September 21, 2013 (Jets Half Marathon)
This was taken after my first Half Marathon! It was bitterly cold that morning when we got to the High School at 7am. It was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to doing more! The race itself was not nearly as hard as I was expecting and we finished with a time of 1:53 (our goal was 2:00, so we were happy with that time)!
When we finished with the race, my only thought was on the hot coffee and bananas awaiting me in the school's gym... but guess what?! The 5K runners had eaten ALL the food! The only things left were brownies (which I cannot eat because I am lactose intolerant). Lucky for me a lady offered my friends and I some energy bars (Stinger Honey Waffles=lifesaver and super yummy)!
My friend and I then proceeded to Wal-Mart where I bought some Amy's Split Pea Soup, some Oreos (my junk food addiction), and a jar of Organic Peanut Butter (another addiction of mine). I called my parents on the drive home and let them know how I did (they were out of town at the time) and called my boyfriend. These conversations are devoid from my brain along with most of the race... one thing I learned is that during a half marathon, you may keep chugging along without much thought, but when the race is over, man! Exhaustion hits you like a ton of bricks! My two friends and myself included both have stories to tell of our post race problems we had after the adrenaline had worn off. I spent the rest of the day at my boyfriend's house bundled up in a chair with a mild fever. :p All in all though, I would (and will) definitely run another half marathon! The feeling of accomplishment when you are finished is like no other!
Cross Country Season 2013 (Lots of 5K's)
Cross Country Season 2013 had an amazing start for me! I came in 1st for the girls during our time trial (much to my surprise) and landed myself on the Varsity Team! I stayed on Varsity for my whole season until I got a stress fracture in my foot after the Half Marathon (note to runners out there, racing flats that do not have support are NOT worth the slight speed advantage... wear shoes with good support). All in all, it turned out to be a great season and I came close to my goal of completing a 5K in 20:00, my best time was 20:37 at my first meet of the season (a scorching hot day might I add with an uphill finish).
Cross Country Ski Season 2013-2014 (Lots of 5K's)
My first year of cross country skiing is currently coming to a close. For a spur-of-the-moment decision, I think it was a fantastic one made on my part. I loved being able to find an excuse to drag my butt outside during the heart of Winter. I think that the training will also help immensely with preparing to run my marathon (hello cardio and cross training!). The team is a wonderful group of very talented and kind people. I have many stories and memories from my single year on the ski team and while my times were not perfect, it was only my first year. :p
June 7, 2014 (Trout Lake Festival Half Marathon)
This will be my first Half Marathon of the year and was timed perfectly with my Marathon training schedule (I'm following Hal Higdon's Novice 1 plan to hopefully avoid injury)! It is being held in L'Anse, a small town that is only about 30 minutes from my house. The course follows the shores of Lake Superior, so it should be a beautiful run. I'm just hoping that it will be decently warm (if you've ever heard of the UP being "the snow capital of the world", there's a reason we hold that title :p). I'll update this after the race with my review of how it went. :)
UPDATE!!!!!!
This race went excellently! I woke up early and put on my race clothes with glee. It was a cooler morning, but I was looking forward to running another half marathon (it was Noelle's fist half marathon, and her younger sister was running with us as well). Noelle's mom picked me up from my house a little over an hour before the race started and I had my typical pre-running race meal of cereal with soymilk, a cup of tea with honey, and a cup of coffee in the car on the way. When we arrived, we picked up our race packets, went to the bathroom, and hopped on a bus that would bring us to our race start. The bus ride was long.... a whole 13.1 miles I suppose. :p
The start of the race was super laid back. There was no "start line", we all just gathered in the street in a somewhat straight line and a race official simply said "On your marks, get set, GO", and off we went. The first few miles were downhill, and we were FLYING! The course followed the lakeshore for a majority of the race and there was a dense layer of fog rolling off of the lake, setting an eerie, yet oddly peaceful mood. We rolled into the finish line, hand-in-hand, smiles on our faces at 02:04:52.1, not bad for our first half of the summer.
This race seemed so much easier than my first half-marathon. I wasn't utterly exhausted after this race, and I can honestly say that I had a lot of fun. I think the running bug is getting to me. :p
UPDATE!!!!!!
This race went excellently! I woke up early and put on my race clothes with glee. It was a cooler morning, but I was looking forward to running another half marathon (it was Noelle's fist half marathon, and her younger sister was running with us as well). Noelle's mom picked me up from my house a little over an hour before the race started and I had my typical pre-running race meal of cereal with soymilk, a cup of tea with honey, and a cup of coffee in the car on the way. When we arrived, we picked up our race packets, went to the bathroom, and hopped on a bus that would bring us to our race start. The bus ride was long.... a whole 13.1 miles I suppose. :p
The start of the race was super laid back. There was no "start line", we all just gathered in the street in a somewhat straight line and a race official simply said "On your marks, get set, GO", and off we went. The first few miles were downhill, and we were FLYING! The course followed the lakeshore for a majority of the race and there was a dense layer of fog rolling off of the lake, setting an eerie, yet oddly peaceful mood. We rolled into the finish line, hand-in-hand, smiles on our faces at 02:04:52.1, not bad for our first half of the summer.
This race seemed so much easier than my first half-marathon. I wasn't utterly exhausted after this race, and I can honestly say that I had a lot of fun. I think the running bug is getting to me. :p
July 19, 2014 (Hancock Canal Run Half Marathon)
This race also is timed perfectly with my Marathon Training plan. This is a well sponsored event with a lot of good competition and lots of aid stations. I personally know many people who have ran the 5 and 10 Mile Canal Run's in the past and they say that the experience is fantastic! It is seriously about 10 minutes away too, so that's nice. Looking forward to running this one!
UPDATE!!!!!!
Halfway through our training plan, my running buddy realized that she had a wedding she had to attend on the day of our scheduled marathon. We found an alternative (in Wausau, WI), but it was two weeks after our planned date. Thus, we just added a few extra weeks of training. So, the day of the Canal Run ended up being an 18 miler instead of a 14 like we had originally planned. No problem though. We knew someone who lived about 4 miles from the race finish, so we decided we would just run a mile at the beginning to warm up, and then run past the finish line to that person's house.
The weather on the day of the race was unusually perfect. The Canal Run is known for being hot and humid. We warmed up by running a mile before the start and then we were off. We kept a slightly faster pace in this half, and I could definitely feel the effects of our longer runs. By the last two miles, Noelle and I were ready to bring it. We had to slow down for her sister at the end, but we still crossed hand-in-hand, as was tradition now. We finished this race in 2:02:37.4!
After we crossed the finish line, we popped in our headphones and proceeded on our run. Never thought I would do something like that! The final two miles were rather brutal for me, but I sucked it up and finished. We then went to the house where we were served a full breakfast, complete with yogurt, fruit, and oatmeal. That definitely hit the spot! We also "iced" our legs in the lake (by jumping off of their dock). Overall, I was feeling pretty secure in my training, and I was beginning to figure out when I needed to take my shot bloks or gels.
UPDATE!!!!!!
Halfway through our training plan, my running buddy realized that she had a wedding she had to attend on the day of our scheduled marathon. We found an alternative (in Wausau, WI), but it was two weeks after our planned date. Thus, we just added a few extra weeks of training. So, the day of the Canal Run ended up being an 18 miler instead of a 14 like we had originally planned. No problem though. We knew someone who lived about 4 miles from the race finish, so we decided we would just run a mile at the beginning to warm up, and then run past the finish line to that person's house.
The weather on the day of the race was unusually perfect. The Canal Run is known for being hot and humid. We warmed up by running a mile before the start and then we were off. We kept a slightly faster pace in this half, and I could definitely feel the effects of our longer runs. By the last two miles, Noelle and I were ready to bring it. We had to slow down for her sister at the end, but we still crossed hand-in-hand, as was tradition now. We finished this race in 2:02:37.4!
After we crossed the finish line, we popped in our headphones and proceeded on our run. Never thought I would do something like that! The final two miles were rather brutal for me, but I sucked it up and finished. We then went to the house where we were served a full breakfast, complete with yogurt, fruit, and oatmeal. That definitely hit the spot! We also "iced" our legs in the lake (by jumping off of their dock). Overall, I was feeling pretty secure in my training, and I was beginning to figure out when I needed to take my shot bloks or gels.
August 23, 2014 (Wausau Marathon!!!)
Here's the biggy! The full 26.2 miles! We traveled to Wausau the day before the race and took Noelle's family's RV to stay in (the Start Line was in an RV Park and we were literally feet from the start). When we arrived in Wausau, we went to the mall to pick up our race packets and t-shirts. My parents were close to follow, arriving around dinner time that evening. Noelle and I carbo-loaded, Noodles and Company Pan Noodles for her, and quinoa pasta with meatballs for me, and plenty of water.... I felt like I had to pee every ten minutes! Anyway, we called it a night around 10pm, laid out all of our race gear, and went to sleep (or at least tried).
Our alarms sounded promptly at 5:00am (why so early?????). Both of us were SO nervous for this big race! We put on our race gear, organized our gels, shot bloks, and I-Pods in our running belts, and then had breakfast. We both had our traditional pre-race breakfast of cereal and soymilk. I had a cup of tea, but did not have time to finish my coffee (gur!). Then, it was off to the race start. My parents came about 30 minutes before the start with my dog, Pixie. Seeing her was such a relief. I was practically bouncing with nerves! Then came the start. Standing at the start line of a marathon is a humbling experience, especially for your first time. I honestly had no idea whether I would finish or not (maybe that's not the whole truth, I knew I would finish, but it was more a matter of what would happen over the next 26.2 miles). The gun goes off, and off we go....
It was humid on race day, with humidity reaching 98%.... I don't have asthma, but by mile 6, I could hardly breathe. It was a scary experience, but I was determined to finish this race!
Miles 10-13 were on a DEAD straight stretch of road. Not a single soul in sight, no houses to look at, absolutely nothing but a road! This is where we put in our headphones.... much earlier than we anticipated, but man was it ever needed!
At mile 13 we saw our parents for the first time.
At mile 18, I hit the wall.... hard! I was supposed to have taken a gel at mile 15, but lo and behold, there were no water stations between 13 and 20, something I was completely unaware of. I broke down crying at the most random songs, but never stopped running, thanks to Noelle. Bless her soul for getting me through those two miles.
At mile 20, we were once again reunited with our parents. I told my mom that I had hit the wall, and being the non-runner she is, she asks me, dead serious "what wall sweety, I didn't see a wall". Face slap at that one... at least it made me laugh. :p
Miles 20-25 are almost completely a blur of water stations, not being able to breathe, and lots of Disney music blasting through my I-Pod headphones.
However, the time finally came when I only had 1 mile to go! Its unbelievable how slowly a mile can go by when you are so dead, so tired. The race had set up a countdown, counting down the final mile in meter increments. It was a never-ending mile, that much I can say. But then came the finish line, right in my view! Noelle and I grabbed hands and crossed the finish line together as "Thunderstruck" blasted through my headphones. We finished in 04:32:08! Spot on with our goal time. :)
Our alarms sounded promptly at 5:00am (why so early?????). Both of us were SO nervous for this big race! We put on our race gear, organized our gels, shot bloks, and I-Pods in our running belts, and then had breakfast. We both had our traditional pre-race breakfast of cereal and soymilk. I had a cup of tea, but did not have time to finish my coffee (gur!). Then, it was off to the race start. My parents came about 30 minutes before the start with my dog, Pixie. Seeing her was such a relief. I was practically bouncing with nerves! Then came the start. Standing at the start line of a marathon is a humbling experience, especially for your first time. I honestly had no idea whether I would finish or not (maybe that's not the whole truth, I knew I would finish, but it was more a matter of what would happen over the next 26.2 miles). The gun goes off, and off we go....
It was humid on race day, with humidity reaching 98%.... I don't have asthma, but by mile 6, I could hardly breathe. It was a scary experience, but I was determined to finish this race!
Miles 10-13 were on a DEAD straight stretch of road. Not a single soul in sight, no houses to look at, absolutely nothing but a road! This is where we put in our headphones.... much earlier than we anticipated, but man was it ever needed!
At mile 13 we saw our parents for the first time.
At mile 18, I hit the wall.... hard! I was supposed to have taken a gel at mile 15, but lo and behold, there were no water stations between 13 and 20, something I was completely unaware of. I broke down crying at the most random songs, but never stopped running, thanks to Noelle. Bless her soul for getting me through those two miles.
At mile 20, we were once again reunited with our parents. I told my mom that I had hit the wall, and being the non-runner she is, she asks me, dead serious "what wall sweety, I didn't see a wall". Face slap at that one... at least it made me laugh. :p
Miles 20-25 are almost completely a blur of water stations, not being able to breathe, and lots of Disney music blasting through my I-Pod headphones.
However, the time finally came when I only had 1 mile to go! Its unbelievable how slowly a mile can go by when you are so dead, so tired. The race had set up a countdown, counting down the final mile in meter increments. It was a never-ending mile, that much I can say. But then came the finish line, right in my view! Noelle and I grabbed hands and crossed the finish line together as "Thunderstruck" blasted through my headphones. We finished in 04:32:08! Spot on with our goal time. :)
January 10, 2015 (Ann Arbor Frosty Freestyle 5K)
And thus the 2015 ski season begins! Yay!!!! The first race of season was held at a golf course (it's now very evident to me that I am in lower Michigan), and consisted of a two lap course (each lap being 2.5K). The race officials had to haul in 700 truck loads of snow in order to hold this race! Crazy right?! The day of the race was mostly sunny, but VERY cold. The wind chill was around -15, and this was quite a shock to me. The race start still had some grass peeking up from under the snow and there was no "double pole" start. It was sooooo weird! Regardless though, I had a GREAT start to this race season. I finally made it under the 20 minutes mark and definitely set a PR. I placed 1st in my age category and got a lovely cup for my efforts. I love being with my ski team, and I can honestly say that we dominated this race! I'm looking forward to the rest of the season! :)
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January 24, 2015 (Noque Half Ski Marathon)
My ski team left Ann Arbor promptly at 7:00am (yikes) on a Friday morning. We had a long drive ahead of us, but that was just fine with me.... I was going home. This ski race was held in a town a little less than two hours away from my hometown, right in the UP. :) When we finally arrived in Marquette, we went to pick up our race packets and to volunteer (so that we could get a discounted rate on our race price). I met the wife of the race coordinator and we had a long chat about skiing, running (she was a marathoner as well), and gymnastics (also a fellow gymnast). After volunteering, we went to dinner at one of my ski team member's houses. We had lots of vegetable lasagna and garlic bread with a very yummy salad. Gotta love a good home-cooked meal. After dinner, we headed to the wax room at Marquette High School to put on our race wax. It was a fun event with lots and lots of laughs and an abundance of music. Then, it was bedtime for the skiers.
My race was at 1:00pm, much later than all but one of my fellow skiers. My parents came down in the morning and we chatted in the Dome while I eagerly awaited loading the bus and heading to the race start. This was the longest I had ever skied (25K), and I was NERVOUS! When the time came, my teammate and I boarded the bus that would take us to our start line.
Lining up at the start, it was quite warm (about 34). The race officials warned us of rain halfway through the course and to take caution on some of the hills, as the temperatures were dropping quickly throughout our race, and that rain would soon turn to ice. Just some positive news before starting the longest race of my skiing career.... :/
The gun went off and I tried to get out towards the front of the pack. I was in the final wave, as I had never skied this race or anything longer than a 10K, but I wanted to prove myself for the following years. The first 10K FLEW by! I was flying down hills and stepping around corners. Not a single fall! It was magical! I beat my best 10K time (set at the Great Bear Chase), by nearly 15 minutes! However, the rain/ice warnings turned very real around the 12K mark. The snow had turned to ice, making skating difficult, and the corners at the bottom of the hills had snow piled in the middle from the numerous racers before us. What snow was left, was pure ice. Thus, the snow plowing began. At one point, I had to take off my skis, as there was a skier being put on a stretcher at the bottom of one of the hills. People were falling and colliding with others. It was a SCARY experience. I ended up helping an older man get up at one point so he wouldn't get run over by anyone.
By the time I reached the 22K mark, the hills had subsided, the trails were icy and filled with quite a bit of debris and dirt, but that didn't stop me from speeding up. I passed at least 20 people before making it to the finish line. I finished in 1:29:01... a very impressive time, especially for me! I placed 3rd in my age category and I honestly couldn't be happier. I can tell that I have improved since last year, and it is a glorious feeling. :)
My race was at 1:00pm, much later than all but one of my fellow skiers. My parents came down in the morning and we chatted in the Dome while I eagerly awaited loading the bus and heading to the race start. This was the longest I had ever skied (25K), and I was NERVOUS! When the time came, my teammate and I boarded the bus that would take us to our start line.
Lining up at the start, it was quite warm (about 34). The race officials warned us of rain halfway through the course and to take caution on some of the hills, as the temperatures were dropping quickly throughout our race, and that rain would soon turn to ice. Just some positive news before starting the longest race of my skiing career.... :/
The gun went off and I tried to get out towards the front of the pack. I was in the final wave, as I had never skied this race or anything longer than a 10K, but I wanted to prove myself for the following years. The first 10K FLEW by! I was flying down hills and stepping around corners. Not a single fall! It was magical! I beat my best 10K time (set at the Great Bear Chase), by nearly 15 minutes! However, the rain/ice warnings turned very real around the 12K mark. The snow had turned to ice, making skating difficult, and the corners at the bottom of the hills had snow piled in the middle from the numerous racers before us. What snow was left, was pure ice. Thus, the snow plowing began. At one point, I had to take off my skis, as there was a skier being put on a stretcher at the bottom of one of the hills. People were falling and colliding with others. It was a SCARY experience. I ended up helping an older man get up at one point so he wouldn't get run over by anyone.
By the time I reached the 22K mark, the hills had subsided, the trails were icy and filled with quite a bit of debris and dirt, but that didn't stop me from speeding up. I passed at least 20 people before making it to the finish line. I finished in 1:29:01... a very impressive time, especially for me! I placed 3rd in my age category and I honestly couldn't be happier. I can tell that I have improved since last year, and it is a glorious feeling. :)