Fargo Marathon - Fargo, North Dakota - Saturday, May 21, 2016

A great marathon in North Dakota that I think everyone should try at least once.  There are so many great things to say about this marathon.

It's a flat course, like flatter than flat, so if you like that kind of course, then you should run this marathon.
It seems like the entire town of Fargo comes out to cheer you on.
There are plenty of volunteers on the course
There are plenty of water stations on the course.
The finishing medal is really nice.
The expo was well planned out and had lots of vendors with freebies.
The race starts and ends indoors so IF it's bad weather you don't have to wait out in it.  However you can't start your Garmin indoors because you can't get the satellite so that bites.

The day ended up being hotter than Fargo usually has at this time of year. All the residents were saying how hot it was. It was a bummer because I don't run well in hot weather.

The results are here !    Lots of pictures are below.

About 30 minutes before the marathon began.

A bag given to us at packet pickup.  The bag is really nice and thick and I'll definitely use it again.

zip up jacket given to us for the marathon.

The marathon was about to begin.  They were announcing that we needed to line up.

Giant flag on the course.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  The flag was as big as a house.

Elvis sang to us.

My Garmin time.

After a shower wearing my new shirt with the finishing medal.

Marathon Bib and medal

Food after the marathon.  Pizza, water, chips, bananas, chocolate milk, cookies, and the best thing ever was cookie dough.

Illinois Marathon - Champaign, Illinois- Saturday April 30, 2016

The night before the race I traveled to Illinois to pick up my packet and stay in a hotel near the race site.   I ended up sharing my hotel with a girl named Jennifer that I met on the Corridor Running Facebook page.  At packet pickup I ran into one of my 50 state friends, George Southgate from Georgia.  He is 69 years old and was about to run his 289th marathon the next day.  He, with his wife took me to dinner at Bob Evans.  That was so nice of him.

After dinner I went back to the hotel and laid out all my stuff for the marathon.  About two hours later I met Jennifer and then shortly went to sleep.

The next morning the weather was as bad as it said it was going to be.  It was one of those weather days that you just don't want to run in. It was raining and raining hard. It was cold and just miserable. I woke up and every joint hurt. It's like my arthritis said, "No running today". I really didn't want to run. It took everything in me to get ready to go run a marathon again. I was not happy.  But since I signed up, I did it.

I arrived at the race site about an hour early and received excellent parking.  I found a bathroom, used it then went back to my car to just sit and wait.  The rain wouldn't stop.  I knew from the forecast that I would be running in rain the entire time and that was not going to be fun.  I just hoped that I layered correctly so I wouldn't be too hot or too cold.  I wore a hat so the raindrops wouldn't consistently be in my eyes.  I had my usual sports bra and sports bra tank on for the first layer, then a long sleeve shirt, then a rain coat.  I wore all of this until mile 20 and then felt like I had finally become too hot and took the rain coat off and wrapped it around me.

I really don't remember much about this race because I was so miserable being so wet.  I remember hearing everyone's wet shoes squeaking a lot, but other than that I just remember running and hoping I would get through it without chafing badly.

At mile 24 I rubbed my eye for some reason and when I did that my contact went up into my eyelid, way up.  So far up it hurt so bad.  I went over to the side of the road and tried to push on my eyelid to make the contact come down over the eyeball where it belonged so I could see correctly.  It wouldn't.  So I made the choice to run in severe pain.  I ran half blind.  It wasn't fun.  I had to finish the race by being able not to see.  Oh well, I finished and that was nice. I barely made it under 5 hours.  Below are pictures to enjoy.  Here are the race results if you really care that much:  Results

George and I in our 50 State Marathon shirts.

Waiting for the marathon to begin.  I was already wet and wanting to just start running.

Me with my medal at the end.  

The Garmin results!

The race bib and medal.

After a shower and stretching with my new race shirt on.

Garmin Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K-Olathe, Kansas- Saturday, April 16, 2016

Ever since I went to the Kansas City, Missouri marathon expo and saw the booth advertising the Garmin marathon, I wanted to do it for the marathon in the state of Kansas.  It is Wizard of Oz themed and seemed to have all the extras I enjoy in marathons.

Chris, my friend who is 69 years old wanted to do her first half marathon, Amy my best friend wanted to do her first 10K, my friend Juli wanted to do her 101st marathon, and I wanted to add another state to my collection. I heard it was hilly so I continued to run hills as often as possible on training runs.

The weather looked like it was going to be decent until the last two hours of the marathon at which time it would become muggy.  I decided that I would carry water on an attachment on my running belt and I'm so glad I did as you will read about soon.

On Friday April 15th I worked just a couple hours then left for the marathon with Chris and Amy.  Juli drove separately as she had others places to visit.  The drive went smoothly and we made it to the running expo at a decent time.
We had pancakes and other protein breakfast foods for dinner at I-hop then went back to the hotel to relax.

At the crack of dawn early we all got up to prepare for the race.  I used KT tape to tape all areas on me that have ever hurt me during long distance running.  I used a significant amount of body glide in all areas that would chafe and after everyone was ready we headed to the race.  We were only 15 minutes from the race start and found parking almost right away.  It was cold and dark in the morning, but that would soon change as the sun came up.  It was due to get a little muggy.

I was running well for the first 3 hours and had hit 17 miles by the 3rd hour and for me that is great.  By mile 18.25 I walked a little ways.  I was feeling tired and hot. Then I figured out my times on my watch and realized if I just kept going at even an 11 minute mile pace I would possibly have a personal record.  That was all I needed to push through.   I was carrying water on my back thank goodness because water stops were only every 2 miles and I needed it every mile, so I had some for the times when I felt thirsty or just wanted to pour it on my head.   I did end up with a SWEET personal record, beating my last record time by almost 5 minutes.  Here are the RESULTS !!!  Then below are pictures I took:

The cool Kansas sign from the freeway.

Chris, Amy and I on the way to Kansas.

At the race expo there were huge cut outs of Wizard of Oz characters.

Here I was over 200 miles away and I ran into my friend Todd from Cedar Rapids.  Had to have a picture with him.

During the race my friend Juli was passing me and took a picture of me.

another shot of me running.

Waiting for me at the finish line were Chris and Amy.  Amy took this picture.  It was a great moment.

This lady was injured and couldn't run the race, so the race director let her bike the race route.  She looked awesome.

A close up after the race with the witch.

The amazing race medal.  It's my biggest one so far.

From Left to Right:  Dorothy, Me, Chris, Amy, Juli and the witch.

All four of us with our medals.

My race bib, results, certificate and medal.

Me at the finish !

Donut Run 5K - Ames, IA - Saturday, April 9, 2016

First before anything I want to say that I love donuts and love running.  My best friend Amy knew that, found this race and signed me up for it.

 It was a super cold morning. So cold that I thought my hands would freeze without gloves. But the sun was out, there was NO snow and it was a race where you could eat donuts. Little did I know that I would soon hate glazed Krispy Kreme donuts very much.

The race took place in Ames, Iowa.  It was called the Donut Run.  You ran about 1K to a donut table and had to eat as many donuts as you could stomach. Every time you got an entire donut down you got a sticker on your bib and at least 30 seconds taken off your final time.  Amy and I managed 5 donuts each.  It was so gross.  Some guys ate 20 donuts.

It was a fun, organized, different race.  We finished it under 40 minutes with the 5 stops.  Neither of us wanted anything to eat for hours after.

I ran another 3 miles after the race to help burn off all the donuts.  It didn't help much as I felt gross almost all day.   Results are here:  Donut Run results    Pictures are below:

A selfie before the race.

Another selfie.  It was freezing.   Can you tell how cold we were?

Our race bibs after the race with the cute stickers in them representing the amount of donuts we had during the race.

Shirt

A glass that came with our shirt.  Love it.

A picture that the race organizers took of us finishing the race.

Week 13-16 of Training miles for 2016

Week 13
Friday :Sculpt, walked .5 miles
Saturday:ran 20.30 miles, Swam 550 yards, walked .5 miles
Sunday :rest
Monday :Biked 14.30 miles outside, Sculpt class, walked .5 miles
Tuesday: Sculpt class, ran 5.30 miles, walked .5 miles
Wednesday: Swam 1800 yards, Ran 5.25 miles, Sculpt class, walked .5 miles
Thursday: Ran 5.03 miles with Tyler, Biked indoors 35 minutes, walked .5 miles

Total for Week 13
Ran 35.88
4 Sculpt classes
Swam 2350 yards
Biked 14.30 miles outside
Biked 35 minutes indoors
Walked 3 miles

Total for 2016
Ran: 396.32 miles
Biked: 502 minutes indoors
Biked: 66.68 miles Outdoors
Swam:  39,300 Yards = 22.32 miles
Sculpt classes:  50 classes
Walking: 38 miles
Body Flow Classes:  9
Rowing machine 17 minutes

Week 14
Friday: Swam 800 yards,  Sculpt, Ran with Juli for a LONG run of 23.01 miles, walked .5 miles
Saturday :  Swam 1000 yards, walked .5 miles
Sunday : Ran 5 miles. Walked 1 mile  Biked 18.50 outside, walked .5 miles
Monday : Swam 800 yards, Sculpt, walked .5 miles
Tuesday :Sculpt class, Ran 3.10 miles, walked .5 miles
Wednesday :Swam 1000 yards, ran 3.52 miles, walked .5 miles
Thursday :Biked indoors 35 minutes, Ran 8 miles, walked .5 miles

Total for Week 14
Swam 3600 yards
Ran 42.63 miles
Biked 35 minutes indoors
Biked 18.50 outside
4 Sculpt classes
Walked 3.5 miles


Total for 2016
Ran: 438.95 miles
Biked: 537 minutes indoors
Biked: 85.18 miles Outdoors
Swam:  42,900 Yards = 24.38 miles
Sculpt classes:  54 classes
Walking: 41.5 miles
Body Flow Classes:  9
Rowing machine 17 minutes



Week 15
Friday:  Swam 500 Yards, Sculpt, walked .5 mile
Saturday:  Ran 6.25 miles, walked .5 mile
Sunday:  Rest
Monday: Ran 4.21 miles, Sculpt, walked .5 mile
Tuesday:  Swam 1050 Yards, Sculpt class, walked .5 mile
Wednesday:Swam 1800 yards, Ran 3.10 miles, walked .5 mile
Thursday: Ran 3.11 miles, Biked 33 minutes indoors, walked .5 mile

Total for Week 15
Swam 3350 yards
Ran 16.67
Biked 33 minutes indoors
Biked nothing outside, not sure why
4 Sculpt classes
Walked 3 miles

Total for 2016
Ran: 455.62 miles
Biked: 570 minutes indoors
Biked: 85.18 miles Outdoors
Swam:  46,250 Yards = 26.28 miles
Sculpt classes:  58 classes
Walking: 44.5 miles
Body Flow Classes:  9
Rowing machine 17 minutes

Week 16
Friday : Sculpt, walked .5 mile
Saturday : Ran 26.32 miles, walked .5 mile
Sunday: Rest, walked .5 mile
Monday: Ran 2.07 miles, Sculpt class, Swam 1100 Yards, walked .5 mile
Tuesday:  Sculpt class, walked .5 mile
Wednesday :  Sculpt class, Biked outdoors 10.05 miles, walked .5 mile
Thursday :Ran 5.55 miles, Biked indoors 33 minutes, walked .5 mile

Total for Week 16
Swam 1100 yards
Ran 33.94 miles
Biked 33 minutes indoors
Biked 10.05 outdoors
4 Sculpt classes
Walked 3.5 miles

Total for 2016
Ran: 489.56 miles
Biked: 603 minutes indoors
Biked: 95.23 miles Outdoors
Swam:  47,350 Yards = 26.90 miles
Sculpt classes:  62 classes
Walking: 48 miles
Body Flow Classes:  9
Rowing machine 17 minutes

Relay & Run for 21 7K and Half Marathon - March 20, 2016 - Clayton, Missouri

It was one of those mornings you won't forget and one of those mornings where you just can't trust the weather. 10 days out from this race and even a couple days before the weather said, "Cloudy, cold, small chance of rain" That morning things really changed. It was cold, the wind was blowing hard, it was snowing really hard and melting as soon as it touched the ground.  The flakes were huge and very wet. It was crazy.

I was signed up to do the half marathon (21K) however with the weather so bad and so very wet, I didn't have the proper clothing to be running in that for 2.5 hours. I didn't have rain gear to run in. So I did what I felt I should and switched last minute to the 7K.  That ended up to be great as I placed in my age group and I never expected to do that with the hills on this course, but I did and that was awesome.  Plus because of the last minute switch I was able to get back to the hotel just in time for breakfast before it ended.

Besides the course being full of hills, the race itself was put on very well.  The race director and team did an awesome job with food after the race, awards, shirts, finishing medals and more.  I was pleased and would do this race again IF I lived closer.

I just happened to be in St.Louis visiting Amy while she attended a Haunt convention.  We found this race to do before traveling back to Iowa.

 The results are HERE !

Amy Larkin, Me and Josh Sevcik after the race soaking wet.

Some of the goodies given to us after the race.

My bib with the finishing medal.

The finishing medal up close if you care.

My name on the computer screen showing the results.  I was beyond shocked that I had placed in my age group.  There were so many people.   On the screen I was 2nd in my age group so I was given the 2nd place award.  Found out later that the 1st person in my age group had actually placed overall top 3 women so she was taken out of age group ratings.  Then I was bumped up to 1st in my age group.  Pretty dang awesome.

My watch showing my time and distance.

The amazing plaque I received for being 1st.  I couldn't believe it. 

Shamrock Shuffle - Saturday, March 12, 2016, Downtown Iowa City, IA

This race is a perfect distance for just about anyone. Great for those wanting to run really fast for a short distance and great for those new to fitness because it's not a long race.
It was a pretty cold morning in the 40's, but not too cold.  Juli and I ran 5 miles before the race as a warm up.
I started the race feeling light on my feet. I found that the last hill that really bothered me last year wasn't so bad.  I received a new record time of 16:15 beating last year by almost a full minute.  To my surprise I placed 2nd in my age group. However this year only 1st in each age group was recognized.   Guess I have to work harder.

After running so hard I wasn't sure that I'd be able to run 10 more miles with Juli.  We both needed a 17 mile run for our marathon training.
I will not lie, the next 10 miles were very hard to complete but we both pulled it off.
Some pictures are below.  Results are here:
RESULTS

Top Row:  Susan, me, Amy, Teresa.  Front Row:  Juli and Lorna

My bib and personal results. 

My results

My watch showing the total distance for the day.

we are beautiful! 

Amy and Tearesa being super silly.

Later in the day Amy and I rode 25.48 miles on our bikes.  Great for Ragbrai training. 

Juli and I after our long run.