NYC!

Recently Mr. B and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary. Our initial plan for celebrating was a road trip to watch the Packers at Lambeau. However, one morning about a month ago, I learned that Mr. B had booked us a weekend trip to New York City instead- over the weekend of the New York Marathon no less! Of course, the Packers would be fun...but a trip to watch the New York Marathon would be incredible!

Oh hey New York!

On Saturday morning I had hoped to catch the Dash to the Finish 5k, which included some of my favorite professional runners: Chris Solinsky, Shalane Flanagan, Molly Huddle, Ben True, Sally Kipyego, and Lopez Lomong (just to name a few). Unfortunately we got a little behind and missed the elite race (but Nick Willis won the men's competition in 13:47 and Molly Huddle won for women in 15:27 - interviews, more results, etc., are here ). I did get a picture of the masses running:

One thing you can't see in this picture is the ridiculous number of people running and taking photos of themselves! Some even had those things that you stick your camera/phone to the end of so it doesn't look like a selfie (like this thing)

 

Okay- I am all about documenting memories, etc, (even though somehow there are no pics of Mr. B & me together from our weekend) but seriously, why would you run 3.1 miles holding that thing?! Do you need that many photos, or worse, a video of just your face, bobbing in and out of the frame?!

Sorry. Rant over. 

Mr. B and I were staying in midtown, about 1.2 miles south of Central Park, so on Sunday we ran over the park. One thing we noticed on our way was how windy it was- just a stiff headwind until we turned for home. I have a feeling that contributed to the somewhat "slow" times. Anyway, we were at the park pretty early and if we had wanted to could have snagged a front row seat to the finish. Security was understandably tight- even with just our running clothes we got wanded by police before entering the park, and all bags were searched before people were allowed near the course. We finished our run down 5th avenue (I was staring so hard at the amazing displays in those high end shops that I was afraid I'd run into the glass like a little bird).

We went back to the park after changing into warmer clothes, and positioned ourselves near what I believe was about mile 25.5 (just an estimate). We arrived just in time to see Kim Smith, a runner from New Zealand, pass by en route to a 6th place finish. Here are some of the elite runners I was able to get photos of, including links to some articles about them:

Julia Stamps Mallon: Bad Ass.

Ryan Vail, top American man.

Never giving up: Meb Keflezighi- great post- race interview is here

Yuki Kawauchi- finishing marathon #9 of 2013, also works a full time job and is not a "professional" runnner

Wesley Korir- 2012 Boston Champion and maybe future president of Kenya

The environment around the race was really great- though some people were oblivious to the fact that a race was happening (I saw a girl try to just walk through the crowd of runners...um, bad idea), most people were super excited! I know it sounds very naive of me, but I just didn't realize how big this race is! I think I read that over 50,000 people started the race- almost 5x the number that start the Twin Cities marathon (12k in 2013). I can't even imagine dealing with the logistics of something so big. Personally, I'm not sure I'd enjoy a race that huge, though I'm sure it would be an amazing experience!
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Running last week:
Monday: off
Tuesday:5
Wednesday:5
Thursday: off
Friday: 7.5
Saturday: off
Sunday:5.25

I clearly didn't follow my plan for running, so this week I'm not making a plan and am just focusing on getting 5+ miles in on at least 5 days (including a long run on Saturday).

Do you prefer larger races, or small ones?
Who is your favorite or inspirational elite runner? Do you follow elite racing at all?
-I love Kara Goucher of course, but I also really admire the runners who aren't "big names" or maybe don't have shoe contracts, but keep running and competing at a high level- Jason Hartmann comes to mind.

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??

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.
***********************************
Photo booths: love them or leave them?
-I love them. The more props, the better.

Do you still get nervous before races?

Happy Boston Day!

I love watching races!! Major kudos to the Boston Athletic Association for the great, free, online coverage. I am of course cheering for Shalane and Kara (like we are on a first name basis...) but realistically, I don't think either of them will win it.

Are you watching Boston? Any predictions?

The past week was a little rough for my running. On Sunday I ran 10 miles at about 7:10 pace, then 4 easy miles on Monday, and then my hill workout on Tuesday (that probably totalled 5.5 miles). I ended up doing 8 hills and felt great during the workout.

Then the rest of the week...I did not run. I think I jinxed myself, talking about running 11 days in a row. On Wednesday I took Rodgy to the dog park.


Where are my friends??? Why am I so dirty??

It was nasty and muddy from the rain/snow nastiness so we had it to ourselves. It was actually too gross to hang out for long so we ended up going for a walk.

I honestly can't remember why I didn't run Thursday. Fail by me.

Then it was time for Girls Weekend. For Christmas, my three younger sisters and I got together to plan a fun weekend for our mom. So we booked a hotel room and planned some major estate sale-ing, dinner, and a show (Neil Diamond cover band!).

Unfortunately, besides the estate sales, the weekend was a major bust. The weather was shitty (what a surprise), we all felt sick by Saturday evening, and there was just tension overall. So instead of dinner and a show, we got pizza and beer and wine in our room and watched HGTV (I'm so glad I don't have cable- I would never leave my house if I had that channel).


Estate sale finds from a school closing. These will go to my teacher friend.

My sister and me. We inadvertantly matched our outfits.

My estate sale finds included a ton of sewing patterns, fabric, and a steam cleaner! I can finally get those muddy puppy prints out of my car!

I did run on Sunday with my sister who I am running the half marathon with. We only did about 3.5 miles because I still felt sick. Then I got sick, about 5 times yesterday. I'm feeling much better today so I'm planning on 7 miles after work. We are still having atrocious weather but I can't take any more treadmill time, so I'm hitting the lakes.

Have you ever been to an estate sale? Any good finds?
How sick do you have to be to skip your run?

Running Bucket List

Does anyone use Flotrack at all? I used to go to this site every single day- to log my runs and to get inspiration by watching the pros or top collegiate athletes in workouts. Although I don't go there as often I still get updates and the one today is a new blog post by Nick Symmonds.

 

He is not just a hot nutella spokesman...he is a hot & fast runner too.

The post is called "My Running Bucket List" and is a list of the goals he drew up when he started as a professional runner. While his list includes trivial things like make second Olympic team, win a world medal, and win an Olympic medal, he also includes some very legit goals, like run sub 5 for the beer mile. Seriously, the beer mile is a real thing.

Despite being nowhere near the caliber of a runner that Mr. Symmonds is, I thought I would write down my own running bucket list. So, here goes nothing:

1. PR in the 5k : My current PR is from an indoor race. I would LOVE to beat this time in a fast road race.
2. Run sub 1:25 half marathon. This is 6:39 pace... I think this one is for sure doable.
3. Run a marathon! I have always resisted the marathon because I *hate* when people assume that if you haven't run a marathon you aren't a "real runner". I have always considered myself a "real runner" despite never having run a marathon. But I am thinking about running Chicago this year. It is supposed to be a nice flat course so I could potentially run a good time....we will see! I only have 7 days to decide though because sign up starts on the 19th!
4. Run a destination race. College track trips do not count. When Mr. B and I were in Puerto Rico last month we found out about the World's Best 10k...how fun would it be to run a race like that during vacation (okay maybe not fun...but still)? It would be a great way to experience the city and be part of the running world far from home.

I guess that completes my bucket list for now.... Although it would be fun to get my old beer 4x4 team together this summer to see if we could PR.

Have you ever run a beer mile (or 4x4)? Was it as fun or as terrible as you imagined it would be?
Do you have any big bucket list goals for running?