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 #61: Wausau Half Marathon (WI)
Wausau Half Marathon August 20, 2016 2:22:16 Temp: Mid 60s but crazy humid (96%) What I wore: hat, tank top, a Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra, compression socks, and Altra One 2.5 If I hadn't been going for Mercury, I never would have gone out of my way to run the Wausau Half Marathon. But from an organizational standpoint, it was a nice small town race. Packet pickup was a piece of cake and parking on race morning was plentiful and easy, despite it being Wisconsin roadwork season. I ran into a fellow Skirt Sports Ambassador before the race, but she was pushing a racing stroller with myTeam Triumph, so she started 10 minutes ahead of the half marathon. The race started on time and we headed out of Marathon Park. I knew it … [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...]
