Race Report - Madison Mini Marathon

So you know a couple of weeks ago when I said I was going to focus on running shorter races for the remainder of 2009? I fell off that wagon. Just briefly. I had a trip planned to southern Wisconsin for this past weekend for a family event. And then happened to see on Tony's blog that he was running the Madison Mini Marathon on Saturday. And Madison is only about an hour from where I was going to be staying . . . can you see the wheels turning? So I signed up.

After 6+ hours in my mom's little Honda, with me seated quite comfortably in the back seat between Sophie's car seat and my niece's booster seat, we made it to Madison at about 7:30 Friday night. I dashed in to pick up my race packet and we stopped at Noodles for dinner. We got to my grandparents shortly after 9:00. After visiting and letting Sophie run off her long day in the car, I finally got to bed at about midnight.

That 4:30 a.m. alarm Saturday morning went off for about 5 minutes before I realized what was going on. I was tired! I forced myself off the couch I was sleeping on and got ready. My mom and grandma (who apparently also heard my alarm - sorry!) got up to keep my company while I got ready. I choked down a couple of pieces of toast and I was out the door. I stopped at my aunt and uncle's to pick up my sister and cousin (who graciously agreed to be my cheering section for the day). Because it was still pitch dark, I had some trouble remembering where exactly my aunt and uncle lived. Pretty sure the car that saw me driving slowly up and down their street three times called the cops. Honest, I was not casing the neighborhood.

I finally found them and we were off to Madison. We found a parking spot in a garage very close to the start. The spots were metered and had a two hour limit. As it appeared that many people running the race were parking in this garage, I decided to roll the dice and park. I filled the meter with as many quarters as it would take, reminded myself that I was driving my mom's car not my own (so any parking ticket would go to her), and we headed towards the start. I had plenty of time to do my thing and look for Tony. Unfortunately, it was very crowded and we were never able to connect. The blogger meet up will have to wait for another race!

I crammed my way into the starting corral and was once again reminded that there are a lot of girls who wear full on makeup to races. What? I don't get it. If I thought a nice thick application of eyeliner would get my a PR, I'd be all over it. But I can just imagine that stinging myself dribbling down my face. Anyhow . . . national anthem, countdown, and go!

This was the BEST half-marathon course I have ever run. The first part traveled through the UW campus area, the state capitol, and downtown Madison. Then, suddenly, it was as if we were running in the woods around a lake. Once we finished the lake portion, we went through a residential area, and then onto another lakefront path. I was having a great time, and the miles seemed to be going by very quickly. I kept a 9:15-ish pace for the first 6 miles or so. At about mile 7, I started to get lightheaded and tired. A Gu chased with two cups of water helped a lot. I picked it up, but was not able to resume the pace I had kept for the first half.

As I saw my Garmin ticking closer to the 13 mile mark, I began to get a little confused. We were running on a gravel path along the lake, and it did not appear that we were anywhere near the downtown area. I had seen the finish line from the start and new it was in the middle of the campus buildings. How on earth we were going to get back there with only a quarter of a mile to go? And then I ran past a building by the lake, around a corner (and straight up a hill, by the way) and realized we were back near the campus buildings. Who knew? I saw my sister and cousin cheering my on, and turned the final corner to the finish. I felt like I gave one hell of a kick and sprinted to the finish. 2:07:22. Not a PR, but I was happy with it (and a 20 minute improvement from my Mora half two weeks ago!).

As I was walking from the finish to meet my sister and cousin, I felt something flapping at my side. I looked down, expecting to see a ripped bib. Instead, I saw the tag from my shirt. Yep, I had my shirt on inside out. Loser.

Hill Workouts are SO Easy

I'm going to save this jogging stroller. When I am 60 and Sophie is 30, I'm going to plop my wrinkly ass in the stroller and make her push me half a mile straight up hill while running. And, for old time's sake, scream "Run faster mommy" the whole time. Good times.

Why Biking 26.2 Miles is Easier than Running 26.2 Miles

1. I can eat pancakes half an hour before going out and not have to worry about pooping my pants, puking, or both.

2. Having all of my sportsbras in the wash machine doesn't mean staying home and stewing about a missed workout.

3. 4:00 miles? Yeah, that never happens when I'm running.

I rode 30 miles this morning. I called Jim when I was on my way out the door and told him I would meet him at his house so he could ride with me. He decided to ride to meet me instead. Unfortunately, I went the long way (all tar roads) and he took the shortcut (dirt roads). We finally found each other 10 miles later. Oops.

It ended up being a really fun ride, which surprised me. For some reason, I thought spending that much time on my bike would be boring. I definitely need to invest in some padded bike shorts though. My girl parts? Ouch.

Now we're just waiting for Sophie to wake up from her nap so we can go out golfing and enjoy this beautiful day. Happy Sunday!

Fresh Start - Fast Fall

I'm going to let you all in on a big secret: I am a huge nerd. Oh, you already knew that? Okay. Part of my dorktasticness is my LOVE for all things school. I love the back to school time of year. The thought of buying a nice, clean new backpack and loading it up with fancy mechanical pencils, pink pens, and crisp notebooks gets me quite excited. I almost bought a protractor at WalMart today. I just can't stop myself.

Unfortunately, going back to school isn't an option (at least not until I pay off the $60,000 I owe from the first go-round). But I can mimic all the back to school sports that are starting up. The tennis team with their drills, the cheerleaders with their learning how to spell DRAGONS, you get the picture.

I have been running without a plan since May and my big marathon PR. June, well that was a recovery month. July, I went on vacation, focused on golfing and drinking, and barely ran at all. So far in August, I've managed to eek out a 2 second 10K PR and crap out a 10+ minute half-marathon PW. I feel like I need to hit the reset button.

My focus for fall is on shorter races - a 5 miler and fun 5K in October, and two 5K's in November. Last year, I set successive PR's in all of these races without really training or trying to do so. So I started thinking about what I could do if I actually trained for the 5K. I have never specifically trained to get faster in a 5K.

Welcome to the new plan. Speedwork at the track on Mondays. Tempo runs of 5-8 miles on Wednesday nights (well, on Wednesday nights after golf is finished -- only two weeks left). And faster "long" runs on the weekends. Easy runs throw in between. The "long" runs aren't really long at all - 6-9 miles. But I am planning on attempting these at a significantly faster pace than I run true long runs. We'll see how it goes.

If I can improve my 5K and 5 mile times, I will consider the plan a success. An added bonus? I'm hoping that the faster "long" runs will give me a good boost going into marathon training in January. Now I just need to go pack my running clothes into my new backpack . . . some things never change.

Race Report - Mora Half Marathon

Or, more aptly titled, "Non-Race Report."

Don't worry, I showed up. But I definitely didn't race. I'm not sure what it was -- maybe that craptastic month of training (or not training) that was July, Sophie being up all night Friday night, or the heat and humidity -- but I just wasn't feeling it yesterday. When the race started, I began running the first mile thinking I would shoot for a 9:15 pace. After the first mile marker, I decided that I just didn't feel like running and didn't really care what my time ended up being.

We kept plugging away. My running partner Jim was really struggling and just shy of the four mile marker told me to beat it. He stopped to walk and I just kept going, telling myself I would walk at all the mile markers. By the time I got to the halfway point, I was pretty concerned about Jim. He never wimps out and is usually pushing me to toughen up. Since I had already decided I didn't care what time I finished in, I turned around to find him. You should have seen the looks I was getting from the people I passed going backwards. Maybe they thought the heat was getting to me . . .

I found Jim and he was still having a tough time. We ran/walked together for a couple of miles and he insisted again that I go ahead. I fought him - I wanted to support him, but he said feeling like he was holding me back was making him feel worse. I kept moving.

By the time I got to mile 11, I was over it. I thought about walking the rest of the way. I didn't feel miserable, because I hadn't been running hard at all, but I just did not want to be running and did not want to be out in the sun anymore. I resisted my temptation to walk, and barely resisted my temptation to jump into the lake and swim the rest of the way, and finished. 2:27:something. Seriously. Worst. Time. Ever. Thank you, Mora Half Marathon, for the new personal worst!

Highlights: the volunteers were AWESOME. Especially the guy at the 5 mile water stop who drenched me with cold water. What is your phone number? Because I would like to marry you. Oh wait, already married . . . Also, my mom and Sophie were at the finish. After Sophie's sleepness night, I told my mom not to worry about coming to the race because I thought Sophie would be too crabby and difficult. But I was so relieved they were there (and to be done running), I almost cried when I saw them.

Taking it easy definitely had one benefit - no heat stroke (which I suffered from last year during this race), no sore muscles, and no post-race exhaustion. And later? Chipotle for dinner. Yum.

What Not To Wear - Traffic Court Edition

If you ever find yourself in a position to go to traffic court and you think you might want to convince the prosecutor and/or the judge for a good deal, I'm going to give you a little bit of inside advice. Don't wear the following items:

• Black satin tapered leg pants with a bright orange cotton tank top (that I'm pretty sure I saw on the floor of WalMart recently)
• Ratty t-shirt and cut-off jeans. Oh, and did I mention that the t-shirt had a picture of a giant hand flipping the bird on the front? Classy.
• Transparent, gauzy black fabricky shirt (likely also from WalMart) cut so low I had to consciously avert my eyes. To avoid not only the ridiculous cleavage, but also the ginormous tattoo (heart with thorny roses, as if you needed to ask) that appeared to completely cover the left breast.

Three words: guilty, guilty, and guilty.

In other news, it's about 90 degrees, the sun is shining and it's T-minus 1 1/2 hours until golf league time. Anyone want to place bets on whether I will (1) drink too much and fall on my face again; (2) along with Erin, earn enough points to clinch our first place position; and (3) drink too much and laugh my fool head off?

Oh, and because this is a running blog, I ran 6 awesome miles last night. Perfect. I'm trying to ignore the forecast for Saturday (90+ degrees and humid). Half marathon? How about march of death.

Hello Summer, Bye Summer

After a decidedly fall-like summer, we are finally getting some hot and humid weather around here. I'm not complaining, because I love summer, but I must admit I really enjoyed running in the cooler weather.

At the same time, I'm getting all sorts of reminders that summer is almost over. Our local fair has come and gone (with a successful boycott by yours truly, but that's another story). Back to school specials are everywhere. I'm making plans for Labor Day weekend. Sophie's new (insanely cute) habit of saying "night-night sun" as the sun sets is happening earlier and earlier every day.

Usually I would be on the brink of depression realizing that my beloved summer days are numbered. The thought of freezing cold, short days, and losing my husband to his mistress -- ice fishing -- usually sends me to internet searching for jobs in California or Hawaii.

But this year? I'm sort of excited for fall and winter to come. I'm changing my focus in order to change my attitude. Don't I sound like a self-help book? Instead of focusing on how freaking cold it's going to be, I'm focusing on what the second week of January will bring -- Marathon Training.

I've kept to my word and not run another marathon in 2009, but I am already gearing up for 2010. I liked running my marathon in May, so I've been looking at the May marathons. Right now, my number one choice is Madison. So even though I know when the time comes I will certainly do my fair amount of whining about the cold and snow, right now I am excited to be back on a plan and have a big goal to work towards. Plus I will no longer be tempted to skip running for golfing (sidenote to the track: hope you didn't miss me too much last night, it was just too nice to pass on a night of golf with my hubby and Sophie).