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! Active.com

A little over a week ago, I mentioned I was going to be featured in an Active.com article.

Well - check it out!

See the full Active.com article here.

And not to pat myself on the back or anything, but we were basically the only runners in the entire feature that weren't either (A) super heros, (B) wearing a tutu, or (C) in some cliché outfit.  Well ... except for the pirate.  Can't talk smack about that one being it was InkNBurn, heh!

I'm Being Featured - Active.com

Hahaha - I can't believe it.

Well ... technically, I can.

The other day, Active.com's Facebook page posted a request for "spookiest race day costumes".  Well, you know me and race day costumes.  I mean ...

And let's face it - that's just showcasing a few.

Anyway, the next morning after submitting the above photos, I turned on Facebook to see this message:

 

 

So ... now I wait!  Let's see what happens next!

 

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Want to re-read the recap that featured that costume?  Go ahead - do it!

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.

Finally - Documentation

For those of you who missed it last week, I implore you to read the expose a local news company did about Team Ortho.  If you're short on time, I've highlighted the most disturbing facts in yellow below.

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Running for a cause?
Financial questions raised about popular races

Non-profit Team Ortho runs several popular races including the Monster Dash, but where does the money go?

Steve Eckert and A.J. Lagoe, Investigative Reporter



MINNEAPOLIS - A Minnesota-based non-profit organization that claims it is "Helping Research One Race at a Time" actually donates only about a penny-and-a-half for every dollar it raises for medical research, according to financial records obtained by KARE 11 News.


Team Ortho Foundation


Team Ortho Foundation sponsors some of the most popular running events in the Twin Cities. Their races include the just-completed "Monster Dash" on Halloween, the "Polar Dash" in January, the "Get Lucky" race in March, and "Women Rock" in August.

Team Ortho also sponsors similar races in Chicago and Dallas-Ft. Worth.

During public address announcements at its races – and in postings on its website – Team Ortho says it supports orthopedic research with donations to Shriners Hospital and other groups involved in orthopedic research.

"We raise money for Orthopedic research," said Team Ortho founder and executive director John Larson. "We make gifts to places like Shriner's Hospital for Children, which is an orthopedic hospital."

But former employees at the Team Ortho Foundation question how much money is actually going to medical research.

On a rainy Halloween morning, an estimated 18,000 people – many in colorful costumes – turned out for "Monster Dash" in St. Paul.

It's one of the biggest running events of the year.

If the runners think much of their entry fees are going to orthopedic research, former employees say they're wrong, and they blame Larson, the driving force behind Team Ortho.

"He was using it like his own personal checkbook and that to me was wrong," said Kean Corkery. He's one of the former Team Ortho employees who told KARE 11 they quit in disgust.

Megan Johnston and Isaac Milkey also told us they walked away after questioning how much money was really going to research.

"We raise so much money throughout the year, and seeing that little or none goes back to charities is – just doesn't sit right," said Milkey.

So, how much race money is going to research? To find out, KARE 11 checked the IRS forms all non-profit organizations have to file.

The most recent report shows that in 2013 Team Ortho brought in $4,362,877. Of that, what went to charities like Shriners Hospital was just $72,700.

A year earlier, it was a similar story. Of $3,599,851 raised, just $36,550 trickled down to charity.

Do the math. The average amount going to charity is just a penny and a half out of every dollar raised.

"That's pretty horrible," said runner Anne Pavel. "Like not expecting that at all."

It surprised other Monster Dash runners, too. Call it more trick than treat.

"Yah, that's not good," said Allie Henning. "That doesn't make me feel good about running."

Eric Sand said that when he and his wife signed up, "They told us – whether we do it or not – the money goes for a good cause."

"I understand the cost behind the race," added Pavel, "but it just kind of makes you wonder who's getting all that extra money."

Reporter A.J. Lagoe put that question to Team Ortho Executive Director John Larson.

Lagoe: "Why such a low percentage?"

Larson: "Oh, because we put it into the races - and the gear - to get people out."

Larson says encouraging people to be active is Team Ortho's primary goal. Doing that by organizing races is expensive, he explained. And so is the custom gear runners get and the medals waiting for each person at the finish line.


Trips to China


But former employees blame some of that cost on mismanagement. For example, they say fancy running gear was sometimes ordered so late that instead of just shipping it, teams of employees had to fly to China to hand carry it back.

"Your sole purpose of being there was to carry items back?" one former employee asked another.

"Yah, just another body. Pack mule," replied Isaac Milkey.

John Larson admits that's happened. "There's times that the only way to get the gear in time for the race is to send people over in order to bring them back," he told us.

But some trips to China to bring back customized Team Ortho outfits sound more like all expense paid vacations.

"We saw the Great Wall, the Forbidden City," Milkey remembers. "We just went around and had a list of things we wanted to see – and we went and did them."

He says he and several other Team Ortho employees spent three days in China doing nothing but sight-seeing before carrying back the merchandise.

"I didn't bring any of my own money at all," he told KARE 11. "So anything we wanted to do was on Team Ortho's dime."

In all, the former employees claim that in recent years, Larson, the executive director, personally took as many as a dozen trips a year overseas in recent years. Some of them are documented with personal photos on his Facebook page.

All of them, former employees say, were paid for with money that could have helped children with orthopedic problems.

When asked about those trips, Larson didn't offer any explanation.

Lagoe: "Going overseas, staying in lavish hotels, all billed to team Ortho. Can you tell us why that's necessary?"

Larson: "I can't comment on that."

Lagoe: "You can't tell us why so many trips?"

Larson: "I can't comment on that."


F rating at BBB


Check with the Better Business Bureau and you'll discover Team Ortho gets an "F" rating because of multiple complaints.

What's more, KARE 11 has learned that Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is looking into Team Ortho after a complaint from former employee Kean Corkery raising concerns about financial irregularities. About Larson Kean wrote, "He seems to be running a 501c3 as if were his own personal checkbook."

Swanson's office recently took action against other non-profits with low donation percentages.

Lagoe: "Have you been contacted by the Attorney General at all recently?"

Larson: "I can't comment."

Lagoe: "You can't say, yes or no, that you've spoken to the Attorney General?

Larson: "I can't comment."

As we began investigating Team Ortho's races and John Larson, the man who runs them, we noticed one other interesting thing.

Larson says he's not handicapped. But KARE 11 watched as he got into and drove away in a Lincoln with a handicapped license plate. It was from Arizona – and it had expired in July, 2014.

Lagoe: "We just got complaints that, you know, here's this guy running a multi-million dollar organization, driving around in a car with handicapped plates that are – have been expired for a year and a half."

Larson: "Yah. Regretfully, I need to change those."

So, if you're just interested in some exercise and some fun, the Team Ortho races are obviously popular.

But if you're concerned about how much of your money is actually going to medical research, check out Team Ortho's financial reports.

And, in this season of giving, the Minnesota Attorney General has recommendations on ways you can check on your favorite charities on their website.

2015 Racing Recap

Upon writing my race recap that published last Thursday, I realized I was more than overdue for a 2015 race recap.  Plus, with winter coming, and it being highly unlikely that I'll sign up for anything more this season, the timing seems about right.

So ... that being said, how did my racing shake out for 2015?


2015 Races

Cumulative info:
     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


A few fun facts about this year's achievements.

(1) I ran more races this year than any year previous, coming in at 17 races and 16 bibs.  Uh-oh ... did I just set a new pointless goal for myself?  LOL ... with a baby on the way, I doubt it.

(2) I ran 6 races knowingly pregnant, and 1 more before I knew I was pregnant (I tested positive just a few days later).  That's a total of 35 miles raced while pregnant ... so far!

(3) I FINALLY had my first ever negative split (in Mankato)!  WHOOP!

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And with that - so ends my 2015 race season.  I think.  Here's to more racing again next year!!

Current Bib Wall & Medal Collection

After going through all my races for Wednesday's post, I thought it might be fun to post a couple of updated photos of my bib wall and medal collection.

Here they are!!

All My Races ... Ever

After running the Webster Education 5K the other weekend, as I was lounging around at the cabin in my spiffy race T, my father in law started to chuckle at what my collection of shirts must be.  Since he recently downsized from his home of 30+ years and moved to the cabin full time (along with my mother in law, duh), he knew the pain of an ever growing wardrobe and purging excess stuff.

On that tangent, I started to wonder ... how many races have I actually ran since I started oh so long ago?  Hmmm....


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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 (so far)

Races 55 - 65, Bibs 53 - 62

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

2015 Pending completion: Races 66 - 70, Bibs 63 - 67
Lake Run, Suds Run, Women Run the Cities, TC 10 Mile, Mankato


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So, there you have it.  So far I have participated in 65 races (with my 70th on the horizon for 2015 assuming all goes well), and I own 62 bibs.  If you want to consider the entire distances ... that would be:

   One 4K
   Forty-three 5Ks
   Three 7Ks
   One 8K
   One 5 miler
   One 10K
   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)
   Two Triathlons (about 6 miles ran total)
   One Triathlon relay (about 8 miles ran)

Or, roughly 285 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, almost six years of running.  Wow.  I guess ... that's what it gets you!!  All the above, and a real sense of self accomplishment, too.

Racing Recap for 2015 Thus Far

Back in May I laid out my 2015 racing plan.  In that post, I talked about my 15 bib per year goal, and what my tentative schedule was for the year.

So ... how am I doing?


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Completed Races
Total races - 9
Total bibs - 8

Feb - Tri-U-Mah, AKA my first ever triathlon (although no bib was received)
April - Hot Chocolate
May - Lake Minnetonka Half Relay, Cinco de Miler
June - Run the Inferno, Carlyle Sherstad, Rainbow Run
July - Freedom Five, Gandy Fly-In (recap pending - stay tuned!)

Not too shabby of a start to the racing season, eh?!  Of my 15 goal bibs, I'm over half way there with 8 on my wall.  But ... maybe that's not enough given we are over half way through summer, and thus over half way through the ideal racing season in Minnesota.  Hopefully being just ahead of the curve in all three will prove sufficient.


Races ScheduledTotal races - 15
Total bibs - 13
July - Chase the Cops Tri (not likely to include a bib)
August - Webster Education
September - Suds Run, Women Run the Cities
October - TC 10 Mile (pending lotto), Mankato
November & Beyond - TBD based on weather

OK, so this is where I start to falter.  I'm for sure 2 bibs short of my goal, despite the fact that I'm on par for total races completed (damn triathlons and their body marking).  I guess I need to get on it and find a few more races to run yet this summer.  Suggestions?

Oh ... and let's not talk about my training for the Women Run the Cities and TC 10 milers.  Because ... well, there hasn't been any.  I suppose I should hop on that.


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Motivate me with your race suggestions below!!

2015 Racing - So Far

As I mentioned in my 2014 year end recap, I'm dumb.

Well, technically the exact quote was "Despite running without pushing myself physically, (in 2014) I still found myself being competitive with myself MENTALLY, attempting to maintain or beat my race record of 2013 - 15 bibs on my wall."

So ... you know where this post is going, right?  I mean, of course we all need to know how I'm getting to 15 bibs again in 2015!!

That means today's post is a recap of where I am thus far in 2015.


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Races Completed
Total races - 4
Total bibs - 3

Feb - Tri-U-Mah, AKA my first ever triathlon (although no bib was received)
April - Hot Chocolate
May - Lake Minnetonka Half Relay
May - Cinco de Miler

**I also volunteered at my usual Chaska 5K in May, too, but we won't count that in the official tally since I didn't run or get a bib there.



Races Scheduled
Now comes the tough part.  How do I get 12 more bibs squeezed in this year?!  Below is a list of races I'm either already registered for or think I may reasonably attend (I've linked the races to their registration pages in case you want to run with me, too!) 

If I add the below with the above, my new counts would be:

Total races - 14
Total bibs - 13

May - Run the Inferno
June -  Carlyle Sherstad 5K/10K, Rainbow Run
July - Freedom 5, Gandy Dancer Fly In
August - Webster Education Fund 5K
September - Suds Run, Women Run the Cities
October - TC 10 Mile (pending lotto), Mankato 10K/Half
November & December - Weather Pending

This tentative race schedule leaves me with at least 2 more bibs to earn.  Plus a whole lotta free weekends in June, July and August.  Not to mention I still need to settle on a real, outdoor tri ... though I do have my eye on this one (have you done it - if yes, let's chat).

So now I turn to you ... suggestions?!  I need some race ideas for 2015!!

Current Workouts & Getting Outside

I can't believe it's already May.  What happened to spring?!  In just a few weeks it's Memorial Day and the unofficial start of summer.  Sheesh.

Since the weather is turning around, and I'm finally getting outside more to workout as well, I thought I'd recap my most recent workouts.

Other than that, I don't have a whole lot exciting to talk about.  But I'm going to do this every so often so I keep myself honest with how much (or how little) I've been working out ... and also to motivate myself to do more.

That's all folks!  :-)

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April 13th - 19th
Monday - Cycle
Tuesday - Hot Yoga AM, Teach TBC PM
Wednesday - Swim
Thursday - Teach TBC
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Hot Chocolate 5K
Sunday - Short indoor cycle ride at home

April 20th - 26th
Monday - Jazzercise lunch, Cycle PM
Tuesday - Hot Yoga AM, Teach TBC PM
Wednesday - Unplanned rest (AKA packing for Vegas and cleaning house)
Thursday - Teach TBC
Friday, Saturday, Sunday - VEGAS BABY!!

April 27th - May 3rd
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Teach TBC
Wednesday - Swim
Thursday - Teach TBC
Friday - Cycle
Saturday - Teach Saturday Rotation
Sunday - Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon Relay

Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon Relay 2015 (Boney Broads)

 

 

Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon Relay (5.6/7.5 miles)

Team Time 2:20:52

Average Pace 10:46/mile

Ah, my nemesis.  The Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon.  Or as I dubbed it in 2013, the Hilly Hell. 

You might be able to derive from that fond nick-name that me and this course ... yeeeaaaah, we're not friends.  That's because the first time I ran the course (2013), I covered the entire distance and ended up with and extremely painful knee at mile 9ish.  And, the second time I ran the course (2014), I did the relay and had an emotional melt down around mile 2 due to having just had a miscarriage a few days prior.

So, you'd think given my less than fond memories of this course, I'd have thrown in the towel for 2015.  But ... nope.  Somehow yet again, I was waking up at 5:15am on a race day, preparing to run a 5.6 mile leg.  Because this was a two person relay, and it would be super fun, and costumes, and team spirit, and race medals, and ... ?

Sigh. 

At least the costume part was fun, although somewhat recycled from the Mankato races in years past ... for both of us, in fact.

Me, Mankato 2013:

Partner, Mankato 2014:

Yep, you got it.  We decided to be a relay team of InkNBurn skeletons.  Our team name was "The Boney Broads"; not to be mistaken with The Boner Broads, as the staff at packet pickup so realized after a minor slip up at reading our team name and pulling our race t-shirts.

That poor woman.  I'm guessing she may have blushed a little with that one. 

Oh, as long as we're on the subject of race shirts:

This years shirt was a mixed bag.  I really liked the color, printing and fit.  But, I'm not so much a fan of V-necks or the meshy looking performance material.  Hopefully they switch back to the 2013/14 style next year.

Anyway, back to the race, which I had diligently trained for.  Oh, I was SO ready for this race.  Here's the training schedule I followed:

          - run 2.5 miles on a treadmill at the TriUMah end of February
          - run another 3.1 miles outside at the Hot Chocolate in April

Yes, you read that correctly.  I ran a total of 5.6 miles, over a window of about 2 months, prior to showing up to this race.  That means I had a base of 2.8 miles/month just before gun time.  Knowing I was not positioned well for the day, this is pretty much how I woke up on race morning:

Ugh.  I was not looking forward to this race.  At all.  Between my lack of training, and the fact that my feet are still a little injury funky, I knew these 5.6 miles were going to hurt.

Regardless of my mental outlook, once my relay partner and I unloaded at the race start, thanks to my-husband-or-bust taxi service, my mental attitude started to shift - I unexpectedly ran into some family from my husband's side, a handful of runner friends, and even a business partner, so the pre-race socializing ended up being pretty fun.  Plus, we Boney Broads were getting plenty of ooohs and aaahs from random strangers, so that helped too.  (I haven't ran "in costume" for quite some time, so I forgot how much attention 'dem bones get, and how much that can boost you mentally on race day.)  All this bonus good juju meant that despite knowing this was going to hurt, when the announcer said my partner needed to head off to board the relay shuttle bus and the rest of us needed to line up for gun time, I was in a slightly less regretful mood.

And like dozens of race before it, that's where it all began: me, standing in a reasonable pace corral with a few buddies (10:18/mile), listening to the national anthem, and anxiously awaiting the gun.

Bang, time to run.

Since we were starting in the last maybe 1/3 of the corrals, we had to wait a few minutes for the waves ahead of us to roll out.  But like every year prior at this race, the process was very efficient, and minutes after the gun we were crossing the timing mat.

At which point, I took a deep breath, waved goodbye to my friends who were pulling ahead of me, and settled in.

I knew this was going to be a long and drawn out run, so I had prepared myself in advance for this race and opted to bring music.  For the last year or two, since I had gotten so accustomed to running without, it seemed a bit odd to plug in ... but boy was I grateful to have something else to think about when I looked down at my GPS watch and noted I was only 0.25 miles in.

As I ran, I realized some good news about this course, however - since I've run it a few times now, I was already mentally prepared for the first hill that hits at the 0.75 mile mark (before you have even really warmed up and settled into a pace).  That meant I was not demotivated by its appearance, which was right on schedule per my GPS watch.  The additional good news about having run this course a few times was that I had WAY blown out of proportion my memory of how hilly this course was, and how big each hill was.  In fact, I couldn't believe I had already come up on the 2.5 mile mark when it passed, because I hadn't hit nearly as many hills as I thought I had remembered from 2014.  Overall, the only real let down was the fact that the weather was warmer and less rainy or windy than in years past, so the spring gnat clouds were kind of nasty in the first few miles and several of us were wasting precious energy waving them away from our faces as we ran.

Gnats aside, as the miles ticked by, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the run was going.  Don't get me wrong, the run wasn't going GREAT.  I mean, I was taking my fair share of walk breaks on the hills, and I even decided to partake in the first water stop (which by the way, was not run well - who puts the Gatorade stand in the MIDDLE of the water stations, with the first table telling you there is water further down ... and then the next table further down is in fact not water, nor are they yelling out Gatorade?!  I felt a little guilty about throwing a totally unused cup of Gatorade in the trash, but that stuff seriously gives me gut rot if I drink it before I need it on course.)  All in all, though, the run was going unexpectedly well.

Somewhere around mile 3 or 4, I realized that despite my slowish pace, running 5+ miles on no base training wasn't so bad.  It was at that point that I admitted to myself - I've been so focused on NOT running that I haven't been giving myself enough credit for what I HAVE been doing in the last year.  I mean, it's not like I had zero activity base; I'm plenty active doing non-running based training - group fitness classes, biking, swimming, etc.  All of that built my cardio and mental capacity up, so even though my legs/hips/knees/feet might not have been 100% in shape for running specifically, my body could definitely handle the load.

Not that I'm recommending you race without a running base - ever - but all that other cross training does matter!!

As I was stewing over these thoughts, I found myself rounding the corner and ... I was there!  The exchange!  It was terribly crowded with spectators (which I hope they figure out how to corral better in 2016 - my personal recommendation is to require spectators to be AFTER the exchange point only), so I struggled to find my partner for a minute and our exchange was a little less than efficient.  But, soon enough she was off and I got my sweaty paws on this:

Ta-da!  There's really something fun about getting a medal, no?  And this year's square shape was pretty fun.  Not to mention the heft and size ... this thing was bigger than my palm.  Awesome!

As my relay partner was hitting the road, I wandered into our finishers' area, picking a few snacks (which were way less stocked than the finish line - boo) and boarded the shuttle bus to the finish line.  And since I had some time to kill at that point, I decided to review my watch stats. 

Immediately, I was pleasantly surprised: I came in well under my 1:20-1:30 estimate (I had guessed I'd end up walking a lot more), with a 1:06 showing on my watch display.  To put that in perspective, last year I ran the same distance in 1:07 and had just come off of marathon training.  Granted I had other issues brining me down pace wise that day, but still! 

So, for that, I gave myself a little pat on the back considering my lack of training ... even if I did walk kind of a lot again this year, as you can see by all the red below:

Since riding the bus and checking my watch had killed some time, by the time I meandered to the finish line there were a handful of people there I knew.  Killing time with them made the seconds fly by, and all the sudden we were seeing this:

You can probably tell I'm screaming my eyeballs out in the lower left corner.  Heh.

Once everyone in our little impromptu race party had a chance to grab their own post race refreshments, we all met up on the grassy knoll past the finish line and started to mosey on down to the lake.  After all, this is called the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon for a reason, so may as well take a photo by it right?

Oh.  I'm choosing to show the "non serious" version of our photo, FYI:

 

After a few more photos like the above, and a couple of snacks thrown in, we all exchanged our last sweaty victory hugs and split up, heading for home.

 

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And that's the story of how race bib #54 joined my collection.  Here's to another race soon ... in just a few days, actually!!