All My Races ... Ever (2017 Updated)

It's been a while since I've done a recap of all the races I've ever ran.  And since I did a MASSIVE Goodwill donation run just before having my baby (I'm not kidding, I donated over 50 shirts, most of which were race related) ... I know the number is getting pretty big.

Here goes!


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2010

Races 1-6, Bibs 1-6

New Prague 5K
Lederhosenlauf 5K
Chaska Rotary Polio 5K
Lifetime Torchlight 5K
Gopher to Badger 5K
MN State Fair Milk Run 5K


2011

Races 7-13, Bibs 7-12

New Prague 5K
Carlyle Sherstad 5K
Rainbow Run 5K
Siren Freedom 5K
Shakopee Derby Days 5K
Crosby Serpent Run 5K, No Bib Provided
Lake Run 5K


2012

Races 14-24, Bibs 13-22

Get Lucky 7K
New Prague 5K
Carlyle Sherstad 5K
Rainbow Run 4K (revised course)
Time to Fly 5K
Color Run 5K
Crosby Serpent Run 5K, No Bib Provided
Lake Run 5K
Steamboat Days 5K
Iron Girl Du (run 2, bike 23, run 2)
Monster Dash Half Marathon


2013

Races 25 - 39, Bibs 23 - 37

Shamwalk 5K
Get Lucky 7K
DogNJog 5K
Minnetonka Half Marathon
Adventure Triathlon
Race Chaska 5K (rained out, no run but kept bib)
Rainbow Run 5K
Freedom 5K
Gandy Dancer Trail Run 5K
Webster Education Foundation 5K
Serpent Run 5K, No Bib Provided
Minneapolis Duathlon
Lake Run 5K
Chicago Half Marathon
Mankato Half Marathon
Monster Half Marathon


2014

Races 40 - 54, Bibs 38 - 52

Little Rock Marathon
Get Lucky 7K
Shamrock Shuffle 8K
Minnetonka Half Relay
Waconia Half Relay
Rainbow Run 5K
Freedom 5K
Chinatown 5K
Bacon Chase 5K
Webster Education 5K
Minneapolis Duathlon Relay
Lake Run 5K
Women Run the Cities 5K
Mankato 10K
Skeleton Run 5K


2015

Races 55 - 71, Bibs 53 - 68

Tri-U-Mah, No Bib Provided
Hot Chocolate 5K
Lake Minnetonka Half Relay
Cinco de Miler 5 miler
Run the Inferno 5K
Carlyle Sherstad 5K
Rainbow Run 5K
Freedom Five 5K
Gandy Fly-In 5K
Chase the Police Tri
Webster Education 5K
Lake Run 5K
Suds Run 5K
Women Run the Cities 10K
TC 10 mile
Patriot Power Run 5K
Mankato 10K

2016

Races 72 - 81, Bibs 69 - 77

Tri-U-Mah, No bib provided
Rainbow Run 5K
Freedom Five 5K
Froyo 5K
Gandy Dancer Fly In 5K
Webster Education 5K w/stroller
Lake Run 5K w/ stroller
Waconia Nickle Dickle 5K
Women Run the Cities 10K
Carreras de los Muertos 5K


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So, there you have it.  So far I have participated in 81 races (which means I have a real chance of clearing 100 races by the end of 2017), and I own 77 bibs.  If you want to consider the entire distances ... that would be:

   One 4K
   Fifty-five 5Ks (two with a stroller in tow)
   Three 7Ks
   One 8K
   One 5 miler
   Four 10Ks
   One 10 miler
   Five Half Marathons
   Three Half Marathon Relays (at about 6 miles each)
   One Partial Marathon (course was closed at mile 16-17ish)
   One Duathalon (4 miles ran)
   Two Duathlon relays (2x5K at each race)
   Three Triathlons (about 8 miles ran total)
   One Triathlon relay (about 8 miles ran)

Or, roughly 360 miles of racing on foot (this number is not including any swim or bike distances).  And let's not even talk about the training I did working up to that.  Phew!!


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So, close to seven years of running.  Wow.  I guess ... that's what it gets you!!  All the above, and a real sense of self accomplishment, too.

2016 Year in Review

Well folks, it's January 31st.  The month is almost done, and here I am finally getting around to what is typically my first post of the year, in the first week of the year.  #winningattimemanagement

Whatever ... so is the life of a busy new mom, I guess.

Since I'm already late with this post, let's just get started, shall we?!

2016, a year in review!

Races

As you well know, something kind of slowed down my race schedule for 2016.

 

Yes, that's me, literally the night before I delivered.  I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes in that picture, can you tell?  LOL!  To be fair, I didn't know at the time that I was so near to delivery, since contractions didn't become painful until almost 24 hours later (or just roughly 3 hours before I had a baby in my arms).  So that may just be why I look so footloose and fancy free in that pic!

Baby talk aside, my race participation for 2016 was a record low with a measly 10 races. 

Feb - Tri-U-Mah, Indoor timed tri, no bib provided
June - Rainbow Run 5K
July - Freedom Five 5K, Froyo 5K, Gandy Dancer Fly In 5K
August - Webster Education 5K w/stroller
September - Lake Run 5K w/ stroller, Waconia Nickle Dickle 5K, Women Run the Cities 10K
October - Carreras de los Muertos 5K

Total miles raced - about 35ish miles
**Worth noting, the majority of these were done when I was 6 months or less post-partum, thank you very much.  You could also sort of add in the Volksmarch for 10K here, too, though it wasn't a race.

Cumulative info:
     Races 72 - 81
     Bibs 69 - 77



Costumes

Let's face it, there's no way in hell you can put a costume on this and still actually race:

That being said, life in costume was a little easier once the baby was out!  LOL!  Though I was still hesitant to wear a lot of my "good" stuff and risk stretching it out since I am still fighting off my baby weight.  Hence the somewhat smaller collection of pictures this year:

  

And of course, being an InkNBurn Ambassador helped in that category just a bit, too. 
Check out www.inknburn.com

 

 

 

Keeping Healthy

As you know, gestational diabetes was a really PITA for me in 2016.  Despite being active my entire pregnancy, and trying REALLY hard to not gain too much weight, I just didn't win in avoiding my family's curse (yes, others in my blood line also suffered this fate). 

Luckily, after having the baby, my blood sugars normalized and I'm no longer diabetic.  But regardless of that news, I do know that having gestational diabetes means I'm at an elevated risk of becoming type 2 in the future.

That being said, moving into 2017 my focus will be to lose the body fat I gained in, or prior to, my pregnancy (because although technically I weigh less now than I did when I first got pregnant, my clothes don't fit right, so I can tell I'm carrying much more fat than muscle right now).

Of course my weight loss and toning goals for 2017 are within reason - I'm still breastfeeding, which throws a real wrench into diet & exercise programs, as aggressive plans can hinder milk supply.  Therefore, this goal is really more long term and will likely see most progress mid to late 2017. 



Changes


2016 was a rough year in terms of changes.  Before I could even celebrate bringing a new life into the world, I had to say goodbye to my 16 year old beagle.  And while his heath was failing, I was in the mist of trying to prepare for my first child, so it was really a tough balance ... which was made even harder as I had to manage a lot of it alone, since my husband was out of the country for weeks at a time, doing business in London.

In addition to that, at the end of 2016 I made a major change that's been a little depressing for me, hence why I haven't shared it publically until now.  In October, I put in my notice as a group fitness instructor.  A lot of things in life were changing at that time, both for me and at the gym where I worked, and it just didn't make sense for me to keep working there anymore.  I miss teaching - a lot ... like, really A LOT - but I try not to let it get me down.  Hopefully I'll be back in action and teaching again some day soon.



Finally

In my 2015 recap, I took a minute to revisit my last few years of blogging / years in review as follows:

2013 was when I was peaking in my physical fitness, my life was finally coming together, and I was feeling great about things.

2014 was a year of struggle where I tried to cope with a miscarriage, some physical setbacks, and I still tried to maintain a healthy attitude and life balance.

2015?  I can't really say 2015 was an AMAZING year.  But I wouldn't rate it as bad, either.  I say this because I think coming into my mid 30's (yikes, that makes me feel old, lol!), I finally settled into a happy place in my life.  Some time around 2012 or 2013, I learned to accept things in my life for what they were, and to eliminate things from my life that didn't make me happy.  And somewhere in that process, I found an authentic me that I've just become ... happy with.  Which means, I don't really go into a year expecting it to be AWESOME or BAD anymore, I just hope that I can continue to maintain that authentic me.  And have a good time while I do it.  And in 2015, I did just that.  So I think that's just fine.

So that leaves me with 2016.  Which I have to say was just what I expected - authentic me, new baby in arms, and more adventures to come!

I Was Featured - AGAIN! Mankato Marathon

About two weeks ago, I mentioned that I was featured on Active.com for my wacky race day wardrobing. 

Just as that post was going up on my blog, Mankato Marathon posted this to their Facebook feed:

Hm.  Wear something gaudy day, you say?  I didn't know there was such a holiday.  This is just what I wore for a regular old race day in 2015.

Now I'm faced with a conundrum - how does one who's gaudy on normal occasions dress for a day specifically celebrating gaudy?!  Discuss below!

Crazy Horse Volksmarch - October 2016

Earlier this year, during the prime of family vacationing due to summer break from school, several people's photos of road trips to South Dakota and beyond crossed my Facebook feed.

 

Now, as you may well know, I'm no virgin to that area.

 

 

 

 

Heh. 

 

But what caught my eye in all those photos was a comment mentioning this:

 

 

 

 

Hm.  A 10K Volksmarch?  Granted I'm not a big hiker, but the chance to walk up onto a monument that will likely not be accessible at that point in another 5-10 years definitely got my attention.

 

Since I was on maternity leave at the time and had nothing else to keep my attention (hahaha, like that joke?), I did research the event a bit, but not much.  Overall I thought it sounded interesting enough, and looked to be free, so I showed it to my husband.

 

Of course, being that we could easily fly to Rapid City, he was down. 

 

And so it came to be!

 

 

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About three months later, on a Friday afternoon, I found myself boarding Bubba for the longest flight I've taken in a small plane yet.  The flight out to Rapid City was estimated to be about 3:15 to 3:30.  Yikes!  That's a long time in a small plane for someone who's not exactly a calm flier.

 

Luckily, the air proved to be smooth and my little boy napped the vast majority of the flight, so that helped a lot. 

 

It also helped that we landed just as a rainbow was starting to form, and that the scenery was beautiful as well.  I mean ... it looked like a postcard out there!

 

 

 

 

I particularly liked that I could see a full rainbow just as the gas truck pulled up to refuel our plane.

 

 

 

 

Well, the rainbow ... and I liked the airport's call sign and souvenirs for sale as well.

KRAP really was the call sign for Rapid City.  No joke.  And I still wish I would have bought a coffee cup there.  Dang.

Anyway - after making our arrangements with the airport staff to store our plane for the weekend, and getting our rental car, we were finally off and running on our adventure ... which was, for the evening anyway, simply a short drive from the airport and a hotel check-in.

The next morning, Saturday, we spent the day being true tourists.  More on that in a future post.  For now I'll just say we maximized our car rental during our trip.  Proof positive: we put almost 500 miles on the car during our stay.


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Fast forward - Sunday.  March day.

From what little I was able to read online about this event, I had basically knew two important things that I needed to adhere to day of:

(1) I absolutely had to get to the monument's welcome center & parking area when the doors opened - that meant 8am.
(2) I needed to be prepared to HIKE, not just walk around on a flat surface.

Since the day was relatively warm and clear skied, I opted to wear a supportive pair of tennis shoes, jeans, a basic cotton t-shirt and sunglasses.  My husband, as you can see below, chose more traditional hiking shoes, a hat and shorts ... but I suppose he could afford to dress a bit lighter since he had a little insulator on his back to keep him warm, haha.

 

 

 

Despite our early start, we ended up arriving to the monument's welcome center at about 8:15am.  Thankfully, we were still early enough to get prime parking.  That was a much welcome bonus with a baby on board.

 

Since my little boy is still not on solid foods, though that is coming soon, around 8:30am we wrapped up feeding and changing him in the car one last time and then loaded him into his hiking pack.  When all was said and done, maybe around 8:45 we walked up to the start point of the hike (pictured above).

 

Much to my surprise, as I had thought the hike was free, it turns out you had to pay $3 per person to join the march.  No big deal ... though I was a little annoyed they charged for my 5 month old son as well.  Whatever.  Not like it matters - clearly money was not an issue, since I did opt to upgrade one of our passes to the $15 fee so we could take home a medal as well. 

 

Speaking of, the medaling process was somewhat of an oddity to me.  Rather than giving you a coupon to redeem at the end of the march, as soon as you paid at the front door they handed you this:

 

 

 

 

Well then.  Seems like a bad omen to take a medal at the start of a hike.  AND I have to carry the medal with me on the entire hike?  OK, I guess!

 

After paying our entry fees and getting our check point cards (there were various check points throughout the march where we were to get our card "stamped"), we were off.  Into the woods we went.

 

 

 

The first mile or so was a fairly easy hike, but on a somewhat unlevel surface.  You definitely needed to be mindful of your step, and watch what the person ahead of you was doing (many unstable seniors and inattentive children were on the walk and it wasn't uncommon to see someone stumbling along the way). 

 

The path wasn't always well defined, either, so at times there were yellow ribbons in the trees or markers like this to guide our way:

 

 

 

The first checkpoint also offered a porta-potty (yes, ONE potty).  Since I sort of needed it, I did stand in line for a second ... and then realized the line was just too long and opted to wait for the next check point instead.

 

 

 

 

Though the hike through the woods was pretty and enjoyable, it was a little disheartening to realize that, upon hitting the second check point, we had essentially walked about a 2-3 mile loop in the forest and come almost back to our start point.  Honestly, I wouldn't have noticed this myself if it weren't for a Lakota man in front of me at the second porta-potty line.  At least he had a good sense of humor about it when he pointed it out to those of us in line.  And I do have to admit ... it was kind of funny.

 

The good news was, despite the gratuitous hike we just completed, after clearing that second porta-potty line we were on to the meat of the adventure - starting our climb up to the Crazy Horse monument.

 

 

 

 

The trail at this point opened up to a nice, wide, gravel road.  It was a bit of a slow killer, since it was a constant incline, but the road offered stunning views all around the front and side of the monument as you went.

 

 

 

 

The gravel road, though well groomed, was long and meandering.  At times it felt like it would never end.  But finally, after the last steep climb you see in the photo above, we were there.  At the top! 

 

 

 

Of course I had to take a quick selfie under the nose to prove I was there.  I know it's a little vain, but at least I didn't try to "pick his nose".  And please - if you go there yourself - DON'T DO THAT!  This is a memorial to the native people's struggle in the United States.  Posing as if you're picking his nose is tremendously disrespectful.

 

Once at the top, it was impossible not to be in awe of the view.  I tried to take a couple of panoramas to capture it, but still this does the view no justice.  (The first of the below is off the back side of the monument, the second is a view off of Crazy Horse's pointed finger).

 

 

 

Also, not to lose sight of how high above the ground we were, I took a picture off the front edge of the monument.  If you look closely in this photo you can see the welcome center and parking lot in the upper left corner. 

 

 

 

Eventually, though I could have stayed up there an enjoyed the view for hours, it was time for us to move on.  *Sigh*

 

Descending, the trail directed us towards the back side of Crazy Horse, or the "arm pit" if you will.  At that location, there were some people from the build team talking to hikers about the monument.  I didn't stop to chat, but I did walk up to the opening ... just because I could.  I was curious immediately when I saw red spray paint circles and what looked to be metal tie rods scattered on the "ceiling" of the opening - see the 2nd photo below.

 

 

 

After that last view, that was pretty much it for the hike.  The rest of the walk dumped you back onto the gravel road that lead directly back to the visitor's center.  Just before the building came in to view, though, there was one last sign:

 

 

 

 

And that was it!  In about 2 hours time, including various porta-potty breaks and a long pause at the top, our hike was done.  Thirsty and hungry for lunch, we tried to eat at the restaurant in the visitor's center.  Obviously, that was a huge mistake - having waited for the hostess to seat us for over 10 minutes, with ample tables open, we finally decided to bag it and eat elsewhere.  (There's something to be desired when it comes to service in South Dakota - must be the small town atmosphere, they are SO SLOW).

 

Before we left, I snapped a quick picture of our check point cards and then threw them into the trash.  I'm not into hoarding every little paper scrap as a souvenir, as you can tell. 

 

 

 

 

A word on the check point "stamping".  You'll notice in the photo above that they marked each check point on our card with a letter, eventually spelling out the word VIGA.  One of the girls at the later check points informed a hiker, who had inquired about the word, that it was "the name of one of his daughters".  Cool, I thought, they're honoring Crazy Horse's kids.

 

**Buzz**  Wrong.

 

Without getting too political about this monument and the family who's building it (because I see the good of wanting to honor the Natives of this country despite the fact that it's taken the Ziolkowski family over 65 years so far to build the damn thing, while their family is estimated to net a combined salary of almost $450,000 a year to do so), I was highly disappointed to learn that Viga is the name of one of Ziolkowski's extended family (hence the comment about being a daughter). 

 

Really?  They couldn't have found anything related to Native culture?  This reeks of narcissism to me.  Especially when you factor in the back of the finisher's medal from the hike.

 

 

But I guess when you consider all the attention the Borglums get for doing Rushmore ... ?  I don't know, maybe it's justified.  It just feels self serving to me.

Regardless, overall the event was a good time and I'm glad we did it - all THREE of us!


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A few closing notes:

- Obviously this hike is doable for entry level hikers and for people carrying a pack (with or without a baby in it, *ahem*).  As I mentioned above, I saw hikers of all levels partaking in the event ... and a few more aggressive people doing trail running, too. 

- Aside from a handful of steep steps down, the overall hike is fairly easy to navigate.  There is a significant climb to get to the top, however, so don't expect to just cruise through the trail.  At a fair but not overly aggressive clip, you should be able to finish in around 2 hours.

- Do come prepared.  Dress in layers appropriate for your current weather conditions.  Wear supportive shoes.  If you struggle with stability at all, consider a hiking staff of some sort (I actually kind of wished I would have brought one since my husband wasn't able to help me on a couple of steep spots being that he had the baby).

- There are water and bathroom stops, some of which also sell snacks.  Don't rely on these to be your sole source of water or bathroom facilities, though.  Meaning: don't be dumb like me, go before you start, and have water in your car for when you finish.

- Carry cash when you hike, single bills if possible.  The rest stops are staffed by volunteers who are fund raising for their various groups (IE churches, sports teams, etc).  I wish I would have had some cash to chip into their tills.

- Take your time.  Enjoy the hike.  Take in the views.  AND: engage with the people around you if you can.  (I was especially surprised by the number of Native Peoples who participated.  Many of them had interesting things to talk about as they walked - I didn't talk to many people but enjoyed listening to a lot of conversations as we went).

Women Run the Cities 10K 2016 (Mermaids)

Women Run the Cities 10K (6.2 miles)

1:24:34

Average Pace 13:37/mile

It's no secret that I love Women Run the Cities.  In fact, I love it so much that for the last three years now, I have run this race.  In 2014 I ran the 5K with a friend, and in 2015 I dropped down from the 10 mile to the 10K to "run" (since I was pregnant I don't know that it was so much "running", but whatever). 

Of course, it would have been ultimate justice to have run the 10 mile for the race this year to make up for last year's drop down, but ... being that I hardly have time to eat and sleep these days, training has obviously taken a back seat.  Not that I'm upset about that, it's just reality. 

On a side note to that, my goal has been to get back into a more regular running routine this fall, which is actually happening.  But despite getting back into a somewhat regular running schedule, realistically I don't see myself taking on a longer race (IE 10 miles +) again until 2017.

Anyway - back on point.  Women Run the Cities.

For 2016, after much debate, I decided to do the 10K with my sister.  Both she and I have lost our running mojo in the last year due to various reasons, and we figured what better than a race on the books to get us up and running - literally.  And quite frankly, it worked, as we both obviously made it to race day:

Nothing ruins a race recap like putting the very last photo of the day first, am I right?  Oh well.  May as well jump right into it I guess!

As you can see in the above photo, Women Run the Cities takes place near Minnehaha Falls in St. Paul.  Overall the course is fairly flat, yet is terrifically scenic thanks to being along the river and passing through a fairly wooded neighborhood.  (In years past, the trees on course have been a beautiful highlight of fall colors, but this year it's been a bit too warm for the trees and they were mostly green still). 

Race day was pretty much show up and go, since I had gone to packet pickup at the Edina Galleria on the Friday prior to the race.  It's always nice to not have to worry about packet pickup day of ... but the trade off to that this year was a poorly organized check in process at the Galleria. 

Check in at the Galleria is kind of a long story, but basically what ruined it for me was the woman heading check in.  She was NOT friendly - like AT ALL.  On top of that, there were roughly 15 people working the check in booth, and literally 3-4 of us runners there to check in.  And somehow, although there were only 2 people in front of me, I still ended up waiting in line for close to 10 minutes while the majority of the 15 people working the check in booth either chatted with each other or stood around looking confused. 

Adding insult to injury, the woman heading check in allowed a runner who JUST WALKED UP to leap frog me and pick up their bib first, even though I had been standing and waiting for quite some time.  To be fair - yes, they were checking in for the 10 mile and I was doing the 10K.  But, you'd think with only 2 people ahead of me getting 10K bibs and 15 people staffing the check in table, someone else could have gone to the 10K pile and found my bib ... I mean ... how hard would that be?!

Both my friend and I left check-in feeling a little disappointed, since we have always spoken so highly of this race in years past.  But we agreed that despite the poorly organized check-in, the rest of the race was excellent and we didn't let it cloud our race day attitude.

Especially when we left the sub-par check-in with the beautiful race day swag in hand.

A hooded, wicking, embroidered jacket?  Wowza!  :-)

Ok - swag and check-in aside, back to race day.

So my sister, friend and I show up on race day ready to go. Since we did bib pickup in advance, all we needed to do day of is drive to the Fort Snelling light rail station, hop the train, and walk down to Minnehaha Falls.

Easier said than done considering the rain.  *sad clown whistle*

Of course, despite most weather forecasters saying the rain was supposed to be done around 7am, it is still pouring buckets during our drive to the light rail station.  And once there we discover it's surprisingly cold when the wind starts blowing against our damp skin and clothing. 

Needless to say, once we finally arrive to the race start, we discover the atmosphere was a little bit lacking.  But, despite the weather downer, the crowd still had a positive feel to it.  And, although I had a hard time hearing the announcer due to our position in the pack (we had chosen to line up towards the back 25% or so), the race appeared to have started on time because before we knew it - we were off! 

As the crowd started to shift and push through the starting gate, my sister and I said farewell to my friend, who was truly aiming to RUN the 10 mile.  Finally, we crossed the starting mat, I punched on my GPS, and we talked strategy ... which was basically, that we had none.  LOL! 

Agreeing that we'd take a "try it and see" approach, my sister and I ran the first mile at about an 11 min/mile pace and then scattered walk breaks throughout the rest of our run.  Basically, we did a run/walk interval that resulted in 1 mile of running, roughly a quarter to half mile of walk break, and repeat. 

Each mile that we completed, I ended up being pleasantly surprised that I was holding to about an 11 min/mile and not feeling fatigued or sore.  Of course, I was working to keep the pace (not struggling, just working).  But given the most I've run in the last 6 months is 1 or 2 miles in one day, non continuous, I was pleased.

To motivate us along on our run intervals, it helped that we received plenty of "nice outfits" and "hey - look at the mermaids!" types of comments on our "costumes". 

As we ran, a few of my favorite callouts included:

- A young girl, perhaps 4-6 years old, in an absolute panic trying to show us to her mother before we passed by.  "Mom.  Mom.  Mom!  Mom! MOM!!!! MOOOOMMM!!!!  LOOOOKKK!!!!!  MERMAIDS!!!!"  (Mom's response, after being interrupted because she was legitimately trying to cheer for all the runners - "YES, I SEE!!")

- A male volunteer, cheering from the sidelines "Nice outfits!  Mermaids! ... um, right?"  (To which my sister replied after he was well outside of ear shot "Only a guy would follow up with the um, right!  LOL!  What does he think we are, walleyes wearing bikinis?!"  And I rebutted "No, we're OBVIOUSLY Jonah being eaten by the whale - duh!"  Snickers abounded.)

- A male police officer directing race traffic and cheering "I like your shirts!"  Which in and of itself isn't really that funny, I mean - yeah, they're more dresses than shirts.  But the better part was the response of a lady who was passing us as he cheered.  After the police officer was out of hearing range, she said "Well, I don't know if he likes the shirts so much as what is in them."  (I mentioned to her that I am breast feeding, and she could obviously see that my sister is ... well endowed herself.)  Her follow up response was "Well, whatever the reason, you girls have it.  Congratulations."  **Foot note: being congratulated on course for having big boobs - not something I expected at a women's only race.

Of course, I expect that wearing funny outfits on race day will garner a wide range of responses.  And to be 100% honest, that's part of why I do it.  I mean - first of all, the outfit is funny, and I enjoy making people laugh.  And second of all, what fun is it to run a race if you're not going to have a good time doing it?! 

So may as well enjoy the responses you get to your outfit, even if it's a comment about how big your boobs are, right??!!?!

Between my sister and my conversations, and the constant cheering for our mermaid outfits, I was totally distracted on the run.  I suppose then, it goes without saying, I could hardly believe my eyes when it registered where we were on course ... and that an hour had already passed.  Even better, my GPS was telling me we were within a mile or so of the finish line.  Sweet!

Honestly, I was a little tired at this point, and worried how sore I might be the next day after running so much.  Given my concerns, I talked my sister into walking most of the final mile, with the goal of picking up to run once we got closer to entering the park again - which I didn't time quite right, as I had figured we'd run the last quarter to half mile, and in reality it ended up only being a little over 1/10 of a mile.  Whoops!

Mileage calculation errors aside, we finished our run strong and were greeted at the finish line with an oversized water bottle (bigger than the standard 12-16oz one, or whatever you usually get - HOORAH!), and the 10 year commemorative finisher's medal:

Ooooh - shinny!

After getting medals, my sister and I made a quick loop over to the snack table and scurried right back to the finish line.  We tried to hurry because my 10 miler friend, per my pace estimations, wasn't too far behind our finish.  Our haul from the snack table included pretty much one of everything that was offered - a banana, a bag of potato chips, a piece of trail bread, a mini nut goodie and mini Laura Bar, and a chia/quinoa grain free granola bar of some sort that was actually pretty good. 

Being that I'm hungry 100% of the time right now with the breast feeding, I proceeded to stuff my face and vacuum up every crumb of food I had on hand before my friend came through the finish.  And when she was done, I was incredibly tempted to circle the table a second time with her as she got her goodies.  BUT - I restrained myself, since I know how much it pisses me off when I see some greedy jerk at the finish line taking multiples of something before everyone else has had a chance to eat.

I try to be good.  I really do.  :-)

Once everyone had a chance to get their snacks, the three of us made a quick loop of the vendor booths in the post race party area.  They were giving out the usual stuff - reusable totes, various types of bracelets (we ended up taking some slap bracelets for my sister's kids), flyers, etc.  Nothing was terribly exciting, so after a few minutes of browsing we decided to call it good and caught the light rail back to the car.

Luckily we had dried off enough at that point that we weren't getting my new car's seats wet ... though my feet were still pruny when I got home and took my socks off!


---


And that's the story of how race bib #76 joined my collection.  Here's to another race soon ... which now that I'm finally caught up on my back log made me realize ... I don't have anything more booked for 2016.  This might be the end of my race season this year.   I guess we'll see!

2015 Year in Review

Ah, another year on the books. 

Having run this blog for a few years, it's weird to think I've done a year end recap three times now (including this post).  But, it's a cool thing to think that I've had this journal of sorts going since 2013 ... even if it is a somewhat eerie feeling to know I've been documenting my "healthy" lifestyle in the public eye for so long. 

Somehow, the end result leaves me feeling a bit of deja vu. 

Anyway, enough psycho babble.  Let's get started, shall we?

2015, a year in review!

Races

I know I've kept you pretty updated this year with my running progression - or lack there of, technically, since I never really got up to speed after my set back with plantars fasciitis late 2014.  In fact, since then, it seems like running just wasn't the same for me. Mostly because ... well ... it hurt.

I did try to tough things out for the first few months, thinking eventually things would get better.  And it seemed like things were finally starting to shake loose this summer.  Of course, that was just in time for me to find out I was pregnant mid August, after which I was forced to suffer through some horrendous runs with morning sickness strong enough to kill a horse.

But when all was said and done, I was glad I raced what I did.  And it left me with a new all time race record - 17 races, with 16 bibs earned.  That's one more than I've ever done in a year before ... all with many being completed while pregnant!

Plus, I finally put my swimming fears aside and did my first real outdoor tri.  That's nothing to shake a stick at.


Feb - Tri-U-Mah, Indoor timed tri, no bib provided
April - Hot Chocolate 5K
May - Lake Minnetonka Half Relay, Cinco de Miler 5 miler, Run the Inferno 5K
June - Carlyle Sherstad 5K, Rainbow Run 5K
July - Freedom Five 5K, Gandy Fly-In 5K, Chase the Police Tri
August - Webster Education 5K
September - Lake Run 5K, Suds Run 5K, Women Run the Cities 10K
October - TC 10 mile, Patriot Power Run 5K, Mankato 10K


Total miles raced - about 78 miles
(Not too shabby considering I didn't run any half marathons on my own to really bank miles...)

Cumulative info:
     Races 55 - 71
     Bibs 53 - 68

And of course, don't forget the ever growing medal collection:

Heh!



Costumes

With my ever growing belly this fall, costumes seemed to be a bit more of a challenge for 2015.  But, none the less, I did my best to keep the tradition alive.

And of course, being an InkNBurn Ambassador helped in that category just a bit.  *wink*

Check out www.inknburn.com

 

           

 

 

 

Keeping Healthy

With my pregnancy progressing in September and morning sickness being my foe, I found that running wasn't exactly a great fit for me anymore.  Though I did try to tough out running through October, since I had paid for a handful of races in advance (and with my doctor's encouragement, might I add), I decided after my last race in October to take a break from running until after the baby arrives.  That's not to say I don't run AT ALL, since obviously I am active teaching and doing other things, and I still find myself sprinting from here to there on occasion. But longer runs were giving me weird stomach cramps and other things, so I decided for me ... other cross training methods were enough for now.

I know I'll likely pay for this come May of 2016 ... but whatever.  I will have 3 months of maternity leave to work that out, and I already have a jogging stroller for the occasion.

Besides, you imagine running with a belly that's gotten this big:

 

 

And to be fair, running hasn't exactly been my gig at all in 2015.  Which is why earlier in the year I decided to focus on cross training as much as possible.  That meant starting out my year with Class Pass, which I eventually dropped (for various reasons, mostly cost and convenience ... and the fact that I already had a paid gym membership closer to home).  Regardless of my dropping, I did still have fun making an ass of myself in the process.  I mean - when else would you EVER try Jazzercise?  Am I right?

Although I did drop my ClassPass membership, I found it opened me up to the habit of using other exercise methods as a way to stay active.  Technically, I was already open to swimming, biking and yoga - but ClassPass reminded me that I should be doing those things more often.  So I did get back into those disciplines quite a bit more in 2015. 

Cross training is always a good thing, right?



Changes


Aside from the obvious thing - pregnancy - I didn't have any real major changes this year for me from a fitness or physical perspective.

However, from a blogging perspective, this was quite a year for changes.

Not only did you see me celebrate my 10 year wedding anniversary, you got to see me open up about some of my more personal adventures.  That included a long European holiday in March and an extended review and recap of my brewery adventures throughout Minnesota (and some other locations as well).  Although inclusion of these stories may have seemed a little off topic, given this is more a fitness based blog, I decided to include them anyway.  Why?  Because I think it's important to show that while I do encourage a healthy lifestyle, it's OK to do things that aren't traditionally known as "healthy" or "good for you" once in awhile ... as long as you keep yourself active and healthy along the way.



Finally

Hm.  I guess this is where I'm supposed to draw some sort of big conclusion about life and what I thought of 2015, since that's what I did in 2013 and 2014.  But to be honest, those were very different years.  And when I think of 2015 ... well ...

2013 was when I was peaking in my physical fitness, my life was finally coming together, and I was feeling great about things.

2014 was a year of struggle where I tried to cope with a miscarriage, some physical setbacks, and I still tried to maintain a healthy attitude and life balance.

So what about 2015? 

I can't really say 2015 was an AMAZING year.  But I wouldn't rate it as bad, either. 

I say this because I think coming into my mid 30's (yikes, that makes me feel old, lol!), I've finally settled into a happy place in my life.  Some time around 2012 or 2013, I finally learned to accept things in my life for what they were, and to eliminate things from my life that didn't make me happy.  And somewhere in that process, I found an authentic me that I've just become ... happy with. 

Which means, I don't really go into a year expecting it to be AWESOME or BAD anymore, I just hope that I can continue to maintain that authentic me.  And have a good time while I do it.

And in 2015, I did just that.  So I think that's just fine.