Sandy Hook Memorial 5K and Half Marathon Virtual Run Recap

This week I completed the Sandy Hook Memorial 5K and Half Marathon on January 31st.  The shooting there affected me so much.  I cried for days.  My daughter is a first grader, and because I know this age so well, it was so real to me.  I was devastated by this.  When I saw that the event coincided with my first 20 mile run of the Run Less Run Faster plan, I knew I HAD to do it.  I would run one mile for each of those children (I did another run in Dec that my tri told me about that I dedicated to the adults). 

I registered too late for a medal, but that was OK.  This way, more of my entry fee went to the victims' families.  I did get a bib that I printed myself. It was a miserable day for a run, though.  I was really glad I had this virtual run to focus on.  It was really cold and windy.  I am used to the cold from MI, but with the routes that I do here in KY, the wind can just be relentless because it is just so much more exposed, and instead of being a loop in a park, with public bathrooms that I could stop and get more water and use to warm up, it was just going to be me and 20 miles, outside for around 3 hours without stopping or going in.  The real feel was in the teens, but I dressed apporpriately (GOR windstopper tights by Mountain Hardware, fleece hooded top, windbreaker, winter mountain biking gloves, CEP socks, GOR windstopper headband, and visor). I also brought some things to pump me up: Flat Cristina paper doll (made by Keira), We Love Amy wristband, my race bib, and I chose my Boston visor since it is Keira's favorite and has a unicorn on it (for unicorn special powers).  I brought hot water in my camelback so it wouldn't freeze, but also my credit cards in case I had to stop somewhere (gas station, CVS, or McDonalds) to buy more water.  I was really glad starbuck was the opposite direction I run, otherwise I would have likely ordered a hot chocolate and stayed a while.

(I don't know why this picture is upside-down, it looked fine before I tried to upload it)
My goal pace was 9:00min/mi, and I was pretty sure I could meet this on regular day, but my first half mile was straight into the wind, and so difficult!  This was going to be a long run for sure!  Due to the conditions, I had intially planned that I would run my 10 mile out and back, but twice.  The wind was driving me crazy, though, and I decided that I couldn't take the miles back to my house on the bypass twice, so I opted to run into Pewee Valley instead of running home, until I got to 10 miles, and then turn around and repeat the whole thing from there.  That turned out to be a good choice.  I got to avoid some windy hills, and get some break from the hills.  The last 5 miles were super hard, though.  I did come in just under 3 hours and on pace.  Whew.  I am glad that I had the motivation of the virtual run to get me through.  I just kept thinking that each one of those little angels needed a mile.  I had to give them each one.  I got home and just cried and cried. 

Doing my long runs on Thursdays had presented some interesting challenges.  I didn't have much time before I had to get Soren from school.  I had to take a quick shower, and get over to school.  I didn't have much time for cool down or eating.  It made the day be really long, but it was nice to get it done during the week.  I only had a short run scheduled for Saturday.  It allowed us to go skiing in IN for the afternoon.  We had snow coming all weekend, and it was a short drive away.  It wasn't a huge resort, but it worked great for the kiddos.  The staff there was super helpful to us.  They were great helping the kids on and off the lifts.  However, it was total amatuer night there (lots of skiers in jeans and full on camo gear).  We saw some crazy falls and people struggling with the lifts.  Kind of scary.  You can imagine my astonishment when I actually saw a kid land a backflip in the terrain park on skis!  Awesome!  I have never seen that in person before (only on TV), even in Utah!  I guess when it isn't that steep,  you have to work the terrain park if you are a local.  Keira is doing great on skis.  We were just happy for the opportunity to get the kids outside and skiing, even if it wasn't challenging for us.  We had a blast, and that was what was important.

Lots of Updates! Work, Amy, and Run Less Run Faster!

Well, I had my first day of work yesterday!  It went by really quickly.  I spent most of the morning shadowing people as they met with people 1:1 to show them the facility and how to use the equipment.  We aren't trainers, and they have trainers there, so we just ask them what they want to do, and show them the proper way to use the equipment.  I am also responsible for changing the towels at the machines.  Yay, getting paid to do laundry FINALLY!  I love washing towels because they are so uniform and the folding is easy.  That is the one thing at home that I am good at- sheets and towels. (BTW, I have made good on that pledge I made last year to wash ALL the bed sheets every Monday.  The only ones I have missed have been when we have been gone on a Monday, or are leaving on a Monday, and I have done it as soon as I got back.  I felt it didn't make sense to change them and then leave.  If you have any scientific information on this, to have me change them before we leave, I wouldn't mind the feedback.  Like, if the cooties/dust mites double or something while I am gone, that would be good to know, and worth changing twice)  Also, it is pretty easy.  I guess that is why I don't make hardly anything :)  Soren enjoyed the playroom, and was really excited about it.  Keira was upset she didn't get to go, but the kids aren't technically members for another 2 weeks when I go to an orientation meeting downtown.  I am attended the soonest one, and still have to wait that long!  Good thing I still have my other gym membership!  It is another perk that I get to wear black loungy pants AKA yoga pants to work.  I can really wear any black workout bottoms that are not too short, but I would feel silly going to work in my tights.  I did purchase one new pair of black pants at Costco for $20, so there goes my first whole day's worth of work! 

Amy:

(photo taken by my friend Alan Ho, first photo since the accident, on one of his visits)
Amy has moved out of the hospital and into a rehabilitation home.  It is an actual house, where she lives with other patients and can do therapy during the week.  She is allowed to leave with visitors and the staff has outings that she can sign up to do.  This is a great step for her!  Yay!  There is a benefit this weekend in MI to raise additional funds for her.  It is a screening of "Road to Ironman" that Running Fit is organizing.  If you can attend, that would be awesome, because there will be great silent auction items up for grab.  You can also just make a donation.  Here is the site:

https://runningfitevents.webconnex.com/agben

Run Less Fun Faster:
I am LOVING this plan so far!  It is great that I am only running 3 days a week!  It is a little weird though, but I am dealing with that.  We are traveling back to back weekends, so I might miss one workout, but I may be able to make it up by doing 4 runs next week.  I am not sure if I will opt for that or not, with the new job and all, but we'll see.  I might not even miss it.  I have been able to do the track workouts without too much difficulty.  Perhaps it is because I have encorporated track workouts into my marathon training for quite some time and my body remembers how to do them.  Also, the long run paces haven't been bad either.  I have started a little fast, and ended on the slow end, but I think part of it has to do with the topography around here.  I have an awful hill to run up for my  last two miles!  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?  So, it does mess with my paces a bit, but my averages have been OK.  Also, I get a little bored in the middle, and slow down a bit, but tend to pick it up once I am halfway done.  I am still doing lots of out and backs because finding a big loop hasn't gotten me the mileage I need.  I am having a harder time with the tempo runs.  I think this is because I haven't really done tempo runs like these before, and I am doing them outside and not inside.  I can't just set the treadmill to the pace I need to go.  I also have wind and hills to deal with that makes it harder.  My first tempo run was a mess, but my second averaged out all right.  I may be skipping this weeks due to travel.  I might squeeze it in tomorrow morning, but after today's 17 miler in 20deg weather, I'm not so sure.  I really could use a day off.  I guess that is the hardest.  I am used to running 3 days in a row, and then taking a couple days off, instead of skipping a day between each.  It makes total sense and it way easier on my body, but it is harder on my scheduling when I am limited to Tues/Thurs for running.  I have to run on Sat, which has been hard lately.  I'll get it figured out.  Besides, skipping a workout or too isn't going to be the end of the world.  I can say that this plan is awesome for me, since I get all OCD and LOVE how detailed it is.  It is super challenging to hit the paces, and every run has a purpose.  The bummer is that it makes it hard to work out with other people.  Erin is training for a trail ultra, so she is running lots of miles, but at a lot slower pace.  I wish I could run with her more, but right now our goals are really different.  Jen has no desire to run a marathon, and I feel weird running with guys without a big group.  I am also doing my long runs on Thursdays, so there aren't even a lot of people available, but it works for me.  Ryan loves that I don't need to run much longer than an hour or so (so far) on Saturdays.  I will have to run a little longer, but I don't think it should be too bad, and I can always switch it around to do my shortest run on Saturdays.

Here is an example of my run for Tuesday

Thats all for now!  Anyone else in the thick of a big training plan?  How is your race season for 2013 shaping up?

I have a job! Yikes!

I have been a stay at home mom for the past 6.5 years.  I have been thinking it would be nice to break into the fitness industry, but wasn't sure how.  I have been struggling with the childcare problem, because I don't have a ton of time when Soren is in school, and really, do I want to give up my first taste of freedom as soon as I have it?  I wasn't sure.  I thought maybe I would wait another year.  Well, some of you may have read in the news or been affected by the fact that Urban Active was recently bought by LA Fitness.  It caused all sorts of changes at my current gym. I wasn't terribly bothered by any of these because the main reason I was there was because it was cheap, and my kids were happy there.  My previous plan was rolled over, so I was paying the same amount.  All good.  Well, right before Christmas, when I brought Keira in with me, they told me I didn't have 2 kids on my account, and that they could add Keira for either $5 a time or $10/month.  What?  I explained kindly to the lady that it was obviously a mistake, and the let me workout no problem.  The problem was when I talked with the new manager, and she didn't want to fix it without my paper contract that I knew I didn't have anymore.  I was given the run around for several days.  I was furious with them, and didn't want to pay the extra money out of principle, even though it was still the cheapest option around, even with the increase.  I had "some words" with a guy in corporate, and he implied I was lying.  He didn't say I was lying about this, but I told him he was making me feel like a lier since he wasn't believing me.  He didn't deny that.  Finally, I was able to go into the gym on a day when the new LA Fitness manager was sick, and the old Urban Active manager was there instead.  He fixed it, no questions asked.  Whew.  It is all good now.  Or is it?

Where am I going with this?  Well, as a result of all this frustration, I started looking into new clubs.  I mean, if they were going to jerk me around and not fix it, I wasn't going to stay there.  However, all the places I looked at were just as expensive, and the ones that were similar in price were much further away.  I really wanted to join the Y.  Funny, but our Y is more expensive because once you have 3 people on your membership, it is considered a family membership, where at Urban Active, you could get a single membership and add on up to 5 children for one $10/month charge (not the case anymore at LAF).  I have gone back and forth on the Y.  The one that Soren goes to to play soccer is a lot closer to our house, except it is on the opposite direction of Costco and Meijer.  I had been lamenting that there needed to be a gym by Costco and Meijer, so that I could spend less on gas.  Our gasoline bill is out of control every month.  I had calculated that I could save enough money in gas to make up for the more expensive Y membership, if I was going every day.  However, now that I only go 2 or 3 times per week instead of 5, I am not seeing that gas saving since I have to still go to Costco and Meijer every week, and I have to do them on separate trips.  With those places being in the opposite direct of the gym, it was the same amount of gas to go from the gym to Costco, instead of our house to costco.  I couldn't win. UNTIL THEY OPENED A GYM BY COSTCO!!!!  It is a Y, and while they have raised their rates even higher than I had last checked, they are hiring AND WILL LET ME BRING MY KIDS TO WORK WITH ME, for up to 3 hours per day!  My membership is free, and I just have to add on my family, which will be about the same as what I am paying.  I hope I can make this work out.  I have some stuff that I still need to do to be officially hired, like background check and drug testing, so I likely won't actually start until next week when everything comes back.  As a result, I won't have the opportunity to work before I can cancel my membership with LAF before being charged for February.  This is probably a good thing.  This will give me about a month to figure out if this is going to work out.  I would really hate to cancel my membership, struggle with balancing work and my own workouts, and then not be able to afford the Y membership, and be back to square 1 with the LAF folks.  The big thing is that I can only do 3 hours of either workouts or work per day.  They said they can be a little flexible with that, so hopefully I will be able to squeeze in an extra 30 minutes or so to hop in the pool and rinse off before getting the kids, or just be scheduled for 2.5 hours at a time to have that extra 30 minutes.  I have listed that I am not available while Soren is in school, so hopefully this won't impact my running at all.  It will just mainly be my swimming.  I do my biking at home on the trainer.  They will need me for a weekend shift, so hopefully that won't be too big of a cramp in my style.  They schedule a month out, so I should be able to list my race weekends, and even still work, after the race is over, and it isn't a big deal is I can't do one here or there. 

They hired me to be a Wellness Coach.  I think I can handle that.  It is mostly showing people how to use things on the fitness floor, and answering questions about the equipment.  I will need to get CPR certified, which they will do onsite.  They will also supply my tops, and I just need to supply black workout pants.  I think I have that under control.  I will be making just a tad over minumum wage, so not much at all, but it is better than nothing.  It should at least help pay for our rising healthcare costs as well as defray the costs of racing.  It will also get me out of the house, have me closer to home and shopping, and perhaps be that foot in the door for bigger and brighter posititions.  The kids will get to use the pool, as well as Ryan. 

Also, since I am doing the Run Less Run Faster, I am running less days a week.  The program really only calls for 5 workouts total, which is a lot less than I had been doing.  I still want to train for tris, so I can't completely skip out on the pool, but I am completely fine with my marathon training with only 1 swim per week, and one bike per week.  This means only 2 gym workouts, because I like to do my speedwork on the treadmill.  I would like to add back one more swim, so hopefully I can still do this even with the new job.  Also, there is a bigger range of childcare hours, so even on the days I don't work, I can bring Soren in before school on a Tuesday or Thursday and swim, then run while he goes to school.  That might sort of suck, but it is at least an option to get it all in. 

Right now I am feeling a bit crazy on this program.  I like that it is 3 workouts, but they are HARD!  Also, it is best to have a day off between them.  We are scheduled to be out of town the next two weekends in a row, and I am really freaking out about how I am going to fit everything in since I am supposed to cross train or rest between runs.  I did do my track workout yesterday, which I nailed, and my tempo workout today, which I also nailed, so I am feeling good about this week.  Next week might be more of a challenge because I will be gone Monday as well, so I will only have 4 days next week to squeeze it all in.  It is our anniversary, and we are going to be in a secluded cabin in the Greay Smoky National Forest.  I don't know that we are going to do much touristy stuff, so we might get some hiking or biking in.  I don't want to have to plan to run.

Sorry I haven't included any pictures in these last couple posts.  I dropped my digital camera and the screen broke.  Most of my photos are on my phone, and not the best quality, and not really related to the post anyway.  Now that I have a job, maybe I can get the screen fixed or just buy a new one.  Although at just over minumum wage, it will take me a little while.  Not quite like working for Fordm but it is better than nothing.

Run Less Run Faster Marathon Plan and basic goals for 2013

Sorry I haven't done any major recaps of 2012 or goals for 2013 yet.  Aside from just in general not keeping up on my blog, I got strep and most likely the flu over the time between Christmas and New Years.  I am on the mend, but I had to take additional time off, and have just wanted to sleep all the time.  Not that it is anything new that I want to sleep all the time, but I was sleeping a ton, and still felt that way. 

I am finally feeling more like a capable adult instead of a newborn, which is great, because I started the Run Less Run Faster marathon training plan this week in preparation for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon at the end of April.  Wow, is all I can say.  It is hard.  I was freaking out about the first workout.  It was 3x1600m.  My least favorite speedwork ever, and at a 6:41 pace.  Oh dear.  I planned to do this workout on the treadmill so I could just set it to the speed and try to not fall off.  Well, on the first mile, I thought I was going to puke, but I made it through with no issues.  The minute rest FLEW by, and I had a coughing fit.  Sheesh.  The second mile, I made it halfway through, and had to hold onto the treadmill a couple times.  It sort of made it harder, because I couldn't swing my arms, but I also wasn't falling off.  The third mile was just plain ugly.  I had to alternate holding and letting go to make it through.  It totally kicked my butt, but I was so happy that I didn't need to stop the treadmill early during the intervals, or fall off.   I am sure watching the Biggest Loser helped.  You just tell yourself you can do it and you can, and I did (well, sort of, since I did hold on a bit).  Hopefully that was just because I was getting over being sick.  I will try harder next week, and I get to do 800s.  I am much better at 800s than 1600s.

Also, I am feeling more positive that this isn't a terrible idea because I totally NAILED today's workout.  I did my long run today while Soren was at school.  I was aprehensive because the weather report showed it forecasted to rain from today through Tuesday, and with me still not 100%, I was a bit worried that running in the rain would be detrimental.  It was dry at my house until I dropped Soren off for school.  Figures. My first mile in the light rain was a few seconds ahead of the 8:30 pace I was supposed to do.  My second mile, with the big uphill, was way slower.  Oh no!  Just keep trying and pushing, I told myself.  Don't give up on the pace just yet!  Thankfully, once I got to the flatter section, it stopped raining (or it just wasn't raining over here), and I struggled a bit with the first 4 miles, but then everything clicked.  I ventured into a new area for my 13 mile run, so that I could explore more options than just running back and forth on Old La Grange Road.  Instead of taking it until it ends on my side of the freeway, I jumped onto 146, which is what I normally use to ride on to get to the IM course from my house, and stayed on that until Old La Grange Road popped back up on the other side of the freeway.  The shoulder isn't super wide on 146, so I didn't love that part, and it was exactly far enough for me to run 6.5 miles from my house before I got to a good turn around spot.  I did have to cross a lot of railroad tracks.  Thankfully, I didn't get stopped by any trains.  It started to rain really hard on me the closer I got to my house.  That last mile, which is uphill, was brutal.  I was super excited to see that I finished up in 1:49:55, good enough for an 8:27 pace!  Sweet! My pace seemed a bit all over the place when I checked my garmin, but I was keeping track of my splits somewhat in my head, so I knew it would be pretty close, but was pleasantly surprised that it was under.

I have one more run this week, it is a tempo run.  2 miles warm up, 2 miles 7:14, and 2 miles cool down.  This should work nice outside.  It is about 2 miles to get to the flat part of Old LaGrange Road, so I can run on it a mile, turn around, and then head back.  I hope I can hit the paces I am supposed to.  Today's run showed me that I really am trying to do the right plan in the book.  I was worried after the first workout and being sick.  I have heard that in the beginning, it is really hard, but it is supposed to be to improve. 

Here is my tentative race schedule for 2013: BOLD are events that I have entered

Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon, 4/27/13, Louisville, KY

Horsey Hundred cycling event, TBD, 5/13, Georgetown, KY

Michigan Mountain Mayhem, 160K cycling event, 6/8/13, Boyne City, MI

Triceratops Triathlon, 6/19/13, Brighton, MI
Cardinal Half Triathlon, 7/15/2013, Louisville, KY
Tree Farm Relay, 7/13, Novi, MI
Oldham County Mini Triathlon, 9/13, Buckner, KY
Columbus Half Marathon, 10/20/13, Columbus, OH
Louisville Sports Commission Half Marathon 11/13, Louisville, KY

I am making an effort this year to do more local races.  This should save me a lot of gas money, and the stress and time of traveling.  Please don't tell my mom that I have  the Columbus Marathon down because it is still just tentative.  I actually think doing it next year might be a good idea, because I ran my first marathon there in 2004, so going back in 2014 would be cool, right?  There are lots of half marathons in the fall here, and I think there is usually one in Indianapolis on the Saturday before, so that is also on the table.  I wouldn't mind going back to Indy with the family, but it is always difficult to go to a race with my family unless I have friends going too, so that I can get a ride over to the start.  This is another reason why I want to do more local races, so that it doesn't disrupt my weekends as much.  A lot of the dates have not yet been posted for the KY races, so this will likely change.

Detroit (Half) Marathon Recap

Another catch up post that is written way to long after the fact..... 

I was super excited to run the Detroit Half this year.  I had signed up insanely early for a super low price, and it was getting me another trip back to MI.  I love MI in fall.  However, I was getting a bit worn out of racing and traveling.  If you remember last fall, I cranked out 3 half marathons in 4 weekends.  Whew, it was rough, and I was about ready to combust and barely wanted to start the third race.  This year, I had planned to race a half marathon in Sept, Oct, and Nov, each about a month apart.  Well, this year was the year of the change of plans.  As it happened, I won a drawing and did 2 halves in Sept, and one in October.  This made Detroit my third half of the year.  I was feeling really strong going into it.  I ran really well at Brooksie, and felt like that course was challenging.  I was ready to rock it.  I was going to make a conscious effort to start out a little slower this time around to avoid my inevitable burn out around miles 8-10 that I have experienced these more recent halves.  I also wasn't going to eat as many donuts or as much cider before this race either.  I still was going to have a little, just not a ton.

I went to the expo on Saturday, and didn't spend too much time at their. Soren fell asleep in the car on the way down, and then when I got to COBO, I realized that the wheels to my stroller were in KY. Um, yeah, not so happy about that. I was a bit concerned about how I was going to keep track of the kids and get my stuff. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as terrifying as I thought to be with the two kiddos in Detroit by myself. They have been to plenty of expos and the Detroit Auto Show at COBO a bunch, so it wasn't like they didn't know what to do or how to behave. I had a bunch of samples to drop off to Running Fit for their Running 501 class.  I wasn't sure if I would have a secure place to keep them during the race if I met up with them, so I wanted to give them to him inadvance.  They were first going to meet up just inside Cobo's lobby, and then switched to Cobo Joes.  I finally met up with Becky after getting my number and corral changed.We have really become good friends over the past two years.  It was great to see her.  We planned to meet up in the morning before the race, and head over together.  This was a training run for her for IMFL, and I wanted to go all out, so we didn't plan to run together.  I thought about taking the kids for a ride on the people mover before leaving, but was worried that it would break down and we would be stuck on it.  

Sunday morning was race morning, and I got up super early to eat.  As I was putting on my tights for the race, I noticed they were really loose.  One of the reasons I love those tights were because they were really tight, and they made me feel thin and fast.  I didn't feel that way.  The last time I had washed them was at my in laws house, in their washer and dryer, and then put them back in my pile.  I had been so soaked and dirty at the Ride for Amy when I finished, that everything went straight into the washer, and then remained clean and packed to come back for this weekend.  I was really perplexed, and threw my shorts into my bag to come downtown with me.  I was really on the fence about which to wear.  I got downtown, to the parking garage I had planned to use, and it wasn't open yet! Yikes!  I stressed.  I know this is Detroit and those kind of things can be casual sometimes, I didn't want to lose out on a spot.  Becky was staying in the Ren Cen which was farther east than I usually parked.  One guy was waiting there for it to open, and I just called Becky and told her I couldn't wait until the garage MAYBE opened.  I looped around and headed back towards COBO, and then found a parking lot right by Cobo Joe's!  Imagine that!  I spoke to the lady at the door, informing her that I was a friend of Randy's, and not on "the list" of people in the running class.  She was super accomodating, and even gave me a wristband.  I wouldn't even need to use gear check, because I could leave my stuff in here, AND have a real bathroom.  I opted to change in my shorts here, too, which was a good call.  While I couldn't find Becky, it was still great to have a close warm place with a great vibe before the race.  I ran into Chad there too.  He was just spectating.  Then it was time to head to the start.

Here is where I made my critical error.  I lined up with the 1:40 pace group, and decided to stick with them.  We started off a lot slow.  I just couldn't get any faster.  I was bummed, but trying my hardest.  Detroit is a hard course, between the bridge and the tunnel.  I had a great time running, though, I just wasn't very fast today.  I started slow, and just got slower, STILL, instead of starting a tad slow and maintaining.  I guess I am so used to starting too fast, and then slowing down some, or maybe A LOT for one mile, and then getting it back under control.  Not today.  Oh well.  It was still fun, and I still had a decent time, just over 1:43, I think.  I was 15th out of 1001 ladies in the 35-39AG, so I have to be pleased with that.  I also got to see a lot of friends.

Anna gave me my medal as I crossed.  It was great to see her again.  She was volunteering with her mom, and volunteered last year too.

I hung out with Anna as long as I could before I was asked to move, and then I saw Erika from This Spartan Will come across.  I had never personally met her before today, although I feel like she is one of my best racing friends since we have been at so many of the same races, and did our first half Ironman races at the same race last year, AND both earned our Ironman status this year.  We've had lots of emails and messages back and forth since she started blogging.

Next, I found Stephanie from the Wolverine Sports Club (WSC)!  I wasn't sure when she would come across.  She is Ryan's friend (and mine too now) who got me through my first century ride. 

I found Becky next.  She had encountered one of our Aquaphor teammates, Stacy, on the course, and paced her to a 2:00 finish.  Awesome job to both of them!  Stacy got her goal time, and Becky got her there. 

I was hoping we could find Maria from WSC too, but didn't see her.  She didn't have her phone, and warned me that she would be dashing back to the car as soon as possible after finishing.  I also missed Rick and his sister.  She ran her first half marathon today and came in sometime between Stephanie and Becky.  I was bummed that I missed Austin from WSC also.  I didn't even realize he was running until I got home that afternoon and saw it on fb.  Apparently I had been living under a rock or something.  He finished in that time that I was hanging out at the finish, probably talking to Erika or Stephanie.

Even though I didn't get my goal time, I really wasn't too much slower than my time last year.  It was a blast to see so many familiar faces before and after the race.  I also didn't overdo it on cider and donuts beforehand, so I felt great afterwards.  I love this race, and I don' think I will ever get tired of doing it.  It was especially fun with Detroit doing so well in the World Series (at the time)  I LOVE Detroit!!!

Ride for Amy Recap

I am still WAY behind, and getting more and more behind.  I wish I would have written this post a while back, while it was still fresh in my mind.  Anyway, here goes:

Ride for Amy

I know most of you saw my post on Amy, who was hit by a semi while doing her final long training ride prior to Kona.  Well, this ride was a fundraiser for her therapy, and it took place at Island Lake State Park, on October 13, 2012, the day of Kona.  At the time of the ride, she was still in the hospital, but has since been moved to a rehabilition facility.  The agenda for the day was meet up with Valerie early, help set up, and then ride, and head out before the silent auction.  I had donated food for the riders, paid the entry donation, as well as donated an item for it, and bought two wristbands up until the start of the event, so while I was bummed that I wouldn't be partaking of the auction, I felt like I was contributing the best I could.  I had also planned to buy a shirt, but those were unavailable.  I ended up purchasing a visor instead, which has now become my new favorite visor.

It was a rainy morning, but it was still very well attended.  It was really incredible to see the triathlon and running community come together this way.  I got to see a lot of people from Triathletes in Action, which isn't very active anymore with their group workouts.  We had a couple really great seasons as a group, but then everyone seemed to do a lot more of their own thing.  It was fantastic to have everyone back together supporting Amy.  Also, Randy Step of Running Fit donated his time and his equipment to take credit card registration and funds for the auction.  It was truly a beautiful thing to look around and know that everyone there was there to help Amy, and that 100% of the money went to her and her recovery.  No one was getting paid, and if you used a credit card, you paid your own processing fee. 

Since it was raining, most people just did one lap of the park.  No one was going terribly fast, and it was a social ride.  No times or anything.  Not even an official roster.  Valerie had just gotten a brand new bike!  Yea! This was her first ride on it, and I was honored that I could ride with her.

The funny thing about this, and I didn't realize it until the following week, was that Valerie and I swapped tights accidently for this ride!  Since we arrived early to set up, we both had on bike shorts under yoga pants, and then brought this massive pile of all black clothes into the bathroom to start layering up.  Apparently we mixed up our tights in the process.  Too funny that we both had black under armour tights, although the sizes were different.  I think I recall her mentioning that she could barely put her feet through, but I didn't think anything of it because I have that problem too.  Duh!!!!

I am hoping to get to see Amy over Christmas break when we return to MI.  Her sister Kendi has set up a facebook page for her recover fund, and you can get the most up to date information regarding Amy HERE

Catching Up. Brooksie Way Half Marathon Recap

I have been very behind on blogging.  I think that is the way all these posts are starting lately.  I have been trying to figure out why.  I think life is just in the way.  I don't have any kids that nap anymore, and Ryan works so late into the evenings, that I really don't want to take the time out of "our" time to be sitting at the computer and I have been enjoying some of the TV shows with him, as well as working on the disaster that happens in our house on a daily basis with the two kids' activities.  With Soren in preschool, I have been able to go to Keira's school more often without the painful process of asking people for favors with Soren, and I can go to Soren's school whenever I want, because his school is entirely contained within Keira's school.  As a result, I feel like I am being a better mom, and trying to be a better housewife/homemaker (although our house is still a wreck most of the time and a lot of the time I still feel distracted after the kids are in bed by things that I have put off because I can't handle them with the kids running around.  I have 3 events that I need to catch up on.  I will try to give them each a decent amount of review, but will try to be concise.  I am already starting to forget details, so that should help shorten things up.

Brooksie Way Half Marathon:
I won an entry to this race from Kelly at Secrets of a Running Mom.  It was from Renewal by Andersen.  She was supposed to race too, but due to her pregnancy, was unable.  I had been looking forward to meeting her.  The race was held the day after Soren's birthday, and we had a party for him on Saturday.  Basically, I ate at ton of junk food, but we had a great time.  My friend Chad was able to pick up my packet for me to save me from the 2 hour plus round trip drive it would take to go to the expo, and that was huge so that I could enjoy Soren's birthday.

Race morning, I got up and went to the Renewal by Andersen Booth to pick up my green shirt.  I should have taken a picture of the back, but it is a fun shirt.  I wished they would have had my size right, but oh well, it was a free race, so I can't really complain.  It said, "Like my Shirt, after the race, I'll let you see the front" on the back.  Then I found Chad with my bib.  It was nice to have the booth to leave things in and it made it easy for us to find each other. 

We had a group picture next.  These are from my brand new iphone, and unfortunately, it isn't the best at taking photos in the low light of sunrise.  I should have busted out my regular small "race cam" camera, but now I know.  That is Jeff from Detroit Runner that is pictured with me, as well as Kelly's replacement.

 I ran into teammate Brandy in the port o pottie line.  I couldn't count this race for Aquaphor, since I ran it for Renewal, but I am glad we had the photo op.  The lady in in the right of the photo has on the race shirt.  Both years I have done it, they have been very bright for better visability during those fall runs when the daylight hours are waning.

The Brooksie Way has a unique profile, in that it is downhill for about the first 5 miles, and then uphill with some rollers for the remainer of the race.  The last 3 miles aren't as bad as those middle 5, though.  I started out with the 1:40 pace group, and got a little ahead of them at times, but eventually they caught me on the second half of the race.  It was no PR, and I didn't think it would be, but I did run it faster than I did in 2010, so that was a plus.  I was 1:41:53, watching the clock click over to 1:42 as I crossed.  I was just super happy to be under 1:42, especially on this course, which is hard, I think.  I also had someone ask me about my shirt during the race.  It is always nice to have people notice your sponsors and ask you about them.

The medals were SUPER COOL for this race.  I remembered when I did it in 2010, that it was a nice medal.  It had some thickness to it, and was by far my coolest half marathon medal because I love fall, and it had fall leaves on the ribbon.  It was one of my first medals with a really fancy ribbon, and I thought it was so cool.  Well, this year, for the 5th anniversary of the race, they had the leaves in a stained glass style on the medal itself.  The ribbon was less fancy, but had the race name on it printed large.  Since it is a half marathon and 5K, it said "half marathon" on it, unlike some of the other races I have done where the all the ribbons are the same.  I think it is a little lame to have a medal that says half and a ribbon that just says "marathon", but that is just me.  It was like that for Air Force and Derby.  Detroit last year didn't have any words on it, just the distance.  Jeff took a bunch of pictures of his medal too.  Even though there is glare, this is my favorite since our tree is yellow in the background.

Anyway, I was really pleased with this race.  I was 9th in my age group, and as it turned out, Leah from Chasing Atlanta won (and she in my AG too since we are the same age, so I guess I was technically 10th, but she was taken out of the AG awards).  I am glad I did it, and we had a great time for Soren's birthday.  I felt really awful, though, when I finished because it is not a good idea to carbo load on apple cider and donuts the night before the race.  My stomach was fine during the race.  It didn't bother me at all, but as soon as I was done, it revolted, and it took me a little while to feel OK enough to make the hour drive back.