The year of bling

I can only hope that 2014 is just as exciting as 2013. Not to shabby, eh?!

Next up...Tacoma St. Paddy's Day half (Saturday) and the New Bedford Half in Massachusetts (Sunday). #wama

Race Recap: Route 66 Half Marathon

What a weekend! Tulsa experienced record lows for the race but it didn't stop me from having a great time! With a race start of 23 degrees and a real feel of 14...it was COLD!!!!! Beware there are ALOT of pictures :)

As soon as I stepped off the airplane I new this weekend was going to be magical. Route 66 signs were all over the airport. I got so pumped! I'm in Tulsa, Oklahoma :)

I was excited for my first Half Fanatic/Marathon Maniac meet-up. I was finally amongst people who
GOT ME! Yes, there ARE people crazier than me.

I even met MM #3tp!

 

Karen and I walked around the expo for a while looking at the booths. We found the Little Rock Marathon booth...omg...I NEED that medal. I had to use 2 hands to pick it up. Looks like there is a Marathon in my future :) I hear it's hilly. It's a good thing I like to run hill repeats :)

 

Route 66 was the theme so that means cars! They were everywhere. So shiny! I secretly wanted a photo inside of it or even laying on it. I didn't want to get in trouble.

 

 This one is my favorite :)

One last photo before I leave the expo...I hope you're not tired of the pictures already! (I'm just getting started). I'm ready to ROCK this race! 10955 is in the house :)

 

Not only do I belong to the Half Fanatics group, I'm also a member of the 50 States Half Marathon Club. We met for dinner at Baxter's in downtown Tulsa. I had pasta! It was nice seeing old friends again and meeting new ones! We talked about our favorite races and got each other pumped for our COLD run in the morning. We are ready to Run Tulsa!

 

 

Well the time has come to brave the cold. I was so lucky that I bought hand warmers from the Expo. They're definitely going to get their use today! They were nice enough to slip inside my gloves and fit into the palm of my hands. We went to Maniac Corner first thing before race start and got a photo. Over 1000 MM/HF in attendance. What a turnout. I'm down in the second row-ish on the right.

 

 

I'm so lucky that I've met some great traveling friends. Karen and Jodi are fun to hang out with. This is our second race together. Karen is from St. Louis and Jodi is from Florida.

 

 

We were divided into corrals for the race start. I was in Corral C. Each corral at the start had a confetti release. It was pretty cool. Anders ~ I borrowed some of your pictures :)

 

 

 

See that last picture? We started with a hill. I mad a big mistake about this race. I didn't research the elevation gain/loss. The first 6 miles or so was hilly. Yes, the down-hills came too...but this was different. I don't know if the cold had something to do with it but it felt like I was going in slow motion ALL the time. I couldn't decide whether to walk the up-hills to save my energy. I chose not to. My watch didn't reflect a slowdown in time too much. I just decided to not look at my watch until the first beep (mile 3.5).  I was awfully tired in the beginning due to the hills. I guess my first mile was a little too fast for me...

mile 1: 9:32 (I NEVER run 9 minute miles) and that was with an uphill...what was I doing???
mile 2: 10:34
mile 3: 10:51 (watch out for speed bumps)
mile 4: 11:11 (these hills are killing me)
mile 5: 11:39
mile 6: 11:20

Every mile I was looking for Christine and Kyle. I really tried to find you guys...maybe my eyeballs were frozen :) Love you NUC :)

Water stops were good. Great encouragement from the volunteers. However...it was SOOO cold out that the Gatorade was turning into slushies. I have sensitive teeth so to drink that was brutal for me. I like to swish my mouth out with water too, but I couldn't even do that. And ICE...there was ice on the roads due to the water stops. I'm a clumsy person but luckily I didn't slip.

mile 7: 11:14

I tripped BIG time. I almost fell flat on my face. I stepped into a hole in the road and just tumbled forward but kept upright. Stay up...just stay up. And I did. I magically thought of the GOATz...hmmm...visions of Lake Cunningham dancing in my head :)

mile 8: 11:59
mile 9: 11:54
mile 10: 12:26

Anders found me!! (And by the way, I borrowed a few of your photos too :))

mile 11: 12:10 (This is where I realized my lips were numb on my face)
mile 12: 13:09 (Now I'm freezing...literally)

 

The last hill. I did walk up this one. And I was okay with that. 

mile 13: 12:07
last 0.1:  2:32

 

I walked QUICKLY over to Maniac Corner to exchange my Route 66 Half medal in for a Half Fanatics medal. I LOVE this thing. The Maniac tent was awesome. A private area of food, tents and warmers. I wish I could had stayed longer. I was just too cold. Did I mention yet how COLD it was?!! 

 

 

 

No PR today. But an okay time. 2:32:26. My first goal was to break 2:15 and I new that wasn't going to happen after my side stich in mile 1 and the awful dry-heaving around mile 2-3. It just wasn't my day.  It was still a great day. I met a ton of  awesome people and I wouldn't change it for anything.

 

 

PROS: Entire race, great medals, brave volunteers, MM/HF and 50 Staters

CONS: Cold...but can.t change anything about that. Bus at the end. It did NOT take you back to the  hotel.

 

 State # 6

 

OKLAHOMA

 

2:32:26

 

10th half-marathon complete

 



 

This medal was everything I had imagined. 

 

Next race: St. Paddy's Day run Half Marathon ~ Tacoma, Washington

 



My next adventure!

Boarding for my next race! It's going to probably be one of my favorites...I can already tell. Over 1000 runners at Maniac Corner! Let's do this! T-town here I come. I can't wait to catch snowflakes on my tongue  :-)

Signing off!
HF #4953

Love Meb. Take the time to read this.

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2013/11/time-life/

Race Recap: 2nd Annual G.O.A.T.z Trail Run - 21 miles

It's been two days since those 21 miles. My mind is continuously running in circles wondering how I was even able to do it. I wanted to give up multiple times. And was really considering if just before the first loop (around 10.5 miles)...but something came over me. I wasn't going to quit. I'm not a quitter. I wanted that medal; NOT a ribbon :)

The day started about pretty bad. I got lost. Really lost. I went to the wrong entrance of Glenn Cunningham Lake. This is no small lake. I was on the complete opposite side of the darn thing. With only 20 minutes till gun time, I was frantically trying to find the entrance. At 7:50 am, I saw signs of hope! Phew...that part was over. I go over to check my bag...I forgot my water bottle. After running back to the car, I only had about 4 minutes to recollect myself. No time to really worry, which was probably a good thing.

After some quick directions from Papa Goat, aka Scott, we were off. The first few miles was pretty congested. Single file trail running. All is good. I'm really happy that I decided to go with the cold weather gear; long pants and long sleeves. It was a frisky 35 degrees. I figured with the generous 9 hour cut-off I was sure to get this run done. My intentions were to run the first 13.1 and walk the rest. Well, the first 13.1 took a little longer than I had hoped...

Trail running is hard. It takes dedication, determination and a different kind of runner. Someone I am not. I tripped over twenty times; rolled my ankle twice but never completely fell down (unlike the Dizzy Goat). I cried around mile 14. I wanted to quit around mile 17 but there was no where to go. I was even secretly trying to figure out a way to cut through the woods. But who am I kidding; I'd get lost. My legs were killing me and so were my hips. My 5 hour goal soon went out the window.

The encouragement from runners was amazing. It was probably the only thing that really kept me going. I decided to walk the uphill's and run the straightaways and downhill's. Then I couldn't even do that anymore. I had to walk the last two miles. My intentions where to run the last mile; finish strong. But it was an uphill.

I tried my hardest and I didn't quit. I wanted to! Did I mention that I had originally signed up for the 10.5 mile race but changed my mind. All for a medal...I'm just crazy. That pretty much sums it up. I came into the finish running at 5:38:31. People lapped me...I didn't care. I was done and ready to go home.

Will I run this again? Um...no. But I'm excited about the 12 hr Dizzy Goat trail run! The volunteers were spectacular, the food was stupendous and the runners were encouraging! I'm just not a trail runner. And I'm okay with that.

Special thanks to the G.O.A.T.z, Turkey's Aid Station, Mama's Pizza and Red Dirt Running. The chili was amazing and the salt pill was exactly what I needed. And a special thanks to the volunteers who got all the thistles out of my pants. And I LOVE my shirt.

Kudos to all of those who finished (regardless of distance)...I'm in awe of your excellence. You all deserve a big pat on the back. Thanks for letting me tag along.

See you in Tulsa...Route 66 Half Marathon!

Race Recap: Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon

Just 6 days after Iowa, I was off to Missouri. Kansas City was a blast but boy, was it COLD. A couple of awesome things happened at this race: another PR and I mooned up with Half Fanatics! And adding another state to my challenge wasn't half bad either.

After a 3 hour drive, we were in Kansas City. I said "we." Dan came with me! I know he probably didn't have fun, but it's nice having someone at the finish line waiting for you. We went straight to the Expo and picked up my race packet. I got a sweet white Dri-fit shirt and a small jar of BBQ sauce! The Expo had a lot of area businesses; chiropractors, health food industries and various other vendors. I was hoping for a little more. We did get pulled in by a vendor sporting this stick contraption. You've got tight muscles? Oh.my.word. This "thing" is amazing.

I wanted to purchase a "finishers" shirt. Instead of just purchasing a shirt, you could have one made anyway you like. I wasn't a fan of any of the vinyl iron on decals nor the price. So I opted out of getting a shirt. The Expo building was attached to our hotel so we walked over and checked in. The Sheraton was a gorgeous hotel with a great view of downtown. The only complaint I would have about the hotel was the unavailability of late check out. Most Host Hotels will offer late check out to their runners...not this one. I feel sorry for those running the Marathon and not getting done before noon.

 

 

 

 

Dan and I walked around the Crown Centre. We had pizza for dinner at d'Bronx and went back to the hotel. GREAT pizza. I laid out my running clothes and went to sleep.

 

 

 

Saturday morning came early. I couldn't sleep. I got dressed and just sat there...waiting! I decided to go downstairs and walk near where the starting line would be. It was sooo cold outside that the runners were all coming into the Crown Centre just to stay warm. I was able to meet up with the Half Fanatic and 50 States group! Met some new people and saw some old ones! I wish it was warmer so I could meet everyone. Pic was taken and we all went back inside!

 

 

 

The race started and things were going well. The first mile was a long "gentle" uphill. Not too bad. What comes after a "gentle" uphill...a DOWNHILL! I decided this race that I was going to take advantage of those downhill's. I normally don't want to over stride and hurt my knee but I felt good and I was flying past runners. The short, "steep" uphill around mile 3.5 was exactly that...steep. I decided to walk up this hill. I wasn't going to waste my energy on that stupid thing. Can you guess what came next? A DOWNHILL!!

 

I kept watching my Garmin...ahead of pace. 10 min miles. I was staying consistent, real consistent. That never happens. I thought could I actually get another PR just 6 days after my last one? I decided at that moment that I was and I kept chugging. The weather was so cold. The wind didn't help much either. The buildings were blocking the sun which made me want to run faster. I just kept thinking the quicker I get this run over with the quicker I can get warm.

 

The split came and the FULL marathoners continued straight and the HALF marathoners made a left turn. I had a quick thought of a fellow Half Fanatic who made a wrong turn and I wasn't going to do that :) Go Gwen!!

 

The run was quite scenic. We ran past the War Memorial, through Westport and past the Plaza. There was a ton of crowd support with fun signs that made me laugh. I would like to say a personal thank-you to the random crowd supporter with the box of Kleenex. I really needed to blow my nose. Thank-you! The miles kept increasing and I decided to just take it.

 

 

Around mile 12, the wheelchair winner was coming in along with the FULL marathon winner. It was cool seeing them come in with a police escort. I've never seen that before. But I guess I've never been this fast before. I was making it into the home stretch and saw a fellow Fanatic, and then I saw Dan! I looked at my watch as I crossed the finish line: 2:19:58. I did it. I FINALLY broke 2:20 and I set another PR. Thanks Kansas City for an amazing time.

 

Home stretch.                                                               Photo captured by KC Marathon FB page.

 

 



State # 5

 

Half marathon # 8

 

New PR:   2:19:58

 

 

PROS: great scenic views, crowd support, BBQ sandwiches, mylar blankets, medal

CONS: no late check-out, COLD

 

 

 

 

 

See ya Sunday at the 2nd Annual Trail run with the G.O.A.T.z! I'm running 21 miles!



 







MCM must go on!!

Looking for a running shirt? Are you supposed to be running the MCM? Check out this AWESOME vinyl iron on for your next race!

Check out:

http://beboldvinylcreations.blogspot.com/

And tell her I sent ya :)

2013 Chicago Marathon: Sights and Sounds All Along The Route

2019...I will be there.

Race Recap: COUNCIL BLUFFS HALF MARATHON

Iowa complete! It was a chilly morning for running but I'm glad I decided to go with the short sleeves (with some help of course). Love you NU!

I was skeptical about this race. One of the directors from Half Fanatics warmed me that this race director is notorious for cancelling races. The USRA Running Half Marathon Series fortunately didn't cancel this race...but often made me believe that they were. Up until 5 days before the race, there was no location for packet pickup. The original location was cancelled. The website had information posted from last years race; no updates. I heard that this company offers no refunds; just transfers to other races nearby. I began emailing the director and he reassured me that Council Bluffs was going on! (always with exclamation points) What really got me worried was that the race was deleted from the Halfmarathons.net website.

I also went to their Facebook page. How come a running group SO BIG has only 1,379 likes? Well, updates began pouring in (four days before race day). They found a location for packet pickup. The website was updated with a race start/finish address. Things were finally coming together. I picked up my race "packet" and headed right back home. It was that fast. No lines. I was able to choose my shirt size; that I liked.

Race day was here. I was ready to complete my 4th state and 7th half marathon. I came early; too early. I could not find anyone or anything. And I honestly thought, oh my word, it's cancelled. But I kept driving around that stupid lake and finally found people outside setting up arrows for the race. Shelter 6 they say; hidden way back by the lake. As I wait in my car (it's freezing outside), I try to stay warm. I still have no idea if I'm wearing long sleeves or short. A minute before the "go", I switched to short. So glad I did.

I didn't take any pictures on this run. It was an out and back; x 3. x 3? We ran around Lake Manawa for about 5 miles, turned around and ran back. Then switched to another out and back. The turn around was at 11.5 miles. The one thing I didn't like about that out and back was the tunnel. I almost felt claustrophobic. My eyes couldn't adjust. Then I had to run back into the tunnel. I took a peak at my watch around the 12 mile mark and realized I could actually PR. I wanted to run easy because of Kansas City next weekend...but I couldn't let this opportunity be passed up! So I took it.

I finished at 2:25:38 a new PR. The route was nicely labeled. Water stations were manned by Creighton University students. They did a great job! The weather was beautiful and the paths were clean. Post race food? What can I say, hard chocolate chip cookies, fig newton bars and Gatorade. I wanted food and chocolate milk. None available.

I would like to know where my $65 dollars went. I got a COTTON short sleeve shirt with a cheesy medal.  I can literally bend the medal in half. This guy is making a lot of money. From last years website, Half Marathoners were promised a Dri-Fit shirt. When they redid the site, that was removed. I'll never run under this group again.

Google: Reinke Sports Group for questions you might have.

 

Check out my cheesy medal.

 

 

PROS: Labeled course, water stations

CONS: Medals, Reinke Sports Group, USRA Half Marathon Series, post race food.

 

 

State # 4

 

Half Marathon # 7

 

 

 

See ya this Saturday in Kansas City, MO!

Race Recap: Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half

Boy! Did I learn how to GO BIG! With this incredibly FAST race, I was able to experience breath-taking views with unique perks! Top quality race shirts, HUGE finishers' medals, personalized race videos and FREE race photos!! Yes, I said FREE race photos :)

 

Traveling to Utah was quite an adventure. The devastating rains in Colorado put a ground-stop on ALL traffic in and out of Denver International Airport. They're calling it the 1000 year storm. We were given a 30 minute window to board the plane around 11 a.m.; only 2 1/2 hours past our scheduled departure time. The line was complete chaos. No zone boarding here. We all managed to board the plane, safely. The next flight to Salt Lake City was delayed too. I was thankful that I originally had an almost 4 hour layover in Denver. I was only about an hour late arriving into SLC. I managed to take the Trax; a public train. I was a little nervous; okay, REALLY nervous. I always have Dan to worry about the BIG things. But hey! The motto of the weekend was to GO BIG...so I did!

 

Do you see my little blue dot?! I'm representing Hooper! All the way in Utah :)

 

 

 

I arrived at the Holiday Inn Express, unpacked and hung out. My friends Jodi and Karen weren't to arrive until almost midnight so I tried to get some shut eye. The buses were leaving between 4 - 5 a.m. to take us up the canyon. I took my usual Flat Momma photo and went to sleep.

 

 

What a morning! Have you ever woken up for a race at 3:45 a.m.? First time for me! We left for Cottonwood HS around 4:30. It was only 8 miles away. Unfortunately, we had NO idea how AWFUL parking was going to be. We finally found a spot around 5:10 a.m. We had strict instructions that the last bus would leave at 5 for the canyon. As we got out of the car, all we could hear were people yelling..."THE BUSES ARE LEAVING!! THE BUSES ARE LEAVING!!" Jodi, Karen and I ran. We didn't travel ALL this way for them to leave us. We got on the second to last bus. It had 3 spots left. But we made it. I feel awful for those behind us. I have no idea if they made it.

 

Apparently, buses were breaking down. One bus transferring the FULL participants got stuck. The bus in front of us broke down. Those runners crammed onto our bus. But we made it to the start line; over 8 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon. The sun hasn't risen yet. It was pretty dark. We began to worry how in the heck are we going to see. Quickly the sun began rising and it wasn't all that bad. Plenty of port potties...a runners best friend! I was told that the canyon could be quite cold. We were given Mylar blankets and gloves. Didn't I say, great swag?! And we wait...

 

 

I have ran hills. But a course entirely downhill was going to be my next feat. With a 15 degree decline, it proved to be an interesting race. I didn't want to over stride and reinjure my ITB. I took quick, little steps and managed to keep a low 10 min/mile pace for the entire 8 miles out of the canyon. Not too shabby for me! Plenty of aid stations to help us along the way too. My favorite: Aid Station # 1: Jolly ranchers :)

 

 

 

 

GREAT motivational signs...they were everywhere.

 

The next four miles was tough. The Gu I took earlier was not settling well in my stomach. I'm not a big fan of yellow Gatorade. But I needed electrolytes so I kept drinking it. I actually got sick around mile 12 but I felt a ton better after that. Trust me, Gu tastes the same way coming back up. I hate that stuff! Enjoy some FREE race photos...

 

 

Unfortunately, Fall hadn't set in. This wasn't quite the view I had, but it was still spectacular!



Smiling for the camera! I love this one. Maybe they'll use it for a promo pic next year.

 

 

Running through the town of Murray, Utah was nice. I came past one house. It was beautiful but it stunk. And I think that's where I began to feel sick. My times were slowing waaay down but I was still managing to stay on track. Those fast 10 min. milers saved my time.

 

Nothing like coming into the straightaway! I was ready to be done. My calves were on fire, my quads were on fire, and I was just tired. I guess I can't forget I just ran a half marathon only 13 days prior to this. More FREE pictures...

 



Nothing like finishing with a NEW PR!! 2:31:36. I was really hoping to break that 2:30 mark. But I'm okay with this. I even had a spectator! Margaret, my old dental hygienist, came to see me finish! She moved to Utah about 3 years ago and lived close. It was so nice to see a familiar face at the end. I really needed that. More FREE photos...

Well, duh! Me :)

 





 

PROS: Race swag, finishers medal, scenery, jolly ranchers, popsicles, motivational signs

 

CONS: Parking, buses, WARM chocolate milk

 

 

 

State # 3

 

Half Marathon # 6





 

Below are some personal photos...also FREE :)