Uno Carrera de los Muertos 5K 2019 (Hydraulics)

Carrera de los Muertos 5K (3.15 miles)

Let's not talk about pace this time ...

I ran this race three years ago, on it's 10th anniversary.

Three years isn't so long ... or at least, it doesn't seem like it ... until you revisit the recap photos from that year:

OMG my baby!!  How has he gotten so big?!

Just for reference, a similarly skeleton clad photo from Halloween this year:

Ah!  I miss my cute, squishy mushy baby.  But he's sure fun to hang out with now, too, when he can tell me stories and funny jokes.  Plus there's the no diapers thing.  Trade offs ...

Anyway, this is a race recap.  Not a mom post.  Moving on ...

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As I mentioned in my previous race recap, since I enjoyed this race in 2016, I decided to use the 2019 version as a motivator to get me back into running.  Because what better than skeletons and a post Halloween trip to Chicago to get me motivated, right?!

Beyond the excellent race swag, what I remembered liking about this race held true in 2019 as well - a festive pre race atmosphere, a unique cultural immersion, and beautiful artwork on course.

New to this year (or at least, I didn't see this in 2016), a SUPER SWEET hydraulics car display.

Note: this car drove away post race honking its horn, and yes - it played La Cucaracha.

Other items to add into the plus column for this race: an on time race start, well organized race corrals (though, plenty of people thought they could "walk" a 10 minute mile, so there's that ... but race organizers can't fix stupid), and even an on site cotton candy vendor!!!

Not going to lie, I was VERY tempted to purchase a bag to bring back to the hotel for my son.  But ... Halloween literally JUST happened a little over 24 hours prior.

I think that's plenty of candy for a three year old, no?!

In addition to other positive race attributes for this 5K, there's also the AMAZING placement awards.  While I'll never likely qualify for these skulls, I can still admire them ... right?!

Ugh - I do have to say, I'm never so jealous of fast runners as I am at this race.

Oh - and what else served as a good motivator for me to get back into running shape for this race?  Getting someone else to do this with me so we're both holding each other accountable, of course!! 

Since my sister is usually game for my shenanigans, together we committed to training for this race ... though we totally spaced and didn't take any photos together to document the experience.  And even though I held back this recap about 2 weeks to allow for race day photos to be published, still no luck.  DAMN!  Oh well.

Speaking of race down sides - though the race had plenty of positives as mentioned above, there were a few negatives as well.

The biggest negative was no packet pickup in the days most immediately prior to the race.  I was very confused by this - how is an out of town runner supposed to pick up their bib and shirt when the only dates available for pickup are the Saturday, Sunday and Monday the weekend BEFORE the race?!

Other negatives for this race were a general lack of organization and communication.  Using the above as an example - notice the address for packet pickup is the same for both pre race and race day?  Yeah ... that's very wrong.  Pre race pickup was at a local run shop, but same day pickup was at the school hosting the race.  Two totally separate addresses roughly a mile apart.  I actually messaged race organizers directly about this twice before they realized the error and fixed it.  Which means that all their social media posts for the weeks prior to the race, and the e-blasts for pickup reminder ... were all wrong.  Oops.

Another example of the lack of organization paired well (or rather, poorly) with this race day packet pickup issue.  Because if you're expecting a fair percentage of your runners to pick up their shirts just prior to running ... you'd think runners might want to know where bag drop is, right?  I mean, I myself don't particularly enjoy being a pack mule ...

When I asked at check in where the bag drop tent was, I got a deer in the headlights look and a "Uh ... I don't think we have one, sorry."

Good thing I was really motivated to not run with an extra jacket, a race shirt, and a reusable bag I brought along for bag drop ... which I discovered I didn't need to bring.  After a lot of aimless wandering, I finally found the "GEAR CHECK" tent, where they were providing clear bags for drop off.  (And yes, when I found the bag drop area, I explained to them the confusion at check-in.  I was answered with a very peppy "got it!" and a girl ran off to take care of the issue for others.)

Honestly, the minor negatives of a forced race day packet pickup and a slight feeling of disorganization from event planners isn't enough for me to take issue with this race.  So, I won't get too hung up on it.

I can get hung up on the crap weather, though.  Yuck!  I forgot how nasty a cold, pre-race morning can be.  On the plus side, I'm glad I last second panic packed a run cap, a long sleeve base later, gloves, and a bag drop fleece jacket - because I needed ALL of it, and then some.  #frozentoes #wishIpackedHotHands

Me, actual race day live stream.  

After a melting pot of excitement for the morning - both good (cotton candy, hooray!) and bad (can't find the bag drop, boo!) - it was finally time to settle into our start points.  And before we could even get too uncomfortable from standing still in the cold, it was time to take off!!

Overall, the race course felt like what I remembered from 2016.  All I noticed was a minor adjustment in start and finish points, which I thought was actually a vast improvement over 2016.


2016:





2019:

Though looking at the maps for comparison now, I see there was quite a bit of difference.  But, the "essence" for this course ... at least for me ... are the murals on 16th and 18th.  Which you can see in both courses takes up the majority of the route.

Here's some photos (from current and past years) for reference:

With everything to hear, look at, or just mentally process - the first mile cruised past.  And even stopping for walk breaks with my sister, with all the local folks offering entertainment on course (mostly DJ based, but also some traditional dancers, etc) the course just flew by.

Here's a video demonstrating what I mean about the stimulus overload:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=430420604341365

At some point, I don't even know when, I saw a bichon frise dog dressed as a unicorn.

Yes, it was running with its owner.

Yes ... it was beating me to the finish.  (I'm not too proud to admit this, after all ... I have been beaten to the finish by wiener dogs in the past, so ... breed upgrade at least???)

Of course, there were a lot of other amazing things to process on course as well.  But before I could even absorb them all and think about how to express them here, a woman was yelling on the side of the course ...

"Around this corner - THIS IS IT!!!  YOU CAN SEE THE FINISH LINE!!!  YOU CAN DO THIS!!!"

And then we were there, and that was it.  My sister and I logged another race for the books.

But damn it, if I didn't omit my free churro again this year.  With a line easily 100+ people deep, and already over 10+ minutes lost trying to get my dropped bag back, I just couldn't handle the cold anymore.  So, instead - I dialed up a Lyft back to the hotel and mentally prepared for a steaming hot post race shower ... that I may or may not have had to fight my sister for first dibs on LOL!

Oh well to the churro - thanks anyway Pilsen, it was fun!!

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And that's the story of how race bib #85 joined my collection.  Here's to another race soon ... though I doubt it will be in 2019, since I'm a bit of a wilted flower after this cold race.  What can I say?!  I live in Minnesota, yes ... but I sure hate running outside when the temps get below freezing!

Minneapolis Halloween Half Marathon, 5K & 10K 2019 (Mr. T)

Minneapolis Halloween 5K (3.15 miles)

Let's not talk about pace this time ...

Good lord.  I just looked back in my blog history to try and figure out how to recap this race.  Doing so has forced me to acknowledge a sad fact: I haven't run in a timed competition since this 5K back in 2017.

Ooof.  Two years ago pretty much to the day.  No wonder why running sucks so much for me right now.  Which reminds me, I should state something before I get too far into this post: I'm not going to bother reporting my time or pace from this race.

Why?  Because I'm not running right now for speed.  I'm running for mental sanity.

In the last two years, I've dialed back my fitness routine WAAAYYY too much, and I've turned into a giant crab as a result.

No, not like the cute kind:

More like the stabby kind:

Yeah.  It hasn't been good.  And although there's other things making me generally crabby (issues at work, the stress of moving houses last year still wearing off, mom life, etc.) ... really, at the end of the day, working out less has contributed to my overall bad attitude quite a bit.

In an attempt to rectify my situation, back in August I decided to register for one of my all time favorite races with my sister.  (Side note, that's a spoiler for a future post).  While that registration did help me get back into a routine some  - I am once again holding myself accountable for 2 body pump classes a week, plus teaching my Tuesday night strength/cardio class, and have done a bit of running - I will fully admit I slacked more on the running part that I ought to have in the last two months.

Instead of faulting myself for not training enough for a casual 5K, I'm going to be positive and say: at least I got back into a fitness routine of some sort.  The rest I'll worry about improving on in the future, ok?!

In the meantime, let's talk costumes, because after all ... this IS a Halloween 5K.

Ok, yep - I skipped any kind of preamble and just spoiled it.

Let's face it.  After years of running races in pretty much any kind of costume imaginable, I've become somewhat unable to top myself.  I mean, think about it.  Here's my list (and this isn't even 100% of what I've actually done):

unicorns (yes, two different kinds as evidence here and here)
skeleton and calevera
flight attendant
mariachi
robot
Hamburgler
Statue of Liberty (with torch)
giant winged butterfly
mermaid
Wonder Woman
two different versions of a ball of flames (this and this)
ninja turtle
a rainbow with a pot of gold

Seriously!  What the hell is left BESIDES Mr. T, right?

I PITY THIS FOOL!

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Race day.

Since I already did (a very uneventful in-store) packet pickup the Thursday prior, my only job on race day was to show up.

Oh - side note, here's what the advertised race swag was:

FYI, that the shirt is actually more of a purple/gray space died tech t.

And being a Halloween fan, I couldn't skip out on the optional (for purchase) socks:

Anyway, on race morning ... since I am woefully OUT of practice on this, I hobbled together some sort of "what's supposed to be normal?!" routine of eating a smallish breakfast and trying to poop.

Yes, I said poop.  This is a runner's recap, you shouldn't be surprised by that.

After a quick coffee and peanut butter toast (my bananas were over ripe and I was afraid to try other "untested" fruits), my partner in crime showed up and we took off.

Following the parking guidance, we ended up on the wrong side of the river for race start.  Based on the course map below, somehow the organizers though having us park near where it says 5K (in black & white) was a good idea ... ???  I don't get that at all, because there are surface lots on the proper side of the river, within 2 blocks of the start line.

Oh well, whatever.  Since the walk from the parking lot (I think it was 5th & Washington) wasn't terrible, and we had plenty of time, I didn't bother moving my car.  And actually, it was an unexpected win, because I was only charged $3 upon exit.  #NOTBAD!

My co-runner in this race had selected the option of having her bib mailed to her pre race, so that meant she needed to do shirt pickup on race morning.  After grabbing her shirt, which was a painless process, we then headed over to bag drop.  That was ... interesting, to say the least.  Leaving your bag in a giant, unmonitored pile, in a public park's race pavilion downtown Minneapolis was a ... concept ... that's for sure.  I still can't believe there was no kind of check in / check out process with the bags, and I wonder how many things got lost or stolen.  So weird.

With all our pre race needs met, we dilly-dallied around for awhile, and even managed to talk some volunteers into letting us take pictures with the official finish tape:

While we killed time waiting to run, both my friend and I remarked how boring this year's costumes seemed to be.  Less than 50% of runners were wearing anything even remotely festive - and once you factored out basic things like tutus and leggings, the amount of actual costumed runners was maybe 25%, if that.

BOO MINNEAPOLIS!  YOU CAN DO BETTER!

Eventually, it was time to line up.  Not going to lie, I had a lot of unnecessary dread building up at this point.  Knowing I was in zero shape to run, I had no idea how this run would go.  My friend and I both kept audibly telling each other that "this is just a 5K", and that it would "be just fine".

Then the announcer said go, and we were off!

Surprisingly, the first mile went better than I anticipated.  Of course, running the two (smallish) hills, didn't help my endurance much, but I was happy to know I could manage.  Even if I was at a fairly conservative pace.

Of course, people watching as we went helped.  A few of the more remarkable costumes we picked out as we plodded along included various versions of Nintendo characters (Mario Kart, Classic Mario & Luigi, Yoshi), the typical Things 1&2, various character onesies or inflatable costumes and so forth.

Being passed by the tight pants guys on the second hill was entertaining:

And somewhere in the mix was a pretty good chicken & The Colonel (he was even carrying a real KFC bucket):

Speaking of carrying accessories, I had to give this duo credit (having run as Lady Liberty more than once, I know carrying something as you run is definitely a commitment):

Around the 1.25-1.35 mile mark or so, my running partner and I slowed for a walk break.  This is where I was disappointed to discover that the 5K course had no water stop.  In fact, after a bit of consideration, I realized there was basically no course support of any kind (aside from police at intersections).  While technically a water stop on a 5K is unnecessary, since I forgot my pre-race routine of a large glass of water, I was a little desperate for a drink. 

Of course, this grated on me a bit.  I mean - I paid $35 to run this thing ... is a water stop too much to ask for?!  LOL!  #BitterOuttaShapeRunner

Trying to bury my unjustified resentment, I redirected my focus.  Time to get moving again.

Prior to the 2 mile mark, it was time to run once more.  Since I was afraid I wouldn't make another continuous mile plus stretch, and didn't want my partner to suffer because of it, I told her to not worry about my pace and just go.  Mostly, we kept up with each other, though I was a bit behind and off to her right.  However, the crowd got in between us enough that I eventually lost visual site of her until after the finish.

No matter, I had other things to look at as I carried on.

Side note - don't you hate the jerks that bid $1 more?!  I do!

The final stretch of this race followed along the Stone Arch Bridge.  Knowing the finish line couldn't be far, I decided to force commit myself to finishing strong and held my (slow) running pace.  Which means I was thrilled to hit the finish being able to say I only took one walk break. Of course, it helped that the announcer called out "And here comes Natalie ... I PITY THE FOOL!!!"

Yes!  At least one person appreciated the joke that was my costume. 

Dang millennials not knowing 80's culture.  Maybe if they got off their dang e-phones and i-kindles, they'd know a thing or two.

Despite the lack of on course amenities for the 5K, at the finish line all was redeemed.  Picking up metals, water and post race snacks was a smooth process, and in fact better than most other races I've been too.  So for that ... OK fine, maybe I'll run this race again some time.  (wink)

But ... since it was the weekend before Halloween ... we didn't stay around much longer after finishing.  With all the other Halloween events in the cities going on, how could we?!

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And ... that's the story of how race bib #84 joined my collection.  Since it's been FAR too long since I've done this ... here's to another race soon!!

Recipe: Delicious Slow Cooker Meal - Easy Vegetarian Coconut Curry

Having just settled into the new house, my husband and I have been entertaining a lot of visitors lately who've been patiently waiting to check out our digs.

BUT ... since we are still working on the final details of unpacking and moving in, and also want to ensure the house is relatively clean and tidy for visitors, there hasn't been a ton of spare time for us to invest in long and drawn out meal preps for said visitors.

Thank goodness it's fall and slow cooked crock pot meals are seasonally appropriate.

This past weekend, I was really in the mood for something curry and slow-release carb friendly (read: diabetic appropriate for my guests).  After googling, I stumbled across this recipe and figured it was worth a shot.

Following the recipe mostly as written, the only substitutions I made were:

     (1) I used regular soy sauce instead of gluten free tamari
            (I didn't want to buy another bottle to clutter up my fridge)

     -and-

     (2) I used 36+ ounces of coconut milk
            (my cans were 12-13 oz each, and I wasn't going to waste the last bit for no reason)

Serving the curry over brown rice, which I prepared on the stove top separately, I found my end dish to be somewhat watery (likely due to my excess coconut milk), and in need of more seasoning.  For the future, to help with the excess liquid and to save myself the need to make a side of rice, I plan to omit the rice all together and just pump the quinoa in the slow cooker WAY up (maybe 1-2 cups into the cooker directly).  I also plan to swap the turmeric for curry powder in order to add more spices into the mix, and will likely double or triple that portion as well.

For those of you must have meat people, this curry would pair perfectly with seared chicken breasts.  After letting the slow cooker go all day, about an hour before serving simply cook a few breasts on your stove top, cut the meat into slices or cubes, and stir into the slow cooker.  This will allow the chicken to absorb some of the flavor prior to serving without it getting over cooked in the coconut milk.

Also - when I made this, I put my slow cooker on high for close to 4 hours and my vegetables were all still mostly raw, despite the original recipe's instructions.  To speed things along, as this was lunch and we didn't have time to spare, I transferred from a slow cooker to a stock pot and simmered on the stove for another 20 minutes or so ... which proves that any slow cooker meal is also stove top friendly in a tighter time frame, so don't be shy to make this directly on your stove top if you don't own a crock pot of some sort.  I'd guess an hour simmering on the stove top, omitting slow cookers entirely, should suffice.

Anyway, since the original recipe as is was still quite good - below is the recipe as I prepared it, without the modifications noted above.

Enjoy!


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Easy Vegetarian Coconut Curry

Ingredients

• 1 medium-large white onion, diced
• 1 medium-large sweet potato, scrubbed clean and diced
• 1 large head of broccoli, cut into bite sized florets 
• 15 oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons tamari (or regular soy sauce)
• 2 teaspoons salt (or omit salt and add extra soy sauce)
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 cans, 12-13 oz (+/-) each, coconut milk (or 30 oz if you can find it)
• 1 cup water
• optional: cooked rice for serving curry over, chopped parsley garnish

Directions

Spray interior of slow cooker with non stick olive oil spray.

Place diced onion and sweet potato on bottom of bowl.  Top with broccoli florets, drained beans, and uncooked (dry) quinoa.  Layer in garlic, ginger, turmeric, tamari (soy sauce) and salt.  Pour in entire can of diced tomatoes, including juices.  Top with coconut milk and water.

Place lid on slow cooker and turn on heat.  High setting will take 4-6 hours, low setting will take 8+.

Makes a very large dish.  Will feed 6-8 hungry adults, likely with leftovers to spare.

The Year of No Runs

You may have noticed a severe lack of something on this blog for 2018.  An elephant in the room of sorts.

It's true.   I have yet to run a race in 2018.  

In fact, I've barely even run at all in 2018.  

Honestly, a part of me is sad for this.  But an even bigger part of me is somewhat relieved.  Between the move this spring/summer, having an active toddler, working full time, teaching part time, and wanting some personal free time for myself ... well, in a nut shell ... after having a baby, I came to realize it's OK sometimes to be lazy in the name of personal sanity.

So cheers to personal sanity in 2018.  

And to a slightly fatter bank account (which I very promptly spent on furnishing my new home instead).  

And to a more than slightly fatter waist line (which I'm not going to guilt myself over, for right now).

Here's to a possible race in the future ... but for now, no pressure or expectations on when that will be.