Tag Archives: race

Race Recap: Brainerd Homecoming 10K

7 Oct

Last Saturday, I ran the Brainerd Homecoming 10K. I would’ve loved to run a half marathon this fall but I just wouldn’t have been properly trained in time. So a 10K it was.

My training for this race consisted of running 2-3 times a week. I ran my long runs on Saturdays, which were 4, 4.5 and 5 miles the month before the race. I had planned to run 5.5 miles a week before the race, but life happened and the run didn’t. I ran with two of my running buddies almost every Thursday morning at 6 am (in the dark!) and we did around 3 miles each time. With walking breaks, we averaged about 11:30 minute miles. I also ran with Annabelle in the stroller a few times, though I prefer waking up early to go alone.

So I felt like I was decently prepared going into this race. My 10K PR was set all the way back in 2008 when I was a young whipper-snapper. I ran the 10K as part of a marathon relay and finished in 62:36. I didn’t think I could even get close to that, so my goal going in to the race was mainly to have fun! Running 11 minute miles would be realistic. Running 10:30 miles would be great.

It was a small race so we were able to park just across the street from packet pickup and the race start. We got there around 7:45 and the race started at 8:15. At 37 degrees, it was a little chilly for spectators but nice for running. I registered on race day because I was still waffling about doing the race that morning. After I got my bib and used the indoor restroom, I ate a Gu and talked to a friend who was doing the 5k and then went to line up. There were maybe 30 people doing the 10K. I got my Garmin and iPod ready, they counted down (it was timed using gun time), and we were off!

About 50 steps in, my iPod died. Seriously?!?! I had checked it the night before and it showed 75% battery. I should’ve known to not trust it. Well, then, enjoying nature it was. I chatted with a lady for the first .5 mile or so, but then she stopped to take a walking break and I continued on. I fell into a pace that felt relaxed but slightly challenging, if that makes any sense. I could tell I was pushing myself a little, but it felt doable.

The first mile was on a bike trail. Then we were on a dirt trail for about .5 mile until we met back up with the bike trail. We made a loop so that a little before Mile 2, we ran past the park we had started at, which worked well for me because I got to see my cheering squad and hand off my useless iPod.

Mile 1: 10:38

There was an aid station right at Mile 2 and then a long, gradual hill. A doozy! I walked through the aid station to get a drink and ran a conservative pace up the hill.

Mile 2: 10:32

From that point on, we were either on city sidewalks or paved bike trails. We ran through downtown past the high school, library, city hall, and then we were in a more residential neighborhood. We made another big loop so that we hit the same aid station again right before Mile 5 — and the same long, gradual hill. We followed the same route as the first time for about .75 mile and took a left to end up on the football field.

Mile 3: 10:24

race course

In my training runs, I had hit my stride around mile 3.5. This race, I hit it more around mile 5. Even though I felt mostly strong the whole race, if I hadn’t been encouraged by seeing my average pace decrease each mile, my motivation to keep pushing myself probably would’ve started waning around mile 4.

Mile 4: 10:06

Right before we reached the aid station the second time, I ate a Gu so that I could get a cup of water to wash it down. I gulped the water and started running again. The hill definitely felt more difficult the second time through! But I kept pushing it and was actually gaining on the runner in front of me. The last mile, I passed 3 women who I had been keeping pace with for the whole race. I felt great!

Mile 5: 10:18

As my watch beeped for Mile 6, I looked at my mile pace: 9:33! I was completely stoked. I cruised the last .2 miles and crossed the finish line at 63:02 – only 26 seconds off of my PR from 7.5 years (and 2 babies) ago.

Mile 6: 9:33

Last .2: 1:31 (8:28 pace)

Final Time: 1:03:02

Running a good race is such an awesome high!

Because it was such a small race, I wanted to check my results before leaving just in case I qualified for an age group award. And I did! I got 3rd in my age group (out of 3 – ha!). I was 13/18 in females and 21/27 overall. But hey, a medal is a medal. 🙂
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I really enjoyed this race. It was a nice course, well organized, affordable, they had lots of volunteers, the t-shirts were cute, and the finish line food was a nice variety (bananas, granola bars, fruit snacks, cookies and water). I would do it again!

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Race Recap: Northwoods Triathlon

12 Aug

On Friday before the race, we packed and headed up to Nevis in time for packet pickup and the spaghetti dinner benefiting the Nevis football team. My parents met us there. Packet pickup wasn’t busy at all so it only took me about 5 minutes to get my bib, t-shirt and swim cap (no bike numbers at this little race!). This race is capped at 250 participants, so it’s a nice size – and it sells out FAST every year!

After dinner, we headed back to Travis’ parents’ house. Ironically, his parents were down at my parents’ house in Rochester because Al had had heart surgery that day at the Mayo Clinic. (He’s doing decently well, if you’re wondering.) I put Annabelle to bed and we watched Jim Gaffigan’s Mr. Universe standup on Netflix while Emma bounced off the walls. She was hard to get to sleep that night, and Annabelle woke up a few times because she was too hot and had to burp. Every time I got up to tend to Annabelle, Emma got wound back up. Finally, Emma crashed around 11:15 and we moved Annabelle downstairs to where it was cooler.

I slept decently well for a pre-race night. I woke up to thunderstorms sometime in the very early a.m. and was more worried that the thunder would wake Emma or Annabelle up than I was about doing a race the next morning.

PRE-RACE

Finally, it was 5 a.m. and time to get up. I nursed Annabelle a bit longer than I had planned – until 5:45 – and put her back down. I quickly showered and changed into my tri shorts. I decided to wait until right before the race to put my tri top and sports bras on, because I planned to nurse Annabelle again around 7. Nursing definitely presents a unique challenge for race day!

I ate a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, made a cup of coffee, and Travis, Annabelle and I took off for the transition area around 6:30. My parents planned to wake Emma up around 7.

We easily found a parking spot and walked the 2 blocks to transition. I set my bike up near my friend Emily’s and we chatted for a bit while I set my stuff up. I went to get body marked (they just did bib number on both right arm and right leg – no age group), which only took about 3 minutes.

By then, it was about 7 so we made our way back to the car so I could nurse Annabelle before the pre-race meeting at 7:45. She must’ve been completely full though, because she wanted nothing to do with nursing. So I just put on my Body Glide, sports bras, and tri top and we headed back to transition around 7:30.

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After the pre-race meeting, I made my way down to the beach and got used to the water. I swam around a bit and then the first wave was off. I was in the fourth wave – women 34 and under. The waves were 3 minutes apart. The leaders from the first wave started coming out of the water. Finally, the purple caps were up!

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SWIM

I was a little nervous as the director counted down our group, but once he said “Go!” and we all started swimming, I willed myself to settle down and “race my own race.” I kept my sight on the buoys, which actually didn’t seem that far away since the swim was only 400 meters, and focused on breathing deeply and evenly. There were a handful of purple caps swimming around me – several of us were doing the breaststroke. The only somewhat eventful things that happened during the swim were that I swallowed a mouthful of water once (but didn’t panic!) and I told an older gentleman who was doing the backstroke that he was going off course.

Finally the swim was over! I stood up when the water was below my waist, and walked up the beach and giant hill to transition.

OFFICIAL SWIM TIME: 10:53

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T1

There was a kiddie pool to use for rinsing your feet off, but I had brought my own wash basin to use. I rinsed my feet off and tried to towel my legs and feet off, but I was dripping water so it didn’t really help. The second sports bra I wore isn’t one that I’ve worn during a race before – I usually only wear one for triathlons, to minimize the amount of fabric getting wet. But since I’m nursing, I knew I would be a lot more comfortable on the run if I wore two. And I was, but that bra definitely held a decent amount of water! I had to wring it out on the bike, and my shoes and socks were soaked by the time I started the run. I was worried about blisters, but it didn’t seem to matter.

Anyway, after toweling off a bit unsuccessfully, I put on my socks, shoes, sunglasses (in case of bugs, not sun), and helmet, grabbed my bike, and away I went.

OFFICIAL T1 TIME: 2:43

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BIKE

The bike course was a loop, starting out going west from Nevis, then north, east and back south. The first half was rolling hills. I played leap frog with a few people. Whenever I passed someone going up a hill, I thought, “Either I’m in better bike shape than I thought I was, or I’m being an idiot and these people are being conservative and saving themselves for the run.”

By about mile 7, I was thinking that maybe the right answer was the latter. My legs were starting to feel tired. Lucky for me, the last 5 or so miles were mostly flat. Other than my butt hurting for the last 4-5 miles, feeling like I had to pee, and the wind picking up a bit, the bike was very enjoyable. The sky was overcast, the scenery was pretty (farmland, trees, lakes and rolling hills), and the volunteers were helpful.

We climbed one last hill coming into Nevis and then it was back in to transition!

OFFICIAL TIME: 52:24 (16.3 MPH)

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T2

I had toyed with the idea of parking my bike near the portapotties and making a quick pit stop, but by the time I got to transition, the urge had passed. So I re-racked my bike in the correct spot, took off my helmet and sunglasses, grabbed a Gu and headed out on the run.

OFFICIAL T2 TIME: 1:08

RUN

After being on the bike, it always feels like I’m running at a snail’s pace, even though I’m usually not. So my strategy for the run was to just find a comfortable pace and keep running. Maybe I was running slow, maybe I wasn’t. I wasn’t going to worry about speed.

A little after Mile 1, I started feeling a little sick to my stomach so I started eating the Espresso-flavored Gu I had grabbed. I ate about 2/3 of it by the time I reached the water stop at the turnaround. I grabbed a cup of water and walked until I drank it all. I discarded the cup and my Gu, and started running again. The sick feeling had gone away and I was feeling good.

By Mile 2, I started getting goosebumps from the pure joy and excitement of being out there and having the race go so well. I guess you can call that the triathlete’s high! The finish line was in sight, but I felt like I could’ve kept running.

I picked up speed for the last .1 mile where all the spectators were standing, and finished strong.

OFFICIAL RUN TIME: 31:58 (10:19/mile)

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OFFICIAL RACE TIME: 1:39:05

Considering my A Goal was 1:41, I have to say, Booyah!

It’s an awesome experience to have the stars align for a race. You go out and crush your goal, AND have fun doing it. Doesn’t get much better than that.

I saw my dad, mom, Travis and Emma as I was coming in to the finish line, so after I returned my chip and grabbed some food and Gatorade, I went and found them. We chatted for a while and then our friends Brenda and Jake arrived via bike with their 2 kiddos. They had tried to time it to see me finish but I was too speedy! Haha. It was fun seeing them anyway.

We tried to grab lunch in Nevis, but only 1 of the town’s 4 restaurants were open, and it was packed. So we decided to meet at Zorbaz in an hour, giving Brenda and Jake time to bike back to their car, and me time to go back to the house for a shower and nursing session.

My parents headed back to their cabin instead of coming out to lunch, so it was just us 4 adults and the 4 kiddos. Travis and I had been wanting to go out to eat with Brenda and Jake sometime, so it was fun to get to do it. Brenda is one of my awesome running buddies!

After lunch, we grabbed our stuff and the dogs from Travis’ parents’ house and headed back to Brainerd. I nursed Annabelle and unpacked only to repack for a somewhat impromptu trip to Rochester by way of St. Cloud. We stopped by Fleet Farm for Travis to buy some fishing tackle and then were on our way down to St. Cloud by about 5 pm.

We met up with our friends Eric and Holly at a park in Sauk Rapids. Eric and Travis went fishing in the river while Holly, her 2 girls, my 2 girls, and I played at the park. After an hour, we ladies ate dinner at Noodles and headed over to Holly’s house, where we put the babies down for the night and the older girls played way past their bedtimes. The guys didn’t get back from fishing until 10! Unfortunately, they didn’t catch a single fish. We finally got on the road to Rochester – a 3.5 hour drive – at 10:30. Oy. It would be a late night after a very long day.

The drive was kind of dicey (due to us being so tired) but we made it to Rochester a little after 1 a.m. Thankfully, Emma went right back to sleep after we brought her in, and Annabelle nursed and went right down too. I crawled into bed around 1:45.

The next morning, Annabelle woke up to nurse at 7 and Emma woke up at 8. We had coffee and breakfast and then headed over to the hospital to see Travis’ dad. The girls and I stayed until around 1:30 and then headed back to my parents’ house for naps. After tag-teaming the girls, I finally got a short nap in myself. Glorious. Emma woke up from her nap around 6, I nursed Annabelle, we ate dinner, headed back to the hospital for an hour and then called it a night.

Monday, Travis had to work in the morning so my mom and I took Emma to a park in town while Annabelle took a 2.5-hour nap at home (Travis manned the baby monitor). It was fun – and so much easier to be at the park sans baby! We ate lunch back at the house and then went to visit Al for a bit. After packing up our stuff and the dogs at the house, we ate dinner at Panera with my parents and headed back up to Brainerd, getting back to our house around 10.

Whew! We have been here, there and everywhere for the past month and a half. Poor Annabelle, you can tell she’s ready to not be in her carseat so much. I’m hoping to be a homebody for a while now. Well, maybe.

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Training Update: Northwoods Triathlon

6 Aug
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From back in the day (2009)

Well, it’s finally here. The sprint triathlon I registered for back in January is this coming Saturday – only 2 days away! I posted about my training plan a while back… and haven’t mentioned anything about it since. So here’s the down-to-the-wire update:

Long story short: I didn’t train as much as I had planned or wanted to, but I feel ready enough to give it a go.

Short story long:

Swimming

I failed miserably at going to the pool to swim (I went 4 times all year). I just couldn’t often find the 1.5 hours it took to drive to the pool, swim, change and drive back. BUT being as I live in northern Minnesota and am literally surrounded by lakes, I did swim in open water 4 times. They weren’t long swims (probably 400-800 meters each) but they served their purpose: strengthening my mental poise. The swim in this triathlon is only 400 meters, so the biggest hurdle for me will be mental. My natural instinct in open water is PANIC because I can’t touch the bottom, or worse – the seaweed might touch me. One of the open water swims I did was in the lake I’ll be swimming in for the race, so that helped even more.

Biking

After discovering that the beach we usually go to is only 6 miles away and that there’s a back way with less traffic, I biked to and from the beach a couple of times, for a total of 12 miles each. Those were my longest rides. Similar to my excuses for not swimming more often, I found it hard to carve out more than an hour for a workout. Also, biking and swimming both require additional things to make them happen – a bike and water respectively. July was a crazy month for us – we were out of town or had out of town guests for all but a week. So I’m not as strong on the bike as I would like to be, but it is what it is. At least I have been biking a fair amount of hills so I’ll be ready for those!

Running

Ah, running. My favorite because it’s just so convenient. You can pack everything you need in a duffel bag and use it practically anywhere. I was definitely the most consistent with running out of the three. I went on a handful of runs with Annabelle on Emma’s daycare days, went on at least a handful of runs with friends (at the crack of dawn no less), and ran by myself a few times. I mostly ran 2-3 miles at a time, but I did run 4 once. Also, after my longer bike rides, I ran up and down our driveway just to get used to the feeling of running on bike legs. (I liken it to the feeling of trying to jump on the ground after you get off a trampoline – you feel like you can’t even jump a centimeter.)

With training behind me, it’s on to race day preparation and goals. I feel about this race like I felt about having a second child – I feel confident because I’ve done it before, but that feeling of confidence can lead me to forgetting the basics, like needing to buy diapers or bring my bike to the race. I’m mostly worried about forgetting the small things – like my race belt (that old chestnut) or tape to use for attaching shotbloks to my bike.

So the other night while I was waiting for Emma to fall asleep, I mentally rehearsed the race and my transitions. Back when I first started doing triathlons pre-kids, I actually practiced my transitions. Now, I’ll have to settle for my imagination. It definitely helps anyway though! I remembered that I want to bring 2 big towels – for putting my stuff on in the transition area and to wrap up in until my wave starts – and 1 little – for drying off my legs after the swim (I hate having water drip down into my socks). Oh and a wash basin to rinse my feet. Races usually provide those, but your feet still get stuff on them between the tub and your bike.

I also realized that oh yeah, there will probably be packet pickup the day before the race (they do have it race morning too though). Oh and I’ll have to get body marked. What if my sunscreen causes the body markings to smudge like that one time? Are they going to have swim waves because the website doesn’t say anything about that. But I can’t imagine them having 250 swimmers start all at once. Though that is how Ironman does it, right?

You see that I have some race day jitters. Never mind that I’ve done 5 sprints and 1 Oly, or that I worked for a triathlon company for a year and have worked over 20 triathlons. Race day is both exciting and nerve-racking… and that’s what I love about it!

So my goals. I swore up and down that I just wanted to finish and who cares about my time. But I can’t help it. Nevertheless, I am leaving my watch and bike odometer at home so that I can’t worry about speed or time while out on the course. Out there, I am just going to focus on keeping an even pace, enjoying myself and cheering others on.

But after the race, I can dissect my times. 🙂 This race is a 400m swim, 14 mile bike and 5k run. I’m hoping to do the swim in 12-15 minutes, the bike in 50-60 minutes, and the run in 35-40 minutes. Add in 3 minutes for T1 (there’s a GIANT hill between the beach and transition area) and 1:30 for T2 and that puts me at 1:41:30 and 1:59:30. I realize that’s a big range but I really have no idea how the race is going to go. Even my previous times (from back in 2009 or 2010!) don’t really help because I was in WAY better shape back then. So we’ll just have to wait and see!

I do know, though, that for me, being obsessed with my speed or time for an entire race takes all the fun out of it. So similar to when I ran my full marathon and did my Oly tri, my main goal is HAVE FUN and remember why I love endurance sports in the first place.

Wish me luck! I’ll be back in a few days with a race recap!

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Race Recap: Hot Chocolate 15K

23 Apr

We drove down to the Cities from Nevis on Friday morning. Emma and I hung out at Aunt Cheryl’s house (where we were spending the night) until about Emma’s naptime and then we drove the 30 minutes or so to packet pickup. When Emma had had a decent nap, I put her in the stroller and off we went. The packet pickup was well organized and we were in and out in 10 minutes. I got suckered into buying some Real Time Pain Relief lotion since my knees had been bothering me so much.

It was windy and cold so we just got in the car and headed back to Blaine. I returned a shirt to Kohl’s and then we picked up Noodles & Co. for dinner. I got mac & cheese with chicken so that I could share with Emma. Travis’ aunt and uncle came over for dinner, which was fun. It took forever to get Emma down for the night without her screaming at the top of her lungs, but once I finally did, she slept well. So I got a decent amount of sleep before the race.

The next morning, we made coffee, fed Emma breakfast, packed up all our stuff (which was a lot!), and headed to Bruegger’s near the race. We had actually wanted to go to Panera, but apparently that’s no longer there… I ate my egg and cheese on honey wheat on our drive to the parking garage. We pre-paid to get into the closest lot, which ended up being a great idea. We just handed over our parking pass and were in. I assembled my running playlist as Travis ate his breakfast sandwich and then we put Emma in the stroller and walked to the start line about 5 blocks away.

It was WINDY! Aye. I decided to wear my light windbreaker over my long-sleeve shirt, which meant relocating my bib.

20140419_083726I had used the restroom at Bruegger’s but the race had TONS of portajohns so that would’nt have been necessary. I found a spot in Corral I (11:00+ pace) and within about 5 minutes, I waved to Travis and we were off.

20140419_084537 (Large)My adorable cheering squad

Right off the bat, I could tell that I was running faster than I had during training (11:30/mile), and even faster than my “goal” (11:00/mile) but my legs felt strong and the pace actually felt pretty easy. So I went with it, even though I wasn’t entirely sure that was the best idea. I’d find out!

Mile 1 – 10:05

Mile 2 – 9:58

Mile 3 – 10:32

The wind was gusting 25 mph at times, which made me glad that I had worn my windbreaker.  We had to run across and under a number of bridges, which meant the course included a decent amount of hills. Surprisingly, I was able to muscle through the wind and all hills except one doozy, and I still felt good! This course was especially fun for me to run because we were on trails that I ran almost all the time in college. So it was a run down memory lane in addition to a race. 😉

Mile 4 – 10:25

Mile 5 – 10:35

Mile 6 – 10:30

Around Mile 6, I felt the beginnings of a blister forming on my left foot, on the bottom of my foot between my big toe and the toe next to it. I tried to not run differently because of it, but the tightness in my ankle later that day revealed that I didn’t do a great job of that.

I was hoping that there would be gels out on the course, but there was only Gatorade and water at each aid station. I ended up drinking a cup of Gatorade at the halfway point, and at the finish – which was also a gamble because Gatorade has upset my stomach in the past, but I guess I felt the risk was worth it. (It ended up being fine!)

I don’t think my uncertainty about running the full distance went away until I was around Mile 7. But once I passed that mile marker, I knew I had it in the bag – and could even turn it up a notch!

hotchocolatepicMile 7 – 11:01

Mile 8 – 10:25

Mile 9 – 10:50

The last 0.5 – 4:30 

The last miles ticked away and finally it was the home stretch! I finished strong, and saw Travis and Emma right before I crossed the finish line. My final (official) time was 1:39:15, a 10:39/mile pace. I was 144/211 in my age group and 926/1356 overall. I am so pumped about my performance, and could not imagine the race going better.

20140419_105133 (Large)I found Travis and Emma after grabbing a water and then we moseyed on over to the post-race meal tent to get my mug full ‘o chocolate. I didn’t get a picture of it because I was too busy eating it, but this is what it looked like:

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It didn’t include apples, but it was delicious. The chocolate fondue was amazing. I almost lost my banana in it, and ended up getting the chocolate all over my fingers. Totally worth it.

20140419_105118 (Large)Emma had been awake for a long time, and was very ready for a nap, so we headed back to the car. We tried to get subs from Erbert’s & Gerbert’s for lunch but the location on Washington is gone! So we settled for Chipotle. And since we were in the neighborhood, we popped by to see some old friends after lunch. Emma did really well for being so tired. After that, we headed down to Rochester for Easter fun (separate post coming soon)!

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Here Goes Nothing

17 Apr

I’m running my first postpartum long-distance race on Saturday – the Hot Chocolate 15K in Minneapolis. I haven’t talked about my training on the blog much, because well, there hasn’t been a ton to talk about. Pre-baby, I did 95% of the workouts on my training plan. Post-baby, I’ve done maybe 60%.

Which may or may not turn out to be a really bad idea. My weekly long run was the one I did consistently – I only missed one, and that was the weekend we were moving. I ended up adjusting the remaining long runs slightly, to account for that (so that my distance didn’t jump up too much in one week). The training plan I’m following (Hal Higdon’s Novice 15K) had my longest run before the race being 8 miles, and I felt comfortable doing only 7.5.

Since I haven’t talked about my training, and my training has been interesting since moving to rural Minnesota, here are what my 3 longest long runs looked like:

3 Weeks Pre-Race

6 Miles, 1:09:22, 11:34 per mile

Nevis, MN

I know my way around Nevis enough to be confident that I wouldn’t get lost (and the town isn’t that big) so I parked at the Catholic church and took off running. I decided to not look at my Garmin until my playlist ended (around 30 minutes). At that point, I had covered 2.7 miles. So I did a few more loops, aiming to hit at least 5.5 miles – and well, 5 miles would be fine too. Well, I underestimated how long the loop would be so I ended up doing a full 6 miles.

nevisrunThat elevation map looks crazy but if you look at the elevation, it’s only varying 50 ft. Ha.

2 Weeks Pre-Race

6.5 Miles, 1:15:28, 11:37 per mile

Park Rapids, MN

I pretty much saw all there was to see (some of it twice!) in Nevis, so for this long run, I headed to the neighboring town of Park Rapids and ran while my mother-in-law got her hair done. This was the first time I had mapped out a route on MapMyRun ahead of time, and then looked it up on my phone to follow it. It actually worked really well, and I would do it again, though I do recommend not making your route such a crazy loop! I didn’t get to enjoy my surroundings as much with this run, since I was constantly looking at my phone trying to figure out where I needed to turn. I also ended up getting a stomachache toward the end, so I cut my run short by 1/2 mile.

parkrapidsrun1 Week Pre-Race

7.5 miles, 1:20:21, 10:48 per mile

Bemidji, MN

It was nasty outside this day – 30 degrees, cloudy and windy with gusts up to 25 mph. I was not in a mood to go running, especially in the wind, but it was my LAST long run before the race so I couldn’t wimp out! I drove up to Bemidji where my sister-in-law lives, so she could watch Emma while I ran – a win-win! (Travis is still studying for the California PE test, which is this coming Monday! Soooo ready for that to be done with.) I had Carolyn drive me 7.5 miles from her house, so that I could run with the wind, instead of against it. I’ve done this before and it’s a great way to get your run in even when the weather is crappy. And hey, the wind helped my pace – I ran the second mile in 10:12!!

bemidjirun20140413_17025420140413_165312This last run really boosted my confidence level. Up until then, my runs had felt lethargic and slow. Like my legs just wouldn’t wake up. But this run, I felt light, fast and excited about running. The last 2 miles were tough because they were around the south side of the lake where the wind was strong, there was snow on the trail and my legs were getting tired, but I finished the whole thing!

Overall, I’ve enjoyed training for this race, but it’ll be my last for a while. I honestly only have the motivation/energy for working out about 3 times a week right now, and when I’m training for a race, I feel like the only thing I should spend my workouts doing is running – which leads to burnout and injury.

I also did not dedicate enough time to the things that are necessary training components outside of running, like stretching, getting enough sleep, fueling correctly, drinking enough water, etc. Part of that, though, is being in the middle of moving. For a while, I wasn’t sure where my foam roller was – once I found that, I started using it fairly regularly. All of my running fuel is packed up, so I haven’t been fueling during my runs at all (and really, I don’t feel like 7.5 miles really requires that – but I will fuel during the race because I could’ve used a little pick-me-up during my last run!).

I also think that I should’ve done more strength training and cross training in building up to this race – if not during the training plan, at least before beginning training. I think my muscles atrophied a lot during pregnancy and as all runners know, it’s possible to develop the muscles you need for running by running – but you usually end up being out of balance and more easily injured. My knee joints have been the thing bothering me the most, and I’m sure tight IT bands are somewhat to blame (it has gotten better since I got my foam roller out). But I also think that if my legs were stronger from non-running activities, and limber from more yoga, my knees would be happier.

So after this race, I’m looking forward to doing more yoga, walking and maybe a few exercise videos. I’ll probably still run once a week just to keep my fitness up, but I need some variety back!

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A Chilly Weekend

10 Dec

This past weekend was a busy and chilly one! On Thursday, I ducked out of work early to get my hair cut! I chopped off 4-5 inches.

haircutI really like it BUT I haven’t had my hair this short for several years, so it’s taking some time to get used to it. It’s too short for a ponytail now, but still long enough to get in my face so exercising and brushing my teeth are interesting. It also requires a lot more work to look presentable – with long hair, I often blowdried it halfway and then put it up in a messy bun. Not anymore!

Friday, my work had our holiday party at a bowling alley, and I took Emma along. She was a hit! I was able to have one of my co-workers hold her while I was bowling and she was happy and content for almost 2 full games. I didn’t take any pictures though… *fail*

After the party, I went over to my friend Charlotte’s house to watch her 2 kids while she and her husband (also named Travis) went to his work Christmas party. They’re going to watch Emma this Thursday night while we go to (my) Travis’ work party. It was really fun watching her kids. They’re 4 and almost 2, and they were very obedient and fun! Emma was having a rough night though because she is very congested right now, and I think she’s getting her top 2 teeth. Poor baby.

On Saturday, Travis and I got up at 4 am to help out with our friend D’s Fa La La race. I took Emma up to my friend Carrie’s house, who graciously agreed to watch Emma at 6 am even though she isn’t a morning person! Fortunately, Emma was very happy and easy all day – and majorly cute.

emmatripleThe race went well, and even though it was only about 1 degree out, I stayed warm in my many layers as long as I was moving around. After the race, I picked Emma up and we went out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings with some of the race staff – our post-race tradition.

Once we were done eating, it was already 4 pm! Emma took a little nap on the way home, and stayed asleep long enough for me to get all our race stuff put away, which felt good to get done.

Sunday, Travis and I were on projection and lights so we had to get to church an hour early. I also forgot our gifts for the foster children that our church ‘adopts’ at Christmas so in the middle of church (when Emma was fussy because she needed a nap), I ran home to get them and Emma napped in the car. After church, we went straight home, ate lunch and then I took a 3 hour nap! I got up a little over halfway through to check on Travis and Emma, and Emma was still sleeping too! She slept for 2.5 hours, which happens fairly often on Sundays, but not any other day. Apparently, church is exhausting!

Even though I enjoy the chilly weather because the snow doesn’t melt, I do miss being able to be outside. I’m glad it’s finally warming up around here.

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Re-evaluating.

20 Nov

As much as I’d really like to do a half marathon in January or February, I have decided against it. Training for a half is challenging. Add in a baby and it’s even more so. Then add in Thanksgiving, Christmas, house projects and moving to a different state. In short, I’m choosing to not kill myself in order to run a half.

But I do want to race. I like racing. So I came up with a loose Plan B. There’s the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon in January here in Denver. It’s not your typical duathlon either – you run 1.5 miles, bike 3.5, run 2.5, bike 7, then run 50 meters. So total 4 miles of running and 10 miles of biking. I think I could do that with a few runs and bike rides a week (aka no formal training plan). So I’m keeping that in the back of my mind.

Then there’s the Hot Chocolate 15K in Minneapolis on April 19. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be living in Minnesota by then. And a 15K seems a lot more doable than a half marathon. (Why? I don’t know.) I think I could work up to running 9.4 miles by then.

So that’s my plan. I’d like to workout more than I am now (1-2 times a week), but I have a few other things going on at the moment. So I’m cutting myself a break and being realistic.

Besides, running isn’t going anywhere.

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Race Recap: Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon Relay

16 Oct

Due to the flooding in Colorado at the end of September, the Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon that I had signed up to do with my friends Jess and Charlotte got rescheduled to Saturday, October 5. Luckily, it still was a day we could all make it!

The Thursday before the race, we all met in Boulder (with kids in tow) for packet pickup. After we got our race gear, we went out for dinner at Old Chicago on Pearl Street. All 3 of us were going to a wedding Saturday afternoon after the race, so this was our ‘team building’ dinner. It was fun!

The morning of the race, it was only 35 degrees! Travis, Emma and I left the house later than I had wanted to and then we encountered a road that was closed from the flooding, so I was worried that we were going to get to the race too late. But we made it with plenty of time – the race ended up being only about 200 athletes instead of 600 due to the date change, but that meant more room in transition!

The weather had been cool the week before the race so the water was a chilly 58 degrees. Brrrr. Charlotte was a trooper, though, and swam anyway. I felt bad standing around in my many layers, gloves and ear warmers while she was getting into icy water but she totally rocked the 800 meter swim!

1383614_10153338850290271_1687547636_nMe, Jess and Charlotte before the swim

SWIM: 14:58

We were waiting for Charlotte at the swim out, but somehow missed her get out of the water. We saw her as she was walking past us so Jess ran with her into transition and I ran along outside, since I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way.

T1: 1:15

Then Jess was off on the bike, wearing long pants, a sweatshirt, winter parka, winter gloves and face mask under her helmet. She said she was cold for the first loop, but then she warmed up and wanted to remove layers but couldn’t! Jess also did really well and crushed the 12.4 mile bike leg.

BIKE: 45:52

About 10 minutes before Jess was expected back, I ran around the parking lot a bit and then I went and stood in the transition area to wait for Jess.

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20131005_090257The Cheering Squad

Jess arrived, I grabbed the chip from her, strapped it around my ankle and was off on my 5K run!

T2: 0:56

Right away, my throat and lungs felt hoarse from the cold air. My legs felt great, but my breathing was just really labored. Even though there were people passing me consistently (that’s the reality of a triathlon when everyone starts in different waves), I tried to settle into a pace that was challenging but sustainable. I could tell, though, that I wasn’t feeling as strong as the Community Christian 5K I had done a few weeks earlier.

About the time I started running, the sun decided to make its appearance. So all of my layers made me very overdressed! By Mile 1, I had my gloves off. And by Mile 2, I had my ear warmer and jacket off.

racephoto

I definitely pushed myself more for our relay team than I would have had I just been racing for myself. There was one main hill on the course leading up to Mile 1. On the way back, I used that hill to my advantage. My splits were (roughly, recalling from memory):

Mile 1 – 11:07

Mile 2- 10:39

Mile 3 – 10:30

Mile .1 – 1:03

RUN TIME – 33:19

TOTAL TIME – 1:36:18

Just for fun, here are my splits from when I did the Oktoberfest Sprint Tri back in 2009 as an age group athlete (times listed in italics show the difference from our relay time):

Swim – 19:57 (+4:59)

T1 – 2:14 (+0:59)

Bike – 46:34 (+0:42)

T2 – 1:09 (+0:13)

Run – 34:07 (+0:48)

Overall Time – 1:43:59 (+7:41)

I hadn’t spectated at a triathlon in a very long time so it was a nice change of pace to watch other athletes (especially the speedy ones)! We checked our time after I finished and noticed that we got 2nd place in the All-Female Relay division. So Jess and I stayed for the award ceremony (Charlotte left after the swim because it was a busy day for her).

1383624_635629303134062_286529633_nDoing a triathlon relay was a lot of fun! I was glad that I wasn’t swimming that day, but it does make me miss the triathlon atmosphere. Maybe I’ll do a full race next year?

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Community Christian 5K Recap

15 Sep

Yesterday, I ran my first race since June 2012, when I ran my first (and only) full marathon. I can’t run nearly as far now as then, but I’m faster!

The night before the race, Emma had her worst night of sleep in months. She woke up every 2-4 hours, which is very abnormal for her. The only nice part about it was that she was in a good mood whenever she woke up – instead of crying, she’d just lay in her crib and talk (aka. ‘squawk’) to herself. My longest stretch of sleep was 4 hours. After being up with her 4 times, I asked Travis to get up the last time so that I could stay in bed for another 40 minutes.

Anyway, not quite the way you want to prepare for a race but oh well. I had a cup of coffee and cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter before the race, dropped Emma off at my friend’s house, and made it up to the race site about 20 minutes before the race started.

It was a very small race so it only took me about 5 minutes to get my packet and go to the bathroom. I found my friend Cathy and her husband James just a little before they asked the runners to move into the street where the start line was. Then they said the start was still 15 minutes away so Cathy and I did a slow jog around the block to warmup.

My goal for the race was to at least run faster than an 11:00/mile pace, and if I beat my previous 5K time of 33:43, that’d be great too. Cathy wanted to see if she could beat her husband so we agreed to not run together.

I thought about taking my phone so that I could keep track of my pace and the mileage, but in the end, I decided to just enjoy the race and push myself by feel.

Finally, the race started and we were off. I settled into a nice, strong pace and kept Cathy and James in my sights for about the first .5 mile. Then they were gone. I kept running strong. I was pushing myself, but not too much. It was downhill, which was nice, but I knew that meant an uphill later so I couldn’t go too crazy.

I had no idea how far we had gone, but I figured it had to be close to a mile at least. I ran past the aid station (stopping for water would have just thrown off my pace) and then saw a sign that said Mile 2. ‘Holy cow!’ I thought. ‘That’s the quickest 2 miles I’ve ever run!’ It didn’t quite seem right, but if it was, I was going to kick this 5K’s butt!

Around a corner, there was another mile sign. It also said Mile 2, with an arrow to the right. Um, what? I took a right and found the uphill. I walked a bit at the top of the hill and was told by a flagger that first time through, we had to do another loop. Second time, go straight.

On my second loop, I saw the Mile 1 sign, which I had missed before. So I was just now coming up on Mile 2. That made more sense.

We passed the aid station again and were directed by another flagger to turn right for Mile 3, making a smaller loop than the first time, but not too small to miss the hills! I walked a bit again at the top, so I could catch my breath.

Even though it was only 65 at the start, the sun and (rare) humidity made it really hot. I was getting tired, and couldn’t accurately judge how long we had left. But I kept pushing it, reminding myself that I wanted to beat my old 5K time, and that I hadn’t been pushing it for 2 miles only to give up at the end.

We passed a different school and I thought we were getting close, but I saw runners far ahead of me… climbing another hill. Bummer.

I muscled up the last hill long enough to see one of Community Christian’s buses, so I knew where we were – and that the end was close! I crossed the finish line strong and grabbed a water, banana, and half a bagel from the volunteers.

I felt confident that I had made my goal of running faster than an 11:00 pace but had no idea of my time. I found Cathy and James, and we stood around talking until they posted the times. James had beaten Cathy, but she wasn’t too upset. Men…

Finally, the times were up. I finished in 31:52! That’s a pace of 10:17/mile, I later figured out, for a new 5K PR! YAY! I was very happy with that. Cathy finished in 29:50 and James in 26:19.

This was my first time doing a really small race (there were about 130 runners), which I’ve always wanted to do because I figured I’d at least have a shot at placing in my age group (which is now 30-39! I feel so old.) But when I looked on their website, it said they would award ‘the fastest in each age group’, which I took to mean only THE fastest (one person). I was mistaken though, and I got 3rd place in my age group. So I actually got a medal! YAY again! (Cathy got 2nd place in our age group. The 30-39 Female winner finished in 25:12.)

So my first race back was a success AND fun. I’m glad that I didn’t take my phone. The mile signs kept me guessing, and I ran on feel not on time, so I didn’t get discouraged.

About the race itself – it was the inaugural race, and a small one organized by parents instead of race professionals, but I was very impressed. They had a decent website, with all the pertinent information included. They sent out a pre-event email with lots of details. There were a ton of volunteers and even though the course could have been a little confusing, their flaggers were very helpful and it wasn’t confusing at all. The course was also USATF-certified and they posted a course map online (though I didn’t realize that before the race). We were instructed to park in the Target parking lot, and they had a shuttle taking people to the school (even though it was only like 2 blocks away). And the race proceeds benefit the school, which is where Cathy and James’ kids go. I would definitely do this race again!

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Me and Cathy

I’m unfortunately not going to be able to do the triathlon relay this coming weekend (long story) but I’m already looking forward to doing another race. I’M BACK BABY!

And quick sidenote, this is my 700th post!

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Running with a Stroller

6 Sep

Even though I said I was going to start running more than once a week, I haven’t. But at least I’m still running that one time a week. And I can finally see my frequency going up because….

I’ve started running with the stroller.

This is a milestone in 2 ways:

1) Emma used to only last 10 minutes in the stroller (in her carseat) before having a meltdown. Now, she can hold toys and enjoys looking around, so she’s content for up to 30 minutes.

2) Pushing a stroller while running is a crapton more work. Especially when I lock the front wheel to stay straight (like you’re supposed to). The stroller wants to veer to the right slightly, so I’m continually pushing on it to stay in a straight line.

The first run I did with the stroller was around our block a couple of times. MapMyRun on my phone said that it was a mile, but Travis doesn’t believe that. Based on my pace though, I believe it! (If it’s not right, I’m REALLY slow!)

strollerrun1The second run I did was around a small lake (pond?) near our house. One lap around it is roughly .5 mile so I did 4 laps.

strollerrun2One side of the lake is slightly hilly (or at least it feels like it with a stroller!) so I was very pleased about my pace. Maybe I can have a ‘fast’ 5K yet.

Speaking of which, I officially signed up for the Community Christian 5K on September 14! The race raises money for the school, and my good friend’s kids go there. She’s running the race too.

RACELOGO1

Another one of my friends is going to watch Emma (since Travis will be in Wyoming hunting antelope). I’m very excited. Races are so fun.

Do/have you run with a stroller? Any tips?

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