The Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon Race Report.

Well, I finished my first race of the season! Yesterday morning I got up at 5:30 to get ready for the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon. I was planning on wearing my purple running singlet, black Nike running shorts and a light jacket. I quick ran upstairs and grabbed my Nike running pants....just in case. That was the best decision I have ever made! I drove to the Wayzata Bay Center and parked my van. There were other runners still picking up their race packets. I noticed that everyone was dressed like they were running in the freaking winter. People had running pants, jackets, hats and gloves. I started to get nervous because I knew I would be underdressed and freazing my butt off for thirteen miles! God, I should of known better! I do live in Minnesota. I picked up my running pants and decided to put them on in one of the restrooms in the mall. I ran into my blogger friend Tim who was also running. He was dressed in layers and prepared for cold weather running. I spoke with him for a few minutes and quickly put on my running pants. I went back into my van and searched for a sweatshirt or something....no luck! I needed to have at least one more layer on the top for me to be safe. Not going to happen! I did however, find a pair of running gloves in my trunk and my jacket had a hood. It was thirty something and the wind gusts were between 20 to 30 miles an hour. It was going to be ugly.

I have not run anything over six miles since November. My last half marathon was the Monster Dash. I took the winter off from running and have only recently been running two times a week. One of my runs is three to four miles and the other is just six. I was not trained for this and had no business running a half as my first run of the season. I figured I would finish somewhere between 2:15 to 2:20. Last year I ran this and finished in 1:54. I decided to put myself between the 2:05 and 2:10 pacers and wing it.

I started off really slow. It was cold and windy and at times there were snowflakes dancing around. Unbelievable! Shocker.... it is May! Last year it was so beautiful and the weather was perfect for running.

The first water stop was at around mile three and I felt okay. I walked through it and started up slowly again. The runners were all pretty quiet and it seemed like we were all in our own little worlds.

This was the last picture that I took during the race. My camera died on me....go figure. I have not used my blogging camera for some time and I forgot to check the battery before leaving. Bummer! The course was pretty and made it's way around the lovely Lake Minnetonka. It was hard to appreciate it because of the crappy weather. Miles four, five and six went by and I was feeling fine. I picked up my pace a little and wondered when I would start feeling it. You know, sucking air and muscle spasms:) It really never happened. Since I was not racing this one I really had time to think about everything. It was my time. I listened to my feet hitting the pavement, the other runners making their way and the wind blowing. I thought about my family, my friends, and life in general. It was during this race that I remembered why I run. I run because it makes me happy. Here I am this forty-one year old "okay" runner. I am not an elite runner and I do not get age group wins at every race that I run. I run because it is part of me and I love it! Yes, there are moments that are tough and times when I wonder why I put my body through it. There is something about the feeling I get when my feet move to my own groove and my body goes with it! Harmony...that is what it is. It is the feeling I get when I finally make my way across that finish line! It is joy and feeling of accomplishment! I have not felt that joy in such a long time. I continued on and made my way mile after mile. It was at mile 12 where my body started to get tired. I was running the gravel path that was the start of the last mile. This is the path where I left my pacers last year and picked up my pace to PR. I was not feeling that spunk and energy. I was tired and really just wanted to be done. I honestly started to think about walking. Whenever I think of walking, I always think of my running dad (Denny). Denny gave me some advice after my first marathon. He told me that I need to keep moving and push through the pain, negative thoughts and challenging moments. I heard Denny's voice say, "Come on Julie, let's go!" I imagined that he was running in front of me and that I was attempting to keep up with him. I did not stop to walk during that last mile....I kept moving. Keep in mind, I was not sprinting in...I am sure I looked pretty pathetic and my running form sucked! The point is that I didn't stop. I made my way up to the finisher's shoot and crossed that finish line! As I was making my way up to the finish I saw my blogger friend Beth's husband Mike. He yelled, "Go Julie!" I didn't get a chance to talk to Mike or Beth after the race...next year guys:) Half marathon number one....done! Final time 2:01:13! I will take it! In two weeks I have the Maple Grove 5K. I think I am more terrified for that one than I was for the Lake Minnetonka Half. I am not ready to be busting butt in a 5K!!!

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

I Am Back! Running A Half Marathon Tomorrow!

Hi Everyone! I have missed you all and it is good to be back! I am sure that all of you are wondering what and the hell happened to me. Well, sometimes life just happens. We all have times where we need to take something and set it on the back burner. I have not been running a ton but signed up for a half marathon several months ago. I am running in the Lake Minnetonka half marathon in the morning. I ran this race last year and it was the half marathon of my personal best PR. I loved this race and it will always hold a dear spot close to my heart. I actually have no business running this since I have not run anything over six miles lately! Ha ha, I must love pain or be really stupid:) My plan is to run it slow and treat it as a training run. Hey, if I am jogging I will get better pictures....right! So tomorrow I am lacing up my beloved Asics and trekking into the world of running adventure and possibly painful moments:) Keep your fingers crossed that I have nice weather and finish in one piece!!!

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

Big Time Runner's Funk! God, It Sucks!

Hi everyone! Yes, I know that I have been MIA for over a month. I have been going through the biggest running funk that I have ever experienced in my life. I ran the Polar Dash on January first and then attempted to start training for the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon. This marathon is scheduled in early May. Life at my house has been pretty nuts with my hubby working insane hours and my two younger kids busy with sports activities. I am transporting them places every single night of the week. There are nights where I get home at 9 PM. Sometimes when I think about how cranky I have been...the big "B" word comes to mind. I hate feeling that way! I know that if I really wanted to make running a priority that I would find a way to make it work. My options would be getting up at 3:30 Am or staying up super late to do mill runs. Neither one of these seems appealing to me:) Crap! No one said that life would be perfect all of the time....damn, I am due for some of that perfection any day now:)

I have been getting e-mails over the past few months about Grandma's Half Marathon. I wasn't sure if I wanted to run it again this year. This past Friday I got the last reminder e-mail saying that it was the last day to register for the lottery. I figured it was worth a try but didn't expect to get in again this year. Monday morning when I went to work and checked my e-mails I saw that it was confirmed. I was picked to run Grandma's half!! Maybe this is a sign to get off of my butt and start training for real! The good news is that the days are getting longer and we are finally in freaking March! Yes, it is the little things in life....like March in Minnesota!

My next race is in a few weeks. I am running the Get Lucky! 7 K just like I did last year. It is one of the races in the Team Ortho series that I really love! It was one of my top three out of the twenty something races that I ran last year:)

I am looking forward to getting back into blogging! I will be searching for motivation to help me to get back into the swing of things:) Help!

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

Yes, I Am Still Alive!

Hi everyone! It has been twenty-five days since my last post....Holy cow! This is the longest amount of time that I have let sneak by without posting. I miss you all and feel so out of the loop not knowing what is going on with your running. I have been so crazy busy with work and family stuff that it has been nearly impossible to post or to comment. I am running my kids to their sport activities every night and usually do not get home until 8:30 to 9 PM. My daughter has b-ball practice and games to attend and my little guy is doing swimming & skating lessons. I am exhausted when I get home...this is before I can even get a run in:)

I have officially started my spring marathon training. I am currently in week two of my plan and things are going slow and painful. Damn, I wish I could say that I feel great and my running is awesome. Not so much! I am only running three times a week and two of those runs have been on the mill. Anyone who has been reading my blog for some time knows that I absolutely hate the mill!!! God, give me outside running any day....well, maybe not in the frigid below zero temps that we had last week here in Minnesota. I have to draw the line somewhere and that is way too cold for this girl!

I have to start running more and getting back into the groove. I know that it will come but it just takes a little time to get lost fitness back. I am kicking myself in the butt every day for taking such a long running break....never again! Today I am scheduled to run six miles and I will do this outside. Keeping my fingers crossed for a run that feels amazing!:) Wish me luck:)

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

The Team Ortho Polar Dash 5K Race Report!

God, there is nothing like getting up on a New Years day in the freaking cold and running a race! This morning I ran in the Team Ortho Polar Dash 5K. I thought that I had signed up to run the 10K. When I opened up my race packet and pulled out my bib it had a 5K printed on it:) All I am going to say is....blessing in disguise!!!! Your blogger friend Julie is so out of shape! Good Lord, remind me never to take a full month off of running...ever again:) I mean it!

Mr. Julie was kind enough to drop me off and as soon as I got there I headed to the warming tents. It was packed and I had to wait a few minutes before I actually made it inside! Holy cow, it was so cold! My toes felt like they were going to fall off! Brr!

When there was about five minutes to the start many of us started walking to the start line.

This is where I decided to start. The pacers were actually for the 10K runners but I would be able to run with this guy for at least a mile and a half or so. I am so out of shape and have not run one single mile in over a month! I knew it was going to be ugly....it was:)

I ran into Mike who is my blogger buddy Beth's hubby:) They are heading off to Florida to run in the Goofy races next weekend. Mike is a super fast runner who was taking it easy because of running next week. Beth, I am so sorry that I missed you! Hope to see you soon:)

I stayed with my pacer for most of the first half of my race. I was okay in the beginning but the farther I ran the more terrible I felt! So many random thoughts bounced through my head. Why and the hell did you not run once during this last month? Are you stupid? Surely you knew this would really suck! God this sucks! Who's idea was it to drink three glasses of champagne last night? Umm, your's...remember...you thought that since the race was at 11AM you would have nothing to worry about. Whatever!

Damn, where is the turn around? It is a good thing I didn't run in the 10K:) This sucks bad enough! Do you remember when six miles seemed like nothing? Hell, do you remember when 3.1 miles seemed like nothing? Are you stupid? Man, I should of put myself with the nine minute pacer. Just suck it up and run!

Thank God! Turn around and mostly down hill:) Slow and easy pace...no sprinting involved today. Just keep moving...one foot in front of the other. Oh crap, a woman is passing me! It is okay...she is way younger, fitter, faster and looks like a freaking rock star! Next year no drinking!!! Next year there will be no freaking month long running break!

I survived! It was an ugly race but I am glad I ran! Yes, I know I look like crap...I felt like it too! I think tomorrow I am going to run six miles...slower pace:)

Walking back to my car with hot chocolate. It is the little things in life that make running a 5K in Minnesota during the month of January worth it:)
Here are my official race stats....

Final time 25:54, 8:20 per mile.

I placed 81 out of 972 total runners.

I placed 18 out of 614 female runners.

I placed 4 out of 92 in my age group.

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

Wishing you and your families a wonderful New Year:)

Happy New Year! Yes, I am still here!

Greetings fellow bloggers! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. My Christmas holiday was fantastic! As much as I enjoyed Christmas, I am honestly looking forward to my life getting back to normal. The last few weeks have been nuts! I have been a huge slacker and a very bad blogger. Both running and blogging have been put on the back burner due to the busy holiday season. The good news is that is going to change starting January 1st:)

I did receive my secret Santa gift in the mail a few weeks ago! Thank you Adam!! Adam sent me the movie, Spirit Of The Marathon. I love my gift and have watched it twice! Thank you to Jill for setting up the blogger gift exchange....it was an awesome idea and a wonderful way to share some blogger love:)

Good news! I have a race on January 1st called the Polar Dash. It is in the Team Ortho series of races and I ran this one last year. It was cold but fun:) Beth, I hope to see you there! Hopefully we will not get another snow storm like they are predicting...like we need more snow:)

I have one more bit of news to share! I am pretty excited....I have decided to run a spring marathon! I am going to do the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon in May! One thing that I should mention is that Wobegon is not a true trail race. It is a ten foot wide asphalt bike trail. The course is flat and fast. Last year I was a volunteer for this marathon and know that several of the runners came from out of state hoping to BQ. Training will start in January. I have taken almost a month off from running and know that I have lost fitness. I am so not looking forward to those first few weeks of training! Can we say sore muscles and massive sucking air attacks!?! God, I can't wait:) I would really love to run this next marathon in four hours or less. I need to shave nine minutes off of my Twin Cities marathon time. Hopefully with proper training and a few more longer runs I will be able to pull it off. Wobegon is a smaller marathon and there will not be pacers. I am so fortunate to have found a personal pacer:) Thank you Mark! Mark is a St. Cloud River runner who has qualified for Boston and is using Wobegon as a longer training run for another marathon. My four hour goal will seem like a walk in the park for him:)

My next post will be the Polar Dash race report! Yay! It has been so long since I have posted a race report. I promise to take tons of pictures....keep your fingers crossed that Minnesota will not be blasted with another winter snow storm! I want to run:)

Happy running, biking, swimming, lifting and surfing! Cheers to you all! May you all have a fantastic New Year!

I Am Back With A Tag! A Reason To Post!

Greetings everyone! I am finally sitting down to post after a week of blogging vacation. Last week was nuts, I was left with limited computer time. This weekend the Minnesota metro area was pounded with 20 inches of snow! Holy cow! I was supposed to run in a 5K yesterday morning....never happened:) My hubby had to snowblow our driveway three times! Good news, I was able to get the heck out of my culdesac and go shopping today:) I did some serious damage...I have yet to tell Mr. Julie how much money I spent!

I was recently tagged by Misszippy to answer a few questions about running. I was pretty excited because now I have something to blog about!

1) Do you prefer winter or summer running? This is a tough one to answer. I enjoy running in the cooler temperatures but winter running in Minnesota is challenging because of the layering of running clothes. The snow and ice makes me go slower than normal...not falling on my ass is always good. Summer running is nice because I can go out with shorts, a running shirt and shoes. I do hate running in the heat and humidity....I really hate it! Yuck! However, running in the heat and humidity is good for conditioning and helps for when it is the perfect temperature. It makes me feel like I am kicking it:) Did I answer the question? Yea, I am not sure about that one.

2) What has been your toughest race to date? Hands down, the Gopher to Badger Half Marathon. It was so freaking hot and humid that day! I felt like total crap and wondered if I would ever finish. I did finish it with a time of 2:02:45...not too bad considering the crazy weather elements. Running this race and living through it made me realize that I could run a marathon and finish with a respectable time.

3) What are your running goals for 2011? I would like to run a sub 4 marathon. It would be great to PR in a few of the other distances too. I have raced in 21 races this year. I think that next year I will cut the number of my races down and train more. I hope to do more running with my running group....they will keep me honest and working hard:)

4) Do you have any other passions in life? I love to travel, learning about history and other cultures. I also love to meet people:) I consider myself a friendly and outgoing person. I love and enjoy stimulating conversation with just about anyone.

5) If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Oh, this is an easy one, I would love to live in California wine country or somewhere in Montana. I have been to wine country several times and always have a fabulous time. The weather is so nice and perfect for running. Montana is also so gorgeous and peaceful. We took a family vacation there a few years ago and had a blast...great memories! Internationally, I would love to live in Italy. I have always had a thing with Italy. When I was a little girl I would go to the library and spend hours looking at pictures of the beautiful places and sites to see. Currently, I love watching movies that are set in Italy:)

If there is anyone who would like to be tagged and do this too...knock yourself out! You are all tagged:)

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