The Bear Run- a 5.1 Mile run up to Grandfather Mountain

My ritual pre-race photo :)

Grandfather Mountain Bear Run

 This by far was one of  THE hardest races I've ever participated it. I didn't even plan to participate in it but, a friend gave me her number last minute .

The Bear is the beginning of a weekend long celebration of the Highland Scottish Game's Festival at Grandfather Mountains. The Bear run is a challenging 5 mile race up to the top of Grandfather Mountain. The race begins in Linville. The first couple of miles are run on a gravel road as you make your way up to the mountain. As you reach the entrance to Grandfather Mountain, you slowly wind to the finish at the entrance to the Mile High Swinging Bridge. This year we had runners from 18 different states that ranged in ages from 8 to 72.   Registration is limited to only 800 registrants and it filled up in 4 weeks. 

Once again, I placed myself in the back and was frazzled when I heard the gun go off... I frantically tried to get my Nike + App going while avoiding getting trampled by the runners...It took until I passed the start line but, I managed not to get ran over. 

The very beginning involves a smaller , paved hill, that does a switch back onto a long gravel road. 

I couldn't believe that I was seeing sunshine through the branches! We've had such a wet spring and this one of the first evenings it hadn't rain for weeks!

I couldn't get a very good picture of the Mile 1 picture and I was hurrying to mile 3 so, this is the best I got for two.

They have a pretty intense cut off for mile 3 that had me a little frazzled. They were going to take those off the course that didn't get to mile 3 by 50 minutes. I really pushed my pace until mile 3 and made it in 35 minutes!

The last half of mile 2 leads you through the camp of the Highland games, you round the corner into the track where the games are held. 

 Unfortunately as soon as you cross the track you have the beginning of the MAJOR hills. This one was a butt kicker but, a wonderful sign was waiting up at the top!

OVER HALF WAY DONE......but the worst is yet to come...We still had almost 1,000 feet left to run up

We still had to make it to the top of the right peak!

 Cute signs along the way

running up Forest Gump Curve (seen in the movie)

The last big push!...3-4 more switchbacks

The light at the end of the tunnel!!!

My partner in crime. They give mugs to those who finish the top 10%, he finished #49 our of 800

I DID IT! 1:02:64

mile high swinging bridge

TIPS FOR THIS RACE

1. Get to the parking lots early, they fill up quick, Linville is a small town.
2. Grandfather mountain top is about 20 degrees colder than Linville, bring extra clothes to change into. They provide a truck that will be at the top to put bags in. They also only provide water, so choose a bag that is very easy to identify and put extra clothes in it as well as post race snacks
3. Register early if you want to do this race!! They only accept the first 800, there is a waiting list but to secure your place early is the best option.
4. Train on hills (duh)
5. Prepare for mist and rain. Up in the mountains, our weather is SO unpredictable so prepare for sun, rain, and mist within the 5 miles, wear the right clothing as well as water proof devices if you choose to run with music. I LOVE my lifeproof case for my Iphone :)
6. Bring a camera! lots of kilts, mountains, and scenery to take in 

Our loot :), the shirts are AMAZING.

Ramblin Rose Triathlon-Winston Salem -Training

 Ramblin Rose Home Page

 Can you believe it?? It's only 39 days away !!!

eeek!

In 2010 I ran my first race, LA 5K...In 2011 I became a Half marathoner (Disney Princess), In 2012 I became a marathoner (Disney World ) ....2013...I knew..it was time to TRI it :)

After moving to North Carolina I looked and looked for races and this one definitely caught my eye!

I'm really excited to try it and see just how much I can push myself to do all 3 events. Of course my favorite (and best) will be the running, the biking, not a big problem...however the swimming? EEK! I spent many hours swimming in the ocean..but take away the fins and salt water? Not so easy.

With my racing background I knew I needed to train and what better way to find a schedule to help me along the way.

Here is a link to a GREAT Beginner's Triathlon Schedule: 7 Week Schedule for a Beginner Sprint Triathlon

I'm currently training for 3 other running races, SO, while training for the runs I am aiming to focus heavily on the swimming..

Not having the greatest technique with swimming...I youtubed some videos, Here are a few I found helpful

How to correct " Triathlon Swimming"
Sprint Triathlon Training- How to swim faster

Both are very helpful and gave me a better understanding on how to use less energy and gain distance

I'm really excited about having this opportunity. There are a few triathlons that are actually in the city I live but their swimming distances are so lengthy I knew I couldn't train, in the time allotted, to physically be capable to make it across the lake. So, hooray for Ramblin Rose for putting on these great events and giving us a chance to say "I TRI'ed it "....I'm hoping that this will be a stepping stone for more TRI races.

In the following weeks, I plan on posting how my training is going and then a recap of how the race went.......can't wait to get started!

Asics Gel- Kayano's - My Cinderella Shoe

Asics Gel-Kayano 19 High-Performance Running Shoes - Women (Google Affiliate Ad)
 
 I LOVE LOVE LOVE these shoes. I don't know what it is about the Asics Kayano's but, I found my first pair 2 years ago and I don't think I'll use any other kind! When I tried them on It made me feel like Cinderella, it just fit like a glass slipper. Like someone made them to fit my shoe specifically. I ran 1 marathon and 2 half marathons in these (including numerous weekly runs) and they lasted for a little over a year and 1/2.  They really helped with my knee pain and gave me great ankle support.
It was worth the price and worth the wait of finding a great shoe!

Big Island Lava Adventure- Part 2, Local Style

So,
 I had been hesitant of posting this actual..story. But I figured, with as many hits as I got on my last post, the 2nd (actually 4th attempt to see lava ) I figured those that are as equally ...as cheap, as I am....Would appreciate this post.

By the 4th attempt out to the lava, prices for the tours went up from $80 (Kama'aina rate (local) ) to $100, tourists $150. It was really flowing into the ocean this time, SO... after getting advice from a friend we discovered a different access point..

NOW this may/may not work depending on where the lava is actually flowing. BUT, this is how we got to see the lava on our own...

TIP #1 decide when you want to go. Honestly the best time to actually view the lava is around sunset.. seeing it flow at night is amazing. It took us 2 hours to get out, 2 to get back (yes we hiked in the dark, with headlamps).

TIP #2 bring water...that stuff is hot and the area can be dry, you will get thirsty. This is NOT an easy hike

TIP#3 be prepared for weather. Bring a wind/water jacket. It gets cold at night and random rain clouds pop up.

TIP #4 Bring a flashlight if you decided to hike at night

OK...SO we decided to begin at the end of road by Kalapana (AKA Uncle Roberts) There is a cafe (with really good burgers) as well as a smoothie and market place. Park somewhere there. Hike all the way out to the black sand beach.

 There is a pretty clear path all the way out to the beach. This beach is very rough and doesn't have a good entry to the ocean, so don't plan on swimming in it. Some locals do .  ANYWAY...after you making it to the beach, go right and keep on going. You want to stay along the coast line the whole way. The beach is public access and you are not on private property.

 There is actually a pretty good, worn path all the way along by other locals who have taken the non $100 route.

This took about 2 hours at a pretty decent pace. We knew we were getting closer when we could hear/see helicopters. We eventually could see the waves from the heat. Mind your step, some of the lava is only a day old and is VERY hot. I could feel the heat on my ankles.

 If you chose to, it's fun to pick up a stick along the way and poke it in the lava. It catches fire and forms a newly shaped lava rock on the end of the stick.

 Lava Field. It's hard to imagine this use to be a HUGE subdivision that is now an endless lake of lava

 Lava flow!

It was an AMAZING site to see it flow into the ocean!

NOW.. please be mindful on your way back. We were debating which path to take and I took my eyes off the ground for a second. I ended up falling to a pretty deep crevasse up to my hip (OW) as well as getting too close to the edge of the land and was one step away from falling into the ocean.

It's an amazing opportunity but can be a bit sketchy coming back at night.

Kalapana is on the east coast of the island (Hilo side). If you have a few days to stay in Hilo, I would DEF check it out.. there are SO many waterfall hikes and amazing sights to see! it's amazing (will post detailed hikes later)

Good luck!

Walt Disney World Marathon 2013 Overview Part 2 + Tips someone told me!

Walt Disney World Marathon 2013
Marathon Day: Part 2

TIP #2...GET THERE EARLY!

 I'm really, really OCD about getting to races early (because of the LA marathon)...I read on lots of blogs to head to the bus around 3:15-3:30...they say "you must be in your line up corral  by 5:45 "..blah blah blah." both times people were still in line for the port-a-poties at 5:50.  If you're lucky and you do have transportation for you..(which is AMAZING) ..you can zombie like walk to the bus...take a 15-20 minute cat nap.. walk to the lot and just chill until they call your corral to head to the line up. If you are driving leave early. This past year there were over 27,000 not including families trying to get to the start to take transportation to the race. This race is very well organized, I just would hate for you to leave and be stuck in traffic.

 TIP#3- It's chilly...Both the princess half and the marathon were warm during the day but in Florida (when the sun's not out) it's chilly (esp. in January and February) SO..if you don't know this already, A LOT of big races have bins where you can donate clothes. Go to Goodwill (or find layers you don't like)...I ended up getting a 1.99 sweatshirt and 1.99 pants and wore them over my running clothes and put them in designated donation bins scattered around the parking lot. Keeps you warm, helps someone :)

TIP# 4 (THIS ONE I WISH I KNEW)!! when your letter is called you go behind a set of white tents where you can drop off a bag, There are about 30-40 port-a-potties that you LITERALLY can spend 20 minutes waiting on... KEEP WALKING...people then resort to just pieing in the trees/woods...KEEP WALKING.. to your left (beside the corrals ) are usually 5-10 port-a-potties with only 5-6 people in line for. The walk from the parking lot to the corrals usually takes 10-15 minutes So..instead of waiting FOREVER and then running to the corral, just find your corral and then take 5 minutes and do your business...

It was VERY early...but...super excited!

TIP #5- BRING A CAMERA...check. Small point and shoot. EVEN if you don't have anyone running with you. At the princess 1/2 I made some pretty awesome friends because we ran a similar pace and would take turns taking pictures of eachother at the mile markers.

TIP # 6- By this point ..you're in the magic kingdom and have been running for an hour or a little over...Well.. just FYI..this is a really good opportunity for a bathroom break ..There are 3 really close to Cinderellas Castle that are open during the race (if you have a fear of port-a-potties.) 1. in tomorrow land, 2 in Fantasy land (before the Castle) and then one in frontier land. Don't miss Jessie, Tiana, and Buzz Light Year, they all normally hangout around there. PICTURE OP!

Mile 1-5 Were pretty similar to the 1/2 . I kept a slow pace just because I knew slow and steady would give me a chance to have more to give at 13-15 (and I WAS GLAD I did )

Mile 5.5-6...UGH ..my favorite..

(don't mind the clock..my corral started almost an hour after the clock started)...The let the corrals go in waves..helps with the traffic

I love that they have characters along the route that you can take pictures with...NOW..just remember..the more famous ones (cinderella..mickey and minnie) have lots of long lines. They are usually fairly quick, but if you're trying to get a decent time...you might try just photo bombing to the side with them behind you (that's what i did sometimes...Not in anyones picture..but..they were in my picture...EX

The line for them was extremely long... but I got a pic without ruining someone else's  or waiting forever in line.

SO...Tip #7- Know what you need and BRING IT
  Ok Ok, I should have learned my lesson after the Princess half, but still didn't. I have an extremely fast metabolism and I usually start loosing energy around mile 8-10 (depending on how fast I'm going )...I took advantage of EVERY water/gatorade stop (which I encourage you to do as well..even if you're not thirsty..I'd rather be looking for a bathroom, tip 7, rather than a first aid tent because i'm dehydrated. I can't remember where every water stop is but they are REALLY good about spreading them out about every 2-4 miles. They also have a choice between Gatorade and water...play around with both before the race so you know WHAT works best for your body. Here is one point I REALLY want to make...They have lots of water stops...but NO food stops..ever. They provide Cliff gel energy shots around Mile 10..or 11. By then..I was about to conk out and grabbed a hand full to keep on my person for the rest of the race. Afterwards I think they had 1 more station but that was it. The shots are amazing and REALLY helped my stamina. I learned that I will now carry one a zipper compartment or zip-lock bag somewhere on me (I hate running with belts..water containers..etc) SO... just forewarning you, If you want something to eat (granola..gel...candy)..it doesn't come until later on in the race so.. Bring it with you.

HALF MARATHON..yay (after this is when it got rough)... I had trained as far as 20 miles before but it was mile 14 and 15 that were probably the hardest! ...By then.. we were out of the parks and running on the freeway to the entrance of the ESPN Wide World of Sports. This was one of the longest spans of road  ( i felt) that had nothing but long stretches of pavement...not a lot of entertainment...nothing...This was the farthest I've also ran in a race and began hitting the wall. For the first time in the race.. I walked.....I was So worried with hitting the wall now and still having 10+ miles to run...

I was SO excited to see mile 16, I've ran 10 miles before..which mean it's possible to finish..right?! LOL. FYI this complex is HUGE.. we were running around in here until about mile 20-21. CRAZINESS.

This was a turning point for me. In Hawaii we had ran with the running group MANY times on Sunday mornings. Our route was pretty well known and it had a well known turn around that could make it 8.. or 10 miles. I had this route well memorized and every mile we passed we laughed and shouted out where we would be on our route back "home". It was nice to become mentally focused on something rather than "am I done yet? am I done yet?" I thought about the ocean I would be passing.. the trees, kids jumping into the ponds, the sea turtles..etc etc It's a well worn route that I easily can remember each mile.

It was really interesting to run on the baseball field!

After this we turned a corner and came down the mile stone stretch of the 20 Mile Spectacular for the 20th anniversary!

It was pretty awesome!...Ok. only 6.2 Miles to go!!

 We turned a corner and came around to the backside of Disney's Hollywood Studios, the end is in sight!

 He was too cute!

 5k TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Down the streets of Disney's Hollywood Studios

 I saw a few of these signs and LOVED THEM :) made me smile!

 Crossing the Disney Boardwalk

 1 more, 1 more!!!!

 Entering EPCOT, Our last park!

 The light is at the end of the tunnel!

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!!!

OK.. .so...It was done, I had finished my FIRST Full Marathon!!! I was SUPER excited. Total time 5 hours and 45 minutes....honestly, just happy to be done. I walked only 3-4 times for only 5-6 minutes...and kept a steady running pace for the majority of the race. The next part I will never forgot

...walking..to...the shuttle...
You would think after doing 26.2 miles ... a 1/2 mile walk to the bus would be easy...but my legs were SUPER, SUPER stiff. By the time I made it to the shuttle I was almost in tears, Along with the rest of the people we slowly climbed up the steps and found a seat...we got off at our hotel. Plan of attack, change, shower, eat, relax....sadly we had to be out in 2 hours to catch a bus, to the airport, to catch a shuttle to the greyhound to Jacksonville to visit family that night, like I said..WHIRLWIND of a trip.

 Post Race meal, again.. best thing about the resort, took a shower... had food and a pool ready and waiting.

So..that was pretty much my experience in a nutshell (and a few pictures). It was an amazing experience. VERY, VERY stress free, due to the fact we stayed on the resort and they did everything they could to make it amazing and low key. It was one of the most stress free races I've ever been a part of .

So..TIP #8 Train for your race
One word..... weather. One advantage we had was where we came from. That was a really odd week in Florida. The temperature reached a high of 70-75 during the race and a LOT of people were having problems with the heat. Of course, the last 6 months of my training was in a similar condition where by mile 5-6 into a run it was already 70 degrees and you just learned to deal with it. We met some runners from Delaware and other New England states that had a HORRIBLE time with the weather. They were used to training inside or with 30-40 degree temperatures.My suggestion (IF YOU CAN)...get there a few days early (possibly Tuesday/Wed) and run around in the area. Florida is VERY humid ( a storm can pop up and leave in about 15-20 minutes) the weather can be unpredictable. The race did have a sponge/water station that a LOT of people were using so..they are aware of the weather and will help accordingly.

ALSO...Since I ran the Princess half the year before, I knew the terrain was pretty flat (there were 2-3 inclines the whole race) so, during my training I didn't shy away from hills. It made the course seem very, very easy...again..if you can, spice up your training with some hills, it'll make you appreciate the flat course.

TIP #9- CORRAL ESTIMATION
   When you register for the race you are asked to put down the pace you intend to keep through out the race. They have a stipulation where you are subject to be pulled from the race if you run slower than a 16:00 minute pace. I've actually never seen anyone be pulled but, I've also never been in the very back So? I'm not 100% sure how much they keep to that threat...ANYWAYS. I registered with a time of 13:30 and was labeled in Corral G (out of H). At the beginning of the race I realized how bad of an estimate I gave. By the time the race came I had quickened by pace up to a 12 minute pace ( the extra minute was added due to 3-4 bathroom breaks and the picture stops) ..The first hour of the race was spent running around walkers..It was crazy! It was really hard not to run into anyone or trip over anyone...So.. be mindful of your pace when registering. I ended up finishing with a lot of people from corral D and E.

TIP #10- HAVE FUN!
   AGAIN ....this is a FUN RACE...SO many people dress up! I saw Tinkerbell, Tutu's, Buzz Light Year and many, many more costumes. This day is your day to be a runner and a kid all at the same time! When I hit the wall I started shouting each mile number we passed.. "MILE 16!!!!...MILE 17!!"..I got some dirty looks..but I didn't care, it helped me get passed that bad moment and laugh at myself.

TIP #11 REGISTER EARLY = MONEY SAVED
  Ok, So..it's not like the Marine Corps Marathon ( I had the pleasure of having a count down alarm to register for that race. It sold out in 2 hours in 27 minutes..I GOT IN!) It doesn't sell out extremely quick. However, the prices only increase. It's not a cheap race so I would go ahead, make the commitment and register. I believe they've already released the info for the 2014 race (and added yet ANOTHER RACE!)

Overview of the race....2 thumbs up. If you're a novice marathoner..or ran only 1 or 2 other marathons, this one will be PERFECT...I'm not very fast ( I run about 11-12 minute mile pace in Marathons) This is really more a fun run. If you're a Disney Fanatic (like me) this is a great race

PROS:
- Fun course
- Lots of entertainment
         - Music, Disney Characters, Local companies entertainers, crowds
- Great Disney Medal
- Easy course
- Feels like your a kid again
 - You are treated like a star
- Warm weather

CONS:
- Entry fee
- Travel expenses
- crowd of runners (there were over 50,000 runners that weekend (5K, Half, and Full).. After spending a full day in a park and half a day elbow to elbow with runners.. I was ready for a break.

If you have any questions feel free to post, I will comment as quickly as I can!