Bucket list races

This is the bucket list of races that I've built up so far.

• Bay to Breakers-Running with not just California crazies but the creme of the crop from SF. 
• Mt Hood to Coast-a downhill course. Party on the coast, totally the way to go. 
• Reno Tahoe Relay-Amazing views. Couple it with a vacation. 
• New York Marathon - Marathon Major
• Big Sur Marathon-The race is supposed to be hilly but the views are supposed to be amazing. 
• Escape from Alcatraz-this is a tri that's pretty unique. You start off in the Bay and do a swim-run bike run
• London Marathon Marathon Major
• Tokyo Marathon- Marathon Major. Couple it with a vacation. 
• Bolder Boulder-Heard great things from a friend that worked at the race
• Pune Marathon-Just to say I ran a marathon in India. Would be afraid of being run over or drinking in water, or stepping in cow shit. 
• Athens Marathon-The Original. Enuf said. 
• Steamboat Classic 15k-Hilly and typically humid race in Peoria, IL. 

ragnar race report

A few weeks ago I ran Ragnar from Madison to Chicago. This wasn't my first time doing a relay race but it was my first one at this kinda distance.

A little background
Ragnar puts together relay races all over the country in the 200 mile range. You go from exchange point to exchange point in a van and drop off your runner. We had 12 runners and 2 vans. The course was pretty well marked.

I ran with a team where I knew only half of the people, in the other van. I took leg 1, and had a 12:30 start time. My leg had something like 15.5 total miles. I turned too early. I only added .6 of a mile but no big deal. Running at night in a forest preserve was really cool. That was my leg with the fast pace.Once I finished my last leg, I was open to eat and drink whatever I wanted. I savored a Snickers ice cream bar that I bought at a gas station. I think if I could have slept better, I would have run my last leg faster.

Would I do it again?

Hell yes!

By the end of it, we were pretty grumpy by being sleep deprived and surviving on essentially junk food. We all swore that we wouldn't do it again and would write to the race directors to tell them that they fucked up. After getting some good sleep, I was in a better mood about it.

Things I'd wished the race organizers had done differently

• More water/aid stations
• Numbering based on start wave, so we could tell if we were beating out people from earlier waves. River to River does this so we use that to help understand how we're doing relative to everyone else. 
• The post race meal sucked. The pasta while good, had no protein and was a snack sized portion. 
• The vendors/partners were taking down their booths during the van exchanges areas even while teams were going through. There shoulda been food to buy or something. 

Lessons learned

• Plan who is bringing what for each van
• bring more pictures
• bring music
• bring eye shades, and a light blanket, and foamies to make it easier to sleep
• More ice
• Line up volunteers earlier otherwise you have to pay $120 / volunteer

HUH training or lack thereof

So yesterday morning I woke up somehow at 3:30 am (before my alarm to do Hustle Up the Hancock, as if I didn't remember how horrible it feels while doing it last year. Then again, I really didn't train. I did a few stair workouts here and there, but I hardly ever worked out and weigh about 10 lbs more. But I did PR by 50 sec!

Here's what it took.
2 months of working 40+ hour days (with less than 6 hours of sleep a night), 6 months of intense studying for certification exams. 2 weeks off of working out for vacation in Seattle. So I trained less than last year.

The night before-
I lazed around and watched episodes from season two of The Fringe. Had Dinner at the bar in my apt complex with beer That's the important part. I somehow got to bed at 9pm, but not without drinking tons of water.

What I'd do next time around-
If I'm still as masochistic as I am now (prob will be) than I'll do HUH again. So I'll do the same thing except do more core training. After I finished, my abs were killing me. It hurt to breathe. The dry stairways don't help. I think that'll cut another minute off my time, maybe more.