7 Gals in Training

Running In Heels

2010-09-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun story to read about a stiletto foot race! Be sure to watch the 90 second video!

Freedom Fest 10K at Kualoa

2010-07-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

Of course I had to start with my award winning "commercial butt" picture. JK - I actually don't know why it came up first, I meant to have it elsewhere. It was a beautiful day for running at Kualoa Ranch. The sun tried, unsuccessfully, to make its debut.
This is the gathering for the pep talk, and they discussed changes in the course. Because of heavy rains part of the trail was flooded.
The starting line.
Right before the race. Ryan came straight from work and literally pulled up mintues before the starting gun.
So side story: about a half hour before the race they were moving the cattle away from the race route. Obviously they stampeded. Man you should've seen people freak out. Have they never seen a John Wayne movie?
Waiting for the starting gun.

Lady Liberty started us off (it was Freedom Fest after all). She had really nice running shoes all decked out in the stars 'n stripes.

And we're off!
It really was a blast!
To motivate myself, everytime I passed someone I would say in my head, "Skye Lynn, make sure that the Cowboy booty is all they see the rest of the race!"

Good thing my shorts are unique, you can certainly pick me out in the herd. I mean crowd.
Here's a sampling of the trail.
I wish I'd had a camera. The scenes I saw were spectaular! Luckily Ryan did a little hiking and so he got some pretty decent shots. I ran through jungle, field, and mountain. It was incredible!
Like the Hawaii of old you read about in books. I seriously under anticipated the amount of uphill trails! While they explained the course changes they said, "Sorry about the hills, but at least you won't be running in muddy water."
Yeah we went UP to the military bunkers in those mountains. I climbed rocky paths, muddy trails, and slick grassy hills and waded streams. At one point we were going UP a Princess Bride hill on wet grass. Any idea how slick that is? I noticed everyone was walking up it so I asked the guide if anyone had actually run up the hill, he said that two or three had (that's out of 119!).
Here's a neat cave around the four mile mark.
It was really windy up by the bunkers. I saw calm skies, light sprinkles, and torrential downpours.
The natural beauty of a savage sea in a storm is one of my favorite sights!

Yay! Only two miles to go!
Here I come!
While waiting for me, Ryan went in this bunker where they have a small exhibit dedicated to all the movies they have filmed in the Kualoa Valley at the ranch.

Here are just a few examples. A lot of Vietnam War movies.

So close! I can see the finish line!

The home stretch!

My race slip. It basically says I completed the 6.2 miles in 1:17:18. I came in 89th out of 119 (my goal was to make it before 100 and I did!). I ranked 42nd out of 62 women and my average pace was 12:28 per mile! I was pretty proud of my first 10K!
Because of the world cup they gave out soccer t-shirts.

Speak Now, or Don't Complain

2010-05-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

Alright my dears, Team Bodacity is just 5 weeks away from the Teton Dam Marathon Relay. This means we need to step up our training, work out our travel plans and start managing the details. On the left hand side of this blog you'll find links to the marathon as well as a course map and an elevation map. Now is your chance to volunteer for the leg of the race that you want to run. If you don't volunteer, you will be assigned one by me. (Because I can do that. Moo-wah-ah-ah!)

I've v0lunteered to be runner 2, this will be from miles 4-9 it's the leg with the biggest climbs and highest elevation.

Runner 1 - from the start to mile 4, this person will have to catch the shuttle bus to the starting line at Madison High School at 5:00am. The rest of us will meet you at the checkpoint in the official team vehicle. So bear that in mind if you volunteer for this leg. This is a pretty flat leg though, after a small climb at the very beginning and a little climb into the exchange area.

Runner 3 - Miles 9-13, this runner probbly has the most downhill in their run. That may sound fantastic, but running downhill can trash your quads really fast, so if you're not used to it, you may want to leave that to someone who is.

Runner 4 - Probably the flattest portion of the race with a slight downhill grade over miles 13-17. The downhill is so gradual, it shouldn't bother you though.

Runner 5 - Miles 17-21, a slight climb at the first and a few rolling hills, but otherwise, a pretty steady four mile.

Runner 6 - Miles 21-26, this is the person who will bring us home. This is also a five mile leg as opposed to four, so whoever takes this one needs to be prepared to do five. The topography on the elevation chart doesn't look too bad, a couple of hills, a little downhill at the end, but nothing that should cause problems. We need someone who can maintain a pretty good pace and give us a strong finish.

As for a team vehicle, I was thinking that we could use the jeep since there will only be 5 of us in it at a time (and since Shiloh's bus will probably be needed to transport or cheering squad, aka the kiddos to the finish line) and we can take turns driving to the next checkpoint. We need to make some killer signs for it though!

Let's remember that we're all in this together and they only count the overall team time, so we all want to do our very best and put in the best run we can as a team.

Okay so on that note I'll let you all go back to working and sweating.

Love you!

The Countdown

2010-04-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

Okay ladies, 10 weeks from yesterday. That's what we've got until the Teton Dam Marathon. Have you been training? I know a couple of you have, but what about the rest? Are you ready.

We really need to get registered ASAP. The registration is $40 per person. I'm willing to go in and register us if everyone can just reimburse me their $40 at your earliest convenience.

In other words, I need to know for sure who's really going to make it. If it's not looking like you are, then I need to know now so that I can draft someone to run in your place.

I'm so excited we're doing this, it's going to be sooooo much fun!
Lots of Love!

160 Days

2010-01-02T10:21:00.001-08:00

Do you realize it ladies? 160 days until the Dam Marathon. That means you all need to get started training if you haven't already. (Well, except our pregnant ladies of course, they can wait until after they deliver to begin their training programs.)

It's a new year, those who were moving have moved, I'm guessing no one else is pregnant or plans to become so in the next six months, so it's time to lace up the shoes and hit the road. If you need to start slow now's the time to start because 160 days translates to 23 weeks.

I'm suggesting that each of us enters at least one race between now and the relay so that you can get some race experience. As spring starts you'll find plenty of local 5K and other distance races in your area and if you need help finding a race please let me know and I'll hunt some down for you. If you need a personalized training program, let me know and I'll see what I can find.

This is going to be great!

HAPPY RUNNING!

11 Weeks...And Counting

2009-11-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

Until I make a total fool of myself at the Myrtle Beach Marathon. I used the Runner's World training calculator today and according to the distance and time I'm running now, this says I should finish the 13.1 miles in 3:02:31. Being very competitive and of course a control freak, I've already made a personal note to finish in under 3 hours.

And of course since I'm a freak I've pretty much got my year mapped out next year of races I'm doing. I'm going to post them here, so that if any of you wants to join me in any of these, you're welcome to! I'm shooting for at least one race per month leading up to the big enchilada in December 2010. So here goes:

February 13 - Myrtle Beach Half Marathon - Myrtle Beach, SC

March 7 - Disney Princess Half Marathon - Orlando, FL

April 17 - Salt Lake City Half Marathon - Salt Lake City

May 15 - Ogden Half Marathon - Ogden, UT

June 12 - Teton Dam Marathon Relay - Rexburg, ID

July 17 - Bryce Canyon Half Marathon - Cannonville, UT

August 28 - Mesa Falls Half Marathon - Ashton, ID

September 5 - Disneyland Half Marathon - Anaheim, CA

October 23 - Prison Break Half Marathon - Boise, ID

November 25 - Turkey Trot 10K - Idaho Falls

December 5 - Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon - Las Vegas

Yes, you read that correctly, I'm going to do the full 26.2 in one year! There might be other races I do along the way, 5 & 10K mostly just to keep in shape & give me a chance to improve my times. But that's my year long plan. Anyway, I hope some of you can join me at least for a few of them. Most of these races have other distances, so if you don't feel up to running a full or half marathon, you could do a 5K or 10K instead.

And Skye, in 2011, I plan on coming to Hawaii in March for the Big Island Marathon or maybe the Maui half marathon. (I believe both of those are run in March.) So if you're not pregnant or something maybe you can run with me.

So those are my goals, and now that they're in writing it will be a lot harder to weasle out of them. Anyone else want to post their agenda?

Team Name & T-Shirts

2009-11-06T08:29:00.001-08:00

Okay so here's a suggestion for our team name & t-shirts.

I think we should be the Furious 5 from Kung Fu Panda. (Well in this case, six.) And put our each of our faces on a different one of the animals. And the back of the shirt could say, "They were no match for his bodacity."

What do y'all think?

For the Beginners

2009-11-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a great beginning training plan for those who haven't started running at all yet. It doesn't matter how fast you run, or how much distance you cover, the idea is simply to get your body used to running for thirty minutes. So take it easy during your runs, especially at first. Just listen to your body and go at a comfortable pace. It's suggested that you do this plan on M-W-F & Saturday and on the other days do some kind of cross training or strength training. (I'm partial to Pilates myself.)

Week 1: Run 2 Minutes, Walk 4 Minutes. Repeat 5 times.

Week 2: Run 3 Minutes, Walk 3 Minutes. Repeat 5 times.

Week 3: Run 5 Minutes, Walk 2.5 Minutes. Repeat 4 times.

Week 4: Run 7 Minutes, Walk 3 Minutes. Repeat 3 times.

Week 5: Run 8 Minutes, Walk 2 Minutes. Repeat 3 times.

Week 6: Run 9 Minutes, Walk 2 Minutes. Repeat twice then run 8 minutes.

Week 7: Run 9 Minutes, Walk 1 Minute. Repeat 3 times.

Week 8: Run 13 Minutes, Walk 2 Minutes. Repeat Twice.

Week 9: Run 14 Minutes, Walk 1 Minute. Repeat Twice.

Week 10: Run 30 Minutes.

Remember it's vital to take at least one recovery day a week where you're not doing any kind of strenuous exercise at all. This does not mean you have to be a couch potato, it simply means you're conciously not exercising to give your muscles a chance to recover.

Let me know if you have any questions on this. I'll be posting some nutrition ideas soon.

Teton Dam Marathon Relay 2010

2009-11-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

Here's the schedule & pertinant information regarding the relay in June. I'm putting a link to the course map on the sidebar. I volunteer to take the 2nd leg of the relay since it's one of the longest and also the highest elevation. Does anyone else have a preference which leg they'd want to run? Let me know. Also, give me your suggestions on T-shirt designs so we can get those done and perhaps make coordinating signs for our team vehicle. Love you all and I can't wait for this!

TETON DAM RELAY RACE INFORMATION PAGE
ONLY 1,300 RUNNERS WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2010 TETON DAM MARATHON & RACES.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Jan 1 - May 31 Early Registration Open

June 1 - 9 Late Registration Open ($15.00 Late Fee Applies)

June 10, Thur. 8 am - 4 pm – Packet Pick-up @ Rexburg City Hall

June 11, Fri. 8 am - 4 pm – Packet Pick-up @ Rexburg City Hall
6 pm - 8 pm – Potato Bake Dinner @ Madison Middle School
6:30 pm – Information Meeting @ Potato Bake Dinner
7:30 pm – Repeat Information Meeting @ Potato Bake Dinner

June 12, Sat. 5 am – Load Buses @ Madison High School
5:30 am – Buses leave for Historical Teton Dam Site
6:30am – Start Marathon & Relay @ Historical Teton Dam Site
8 am - 2:00pm – Expo in the Park @ Smith Park
12 pm – Award Ceremony for full, half, & relay @ Smith Park

RELAY SPECIFICS
Relay teams should have 6 people to run each leg. The course will be divided up into four legs of four miles and two legs of five miles. Transition areas are located at miles 4, 9, 13, 17, and 21. The first leg runner can ride the bus from the Madison High school to the starting line.

It is the responsibility of the team to pick up and drop off their members at each transition point.Team vehicles must be marked as the official team transport-vehicle, only one vehicle per team. This vehicle is to only drive through the course once, no circulating the course or portions of the course to check on runners. Any team whose vehicle is found circulating the course will be disqualified. Drive slowly through the course to reduce kicking up dirt and give all runners the right-of-way.

The first and last runners of your team need to be wearing the timing chip; the middle runners don’t need to wear the timing chip. Only the team’s overall time is recorded. A slap bracelet will be provided; this is the item you use to hand off to each team member.The safety of the runners is our first priority! Please be extra careful at transition areas. Park your cars on the side roads and never on the course. Please be considerate of the other racers by not blocking the road while waiting for the exchange.

Happy Running

2009-11-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

So here it is...The much promised training blog.

I envision this as a place where we can come to for training and nutrition guides, as well as encouragement and commiserating. This way we can all be accountable to each other for the progress we're making. And hopefully cheer and help each other along the way.

We can also post product reviews of gear, gadgets, clothing & food that have made a difference (good or bad) in our respective training plans.

I'm going to be posting local races as well, so that each of you will have opportunities to put your skills to the test before that fateful day in June. And we definitely want to hear about any and all races you enter! So please post all about it!

And please don't think that this blog is limited only to the seven of us. I know that some of our spouses have been running and their families as well, so we welcome comments and insight from all of them also!