I'm Back!!!!

I have to apologize because it's been soooo long since my last post. Since my last post I've been pretty busy. I ran a 1/2 marathon in Green Bay, WI that went through Lambeau Field (!!!), I went on a 10 day vacation which was a Mediterranean Disney Cruise, I quit my job and started a new and very busy job, our house was struck by lightning which left two holes in our roof and many appliances and electronics got fried at that time including our computer (one of the reasons I haven't been able to post), I registered for a running class and joined a run club at a local running store.

I don't want to bore you tons of details at once so I'll do a few short and sweet comments. First of all...I got to run through Lambeau Field two days in a row. I'm a huge Packers fan so this was a dream come true for me. First my friend Kelly and I did a 5K on Saturday. During the race Kelly wore a shirt to support her friend that had recently had a bone marrow transplant. The front said "Team Leigh" and the back said "Bone Marrow Recipient 4/2013". Great shirt. But from the back people just saw the "Bone Marrow Recipient 4/2013" and they all thought it was Kelly that had the transplant! So during the whole race Kelly had people telling her what a great job she was doing, patting her on the back, and telling her she was an inspiration. We laughed about it but really, her friend Leigh is the true inspiration. Our time could have been a lot better but we spent as much time down on the field as we could to savor the moment. Here's me!

 

 

Doing a slow run/walk for the 5K left me surprisingly achy that night. I was surprised/scared by that because I'd been training for a half marathon yet this 5K kicked my butt. So the next morning Kelly and I woke up early, got ready and took the hotel bus to Lambeau Field. I was scoping out the fellow runners to see how much better prepared they were for this than I was! haha! Kelly is so awesome for hanging with me before the race and waiting around the whole time until I finished. The race itself went pretty well! I felt good and liked the nice flat course. It was purely residential and the spectators were lined up the whole way. Would you believe that I made it to mile 8 before I had to stop and walk? That's really good for me but once I stopped, I ended up stopping quite a bit more than I'd wanted to. It's like in college when you "break the seal" and then you have to pee every 10 minutes. I also had that stupid knee pain like I got at the Princess Half Marathon. I got it around mile 9 and it's frustrating because I don't get that knee pain during normal training runs, only at races! But I made it through and my time was 2 hours and 27 minutes!! This was 7 minutes faster than my last half I only wanted to beat my previous time so I was happy. At the very end of the race you get to run through Lambeau Field, you go outside and there is the finish line. Just as I was about to exit Lambeau, I saw some girl being taken away on a stretcher. I looked at her and it happened to be one of the people that we rode to hotel bus with that morning. How much would that suck to run 13 miles and then you can't make it just that .1 to get to the finish line? I hope that is never me. Here's me afterwards sporting my football shaped medal!

So then I started a new job only to take a 10 day vacation shortly thereafter! I went on a Disney cruise with my sister and my 13 year old daughter and had an amazing time. Here's a photo from that even though it's not running related.

This is me in Positano! I'm actually wearing my running shoes in this photo but you can't tell. I brought my running shoes and several running outfits on vacation with me. But needless to say, I didn't run once. There was this tall, extremely thin woman that ran every day on the ship and she made me feel very guilty but not so guilty that I ran.

When I came back I did a 10K with my friends Sadie-jo and Karen. It was the worst 10K ever!! I hadn't done any running since my half marathon the month before and it...was...awful. I know I sound like Grumpy Cat but it taught me a very important lesson - don't stop running!! My time was 1 hour and 7 minutes. My best 10K time was 1 hour and 2 minutes so a full 5 minutes slower. This picture doesn't show how much I wanted to barf. But we all had on fabulous skirts that you can't see!

Also, I went to the free Run Club last Wednesday at the local running store, the Running Room and I had a great time so I plan to keep this up. I also have my first running class on Tuesday at the same store. I registered for this 10 Mile training class because they didn't have a half marathon training class at this particular location but I figure that it will help me out a lot anyway (it's only 3.1 miles difference, right?).

My next race is the Go Commando mud run next weekend with Sadie-jo. For some reason I'm really nervous about this. I can run but I have zero upper body strength so this worries me. How will I be able to pull myself up and over things? I will post an update on this as soon as I can. Wish me luck!

Runners Unite

It's hard to know what to write on a day like this. It's hard to even fathom that someone would do something like this in the first place let alone at the Boston Marathon. I only started running last summer so I don't really feel like a runner, yet this feels so personal.

I'm not going to tell you anything that you don't already know or feel but next month I'll be doing a half marathon in Green Bay and I was worried that I haven't been getting in the training that I should be. I was worried that I might not do as well as I'd like. But now I just find myself wanting to run for the sake of running. If I don't get the time that I wanted, it just doesn't feel like that big of a deal anymore compared to what some people are going through right now.

Running has literally changed my life. Runners are such amazingly supportive people. They welcome you to their sport with open arms and I'm lucky enough to be part of an an online running group that I love. Runners don't care if you're better than they are. I do races with friends and not once have I been sad that I didn't do as well as they did. I'm happy for them and they are happy for me. At one race, my friend Karen could have had a much better race time but she chose to run together with me and we had so much fun! This is a sport for everyone no matter how young or old you are, whether you are slow or fast, you can be a seasoned runner or a beginner, you can run alone or with other people, race fans don't boo the athletes - in fact they're going to cheer for you even if you're the last person over the finish line and they don't even know you!

In addition the half marathon that I'm doing next month I'm doing a 5K the day before with my friend Kelly. I think Kelly is amazing - she's a 50 something runner (sorry Kelly, I'm giving away your age!) and this will be her first race. One time she said that she was worried about letting me down because she won't be very fast. I told her that this race was all about her. I'm going to stick by her no matter what and we're going to have fun because that's what runners do! She'll see very quickly that runners are a tight knit group and we only want our fellow runners to succeed and do the best job they can. But that's what also makes this more difficult to comprehend. But we are a family, runners are so helpful and generous and this is the reason that we will get through it, move on and dedicate our upcoming races to the victims of the Boston explosions as well as to the runners that finished and did not finish that day. We'll do anything we can to support them. That's what runners do.

Chocoholic Frolic 10K and running costumes!

I completed the Chocoholic Frolic 10K yesterday with friends Karen and Sadie-jo and friends Billie and Heather did the 5K (their first run, yay!!!).  Here is a short sweet recap of that - it was cold and I put on too many clothes and I was boiling half way through the first of two laps and had to shed some layers. I decided to run with a pacer this time (they have a person or two that runs at a certain pace throughout so you can finish at a certain time) and I chose the 1 hour pace group which was a little bit of a stretch as my last 10K time was 1 hour and 3 minutes. Sadie-jo and Karen chose the 53 minute pacer. I stayed with them through the whole first lap and then in the middle of the second lap around the lake I lost them when I had to walk up a giant hill and I never caught up. By the way I had a personal record and I finished in 1 hour and 2 minutes so I'll take that! Afterwards we had the best warm chocolate in a cup and plenty of goodies to dip in it. Seriously, best ever! Also, I haven't seen my race photos yet but as soon as they are, I'll post to show you how I did!

Here is a photo of us after the race!

So you'll notice that I've got on some ridiculous stockings and a sparkle skirt (and notice Karen's lovely sparkle skirt too - she MAKES her own!). When you run the Princess Half marathon not only are costumes allowed, but they are encouraged! And now I'm totally hooked. This was my attempt at Mr. Mint from Candyland but because it was cold I had to add a layer over my white shirt with fake starlight mints attached to it (thanks Amanda!). I love to wear costumes and most of all I love running skirts.  They are my new obsession. Here is my look from last month's Get Lucky 7K (a St. Patty's Day theme).

My friend Karen is crafty and I'm jealous that she knows how to make her own but I'm not even a little bit crafty so I get mine from Team Sparkle where they have tons of colors and they are $25 with free shipping. There is also another great place called Sparkle Skirts but these are much more expensive and I while I've heard amazing things, I haven't been able to pay that much for a skirt. They are much less sheer than Team Sparkle but it doesn't matter to me because I always wear something underneath anyway, and they are a bit longer. They even have some with the shorts attached to the skirt which would be nice.

I've got some upcoming races so I'm now trying to figure out if I should wear costumes or skirts to any of them. I've got the Race For the Cure which will totally be a pink skirt, the Bloomington Women's 5K and I can re-use said pink skirt, the Go Commando mud run and I'm thinking about either a camo skirt (with pink in it of course) or a Wonder Woman inspired outfit. But probably not these shorts - the Wonder Booty shorts.

I am bummed out because I'm doing a half marathon that runs right through Lambeau Field (Go Packers!!) and I'm dying to wear a Packers outfit but I looked at the photos from last year and no one else seems to be doing this. So I'm going to wear a plain old black Nike running skirt with a shirt that says "I run half marathons. I'm lazy that way" that I got from One More Mile. This place is one of my faves too and they sell shirts with very funny running slogans on them.

So now you've got plenty of places to go if you're interested in running skirts. Pinterest has lots of great running costume ideas as well if you're interested. I'll leave you with a final photo from the Chocoholic Frolic if you think that I'm crazy for dressing up. These people did me one better and they dressed (and RAN) as full on Oompa Loompas! Genius!!

Race Photos

Today I would like to talk about race photos! For those of you that are new to running let me explain a little about these dastardly things. I’ve done 5Ks and 10Ks (one 7K) and one half marathon. The race organizers typically hire a photography company that takes sports photos. Photographers are strategically placed along the course to capture action shots of runners. These photos are then placed on the company’s website where you have the option to buy them. It sounds like a great idea doesn’t it? As runners we should really be proud of all of our accomplishments and show off our photos whether it’s a short run or a long run…either way we’re out there running!! If you are lucky and you’re looking for the photographers, you will get a shot like this ridiculously handsome guy running.

However, I do not have great luck with race photos. I am a hideous runner at best. My face gets red, I have a tendency to look down at the ground so my eyes always look like they’re closed, I slouch a bit, my hands are in a weird position (I’m working on this) and it looks like my feet never leave the ground. For some reason I NEVER, EVER see the photographers so I when I go to the website to see if there are any decent photos of me…this is what I get.

Look at the girl next to me. She was clearly looking at the photographer and she looks happy to be finishing her half marathon. And then there's me.

At the half marathon I was even trying to look for them but I missed most of them so all of my shots look like I’m about to die. I did manage to get a few decent race photos there but even some of the ones that I posed for look ridiculous. I had even practiced several potential poses but then when I actually saw the photographers I forgot everything and chose to give the thumbs up instead. Ugh. So I guess this race photo thing will continue to be a work in progress.

So here are some suggestions (trust me, these are not tried and true because I have yet to get any really good photos).

1.       Be aware. Look at your surroundings so you will notice the photographers. I tend to zone out and miss them every time.

2.       When you see them, practice your best running form and look like you’re hauling ass. Then maybe I won’t look like I’m shuffling my feet in all of my photos.

3.       Smile! Even though you feel like hell, just muster a smile for that brief second and you’ll be glad you did when you’re looking through photos.

Those are all of the suggestions I have for today. Let me know if they worked! I’m doing a 10K this weekend and I’ll test my theories and report back!

This is me!

So now that I’ve got my Princess Half Marathon report done, I’ll take a step back and introduce myself! My name is Tracy and I’m a mom of one teenage girl and I’m 41 years old…very close to 42. I used to run cross country in high school and truth be told, I sucked. I didn’t like it AND I sucked. Distance just was not my thing but I loved my teammates so I stuck with it as best I could. I dabbled in track in college until I blew out my knee in the first year and after that I did nothing. Over the course of the next 20 years or so I tried to start working out at the Y, tried swimming (I hate water), I got a bike and it felt very foreign to me and tried some more running but I gave up on all of those. I was just a lazy blob for 20 years. Somehow I lucked out and I had a good metabolism so I equated being a decent weight with being fit. But then age 40 hit me like a ton of bricks I gradually started putting on weight and I’d get winded and tired just riding the escalator. Haha! I couldn't fit any of my work clothes anymore and had to start buying larger pants and flowy tops to hide my spare tire. So last summer I bought myself a pair of running shoes and I was determined to stick it out this time and mainly it was to get the extra pounds off.

Every other week I did Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating (they premake your meals for a week with fresh, yummy ingredients with proper portion sizes) and I started running a little bit by my house about two or three nights per week. I started to see some great results and when I got to where I wanted to be, I stopped the Seattle Sutton’s. I honestly think that I would have stopped running and fallen back to where I was if it wasn’t for my friend Sadie-jo. We were roommates in college and she was that one person that “gets me” and we have the same sarcastic sense of humor. We honestly hadn’t hung out for years with just a passing email or lunch every now and then. And I mean few and far between. But one day we discovered that we’d both started running and we decided to do a 5K together. She was a lot faster than I am (and still is) and she could run more miles than I could (and still can!) but she encouraged me and we went on some runs together. I know that she was holding back and going slower than normal and I can’t thank her enough because she got me over that “I hate running” hump and I actually started to enjoy it! And now Sadie-jo and I barely go a day without texting or Facebooking or emailing! It's great to have her back.

Our first 5K was an alumni run at the college we went to and we got our honeys to run with us! Her honey happens to be an amazing runner so it wasn’t hard to twist his arm. My honey however, went into it with virtually no training. They all beat me by a ton but after that I was hooked!! Here is my honey and me after our first race.

By the way, after we finished I said “That was so fun!!! I can’t wait to do it again!” and honey said “I wouldn’t call that fun” and he hasn’t done a race since and just sticks to our treadmill.

I couldn’t wait to find more races and Sadie-jo signed up along with me and we had so much fun! I had so much fun that with only two 5Ks under my belt I decided to sign up for a half marathon! I figured that I should ramp up my training and I made the mistake of going apeshit about running. I knew almost nothing about form and how to take care of myself and I ran myself right into a stress fracture in my tibia. The biggest mistake I made was taking long strides and when I was going downhills I was jamming my feet into the ground while taking those long strides. And combine that with being lactose intolerant and getting very little calcium, it was bad news. So in the middle of training for a half marathon I had to cease and desist. Not a good feeling at all. Luckily it wasn’t a really bad stress fracture and I slowly got back into training and obviously I was able to do the half. I honestly think I could have benefitted from some more time off because I still have pain and I don’t think I let it heal properly but I thought I needed to get out there so I could complete the half. But I did it!

As a person who has only started really running in their 40s, I have so many things to talk about! And so many running related things in general! So thanks for joining me and we can learn about this running thing together!

It's race time!

The Half Marathon!

It was a long walk to the corrals and by the time I was nearly there...you guessed it. I had to pee AGAIN! I didn't want to stop and pee during the race so I thought it was smart to stop one last time and the lines were enormous. By the time I got to Corral B I think it was about 10 minutes before the start of the whole shebang. As I was waiting, I noticed that I was standing next to two guys dressed in full on princess costumes! They were the hit of the corral.

I didn't realize until after I'd gotten back home that guys were not supposed to start in Corral B. I guess they start them in Corral C or later as this is a women-centric race which is fine with me! So I'm not sure how they got there and I don't see any bib numbers on them. Anyway, the wait in the corral went so quickly and soon Corral A started and was gone. That meant that Corral B could shift up towards the start. I believe there are 6 minutes between the start of each corral and it was the fastest 6 minutes of my life. At that point, while waiting for our corral to start, I thought to myself. "What on earth are you doing here??? OMG, you're going to run a 1/2 marathon you idiot! Why did you do this?". And then BOOM with a quick countdown and some fireworks, we were off!

I felt pretty good and it felt like my pace was just fine. There is a lot of weaving through and around people to find a good pace and I expected that. It was still dark at that point. This might sound strange but I don't remember so much of the course!  I remember seeing some key things here and there but the majority of it is a blur. When it came to character stops, I kind of had a plan. If there was a short line, I would stop. If there was a long line, I would not. I was really torn because this was my first half marathon and I wanted to get a decent time but I also wanted to have fun (as much fun as one can have while running 13.1 miles I guess!). I remember running through the Magic Kingdom Main Street and it was amazing. I'm not a crier. I'm just not so I knew I wouldn't cry when I entered it like most normal people do and I didn't. I was more happy than anything and I heard so many shouts of "Go Packers!!" and "Go Pack Go" that it really kept me going. That and I didn't want to stop and walk in front of all those people. I did stop and walk for a moment though when we were "back stage" right before we hit Main Street and I think that was my first walk break. I did my only three stops for photo ops in the Magic Kingdom.

There were two people in line for Gaston so I quickly jumped in there and he was hilarious!! Definitely very in character. You get to run through the castle which was a high point for me and when you're coming out, I knew there would be a photo op off to the left and there was a woman directing you to it. It looks like you're the only person in the park in front of the castle and I was glad I did that. I'd actually practiced several poses for in front of the castle but when I actually got there, I ended up with this weird pose which was nothing that I'd practiced. And then as I got going again, there was Princess Tiana with virtually no wait so I decided I should get in line there. As I was leaving I stepped on her dress and my shoe got stuck in it. Sorry Tiana!

After that it's a complete jumble in my mind. For the most part I felt pretty good during the race but because of the humidity I was sweating like nobody's business. So I made it a point to stop at every single water stop. At the first water stop I tried to keep running while I was drinking but that didn't work so well and it ended up all down my chin, neck and shirt. Lesson learned. I knew that it would slow my time down to stop and walk at every water station but I also knew that it was hot and humid and I'd rather not get dehydrated. I remember one instance where one fellow was on the ground at about mile 5 with medics around him and that stuck in my head. I don't want that to happen to me.

Around mile 8 I started to feel a twinge in my right knee (the knee that I didn't have KT taped up of course). And it proceeded to get worse for the rest of the race. I think I was very focused on the pain in my knee and that's another reason why I don't remember squat! I do remember stopping to take this photo at mile marker 10.

Only 3.1 miles to go my friends!! However it didn't feel like "only" at the time. With my knee hurting, I ended up stopping to walk more than I think I normally would have (but I can't be sure of that). Also, the humidity was causing my fingers and toes to swell up. I could feel my toes jammed into the front of my shoes and my toenails were hurting as well. I remember approaching Epcot and seeing all of the spectators. So I knew that I didn't want to represent the Packers by walking so I slowly shuffled my way through the crowd. Once I was safely inside Epcot, I walked my brains out!! Ok, I didn't walk through all of Epcot but I did walk a good portion. But luckily this photographer caught me at one point when I was actually running/shuffling.

Look at that person next to me. She's cruising! While I look like I have bricks attached to my feet.

And then I knew that the end was near and as we were nearing the exit to Epcot, I saw some poor person who was down for the count in the bushes with medics around them. How much would that suck to run 13 miles and then go down right before the finish? Poor person. I kept running and ran until the finish. As I was about to cross the finish line I heard the woman in front of me (talking to no one in particular) say that she was going to do a cartwheel and I didn't want to get kicked in the face so I took a sharp right out of the way and proceeded to do the Aaron Rodgers (the Packers Quarterback) Discount Double Check across the finish line!

My official time was 2 hours and 34 minutes. I'm very happy with that!

After I was done I was a complete zombie making my way around. I saw someone giving out medals so I took a medal. I saw someone handing out bags of ice so I took a bag of ice. I saw someone handing out food so I took some food. It was so strange! My knee was hurting so badly so I just wanted to go back to the Race Retreat to sit down so that's what I did. I wandered into the Race Retreat and there was my zip up hoodie that I'd left in there! I was very happy to see it because I get so chilled after I run. I put my knee up on a chair and iced it. And then I hobbled up to the food and got myself a nice ice cold can of Coke as well as some eggs, bacon and fruit. I needed that. I had signed up to get updates on my phone for myself as well as Amanda so I could see that I had a little time to chill until Amanda came in (she started in corral E I think). And then I took a picture of this.

BLING!!!

I love this gorgeous medal!

In the Race Retreat, there was a private changing area. In my checked bag, I'd packed some clean clothes and some baby wipes to freshen up a bit. After a change of clothes, I felt a lot better. I also remembered to pack ibuprofen, thank goodness!! I left the race retreat shortly after I saw that Amanda had crossed the finish line. We met outside and decided to go to Epcot to meet some of the other facebook ladies but no one showed up. So we took a ride on Soarin' and went back to the room. It was such an amazing day and a magical race. I can now say that I've done a 1/2 marathon! I can't see NOT doing the Disney Princess Half Marathon next year and my sister and niece have been talked into doing it with me as well.

Next up on my agenda is the Chocoholic Frolic 10K run. My friends and I have decided to dress up as characters from Candyland. I get to be Mr. Mint and my costume is part skanky and part dork. I'm sure you'll get to see pictures!



Pre-Race at the Princess Half!

It's been a while but I'm here to finish up my Princess Half Marathon entry! After the expo we had two full days in the park and had a fantastic time. We stayed at Pop Century and on the eve of the race we walked over to the Art of Animation because we knew they had a create your own pasta station. I had an Alfredo pasta with broccoli, black olives, onions, garlic and prosciutto. It was good if not a little bland. But with a race the following day, bland was probably a good thing!

 After dinner we hunkered down for the rest of the night so we could get to bed early. We set out all everything we'd need like our costumes, KT tape, biofreeze, shoes, race fuel, etc. We set the alarm for 2 am (!!!) and tried hard to get some sleep. As soon as the alarm went off Amanda and I both got up immediately and went to work! We'd hoped to be at the bus stop by 2:45 am to be on the first bus but I think we left the room at about 2:45. There was a little bit of a line already but not too bad. We didn't wait too long before two buses pulled up right before 3 am and the first bus filled up so we walked right on to the second one. The bus drops you off quite a ways from the entrance (at least a 1/4 to 1/2 mile I'd say) but honestly, you don't even notice how far you're walking when you're looking at the costumes on all of the other people. Even walking to the entrance was fun!
This is me shortly after we were dropped off.

Did I mention that I'm a huge Green Bay Packers fan? When I decided to run the PHM and I heard that you could dress up, it wasn't even a question as to what my theme would be!

When we got to the area with all of the tents, bag check, merchandise tent, port-a-potties, etc Amanda and I had to split up. I had registered for the Race Retreat and when Amanda registered, it was sold out (she missed it by mere hours!).The Race Retreat costs a little extra but well worth it in my opinion. It is a huge temperature controlled tent with a private bag check, food, port-a-potties and photo opportunities. Here is a photo from inside the Race Retreat after it got a little more crowded.

 I made my way into the Race Retreat where it was not very crowded and I checked my bag with zero wait. I found a table,  and went to get some food. I knew that inside the race retreat they were serving bagels, peanut butter and bananas (and other items like yogurt) so this is what I'd been training with before my long runs and I knew it worked for me. As I was picking out my food a woman recognized me from the Princess Half Marathon facebook group and asked if I'd like to join her and some of the others. I was so thankful to meet some of the people I'd been chatting with, all wonderful women! I was even able to get in line for a photo opportunity with the fairy godmothers!

It was soon time to start heading to the corrals and I figured that I should pee before I left the Race Retreat to take advantage of the private port-a-potties because for the past week I'd been hydrating like a maniac and that included this morning. Apparently every other person in the place had the same idea and the line snaked through the entire tent! I got a little nervous until they opened up the men's side for the women to use and the line moved very quickly. I had brought a zip up hoodie that I was going to use to warm me up just until I got to the corrals and then I'd throw it away. Apparently many people do this and Disney gathers them and gives them to a charitable organization which is win/win. However when I started walking outside I realized that I'd forgotten it on the back of my chair inside of the Race Retreat! But it was already near 70 degrees that morning with 93% humidity so I didn't need it anyway. All that hydrating made me want to use the port-a-potties outside the Race Retreat as well so I stopped again. And then began the long walk to the corrals and it was even longer than the walk from the bus to the entrance. Here is a photo that I got on the way to the corrals because I love men in sparkly skirts. Please excuse the quality, my daughter's ipod touch does not take great photos. Next time I will invest in a very small quality camera to carry with me.

Up next...the actual race!