Medals and Stuff

Workout today: 10 miles of cold, windy, rainy stupid running. Visor kept flying off due to wind. Headphones getting whipped out of ears due to wind. Snot freely flowing due to wind (I haven't over shared in awhile so you're welcome for that image). Pebbles somehow frequently getting kicked up and flying into the back of shoes. Rain off and on (but whatever wore my hot pink running rain jacket so I beat that element, score one for me). Temp. drop of 10 degrees while running. What the heck. Worst run in a long time. But whatever still did it so I win. But I better buck up because Illinois does not play around with winter. Or I could just shell out and get a treadmill....there is research to be done today.

Since I will not be collecting my Denver RnR medal today due to the fact that I am sitting at home in Illinois as I type, let's discuss medals instead. It has come to my attention that I have collected a lot of medals in the past year. So many I am in need of another medal hanger. I love medals. Or I guess I love races that result in medals. Bling. Bling. Some medals are more special than others and some I just like because they sparkle.

 The Lost Dutchman medal is one of my favs because it is so sparkly. This race was also the first half I ran hard the whole way and was my hilly route PR for awhile (that is right, PRs for ever type of course are necessary). It was hard fought medal obtainment full of burning lungs and legs.

 The Sedona medal is another favorite. Unique and part of a four part series for the next few years. This was the first race where the scenery took precedence to racing. This race has been the most beautiful race I have ever run. Plus I got a weekend in Sedona so that was sweet.


 Horsetooth. Oh man that course was such a pain...in my..., well you get the idea. Hilly and tough and hot and full of concrete and totally awesome because my family was at the end. It is always awesome to have a fan club at the finish line. I don't think I have ever been so excited to run towards a finish line than when I saw the family waving and cheering.

I have also collected some fun stuff besides medals on my little 13.1 jaunts. The Tucson half was the first time I actually placed. Weird but awesome. I got this beautiful art. I am not quite sure what to do with it so it resides on various flat surfaces until I figure it out.


 Mount Lemmon, the second time (yep went back for a second round of uphill torture) I placed in my age group and got this awesome plate. It currently is the keeper of various items on my dresser and is a fun reminder of one of my favorite races.

I have noticed an interesting phenomenon occurring as I have gotten faster. While I still love the bling, what I am liking more and more is the pursuit of the PR/ age group place/ overall place etc. That more than the medals is what gets me up and out the door for the tough runs like today.

What keeps you all motivated?

Comments

  1. AMiller7905September 23, 2012 at 8:01 AM

    At races I think finishing comes first and foremost in my mind. Then secondly comes beating my own PRs. Yesterday I proudly beat a PR that I had since my senior year of high school but I also placed 2nd overall of the women. I have never done that. So it was a pretty proud day.

    I love your bling collection. My is small but I haven't raced many races that you get finishers medals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BeanSeptember 23, 2012 at 10:57 AM

      Wow 2nd overall is amazing!!! I agree finishing always is number one especially when the race ends up being tougher than expected:).

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2012 at 10:14 AM

    I love that Lost Dutchman medal!! I've only done their 10k's. I was thinking of doing the half in 2013 but I think it's the weekend before the Princess so I may have to just do the 10k. I am curious about the Sedona half, now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BeanSeptember 23, 2012 at 10:58 AM

      Sedona is amazing. You all should go for the weekend and explore the area too. I got a cheap hotel of hotels.com and that kept it pretty reasonable. It is one of the prettiest places I have ever been.

      Delete
  3. JennaSeptember 23, 2012 at 10:36 AM

    Wow! I love the medals! You have some super awesome ones! Happy Sunday! Spa love!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Danielle @ itsaharleyyylifeSeptember 23, 2012 at 6:28 PM

    I don't have any medals.. just race bibs! but one day I hope to have one !(:

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog. I look forward to hearing from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Training Week 10/9/2017-10/15/2017....or lack of...

Image
....not to give the ending away but this week was a bit of a bust. Last weekend I felt under the weather and by Monday- bam- felt like death. And that freakin cold was a stage 5 clinger and really lingered. SO. MUCH. COUGHING. Monday: Nothing but naps, and couch time. Luckily this guy was around to keep me company. Tuesday: A light weight workout at home. Skipped my scheduled run due to lack of ability to breath without hacking up a lung. Wednesday: Tried to get back on the wagon. Did 2 miles on the treadmill with 8 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds recovery thrown in. Coughed so hard I almost puked. Got off treadmill and laid on floor. Did manage to lift weights during lunch. Bonus points for me. Thursday: After a night of coughing, reset my alarm and slept in until 7. Ran 3 miles outside in the evening with 3 minute run/ 1 minute walk. Felt good until the last mile and then that walk break began to creep up in time as the coughing and snot production increased. But it got don...
Read more

Wisconsin Marathon Race Review

Image
First things first- I loved the Wisconsin marathon. It was a great race and I had a ton of fun. I achieved my goal of finishing in under 5 hours and I guess have a new marathon PR by about 43 minutes.....even though this one is seven years after my first marathon. Most importantly there never came a time when I was running the marathon where I regretted my decision to run one. Miles toward the end got tough and uncomfortable but as one lady I ran with exclaimed "hey we are running a marathon today! This is awesome!" It was awesome and I am super excited for my next attempt at 26.2 miles. To the details! Packet Pick-up: packet pick-up was low key at the Best Western in Kenosha the day before the race. In and out in about five minutes with number, t-shirt, cheese samples and a bag full of flyers for other races. This race has two other packet pick-ups on different days near Chicago and one near Milwaukee. They make it easy to get your number. I love the design of the ra...
Read more

The forever taper

Image
The weird thing about running all of the marathons and half marathons in a month and a half's time is that it really throws off the normal schedule of working out. I haven't been lifting cause I don't want to hurt myself and because I need all the power my under trained body can muster to finish the next two marathons on the schedule. Getting burnt out on lifting seems not smart right now.  I also haven't been running very much unless it involves a finish line and a medal because I am worried about doing too much and my tendinitis coming back and frankly I have just been tired and sore from doing a marathon and then a half back to back. I did three miles this morning and it took forever and I was just not interested in running at all. Completing three miles took all of my willpower. Not doing anything physical has left me with some extra time on my hands which I have used to catch up on some reading. This book is dark but as I read on I liked it more and ...
Read more