Week in review- The Wild Way!

I have to admit I have been on a little bit of a walking hiatus since the half marathon three weeks ago, but with the SF marathon just around the bend the hiatus must end this week! Square Peg Running did compete in a unique race last weekend. It was a new event added to a local 5K and 10k race. It was appropriately called the Wild Way. It was a 2 mile course consisting of running (or walking) and all kinds of military like obstacles. We crawled under ropes and ran over logs. We did pushups and jumped hurdles and ran through the trails. We climbed the fences of the local rodeo and ended our journey running through the zoo. It was definitely a unique event!

I ran a portion of the course and did pretty well. I have to admit I felt I was either on an episode of The Biggest Loser or in boot camp! Lara did better than I did on the hurdles and running through the tires. I thought I had mastered running over the logs and the mud but the tip of my right shoe splashed into the mud as I plotted my strategy to run up the hill at the end of the log obstacle. Good thing I wore those old running shoes!

The event had a few challenges but for a first year portion (added to a 27 year old event) they did a good job! The course was well marked (once we got started) and the volunteers along the way were enthusiastic. I have to think the high-school boys manning the push ups station enjoyed telling us to all drop and give them 10. Despite a few near injuries, I think we will both end up doing the race again next year!

Our next Square Peg running event is the Nike fitness festival and then it will be back to Sac Fit! We hope to squeeze a "dry run" of part of the SF Marathon course before we start to Sac Fit so we know how to appropriately train for the hills. I also hope to get in a few good workout this week. Hopefully the crazy weather behaves this week so I don't have to brave the treadmill at the gym!

As always, have a great week. Don't forget to run your own race!

-Lisa

The Parkway half marathon

It's hard to believe after all the months of training that last Saturday, May 1st was the Parkway half marathon. It actually didn't even feel like race day because of the longer 12.5 workout we accomplished two weeks before. This was a good thing! The weather was beautiful, not rainy like last year, and not too hot! I was able to shed my thin running jacket before the race started, which was a luxury since I didn't have to worry about maneuvering it around my waist later on. Overall, the race went well although I discovered a glitch around mile 9. Somehow, I had dropped my last two shot blocks earlier in the course so I was "nutritionless" for the last few miles. I had an emergency bag of energy beans in the back of my pack but I was too fearful of time to try to locate them. Big mistake!! Because I didn't eat for the last four miles and it was warming up a little I got very nauseous! The last two miles were a struggle but I made it through. Moral of the story... Bring back up nutrition that is easy to access or take the time to pull it out of your pack!

Although I missed my "dream time" by two minutes, I did PR which was exciting. I also got 5th out of 55 in my age group, which was also great! Next year, I just need to move up two more places to get that award medal/pin. It gives me something to work towards!! Most of all I had fun! Lara was in the process of moving during race weekend, so she took the race for what it was worth and enjoyed the success of completing it!! Sometimes it isn't always about the PR!

I've been taking a short break from training to get caught up on things at work. I went for a 2 mile walk with my parents on Sunday and will be participating in a local 2 mile obstacle course race this weekend. Then it's off to the Nike Women's fitness festival before Sac Fit ramps back up in early June. Then it's the SF marathon here we come!!

I have to admit I discovered finding a product of the week every week (with 52 weeks in a year) can be a challenge! I still have a few good products up my sleeve and am always on the quest for more, so I will report on them when the mood strikes. Any suggestions, let me know!

As the weather starts to warm up, remember to stay hydrated! Start those long workouts earlier and don't give up!

-Lisa