Sorry guys, I know it’s been quite a while. And while sh¡ts and giggles about eating “tree stars” for breakfast is nice and all, that’s not what Dr.TriRunner is about. Thankfully though, Betsy was nice enough to call me out on it. I have definitely shaken the funk that brought me down in early July when I first found out about my sfx. That’s great – obviously no one enjoys being down. But I still don’t feel like I’ve fallen into any sort of “normal” routine or training schedule yet.

Athletically speaking, a “normal” summer for me (“normal” I guess only in reference to the last 4ish years. I’m not that old…) would look like ~50-80 mpw of running, gearing up for or gearing down from a marathon, plenty of core and XT, but damnit anyways!! I still HATED biking. I’d do it to and from work – it was free transportation, but I got zero enjoyment from the “sport.” A permanent Gomer tan around my arm, with sports bra/shorts lines to match. Racing ~2x per month. And expecting to be fast.

Please let me introduce Sperly Summer 2010:

• On Tuesday, June 15th, I stopped running. I didn’t know what was going on with my tibia, but I knew it was no good.
• On Wednesday, June 30th, I marked in my calendar “Long ride – SOLO!!” Emphasis on solo… not so much long. It was only 40 miles, but the first time I had done anything 30+ on my own. With two exclamation marks to follow, it sounds like I might have been kinda proud of that.
• On Thursday, July 8th, a left tibial stress fracture was confirmed. The MRI also showed evidence of fibrous dysplasia (the genetic b.s. cause of my femoral neck fracture in 2008) in my right tibia. I was there to find out about my possibly-fractured left tibia though… so that was like a free bonus I think.
• On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, July 9th/10th/11th, I pool ran without a belt for longer than I ever have in a teeny tiny bathtub swimming pool in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• By Wednesday, July 28th, I had pretty much married the words long+ride+Wednesday, because looking back at my calendar I hit 40+ miles, solo, every Wednesday in July. A new normal? Which is a good thing, because…
• On Friday, July 30th, on my way to the swim workout, I realized my clutch was on the floor. We already knew my Honda was essentially dunzo, so the mad dash to find a [used] new car began. From Saturday 07/31 to Wednesday 08/04 I logged 151 bike miles.
• Realizing that trying to research/find/purchase a car in one week was putting me on anxiety-overload, I decided to fix my clutch. In doing to, I RAN, three miles, at turtles-running-through-peanut-butter pace, from the auto shop back to my house. $200 later, I have been reunited with my accord, but I can say YES I am keeping my Wednesday long rides, and YES I am still a runner, and YES I am a triathlete. !!

(And no, I don’t still “hate biking.”)

I know no one would watch it on TV… not even me. But pool running might just be my only chance at becoming an olympic athlete!!

So here I am. I have run. I have ridden. And I have REALLY [needed to make this alliteration work] loved swimming in Lake Harriet. All my mini-apple triathletes… come join me! The water is crazy clear, and the buoys are set on “long course.” I really am serious though… I’m not waking up at the butt-crack of dawn to do it, but I WILL be continuing my OWSs in my back yard lake. And I’d love the company. Eh? Mr. Speedo? Fit Girl? M.Dot? DRog? BigGreen? All the cool kids are doing it. Two words: Peer. Pressure.

(By “all the cool kids” I think I mean me. And Mr. Wrinkles who was there today, but let me tell you that man was way cool, side strokes like a beast, and super willing to share the lake.)

But just because I feel like I AM still a triathlete  - shoot, I don’t even care about the tri part right now – that doesn’t entirely establish a “new normal“… leaving me still without a plan. If you aren’t fortunate enough to know anyone who is “very Type A” or as I like to say, type A+ … I will inform you right now that [I] they don’t function well without a plan. In fact, they might very well implode. And because imploding is generally frowned upon, I turn to coach. Coach Jodi.

If you read Dr.TriRunner via Google Reader, or something of the likes, I encourage you to click through. See that left side bar? See that Model Per4mance logo? That is how I have come to know/love/fear/admire Mrs. Jodi Jones. She knows her stuff. She will be honest and straight forward with you. She will call you out if it is merited. She will push you to push yourself, and she will help you to reach your goals. And then, she’ll help you celebrate them! This is starting to sound like a girl crush diary entry, so I’ll just end in saying that I’m getting new PLANS from coach Jodi this week. My goal is to improve my swim time. And with these plans, I feel confident I’ll settle into some sort of “new normal.” Alleluia.

Reader Questions: What does your normal summer look like? Does your training change seasonally, or does it stay the same year round? What is your current goal?

With THAT my friends, it is time for me to run to Target. With my brand-spankin-new clutch. And my Grandma’s Marathon Finisher tee.

I AM [still] an athlete. !!

-E

Ohhhh goodness. Do I even have time to backtrack to yesterday? Of course I do… I’m currently sitting in a big ol’ adirondack chair love seat at the lake, watching the sun set. I have time for anything.

Saturday 04.10.10

Yesterday = run with the Team MED guys // ride with the UMN tri team. It was 7 miles of [why the hell do] my-legs-feel-good glory.. and 27 miles of myself and one of my new-favorite-riding-partners getting dropped by the fast riders on the team! Hahah!! It was only slightly disheartening watching them get farther and farther away. And when said new-favorite-teammate said to me, “You don’t have to wait, you can go ride up with them if you want” … my response [in short choppy sentences] was “No. I can’t. I really can’t.” Hahah it’s what we should have expected given the people who turned out for the ride, and we had a blast. AND I wore my padded shorts. Success!!

Shortly after I got back from the team ride, I finally connected with el chico guapo, who was just about 15 minutes from finishing his EIGHTY mile ride. How’s that for making me feel like a slacker?! Five hours on the bike? Yeah.. you know he got his padded shorts. We proceeded to a pic-Chipotle-nic, from which obviously only good things can come.

Replacing a few of the 3,600 calories burned while riding.

Can I call this an “official” product review? Yes. Yes I can:

CHIPOTLE DIET COKE CON LIMA Y LIMÓN

Subtle yet delightful carbonation.. leading to an extremely refreshing mouth-feel and the desire to say “ahhhh” when imbibed. A masterpiece on it’s own, yet the addition of lemon AND lime is highly recommended to obtain the full Minneapolis-is-almost-as-good-as-Mexico experience. Additionally, appears to emanate a heightened aura of buy-me-now when explicitly declared “not-allowed” in one’s diet.

Thank the lord for 90/10 adherence!

To continue with the remarkably wonderful nature of the day, I was able to go to my place of employment and sit outside in the sun.. sippin some Peace Coffee.. and loving every minute. Granted, I was on the McMac doing school work, but it was lovely none the less!

For the sake of time, and the prevention of eye strain, I suppose I should move on to day #2…

Sunday 04.11.10

My favorite day of the week. A fact you all know well if you’ve been hanging around Dr.TriRunner for any amount of time. And you could have guessssed that the giveaway winner would be drawn on this wondrous of wonderful days. The day started with a solid nine hours of sleep – very welcomed after a busy day yesterday! Per the necessary progression of any day, much less a spectacular Sunday, a very large 2-cups of Tanzanian Peaberry Peace Coffee was in order. Everyone has their preferences on eating pre-workout, and I’m not one to preach what you should or shouldn’t do about that… but given today’s physical endeavors, breakfast was indeed required. Enter: the…

Do It Yourself Duathlon!!

It has been a while since the fast-twitch fibers have been activated. Since the Get Lucky 7K actually. And given my upcoming races on the calendar, I thought it was due time that I [attempt to] lay on a little speed today. For the friends of Facebook and my tweeps on Twitter… you got the preview that my do-it-yourself-Du came in the form of 5K around Calhoun // 20 mile bike // 5K around Calhoun. Because of the route chosen for the 20 mile bike, the lack of closed roads, and the fact that it was GORGEOUS out today so everyone and their mom were out too, the bike was not “race pace.” But because of my chosen company, it was pretty damn near close to it:

[photo]

The duathlon itself is pretty self-explanatory, so I will leave you with photos galore.

D – U. Spells DU.

Pre-leg-one. The necessary hydration.

Hot already.. time to move into T1. El Novio joined the party at this point…

Rilo – ready to ride, and all Nuun‘ed up!

El Novio – making his way through T1

Me.. making my way through T2! Bahaha hello baby-bicep!

Gomer says we worked hard.

Terminado. Success!

The question is… who learned from who? I’m just sayin – Dakota is a smart dog.

Showered. Tired. Protein shake ready to go, and cheers to YOU winner of this mystery box giveaway taht you are all just waiting for me to get to.

Please do indeed get amped for this “Do it Yourself Duathlon” deal… because it will be coming to a city near you very very soon!

But not yet!! There was more splendor to come in this Sunday. There are several items on my need want-to-purchase list: among them, a Timbuk2 bag for my bike >> school commute, a bike trainer, a quality pair of sunglasses for riding, a Vita Mix, and an ice cream maker. The concluding item entered my life today via Craigslist: brand new, an unused / in box wedding present, needing to be cleared out to make room for baby. Thankkk you!! So excited to try this out.

Red… not matching one single item in my kitchen.. and super sassy looking. Perfect! Trust me that an OFFICIAL official product review will come!

Aright… raised your hand if you hit ⌘f and typed “winner” just to get down to this point. Or that would be “control+f” for you who are yet to see the light PC lovers. Yes. There was a giveaway. The first day. And then there was Easter, exams, Friday Confessions, Team MED runs / Tri Team Rides, and then the givewaway closed. Bringing us to the sixth day. And on the seventh day, God rested. So I guess I’ll just have to follow suit and wait till tomorrow to post.

KIDDING!!!

¡EL GANADOR!

Aright… the only thing you’re really reading for – the winner. You guys seriously blew me away with some of these entries. One had me spitting cereal all over my mac… in public. Another one drew the “awwwww!” reaction. It was better than I ever hoped for – thank you ALL so much for entering! And hopefully if you were a new visitor to D.TR, you’ll stick around even if you didn’t win! So, I want to give a biggg ol’ congratulations to:

JAIME! My possibly [ETA: not any more!] only male reader, my swim/bike/run, my why-didn’t-we-meet-when-I-was-living-in-Boston, spandex-wearing, speedyspeedster BUDDY!!! Winning for following on twitter, but his entry was pretty epic too if I do say so myself. Jaime.. I’m sharing!

No Shakespeare, but hopefully you’ll enjoy it either way.

* Years ago, I would have never even dare
With all of this tight clothing that I choose to wear
* Demanding confidence in my sexuality,
Nothing to hide behind, a daily dose of reality.
* Bike shorts, speedos and tri tops, I own more than any man should.
Shorts over my running tights? You know I never would.
* Funny looks from strangers, smoking out on the street
Running by in tights, they try to catch a peek
* Always the perfect fit on the swim, bike or the run.
Love those thick tan lines, after long rides out in the sun
* Holding close in all the right places, even up my butt crack.
You keep my goodies in just the right place.
* Since no one deserves my junk all up in their face.

I’m not sure what you meant to rhyme butt crack with.. or if that was just thrown in there for kicks. But you definitely deserve to win with a poem like that. I hope you enjoy everything included in this mystery box!! I can’t post a photo YET of what it all includes, because there are some last minute additions I wanted to make depending on the personality of the winner. And so I will. And so I will mail. And so you shall receive. Amen.

I hope ALL of you are having a crazy amazing summery-Sunday wherever you may be. I have about 30,000 posts that I am intending on getting up, including a reader question that I have received many many times, but this lady asked it so nicely and considerately that I have to make a post out of it. I’m very much appreciating this God-given streak of how-could-it-be-better?? days.. and knocking on wood that they continue this streak! My battery is about to quit on me. Yet again, I’m at the lake, on the adirondacks, watching the sun set. 10,0oo extra cool points for my restaurant having wi-fi. Catch you soon!

-E

And for the Twin Cities tri-kids who are regulars here but haven’t checked out Minnesota Tri News yet… climb out from under that rock and hop on it! Moving on to business…

Get Lucky 7K Race Report

From start to finish…

I’m pretty sure I signed up for the GL7K within the first 20 minutes registration was open. At only $29.80 (for those that are on top of their game…) it was a steal, especially compared to certain other possibly St. Patty’s Day related races. Extra-especially given all the sweet swag… a HOODIE? Medal? Flag? Post-race party + Free drinks? Yep.. the Irish know how to party. And clearly, so does Team Ortho, because yet again they blew away my expectations with another epic race.

Pre-Race…

… went basically as planned. The GL7K offered plenty of pre-race packet pickup hours. As an added benefit for me, it was at the local running store that I grew up with, and my still-favorite: Gear Running Store on 44^th and France Ave. Not only did I get to chit-chat with the owners (one of which Paul Horan, who did very well in the 7K himself!), but I got to check out some sweet sales. Further solidifying the fact that 87% 89% of my wardrobe is indeed intended for athletics.

I also picked up a Peace Coffee Racing jersey the day before – this was my first “official” race for PCR, no pressure though

Complete Pre-Race Preparation Instructions: Click here.

All the necessities to start the day off right

Due to said pre-race protocols, race morning ran pretty effortlessly.

• Packet: check
• Outfit: check, with a slightly warmer option in the bag, bib pinned on.
• Fuel: check! I hate bananas, but Banana Nut Cheerios are another story. Topped off with plenty of Peace Coffee and I was good to go.
• Sleep: check. One of the only people I’d share my bed with – Tylenol PM.
• Plan: CHECK! See below…

Aright.. if you read the pre-race preparations post, OR if you know me in real life, OR if you’ve been reading Dr.TriRunner for a while at all… you’d know I fall slightly more on the Type-A end of the spectrum. In that post I stated that I will either have 1 or 0 plans, but you better believe a “plan of 0″ – meaning I’m going to race for fun – is still a plan.

“To race, or not to race. That is the question.”

Only it wasn’t, because I knew I wanted to [attempt to] go fast. My last race before the GL7K was the Victory Memorial 10K/5K… in September. And then I found out I fractured my femoral neck… again… right before Twin Cities Marathon, so it was speed work no more. Given the OK to start running again on November 10^th (good lord.. how many posts am I going to have titled “CLEARED!!”) but didn’t really hit specific speed work again until… oh… Monday March 15^th. Yassos, to be exact, and they felt good. I wanted to see if there were any fast twitch fibers left in there, so racing was indeed the plan.

That also meant I was going to ditch the 15 miler with my group of guys… which they did before the race. You know I love my long runs, but I don’t think I would have been able to race quite the same with 15 already down for the morning.

Pacing?

Yeah, you tell me. I’ve obviously I’ve never run a timed 7K, so I wasn’t so sure. Having an internal sense of pace is something that takes a logn time to develop, and I’d like to think that in the last 7 years of racing (I don’t think an asthmatic 5 year old attempt at the 1 mile counts) I’ve at least started to crack that code.  I ended up taking my 10K pace, 6:40, and my 5K pace, 6:20, and split the difference.

Given that my average pace for the 7K turned out to be 6:31, I’d say that worked pretty well. Funny thing is though, aside from the first mile I didn’t really check my splits on Gomer throughout the race. I know what 10K  feels like, and I knew I needed to be running harder than that. No kidding – there was a time around mile 3 when I said (out loud), “C’mon Erika… HTFU.” (And that’s a shoutout to YOU my Boston Buddies!!)

ANYWAYS… there are many more words in this brief recap than I intended. Too much coffee this morning. Dirty details:

• FINSIH TIME: 28:23
• AVG. PACE: 6:31
• OVERALL PLACE (females): 3/1722
• DIVISION PLACE: 2/133

How did I feel?

Pretty damn good! Only too hot in the last mile.5. Thirsty. Ready to run the slow easy cool down to make Saturday a long run day and take Sunday off. Hip felt solid throughout – success! There were two AMAZING runners who took 1^st and 2^nd, Amy Lyons and Jenni Wilcox, and I’m honored to even be in their company. And that’s the 100% non-butt-kissing-truth! Mizz Lyons and I are also now in the same age group , something I realized the night before the race (!!), but not for long. Until then, looks like I gotta pick a different race get my fast feet on and step my game up!

Would I sign up for the GL7K again?

Heck. Yes. I ❤ you Team Ortho. As a matter of fact.. I already have several other 2010 Team Ortho races on the calendar!

Photo time!!

This is like a where’s waldo of race photos. Can you find me?

Some of the MN Running Wild crew

Tom & I (repping the U of MN Triathlon Team!) // Dave & I (Repping… 3rd place finishers? Hahah!)

Post race warm car felt so good!

That is one sharp & pointy medal! Love the flag. Love the hoodie. Love the medal. LOVED the race!

As always, you’ll be able to find this and all other race reports under the “RUN hard” tab on the top of the page! Catch you soon – I’m off to spin.

-E

p.s. I’m a redhead.. you know I’m sun sensitive. And that goes for my EYES too! Erica’s gonna hook me up… right?

Do you ever have a time when you’re trying so hard to obtain something – whether it be a job, an internship, a business deal, a car, a personal record, or (c’mon people – we’re being honest here) a relationship? You apply, you search, you dig, you train, you knock, but it seems there is no answer in sight?

Let me tell you – I know a little something about that. My specific line of thought at the moment is with training, and more specifically, with teams. The very first team (non school/university related) I remember applying to was Bear Naked‘s endurance team. They have a handful of athletes scattered across the nation that race under the Bear Naked name, and in return, the athletes get to have teammates, swag like no other, and lets not forget, the simple association with an awesome company! When I applied for Team Bear Naked, I remember feeling so confident that I’d get it! Annnnd? No dice. I would like to say it was only because Minneapolis wasn’t one of the “hub cities” that they were recruiting athletes from – it wasn’t an option on their little drop down menu – but truth be told, I probably just wasn’t the right fit! There are hundreds of qualified athletes out there, and of the select group they chose, I just wasn’t one of them.

There was definitely a solid life lesson pulled out of that let-down. (Thinking back on it.. hahaha oh man, did I really cry? I’d like to think I’ve grown a little since then. ) No.. there were TWO solidlifelesssons. As follows:

1. ♪ You can’t always get what you want. ♪ (sing it with me!)
2. When it rains, it pours.

I don’t feel like I need to go into too much detail about #1, as it is pretty self explanatory, and something that everyone learns (or should learn) at some point. #2 can be applied to various sectors of life, (going after one guy for months, breaks your heart, and suddenly you have 3 guys trying to hollller. or something along those lines…) but here’s what I have experienced lately that really drives the message home:

• Joined the University of MN Triathlon Team
• Started working with Model Per4mance
• Signed on with Peace Coffee Racing
• Was offered a spot with the Nuun-Blueseventy tri project
• Was given a preliminary offer with Team Aquaphor

And hopefully the rain will keep falling, because this kinda rain.. I can dig, ya dig? It’s kind of like the saying “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.” I would like to extend that to “but when life gives you a bottle of Grey Goose… drink up.” Now if only there were a way I could get Martha Stewart to sign on and sponsor me…

Pre-race whaaat!?

You heard that right – it’s time to pull out the racing shoes and see what I’ve got! Not only have I been doing practically zero speed work this winter (did 8 Yasso’s on Monday… that’s about it), but I have not raced since the Victory Memorial 10K/5K double header back in September (RACE REPORT!), AND this is a distance I’ve never raced before! It should be an interesting race to say the least.

Gearing up for the Victory Memorial 10K with my guys

Preparing for Race Day!

It’s not uncommon for runners to have certain “pre-race rituals” that they stick to every. single. time. There was a period of time during my 2nd year of cross country where I was convinced that candy corn was my “magic” pre-race fuel.. I had raced ONCE really well after eating candy corn, and thought “that must be it!” That misconception was quickly erased a few meets later when I got out-kicked in the chute.  What you do for a 10K will likely be different than your pre-race plan for a marathon, but there are definitely some guidelines I adhere to before the big day.

How to ensure a smooth start on Race Day:

1. Packet Pickup. If possible, get it ahead of time. Scan your chip to make sure you’re racing under your own name, get your chip on your shoe, get pins on your bib, look at the course map, look at the race-day schedule. These are little things you don’t want to be worrying about in the morning.
2. Outfit. Lay it out the night before. In fact, lay out a couple options and bring a short sleeve or long sleeve alternative should conditions change on race morning. Some people can’t deal with cold, I know personally I don’t race well if I’m too hot. It’s a personal thing and it takes experience racing to figure out, but it definitely won’t hurt to be prepared. Included in this “outfit” would be ensuring your number is with/on your clothes, your watch, your garmin (aka Gomer… awww – throwback!), etc.
3. Fuel. Raise your hand if you’ve been to a pasta party the night before a marathon. Or a cross country meet. Or any race. And how did that work for ya? I can’t tell you what is going to be ideal for your body, but for me, I typically do any sort of “carbo loading” two days prior to race day, or the week leading up to it, but not the night before. And “carbo loading” might be a bit of a misconception – I just make sure I’m eating well, eating balanced, probably up my carb ratio a bit, and up my overall calories a bit. The day before the race I stick to my regular diet and regular foods. Don’t need any surprises or emergency pit-stops.
4. Sleep. I can’t emphasize this one enough! One of the best best best tips my mom passed on from her many years of marathoning was MAKE SURE you’re sleeping well the whole WEEK leading up to the race! Many people have trouble sleeping the night before a race because they feel like they need to. “If I don’t sleep, I’m going to be so tired tomorrow and crash and burn!” If you have a solid week of sleep behind you, you will feel 20x less stressed come night-before, and you’ll know that if you’re a little short on sleep, it’s not a biggie. If you’re going to take any “vitamins” (cough*tylenol pm*couch) as I tend to do, make sure you know how they affect you and how long they last in your system.
5. Have 1 or 0 plans. There are races I do where I just wing it – whatever happens happens, and I’m going to have a good time no matter what. There are also races I do where I know I want to see that 1-mile split clock and it damn well better read 6:20. Or 6:40. Or 7:15. Depending on my race. Both of these scenarios are 100% fine, but what I think is key was that I decide before the race if I’m gonna go or just go. You follow? There have been a few races where I was kicking myself (possibly literally in the last 400 yards…) because I went out thinking I just wanted to have fun, and then half way through I changed my mind and wanted to race. And my time obviously reflected that because half of my race was waisted dinkin’ around. You do what you wanna, but I’m just sayin… I like to have a plan.

Ragnar Race Bible

And there you have it… my top 5 tips for starting out race day smoothly! As always, you can find this and all other TRAIN on Top volumes under the TRAIN on Top tab at the top of the page!  There are so many more things that could be included in this list. Uh oh.. sounds like READER QUESTION time! Feel free to answer any or all!

1. What is a tip you would add to my pre-race-prep list?
2. Do you have any funny pre-race rituals?
3. Are you part of any kind of team?

No Friday Confessionals today kids… got a power point to power through that is supposed to be going with my [due Tuesday] speech on Steroids in Dietary Supplements that I am supposed to be working on right now. Expect an addition to the RUN hard Race Reports after tomorrow! Over n’ out.

-E

Back when I asked you guys for your #1 pump-up song for my “reader’s choice spin mix”, (keep those entries coming btw – CLICK HERE to go to that post!) my east coast homie and fellow BAMF Karyn told me I should check out this other chica’s blog, Mindful Living. So I clicked my way on over to Christina’s blog, and am SO glad I did – this girl is awesome! Not to mention we have a crazy amount in common: we’re both the same age and the youngest of sister-only families, both marathoners (and both decently fast one’s at that ), both entering the health/medical field, both teach (or taught/may be teaching again soon!) spin, both are super close with our families, and we’re both lifelong athletes. And oh yeah, there’s the healthy lifestyle blogger thing underlying somewhere in there too.

Christina recently tagged me on the Beautiful Blogger award – thanks lady! I LOVE fun facts! Cmon.. think back to your college orientation weekend.. job training.. summer camp. It gives you a chance to learn something you probably wouldn’t know otherwise. Or… if you’ve been around the blog long enough, stuff you DO already know, but a nice catch-up for new readers! Following the rules of the game, you get seven of my favorite “fun facts” and in turn, I get to pick seven of YOU guys to do the same! Kind of like a Pay It Forward (gotta love H.J.O. at age twelve), and an Ice Breakers remix. Here we go!

1. I have a personal mini-hardware store residing in my left hip.
   After a few months of “groin pain weird-feelings” back in the fall of 2008, and a final push from my spots med doc out east, I finally went in to have my hip x-rayed. After touring all that Boston’s medical scene had to offer, I finally wound up with a bone/hip specialist at Children’s Boston, and two diagnoses: fibrous dysplasia, and a fractured left femoral neck (a la tension side). I had surgery in December over Christmas break back in Minneapolis, and many a pool running sesh ensued. Unfortunately, surgery was not an “end-all” solution, as fibrous dysplasia isn’t something you really “cure”. I will post more on this on a later day, but I may be lookin’ at surgery #2 here soon. Biiiig bummer!
2. My dad and I have matching identical tattoos.
   Haha – I cringed at the word “matching” for whatever reason. It’s not a pinky promise, but that pinky squeeze is something special my dad and I have done for as long as I can remember. It means something along the lines of  ”I’m glad I’m with you.”  We had thought long and hard about what to get, and when I thought of our special pinky squeeze, I knew it was right. We got it done before I moved to Boston and before my dad moved to Philly at Steady Tatoo. Tatted by Rodger – they took the picture of our hands together when we went in for our consult.. I think he did an awesome job! I have loved my tattoo every second since of every day since he was inkin’ it in me!
3. I would not be a runner without my mother.
   My mom is my best friend – this we know. I’ve mentioned our occasional mother daughter runs that I love. (Especially ones sprinkled with a little Christmas!) You might not know that she is also a very accomplished runner!  My mom didn’t start running until she was out of college, but she definitely had the natural talent! She has run 22 marathons over the course of her running career, broken 3 hours twice, WON a marathon outright for the ladies, and definitely put in wayyy more miles than I have! Some of my very first runs were just a few miles long with my madre. She gave me the genes
4. I am on the Triathlon Team at the U of MN.
   Check out our team page! Next up are the Collegiate National Championships down in Lubbock, Texas in April. The plan as of now is that my fractured/fibrousdysplasiaed/lisfranc’ed self will be injury free at that time, and I’ll be ready to compete!
   
5. I have endometriosis.
   I have mentioned it before briefly… I have a whole long post written on it that for whatever reason I just don’t want to publish, but it’s a fact! Hahah I wouldn’t call it “fun”… but it’s part of life. Be very thankful that I didn’t pull my “endometriosis” image off of google images. Search at your own risk. Photo credit goes to a fellow blogger dealin’ with the same thing. Maybe my fun fact #5 should have been “My hot water bottle is one of my best friends.”
   
6. I treat my training gear with about as much excitement and love as I would my own kids. Meet Rilo, and Gomer.
   
   
   
   (Sorry for the camera angle….) The day when GOMER was delivered into my hands, I knew I had a gift from God. True story – I have a permanent tan line around my bicep from this lil guy. It’s my second birth mark. Then, several years later when RILO came into my life, it was like a stolen child was finally returned. Hahhaha.. issues. I know.
   
7. I grew up as a “minority” student. And I am sooo thankful!I went to a K-8 elementary school where over 50% of the students were native spanish speakers, 20% were african american, caucasians made up about 15%, and the remaining 15% were from different ethnicities. The school is still extremely diverse – check the stats!  Then I moved onto a high school that was also super diverse! White kids made up about 20% of the student body. I say I’m so thankful because being around so many students coming from different backgrounds, having different beliefs, different lifestyles, and different opinions taught me right off the bat that everyone in the world is DIFFERENT and that is an amazing good thing. NTM I was understanding my 2nd grade buddies from Mexico City before I ever took my first “spanish class.”

Alright, time to share the love chicos y chicas! TAG – you’re it!

• Susan – Susan Runs
• Frayed Laces – Frayed Laces
• Courtney – Pink Cowgirl
• Melissa – A Fit & Spicy Life
• Katie – Faith, Food, & Fitness
• Karyn – Marathon Maiden
• Jenna - The Foodie In The City

But you can’t really put a limit on Paying it Forward.. can you? I think not. So I definitely encourage ANYONE who wants to go and give your seven fun facts to let er’ rip! Sadly, this is all I have time for, and it took me 1.5 hours on the ellip plus over an hour at home. Someone asked me how I blog while I’m working out, and I gave you a picture last time, but keep your eyes out for a live post from my steady spot on my Life Fitness elliptical, complete with play list and intervals, to come! As for now, I have a double date with my BFF and my madre. And hopefully I can see the boyfriend somewhere in there too. Adios!

-E

I decided not to go out to Hudson last night. For some reason I had in my mind that it took like an hour and a half to get there.. but then I put it in googleMaps and it said it only took 40 minutes. So I nixed the plans with my mom’s friend (where I was planning on staying overnight) and decided I’d just drive out in the morning. It was a early morning! I haven’t seen 4:30am in a looong time. But it was well worth it – my mom’s friend has a dog, and I have allergies, and that wouldn’t have been a good idea the night before a race!

So I was out the door by 5:15, stopped for coffee (I had my coffee pot all set up to brew this morning.. but I set it for 5PM instead of 5am! doh!!) and was on my way! It was pitch black when I left, but I got to watch the sun rise as I was driving east to Hudson! SO PRETTY! Hhaha annnnd.. I swear the only people out on the roads at that time were people going to the tri! Every  car I saw had a racing bike on the back or a TriHarder bumper sticker… it made me smile every time!

Got there, got my transition area all set up, got my packet, my “small” shirt (which goes down to my knees… who makes these!?) and got tatted…

and then had a while to wait for the start. I was nervous because my feet and hands were COLD. I’ve always had bad circulation.. but i was thinking if they’re cold now and I haven’t even touched the water yet.. then I’m in trouble! The water even looked cold!

The race started at 7:30, but since I was in wave 5 (women 29 and under) I didn’t start until like 7:45. There were some competitive looking girls out there.. but at this race they didn’t mark your age on your calf like they usually do, so I couldn’t tell who I was up against! Maybe a good thing…

The gun went off and so did we. The water was actually not bad – I think it was probably about 70°.. so the water temperature was not the problem. Especially because I did this in more clothes than I did Green Lake… I was wearing a full length tri top and shorts. Little teeny shorts.. but shorts none the less. Honestly though.. I think I panicked a bit in the lake. Open water swimming is really different than swimming in a pool.. and the sighting thing just wasn’t working for me today. I had to breast stroke a bit in the beginning just to calm myself down, and by the time I reached the turn around bouey I was pretty much fine. It definitely slowed my swim time down though!

Thennnn the bike. I have two conflicting factors here when I try to compare to my last tri: 1. I was on a much better/faster bike. 2. I. was. FREEZING. I said the water temperature wasn’t a problem.. but the air temperature was. It was still too early for the sun to shine on the road, so the air temp was still like 55°. Take that, plus being soaking wet, plus going 22 mph = froze my ass off. Hahha I can’t wait to see the pictures from the professional photographer.. my face was like locked in one position that I’m sure was disgusting very attractive… I’ll have to wait and see.

And then, my love – the run. This was a 4 mile run.. where as Green Lake was just a 5K. I actually like this run way better though. And finally my face and arms and core warmed up because the sun was finally peaking through! My legs from the knees down though were just numb.. it was ridiculous! But I knew they were still attached, and damnit, they had a job to do, so I got to it. I definitely started out slower than usual, but ended up picking it up a lot at the 2 mile turn around. My time out was 15:42 (!!! wtf) and coming back it was 13:44. All for a grand average pace of 7:21 (according to Gomer). Which for me.. is still ridiculously slow for a 4 mile run. But with frozen feet and being a newbie up and coming triathlete, I’ll take it. My friend Cyndi is the only other person I knew up there… she is from the Splashers team I train with (hard core name.. no?) and she is a great athlete! She says she is not a runner.. but I told her that is the great amazing thing about individual sports. You can be whatever you want to be. You can improve, and it’s easy to forget that sometimes! I love this lady’s attitude. She is definitely kick ass and will help remind you that you are too!

My total time was something along the lines of 1:20:xx… PickleEvents does the chip timing and they haven’t posted the results online yet. What I can say is that despite feeling like it wasn’t my best race.. it definitely wasn’t.. I took 2nd in my age group (and contradictory to my age-group-upgrade-fears, would have taken 2nd in the 20-25 devision too). I came home with an amazing medal engraved with St. Croix Valley Tri a .. stop watch? Mmm yep. Not kidding. Note to Race Director.. hopefully you’ll see this somehow – I LOVED your race. Everything. But a stop watch? Even Green Lake did medals.. they were just dog tags engraved but actually I like that the best! Then you can actually wear it without looking like you’re trying to be a show off. I can promise you that I wont be wearing my St. Croix Valley stop watch out to dinner tonight. My mom actually said she needs one for school, so…. !!

The after celebration was nice – it was a Luau theme so they had leis and pineapple and what not.. but the main “event” for the food was pulled pork. I am not one of those PITA vegetarians, but I would have appreciated sommmme sort of meat-free option! I wasn’t kidding about the shirt being huge.. and I hate that because half the point of doing a race is to get free shirts.. and I like to be able to WEAR them! Here is me, trying to jump up on my couch before Photo Booth counts down…

Please ignore the crazed look on my face.. and I promise. I am completely G rated in posting this.. there are shorts on under there! And Chad.. this is all for you buddy – the shorts:

I was actually looking for racing buns.. but no where keeps them in stock! They’re mostly for team orders.. so this was the closest I could get. And I LOVE them. And bought two pairs.

I met my mom and some family friends at Dunn Bros on my way home. It was really nice to see them all.. and MAN was I ready for a cup of coffee!! That brings me to here.. all done with a triathlon before 9:30am and saying now what? for the rest of the day! I think I am meeting up with someone to buy the calc book I need for this year (craigslist – in case I go missing) (Kidding!! Sorta… =/ ) and then I think I am going to go spend the rest of the day helping my mom set up for our YARD SALE we are having in two weeks. So this my friends concludes my St Croix Valley Tri race report, and overall I’d say it was a success. If I’m in town, I’ll be back there next year!

I’m out!

See you soon love bugs. Race on Monday.. school starts Tuesday! YIKES! Live it up while you can!

Just the two of us we can make it if we try
Just the two of us just the two of us
Just the two of us building castles in the sky
Just the two of us you and I

         -Will Smith

So you all know Gomer… 

Let me introduce you to the QRoo:

A 2008 (I think?) Quintana Roo Kilo.. which I am from here forth calling Rilo. So creative. I know.

Let me tell you though.. these guys know their stuff. I’ve been contemplating buying a Quintana Roo wetsuit.. but man!! This is an expensive sport I’m tryna get into here. It’s not like you can get a wetsuit at Target.. (but God knows I lovvve my C9)

Miss Jenni doesn’t even have the slightest clue how happy she made me when she sold me this bike. I won’t tell you how much it retails for, or how much (or not much!!!!) I had to pay for it, but I can safely say that Jenni made my week month YEAR! THANK YOU JENNI! Please be watching your mail box!

I found this website with way more information than I needed to know, but it’s pretty damn cool. Because Rilo is pretty damn cool. Because OH MY GOD I want to just go ride it now!!

I’m going in tomorrow to my bike shop to get it fitted properly and pick up the cleats for my shoes. But you can bet your blisters that me and Rilo will be spending some good QT tomorrow! It’s supposed to rain.. but it can’t rain all day.. right? Wednesdays are my one day off at Job1 (the restaurant), so I only have to put in a couple hours at Job2 in the afternoon and then I’m done!

Tomorrow’s ToDos:

1. run with kid from tri team
2. bike fitting
3. job2
4. ride many many miles
5. pack/grocery shop for RAGNAR!!
6. dinner with the madre

Newwws time. You know you’re a runner when: you stay up just to watch the weather.

G’night
-E

I gotta go find a tree to carve that into….

OK guys.. I need some tech help here. I brought out Gomer (my child, my lil love, my Garmin) for the first time yesterday since that dreadful rainy “last run” on September 29th. At first it looked like it wasn’t connecting to the satellites.. and I was just like “whatever.. I just need the clock today anyways.” But then… a while into my run I heard the “mile beep” and looked down, and it looked like it was picking up signal. It beeped for the other two miles.. but when I finished my run and reset the timer and looked in the training history, it wasn’t there!? I know I didn’t delete the run.. cause that actually takes a lot of steps. I just cleared the time like you always do after any run. Anyone know what’s up?

My Garmin hadn’t been charged up this whole time.. so I am wondering if that has anything to do with it since I just fully charged it like 2 days ago. I have the 405, if it makes a difference. Any help would be great! I’d much rather get it from you guys than wait on hold with tech support. Buut they’re not open today anyways I’m guessing, since it’s a Sunday. I really want to get this figured out though.. if you guys remember, I kinda love my Garmin. A lot.

Other than that.. how is running going? Wonderfully.

I ran in the Fens yesterday in shorts. If I see on the news that anyone was blinded while walking their dog, I’m truly and deeply sorry. Gotta start somewhere though, right?!

Adios chicoritos.. until next time.

hey there, great blog you have here :0) Hope you don’t mind me asking … do you think a heart rate monitor is a necessary gadget?!!! – I’m intrigued by it after seeing lots of bloggers having one of them … but the thing is … they are so darn expensive!!! :0/ Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it!! :0)

Well THANKS Cecilia – because now I can give my (somewhat critical.. I would say “harsh” is too extreme) response without feeling like I’m just gettin’ on everyone who wears a HRM. (Dumbasses… [kidding!!])

I’ll be honest – I think heart rate monitors are 100% 97.3% unnecessary (let me get into that 2.7% later). KNOWING your heart rate doesn’t change what it is – your heart’s still gon’ be there, and it’ll still be beating, whether you’re wearing a HRM or not. You could say the same about a GPS – knowing your pace doesn’t really do diddly squat about it .. you’re still running. Wearing a HRM (or a Garmin, or a …) wont make improvements in your fitness (if that’s your goal) – you still have to do the work. Having a HRM read back to you “125 bpm” or “150 minutes in the zone” (insert rolling eyes smiley face here.. I wish I knew how to make that one!) doesn’t say anything about if you’re “working harder”. Trust me – if you up the ante, you’ll be able to feel it, with or without a HRM.

Now, if you were a fan of Heart Rate Monitors, you may say – “Erika. STFU. YOU have a GARMIN. And you treat it like your unborn child. Quit being a hypocrite!” (STFU is my 2nd favorite acronym (which would be pronounced “stuff-u”), following TTFU (where you actually need to spell out the letters). But geez! Where did I get this dirty/mean mouth from?)

We all remember this photo..

Me? Hypocrite? Well, yes and no. This is where that 2.7% comes in – there are uses for a HRM (and a Garmin). If you are an athlete who is really serious about your VO2 max, and you’re actually going to train USING that number, then yeah – a HRM might be a good idea for you. (If you don’t even know what a “VO2 max” is, then you clearly wouldn’t need to use a HRM to train with it.) If you have some type of condition or are needing to closely monitor your health to make sure your heart rate doesn’t get too high, then yeah – a HRM might be a good idea for you. (Side tangent – if you are one of those people, please be careful. When your body is in a weakened state, exerting yourself and pushing your heart is doing you absolutely no good. You may feel fine, but when you pass out at practice because your heart was overworked and just decided to stop, you wont be feeling anything. Be smart. Be safe.) And the same goes with a Garmin (or other GPS). If you’re actually going to USE the features on it for intervals or out-n-backs or using the pacer – makes sense. If you’re just going to wear it.. pass.

"That's right baby - I'm in the ZONE!"

In MY experiences, the majority of people I see who wear a HRM just wear it. They have some number in their mind that puts them “in the zone” (though if they’re using that 220 – age x .0whatever chances are that’s wrong. That formula was an estimate made in the 70s based on a study that included smokers, people on heart disease meds, etc. Not your average healthy Joe.) They may use those numbers to calculate calories burned. Or they may just be like “Sweet! Two hours in the zone!”, and then do nothing more with it. I am fully aware that your heart rate and your PRE (Perceived Rate of Exertion) are supposedly closely connected, but I’ve found that’s not always true. If you ask ME.. your PRE is much more beneficial as a training tool. Here’s why:

Everyone’s run (or swim, or bike, etc.) is different every single day. I tried to think of a more scientific, “official” way to say that, but clearly failed, so sorry! What I mean is this – One day I could run a 7:10 average pace and just be cruisin’ along and relaxed. Another day, a 7:10 could have me breathing hard, and seriously struggling to maintain that pace. As much as I wish our bodies could be perfect and mathematical (get X amount of sleep – be at your peak performance. Eat x amount of calories – be at your peak performance), they’re not. Aside from sleep and proper nutrition, other things come into play: the temperature, the humidity, are you running (spinning, exercising, etc) alone, are you with a group, did you wear breathable clothing or are you in cotton, etc.

PRE must have been around for a long time. This looks hella old.

Many people judge their PRE on a scale of 1 to 10. So my 7:10 that feels like a 4 today, could feel like a 9 next week. Basing workouts and training on your PRE is great, because it’s based on that E – your EFFORT. If you base your workouts on your heart rate, despite what your body is feeling, you could saying “I need to be at a 150″, but because humans are not at all perfect, exact, or mathematical, that 150 could be a lot harder (or easier) one day versus another. I am a firm believer in QUALITY over QUANTITY. If my schedule says intervals on Wednesday, but I know my body’s just not feeling it, then I’m going to do them a different day. Pushing yourself through a run (or bike, or swim, or whatever) just to get “to that number” or just to “do what’s on the schedule” is going to do you absolutely no good. Doing quality workouts and doing them when you have the energy to give it what it needs is what will make you improve.

So that in short just turned into a novel, but that’s my take on Heart Rate Monitors. I highly suggest using your PRE instead, and toying around with it so you can get a feel of “what a 9 feels like” or “what a 5 feels like”. And Cecilia’s right – those things cost a BUTTLOAD of money (for a good one), AND those chest straps are hella uncomfortable! Save your paycheck (and your poor skin! chafing = ).

I’m not a professional by any means – this is completely and solely my opinion. It’s not like I don’t like the people who wear heart rate monitors (I love everyone, remember? ), I’m just not a fan of the HRMs themselves. If you already have one, and it’s workin for you, then rock on my little heart rate monitoring friend. If you’re just contemplating buying one, I’d say you know whether you’re giving your workouts quality effort or not – you don’t need a pricey little tech toy to tell you that!

Runners World did a great article that completely proves (and defeats at the same time) my point of this post. Take from it what you’d like – just thought I’d share!

Grandma’s Marathon was a BLAST!

But of course I will. Not a race report.. but I will take you through the my Grandma’s experience from start to finish!

My mom has run Grandma’s Marathon 7 or 8 times. It always used to be over Father’s Day weekend, so we would pack up practically the day after school was out, and head up to Breezy Point Resort in Two Harbors for the whole week. The entire trip was full of flashbacks from past year’s Grandma’s adventures.

This time though started a whole new chapter in my book of Grandma’s memories. This time, the trip was for ME. No Breezy Point resort (although I do hope to continue that tradition in the future..), and no week long vacation (that one would be nice too), and this time, I wasn’t a super fan – I was a runner!

And I say runner - not racer. If you don’t remember me talking about it back at Med City time.. my plan was that if I BQed at Med City, then I would just take Grandma’s easy and have fun. If I didn’t, well I didn’t really want to consider that, but there was always as a backup! Luckily, I took care of qualifying early on, and so for Grandma’s I decided to pace two of my favorite buddies from my Running Club! These two lucky guys would be D and M, together forming team MED. D’s previous PR was a 4:30something at Twin Cities last year, but that was his first marathon, and for those who don’t know, Twin Cities (the same day as last year’s Chicago) was KILLER HOT. D has improved so much since then! M on the other hand had run Fargo back in mid May, and Med City at the end of May.. so this was marathon #3 within about six weeks! M’s previous PR was like a 3:45 I believe (over in Fargo).

pre-race

D and I drove up on Friday afternoon. After getting through some annoying traffic on 280 (can’t wait till the 35W bridge is open again!) the ride was pretty smooth the whole way up. We had fun looking over at other cars and guessing which contained runners on their way up too. The 26.2 bumper stickers were a dead give away, but so were the vans that had grocery bags in back with bananas peaking over the top! We went to the expo right away to get our packets, and we were in and out in no time!

Dinner was FABULOUS and at Pizza Luce in downtown Duluth. During race weekend, most restaurants wont take reservations, so we weren’t sure if we’d get in. We planned that we’d all meet at 6:00 at the restaurant, and we were probably seated by 7:00! That’s really not that bad considering the amount of people that were there.. and especially not bad because we had a table of about 20! That included about 13 runners and some family members who tagged along. I think the majority of us runners got spaghetti, myself included! It was delicious as always. I <3 Pizza Luce. We also got ice cream on the way back to the hotel, because that’s just what you do and it’s my standard night-before-a-race (actually night before.. every day) deal. It was also delicious. As always. I <3 ice cream.

We stayed at a hotel about 10 minutes outside of downtown Duluth. Almost every hotel has a 2-day-minimum kinda deal.. which is sort of ridiculous. Along with ridiculous are the RATES! $216 a night.. for a hotel that any other time would typically be like under $100. I don’t really care though.. the room was comfortable, there was good water pressure in the shower, we were across the street from a shuttle to the race start, and they had coffee. We clearly know what matters.. Along with D and I were four other people in our room – N (another girl from our running club), Big Bryce (the BF of a girl from our RC), and two guys who were the acquaintances of a friend of an ex girl friend (‘s dog sitter’s neighbor from Tennessee. Or something along those lines.) There were only two queen beds.. so the acquaintances got sleeping bags on the floor. Plus, they were only running the half.. sleep doesn’t really matter if you’re only doing 13. (Haha kidding. Sorta.)

Saturday morning started at 5:00 am. There were shuttles from the mall across the street at 5:30 and 6:00.. and we opted for the 6:00 because unless you’re really concerned for some reason that you wouldn’t get there in time.. why go stand around outside for an extra half hour when you could have that extra time to sleep? The hotel had continental breakfast open at like 4 already.. so I headed down there after I got dressed. Of course, most the runners down there brought their own trusty breakfast along.. we just all wanted the coffee.. to “clear things out”. It was hilarious.. everyone has their own little tricks for getting things goin in the morning. There were people standing there doing toe raises as they watched the morning weather, and one chick was running up and down the hall.

We walked across the street to the mall at 5:45. It was weird to have it be so sunny already! I’d say it was about 60 degrees already? Not bad. While we were waiting, I had my trusty breakfast of soy nuggets and coffee. I also grabbed an english muffin from the breakfast room.. and decided to eat that on the bus. The ride was quick, and before we knew it, we were in Two Harbors at the start!

This is when you know.. you’re in for a good time. There’s music playing, people laughing, the whole atmosphere is just FUN! We jumped in line for the porta-potties right away, made it through the line, went to go find M, and drop off our sweat bags. M was getting nervous because he came on the 5:30 bus.. and he was probably thinking “WHERE ARE THEY!?” I’d be thinking the same thing if I was waiting around and my team wasn’t there yet!

(Left to Right: N, ME, M, D)

We jumped over the fence for the chute so we could make it up to the 3:30 group. That’s what both M and D had in mind for a goal time.. although I say “had in mind” very loosely. Both of them just really wanted to run and do their best, and if that meant taking it back, then that meant taking it back! I know D is capable of running a 3:30 marathon, but he just doesn’t race enough to know how much he has improved. M was shooting for a 3:30 because that’s his qualifying time for Boston!

do work!

The race started right on time at 7:30, and off we went! We stayed on pace (actually ahead of pace.. because M and D both walked through the water stops) up until mile 16. At that point, I could feel that both of them had been fading – I was in that always-one-step-ahead-of-ya position.. but I didn’t want to ask them if they wanted to tone it down because this was their race.. and I wanted them calling the shots. Both of them decided to take it back a notch at that point, and shortly after, M told D and I to go head. We continued on.. but still slowing down.

I was having so much fun.. the crowds at Grandma’s are AMAZING! Such a different experience than Med City. For the first ~18 of the course, they are spread out along the county road, mostly at or around the aid stations. Once you get into Duluth though, they’re pretty much constant! Oh – my dad!! I forgot to say that my dad drove up, at 3:00 in the morning! Trooper. I wasn’t sure where he would pop out, and I only saw him twice on the course, it it was great to hear his voice! Around mile 22 I saw him the 2nd time, and ran up and jumped in his arms and gave him a big hug, and then took off again. I thought I had a right to be tired.. but man-o-man, this guy deserved a nap! (Which luckily he got..!)

The last 10K was definitely the hardest for D. He didn’t hit “the wall”.. but maybe more like a fence. He was just sorta losing steam. It didn’t help that there were now water stops at every mile between 19 and 26, because that meant more walk breaks, which meant more times where it’s harder to get going. I kept tellin him, “The faster you run, the faster you’ll be finished!” Lemon Drop “Hill” was at like 22.. and I could tell D wasn’t thrilled about that one. He did a really good job though on the way down – dropping his arms and opening up his stride. OH MAN I said some ridiculous things along those last six miles trying to encourage him on! Something along the lines of..

“Dominate that hill D! It’s yours!”

“This is the strongest mile of your life! Make it yours!”

“Find your Kenyan! Dig deep.. it’s in there!”

At which point he probably just wanted to say “Shut up Erika! I’m trying!” but he didn’t and he just took it all.. haha now we get to look back on it and laugh. Afterwards, he said it was helpful, even though he couldn’t talk and say anything back, so YAY for good effort and not stopping even though I sounded like an idiot.

In between 25 and 26, I was turned back yelling something [good and encouraging] at D, when all of the sudden, M came outta nowhere! I was like “Mighty M! Where’d you come from!” (We all have nicknames by the way.. Mighty M, Dashing D, Extreme Erika, Namaste N.. etc. I don’t know if they want their names online, so I’m sticking with letters here.) I wanted to all finish as Team MED!! But D told us to go ahead.. he was still truckin though! M and I pulled up a little, and crossed the line together. He was hilarious, and amazing! He kept saying “Stop speeding up! My legs can’t go any faster!” and I was like “I’m not going faster! You’re going faster! C’mon – you can do this!!”

M and I both finished in 3:42:xx, and D came in at 3:43:xx. D PRed by over 45 minutes! And while M didn’t qualify for Boston this time, he’s just that much closer! They’re both running TC (yes – I’m jealous!) in October, and I know they’ll both do stellar!

post-race

Post race was fabulous (as it always is at Grandma’s!) We got our medals, shirts, drink tickets, (and I got a carnation! I guess this was only for the ladies.. a nice gesture but I ended up thrown it away.. :/ I’m not gonna carry around a flower for the entire time afterwards.) We took a Team MED picture (see above!) in front of the Grandma’s backdrop.. knowing that none of us would get it since they’re like $$$! Then we went to grab our sweat bags, get water, stretch, (lie down in D’s case), find family, and relax!! For the runners, there was ice cream, yogurt, fruit, bagels, sandwiches, water, bottled dirty bath water Ultima, and MASSAGES (with a killer long line). We didn’t end up getting a massage.. but I really wanted one!!

We also met up with N, who finished around 3:48:xx!! My dad found me, and after many hugs and laughter, he went off to sit, enjoy a beer, and actually go back to the car and nap. He had only gotten like 3 hours of sleep!! I also ran into Mary - the woman I ran the majority of Med City with! She finished in 3:05, and did AMAZING! It’s funny how when you’re trying to find someone, you can’t for the life of you, but when you’re not looking you seem to run into everyone you know!

After we all rested up a bit and got rehydrated/refueled, we went down to the water front with M’s son (who also happens to be named M in this case) to wade into the chilly waters of Lake Superior. Chilly is an understatement – it’s freaking FREEZING. But it felt sooooo good. I wish I had been smart like N and brought along my SOCKS (I gave them to my dad in a second bag once I switched into my flip flops), because then I could have stayed in much longer! The water felt AMAZING on my legs, but it HURT your feet. Like, BAD.

D, N, and I wandered around/through all the post-race festivities, used up are drink tickets, and then decided it was time to head back to the hotel. I had gotten 2nd in my age group, and was told I was going to be getting an award. Sooo I wanted to rush back to the hotel, take a speed shower, pack up my stuff, and make it back in time for the awards ceremony at 3:15. We did just that, but it turned out then that the HALF awards started at 3:30, the MARATHON awards weren’t until 4:15. And then, after sitting through all of that, I realized that they were only giving out an award to the first place winner in the 19 and under age group, though they were giving an award to the top three in every other category. Lame. I felt like an idiot sitting through that whole thing.. and then not getting an award. I don’t get the reason behind that.. but whatever though – good to support all the other runners. Plus I saw so many familiar people/heard so many familiar names of people my mom used to run with! It turns out, the girl who took 1st in my age group was less than 30 seconds ahead of me. Not like I would have left Team MED to get her had I known.. but c’mon. Oh well, I can be happy to know that my Med City time smoked her! To give you an idea what the field is like.. Lamech Mokono, the top male finisher came in at 2:13:39, and the top female finisher, Mary Akor, ran a 2:38:50. 10 of the 12 top males were from Kenya

( Mathew Chesang, winner of the half, came in at 1:04:48!!)

My dad and I headed home after the awards. We didn’t even get on the road till like 5:00, and with a stop for dinner along the way we didn’t get home till after 8:00. I drove half way home because my dad was still sleepy, but it was actually really nice to be behind the wheel – kind of relaxing. If I could have gotten into the Big Tent, I for sure would have stayed on Saturday night. I think it’s dumb that they can’t just X people who are under age. I’m clearly not the only one under 21 who ran! I can go to clubs and bars here in the cities, I just can’t drink! It seams pretty common sense to me.. I think that’s something Grandma’s should reconsider for next year.

Somethings they don’t need to reconsider are the cups of ICE, and the COLD WET SPONGES. Those were amazing. Someone needs to tell Twin Cities to get their rear in gear and do that too! Overall, the whole experience was a blast! It was worth every single thing, and certain people reading can go ahead and take the hint. I can’t wait to race Grandma’s in 2009! I’ll be countin down the days!

The next day (Sunday) was a big open house at my home.. something we’ve been preparing for for WEEKS! It definitely added to the stress that I wasn’t around on Friday night/Saturday day to help out. I was fabulous though – everything went smoothly and tons of people came! My mom worked her but off and I appreciate everything she did so much! The food was great, and the weather held out. Both D and M came too! We went for a short run once everything died down, and there were only a few people left. Team Med, reunited