This past weekend was the annual Skirt Sports Ambassador retreat and it was bigger than ever. Mostly because we have way more ambassadors than usual, but seriously. 200 women came out and it was an amazing weekend.
Friday, as usual, was the cocktail reception at the store. With so many people, however, we actually had to use bracelets and get liquor licenses and take over a parking lot. Crazy, I know.
So much wine.
Eating all the food.
See? So many Skirts.
Looking the other way.
Friday night was mostly social, but we did have Nicole talk as well as Noelle. Noelle shared a beautiful thing from Lisa Young-Morrissey, a fellow ambassador who recently passed away from cancer.
Skirt did some awards - people who most represent the brand's core values as well as some other random things. We were also treated to a fashion show from the future (with Fall 2018 product as well as a super sneak peek into Spring 2019) to get us all excited for what's coming next (and it is good!). Mostly, it was a great time to drink and eat and reconnect with old friends and make a lot of new ones.
Shenanigans with one of the empty magnums.
Saturday, we took over an event center in Westminster. We had three amazing speakers - Kara Berryman Burns, a fellow ambassador with an amazing story (featured on Nicole's podcast as well!), Mirna Valerio, a.k.a. the Mirnavator (here on Run This World with Nicole DeBoom), and Colleen Cannon, former pro triathlete and founder of Women's Quest (and oh hey, also on the podcast). Since we like to move, there was also some yoga sprinkled in.
There was a hike afterward too, but I skipped it due to having so much crap going on at home. I regret it a lot, though.
Taking over.
You can take the girls out of Brooklyn, but you can't take the Brooklyn out of the girls. Mirna on the left and Latoya on the right.
We finished everything up with the Skirt Sports 13er (and 10K and 5K) on Sunday as well as a post-race brunch, but I'll get to that in my race recap post.
******
I do want to give a shout out to all of the AMAZING companies that sponsored our retreat because it definitely would NOT have been possible without them!
- Kendall-Jackson and La Crema for the wine (and La Crema has one of my favorite Pinot noirs anyway ...).
- Ska Brewing for beer (which everyone else enjoyed immensely ...).
- The Tea Spot for tea Saturday morning as well as goody-bag stuff on Friday.
- Justin's Nut Butters for nut buttery goodness Saturday morning (and a goody bag insert).
- Noosa Yoghurt for helping to feed us Saturday morning.
- Kim and Jake's Cakes for ALL OF THE CAKE all weekend. I love Kim and Jake's. So much.
- Alpine Start Foods for providing us with coffee Saturday morning.
- MAD Greens for our delicious lunch on Saturday.
- Illegal Pete's for our taco bar dinner on Friday.
- Mychelle Dermaceuticals for the sunscreen in our goody bags.
- Boulder Clean for our mini detergent samples.
and, of course ...
- Skirt Sports for being so utterly fabulous of a company that I am so proud to represent.
I set some fairly ambitious goals this month and, well ... I kind of got close. Kind of.
Swimming: 11700m (7.27 mi)
Cycling: 110.67 mi
Running: 48.19 mi
Lifting: 11 sessions (3:22)
Other: five hikes (4:50), one session plyometrics (:16), one walk (2:00), two yoga sessions (:32)
I did hit my swim goal of 10000m. I should have surpassed it by a lot more, but I really didn't manage to swim much the last week and a half of May. Oops. It happens, I know, but still. Ugh.
I got halfway to my super ambitious 200 mile cycling goal. I didn't miss too many planned rides. However, when most of my rides are 10ish miles ... a big hairy goal gets a bit tricky.
I was so so so so sososososo close to hitting my 50 mile run goal and I even could have managed it one of the last two days in May, but we were in Las Vegas for a baby vacation and I really didn't want to stress about running and just wanted to enjoy vacation ... so that's what I did. Besides, if I hadn't have gotten sick (allergies?), I would have hit it no problem, so no point in dwelling on it.
Hiking season has clearly started, which I am super happy about.
June brings a few more races - Skirt Sports 5K this weekend, my first tri of the season later in the month - and hopefully a lot more miles. I'm going to up my swim goal to 15000m (should be easily doable) and try again for the bike (200 mi) and run (50 mi) goals. I was considering upping the run goal, but I was also doing a lot of longer runs in preparation for the BolderBOULDER ... and I'm not sure if I'm going to stay in the 7-8 mile range as a long run. We'll see I suppose ...
I totally forgot to do a race goals post last Friday ... but come on, for the BolderBOULDER, I don't race it. My goals were as such:
- all the fun
- plus 1:30
- cupcake
I hit every single one. Score.
Thank jeebus it was a casual race, too, as race morning was a shitshow. We always like to get up to Boulder before the roads close down and ideally wanted to leave the house no later than 5:15am. Yeeeah, we woke up at 5:30am. Out the door five minutes later.
(I think 35 minutes is a new personal record from getting to our house from Boulder and I didn't even really speed. Much. Promise.)
We did manage to get parked at the 29th Street shopping center just fine and got some breakfast at Starbucks. We headed down prior to the first wave to ideally see our friend Nic before she went off, but unfortunately missed her.
I got a text from Katie as we were considering starting in my wave (had to go off in mine since B's wave was earlier and I didn't want to get DQed for starting ahead of my wave) and ended up waiting for them. All in all, it ended up being a crew of 11 (10) of us that started the race.
Our usual pre-race selfie ... with Russ photobombing us.
From then on ... it was all the shenanigans. Seriously. Beer and slip 'n' slides and dancing and watermelon and Doritos and Otter Pops and cupcakes and bacon and swings and all the laughs.
Beers after the first slip 'n' slide.
I was totally jealous of Katie and the swing last year so I had to get on it this year.
Saw Skirt buddy Deb so had to get a picture with her! And we're apparently both in the same Free Flow Tank ...
Full-size freeze pops whaaaaaaat?
Hitting up the second slip 'n' slide.
8 out of 10 of the crew. Most with cupcakes. Mmm cupcakes.
All in all ... I have run a few half-marathons faster than I "ran" this BolderBOULDER, but in terms of fun? Totally a new PR.
Final Stats:
Time: 2:15:47.75*
482/496 division (F34)
21918/22953 gender
42995/44757 overall (as best I can tell)
* I rounded up. Also, somehow, despite starting and finishing the same time as the husband, my finishing time is like a minute slower. What sense that makes, I don't know.
... or aging up sucks.
As I turn 35 this summer, I'm now in a new AG ... and am probably officially going to be comparatively worse for the next 15 years or so (unless I really kick my own ass into gear which ... trying).
Or better people are starting to show up and race the short course at Barkin' Dog. That could also be a possibility.
I'm not entirely sure I actually slept the night before, but I woke up fairly exhausted but on time (hooray!) to leave the house and go race. We got routed to a different parking lot this year, so it was almost a good mile walk down to transition. Since I have the state parks pass ... I should have just driven into the park and parked in the boating area ... maybe next time ...
Got set up, grabbed my packet ... and ended up finding a few Skirt sisters in Samm and Cassie. It was Cassie's first ever duathlon, so we helped explain some stuff, give advice ... tell her not to worry about the hill of death in the middle of the bike course ... the usual.
After that, it was a lot of standing around and waiting as the short course women were the absolute last wave to go off, but go off we did.
Start. I'm with all the crazy lime, Samm is in the Runners Roost kit to my right (if looking at photo; actually off my left shoulder), and there's a sliver of Cassie in a Stargaze Happy Girl on the other side of me.
Run 1:
The fact that I had to walk a bit up the hill of the first 2K run told me it was going to be a rough day as I'm pretty sure I didn't have to do the last time I did this race back in 2016. Dangit.
I also swear we ran a bit further down the sidewalk than that year, but that could have been my own perception due to struggling lungs already. Great.
Rounding the corner back to transition.
Time: 11:18 (4th division, 23rd gender, 48th overall)
T1:
Fairly uneventful, as per usual.
Time: :58 (2nd, 9th, 23rd)
Bike:
I forget exactly when Samm passed me on the run, but pass me she did. However, I was able to pass her back a few miles into the bike course. I hadn't ridden outside much leading into the race, but I wanted to push it on the bike, so push it I did.
I was able to see where Samm was on the backside of the tower loop - she was going in as I was coming out, so I knew she wasn't too far behind. I saw Cassie just about to turn up the giant hill of death as I turned back onto the main part of the park road, so I knew she was doing okay as well.
Unfortunately for me, no fastest AG bike split ... and that's okay, as I did the best as I could have done on that day.
Like a boss. Also lopsided helmet due to the buff I was wearing underneath for my ears. Oops.
Time: 38:56 (3rd, 20th, 40th)
T2:
Once again, in, out, gone as best I could.
"High"-fiving a little girl leaving transition. Why not, right? Also I look really tall as a result ...
Time: 1:11 (2nd, 20th, 37th)
Run 2:
Run 2 was a struggle and a half. I was heading over to the hill when I saw Samm come into trans, so I knew it was probably only going to be a matter of time until she caught me. I was walking way more than I would have liked, too.
(clearly hit my race goal of "pace well." clearly.)
Racing Underground changed up the run course this year to avoid extra foot traffic on the main park road, turning it into a straight out-and-back on the trails. I'm not sure whether I liked this more or less or neither.
In any case, my first mile was pretty slow AF (12:something), mostly due to me not being able to breathe.
Samm caught me not too long after that, and we stuck together for most of the rest of the run. She told me she was having some struggles herself - not knowing if she'd actually be able to finish the race. So, we mutually helped each other out - I helped her just keep going in general, and she helped me to a killer neg split (mile 2 11:something, mile 3 10:something).
We were nearing the part where we needed to turn off the path and head up the road to the finish when she had it and I didn't quite, so we split up and she beat me by about 45 seconds (to take third in our AG).
Time: 34:35 (4th, 36th, 67th)
Overall Stats:
Time: 1:27:00
4/5 division (F35-39)
23/60 gender
48/107 overall
Post-race selfie. My thoughts exactly.
The real reason I race: Flippin' Flapjacks.
Samm and I hung out a bit afterward, eating our pancakes, and then we biked back up to our cars. I packed up and busted ass to drive back into the park, as I wanted to try to see Cassie finish. We saw her starting up the hill on the second run as we were running down to the finish, so I knew there'd be a chance.
Unfortunately, I saw her walking back to trans with her pancakes as I drove into the parking lot. I was able to chat with her a bit post-race, though, to see how it went and all of that. She tripped at one point on the second run, so she had a bit of road rash from that, and her bike got tipped over in trans so her derailleur was a bit screwed up, making shifting difficult, but she survived and is not totally done with multisport for good, so I'm calling it a win.
*********
And, since I've done this race thrice now, it's comparison time!
Time 2014: 1:27:28
Time 2016: 1:21:31
Time 2018: 1:27:00
Difference: quite a bit slower than 2016, but still faster than the first time. And the first time had arguably the easiest bike out of all of them. Not complaining since I totally wasn't really trained.
Run 1 2014: 10:14
Run 1 2016: 10:32
Run 1 2018: 11:18
Difference: so slow. I'M WORKING ON IT.
T1 2014: 1:10
T1 2016: 1:02
T1 2018: :58
Difference: well, I keep improving at something. Also, this might be my first ever sub-:60 transition time. Score!
Bike 2014: 42:56
Bike 2016: 38:10
Bike 2018: 38:56
Difference: wow, this is where I lost the least time. I'm kind of impressed, honestly. I think it's just a lot of accumulated bike miles in my legs. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
T2 2014: 1:09
T2 2016: 1:04
T2 2018: 1:11
Difference: ... and I lost time here. *shrugs*
Run 2 2014: 31:57
Run 2 2016: 30:41
Run 2 2018: 34:35
Difference: a lot. The other area where I bled a lot of time. Again, working on it.
I'm considering doing this race again next year (as I really do enjoy it), but as a relay with Samm. I guess she really wants one of the AG champion pint glasses (which I got in 2014), and they only go one deep for short course (unlike long course, where they go three deep). She would run and I would bike. I think we would crush it, so that's probably next year. Watch out for Team Skirt!
... the second race of my weekend double.
Unlike the Donut Dash the day before, I was actually hoping to race this race. I didn't think I'd come close to my course PR (28:something)(spoiler: I didn't), mostly because I took some time off running for Italy and I really haven't been doing any speed work.
Since both of us wanted to do pretty well, we also decided we would run separately.
I managed to hit most of my goals, too.
- have fun. Indeed, there is even fun in suffering. Also with pre-race selfies with Dinger, the Rockies' mascot.
Not the Dinger selfie, but one of the two of us.
- pace well. Ha, well, not so much ... keep reading.
The gun went off and Brandon was gone. I kept him in sight for most of the first mile, but as soon as I had to slow down to walk, I lost him. The first mile of this race is one of the quickest opening miles around the Denver race scene (imho), and mine was probably too fast for current sustainability, at an 8:57. Oops.
Mile 2 starts uphill, and I walked some, before running again. And then walking at the aid station halfway through the mile. And a bit again. And then up the other hills on course. Dropped to a 9:45 for that mile.
Mile 3 was a lot of pain. Ran when I could (and, according to the Garmin file, ran quite fast), but I had absolutely no lungs. AT ALL. Saw the finish, turned into the stadium to run around the warning track, ran around it, struggled up the mini hill leaving the stadium (evil), walked once more, and then gutted out sub-7 pace to the finish, trying to hit my final goal.
- sub-30. So ... dang ... close.
Final Stats:
Time: 30:20
44/287 AG (F30-34)
217/2140 gender
654/3965 overall
I left it all out there on the course. I got sub-10 per mile (which I'm THRILLED with) and came pretty close to the sub-30 I would have liked. I said in my pre-race goals post that sub-30 might take some pain. Well, I had pain and still couldn't get it, so that's okay. I know where I need to work before the next 5K I want to do well at in early June (Skirt Sports).
... because I run for doughnuts.
This was a race that I got a lot of emails for and basically threw on the schedule because it looked fun, and fun is what I am about this year. I was okay with it even being the same weekend as the Rockies race because I figure I'd do what I did - race this one easy, and the Rockies race for serious.
On the plus side, I nailed every one of my race goals.
- have fun. Oh yes, I had fun.
Pre-race. Yes, I'm wearing my ancient Skirt "I run for donuts" shirt. And non-technical donut socks (over tech socks).
Mid-race selfie.
Goal? Hit.
- take it easy. My toes were the only things that hurt after this race (okay, so the two pairs of socks might not have been the smartest idea). However, trying to stay at a slower pace is surprisingly hard, but we were successful.
- plus 30 min. I even got plus-33 minutes. Awww yeah.
It's weird lining up in the second wave of a 5K for "over 10 minute milers," since I try not for that to be me on a typical basis ... but today wasn't a typical day.
We ran the whole first mile, purposefully checking the Garmins and making sure we weren't going too fast. 10:15 pace? Whoa there, back it off, no need to sprint. We'd surge occasionally to get around walkers/large groups, but other than that, took it easy.
It is frustrating, though, that even going at a slower pace, I can't maintain it, breath-wise, for a full 5K. Someday I will be able to do that again. Needless to say, we took some walk breaks. Which weren't all that frustrating, if I'm being honest with myself, as it was just in keeping with the easy peasy theme of the day.
Place-wise, even though I wasn't really trying, I still ended up in a decent position ... proving to me that I really need to probably stick to a single sport.
Final Stats:
Time: 34:06
53/131 AG (F30-34)
229/711 gender
434/1082 overall
Just about an 11:00/mile. Perfect.
Donuts were Safeway (and Krispy Kreme) ... both of which I don't particularly like, so I only even ate one donut post race. But, I did get a medal, so there's that.
I think I set myself up well for success this month, knowing we had our Italy trip ... but I also knew that life is sometimes a thing.
Well, life was still a thing, but I still managed to hit my goals! And I did have ridiculous walking numbers ...
Swimming: 5600m (3.48 mi)
Cycling: 61.59 mi
Running: 21.03 mi
Lifting: 11 sessions (2:21)
Other: eight walks (18:00), one yoga session (:16)
I hit my very modest goals ... and I should have even surpassed all three ... but that's where life became a thing. The run goal actually looked iffy (despite running twice in Italy), but the two late-month 5Ks helped push me over the edge. Phew.
May has started out okay (this actual week, not so much), but I'm hoping to refocus here and get back rolling ... particularly since multisport season starts Sunday. Eep.
I do have some minimums I'm hoping to hit - 10,000m swimming, 200 mi cycling, 50 mi running - which are a touch ambitious, but I also know Brandon's going to be gone a good chunk of this month, so I have nothing to do but train!
(Okay not really, but it's time to get rolling ...)
