first race of 2013 AND the unveiling of marathon #4!

Here's the weather we woke up to.

The New Year's Day tradition continues.  To help ring in the new year, the husband and I ran the Polar Dash 5k.

It was kind of cold out yesterday. Bitterly cold, according to the weather channel. (You'd think I would embrace the bitterness, but I don't.)  13 degrees below zero where we live. I like to run in the cold, but dayum, that's COLD! Luckily, it was a balmy 5 degrees below zero in Minneapolis (where we would be running) so we had nothing to fear.

Choices, choices..... trail shoes or running shoes??
I like to wear my trail shoes when running in the snow but
wasn't sure how snowy the course would be.
The deciding factor was not knowing how to attach the
timing chip to the laces of my trail shoes (they have
speed laces and can't be "unlaced".)
Running shoes it is!

Have I mentioned that I hate being cold?  HATE it.  So we're on our way to the race, talking about how freaking cold it is, and the fact that we're crazy to be doing this, blah blah blah...... and I asked the husband, "How did we get started running this race outside, in winter, in Minnesota anyway?  What possessed us to do it the first time?"  And he just looked at me and said, "Ummm, you found something on the internet called "Couch to 5K" and for some inexplicable reason, started running.  I have absolutely NO IDEA what drives you to do what you do. I just go along for the ride!"  He's a fun date.  I'm glad he likes me!

The worst part of the race experience? Using the porta-potty in sub-zero temperatures.  Not a pleasant experience. We'll just leave it at that.

Uber flattering photo of us in the start corral.

The run itself was fun. My only observation/complaint is that there are so many new runners and walkers (like the Diva Dash).  While I think it's fantastic that so many folks were out (especially on such a cold day!) but a little etiquette would go a long way......walkers start towards the back of the pack, don't walk 4-5 abreast on the narrow course, etc., but having said that, it was really more about getting out and running on the first day of the New Year, and less about "racing" so all in all it was a good time.  And the crowds thinned in the second half so we were able to pick the pace up a little bit which was nice.

As the husband and I were walking back to the car after the race, we were reflecting on the fact that though we had bitched quite a bit about the cold before the race started, we certainly never regretted getting out and running.

Our glorious splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	31:37.0	3.12	10:09
1	11:02.0	1.00	11:02
2	10:19.3	1.00	10:19
3	9:15.1	1.00	9:15
4	1:00.6	0.12	8:45

So there you have it.  First race of the year - Done!

Garmin Electra's documentation.
I just like this picture because Sherman is in it.

Oh, and I signed up for marathon #4!!  Green Bay Marathon on May 19, 2013.  As a Vikings fan, I'm a little torn about running through Lambeau Field, but with time, I'm sure I'll be able to work through that issue.

the more things change....

Here I was thinking I've made all these great strides with my running (no pun intended) in the last year, but I really haven't changed much at all.  I'm still as much of a dipshit as ever.

Every day brings the same challenge - making sure Jane gets out for a few miles, either walking or running..... and today was a running day for me, so all day I'm thinking I'll go for a run with Jane as soon as I get home from work.  Kill two birds and all that.... I knew it was getting colder and the wind was really picking up so I didn't want to be out after dark - I wanted as much sunlight as possible!  I sort of figured out what I was going to wear so I wouldn't waste time standing in the closet looking at my running clothes saying, "duhhhhh..."

I'm quite sure this is EXACTLY
what I look like in my Body By
Victoria bra. Who says marketing
doesn't work?

My plan was unfolding like clockwork, I got home, got changed, and Jane and I headed out the door.  A five minute warm-up walk and we're off and running!  But....at the first step something felt wrong.  By five steps, I figured out, I forgot to change my bra!  Although I'm a fan of my Victoria's Secret Body By Victoria bra, a running bra it is not.

Shhhhiiiiiitttt.  Now what?  Do I go home and change?  Ummm, no.  I'm out here. I'll just deal with it.  So I'm running and NOTHING is feeling right.  My stride is funky, my shins hurt, (Why are my shins hurting?? That's new. Dammit!), and now my ankles are hurting... but it's a different pain, more at the crease between the ankle and top of foot.... wait... how tight are my shoe laces??  Turns out, I tightened the snot out of my trail shoe laces and I'm pretty sure I was cutting off all circulation to my feet...... So I loosened the laces and kept on running.  The pain eventually went away.

The run was only a little over three miles but dang, it sucked pretty much the whole time.  The last mile was all run into a 15-20 mph headwind, and to make things even better, the sky decided to throw some rain mixed with snow into the fun.  At that point, I was laughing at all the things that were going wrong with this run.

But I got it done!  The "run at least one mile per day" is going strong on day 18, and I got my 30 minutes of purposeful movement in.... and I rewarded myself with a lavender scented bubble bath tonight.  Lovely!

The whole "clean eating" goal, however....... I might need a coach/trainer for that one....

things I did yesterday, or six degrees of running

Yesterday I was a very busy girl.  I did a lot of stuff!  And lots of that stuff can be connected, albeit loosely, to running, so that's why I'm putting it in my blog.

1. I took a trip just west of my comfort zone.

Yeah, it was a little awkward yesterday...

So yesterday I went a little out of my comfort zone and met up with a new running group.  I thought I would give them a try so that I could meet new runners, run in new places, and maybe get a little faster.  I was a little worried about driving 25 miles to run with a bunch of strangers..... If I had to classify my personality type, I'd say I lean more to the introvert side of things. (The husband strongly disagrees and says I'm a shitty introvert.  Seriously.  That's what he tells me. All the time.)  He has a point, I can certainly exhibit extrovert traits but I guess it depends on the setting..... is there such a thing as a situational introvert?

It was a great morning for a run.  Snow was in the forecast so the air had that crisp, "something's gonna happen" feel to it.  Temp in the 30's and wind was not too bad.  We ran the Sibley trails along the Mississippi River....beautiful! The course was an out and back, and feels very secluded and peaceful.   I'd never been there before and really enjoyed it.  

For the most part.  (I'll get to that in a minute.)

At first, A la Bridget Jones, I felt a little bit like I was a singleton amongst a group a smug marrieds.  Everyone seemed to know everyone else! Eventually, the various paces broke off and I ended up running behind a couple of guys.  I asked if they minded if I tagged along with them and they were fine with it.  Pretty soon they started including me in their conversation.  Really nice guys; they've both been running since the late 70's early 80's, and one of them has run over 300 marathons. Three HUNDRED marathons. Yow.  They were fun to talk to.

Big girl that I am, I made it safely back to
my car. All by myself!!

Soooo, the distance planned for the group was 8-12 miles, but I was only planning to do 6.  And it turned out I was the only one running such a short distance.  So I ran with the two guys for the first three miles and then turned around and headed back to the start.  

Remember when I said the trail felt secluded and peaceful?  Well, secluded and peaceful quickly becomes secluded and creepy when you're all alone.  So I'm running by myself, envisioning all sorts of horrible scenarios and thinking, "Dammit, WHY didn't I bring my phone with me?"  Then I see that the trail splits into two different paths.  (Panic ensues.  I am notoriously directionally challenged and of course I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings what so ever when I was running with the pack.  I'm a dipshit like that.)  Is this the path I take to get back up to the parking lot?  How far did we run along the river anyway?  I walked for a minute or two, looked around trying to find things that I remembered seeing on the way out, briefly wondered how long it would take them to find my body and cursed myself for forgetting my phone AND my RoadID. I finally told myself to just pick a f#cking path already...... so I did, and low and behold, it was the right one! I made it back to my car, safe as a kitten. Winner!! 

I'll give the running group another chance.  It's that comfort zone thing......I think just I need to do a better job of introducing myself and finding running partners.  I'm sure they're out there.

Another dammit moment: the trail was a trail trail, not a paved trail, so I could have worn my sweet trail shoes.  Argh!

Um, I was running, therefore.....

Running connection = zero degrees of separation

2. Got attacked by snow pellets on a walk with Jane.

Jane waiting patiently for me to haul it up the hill.

So after I got back from my run, there was Jane, all excited to see me with my running shoes on.  (I had the shoes on, not Jane. My shoes don't fit her very well.) The snow had started to fall but it wasn't the nice fluffy pretty snow, it was the hard rain/snow mix pellets that HURT when the wind sends them smacking into your face.

But Jane would not be ignored so out we went.

Could you say no to that face??

And the wind did blow, literally and figuratively.  I haven't missed inhospitable winter weather! We walked about 2.5 miles in that nasty stuff.  It was just changing over to the fluffy prettiness as we got home.

I use brisk walks to save my joints but still push things aerobically, therefore....


Running connection = one degree of separation

Apropos of nothing, as the days get colder, the pets get flatter.
I posted this on Facebook last week and it
was pointed out to me that it looked like a crime scene.

 3. Had dinner with one of my oldest friends.

One in a series of failed self-portrait IQ tests.
We laughed like this pretty much all night.  AJ is so much fun!
And look - my eyes are OPEN!

My marathon buddy AJ was in town this past week to visit her family.  Hard to believe we have known each other for close to 35 years.  (That makes us old.)  We went out to dinner and got caught up with everything that's happened in our respective lives since we parted ways after running Grandma's last June.  Due to the amount of laughing we do when we're together, our abs always get a great workout.

After dinner we were planning to head to a club in Minneapolis to see the Suburbs.  Alas, the roads were too icy so we turned around and headed back downtown in the hopes of finding a good band to listen to.

There was no running involved during this visit, however, we once ran a marathon together, therefore....
Running connection = one degree of separation

4. I channeled my inner Mary Tyler Moore.

Perfecting the twirl...

Although we didn't have hats to toss into the air, AJ and I decided we could do a pretty mean impression of Mary Tyler Moore..... 

I'll let you be the judge.

Can't you just see the imaginary hat being tossed?

If you recall, MTM was a young career girl who could turn the world on with her smile.  

She could take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile.

Aaaannnnndddd, the big finish!

And what did I say to myself as I was closing in on the finish line at Grandma's??

You're gonna make it, after all!!

I live in Minnesota.

Minneapolis is a city in Minnesota.

Mary Tyler Moore's character Mary Richards lived in Minneapolis.

City Running Tours offers a guided run that meets at the Mary Tyler Moore (as Mary Richards) statue in downtown Minneapolis, therefore....

Running connection = four degrees of separation

5. I sang a Violent Femmes song with an Irish Band AND I should have been ready for my close up.

Bright lights....aaannnddd...ACTION!! The guy in
blue was filming the band.

Ok, I didn't sing WITH the band, but I did sing ALONG with them.  I only mention it because they were playing all of this fun, traditional Irish music and then out of nowhere, they tear into Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes.  The VFs were one my of very favorite bands in high school and college.  I LOVED them.  So that was great fun for me!  But don't you think it was weird that the Irish band decided to go that route?

And get this - there was a movie being filmed!!  Sadly, despite being the hottest cougars the oldest women hometown girls, I don't think we made the cut.   If only I'd worn my Monster Dash lipstick. I bet we would have been in like Flynn.

Dammit!

Running connection = I'm sure there's a connection in here somewhere.


So that was my day.  How did you spend your time yesterday?  Did try something new?  Make a fool of yourself?   I'd love to hear all about it!

make it so, number one

I have this blue running jacket that I really like.  It was a Christmas gift from the husband.  This jacket FITS.  It's soft, its comfortable, it's fitted and has good lines, it's long enough that my stomach isn't exposed and has those thumb thingies that I like so much.  You know, the little holes that you can put your thumbs through so the sleeves are pulled way down on over your wrists?  This jacket has really long sleeves! I'm 5'11" and have orangutan arms so most running jackets/long sleeve shirts NEVER seem to have enough real estate to cover my entire arm.  Running pants are the same.  All my running pants are capris whether they were designed that way or not.  Plus, I have to admit, I'm cheap.  Or frugal.  Or whatever you want to call it.  I hate to pay full price for stuff.  And I really hate shopping for clothes (see orangutan arms, above) because it's frequently such a disappointment.  I may have to expand my horizons beyond the sale rack to find gear that fits.  The weather is getting cooler so I guess it's time to act.

Proof of one-time winter running.
Beloved blue Jacket worn
underneath the green one.

Historically, I haven't done a lot of outdoor winter running.  Actually, I've pretty much taken the winters off from running.  I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to cold weather.  Anything below 20 degrees is a bit much for me to take; throw in some wind and I'm outta there.  Couple that with the possibility of having inches of tender skin exposed and I'm not usually willing to brave the bitter elements that Minnesota winters can toss out.  <One exception: this past New Year's Day, the husband and I ran in the Team Ortho Polar Dash.  It was a beautiful day, about 3 degrees, (yes, THREE degrees, but NO wind!).  One of the coolest (no pun intended) things about the entire event was as we were waiting for the starting gun with the few thousand other racers, seeing the steam rising above everyone in the morning light.  Another very cool (really, no pun intended) thing was the spectators who were out to cheer us on.  Minnesotans are a crazy bunch!>  Anyhoo, my dislike of running in the cold is going to have to become a "like." (Cheering spectators would help.  I always seem to need more cowbell.)  I'll need to train outside this winter - the treadmill is just not going to cut it.  I can only manage about 4 miles before I am bored out. of. my. mind.  Too much time on the treadmill makes me crabby.  Kind of kills the endorphin boost I hope to get from running.

So, back to the blue jacket that I like so much...... I  was wearing it last spring on an especially chilly day and was feeling all stylish and runner-like (having actually just completed a run even!) when I saw my brother.  I had paired the jacket with my ONE pair of black running pants that are almost long enough to reach my ankles, had the jacket zipped all the way up, and my hair pulled back into a tight ponytail.  My brother looked at me and said, "Make it so, Number One." Ok, maybe I DO look a bit like a graduate of Star Fleet Academy.  All that's missing is the beam me up pin.  So I guess it's time to do something about the wardrobe. And embrace my inner Trekkie.