Tag Archives: dopey challenge

Dec29

And So Begins the Taper….

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In a week from tomorrow, Dan and I will be sitting at the Calgary International Airport (most likely at Chili’s Too enjoying some beverages) waiting to board our red eye flight to Orlando. In the next week I will be writing up an overview on this year and everything I have done to prepare for this culminating event, but it is so crazy to even think that we will finally be heading down to Disney for the Dopey Challenge!

The last week has been a whirlwind of Christmas celebrations and holiday cheer. Dan and I headed to Red Deer, Alberta, last Saturday for a whopping six nights. In those days, we became Godparents for our niece Norah, met up with some dear friends who now live in Vancouver, went to the Pottage family Christmas in Edmonton, had 12 meatless Ukrainian dishes at my brother and sister-in-laws on Christmas Day, went shopping on Boxing Day, and slept 10-12 hours each night. In those days, I also spent next to no time looking at crap related to RunDisney. I have had that consuming my daily thoughts the last few months, and it was a good break to get away from being anxious for Dopey. But while we were away, I did manage to get some training runs in….some more successful than others….

…Saturday, December 21st was miserable. Absolutely gross in Lethbridge (cold, brisk wind chill) and even more gross in Red Deer. I attempted to start my 20 mile run in the morning before we hit the road, but I ran a whopping 0.68 miles before I realized frostbite was a legit possibility. So we hit the road. Red Deer is three and a half hours north of Lethbridge, smack dab between Calgary and Edmonton, so you can imagine what December may feel like. I went to the Collicut Centre in Red Deer that night to attempt 20 miles indoors. While the track was more favorable than the one in Lethbridge (a 300 meter track vs. 200 meter) I just couldn’t do it. At mile 11 I just hit a wall and had to stop. I did 9 miles on the bicycle and called it a night.

Two days later I bundled up and hit the trail system in Red Deer, where I did manage to do 6 miles. It was a good confidence booster after my failed long run on Saturday. But I knew I had to get a long run in before I started my taper. 6 wasn’t enough.

I had planned on attempting a 20 miler on Saturday, December 28th, but when December 26th rolled around, I knew I had to go for it then. Weather in Red Deer was a few degrees above freezing and the sun was out. And there was not an ounce of wind. Dan and I went on our annual Boxing Day shopping spree with his Grandma, and then at 11:15 am I head out from Bower Mall to conquer 20 miles. I am familiar enough with Red Deer to not get lost, but as far as how their extensive trail system links from piece to piece…..I’m a novice. I have ran the Red Deer half marathon three times, so I am familiar with that route. Also, we did a Spartan Race in September up there, and this covered 8 miles over on the opposite end of town. So with these routes mashed in my mind, I went and winged my 20 miles.

I knew I needed to complete a successful 20 mile distance solely for my own state of mind. I have done a ridiculous amount of training all year, and while I know I could run a full 26 miles on the day of the race, I was psyching myself out. I haven’t ran more than 20 miles since the Coulee Cactus Crawl in Lethbridge this June when I did a painfully slow 21 miles in the dreaded coulees.

The nice thing about the trail system was that much of the snow was packed down, which made it easier to navigate and run on. I even went off to some smaller footpaths that offered absolutely breathtaking winter views underneath the evergreens. After running the trails by Kerrywood Nature Centre, I found my way down the Red Deer River over to Heritage Ranch, which was the site of the Spartan Race. I went down some gorgeous cross country ski trails and spilled out by Bower Pond, where TONS of families were ice skating. Music was piped in outside and the energy was fantastic. I looped back on the other side of the Red Deer River and extended my route a bit farther past my end point to reach my goal. After 3 hours 19 minutes and 21 seconds I had completed 20 miles.

Finishing that 20 was a huge weight off my shoulders. I can now officially start to taper and slow things down. It has also fired me up and gotten me even more anxiously excited for Dopey Challenge. Right now, all I can say is BRING IT!

Dec8

That One Time When I Signed Up For a Gym Membership….

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Southern Alberta has been having some ridiculous weather for the last week. Blizzard on Monday and Tuesday, extreme cold conditions…for instance, each morning since the blizzard my car temperature would say at least -18 Fahrenheit. You go outside and your nose hurts when you breathe. Two days ago, it was apparently the coldest place on earth up near Ponoka, AB. In Calgary it was -40 C, which for you people who don’t know Celsius, this is where Fahrenheit and Celsius cross….-40 Fahrenheit.

What. The. Hell.

I have Dopey Challenge training to do, and even in the cold it has to be done. I ran 5 miles in the blizzard compacted snow on Tuesday, but then after my cross training on Wednesday, I knew I had to do the unthinkable—-buy a pass to the University of Lethbridge gym so I could use the indoor track.

I know there are people who access a gym all the time. If you a weightlifter, fine, I get that. If you like to go play open court basketball, more power to you. But I would rather be on the roads.

The track is 200 metres so 8 laps in lane 1 equal a mile. I soon realized that counting laps sucks, so on Saturday I paid 99 cents for the “Tap-A-Lap” app on my phone. I can enter how many total miles I am doing, how many laps equal one miles, and every lap I just hit a button and it counts for me. I can also play music or podcasts in the background, so I am now using this time to catch up on all my WDW Radio, WDWNT and WDW Today podcast (All Disney podcasts, obviously.). I have to say yesterday’s 9 miles in the track felt pretty great, especially given that I had done 4 outside already, and the temperature on the track is comfortable enough that I can be wearing a tank and shorts and be set.

But, that all being said….there has been some things in the last three visits that remind me why I hate going to a gym. In no particular order…..(drumroll please).

1.) Just getting there!-While the U of L is close to our house, and should take five minutes to drive to on a normal day, add the fact the roads are garbage and then when you get there everyone parks like an idiot. I waste about 15 minutes plus each way getting to the gym, parking, going in, getting a locker and starting my run. That would be a good 3 miles plus on the road that could be done during that time. Grr.

2.) The track is not always open to general public-There is a Lethbridge Track & Field team that generally practices Monday to Thursday from 5:30-7:30. Track is then closed. Damn high school kids. So I have to go use a treadmill (which up until Thursday I haven’t ran on a treadmill since I was 20). For the record, I obviously love and support these high school kids, especially since some of our own from work do Lethbridge Track Club. But I can’t even go anywhere on the Westside now without running into students! First world teacher problems, I tell ya!

3.) Guy who runs on treadmill like he’s 300 pounds, but really he’s 150-I was on the treadmill on Thursday and did my 5 miles, since the high schoolers kicked me out. Guy got next to me and was there about 30 minutes running and walking. And when he ran, he ran so heavy I thought his treadmill and mine would break. I looked like I weighed more than him too. Run lightly my friend, please.

4.) Girl at the gym to look cute and flirt-While mister heavy foot on the treadmill ran, I got to witness a girl flirt with the worker at the Ascent Climbing Wall. The glass windows allow you to see out across the hall and she was so shameless. She ended up coming into the gym and then getting on a treadmill a few down from me and then started yakking it up to the guy next to her too, and she kept waving and making faces to the guy at the climbing wall. I don’t want to see that shit.

5.) Girl who “forgot” a ponytail holder– Running on the track on Friday I got to witness a girl in black spandex and a pink short sleeve top run laps while her long brown flat-ironed hair hung down. If your hair is long enough for a ponytail holder, use it. You looked like an idiot.

6.) People who don’t know proper track etiquette-This track is 4 lanes. 200 metres. Not a lot of room. Even says on sign walkers in lanes 3 & 4, runners in 1 & 2. Thank you to the guy who was strolling in lane 1 and then stopped there on a straightaway to look over the railing and watch the basketball tournament going on below. You were totally not in anyone’s way….

7.) Girl who made bad decisions but didn’t cover it up-Yesterday a girl came up to the track and did a combination of laps, biking, stretching, etc. Fair enough. However. She must had been drunk the night before because on her ankle was a washed out, but not completely gone, black permanent marker drawing of a nazi swatstika and the letters KKK. Ok girl, if you can’t scrub that shit off the morning after, wear higher socks. You looked like a god damn idiot who may as well have had a Confederate Flag tattoo…and I almost said something to you.

Oh, there is more I could complain about. And some of you are probably thinking I just shouldn’t complain. Actually, a lot of it is really laughable after the fact, but now I just shake my head. Around noon today I am heading over there for my 18 mile run, which will be the farthest I have ran in one shot since 2009, when I was training for my last full marathon. I am sure that during the 3 hours I am there I will witness even more stupidity. Who knows, maybe people there are thinking I am an idiot too. I am ok with that.

Off to the gym!

Dec3

I Had Good Intentions When I Signed Up For This–A Guest Post by Mom

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While Andrea is diligently training for her Dopey Challenge, I wish I could say the same was true for my first experience with a 5k. I had every intention of really working on a true 5k training program, but my orthopedic doctor put an end to that. Changed my approach to training at my health club with a walk 3 laps, run 1 lap plan. Twelve laps equal a mile. Tried that a few times, but my knee just wasn’t cooperating. Since I probably can walk faster than my slow jog was, I am now walking as many laps as I can in 45 minutes. My goal is do the 5k in 45 minutes or at least less than an hour. I’m going to try to do some “running” during the race, most likely at the start and again at the end. Since this is not only going to be my first 5k but also my last, I want to look good coming across the finish line!

You may wonder why I even decided to sign up for this 5k given my knee problems. The answer is simple. I’m doing it to support Andrea in her fund-raising efforts in memory of her dad. I’ve made yearly donations to the American Heart Association each year since Andy’s death, but what she’s doing goes much deeper. I am so proud of her efforts, both with her running and fund-raising thus far. Since she asked me to do another post, I’m also going to ask those of your who haven’t donated yet to do so. It doesn’t matter the amount. Even though she has surpassed the goals she set for both United States and Canadian donations, I know those amounts can get even higher with additional support from the followers of her blog. Not only will additional support help Andrea’s cause, it will give me the extra support I need. I’m freaking out about this little 5k! I am not nor have I ever been a runner. Andrea will attest to this!

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Dec1

One Month of 2013 to Go!

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Happy December 1st everyone! The next couple weeks are going to be crucial training weeks in preparation for the Dopey Challenge, and a big push for any final fundraising I may be able to achieve. Here are some thoughts and things going in in my head right now….

Training Calendar
This weekend (Thursday-Sunday) was my first true semi- imitation of Dopey, in that I ran 5-7-13-15 miles four days in a row. If I hadn’t had been doing other races over the past month, this would have been happening sooner, but better late than never. I have to admit that right now, I feel pretty solid. My 13 and 15 milers were around a 9:25 min/mile pace, which I am very happy with considering that today I ran up both the Wendy’s hill from down at Fort Whoop Up and up Whoop Up Drive to the Westside. My mileage total was 45 miles this week, with 40 of it being accumulated in the past four days. The next weeks’ mileage totals go up to 48-51-52 and then drop to 37 and 28 before I head out to Disney.

Weather
I know a lot of people training for Dopey have much nicer temperatures to deal with, but I also know a lot of us have winterized crap. I have fortunately been lucky enough to have had a very balmy, uncharacteristically warm November. Today, on December 1st, it was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit at 3 pm. Now, that being said, tonight there is a blizzard warning in effect for basically all of Alberta and by Tuesday morning it’s going to be very different out. But I am lucky I have had such nice weather so far to train in. I am prepared, however, to maybe have to suck it up and go use the University of Lethbridge indoor track one day when I have a long run….can’t wait to see how many laps I will have to run in order to total 20 miles…..!

#whyirundisney
All of last week, ever since RunDisney announced their new contest, I had been trying to think of what to do. My husband and I brainstormed how to best fit what I needed to say into a 15-second Instagram video. My video submission was done today, and I am pretty pleased with it. I got the words in I needed to say and a few choice images. Who knows what RunDisney will think and if they will even give a second thought after seeing my video, but let’s hope! Below is the video link I shared under the #whyirundisney hashtag via Twitter.
Andrea’s #whyirundisney Submission

Andrea’s ‘Canniversary’
Tomorrow marks my 5 year anniversary of living in Canada. It’s crazy to think five years have already come and gone. So much has happened in the last 5 since being here, and even thinking about everything that has happened in the last year alone is crazy. I had no clue how things would play out five years ago when I crossed that border with Dan and gave up my life in Milwaukee…but things are going pretty solid if I do say so myself. Steady job for myself, Dan’s business is going great, our house is a home, our pets are great fur babies, and the running I have been able to do since being here has been second to none. This year has overall been pretty spot on!

Nov24

Claus Cause 10km Race Recap!

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November 16th, 2013, marked the day of the annual Claus Cause run. This is another great event hosted by Runner’s Soul, and along with picking up your race registration, you are asked to bring non-perishable food items in for donation to Lethbridge Food Bank. Upon trading my boxes of granola bars in at packet pickup, I received my bib and an awesome Claus Cause Buff! This was a nice takeaway from a race, considering we all have too many race t-shirts to count!
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The event had both a 5km and 10km, which started at 9:00 am down at Fort Whoop Up. The 10km route would just be the 5 km twice, which was just fine as it was relatively flat. The only challenge with this course, which I have mentioned before in previous posts, is that the curviness of the paths can sometime pose to be a mental problem.
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The weather was very overcast at race start, but perfect temperatures considering it was mid November. My husband kept telling me it was supposed to snow, but I chose to ignore him. As everyone got set for the mass start of the 5km and 10km, Erin from Runner’s Soul made some announcements. When she started talking about people to watch in each event, it came to my surprise when she said “…in the women’s 10km, watch strong local runner Andrea Lammers-Pottage…” I looked at my husband, but I don’t think he knew what my face was thinking…..holy crap, now I have to do my best.
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I went out pretty fast, as I knew the first loop of the route would be more competitive, since the 5km was at the same time. There were 177 runners in the 5km and 86 in the 10km, so if I wanted to be with a pack of people I needed to stay near the front now. As I made my first lap, I felt strong. I could do that same pace again! I was at this time in the lead for the female 10km racers.
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I had more motivation than a normal 10km since this would be my last 10km race of the year. If I wanted to PR, now was the time. And my friend Lauren from back in Wisconsin had bet me if I ran faster than 46 minutes (my personal best was 46:32 at the time) she would donate $46 to American Heart Association.

I had one mile left and I knew my pace was on to beat the 46 minutes, but it would be close. I just kept trying to keep those legs moving around the curve before Whoop Up, and once I saw the finish in the distance I couldn’t slow down. I came in with a personal best time of 45:37, and had kept my first place position for women!

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When I finished, I felt so elated and just happy to have done it. It started to sink in I had earned another personal best, and then I realized that over the course of a little over a year, I had been able to drop my 10km race time from 50:27 to 45:37…..about 5 minutes have been knocked off! And of course, I have in my mind I can break 45, given if I have someone right in front of me as a pace bunny the whole time!

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So that snow Dan mentioned? Well, it conveniently arrived about an hour or so after race start. By award time, the snow was pounding down and it had gotten cold! The pictures are hysterical because it looks like I am in two different events, but it proves to be an amusing time lapse.

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I have one more race this year, a 5km Santa Shuffle, in two weeks. I just registered for it, and while this Claus Cause was suppose to be last, I need to find something between then and Dopey in January! What else will I be doing until the Dopey Challenge? Well, other than getting the mileage in and doing four days in a row of buildup to mimic Dopey. I needed a race In-between to keep me competitive. And if you are in Lethbridge, look for me on the roads today and wave—At 2:00 today I am heading out on a 14 mile tour of the Westside of Lethbridge, and it looks like by then weather will be pretty solid, with a temperature of 37 F and clear skies.

Nov3

Race Recap-Grizzly Ultra Run Relay

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On Sunday, October 14th, I participated in my first ever relay trail race, the Canmore Grizzly Ultra Marathon. I actually had never intended on running in this race, until one day in September I received a message on Facebook from a Dopey Training Crew member who lives in Calgary. Saskia and I had talked online after realizing we both lived in Alberta and had joined the same Dopey Challenge training group. We even met up at the Edmonton Half Marathon in August. So when all of her relay members for the Grizzly Ultra started bailing on her, she got desperate and asked a random girl (me) who lived in Lethbridge, loved to run, and who she sorta knew.

I said Yeah! and she signed me up. After some discussion, we decided I would run the first leg of the 50km relay, which was a 14 km portion. This leg was described as a “fast, non-technical leg for runner’s with lots of endurance.” The difficulty was 3 out of 5 claws. (Get it….claws….like grizzly claws….yeah).
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I went to Calgary the night before, as Saskia let me stay over for the night. I almost didn’t want to come, however, as Friday night I slept for a solid 12 hours because I had started coming down with a cold. And Saturday, even though I had a race the following day, I was suppose to do 7 miles easy. I just couldn’t. I took a 3 hour nap instead. I was feeling in rough shape. All that sleeping and then trying to go to bed early in preparation for a 5 am wake up call didn’t add up well for a great pre-race nights’ sleep. I think I woke up every hour.
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We headed to Canmore at 6 am Sunday. We had all sorts of camping gear packed, as we needed to set up a base camp area outside the Nordic center for when we were done/waiting for our legs to start. Trish, our leg 5 runner, drove out with us to the Nordic center. This would be her first race….ever! I didn’t find that out till later during probably Adele’s leg 3, but it was very cool to know we had a total race newbie. Adele and Greg, the leg 2 and leg 3 runners, were meeting us there. Saskia would be doing leg 4.

I have to say, once we got to Canmore, I got a little nervous. The only other previous trail race I have done was my Coulee Cactus Crawl. I was very thankful to be the first leg, as it meant my pre-race prep would be the same, and I wouldn’t be sitting around for hours after the official start for my turn. I had studied the diagrams of elevation for my leg of the course, and I had a positive attitude about being able to handle the terrain. When the 9 am start came, I was set…off I went with all the other Leg 1 runners and soloists!

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The other nice thing about being the first leg of the relay was having people surrounding you during the whole 14km. It started to spread out more by around 6 km in, but I always had people directly in front or around me. This helped with my pacing and also pushed me. The leg I ran was a wide double-track course and only occasionally did the terrain become rocky and rough. There was only one hill that slowed me down quite a bit, but then we hit a turn around and going back down it was awesome!

Since there are no mile markers on the trail, I kept referring to my GPS to get a better idea of how much more I had to run. Being in the woods made it interesting, as you had no real idea to where you were in relation to the finish line….there was no way to see through the trees! I could sense, though, when we were getting on the home stretch, as we ran back on pieces of the beginning of the race. I could hear commotion and announcements through the trees, and soon we hit the paved main road….I was almost done!

I pushed my way through to the finish in a time of 1:13:20! I was pleasantly surprised with my time, and I definitely think that Erin telling me I could get the 14 km done in under 1:20 really pushed me. It was a little chaotic finding Greg in the relay exchange area, as I had to stop quickly and was a little disoriented. Soon he had our timing chip and was off, and I got my finisher’s medal!

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The rest of huge day was spent going from inside to outside and trying to stay warm as we waited for all our runners to run their legs. I felt fantastic during the run, but the hours that followed led to an extremely runny nose and an overall feeling of garbage. I tried to keep my mind off of the fact I was starting to feel petty sick by watching for our runners coming back and also keeping an eye out for Erin as she came through for each leg.

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In the end, our team finished with a time of 6:13:24. It was awesome. Seeing all our runners come in at the end of their legs and then our next runners head out to start their leg, but it was especially cool to see Trish finish for us, since it was her first race ever! This race was organized very well and the scenery was next to none….beautiful! I would definitely recommend this race for runners looking for a change of pace an a challenge! We are all already talking about doing it again next year, and now we all wouldn’t be strangers!

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Oct27

Reevaluating my Training Calendar

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On August 19th, after my 16 day Disney extravaganza, I started following my official Dopey Training Calendar. Brian Darrow from Digital Running Club had outlined a sample basic calendar for members of our Facebook group (Dopey Training Crew) and he was nice enough to suggest to me which weeks to splice together, as I was starting it later than others and had more of a base of miles started. When the school year began, I had been signed up for the Super Spartan in Red Deer, Bare Bones Half in Lethbridge and the Wine & Dine Half in Disney. Three races during the school year and then Dopey to top it off in January seemed good!. But the I signed up for then Spartan Beast….and the Spartan Sprint the following day….and I got asked to be a relay member for the Grizzly Ultra in Canmore….and I signed up for the Lethbridge Claus Cause 10km….and I randomly just did a 10km for the University of Lethbridge Pre Med Club this past Saturday….

So my three races before Dopey turned into 8….

I have still been getting in my miles needed for my weekly totals. It has been tough due to the hectic nature of this school year, but I have made it work by juggling days in my calendar. Last week Sunday on the day for Bare Bones half, I was suppose to run 18 miles. So after the race, I ran home. It ended up being 5.5 miles back, but I made my weekly.

This week, though, my body started to hit a wall.

I have been taking every race I run seriously, and not used them as “training runs” but as competitions. My adrenaline has been going harder than ever before. For instance, at Bare Bones I knocked 5.5 minutes off my previous best time and rolled in at 1:41:07. I felt like a rock star after finishing and that feeling stuck with me as I ran home.

That feeling turned into immense pain in my hamstrings by morning.

The average person will train some months for their first race, and then take about a week or two off after to recuperate. If you take that race seriously at your race pace, you will undoubtedly feel like crap the next day, unlike after an easy 10 mile training jog.Feeling like “crap” after a successful race is good in my eyes, as it means I pushed myself enough. I admit, I haven’t taken days to rest after each race…..not like I should have at least. But I needed to keep building my mileage base since I will be competing a full marathon in January.

But the pain in my hamstrings Monday morning hit hard. I was going to run 5 miles that day but when I stepped outside to start the run, the first few steps hurt so bad. I readjusted the calendar. The 5 miles in Tuesday turned into 3 miles. Wednesday was 1 mile, Thursday was off, Friday was 5. My race on Saturday became just the race, not an additional 2 miles after to make that day 8. And today’s 18 miles just didn’t happen.

Am I failing myself now? No…but I need to take care of my body so I can make it to Dopey. I could have gone out and ran that 18 today….but I pushed hard yesterday at the Pre Med Hoof It 10km (got my PR with a 46:32!) and just have an overall exhaustion taking over my body from the work during the weekday. I slept a solid 12 hours last night, and I needed it. This morning I readjusted this next week and next weeks’ training days, as I will be prepping for Wine and Dine. I needed to incorporate more of a taper leading into Wine and Dine, as my friend gave me the go ahead to run in Corral A on my own and go for my best time (I hope to get into the 1:40s, and ultimately maybe under 1:40 into the world of the 30s!)

My goals with my races have evolved over the past months since starting. Back in April when I ran in Waukesha, Wisconsin, at the Trailbreaker Half all I wanted to do was break 1:54:19. I did that with a 1:52:53, and I have not looked back since. I went on this running and writing and fundraising journey to do something special in memory of my dad. I was always planning on running more races in one year than I ever had before. But I hadn’t planned on having the sheer drive to keep competing against my own personal bests and to keep on striving to improve. I am excited to see what the rest of 2013 brings with my upcoming races, and I am even more anxious to continue what I have started as I head into 2014!

Oct20

Bare Bones Race Recap/Still in Shock/Training Pays Off/Didn’t Expect this Today/Love You Dad

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Today was without question the most successful race of my road race career. And I didn’t expect it to be.

Ok, first off, the last two days was spent with the WCHS Cross Country team up in Drayton Valley, Alberta, for Provincials. Don’t know where Drayton Valley is? Don’t worry—-bet most people don’t. It’s 6 hours north west of Lethbridge. And it’s small. Anyway, we took our six qualified athletes up Friday, they competed Saturday, drove them back last night, and got in at 11 pm. The kids had a great weekend, and us coaches were so proud of how they conducted themselves and how they ran.

But, I was worried about how the mixture of standing/running back and forth at the meet, plus the sitting in a bus for 6 hours each way, plus my still having a cold (and the fact I ate poutine from Wendy’s for dinner on Saturday) would effect my race on Sunday. When I got home at 11:30 pm, I was still wide awake, so I sort of unpacked and laid my race clothes out for the morning. Then I was still hungry and ate Brie cheese with Triscuits. And then I had a beer at midnight, because I always have beer the night before a race. OK, now you just know all my dirty secrets. But, please know I am not saying that drinking beer makes you run well. I just know how my system works and I have it set in my mind that I run better the next day if I drink beer the night before.

My 7 am alarm came fast. I ate my oatmeal, drank my coffee, taped up my quads with KT tape, got my hydration belt set, and off to Softball Valley I went. My husband dropped me off with about 20 minutes before race start of the Bare Bones Half Marathon. This is a small race benefitting the local humane society, and all race distances are canine friendly. The most popular is the 5km, then the 9km, and lastly the half marathon. Over 300 total participants in all three events, but only just above 60 in the half.
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The 9 am start came and off we went. The morning was absolutely gorgeous, and I got wrapped up right away with keeping a quick pace. I was passing people who had 9km bibs, and men with half marathon bibs were getting in their spots. At about half a mile, a very petite Asian woman passed me. And by petite, I mean 5 foot, about 95 pounds, but intimidating. Back to her later. My first mile was at 7:19. Crap. That’s way too fast. Mile two clocked in at 7:36. Then mile three was 7:32. Holy shit, what am I doing? I was going way too fast. But in my head I kept telling myself that since I actually felt great, to keep this up, because I knew that ridiculous hill up to Scenic Drive would slow me later.
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At the mile 4 turnaround, I slowed to 7:44. This is a mentally tough location, as you are in the river bottom and the trails turn every 20 feet. They wind so much that you can’t see anyone in front of you. I had no clue really how far the woman was in front of me, because before we looped back we had gone around a circular part….and when I came out of that loop she never ran towards me. I knew she was close.

I hit the hill, which I have now ran a few times during training and races, and knew I could not start walking. As I climbed the hill, I saw my competition walking. She was quite a bit ahead of me but she was speed walking up the hill. This gave me that extra push to keep going. I now have officially entered a competition between me and the 95 pound woman.

After getting onto Scenic Drive, what I am still amazed by is how I actually got my pace back on track. And I’m not saying this in a bragging way—-I honestly have no f’n clue how I did it. I have never ran this fast before in my life…but I was in a zone.

At a little past mile 7, we turned around and headed back north on Scenic Drive. I kept telling myself to stay on the inside curve when possible and that the downhill at just past mile 9 would feel fantastic. Mile 7, 8, and 9 were 7:58, 7:53 and 7:41, respectively. As I descended into the river bottom, I could still clearly see my competition, and I knew that getting a personal best was possible….just didn’t know by how much. The first thing I kept thinking about was dropping some time off my 1:46:42 best time solely so I had a better shot at getting Corral A at Dopey Challenge. As I thought this when I was going down the hill, I then immediately pictured my dad standing there telling me “You Got This!” I honestly kept replaying that as I rolled out onto the trail and into the last 5km.

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The last 5km is an area I know all too well, and have written about before. This is the part that slowed me down my last mile at the Police Half Marathon in September. The reason why I slowed down then was partly because 1) I was chatting with another runner and 2) after he passed me, I never cared enough to try to catch up.

Today I had a pace bunny ahead to get, and I saw her clear as day around every turn.

As we headed into our last mile and a half, one of the event organizers said this to a volunteer as we passed “lead female and number 2 right here.” That was honestly the most amazing thing I have ever heard while running. I was number 2, and mentioned in the same utterance as the lead. I all of a sudden felt like one of the high school athletes from the day before as they were in the Nordic ski trails running the race of their life. I wanted to make the podium.

Sorry to say, but this isn’t the fairy tale ending you may be hoping for. No, I did not hover past my competition with ease, nor did she do something dramatic that caused me to win in the end. And no, as I crossed the finish line there were not people there to lift me up on their shoulders and pour champagne on me. But as her and I turned into Softball Valley and the finish line was straight ahead, I heard Erin from Runner’s Soul on her microphone say “Looks like we have our first female half marathon finisher coming on in…….and number 2 is right behind her!” They had binoculars to look up our bib number and name and as I heard her saying my name as I came in to finish, I didn’t care that I didn’t get 1st overall. I just didn’t have a care in the world—-I was so overcome with excitement that nothing else mattered.

My time was 1:41:07. 1:41:07!!!!!!!!. My last personal best was in September with a 1:46:42. I dropped basically 5 and a half minutes in five weeks. And last year when I did this same race, I ran a 1:57:32. I improved a whole 16 minutes since last year. I was just in reflective happiness mode and complete disbelief. How the hell did I manage to do this? This shouldn’t have happened today….my weekend was out of whack…this course had a terrible hill for 3/4 of a mile….how…was….this…possible?

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Later, my cousin Erin told me simply “It’s called training! Turns out it works!” And she’s right. Now, what I did or didn’t do the past 5 weeks didn’t magically allow me to run this time. It’s what I have been doing the past 10 years and more importantly how I have been busting my butt during 2013 with my runs. I have done so many races and also have been intrinsically motivated by my fundraising in memory of my dad and my pinnacle race of the Dopey Challenge. The distances and effort I have put in during my runs have paid off, and I am now seeing the results—-results I am not used to seeing. And I can’t believe are mine. But they are.

Running still is, in my mind, as much about physical ability as it is about mental strength. If someone is just a beginner runner, yes, they need the base and the mileage to get them going and ready for a race. But they also have to be mentally ready to handle any challenges they might face. I was in a mental rut for the last few years with my running and was doing it without any motivation or goal…it was just getting done. So I had to kick up both my physical, and mental game. Trust me…as much as I would like to say that this race was all about my athletic ability, it wasn’t that. It was about my mental ability to let myself go and push myself to my full potential.

I am still in a “can’t believe this happened” mode, and I’m going to be smiling for days now. And you better believe that after I showered, I sent my updated race info in to Disney for my new and improved proof of time for Dopey Challenge. Now let’s see if that 1:41:07 can get me Corral A in January!

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Oct17

The Picture So Bad, it is Epic.

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Behold….20 years ago….almost year to the day….my second trip to Walt Disney World.

I was downstairs getting my carry-on bag from the closet for my trip tomorrow to Drayton Valley, Alberta, for Cross Country Provincials, when I found my Disney photo album I made some years ago filled with highlights. This picture caught my eye.

Take note of the duel fanny packs my mom and I are rocking so casually. I have cords on my sunglasses. I am wearing a coordinated tank top and plaid shorts. And my dad……terrible Speedo tank top.

But this moment, as retched as it may look and laughable as it is now, it is priceless. I get to go to WDW in about 20 days for my first RunDisney race and in January I will go again for the race of my life, the Dopey Challenge. I will be able to run past this very spot during that half marathon and the full marathon.

Maybe I’ll wear a fanny pack.

Sep22

Exciting Things in the Next 50 Days!

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So the school year is officially in full swing, and any teacher would agree with me that the days are crazy busy, and the nights just bring full-on exhaustion. I have been doing well with sticking to my training plans, and also staying busy during the week so I can go away on the weekends and run some ridiculous races!

This coming weekend on September 28th and 29th, I will be competing in the Spartan Beast and Sprint at Sun Peak Resort in British Columbia. Upon completion of the Beast on Saturday, which is a half marathon filled with obstacles on the ski hill, I will earn the coveted Trifecta Tribe Medal, as I will have completed one of each Spartan Race distances (Sprint, Super & Beast) in one calendar year, in one country. And since Erin and I will have driven all that way, we are doing the Sprint on Sunday!

During Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, I will be participating in my first ever relay trail race, the Grizzly Ultra in Canmore, Alberta. The total race distance is 50km, but I am responsible for just Leg 1, which is 14 km. I stepped in as a late addition to a team due to someone dropping out. One of my Dopey Challenge Training Crew members on Facebook asked if I was interested in helping out! After checking out the website, I had to sign up!

And then in November, I have my first RunDisney event, the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. It will be a quick three nights in Orlando, with Saturday night being the exciting night race of the half! We will end at EPCOT where an after party occurs until 4 am, with all the food and wine expo booths open, live entertainment, and select attractions open!

As a reminder, my fundraising efforts are still in full swing, and you can check out more by clicking the charities tab at the top of this page. I have raised $1,125 for the American Heart Association and $1,005 for the Heart & Stroke Foundation in Canada. All these funds are being raised in memory of my father, Andrew Lammers, who passed away from a heart attack at age 51 in 2004. If you are able to, please consider donating to heart disease research efforts in North America!

Keep checking back to this page over the next few months, as I will have more race recaps posted from not only the highlighted events above, but other small races I have planned. This will all lead up to my culminating event of a lifetime, the Dopey Challenge 2014 during the Walt Disney Marathon Weekend!