Lost Dutchman 10K

A month after the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona, a group of us headed out to the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE to run the Lost Dutchman 10K. Actually, there's a marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 8K Trail run.



...I did not do a single training run in between R 'n' R AZ and this race. Oops. Oh, and we were leaving for the Disney World Princess Half Marathon two weeks later. No pressure!




Named after the fabled lost gold mine, Lost Dutchman is located in
the Sonoran Desert at an elevation of 2000 feet.

This was the first race where I really struggled. I had lost about 15 pounds in all of my half  marathon training (and following a gluten free diet - more on that later) but my body really hurt throughout this entire race. I was tired 2 miles in...and it never got any better.

The weather was rainy, but I'll take that over the sun any day in AZ!




Isn't this pretty?



Yes, I moonlight as the Karate Kid.

 I think I might do this race again next year. Hopefully, I will be better in better shape! The race is well run and well organized. They offer really nice medals for each of the races except the 2 mile fun run.

Rock 'n' Roll Arizona January 2011

Even though I live in Phoenix, AZ, I probably won't do the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona in January 2012, but I did it this year. Currently, this race is my PR with a time of 2:45. Yes, I know, I know. That's very slow. I'm hoping to get faster. Although, with my current training program (and by "training program" I mean "sitting on my ass on the couch") I'm not getting very far in the PR department.

Here are a few pictures from this year's race...



My running partner in crime - T



Mmmmm...breakfast! (Note the Tums and other supplies in the back)



My traditional mile 10 picture



Me and T post race

Bling!



And bonus bling!
Desert Double Down Medal for running the Las Vegas Half and the Arizona Half!
Yeehaw!

Since I'm posting these race recaps so long after the races, I don't have the original memory card that was in my cell phone at the time, and therefore, I don't have all of the pictures I used to have. I promise that my future race recaps will be more interesting. It just seemed weird to dive right in and not have my previous races posted somewhere, ya know?

Las Vegas Half Marathon December 2010

My second half marathon was the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas in December 2010. We flew out early, early on a Saturday morning arriving in Las Vegas around 8am. My racing partner in crime, T decided that since we arrived so early, we should go over and do the Great Santa Run 5K before going to the Expo.

We literally rushed over to the race site, entered, and then found a restroom to change into our Santa costumes for the race.


Sort of looks like a Santa horror movie.



Those costumes were itchy!

We're a fun group! Wheeee!

Hi, I'm Jaime. Nice to meet you!

The course was a figure 8 through a strip mall. It was totally fun but also one of the biggest wrecks I've ever experienced. Halfway through, we couldn't figure out which way was which, so we somehow found ourselves across the finish line after only 2 miles. The race wasn't timed, so I don't feel too guilty about crossing the finish line a mile early.

After the Santa run, we went to the expo to pick up our numbers and race bibs for the half marathon in the morning. Somehow, they had managed to lose my number. Out of 30,000+ runners, MY number got lost. Why can't I have those odds at the tables?! They gave me a new number which would put be in a corral with actual serious runners. Yikes!

After the expo, we checked into the hotel. We stayed at the Excalibur and had Japanese food for our pre-race carb load. Yum!




Waiting in the corrals by Mandalay Bay

The next morning, I opted to start in the slow corrals with the rest of our group. I wasn't going to risk being trampled to death by the faster runners that actually train for these sorts of races. Plus, it's more fun to wait with your friends than sit in a corral for what seems like an eternity waiting for the race to start.



Running under a giant dude's crotch!

I think this is where my tradition of taking a picture of the mile 10 marker originated.



Cool Vegas style medal

Even the back looks cool!



Celebratory mimosas!

All in all, I liked this race. Each way on the strip is about 4 or so miles, and running that in a straight line can get pretty tedious. Also, the strip is not nearly as pretty during the day. After the race, The Competitor Group that puts on all of the Rock 'n' Roll races sent out a questionnaire asking if we would rather run this race at night in 2011. Of course, I answered yes. And I did run the strip at night this year a few weeks ago...but more on that later...

Disneyland Half September 2010

First up in the list of Ghosts of Races Past is my very first race: Disneyland Half Marathon 2010.

Most people don't tackle a half marathon as their first race. Most start with a 5K and work their way up. I'm not most people. I'm way more stupid...

Before the spring of 2010, I had never run more than 2 miles. And I certainly couldn't run those two miles without walking. I should also note that when I say "run" I mean "shuffle". But a friend of mine that was a long time runner said she was running it and without even batting an eye, I signed up to run it, too. After all, you got to run through Disneyland!! My favorite place! Little did I know that this would spark a love of racing, particularly all Disney races. (Notice I said "love of racing" and not a "love of running". I'm still working on that.)

I grew up showing horses and going to races feels just like horse showing with all of the excitement and fun, and none of the stress of competitive horse showing. When you run half marathons and marathons, everyone gets a prize for finishing. Score!

My time was incredibly slow but I did finish. And yes, I cried when I crossed the finish line.

The pictures are blurry because the phone I had at the time was, um, crappy.

Running through California Adventure

This being my first Disney race, I was shocked to see
people lined up to take pictures with the character!

I loved this part. It was foggy and cloudy and everything looked so cool!

Cool, huh?

Running into the Magic Kingdom

Running through the back lot behind Toon Town

Running through the castle.

Running into Angel Stadium. Very, very cool!

Running, running, running...

Almost there! I was hurting a bit at this point!

Post race wine and pizza! Mmmmm.

I've run this race twice now and it's still my favorite. I know some avid Disney runners like the Disney World races better, but I've run at both resorts and I like the Disneyland race better.

This was an incredible experience. If anyone had told me that I would do a half marathon, I would have snorted water out of my nose from laughing. But I did it.



My very first medal!

I set up a blog...now what?

It might seem silly, but the thing that kept me motivated when I signed up for my first half marathon was Google Image searching half marathon bling pictures. I live in Phoenix, AZ and training for a half marathon in the summer is hellish. When I didn't feel like heading out, I would image search race pictures and I stumbled across numerous blogs about running.

I named my blog The Unlikely Competitor because originally, I had picked that title for a book I thought I would write about the triumphs of my little-horse-that-could, Bam Bam Rubble. I may still do that one day, but for now, I'm just as unlikely of a competitor as he is, so I stole that title for my blog. I could have gone with Bling Whore for a blog name, but hey, I'm trying to be classy...

Besides, when you Google Image Search "bling whore", you get this image:

I do not look this good when I wear bling...         photo source

I've now run 9 half marathons since September 2010 and my times are getting slower and slower because once I knew I could finish, I sort of stopped training in between races. So instead of getting faster, I'm getting slower...and fatter. Not good.

I'm planning on stepping into the new year with a better attitude and more motivation. And hopefully, I will actually PR in one of my upcoming races. Although, most likely not the next two as they are back to back with only 24 hours of rest in between. Yes, my loyal race buddy, T aka  Run On The Sun and I are taking on Disney World's Half Marathon AND the Marathon Relay. Crazy? Yes.

Until then, I will be catching up with race reports from the Ghosts of Half Marathons Past so that I will be up to speed when when we leave for Florida! Cheers!

Yes, fire breathing dragons would definitely help me get a PR....    photo source

Testing out my new blog!

Hello!
This is the Original Unlikely Competitor, Bam Bam Rubble. More on that later...




I have taken over the role as seen below:



More to come...just testing the waters for now!