Post Race Review: TC10K

The TC10K was already over a month ago. Life has been so busy since then. I took a week off from work to simply hang out with my son and pretend I'm a stay-at-home mom for a week. We had a blast together. I also enjoyed having laundry done before 9 PM! Then we took a trip to Lutsen on the North Shore of Minnesota with my family. I suspect a new tradition has started. Then, my baby boy turned two last weekend! I started planning his party weeks (okay, it might have been months) ago. I love keeping lists and I used Pinterest for birthday party ideas. After his birthday bash, it was Halloween! He was the cutest monkey on the block. So now, I am finally getting around to posting about the TC10K.

I had the thought to sign up for the TC10K earlier in the summer after my half-marathon was over. I figured a 10K was a good distance to run. It wouldn't be awful like my last half-marathon went, but it was more than a 5K. Until now, I've never truly cared about my times in races. I figure just finishing the race is a good enough goal (and it is!). But I wanted to push myself a little bit for this race. I emailed two friends and asked if they wanted to sign up for the race, too. They agreed! Let the training begin!

A minute before the start: Me, Katie and Kelsey

My two friends, Katie and Kelsey, who ran with me are long-time friends. We've known each other since middle school. Though we lost touch in college for a period of time, we've reconnected and seen each other through our weddings and now each of our first babies. We even play soccer together in the summer! All three of us are busy moms who also work full-time. We depend on each other knowing that each of us understands what the other one is going through on a day-to-day basis. Whether its running, parenting, marriage or work, we can lean on each other.

The morning of the race was a chilly 35 degrees. I wore sweats to the start line and handed them over to my husband just before we lined up. I wore my trusty Nike Tempo shorts (as always) and my half-marathon finisher's shirt. I. Was. Freezing!

Mile 1: Running up hill next to the St. Paul Cathedral.

I ran with my phone and took photos as I went. The church was so beautiful with the sunrise shining on it. The race went so well. The girls and I started out together. At the beginning, we had decided that we'd each run our own pace. I knew we'd see each other through the finish line no matter what. After about a mile, I started to warm up. I felt amazing. My legs were light and I found a great groove. 

Mile 5.85 or so :) Looped back past the Cathedral and ran down hill to the finish line.

I finished the race in 1:03, which I was so happy about. I never claimed to be a fast runner and don't feel the need to be one. But I was proud to run about a 10 minute mile and felt fantastic enough to sprint the last 50 yards through the finish line.

My family came to cheer us on!

Friends and our babies

My biggest fans!

Thumbs up! That was an awesome run!

See me? Just behind the lady in pink. I was trying to beat her, but got caught up waving at the cameras :) 

The TC10K was a great run! If you've never run it, definitely sign up next year! The weather was perfect, although a little chilly to start. I ran it with some amazing friends. They each had spectacular runs themselves and I was so proud to be there with them. The fall scenery along Summit Ave in St. Paul is like none other and I can't wait to run this race next year!

Maybe I'll take my chances and enter the 10 mile lottery...

Life's been busy

I had a killer run last night. A killer workout in general. I loved it. It happened in the gym, not outside. It's too dark by the time I get home from work and have a chance to get outdoors. I sweat like a mad woman at the gym. No wind and the A/C does not blast enough to keep me cool. I was a sweaty mess, but I loved it. Proof of a good, tough workout.

I'll post about the Twin Cities 10K soon! Life has been busy these last couple weeks. One of those weeks included an amazing week OFF from work. I spent it all with my baby boy! We had the best week EVER!

More to come...

Sidenote: I'm addicted to Pinterest. Anyone else? I found these two quotes on there the other day that I just love. I felt inspired.

1. Running, cheaper than therapy

2. Reality Check #18: Stop wishing. Start working for what you want. Go workout. Skip the junk food.

Week of the Races

The 10K is now just days away. I'm really, really looking forward to it. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous. Fall in Minnesota is just perfect. My husband disagrees with me, but we will just move on from this (fall = waterskiing season draws to a close).

Not only am I really looking forward to the race on Saturday, but last minute, two co-workers and I signed up for a 5K that our employer is putting on tomorrow! Our company is set out on a huge area of land and we have our own walking/running paths around the entire campus. I utilized these paths when I was pregnant and overdue hoping the walks would put me into labor (did not work). The 5K will take place on those paths, so it should be a lot of fun. The three of us turned in our registration paper yesterday. And then the lady told us they'd be videotaping the run. Videotaping. I think it is only fair to tell us this up front and not after I have signed my name on the paper. I will be wearing a hat (as always) to disguise myself.

My husband and I took our boy out for a run after work yesterday. My goal was 4 miles. The boys did all 4 miles with me despite our boy's begging to turn back and look at the bullsosers. He just never gets enough of them apparently.

The run was fantastic, but it started out a little rough. The air was unusually heavy for this time of year from the rain we had in the morning. It wasn't crisp like fall is supposed to be. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold, and it was a little bit foggy, but sunny at the same time. The first 1.5 miles my legs felt like heavy weights. They just didn't want to move. The large hill we ran up probably didn't help things, but I tried to remind myself that running those hills helps in the long run.

There were a few times I wanted to stop and I told my husband that it was really hard to keep up with his pace. We ran his pace - fast - the entire 4 miles. As much as I hated running that pace, I loved it. We turned onto the final stretch, which was about half a mile. He said to me, "I want you to stay with me the rest of the way." I had been lagging behind him a bit. Inside I was so mad at him for pushing me when he knew I was already spent at keeping his pace, but on the other hand, I was really glad he was along. I probably would have started walking had I been alone.

I kept up with his pace for about a minute and he complimented me. Then, out of nowhere, he said, "I want you to stay ahead of me until we get back... just a few minutes... stay ahead of me." I was over being mad at him for pushing me since I was clearly doing okay keeping his pace. Now I was just in it to prove to him and myself that I can kill the rest of this run. I sped up and ran in front of him and the jogging stroller. He was speeding up behind me. I sped up to stay ahead. We passed a few of our neighbors out for a leisurely jog and I could barely get a "hello" out as they passed by. My shirt was drenched. I ran the last few steps even faster so I could for sure beat my husband onto our street from the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure I said, "YES! I win!" as if I had just won a race. I'm not sure either of us knew until that moment it was a race :)

I feel great today! My hips and legs feel as though I pushed it a bit harder last night. I feel proud that I kept up with my husband's speed the entire time and even passed him up at the end. I'm happy to have him challenging me to push it once in a while. It's hard to do that on my own. I feel ready for tomorrow's 5K and the 10K on Saturday. It's going to be a great rest of the week!

Five

I meant to get out over the weekend for a long run, but a few too many fun things got in the way. That makes me sound like I have zero dedication to my running, but I made sure to get out on Monday evening. I was planning a 5 mile run after work. Not knowing this, my husband asked early in the day if I wanted to go on a family run after work. I told him I'd be running 5 and he and our little guy could join me if they so desired. He said that he'd do 3 with me, which is fine because 6'5" guys aren't your typical long distance runners. Is 5 miles even considered long distance? If you want to know my opinion, the answer is yes.

Summer already seems long gone and fall has definitely made an entrance. It's been cool and a bit rainy, but yesterday afternoon was just beautiful. I had to take the opportunity to run outdoors while I can (I do not run in the cold if I can help it). My boy was excited to go running as usual. As soon as we set out on a course near our house that I had mapped on MapMyRun.com, he knew we'd pass by the bulldozers working on building the next step up neighborhood. He was beside himself with excitement. I love that my boy is filled with so much joy. You can see it in every ounce of his body and being.

Mile 1: Great start. My husband and I are talking. We get to the bulldozers and our boy is in awe. The bulldozers are still out working and making all sorts of noises that two year olds adore. We slowed down a bit so that our boy could take it all in, but continued on our route.

Mile 2: Our boy is begging to go back and see the bulldozers. An almost two year old begging? Seems weird, right? Mmm hmmm. No. Not weird. He continues to beg the entire second mile. We ran up a giant hill and a semi truck and UPS truck passed us, which helped distract him for a while. At the top of the hill, I wanted so desperately bad to stop and catch my breath, but my husband told me to keep going. I did. It was really, really hard.

Mile 3: We were on a straight road. No elevation change. No curves. It was a long road. It never seemed to end. My husband and son started on their way back on a different path. And yes, this path would take them back to the bulldozers (where they happened to stay and watch them work for a good 15 minutes). Our boy's lucky day!

Mile 4: I was on my own. I stopped to walk for a minute and put my ear buds in. Pandora played some great Mumford & Sons-like music. I looped through a neighborhood near our house. A whole bunch of people were out walking their dogs and I nodded and smiled as I ran by them. One guy was out walking a Westie and I could've sworn it was Anthony Bourdain. Tall, slender, grayish hair, black jacket. Looked a bit like he might have an attitude. I passed him a second time and wondered if his camera crew was out hiding somewhere and I was going to be on his show! But then I remembered I was running and really didn't want to appear on TV in this sweaty state. My mind wanders as I run and sometimes this works in my favor. Unfortunately, after I realized I wasn't being taped for No Reservations, I noticed that I had a horrible side cramp. I walked for about 5 minutes to help it go away, which made me feel a little lazy, but it felt like a good decision at the time.

Taking a breather around mile 4.5

Mile 5: The majority of mile 5 was a series of little rolling hills. Up and down. Up and down. I ran this entire last mile and I think I ran it with a bit more pep in my stride than the fourth. I could sense that the end was near. I just had to get to the stop light up ahead and be done with it.

Annnnd, done. Whew. I walked about a quarter of a mile home. I caught my breath and enjoyed a few minutes of alone time. When I turned onto our street and walked up our driveway, my son, who was playing outside with my husband, shouted, "Bullsosers!!! I saw bullsosers, mommy!"  Joy.

A Date with My Boy

Over the weekend, I took my baby boy (who really isn't much of a baby anymore) out for a morning run. My husband was out of town and it was just mommy and son. My baby gets excited for runs. He likes to say, "Go running! Go running!" He loves to go fast, look at dogs, and is always on the look out for bullsosers... bulldozers. So, that morning I asked him if he wanted to go running with mommy. I knew he'd say yes.

We set out on a trail that runs along the Mississippi River in St. Paul. It was beautiful. The sun was warm, but the air was cool. Perfect. I like running with my boy because he loves to be outside and I just like being with him. But it is really, really difficult. He's not light, the jogging stroller is big and the path was slanting towards the river just enough that I had to force the stroller to keep in line. All in all, I had to expend more energy than I really wanted to (if I'm being honest...) for a leisurely morning run. After a few minutes, I felt okay and had gotten into a rhythm. We got to a turnaround point and headed back. My boy really wanted to see a boat on the river and I could hear voices coming from the water. We came to a clearing up on the bluff overlooking the river and there were a few crew boats going by. Man, I have great timing! My boy got to see the boats, but I told him we had to keep going. I shouldn't have stopped. He wanted to stay looking at the water and boats. I snapped a quick photo with my phone because it was too beautiful not to capture it. The leaves are just starting to turn orange. In a few weeks, this whole bluff will be orange, yellow and red.

And then he started whining again, so we made a mad dash for the car and I told him we'd go get a treat. We had run about 1.5 miles, which I was okay with, and then drove up to Starbucks. I bought him strawberry mango fruit snacks and I enjoyed a grande Pikes Roast coffee with a vanilla shot (and maybe a drop or five of half-n-half). We sat across from each other at a little table by the window in the coffee shop and talked... as much as you can have a conversation with a toddler. He had no idea where he was, but he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. It was a good date.

I'm meeting a long-time friend for a run tonight. I'm looking forward to having a girl talk. Later this weekend, my goal is to run 5 miles. It's nearly two weeks til race day. I'm excited!

Physical Limits

Last week I was reminded that the human body has limits. When I run or workout in general, I don't always feel like I've worked hard enough if I'm not in some kind of pain, my lungs aren't burning, or the sweat from my head isn't dripping into my eyes. I want to end a workout knowing I pushed myself to the limit in order to make it worth my time. Working out is time away from my family, so I'm doing my best to make that time worthwhile.

Our run around the lake last week went well and I felt like I put everything into it. My husband pushed the 31-pound weight in the jogging stroller and ran with me the first time around the lake. The path was so busy that we couldn't even run beside each other. He ran ahead of me and I was drafting behind him. It works in cycling... it has to work in running too, right? It was a difficult run mostly because of strong winds. I don't think I've run in peaceful weather yet this spring, so I'm hoping its not a sign that race day will be awful too.

My boys pulled over after one lap and let me keep going. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it around another 1.5 times because I truly felt exhausted after the first one. My body finally got in a groove and before I knew it, I was half way around. I was feeling more confident. That didn't last long though. A few minutes later, my knees started to burn. They were hollering at me to stop. Stopppp!! I didn't. I wanted to, but I didn't. I ran the entire second lap around the lake making it 6 miles total.

My knees just couldn't make it another half lap around the lake. So many thoughts went through my head and I tried not to feel like a failure. I'm not above walking when I need to for the half marathon and I know that adrenaline on race day will keep me going far longer than going out for a plain old training run. I finally justified stopping for two reasons. First, I don't want to injure myself before the race or burn out my knees. Second, two days after this run, I had my first soccer game and I wanted to feel good for the game.

Going into the first game, I had some crazy nerves. I was excited, but nervous at the same time. I hadn't played in two years and even though I've been running -- in a straight line with a nice, slow pace for months -- I knew the game would be painful. And oh was it painful. I started out the game playing left defense. The first run down the field, I nearly tripped over my own feet. Good save. Whew. Second run down the field wasn't as lucky. It felt like a whole minute went by as my arms and legs were flailing wildly going down the field and I tumbled and rolled right in front of my teammates on the sideline. Just pathetic.

After that, I recovered, but throughout the rest of the game, I was gasping for air and realized my sprints weren't as good as I'd hoped they'd be. Everything is harder the first time around. By the second half, everyone seemed warmed up and I'm happy to report that nobody puked (at least that I'm aware of). We tied 2-2.

I was so sore in the 24-48 hours after the game, but it was a good sore. My body hadn't made those kinds of movements in two years and I was so happy to be feeling sore all over the place. My back was even sore and I swear my hamstrings shortenend by about 3 inches. My body certainly reached its physical limits last week both with the 6 mile run and the soccer game. But both times I felt great afterwards. Well, I felt great once my knees stopped burning and once the game was over and my sister-in-law and I chatted in the car for 45 minutes about how fun it was to be playing again.

I'm still working on pushing it to the limit every time I'm running, playing soccer, or doing some other kind of workout. Pushing it means its going to be painful and maybe not always very enjoyable, but in the end, that's what gets results and gets me in better physical shape. It burns the stress right out of my system and allows my mind to go somewhere else for an hour that doesn't involve toddler frustrations or work demands. I don't always enjoy it while I'm doing it, but I know its worth it in many ways.

Mothers

I'm one day behind, but happy Mother's Day to all you mothers and soon-to-be mothers out there! What a special day to celebrate being a mom. I spent a good portion of the day yesterday trying to teach my little guy how to say "I love mommy!" I think he caught on slightly because he said, "I... yuv.... Mommy!!!" Even if I told him to say it, it still melts my heart. I love that kid to pieces.

The countdown to race day continues. Four weeks to go! There was not one possible moment to squeeze running in this weekend, so its gonna happen tonight. It is. It has to. The rain must hold off!!

My goal: 7 miles

Seven miles was the longest run I did before the half last year and I'm hoping to get farther along this time around. My goal was 10, but we'll see about that. My husband and son are going to join me tonight for part of the run. We're headed out to a nice lake not too far from our house. It'll take 2.5 times around it to get to 7 miles, but I think I can do it. Hopefully I won't get dizzy :)

I'm looking forward to this run tonight. After a very busy, but very fun weekend, I'm in need of some hard work and sweat action. As I rocked my son at bedtime last night, I leaned down to give him a kiss and thanked him for making me a mommy. I couldn't be happier. If I didn't have him, I'd be getting so much more sleep and my house would be much cleaner, but none of that matteres when I see his cute face. I am so incredibly thankful for him. I'm thankful for my mom. She's the most hospitable person I know and rarely passes up an opportunity to hang out with me. She makes every moment special. Even a simple family dinner thrown together last minute somehow has candles and a little something from Lund's for dessert. I'm thankful for my mother-in-law. I truly am. She has a golden heart, is an amazing cook and begins all her emails to me with "Hi Dear." She raised quite the son, too. I'm thankful for both my grandmothers. Both of them are living and I've been fortunate enough to live relatively close to them my entire life. They both established traditions and values that have carried over into our own lives as my husband and I raise our son. Both of my grandmothers call my husband their grandson even though he has zero blood relation to them. They love him as if he was born right into their family. What an amazing gift I've been given.

My Easter Run

I've had two amazing runs in the last few days. I'll tell you about the first one in this post.

Last week, I planned to run on Friday after work, but a family dinner at D'Amico came up and I chose to attend that instead. You would have too. Yum! I planned to run on Saturday morning before Easter festivities started with my family. We celebrated a day early to accommodate schedules. A run wasn't going to fit in. I told myself that I had to run on Sunday, but Sunday was actually Easter and we had a full day planned. I needed a run though.

Fortunately, I have a son who wakes up ridiculously early, so we were up with him hours before the Easter church service was going to start. I told my husband that I was heading to the gym and off I went.

It was a gorgeous Easter morning. After days of rain, the sun came out. Seemed fitting to be so bright and happy on Easter Sunday. The drive to the gym was so pretty that I was actually really excited to go run. Because it was so early and because it was Easter Sunday, the gym was deserted. I had the top choice in treadmills. I chose one right by the window where I could soak in the sunshine. The music I chose to run to was a David Crowder Pandora station. Pandora made some great song choices and off I went.

My goal: 5 miles

It was 7:20 when I started the run. I started slowly to ease into it and it was so enjoyable that I think I was smiling. Yes, I was smiling... I know was... no reason to say, "I think." I wore my favorite green Puma hat and probably thought I could hide my happy face under it so nobody saw me acting all giddy. Who is this happy when running? Seriously.

I ran 1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles and as I approached mile 4, I started to feel fatigued. It was also around this time that my phone battery died. Noooo. It was just me, my thoughts and the gym music that kept me going. It was peaceful though. I got through mile 4 and hit mile 5 on the 54-minute mark. I never said I was a fast runner. I did a quick stretch and headed home. I had to get my adorable almost 18 month old ready for Easter! When I walked in the door at home, I found my son, who was freshly bathed, and my husband sitting on the top of the stairs waiting for me. They both smiled ear to ear upon seeing their wife and mommy gross and sweaty. What a day! And it was only 8:45.

Good run. Great family. Amazing holiday.

Thank you!!!

You all are wonderful! The mothers in Haiti are so lucky to have such great supporters! Seeing the support encourages me to continue my training and to run strong for the moms. Thank you so much for helping me help them. It really means a lot.

After I posted about the fundraiser last week, I took my first 2-night trip away from my toddler. I flew to Seattle to visit my sister, who is a senior in college out there. We had amazing plans. The weekend schedule looked like this:

Dinner out Thursday night, hike Friday morning in the mountains, hang out in Queen Anne all afternoon, have dinner downtown Friday night, Saturday morning breakfast at a local bakery, drinks lots and lots and LOTS of coffee, and explore Pike's Market Saturday afternoon.

My sister had every detail planned out. She had arranged to get out of class early, take the day off from her internship, her roommates to hike with us and for her boyfriend to have dinner with us. She's adorable. My first vacation post baby! I was very excited. And then... I got sick. So sick. Thursday night I held my stomach and whined. We watched three movies on Friday in front of her TV and fireplace. I tried my best to sip on Gatorade. The plans were out the window. By Saturday afternoon, I felt well enough to visit Pike's, but only for 45 minutes. I left Seattle not taking one sip of amazing Seattle coffee. What a shame.

I was really looking forward to going for a run while in Seattle. I wanted to challenge myself with the crazy hills they have there. I don't think they have flat ground in and around where my sister lives. She trained for a half marathon on these roads and I wanted to do the same. But I couldn't. So. Sick.

Last night, I finally made it to the gym to run for the first time since that trip over the weekend. I was nervous how it would go since my caloric intake over those few days had been quite minimal. I went into it thinking that I'd run 2 miles and probably feel beat doing that.

Mile 1: I ran at 5.0 and felt as if I could run at that speed forever.

Mile 2: I ran at 5.5 and felt pretty good. I was definitely sweating, but wasn't breathing nearly as hard as I thought I'd be.

I stopped for a quick water break and started up again.

Mile 3: I ran at 6.0 and felt like I was pushing myself, but knew I could make it. I got pretty tired at 2.47 (yes, I remember) and felt a little discouraged. I kept telling myself that I am training for this race and I can do it. I also told myself that anyone can do anything for 5 more minutes. My husband tells me that and it worked.

I finished out this 3 mile run and felt great. I was doing some serious sweating, but my body was working hard after all the awfulness of last weekend. This weekend I'm planning a 5 mile run outside (IF it hits 60 degrees like its supposed to!). I love the way I feel this morning after that run last night.

Family Fun!

Maybe this time the snow has melted for good. I hope so. My husband is very concerned the lake won't warm up very much this summer at the cabin. That won't stop him from waterskiing far too many times in one day though. If I waterskiied as much and cut as hard as he does in one day, I wouldn't be able to move any of my limbs due to soreness.

On Saturday, it was a beautiful sunny day. We put our little guy in the jogging stroller and headed out for a run around the neighborhood. We jogged through the "next step up" development and noted how close together the houses are being built. Maybe we don't want to live here. We kept going and went through the 5,000 square foot homes neighborhood. We each picked out our favorite house. He picked the one I didn't like and same for me.

It was a pleasant run. Good speed. Warm sun. Just enough hills to make me work harder than the usual treadmill routine. Our son was getting antsy, so we had to speed up. My husband's stride is so long and he will always be in better shape than me. He wasn't even breathing hard while running fast and pushing the jogging stroller with a 33 pound weight wiggling around in the seat (that weight was was also whining for more crackers the entire second half of the run). My husband kept saying, "You got it! You can make it home. Let's pick it up more! You can do it."

Sure enough. I did it. I kept up with him. My heart was pounding and my legs felt like noodles. I like family runs. My husband is a great encourager. He got me over the 4 mile hurdle last year and I may need him to help me again this spring because...

I have a race in my future. A big one.