St. Paddy's Day & Grasslands Races

Fun race! Honestly, I don't remember much about it though - it went by so quickly. There were about 6,000 runners and walkers, so it took a while before we could actually start running. Once I got passed the thick of it, I took off and kept a pretty good pace throughout. My adjusted chip time was 31:12 (though I think it was closer to 29:45), but either way it was a 5K PR. Great weather, too!

This was definitely a fun run - everyone was dressed in green (except for the random girl dressed in a baby blue running suit who apparently did not get the memo).

I ran with a these guys from my MBA program and we ran into some more cohorts at the St. Patrick's Day Parade after the race. We stuck around after the parade and ate burgers at Fudrucker's. I think it tasted so good because we were all so hungry!

This was basically an all-day affair and let's just say I'm glad I rode the DART instead of driving because there was a lot of St. Paddy's Day celebrating going on! (*Also notice my awesome green tights. I borrowed them from Brad, who dressed up like a leprechaun for Halloween, haha.)

I didn't run Grasslands this year (though I unsuccessfully attempted to sign up for the half at the last minute), but I worked an aid station. It was fun being on the other side of the race.

The Outback Gate aid station was positioned at mile 36, so we got all the 50 milers. It was a pretty hot day - in the 90's in March! - and was definitely not Mudlands like last year. There was hardly any rain prior to the race, so there were lots of sand pits. Many of the runners were complaining of blisters and wishing for last year's conditions.

I went out with "the boys" (i.e. my dad & his partners in crime/highly decorated ultra-runners, Drew & Mark). We met at Whataburger for brunch beforehand and finally got home around 9pm. By the end, I was sunburned and exhausted - and I didn't even run!

Forts, Feathers & Finishing

Hello there!

Oops, it's been a month since I wrote last. What have I been doing? Good question. Let's see...

My dad is amazing & ran 100 miles on the Elliptical,
raising $6,400 for the National MS Society.
18 hours, 28 min.
He is my hero.

Plus he got a really snazzy belt buckle.

I went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time in
ten years and immediately got a headache.
(pic of my roommate haha)

The Gamenight Groupies cheered the
Lake Dallas Fightin' Falcons onto another b-ball victory!
(While posing for the pic, some of the players were like,
"Who are these people?" Haha - We are obviously beloved.)

P.S. We were awesome cheerleaders and we even
(almost) did a human pyramid! And the middle school girls
asked us to lead the crowd in the "Falcon Rumble" cheer.

We have now hosted our first two Standard dinners, raising
about $200 for A21, an organization that fights human trafficking.
We will continue to host dinners every 2nd & 4th Thursdays.

Oh yeah, and I survived the blizzard of 2011.
My roommate and I made a fort (which we slept in),
I invented a new sport (snow surfing), and our group ended up
throwing paper balls at each other to try to knock over plastic cups.
Cabin fever, shall we say??

Meanwhile, I'm trying to keep up with school,
getting involved at Gateway, and hanging out with friends and family.
BTW, one of my friends who is a new Christian was baptized tonight!
So excited for her! (2 Tim. 2:8)

I Ran the Rock

Because school and life have been so hectic lately, I was planning to give my spot in the White Rock Half to a friend who forgot to register. But then she ran in someone else's shoes and got a stress fracture. So, I decided to give it a go anyway.

Though I should have brought gloves and eaten more, it was a great run. It was a chilly 37 degrees at the Start, but I soon warmed up and took off my outer layer despite the fact that my ears and fingers were a little numb.

My legs began to hurt - my joints, specifically - but I knew I had the race in the bag at mile 7 when my legs went numb, too. From that point on it was just a mental decision to keep moving forward. I took quite a few walk breaks in the first half and then found my rhythm and just cruised in the second half.

Apparently this year was a new course. Around mile 3 I heard the guy next to me say, "This is weird. This is normally the Finish."

But like always, the community came out to support. One lady stood outside of her house playing her trumpet and cheering, people brought out their stereos, a local high school orchestra played to runners passing by, and a nice couple even handed out water bottles. The race also had bands set up along the course playing rockin' tunes like "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Eye of the Tiger." And I can't forget the creative signs and t-shirts:

• "Run like Hell!"
• "If it were easy, I'd be running with you"
• "If you can see this, I'm not in last place"
• "You just got passed by a mother of 3"
  
• "Run like a Chilean miner!"
• And my favorite poster held by a 7-year-old girl: "Hurry Up! My legs hurt!"

The race went surprisingly well, considering that I had only run 2 miles in the past three weeks since Rockledge. My goal was to finish between 2:30 and 3:00 and I came in - sprinting with a smile, actually - right at 2:30.

I'm definitely not fast; I was passed by a couple in their 70's, someone on stilts and a woman with a prosthetic leg. But in the end, I passed the lady with a wedgie, so overall I felt pretty good about it.

Rumblings

Pre-Race

Strong finish

Words of wisdom from Ultra Grand Slammer Drew Meyer:

If you're being chased by a sweaty crew
So that you could become trail stew
And your pace is too fast
To let them get past
Just stop to tie either shoe

Rumble Report

I had a good race today!

After getting to bed a little past midnight, my morning started at a strikingly early 5:30am. I fumbled my way around the apartment, thankful that I had laid everything out the night before.

I decided to drop down from the 30K to the 15K, which turned out to be a good thing. I knew the course would be long (trail runs are always longer than what is marked), but the 18.6 mi/30K was actually 21.2 mi! Needless to say, I was happy with my 9.3 mi/15K (which was actually 9.9 mi).

We had absolutely beautiful running weather and the trails were in perfect condition despite yesterday's rain. I started the race off in the front of the pack for some reason. By the time we got into the woods, I realized I was leading a group of about 20 people. My dad had given me the challenge of running negative splits (run the second half faster than the first), but I had to push the pace with 20 people on my heels. I thought it was pretty funny when I nearly ate it, tripping over a covert tree stump. Around mile 2, about 12 of them passed me; shortly after, I "stopped to tie my shoe" so that I could have the trail to myself.

When I woke up this morning, I had a protein shake and 1/2 of a balance bar. These didn't go down too well and I had a stitch in my side most of the first half. I had to walk several times, but by the turnaround I had found my rhythm. They refilled my water bottle at the aid station and then I was just cruising!

I got lost in the woods - metaphysically speaking. Every now and then I would pass or be passed, but during the second half I simply reveled in the delight of trail running. I kept a steady pace and only walked up a few steep hills. It warmed up by the end, so I managed to take off my long-sleeve shirt and transfer my race number to my base layer, which took quite a bit of concentration at that point.

The Rumble's race finish consists of climbing up a set of steep stairs. The race is a tribute to America's veterans, so the stairs were lined with U.S. flags and patriotic signs. "No matter what," I thought, "I have to finish strong and run up those stairs." Thankfully, by the end I still had the energy to do so. What made it even better was that my dad was the one on the mic who announced my finish. "And here is #379, Katie Ryan, finishing her first Rumble!"


What a great run. I finished with even splits (right at 2hrs), ate Pam's red beans & rice afterward, and didn't even have to see Brian Blenden puke on the trail (sorry, inside joke)!

Success.

MUDLANDS 2010

The weather for the Grasslands Trail Run has never been predictable. Sometimes you luck out and have fantastic weather, as we did last year, and other times rain floods the course turning it into seemingly unending mud pits, as it did this year. This is where the nickname "Mudlands" comes in.

But believe it or not, we lucked out with the weather today. Yes, it was in the 30's and it rained for 7 hours preceding the race, but it did not rain during the race, which makes a BIG difference.

So here's my race report: Mud, mud, mud water, and more mud. The end.

Okay, I'll expound a little. About 70% of the time, we were trekking through either mud or streams that were ankle deep. No hope of getting around it. At one point, one of the 50-mile runners said, "Ooh boy, if you don't have a sense of humor, this is really going to be a long day!"

At first, everyone tried to skirt to the sides of trail to avoid the mud pits, but by about mile 2 we all realized that our efforts were in vain and decided to throw caution to the wind.

Almost immediately, my shoes were waterlogged and thickly caked with mud. I should have followed the example of some of my fellow runners by putting plastic bags over my feet. For a good portion of the course, there was no point even trying to run - either you'd lose your shoe or you'd slip and faceplant (which I almost did twice, but I'm a good faller).

Even though the conditions were much worse than the OKC, I felt great. For me, being out there wasn't hard. I just did the time and kept laughing as I slogged through mud. I passed my bro Ronald somewhere around mile 6 and finished the race in about 3:20 (hours: minutes).

Ronald, however, was not at all ready for this race. He came in about 20 min after me and realized aloud, "I can see why you'd need to train for a marathon." Ha ha, gotta love it. He thinks he's sore now, just wait till tomorrow! (*My dad's ultra buddy Drew congratulated Ronald on his first half and then oh-so-graciously let him know that he had been 'chicked' by his sister. : )

All in all, it was good race, one that I will not soon forget. So glad I ran it. I will post pix soon and the results and race photos will be posted on the NTTR website in a few days.

Previous Race Reports:

• Oklahoma City Marathon - 4/26/09
  
• Grasslands Trail Run Marathon - 3/21/09
• Marathon Training Updates - 2008/2009