Whoopsies...

So we kinda forgot to keep posting after our February race! Even though our devotion to blogging wanned, we kept our goal and ran a race every month. Here's a low down of how the rest of the year went:

March - Bess had a wedding to attend in NY and a cruise took up two of our March weekends, so we went our separate ways for our March race. Mom joined me in Cresco, Iowa (LONG drive) to run Kleve's Brew and Stew, a St. Patrick's Day race that was actually not on St. Patrick's Day. It was freezing, and Mom and I didn't really prepare for how festive people were going to be. In our tradition, we showed up way too early and had time to kill. How else to kill time in small town Iowa? Why not drink a few beers before running a 5k (3.1 miles)? I thought Mom was going to die near the end of the race because of our pre-gaming! Our incentive to finish? Free beer until the kegs dried (as long as we had our cup) and lots of yummy yummy food. By far the best post-race food, pre-race fun, and tied for most fun. Mom will likely kill me for posting this picture.

April = aweful. My worst half marathon ever. Mom, Bess, and I drove to Kansas to run the Olathe Oz Half Marathon (13.1 miles). It was cold, windy, and rainy. Poor organization, crappy packet pickup convention, crappy post-race goodies, and they messed up my timing chip (only to make me stand in the cold wind to wait while they fixed it). Pretty sure this race caused my hip injury to flare up. The good things from this race: It was the Wizard of Oz race (love that movie, hate the monkeys), an awesome post-race massage, and when I was in pain and cried for my mommy she was only a few steps away!

May - Bess and I did the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides 5k. Bess was mostly the injured one so we hobbled along with a goal not to finish last or to get lapped by the 10k-ers. We accomplished our goal and we even had fun jumping in puddles along the way.

June - Dam to Dam (12.4 miles) while injured takes a really long time. We did a walk/run series and finished in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. I had fun entertaining Bess by singing and dancing along the way. I'm sure someone thought I should be committed. After the race we enjoyed our share of the free food and beer.


















July - Warrior Dash!!!! Following the most nerdy trip I've ever been on (our week-long Laura Ingalls Wilder site seeing tour of the midwest), Bess, Lauren, and I completed the 3-mile Warrior Dash race in Hopkins, MN. We ran UP ski hills (notice the plural on hills), climbed over junker cars, climbed across rope nets, climbed up and over really high walls, ran through mud pits, slid part of the way down a ski hill on a slip-and-slide, jumped over fire, and crawled/swam through a mud pit under barbed wire. Highlights - thinking I was going to die while climbing over the really high rope net wall (OMG so freaking scary! I hate heights!), strangers coaching strangers, completely the hardest race ever (seriously harder than a marathon to me!), and the after-party! If only the state of MN hadn't been shut down, we wouldn't have had to rush back to the hotel to shower off all the mud and we could have partied more!





August - Bess and I ran/walked the Run for Your Life 5k for the Iowa Heart Association. This month's guest star - Baby Craun! I found out shortly after this race that I'm pregnant! No more post-race beers for me.









September - Bess, Alecia, and I ran the MWA Green Run 5k. We ran through a landfill. Yes, a landfill. It just looked like a really big field and reminded me of running cross country in middle and high school. I started out feeling wonderful and had a great pace the first mile, and then allergy attack. Thank goodness Bess let me borrow an inhaler or I may have collapsed. I ended up walking pretty much the rest of the race because I was so freaked out that I wouldn't be able to get enough oxygen to the baby. Post-race offerings were yogurt and turkey legs. Yogurt makes me naseous now that I'm pg, and the smell of the turkey legs almost made me vom.




October - Mom and I ran two race in October. First up, Race for a Cure 5k. We ended up walking mostly because we were talking. Next, we ran the Chocolaterie Stam Hot Chocolate 5k on Halloween day. We got an awesome fleece jacket and some yummy hot chocolate. Best ever! Bonus, Bess ran slow with us (me being slow always now because of the baby on board) and took off at the end. Spectators mistook her for a 10k finisher (or maybe 5 mile finisher?? can't remember) and were awed by her finishing pace.



November - Bess, Lauren, Mom, and I ran the Tour de Lights 5k through Jolly Holiday Lights at WaterWorks Park. It was pretty cold, but so neat to run at night with all the pretty Christmas lights. Nevermind the ridiculous advertisement everywhere. This race really put me in the Christmas spirit!





December - For our final race, Bess, Mom, and I ran the Great Santa Run 5k. Bess' knee was bothering her again, and with my slow pregnant person pace (I'm scared to get out of breath and risk not getting enough oxygen to our baby BOY!), Mom beat us! It was a pretty miserable race because it was raining and cold, but it feels so good to have accomplished our goal we set out for at the beginning of the year. Yay us! Merry Christmas! (And nevermind the Packers hat Santa's wearing - boo.)

Moose hunting - Red Flannel Run

This time I'm writing without trying to divide my attention between this blog and videos for class so hopefully there are fewer grammatical issues...

I've always wanted to do the Red Flannel Run, and I finally found someone as crazy as me to run it! Despite being sick earlier this week (as in so sick that I had to miss two days of work) and being pretty cold, I had so much fun Saturday! Great people watching for sure!

Ever wondered if there really is such a thing as a "running culture"? Attend the Red Flannel Run, or any other fun race, and you'll definitely know that there is one. When else is it acceptable to run around the town in nothing but a kilt and moccasin boots with a mullet on a chilly February morning? Or run with a painted red body and a loin cloth? Or in a moose costume? Or in a full suit? Or just in your pajamas with a teddy bear? (And I'm thankful you had Teddy with you, Bess. I don't know how I would have found you afterward without his bright yellowness leading the way.)

I think my pace was about the same as the race in Dubuque. I haven't ran at all since that race, and I should probably start training sometime soon if I'm going to run a half in April...

Bess, running a race is totally mental. I have an idea:

On Thursday last week, I got the opportunity to listen to Scott Bellini speak about teaching social skills to children with autism (or really any child who has social skill deficits). Bellini has done a lot of work in the area of video self modeling. Basically, teachers/practitioners video tape the child engaging in social interactions, even with prompts, and then edit out all the prompts. The final result is a video of a child successfully and independently doing what they need to do. The kiddos watch these videos over and over and they are usually able to succeed in the real world as a result (of course with more supports than just the video). The theory behind this strategy is to provide the visual representation of success.

When I trained for my first marathon, the book I used highly recommended visualizing, on a regular basis, successful completion of the race. Strong finish. No hitting the wall. I actually did this, and guess what - no wall and a strong finish. It worked!

I'm totally not discounting the physical training. I learned that the hard way when I said the November half with Erica in California was "just a half". I didn't do too well and my knees hurt so bad for about a week! Finishing two marathons made me a little cocky, and that race was pretty humbling. But mental training is just as important as that physical training.

So Bess, let's make a video of you finishing a "marathon" with your strong finish. Thoughts?

February's Race - Red Flannel Run, 3 miles, Des Moines IA

    Yesterday, we participated in our February race, the Red Flannel Run in downtown Des Moines.  This race is the "unofficial start to the running season" according to the organizers.  It is a fun run in which most people dress in some sort of red flannel or costume associated with winter, Valentine's day or pajamas.  Really anything goes.  There were a group of men in loin cloths with their entire bodies painted red, a moose and hunter, cupid and a gnome, to name a few of the more memorable costumes.  I dressed up as a kid RUNNING away from home in the middle of the night.  The costume all revolved around the one piece pajama set and furry earflap hat that I found in Target about a month ago.  When I put them on, I looked like a little kid, so I added Teddy to finish off the look.  Although it was not the most flattering outfit, it was cute.
   There were just over 1,600 runners participating in the race, about 1,000 of them running the 3 mile run and the rest running 5 miles.  This amount of runners caused quite a slow start to the race.  We didn't even cross the start line until 1 minute and 25 seconds after the gun sounded.  The first mile was very congested and there was not room to establish my pace.  The objective was just to avoid tripping over another person, or animal, in that first mile or so.  After the crowd spread out a bit, I picked up some speed.  It was interesting running while holding a teddy bear, since I pump my arms a lot in an attempt to move faster.  I'm pretty sure this was the most exciting day Teddy has had in years!   
    We were lucky to have half way decent weather for this race.  The race organizers reported the weather as 25 degrees and sunny.  This may sound cold, but considering that earlier in the week we had several days where the high temperatures were in the single digits, I would say it was balmy.  But, running in cold weather has its downside.  You dress in layers, because it is cold, but as you run and sweat, and the layers feel stifling.  I blame the layers and furry hat for the dizziness that I thought might make me pass out around mile 2.5.  The cold weather also seems to affect my breathing.  A sharp pain materialized in my lungs around 1.5 miles into the race.  I ran through it, but the race then became much more difficult.  The discomfort that the cold created, coupled with my lack of training, had me thinking that I might not make it to the end, and that I was absolutely CRAZY to think I can run a marathon.  
    Nicole keeps telling me that running long distances is truly a mental endeavor.  I know she is right, but when a 3 mile run is hard for me, it is difficult to see how I will make it through 26.2 miles!  Racking up the miles while training is important, but I am struggling with the mental aspect of running.  We'll see how that develops over the next several months.  For now, I am happy that I finished the race and didn't end up passed out on the course.  It would have been quite a sight, a furry hatted girl, in her polka dot pajamas, sprawled out on the streets of Des Moines, grasping her childhood teddy bear.

Two Crazy Ladies

Hardly a master runner, Bess! I've been running for a loooong time, but it comes and goes depending on how busy I am with work and school. I've been running in races at my turtle-speed since middle school. I've ran 2 marathons and 2 half-marathons, so I guess that's why Bess called me a "master".

Like most of America, I started thinking about what I wanted to accomplish in 2011 as the new year loomed closer. I knew that I wanted to get back in the routine of running consistently since I'd already conquered working out consistently (plug for Round Kick Gym in Urbandale - Love it! Go there!).

Around the same time that Bess started plotting her race schedule, I started planning mine for the year. I sent her an email about the Red Flannel Run next weekend and she thought I was crazy at first. And then a few weeks later she called me about the Race-a-Month plan and the Winter Games 5k - the week of the race! I had a busy weekend planned, hesitated at first, but then agreed to her crazy scheme.

And so here we are. We decided to blog about our experience and our progress since our first race was actually pretty fun.

January's Race - Iowa Winter Games 5k in Dubuque, IA

Bess picked me up at 5:45am and we trekked 3 hours across Iowa to run in 20-degree weather. Hmmm...crazy much? Apparently we were lucky. The race volunteers said that it was much warmer (if you call 29 degrees warm) for this race compared to last year. We slipped around on the ice before a salt truck came through, waiting for the race to start. I was worried about being last place because the last time I ran was a half with Erica in November. Thankfully there were some walkers. It took the first two miles for my toes to regain feeling, and then the race was done.

Here's what I learned that day: I like longer runs better, but I supposed a 5k is better in freezing weather! I can run a 10-minute mile 5k without any training, and only needed my inhaler before and after because I had a neck gaiter. Bess has over 20,000 songs on her iPod! Anamosa has the largest maximum security prison in Iowa. There's also is also a motorcycle museum there. Dubuque is actually quite pretty. The Field of Dreams was listed for sale in May for $5.4 million, but is only worth $1 million. We couldn't find anything that says there has been a sale or a change in listing price. If you change in the bathroom at a HyVee gas station with a bag full of clothes, etc. the cashiers don't think to highly of that. Banana bread french toast is AMAZING. Bess does not find sausage in her food amazing at all. According to Bess, you have to drive through West Virginia to get to Galena, IL from Dubuque. If you don't pay careful attention to signs, you just might end up missing your exit and driving back to Des Moines via Davenport...slightly out of the way.

Stay tuned for February's race!

A Great Challenge for 2011

   The second to last week in January, I was sitting around in a meeting thinking about something fun to do this year that will keep me motivated to stay in shape.  I listed out some races, varying from 3 milers to a marathon, that I could run throughout the year.  A light bulb went off, and I decided that I wanted to run a race every month of this year.  Sounded like fun!  I enlisted the support and involvement of several friends, including the master runner, Nicole.
   My mind had been made up for a while that in this year that I turn 40, I would attempt to complete a marathon.  Several months ago, I began investigating marathons around November or December of 2011, that were "easy".  In my search, I found the Las Vegas Marathon, which was described as one of the flatest races in the country.  Bingo!  Figuring that if for some reason I got injured or couldn't complete the marathon, I would still have a trip to Vegas.  Seemed like a perfect plan.  From there, I started looking into races that would help prepare me for the marathon.  This was the start of this crazy idea.
   I am not a "runner" per se, but I have dabbled a bit in the last 5 years or so.  My friend Kate convinced me several years ago that I could run a 5K.  I trained a little and was able to run/walk to the finish of my first race.  Since then, I have probably ran about 10 races, with my crowning achievement being a 20K that I ran last June.  That race got me thinking that I could probably run longer distances with some good training.  So, here I am challenging myself to run a Race-a-Month throughout this year to reach my goal of completing a marathon.  Wish me luck!!