Dogtown Half Marathon

February 21, 2015

Finish time: 1:54 and change.

I highly recommend this race. The weather was beautiful! A little chilly at first, but it always is at a race. Even though this one didn’t start until 9AM, still chilly in St George/Washington. Other races needs to take a clue and start at 9.

Communication was good. Lots of emails, but not TOO many. Had everything that you need to know in them (packet pick up location and time, parking info, bus info, drop bag info) I didn’t feel left in the dark at all.

Packet pick up was at a rec center and very organized and mellow. I was in and out in 15 min. I would have hung out to browse samples and vendors but my family was waiting for me and we had dinner plans (pasta of course!).

The grab bags didn’t have much in them, but the shirts were super cute AND they had all these cute headbands with all these different sayings that you could pick out one for free!! Mine said some girls chase boys, I just pass them. (partially true)

COURSE is the most important part of a race for me. And I went in blind. I knew no one that had done this race, and the course description and elevation was kinda vague . . . I don’t trust those anyway. Word of mouth is what I trust. Anyway . . . the course wasn’t easy. I usually I don’t like that. But for some reason this one was okay. It was fairly hilly (with two major hills during the last 3 miles… HELLO)but it did have some good downs to catch you up on your pace. You run through Coral Canyon which was pretty. But I HATE that they had a mile marker every flipping mile. The worst. They did have pacers for those who like them.

This was my first cupless race! And I don’t mean a jockey cup! I ALWAYS wear my jock strap while running. That’s just crazy to go without one. Just kidding.

So in your packet bag they had this flimsy silicone pouch thing and informed us that there will be no cups during the race. You use your own bottle or you can use this pouch to fill up at water stations. I decided to give it a go..and no too bad! Plus it saved tons and tons of waste which is always a good thing. Stations were like every 3-4 miles. Not too bad. They offered GOOOOOO (gag) at every station and fruit about halfway. Water and Gatorade were the fluids. Fluids is kinda a gross word. Bathrooms were sparse . . . maybe offered twice? But the race was kinda small so no waiting.

Medal was cool it was a dog in a dog house. Very different from anything I have already!

SO the race ended at a cute farm. Very family friendly so have them cheer for you and have a little fun after! They called your name while running through the finish line which I mean everyone loves. Or is it just me?

They handed me a bottled water (yay! Water in some sort of cup!) and a paper bag after I crossed and got my medal. I went right to the drop bag area, showed my bib, and had my bag in 30 seconds.

When I look in my paper bag they gave me . . . lots and lots of goodies!! Yummy ones too. Cant remember exactly what they had . . . but I know it was good stuff and nice to have. (I ate it all.) They also had chocolate milk and fruit at the finish.

Overall I give this race 4.5 shoes outta 5!! I would definitely do it again if I had some friends that would do it with me too.

Weight Loss Challenge 2015

In the spirit of a New Year, I put together a few weight loss challenges that I saw and liked and made my own! We are starting on January 5. Everyone was asked to contribute $20 and the winner will take the pot. Because I am running the challenge I am coming up with weekly challenges. They haven't been decided yet, but I'll post them weekly so you can follow along. The Google doc is below for you to use, adjust as needed for what you are looking for. Happy New Year!

Here is how you calculate your percentage of weight lost:

((IW-AW)/IW) * 100= weight loss percentage
So if I start at 211, and I lose 5 lbs in a month and end up at 206.
That’s 211-206 (5 lbs.)
Take 5 lbs.  and divide it by my starting weight (211).  5/211 = .023697
Multiply that by 100 and you get 2.37%

Here is the weekly tracker that we are using.

Here are the detailed lists of Good and Bad Foods

Drop 13 Half Marathon

Drop 13 was held Saturday, June 14th, 2014 in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  It was organized by On Hill events.

On Thursday I got an email with all the details and electronic information. It was all advertisements for other races.  There were more race details on their Facebook page.

Packet pick up was held at Wasatch Running Company.  Since I already got all the electronic stuff I just had to get my bib number and shirt.  They didn’t have the usual packet extras I’m used to from other races such as the free pain relief, gel packet, or coupon for free food, etc.  I walked into the store, picked it up, and walked out in a matter of minutes.  The shirts are just normal running tech shirts, nothing special.

Race day I got up super early to get to the finish line.  I was on the second bus up.  Because I was so early I got to sit inside Silver Fork Lodge.  It was cold up the canyon and I was glad to be  inside where it was warmer.  When I walked out of the lodge a few minutes before start time there were people all over shivering and trying to stay warm.  The few minutes I stood outside waiting for the bathroom and to wait at the start line, I was cold.  Once I started running I started warming up quickly.

The race started on time and we were off.  It started really early because they closed the canyon for part of it.  As people spread out then cars were allowed to come through.  It was nice to not worry too much about traffic.  The course was all downhill. All the miles except the last two that were in the canyon.  The course was beautiful in the canyon.  It was nice and shady with a slight breeze and very scenic.  At times I was amazed at all the beauty around me.

The aide stations were filled with enthusiastic volunteers. If you volunteer then they give you a $50 credit for another one of their races.  There was water and gatorade to refuel with.  On the website it said that there was gel packets at aide stations, but I never saw any.

There were very few on course port-a-potties.  There were huge lines at the spots that had porta-a-potties.  I saw tons of runners going off course behind trees instead of waiting in line.  They definitely needed more on the route.

When I reached the finish line I was so happy to be done. The constant downhill was killing my knee and I was ready to rest.  The finish line was in a very small area in a parking lot and there wasn’t really anywhere to sit down and stretch.  After race support consisted of a 1/3 banana and 1/4 PB&J sandwich with a little cup of water.  With not much going on, I figured it was time to collect my medals and head home.

Yes, I said medals.  Not because I was super fast and placed in a top three.  The best thing about this race was that they rewarded you for completing the race, if you dropped 13 pounds while training, and if you had a PR on the race.  But this race was so fast with so many getting their best times that they ran out of PR medals.  I was really happy with my time since it was my first half since having my baby this winter and was surprised when I got a PR.  When I went to collect my PR medal and they were out I was upset to not take it home with me.  I got on the list to have one mailed to me and am waiting for it to come in the mail (yes a month later and still no medal or contact).  I’m hoping it comes soon so I can add it to my medal board.

I had really high expectations for this race and was a little disappointed.  I loved getting so many  medals and the course was beautiful and fast.  Other than that I wasn’t very impressed.  I would give it 3 running shoes.