I'm a Yuppy

My boyfriend, Andy, calls everything that doesn't have to do with getting yourself dirty, "yuppy."  He even goes as far as calling tent camping "yuppy".  Now I'd probably disagree with him on most of the things he calls "yuppy" but I have to agree with him on my latest adventure.  I've joined a fancy gym.  I left Anytime Fitness (another battle I don't want to cry about) and joined Lifetime Fitness.  I call them a fancy gym because they have fancy wood lockers and marble-like counters.  They have towels for every member. They have a sauna and a whirlpool in their locker rooms.  But let me defend myself here.  They have an indoor track.  And lots of equipment.  And that is the real reason I joined (the other stuff is pretty sweet though!) 

If you haven't figure it out, I finally finished student teaching.  I have time to run again.  Woohoo!  I've already run into a few former students at the gym.  Kind of nice to see them--although probably not my preferred way to run into them.  Anyways, after my running hiatus, it has been interesting trying to get started again.  I gained some weight while not running- go figure!  So I'm now running with some extra poundage slowing me down.  Not cool.  Hopefully it will come off fast...

I'm hoping to try to run the Marine Corps Marathon next year.  Also thinking about the Rock N Roll in St. Louis.  I'll get a more definite list up as the new year rolls around.

Quick Update

Sorry folks that I haven't updated in forever. Hopefully I still have some followers that aren't spammers.  Student teaching has been a little more than I bargained for.  I've been up late every night working on lesson plans and grading and then wake up at 5 every morning.  As you can see, I have had no time for running.  However, I have run two races since I last blogged.  I ran the Twin Cities 10 mile earlier this month and then the Kansas City Half Marathon last weekend.  Both went well considering the fact that I had absolutely no training under my belt.  At least I now know that I can run a half marathon w/o any sort of training.  LOL.  My time was pretty bad-- 2 hrs 30 min or 2 hrs 40 min.  One or the other.  I didn't bother to check.  Anyways, I've barely remembered to put a shirt on in the morning so you can imagine that I didn't remember to bring a camera to either of these races either.  So just pretend that I've posted a not so flattering running picture here.  Both races were beautiful.  KC ran out of medals at the end.  I was pretty upset but loved the race itself so I couldn't hold too many grudges.

Anyways, we have a 4 day weekend so I'll have lots of time to get stuff done.  My student teaching isn't up until December so don't expect a lot of updates until then.  Hope you all are doing great!

One Run and Lots of Random

So I'll be honest.  I haven't gotten much running done lately.  My next race isn't until the Twin Cities 10 mile and I just haven't had the time lately.  I was trying to finish up my last class before student teaching and it was monopolozing every minute of my time.  Now it's been nothing but worrying about student teaching.  Sooo nervous!!  I feel so unprepared.

Needless to say, I did get a short run in on Saturday morning.  It was a bit cooler when I set out with Duke (our dog).  If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know that Duke is hit and miss.  He has his good days and his bad days.  I kind of gave up on him this summer because it has been so hot that he can barely even make it a mile before he slows way down.  Since it was cooler on Saturday morning, I decided to give him a try again.  Well, Duke and I made it about a mile and a half before I could really feel the sun heating up.  Duke started to show some signs of fatigue and I figured I should turn around to try to avoid having to pull Duke back home.  Duke was really starting to put on the brakes when I decided to try something new.  I decided to pace with Duke, as in to run Duke's pace and stop trying to get him to run my pace.  This seemed to work miracles.  Duke was smiling and seemed to enjoy running beside me rather than behind me.  We only needed one walk break to get him up a hill....otherwise he ran the whole way back.  I kept telling him what a good dog he was and he kept charging ahead.

In other news, I would LOVE to see some of you out at the Team Highlighter's Party in the Park this weekend if you have the time.  We are having a lunch and photo scavenger hunt (see past post).  The scavenger hunt starts at 10:00 and the rest of the event begins around 10:30-11:00 (Fridley's Spring Brook Nature Center). All proceeds benefit the Children's Tumor Foundation.  This event was planned by my cousin and I.  We have tons of raffle prizes as well!!!  See more info here http://teamhighlightersscavengerhunt.weebly.com/. 

Rock N Roll Chicago 2010 Race Report

Okay I'll add photos to this post later as I don't have access to them now.  Bare with me here as this may be a very long race repot.

The Journey to Chicago

I left Friday afternoon via Greyhound bus to Chicago.  Long story short, the Greyhound was the best way for me to get there in the evening when my cousin would be getting in.  If I flew, I would have to leave early morning as that is when the reasonably priced flights took off and there is no way I wanted to spend the entire day in Chicago all by myself.  So I boarded the bus.  I had read tons and tons of bad reviews of Greyhound so I was very wary of all of the warnings. Initially, a teenage boy who was very polite sat down next to me so I was doing alright.  Then, he went to sit with his mom when another seat opened up and a different lady got on and occupied the seat.  She was alright as well but then left at an earlier stop.  Somewhere in Wisconsin, I was graced with the smelliest dude ever to sit next to me.  It smelled so bad my eyes started to water.  I wanted off the bus but I had at least another 2 hours to go (which turned into 4).  As we got into Chicago, the traffic was very thick and we ended up spending an additional 2 hours just getting to our destination.  I was supposed to arrive at 7:30 but didn't get in until 9:00!  The bus dropped us in an area that seemed to be a bit sketchy and I was hassled right away after getting off the bus.  I hate traveling in a city that I don't know in the dark.  I ended up finding the train where I needed exact change and didn't have it.  I ended up finding a pizza place, sitting down and eating a few slices to calm my nerves before heading back out (I was starving by this time!) I headed back to the train station and got yelled at by the attendant because I didn't know that I needed to place my card in before going through the gate.  In Minneapolis our train runs on somewhat of a trust policy and if you get caught then you get fined.  Anyways, I figured out the whole bus system and finally made it the Congress Hotel where we were staying.


Saturday in Chicago
Saturday, Stephanie (my cousin) and I went to McCormick place to pick up our packets.  We had to walk a very long distance from our hotel to get to the packet pickup.  We ended up buying some IRunLikeAGirl shirts and browsed around before we left.  We then proceeded to walk all over the city.  We found a nice place to eat lunch before heading back to the hotel to drop off our packets.  Then, we hailed a cab to the Navy Pier but we only had 40 minutes there before we had to head off to the pasta dinner with the NF Endurance Team for this event.  We hailed another cab over to the pasta dinner and met up with the team.  Everyone was really nice and we had a great meal.  We took a quick group photo and then
Steph and I headed off to see the set from Transformers 3.  Then, we stopped for ice cream and bought some reduced fat muffins from Dunkin Donuts for in the morning.  By the time that we made it back home, it was 9:00 at night and we were completely exhausted.  We were both regretting our decision to walk all over the city on the day before our big race.

Race Morning
My alarm went off at 5:15 AM and I got up and threw my outfit on and ate my muffin while Stephanie continued to sleep.  Her alarm went off sometime around 5:45.  She quickly got ready and we were out the door around 6:15 and headed over to the race just a few blocks up.  I lost Stephanie as I had to run back to get my hat and sunglasses in the hotel.  I returned to the start line and found carral 20 which is where I needed to start. Steph was in carral 27.  The national anthem was being sung as I was trying to get into place and then before I knew it, the horn blasted and the first carral was let loose.  I'd never actually been to a race where they let each carral out with a separate start so I was suprised when we weren't moving shortly after.  It took about 30 minutes for them to finally get to carral 20 and let us loose.  They had announced that Jake from the first Bachelor was a few carrals ahead of me and Al Roker was also up there somewhere.  After waiting so long at the start, I needed to use the restroom right away but there were no porto-potties to be found until Mile 2.  I was trying hard to take in all of scenery but it was really difficult with a full bladder.  When I finally got to a Porto-Potty, there was a decent sized line.  The way the race was going so far, I didn't want to risk waiting for another one to show up down the road so I stood in line. 

After a quick visit in the John, I was off. The race was looking up from here. I held a steady pace and just took in all of the bands and fans along the course. I enjoyed running through the city and seeing all of the people who came out to watch.  They were giving out a product called Cytomax on the course instead of Gatorade or Powerade and I actually seemed to enjoy it at first.  Gatorade always leaves a gross taste in my mouth and I have to take lots of water along with it but the Cytomax seemed to be a little lighter.  However, I would later find out that my stomach didn't enjoy drinking too much of it.

Around mile 5 or 6, I realized that my face seemed to be beat red.  I was burning up hot.  I also kept getting stuck behind a bunch of people running really slow or walking.  It seemed like I was doing a lot of dodging during this race.

We started to head up to Soldier Field and the specatorship started to dwindle a bit.  There was hardly anyone on the stretch out there and back.  We went through a few dark tunnels and I was bit afraid that I might step onto a sewer plate that I couldn't see or something.  It also seemed to be pretty warm in the tunnels as there wasn't a breeze.  The nice thing about this race is they did provide a misters, ice, and cool wet sponges on the course to keep you cool. 

Mile 11 was the very last water stop.  I was a little shocked when they announced that it would be our last one.  The last few miles are always the hardest!!  Mile 12, indeed, ended up being my hardest mile of the entire 13.1.  I was exhausted and the Cytomax was not sitting too well in my stomach.  I started to get the goosebumps and I felt like I was going to puke.  I walked for a few minutes and then trying to push through.  I started to get frustrated with every spectator who told me that it was "Only a 1/2 mile up" or "Only around the bend" because they all seemed to be telling me that even though they were at least a 1/2 mile apart from one another!!  I ended up needing to walk about in the last 1/4 mile of the race as my body felt like it hit a halt.  Soon, I could actually see the finish line ahead and I started to run (rather slowly) towards the finish.  I made it through, heard my name screamed out from the sidelines and saw Martha and Bill from the NF Endurance Chicago team.  I said hello to them briefly and then continued on to get my medal, an ice cold wet towel, and some post race food. 

I knew that Stephanie would be a little ways behind me but wasn't sure exactly when she might come through because of the carral starts.  I headed back over to where I had gotten my medal and waited for her.  So grateful that our jerseys are bright because there were so many people going through.  I was worried I wouldn't spot her anywhere.  Eventually, Steph came through and said she wasn't doing so hot.  Her quad was killing her.  We both hobbled over to the beer tent and got our 2 free beers but neither of us could really drink more than a cup.  We then headed back to the hotel because we needed to shower and get checked out.

We got all cleaned up and packed up and Steph kept saying she wasn't feeling so great.  We both decided we just needed to get something to eat and then she should be better.  We headed out of our hotel room and over to the elevators.  One elevator came down and it was very full.  The people on the elevator kept trying to get us to go in and then Stephanie just took off and bolted back to the hotel room.  I wasn't sure what was up.  I watched another full elevator go by and then headed back to the room.  Stephanie was in the bathroom and had just puked all over the floor.  She said she never wanted to drink Cytomax again. She said she felt better and then we headed back down to check out and place our luggage in a holding place until our flights out that evening.  We went to eat lunch and Steph still wasn't feeling well so it took her awhile to eat.  We both agreed that we didn't feel like adventuring too much further our into the city as we were sore and tired.  We went back to the hotel and took a nap in the hotel lobby on the couches.  Then, we went to get ice cream and headed off to the airport.  I was so happy to be flying out this time instead of taking that bus!!!

Feeling a little sore today...and my face is a bit burnt.  Overall, I think this race needs to get a few kinks out before we will ever attempt it again.  Mainly being they could have used an extra water stop in the last mile.  They also really need to limit down the number of people they let in or work out their carral system a little better.  I was constantly getting jammed up in this race.

Chip Time: 2:27:14
Gender Place: 1686 / 2980
Age Grade: 44.7%

Lindstrom Loppet 2010

This weekend I went "home" to visit my parents in Lindstrom and attend the annual Karl Oscar Days events.  Saturday morning, I ran the Lindstrom Loppet.  I've been trying to catch up to my PR for this race for years but have yet to do so.  I still didn't catch it this year, but had a great time running.

This year, nobody was running with me.  Usually at least my dad runs with me.  But he said he was out of shape.  Andy had wanted to run this race with me but he had class so he couldn't come.  Dad dropped me off at the registration area early and then went home as the race runs right by the front of my parent's house.

I registered and then looked around for people I knew.  My old boss found me in the crowd and we chatted for a bit.  Then, I left her to go line up--realizing that I didn't have any place to put the Tshirt that they gave me at regisration.  I had to hold on to it until I got to my parent's house just a little past the 1 mile mark.

It was a bit drizzly for this race which was kind of nice because I didn't have to deal with the heat that hit us later that day.   I started out the race pretty good--finishing my first mile in 8:45.  There are a few big hills near the halfway point in this race that I charged up as I'm quite used to hills along my regular training route. 

As I came around to 2nd mile, I could feel my time slipping  a little.  I was starting to get a bit tired but pushed through it.  I came through the finish in 28:47.  This was 83 out of 347 females and 23rd out of 50 people in my age division.  A bit slower than last year's loppet but faster than my previous 5k for this year which was the Run of the Mills.  It appears that I just keep getting slower and slower.  I need to figure out someway to reverse this pattern!

I promise that is mostly rain glistening my skin--although I was pretty sweaty and stinky!

Also ran a 10 miler on Sunday--it went pretty good.  85 degrees at the start of the run but the clouds came out and I started to feel great!

Next Year

Some may say I'm absolutely crazy.  I've already begun to think about next year's races.  Honestly, there is good reason to this.  I put the limit on myself this year that I would not run a full marathon because I needed to dedicate my time and energy to student teaching and finishing up my classes.  So, I'm getting a bit antsy and dreaming a little. 

So far my dreaming has led me to the following races :

-Marine Corps Marathon  (Would LOVE to do this one next year)
-Grandma's Marathon
-Nike Women's Marathon


In other news...

I smacked my knee yet again and have some bruising and tenderness upon movement.  Yes...it should be clear by now that I am clutzy.  I ran a 5 miler yesterday that turned out alright.  A little bit of pain in the knee in the first mile but good after.

I will be running the Lindstrom Loppet this weekend (5k).  I run this race every year but have yet to beat my first year's PR of 26 minutes. I highly doubt I will beat it this year as I am more out of shape than ever.  BUT I hope to at least do better than my time for the Run of the Mills this year.

I'm assuming my little bro has made it down to Fort Sill and will be doing plenty of running of his own.  Perhaps he will run some races with me next summer if he isn't deployed...

Busy Busy Weekend

This weekend I said goodbye to my little brother as he left for basic training for the Army yesterday.  Kind of wierd to think that I won't see him until Christmas.  Kind of makes me sick to my stomach actually.

This weekend was really hot and humid here in Minnesota.  I ran a 4 mile on Saturday in the middle of the day and I felt like I was going to faint.  Not cool.  I had also planned on trying to fit a 10 miler in somewhere but only managed a little over 7 on Monday.  The run felt about like I was running in a rainforest but was definetly needed as I am a little behind in training for Chicago.

Speaking of Chicago.  We will be running in a little less than a month.  I booked my transportation yesterday and am kind of regretting one of my decisions.  I decided to take the Greyhound out there and then fly back.  Well...I should have read the reviews on Greyhound beforehand.  Just reading the reviews makes me extremely nervous.  Have any of you road Greyhound?  Please someone tell me the horror stories aren't true.  I may be just forfitting my 28 bucks and forgoing another method if I don't hear anything better.  I guess people are mugged and harrassed on these buses frequently according to reviews all over the internet.  I mean I can deal with a little discomfort...but you throw in robbery and craziness and I want out.