So many things...

So, this post will contain 2 race recaps, 1 track workout, 1 wedding, 1 vacation, and 1 new house.

Track workout: The Tuesday after Grandma's half marathon Meg, Larissa and I did 6 x 400m. We were shooting for 85s, but our first one was 83 and we felt good, so we just cut down a second or so on each repeat, with my last rep being 74. I don't know how my legs felt so good after a half marathon, especially since my training had been lackluster, but I'll take it.

New House: Mr. B & I bought a house! I never understood why people said that home buying was stressful until I did it myself...I will be fine if I never buy another house, and just add on to this one; that is how stressed the process made me. Long story short: after a roller coaster of paperwork/red tape, we got a house in one of our favorite St. Paul neighborhoods, in a great running area, and there are *no* major fixes needed! I won't lie, part of me was thinking it would be fun to get a house that needed some work...but I wasn't going to pass on a move-in ready place for one that had to get fixed right away!

Vacation: This happened right after we closed on our house and was partially to go to my cousin's wedding! It was held on the shores of Burntside lake and the weather was absolutely perfect-plus it is always fun to see family!!!

View from our cabin deck.

Chatting with our lovely Grandma after the wedding. 

As much as I wanted to come back right away to move into our new place, Mr. B. and I needed a nice long break so we stayed up north until after the 4th. And this brings me to race recap #1: The Janet Gensler Memorial Ely 4 on the 4th. This is a local race benefiting my high school track team, and it is a small town race at its finest. Last year Mr. B won in a course record (21:04) and the local paper featured him with a front page article and color photo. He did not race this year, but I needed to redeem myself from my 2nd place finish last year. I think my first mile was 6:40ish, and early into the second mile I took the lead for women. Mile 2 was 6:30ish, mile 3 was 6:51 (damn hills) and then mile 4 was whatever is left to result in a 26:41 final time. I finished first for women even though a local HS runner was coming on strong. I used to babysit for her too...so I felt old.

1.25 miles into the race. My foot looks giant.

Race recap #2 is from a 1 mile race this past Wednesday, the Richard Hoska Midsummer Mile. I was feeling a little apprehensive about this race- I really hadn't been running too much with my butt/hip pain, plus after the 6x400s one of my toes seriously felt broken....but I love running road miles, so I signed up on Tuesday. This was another really low key event, and I think there were less than 50 women competing. This race is much different from the TC 1 mile on Nicollet avenue. Obviously it is a much smaller race, and there isn't a prize purse or anything. But another major difference is that all women run together, and then all the men run. So you aren't split up by time. I wasn't sure I'd like this but it was great to see where the competition was the whole time.

The course was two laps in the State Fairgrounds. I lined up just behind the front crowd but was quickly up near the front after about 200 meters. It felt crazy fast- almost too fast. Larissa was about 10 meters ahead, and Meg was about 1 meter ahead, and we went through the clock at 2:30 (this cannot have been the halfway point, because I know I am not in 5:00 mile shape). I felt pretty strong on the second lap and ended up placing 4th, in 5:29.1, which is 15 seconds faster than my TC 1 mile! Larissa ran 5:17 and Meg ran 5:30.

Sprinting down the homestretch!

So awesome!!! Except.... something didn't seem right. While I think I am in decent shape, I don't think I am in 5:30 shape. A few other folks at the finish line were saying the same thing, and today we got the official confirmation from the race- the course was short! And not by just a little, but by over 50 meters! I guess the folks who set up the course didn't know which building the race was supposed to start by. So even though the course was USATF certified by a very experienced race certifier, the times don't count. To get a more realistic time, finishers are supposed to multiply their time by 1.036- meaning I actually ran 5:40. Oh well- it's still faster than the TC 1 mile!

Tomorrow instead of a track workout Meg, Larissa, and some other running friends are doing a hill workout! Who doesn't love running hills in 90 degree, 90% humidity??