I feel so strange.
It's been over three whole weeks since I've had a race on my schedule. And technically, since the Chaska 5K was rained out on May 18th, it's been over four weeks since I've done a race.
I don't know how to explain it. It's almost like feeling naked.
To fill the time, I worked on a special project instead. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, my gym had a little thing going on last month called Run100.
Yes, it is exactly what you think it is - running 100 miles.
But, don't worry! Anyone up for the challenge was allowed the whole month of May to reach the goal. No problem, right? Just run about 3 miles a day and you'll be there. Easy-peasy!
Although I was unsure if I'd be able to reach the goal (given the knee pain I was having during my half marathon training in March & April), I was having a hard time not registering for the program at the end of April. Mostly because I really enjoyed the challenge of the Lazyman Ironman that they offered in February - having that extra push to keep me active during the peak of MN snow season really helped keep me motivated.
Oh, let's not lie. I just wanted the t-shirt (warning, this is me pre-bangs):
And, surprise, this time I get a t-shirt, too:
Oooh-la-la. Look at that fancy prize! I even heard at registration that it was going to be technical fabric. WHOO!
Oh, and for those of us in the know, we call this shirt "cash". (Previous years were named things like golden boy and tango because of their colors, so I guess it makes sense that green = dollar dollar bills ya'll).
Anyhow, back to the program. Each week we were urged to check in with our mileage counts. And for extra motivation, a few contests were being offered: first to 50 miles and 17th to 70 miles.
Yeah, I was DEFINATELY not first to 50. I think someone hit that at day 7... I can't remember. I do distinctly remember thinking, though... WTF! ALREADY? LOL!
I was actually quite excited for 17th to 70, though. That was something I thought I had a chance at. I even had my mileage planned out for week three to ensure that I'd hit 70 by Wednesday, which I had estimated in my head would surely make me a winner.
Then came the email that week on Tuesday afternoon. DOH! Somebody beat me to it. DANG! At least it took the pressure off me, and I could dial back my mileage a bit and even it out for the rest of the week.
Which brings me to the wrap up... I'm happy to report, I officially earned my t-shirt at 6:28pm on 5/29, and for the most part without knee pain!
Here's my score card:
| run100 | ||||||
| May 2013 | Daily Miles | Cumulative Total | Daily Benchmarks | |||
| Wed | 1 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 3.23 | 3.23 | |
| Thu | 2 | 4.00 | 3.23 | 6.46 | ||
| Fri | 3 | 4.00 | 3.23 | 9.69 | ||
| Sat | 4 | 4.00 | 3.23 | 12.92 | ||
| Sun | 5 | 13.10 | 17.10 | 3.23 | 16.15 | |
| Mon | 6 | 17.10 | 3.23 | 19.38 | ||
| Tue | 7 | 17.10 | 3.23 | 22.61 | ||
| Wed | 8 | 5.00 | 22.10 | 3.23 | 25.84 | |
| Thu | 9 | 22.10 | 3.23 | 29.07 | ||
| Fri | 10 | 22.10 | 3.23 | 32.30 | ||
| Sat | 11 | 9.00 | 31.10 | 3.23 | 35.53 | |
| Sun | 12 | 31.10 | 3.23 | 38.76 | ||
| Mon | 13 | 6.00 | 37.10 | 3.23 | 41.99 | |
| Tue | 14 | 37.10 | 3.23 | 45.22 | ||
| Wed | 15 | 6.00 | 43.10 | 3.23 | 48.45 | |
| Thu | 16 | 43.10 | 3.23 | 51.68 | ||
| Fri | 17 | 43.10 | 3.23 | 54.91 | ||
| Sat | 18 | 43.10 | 3.23 | 58.14 | ||
| Sun | 19 | 9.00 | 52.10 | 3.23 | 61.37 | |
| Mon | 20 | 8.00 | 60.10 | 3.23 | 64.60 | |
| Tue | 21 | 60.10 | 3.23 | 67.83 | ||
| Wed | 22 | 8.00 | 68.10 | 3.23 | 71.06 | |
| Thu | 23 | 2.00 | 70.10 | 3.23 | 74.29 | |
| Fri | 24 | 70.10 | 3.23 | 77.52 | ||
| Sat | 25 | 10.00 | 80.10 | 3.23 | 80.75 | |
| Sun | 26 | 80.10 | 3.23 | 83.98 | ||
| Mon | 27 | 8.00 | 88.10 | 3.23 | 87.21 | |
| Tue | 28 | 4.00 | 92.10 | 3.23 | 90.44 | |
| Wed | 29 | 8.01 | 100.11 | 3.23 | 93.67 | |
| Thu | 30 | 100.11 | 3.23 | 96.90 | ||
| Fri | 31 | 100.11 | 3.10 | 100.00 | ||
| Total | 100.11 | 100.00 | ||||
Cool how the card gives you estimated mileage totals each day, assuming you do an even split all week long, huh? (See the far right two columns).
It's fun to look at how I did overall, too. Who'd have thought I'd get in the habit of running 6-8 miles at a time, 2-3 times per week? I definitely didn't anticipate that.
What a great challenge! I can't wait to do it again next year. Thanks to the gym for organizing a great program!
And since that wasn't as exciting as a race report, here's a suitable replacement:
The same weekend I got my first ever rain out of a race, I cheered on my family remotely as several of them ran in the HCC Friday night. Being that I was ramping up for the Run Chaska events the next morning, I was unable to attend in person. But happily, I received some of the best text message photos ever!!
Here's why...
My nephew was signed up for the 1K kids run!
I think he was just a little excited... and of course, he learned well from his Auntie and chose to go running in costume:
And they're off:
Rounding the bend:
And strong to the finish!
Those little legs ran the whole way! I think that deserves an award, don't you?
Oh, and a t-shirt, of course!
And not that I want to brag, but I heard he even beat several of the older kids to the finish line. Way to go, little buddy!
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