A couple of weeks ago, I won a race entry from a local race company (Pacers Events) with this Instagram photo. The win netted me entry into either the St.Pat's races or the Four Courts Four Miler. Since Beer Geek and I were already running the Four Miler, I chose the St. Pat's 10K. (And then I convinced Beer Geek and a friend that they needed to run it too.) Since I've been training to run the GW Parkway Classic 10 miler at a sub 10 pace, I decided that would be my goal for the 10K. Sunday morning dawned cold and clear. 22* cold to be exact. After a winter without a winter, this was a bit of a shock to the system. I had planned to wear my Ragnar Ambassador 1/4 zip, but it was not very warm, so I had to get creative. … [Read more...]
Runner’s World Five and Dime Race Report
Runner's World Five and Dime October 17, 2015 5K: 34:34 10K: 1:09:38 Temp: Mid-40s with a bit of wind What I wore: hat, long sleeve half zip, Skirt Sports Happy Girl Skirt(this is an affiliate link), compression socks, arm sleeves, and Altra Running One 2.5 (affiliate link). When I got invited to the Runner's World Half and Festival as an influencer, I thought I'd be pushing it at every race. Unfortunately, bronchitis and my hip had a different opinion. So, instead I had one goal for these two races: finish them both without re-injuring my hip. I was still coughing quite a bit and had forgotten my inhaler, so that added a little extra fun to the races. But I totally nailed my goals. 5K After hanging with several of the other … [Read more...]
Skirt Sports 10 on 10!
We all know how much I love Skirt Sports! I wear the Happy Girl skirt at nearly every race I run. So, I'm really excited to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. But, I'm not nearly as excited as they are! To celebrate, they are holding another virtual run. This is their 10 on 10 virtual race - run a 10k or 10 miles on September 13, 14, or 15, 2014 in honor of their 10 year anniversary and get some cute swag! Here are some details Skirt Sports 10 on 10 Virtual Race Who: You and your Skirt Sisters What: 10k or 10 mile Virtual Run Where: In your home town or run with us in Boulder When: September 13, 14 or 15, 2014 How: Simply click here to signup I love that if you live close to them you can meet up at the Skirt … [Read more...]
State #21: Iowa – Will run for Watermelon
One of these days I'll check the race description/elevation chart BEFORE I sign up. I'm beginning to feel like I'm not on just a 50 states quest, but rather a quest to find all the hills along the way. The Good: Muscatine, Iowa is a really cool small town. The boys got to play at an awesome little park the night before the race. In its 35th year, the Watermelon Stampede was really well organized. First rule of the race? Double tie your shoe laces. Second Rule? No one under 14 in the first three rows. Loved it! The weather was perfect. I finished in 58:13, my fastest 10k in a while. Randomly running into a fellow member of Team Tough Chik. On the drive home, we got to stop at a brewpub and brewery museum for … [Read more...]
State 19: Oregon AKA the accidental trail race
Some day I'm going to choose a race that's "flat and fast". But, that would require actually reading the race course description before I sign up. I recently completed Oregon by running the Deschutes Dash 10k in Bend, OR. I thought I was running a flat race on a paved path by a river. I was right about being by the Deschutes River. In fact, at one point, I was mere inches from said river. The race was a very low key part of a multi-sport event. There were also an Olympic distance triathlon, an Aquabike, and a duathlon going on at the same time. The race start was in a parking lot near the transition area - very few signs for it and no one quite knew where to go. Once we found the start, we were informed that there were no … [Read more...]
State #16: Michigan
Earlier this summer, my dad decided that we should get one more state. Apparently Utah and Wyoming weren't enough for one summer. I did some searching and found a race that was right over the border from Wisconsin in Michigan. Beer Geek wasn't with us, so we had to be a little creative so that we could all get a race in. We borrowed a BOB running stroller (Wow, wish they'd been around when Jones was a baby!) and loaded everyone up in the van. Plan was for my dad and I to run the 10k while pushing Shoo in the stroller and my mom would walk with Jones and my nephew. After a fun day at the beach on Lake Michigan and a dinner out at a brewpub, we arrived at the race ready to go. Except for one thing. Air in the tires. Yep, the … [Read more...]
State #15: Wyoming
Once again, I prepped well for this race. We spent the afternoon prior to the race hiking around Fossil Butte. Then we attended the Oyster Music Festival, which may have involved drinking a few Fat Tires and eating freshly made potato chips and funnel cake. What can I say? I know how to treat my body right. Sure, I look happy, but I can already tell my legs are tired. There were only 16 people signed up for the 10K race. I was pretty sure I was going to end up DFL. We had gone up another 3000ft, so breathing was once again a challenge. The race started with two miles of one small hill and then mostly "false flat". You know, that slightly uphill that looks flat but takes a heck of a lot out of you. Mile 3 was … [Read more...]
State #14: Utah
We traveled out to Utah for a family vacation this year. We were able to make it coincide with the Pioneer Days race, so my dad and I ran the 10K and my mom ran the 5K. To make things as challenging as possible ('cause you know altitude and a wicked hill weren't enough), we walked up the 1.5 mile trail to Timpanogos Cave the day before. Feeling good before the race Long story short, I was breathing hard from the first step, I thought my heart was going to explode *walking* up the big hill, and my legs ran out of energy completely at mile 4. I truly was thrilled to even finish. The below pictures tell the story pretty well, LOL. "This hill sucks, but I can give you a … [Read more...]
Oh, the irony
Sarah at Running (to keep up) with a Toddler asked me "What is your favorite distance to run?" My favorite distance? 10K I know I'm unusual in that. Most people don't like it because it's too long to go flat out like a 5k, but too short to consider a true endurance race and take it at an easier pace. But, I love that distance most of the time. Why? It's a distance that I can nearly always manage. Even two weeks after having to take some time off for an injury, I was able to finish one. Most of the time, it's a distance I can run strongly for the first five miles and then crush the last mile. It takes me a couple of miles to truly warm up these days, so I can go out easy and just keep getting faster. 10K is the distance … [Read more...]
10K race/10 mile run – Clarendon Day 10K
Today was the first annual Clarendon Day 10K run. This race used to be known as the Battle of the Boulevard and it started in Clarendon, went down the huge hill into Rosslyn, turned, and then came back up the hill. Now, the race goes down the big hill, goes farther down the highway at the bottom, and ends just a small ways up the hill in Rosslyn. I expected to have a huge PR since I wasn't going to have to go back up the hill. I wanted to get in 10 miles today, so I planned to run a mile warm up, race, and then run back to my house from the end of the race. Pretty much the mother of all tempo runs. I woke up late, but managed to head out of my house about 18 minutes before the start of the race. I did a comfortable 1.3 mile warm up, … [Read more...]
State #7: A 10K PR!
Short story: Today's race was awesome and I finished in 54:49 according to Garmin (no official results yet). Settle back with a beer, the rest of the story is pretty long. Pre-race: We left DC at 7 am on Friday morning. We had decided to go the western route, rather than I-95. Travel went great for the first 5 hours. Then we started hitting rain and there was an accident that had us sitting in traffic, barely moving, for more than an hour. By the time we got to Hartford, the boys were squirrelly and we were exhausted. Unfortunately, our hotel didn't have a pool, so the boys had to settle for ottoman races down the corridor in our suite. Thank goodness we had dinner plans with a blog friend of Beer Geek's at the City Steam Brewpub. … [Read more...]
State #6 – another crappy race
Almost quite literally. We got to MN and picked up our packets (Dad and I did the 10k, my mom RAN her first 5K) and then hit a brewpub for dinner. The food and beer at Great Waters Brewery were quite good and then we hit Candyland for a serious chocolate fix. We all went to bed early and I actually slept pretty good for pre-race. Saturday morning I got up and it was warm, but rainy. I ate one of my mom's super cookies for breakfast. It was yummy, but I will never eat one before a race again. It cleared my system like one of those Fiber One granola bars. Ugh. I guess it just had too much fiber for me to handle on race day. We all headed to the race and were there in plenty of time. It was chip timed, but there was no mat at the … [Read more...]
