Meet Cheap Bait - Colleen B

Name: Colleen B

Age: 27 

Relay Name: Shotgun Betty 

Hometown: Fort Worth, TX

Current: Raleigh, NC 

Have you ever done this before? Did it last year for the first time! 

What are you looking forward to the most? the amazing experience that comes with the camaraderie from your teammates and the epic party after! 

What are you looking forward to the least? The exhaustion and mental abuse you give to yourself when you're tired and feel like you can't go on

What should your van mates know about you before hand? I'm loud, opinionated, crass, offensive, I curse a lot (the F word is my favorite...and I don't mean fudge), and I love to laugh!

How long have you been a runner? I started running in the spring of 2012 and ran my first half marathon spring of 2013.

Favorite gear: Brooks shoes, Nike barely there tanks, Moving Comfort sports bra, Pro Bar gluten free gummies, my Garmin Forerunner 610

What is your favorite color? Purple...no pink  AHHHH (movie reference) Monty Python for the win!

 

Do you have any pets? Yes, 1, a Pit bull/boxer mix. She's 5 and her name is Zoey Pupperlumps 

 

What's your favorite food? Mexican & French 

 

Favorite movie: Forrest Gump 

 

Most memorable vacation: epic road trip with my dad in 2013 and visited New Orleans, Fort Worth, 

Austin, and Houston 

 

Most desired place to visit: France (will be going next year!) 

 

Hobby(ies): Running (duh),  photography, food, and wine 

 

Favorite word: moist (because everybody else hates it) ew... we'll all be "moist" during the relay!

 

Most despised word: failure

 

Spouse/kids? Boyfriend of 7 years and the Pupperlumps is the only kid I'll need :) 

 

1 song that sums up your life: Heart of Gold-- Neil Young 

 

Occupation: Operations/Office manager at a local Allstate office and part-time Meredith student (graduating 2015!!! woohoo!) 

 

Favorite TV show: Trashy TV and Big Bang Theory

 

Favorite book and/or author: Mary Kay Andrews (author), The Invention of Wings (book)

Rave Race - Runcations!

"Well, I think that's kinda crazy, but if that's what you like, then good for you!"... said my sister-in-law, from the pool, as I excitedly explained to the family that I found a 5K right at the beach where we were vacationing!
Apparently, there's a company that puts on weekly races along the Outer Banks (runcations.com), and they even have great swag!  For roughly 40 bucks, me and nearly 400 other people spent Wednesday morning running through scenic Currituck, beginning and ending at the Whalehead Club (sort of like Biltmore Estate at the beach).  There's a Wednesday series, called the Lighthouse 5K (there's a lighthouse right next door), and a Thursday series in Nags Head*.  For a 5k, it had surprisingly nice swag - a decent t-shirt (same brand as our Cheap Bait shirts!), sweat towel, stickers, and a MEDAL.

Bonus, they emailed my results, and included which place I was in my age group (11th out of 44) and overall (not quite as good!).  Post-race food was delish, and I even made a race friend - someone who was doing her first 5K ever and just needed to connect with someone for a little confidence boost (she also did great).

What's an early morning vacation race without a little treat afterwards?  Not worth having, if you ask me.. which is why I stopped at Duck Donuts on my way back to reward myself with maple bacon donut!  What a way to start the day!

*we actually stay in Nags Head, and had I known that there was a series a bit closer, I would have opted for that vs. driving nearly an hour up the coast to Currituck.. but it was a beautiful drive!  Next year I'll do Nags Head, and when the kiddo realized there was bling, he regretted his decision NOT to - he'll be joining me next year :-)

What to pack for 36 hours of living in a van

With our team meeting coming up this weekend (and me so sad that I won't make it!), I thought it timely to add a "here's whatcha need" list to the blog.

Crap you need to wear

• 3 full changes of clothing, along with 3 gallon-sized zip locs.  Put 2 of the sets into ziplocs and squeeze out the air to save packing space.  Wear the 3rd set. (Top, bottom, socks, bra) - THREE sets are not optional, unless you want to ride on the roof.
• 2 sets of sneakers (if you have them), rotate them during your runs.  Also, it may rain.
• 1 pair of comfy shoes for not running - these are your chillin' in the van kicks.
• Sweaty bands, scrunchies, hair bands (not Ratt or Motley Crue), bobby pins, whatever spares you'll need to keep your hair out of your face.
• Loungewear - something comfy to wear during the 2-3 hours in which you might sleep.  Immediately after, you will change into one of your running outfits.
• Your Team shirt for the finish!
• Post-race clothing - something for Saturday night (dinner or hitting the bars), to sleep in, and to wear home on Sunday.  Ideally all of this after a shower.
• WIPES - you don't actually wear these, but they will be part of your clothing ritual, so keep 'em handy with your changes of clothing (along with DEODORANT).  After each leg you run, you'll cool down while the next person runs their leg, THEN you'll change at the next stop.  Wipe yourself down, stuff the sweaty clothes into one of the ziplocs (seal TIGHTLY), reapply smell-good stuff, then get dressed in your next outfit.
• Each van must have 1 reflective vest.  We had 2 in each, so that it was one less thing to hand off.  You also need blinky lights, front and back.

Crap to make you comfy (most of this is optional, personal preference.. remember, it all needs to fit!)

• BODY GLIDE, sunscreen
• Sunglasses or visor
• Foam roller
• Yoga mat, for stretching or just hanging out between legs (of the run, not someone else's)
• Sleeping bag or blanket
• Tent - really, only a few people from each van need to bring one.  You can double up, and some people can sleep in the van if they like.
• Pillow
• Towel(s) - Just because.  Either to sit on, or in case there's an oasis on the final leg that actually has a working shower.
• Folding chair
• First aid kit (one per van)
• Markers, paper, signs, decorations - crazy crap to pimp your ride.
• Electronics - camera, phone, charging cords (and an adapter.. these vans won't have USB ports)
• Toiletries - you will want to brush your teeth when you wake up!
• Hand sanitizer, extra TP

Crap you might wanna eat

• Bring whatever hydration, fuel belt, etc you normally use for long runs.
• Fuel, especially for that final, early morning run... you probably won't feel like eating anything heavy at 3am.
• Split the rest of the stuff up amongst the van.  Everyone can certainly bring their favorites, but you don't want 6 people bringing their own coolers and grocery bags!  Divvy up the big stuff, and then let people add whatever else they need.  Suggestions:
• Bottled water - grab a few cases
• Some Nuun tubes
• Case of single-size chocolate milks (also conveniently available at BJs)
• BJs-sized tub of pretzels
• Bunches of bananas
• Muffins for breakfast
• Cheese sticks or squeezey yogurts
• veggies and hummus
• PLAN FOR DINNER!  During the day, you'll be able to find somewhere to eat.  After your night shift or before your night shift (depending on when your van starts / finishes), you will probably be out in the boonies, and pickin's will be slim.  Bring a big pasta salad, or some sandwich fixin's.

... and THAT is how you pack for a relay!  The MotherRunners also have a nice printable version of this, without all of the editorial comments!

Race Report - Bucker Mission Man

This past Saturday (gloriously overcast, thank goodness!), Sara and I stepped up our game and took on a full sprint (vs. super sprints).  This was my first ever open water swim tri, and Sara's second... although she mentioned minutes before we hopped in the water that her first OWS race was a shorty.  Technically, this was a first, then, for both of us!

I didn't even have the luxury of many OWS practices beforehand.  Thankfully, Sara and I popped out to Beaver Dam Lake the DAY BEFORE to log some quite OWS time!  I'm glad we did, it calmed my pre-race jitters considerably.  There were still many left!

So we got up at the ass crack of dawn (technically, before dawn even thought about getting up!) and drove to Burlington, NC.  We arrived bright and ugly, and made a beeline to the porta potties, where we had the first-time-ever priviledge of being the FIRST TO USE THEM!  We had to break the seals on the TP rolls!  We quickly christened them, and moved on to packet pickup.

The race itself was great!

• It was small - there were just around 300 finishers
• Well-managed with super nice volunteers (church folks, this race supports an annual mission trip, hence the name)
• It had great swag - nice technical tees, socks, a tower, and a water bottle
• Good post race food - lots of fruit and carbs served by the aforementioned super nice volunteers!
• ...and a BEAUTIFUL course!  The lake was.. ya know, a lake.  The bike course had maybe 3-4 turns, rolling straight roads, and the run was a trail run through the same park as the lake.  Hilly, but pretty.

(view of the lake, through the transition area)

I won't lie, the swim freaked me out a little.  I think I went out too fast (when Sara told me later that I was ahead of her, that confirmed it.  That should NOT have happened!).  I couldn't catch a good groove or control my breathing.  The first leg was a funky combo of breast and back stroke, followed by random crawl when I could manage to catch my breath.  I locked it down a little on the 2nd leg, breathing every other stroke, and then by the third leg I settled in.  I stuck to the other edges of the mass of swimmers, but in hindsight, had I gone right up the middle, I probably would have saved considerable time.  I also bumped into a few people (and shoved my hand into some poor guy's teeth at one point!).  When I did, I took a sec to reorient myself and then just kept going.  Overall, it was no where near as frightening as I thought it would be.  When I climbed out of the water, I felt pretty good!  Overall time was just over 18 minutes for 750 meters, and I think I could do much better with some control and better steering!

The bike course was nice, too.  I found myself trying to do math while pedaling furiously!  Was this a 12 mile ride or a 15 mile ride?  I passed way more people than passed me, although I did get passed by a clump of dudes right around mile 14.  I could've gone a smidge faster, but again, I was pretty ok with my time - 49 minutes for 15 miles.

The run... whew.  The run.  3.1 miles of hilly trail.  The good:  I took 2 short walk breaks to grab a drink, and other than that, kept going.. even right up those hills.   The first 1/4 mile or so was a total douche grade, but we noticed that when we arrived and were prepared (just enough uphill to make you feel like you're working way too hard for what LOOKs like flat).  Once you hit the trail, it was a gravelly little roller coaster!  It peeked out over the lake at several points, and was a really pretty run, just not an easy one.  Sadly, it also ended STRAIGHT UP A DOGGONE HILL.  Just under 32 minutes for the run.  Not my best, typically my tri runs avg less than 10 min / mile, but with the hills, I'll take it.  

We were so pumped up that we both took to the plunge and signed up for White Lake International Tri in 6 weeks!!!  (kidding, I nearly peed in my pants when I hit "register", but I did it anyway).  And that, as they say, is that!

A triathlete?

I did my first triathlon 2 years ago this spring.  It was the Ramblin' Rose, and it satisfied my goal of doing a tri before I turned 40 (of course, in triathlon, you actually "age up" to whatever age group you'll be that calendar year, so although I was still 39, I raced with a big fat "40" on the back of my calf!).  So my first mini-sprint was done, and I liked it!  But I didn't do any more that year.  I did sign up for it again the following year, and took on another super sprint at one of the local wellness centers.  I loved it, and found that I actually finished higher up in the bunch than I do in road races.

This year I finally got the swimming thing down.  That was always my biggest struggle, and the thing that actually kept me from doing one in the first place.  I figured it out, at long last, and did the Ramblin' Rose for my 3rd time this year, coming in 11th in my age group (out of more than 100 other women), and nailing a PR!  Feeling good, I signed up for my first open water sprint (and a legit sprint at that, not a super sprint!), which is in 2.5 weeks!  My stretch goal for this year is to do an International in September... which is right around the damned corner!

So what's funny is this - I've been running off and on for 20 years.  I consider myself a "runner".  In spite of the fact that I'm apparently better at triathlon than I am at running, I've been really reluctant to call myself a triathlete.  Maybe because "runner" sounds like something you do, you can do it for fun, for sport, be good or just ok, but you run, therefore you're a run-ner.  Triathlete has the word "athlete" in it, and it just feels a little cocky to refer to yourself as an athlete.  I'm fit, I compete (sorta), I do athletic things... but "athlete" sounds very ... not what I look like!

After this weekend, though... I feel ok saying it.  Instead of saying "I like to do triathlons" or "I run and I've done some triathlons", I feel ok saying "I'm a triathlete".  The Boy (who is also a triathlete, damnit!) and I did a 10 mile bike ride on Friday,  and then Mommy hit the pool for 1000 m while he played with a friend (there was supervision!).  Saturday was a nice, hilly 11 miler in Umstead that made up for the previous weekend's sorry performance.  Sunday was a 30 mile bike (you read that right!), followed by the rubberyleggiest 15 min run (brick my ass), followed by a mini tri with The Boy, followed by some additional pool laps.  40 miles of running, 12-13 miles running, at least a mile of swimming... I'm feeling pretty triathletey right now.

And today, because this triathlete has been neglecting her strength training (where the hell do I fit THAT in?), and her hips are popping out of joint (ew!), there will be kettlebells.  Happy whatever your sport is!

2 Not-So-Rave-Runs

It has been mighty humid here as of late, resulting in 2 less than stellar runs!  The first was the Esprit de She 10K on Thursday, sponsored by Athlete (and a buncha other folks!).  The good first:

1. Fairly nice course, even if it was 2 loops.
2. Parking was easy enough
3. Great swag!  The tanks are super cute, it's one of my favorite race tops!
4. Immediately after crossing the finish, we were handed a bottle of nice cold water, a banana, Tru Moo chocolate milk (YUM!), and Trader Joe's trail mix.  That was before we actually got to the party!
5. Nice after-party!  Even for the slowbies, there was plenty to go around.  There were adult beverages available (2 glasses of wine included in your race fee), sandwiches and baked goods from La Farm, and lots of other booths with yogurt and stuff.  There was also a live band with a VERY diverse portfolio!  They covered Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Ratt, and a ton of other random stuff!
6. This probably belongs in the "not so great" (for out-of-towners for sure!), but it worked out well for those of us IN town - the tanks were late.  They didn't come in until Sunday, so you had to go to the store over the weekend to get them.  Bonus: for our trouble, they also handed out $15 gift certs... and of course there was a sale going on.. sure that worked out for them in the long run!

My only real complaint about the race was the fact that it and packet pick up were on week nights.  Granted, I knew that when I signed up for, but when it came time to deal with those logistics in the middle of the week, I realized that I probably would not do this one again.  The fact that it was an evening race in JUNE also made it super hot!  Too bad.. I liked the race, and would probably do it again, but the timing is really stinky!

Not even going to tell you what my time was.. my Bia must have been prepping for an upgrade after, because the mileage was off  quite a bit. By the time we finished, I'd done 7.6 miles!  (made my finish time look much more respectable!).

Not-so-rave-run #2 (appropriately numbered) was a 10 miler through Umstead on Sat with the Cheap Bait ladies.  It was humid, hilly, and slow.  Unfortunately my Bia worked just fine, so I'm not sharing that time, either! 

Embrace the Hills

Thistles and Fog-Good Morning Run

Sunday Kelly and I headed out for a 9ish mile run. We decided to take it to the trails of Umstead because after all we were training for a downhill half marathon and Umstead has lots of good downhill’s and even better uphill’s.

I like to consider myself a mountain goat. I long ago embraced hills. Hello people, we do live in the Piedmont and we have a few hills. I love the challenge of a good hill. I may not be fast but I can climb with the best of them. I have done 2 half marathons in the mountains of NC so I consider myself somewhat of a hill badass. However on this run we met a gentleman that I bow down to.

We will call said gentleman Mr. Pikes Peak.  Kelly and I meet up with him on the last half of our run on Turkey Creek trail. We kept seeing him in the distance and occasionally he would walk (don’t we all?) but he kept trucking along the trail. We finally trotted up beside him and exchanged a few words. He asked us what we were training for and we told him about our downhill race coming up in a few weekends. We also talked about other races and I mentioned mountain races. Well, folks let me tell you I feel humbled. Our gentleman runner said he was training for Pikes Peak. WHAT!?! Pikes Peak marathon is touted as one of America’s toughest marathons. There is a 7,815 foot climb to the top of the 14,115 foot peak. I like a climb but good grief! I think this one would cripple me. Before I forget to mention, Mr. Pikes Peak had to be in his 60’s yet another reason why I feel less of a badass. I asked him later on how many times he had run Pikes Peak and he said he couldn’t remember but he had run it EVERY year since 1997. For those of you who don’t want to do the math that is 17 years. Holy Hell! He told me about his training and told me to add this race to my bucket list. I may be crazy folks but I don’t know if I am that crazy. The whole time talking to him he was smiling which I imagine he does when running Pikes Peak. His smile was contagious and yes I probably wasn’t smiling any more than when I started but I felt my attitude change.

As we went our separate ways on the trail he said he hoped to see us again and I sure the heck hope so. This man probably has some great stories that I would love to hear. As I was climbing the last hill before leaving the park I thought about the pain this man goes through every year to run the marathon. I think even the most elite athlete would struggle. I made it up that hill and felt good because I figured if Mr. Pikes Peak could get out there and climb the toughest mountain then this hill would not kill me. I felt motivated and inspired and humbled all at the same time. I know when I am running the last leg of the Tuna 200 and I fill like crap I will think back to this man and get my arse moving. So thank you Mr. Pikes Peak for the inspiration. Happy trails!