Sometimes you train hard race hard... and sometimes you don't

One night, Kyle talked John into doing a marathon. I was there. I thought he was crazy. I begged him to be smart about nutrition so on race morning he taped 2 gus & 2 sets of shot bloks to himself, then added 2 gus in his back pocket. He bought a Go Pro to document his 98 hrs of training and entire marathon.

I don't think this is really an inspirational video because John didn't train and is still strong enough to run a marathon - no injury. In fact, he did pretty well and is perfectly fine. JEALOUS

Road or BMX in disguise?

This is the coolest. I'm in awe. Also super dangerous and probably not the best use of that beautiful carbon frame and aero wheels.

Run the Rocks

Lemme explain this real quick:

Run the Rocks is an intense 5k in which you spend most of the first 2 miles running downhill. To give you an idea - I did my first mile in 8:08, and my second in 7:25. Fast.

Then just as you round mile two, you get to climb up an extraordinarily treacherous hill, followed by a short hike up a steep ramp and a climb up some serious amphitheater stairs. Unlike the race in France, I actually tried so I didn't take pictures DURING the race this time :) I finished in 29:59 - JUST UNDER 30, 25th out of 110 girls in my age group. Real stuff.

This, however, does not mean you will go without a photo narrative:

we took a quick pic by the rocks during our warm up :)

also, personalized race bibs! what is this? (and finisher medals)

The 6 min/mile pacer stood at the front, so Justin basically had to start on the line #intimidated. He DID finish 37th overall and 10th out of 88 in the M20-24 age group.

post race breakfast in the mountains

LOOK at those pancakes. YUM

Kona, break throughs, race report to follow

Hey guys,

A race report is soon to come because I'm running Run the Rocks 5k tomorrow. My calves are going to hurt so bad from the hills and stairs.

The news since last we spoke is:

1. SPEED. Wednesday brought 6.3 miles averaging below 9 min/mile. Just ran 4 miles at right around 8:30 pace. While that killer 4 miles might have had something to do with my strong desire to rip something to shreds.. I'm still hoping this is a sign of something good and solid to come! Where can I find me a nice, solid, flat road race? 10k? Half marathon. mmmmmm I feel READY

2. I had a Picky Bar. I tried the All in Almond flavor - very good. It's like if Powerbars met Larabars and were a nice balance of yummy, nutty, chewy and not too sticky. I'm a fan. I'll let you know when I try the remaining flavors.

3. My job let me do coverage on Hincapie's statement release! http://milehighsports.com/2012/10/11/boulder-cyclist-says-lance-armstrong-is-guilty/
Now, if there was a byline I'd almost be a real journalist.

Kona was today guys! (Slash it's still going on) and Chrissie Wellington announced while hosting that she generally has a cadence of 75 on her bike. 75!! Man that girl mashes them gears and is still fierce!
I'm excited to see who wins. You can watch live feed here: http://universalsports.com/triathlon/
It keeps making my internet crash but... that may be my own problem.

Everyone has a story - the marathon journey

I personally have never attempted a marathon. The thought of running to much longer than 15-16 miles sounds like death to me.

This is my friend Cookie's video (featuring some of my other friends out here). She trained for her first marathon while I was training for my half ironman. Her video reminds me a lot of why I started my blog in the first place. So shout out to Cookie and you can watch her journey here:

I also have tons of friends back in Chicago running the marathon today. So shout outs to my KD sisters:  Hillary (my sassiest pledge grandbaby (: !!), Kristie, and Caitlin (there may be even more...)

I have found them!!!

Picky bars. Review to follow.