race report: north face 50K

On Saturday, I tackled my second-ever ultramarathon as part of the North Face Endurance Challenge. I’m actually kind of glad my first 50K back in Nov. 2011 was a really challenging course. I was expecting much worse!

Starting in Sterling, VA, over an hour’s drive away, I was glad a couple friends and I decided to get a hotel the night before. We had to be on shuttle buses by 6:15 am. We would have had to leave home at 4:30 to make sure we didn’t cut it too close. Ick. So much nicer to get a hotel in the same business park where we picked up the bus in the morning!

We drove to the hotel Friday night after traffic died down, checked in, and (gasp!) went out for a beer. One of the girls, running the marathon distance (her first!) had a race night tradition, and we just had to join her, right? I’d been hydrating well and wasn’t worried about one drink. (It was delicious.) We didn’t stay out too late, and tucked ourselves into bed around 11pm.

After a usual pre-race restless night’s sleep, we got up at 5am and started preparing for the day. We ran into some friends at the shuttle stop, and some more at the start/finish area. A nice group! We had about an hour to kill, but time moved quickly. Plenty of time to hit the port-o-potties a couple times. They had food and coffee available, but I stuck with my water and peanut butter sandwich.

And then we were off! I started with a friend, but a few miles in she started to pull ahead. We train together, but she’s faster. And competitive. Meanwhile, I knew it was going to be a long day. I couldn’t start too fast!

I figured I wouldn’t see her until the end, but I caught up at the first aid station. I didn’t need to refill my hydrapack yet but grabbed a potato and dipped it in salt (yuck — potatoes were a bit undercooked!). I made the stop quick so I could run with her again.

It was short-lived, though. She was running faster than I wanted to, and I watched her slip away again. Just as well — we’d both be happier if we ran our own pace!

It surprised me how runnable and flat the course was. I was actually almost looking forward to some hills to climb so I could take a walk break …

Oh yeah. There was some walking.

There were some steep climbs … but the were fortunately not too long. I felt like I was doing OK, and the miles were ticking by. There was a long stretch between the first and second aid stations — they said 6.7 miles — and I was happy to finally get there to refill my pack. I also grabbed a Clif Shot Gel (vanilla! yum, tastes like pudding!) and some Shot Bloks, and headed on my way.

There was an open (real!) restroom with no line shortly after that rest stop. I thought it would be crazy not to stop! This was a good call, otherwise I would have had to make a pit stop in the woods later on! I also took the opportunity to splash cold water on my face and neck.

We had a couple out-and-back sections from miles 13-20, which looped us through Great Falls Park. There were 50-mile racers out running too. They started two hours before us at 5am, but one of the big differences from their course and ours was that they completed THREE loops of the Great Falls area, and we were done after just one. Phew!

It happened to be the most challenging section of the course, including lots of incline and rocky paths. I was glad to “only” be a 50K runner during that loop. It was beautiful, though. I wish I wasn’t too lazy to take my phone out of my pack and take photos. It’s not like I was moving all that fast!

After the Great Falls loop, we headed back the way we came. One more aid top to top off my water and I was headed back to the finish!

I took a lot of long walk breaks. At first it was just on the inclines, but I did hit a patch where it seems all I did was walk. I wasn’t alone. People would pass me, but then I’d decide to run for a bit and pass them walking a few minutes later. Lots of leapfrogging — but it was also fun to keep seeing the same people and start chatting.

That aid station that was 6.7 miles away? On the way back it seems like it moved a mile farther. Everyone I talked to kept looking at their GPS, wondering why we weren’t there yet.

But finally, I got there. And they assured me they hadn’t moved! One more refill, some more Shot Bloks, and a bunch of orange slices and I was off again. They said we were 5.4 miles to the finish, and we’d hit another aid station in about 4 miles. Excellent.

I feel like I might have been moving a little better after that aid station. Maybe not necessarily faster, but I needed that mental break!

By the time I hit the next aid station, my Garmin said I had already completed a 50K. I wasn’t surprised the course was long — I had been warned by friends who had run it before. I stopped one last time and grabbed a drink, got cold water dumped over my head, and ate some potato chips. 1.65 miles to the finish, they said!

Even though I was so close, I just couldn’t run. The gravel road (my least favorite!) seemed to be ever-so-slightly uphill, and my legs wouldn’t have any of it. So I walked. I joined another runner who had the same idea, and we chatted for a while.

My watch beeped as it hit mile 32. I looked at the time, calculating how much should be left based on what the volunteer told us. And I looked at how much time had elapsed. I realized I could come under the time I estimated when I registered, but only if I started running again.

So I ran.

I wasn’t breaking any speed records, but I wasn’t walking.

The gravel road ended, and the course rounded onto an asphalt path. I was getting close. I started passing spectators, and then I could see the parking lot.

And then I was done.

Nope, not at all surprised by the mileage. I estimated it would be 33 around the 20-mile mark. I hoped it would be lower, but I wasn’t surprised. Most of my friends tracked closer to the 32.5 mark on their watches, so I’m not sure where mine thinks I ran?

Official Time: 7:42:31
Overall 281/430
Female 83/166
Age Group 15/27

I’m usually a below-average trail runner, coming in towards the back of the pack. It makes me very happy to be much closer to the middle! I also put 7:45 as a finish time, thinking that would be a long shot (seeing how my first 50K took 9 hours). I was very happy to beat that, too!

Yes it was a long day. It was hot. It was hard. And my feet hurt. But it was also so beautiful running along the woods. And so nice to spend so much time running/walking on the shaded trails …

When can I do it again?

race report: country music marathon

Wow. It’s been nearly four weeks since I ran the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. Better late than never?

We fell in love with Nashville a year and a half ago when I ran the Women’s Half Marathon. I’ve had my eye on the Country Music Marathon for years, and finally the date worked with my schedule this year.

I wasn’t planning on this being a fast marathon, but rather a training run for the North Face 50K (which is on ONE WEEK!). When I registered, I put 5 hours as my goal time, figuring I might even do a Galloway run/walk for this race.

But come race weekend, I decided I didn’t want to run this race in five hours. My training had been going really well. I still wanted to take it easy and planned on walking through the water stops. I didn’t want to go as fast as March’s Shamrock Marathon (4:10), so when I went to switch corrals at the expo I decided 4:20 would be a good goal.

For days prior to the race, the forecast looked bad. Rain and chance of thunderstorms. I didn’t worry about it. It would get better, right?

Unfortunately, as race day got closer, the chance of rain kept increasing. But I was prepared. I packed for rain with a vest, hat and a trash bag which I planned to ditch once I got warmed up and/or annoyed with it. (That never happened).

It ended up being a bit cooler than I expected, probably around 55F. The rain started falling when I was lined up in the corral. I tied my trash bag in a knot around my waist so it wouldn’t swish too much. It was actually not uncomfortable, and I think it really helped keep me warm despite the rain and cool weather.

You can even see the rain drops hit the pavement …

It’s too bad the weather was so bad. What I was looking forward to the most was all the country bands along the course. A lot of the stages shut down, though — with DJs instead of live music at many of the stations. It was nice that some musicians still braved the storm, though!

Did I mention there were hills?

We ran along with the half marathoners for the first 11 miles or so. I generally don’t like that — you get to see them veer off, almost finished, when you’ve still got a long way to go. We also passed the finish line around mile 17, also not my favorite thing to do

Rain is fun!

But even with the rain and course setup, I really enjoyed the race. Running in the rain is usually pretty fun. Preferably not for 4+ hours, but I tried to make the best of it. My plan of walking through every water stop worked well.  I think I held off “the wall” longer than I usually do during races. Downside -  I had to make a rest stop! I found a vacant porta-potty around mile 22 so I didn’t lose too much time, though my pace did slow down from that point on. There’s probably a good chance that would have happened regardless.

I crossed the finish line just barely within my 4:20 guesstimate — pretty happy with that! And then it promptly stopped raining. D’oh!

I didn’t even bother to get my free beer. I forgot to take a post-race self portrait. I just wanted to get my checked gear (A dry jacket! And gloves!) and get back to the hotel.

That was a happy face sticker on my Garmin. It didn’t survive the storm!

Official Time: 4:20:54
Overall: 1187 out of 2706
Division: 58 out of 187
Gender:  412 out of 1227

When I wasn’t racing, we enjoyed hanging around in Nashville — bar-hopping/listening to good music, touring the Country Music Hall of Fame museum, and buying boots!

We had a great time in this awesome city. Can’t wait to go back!

#runchat scavenger hunt!

I’m a regular participant in #runchat Twitter chats (if you’re a runner and you’re not chatting, go check them out!). They launched their first-ever photo scavenger hunt a couple weeks ago, which sounded like a lot of fun.

Of course I procrastinated until the last minute, but did manage to find most of the items on the list this weekend.

A running sticker (13.1, 26.2, etc.)

Bridge (bonus for covered)

A giant hill you’re going to run

It doesn’t look like much from this shot, but that was tough!

Christmas decorations still up

I run past a house that had oversized ornaments hanging from a tree at least once a week. And at the last minute, they changed it to an Easter egg tree. Well, at least it was easy to find more examples!

Letters from signs to create #runchat

Water (lake/river/pond)

Trail marker or mile marker

Well, there were trail signs in my bridge and hill photos, but one more for good measure:

A scene from your favorite place to run

I’m counting the wooden bridge/water spot for one of my favorites, since it’s right around the corner from my house. I love living so close to water, even if it’s just a creek. My true favorite running spot in town is right on the Chesapeake Bay, but I didn’t run that route during the timespan of this scavenger hunt.

I did not find:

Historical marker/sign

Which is just laziness on my part for not having my phone with me all the time. I run downtown often.  I live in a historic city!

“Welcome to” state/city/county sign

I’m actually not sure where the ‘welcome to’ signs are in town. I have some from a favorite vacation spot, but that would be cheating!

Well, that was fun. I hope there are more of these and/or other fun challenges in the future!

meet ellie: my experience and review

Awhile back, I wrote about pvBody, a subscription service where you would get a top/bottom each month. The selection was random, though you could exchange/return anything that didn’t work for you. They promised big brands for big savings.

Well, you may have seen some chatter around the web about a drastic change to this program that started in February. Instead of a random selection of brands and no choice in what you got, they relaunched as a new clothing brand, Ellie.

This, of course, made people wonder. Was that the plan all along?

Well, I don’t know. It does seem a little suspicious, but I stayed despite the bad press. (Um, google “pv body scam” if you haven’t heard about them previously.)

Anyway … I decided to stick around and see what Ellie was all about. Yes, I was a pvBody ambassador, and I still am an Ellie ambassador … but I’m also a paying customer.

The experience has been less than perfect. Right after I promoted pvBody in my initial blog review, they said they experienced an influx of new customers and fell way behind on all orders. Communication was poor — I got most of my updates by reading customer complaints on their Facebook wall. My November order was so late it was apparently shipped just days before my December order.

It took over two weeks for that December order to arrive. But the November order never left the office. The Fedex label generated and I had a tracking number, but the package was never picked up. I sent several emails, only getting a couple form letters back that did not address my issues. I left a voice mail that was never returned. I only finally got help by reaching out to my ambassador contact, which is not a channel a normal customer would have to get their problems resolved.

But at least it is resolved now.  My missing pvBody clothes were replaced with my choice from the Ellie line. I also got some Ellie gear to test as an ambassador. All of it from the February collection.

I really liked the “Catch Me If You Can” top, and got it in both colors. I’m so glad I did! The shirt is so soft, and I love the thumb holes and built-in mittens!

I’m also a big fan of the bottoms I received. You can’t really see the “My New Obsession Legging” in the photo on the left, but they are awesome. They looked small, but are super stretchy, and the waist stayed put during a run. They also kept me warm on a really windy, chilly night. The only problem I had was they were too long, but at 5’3″, that’s not a new problem to me. (Though, surprisingly, running tights are often OK in length. Most people must find their tights are usually too short!)

I also got the “Kiss Me Capri.” While not the same stretchy material as the leggings, they’re still really soft and comfortable. I wore them to yoga last week and loved them.

Waist band detail

Of course, now that I’m happy with their products, it seems there’s  another hiccup in the Ellie brand. I didn’t order anything in March, but I’ve been notified that there have been delays in production of the March product line. Sigh.

Still, I’m not ready to give up on them. I’ll order from them again in the future and give them another shot.

So … I know this isn’t the most ringing endorsement, but if anybody is patient and wants to give Ellie a try, there’s an ad in my sidebar you can click on to save 20%. (Ellie’s Fit Fashionista club gets you any two pieces for $49.95 regular price, shipped free.)

Disclaimer: I occasionally receive free products from Ellie as an ambassador. Opinions about the products and company are my own. I receive a commission when someone signs up through my link.

race report: shamrock marathon and 8K

I ran my 8th marathon on Sunday. It was not a PR. It was not entirely pleasant. It was cold and windy. But I had a great time!

We headed down to Virginia Beach on Friday afternoon. I needed to hit packet pickup for my bibs — I was not only running the marathon on Sunday, but the 8K on Saturday as well. If they offer a challenge, I will do it! (It’s the Whale Challenge if you do the 8K and full marathon, the Dolphin Challenge if you do the 8K and half.) After the Goofy Challenge, I figured that’d be easy, right?

Well, it was OK.

I focused on keeping the pace slow since I really didn’t want to be racing the day before a marathon. It was easy enough to stay slow, but I got kind of bored. Once I was getting towards the end, I couldn’t keep it slow anymore. I just let go for the last mile!

OK, so it was kind of fun at the end. Post race I didn’t stick around for the beer tent — no drinking the day before a marathon! I grabbed my medal (!) and some snacks, and headed back to the hotel.

I took it easy the rest of the day. I even napped for a couple hours. I was a little concerned about a sore shin, likely from running on the concrete boardwalk. I wore compression sleeves for the rest of the day, and fortunately felt better on race day.

The Marathon

Race day was quite leisurely for a marathon. The full marathon had an 8:30 a.m. start, so I could sleep a little later. Still, I was up by 6:30 getting ready, eating a peanut butter sandwich, and deciding if I wanted to make any last-minute wardrobe changes.

According to my weather app, it was supposed to be in the mid-40s at race time. I decided to brave it and wear compression socks with a running skirt even though I usually wear pants or capris unless it’s over 50*. I settled on a short-sleeve shirt with arm warmers. That would have worked for mid-40s …

But then it was closer to 40*, and there was a wind chill. Brrr… when it came time to bag-check, I couldn’t part with my jacket. I didn’t want to race with it, but it really wasn’t that bad. I got a tiny bit warm for only a short time when I debated shoving down my arm warmers … but then the wind picked up again and I was happy I kept my layers.

Oh, but I guess I should get to the race itself, huh?

I decided I would line up with a pace group. This race offered 4:00 and 4:15 goal times. While I thought 4:00 was a bit too ambitious — I’ve only run two halfs under two hours — my personal best marathon is a 4:09. On a net-downhill course, but still … I had to line up with the faster group. I know myself, and I knew I wouldn’t pick up the pace enough if I started that much slower.

The first 11 miles or so went well. I had no problem with the pace, and the miles were ticking by. And then we hit the boardwalk. The wind was insane! There were sea gulls everywhere that seemed to be swarming us — it looked line one was trying to steal somebody’s hat. OK that’s unrelated to the race itself, but it was just weird and stands out in my mind. Anyway, it was a struggle, but I stuck with my pacer.

I was so happy to leave that windtunnel! We got back to the main road … and I felt like I was fading — I spent too much energy fighting the wind. I was losing the will to stick with the pacer.

And then she put in headphones, which turned me off. I know some people can’t run without their music, but aren’t pacers supposed to engage their runners and *not* tune out? Then the next mile split hit at 8:58 — faster than goal pace.  My chip splits have the 13.1 at 2:00:23, so she was doing well. But I couldn’t handle speeding up, so I decided to drop back. I managed one more mile by myself at 9:07, but then I really did slow it down.

It was really strange how the crowd thinned immediately once I dropped back. I guess a lot of people were running a 4-hour pace? It was nice to have space and to just be able to run, no more zig-zagging around people.

I sort of hung in there … but there’s a long, gradual incline that actually starts around the halfway point and lasts all the way until mile 19.  The road from miles 16-19 was slanted, too, which started to bother my knee (which was not a problem at all throughout training). I started walking through the water stops.

That’s actually not as bad as I expected. I did feel pretty down for a few miles there, but mentally once we hit mile 20, things started looking brighter. It surely helps that we got off that slanted road and stopped going uphill!

I also really enjoyed the jelly beans they were handing out around mile 22.

I started chatting with runners. There was a guy from Canada running his 7th marathon. Another man who also kept on his gear he intended to bag-check. And the woman who said to me, as we were leaving Fort Story, “We’re doing awesome.”

Yes. We were.

It was around mile 23 that I caught up with my pacer. She was walking, with who I’m assuming was the 3:50 pacer! She had a quad cramp, he had a side stitch. They started running again and it felt faster than I had been going, so I thought maybe they’d help me bring it in … until I passed them.  But knowing I was so close was enough to move my legs a tiny bit faster.

I knew a PR was unlikely … and while I tried to pick it up, it wasn’t enough.

Still, I’m happy.

My 4:10:12 was not too far from my 4:09:07. And now it’s feeling less like a fluke that I had one fast(ish) marathon! (Next best: 4:22:22.)

Yeah, I look pretty happy. In my post-race daze, I didn’t realize I was taking a self-portrait in front of the port-o-potties.

Post race, it was  SOOOOO cold! It made this year’s finisher’s gift — a fleece blanket — so appropriate. Did they know how cold it was going to be? I gladly bundled up, as did just about every other runner!

My husband joined me in the beer tent where it was a little bit warmer, and we shared my free Yuengling. Four free beers? That’s the most generous post-race party I’ve ever been to!

Overall, this is a great, well-organized event. I didn’t really love the full marathon course — I think I’d actually prefer some rolling hills! But perhaps I’ll come back and do the half.  It was a fun weekend.

sbbc week one

Last winter, I had so much fun participating in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge hosted by Amanda at Run to the Finish. I was so happy to hear there would be a Spring Challenge this year!

Basically, you get points for exercising (1 point for every 10 minutes), points for drinking water and eating lots of fruits and veggies (affectionately coined as “freggies” by the group), and tons of support via private Facebook group.

Most people check in daily, encourage each other, and share successes and failures.

Oh, and there are prizes! Last session, I won ProCompression socks in a random drawing one week, and some coupons for free Amy’s products during a Twitter chat. We all started out as winners this challenge, with free LockLaces sent to all participants!

I’ve just had a pretty successful first week. I did skip a boot camp workout due to a rough workout the day before — gotta listen to your body! I also had to skip a run due to calf soreness, but replaced it with yoga. Another boot camp class was cancelled due to “snow” (that never actually came). But I was still really active!

Monday: Bikram Yoga
Tuesday: Yoga DVD
Wednesday: Bikram Yoga
Thursday: 3.75-mile run, Yoga
Friday: Bikram Yoga, Boot Camp
Saturday: 11.2-mile run
Sunday: Tri class: .75-mile warm-up +  timed 3-mile run + 12.8 miles on spin bike with drills & hills

I really focused on drinking water — at least 64oz a day. I’m not always good about that, but I’ve downloaded an app on my phone for tracking, and the challenge is keeping me accountable. I’m usually good about eating lots of fruit and veggies during the week, but weekends are tough for me. I was a little short yesterday, but made up for it today with a little creativity in the kitchen. Banana pancakes, carrot juice (in my new Blendtec), and spinach-chickpea burgers were all new creations for me today!

I’ll be dialing down the exercise a little bit this week (well, maybe not the yoga) … I’m running the Shamrock Marathon next Sunday!

i love running

Nine years ago this month, some of my co-workers were talking about putting together a team for a corporate 8K. They all ran recreationally, while I had been a couch potato up until that point. Could I start running and join them?

Well, clearly, I could.

I bought a $300 treadmil from Sears, found a “learn to run” plan online (Couch to 5K didn’t exist yet, as far as I know), and started running.

Nine years, seven marathons, a 50K, more than 25 half marathons (lost count!) and over a hundred other races later … yeah, running is a part of me.

Since it’s Valentine’s Day … here are a few things I love about running.

In no particular order:

It got me active.
I started with just running. A few years later I added yoga. Then I started doing triathlons, which forced cross-training at least part of the year. I started taking masters swim classes. I did an organized 50-mile bike ride. I take fitness classes. It’s not unusual for me to work out more than once a day. And I love it!

I’m still improving.
Nine years later (and, ahem, nine years older!), I still surprise myself with frequent PRs. In 2012, I set new personal bests for nearly every distance!

Stress Relief
I can be having a really crappy day, and may very well want to bail on my scheduled run. If I just force myself to run I know I’ll feel better!

Me time.
When I run outdoors alone, I don’t usually run with music. I don’t mind getting lost in my thoughts.

Social time.
I prefer running with friends, though. I’ve met so many people through running. If you haven’t joined a local running club, I highly recommend it!

I can do it.
I was never an athlete a a child (Or teen. Or young adult.). I was pretty bad at sports. I even failed to make it on an extra-curricular track team as an 8-year-old. I was too slow! I’m happy I’ve found my place in distance running!

I’m actually pretty good at it.
I’m still no superstar, but I’m usually at least in the middle of the pack if not a bit better. If a race is small enough, I can even place in my age group

Running gear is fun.
I’ve always loved buying (fashion) shoes. But I seem to have re-focused. (And then there’s my running skirt and running dress collection … oh yeah, and my Garmin obsession …)

sportline watch winner!

Oh hi! I’m home from Jamaica (oh, did I mention that?) and am ready to announce the winner of the Sportline Solo 965 Heart Rate Monitor watch!

By the ever-scientific method of picking a scrap of paper out of a hat, the winner is …

Congratulations, abblylbrown!

I’ll be in touch to collect your info.

review and giveaway: sportline solo 965 heart rate monitor

Before the holidays, I was contacted by Sportline to see if I would like to do a review of a few of their latest fitness products. The Solo 965 Heart Rate Monitor caught my eye since I was interested in doing more heart-rate training. I currently have a Garmin 310XT that supports it, but it is really only good for outdoor workouts. I wouldn’t want to use it for fitness classes since it’s such a large watch.

Well … the review sample I got was a men’s version, so it’s still a bit clunky for me. They do make a women’s version which would likely be a better fit. I have really small wrists, so it probably wouldn’t be so bad on most women

From Sportline:

Solo 965 Heart Rate Monitor is the first fitness device with FitTrac and MoveTrac technologies and a built-in Calorie Genius (24 hour calorie burn tracking), is designed to track your resting heart rate over time and also record the intensity of movement 24 hours-a-day to show users how they are improving fitness condition and burning calories. Take your workouts to the next level.

Sounds good … but this watch wasn’t really what I was looking for when it comes to heart-rate training. It doesn’t use a chest strap. It relies on contact of the watch with your wrist along with placing your index finger on the front of the watch to take a reading. There is no real-time heart rate display without touching the face of the watch. When training, it won’t be easy to check heart rate while running. (In general, I had a hard time getting a heart rate reading, but I think it may have been due to the fit of the watch. When I did get readings, though, it was accurate.)

If you’re interested in monitoring resting heart rate, it would be good for that. “Fit Trac” mode tracks resting heart rate, and gives you a Fit Score noting the difference from day to day. You tap the screen to enter Fit Trac mode to record your resting heart rate each day.

That’s not really something I’m interested in right now … and actually, I found Fit Trac mode was a bit too sensitive. It didn’t only turn on with a tap to the screen. I’d find it would get triggered often as I was putting on the watch, or after I simply lift my arm to check the time. And once Fit Trac mode starts, it’s on for about 15 seconds while it waits to take your resting heart rate. Not convenient when checking the time!

In regular heart rate mode (just taking a reading), you can cancel out of it by hitting any of the buttons, but Fit Trac won’t cancel. You can also set a lock to keep the heart rate monitor from taking a reading accidentally … but again, this only works for regular readings. You can’t stop Fit Trac from turning on accidentally. It was a bit frustrating.

It wasn’t all bad. I really like the pedometer feature. Despite only entering my height, it was pretty accurate in most of my testing. I had to walk someplace that I knew was a mile and a half away, and it was exactly right. Running was pretty close too — I had it with me for my Ragnar Relay legs, though since I hadn’t tested running with it before, I just looped it to my hand-held water bottle and wore my Garmin. Despite not being on my wrist, two of the three runs recorded distance within a quarter mile, which I think is acceptable. One run it was about a mile short, though, but again I was carrying rather than wearing the watch.

The pedometer feature starts tracking once you’ve made 25 steps, so it won’t register unintentional movement. It counts calories burned based on your movements, and tracks the amount of time you’ve been active. Since I like to track per activity, like time  and distance running, this wasn’t quite as useful for me since I’d have to reset the rest of the day’s activity to isolate my run. If you’re looking to track movement and calorie burn for the entire day, it would be great.

So, this watch wasn’t quite right for me. But I can see how it would be useful. Think it might work for you?

Well, you can find out for yourself since I’m giving one away!

You’ll get one entry each for:

• Leaving a comment telling me why you’d like to win.
• Tweeting about this giveway. Something like “I want to win a @SportlineInc watch from @mostlyirun!  Read more: http://tinyurl.com/mostlyirunsportline“  (leave a comment here to let me know)

US residents only. (Sorry international friends!)

I’m going to keep this contest open until February 9, with a winner drawn February 10. Good luck!

Find out more about Sportline by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclaimer:  I received this watch for free in exchange for my review.  I was not compensated any other way. Opinions are my own.

race report: ragnar key west

My first race of 2013 was my first-ever overnight relay, and I couldn’t have picked a better place to do it. It was 27*F the day we left Annapolis and headed to Miami!

Ragnar Florida Keys is a 12-person, 197-mile journey from Miami to Key West. The teams split into two vans which follow their runner to exchange points along the course. Once all runners in Van 1 were done, they’re “off duty’” until all of Van 2′s runners have run. And repeat — each runner has three legs of varying distance.

Thanks to the Florida heat (warmer than usual, from what we’ve heard), and an injury (he was able to finish all his legs, though), we were a bit slower than expected and finished in just over 36 hours.

My first leg, plus our home for 36-hours!

After my first leg (I was runner #12!), we drove to the Key Largo area for our first break. We stopped at CVS for some supplies (I picked up bottled water and baby wipes), and then we had a gourmet dinner at Waffle House. Um, not much around there that was suitable for a van full of sweaty runners!

We were able to wait out the rest of our break at a high school that was open for the off-duty teams. We could shower (for $3), and sleep on the gym floor. Though I didn’t get much sleep … after two hours of on-and-off dozing, my phone (which was also my alarm and way to communicate with my team) died.  It was charging (I placed my sleeping bag by an outlet), so it wasn’t the battery. Turns out it was dead-dead (and currently sent away for repair ). I was worried about finding my team when it was time to go again, so I hung out in a common area reading for a little while, and then headed back to the van. Two of my teammates were sleeping there since the gym wasn’t working for them, and I joined them.

We ended up getting a much later start than we thought (that’s where the injury came into play, with our teammate having to mostly walk an almost 12-mile unsupported leg). Our runner started around 3am.

Despite the heat and little-to-no sleep, she had a great 10-miler, and the rest of our runners did well, too.

The sunrise from an exchange point, waiting for Runner #10 to come in.

My second leg (6.9 miles) was initially estimated (by Ragnar’s calculations, based on each of our planned paces) to start around 4:30am, but actually ended up at 8:30 am. I was glad to not be in the dark — much of the run was on a trail that would have been creepy — but it was really hot.  I was surprised I hadn’t lost that much speed from my first leg. My team met me at the halfway point. I took some Gatorade, and kept plugging along.

It briefly started raining, and I was excited. I could have used a good cool-down! But, it was just sprinkles, and didn’t last long. (A couple miles down the road, everything was drenched. Looks like I missed out on a good downpour!)

Since I was the last runner, we had another break, so we found a place for brunch. It was a casual pizza place (though they weren’t serving lunch yet), and they had outdoor seating which seemed more appropriate. After we ate,  I “showered”  in the restroom with my baby wipes and changed into a clean/dry outfit. Not perfect, but not bad, either.

We had another school to wait at for the next exchange with Van 1 — who would be finished when they met us! We had some time, though, so most of us tried to nap in the van.  It’s amazing what a good cat nap can do. I was still feeling pretty good!

Our runners continued to do well, though it was hot and sunny again. By the time I started my last leg — heading to the finish in Key West! — it was after sunset. I got lucky — it was still humid, but not nearly as bad as it would have been if we were faster and finished mid-afternoon as estimated!

Sunset from the van on day 2.

My last leg wasn’t as scenic since it was dark — most of the time I was running along the water. But it was exciting to be completing such an interesting journey! Once I got close to the finish there were lots of turns, but finally I was at the last corner.

I almost didn’t see my teammates since there were some bright lights at the finish line (and one of them was wearing a pirate hat so I didn’t immediately recognize him!). I got a burst of energy and sprinted to the finish, with my team right behind me.

Legs 2 and 3. Not bad!

We hung out long enough for our free beer at the end, but we were beat! Our first night in Key West was an early night — shower + dinner + bed.  But fortunately we had a few vacation days to enjoy it!

I had a great time running the relay. While it was more of an adventure than a race, I felt more pressure than I do racing solo, since I was running for my team! But it kept me motivated to push through the heat and humidity.

It was exhausting, but a lot of fun. I’d do it again!