Just Registered for My First Race of 2013

While watching the Grammy's Sunday night, I registered for my first race for the year - St. Malachi 5-Mile Run.  I had the best of intentions to get in a snowshoe race in February, but my race was first rescheduled for the following week, then cancelled the night before it was to occur.  Bummer.  But I am excited to be running a well-organized and fun local race.

On another note, I have decided that I want to add being a back-up dancer to Bruno Mars or the tamborine guy in the Lumineers to my list of dream jobs.  Or maybe Jack White's make-up artist (such a talented artist, but what was with his eyes and lips?).  All of these jobs would be way more fun than my day job! I did love that the Black Keys gave a shout-out to Akron.  Such a great duo.

What was your favorite Grammy moment?

This Weekend's Temptation

Before dinner last night I popped in to my favorite running store to pick up some gels and drink mix. As I walked in the back door with my youngest, a girl greeted me and asked me if I was pre registered. I looked at her with the same level of excitement as a 5-year-old on Christmas morning. A race? Here? In my backyard? I asked if it was a half marathon and it was. Oh dear. I love running half marathons. And I do have a long run I need to knock out this weekend - a 12-miler to be exact...which is uhmm pretty darn close to 13.1 miles. I held tough and continued on to the gels, but I did think about how nice it would be to run with a thousand of my closest friends, to have water stations, post-race goodies. I don't need another shirt nor should I spend the money on entry fee. Devil-Angel. Both were talking to me at the same time. In the end, I held strong. I bought my gels and went next door to have a wonderful dinner (and a Bear Republic Racer 5) with my daughters.

I still need to get in my long run. So I'll be carrying my own drinks and I'll put that entry fee toward a new pair of running shoes instead.

Carry On Wayward Son

Back-to-back racing weekend includes not only a 10k in Oklahoma, but also a half marathon in Wichita, Kansas. Believe it or not, I am running the half sponsored by Taco Bell, and my instructions say to follow the Taco Bell signs along the route. I find it humorous that Pizza Hut (marathon course and Pizza Hut opened their first store in Wichita) and Taco Bell (Half marathon course) are sponsoring a running event!

So here we go. Kansas was so interesting that I included extra fun facts about the 36th state that this family is tackling!

1. A ball of twine in Cawker City measures over 38' in circumference and weighs more than 16,750 pounds and is still growing. How is this even possible?!

2. A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels in its 1,000 bins.

3. South of Ashland the Rock Island Bridge is the longest railroad bridge of its kind. It measures 1,200 feet long and is 100 feet above the Cimarron River.

4. Kansas won the award for most beautiful license plate for the wheat plate design issued in 1981. Wheat is such a big deal here that in 1990 Kansas wheat farmers produced enough wheat to make 33 billion loaves of bread, or enough to provide each person on earth with 6 loaves.

5. Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States. You know I'm going to have to check this out for myself!

6. At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas. How is this even possible?!

7. The first woman mayor in the United States was Susan Madora Salter. She was elected to office in Argonia in 1887. And to think, this was way before women had the right to vote!

8. The first black woman to win an Academy Award was Kansan Hattie McDaniel. She won the award for her role in "Gone with the Wind."

9. Smith County is the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states.

10. Amelia Earhart, first woman granted a pilot's license by the National Aeronautics Associate and first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean was from Atchison. There's actually a neat Century ride held in Atchison in her honor.

11. Dwight D. Eisenhower from Abilene was the 34th President of the United States.

12. Wyatt Earp, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok and William B. "Bat" Masterson were three of the legendary lawmen who kept the peace in rowdy frontier towns like Abilene, Dodge City, Ellsworth, Hays, and Wichita.

I'm looking forward to visiting this great state!

Next up: Oklahoma

October is always a busy racing season for me. I have noticed that in 2009 and 2010, I ran the most number of races in October. This year will keep that autumn running tradition alive.

Our next stop: Madill, Oklahoma for Alice in Runner-land 10k. For a little education, here's some information you may or may not have known about Oklahoma:

1. The world's first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935.

2. Turner Falls Park in Davis is the oldest park in Oklahoma. Many springs from the world famous Arbuckle Mountains form Honey Creek that cascades down a seventy-seven foot fall to a natural swimming pool making the majestic Turner Falls the largest waterfall in Oklahoma. Might have to check this out!

3. There is an operating oil well on state capitol grounds called Capitol Site No. 1. How weird is that?!

4. Phillip H. Sheridan, George A. Custer and William T. Sherman were the founders of the USA's main artillery fort at Fort Sill.

5. Born in 1879 on a large ranch in the Cherokee Nation near what later would become Oologah, Oklahoma, Will Rogers was first an Indian, a cowboy then a national figure. Will Rogers was a star of Broadway and 71 movies of the 1920s and 1930s, a popular broadcaster and wrote more than 4,000 syndicated newspaper columns.

6. Boise City, Oklahoma was the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II. On Monday night, July 5, 1943, at approximately 12:30 a.m., a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base (50 miles to the south of Boise City) dropped six practice bombs on the sleeping town.

7. An Oklahoman, Sylvan Goldman, invented the first shopping cart. think of him next time you see one miles from a Target sitting all alone on a sidewalk.

8. Tahlequah, Oklahoma is the Tribal capital of the Cherokee Nation.

9. Bob Dunn a musician from Beggs invented the first electric guitar 1935.

10. Oklahoma is bordered by six states: Texas to the south and west, Arkansas and Missouri to the east, Kansas to the north and Colorado and New Mexico at the tip of the northwestern Oklahoma panhandle. Do you know which state is bordered by more? (Jeopardy question, come on!)

Dual Focus

The last couple of months I've been mostly focused on running, but that's a changin'! My training is in pretty good shape to handle the multitude of events coming up for October - one 5k, two 10ks, and a half marathon. As luck would have it, I am tentatively scheduled to bike my first 100k this year as well. This means a long ride on Saturday and a long run on Sunday (phew, I'm tired already!).

When we got into this whole crazy-travel-run-races thing, I wanted to make sure that we tried different types of events. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great accomplishment for someone to run a marathon in every state. But I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try races that scared me or required me to build upon a physical weakness (hello, swimming!). In the process, I have tackled triathlons, an adventure race (which included mountain biking and canoeing), several marathons, more than a dozen half marathons, and an assortment of 5k and 10k races. Even better, my daughters and husband have joined me along the way - whether it's running the races with me (including Meg completing HER first triathlon), going along in the jogging stroller, or participating in all this craziness by cheering me on to the finish line - it's been a family deal. But the one thing I've yet to complete is an all-cycling event. I am now signed up to tackle my first 100k cycling event, which has the added bonus of raising funds for a good cause.

Training for a cycling event presents interesting challenges in our rain-soaked state, which is experiencing a very wet fall. Thank goodness for spin classes and my CycleOps trainer. My Saturday morning spin class was nothing short of awesome. And it was the first time that I used my new Pearl Izumi cycling shoes. These shoes may be the ugliest fashion choice on the planet and I have appropriately named them my "Pat Boone's" because they are all white with black accents (please tell me you're old enough to know who Pat Boone is?). And yes, they were on sale. Otherwise, I would have bought something far less atrocious looking! But wow, what a difference in power. I felt like I was hardly exerting and could have cycled for hours! I have no idea what took me so long to make this purchase. Even funnier was watching me attempting to clip in and out - zero coordination on top of having no clue what I was doing made for a funny experience. So while training for the ride, I'll be blogging about both running and cycling and all the mayhem both bring to this family.

My question to you: if you could complete an event, other than in your regular sporting field, what would you complete?

Racing Season Is Upon Us!

Three weeks ago, I ran my first race of the season. Just a short 5k, but a nice tune-up for spring racing. This weekend, I will be running a 4.5 trail race - the April RAINN Trail Run sponsored by GruntGirl Racing. I'm beginning to get excited about my upcoming races and it makes me ponder my training goals.

This weekend's trail run is mostly for fun and to give my quads a screaming workout. Plus, it's sponsored by a kick-ass girls group and the money goes to a worthwhile cause. I'm also using this race as a progress check for the Rite-Aid 10k, which is fast approaching in 2 weeks. My best 10k time was a 1:03:02 at the Milwaukee Zoo race last June. I'd really really really like to break one hour. It's not going to be easy as it requires a sub-10 for EVERY mile. I can maintain that pace easily for 3 miles, maybe 4...but 6. Yikes! But I want that 59:59!

On Mother's Day, I will be cycling 50-miles alongside Karen as we knock out Fat Cyclist's 100 Miles of Nowhere. We'll be doing it by spinning like maniacs through 3 spin classes, drinking tons of water, then walking like John Wayne afterwards. Wish us luck!

In 7 weeks, I'm registered for the Mayor's Half Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. I recently read course reviews on marathonguide.com and the course is challenging in spots. It's mostly a "trail" course, but that's defined as like our Towpath trail, bike trails, and this gravel trail that a lot (and I mean A LOT) of people complained about, as well as the hill at the finish line that the winner actually walked up (wtf?!). My current half mary PR is 2:17:30. I'd really like to hit 2:15. I don't think that's too out of the question, but we'll see on race day! But if I see a Moose or a Bear on the course, then I'm golden...and chances are, seeing a Moose or Bear will definitely make me run faster!

In 10 weeks, I will tackle my first triathlon of the season. I've been trying to do one sprint triathlon a year, mostly to overcome my weakness in the water. The bike portion in a spint tri is less than my work commute and the 5k run I can churn out easy peasy. But a half mile swim, Hmmmmm....I can do it, but it's ugly. At Portland, it took me a miserable 30:51 to swim 800m with the fishes. The fishes were even embarassed! I've been improving my stroke, so I'm hoping to shed 10 minutes from that previous tri. My goal for the Mossman Sprint Tri is 20 minutes swim, 50 minutes for the 12.5 mile bike, and 30 minutes for the 5k run. I'm actually decent in transition because T1 and T2 is like being a mom and having to rush everywhere. The funny thing about this race, though, is it's billed as being in the "protected waters of the Long Island Sound." Huh? Do I need protected? Protected from what? I dunno if I like that...

It's going to be an exciting several months and I can't wait!

What races do you have planned? Anything you'd like to recommend - I need to fill August! Any post-race brews that go better with a 10k or a half marathon? That would make for a good post - pairing beers to races. Viper, that one's yours!

April RAINN Run April 30

I am registered for the April RAINN 4.5 mile trail run sponsored by Grunt Girl Racing. If you have a spare $25 and an open Saturday morning, you should consider doing the same. See you on the trails!

Today's guilty pleasure: almond butter. I had been slathering my nutri-grain eggo waffles with this yummy goodness for the past month. It helped stave off those hunger pains that everyone gets around 10am. But now my jar is empty and I'm really missing my morning indulgence.

What breakfast item is your go-to to help keep you from eating your arm by 10am?

Put on Your Blue Suede Shoes

We are booked! Greg and I are going to run the Strip at night! We are registered for the Las Vegas Rock n Roll Half Marathon in December. Best of all, costumes are encouraged for running. Looks like he might be Elvis and I might be making some feather purchases to become a showgirl for a day. Not THAT showgirl, THIS showgirl!

Best of all, Kim will be joining us!

Today's guilty pleasure: Singing Elvis tunes. What else would you expect with this post?!

2010 in Review - or How I Made Silver Status

What a wonderful, exciting, blessed and exhausting year! On the running front, I successfully managed to score personal bests or PRs in the 5k, half marathon and marathon distances with significantly better performances - very happy!

On the traveling front, I had a fantastic year traveling with family and even started a new "girls trip" tradition with my two daughters, who also have my love for traveling. We took our first weekend trip in July to New Hampshire and Vermont - what a wonderful time!

As far as checking off states, 2010 was busy! I checked off, with the help of Greg, Megan and Bridget, the following eight states by running 2 marathons, 2 half marathons, 2 10k races (I ran a half and a 10k in Delaware), 5 miler, 8 miler and an Adventure Race, which was quite the adventure!

Delaware
Minnesota
New Hampshire
Vermont
Utah
Arkansas
New Mexico
Rhode Island

I also tackled the Run for Regis Trail Half Marathon in the snow in January and the Fools 25k trail run in the mud in March. And to top things off, I logged in slightly over 1,000 miles during 2010, dropping from a tight size 12 to a loose size 10 in the process.

I think i'll race less in 2011 and try to enjoy each racing event more - a lesson I learned the hard way as I spent December nursing a very tender achilles and sore knee. Although, I did make Silver Elite Status again on Continental. So here's to another year of possible upgrades from Coach to First Class (phew!).

I'm not really a "resolutions" kind of girl. Instead, I like to set little goals - something achievable, not too lofty, but makes me work a little harder. So this year, I'm going to try to use a little less profanity (blech, that's going to be H-E-double toothpicks hard), floss a little more (my dentist will be appreciative), play outside a little more with my girls (does putting B in the jogging stroller count?), spend at least a half hour each evening with just the husband (watching Glee on dvr counts, right?), and check off at least five more states this year with the help of my family.

Now, I just have to figure out where the 2011 girls trip will lead us?!

May 2011 be everything you want it to be!

Excited about October & November

October and November are going to be such great family fun months. Besides bringing wondeful autumn temperatures and breathtaking scenery with changing leaf colors, October and November will be filled with "mini" family racing vacations...or race-cations as they will be known in this family. Kicking off October, Greg and I will tackle not only our first Adventure Race but our first race as a team. Let's hope we're not like one of the dysfunctional couples from the Amazing Race, but a fine-tuned team! Later in October, Bridget and I will be teaming up to tackle a 10k race with her in the jogging stroller and both of us in Halloween costumes. The Day of the Tread race will be lined with pumpkins as course markers and will have exciting kids Halloween activities and food (as well as burritos) post-race! Then over the Veterans holiday, Meg will be joining me as I tackle my first ultra race, hoping to finish 50k before the 6-hour cutoff. It's going to be a close one, that's for sure!

Not only will I have some fantastic one-on-one family time, but I'll also rack up enough airline miles to maintain my Silver status! Woohoo!