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).

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!

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!


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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!

Waconia Nickle Dickle 10K/5K/Half Mile Tickle 2016 (Badger Pride)

 

 

Waconia Nickle Dickle 10K/5K/Half Mile Tickle (3.15 miles)

38:12

Average Pace 12:18/mile

Disclaimer: As I said in my previous post, I am incredibly behind in race recaps right now.  So ... that means I will probably forget many major details on these next few recaps and just end up glossing through them.  Sorry! 


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Waconia's Nickle Dickle has been on my radar for several years.  Being the fall festival of a neighboring community, I've always thought to myself "I should really go to that".  But, for whatever reason, every year I've ended up with a conflict. 

Imagine my surprise, then, when I happened to hear Nickle Dickle was on September 17th in 2016, and ... I was free to attend!

How that happened, I don't know.  But so be it! 

Not wanting to be outdone anymore, apparently my husband decided he wanted to join in, too.  So on race morning, away the three of us went to Waconia to run the 5K!


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Upon arriving to race check in, I could tell that this race has been a well oiled machine for some time.  Not only was check in incredibly well organized AND staffed, I was fully impressed to discover after receiving my bib that the race was chipped timed ... via our bibs.  No chip to wear around my ankle or tie to my shoe?!  Score!

The high level of organization surprised me quite a bit, as trying to find registration information for this race online was ... seedy, at best.  Even as I type this blog, there are still several links out on Google that reference the Nickle Dickle race and community festivities, many of which link to old sites (IE the 2014 race page, etc).  Hopefully the race organizers can work to improve that issue for future races.

Regardless, despite the confusion online about where to access race day information, everything else leading up to race day was exceptional - email information regarding pre-race process, check in, etc.  I was even pleasantly surprised at how friendly the staff was when I checked in.  Even more so when you consider it was a Badger game day, so I was wearing Wisconsin gear ... at a race taking place in Minnesota ... which was being staffed by U of M and Iowa alumni. 

Of course, they couldn't let me leave check-in without a few friendly barbs.  I think the exact quote from the Iowa guy was "Maybe you should just take this bib here and ... uh ... pin it over that badger, no?  Might make the shirt look a little better."

Haha - well played.

Since check in went so smoothly, I ended up with a bit of time to kill pre-race.  Luckily, a regular student of mine from the gym ran into me (who recently had a baby herself), so we compared baby notes and such until just before gun time.  I'm sure that was a little boring for my husband, but whatever - he and I had an entire 5K together to come, so ...

About 5-10 minutes pre gun, my friend and I ended up parting ways in order for both of us to make a few last minute preparations.  And at roughly the same time, the 10K runners lined up, the national anthem was played, and then the 10K runners had their gun.

After that first crowd of runners and spectators cleared out, since the 10K was on their way, my husband and I moseyed over to the start line in preparation for the 5K group.  Unfortunately though, my husband was a bit insistent about us staying to the back (since we had the stroller).  That meant that when it was finally our gun time, we spent the first few minutes either waiting for the crowd to thin out or being stuck behind various walkers.  Arg.

Fortunately, the good news was that the first stretch of the race was on a city street with the entire street blocked off to traffic, so we had lots of space to work around the inevitable groups who insisted on walking 5 wide, etc. And finally, at about a quarter of a mile in, we settled into our rhythm.  We even found a fellow stroller runner keeping a similar pace that we could tuck behind.  Convenient for us, but maybe not so loved by a few teenaged kids who passed us by, saying under their breath "What is this?  A frickin' stroller parade?"

Haha!

While we were being snarked at for our strollers, the race course took us down hill and into a park.  When there, we merged onto a walking trail.  At this point, I happened to also overhear a woman slightly ahead of me talking about this transition.  She said something to her running partner about how the course didn't go this way last year, that she didn't like the new course thus far, and that she thought the transition onto the park trail was weird (which I had to agree with, as we went from having the entire width of a city street down to a trail barely wide enough to accommodate 2-3 runners wide, so there was a giant bottle neck at this point in the race).  After hearing her comment, I began to wonder if they would follow the same route again in 2017 based on this issue.  I guess time will tell.

 

 

Our goal for the day, as you can see in the above pace chart, was to run at least 1 mile continuous, and then see how the rest of the run went.  That meant that at the 1 mile mark, we took a well earned walk break and then took off again. 

The announcer pre-gun had made us a little nervous talking about the "big hills" on course, so after the first mile we set a conservative pace goal.  Originally we were shooting for another half or full mile continuous run ... until we hit the water stop.  LOL - figures.  Overall, the second mile was mostly a continuous run, with a couple of minor breaks/water stops included.

By the time we hit mile three, though, as you can see above ... well, I had pretty much had it.  First of all, my endurance right now is almost nothing.  Second, the course at that point had fed into an active road where we were to run in the shoulder, with little more than a white stripe insulating us from traffic.  Third, we finally hit the "big hill" the announcer mentioned pre-race.  When those three points intersected I kind of went "F IT!" and just decided to walk.

I think my husband was secretly disappointed that I checked out, since the rest of our run had gone surprisingly well. But sometimes your brain just wins, and that was one of those days.  At least all was not lost though, because when we finally leveled back out to a flat course, we took off for one last run around the block ... and then there it was - the finish line!

Thankfully, we made it through another family race - hooray! 

After clearing the finish line, we buzzed over to the treat table where there were bananas, bags of pretzels, bottles of water, and my husband's favorite find - mini nut rolls.  After enjoying a brief moment of rest and a quick snack, we headed back to the car ... and then as fast as we could we cleaned up at home so I could go get a NEW car.

 

 

**Footnote: many thanks to the race photographers who provided the above photos free of charge.  Also, if you are wondering what the shirt was for this race, just check out any people above wearing a white performance shirt with the race logo on it.


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And that's the story of how race bib #75 joined my collection.  Here's to another race soon ... which is technically the last of 3 race recaps I'm past due on.  I'm trying to get caught up, I promise!!

Lake Run 5K 2016 (Racing Cars)

Lake Run 5K (3.15 miles)

35:44

Average Pace 11:20/mile

Disclaimer: I am incredibly behind in race recaps right now, and this one is already 2+ weeks overdue.  So ... that means I will probably forget many major details on these next few recaps and just end up glossing through them.  Sorry! 


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The year 2016 marks my 6th year competing in the Shell Lake "Lake Run" 5K.  My history with this race started back in 2011 (when I placed first in my age category), continued on in 2012, and then began being featured on this blog with reports in 2013, 2014, and 2015. 

And - FUN FACT: if you revisit my 2015 post, you may see a hint of me saying I was pregnant at this race and knew it ... without officially saying I was pregnant.  If you've ever experienced morning sickness, go back and re-read that blog - you'll know what I'm talking about.  Officially, though, I didn't announce my pregnancy until some weeks later.  Sneaky, right?

Ooof.  I DO NOT miss morning sickness. 

Anyway. 

Well now that I think of it - this was officially my first race after I found out I was for sure pregnant.  So I guess it seems appropriate that it was my first race as a full family unit, too, huh?

 

Hooray for a family of runners!  :-)

Oh ... and sorry to my little boy for the face full of sun in that selfie.  HA!  I guess you can see from the photo, then, that on a pleasantly cool and sunny morning the THREE of us packed up from the cabin and took off to Shell Lake's coffee hot spot - The Potter's Shed - to prepare for our first ever family 5K race. 

Since this race is on the smaller side, check in for pre-registered runners is fairly fast and efficient.  Within in a few minutes of arriving, I had my husband and my swag and bibs set to go.

Hm ... wait a minute.  After pinning on our bibs, it dawned on me that this race allows free registration for children and I didn't pick up my son's bib.  Back to the check in table.

Since children are free, it took a little bit of checking to find Quinn's bib (as he didn't have an accompanying "swag bag").  Eventually we realized his bib was in a "kids only" pile, with a note attached stating a kid's shirt is $10 if desired. 

I joked with the woman at check in that unless they had onesies, I wasn't interested, pointing at my husband and the stroller in the distance.  Seeing what I meant, she chuckled and handed me the bib.

Then, with just a little bit more work, we were finally all bibbed up and ready to go.


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Now, as I have mentioned the last few years I've recapped this race, this hasn't been my favorite 5K in the past.  But, being that I had some new company on course to help me celebrate the day ... my attitude regarding this year's run changed a little.  Even lining up in the scatter-goose crowd pre gun was tolerable (this race is typically challenged with walkers lining up towards the front line, ahead of many runners).

And for as long as I can remember at this race - so I guess you can say as per "the usual" - the race has been pre-gamed with a local musician preforming the national anthem.  This year it was a young girl playing solo - impressive!  When she finished the song, with hardly a pause after her completion, the gun was fired and we were off!

Away we go!


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As I've said before, the course for this race is pretty basic: a flat out and back that follows along the road that services those who live on the lake.  My husband, having heard me talk about not loving this course in years past, started goading me as soon as we rounded the first bend and turned towards a view of the lake. 

Him: "What are you talking about?!  This is a nice course - look!  We will be able to see the lake for the whole run!"

Me: "Yeah, that slice right there is the only view you're going to get of the lake, and we're barely a quarter of a mile in, so you better enjoy it.  Once we merge on to that road up there, all you'll see is lake cabins."

Him: " ... oh ... "

 

 

Hahaha.  I say this, but in the end it doesn't really matter.  I run this race for the workout.  The view isn't really a deal breaker.  And on the plus side, many of the people who own cabins along the course sit out and cheer for the runners, so that makes things a little more fun too.

Well, the cheering ... and listening to the conversations happening via the runners around you helps pass the time, too.


6 year old girl to dad: "We're going to have to run faster to win!"
Dad: "It doesn't matter if we win.  Let's just focus on running and staying out of traffic."
**Car drives by in opposite shoulder**
Girl: "I bet I know who's going to win - that car!"
Me: holding back snickers and giving my husband the side eye


Since this was my husband's first 5K race in ages and he hadn't been training (I began running over 5-6 years ago, and he only joined me at one race way back then), we decided to approach this run using the 2/1 interval I've mentioned in my last few race recaps.  Running for 2 minutes followed by walking for recovery 1 minute has served me well in my current undertrained state, so it seemed like a no brainer that he'd be able to maintain that as well - especially since I was taking on the "handicap" of pushing the running stroller.  Sure enough, it did!

Secretly, as we ran, I also wondered if my husband has been closet training.  I was sucking air trying to keep pace with him while he was smoking down the road.  LOL! 

I suppose it helps that he's 6'2", while I'm 5'8" and stuck with a stroller.

Before I knew it, we were already at the turn around point and water stop!  Time to head on back!

Feeling tired and undertrained, the second half of the run became more of a personal challenge to myself to (1) finish - obviously and (2) not let my husband upstage me in running.  As you can tell, I'm a tad competitive for totally unnecessary reasons.  But whatever, my childish ways served me well at this race, since it gave me the motivation I needed to finish out the run.  Especially when we were within 1/10 of a mile from the finish line, with people gaining on our heels.  Not wanting to be beat to the finish by anyone else I just said "LET'S PUSH" to my husband and took off.

Bing-bang-boom.  The three of us crossed the finish line and that was that.

I'm still trying to figure out, though, how my son finished a good 30+ seconds ahead of me ... when I was pushing the stroller he was in. 

That's a real head scratcher that he was apparently quite excited about.

If you look at the official race results some time you will see what I mean.  And in case you're wondering, yes - I took his official results for the time noted at the top of this recap.  I was pushing him after all.

Back on topic.

Keeping my competitive side sharp, despite finishing well towards the back of the pack, I insisted on hanging around at the finish line post race.  Much to my husband's dismay, I wanted to see age grade awards distributed.  Thankfully, there were bananas and bagels to help fill his mouth (as opposed to filling his mouth with protesting) ... though nothing provided post race helped cover his eye rolls at me when the awards ceremony started a predictable 30 minutes later than promised.  Oh well.

Unfortunately, staying late for the 5K awards bit us - we had wanted to try and hit up the pancake breakfast at the local airport post race, but it was PACKED by the time we got there at about 9:45-10ish.  Rather than spend another 1-2 hours out, we decided to bag it and just head home to let our little boy nap and model our new race t's instead.

 

 

And that's the story of how race bib #74 joined my collection.  Here's to another race soon ... which is technically already 2 races past due.  I'm trying to get caught up, I promise!!

Calorie Free ... Peanut Butter?!

It's just one of those things you see at the store and go ... hm.