Great Santa Run Recap

Several weeks ago, an email appeared in my work Inbox asking that anyone interested in signing up for the Great Santa Run to contact HR. I asked a couple questions, went to the website, got super excited, and immediately contacted HR to add my name to the list.

Here's a little video about the 2011 run.


Since my work is a major sponsor, my registration was actually free. Can't beat that! When you register, you get a Santa suit to run in. The hope is to get as many Santas together in one area as possible. Last year, they won the World Santa Challenge and raised over $400,000 for individuals with disabilities! How cool is that!

There were over 8,000 Santas in 2011. The numbers weren't available yet on the website of how many were there this year, but I'm glad to have been a part of it. :)

Around 8:20, my ride arrived to pick me up. I knew that parking was going to be, um, complicated, so I asked a friend if he wanted to carpool. And yes, by carpool, I meant him pick me up. This is, I think, the 2nd race he's picked me up for, so he's kind of becoming my race chauffeur. (Thanks, Crosby!)

I'd picked up my Santa suit, race number, etc the day before (conveniently at work. yay!), but he'd registered with a team, so we needed to meet up with them to get his race packet.

He had brought his sweet girl, Maya, with him, so I didn't mind the wait at all.

I couldn't get her to look up at me, but isn't she a cutie!

Finally, the four of us were dressed as Santa and ready to go!

While we waited at what we thought was the start line, we got to see 4 skydiving Santas glide in to the starting area.

The race was supposed to start at 10am, and shortly after 10, they started announcing that all 5K participants should line up behind Santa. Um. We were ALL dressed like Santa! ;) So, we just started following the crowd and 10 minutes later, we were at the starting line. Phew!

I got my CharityMiles started on my phone just as we crossed. I ran for The Global Fund to fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, since yesterday was also World AIDS Day. I didn't want to lose sight of my ride home in the sea of Santas, so I did my best to keep up with him. He's normally super fast, but I had two things in my favor yesterday. 1) There were a ton of Santas, so it was hard to run very fast anyway, and 2) He was running a marathon the next day (today!), so this was just kind of a slow warm-up, make-sure-everything-is-working-okay type of run for him.

Our final time was just shy of 32 min (31:58). Definitely no record for me, but it was fun! Weaving in and out of the throngs of Santas was exhilarating!

At the finish, we were just finished. There wasn't any food that I could see anyway. They were handing out bottles of water as you crossed the finish, but they had also handed out bottles around mile 1 in lieu of a water stop. It was kind of cool to get a whole bottle - except then you had to run with the bottle for the remaining 2.1 miles.

Also, the first 1,000 finishers were offered a shirt, but we didn't feel like standing in line. Plus, we had no idea if we were in the first 1,000, so we headed back to the car, where he completely changed out of his Santa suit before we headed back to the finish to meet up with our friends.

Ugh. I hate this picture of me. Next year, I'm wearing my own suit that will actually FIT! :)

After the race was finished, and before heading back home, I headed to the portapotty. I'd been holding it since before the race began and knew I wouldn't make it home. Now, I only mention this because instead of simply having hand sanitizer stations for disinfecting those germs, they had actually set up portable handwashing stations. This was a bad idea. I thought it seemed pretty cool, but the water didn't work very well, and there were no paper towels or anything for drying. I couldn't rinse off all the soap or try to wick it off with a paper towel, so I ended up wringing my hands continuously until the suds kind of went away. It was annoying. I'll take simple hand sanitizer any day.

All in all, it was a great way to start the Saturday! Now, if I could just figure out how to run a race in the morning and then not veg out and eat like shit the rest of the day!!

Have you, or will you, be running in a Santa race this year?
Do you ever accidentally type Satan when you mean to type Santa? oops!
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Fitness Friday: The Much Anticipated RAGNAR RECAP

Two weeks ago today (has it really been that long?), I stumbled out of bed at 3 a.m. to don my brightest tights and awesomest 80s gear to head up Mt Charleston with Van 1 of The Fanny Pack.

We got off to a late start and ended up leaving my teammate's house way later than we should have. Plus, it turned out that we didn't have the required # of LED back lights, so we had to stop at the home of our team captain (in Van 2) to grab one of their extras. And then there was the stop for gas.

Finally we were on our way. 

Now, Van 1 is supposed to check it at least one hour prior to our start time. We were supposed to start at 6:30, and I think we arrived somewhere around 6:20. Parking was full, so we had to park down the mountain a tiny bit. Then there was checking in, the safety briefing, and picking up our flags, shirts, and goodie bag. Phew!

And I cannot neglect to mention the COLD!

We all look so damn cold!

By cold, I mean 30s with some slight snow flurries. Nothing compared to winters in MN, but very traumatic for unprepared Las Vegans. :-/

After completing all our pre-race duties, we sauntered up to the start line to find hear the announcer saying:

Get ready to start in 10 ... 9 ... 8 ...

Shit! Our first runner barely had his shoes on let alone a race number and the slap bracelet. We slapped that bracelet on his wrist and he was off for his first run. 7 miles down Mt Charleston in the cold and HAIL. Yes, the snow had turned to hail at that point.

He still didn't have a number because, well, I'd forgotten about that in the flurry of getting our runner to start with the 7 a.m. wave. We were only a half hour late. Woot!

About halfway through his run, we offered him support. Ok, actually, we mostly just handed him his race number, which he put in his pocket. He did not want to slow down to pin it on. :-)

Now, I was runner #4, so I still had a little time to relax and prepare before my first leg. The chatter in the van - despite the cold and early rising, was quite positive, relaxed, and fun. Prior to this morning, I had only met one other person very briefly. I was very relieved that we all got along so well!

There was no bickering or power struggles. Just lots of fun banter.

The Really, Big, Free Half Marathon Recap

Yesterday, I got to be a part of history. The first ever FREE marathon (and half) was held just outside of Las Vegas at Lake Mead, and I got to be a part of it.

I registered for this race back in early July as soon as I'd heard about it. A free race? Sign. Me. Up. Even without running for most of July and August, my anticipation of this race grew and my excitement level escalated as the date approached.

Overall, I was not disappointed! This was a great race experience. I went in totally not expecting anything; I just wanted to, you know, enjoy the course. It was my first race with mountains as my backdrop, and I was mostly excited to simply take in the scenery and bask in the gloriousness of the mountains and Lake Mead.

I ended up pushing myself beyond what I thought was possible. I only walked very briefly through the first two water stops and to snap a few pictures, but ran up and down all the hills of the remainder of the course, and ended up scoring an 9 minute PR.

Get Lucky! Triple 7K (half marathon)

There is so much I'd like to say about this race. I hope I can do it some justice.

All set to Get Lucky!

It was such a great race for me. As you know, my knees have been bothering me a bit most of the year. I started out at a nice, easy, slow pace. My sister and I ran and chatted together for more than a mile. When she needed to stop for a walk break, I kept going. I tried to maintain a slow, easy pace, but it was difficult with the excitement of the race and the crowds.

And then I saw that I'd nearly met up with the 2:30 pace group. If I increased my pace just a little, I simply *knew* I'd be able to pass them by.

I did!

It felt really great. I was just enjoying the run in the sun. It was already in the 70s, I'm sure. And pretty humid. There were quite a few people out there complaining about the weather, but I was loving it! I mean...it's mid-March!

I loved the customized timing chips!

I'd just passed mile 4 when I saw the first guy who was heading for the finish line. He. was. fast! I mean the next person was still quite a distance behind him.

It was probably a good half mile before I saw the first woman.

Just before I got to the turn-around point, I saw my friend, Anne. She looked great! So strong. So focused. She said she was zoned out. I'm still going with focused. :-)

Approaching the Finish Line

As I approached the halfway mark, I was really, really close to passing the 2:20 pace group. I passed them and did my very best to stay ahead of them for the rest of the race.

Shortly after the halfway mark, I sent Jeff a message letting him know I'd passed the halfway. If he wanted to see me cross the finish line, he should probably get out of bed.

Crossing the Finish Line

By mile 8, I was getting really tired. In retrospect, I probably should have gobbled some fuel. *sigh* I had to walk, and that dang pace group was really gaining on me.

I sent Jeff another message with an update.
And was surprised to get a response. Sweet!

Mile 10. I was ready to be done. I tried all the tricks. Only 3 more miles! You can do it! Keep it up!

Finding Jeff after the race

I was able to stay in front of the 2:20 pace group until this point. But now I just had to walk. I figured I'd be okay. I could walk and still catch up to them again, right?

I came close around mile 11.

But then had to walk again.

When I saw the mile 12 marker, I got a free high five from a volunteer, and I told myself I could certainly  run that last mile.

I didn't.

But when I could see the mile 13 marker ahead, I pushed myself to start running again.

And then when I passed it, I really kicked it into high gear to finish strong.

Even Sallie came out to see me

It was fun to hear the announcer read my name as I was about to cross the finish line.

Time on the clock - 2:24:20

I MADE IT!! I achieved all my goals for the race. Plus, I beat my previous PR by 3:55. :-) Sometimes the best races are those with lower expectations.

My favorite stat is that I passed 245 runners and was only passed by 13.
How awesome is that?

I am super proud of my sister. She ran a fantastic race and beat her PR by over 11 min. What a rock star!!

Because don't you always play a quick game of pattycake after a race?
We weren't actually playing pattycake but were trying to get into a pose,
but this picture just looks like we're having so much fun.

A couple other notes:

• I had to adjust my race belt a couple times in the beginning, but then I must have found a sweet spot because I never had to adjust it again. :)
• My socks, surprisingly, stayed up really well. I only had to adjust them once on the course.
• My calves got really hot from the socks.
• The course was a bit hillier than I'd expected. I tried to follow the example of my friend, Mary, by keeping the same pace, if not speeding up a bit to run up-the-hill. Probably not the smartest move, but it did feel good passing people.
• Every time I stopped at a water stop, I choked on the water; it inevitably would go done the wrong pipe.
• I carried a water bottle with me to supplement the water stops. I was glad to have it, but I don't think I'll use that bottle again. It got SO sweaty! Annoying. Plus it carries more water than my other one, so it was heavier, too. I sipped on it throughout the race, but really didn't drink very much of it until the end.
• I'm glad I had supplemental water because the last water stop had run out of cups.
• I thought I had to pee at the beginning of the race, but it must have been nerves 'cuz I never had to go while on the course.
• My toes next to my pinkie toes really took a beating. They are black, blistered, and still painful hours later.
• I may have worn my medal when we walked to the convenience store later in the afternoon.

Sporting our awesome medals.
We totally rocked this race!!

Hope you all had a wonderful St Patrick's Day! This was a great way to kick it off.

What did you do to celebrate the holiday or just to enjoy the weekend?

Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K (virtual race)

This afternoon, I participated in The Boring Runner's virtual 5K.

When I signed up, I was considering running a half marathon today and doing the virtual race as part of that race. I decided against the half because 1) my knee is still bothering me, 2) I babied my knee slacked on the training a bit these past few weeks, and 3) I didn't want to pay the registration fee.

Adam said we could run it "Wherever the crap you want! Outside, treadmill, in front of the WII, nude in the shower, wherever!"

I considered running nude in the shower. But I figured that would probably be even more boring than the treadmill and almost as slippery as outside. ;-)

Since the sidewalks are still a little icy, I headed to the gym instead.

I kind of strained my knee during Thursday's virtual race, so I decided to take it easy for this one. I started real slow, walking the first 1/2 mile. I could pretty much feel my knee during the whole run. Boooo.

Here is how I broke down my race:

Miles	Speed
0.0-0.25	4.0
0.25-0.5	4.5
0.5-1.0	5.0
1.0-2.0	5.5
2.0-2.25	6.0
2.25-2.5	6.1
2.5-2.75	6.2
2.75-3.0	6.3
3.0-3.1	7.0

I probably still pushed it a little too much. Ugh. At least it is over.

So, yeah. I didn't exactly freeze anything off during this race. Or get a PR.

Good thing all the prizes are randomly selected. Hope I win!!

Speaking of prizes, don't forget to read my review and enter my giveaway.

Did you run any races this weekend (real or virtual)?

Virtual Race - 3.5

This morning, I participated in my first ever virtual race.

I did it on the treadmill because, well, I am a wimp didn't want to risk running outside in the dark with snow-packed sidewalks.

Since this was a race, I wanted to really push myself. I think I may have pushed myself a little too hard because I can feel an increased twinge in my knee. I hope it doesn't last all day.

Here's how I broke down my speed:

Miles	Speed
0.0-0.5	5.7
0.5-1.5	6.0
1.5-2.5	6.2
2.5-3.0	6.5
3.0-3.4	7.0
3.4-3.5	8.0

I took a pic of my final results on the treadmill.

Time: 33:43 Distance: 3.5 miles

Sorry for the crappy picture. It looks better on my phone, but when I uploaded it directly from my phone to Picasa, it cut off the bottom for some dumb reason. Weird. I tried it twice before deciding to just crop it and go with that.

There were several times when I wanted to stop to walk OR just pause the machine to take a quick breather, but I RESISTED!

Other than that, I felt great. And, of course, finishing felt great, too. :)

Running a virtual race is not quite the same as running one IRL. I find it a little more difficult to push myself when there aren't other runners out there to attempt to pass and no spectators to cheer, but I think I'd still do another one. I still pushed myself a little more than I normally would have.

There is still time to join me in this race - but not much. Head over to Running, Loving, Living to sign up. Then run 3.5 miles either today or tomorrow. She's got lots of great giveaways, too. I'm sure I won't win with my time, but fingers crossed I win a fabulous drawing. :-)

Now don't delay, run today (or tomorrow)!

Have you ever participated in a virtual race?

See ya in 2012

I finished 2011 with a bang!

5K PR, baby.

Time - 28:12

Beat my previous PR by over a minute. :)

Now I'm totally ready for 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Be sure to check back in the next few days for some pretty exciting changes to the blog. :)

Road Rash Rocked Ragnar!

The day after the Great River Ragnar, Jeff and I went scuba diving in Wazee Lake, and then it was back to work on Monday. It's actually been a really busy week, but I still wish I had taken the time to write this recap earlier.

Our team after 34h8m of running....

Let me start at the beginning...

I saw an old friend from jr/sr high school post something random about running Ragnar Great River this year on her facebook page. I'd only recently heard of this relay race and had looked over the website and was very interested in joining a team. Naturally, I zipped her a message asking for more details and if they had any more spots open.

They did! I was super excited. :-)

My confidence in my preparation waxed and waned throughout the following weeks. Two weekends before the race, I run a half marathon. I thought, if I can run a half, certainly I can survive Ragnar. Then I looked at the Ragnar suggested training schedule. I wasn't prepared.

Still....I CAN DO THIS! became my motto.

We spent the beginning of the week up at Big Lake Wilderness Lodge north of Ely on a family vacation. I had all Thurs morning to pack, but I was lazy, so only after Jeff took off for his scuba class did I realize that we hadn't taken all the bags out of the car. The bag that remained had so much of my running gear - hat, belt, shot bloks, bug spray, sunscreen, etc.

I had to get that bag! Thankfully, Bryce and Mike from my team were nice enough to pick me up and drive me to South Minneapolis to retrieve it. Jeff had stuffed it under the car - luckily it was still there!

We headed back to St Paul to meet up with the van and begin the journey down to Winona, MN. Since we had a 6:00am start time and a 5:00am safety briefing, we decided to get a couple hotel rooms for the night. Despite that, 4:00am came super early!

I was filled with growing excitement as we checked in and picked up our swag and, yes, even during the safety briefing. ;)

I wanted to RUN.

Of course, being the last runner in my van, I had hours to go before my feet would hit the pavement runnning.

Starting line

It was a cool, beautiful morning!

It certainly did heat up by the afternoon, though! Andrea and I got the worst of it during our first legs (okay, well, not nearly as bad as van 2. sorry guys!) plus the hills just about killed me!

Just after a beastly hill with another off in the distance

 I ended up walking a LOT more than I'd wanted to during my first leg, but its completion meant a break for van 1. While van 2 ran their first legs, we found a park in Pepin, WI, where we ate lunch.

We also found a public beach which was actually closed, but we pretended not to notice the small handwritten sign on Lake Pepin (i.e. the Mississippi River) where we swam lounged in the water to cool off and to rinse of the cake of dried sweat we were all sporting.

Lake Pepin - DONE with legs 1-6!

After a nice nap back at the park, we took off to Exchange 12 to meet van 2 to begin our second legs. It was still relatively light out for runner 1, and runner 2 started out without needing her headlamp, but it was dark by the end of her leg. Someone kindly gave her an extra headlamp to use. :-)

My second leg started at roughly 11pm. I'd never really run in the dark before and never with a reflective vest and headlamp. It was a weird experience! I'd totally do it again, though.

I ran with my own water bottle, so I didn't particularly need van support during this leg. I kind of thought my team was just going to meet me at the finish. I was listening to my music and concentrating on not tripping in the darkness, when I heard someone yell out "I love this song!" I refused to use headphones and just blared my music right from my running belt! Several steps later, it clicked that it wasn't just some random person yelling that out...it was my team. Unfortunately, they didn't recognize me. What?! All runners with the reflective vests and headlamps look the same?! :-) I kept looking at all the passing vans to see the one that said Road Rash.

When I saw the One Mile To Go sign, I still hadn't seen them pass me by, so I figured I should try giving Andrea a call. No answer. Sent a text that said something like You at exchange? I've got less than 1 mile to go.

They weren't.

Good thing I was passing off to the next van! This exchange was the most complicated for me. This could be due to the dark, but I had a difficult time figuring out which way to go and where to go. Thank goodness for a couple of teens randomly sitting on a busstop bench that corrected my wrong turn!

After the exchange, I texted Andrea again to say I would meet them where the vans entered this particular exchange. I found them with no problems whatsoever.

And we were off to Exchange 24 where there was promise of indoor showers and sleeping. It was a junior high school. So, yeah, the showers sucked just as much as you could imagine. Apparently, I had no problem sleeping on the gym floor, though. I slept soundly from about 1:30 to 3:30 when I got so cold I had to actually get inside my sleeping bag. I quickly fell back asleep until 5:07 when I heard my teammates rustling to pack up their stuff.

Runner 1 would be starting us off again soon.

It was another beautiful, cool morning. While it did heat up quite a bit before it was time for my 3rd leg, it was much more bearable. :-)

My tummy wasn't too pleased with me as my leg was approaching, and I did not really feel up to running another leg, but I did it. I was actually able to stick to my 10/1 intervals, too for the most part! The running got easier as I went along, and I actually did end up enjoying this leg. Towards the end, but before the 1 Mile To Go sign, another runner came up behind me and asked if I wanted to run with her for a bit. I declined. She was just a tad too fast for me, plus I was set to do a walk break right when she asked.

The end of my third leg came with mixed emotions for me. I was glad to be finished running but not so much looking forward to waiting the 5 hours for van 2 to finish. We headed straight to the finish to wait for our teammates. The after-party was in full swing - and the beer and pizza consumption began. If I drank beer, this might have been fun - and certainly would have made the time go faster.

Finally, we saw our last runner coming down the path along the river. We all ran to meet him, so we could cross the finish together. GO TEAM ROAD RASH!

We pretty much finished right on target!

Would I do this again? Absolutely!

Definitely it was physically challenging but also so much fun! I was surprisingly able to finish each of my legs really strong - which is, ultimately, always my goal of any race.

It was fun to run and make some new friends, but it was also really fun to see the creativity of all the other teams - from the team names to the costumes to the van decorating. There was just a lot of fun energy surrounding this race!

I think most, if not all, of Road Rash hopes to do this again next year. Sadly, I won't be able to join them because I'll just be settling into life in St Thomas.

Perhaps Ragnar Florida Keys in Jan 2013... Who's in??

Urban Wildland Half Marathon

What's that they say about good intentions? :)

Finally, I'm getting around to blogging about last weekend's half marathon. I'll use the excuse that it was my birthday this past week.

I had such fun running this race!

It was great to meet a couple friends from DailyMile before the start.

Ray, Treva, Me, Courtenay

I even somehow convinced my sister to join in the fun.

Me, Treva

A lot of runners had some difficulty with the weather, but I thought it was a perfect morning for a run. Guess I'm a bit more of a hot weather runner than most. I did notice a distinctive drop in humidity as the race progressed because I didn't seem to be quite as sweaty.

I was planning on just running and then walking through the water stops, but after looking more closely at the map, I decided to stick to doing 10/1 interval splits. I figured it would help give my legs a brief rest and keep me going strong through the entire race.

I also figured I'd be ok just getting water at the water stops, so I left my handheld in the car.

This turned out to be a bad idea. I was pretty thirsty by the time I got to the first water station and didn't quite get satiated during my 30-sec water walk. I think between WS1 and WS2 there were some kids handing out hard candy. I grabbed a piece just because I wanted to generate some saliva flow in my mouth (TMI??)

Other than being thirsty, I was feeling really pretty good when I met Jeff at the halfway point.

Of course, I grabbed my handheld to take with me for the rest of the race! I also ate some Clif Shot Bloks. Yum!

Hydrating!

Overall, I think this course was really pretty. It was mostly roads, but there was also some trail running mixed in through some parks in Richfield. I liked the change of scenery. :)

I had tasked Jeff with meeting a few times on the course, so he could get some pictures of me running. I hate how most of them look like I'm walking, when I totally wasn't. Alas.

The second time I met Jeff was between mile 9 and 10. During the picture taking, my new DM friend, Ray, caught up with me. She started the race further back in the crowd than Treva and me. After the race, when I was looking through the photos Jeff took, I absolutely busted out laughing at how this series turned out. I had to put it into a slideshow.

I wish I knew how to make a slideshow not automatically start playing, because it's funnier if you watch it from slide 1. In the pictures, it looked like we were running together, but in reality, I had no clue she was so close to me.

"Clueless"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

I think it was around this time when I really felt like my pace had super slowed down. Technically I was still in motion like a runner, but I'd bet there were a few walkers that could have passed me.

Ray only ran with me for perhaps a minute or two before we separated.

Around mile 11, I had to stop to use a portapotty. I figured I could have probably made it the last two miles, but then I thought why put up with that discomfort, so I stopped.

It was SO worth it.

Probably around mile 12, the tummy queasiness set up, but I still managed to keep my pace fairly steady - from what I could tell without any kind of pacing device (gps, garmin, etc).

When I came to that mile 13 sign, I decided, hell yeah, I'm going to push it to the end. I increased my pace. A LOT. I ran and I ran hard. So hard that I didn't even see Jeff taking my pictures just steps before crossing the finish line.

To the Finish!

I definitely needed a few minutes after I'd finished to catch my breath! I couldn't even consider going through the food line right away; I was way too queasy. I walked around the park - sipping water and powerade until I started to feel hungry.

Eventually, Jeff and I headed back to the spot where he was when I finished, so we could wait for my sister to cross the finish line. Tony joined us just a few minutes later.

I started to get a little antsy after about 20 or so minutes, so I said I was going to walk back along the course to go cheer her on. I met up with her just before mile 13. She was walking, so I said we were going to start running once we got to the mile 13 marker. She agreed.

Racing with my sis

 It was fun to help encourage her to finish nice and strong!

So close!

I'm so proud of the two of us! We both met our goals and, look, we're both smiling at the end.

2011 Urban Wildland Half Marathon Finishers! Whoo hoo!

I would absolutely do this race again and recommend it to anyone looking for a good half marathon. Everyone was very helpful. During one of my 1 min intervals, a medical aid person even asked if I was ok. It made me feel good that he was doing his job and paying good attention to the runners on the course.

I managed to pull off about an 11 min/mile pace, which I'm very pleased with.

My time - 2:24:35

Treva's time - 2:57:29

Oh, and I almost forgot how great is was that several people had turned on their sprinklers for runners to run though. I definitely took advantage of every.single.one.

Whiz Bang Days 10K

Stats:

PLACE		CLASS PLACE		FINISHER		TIME		PACE
42		20 W30		1026 (that's me)		1:04:54		10:27

Highlights:
Lots of family and friends ran the race, too!
Very strong finish!
My new iFitness race belt worked great!
No rain!
Small t-shirt fits again!
I only walked for about 30 seconds at mile 5!

Detailed recap:
Yesterday, I joined my family and a few friends for the 27th Annual Whiz Bang Days race in Robbinsdale. No, we haven't been doing it for that long; it was our first year ever. We all signed up for the 10K. It had been years since I have run that far. Well, years I think that any of us had run that far.

I thought I was mentally and physically prepared for this race, but in reality, I really wasn't so much. The week leading up to it, I logged more than 65 miles of biking and running. The previous week I'd only done 45. I think I may have pushed myself a little too much. It also didn't help that I did this workout on Thursday, and my glutes were pretty much killing me. Note to self: do NOT try incorporating a new weight training routine in my workout schedule just two days before a race!

My last race I biked 8 miles to the race, ran the 5K, and then biked back home. I had every intention of making this race a duathlon as well, but the weather was forecasted for thunderstorms all morning. I didn't want to ride and run and ride again in a downpour, so I reserved the HourCar and got to leave an hour later.

It only ended up sprinkling. A. Very. Little. What a waste of $45. Lame.

Here's me and my family right before the race started. Don't we look all happy and ready to go?

Marna, Dad, Treva, Selena, Me

I mentioned running with some friends, too.

Dave and his nephew Spencer

When we were lining up to go, my family started very near to the end of the pack. We all knew we wanted to start off slow, but I think this was a huge mistake for me. Next time, I'm definitely starting more in the middle or even the front. That way I won't feel quite so defeated right from the get go.

My first mile was 11:30. Yikes! I tried to increase my pace a bit at each mile marker, but I don't think I increased as much as I wanted. This is where the mental preparation wasn't quite with me. When I thought about picking it up a tad, I would say to myself, "No, just wait until the next mile marker. Keep it steady right now." OR "No way will you be able to keep that faster pace for another X miles. Better keep it a bit more gradual." Not sure if it would have made a difference.

Selena, Dad and I started off together. Selena is 15, and while naturally pretty athletic, she hadn't really done any running to prepare for the race. She made it with us just over a mile before she had to stop and walk. My dad stopped at the same time to do a little stretching. I kept on trekking along.

My dad did catch up to me just after the first turn around and ran with me for a short while until he needed to stop and stretch his hammies. Again. Poor guy.

Needless to say, I ran most of this race by myself, which is actually great for me. That's mostly how I train, and when I'm running side-by-side with someone, I'm generally too tempted to talk, and that just takes too much energy. :)

Despite my slow pace (or perhaps because of it), I didn't stop to walk at all until mile 5. I walked briskly for maybe 30 seconds. I probably didn't really need to physically. It was more of a mental breather, I think. Shortly after that, I knew the end was in sight, and I really picked up my pace. The last bend was probably the only time in the race that I was actually running closer to my normal pace.

This is where it became fun!

I started passing runners ahead of me.

I passed the two ladies pushing jogging strollers.
I passed the woman finishing the 5K with her young (my guess was 4yo) daughter.
I passed a woman with hot pink shorts on.

I could feel those jogging strollers catching up with me again, and I just couldn't allow that, so I kicked it up again.

I was running STRONG!

And there was my dailymile friend (who'd finished well before me) near the end encouraging me to run hard and give it my all.

I pushed it and I pushed it.

There was a woman in a neon green top ahead of me. I tried my damnedest to pull ahead of her, but the finishing corral beat me to it. As we were walking to get our tags pulled, I thanked her for setting a pace and helping me to finish hard. I think she thought I was a little nuts.

Even though, I think my overall performance for this race was a little dismal (missing my goal time by nearly 3 min), I love how I was able to really kick it out in the end and finish as strong as I did. That felt incredible.

*****
My dad had to walk the last little bit. Something happened to his calf around mile 5.

Treva passed Selena along the way somewhere near the end, but as the finish line approached, Selena was not about to let her mom win.

The orange speck in the foreground was the finish line. The little weasel, Selena, totally budged in front of her mom just steps before entering the corral.

*****
A couple things I really loved about this race.

The route (see below).
With two turn around points, and everyone I knew running at such different paces, it was fun to see other runners I knew running in the opposite direction. All in all, there were 8 other runners that I could high five and exchange encouraging words with as I ran the race. It was a great boost to me to be able to see such support out on the race.


View Whiz Bang Days 10K in a larger map

My new iFitness Ultimate Race Belt.
This worked just great. (Full review is forthcoming, I promise). It was nice to have my phone with me. It's what provided the above map. I also love the race toggles. No need to worry about getting my race number pinned just right.

A couple things I really did not love about this race.

There was only ONE water stop, and it was somewhat early on in the race. There was nothing in the 2nd half. The half with all the hills.

The gnats. I didn't really notice them much while I was running, but they must have noticed me. Their bites drew blood, as I finished with blood streaking down one arm. They wouldn't stop biting me as I ate my banana and bread and drank my bottle of water. I finally had to go to the restroom and wash off my salty sweat. That seemed to help quite a bit.

Next race: Wednesday, July 20th - Torchlight 5K in downtown Mpls

Run for the Roses 5K

This morning was my first 5K of the year! So fun!
I wanted to be sure not to miss the beginning, so I set my alarm for 5:30 am. I wanted to be on my bike by 6:30. Well, Sallie had other ideas. She wanted her breakfast at 5:00am, and told me so by nicely jumping. right. on. my. chest.

OUCH!

I fed her and crawled back into bed for just a few more minutes. I finally rolled out of bed shortly before 6am. Ate a quick breakfast. Consulted Google maps for my bike route. Got dressed. Woke Jeff up to say good-bye.

And I'm off...

My commute to Roseville went remarkably well. It only took me 45 minutes (I'd planned for 1 hour)! I got a little turned around in Como Park, so I was really pretty surprised when pulled into the parking lot at City Hall at 7:20.

It was a really nice way to start the morning! Getting there so early was perfect, too. It gave me lots of time to stretch and relax and prepare for the race.

At 7:55am, the horn blew and the skaters were off. I immediately regretted already putting my phone away in my pocket and missing out on an opportunity to take a picture. Oh well.

Then all the runners toed up to the start line. Well, I wasn't exactly right in front.

My goal was to take it slower in the beginning and not get too caught up in the excitement at the start. I wanted to pace myself, so I'd be able to increase my speed later on during the race.

For the most part, my plan worked!

Average pace for mile 1 - 9:53 min/mile

Shortly after the first mile, I picked up my pace a little and wished the guy running next to me good luck on the rest of the race. The distance between me and the other runners in front of me was lessening, and it felt great! I even ran through the water stop, taking only small sips from the cup they handed me (spilling most of it down the front of my shirt).

Average pace for mile 2 - 8:20 min/mile

The hills on the course hadn't been too bad up to this point. Unfortunately, just after picking up my pace again, I was faced with the first big hill of the race. It nearly took it out of me, but I was able to persist!

There was a group of fire fighters that ran the entire 5K in full uniform. They were behind me for most of the race, but after the first big hill two of them passed me by.

I thought, I can't lose to a someone running in full fire fighting garb! I mean I'm just wearing a tank top and shorts.

So, I pushed myself and passed one of them. The other had gained way too much distance on me. I was only able to stay ahead of the one I passed for a couple paces, actually.

It wasn't too long after this that I felt simply like I was going to vomit. I tried to keep pushing myself through it. I mostly continued to run through the second water stop, but I did pause for a moment to take a bigger, better swig.

The remainder of the race seemed to be uphill!

The worst was right before mile marker 3. It was a real doozy!! I had to walk a bit after getting to the top. Luckily the course turned to a slight decline. The end was near! I was feeling sick. Again. I tried to pick it up and push myself, but I just couldn't. I somehow did manage to maintain my pace. Sweet! :)

Average pace for mile 3 - 9:15 min/mile.

According to my GPS, I actually ran 3.3 miles.

After the race, I ate a banana and a piece of raisin bread. Enjoyed a couple cups of water. Waited for my friend to finish the 10K.

All finishers were given a rose.

I headed back home around 9am. I didn't want to push it on the ride. I figured I earned a nice, slow, easy ride after already cycling 8 miles and running a 5K.

Again, around Como Park, I got totally turned around and ended up needing to stop to consult my map a few times. All in all, I biked an extra 1.3 miles. Boooo!!

Despite the extra mileage, it was a great ride and good way to cool down after my race.

I was definitely excited when I got home and had to fill Jeff in on all the details. The runner's high  didn't last too long before I curled up for a nice afternoon nap. Ahhh.

What a perfect day and great start to my summer race schedule!

UPDATE: The final results are in for this race. I'm so pleased with them, so I thought I should definitely update this post.

Time: 30:19
#83 out of 164 runners
#10 out of 31 in my division
Average pace: 9:45

Race Day!!

 The much anticipated race day was yesterday, July 21st! I love the Torchlight 5K. I don't know what it is about running around downtown Minneapolis, but I LOVE IT!! It has been 3 years since I last ran this race, and I didn't want another year to go by without running it, so I convinced some of my friends to join me.

Naturally after pushing myself and training about 3x each week for the month or so before the race, I didn't feel prepared at all to run. My previous two runs were DIFFICULT, to say the least. Come race day, I was really nervous.

So, of course, I woke up with a slight tickle to my throat! The nerve.

Then, I had scheduled a doctor's appointment. That may or may not have been the best idea. But it allowed me to go into work late, since I knew I would be staying late for the race.

When I got to work, I found out that we had an extra ticket to the afternoon Twins game. Would I like to go? Oh yeah.  

Twins game

 It was actually very cool to be in the new stadium. It was a very fun atmosphere. So much energy. 

We're gonna win Twins. We're gonna score!

The Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 6-0. Four runs were made in the 3rd inning and two more in the 8th. The other innings were a little slow but still fun.

During the 4th inning, we went to grab some food and use the rest rooms. Yes, I took a picture in the bathroom. I thought it was fantastic to see that they installed toilets with dual-function handles. Flush up for #1; flush down for #2. Yeah, I'm a dork.

Energy Efficient toilets. Cool!

After the game, it was back to work for me. Around 5pm, someone assumed that I had left for the evening, so she turned off the light in my section. I was too lazy (and it wasn't that dark), so I continued to work without the lights for another hour.

6pm. Time to change into running clothes and head toward the Basilica. My friends Bre and Tacy (Lisa couldn't make it; she was not feeling well come race day) hitched a ride with my husband down to the race (parking can be a real pain!), and we all met together at the race start.

We ARE ready to run!

Even Sallie came out to cheer us on! Here she is waiting for us to finish our race.

Just a-chillin'

The best part of running a race? FREE FOOD!! There were around 4,000 people who ran the race (I think), so the lines for the food were incredibly LONG, but free food is free food, so I'm definitely not gonna complain about that!

In line for post-race food. Love it!

We had to get a banana shot!

Bananas!

So much good food. Where do I put it all??

Mouth full, Hands full

Overall, it was a fabulous day!

Twins game was totally awesome, plus it was a WIN for the home team!!

I was nervous about the race for absolutely nothing!

Running with friends is so motivating. I only walked briefly for a water break.

We kicked out a 10:05 min/mile!

Super!

I was totally shocked.

And happy!

Torchlight 5K--July 18, 2007

This is one of my favorite races of all time! It is always the first Wednesday evening of the Minneapolis Aquatennial--the 10 Best Days of Summer--and kicks off the Torchlight Parade.

This is the third time I've run this race, and it has always been a different route. I really enjoyed the route this year.

It always starts at the Basilica in downtown Minneapolis. The first year, it ended on Boom Island; the second year, it ended at Loring Park; this year, it ended on Nicollet Island.

The race started off bit a rocky.

• I hadn't been able to get a hold of Marla all day, and we were supposed to run this together.
• Around 4:30 or so, the sky opened up and the rains came pouring down. The rain was much, much worse out in Eagan, so Jeff and I decided that he didn't need to come down and cheer me on. He would just pick me up at the train station when I was finished.
• After loafing around the library until a little before 6, I changed into my running clothes. It was then that I realized how much I needed Jeff--to hold my purse and my bag. I certainly didn't want to run a 5K carrying all of that.
• I remember that Jeff mentioned Dave was going to be running the race, so I gave him a call.
• I finally got a hold of Marla! She had just arrived from Denver and was driving into downtown.
• The rains started to fall once again!!
• I registered, got my t-shirt, and finally met up with Dave, John, and Lindsay Christianson.
• Yeah! I got to put all my stuff in their car.
• We met up with Emily Kucera!!
• Brian Hogan and Andy Howard (I think) joined our pre-race crowd.
• Marla finally found the Basilica, parking, and joined our group! Yeah!

As we made our way to the starting line, I set my Garmin to run the 5K in 32:00. Marla and I paced together pretty well...we only missed my goal by 39 seconds!! Also the race turned out to be 3.2 miles (.1 miles longer than a 5K).

I had to stop a walk twice during the race--once during the water stop and once a little further on in the race.

My shins hurt a little during the race, but it was okay. Marla was concerned that I didn't push myself too much.

But you just can't help yourself but to run a little faster and harder during a race!

The race was exhilarating!

The post-race party was fun, too! There was a cheese scupture of Mt Rushmore. Cheez-It(R) was one of the sponsors. Plus, there was a lot of fun food. I had to convince Dave to walk through the food tent, but one he saw the free food, I think it was worth it to him.

I also won tickets for two to the Acme Comedy Club, so I'm excited for Jeff and I to go to a comedy show.