Deadwood Half Marathon Race Recap

Downtown Deadwood

We had such a good time on our trip to Deadwood, SD!  My sister, brother-in-law, husband and I traveled there to run a half marathon in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  We did so much during our three day trip, but I will focus on the race in this post.


The packet pickup was easy as the field of runners was 1791.  The entire expo consisted of three vendors and a bar serving Lean Horse, the official race beer. Other than drinking a beer, I picked up a couple 13.1 race stickers for my group, because this would be their first half marathon. 

Race Expo

The goody bag included a tech t-shirt made just for women (I so appreciate not having to settle for a man's t-shirt), a SalonPas pain relief patch, a cold compression wrap, a nut roll, Udderly Smooth lotion and a packet of Magic seasoning blend for beef (This is definitely beef country, so that made sense!) 

We couldn't have asked for a better weekend. The weather was perfect. It was in the low 60s the morning of the race and no humidity. This was welcome weather for the locals too, because it had still been chilly earlier in the week. 


We had to catch a bus to take us to the start of the race at 6:15am. What's great about being so far north is the sunrises much earlier in the morning and it was already daylight by 6 am. The start of the race for the half marathon was 14 miles up the Mickelson Trail, an old rail line, about 4 people wide and covered with crushed rock. We would be running down the trail back into town.   

My sister and I at the start

The four of us before the race

The trail was lined with trees and was a nice shady course, that ran right through the black hills.  The majority of the course was flat or a slight downhill slope, except for mile 7 which was a killer.It was all uphill, not steep, but it just never seemed to flatten out. 

It was an absolutely beautiful trail with fabulous scenery!  I have not run a prettier route!   At the start of the race runners were organized by pace.  Andy and I lined up in 9:30 minute/mile group. This is the first race I have been in where runners were honest about their pace.  I think only three people were in the wrong pace group. That was amazing and helpful since the trail was narrow which made passing more challenging.  

From the start I wanted to keep a 9:15 pace so I could make a PR.  The course felt fast, I started off strong and decided I would go for it. The first six miles felt great and I was loving it. When we hit the uphill mile #7, I slowed down a lot and it tired me out.  Thankfully knowing I was halfway through motivated me. 

My calves began feeling tight around mile 10.  I never experienced that before and don't know if it was the course surface, the hills or the altitude, but ouch!  The last 2 miles were the toughest. It was getting warmer and it seemed like I wasn't getting any closer to the end. I gave it all I had and was thoroughly exhausted at the end. I left it all on that course.  I didn't enjoy it at the time, but I knew I would be glad afterwards.  I finished with a new PR of 2:03:24!  Eight minutes faster than my previous PR. I was psyched!! I don't know if I will ever do better than that, so I am happy to have achieved it. Actually all of us had PRs on this race. How often does that happen?

Andy, who has never run a half before finished 1 second before me.  I have been running for over 3 years and he started training in January.  How can guys do that?  

  

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	02:03:25	13.24	09:19
1	00:09:15	1.00	09:15
2	00:08:51	1.00	08:51
3	00:08:55	1.00	08:55
4	00:08:48	1.00	08:48
5	00:09:07	1.00	09:07
6	00:09:36	1.00	09:36
7	00:10:51	1.00	10:51
8	00:09:33	1.00	09:33
9	00:09:15	1.00	09:15
10	00:09:29	1.00	09:29
11	00:08:59	1.00	08:59
12	00:09:26	1.00	09:26
13	00:09:12	1.00	09:12
14	00:02:01	0.24	08:30

 

Winner of the Performance Fuel Variety Pack

And the winner is....

Sarah S @ runningonwords 

Congratulations!

A big thanks to all who entered!!

I love having a giveaway for two reasons.  I like being able to share things that I enjoy with others and I get a chance to discover more excellent blogs! You are a great bunch, I'm so glad you all stopped by! 

Heading to Deadwood, South Dakota

Yep, that's right, Deadwood, South Dakota!  Never been and can't wait to see it.  My background on Deadwood comes from the HBO series with the same name. In the 1800s it was a mining town with outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers and is the place where Wild Bill Hickok was killed. 


We are heading there for the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Half Marathon this weekend. 


My sister and her husband will be joining Andy and I for the race and  whatever other festivities we rustle up. (See I'm already talking like a cowgirl)  This will be the first half-marathon for the three of them. We don't all run at the same speed, so I'm not sure if I want to run for a PR or just stay with the group. My competitive side doesn't want to miss an opportunity, but my logical side wonders why can't I just run and not worry about that?  


They have been training using Marathoning for Mortals. (I love that book, it has taught me so much about running and helped me prepare for my first marathon too.) 


My sister and I are both coming from the South so we look forward to the cooler temperatures. Looks like 50 degrees at start time and a high in the 70s for the day.  Couldn't be better!  Let's hope the forecast doesn't change. Haven't decided what I am wearing yet... 


I am looking forward to hanging out in the wild west. 


Wish me luck!!


GIVEAWAY
Don't miss a chance to win a variety pack of performance fuel. (beans, blocks, nuun). 
Contest ends midnight on June 9. Click HERE to enter.

Anniversary Giveaway - Performance Fuel Sampler Box

Before I get to the giveaway...I want to share this photo with you.  

I found these similarities between the royal wedding and Cinderella to be funny. 

Moments That Make Life has been on the scene for a year now! 
  

 To celebrate I am giving away a box of fuel to keep you performing strong during your run or bike ride.  

Over the past year I have learned about many different sports performance products and tried many too.  I have come to the conclusion that what you use is a very personal decision and you need to try a few to find one that works best for you. 

To help you do just that I am giving away a sampler box of fuel products that I bought just for you because I love my readers.  The box includes:

• Two tubes of Nuun - citrus fruit flavor
• Four bags of Sport Beans -  berry, orange and assorted flavors
• Cliff Shot Bloks - strawberry

To Enter:

• Follow or become a follower of this blog and leave me a comment letting me know.

Additional entries do the following and leave me a comment for each one.

• Tweet about this giveaway "Want to perform your best?  Enter to win a variety pack of performance fuel @momentsinalife http://tinyurl.com/435k7on"
• Mention this giveaway on your blog or facebook page.

Good Luck everybody and thanks for stopping by!

Entries must be received by 11:59 PM EST, Thursday, June 9th, 2011.  Winner will be selected by random.org on the following day.

Danskin Triathlon Recap

On Mother's Day, exactly one year from my first attempt at a triathlon I was at it again. Right after last year's race they offer all participants a discounted fee to sign up right away for the following year.  That's what I did.  Not knowing at the time, that the race would fall into one of the busiest times for me.


With the financial commitment already made, it was down to the wire as to whether I could make the race or not.  My second daughter was graduating from college the day before the race at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.  I didn't know if I could make it back to Orlando in time or not.  With the help of others, I was able to get my bike racked the day before and all I had to do, was make it home. 


Physically I was kind of ready for the race.  I have been running in preparation for a half marathon in June and my cross training is bicycling.  I even went to the pool once to swim for 30 min so I would be prepared just in case. I was a competitive swimmer up through high school, so that part didn't worry me.  


I made it home the night before the race and headed to Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort in the morning. The weather was perfect - mid 60s. 

Arriving pre-dawn to catch a bus to the race area

I knew I wanted to improve my time from last year, but mentally I wasn't there. I was just going to do my best. From my first race, I had in my head that this was the hardest thing I had ever done.  When I shared this with a friend, she was surprised and reminded me that I had run a marathon since.  Her comment made me rethink the entire race.  She was right this wasn't the hardest thing I had done, compared to the marathon this would all be over in less than 2 hours.  This totally changed my mental state.


I started the half-mile swim in the fourth wave (light blue swim caps)  I tried to stay near the front on the inside of the pack.  My goal was to swim a straight line to the first buoy, cut a sharp left hand turn and head for the next one, turn left and then head for the shore. I wanted to make my route as direct as possible.  

I am on the front right in the green shirt.

If I could get out in front, I would be able to find an open space because the wave in front of us had a four minute lead. Sally Edwards got us pumped up before we took off.  Our mantra was "I am a strong, kick ass swimmer (biker, runner)" 

Sally Edwards getting us all warmed up for the start.

I managed to swim a strong leg and it wasn't has hard as I remembered. I found I nice open space for most of the way.  Upon leaving the water I noticed I was one of the first light blue swim caps to make it to shore. That gave me the motivation to keep pushing myself.

I ran to the transition area and dried off as quickly as I could.  I took care to dry my legs well, because last time I ended up with soggy socks on my run and that was no fun.  I also had to put on bike shoes.  This was my first race wearing clip on shoes.  I was a little nervous about that, because sometimes I forget to unclip and that leads to a fall. 

I just wanted to pedal as hard as I could throughout the 12 mile ride. The ride was mostly flat with just a couple of overpasses to tackle.


My transition between the bike and run took a little longer because I had to change shoes, but the idea was I could do better in the cycling with shoes that allowed me to push and pull through each rotation.

Heading for the finish line

I had no idea how I was doing time wise, but I just kept on putting one foot in front of the other.  I had 3.1 miles to run. The running part was not marked with mile markers and this made it tough.  I did not want to start off too fast and burn out, but I also wanted to speed it up for the last mile.  I made my best guess and kicked it up at the end. 

Cate, my cheerleader and me drinking chocolate milk.

Andy and me

 I ended up beating my time last year and made a new PR.  I finished in 1:35:00 - eight  minutes and thirty-four seconds faster than last year.  Here is the breakdown.

Swim           17:10

Transition 1    3:47

Bike              43:49

Transition 2    2:00

Run              28:12

My friend Cheri, after her first tri!

I like this race because it is all female and every one is so encouraging and supportive.  It is a great race for beginner triathletes and is held each year on Mother's Day.  The only bummer is the t-shirt and the medal are lame.  But I would recommend it to anyone considering triathlons.

The medal

How important are the Tshirt and medal to you when choosing a race?

Food Truck Bazaar

I've read about food trucks and followed some cupcake trucks in other cities on twitter, but have never experienced one before. I watched the show Food Truck Race on the Food Network and was intrigued. Something about them seemed so fun, maybe the freedom of all the places they could go or the idea of all the tasty treats that could be made in a truck!  

Well, I had a chance to visit one, in fact, 15 at our local Food Truck Bazaar last night!
The event was being held from 7pm-12am in a parking lot at a local mall. I was excited and hungry so we made sure to get there just after 7pm.  First stop was the Yum Yum Cupcake Truck.  

The arrow points to the gas cap. *Cute*

Cupcake truck

I heard they sell out quickly, because they do not bake cupcakes in the their truck, they only sell them from the truck. Plus who only buys one cupcake?  In fact, I bought six cupcakes - all different flavors!   The vanilla ended up being my favorite. 

Chocolate peanut butter, chocolate, lemon, carrot, red velvet, vanilla

The lines can get long at the trucks, fortunately this one wasn't too bad, but people kept coming and the lines  began to grow. Andy, Cate and I decided to split up and each go to a different truck.
Andy headed to the BBQ truck.
He got a cheese-burger topped with BBQ pork and macaroni and cheese, called The Big Daddy. It was pretty good.

Cate headed for the Travelling Gourmet truck for pork lettuce wraps.  These were a hit!


I spotted this little orange truck from afar and knew I had to get in line. 

I have been wanting chicken and waffles for months. The menu was mouth watering and decided I needed the savory chicken and waffles with country gravy and the berry waffle with fruit and whipped cream.  I found my way to the back of the line.

That's me at the end holding my cupcakes.

I was very far away from the truck, but long lines were expected and I thought nothing of it.  I had time to meet new people in line next me including Nathan, retail manager for Track Shack, my favorite running store!  The line didn't seem to be moving much at all.  It ended up taking two and a half hours to get to the truck to order!  Darkness had settled in, some people in line gave up and the truck's generator died during this time. Luckily it was just out of gas and was easily fixed.

Hanging out in line with Andy and Cate

I was four people away from the window when they announced they had run out of gravy!  WHAT!? Disappointing for sure, but not a deal breaker. 


During the wait, my son Patrick called and when he found out how long I had been waiting in line for chicken and waffles, he didn't seem to share my passion for the food trucks because he told me they sell chicken and waffles at IHOP everyday.   


Definitely NOT the same as waffles from Melissa's Chicken and Waffles Food Truck in a mall parking lot - I am sure!!


Nearing 10pm we got our waffles,  the berry one came out first.  Mmmmm.  They had run out of silverware, but we made do.

Berry Waffle

The chicken one took a little longer, as each one was made to order!  We were so relieved to actually get it that we dug right in and didn't even take a photo.  Imagine the one above with yummy friend chicken pieces on it and that's what it looked like.  

The waffles were great and even though the wait was super long,  I would go to her truck again.  I was told this was her first night so I am sure service will improve.I loved the Food Truck experience and am looking forward to the next event.  I have 11 more trucks to try!!

Have you ever eaten from a Food Truck?  What did you get?