Race Recap: Pettit Indoor Marathon Relay

Third time’s a charm, right? After putting my hat in the ring and then withdrawing twice (because…pregnant), this year, I finally participated in the Pettit Indoor Marathon Relay.

Friday

Andrea, Alicia, Laura and I left the Cities and headed east on 94 last Friday afternoon and after a five+ hour drive and a much-needed Chipotle stop, we checked into our Airbnb. It was a low key night (besides a thrilling trip to the grocery store for booze because Wisconsin knows what they’re doing).

I may or may not be searching for the chips with the most salt

Saturday

Since the race started at 1 p.m., pre-race fueling proved to be a bit tricky, especially when you don’t eat gluten or dairy. I went with my typical breakfast — AIP breakfast sausage and sweet potatoes (because, yes, I now travel with a full-sized cooler). Then, we made a stop at a grocery store and I grabbed some pickles, prosciutto and potato chips. You know — essentials.

Even though we didn’t start racing until 1, we were meeting at the Pettit at 11 a.m. With 40 Oiselle Volee racing and friends/family who came to spectate, we had to reserve a pretty large area for ourselves. Thanks to Sheila’s amazing-ness, everything felt super organized which just let us all relax and have fun. It was fun to catch up with some teammates I hadn’t seen in awhile and meet some new ones, too. Around 12:30 we took a team photo and then it was time to warm up.

One lap at the Pettit track is 445.2 meters and the full marathon is 94.8 laps. Since there were four people to a team, we each ran 24 laps total, two at a time. Given that I’m still in a base building phase of my training, it was pretty intense to essentially do a 12×800 workout, but man…it was fun.

We surprised ourselves (or maybe I was the only one who was surprised?) and finished in 3:39.

Minnesota birds! The Flying V (And Jana who was already wearing her coat because she’s super speedy and had finished like an hour before 😉 )

After quick showers and a change into real clothes, we met up with some of our other teammates for dinner and beer at Lakefront Brewery (AKA my happy place – thank you for having delicious gluten-free beer).

Back at the Airbnb, we promptly changed into #allthelux, poured some drinks, put our legs up the wall and turned on the Olympics.  I think I may have stayed up past 10 p.m. that night, so we’re calling it a success.

Post-race, I felt surprisingly good, besides the usual angry TFL. Had some ART and cupping done on Wednesday and feel pretty much back to normal!

2017 Great Lakes Bird Camp (WI) Recap

HELLO!! I took almost one year off from blogging (my last blog post was a recap from Bird Camp last year). I’ll go into this more in a future post, but I’m in a much different place these days when it comes to my running, diet and overall health, so I’ve decided to start blogging again, but just for fun and when I feel like it. And I’ve renamed the blog. So as part of that new outlook, I surrendered my findingabalanceblog.com fancy paid account and I’m back to good ol’ wordpress.com. Oh, and when I imported my site back to wordpress.com, a bunch of photos disappeared and the formatting got screwy, but I don’t really care.

Aaaaaanyways, this past weekend was Bird Camp! This won’t be as long of a recap as last year, but here are some of the highlights 🙂

Thursday

Alicia and I left the Cities around 10 a.m. and swung through Hudson to pick up fellow Volée member, Trisha. Then, we were on our way! We stopped in Eau Claire for glorious Chipotle and then headed to Camp Timber-Lee in East Troy, WI.

When we arrived, it was so fun to see so many familiar faces! We checked in, got our swag bags…..

And filled out our bios/got our pictures taken. Then, we headed down to the lake to do some ice breaker activities. It was so much fun to hear what others were training for and to put faces with social media names!

We ate a quick dinner and then all gathered for a viewing of the Birdstrike film. We were lucky enough that Nora, part of the Birdstrike team, was able to join us for the evening and answered questions following the film. Nora is such a badass (and all around super awesome woman).

Next up was a fashion show where we got to preview the Oiselle Fall 2017 line. I didn’t take any photos of this because a lot of the items aren’t officially released yet, but let me tell you, and trust me, I’ve gotta start saving up!

What made the fashion show portion even better was that Steph and Alisoune from Oiselle HQ also attended camp, so we got to ask questions about fit, material, etc.

Steph and Alisoune!

Another fun addition to this year’s camp was that Haute Volée Anna Weber brought her massage therapist, Melody, and we all had the option to schedule massages with her. So I ended day one of camp with an incredible massage. Melody was also kind enough to share some self care tips!

Friday

Even though I had grand plans to sleep in, I was awake by 6:30 — boooooooo. After breakfast, Haute Volée (and my coach!) Becki Spellman gave her talk about mental toughness and running.

Next up was the Hoka Prediction Run! This was probably the part of camp I was most looking forward to. I’ve always been curious about Hoka shoes, so it was awesome to be given the opportunity to run three miles in a pair and have the Hoka rep there to answer questions.

For the prediction run part of it, we had to guess how long it’d take us to run three miles and then take off our watches before heading out. I was a solid one-minute+ off of my actual finishing time, but it was a fun experiment.

I was so excited when I saw Anna Weber was going to be attending camp and speaking again this year! I feel like we have a lot in common, plus Anna is sweet and hilarious. Her talk did NOT disappoint!

With the long run the next morning and having just done the prediction run a couple of hours prior, I sat out the running portion of the next activity — a team “Minute-To-Win-It” challenge. But the ridiculous challenges that we had to do in between running were just as fun. Like this one:

After the challenge, we had some much-needed down time. I opted for heading to the beach and swimming around a bit and playing cribbage with Laura.

After dinner, physical therapist and fellow Volée member Lauren Hogan gave us some super helpful tips to help stay injury free during her “Things Your PT Wants You to Know About Running” presentation.

The last talk of the evening was 2x Olympic race walker, Maria Michta Coffey! It was really cool to hear about Maria’s Olympic experiences, her journey to getting to the Olympics and race walking, in general. It was fun to get to know Maria over the weekend as well!

Saturday

It was a nearly perfect morning for our long run. What made it even more perfect was opting to head out a bit later than others in the group (since our group was only running seven miles), and then we got to sleep in a bit.

I’m obsessed with these compression socks

The long run location was at Lapham Peak Unit part of Kettle Moraine State Forest. My legs were not happy about this run and I have to admit that even with the fantastic company, I was ready for this one to be over.

After the run, we were all pretty much desperate for coffee, so we found a cute shop called Mama D’s and then we were all human again. Especially, Alicia.

so happy rn

On our way back to camp, we noticed there were llamas and farm animals, so of course we stopped for photos. Because, Instagram or it didn’t happen.

After showers, everyone piled back into their cars and headed to Lake Geneva for the rest of the day. We grabbed lunch at Simple, one of my favorite places to eat.

Then it was time for a boat tour of part of the lake! Fun fact: The Lake Geneva mail boat jumpers were once featured on NBC Nightly News!

After the boat tour, we hit up Studio Winery for some wine (duh) and then ended the evening with dinner and drinks at Gordy’s. They took great care of us and we had fun harassing the band that was playing.

There was something a bit strange about two of my worlds colliding (where I grew up + my running community), but it was also kind of cool. We even paid my mom a surprise visit!

Sunday

I successfully slept in until past 7 a.m. (which may or may not have had something to do with the number of drinks the night before). We all got up and started packing our bags. The rain was coming down pretty hard and I have to admit that I was starting to miss my boys, so we decided to hit the road for the long drive ahead of us.

Quick stop in the Dells on the way home

Thanks so much to leaders Sheila, Taylor, Jana and Tracy for all of your work putting on an incredible weekend! And of course, a huge thanks to Oiselle! I’m excited to help with next year’s camp 🙂

I still miss the snack table..

Recap: Fall Great Lakes Bird Camp (AKA the greatest weekend ever)

Man, I’m coming down off of my bird camp high and it’s not pretty. So I stayed up late last night to write this and relive #allthememories. Sorry in advance that this is so long:

Friday

I rushed around all morning finishing up some last minute work, dropping off the little guy at daycare and packing and unpacking and changing my mind on everything I packed. Before I knew it, Amanda texted that she was out front! We headed to the airport to meet up with the other drivers and birds who had flown in from out of town.

Not even an hour into the trip and Courtney found some birds

We made a quick stop for lunch and then I had the privilege of getting to know Courtney and Amanda (who are both so lovely and wonderful) better in the car on the way up. After we arrived and checked in, we headed out for a short group run. It felt good to shake out the legs after a few hours in the car.

The rest of the evening was a lot of fun reconnecting with the other Minnesota birds who I already knew (including my roommates: Megan, Jessy, Ali and Lisa) and making introductions with some new faces at the welcome reception! Next up was dinner and then we gathered for our two sessions that evening.

The first session was super timely since I’ve been really focusing on cleaning up my diet as of late: Rasa Troup, Olympian and Minnesota Vikings nutritionist spoke about fueling for runs (and life).  Next, Oiselle Haute Volee Anna Weber talked about how your dreams don’t need to have prerequisites and/or deadlines. She talked about her story of putting a hold on her “regular life” to train full time to work towards qualifying for the Olympic trials in the marathon. It was cool to hear about her ups and downs, what her training looks like and then spend the rest of the weekend with her, getting to know her better.

Rasa, talking nutrition

Next it was bonfire time! I stayed awake longer than I thought I’d be able to, chatting with other birds and then headed to bed to rest up for another jam-packed day.

In case you were wondering, this is how you do a beer fridge

Saturday

We got up and headed to breakfast bright and early. Afterwards, the rest of the group headed out for a short run. I wasn’t planning to run (because of my hip), so I grabbed my Kindle, a blanket and a coffee and curled up on a bench outside of my cabin. It was a crisp morning, but sunny, so it was super relaxing to do some reading by the lake.

Once everyone got back, we reconvened at our meeting place — a blue ox statue near the main resort lodge to walk over to the high ropes course at Clearwater Forest. This was one of the activities I was most excited about. I hadn’t done anything like this since maybe sixth grade (?) and I had no idea if I was going to get up there and freak out, but I was hoping I’d be able to complete the course. I was one of the last to go, and I found myself getting more excited after watching everyone else having so much fun! I was so impressed — even a few birds who were nervous, they still made their way up the course. Once you got up there, the most fun way down was to zipline! It made me want to try it again!

Once we got back to the resort, we had lunch and then walked over to the leaders’ cabin area for a bootcamp class. Amanda led us through an intense two rounds of lunges, squats, jumping jacks, commandos, sprinting, etc. etc. I was definitely feeling it afterwards.

Next on the agenda was mini golfing, human foosball and froyo, but first things first, we took a team photo by a leaping deer, because…Deerwood.

Roommate photo!

Traditions Mini Golf is the CUTEST place and they also are one of (I think, four) places in the country with a human foosball arena. AND they have froyo!

Human foosball. I wasn’t wearing the right shoes to participate 😦

After dinner, we all gathered for a Oiselle trunk show where Heather showed off some current pieces AND some sneak peeks of things coming soon. I swear I could hear my bank account crying while she was showing a gorgeous new vest and winter jacket.

New lux glovessss

We ended the night with another bonfire party!

Sunday

I woke up to an amazing sunrise, which made it a bit easier to get my butt out of bed. The long run was taking place at the Cuyuna State Park, which was about 25 minutes away, so we all piled into a few cars to drive over.

I was only planning to run about five miles, so I ran with Jessy for the first half of her run and then I headed back to the parking lot to take in the views for awhile with Laura and Carrie while waiting for everyone else to finish.

Once we got back to the resort, I took a quick shower and then we headed to the bonfire area for a group yoga session and it felt SO GOOD. My sore muscles were practically saying “ahhhhhhh” out loud as Rachel guided us through a lovely, restorative 45 minutes in the sunshine, with the lake just a few feet away.

Next was lunch and then we had some down time. It was a bit chilly and windy, so I opted out of the water recreation activities to take a power nap. Once I woke up, I took a shower and got ready. I went to find caffeine and then sat with some other birds, overlooking the lake.

At 5 p.m. we gathered at the bonfire area/leaders’ cabin for core work and form drills, led by one of the Haute Volee, the hilarious Becki Spellman.

We also filmed our second #DiscoDanceOff

Form drills are one of those things I know I should be doing, but I never knew if I was doing them quite right, so this was super helpful! And the core session was awesome because it was interesting to see the kinds of core work an elite does, and it was also informative because Becki really explained HOW to do the exercises to get the most out of them.

After dinner, Jungle Chicken (AKA my friend and former St. Paul neighbor, Erin Ward) gave her talk: I get knocked down…do I get up again? It kicked off with dancing to Chumbawumba. Because, of course it did.

Somehow, Erin managed to be funny and inspirational and self deprecating all at the same time. I appreciated her openness and honesty — it was the perfect last “talk” of the weekend.

After that heaviness, were all feelin’ the need to dance party and so we did — to JT and 90s hip hop.

So much fun that this photo turned out blurry

Then, we ordered pizza:

Monday

Even though breakfast was moved back to 8 a.m., I woke up around 6:15 naturally, but forced myself to go back to sleep until 7. Luckily, when I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I had the foresight to down a bottle of water and take ibuprofen as a precautionary measure. So besides being tired, I woke up feeling fantastic.

After breakfast, we all met at the blue ox for a last group photo and to say some goodbyes (sniff).

Then, most of the group headed out for a short run, while the rest of us set out to find caffeine. Our plans were thwarted due to the on-site coffee shop’s fall off-season hours, so we drove to Holiday for coffee. While we were there, chocolate donuts were calling our name.

We enjoyed our donuts and then everyone finished packing up. Before we knew it, it was time to check out and say the rest of our goodbyes.

HUGE THANK YOUS TO:

• Oiselle – Sally, you and the team have built something incredible. And to Feather, who is the nicest, cutest person and represented HQ well.
• Leaders: Sheila, Darci, Jana and Tracy – from the first email that went out about camp, I knew this was going to be an amazing experience. It was so well organized and there was a lot of care that went into making sure that every. single. person. had an unforgettable time.
• Elites: Anna and Becki – Unlike others I’ve met, Becki and Anna were friendly and treated everyone the same, whether they run 7-minute miles or 11-minute miles. Plus, they’re both really funny. And I got some great insight and perspective around my injury issues from Becki during dinner.
• All of the educational and inspirational speakers!
• Last, but definitely not least, the amazing women who make up this team. I’m so lucky to call you teammates and friends!

Head up, wings out!

Race Recap: 2014 Building Strength 5k

This past Saturday, I ran the Building Strength 5k for the third year in a row. My recaps from 2013 and 2012 are here and here. The race benefits South Metro Human Services. The funds supported South Metro’s programs that benefit their clients (people who have mental illnesses or chemical dependencies).

It was warm at race start, and sunny. Because I received my Oiselle shimmel when I was already pretty pregnant and didn’t like the way it looked on me, I still hadn’t worn it for a race. This seemed like the perfect opportunity! I paired it with my fresh green Distance Shorts that Oiselle sent me along with the shimmel, my Superfly cap and new Mizuno Wave Inspire 10s. (Because a race is great way to break in a pair of new shoes, right?)

I didn’t run early in the week because I was pretty sore after last weekend’s race. Then, I was even more sore after sprinting the bases at softball on Thursday night and had Pilates the next morning, so I didn’t run on Friday — the day before the race. So I felt a bit creaky when we took off.

Right before the race, I decided that my goal would be to beat last weekend’s time, but my more ambitious goal would be to break 30 minutes. I wanted to prove to myself that I could, since I mentioned in my last recap that I felt like I could’ve if I wouldn’t have stopped for a beer.

We didn’t start right up front, but it’s a small enough race that we started closer to the front than we might have usually done. I wore my Garmin this time, so I could focus on my pace to hopefully achieve at least one of my goals.

I found myself getting pretty winded already just a mile into the race and not feeling quite as confident at the 1.5 mile mark. The race course makes two loops around a park and after finishing the first loop, I was ready to be done. But somehow I finished, and ended up achieving both goals! As I’m writing this on Sunday, the official results haven’t been posted yet (pet peeve of mine), but according to my Garmin and Runkeeper (averaged the two times), I finished in 29:22. EDITED TO ADD: results are up and official time was 29:18!

This race was also fun because some of my coworkers came out and walk/ran, too! And the course was GORGEOUS — the fall colors are really getting to be pretty amazing.

It’s hard to believe that my 5k PR is almost five minutes faster than I finished this past weekend. It feels almost impossible that I’ll ever run that fast again. But, I’m hoping to not only run that fast again, but faster. I still hope to break 24 minutes sometime in the near future, so I guess it’s time to get to work!

Did you race this past weekend?

Have you gotten out to enjoy the fall colors?

Race Recap: 2014 Blubber Run + Flock Meetup

This past Saturday, J and I ran the Blubber Run, the inaugural 5k that’s a part of the Stevens Point Brewery’s Pointoberfest. I had no plan going into this — all I could think about was that the day I decided to stray from my Couch to 5k app and run a straight .5 miles on my own, it felt really, really hard. I barely made it through and the next day I went back to Couch to 5k. I had considered doing a Couch to 5k workout for the race, but instead decided just to run on feel and see how it went would go.

After over four hours in the car and not the best pre-race fuel, we arrived at the Stevens Point Brewery. J and I got our race bibs and went on a walk to loosen up. It was quite warm — 75 degrees and sunny. At 2:55 p.m., we lined up (I positioned myself towards the back) and waited for the race to start.

I didn’t wear my Garmin and had my phone, with Runkeeper going, in my pocket (yay for Distance Shorts!) so I never really knew what my current pace was. The first quarter mile felt awful — my legs felt like they weighed a ton and my tight calves were really bugging me. But as I warmed up, I felt a little better and settled into some sort of groove.

I was expecting a beer stop at the halfway mark, but it was actually at the 2 mile mark. Since I wasn’t technically “racing” and I didn’t dress up for the race, I decided that it would be fun to actually stop and “enjoy” a beer. Most people stopped, so it was pretty fun!

 

I finished my beer and set back out. (This is the part where I realized I’d be happy to never do another beer run again as there was a nice chorus of burping and belching going on around me. Gross.)

For the last mile, I concentrated on sticking close to the other runners around me and trying not to get passed. It worked well and I even passed a few runners near the finish. I crossed the finish line and saw 31:58 on the clock. It’s nice to know that if I wouldn’t have stopped for that beer (no regrets, though!) that I would have likely broken 30 minutes, especially since race wasn’t chip timed and I started near the back of the group. I still have a ways to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy 5k time, but this race was a definite confidence booster!

As soon as I saw my in-laws, I asked them how J had done and they told me that he came in first — with no one even close to him! He finished somewhere around 18:5X.

 

During the awards ceremony, they asked J if he had stopped for a beer. His “no” reply was met with a deafening “booooooo,” which was pretty funny. He’s determined to win next year AND stop for a beer.

We celebrated post race with some Point beer (the Chai tea porter was the most interesting one I tried) and some Mexican food. Perfection.

—

After we got home on Sunday, I dusted off my yoga mat and met up with some of the Midwest Oiselle birds for some yoga and sushi. After getting my butt kicked in yoga (seriously glad we decided on a c1 class), we grabbed some drinks and sushi — it was a lot of fun getting to know everyone. I’m reminded again of how lucky I am to be a part of such an amazing team.

This weekend I have another race but haven’t decided if I’m going to run the entire thing or take it easy instead. I also started my six week Pilates Reformer sessions this week. Feeling good and happy to be back into a workout routine!

Have you ever done a beer run?

What fall races do you have planned?

Have you tried Pilates on the Reformer?

FAB Fitness: Cabin Workouts

After a minor setback (more about that, later), my return to running has been going really well. I’m still doing the Couch to 5K program since I’m terrified about doing too much, too soon. I looked at my calendar the other day and realized that my first postpartum race is less than 2.5 weeks away! I know I won’t be racing it at that point, but it’d be cool if I could run the entire thing without stopping. And for extra motivation, my new Oiselle singlet arrived this week!

 

Here are my workouts from this past weekend.

Saturday: 2.42 mile run (12:49 min/mi pace)

Labor Day weekend, we headed to the cabin for some relaxation and time with family. The weather wasn’t fantastic (oh, except for on Monday when it was time to come home) but the mornings were cool and perfect for running. Jesse’s sister and brother-in-law are training for a half and TCM so they had a long run on Saturday morning and J had four miles fast on his training plan (he’s training for a 5K right now) so we headed to the nearby trailhead.

I used the gift certificate to Mill City Running that I had received for my birthday to purchase a Stunt Puppy running leash and Cole and I broke it in Saturday morning. It worked great!

Before heading out for our run. Sporting my new Oiselle superfly cap and my not-so-new Distance Shorts and Winona Tank.

Looking back at my first postpartum run, it’s been great to see improvement in my pace. The speed seems to be coming back easily and my legs feel good. This run was a five minute warm up walk, 1 minute, 30 second run and 2 minute walk for 21 minutes and then a five minute cool down walk. I felt awesome but my shins were really sore after the run was over.

Sunday: 1.07 mile walk

Sunday was a pretty low key day. J had a 60 minute run on his training plan, but I decided not to run two days in a row. Instead, I took the pup for a walk.

Monday: 2.42 mile run (12:49 min/mi pace)

Monday was the most beautiful day of the long weekend so I laced up my running shoes and Jesse and I headed out to get in a run before our drive back to the Cities. I ran with the pup again and broke in my new Oiselle Off the Grid knickers. LOVE THEM!

—

So about that setback I alluded to earlier…the week prior to last week was a little rough. I had been dealing with all-day lightheadedness and I ended up getting dizzy during a run which caused me to lose my balance and fall pretty hard. I was pretty close to home, but was still so dizzy that I accepted a ride home from a nice stranger lady. I didn’t get badly hurt (just some road rash, scrapes and bruises) but it shook me up pretty badly. I made a doctor’s appointment for the next day and it took about a week for me to get the courage up to run again. I’m feeling much, much better now, but it was scary!

On a random note, I’m getting so excited for it to be full-fledged fall. Bring on the cooler weather, boots and scarves!

Do you run while on vacation?

What are your fall racing plans?

Summer or fall?

2013 Top Ten Gifts for Runners

Since my post from last year is still one of my highest viewed posts ever, I decided to do another list this year. (and yes, I know you’re probably so sick of seeing gift guides.)

In no particular order:

1.       Garmin (it’s making the list again this year): I have the Forerunner 10.

2.       Nuun is a great stocking stuffer!

3.       Bag for all of your gear. Oiselle has a cute one.

4.      Headphones: I have yurbuds and love them. I also saw these over at The Fitnessista on one of her gift guide lists for guys.

5.       Race entries: This time of year, entries for spring races are pretty inexpensive!

6.       Safety running accessories: reflective gear like reflective vest, headlamp, pepper spray, etc.  Or get your hands on some Knuckle Lights!

7.      Showerpill: These blew up in the blogosphere maybe a year ago — great for when you don’t have a lot of time to go from run/workout to work or your next event!

8.    Arm warmers: Great for transitioning from the weather of one season to the next!

9.    The Stick: Thanks to Kori, I now own one of these bad boys and it’s a great complement to my foam roller. And it’s called a ‘toothbrush for muscles.’ How cool is that?

10.   Gift cards: I’d recommend one to a local running store (Mpls peeps — Mill City Running), Oiselle, iTunes (for some new running playlist music)

—

This year, I also decided to include some other runners’ suggestions in addition to my own. Here they are, in their own words:

From Jen, a soon-to-be new mom:

My whole world is revolving around our newest addition. I’m looking for ways to get back in shape from several months off and ways to incorporate baby in the mix. First thing on my list is a jogging stroller. Other thing I’m looking for involve how to make it all work. So this book looked appealing, Run like a Mother, How to get moving and not lose your family, job, or sanity.  Or this DVD: Happy Baby Workout-New mom and baby fitness workout DVD.

Non baby related gifts I would recommend are a good foam roller- I LOVE my foam roller!, and a subscription to audible.com for unlimited audiobooks. While training for the marathon I realized I loved listening to books, made the time pass quicker, was able to zone out better, didn’t have the beat of faster or slower music to mess up my running pace. My library has some options but its not very user friendly and the selection is varied.

From Kristen, my marathon training buddy for life:

Fitbit (not really running specific, but health related!)

Winter running gear- new stuff inspires me to get out there and run!

Last year my fiance bought his dad an entry into Grandmas marathon for Christmas. He had been talking about how he wanted to do it, but didn’t know if he could— it was awesome! I would love it if someone did that for me (for a race i wanted to run :))

I LOVE MY GARMIN!

From Andrea, my destination-racing partner:

Something I don’t have yet but would love to get are compression socks and/or sleeves. I normally gravitate towards purple, but I kind of like these pink ones from Procompression. Or socks or sleeves in white or black so I could wear them with any running gear. I think they would really help with recovery as I continue to run longer distances.

Another thing that I just got and love is my new Malibu Hike Half Zip from Athleta. It’s a great layering piece for winter running. The main selling point for me is that it has cuffs to cover your hands for the beginning of the run when it’s cold and not have to wear gloves. (Of course gloves are still needed on some Minnesota days 🙂 ).

From Erin, my everything-fitness guru who is also an Iron[wo]man:

On my list: This Pearl Izumi running vest (in purple) for those warmer winter days in the 30s and 40s. A good pair of mittens because my fingers never stay warm in gloves. And, a new pair of running shoes 🙂

From Beth, one badass (and a new-mom) runner:

Money for coach or race entry
Garmin
Energy bits gift card
Nature box
Roller stick

From Kate, my long-distance training friend who just ran her first marathon:

Brooks Infiniti Tight III

These are THE greatest lightweight tights, and they have super fun colors this season. They say they’re ideal for 40-65 degrees, which is perfect for spring/fall/winters in the South! They’re so comfy I’ve been known to sneak them into non-running situations, too. 🙂

From Kori, my speedy inspiration:

My friend raves about her Brooks arm warmers- I’d love those or Oiselle for transition weather or an extra arm layer. Otherwise, I love my Newton Distance U’s! The soft bottom keeps me in good form- I’ll wear them out too fast with bad form!

What would you add?

Fun Run Recap: Girls on the Run Twin Cities 5K

I had been crossing my fingers for no rain so I was thrilled to wake up to dry skies and a zero percent chance of precipitation for the next few hours. For my outfit, I settled on capris, my Oiselle singlet and arm warmers and a headband. After a Picky Bar and some coffee, I drove to Mandy’s house and we walked to go get our packets.

In terms of positive energy and all-around “warmandfuzziness,” there’s nothing quite like a Girls on the Run 5K and I noticed that this year, it was even more overwhelming because the program has grown so much here in the Twin Cities! I remember being a running buddy at the first 5K where there were just the girls from the two schools, the coaches and their running buddies. Now, the program has expanded to five sites and the 5K was open to community runners for the first time ever.

We got our packets and then met up with Amanda and Kristen before heading out for warm-up stretches!

The four of us ran together and I tried to keep us at a pace that could keep us warm — OK, maybe keep me warm. The wind + my bare shoulders wasn’t pleasant at all. Once we finished (which was awesome because people were cheering so loudly….for the GOTR girls behind us!) we cheered on the girls who were coming across the finish line.

Then, we went inside to warm up — my Oiselle Happy Hoodie never felt so good!

It was fun morning — seriously, if you’ve never been to a Girls on the Run 5K — try and check one out!

Race recap: 2013 Twin Cities Marathon

Race morning was pretty typical: alarm at 5:30, breakfast cookie and coffee. My father-in-law drove J, KK and I to the start where we met up with John and Stef. I dropped my bag with the GOTR SoleMates folks and headed outside.

It was somewhere around 48 degrees at race time and really, very pleasant! I ended up wearing my Oiselle singlet, arm warmers and Stride Shorts. I also decided on sunglasses but later wished I would’ve worn a hat.

Me and the hubs!

My training buddy!

We said goodbye to Stef and then John, the hubs, KK and I lined up in Corral 2. After the wheelers and first wave of runners took off, it was our turn!

Miles 1-3 8:50, 9:19, 9:23

The first mile weaves through downtown Minneapolis (yeah, Garmins hate that) and once you’re out of downtown you head up your first hill by the Walker Art Center/Sculpture Garden.

Our little group stuck together and maintained about a 9:15 pace for the first couple of miles. I could feel something in my hip (and my foot, surprisingly) but felt great. The weather was perfect and the crowds were energetic. We kept a pretty steady pace as we headed towards the lakes.

Miles 4-8 9:04, 9:09, 8:51, 9:06, 8:54
These miles take you around parts of Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. The paths narrow and it gets a bit crowded through here but we maintained a pretty decent pace. Was still feeling strong and stuck with the rest of the group.

Miles 9-11 8:59, 8:57, 8:51
We saw John’s wife and our friend Mike right before mile 10. Then, at mile 10 I spotted….my face!

And Jen, Mandy, Tony, Ashley and Andrea! I was quite warm by then (sun was out) so I left my arm warmers with them.

By this point, I started feeling the familiar feeling in my hip that I felt during my last long runs, so I knew it was realistic just to focus on just trying to maintain my pace or increase it gradually, so our little group broke up and I was on my own.

Miles 12-15 9:07, 9:04, 9:15, 8:59 (crossed the halfway mark under 2 hours — still on track for a possible 4 hour marathon)
I’m happy to say that during this stretch, I was possibly the strongest I’ve ever been, mentally, during a race. My hip pain was traveling down to my knee and upper calf and I considered a DNF, many, many times. So I was starting to really hurt, my foot was rubbing in my shoe and I wasn’t even at the halfway mark yet. But I focused on maintaining my pace and on just making it to the next landmark. I focused on getting to the 13.1 mark, then Minnehaha Falls, then 36th and the Parkway (where I knew my father-in-law would be) and then Franklin Ave. In my mind, I just wanted to make it to mile 20 and then would re-focus on finishing the race.

Miles 16-18 9:22, 9:27, 10:35
These miles were very familiar to me since I run them so often. And I truly believe that I was only able to keep my pace through here because of that. But the thick crowds and seeing Kristin, Kelly, my father-in-law and Alyssa during this stretch also helped. Because now I was starting to break — both mentally and physically.

Miles 19-21 10:30, 10:21, 10:17
I finally broke down and adjusted my shoe to try and stop the rubbing. I also started walking through the water stops and doing leg swings to loosen up my hip. I spent this stretch running to the next mile marker, walking a bit and repeating. The rain was also really coming down at this point. My sunglasses were blurry because of the rain so I put them on top of my head but then the rain was getting in my eyes — super frustrating. But then I saw Ashley and Andrea and was so relieved! I got a GU from them and my knee band that I had given Andrea ahead of time.

Another awesome sign!

Miles 22-23 10:48, 11:00
At mile 22 I saw some more familiar faces and then started to head up Summit Avenue. I felt a slight sense of relief to be on the homestretch but knew that it wasn’t going to be pleasant, considering the shape I was in. More walk/running but the distance I was able to run before my hip would totally tighten up was getting shorter.

Miles 24-finish 10:36, 11:55, 11:46
Seeing Tracy at mile 24 (OK, I didn’t realize it was Tracy at the time) gave me a boost to run just a little further! I ran up the little incline to the top of the hill and the Capitol (and the finish line) was finally in my sights. It was pretty amazing how completely opposite I felt this year compared to last. Last year, I fed off of the crowds, dug deep and sprinted to the finish. This year, it was all I could do not to walk across the finish line. But I crossed the finish line just feeling relieved to be done — and then my left leg started to lock up and then when I saw KK and the hubs waiting for me, I lost it. All of the emotions — the pain, the disappointment, and even still a sense of accomplishment — came over me and I had a good cry.

You can’t tell how much pain I’m in here.

We waited to see John finish and a few minutes later all of a sudden I felt short of breath and like I was going to pass out. I muttered something to J along the lines of “I think I have to go to the medical tent now” and stumbled over to the tent. I ended up knowing the guy that was helping people into the tent (went to college with him and hadn’t seen him in years!) and told him I was really dizzy. He helped me into the tent and I was taken to a station where I laid down with my legs elevated and they promptly slapped a blood pressure cuff and finger pulse thingy on me.  I started shivering uncontrollably and lost feeling in my fingers. On top of everything, my hip had totally tightened up. But they kept the warm blankets coming and alternated between feeding me broth and water and eventually I was able to sit up without feeling dizzy. I took a few shaky laps around the tent, sipped on some more broth, and had my vitals taken one more time before they finally let me go. I met up with the hubs and my father-in-law and we headed home.

The rest of the day we laid around and then hobbled over to BDP to get some burgers and beer.

Still felt sick so couldn’t finish my beer 😦

Final official time: 4:20:15 (Garmin said 4:18) — a PR of 29 minutes!

So there you have it! I’m thrilled with a new PR but obviously disappointed that I wasn’t able to go into this race totally healthy. I’m looking forward to taking some time off and setting some new (shorter distance) race goals. Although I won’t be signing up for one in 2014, I’m pretty sure another marathon will be in my future!

Here we go!

Earlier today, the hubs and I headed to the TCM Expo with KK and Corry and picked up our race packets. If you don’t already know, I absolutely LOVE race expos and the Twin Cities one doesen’t disappoint. However, I didn’t feel like there wasn’t anything TOO exciting this year, but I did get this super cute necklace:

Oh, and I had to talk myself out of buying a really expensive/cute zip-up with the TCM logo on it.

Since we got home from the expo we’ve been relaxing and are planning on stroganoff (my traditional pre-race meal) for dinner. I started laying out my gear for tomorrow and read this oldie, but goodie blog post (a breakdown of the TCM course, mile by mile) and then will probably try and get to bed early.

Game plan for tomorrow is to be up by 5:30, arrive to the start by 7:15 a.m., drop my bag with the Girls on the Run SoleMates and then meet up with the 4:00 pace group. (Still going to try my best for sub-4 hours, but not feeling overly optimistic about it.)

Here’s what I’ll be wearing:

Still deciding between Stride shorts or Rogas….

If you want to track me tomorrow, you can sign up using this link.

What should be my post-marathon meal? I’m thinking Mexican food…

Side note: This week my athlete profile went up on the Oiselle website! I can’t wait to get my photo switched out to one of me in my racing kit.