FYI:I Am Running A Marathon This Weekend!

Hi everyone! It is officially time for me to come clean! I have been keeping a secret for a long time:) I took myself off hold for running the Twin Cities Marathon! I am sure that some of you might have figured that some thing was up when my 20 mile race recap was posted. I know Jill and Heather suspected it....I could tell from the comments that I got and have been getting. My plan was to keep it secret until after the race. I just can't do that....keeping this secret has been torture for me! I ran that 20 miler to see if I could do it and feel confident enough to go the full 26.2! I think that I can do it! I am ready for that challenge and will run on Sunday. I promise that I will run it smart and easy!

This is what I am going to be wearing race day! I really want to let people know that I am running because I hope to see other Minnesota bloggers there:) Oh, and Jeri! There are several members of my running group who are running the Twin Cities 10 mile! If you are reading this and see me on race day, please, send me tons of cow-bell! Unfortunately, not a single person from my family will be cheering me on for my first marathon:( Long story...not getting into it in this blog post. I could use all of the support and positive race vibes that I can get! Can you help a newbie out? This will most likely be my last post until after the race! I hope to have tons of fantastic pictures and a great race recap:)

Minnesota bloggers and running group peeps...please look for me! I would love to see you all! Good luck to everyone running on Sunday!

Happy running, biking, swimming and lifting! Cheers to you all!

Oh, one more thing, bloggers from Vegas are awesome!

Women Run The Cities 10 Mile Race Report!

Hi everyone! This morning I drove to Minneapolis to run in the Women Run The Cities 10 mile race. Packet pickup began at 6:30 AM and I wanted to make sure that I had a great parking place:) I scored and found a spot right on Minnehaha Ave! It was a little cooler this morning with a temerature of 42 degrees! This is the coolest temps that I have run in since early spring. I am not complaining, (Chris) I just wish that I had dressed a little warmer for the hour before the race actually started. I was freezing my butt off:)

Before the race started I ran into my high school friend Pam. Pam is the person who got me hooked on running races last year:)

In my last blog post I expressed that I would not be able to pull it together to match my time from last year. I had a great run last fall and came in with a final time of 1:23. I received a confirmation e-mail from Anderson Race Management stating that there would be pacers this year:) You all know how much I love my pacers! I decided to go with the 8:30 pacer scheduled to come in at 1:25. I figured that I could run with her until I needed to slow down and then just do my own thing. This is pacer Taren. She was my pacer for the Gopher To Badger Half Marathon in Stillwater:)

This is my view of the people in front of me about 10 minutes before the start. There were several people who made there way to the front before the start. Oh crap, the picture of the people behind me....I forgot to flipping post:( Sorry folks, I am not starting over. There were tons of people behind me. Basically, when the race started we all just moved up and took off. We did great with keeping time and ran nice and steady.

This is a little after mile one. The course was set on the roads close to Minnehaha Park. Even though it was 42 degrees at the start, I was ready to take off my jacket after five minutes. It was at this point where I realized that I forgot to start my Garmin! What is my deal? Seriously, is it my ADD coming back to haunt me? It was perfect running weather...even better than last year. Last year's temp was 62 degrees at the start. Miles two and three just buzzed by and I made a mental note that at mile four there was a hell of a hill! We ran down the hill and all was great! We were feeling awesome and the strides were so easy. At the turn around we had to look up at that crazy hill that we needed to get back up. Taren told us all what to do and we tried to get the perfect up-hill form. We cruised up the hill but my breathing was out of control. Taren gave me a few breathing tricks and with in about 45 seconds I felt great. I skipped the first two water stops...can you believe it? Mile five went by and when we got to mile six Taren said we needed to slow down. I can't believe that I did this...but I looked at her and said,"I am going to keep going at this pace." I slowly left Taren and my running pace group behind. I made a mental note to myself, just four miles left....let's see what you got! I made my way up a little roller and turned to go across this bridge. There is something about running on bridges that I love. The view was amazing and I was feeling super energized.

The sun was shining and I could see several trees on the bank of the river that were starting to change colors:) Miles eight and nine went well. Every time I looked down at my Garmin my pace remained between 7:30 and 7:50! When I saw the mile nine marker I was so excited! One freaking mile left! I ran steady and strong...I was feeling incredible! I could see the turn that led to the finish line! I had no idea what my time was going to be, I just knew that it would be under 1:25. Coming up the finisher's chute I saw the clock and I was in awe:) No freaking way...this must be a mistake...really?

After my pacer Taren came through I wanted to get a picture of us together. (She is 18 weeks pregnant and so cute:) I also thanked her for helping me with the hill and giving me great breathing recovery tricks.

I also ran into Pam again and had a picture taken with her. She did fantastic and finished in 1:14! So what was my final time?

My final time was 1:19:18! This is a 7:56 minute mile! I placed 89 out of 941 runners:) Can we say a four minute PR!!! It is amazing what cooler temps have done for me. Today my running just clicked:) I felt awesome after the run and have gained my confidence back. Today life is good:)

Happy running, biking, swimming and lifting! Cheers to you all!

What Have I Been Up To & What Is Next?

Hi Everyone! This is going to be short and sweet! After my 20 mile run I took one day off and got right back into my shorter 4 to 7 mile runs. My legs actually felt pretty darn good the next day. I was expecting to be very sore and possibly experience some after shock cramping. I felt great and was able to bust out a 5.5 mile and kept up a 7:58 pace! Where and the hell did that come from? Maybe the cooler temps are making it easier for me:) At any rate, I am loving it! Good-bye to heat and humidity:) This week I have gone out on two easy shorter runs. I ran these both slower than normal and kept up a 9:15 pace. This mornings run was a little rough...I was low on energy.

This weekend I am running in a fantastic 10 mile race in Minneapolis. It is called Women Run The Cities....this means no guys allowed! I loved this race last year and had a blast! It was my first and only ten mile race up until this weekend. I remember thinking, will I be able to make it the whole ten miles? I ran it easy or so I thought...my final time was 1:23! I was so thrilled and happy with my performance. I know that I will not be able to do as well as I did last year. I have not been running any of the shorter races and have lost a little of my speed. That is what happens when you become a half marathon junkie:) My plan for this weekend is to run it easy and hopefully be able to finish it in 1:30 or less:)

Well, that is all that I have for now! Happy running, biking, swimming and lifting! Cheers to you all!

Get Ready To Rock 20 Mile Race Report!

Hi everyone! I would like to apologize for being a bad blogger as of late! Life has been so hectic and busy that I feel like my head is going to spin off! There are several reasons for my lack of blogging. First of all, work has been so crazy and when I get home...I am spent! I am tired and still need to make time for a few runs each week. Secondly, my daughter Kay has cross country practice every night after school and I am her transportation. She has also had a few weeks of drivers training. Kay now has her driver's permit:) God, please help me! I have also lost my computer rights because my hubby has taken it over with his 6 fantasy football teams! Last weekend I ran a 17 miler and it went okay. I was pretty tired after mile ten. I stopped at a SA to purchase a water and to take a bathroom break. I continued on and did the final seven. This morning I ran my first 20 miler race! I ran the Get Ready To Rock 20 miler in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. The picture above is me with my pacers Scott and Juli:) I was pondering what pace group to go with. I looked at the 10 minute, the 9:30 and the 9 minute mile paces. When I run my half marathons I usually can finish in a little under that 9 minute mile pace. It was my plan to run this bad boy easy....one of the pacers talked me into the 9:30 pace with a goal time of 3:10.

There was also a 5K and 10K race going on this morning. Oh boy, I can't believe that I am typing this...I was actually a little chilly before the start. It was in the low 60's, cloudy and a bit windy.

The Minnesota Pacers before the race. I love this pacing group and have used them for several of my past half marathons! They are the best:)

This was my view of the people in front of me about 5 minutes before the start. The 10K and 20 mile racers started out together.

This is the view of the runners behind me. We were told to start our watches at the gun. We moved up a few feet and we were off! The first few miles were along roads in White Bear Lake.

It was right before mile 5 that the 10K runners took a different road. The 20 mile group started to make our way around Bald Eagle Lake for the first time. We had to run around the lake twice:)

I was pretty quiet just listening to the other runners chat. I was trying to get in my happy running place:) I was thinking positive thoughts and secretly hoping that this would be a good run for me. There was part of me that was scared to death of the potential GI disaster! I was thinking about what my doctor told me about the possibility of another blood clot and what that could do to me. I knew that I would have to take this one slow and listen to my body.

Mile six was where I experienced my first little wall. WTH! This was mile six not mile 15 or 16! I kept on going and the wall went away after a few minutes. We were keeping perfect time and all was well! I needed to make a Biffy stop at mile 8 and ran ahead so that I could have an easier time catching back up to my group. I did have to wait in line...but thankfully...not long:) I busted butt and cheek to catch up to my group:)

Here they are:) It took me a few minutes to recover from my little sprint....about 400 meters:) At mile 13 we ran around the lake once. We needed to go around one more time....Oh Lordy! I was doing pretty good and feeling fine. I made sure to walk through all of the water stops and took my gel at mile 5, 10, 15 and 18.

Here is my pacer Juli:)

I ran a little ahead to get a picture of who was left of my group at mile 18:) This was where my second little wall hit. I hurt my ankle earlier this week..stupid me! I was walking into my parent's garage with my sunglasses on and couldn't see a damn thing! I ended up walking into cement steps and fell onto the steps crushing my left ankle! I am still black and blue and a tad bit swollen. My ankle started to throb but I wasn't going to stop! My pacers kept up conversation and I was able to get through my little wall within a minute or two:) At mile 19 they both encouraged anyone who was left in our group to move ahead and finish before our goal time of 3:10. I made my move at about mile 19.5....I didn't go all gang busters, I just picked it up a bit:) When I made that right hand turn into the final stetch I was smiling:) I was almost done with my first 20 mile race and I was going to finish a little under my goal! I ran into the finisher's chute and I could see the clock:) It read 3:08 something! It must have taken me some time to run to the finish mats because my final time turned out to be 3:09 flat. Wouldn't you know...I flipping forgot to stop my Garmin again!!! I drank a whole bottle of water and slowly walked over to the table with post race food. I was hurting....my legs were cramping up and I had to take at least 15 minutes to stretch! Holy crap, I can honestly say that my legs have never cramped that bad after a race!

After the race I caught up with blogger Mark again! He finished before me and came in a little under his goal time too:)

After I got home I turned on my hose and ran cold water over my legs for about 15 minutes:) I felt so much better after a good soaking and I plan on doing this after all of my longer runs.

Official stats...

Final Time...3:09

I placed 122 out of 210.

I placed 12 out of 23 for my age group.

Now, I have blogs to catch up on! Happy running, biking, swimming and lifting! Cheers to you all:)