Race Recap - Grandma's Marathon

Last week, I was on the fence about running Grandma's. My training was terrible for the race. I ran 1 time a week until the end of April then I stopped running and sat at my computer for 12 or more hours a day finishing my dissertation. Then I tried to follow my 18 day training plan but stuff happened. I ran a half marathon (I still need to recap that one). I ran a couple 5 milers after it then my IT band started bothering me. On Saturday, I slightly dislocated my spine. I took lots of Advil. I saw the best chiropractor on Tuesday and Thursday (side note she ran Grandma's too - only she ran really fast -like 2:40). Thursday evening...okay, I am just going to try running it. I can always drop out.

Race morning

Walking through the parking lot to catch the bus to the start. I hear my name and see a girl I ran cross country with in college. We catch up while waiting for the bus. She is planning to run a 3:30 so we part ways at the starting line. I line up between the 4:00 and 4:15 pacers. I figure I could probably run 9:20 miles or so for 26 miles. I started my garmin when I got to the starting line but didn't look at it once during the race. I didn't want to think about the time. I just wanted to run and enjoy the scenery. The marathon starts in Two Harbors and runs along lake Superior to Duluth. It was cold and rainy before the race but the rain stopped about 30 min before the marathon. We had a nice tailwind blowing us into Duluth and a great running temp 55 degrees.

I started running and passed the 4 hour pacer around mile 3. I felt good so I thought I would just keep going for as long as I could then I would stop and walk. Around mile 5, I hear a guy talking off to my right...Hey I know that voice. I turn and yell Mr. L. It was my high school history teacher. He yelled Julie...what are you doing? Ummm, running a marathon, same as you. Then I continued on. My knee started hurting on the inside from the slope of the road so I went to the middle and started running on the yellow lines. I just kept running and feeling pretty good. Around mile 10, I caught up to the 3:50 pacer. I think maybe I should just hang with these guys but I decided not to so I just keep running my own race.

Whenever I thought about how I was going to bonk and not be able to finish because I was trying to run to fast. I just told myself to think of something else and I could walk when that happened. I didn't know how much fuel I would need. I hadn't mentally prepared for the race because I wasn't planning to run it so I grabbed some Gu for the race. I didn't know how my stomach would handle them because I hadn't trained with them but I took them during the race and luckily didn't have any trouble...I was very lucky during the race.

My friend's husband and kids were working the mile 11 water station so I said hi to them. I was grabbing a cup of water and powerade at each water station. A few miles later, I hear someone yell my full name. It was the brother of a good friend. I keep running and wondering when I am going to blow up...I know it is going to happen. I am picking up the pace throughout the race but I keep doing it anyway.

The miles just kept clicking away. I had the water station to look forward to every 2 mile. Around mile 18, I saw the balloons for the 3:40 pacer and thought I wonder if I can catch up to them. If I catch the 3:40 pacer, I will just hang on to the group and let them pull me to the finish line. Mile 19 - I am closer to the 3:40 pacer but they seem so far away and I am starting to get tired. Just try to get on the back of the group and hold on I told myself. I caught the group just before mile 20. I hear the pacer start talking to the group, "once we hit mile 20 we will slow down" and then he told them to not pass the group and that they needed to stay with him. He kept talking about needing to stay with the group so they could make it to the finish line. I got tired of it so I slowly went off the front of the group.

I thought to myself...what did you just do. You just passed the 3:40 pacer do you really think that you can run the last 6.2 mile by yourself at your current pace? Yeah right. You are going to hit the wall. You know that lemon drop hill is coming up and you aren't going to be able to do it. Okay, so I will just walk when that time comes.

I keep pushing but I have stopped smiling at the spectator. I am just staring ahead. 5 miles to go...I want to be done. 4 miles to go...I only have 4 miles. 3 miles to go...It is just a 5k. You have run so many 5ks you can run another one. 2 mile to go...Is this going to be done soon? Why didn't I train more. 1 mile to go...I think I am going to finish this race and I think I might do it under 3:40. No way....

Turn the corner...stupid lady cuts right in front of me to cut the corner sharp. I almost trip. No way am I going to let her beat me...she almost made me fall with .2 miles to go in the marathon. I pick up the pace a little and pass her. I cross the finish line in 3:34:46.

I really can't complain about my time. In fact I feel pretty lucky that I ran that time. I am a little afraid to sign up and train for another marathon. What if I don't run any faster? What if I run slower with training?

Ice Cream, Cake, Salt and Pepper

What do those 4 things have in common? They were a present from some fabulous friends!
Sorry for the sideways photo. I am too tired and lazy to try and figure out how to change it. My friends dropped off these ridiculously awesome salt and pepper shakers with notes on them that say "congrats" and "Dr. Julie." I like ridiculous and awesome so I might actually use them.

This has been a crazy busy weekend with a college roommate/fellow cross country runner visiting. We climbed the inside of the witches hat water tower, ran, went to the farmers market, went to her husbands choir concert, went on a tour de ice cream, hit up some garage sales (I love to buy books a garage sales and I found a bunch of awesome books this weekend - 11 to be exact), and ran a half marathon.

Race report tomorrow.

18 days to a marathon training plan

I am 18 days away from Grandma's Marathon. Since my last post a month ago, I haven't run more than 3 times not because of injury but dissertation stuff. Yes, I know how important exercise is at times like this but I just couldn't convince myself to let the work go even for a 3 mile jog.

Today, I successfully defended my dissertation so now I can think about something besides bones. A few minor corrections and formatting for the dissertation and I will be officially Dr. Julie.

I am still planning to jog Grandma's Marathon. I can't say run it because I am sure it will be slow and painful. So while everyone else tapers for the marathon, I will be starting my training program. I plan to chronicle the 18 day training plan here.

My kicked-off run was a 3 mile slow jog pre-defense to try to calm my nerves. I don't know if it calmed my nerves but it sure felt good and made me realize that I love to run.

Coming up this weekend is Tour de Ice Cream...best idea ever. Ride bike with friends to ice cream shop, eat ice cream, ride bike to another ice cream shop, eat more ice cream. Perfect combination - Ice Cream and Bike!

I leave you with a quote. I am not sure where it came from but a friend sent it to me when I was starting grad school...

"Being a graduate student is like becoming all of the Seven Dwarfs. In the beginning you're Dopey and Bashful. In the middle, you are usually sick (Sneezy), tired (Sleepy), and irritable (Grumpy). But at the end, they call you Doc, and then you're Happy."

Friends - Today I am Happy!!!

How not to train for a marathon

Grandma's Marathon is 6 weeks and 2 days away. I have yet to start my training. I have been running about 1x per week. I am not injured. I just have not been making training a priority. As an Exercise Physiology grad student, you would think I would know the importance of training.

I was thinking about trying the 6 weeks training plan. Instead of tapering, I would start running but in reality my dissertation is not finished and I am freaking out that I only have 2 weeks left to finish it and then 2.5 weeks to prep for the presentation. That leaves me with about 1.5 weeks to train. Maybe, I will just run half of it and have a friend pick me up there.

I did a 10k last Saturday. It was a good learning experience. If you aren't training, you can't expect to run fast. I hit the 5k mark and just king of blew up...I could barely move. My left was bothering me and I started getting blisters on my feet. That is just crazy, blisters from a 6.2 mile run. I never get blisters. I suppose the rain didn't help with the blisters. I crossed the finish line and pulled my shoes off, walked to the food (mmm...chocolate milk), stretched and ran into an old cross country teammate. Which was the best part of the race!

Get Lucky 7k

On Saturday, Team Ortho hosted the 2nd annual Get Lucky 7k. It was tons of fun!

But before I get to the race recap, I have to tell you about the volunteer experience. I signed up to volunteer at the packet pick up. I love meeting all the other runners and chatting with them. I only signed up to work on Thursday because I didn't want to be standing for a long period of time the day before the race.

When I went to my station at the series table I was greeted by a fellow Minnesota runner and blogger Richelle. She is super sweet and has a great blog that you should go check out! I was so excited to meet her because I just found her blog a couple weeks before. Volunteering was fun. I was in charge of directing people to line up by size when picking up their sweatshirts. Yes, we got amazing zip front sweatshirt from this race! I will post a picture later of the sweatshirt.

Race Recap

No photos yet. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel at the race because I haven't gotten in as much running as I would like lately. It seems like I should have a bunch of time to run but this semester is kicking my butt (dissertation are stressful). In addition to that my heel has been bothering me for the past month (perhaps plantar fasciitis). I will talk about that another day.

The race started at 10am. I always overdress for this race so I told myself to wear less but it didn't work. I still wore tights, long sleeve shirt, pullover, hat and gloves. Bad idea because I was way too warm. I don't run with my ipod but I decided that I wanted to race with it because I figured I was going to need something to keep my mind off the fact that I was running and not actually racing.

I did a 1.5 mile warm up, some leg swings and a few strides. I position myself about 5 rows back from the starting line. There are about 5,000 runners at this race. The race starts. I tell myself to stay relaxed and hold back. Sometimes I go a little crazy the first mile and pay for it the rest of the race. Just before mile 1 a guy cuts me off and starts running right in front of me. I get annoyed because there was plenty of other places to go but instead he has to disrupt my stride. So i put in a quick surge and fly past him. Then I see 2 women in front of me and think I have to pass these 2 so I did. Mile 1 = 6:26. Then I settle into a rhythm and just go. I keep expecting to have some women come flying past me or to see one in front of me. I cross mile 2 in about 6:38. I start to think I better slow down. I am starting to hurt. Why is running to hard? Why do I do races? I just want to be done but I am not even halfway yet. Okay just run. I see 2 police officers at the corner. I am hoping that I will know one of them from the work that I have been doing with the MPD. Yeah, I do know them! They both cheer for me by name. It always helps to have someone yell for you in the middle of a race. Mile 3 = 6:40. I hit the 5k mark and think only 2k to go, I can do this. Just go and don't get passed. My headphone fall out of my ears...I am too tired to put them back in so I just keep running. I am starting to run scared. I really don't want to be passed by any women now. I have managed to not get passed yet so I want to keep it that way. Mile 4 was around 6:40. I decide I don't want to push it anymore but then I think how much I don't want to be passed so I go. I just wanted to be done running. I am not ready for this kind of effort. As I am coming up the finish line the announcer say we have our 2nd women finish. What...no way! Awesome...don't get passed. I cross the finish line in 29:00 with 3rd place in 29:02 and 4th in 29:03. That was close. I am happy with my results and glad the I was able to convince myself to keep running hard. I would have been very disappoint if I had been passed right at the finish line.

Stats:
29:00 (6:40 per mile)
41/5,107 overall
2/3,668 women
1/860 age group

All of the fast Twin Cities runners raced in the Human Race today. I wouldn't have even cracked the top 50 women with a 33:09 8k.

Get in Gear 2010!

I found this great photo of the 2010 Get in Gear when I was signing up for the Get in Gear 2011!

What make it extra great is the fact that I am in it! I am near the right bottom corner. I am wearing the purple long sleeve shirt.

Better late than never - Monster Dash 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I ran the Monster Dash. This semester is almost over and I still haven't finished a single chapter of my dissertation. I was planning to have my dissertation done by December so I could cruise through my final semester of grad school. I don't think that will be happening. Anyway, back to the race recap.

The above photo is at the start. I am behind the girl in the blue shorts. I was way overdressed for the race. I had on a long sleeve shirt, running tights, gloves, ear warmers and a pirate dress over all of that. I like to dress up for races! It was funny to hear all the things that I was called during the race..."Go Renaissance women!" "Go bar maid whore!" and "Go pirate wench!"

My goal for the race was to run a sub-1:35 so I decided to start out with the 1:35 pacer. Well, that lasted about 1 mile before I had enough and took off. It was too crowded and I was always almost stepping on the feet of the people cutting in front of me.

I felt great for the first 7 miles. I was running about 7 min mile pace. The problem is when your longest run is only 7 miles for a 13.1 mile race. The last few miles are hard. I started to slow down around mile 7 and around mile 9 my legs were starting to feel like they might cramp at anytime. They felt like that for the last 4 miles. Luckily, they never cramped. Around mile 9 is when I started to get passed by other women. Prior to this, I was the one doing the passing. I tried to hang with them but my legs wouldn't let me. I think 5 women passed me during the last 4 miles.

I finished in 1:34:16. I was happy to break 1:35. After I finished, I waited around for my friend to finish and then we jogged the 5k with her 6 year old son. It was a great cool down.

I got home and checked my official time and place.
On Saturday:
Gender place - 42
Age group place - 14
I was a little surprised that so many women had run between 1:15 and 1:25 for the 1/2 marathon.

I recheck the results on Sunday.
Gender place - 24
Age group - 8

Marathon Excitement

I got caught up in the excitement of Boston Marathon last week and I signed up for a marathon. Grandma's Marathon on June 18, 2011 in Duluth, MN. I am super excited to run a marathon and kind of nervous. I tend to get injured quite easily so jumping up to the marathon distance might cause problems but I hope not. I am going to train smart for this race.

My plan for the rest of this year:
Monster Dash 1/2 marathon - this Saturday
Drumstick Dash 10k - Thanksgiving morning
Following the Drumstick Dash, I am going to cross train, start and stick with a weight training program and do some easy running until January when I start my 6 month training plan.

Weight training is something that I know is important for a runner but it is something that I just don't enjoy so I don't do it. Well, that is going to change. I found a weight training program that I am willing to complete and I actually enjoy. I bought a TRX and the equipment necessary to attach it to my basement ceiling. No more excuses. I don't like the gym. Now, I don't have to go to the gym. I just have to go to the basement. I think/hope a strength training program will really help my running.

Happy Running!

Runnin' with the Law 5k race report

Activ8 was helping to run a race this weekend. I got to the race at 7:30 to help out with the packet pick-up and to help with anything else that they needed. Well, it turns out they had enough help so I didn't do very much. I handed out a few t-shirts and registered myself for the race.

I did about a mile warm-up. I would have done more but the kids race was starting and I wanted to watch it. I got to hand out prizes at the end of the race! It was so cute to watch them racing across the finish line and then keep running because they didn't know where to stop.

I was told not to place in the top 3 because there was prize money and they didn't think I should get it. Okay, I haven't been training so that won't be a problem. I will be lucky if I can race anywhere close to a 20 min 5k. Side note, my hip is feeling better so I am going to start training! I have a half marathon in 2 weeks.

I started the race and tried to hold back. The first half mile always feels so easy. I ran it in 3:07. That is faster than I am going to be able to hold for the next 2.5 miles so I slow down. The next half mile was 3:17. Okay, that is hard but I think I can maintain it. I got passed by a woman about 3/4 of a mile into the race and I thought, oh well, just let her go. She didn't seem to be going to much faster than me so I kind of hung out at the back of the back of 5 runners. A few times I would fall off the back and think I should just let them go but I didn't and would catch back up. Then I decided that I was going to go the front of the pack where the other girl was and run with her. I got behind her and followed her for a quarter mile then I moved up beside her. I said, let's catch the girl in front of us. She looked over surprised that I was talking to her and nodded. So we ran together until about 3/4 of a mile to go when I pulled away from her. With a half mile to go my legs were burning and I just wanted to be done. I hear someone coming up behind me and they are moving fast. Bummer, I am going to get passed and I can't do anything about it. Good thing it was a 15 year old boy and not a female.

Final time: 20:09 - Where did that come from?
Overall place 11/272
Gender 3rd/? - Oops, I figured there had to be more women in front of me. So I won $50.

At the start of the race, I like to pick out who I think is going to win. I was right. She killed the field and ran a 17:44. Now that's fast. Second place was over a minute and half behind her.

I had planned on doing something really stupid this Saturday. I hadn't told anyone about it yet so no one could talk me out of it but I won't be doing it so I can tell. I really wanted to run a marathon after watching the Twin Cities marathon a couple weeks ago. I found a marathon in Mankato, Minnesota on Oct. 23. I was going to run it and just see what I could do without training, which is probably a really stupid idea since I have been injured for the last 3 months. Well, the marathon filled up before I could sign-up for it. Too bad I won't be running a marathon this fall.

Twin Cities Marathon Expo

I am working the Activ8 Mobile booth at the Twin Cities Marathon expo. What is Activ8 Mobile? Activ8 Mobile is a new company that focuses on improving the health and quality of life of individuals through the creation of active and healthy organizations.

Check out the website for more information: www.activ8mobile.com

Or stop by the Activ8 mobile both at the Expo and find out more. We will have the Bod Pod there. What is the Bod Pod? It determines an individuals body composition (fat and fat-free mass).


What is body composition?
Body composition refers to the relative amount of certain tissues in the body including fat, muscle and bone. Information regarding the amount of fat compared to the amount of other body tissues has implications for athletic competition as well as risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes

Why is body composition important to measure?
Body composition is determined by calculating the density of one’s body. Finding out the density of one’s body provides more important information than does weight from a scale. For example, two people could be of the same weight and height, but one person may have much more muscle than the other. Since 1 lb of muscle takes up much less volume than does 1 lb of fat, and density = mass/volume, then someone with a higher percentage of muscle for a given body mass (weight) will have a higher body density. A higher body density reflects the individual’s lower body fat percentage.

How can one improve her/his body composition?
To lower one’s body fat percent, one must not focus solely on losing body weight. Rather, body fat percentage is improved through both loss of fat weight and gain of muscle mass. Therefore, healthy practices such as partaking in cardiorespiratory exercise and resistance training as well as choosing a balanced and healthy diet will all help one to reduce his/her body fat percentage.

What does the Body Composition BOD POD test involve?

* The test takes 10-15 minutes to complete.
* All tests will be administered and interpreted by Activ8 exercise physiologists.
* Participants will be asked to refrain from eating or drinking for 2 hours prior to the test for accurate and consistent results.
* Participants will be asked to change into spandex shorts (men) and shorts and jog bra or swimsuit (women).
* Participants will be weighed on a scale and then asked to sit in the BOD POD for about 5 minutes.
* Results will then be printed, and an exercise physiologist will interpret and discuss the results with the participant.
* A video of the BOD POD procedure can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwGAdNXwZWg

If you can't make it to the TC Marathon Expo but you want to do the Bod Pod, let me know and I will tell you where you can find us.

Information coming soon about an awesome new race in Minneapolis on October 17th.

Runnin' with the Law 5k