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.

excuses, excuses

I know what you're thinking..... "Damn, girl, you ran that blisteringly fast 5k yesterday morning! So what happened in the Freeze Your Thorns Off virtual 5K??? Did you choke? Was that PR an anomaly?"

I ran the Sweat Your Thorns Off 5K last summer and set an unofficial PR (which still stands!) so I had high hopes for this one as well.  But it was not to be.  <sad face> So I asked myself the burning question: "What gets in the way of a PR??" I know there are as many reasons why as there are grains of sand on the beach, but let me share with you the barriers that prevented me from getting a PR twice in one day.

1. Let's start with my choice of running partner.

Jane is not as interested in the actual act of running as I am.  Don't get me wrong, she LOVES to be out running but she's much more interested in whatever it is she's interested in, rather than focusing on some stupid goal I might have for our outing.



2.  Snowmen

I just know that bastard is preparing some type of attack.

Jane hates snowmen.  


And because we've gotten some snow recently, and it's of the perfect snowman-making texture and consistency, they kept popping up where she least expected them.  


Each one had to be given a wide berth and then circled back to and examined ever closer.

Gaaaah!  It's a pack of snowmen!!

FYI- Large snowballs are highly suspect as well.

3. Bodily Functions


No, not mine.


Jane's other name is "Two Poops" because that's usually how many times she has to mail a package during the average run.










4. 5K route being altered due to bodily functions


Because I didn't want to carry Jane's gift during the entire run, we took a detour to dispose of it properly. I am a responsible dog owner, yo!

Here's an action shot of me using a public receptacle.

You should know that this was next to the parking lot of an elementary school and based on the attire of some of the kids, there must have been a basketball tourney of some sort going on.  While I was capturing this momentous moment, parents and kids were heading to cars and were noticing me taking the picture.

I shouted, "It's ok!  It's for my blog!" but that just seemed to make them hustle their kids into the cars faster.  Sigh.

My FYTO5K 2012 route.

5. Ice, ice baby!  And snow too!  


We hit it all: ice covered sidewalks, snow covered trails, and we even ran for a while on the lake.  All that stuff is gonna slow you down. Honest.

Even the bridge to the school was covered in ice.

That's pure ice, folks! 

Jane had to drag me up this hill.  It's steeper than it looks.

Jogging on the trail next to the lake.... 

....and jogging on the lake......

...... and trying to dig for fish while out on the lake.

Victorious FYTO5K finishers! Per usual, it's a hideous photo of me but Jane looks good.   You can kind of tell that it was cold and that my nose was running.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any shots of me doing snot rockets.  It's a real shame too, because they were beauties!

So I guess that's what you could say is my blame train.  You know the saying, "I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was going to blame you."  But who cares.  It was fun!


Here's what iSmoothRun said about the weather: Temp 25 °F, Wind Chill: 13 °F, Winds: 14mph W, Humidity: 63%.  Damn near froze my thorns off!


And because I'm all about honesty and transparency and crap, I must post my splits of shame.......

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	37:15.5	3.11	11:59
1	11:16.6	1.00	11:17
2	12:58.9	1.00	12:59
3	11:49.2	1.00	11:49
4	1:10.9	0.11	10:43

Thanks to Adam at TheBoringRunner.com for hosting a fun run!!

securian winter run 5k

Waiting for the race to start.  I failed at self-portraits
today and finally gave in and asked a stranger
to take our picture. But look - my eyes are open!
A little crazy looking, but still...!

I ran two races today: the Securian Winter Race (hosted by the St. Paul Winter Carnival) and the Freeze Your Thorns Off virtual 5k (hosted by Adam@theboringrunner.com). I'll devote an entire post to the FYTO5K, don't worry.

I've had kind of a crappy week, and then got a migraine early Thursday morning.  I ended up leaving work around 9:30 and went home and slept the entire day.  So my "run at least a mile a day" streak ended on Thursday.  I did feel a bit better late in the evening so I took Jane for an airing out - meaning I at least managed to get my 30 minutes of movement in, albeit, v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.  Yesterday I was still feeling pretty rotten but improving, although I still didn't feel like running.

 But today I felt pretty good.  The Securian 5k was fun for me!  The husband ran with me, but knowing that since I had a chip on my shoe (as opposed to my shoulder) I would want to go as fast as I could, he graciously gave me a kiss and said, "You run your race. We'll meet at the finish line."  So that's what I did - I ran my race.  It was tough little 5k course!  It wound through downtown St. Paul and along the Mississippi for a little while before heading back along the same route.  So sort of an out and back but not really.

NOT a missed photo op! I
have no idea what he was supposed to be
or represent, but I had to get my picture taken
with him.  He complimented me on my
sweet trail shoes. And notice my awesome
Explore MN Challenge hat!

There were some seriously lonnngggg climbs...... when they became the downhills, I tried to get the most out of them and use that gravity.  My shins were really hurting during mile 2 and I had to slow down a bit.  I have no idea what was the issue and I didn't seem to be able to control the SLAPPING of my feet..... damn, that was annoying.  Eventually, whatever was bugging me settled down and I was able to pick up the pace again.

You gotta love runners: The half marathoners went out first, then the 10k runners, then us (we?) 5Kers.  It wasn't too long before we were running into each other (not literally, a bunch of us running one way on the street, and a bunch running the opposite way) so we must have been passing the 10k runners, and a ton of them were shouting encouragement to us.  "You're looking good!"  "Running strong!"  and we were giving them shout-outs right back.  I love that!

This race is the first of the Explore Minnesota Challenge.  I only have to complete 7 more events (in various parts of the state) and I get a bunch of fun stuff.  Today I earned my first of four pins (representing the four parts of the state) which can be proudly displayed on my EMC banner (I'll have to take a picture of that and add it at some point.)  And I'm digging the hat I got.  For the race, I got a cool mug and a Winter Carnival button.  Holy crap, I am a bling whore, aren't I?  Or maybe a bling hoarder?

I love the race logo - "Embrace Brisk" - I should have
bought one of the shirts.  Dammit.

In addition to the self-portrait fail, my photo documentation of the day in general was a fail.  Several missed photo ops: Klondike Kate, a polar bear (although I did get a fist bump from him when I finished the race), the Abominable Snowman or something like that.  It was white and hairy.  And I missed them all.  Dammit!

Anywhoo, I was pretty pleased with myself for running strong up every inch of each of those hills, and I tried to push it a bit to see what would happen.  And even though it hurt a bit, my body didn't explode!   (I think that's been a secret fear of mine.)  And the best part about today?  I got an official PR!!!  And the run streak is back on!

Here are my splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	29:57.8	3.18	9:25
1	9:25.9	1.00	9:26
2	9:39.9	1.00	9:40
3	9:18.7	1.00	9:19
4	1:33.3	0.18	8:35

Man, I LOVE seeing all those sub-ten minute miles!  Of course, I forgot to turn off Garmin Electra a the end of the race - so I ended up with some extra mileage.  My official time is 29:44.  And that's a PR baby!!  Damn, that feels good.

Next up: the Freeze Your Thorns Off virtual 5K report.

ice nuggets

It's a little icy in my neck of the woods.

Remember when I mentioned the rain, snow and ice after our New Year's Eve storm?  The sidewalks have been pretty treacherous since the storm, and even the streets in our neighborhood haven't been completely cleared. The footing has been rather, um, unpredictable since NYE.

So anywhoo, I went for run a with Jane tonight.  Outdoors.  Time has been tight today and I knew I couldn't do a treadmill run AND take Jane on her daily much needed walk, so I decided to test my balancing skills and see if I could stay upright on a run.

It went pretty well for the most part but I have to say, every muscle in my body was on red alert trying to maintain my vertical position.  To paraphrase Tina Fey, I had to manually unclench my butt cheeks when I was done, the muscles were so tightly contracted.  So I might be a little sore tomorrow.  But this should be great for my core, right?  On another note, I have to say the trail shoes are a wonder.  I don't think I'll ever go back to the running shoes/Yak Trax combo for winter running.

So Jane got her outdoor time, and I got my run in so it was a win for both of us!  But damn, it was slow going.  Check out my splits: pretty slow, but we got 'er done!

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	38:13.9	3.18	12:00
1	12:08.2	1.00	12:08
2	11:55.1	1.00	11:55
3	12:06.8	1.00	12:07
4	2:03.7	0.18	11:11

Let's see how I'm doing on my goals on day 4:
Move for 30 minutes each day - yep!
Run at least one mile per day - yep yep!
Eating clean?  Well, it's been hit and miss.  Do I have to own that I had McDonald's chicken nuggets for dinner tonight?  And fries? Yeah, I suppose I do.  Such a guilty pleasure.  I shouldn't love them.  But I do.

I did eat clean for lunch and breakfast, though. Really!  Honest!!  I knew when I set that goal for myself it was going to be tough, but holy crap,  I totally underestimated how much I love to eat junk.  That goal is going to be SO hard for me...... Wish me luck, folks!

Ever bite off more than you can  chew, literally or figuratively?