Let's Play #runDonna #teamsparkle Dress Up

You wanna know what's crazy?  Planning a half marathon in Florida only to find out it won't be much warmer than Michigan on race morning.  Where's the justice in that, my friends?!?!

Anyhoo....I thought I'd take a little survey to help me decide what to wear for the #runDonna Breast Cancer Half Marathon next Sunday.  As of right now, race morning will probably be high 30s to low 40s at the start with a finish in the high 40s.  Not too shabby running weather but totally sucks for beach time afterwards.

I have 2 tops chosen because they are the only ones I have that are pink - a  long-sleeve 1/2 zip from Nike and a Nike T that I'll probably pair with arm warmers that I can take off.  Black capris will go on the bottom and probably a black cap on top.

The question I need answered...which Sparkle Athletic skirt should I add?  I want my friends spectating to be able to find me to pass me some beer cheer me on :)

So what do you think? Turquoise, Lime Green or Purple?  I know which one is my favorite but I'd like a little input from you guys as well.

Fitness Friday: #ForeHunger

Good morning, friends!

Just a quick heads up about a great event happening in my neck of the woods this weekend.

The Meijer LPGA Classic started yesterday at Blythefield Country Club north of Grand Rapids, MI.  Meijer, Kraft and Gazelle Sports have teamed together with Kellogg's to support food pantries in the Midwest through Simply Give.  This golf event is one of their major fundraisers.

There is a 5k tomorrow (July 25th) in Rockford, Michigan. Myself and fellow bloggers Mindy and Megan (as well as 7 other bloggers) are running as a team.  It should be a ton of fun.  Please come out and join us!

Sunday, I will be attending the final round where I will get to watch some incredible women golfers.  I'll be sharing my experience with you.  Watch for the hashtag #ForeHunger as I tweet and post throughout the weekend.



If you are local to the West Michigan area, I strongly encourage you to come out and support our community through this great event.  As a bonus, you will receive 2 tickets to the tournament if you sign up for the race.

disclaimer: I was offered a free entry into the 5k and tickets to Sunday's round in exchange for my thoughts on the event.  As always, the opinions are all my own.

Three Things Thursday: I said I wouldn't race...

Yep, awhile back I said I was taking time off from racing to get my twins off to college in the fall.  Well, best laid plans and all...

I somehow managed to get three races on my schedule for this summer.  Now, running in the summer can be frustrating at best and downright awful at worst, so I have no goals for these races other than to go have fun.

1.  Rock N Roll Chicago 10k - After last year's negative experience running the RnR Chicago Half Marathon, I decided I would never do another RnR race.  Too much hype, too much money, and not enough bang for the buck.  Plus, this one is in July in Chicago and it's like running on the surface of the sun.  That being said, when my friend Renee told me she was coming from the Netherlands to run, I couldn't let the opportunity pass by to see her.  I'm not in half marathon shape, so I registered for the 10k.  If you are going to be in Chicago July 18-19, let me know and we can try to get together!  Rumor has it, Meb will be there!!

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2.  Meijer LPGA Classic 5k - A week or two ago, I was approached by the good folks at Meijer regarding joining a team of 10 bloggers to run the 5k associated with the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club.  Meijer, Kraft and Gazelle Sports have teamed together with Kellogg's to support food pantries in the Midwest through Simply Give and this even is one of their major fundraisers.  The race is on July 25 in Rockford, Michigan as part of the LPGA Classic weekend (July 21-26, 2015).  As part of the event, I will also be attending the final round on Sunday, July 26th where I will get to watch some of the best women golfers in the world and then share my experience with all of you.  Maybe I'll even be inspired to take up golf!  If you are local to the West Michigan area, I strongly encourage you to come out and support our community through this great event.  As part of your race entry, you will also receive 2 tickets to the tournament.

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3.  Labor Day Bridge Run - On September 7, I get to check off a major item on my bucket list.  I'll be running 5 miles across the Mackinac Bridge from St. Ignace to Mackinaw City.  This race is open by lottery and even though I said I'd never enter a lottery for a race, I threw my name in for this one.  Somehow I actually got in.  After confirmations were received, the race was opened for the general public and as of today, there were still spots available to run (they limit this to 500 people) so if you are interested, click the link and get registered.  If you need a place to stay, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help.  Following the run, there is a community walk across the bridge which is open to anyone so it would make a great family getaway if you can swing it.  If you are running or walking, please let me know!  I'd love to say "Hi".  I still can't believe I get to run over this beautiful bridge!

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There you have it...a lesson learned to never say never.  Here I went into the summer saying I was taking time off from races and now I'm running three in the next couple months.

Are you racing this summer?  Any races on your bucket list?

Fitness Friday: hills scare me

I haven't talked very much about my running here lately.  Fact is, I haven't been around here much period.  Sorry.  If you've stuck around, thank you for that.

I do have some races on the schedule.  I'm running the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon and 5/3 River Bank Run 25k this spring.  This year they've created a really cool double-down medal for women who complete both.  You know me, all about the bling.

My training has been less than stellar though.  I feel like I've lost any and all speed I gained last year because of marathon training.  Too many long slow runs where the only goal was to finish XX distance.  That and running too many of those runs with intervals has really fraked up my mental game as well.

In an effort to shake things up, I signed up for a 15k race tomorrow.  The Kent City Ridge Run, or "Jill's Hills" as it's affectionately know around these parts.

For shits and giggles I mapped the route yesterday and I have to admit - those hills scare the shit out of me.  I've been struggling to run on flat terrain so now I'm wondering why I set myself up for this "special kind of torture" as my friend Tami put it.  This is a super small race (only about 350 people between the 15k and 5k) so the hills combined with my slowness means I'll probably be way at the bottom of my age group again.  Sucks after working so hard to at least be in the middle.

On the plus side? At least I'll get a good workout and it's my first official 15k so no matter what happens, it's an automatic PR.

What about you?  Do you love or hate the hills?

Motivation Monday: a virtual race reason to run

Do you need a little motivation to get through these dark, cold, winter days?  I think many of you know I write over that The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans and I'm going to take a minute today to promote our latest virtual 5k, 10k and 1-mile fun run/walk.

Together We Race is the latest in our series of virtual races.  Perfect for a time when getting outside to earn your bling might be a bit challenging in your neck of the woods.  Proceeds benefit Together We Rise, a leader in foster care innovation, and your race fee includes a custom designed medal and race t-shirt.

We will all run "together" on April 12th at the distance of your choosing.  Any of you in my immediate area - let me know you're registered and we will run together for realz (I actually have a 14 miler planned that weekend and would LOVE company for part of it)!  Click here to sign up!

post contains affiliate links - I won't get rich if you register through me but it does help keep the lights on here at Live Laugh Run Breathe.

Race Recap: #runDonna Breast Cancer (Half) Marathon

As luck would have it, my mid-winter break from school happened to fall during runDonna weekend this year.  I have friends in Florida who run 26.2 with Donna nearly every year and speak very highly of the race.  Plus, any chance to get out of #purefrozenMichigan and head to sunny Florida to visit my friends works for me.

Jacksonville really goes all out for this race.  Starting at the airport it feels like a big Sea of Pink party.  There was this giant sign on the floor plus a staffed booth right outside the escalators down to baggage claim.  Very nice touches.

My flights down from Chicago went off without a hitch, which considering the weather in many parts of the country was a huge blessing.  I headed straight for the expo to meet up with a few friends and get my bib.  (You can read about my weekend meetups here if you missed it yesterday.)

What struck me at first was all the PINK.  There were the usual vendors plus a few geared directly towards breast cancer and breast cancer survivors.  I made a bee line for the packet pickup area and then wandered around for a bit after chatting with Beth.  The layout was great.  You could head straight back to the other room set up for bibs and shirts.  I absolutely HATE expos that make you "shop" first, so this was a nice touch.  The vendor area wasn't very crowded and it was fun to check out the booths.  I even stopped and chatted with Jeff Galloway for a bit.  I loved telling him about my Detroit Marathon PR using my own version of Galloway intervals.  He suggested I drop the run segments even further though and says I'll go faster.  Not sure I believe that. (To hit pace on Galloway, you basically have to run about :30 per mile faster than goal pace to sandbag time for the walk segments.)


After the expo I headed to my hotel to rest for a bit and then grabbed dinner at a local brewpub.  I've never been to BJ's Brewhouse before and it was a great choice.  I probably ate too much ;)

In the couple weeks prior to the race, I was stressing about the predicted cold temperatures.  You see, even though I live in Michigan and I'm supposed to be all winter-running hardy and shit, I've been running inside.  I've completely lost all my winter mojo.  The predicted temps were supposed to be in the low 30s but when I woke up Sunday morning, it was around 51*.  Shit.  I'm glad I packed multiple options for clothing and ended up with a tank, capris and a throw-away fleece that I ditched before we even started.

Beautiful sunrise in Ponte Vedra.

The race starts at some uber swanky golf resort and then heads north to Jacksonville Beach.  If you are running the full, you go even farther north before turning back around.  What hit me at the start and caused me to tear up were the number of women with "Survivor" pinned to their backs and the number of men in pink tutus with "running for..." on their backs.  While breast cancer has not affected me directly, it has affected my friends.

As for the run itself, the streets and many of the neighborhoods were so decked out it blew me away.  It was like a 13.1 mile (ok, maybe 11.5 mile since the last couple miles were just highway) street party.  I started straight running but at 2 miles switched to the 5/:30 intervals I used for Detroit.  I'm not sure what was wrong but I couldn't catch my breath and I wasn't even running very fast.  That was discouraging.  Even with my intervals, I passed a ton of people.  This is a very friendly walker and run/walker race (the marathon cut off is over 7 hours I believe) so I was constantly dodging people.

My favorite part?  I absolutely loved running on the beach even if my shins and ankles hated me for the next 4 days.  Three of my friends had a little aid station set up at about the midpoint of the beach so I got hugs and beer :)  Wendy even made a sign!  At 6.5 miles I was already feeling wiped out so seeing them was a great boost.


I ended up dressed perfectly!  I was a little chilly on the beach when the wind kicked up but the sun made it all better.  Seeing people dressed in jackets made me laugh a little.




Somewhere just before mile 9, the elite men marathoners passed me.  What an incredible sight!  They had a police escort of 6-7 motorcycles and a van clearing their path.  Watching them run by at about mile 22 for them, looking like they hadn't even broken a sweat, was unreal.

A little later, I saw this cheer section and I had to stop for a picture.  I really should have gotten a mammogram too.  Oh well, maybe next year.

As you can see, the weather was incredible and the cheer sections were, too.  And the pink. SO. MUCH. PINK.  Makes you think about the numbers of men, women and children affected by breast cancer every year.  Hopefully my little entrance fee does some good somewhere.

The last 2 miles of the race are on the highway, with a nice bridge to cross.  The bridge kicked my butt.  Luckily, what goes up must come down and I ran my fastest 1.1 miles at the end of the race.  After cresting the bridge, I didn't walk again and seeing the elite women pass me at mile 12.5 (with NO escort I might add - that bothered me) gave me incentive to kick it at the end.  (I ran about a 9:30 pace for the last 1/2 mile.) I got my medal and some pictures and made my way to the runner village.

Runner village was pretty awesome.  We got free soup and champagne and good beer (until the good beer ran out).  There were some very long lines for burgers and hot dogs which I chose not to stand in but there was also plenty of oranges, bananas and bagels.  I had planned on trying to stay to watch Krissy and Marcia finish the full but Deb's house was closer to runner village than the finish line and my legs were done running and walking and standing. Plus, I didn't think I'd ever find them in the crowd anyway.

Overall, it was a very good weekend and I love the medal.  It's hard to see in the picture but it has stained glass in the middle and dolphins jumping in the top of the heart.  The shirt, personalized bib and bag were also nice swag.

As for my results, I'm ok with them.  My time wasn't great at 2:30:50 (in fact, that's one of my worst half times), but considering I was undertrained, ran/walked, stopped for a few minutes on the beach and took pictures I really shouldn't have expected much better.  I finished in the top 50% of my age group and gender, so that makes me happy.  I knew going in that this race wasn't going to be about my finishing time, but posting an 11:30 average pace is a little embarrassing because I know if I'd tried I could have run much better. Mostly I'm feeling blessed I was able to run such a well supported race and spend the weekend with my friends.  Time to start saving for next year!

Training Tuesday: #runDonna race week!

I'm calling this "Training Tuesday" because when I was blogging regularly that's what I post on Tuesdays.  I've been training to not completely lose my running base but haven't really been training, if that makes any sense.  My longest run was a 12 miler a few weeks ago.  I did 8 last week and bagged my 10 the week before that.  13.1 might be painful on Sunday.

This weekend I'm running the 26.2 with Donna Breast Cancer (half) Marathon in Jacksonville.  I'm super excited to see my Floridian friends, but not super excited that it isn't going to be a whole lot warmer than Michigan down there.  Temp at race time on Sunday is only supposed to be in the 30s.  Maybe low 40s if I'm lucky.

I'm packing layers but also trying something new for this race since I don't really care about my finish time.  My fuel belt has been driving me nuts, so I'm bringing a handheld with the thought that I might toss it mid-race if it's bugging me or at the last minute, not carry it at all and just go with on-course hydration.  With temps that cool I should be fine not carrying my own water.  The problem is having no place to stash the rental car key.

I haven't decided if I'll write a race report, but knowing myself, I'm sure you'll see one sometime next week.

Now, where did I put that handy packing list I created for my last out-of-town race?

TBT: First races!

Thanks to the beauty of the TimeHop App, I was reminded that today was my girl's first 5k!  It was very cold, very snowy, and very icy.  She complained the entire 3 miles until she saw the finish and turned on the sprinter legs.  Freaking SMOKED me.

I also decided today that a little redemption was in order after running the Jax Bank Half last year in the pouring rain.

 

I'm gonna run it again this year :)  Hopefully in much better weather.   Nothing like planning a half marathon with 10 days notice to motivate you to run!

Fitness Friday: 2015 Race Calendar

As of right now, my 2015 plans are a big, fat question mark.  I'm trying to keep some running fitness up, but currently I'm sick and haven't run more than 5 miles since the marathon about 4 weeks ago.  I don't know if I want to train for another full next year, focus on halfs again, or work on speed for shorter distances.

I know I have at least a couple longer races on the distant horizon, plus a race I really hope to travel for, but this is looking like a pretty empty calendar so far.

February 15, 2015 - The Donna Breast Cancer (Half) Marathon in Jacksonville, FL (cautiously optimistic I can work this out since so many of my southern friends are running and it falls on the weekend I have a break from school.)

April 19, 2015 - The Gazelle Girl Half Marathon in Grand Rapids, MI.  I worked the expo last year for Another Mother Runner and then decided at the expo to run the half. I hadn't run more than 7 miles since December, so the half was a tad rough. I'm hoping to plan a bit farther ahead and actually register and train this year.

May 9, 2015 - 5/3 River Bank Run 25k.  This is basically a home-town tradition that I wasn't going to participate in again because it never changes, but they revealed a new medal that is freaking AWESOME, so the bling whore won.

August 2015 - The Fred 200 Mile Relay.  Provided I don't have to move kids to college the same weekend, I'll be back as a member of the Screaming Thunderboxes.

So, 4 races I've identified and none I've registered for.  Pretty lame if you ask me.  Any suggestions of races I should consider?

#racereport: 2014 Detroit Marathon

In case you missed yesterday's blog post - Spoiler Alert - I set a huge PR on Sunday in the Detroit Marathon!!! But, let's back the bus up a little first.  Marathons are long and this report might be too :)

Expo - I was shocked at how big the expo was.  Tons of vendors that you needed to snake through to get to packet pickup (an annoyance).  I got suckered in right away by the race merchandise.  If the expo is selling pint glasses and magnets, you must buy them.  It's the law. I actually worried that buying these things would jinx me (like wearing the shirt before the race) but I bought them anyway.

That glass worked great for my celebratory beer.

Sadly, I did not buy the 2014 Corvette Stingray, nor did I stand in line to sit in it.  Very cool that they had the car on display though since it was this year's featured USA muscle car on our medals :)

Isn't she pretty?!? 

Pre-Race:  I drove down Saturday morning, stopping for lunch at a Red Robin on the way (grilled BBQ chicken sandwich as a lettuce wrap and fries with tons of RR salt, plus a very nice pumpkin porter) and then hit the expo.  I backtracked to the Courtyard by Marriott in Dearborn, but it was only about 20-25 minutes from downtown and a nice, quiet and newly renovated (or at least some of the rooms were) place.  There was an Olive Garden right around the corner for dinner (chicken marsala with most of the sauce scraped off, roasted potatoes and salad, plus lots of water).  Early bed around 8:30 with my friend, Ambien.  The alarm went off at 4 am but I was awake around 3:30.  I had time to get ready and eat my 2 pieces of Udi bread with butter and jelly and have some coffee.  TMI alert - my coffee never really kicked in but it turned out ok.

My friend, Molly, and her husband were staying at the same hotel and she rode into Detroit with me so Mark didn't need to be there so early.  I had pre-booked parking through ParkWhiz for a lot on the race list of spots and we left at 5am, so we figured "no problem" getting there. WRONG.  Streets were already closed at 5:20 and we got very lost trying to find the place we'd paid for already. We were both pretty unhappy about being told the roads would not close until 6 to find them closed at 5:20.  Not cool, Detroit.  Not cool.  Luckily, some wrong turns and driving around barriers got us to the MGM Grand parking structure. AWESOME parking. I'd park there next time.  We walked the 1/2 mile or so straight shot to the starting line, found gear check and hit the portapotties.  There were TONS of them. We also ducked into a People Mover station for awhile to stay warm.  It was freezing out - about 35* and I was glad for my throwaway old PJ bottoms and hoodie.  I ended up keeping my arm warmers on the entire race because it never got much warmer than the mid 40s and the wind would pick up here and there.

International race! 

I was very glad to have Molly with me before the race started because she kept me calm. We walked up and down the starting line to stay warm, but first had to take a selfie :)  We split about 30 min before the start so she could get into her uber-fast pace corral.

Cheese!

Because this race goes into Canada and I didn't want ginormous roaming charges for broadcasting data, I decided early on that my phone would be in airplane mode for this race.  I used my phone for my intervals (Runmeter) and music.  On a training run I learned that taking photos would cause Runmeter to stop, so I started everything about 15 min before the gun and then tucked my phone into my fuel belt.  I just listened to my music and the music at the start line.  I was getting pumped with everyone around me but it felt weird to not take a starting line photo.

A woman sang the Canadian and then US National Anthems, which was very moving, and then the handcycles (the winner set a record of 1:09:48!) and elites were off. There was a countdown clock for the wave starts and  I was in corral K (but inadvertently put myself in J because I couldn't see the signs) so it was about 16 minutes before I made it to the start.

Race strategy: (this is more for me so I don't forget - remember to do what works for you.) Stopped drinking water about 1 hour before the start. Chia bar 30 minutes before the gun (turned out 45 min before I started).  5 minute runs/ 30 sec walk breaks starting around mile 1.5.  Salted caramel gu at the first walk break in miles 5, 9, 13, 17, 20, 24 (this last one I took early - around mile 23).  Nuun in my 2 bottles and sips of water at aid stations.  (There was a panic the night before when I read border patrol could stop you and ask you to dump your bottles but no one got pulled out for that. Wearing your bib on your back was a huge no-no as I saw a girl get pulled out and yelled at to move her bib to the front.) I refilled my bottles with water when the Nuun ran out just after the 1/2 way point.  I wore a pace bracelet and it was a lifesaver.  I knew exactly what pace I needed to be at each mile marker to stay on goal pace.  I wasn't sure what would happen with my Garmin in the tunnel.

Race goal:  I never really talked here (or anywhere) what my race goal was going to be, partly because I didn't want to have to explain if I failed. Lack of confidence, much? A few people knew that I set a Fellow Flowers Declare It Day goal back in February to run a sub-5 marathon at Detroit, but then I didn't talk about it again. My PR from Grand Rapids in 2011 was 5:27:15.  My training had been going quite well so I knew baring any disasters that a PR was within reach.  I wanted much more than "just" a PR, though.  I wanted to beat that by 30 minutes.  This made my super-secret HUGE goal as 4:57.  I wore my Fellow Flowers turquoise Believe flower on my hat and painted my nails turquoise to remind myself to believe it would happen. I also wrote "you are stronger than you think", "keep moving forward" and "own this race" on my hands.

Miles 1-8: The start was quite crowded and there were areas that were pretty congested because the almost 4000 marathoners and 12000 international half marathoners started at the same time.  I hit the Ambassador Bridge just as the sun was rising over Windsor, ON and it was breathtaking.  I hated that my phone/camera was tucked away.  Running over the bridge was fun but didn't like having to slow down with the number of people. I had decided to keep my hoodie at least through the bridge and I'm proud to say my old purple hoodie is now Canadian :)  I tossed it right after the Canadian flag at the top of the bridge. The crowd support in Canada was awesome and even the border patrol guys were really cool, cheering and high-5ing runners.  We hit the Windsor Tunnel around mile 7 and I realized I was FLYING through the tunnel.  Didn't know the first half of the underwater mile was downhill but duh, how else are you going to get under a river?!?  I struggled to reign it in and when I hit the incline to come back out, I lost what little time I'd gained.
Splits: 10:56, 10:48, 11:44, 10:53, 10:52, 10:51, 10:51, 12:06 (probably long with the tunnel)

Picture from Molly

Miles 9-19: I don't have much to report here.  Lots of cool neighborhoods and some straight boring sections.  The crowds really thinned out after the international half marathon runners left us at mile 13.  I picked up the pace here because the crowds were great.  I kept up with my intervals and fueling strategy and it felt really good.  There were even some neighborhoods where people were handing out beer (I didn't not take any) and the party atmosphere was really fun.
Splits: 9:46 (I think this mile was short because of the tunnel), 11:21, 10:57, 10:52, 10:53, 10:34, 10:51, 10:54, 11:06, 10:56, 11:05

Miles 20-26.2: Mile 20 took us over the MacArthur Bridge and out onto Belle Isle.  It was nice to know where I was again because unless I was on the bridge, in Canada, in the tunnel or on the island I had no clue :)  I could feel myself starting to fade, but I knew based on my pace band that I was a good 6 minutes ahead of my ultimate goal time, which was reassuring.  I still didn't want to slow down as much as I did, but my calves were starting to cramp and so was my left ankle.  I'd never had my ankle cramp before.  Maybe if I'd put more Nuun in my bottles it would've been better.  Hard to say.  On the way back over the bridge I met up with a first time marathoner (their bibs were green) who was really struggling. I tried to give her a pep talk and get her running again. I'm hoping she finished.  Knowing I only had about 4 miles to go after the island spurred me on but my legs were really feeling trashed.  I started counting down the run intervals.  It helped knowing after each 5 minutes I could walk for a few seconds and then regroup.  The last few miles are along the Riverwalk, which provided some nice scenery, but also a lot of turns and a headwind.  So many people were doing the death march at that point that I passed a lot of them on my run intervals. I saw my friend Maureen cheering at mile 25 and that was a nice boost.  I didn't know she'd be there.  The end of mile 26 is up a hill and I'm sad that my body said "walk" and I did.  I should have straight run the last 1.26 but I had nothing left to give going up the hill.  I at least tried to push it a bit on the last .2 but looking at the splits it's pretty clear I was done.
Splits: 11:22, 11:14, 11:28, 11:34, 11:10, 11:36, 12:53, 3:19 (11:50 pace for last .28 on my Garmin)

Seeing the race clock and knowing I'd completely crushed my PR and my huge goal left me finishing with tears in my eyes.  I was crying when the volunteer hung my medal around my neck and when another gave me a shiny blanket.  I snapped a selfie and then wandered aimlessly trying to keep my legs from cramping up completely. I wanted to sit down so badly but I knew I'd never get up again.  I got a banana, water and chocolate milk but didn't have any of it for quite a while.  A really nice guy took my picture at the finisher backdrop and I repaid the favor for him.


After getting my sweatshirt from gear check, I tossed my blanket (mistake) and headed to the afterparty area.  I got a nice post-race massage but passed on the $8 crappy Redd's Apple Ale.  I also didn't feel like eating so I didn't visit the food trucks but I hear the hot dogs were amazing.  Instead I made the slow trek back to my van.  At one intersection, I was literally shaking from being so cold and a very nice guy (a first time marathoner) took off his space blanket and wrapped it around me.  Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.

I'm absolutely thrilled with how this race turned out.  It was a little hard not having anyone physically with me at the finish line, but based on the texts, tweets and facebook messages that came through when I turned my phone back on, I had so many people cheering me on from all over the country and your support meant the world to me.  It was disappointing to fall off so much in the last 6 miles and especially the last mile since I'd been doing great pulling out strong finishes, but in the end it didn't matter.  I crushed my goal and that felt amazing.

2612/3993 overall, 965/1740 women, 134/258 AG

Takeaways: If you put in the work - you will get paid.  I think the training plan my friend and I came up with was a definite winner.  (I'll talk about it in a future blog post.)  Having a cold temperature and light breeze certainly helped make this my race, as did the use of that pace bracelet!  I would most definitely consider running this one again - although maybe only the international half next time.  26.2 miles is a long way but sometimes it takes training for and executing a race of that distance to believe how strong you really are.

Hate the color but love the back of the shirt - it's all the landmarks we passed.

Thank you first and foremost to God for giving me the ability to run and keeping me healthy through training and the race. Thank you to my family for putting up with long training runs, fend-for-yourself nights, and me sleeping in on Sundays because it was my only day off.   Thank you to my friends who helped me come up with a training plan that worked and gave me results (even when I didn't believe it was possible to run the prescribed paces).   Thank you to all of you.  Everyone who has read, commented, encouraged me here or on Daily Mile/Facebook/Twitter.   Each and every one of you helped make Sunday a success for me and for that, I am forever grateful.

Training Tuesday: Next Stop, the Detroit Marathon!

It's kind of hard to believe that I'm running my 2nd full marathon in less than a week!  The training is done (except for 2 more short runs this week) and I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

Monday: RUN 3.2 watchless miles in the crisp, fall air.

Tuesday: A 60 minute massage.  Dude. She beat me up so I'm totally counting it.  I had DOMS for about 2 days.

Wednesday: RUN 4 mile progressive at a 9:37 pace.  Where the heck is this speed coming from?

Thursday: BIKE 20 minutes.  STRETCH/STRENGTH 25 minutes.

Friday: NADA

Saturday: RUN 12 miles in 2:09:xx (10:45 pace). I ran the first 8 with about an 11 m/m pace and then the last 4 with paces around 10 m/m.  Crazy awesome 32* run and just what I needed going into race week.!  Now, if the temperature can be in the mid to high 30s next Sunday, I'll be thrilled.

Sunday: NADA (maybe some rolling and such)

To paraphrase Forrest, taper is as taper does.  I've had the usual sniffles, sore throat, aches, pains, etc. I've freaked out over my car not starting on Sunday - it now has a new battery after it left me stranded at the grocery store.  I'm trying not to go stir-crazy and make my loves ones crazy in the process.  So far, I'd say I haven't done a very good job on that front.

But, as for the running piece?  I'm ready.

Race Recap: 2014 #womenruntheD Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k

The weekend of September 20th, I had the honor of representing Another Mother Runner at the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k, plus I got the bonus of getting to run the race and spend some girl-time with one of my BRF's, Jenn.

Jenn and I arrived Friday night to set up for AMR and connect with the race organizers and fellow vendors.  We were lucky enough to get booth space next to fellow Michigan runner, Heather, of Michigan Runner Girl. It's always great to see a familiar and friendly face :)

Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit, Michigan with Windsor, ON, Canada

After we finished setting up, we left Cobo Hall to the most beautiful sunset over the Ambassador Bridge.  It hit me that 1 month from the next day, I'd be running across that bridge during the Detroit Marathon.  EEEK!

Rooms are beautiful

We were fortunate enough to stay at the beautiful Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.  The hotel was just a short drive (once we figured out where we were going) from Cobo Hall and the expo.  If we didn't have stuff to transport, we could have walked it.  Our room was one of the newly renovated rooms in the lower tower.  Beautiful and comfy with a pretty view of the Detroit River, Canada, and Belle Isle (where we'd be running) out the window.

Aren't we cute?

Jenn and I decided dinner and drinks in the hotel lounge - Volt - was the way to go before turning in.  I'm bummed I couldn't get a room here for the marathon in a month.  It would have been super convenient for that race. 

We arrived back at Cobo early Saturday morning to put some finishing touches on our booth.  My favorite aspect to being an AMR Ambassador is connecting with the other runners.   So many told stories of this being their first 5k or Half Marathon.  This seems to be especially true at women's only races.  It's inspiring to see so many women, of every shape, size and ability, in varying stages of their running journeys.

Ready to Rock!

Jenn and I were both able to check out the expo throughout the day.  I loved our location - we were one of the first booths you would see on the way to the back of the room to get your packet and Heather was right next door.

Me and Heather!

Heather also contributes to the Another Mother Runner site.  This was her first experience representing her brand at an expo and she seemed to have a great weekend.

The expo was very well run and just the right length (open from 10 to 4).  There was a nice variety of vendors, although I would have liked to see more jewelry.  I would have bought a Detroit charm for my necklace if any had been available.  I was disappointed in options for meals; however.  There was one restaurant which was supposed to be open but it closed by 1 pm (I think).  I was the last person to get down there and get food and their offerings were very limited even at 12:30.  It was also the most expensive burger and fries I've ever had (about $14).  Not the race's fault, but an observation.  If you plan on attending this expo, you might want to think about eating somewhere else.

After the expo ended, Jenn and I got back to our room and got ready for the Pasta Dinner at Coach Insignia.  While every other aspect of the race weekend was great, this one experience could have put a damper on things if I'd let it.  We each spent $20 for this dinner and there were numerous issues (no GF pasta - or much of any food left, no seating, a bitchy worker).  Some of the issues were restaurant-related and some were race-related.  I've addressed them both with Coach Insignia (whose social media presence and response was awesome) and the race directors.  That being said, I would NOT recommend purchasing tickets to the pasta dinner next year unless there is a way to sign up for specific food if you have dietary concerns.  IMO - a total waste of money since we had to go buy dinner again when we left since we had almost nothing to eat.

At least the view at Coach Insignia was pretty.

Race morning started very early - around 5am.  We had looked at the Sbux hours the day before and they didn't look like they'd be open, so we ordered room service for breakfast.  Expensive but worth it for the convenience.  After getting ready, we headed downstairs.  The race had shuttle busses set up with Detroit Party Coach for participants staying at the Ren-Cen.  Super convenient way to get to Belle Isle and not deal with parking.  My friends who drove over said parking was fine though.  Storms moved through the area Saturday night, so we were all a bit worried about the weather for Sunday morning.  Luckily, the rain moved out just before race-time.  The organizers delayed the start about 20 minutes to give all the people in line for the port-a-potties time to get into their start locations.  

The race had a wave start of sorts - 9 m/m pace and faster went off first, followed a few minutes later by us slower folks.  Then the 5k started after the half, again with a wave start such as the one for the half.  This was to help with congestion on the 2.5 loop course around Belle Isle.  I had never run on Belle Isle before, and it's a part of the Detroit Marathon course, so this was a great opportunity to check it out.  The support along the course was great and there were even a few musical performers.  A nice touch for such a small race (only about 1550 finishers between both the half and 5k).  There were also pacers but it seemed they weren't very organized as there were 3 different pacers all lined up together.  

I'm not going to recap my entire race experience.  If you want to read some of the details, you can check it out on DailyMile.  All in all, I was very happy with how I ran this half.  I went in to the race itself with pretty low expectations.  Training for a full marathon means slower paces most of the time, so I knew a PR was not in the cards (I'd need to run a 2:06 half for that).  I just wanted a solid run and a negative split and I got exactly that.  The bonus was I ran half number 13 as my 3rd fastest half.  Not too shabby.

ooohh...shiny!

The Detroit Women's Half Marathon was a very nice race to run with quite a few positives.

- Great course support and entertainment

- Free picture downloads (I hated my picture which is why you don't see it here)

- Personalized bibs if you registered early enough.

- A very pretty medal

- Excellent Michigan craft beer from Wolverine State Brewing Co. in Ann Arbor, poured by two very cool dudes.

- Pretty, cotton race shirt.  I've received so many tech shirts that I now like the nicer (read NOT unisex) buttery cotton shirts. A note to future participants - the shirts run VERY small.  I ended up with an XL and I normally wear a M.

Wolverine State Brewing Co.

I'm hoping to make it back again next year!

The best part of the weekend was the girl time with Jenn and her friend, Michelle, who we met up with later.  We all had great races and a very nice couple days to escape reality.

Finishers Bari, Jenn and Michelle! 

(Don't forget to go enter my giveaway if you haven't already!)

Five For Friday: @DETwomenshalf goals!

This weekend I'm heading to Detroit to represent Another Mother Runner as a race ambassador at the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k!  I haven't written about race goals in awhile, so I figured I do that today.

Here go 5 goals as I Run the D this weekend!

1. Enjoy my girl's weekend!  I'm bringing one of my BRFs and Fred Relay teammate, Jenn, along for the ride and we are both very much looking forward to some girl time.
2. Meet as many women as possible at the race Expotique.  One of my favorite parts of this ambassador gig is getting to connect with other runners, especially women who are running their first 5k or half marathon.
3. Be the sales girl with the mostest :)  Yes, I'm selling merchandise for Another Mother Runner so if you are coming to the expo, please find Jenn and I in booth 12 and shop your little heart out! 
4. Treat Sunday's half marathon as a training run.  I did a great job of this at the Bridge Run 10 miler last weekend and I'm hoping to repeat again on Sunday.  The goal is a negative split, which is very tough for me, but I have a plan and I'm going to stick to it.
5. HAVE FUN!!!

Are you running or racing this weekend?  What are your goals?

LMCU Bridge Run 10 Miler #racereport

On Sunday I ran a great, local 10 mile race as a training run for the Detroit Marathon. Now, before you say, "But Bari can't run races as training runs!" let me assure you that this time I did! I know - crazy talk!

This really is a fun course, crossing the Grand River a few times and passing several historical sites and museums during the 10 mile run. If you are relatively close to Grand Rapids, MI, I suggest you put this one on your radar for 2015.

No mile by mile recap for this race, but some overall impressions.

• Pacers can help you control your enthusiasm.  I knew I was in no shape to run a PR at this race (my PR is 1:40:56 at this same race 2 years ago) so attempting to do so would have been very risky and stupid.  Being reminded that the goal for this run was TRAINING and not a race influenced my decision to line up with the 11 m/m pacers.  I decided I would stick to them like glue for the first 8 miles and then if I felt good, push the pace for the last 2.  This worked great, with paces of 10:43, 10:36, 10:52, 11:00, 11:02, 10:53, 10:45 and 10:44 for the first 8 and then 10:11 and 9:31 (but run in 7 something because my Garmin measured short) for the last 2 miles.
• Pacers may not run how you would like to run.  Look at my splits.  They were clearly running MUCH faster than an 11 m/m pace for the first 3 miles.  This was fine for me since I'm capable of those paces, but a lot of people dropped from this group by the 2nd aide station.  I would have preferred to start slower and speed up for a negative split.  I know now what to ask at the Detroit Women's Half next weekend.
• Running with friends is fun but not necessary.  I started with some friends but we all had different goals and paces.  This was fine and I just got lost in my music and the pretty riverside scenery.

• Non-traditional bling is fun from time to time.  This is the first year the Bridge Run has offered a medal to all participants and at first, I was disappointed to see it was a key chain, but now I think it's kind of cool and it's hanging on a chain from my bling rack.  The shirt turned out really nice too.  It's a soft, cotton t-shirt and a little bit fitted. The color is pretty and I have enough tech shirts, so being ticked that it was cotton when I got to packet pickup was silly.

• Being only about 3 minutes off of PR pace when you weren't even trying to run fast is frustrating.
• Small races in my area mean I can run fairly well and still suck in the rankings. I finished 57/71 in my Age Group.  372/476 females and 658/788 overall.  I really prefer to be in the top 50% and today I wasn't even close.  I know I'm in a really fast age group, but this is ridiculous. 
• I showed a lot of growth as a runner on Sunday.  I had a guy on my 6 the ENTIRE race.  He lined up with the pace group and when I made my move at mile 8 to take off, he matched me and stayed right on my ass.  If I tried to surge, he surged too.  If I pulled back, so did he.  It was really pissing me off.  With .1 left to go and in the finishing shoot, I slowed up and let him pass me.  Beating this a-hole and getting hurt in the process was not the point today.  I hope in some way that maybe I was his rabbit to a huge PR.  A thank you at the finish would have been nice though.

What would you have done in that situation?  Kick his ass at the finish (which I think I was capable of doing) or let him go?