Securian Winter Run Recap/Review - better late than never!

On January 25, I ran the Securian Winter Run 5k. I signed up the week before, and the weather forecast had race day's high at 20 degrees. Totally doable! Unfortunately, the high temperature was reached at about 1 am Saturday and by race start (9:10 am) the temp had plummeted to about 4 above with a chilly wind from the west. Oh Minnesota, you never cease to amaze.

Let me start out by going over the things I did wrong for this race.

1. I did not wear a neck/face warmer.
2. I did not warm up (okay, I jogged maybe one minute from my car to the warming building, and jogged in place at the start for about two minutes).
3. I did not really review the course at all before the race.
4. I left the house later than intended so I was rushed at the start.
5. I went straight to the front of the race and had no one to draft off. 

Things I did right:

1. I did a good treadmill workout on Tuesday prior to the race: 10 min WU, 2 min hard (6:22-6:18) 3 min moderate (7:00) x 5
2. I wore a warm jacket, giant mittens, and windproof pants.
3. I ran negative splits. 

I lined up right at the front of the crowd to start so I could get off to a good start and just the race over with. The guy at the start yelled "go" and off we went. Within about a quarter mile I was in a little pack of guys running what felt to be a comfortably hard pace. After about a half mile I was in second place and after three quarters a mile the lead guy seemed to be slowing so I took the lead. I hit mile 1 in 6:20, and that felt just fine. I could still hear the guy behind me so I just focused on maintaining a strong but comfortable pace. I hit mile 2 at 6:17 and still felt good. My feet were just starting to thaw out and didn't feel like tingly bricks attached to my legs, so that was nice. I tried to push the pace a little on the last mile and ended up with a 6:14 mile three. So only .1 until the end, right?

Wrong.

I was following the lead biker and when I heard my watch beep at mile 3, I got excited because soon I'd be toasty and warm. But when I looked around, I did not see any sign of the finish. The biker kept going and I kept following but with each step I was getting more frustrated as there was still no finish in sight. I checked my watch and saw 3.2 miles...then 3.3....we finally took a right onto Jackson street and there was the finish. I crossed the line in 22:05 and noted the distance on my watch: 3.48 miles.

The second place runner came in shortly after and noted his watch also read long- 3.46 miles. We both were telling the race management team about this and the third place runner also confirmed a long reading.

Here is copy of the route according to my garmin:

Note the turnaround past the Wabasha bridge.

Here is the route from the race management site:

This turnaround is just halfway between the robert and wabasha bridges.

Let me point out that I'm not someone who frets over a course that is a little long based on watch GPS readings, and I'm the first to admit the the watch measurements are not as accurate as the measuring methods used by course officials. But an extra .38 miles is kind of a lot. I sent a message to the race team and got a response stating that the courses were marked and measured correctly for all distances after slight changes were made to the course to allow for construction interruptions; some personal measurement technology may be affected by the interruption tall buildings may cause. 

I also emailed the race director who basically said the same thing. I'm not super satisfied with the responses since it still seems like a lot for the distances to be mismatched. But whatever. I won a gift certificate to Run N Fun so I'm over it. 

Oh- I mentioned that you get a mug for running this race. The website says "Registered participants will receive a complimentary Securian Winter Run mug, a Saint Paul Winter Carnival commemorative button and coupon book." Well, either the person handling the registration was forgetting to give this stuff out or I completely missed where you are supposed to get the mug, because I did not get one :( . However, I did get some socks since I was one of the first 1000 entrants.

I guess the race was fine, and a good training run, but I am on the fence if I would do this again. I really want the mug though...so maybe I'll give it one more chance next year.

What would you do if you ran a race that measured significantly long/short? Has this ever happened to you?

Training for a one mile, plus a race recap

It seems like there are countless 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon, & marathon training programs out there, but my extensive Google search did not  yield many results for1 mile race training. This is not surprising as there aren't nearly as many 1 mile races. But! The 1 mile is a really fun race and if you haven't done one, you should!

Now I am not a coach, physician, exercise physiologist, or any sort of professional related to running/fitness. But, I have run a mile (and 1500) many times and have a pretty solid idea of what training should look like. So, here are my favorite workouts for preparing for a 1 mile!

•  Hills. There is a very famous quote from Frank Shorter (I think) :"Hills are speedwork in disguise". Hills are great for any type of race but really get you ready to run the shorter, faster workouts needed to train for a mile.

• Fartleks- like, 2 min on 1 min off or 1 on 1 off. The "on" portion should be a pretty solid effort, and the "off" portion should be more of a relaxed jog.

•  Intervals. I love these. I looked back through my college logs to see what I did back then- it was a combination of repeats ranging from 200-1000 m, run between 4:55 and 5:30 pace (I was in shape to run a 5:15 mile). So adjust accordingly. These should be hard workouts! But also they have great payoff by getting used to running a fast effort.

• Run consistently. Just because you are "only" training for a mile doesn't mean two miles every other day is going to cut it. I mean, yeah, you'll still probably finish if you only run two miles every other day...but running consistently is key for any race.

So onto my Meet of the Miles race recap! This is a very, very low key race held at the U of M fieldhouse and run by the Minnesota Distance Running Association. You show up, pay $5, and sign up according to your goal pace. Some people signed up for a couple of heats to get a workout in. No thanks! Meg & I signed up for the 5:30-5:45 pace group. Here we are before the race, all happy and bright:

Our friend Larissa was with us too but signed up for the 5:15-5:30 heat and was running while we were posing for photos. Before our race we went out for a 3.25 mile warm up jog around campus and over the stone arch bridge. It was a very scenic run! 

We got back to the field house just in time to see Mr. B finish his race. He was in the first heat, and had the lead up to the last 50 meters or so until being caught by a high school kid who ran 4:17 last spring. He finished second in 4:24! Not bad :)

I did a few short strides and these weird knee/hip loosening exercises and then it was time to go! The race was a true mile (1609 meters) and there were a lot of people in our heat! There was a little bit of crowding right away and I found myself running just on the inside of lane 2 for the first 400 meters or so. During this time my legs felt like lead. I was seriously worried that I was going to run 6:00 or something. I just could not get the turnover going! I finally loosened up at about 500 meters in and started to feel strong. 

It's blurry, but there we are.

 As I mentioned our heat was pretty crowded so I started to work my way around a couple people. I still felt pretty good and don't remember a lot from 500 m-1400 m. The laps are 200 m each and they just went by so quickly. I definitely was feeling tired with one to go, but at that point you just have to remind yourself its only 200 meters and just go for it. I finished in 5:38.4 and Meg was right behind me at 5:39.6. Not terrible, especially for an indoor race. Larissa ran really well in her heat and ran 5:18. 

So fast.

Overall I'm happy with how the race went. I'm not used to running that fast a pace so it was definitely a system shock.Also, running on an indoor track (especially in an old facility like the U of M) causes some major coughing and dryness in the chest. I was coughing so hard after the race I felt like I might throw up. Not cool. However, the race was really fun and I will definitely do it again next year!

Turkey Trot 10k recap

Like so many others, I ran a 10k yesterday to celebrate Thanksgiving. Just kidding, I didn't do it to celebrate Thanksgiving, I did it because the race was cheap and in my area. There are a couple of big local races- one is a 5k in downtown Minneapolis sponsored by Lifetime Fitness, another is a 10k around Lake Harriet, and the one I ran was an inaugural 5k/10k in St. Paul. I will never do the Lifetime Fitness one- it is pricey, crowded, and they don't keep results. Sorry, but what the heck is the point of racing if there are no results? No thanks. I've done the Lake Harriet one before and actually really liked that race but since another one was offered in St. Paul and is closer to home, of course I'm going to pick that one!

Anyway. I ran the Turkey Trot Saint Paul. As I mentioned, the race was really reasonably priced ($35 since I signed up a couple months ago). So that was a plus.  However, packet pick up was the night before at the Crown Plaza in St. Paul- terrible idea. First of all, downtown St. Paul has a lot of one way streets and limited parking. I probably drove around for 15 minutes before finding a place to park. There wasn't much to pick up- just the bib and t-shirt, and socks, for the first 2000 registrants. You were supposed to look up your number ahead of time but they did have all the numbers printed off in case you forgot or didn't do that.

So race day was clear and cold. It started at 7:30 am and I think it was about 24 degrees. I didn't do much of a warm up for the race- I misjudged how long it would take me to get moving and get to the start, so I only had about 15 minutes to spare. One major positive about the race was the number of porta-potties. There were a lot. No complaints there!

The race was held on Shepard Road, from the Science Museum to a spot 3.1 miles down the road, and back. Not necessarily the most exciting or scenic course, despite the river being right there. Shepard road is two lanes each way so it was kind of like running on a highway. There are also some long, gradual hills, which weren't too terrible. There were pacers for this race, including a pacer for 40:00. I started close to the front of the race and figured I'd take it easy for the first couple miles and try to push the last two.

At about mile 1 I found myself in a good rhythm and running with some guy (we'll call him B because I think I heard someone cheer for him and I think the name they yelled started with "B"). B and I ended up running pretty much the entire race together, which was really nice! I love finding running buddies during races. It is way easier to run with someone.  At about mile 2 we got caught by another girl and guy but stayed with them as a nice little four-some until about mile 4. There was a pretty good hill at that point and the two that had been with me and B dropped off. After one more little hill at mile 4.75 the race was pretty flat or slightly downhill, which worked well for my plan of pushing a bit. B out kicked me at the end but I still ran 40:29, which I think is a PR. 

Splits:

Mile 1 6:36
Mile 2 6:32
Mile 3 6:30
Mile 4 6:31
Mile 5 6:31
Mile 6 6:22
Mile .2 1:26

No photos of this race but here are some other cool pictures:

Tailgating before the Gopher Game- Bloody Marys. We had to stay warm somehow!

Luther fans at the DIII Central Region Cross Country Championships.  Please note it was about 30 degrees out.

I believe these are St. Olaf fans, giving Luther a run for their money in regards to "crazy accessories".

 

A pack of men.

The men's winner. Now that is a finishing sprint. 

I have found that some people do not like Bloody Marys. Do you? What fixings do you add? For our tailgating we had beef sticks, pepper jack cheese, pickles, celery, lemon wedges, and worchestershire sauce. I have to admit, they were phenomenal.

TC 10 Mile Recap

So today I ran the TC 10 mile for the 5th year in a row. The race is billed as the "shortcut to the capitol"and is held in conjunction with the Twin Cities Marathon. The course is truly beautiful- it starts in downtown Minneapolis and runs along the Mississippi into St. Paul, and then on Summit Avenue before finishing by the state capitol.

The crowd support for this race is absolutely incredible. There are very few places along the course without people cheering runners along, and there is a great feeling of support the whole way. 

Earlier this week, the weather forecast did not look promising. I think I saw rain, wind, and cold (35 degrees) on tap for Sunday. Fortunately, that was not the case, and it was perfect running weather. Cool (45 degrees at the start), no wind, no rain, in fact, there was hardly a cloud in the sky!

Like most major races with a point to point course, there are shuttles to take runners to the start line. Last year I took the shuttle and remember that it was a pretty quick and painless ordeal. This year my company offered a shuttle for employees, plus free parking near the finish line. I signed up for the 5:15 shuttle and pretty much had the whole bus to myself!

The loneliness of the long distance runner....not sure what that spot is!

The bus dropped me off at the metrodome, which is open for runners to hang out in before the race. There weren't many people there at 5:30 so I found a nice spot near a women's bathroom. And then, the most backwards thing ever happened. Race officials TURNED IT INTO A MEN'S ROOM. They covered up the "wo" and put up big "men" signs. So that meant there were three mens restrooms in a row. I lost track of how many poor women headed towards the bathroom only to realize it was not what they expected.  Of course the women's rooms on the main level had insanely long lines, but something to keep in mind is that there are bathrooms on the second level! So that is my tip of the day- go upstairs. There might be a little line but nothing compared to the ones on the main level.

Wow that was a long paragraph about bathrooms. But, as you might have noticed, the bathroom situation at races is an important factor to me (and probably to most runners).

Anyway. I headed towards the start with about twenty minutes to go. I had a long sleeve on over my tshirt, and I had planned to take it off and give it to Meg to hang onto for me at about mile three. I also had a cheap pair of gloves on, and my white "Dave Wottle" hat. I have to admit, my outfit choice was pretty spot on for the temperature. I saw some people in sport bras and shorts and others in spandex pants and winter hats! Only in MN, right?

So. The race. Here is a link to the course map:

https://www.tcmevents.org/_asset/xf7kg5/10-Mile-Course-Map.pdf

Miles 1-5 (7:22, 7:03, 7:13, 6:40, 6:57)
 
As I mentioned in my last post I have not been doing great training this summer so I wanted to go out a little modestly. The first mile is always pretty crowded and there are a couple sharp-ish turns. But it is also downhill! So that is nice and makes it easy to run easy. The second mile continues on the river road, and isn't too exciting. Mile three is kind of annoying, including up a pretty long climb up to Franklin Street, where you cross the river. There is always a huge crowd of spectators on the top of the hill and on the other side of the river. Once you cross the river you hit mile four, which is pretty uneventful. I honestly can't remember much of this part of the race. While mile four is uneventful, mile five is kind of a pain in the ass. There are two pretty long steady hills during this mile, one right after the other. Once you are at the top of the second hill you are at St. Thomas.

Miles 6-10 (6:52, 6:49, 6:37, 6:33, 6:11)

Mile six starts pretty close to St. Thomas, and at this time the course turns right and then left onto Summit. Again, such great crowd support here to the end of the race, which is great. Summit does not seem to be a hill when you are driving it or doing an easy run, but at this point in the race you can definitely feel the incline, especially as you approach Snelling Avenue. If you look at the course elevation chart, you are basically running uphill from miles 5-7. Mile 8 starts right around Hamline Avenue (Mr. B was out cheering here! Yay!) and is another slight uphill to Lexington.There is a little hill by Dale but it is worth it because the last mile is the best- Summit turns left and starts going downhill to the finish. Once you pass the St. Paul Cathedral you can see the finish line and all the crowds lining the streets. That sight, plus the downhill, plus the adrenaline of being almost done, is enough to get you to the finish!

Total: 1:08:21, 6:51 pace (my mile splits only add up to 1:08:17 so I must have hit the start button too late or the stop button too early).

I am actually really surprised by my time. I felt pretty relaxed the whole time until miles 9 & 10. There was a guy running exactly my pace the whole race, and I always find it is easier to run with someone. We briefly chatted after the race and he had run the 5k and 10k the day before...so a pretty lazy weekend for that guy. When I got to mile 9 I could not believe how quickly the race had gone by! It was so much fun- I really think this is a great event and would highly recommend it. From the volunteers to the spectators to the challenging yet fun course, it is just wonderful.

Organized Chaos- heading to the bag check & shirts. Shiny space blankets galore!

This picture is included to prove that the weather was perfect, and because PUPPY!! Races should randomly award puppies to runners.

 My leg/butt/hip didn't bother me at all while running, and I came home & stretched/iced/rolled like crazy.  Despite this, it is still aching pretty bad right now, to the point where I am leaning towards a little pain medicine just to ease it a bit. Then of course tonight I'll stretch/ice/roll/drink beer/watch football, and be cured, right?!

2011 vs 2013

The race medal for the Twin Cities 10 mile has always been nice & simple. I usually throw the ribbon part away and glue a magnet to the medal so I can actually use it. This year's is nice and light, compared the behemoth medal from 2011 (it needs two magnets to stay on the fridge and can maybe hold up a small receipt).

Have you ever run any of the Twin Cities weekend events? 
Would you rather....get a race medal or a beer after a race? I like race medals but have a lot. They should hand out beer in commemorative mugs.
Do you take those shiny heat blankets after races? I don't...they freak me out. I think it is the crinkly texture.

Alumni 5k recap and puppies

Yesterday was the 2nd Annual St. Thomas Alumni 5k, held at Pike Island in St. Paul. The race is  used as a time trial for the St. Thomas women's team. I use the race to make sure that I can still beat at least a few college runners.

So, Pike Island is part of Fort Snelling State Park. There are two trails (at least two that I am familiar with): an inner loop which is about one mile, and an outer loop, which is about three miles. My college coaches took our team down there to run workouts, and it's actually a pretty popular place for a lot of local runners. The trails are wide, unpaved, and scenic.

In case you are curious:

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_parks/spk00154_summer.pdf

Anyway. Last year I ran 21:02. So my goal on Saturday was just to beat that time. Even though I had been doing track work earlier in the summer, my butt/hip pain, combined with my general hatred of summer running, meant my recent training has been lackluster. But I thought I could beat at least a couple of the girls on the team!!!

The race is three laps of the one mile loop. I started towards the back of the pack and felt pretty comfortable for the first mile (6:27). I focused on maintaining my pace over the second lap and still passed two groups (mile split: mystery). When I started the third loop I was definitely getting tired but still managed to hang onto my pace, and to two current runners. Try as I might, I could not catch them, but ran 20:22- 40 seconds faster than last year! So that is a good sign

One thing that I really enjoyed about the alumni race this year was meeting some of the older alumni. About four graduates from the late 80s/early 90s showed up, and it was so cool meeting them. They ran the same routes, completed many of the same workouts, and had the same experiences from road trips with Coach (in general- he is a terrible driver).

Accidental artsy photo from after the race- me & Meg

Today Meg and I met for a workout. We had wanted to do a track workout but the football team was on the field and spilling into lane 1, and I have heard stories about the coach yelling at runners using the track if his team was practicing (even if the runners were college athletes at the school...really nice, right). So, we did a fartlek on the river road. We warmed up for about 15 minutes and then did 10 x 1 min hard, 1 min easy, followed by a one mile cool down. It was a nice, quick, workout, and my legs felt great. Tomorrow I'm planning on going 7 miles, Thursday I'm planning on 5, Friday 6, and Saturday- maybe a 10k, maybe a long run. I haven't decided.

Not running related:

I see you! My whole body fits in this bubble!!

Meg and her husband got a puppy!! That's him in the pet peek on Saturday. He and Rodgy are great pals and he is so cute!!!

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??

Gary Bjorklund 1/2 Marathon- review & recap

Yay the 1/2 marathon is in the books! It was a great day for running- about 55 degrees, misty, and foggy. I really appreciated the fog- usually you can see the finish line about 9 miles out, so it was nice not to have that taunting me the whole run.

So this year was my fourth time running this race. Every year I complain about the same things. Here are my major complaints:

• Porta-Potties: These are only available at the start after you drop of your sweats bag. The bathrooms are arranged in two rows, doors facing in at each other. It's not that there is a shortage of bathrooms- but the area is SO disorganized! People can funnel in from either end and end up clumping in the middle- no rhyme or reason or anything. It is stressful, people get cranky, and also, people get trapped in the bathroom! Since the doors open into the crowd, it is tough to escape if you have actually made it into a bathroom. 
• The sweat drop is another issue. The race folks want you to drop your bag into a u-haul, men in one, women in another, on opposite sides of the road. Well that is nice, but please, please, please mark the men's & women's clearly...and maybe figure out a way to reduce the incredible bottleneck that inevitably happens since the trucks aren't clearly marked as M/F. 
• The last two miles are frustrating. Zig-zags, back and forth, and also, seeing the finish line but not actually being close? Ugh. 

Things I love:

• Besides the finish, this course is pretty great. Nice, gradual down hills, only one "hill" which I think is exaggerated, and pretty awesome crowd support, especially over the last 5 miles. 
• The expo is good- not too packed but they have good vendors. 
• Duluth is awesome- the whole town seems to get involved with the race and although the crowd support is especially awesome over the last 5 miles, there are people all along the half marathon course out cheering. Did anyone see the bros offering a beer bong at mile 8ish? So friendly! I wonder how many people took them up on that offer.....                                              

***

Mr. B and I left at about 1 on Friday and made it up to Duluth by 3:30. We picked up my sister and headed to the expo for packet pick up. We stayed just long enough for Sarah to find a cute tank top, and then we headed to Grandma's (of course) for dinner.

Some sort of porter...I can't remember the name! It was good.

We got up the next day at 4:30, and Mr. B drove us (Sarah, my friends Leslie & John, and myself) to UMD for the buses to the start. We had to wait about 10 minutes but got onto a bus after running into my track workout buddy and friend Meg and her husband Ben. While on the bus, Meg discovered she left her bib back at the place she stayed- I don't know what happened but she was still able to run!

Anyway. My goal for the race was to pace Sarah to sub 1:40, which is 7:38 min/mile. Here are our approximate splits (which are wacky):

1: 7:47

2: 7:16

3: 7:10

4: 7:13

5-7: 22:24

8: 7:46

9: 7:30

10:7:26

11: 7:37

12: 7:30

Total time: 1:37:23 (me) 1:38 (Sarah)

A little bit before the 5 mile I needed to take a potty break so I gave Sarah the watch. I knew I could catch up with her but damn that was a hard mile (?not sure if that was how long it took). 

At about mile 9 I started trying to really get Sarah going since I could tell she was hurting (those pesky miles 2-4 were probably starting to catch up with her) and I honestly thought she was going to punch me. I guess I coach too much during races. Sorry, Sarah. But also, not sorry, since she finished well clear of her goal. I went with about 1200 to go (too competitive to not finish hard) and felt great finishing. I think I need to get my leg issues worked out and then work on running a 10 mile PR this fall. 

Here are some photos, courtesy of Mr. B:

  Meb Keflezighi (2nd overall, 1:01:22) and Mo Trafeh (1:01:16. winner)

Abdi Abdirahman (6th, 1:02:56)

Our friend Brian (in white) who got 2nd in the non-championship race.

Me, in the white hat (Dave Wottle style). Nice ambiance with the fog.

Sarah right behind me in the purple tank top.

Being tough after the race.

 I'm so happy that Sarah ran under her goal - she is better than she gives herself credit for! I think next year we should just shoot for sub 1:30. Go big or go home, right??

The Athleta Race recap + an amazing new running map

Ten Mile Race Report & Review: The Athleta Race (warning: boring no photo post)

I signed up for this race a couple weeks ago, since it was cheap ($37 since I procrastinated- it was $32 until May 7) and would be a good training run for Grandma's Half in June. It was also a smaller race so there wouldn't be the craziness of a large, popular event. It was drizzling when I got into my car and ten minutes into the drive it was full out pouring. Once I made it to the race I parked and just hung out in my car for a few minutes, to see if the rain was letting up at all. Nope. I had to sprint to pick up my packet.

This brings me to annoyance #1 about this race: Pre-race packet pick up was held from 2-6 pm on Thursday at the Mall of America Athleta, and 2-6 pm on Friday at the Edina location. Not exactly convenient for those with jobs. At least they offered race day pickup.

So anyway. I got my packet and went back to my car. I basically sat in there until 20 minutes until race time, because it was still pouring out. I jogged over to the start of the race, which was a sign on the road-not exactly easy to see. This is annoyance #2: the race was not super organized. The start line wasn't close to packet pickup and it wasn't really clearly marked, so I just ran behind some runners that I hoped were running the ten mile and not the 30k. As it happened the two races started on the same road, but on opposite sides and running towards each other. Recipe for disaster? Sort of. A lot of runners lined up with the wrong race so there was some last minute scrambling.

The race itself was fine- a few small hills, but mostly flat. Of course it was pouring the entire time. But the field was strung out fairly quickly so I could just pick people off as the miles wore on. I felt good but my splits were all over the place:

7:13, 6:52, 7:00, 6:38, 6:57, 6:47, 7:00, 6:45, 6:39, 6:34

I guess I could look at the race as one mile easy, one hard, one easy.... but it felt pretty even to me until mile 7 when I made a conscious decision to run harder. In any case,  I ran 1:08:28. At about mile 6ish something weird hurt in my left butt/hip flexor area. It went away mostly for the rest of the run but reallly hurt on Sunday (I took the day off). Yesterday i ran three miles with Rodgy and it hurt a little during the run. I've been foam rolling and stretching like crazy so I hope that helps....

Oh and I lied....of COURSE I'll add a picture...of Rodgy! He sat in this spot for an hour just watching me weed the yard. He probably was waiting for me to step into a hidden pile of poop. 

so freaking cute!!

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Speaking of poop........the greatest running map in the history of 2013:

http://minneapolisrunning.com/bathrooms/

looks like heaven....

A map of all the runner-friendly bathrooms (indoor & porta-potty) in the Twin Cities area! If you have never experienced the panic of needing a bathroom RIGHT NOW then you are lucky and I hope you appreciate your GI system of steel. For those of you who have dealt with that feeling.... this is amazing (as long as you live in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area).

Have you every purchased workout gear from Athleta? Thoughts on quality/value? They seem to have cute stuff but I've never tried any of their stuff.

Do you prefer small races or larger races?
I love the energy and organization at big races but love the lower cost & convenience of small events. How's that for a non-answer?

TC One Mile Race Report

Last night was the TC 1 Mile race! It was so much fun (they had a photo booth type area set up!) even though right up to the gun I was cursing my friend for convincing me to run it. I guess I'll never get over the pre-race jitters!

We don't look nervous, just awesome.

It was the ninth annual running of this event, which is held on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The race is limited to 3,300 runners who compete in seven different waves (imagine 3000 people all starting a one mile race at once...).

The first two waves (Friends & Family and Corporate Team Challenge) are pretty crazy and packed with runners. The first year I ran this I had no clue what to do so I ran the Friends & Family wave. There was a lot of child dodging involved and there were not a lot of people to run with towards the end.

This year my friend Meg and I entered in the Open wave (described as for "competitive runners under 40). We figured it would be a good field that we could hold our own in. I met Meg at her house and we ran the 2 miles over the start of the race. I had picked up our packets on Wednesday so we didn't have to check in or anything. We got there really early and stood around for a little while with some of my coworkers who I badgered into running the race. It was way colder and windier than I had expected, and I did not dress appropriately! I had planned on racing in a tank top and shorts but wound up keeping my super non-technical hoodie on for the race. I also wore my kick ass new shoes: 


Nike Lunaracer. Just as pink in real life.

I was a little nervous about these since I bought them on Wednesday (yes the night before the race). But I love them! They are super comfortable and still felt fast. There are some other great color combos on the Nike web site...so I might get another pair!

Anyway. Meg and I warmed up by jogging around the block a few times before it was time to get in the chute. They had pace markers so you could line up where you think you should be. We were just behind the 6:00 group. The Open Wave was definitely not as big as the other waves and for a while there we were nervous that we were going to look like idiots and get our butts kicked. I guess everyone was also warming up because more people filtered into the corral and I was confident that I could beat at least some of them.

Our plan was to run comfortably hard for the first 400 and not sprint out and die. Well it felt hard, and not comfortable. My legs were cold and felt all locked up for the first 400- I think we hit that in 1:23/24 ish. However, from that point I got into a good rhythm and just kept rolling. I think we hit the half mile at 2:50/51. No idea what we hit 1200 in, but this is where Meg typically pulls away from me in short races like this- and  yesterday was no exception. She finished in 5:43 and I was done in 5:45. Not too bad, although I was hoping for under 5:40 (next year!). We had a pretty generous tailwind so that helped of course!

Overall this was a great, well organized race. Mile races are pretty rare these days, and I love how many people participate in this one!
For runner nerds: Nick Willis won the men's race in 3:56, and Sarah Brown won the women's in 4:33.3. For a good recap, check out Down the Backstretch.
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Photo booths: love them or leave them?
-I love them. The more props, the better.

Do you still get nervous before races?

Get in Gear Race Review & A Track Workout

The Get in Gear race has been around for a while- 36 years, I believe! The race scedule includes a 2k, 5k, 10k, and half marathon. The 2k is supposed to be for kids but I swear I've seen adults running it! The 5k and half marathon are traditionally less competitive than the 10k, which attracts a lot of top local and regional talent (the men's course record is 28:45, women's is 32:52). It is a pretty fun day. 

I ran the 10k a couple years ago and my friend Meg and I decided to run it again this year. I've never done a race recap/review before....so bear with me! Also- I checked my bag and phone right away so I don't have many pictures!

This is from 2010. The weather was 100 % nicer this year.  

Like most races, this one offers a price break if you sign up early. We didn't take advantage of this, and instead signed up at Marathon Sports, a local running store. The in-store registration was advertised as including the following perks:

- Bib Number with BibTag (no need to go to packet pick-up Friday)
- Information Sheet
- Get in Gear exclusive running hat – for the first 125 registered
- $15.00 certificate off same day shoe purchase

Meg and I got to the store at noon right when it opened, and only got our bibs (and a random bumper sticker). No hat, no shoe price break certificate. The people working at the store really didn't seem to know what was going on. Now I know I could have/should have brought it up while I was there but...I didn't. So no new hat for me. 


I was forced to wear my old hat instead.

The race starts and finishes on Minnehaha Parkway in Minneapolis. Parking is pretty scare around there since traffic is blocked off, so Meg and I met about a mile away and ran to the start as our warm up. There are a lot of people at these races- I think 6400 finishers for all three "adult" races. The start/finish area is right by a park so there is room to spread out, but it still felt super congested. I checked my bag right away and then we got in line for the porta potty. Since the three big races all started within 20 minutes of each other the lines were crazy long. I think we stood in line for over 15 minutes waiting! I know that isn't terrible but having good bathroom access can be such a nice treat at road races!

Meg and I ran for a few more minutes, and then I had one last bathroom stop (coffee the morning of, plus beer, fries, and lot of baby carrots the day before means tummy trouble). We made it to the start corral with two minutes to spare, but had to go all the way to the back of the corral to get in. Unlike other big races, the start line doesn't separate by pace. We didn't cross the start line until at least three minutes after the start of race. This made things interesting. We wanted to run an easy first mile, which we did (7:30) but with all the weaving through runners it still felt tough.


The course.

The first two miles are nice and flat. No problems here. My second mile was 7ish? and I think I lost Meg here too. The third mile is a little annoying- you have to run up the Lake Street bridge to cross the river. The race was still pretty crowded at this point too. The fourth mile is a pain in the ass. There is a long, steady climb that just kind of hurts. At least you are rewarded with a nice long steady downhill after it! Mile five is flat, and mile six includes another hill to get up to the Ford Bridge to cross the river back to the start/finish area. The race has a pretty great finish- you take a hard left down a hill and then have a nice flat .2 in.

I ended up finishing in 42:26 (chip time), which is 6:50 pace. I am okay with this result, but in reality, I did not set myself up for a good race. I didn't get into a good starting spot, I ate (or drank) something that caused some GI issues, and since my starting spot sucked I was dodging runners/walkers for two miles. Live and learn, right?

Things I like about this race: the course is really fun, a nice mix of flats and hills. There are a lot of people out cheering and it is always nice to have that encouragement. There is good competition (the winners ran 34:31 for women and 29:27 for men). It is organized well and the volunteers and staff are clearly identified.

Areas for improvement/things I didn't like: More porta-potties! If I were a race director, I'd estimate the number I thougth I needed and then add ten. Designating "goal pace" sections in the start corral so that faster runners start closer to the front (I like picking people off but I don't like weaving through throngs to do so). 
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Moving on. The next race on my agenda is the TC One Mile on May 9. I LOVE this race!!! It is so much fun- yes, it is a mile so my legs will feel like they're on fire, but still...so much fun. There will be some awesome runners there too- Nick Willis, Boaz LaLang , Phoebe Wright, and Heather Kampf just to name a few...so I will hopefully see some great races after mine is done.

To prepare, my friend Meg and I are going to be running a track workout tonight! Mr. B suggested that we run a ladder workout- so we'll do 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and back down. It is 5k total of hard running, and I think we are going to run 5:40 pace for the intervals.

*What are you road-race pet peeves? Favorite aspects?
*Do you follow professional running at all? Do you have favorite runner?
- I like Jenny Simpson, Chris Solinsky, and Kara Goucher