Just Plodding Along

So what does running 30 half marathons get you besides 393 miles of course supported running. Bling A whole heck of a lot of medals. There are a few marathon medals thrown in there but all but three are from the half marathons I have run. I love them all. Looking through them is a fun walk down memory lane. Gear Just about every race came with a t-shirt. These are but a few. One race came with a jacket, a few with long sleeve tech shirts, one with a sweatshirt, and one with running shorts. Honestly I should never really have to buy a running top again (and yet I do. Why are running clothes so fun to buy, wwhhhyyyyy). Being Pleasantly Surprised Every once in awhile I either grabbed an age group place or a Clydesdale place (embracing the Clyesdaleness because I will never weigh under 130 pounds- ice cream my heart belongs to you) which meant acquiring a plate, some southwestern art and a plaque. It was a pleasant surprise that validated the many hours I spent traini...

Well ladies and gentlemen- goal complete. I still can't believe that I accomplished my goal. I never doubted that I would (okay after some particularly not fun races or when I had an injury there was a bit of doubt). If I am good at anything it is finding races, registering and man handling race day logistics. This race was the perfect way to end my journey.  Red, White and BOOM takes place in Minneapolis on the 4th of July. This just happens to be the city my best friend since 7th grade resides. Match made in pancake making, adventure going, ice cream consuming heaven.  This race starts at 6:30 a.m. in downtown Minneapolis. The course is a very nice and scenic course along the river, neighborhoods, across some beautiful bridges with some amazing views and is relatively flat except for the few massive hills thrown in for giggles.  See that big hill in the distance- it was twice as big to run up on the other side.  Exceptional cheering crew not inc...

This week I am running my 30th half marathon. I came up with the goal of running 30 half marathons before turning 30 as I was sitting injured after running my 3rd half marathon, the Women's Half in Scottsdale AZ. I had over done it really in my preparation to run the Tucson marathon. The half was the straw that broke the camel's back you could say as I toed the starting line injured and ended even more injured (A few days prior I had been to the doctor who advised that running might be a bad idea but that I was obviously going to do it so there wasn't much he could do, I am currently still working on my listening skills). I have never run the Tucson marathon, perhaps one day.  I can't help but find it slightly funny, ironic, completely and utterly frustrating that when I toe the line (at 6:30 a.m.- half marathons in the summer get the party started early) for my 30th half on Thursday (Happy Birthday America) it will be injured. I will be toeing the starting line for t...

As I was driving down to the 6:50 a.m. start of the half I was reassured by both the weather app on my phone and the radio commentator that thought it would be cloudy and cool there would be none of that rain like we had the day before. Fantastic. Thirty minutes later when dark storm clouds rolled in and it began to rain pretty hard while U2's "Beautiful Day" was blaring at the start I had to chuckle. What a bunch of liars. It rained all 13 miles sometimes hard, sometimes just misting but it was a wet and soggy race. But I will take that any day over hot. This race runs through Highland Park. It is a large loop course with rolling hills most of the way with a few larger ones thrown in. The course is very pretty running through neighborhoods of giant homes, past the grounds of the Ravinia concert venue area and the start and finish are in the middle of the downtown shopping area. North Shore Half Marathon Packet pick-up must be done the days before the race in t...

13.1 miles, medal, egg hunt, race shorts. Count me in. The Egg Shell Shuffle sells out fast so sign up early. Besides the awesome medal there is an adult Easter egg hunt where they get donations of running stuff and museum passes and candy. LOVE THIS MEDAL Once again I was using this race as a long distance training run. This week only 15 miles (when 15 got placed in the 'only' column I am not sure). This race has race day packet pick-up which is nice because it was south of my house by about a hour and twenty minutes. The race is held in a forest preserve with a small two mile loop at the beginning and then an out and back for the rest with the majority on a bike path.   The weather was perfect. Little windy but no snow, no rain and it was not freezing. Aid stations every few miles with poweraide gels at mile 7ish and 9ish maybe. Low key start and finish line, as in I had a hard time finding the start as there were just timing mats in the parki...

Saturday I get to do this run and obtain this and I am so freakin excited because at the end there is an Easter Egg hunt for adults with fun prizes like a GPS watch and other running gear.  I am wavering between trying to get it together and maybe try and PR or just chillax and do my planned 15 mile training run, obtain medal and egg hunt- no worries, be happy man. On Wednesday I felt a weird pain in my left leg so cut my run short, skipped my planned evening run and have taken today off and am iffy on tomorrow. It feels better so I will probably give running a go and see what happens. A few hip stretches and exercises and my leg feels fine but was a definite reminder that I have been slacking in the cross training and hip strengthening department and need to get my butt in gear.  Any big plans for this weekend? Happy Easter!

The last two weekends I have used these half marathons as part of my 20 mile long runs.After polling you - my awesome readers- who recommended running the extra seven miles before the race I decided that was the best course of action. Though I had to come to the terms with I would be starting each race tired, because seven miles is not really a stroll in the park, this worked out brilliantly because when the race was over I was done, medal and snacks in hand. I would recommend this method to anyone who is intimidated like I was of the long run for marathon training.  By this point seven miles is not a huge deal - meaning seven miles does not scare me.....as much as twenty miles. PROS of the Long Run/ Half Marathon Combo: Course support means not having to run with all the stuff needed to keep you going for that many miles Cheering volunteers and spectators- they are always good motivation/ distraction to keep your butt in motion You get a medal at the end. Twenty ...

Things got a little out of hand this weekend. I registered for It is the day after my last twenty miler in my marathon training, actually I think it is a twenty two miler. So I am not expecting any speedy awesomeness at this distance but I have never done an 8K before so that is exciting. It is a huge race and an awesome course so I can't wait! Plus packet pick-up is at Navy Pier which I have yet to visit so I am excited to head down there for the expo. I locked this one down. Also on the day of a twenty miler. Going to figure out a seven miler warm-up. On the bright side I will have to be there super early so hopefully that will mean awesome parking spot. And drum roll please, my final half marathon on my quest of thirty before thirty will be It is around Highland Park and looks really fun except for rumor of a giant hill towards the end. Now that is just cruel. I am so excited to have a plan to finish out my goal. I will also be registering for this half as num...

The other day D walked into the kitchen and asked " what are your top five running moments thus far on your 30 before 30 goal- go". So here they are: 1. Breaking two hours in the half. Who would have thought I could run that fast. Not me. I used to run 11 to 12 minute miles when I first started this quest. When I ran a mile around 10:30 I figured that was as fast as I could go. Now I know I can run miles in the 8 min. mile range. Crazy. Now I think I can run even faster if I focus my training and do some speed work and tempo runs. Maybe my Top 5 for next year will include breaking into the 1:40s for the half. Dream big. 2. The Sedona Half Marathon This race was just beautiful. It was a fun getaway for D and I. A cool place to visit. An awesome course and medal. I think one day I would like to go back and do the marathon. If you ever get the chance, do this race. 3.Catching the racing bug at  Mount Lemmon- Round One This was the first race I did after ...

Well this happened this evening. Fingers crossed that the end of March is not as brutally cold as last Saturday was. Either way the medal for this race looks amazing and there is an Easter Egg hunt involved. Pretty much had to register. Half #26 looks like a lot of fun. What is weird is that I for some reason can't seem to pull the trigger on the marathon registration. I have a training plan. I have placed training plan on the calender so I know when training commences. There it is- the date of the Illinois marathon in pen so pretty committed.  I have pretty much begged Yo Momma to be there. Just do it already. But you know when you register all of the sudden it becomes real. The twenty mile long runs, yep they have to happen. The injury fears after so many miles of work become a weird type of paranoia where every twinge is a shattered bone. The self doubt about staying upright and moving forward for 26.2 miles becomes loud when your finger hesitates over the enter ...

Saturday November 3rd was the Tyranena Beer 1/2. This race caught my eye because...um.... BEER ...hello. This race is put on the Tyranena brewery in Lake Mills, WI which was about a two hour drive from my house. The race starts at 11:30 a.m. and only has packet pick-up on the day of so it worked out perfectly. We rolled into Lake Mills around 10:15ish to snow. Nothing was sticking but I freaked out for a minute. I am not ready for that yet. We parked (D came along for this one, I had him at beer) right next to the race tent and headed in for my race packet. The tent was huge and warm. Good thing since it was freezing outside. After grabbing my number, returning to the car to drop stuff off and obtain ipod and gels we headed back into the tent to keep warm before the start. Should have gone with pants on this one. I had the most awesomely awesome hair for this race. Apparently washing and not drying and styling leads to an interesting race 'do.  The timing c...