It's official. Greg and I are registered for Raid the Rock Adventure Race. It consists of a canoe portion, "trekking", and biking on dirt roads and single track trails. Oh yeah, and a freaking "mystery" event. Greg and I will be competing as a team. And to add to this challenge, we have to bring a compass since we'll be reading maps/coordinates. Kind of makes me yearn for trail makers!
I'm excited and nervous at the same time! But hey, tackling 50 states by just running half and full marathon road races would just be plain boring for this family!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Park City Half Marathon Race Report
What a great morning. I woke up nervous because I wasn't sure how I would respond to the altitude and that whole toenail loss had me worried. But once I saw the sun rising over Olympic Park and walked toward the starting line, I knew it was going to be a great day.
The race started at Newpark Hotel, a little outside of Park City in Kimball Junction. The course followed through the Redstone development, past the Swaner Nature Preserve (beautiful), along the multi-purpose trail until we reached a softer surface trail and even mixed it up with a little single track trail.
What was really neat about this course was passing by numerous "recycled material" sculptures. So cool to see a metal family of cyclists, among other neat outdoor artwork. We passed by the McPolin Barn and reached the Park City limits before looping back toward the start.
Everything about this race was simple. And I really do like simplicity. No big expo. Seriously, who needs another pair of socks or shorts the day before a race to schlep back in your suitcase? We picked up our packets outside at a tent where you had a gorgeous view of the mountains. No fanfare at the start. Just the Star Spangled Banner, then we were off! No bands throughout the course (well, one band at a barn which was neat). No clocks. Just mile markers. The finish line consisted of water cups and little paper baskets (like you get buffalo wings in) filled with a slice of cranberry bread, a few pretzels, a half slice of peach and a half banana. It was nice being able to just grab a basket of food and a cup of water and not trying to balance everything in weak arms post race. The colored glass medal was hand made by an artist, which made the race that much more unique and will look quite nice in my collection.
Overall, great day...wonderful race experience... and I have marked off the 26th state, and 13th half marathon, while enjoying a memorable vacation with my family!
Race: Park City Half Marathon
Finish Time: 2:24:22
The race started at Newpark Hotel, a little outside of Park City in Kimball Junction. The course followed through the Redstone development, past the Swaner Nature Preserve (beautiful), along the multi-purpose trail until we reached a softer surface trail and even mixed it up with a little single track trail.
What was really neat about this course was passing by numerous "recycled material" sculptures. So cool to see a metal family of cyclists, among other neat outdoor artwork. We passed by the McPolin Barn and reached the Park City limits before looping back toward the start.
Everything about this race was simple. And I really do like simplicity. No big expo. Seriously, who needs another pair of socks or shorts the day before a race to schlep back in your suitcase? We picked up our packets outside at a tent where you had a gorgeous view of the mountains. No fanfare at the start. Just the Star Spangled Banner, then we were off! No bands throughout the course (well, one band at a barn which was neat). No clocks. Just mile markers. The finish line consisted of water cups and little paper baskets (like you get buffalo wings in) filled with a slice of cranberry bread, a few pretzels, a half slice of peach and a half banana. It was nice being able to just grab a basket of food and a cup of water and not trying to balance everything in weak arms post race. The colored glass medal was hand made by an artist, which made the race that much more unique and will look quite nice in my collection.
Overall, great day...wonderful race experience... and I have marked off the 26th state, and 13th half marathon, while enjoying a memorable vacation with my family!
Race: Park City Half Marathon
Finish Time: 2:24:22
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A Fun Run
And yes, running can be fun. Tonight, after an exhausting and mind-draining day of work, I dashed through my door, changed my clothes, and went for a run. I asked my 3-year-old if she'd like to come along in the jogging stroller. While I got dressed, she loaded up the stroller, got her a glass of juice, filled up my water bottle and waited for me at the front door. This has never happened. Together we knocked out a 6-mile run and it was fun. I felt good. She enjoyed herself. And a good run was accomplished (with a little strength training pushing a 40-pounder in a stroller up the hill at Sweetwater).
Park City: Great Place to Visit
If you're reading this, grab a cup of coffee (if it's morning) or a good strong IPA (if it's later). This post will be a looooonnnggg one because I loved loved loved Park City. Saturday morning was race day. I'll cover that in a separate post.
After the race, we enjoyed some pool time...I can't tell you how wonderful it is to swim for 20 minutes, then jump into the hot tub for 10 minutes and keep doing that like it's interval training! After lunch, I got to meet Bob Roll. Darn, if I wasn't over the top with giddiness. I made Megan come with me just in case I forgot how to speak fluent English. Meg was my go-to person when I met Billy Corgan...who also had me speechless. What is it with bald men and me? Blurry picture - I hope to have a better one to post later.
While Greg and Bridget were "napping", Meg and I went to Knead a Massage for a litle 30-minute action. It was her first and they certainly made my calves feel better from that hilly course! Afterwards, we watched stage 4 of the Tour of Utah-awesome since we got to see Levi Leipheimer up close.
After a half marathon, a massage, and standing in the sun for 2 hours watching Stage 4 of the Tour of Utah, I had absolutely no trouble falling asleep! Sunday brought more excitement in this fantastic ski town. We tried out a great little local breakfast spot, then enjoyed ourselves at Park City Silly Sundays where I picked up this handmade hat and the girls and Greg tried on silly hats!
Later in the afternoon, we all hit up Olympic Park. Greg and Meg went down the Quicksilver alpine slide and ziplined at the Olympic Park, which boasts having the steepest zipline in the United States traveling at 50mph along the K 120 ski jump hill.
So much fun. B got to take a ride on her first ski lift and loved it. We topped off the day with dinner at Zoom.
Monday was hiking and to squeeze in a gondola ride (Meg's big request). We decided on The Canyons for the breathtaking gondola ride views and the easier hiking trails for kids.
Loved the gondola ride up the mountainside and we took advantage of 3 different trails. The first one, Red Pine Trail, I carried Bridget ala piggyback style for the 3 mile trek, with her falling asleep on the last 200 yards. I have to say it was so darn cool to have lunch at the Red Pine Lodge at the top of The Canyons...relaxing and taking in the views.
Bridget was hilarious singing a Canyons version of Laurie Berkner's Going on a Hunt with her words of Going on a Hike while on the High Meadow Loop! The Nature Trail she pretended we were hunting bad guys with her stick while also clearing a path. Great day!
Dinner at Red Banjo, drinks at Wasatch Brewery, ice cream for the girls, then a little time picking up Park City t-shirts. Dinner options in Park City are diverse and yummy. We ate at a pizza joint (Pizza and a Noodle), at a linen tablecoth restaurant (Robert Redford's Zoom), at a dingy little Mexican place which had a salsa bar (I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in salsa while we sampled AT LEAST 20 different salsas) and the oldest restaurant in Park City (Red Banjo...and yes, the restaurant was full of banjos). Coffee was to-die-for. The views were amazing. One afternoon, Meg and I sat at the base of the Town Lift and enjoyed a coffee just staring out.
Surprisingly, for a ski town, Park City was not overpriced. There are so many activities you can do for free. I also couldn't believe how cool this town was for families or for a quick weekend getaway for a couple. If you couldn't tell, I fell in love with this place and will definitely go back.
After the race, we enjoyed some pool time...I can't tell you how wonderful it is to swim for 20 minutes, then jump into the hot tub for 10 minutes and keep doing that like it's interval training! After lunch, I got to meet Bob Roll. Darn, if I wasn't over the top with giddiness. I made Megan come with me just in case I forgot how to speak fluent English. Meg was my go-to person when I met Billy Corgan...who also had me speechless. What is it with bald men and me? Blurry picture - I hope to have a better one to post later.
While Greg and Bridget were "napping", Meg and I went to Knead a Massage for a litle 30-minute action. It was her first and they certainly made my calves feel better from that hilly course! Afterwards, we watched stage 4 of the Tour of Utah-awesome since we got to see Levi Leipheimer up close. 
After a half marathon, a massage, and standing in the sun for 2 hours watching Stage 4 of the Tour of Utah, I had absolutely no trouble falling asleep! Sunday brought more excitement in this fantastic ski town. We tried out a great little local breakfast spot, then enjoyed ourselves at Park City Silly Sundays where I picked up this handmade hat and the girls and Greg tried on silly hats! 
Later in the afternoon, we all hit up Olympic Park. Greg and Meg went down the Quicksilver alpine slide and ziplined at the Olympic Park, which boasts having the steepest zipline in the United States traveling at 50mph along the K 120 ski jump hill. So much fun. B got to take a ride on her first ski lift and loved it. We topped off the day with dinner at Zoom.
Monday was hiking and to squeeze in a gondola ride (Meg's big request). We decided on The Canyons for the breathtaking gondola ride views and the easier hiking trails for kids.
Loved the gondola ride up the mountainside and we took advantage of 3 different trails. The first one, Red Pine Trail, I carried Bridget ala piggyback style for the 3 mile trek, with her falling asleep on the last 200 yards. I have to say it was so darn cool to have lunch at the Red Pine Lodge at the top of The Canyons...relaxing and taking in the views.
Bridget was hilarious singing a Canyons version of Laurie Berkner's Going on a Hunt with her words of Going on a Hike while on the High Meadow Loop! The Nature Trail she pretended we were hunting bad guys with her stick while also clearing a path. Great day!
Dinner at Red Banjo, drinks at Wasatch Brewery, ice cream for the girls, then a little time picking up Park City t-shirts. Dinner options in Park City are diverse and yummy. We ate at a pizza joint (Pizza and a Noodle), at a linen tablecoth restaurant (Robert Redford's Zoom), at a dingy little Mexican place which had a salsa bar (I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in salsa while we sampled AT LEAST 20 different salsas) and the oldest restaurant in Park City (Red Banjo...and yes, the restaurant was full of banjos). Coffee was to-die-for. The views were amazing. One afternoon, Meg and I sat at the base of the Town Lift and enjoyed a coffee just staring out.
Surprisingly, for a ski town, Park City was not overpriced. There are so many activities you can do for free. I also couldn't believe how cool this town was for families or for a quick weekend getaway for a couple. If you couldn't tell, I fell in love with this place and will definitely go back.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
I Just Met Bob Roll
I'm a cycling dork and I'm way beyond over the top with excitement. I just freaking met Bob Roll. I watch him EVERY year on the Tour de France and now I just saw him prior to the Tour of Utah. To top it off, both Levi and George will be racing in a couple of hours. Seriously, pinch me!
Park City May Be My Favorite Course
The Park City Half Marathon may have been one of the hardest courses so far, and even though I didn't PR, it may still be my favorite race so far. The beauty of this town is amazing. I loved watching the sun come up over Olympic Park while waiting for the race to begin. The altitude didn't affect me as much as I feared and my toe (lacking a toenail which fell off Thursday-thank you Grandma's marathon for that memory) didn't hurt like I worried - a big sigh of relief. My unofficial time was 2:24:22 and I felt pretty good, except for my calves screaming at me due to 6+miles of climbing. I'll write more later, but right now I've got an amazing town to check out!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
My Local Store Dilemma
I'm a big believer in buying local, when possible. I will avoid a cart-laden walmart parking lot every time I can and visiting Applebees is not happening when we have so many wonderful independent restaurants serving great local produce/food. So of course my local buying habits extend to my neighborhood running store. But that's where my dilemma begins. EVERY time my husband and I stop there to get new shoes, they are out. Come on. I wear Brooks Adrenaline and he wears the most popular Asics. It's not difficult to keep those in stock. But ok, I always give them my name and wait till their stock comes in (often 2 weeks). Except this time, I was a little steamed that I had to give my freaking name. Hello? My family buys at least 6 pairs of shoes a year, clothes, gu, socks, and any other crap I tell myself I need. So here's my dilemma...what is the incentive of buying local when I don't even get name recognition. Zappos and Amazon not only greet me by name (granted, it's insert your name here by the computer), but I get my product within a day or two delivered to my house with a follow-up email thanking me and recommending other stuff I may like.
This is bugging me.
This is bugging me.
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