After I finished the Marine Corps Marathon in 2008, I thought to myself "what challenge should I take on next?" My answer was to run a race in all 50 states. At the time, I had only run one half marathon (ZOOMA Annapolis) and had not actually fallen in love with that distance yet. So, I set out on my journey to run a race in all 50 states, but my only goal was that as few as possible be as short as a 5k. I know. Looking back, I wish I'd set the half marathon goal earlier. Why? Because I have to re-do a few states and none of them will be easy. I need to re-do Alaska (10 miler), Illinois (5k), Iowa (10k), Oregon (10K), Utah (10k), and Washington (5 miler). If I were still counting all races, I'd be at 39 states, sigh. But here I … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #62, State #33: Woodbury Country Mile (MN)
It's Tuesday, so that means it's time for Tuesdays on the Run. Since today is a "free topic" day, I'm going to share my final race report from my trip to Mercury with Half Fanatics. Woodbury Country Mile August 21, 2016 2:21:56 Temp: High 50s to low 60s What I wore: hat, tank top, a Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra, compression socks, and Altra One 2.5 After I left the half marathon in Wausau, I drove 2.5 hours to Woodbury MN. Packet pickup was in the local YMCA and literally took 2 minutes. I knew absolutely nothing about the course, but I knew I was in for a small race and prepared to run the race mostly by myself. After packet pickup, I headed to a college friend's house. He was a fraternity brother of Beer Geek's and I hadn't … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #60, State #32: Hungry Duck Run (MI)
Hungry Duck Run Half Marathon July 4, 2016 2:20:24 Temp: Mid 60s at the start, high 70s by the end What I wore: hat, tank top, a Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra, Features socks, and Altra One 2.5 I have to admit that I wasn't very excited to be running this race. I've learned over the course of many half marathons that in teeny tiny races like the Hungry Duck Run (especially when they offer a shorter distance too), I'm going to be nearly last and I'll be running mostly by myself. But I needed Michigan and this was the only race available while we were in town. The race took place in the town of Brighton, which had a fabulous brewpub (Draught Horse brewing). That alone made it worth running LOL. Unfortunately, Shoo had a super … [Read more...]
In Pursuit of the Perfect Race
Happy Tuesday, y'all. Hope your Independence Day was a fun! Mine was awesome as I completed my 21st half marathon in 21 states in 365 days. Only two more races to go! Today on Tuesdays on the Run, we are talking about how you choose the races you run. What is your thought process? Mine is pretty straight forward: Run.All.The.Races! No? OK, really my first thought is "does it get me a new state?" If the answer is yes, run it. If no... Create Your Own Visited States Map Is it near a new brewpub? (Map is FAR from comprehensive.) If the answer is yes, run it. If no... Does Shoo have a soccer game or tournament? Yeah, I don't check his schedule first. I'm sure that makes me a bad mom, but soccer season and race … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #59, State #31: New England Series – New York
Today is Tuesdays on the Run and our topic is "what you find on the road." Oddly, I've never really found anything interesting, including no money, so I don't have much to say. So, I'm going off topic and finally recapping my last race of the 7 half marathons in 7 days. New England Series: New York May 21, 2016 2:17:36 Temp: mid 50s but warmed up fast What I wore: hat, tank top, a Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra, Wonder Woman socks, and Altra One 2.5 This was race seven of the New England Series. (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut preceded it.) The race took place at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz, NY. I had done this course before as a full marathon, but thankfully it was … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #58, State #30: New England Series – Connecticut
New England Series: Connecticut May 20, 2016 2:18:10 Temp: low 50s What I wore: hat, tank top, a Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, Beer socks, and Altra One 2.5 Happy Global Running Day! I'm celebrating with a beer run this evening, but instead of a Global Running Day post, I'd rather recap my Connecticut race. It was a really good one! This was race six of the New England Series. (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island preceded it.) The race took place on the Iron Horse Greenway in Simsbury, CT. It was one of the longer courses at 2.184 miles, which meant we only had to do 6 laps. This distance is my favorite. It long enough to feel like you are making significant progress with each lap, without being so … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #57, State #29: New England Series – Rhode Island
New England Series: Rhode Island May 19, 2016 2:22:09 Temp: low 50s What I wore: hat, tank top, a half zip, a Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, Features compression socks, and Altra One 2.5 This was race five of the New England Series. (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts preceded it.) The race took place at the Coventry Center Park in Rhode Island. It was a really short course, so we'd have to do 11 laps. Luckily, it was all paved, with only one hill to speak of. I was feeling a little rough. My right glute was staging a protest and decided it did not want to participate in the race. This made running a little bit of a challenge. However, the weather was basically perfect and Beer Geek told me we had no time … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #56, State #28: New England Series – Massachusetts
New England Series: Massachusetts May 18, 2016 2:37:33 Temp: mid-50s-60s What I wore: hat, tank top, a half zip, a Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, compression socks, and Altra One 2.5 This was race four of the New England Series. (Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont preceded it.) The race took place at the Northfield Mountain Recreation Center. My quad was feeling a bit sore, but otherwise I felt pretty good at the start line. (Apparently I planned to sleep-run this one) Then we began moving and I realized my legs were pretty fatigued. And then we turned onto the grass field. Running on grass is a special kind of hell. This was thick, in need of a mow, grass. I felt like my feet got stuck with every step. It was exhausting! I … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #55, State #27: New England Series – Vermont
New England Series: Vermont May 17, 2016 2:15:19 Temp: Low 40s and sunny What I wore: hat, tank top, arm sleeves, Brooks Nightlife jacket, a Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, Features compression socks, and Altra One 2.5 Vermont was state #3 in the New England Series. (Maine recap and New Hampshire recap) After a somewhat fast and definitely hilly race in New Hampshire, I had no idea what to expect when we got to the Vermont course. My quads were tight and sore and I was tired from not sleeping well. It was a beautiful day though and the course was a simple out and back on the Toonervlle Trail, a paved rail trail. I was happy to see Kim again and planned to just run easy. I started the race with my buddy, Nads. (There are a lot of … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #54, State #26: New England Series – New Hampshire
New England Series: New Hampshire May 16, 2016 2:22:45 Temp: mid-30s and really windy What I wore: hat, tank top, arm sleeves, a half zip, Brooks Nightlife jacket, a Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, Features compression socks, and Altra Impulse I was feeling a bit tired for this race and the temperature had dropped quite a bit overnight and the winds had picked up. I put on all.the.layers because I was afraid I'd be cold (and ended up regretting this.) This race took place in Greenfield State Park in New Hampshire and would consist of 6 loops. I like even number loops, so that worked for me. I was excited to see Kim as she and her husband had come out to run New Hampshire and Vermont. The course had a few spots of challenging … [Read more...]
Lifetime Half #53, State #25: New England Series – Maine
New England Series: Maine May 15, 2-16 2:29:30 Temp: low 50s, cloudy, and windy What I wore: hat, short sleeve shirt, arm sleeves, a Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, compression socks, and my trusty Altra One 2.5 Sunday was the kickoff of the 2016 Mainly Marathons New England Series in Sanford, Maine. Beer Geek and I had spent the last two days driving up from Virginia - in a Mustang that the rental agency gave us when they didn't have a compact LOL. It was a bit chilly at the start, but mostly because it was quite windy. I started out on the first lap wearing my Brooks Nightlife jacket, but quickly ditched that at the first opportunity. I spent the rest of the race in short sleeves and arm sleeves. I kept thinking I'd take off the … [Read more...]
Lifetime half #52, State #24: Independence Series – New Jersey
Independence Series: New Jersey May 7, 2016 2:25:18 Temp: low 40s and cloudy What I wore: hat,tank top, half zip, Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, Features Compression socks, and my new Altra Paradigms This race was not on my radar until Shoo's soccer season messed up all of my planned races for April and May. Clinton, NJ is a four hour drive and the race was on a Saturday, so it was my "last ditch" option to get in a New Jersey race this spring. I had mixed feelings when I decided that I needed to do this race. After all, I love Mainly Marathons, but the logistics were a bit daunting. But, I committed, and I did it. Friday was a rainy day here. I made a rookie mistake and waited until after my kids came home from school to leave … [Read more...]
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