddy in May!

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C25K Week 5: 2/3 Completed!

This was a week of weather changes! On Tuesday, the weather looked cloudy and the wind started picking up about the time I planned to go outside and run. I decided to play it safe and run at the gym. As soon as I started driving, the rain came down! Day 1 went very well....in fact, it went better than I expected. Thursday came and the weather looked the same. Thank goodness I played it safe again because it poured as I ran to my car! I finished Day 2 with ease. I actually ran 8 whole minutes at a time on the treadmill! I think I've done it before, but not many times.

On Friday, Jason & I went to Austin to celebrate our friend's birthday. She's my Muddy Buddy partner and she runs, so I thought I would be able to finish Day 3 with her. However, the weather decided to get cold Friday night. By Saturday morning, it was literally 40 degrees outside. Now I don't even want to walk, never mind run, in that kind of weather. I planned to go to a gym, but she's not a local member, so it didn't happen. My plan for this week is to just proceed on to Week 6. The format is similar to Week 5, so I don't think it will make much of a difference. This Saturday is Race for the Cure, so I'll do the best I can following the C25K program for Day 3. This week will consist of:

Day 1:

• 5 minute warm-up walk
• Jog 5 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 8 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 5 minutes
• 5 minute cool-down walk

Day 2:

• 5 minute warm-up walk
• Jog 10 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 10 minutes
• 5 minute cool-down walk

Day 3:

• 5 minute warm-up walk
• Jog 25 minutes

Wish me luck people!

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C25K Week 4

As I mentioned last Tuesday, I started Week 4 and had a rough time making week transition outside. The weather turned very cold and rainy by Wednesday, so I ran on the treadmill indoors on Thursday. It went really well even though I was sore from lifting a little too much the day before. This past weekend was busy so I planned to finish Week 4 early Saturday morning before our winery tour trip. I had to be across town by 10am (30 minute drive), so I got up at 7, threw some clothes on and drove to the gym. I arrived at 7:30 and was prepared to get in there quickly, do my run and go home to shower and change clothes.

I was not prepared to find out that the gym wasn't even open. Really? REALLY? I had no idea that my gym didn't open until 8am Saturday and Sunday (they're open 24 hours during the week). I didn't have time to wait until 8, so I drove back home and got dressed. We were gone all day and didn't get home until well after dark and well after gym closing time. On Sunday, I worked a benefit for a friend's nephew and again, I had to be across town by 10:15 (35 minute commute), so there wouldn't be time to run this day either. I worked all day and then met Jason at his parent's house so we could have dinner and celebrate Jason's 32nd birthday.

Oh yes I did just say how old he turned! Ha!

To make a long story short(er), I decided to repeat Week 4 this week. I almost skipped W4D3, but thought that might be a bad thing. So, I'll be doing W4D1 tomorrow. Hopefully, the nice weather will hold and I can get back to running outside in preparation for Race for the Cure and Muddy Buddy!

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Muddy Buddy & C25K

A few weeks ago, my friend Deseere told me about a race called Muddy Buddy that she and her friend, Shawna, decided to do. It intrigued me because it included running, biking, obstacle courses and finally, a crawl through mud to the finish line. It sounded fun and different to me so I called up my friend Shana to see if she'd be interested. Oh, did I mention that there is free beer at the end? Her exact email back to me was this:

I'm in, but I need to know:
1. Can you run 3 miles?
2. Do you own a bike?
3. What does it cost?

It was something to that effect, anyway. I couldn't find her exact reply, so we'll just go with that. My answers to her were:

1. Not now, but maybe by then.
2. No.
3. $75 per person

As I typed out my reply, I could already feel her laughing. She knows I hate running with a passion, so I'm sure this email came to a surprise to her. The most I've ever run at one time was about 2 miles when I was in track in Junior High. And I sucked. Royally, in fact. Contrary to popular belief, not all people with long legs are fast. We tall people are awkward and it's hard to get the legs moving. (I can hear Shana contradicting me now since she's 5'9" and Little Miss Runner). But I told her I would do it, so we signed up. Our team name is "Running for Booze." You gotta love that!

I've always wanted to be able to run. I've tried on a several occasions, but it's always been hard on me. I consider myself to be in great shape since I'm doing 30 minutes of cardio 5 times a week plus full-body weight-training 3 days a week. Even though I don't have trouble on an elliptical, I do have trouble running. I've gotten to where I can make about 10 minutes on the treadmill, but that's about it. My doctor diagnosed me with exercise-induced asthma, so I take my Proventil inhaler about 15 minutes before I work out on cold days. Warmer days don't seem to bother me nearly as much. Even with the inhaler, I've still only managed 10 minutes. So, I decided to try a new approach to learning to run outside: the Couch to 5K program.

The Couch to 5K program (C25K) is a nine-week program designed for new runners to learn how to run properly. It tells you exactly what to do and you do it 3 times a week. I thought this would be a good way (and incentive) for me to learn to run in time to prepare for the Muddy Buddy competition in May. I ran for the first time today. Today's workout was:

• Walk briskly for 5 minutes
• Alternate running 60 seconds & walking 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes
• Walk briskly for 5 minutes

I downloaded Robert Ullrey's podcasts to help me along. Listening to someone tell me when to run or walk eliminated my obsessive need to check my watch/iPod constantly. I started off walking in our neighborhood (which is small) and then ran the first 60 seconds. It wasn't so bad. The next few 60-second runs aren't too bad until I get to about the 7th interval. This one was tiring. When I got to the final 60-interval, I thought I was going to die! I was right back at the house by that point, so instead of the 5-minute walk, I went inside, filled a glass of water, and collapsed on the couch.

My lungs and chest were burning, worse than when I was at the gym running on the treadmill. It wasn't cold outside; it was in the 60s and very humid. My airway burned so bad and I was coughing. I know that it's the asthma, but I don't know how to make it stop. I can only take the Proventil before I work out and can't take it again for 4 hours which is too late by then. I'm hoping that my body was just going through shock since I was running outside. It wasn't my legs that were giving out on me, it was my chest. Maybe this will improve by May and it's just a breathing problem. I hope so, because I really want to do a 5K. I know that I will never be a fast runner, but I will be happy to be able to just run it. Wish me luck and I will certainly update each week of the C25K program. Advice from runners is most appreciated!

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