redemption! chapter 2

I'm just in it for the hardware

Monster Dash today and I did NOT walk through the finish chute!  Goal met!!

I have to say, I got up this morning and I was just not feelin' it for this run.  My ankle has been barking a little bit and frankly, I was kind of worried that I haven't been running much, and my longest run since Grandma's (Really? I haven't put in ANY long runs since June 18??? Holy shit!) was 5.2 miles.  So to go out and run 10 miles seemed a little, uh, daunting.  Plus, I wanted some form of redemption, remember?  My fear was that I was going to completely hit the wall around mile 6 and lose the will to live.  But then I figured, well, at least I'll be out there. And I paid for the race. And I want that medal.  Plus, I'd have to own up to not showing up and I didn't want to have to do that.  So off I went.

My saucy mask

But let me back up a little bit.  Even though I was going to run this one solo, I thought it would be fun to wear some type of costume.  I think I over-thought things.... I was all worried about finding something that would be comfortable, not too warm, wouldn't flap all around, wasn't going to pose a chafing threat....too much criteria.  I found a really cute bumblebee costume that would have worked except the sleeves were too restrictive.  So that was out.  Oh, and have I mentioned that I don't have a creative bone in my body?  Making something from scratch was not going to happen.  So anyway, I finally settled on a hot pink Mardi Gras-type mask.  Very low key and I could rip it off my head and throw it away if it bugged me too much.

So this morning as I was getting ready, I thought, "Hey, I should put on some bright pink lipstick to go with the mask!"  I mixed a couple of my long-wearing lipsticks together and ended up with a pink that was really quite striking, especially against my pasty white skin.  This lipstick is amazing folks, I could be in hurricane force winds, pelted with sheets of water and still emerge with my lipstick intact.  It's that good.

Anywhoo, between the half marathon and the 10 mile, I think there were about 5000 people in this race.  The starting area was complete chaos.  I was heading to the bag drop when a group of women asked me to take their picture.  As soon as I said, ok they all started pulling cameras out of every orifice and I ended up taking about 18 million pictures, two with each camera, "Just to be sure!"  Back to my quest for the proper bag drop bin when I ran into a friend and chatted with her for a couple of minutes.  Then back to the quest....finally located where I needed to leave my bag.  Did I mention how cold it was this morning?  29 degrees!  So I had to take off my gloves and my warm coat and put them in the bag....grab my chapstick and kleenex and honey stingers....then I hear, "Get to the starting area, the race will begin in 5 minutes!"  Crap!! Stuffed everything in the bag and headed to the start.

In the starting area, I noticed people look at me with a quick double-take and I'm wondering WTF?  Do I have something on my face?  Hanging out of my nose??  Then I realize, damn, I forgot my mask!  And I also realize, shit, I'm wearing scary-ass bright pink lipstick.  With no matching mask. Or costume of any sort, for that matter.  I'm just looking like the aging crazy woman who is getting ready for her close-up.  And if you recall, that lipstick possesses incredible staying power so removing it at this point is not an option.  <insert effenheimer outburst here>  As with my poor race-day wardrobe choices (e.g. the jacket tied around my waist for about 23 miles during Grandma's marathon), I had to just put the unfortunate lipstick choice out of my mind....it helped that I couldn't see it.

On to the race....

Here's me with Jane after the race.  Can
you see the pink lipstick?
And do I not have the world's
most ginormous melon-head ever?

Despite a pretty chilly start, it was a beautiful day for a race!  Sunny skies, no wind, and we started on Summit Avenue in St. Paul right by the cathedral.....the fall colors were glorious and spectators lined the streets.  Due to my history of low mileage, I decided I would just go nice and slow and see how things went.  I had no intention of pushing things at all.  I was wearing GarminElectra and as usual, she had to pull something just to let me know she runs the show.  After the start gun went off and we were shuffling to the actual start mats, I looked down and saw that she had shut herself off again.  Beyoch!  Got her up and running just as I ran over the mat.

This was a super easy run for me.  The course was awesome.  With the exception of one steady climb right after mile 7, it was all flat or downhill.  Gotta like that!  I just ran along, happy as could be and the miles went by pretty easily.  I didn't bother looking at GarminElectra, as long as I heard her beep with each passing mile, I was happy. I have pretty low expectations where she's concerned.

Husband bonus: I didn't think he was going to make it to this one because DSD had hockey practice and SS had play rehearsal but there he was, with Jane, just after mile 7.  It's always such a treat to see him at my races!  He also found me at the finish line.  I think he likes me.

Back to the race.....Get this: I beat my previous PR (Women Run the Cities 2010) by 8 minutes 41 seconds!!  How the hell did that happen??  My official time for the 10 miles was 1:40:07. That's 0.01 FASTER than GarminElectra had me at 9.93 miles.  Su-WEET redemption!!

So it was a good day for me. And no serious ankle pain. Yay!!  I have a couple more 5Ks to round out the year and then I start training for Grandma's.  I can't wait!

Here are my splits.  Again, I came up short in the mileage - I must ride those tangents like they're Secretariat.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:40:08.8	9.93	10:05.4
1	10:18.0	1.00	10:18.0
2	10:02.9	1.00	10:02.9
3	10:02.8	1.00	10:02.8
4	10:02.8	1.00	10:02.8
5	10:09.2	1.00	10:09.2
6	9:58.6	1.00	9:58.6
7	10:29.4	1.00	10:29.4
8	10:12.6	1.00	10:12.6
9	10:01.1	1.00	10:01.1
10	8:50.9	0.93	9:33.

Happy fall to y'all!!

redemption! chapter 1

Turns out apples right after running don't seem to agree
with my delicate ecosystem.  But the half-eaten apple
looks cool on the shirt, doesn't it?

Ah, sweet redemption. The Run for the Apples 5 mile race was today, and I did it - I showed up for the race!!  <cue the choir> It probably helped that the husband ran the race, too.  That always increases my odds of getting where I'm supposed to be on time.  Last year, if you recall, I was running it solo and my dipshit tendencies trumped any organizational skills I may possess.

So anywhoo, showing up was my only goal for today and I'm pleased to say that not only did I show up for the race, I ran it as well.  So I think that means I exceeded my own expectations.  Well done, Nora, well done!

I wore my snazzy trail shoes and I could see the other runners looking at me so enviously, all of them thinking to themselves "Man, a chick with shoes that awesome just has to be crazy fast."  But you know me, I like to keep 'em guessing, and I think it's bad form to be a show-off, so I went at my usual pace.  Garmin Electra (despite being the temperamental and untrustworthy beyoch that she can be) showed up too, and managed to stay awake for the entire run.  Here are my splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	53:00.0	5.00	10:35.4
1	10:59.2	1.00	10:59.2
2	10:43.9	1.00	10:43.9
3	10:42.1	1.00	10:42.1
4	10:38.9	1.00	10:38.9
5	9:53.5	1.00	9:53.5
6	:2.2	0.00	7:57.3

Not too bad, eh?  And those splits are negative, princess!  I'll take it, especially since I've done lots of fast walking but very little actual running over the last few months.

With the husband after the race.
Eyes open and my nose is clean as a whistle!

The course was fun, back and forth through the orchard, pumpkin patch, strawberry fields, the corn maze, and some short bursts on the nearby road.  The only thing I didn't like was - because there was so much back-and-forthing - we could see all the runners waaaaayyyy ahead of us.  (I like my position in the pack to be a little more of a mystery to me.)  But it was an absolutely PERFECT Minnesota October morning, deep blue sunny skies, no wind, temps in the high 30's...... a fantastic day for a run.  I was freezing before the race started but warmed up right away and had stripped down to my tank top before the end of the second mile.

So that's it peeps! redemption! chapter 2 (Monster Dash 10 mile, where my goal is to NOT walk through the finish chute) coming up next weekend....  I'm running it solo so here's hoping I show up for it.

Oh, one more thing.  Remember my envy of the woman who could blow snot rockets?  And that, despite my envy, there was no way I would EVER do that in public?  Well, never say never, people.....desperate times call for desperate measures.  My nose was running like a faucet out there today - after four uses my one tired little kleenex was spent so I was blowing snot rockets like a pro.

grandma's marathon, round 2

Well, I did it.  I signed up for Grandma's 2012!  Nothing like a little jog in my future to get me blogging again!

I'm assuming my ankle will get over itself by then.  I hope so.  I just started running again and I have races on the calendar for this weekend and next (remember, it's redemption time for me!) so we'll see what happens.  I'll be going nice and slow and have no big goals for either race, other than to show up for the damn thing (Run for the Apples) and NOT walk through the finish chute (Monster Dash 10 mile).  Here's hoping the ankle doesn't complain too much.

My snazzy new trail shoes!

Oh, and my gear whore tendencies continue.  I now own trail shoes! I still have to write a report on the trail race the husband and I did in September.  I'm loving the trail running.

More to come but just thought I'd let you know I'm baaaaaaaaccckkkkkkk!!!

a makeshift plan

With any luck we won't be WALKING through
the finish chute of this year's Monster Dash.

I have a plan for the next 8 weeks!

The ankle is feeling better so I'm all signed up for another 10 mile race in October: Team Ortho's Monster Dash.  I'm hoping for a little redemption after last year's epic fail.

I'm also signed up for a couple of trail races: the Muscle Milk Woodsy 5 Mile (go ahead, try to NOT make a joke about that name) and the Run for the Apples 5 Mile.  If you recall, I signed up for the RFTA last year, only to screw up the dates and miss the damn thing.  Hey!  Another opportunity for redemption!  Sweet!!

I scoured the internet for training plans and found a winner.  (The internet is so amazing, you can find ANYTHING out there. Like really awesome husbands.  But I digress.) So anywhoo, the lucky trainer is...... (drumroll, please) Hal Higdon!  Ok, mostly because his plan is FREE and you know how cheap frugal I am.  But he's pretty famous, and seems to be on top of his game what with all his training plans and books and stuff, so I think his 15k plan should get me to my 10 mile race in relatively good shape.  

Feels sooooooo good to have a plan in place again!

slacker town

Holy crap.  Has it really been more than a month since I've written???  Seriously, it seems like it's just been days. This past month has FLOWN by!

So let's see, just what have I been doing?

The Ankle

The diagnosis is in: tendinitis of all three tendons in my right foot.  So I've been taking it easy for what seems like FOREVER and trying to listen to my damn ankle.  I have a bunch of exercises I have to do, and I think they're helping so I'm continuing to do them.  So very boring.  And I've been walking a lot in lieu of running.  Also boring   And I've been doing more core work so hopefully that will pay off at some point, too.

Running

Note the distance - I must have killed the tangents again!
My official time was 30:31.

*see above*  Not so much running but check this out:  I ran a 5K PR!!  Officially a PR this time!  Sadly, not as fast as my virtual 5k PR but I'll take it.  It was in the Gopher to Badger 5K where the course takes us along and over the St. Croix River from Minnesota to Wisconsin (hence the name "Gopher to Badger" - Minnesota is the Gopher state and Wisconsin has badgers.  Not Honey Badgers though, which is both a failing and a blessing.)  I loved the course, part shady street, part trail, over a long bridge.... The ankle didn't hurt at all during the run but it sure complained later in the day and the next day too.  So less running, more rehabbing.  It's on the mend but it sure is taking it's sweet time.

It gets kind of warm in Arizona in August....

Family

Remember last February when darling daughter and I traveled out East in search of the perfect college?  Well, I dropped her off at college last week.  In Arizona.  Did we travel to Arizona to look at schools?  Nope.  Have we ever even BEEN to Arizona?  Nope.  So how did she find this school anyway?  Her boss told her about it during her performance review.  She looked it up on the google, applied, found out that they would be very generous with scholarship money and made her decision.  Ta da!  But it's awful having her that far away.  A three hour plane ride and then a two hour drive...... She'll do great.  I'm the one who needs to adjust.

Other health related issues
As you may or may not know, I am a pasty an alabaster skinned Irish lass who is prone to sunburn.  As I kid, I got sunburned a lot, and as a stupid teen I did the whole "baby oil and reflective blanket" thing to try to fool my skin into thinking it's capable of obtaining a tan.  I also fried myself in those new-fangled tanning beds when they first came out.  The upshot of all that is that I have damaged my skin and as a precautionary measure, I get my skin checked by a dermatologist on a yearly basis.  I'm always inspecting my skin to look for anything new so that my derm can take a look and make sure that any of the more unusual spots and freckles are harmless....  So this year, I'm in for my annual check and she finds a suspicious spot that I had missed.  (Let's just say it was on my naughty bits and required the use of a mirror for me to see it... we'll leave it at that.)  Anywhoo, so she says to me that she's "80% certain that it's benign and we can either do a biopsy today or we can watch it closely, and I can come back in a month and she'll measure it and see if it's changed at all...." and I'm thinking to myself, "Only 80% certain??  I think I want a better percentage than that.  And come back in a month?  She wants me back in that soon for a check??"  So I asked what type of skin cancer it would likely be if it wasn't benign and she said, "Melanoma."  Umm, yeah.  OK. Not interested in watchful waiting.  Take the damn thing off.  NOW.  Long story short, it's benign.  <HUGE  sigh of relief>  I didn't realize how much I was stressing about it until I got the results of the biopsy.  I got the news two days before taking DD to school in Arizona so I was able to relax and enjoy my time with her.  My kids thought I was the sunscreen nazi before, they have no idea what they're in for now.

Work
Busy, busy, busy!  I love my job - it's interesting and I'm always learning something new.  And it keeps me occupied and out of trouble.  More or less!

As promised
Some more Warrior Dash photos!  Such a fun day!!!

Action shot of us running after getting blasted by water from the snow-making machines.  It was such a hot day that running soaking wet felt great.

One of the many lonnnnngggg hills on the course.  It was at a ski resort and they made the most of the hills.

Running through the sand pit.  Up another hill.

At the top of the wall!  See that chick on the lower right?  This was a frickin' tall wall to climb!! And check out the arms on the dude on the right.  Yikes!

Jumping over fire!  
I'm probably the whitest girl you know.

Crossing the finish line after crawling under barbed wire through the mud pit.  Notice how pristine the husband's face is...

My face.....not so pristine.  I don't know how the husband stayed so clean!

lumberjack warrior

Post LJD 5k, you can't really tell but I was a sweaty, smelly mess.

I'll add more later but I did two races last weekend: the Lumberjack Days 5k on Saturday and the Warrior Dash on Sunday.

Saturday was hot, humid and I had strange things happening with my right leg (was going numb - kind of like it was asleep) during the race.  The ankle is still an issue so off to the sports doc I will be going.

Anywhoo..... Should have brought my camera along - Carrie Tollefson was there and I could have gotten a picture with her.  Dammit!!  I was a hot mess when it was done.

The Warrior Dash was so much fun!  I didn't dare take my good camera with me on my mud-slogged journey so I carried a waterproof disposable camera instead.  Hopefully, we got some good shots on the course.  I have to get the film developed (so old school!) so I'll do another post when I get them back.  But here are a few before & afters (taken with the digital camera) to whet your appetite:

Pre-race.  I am unable to keep my eyes open.  Again.

Here's mud in yer eye!  And up yer nose!  And in yer mouth!
And in every other orifice.

The husband's legs AFTER getting rinsed off.

Post-race.  The husband took one for the team thus allowing
 the photo gods to show me with my eyes OPEN!!

what up?

Learnin' to shoot!! Typical American 4th of July activity
 meets mother/son bonding time.  Here's SS teaching me how
to use a BB gun on our recent trip to Omaha.

Hey peeps!  Here's what I've been up to lately, along with my typical stream of consciousness-type blogging....

Fitness
Running?  Not so much.  My ankles are still really sore.  I've been taking it easy, just doing 3 miles at a time, nice and slow.  And daily walking with Jane of course.  My right ankle in particular is bugging big time.  The pain is now starting to travel up the ankle bone..... I might need to schedule some quality time with my sports doc.

Our awesome shirts for the Warrior Dash!

I'm signed up for two races next weekend: the Lumberjack Days 10 miler on Saturday and the husband and I are doing the Warrior Dash on Sunday.  The Warrior Dash shouldn't be a problem but I'm a little worried about the 10 miler.  That could be an ugly one, especially with my practically non-existent mileage.  We shall see what the weekend brings.

I started a couple of new programs - 100 push-ups and 200 squats.  They are both 6 week programs brought to me via my new iPhone.  There's an app for that!  My upper body strength is crapola so I'm hoping the push-ups will help with that.  And call me crazy, but I LOVE doing squats.  Both of these will be easy to incorporate into my day so I'm thinking they are doable and attainable goals.

Name-dropping
Hey, remember Misty?  I was lucky to run with her for a while in the Stillwater 20 miler and then saw her heading towards the finish line at Grandma's.  I'm not the only one who's inspired by her.  There was an article in the Pioneer Press about Misty and her amazing accomplishments!  Way to go, Misty!!!

Weather
We are in the middle of some nasty-ass weather.  Feelin' hot, hot. hot.  And humid.  I think the humidity has been in the high 70's.  It's like being underwater when you go outside.  I actually LOVE hot, humid weather but this is getting to be a bit much, even for me.

How I ruined the husband's birthday last year. 

Work
Work has continued to be super busy.  Super duper busy.  It's awesome that I can work from home about 50% of the time.  It's so nice to not have to spend 2-3 hours a day in rush hour traffic.

The husband
We celebrated the husband's birthday this week.  Last year I pretty much destroyed his birthday by getting in a 3 car accident on the interstate (during rush hour traffic) and totaling my Pilot.  It was the first car accident I've ever been in.  Scary!! I wasn't hurt, other than major torquing of my body and LOTS of muscle pain, so that was good.  But it did kind of put the kibosh on any sort of birthday celebration, unless you count time spent in Urgent Care as celebrating.  And my trusty Pilot didn't survive.

the calorie-laden remains of the husband's birthday cake.

This year was better.  I didn't try to steal his thunder with my usual attention-seeking behavior (e.g. totaling my car).  He didn't get home until late on his actual birthday (Bastille Day!) due to two kids in sports but I made a fantastic german chocolate cake for him.  It's his favorite.  Almost a whole pound of butter between the cake and the frosting.  I think it's about 800 calories per slice.  No lie.  It's so worth it. (My mouth is watering just typing this.  I might need to go get myself another piece.)  We've spent the last couple of days extending the celebration.  I think he's enjoyed it.

Photo shoots always tire Jane out.

I signed the husband (and myself) up for the Medtronic TC 10 mile lottery. It's limited to 8800 runners and is run the same day as the Twin Cities Marathon.  We'll find out in a few days if we made the cut.  I love 10 mile races.  I think it's the perfect distance!  I really hope we can get in.  It would be fun to be a part of the TCM festivities!

So that's about it.  Things remain pretty quiet here in Lake Wobegon.

What's everyone else been up to?