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Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon Race Report
Sunday was the day. We trained for three months, through injury, while traveling and in every sort of inclement weather you can imagine.
On race day, the weather was perfect -- sunny, breezy and not too hot. We started out at a nice clip (our first four miles were under 10 minutes), and then we slowed down to a more sustainable pace for the rest of it.
Let me just say, I am SO glad we did hill training because this course had quite a few ups and downs. The finish line was located just past a fairly steep hill, which did not make me happy. In fact, it kind of reminded me of my last leg during the Ragnar Relay, after which I was a very cranky potato for about two minutes. Then the anger chemicals dissipated and I was happy again. (Ragnar wasn't even the first time that happened. Apparently I get a bit emotional after tough runs.)
After finishing on Sunday, I got some water in me, listened to the rockin' band at the finish line, and all was right with the world again. I was incredibly lucky to have an awesome group of people to run with, which makes everything more fun.
After a head-to-head sprint to the finish line, I finished 5/100ths of a second behind my boyfriend. He responded by saying, "Wow! You're fast!" I'm trying not to be offended that he sounded so surprised. Ahem.
(Photo courtesy of www.lakeminnetonkahalfmarathon.com.)
Ragnar Relay Highlight Reel
After the marathon I told myself I was done pushing my body to crazy and unimaginable limits. Oh silly, naive me.
This weekend I joined 11 teammates to run 195 miles -- from Wisconsin to Minnesota -- in a little over 33 hours. Each of us ran three legs, which varied in length depending on the strength of the runner. I'll post a full race report soon, but here are some highlights.
Things I did during the 33+ hours of the Ragnar Relay:
- Ran in the middle of the night on a pitch-black, deserted country road (AWESOME)
- Drove a Suburban (it's like steering a dinosaur on Quaaludes)
- Conquered (barely) the most challenging hill I have ever run and then promptly threw a temper tantrum
- Talked about bowel movements with my van-mates, a lot (it's a runner thing)
- Wore a mullet wig (our team name was Made in the 80s!)
- Managed to run my three legs (18 miles total) without sleeping for 36 hours.
It was amazing, exhausting and unlike anything I've ever done. Now, after two years of always having an upcoming race on the calendar to train for, I am officially unscheduled. And I'm going to leave it that way -- for a while, at least.
I Ran a Marathon!
I made it! And it was fun, impossible, surprisingly pain free, emotional and rewarding (depending on where you happened to catch me on the course). I'm taking today off to relax and recover, but I just wanted to let you all know that your good thoughts and encouragement worked. I'm overwhelmed by and so incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support I had, both on the course and virtually.
The full race report will be coming soon. For now, I'm going to sit around and compensate for the calories I burned yesterday morning!
(Photo of me around mile 23 with a lady in a banana suit, by my friend Brian Moen.)
Get in Gear Race Report
I haven't always been the most positive poptart during marathon training, but there are a few things that are truly awesome about it. One of these is that on a Friday afternoon, you can decide you're going to run a half marathon the next morning -- no notice, no worries!
We had a 14 miler on the books for this past weekend, so I decided to swap the Get in Gear Inaugural Half Marathon for my long run. And I am SO glad I did.
The race started and finished in Minnehaha Park, which is walking distance from my place and made for a stress-free race morning. I got to the start in plenty of time to use the bathroom and warm up in the Pavilion for a bit, where racers were packed in like sardines. Get in Gear is the largest 10k race in Minnesota and with the other events (5k, 2k and half), it was cozy.
The line for the porta-potties was insane. I shot a quick photo with my phone:
Fortunately, I found a less-popular bathroom to duck into before the race started.
I resolved ahead of time that I was going to treat this like any other long, slow distance (LSD) run. Going in with that mindset helped quell any nerves, and I started the race feeling comfortable and mindful of my pace.
The first five miles were crowded, and a lot of people passed me right off the bat. I expected this because the 10K and half marathon course was the same for the first five and the 10Kers were naturally running much faster.
I held at my LSD pace of about 10:30 to 10:40 for the first six miles or so, but then I felt so great that I started picking up speed. I didn't even notice at first because it didn't feel like I was running much faster, but I looked down at my watch and I kept seeing 9:04 and 8:50. What?!
There's no way I can sustain this, I thought to myself. But then I figured, I feel good so I may as well keep running and if I bonk, so be it. I planned on taking it slow, anyway.
The miles ticked past in what felt like no time at all (perhaps a positive side effect of doing so many 18- and 20-mile runs?), and my pace stayed right around 9 until I reached the last mile. I walked through the last water stop and evaluated how I was feeling, and because I was still feeling strong, I decided to kick it to the end.
I passed a ton of people heading toward the finish and crossed the line smiling. In fact, I don't think I've ever finished a race feeling so happy! I grabbed water and a banana and then hung around the finish to cheer on the last of the runners.
It was a fantastic morning, and I feel like I recaptured a bit of my running mojo that had gone missing these past few weeks. It also made me think that after all this marathon business is over, my new goal could feasibly be to break two hours in the half marathon.
Thanks for your encouragement, everyone! It definitely made a difference. Now it's time to put my head down and focus because we're only four weeks out from the big race. Holy way-too-soon, Batman!
Monster Dash Half Marathon Race Report
It was surprisingly fun.
As the race progressed, I kept thinking "I'm running a half marathon right now. I'm running a half marathon right now," but it never really sunk in -- or felt like I thought it should have (hard, miserable, 13 miles). Don't get me wrong, it certainly wasn't easy. The course looked something like:
Some of the hills were pretty rough, but thankfully I found a couple of my running buddies who helped keep my over exuberance in check (taking it easy up the big hills, walking through water stops, etc.).
I was hoping that the race photographers would nab some photos of me in action, but they seemed more interested in Steve. I can't blame them though -- his costume was much better than mine.
So these are the photos I'm left with. Let's start from the beginning . . .
First, I needed to choose which leg warmers to wear.
Tough choice, I know. But not nearly as difficult as ripping up a sweatshirt without completely ruining it.
It's a good thing I bought three sweatshirts. My ripping skills were lacking.
After the costume prep, I had to get my hair nice and big.
How MySpace of me. I was going for big 80s-esque hair, and ended up with Medusa-esque hair. What can you do?
Then I ran 13.31 miles. Yes, point-three-one. They measured the course long, so it's a good thing I was feeling strong -- otherwise I would've been quite annoyed. I took note of my time at the 13.12 mark. In my heart, that is my official time.
Here's a bedraggled picture of me after the race.
Flashdance! Well there you have it. I ran my first half marathon on a beautiful fall morning, and I didn't feel like dying at the end of it. Hurrah!
I've also decided that this is my favorite time of year to run. Do you have a favorite season? Or if you live in one of those cities without seasons, do you have . . . a favorite flavor of ice cream?
Time to Fly 5k Race Report
Upon waking up at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning, I decided that running an early morning race on my birthday was not a brilliant idea.
I felt better about it once I'd had some breakfast.
My roomie and I drove to St. Paul, and as we were walking toward Harriet Island we heard a huge crash and boom. And then another boom.
"Was that thunder?" I asked, starting to panic that the race would be interrupted by monsoons and lightning storms.
"Maybe it was a bomb," suggested my roommate.
Turns out it was a bomb. Well, not really. It was a demolition. They blew up the High Bridge smokestack in downtown St. Paul Saturday morning. So we had some nice dusty cloud cover for the run.
Anyhoodle, the race went pretty well. I got a side stitch after mile two that dramatically slowed my pace during the last mile. My chip time was 27:03. (I guess I'll have to work on shaving my 5K another day.)
I was happy with my time, especially considering the volume of training I've been doing. But when I crossed the finish line, for some reason I was overwhelmed with feelings of bitter disappointment. And I was mad. Like "ready to hurt people hogging all the post-race 'nanners" kind of mad.
Has this happened to anyone else? Usually when I finish I'm relieved (and might feel like throwing up a bit). This time I was downright cranky.
I sat down and ate my post-race snacks, and eventually felt better about the world. Maybe it was just a biochemical thing.
My roomie got a PR (woo!!) and we had a celebratory pancake breakfast. Overall, a very successful race. Thanks for the birthday love, ya'll!
10K on the 10th Race Report
This weekend I participated in Nancy's Virtual Club Run, running my very first 10K (do I get extra points because it was my first?)! Here are my splits and some of the thoughts that accompanied them:
10:02 -- Just warming up a bit. Still feeling creaky after the mile race on Thursday. Treating this 10K as my LSD run this week.*
9:42 -- Finally hit a comfortable pace. Trying to avoid being lapped by that obnoxiously fast guy for the 18th time.
9:47 -- Is it over yet? Wait, I have to run around the lake again? You're kidding, right?
9:42 -- Why do people keep staring at me? I wonder if my new running hat makes me look like a tool. Maybe it's my cameltoe.
9:38 -- It is surprising that I haven't died yet.
9:09 -- Did that guy just lap me again? At least I'm not wearing a do-rag and aviators. Almost done!
1:45 -- 6.01, 6.02, 6.03. Why is this taking so long?! I command you to stop looking at Gary.** 6.12, 6.13, 6.14. Seriously, stop it. Oh, wait, is that 6.2? I'm DONE!!!
Total -- 59:45
I'm so excited that I managed to squeak by in just under an hour. I was honestly expecting to run at a 11-minute-mile pace (especially after all the Mother's-Day-justifies-everything junk food I ate). And over all, the distance didn't feel so bad. The last mile was tough, but not excruciating.
Many thanks to Nancy for inspiring me to run my first 10K -- and to all the other "virtual" runners who joined me. Now it's back to work for me -- deadlines are calling my name.
*That's "Long Slow Distance" for those of you not familiar. But, like the street drug, these runs can cause hallucinations and feelings of despair and/or euphoria.
**Gary is the working name of my Garmin 305.
One Mile at a Time
The TC 1 Mile race last night was finger-licking good time. There were thousands of people, and running downtown with the crowds cheering for us was fantastic. I'll try to post photos this weekend, but for now here's a screen shot of the results:
May I just say: Way to represent, Carrie Tollefson! Carrie was featured on our cover last June (and you may have seen her modeling for that abs story in a recent issue of RW), and it made me so happy to see her finish in the top five.
The best part of the race? There were free cowbells for the spectators. I snagged a couple on the way home, and let me just tell you, whoever thought that giving me a cowbell was a good idea is going to have to answer to my severely annoyed neighbors, friends and roommate. I'm sorry, what was that? I can't hear you over my cowbell.
Minneapolis Recycle Run 5K Race Report
Sara and I got to the lake early, picked up our numbers and chips, and then went back to the car to stay warm.
Shortly before the race started, we warmed up a bit and stretched. Because we're hardcore like that.
Note: This is not an example of an effective stretching program.
We started out of the gate strong and when we reached the hills we
We finished with a flourish, and then immediately broke down into tears of
Big congratulations to Sara on finishing her first 5K! Also, many thanks to Stacey for taking photos and to everyone who came out to cheer us on. And thanks to the Minnesota Twins for giving me free baseball tickets.
100% Irish for a Day 5K Race Report
On Saturday morning, I got up early after a fitful night of sleep so I would have time to eat and relax a bit before going over to the race. Even in the 6 o'clock hour I was ready to put my game face on.
When we got to the race, they were running a little behind schedule (maybe the race officials were celebrating St. Patty's early), so we stood around freezing our bums off for 45 minutes before we started. Finally, we lined up for the start and I positioned myself somewhere near the front-middle of the pack.
The course was so icy that the entire mass of runners slid down the first hill we encountered. The route was incredibly slick, so my race-day mantra ended up being "don't fall, don't fall, there's less ice over there, don't fall."
But the condition did have its advantages. For example, it was kind of hilarious to watch the elitist-elite types pass me and then start skidding around on the ice. That's what you get for running fast.
But all kidding aside, I was very impressed by both the 10-mile group and 5Kers. Especially the 10-mile runners who finished before I finished the 5K -- way to make me look bad, guys. Thanks.1
(Click to enlarge.)
So after running around the lake on a sheet of ice trying to pass as a road, I finally made it up the hill to the finish line.
Notice the stylish green gloves. I was getting into the spirit of things. So much so that my holiday cheer propelled me across the finish line with a 26:?? time!
They haven't posted the official times, but my watch put me at 26:38. We weren't chip timed, so this is my best guess (I'll have to wait and see if they post the 5K results online). I'm just so excited to have finished my first race -- the 26 on my watch is just icing on the cake. And speaking of food . . .
Mmm . . . the post-race breakfast was definitely a highlight. And that was the day in a nutshell. Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement -- I couldn't have done it without y'all!
1. To my credit, the 10-milers started 15 minutes before the 5Kers.
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