Chippewa Trail Races - 20 Miler

 Chippewa Trail Races - April 26, 2025
time = 4:32:05

pace = 13:20
placed 4 in my age group (50-59) out of 11
placed 10 in women out of 43
placed 29 overall out of 80
link to strava data

a lot of trail runners i know run this race annually but neither gabby nor i have ever run it so we decided to give it a go.  the plan was to run it "comfortably" as we both are training for other things and didn't want to exactly "race" this race.  we arrived in chetek on friday afternoon, found northwoods best inn, and got our stuff situated there.  asked the front desk for food recommendations, and she recommended gilligan's (which i might add is on 8 1/2 avenue.  incidentally... a lot of the streets were fractions 8 3/16 ave, 5/16 ave, 25 3/8 ave, etc... which we laughed about.)  other options were "joe's b&b bar and grill", "phil's bar and grill", and "mary's cafe and pub", all on the same block. 

gilligan's was as expected.  a little bar and grill on one of the many bodies of water up in chetek.  the food was good.  the place was empty.  it was also 2:30pm, so there's that.

we ate, we left, and nearly forgot we had to go pick up our bibs.  we drove the 25 minutes to the david r. obey ice age interpretive center. we looked at a bunch of animal pelts, stuffed animals, live animals, picked up our packets and headed back to the "inn". on the way back we stopped for ice cream and candy at the aptly named "custer's cones & candy". 

once we got our food, bibs, and sugar fill we headed back to the "inn" for the rest of the day/night.  we watched some bad tv until lights out, and that was that.  the place was nice enough. no frills, and the rooms were clean.  no muss no fuss.

saturday morning started at 6am.  we both slept pretty badly for various reasons, but race day is race day yay!  i ate the rest of my steak and potatoes for breakfast, and we were out the door by 7:30am for an 8:30am start.

the weather was a bit cool, but we knew it was going to warm up fairly quickly.  the race starts at the center on the top of a hill.  i think we clocked it at a quarter mile maybe... i don't remember.  the beginning of the race is a downhill which ended in a muddy section of trail before continuing around and then back up to the road.  we ran on the road for a short distance and then headed out on the iceage trail.  the majority of the race is on the iceage trail with glorious views, many little lakes, and quite perfect conditions.  very few muddy spots, but lots of roots and rocks for our dancing pleasure... or if you're me tripping and falling pleasure.

this race is an out and back with the 10 mile aid station turnaround on a short stretch of road.  we picked up a man, whom i started calling our caboose, right at the beginning of the race, and he stayed with us most of the time.  we lost each other here and there, and then lost him for good somewhere between miles 13-15.  the 10 mile aid station was stocked with nut roll candy things, snickers, fruit snacks, gatorade, water (of course), and some other snacky type things. we were hoping for some real food, but you get what you get.  around mile 13ish, i started chafing (thighs) and kicking myself for not bringing the lube along.  i really didn't think i would need it... i was wrong.  i won't make that mistake again.   my hip flexors also started talking to me.  i managed to eat shit twice (once fairly early on and then the second time near miles 16-17) and tripped without falling twice... no injuries tho'... just a little bit of a skinned left knee.  i pulled my right glute rock climbing on the tuesday before the race and was pretty worried it was going to be problematic, but nope... absolutely no pain at all on race day.

we were leapfrogging a couple of people (and groups) throughout the race and picked a woman in denim printed spandex running shorts and a group of four younger women to beat to the finish.  we passed up denim shortly after the 10 mile turn around (which incidentally was a pretty big dirt road hill) and about 1 mile after that we passed the 4 horsemen because they took a wrong turn and had to back track to get back on the right trail... they never caught back up to us.

eventually we were running grouped with a couple of older people, and we just stuck with them for some time.  there was an aid station at mile 3, and gabby and i discussed it and decided not to stop going out or coming back.  this allowed us to pass up a few more people who did stop on the way back.  the goal then became to stay ahead of all those we passed and get to the finish as quickly as we could.

i was really hurting by then and having a lot of trouble with my hip flexors.  i had to give myself an internal pep talk to keep it moving.  gabby was wonderful as our pacer and kept us on track with a pretty steady pace throughout.  i, as we know, have a lot of trouble with consistent pacing and tend to go out too fast and poop out at the finish.  not so much this time, which i'm grateful for.  we kept ticking down the last 3 miles, and as we came back towards the start, we were met with a bunch of mud on the last stretch to the center.  all of the places that were a little muddy on the way out were now very muddy with the late morning sun, and there wasn't much in the way of avoiding it.  so tromp through the mud, resulting in wet mud-covered shoes and legs, it was.

the finish is back up that original hill, and to be fair... it's more of a 3 tier rolling hill and very demoralizing.  as we were heading for it, i had a baby breakdown with a couple of tears, but it's virtually impossible to cry and run at the same time, so run we did.

gabby had to go to the bathroom since before the last aid station, so with a bursting bladder and an apology, off she went.  she ran up the last 1/3ish of the hill while i walked it out, trying not to cry.  

i tend to cry when i do hard things and am in physical pain.  the race was really fun, well supported, in a beautiful setting, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  

came through the finish with all the other finishers who came before me hanging out, sitting around, eating and resting after a job well done.  i dropped myself in the grass near the finish and watched others come in while i caught my breath, drank some coke, and ate some chicken noodle soup (although i didn't eat much as it was hot and not at all what i wanted to be consuming).  all in all we had a wonderful time and i would absolutely run this race again. 

next time tho' i will stay overnight saturday night too, as we ended up staying after the race for only about 30 minutes and then got in the car for the 4 hour drive home.  no bueno!  it was really challenging to drive home right after running 20 miles.  we stopped a few times to stretch and once for food and gas.  i have nothing but good things to say about this race.  i'm really glad i did it, and i'm really grateful for having such wonderful friends as gabby, who will sign up for a race 4 hours away on a whim.

Beartrax 20K

Beartrax 20K - April 30, 2017
time = 1:58:14 (chip time)
pace = 9:30
placed 7 in my age group (40-49) out of 15
placed 11 in women out of 36
placed 36 overall out of 76
link to strava data
(i'm not 100% positive on these numbers as i had to tally them myself)

pre-race sporting my dirtbag runner's trucker hat

i ran this race last sunday and the plan was to utilize it as a training run and not race it.  i had run 19mi the previous day (strava data here) on the iceage course and my legs were feeling it.  i want to mention that it's really challenging to change the race mindset but i was happy that i did it.  the weather was less than awesome in that it had been raining all night and now was lightly misting with a temperature hovering around 39º.  when i woke up i was still on the fence about going to the race but since i had a generously comped entry from instep physical therapy & running center (who's trail team i am on) i felt more inclined to go than not.  besides lapham peak is one of my very most favorite places to run.

when i arrived the weather wasn't as bad as i expected it to be and i came prepared with a raincoat & trusty trucker hat.  i would have never worn that jacket if i had been racing the race because it was much too hot... but since the plan was to run it comfortably... i was not concerned and just wanted to stay as dry as i could.

i've never run the 20K before but have run the brownie shuffle several years.  i love this race.  the 20K course is fantastic.  you get a little bit of everything in the park and that was fun.  it begins in the middle of the park at homestead hollow and heads uphill right away.  the first two miles course through a bit of trail near the butterfly garden, and then loops back through the start.  once back through the start, the race goes backward on the black loop down to evergreen grove and then winds back up on the iceage trail where it again loops back down on the black loop towards two-tier turning off on the blue loop connector hopping back on magic carpet ride towards evergreen grove again.  once passed evergreen grove it's back on the black loop the right way back to the start/finish.  while my pace was all over the place my heart rate stayed pretty steady until the last little burst.

because of all the rain, there was ankle deep standing water and mud in the lower sections of the park.  i managed to not submerge my feet until the second time through those sections with less than 1/3 of the race to go.  i was jack rabbit-ing two women for most of the race and some strides behind a man the whole time.  when we hit the ankle deep section i was in front of the women and had caught up to the man.  we commiserated on having both gotten submerged and then we chatted for a bit until he got away from me heading up gut buster.  again i traded places back and forth with the two women until we hit a good downhill and i got ahead.  i caught up to the man, scott, and we ran together and chatted.  just before the finish was in view i blurted to scott that i just didn't want the two women to beat me.  he glanced behind us and said "they wont", and we rounded the corner to the straightaway before the finish.

scott & i at the finish

as we ran towards the finish he said to me "you're not going to let me beat you are you?" and that's right there was all the push i needed to sprint to the end.  (he still beat me).

i remember thinking to myself as he said that... "man, now i really have to go!"

i cannot stress enough how much i love racing and running at lapham peak.  it is a beautiful place so close to home.  lapham is where i learned to love trail running and it will always be my home trails.

i'm glad that i didn't try to race this per se.  my legs were so shot at the end and in mile 11 i rolled my ankle on a downhill and it was really throbbing once i stood around for a minute waiting on the results.  i was worried that i had actually hurt it but by monday it was fine.

i have the iceage 50K next and have decided to reassess my goals.  i've developed some really strange pain at the base of my left glute where it attaches to my hamstring (and a myriad of other things).  i want to enjoy the race more than i want to kill the time.  the original goals for iceage were as follows:

A goal = 5 hours
B goal = PR 2015's time of 5:34
C goal = finish the race

i want to finish the race with a smile on my face and enjoy my time out on the trails that i love.  i always always want to be fast, but under the circumstances, i don't think that's in my cards for next weekend.  running has become quite painful and i'm not sure that the two physical therapy appointments i have lined up next week are going to help all that much.  it is so hard for me to let go of those goals.  so hard...

so the new goals are as follows:

A goal = finish with a smile on my face
B goal = PR my time
C goal = finish the race

best picture of me from the race, feeling awesome!

but i digress...

all in all, beartrax was a lot of fun (as is evident by my face in the picture to the right).  it waited to really rain until i had completed the race which was nice.  this race is now run by silver circle sports events.  sometimes i wonder if these guys are even runners.  this is the 3rd race i've run of theirs and honestly... it's hard for me to want to run another.  their timing leaves something to be desired.  as a runner, it is important to me to have the stats from my races.  quite frankly, i like that shit.  for each race i've run of theirs there was some sort of issue with the timing.  i'm tired of hassling them for the information that every other race i've ever run has provided as customary.  they don't post overall results and it is frustrating to have to add up the people in the race and try to figure out what everything means so that i can get accurate stats. *sigh*

beyond that... the course support was great, volunteers are always great, and obviously, the location of the race is beautiful.

dave, myself, and nichole pre-race

a little stretch of the painful butt at the start

a bear-y fun high five as i ran back through the start around mile 2

PNC Milwaukee Running Festival (1/2 marathon)

PNC Milwaukee Running Festival - 1/2 Marathon - November 6, 2016
time = 1:46:57
pace = 8:10
placed 10 in my age group (40-44) out of 125
placed 66 in women out of 934
placed 226 overall out of 1509
link to strava data


that's a PR people!  oh yeah!

BUT before i get to that let's talk about fueling on race day shall we?  again i slept SUPER badly saturday to sunday.  daylight savings got me all worried that my phone wouldn't update and i'd not get up on time.  so i tossed and turned most of the night finally getting out of bed before my alarm at a little after 4am.  my morning "routine" is a full glass of water right out of bed to get the innards moving and then i take the dogs outside.  by the time that's all done i'm generally ready for the bathroom.  the morning went off without a hitch.  i also usually eat one packet of instant oatmeal on race day.  it's just enough to stave off the hunger and doesn't make me feel icky when i race.

 UNFORTUNATELY for me... this time i unthinkingly added RAISINS!  whoops!  rookie mistake for sure... rookie mistake that i didn't realize until the next day.

in case you're sitting there wondering to yourself... "why not raisins?"  i'll tell you why not...

"Raisins soaked overnight and taken in the morning support bowel movements. The Council suggests a healthy raisin recipe: Combine 50% raw milk and 50% cool water. Eat two handfuls of soaked raisins twice a day, and sip two glasses of this water alongside. Besides this, eat light foods like squashes — lauki in particular is good — to regulate your bowel movement." ~ excerpt from ayurveda view on raisins

um, so yeah... all the poopings, but we'll get to that a little later.  something else to note is that it was about around 45 degrees to start and when i finished it had to be in the mid-50's.  this is the ONLY reason i signed up for this race... the fact that it was warm enough to race (for me).

we wanted to leave the house at 5:30am because lincoln memorial drive would be closing at 6am and i wanted to get a parking spot near the start/finish with minimal walking.  so once we arrived down there we sat in a line (not all that significantly long) for a few minutes and then got a $5 parking spot very close to the start/finish.  pro tip:  should have gotten the all wheel drive and not been so concerned about my gas mileage.  alas that wasn't what happened so now i have to concern myself getting stuck in mud and snow for ever and ever amen.

i imagined this... obviously over exaggerated. lol!

we parked on some mushy grass and i wondered for a minute if i'd be able to get out.  my new (1 year old) car only has front wheel drive and i'm not all that used to it after having a jeep with all wheel drive for the past decade.

after getting all parked and settled in the squishy grass i left my family in the car to go to the bathroom.  i drink a large amount of liquids in the morning and spend a good amount of time in the bathroom because of it.
there was no line and i was in and out in a jiffy.

i did notice that the line of cars trying to park now stretched well past where we ended up getting clogged up, and it looked at least a mile long.  by the time i got back to the car (it turned out to take me 10 minutes back to the car!) it was 6:20am and i was supposed to meet my oiselle volée ladies at the kite shop for good morning photos.  i stripped off my pj pants, lubed up my legs for running, grabbed all the things i would need, and we headed out.

there was a lot of really great energy buzzing in the air which just added to my joy and excitement.  i'm joyful because i've come back from my 8 month injury hiatus stronger than ever, and my excitement to be a part of this race was almost insuppressible!  this was going to be the longest distance i've tackled since my injury back in january!  even in training (or what could be called super minimal "training") for this event i never went longer than 10 miles.  so here we are... looking at 13.1 and hoping to PR at 1:45.

oiselle volée in full effect!  and this isn't even everyone... 

met up with the ladies and met some new friends to boot which is always amazing!  in case you didn't know i'm quite socially anxious (hide it well with the "fake it 'til you make it" mentality) so a big group of new faces makes me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE... got a picture and then we all went our ways to prepare for our races.  i was supposed to meet my mom's run this town ladies for a photo op at 6:45am... when that time came and went i realized that i would need to hit the head one more time before taking off.  tried to make some connections online to see where people were, but had to take off and get in the potty line.  it was HELLA long!  took me until about 2 minutes before the race started to get in there.  talk about cutting it close!

said goodbye to my husband and son and went to find my corral.  when i meandered my way up to the 1:45 pace group i found sheila!  we stood around and chatted; then another bird showed up (sorry love i don't know your name) and we too chit chatted.  next thing we know it's time to go!

my plan was to stick like glue to the pacers which i accomplished up until we hit st mary's hill.  have i mentioned that i'm not a good hill climber?  well... i'm NOT!  i started to lose the pace group by a few feet so i determined that i would have to catch up at the top on the straight away.  it seemed like the hill went on F.O.R.E.V.E.R... although when i look at it now it's only approximately .27 of a mile.

the struggle was really really real tho'!  

my legs not even 2 miles in

i started up the hill feeling strong and capable... that didn't last long.  before i knew it i was huffing and puffing, my legs felt like lead weights, and i was thinking about how much pain i was in instead of all the positive shit i am usually talking to myself about.  finally, i made it!  i was at the top and needed to lengthen my stride and push my pace to catch up to my pacers... this is the first of several times over the next 6 miles that i would force myself to catch up before finally being unable to do so at mile 7... but we'll get to that.

so i made it up the hill where the sparklers were sparkling, unicorns were dancing, and my body did the happy dance (only on the inside).  FREEDOM! i started to fly down the road towards my pacers arms... just kidding... their backs.  then i MADE IT! i caught up and could settle in.

the course is freaking beautiful!  so far so good... we ran along the lake and now we were on the east side.  my old stomping grounds... grew up right off of brady street and spent my college years over there too.  i miss living on the east side.  so much to do, see, and experience all within walking distance.  *sigh*

i digress... we ran down historic brady street where the crowd support was stupendous!  there's a bit of an incline near the west end of brady (it wasn't bad), and then we got to hit a downhill!

andrea and the dino

we ran under the holton street viaduct where there is a marsupial bridge  (built in 2005) that goes over the river for safe pedestrian crossing.  that was fun to run across and if i weren't attempting a PR i might have stopped and taken some photographs like my friend andrea (you can find her here) who stopped for photo ops at the swing park, with a dinosaur, and several other fun places on the route.  right after the bridge we got a sweet little downhill to the street below where we headed south into downtown.  i thought the hills were behind me and i began to feel light as air.  well, THAT might be 100% an exaggeration as i was still trying to keep up with my pace group who were running like little bullet trains.  all the while chatting away to each other as if this were a snail's pace... man, i wish it were that easy for me to run this pace!  incidentally, turns out that miles 1-6 were considerably faster than the necessary 8min mile pace needed to hit 1:45.  i'm not saying this was my downfall, but i do think it helped contribute to my failure.  you see... when i run on my own my pace varies but the average has been hitting under 8 min miles as of late.


anyhoo... i was happy to hit the flat land of downtown, running along the riverwalk was an astonishingly beautiful reprieve from the pain in my legs and lungs.  as we were running the short distance along the riverwalk i was mentally praising my good fortune when we hit wisconsin avenue.

 fun fact:  wisconsin avenue runs east to west (we were running west) and is a delicate,  constant, simply arduous, mind-numbingly challenging 1.80ish miles with a measly 97 feet of elevation gain.  it sure didn't FEEL like something so easy... it felt impossible.

as i watched my pace group slowly slip away within the first quarter mile of this stretch (that felt like a gentle mountain ascent; no i'm not exaggerating!) the woman i was running with this whole time behind the pacers turned back to me and said: "stay with me!"  i replied with breath that was barely mine... "i'm tryin'", and i watched the divide between us slowly grow and grow until i was so far behind there was no catching up now.  it was at this same moment that i realized i would need to find a bathroom pretty quickly.  thankfully in mile 7 (or was it 8?) there were glorious port-o-potties!  beautiful and gleaming in the sunlight... calling my name.

i went in and when i tried to lock the door... IT CAME OFF! the lock not the door ya silly goose!  as i cursed the lock, sat down, and tried to fix the lock whilst doing my business... i timed myself so i could lose no more than 1 minute.  i figured we had banked enough time that i should be ok if i didn't lose anymore than that.

jumped out of the port-o-potty in a practical sprint just as denise came out of the other potty!  she was running the full and went on to win as the first woman to cross the finish line!

so far mile 8 was my slowest mile yet at 8:57... not bad so i figured i was fine with the lost time.  so i lengthened my stride once again and opened up as best i could to once again make up my lost time.

i hit the turn around (effectively a descent) and clocked that mile at a 7:40.  made the righthand turn onto 16th street and lost my gumption.  the bridge is cool and it was fun to run over it with no cars, but my stomach was acting up again with no potty in sight!  i was really worried that i was not going to make it to the next stop without having to walk which i think causes me to subconsciously slow my roll thereby putting less strain on my innards.  mile 9 was still an excellent effort at 7:54.  got to the end of the bridge and went down a small hill to connect with bruce street which would ultimately take us back east and into the 3rd ward.

mile 10 was tough as i tried to run comfortably without causing stress to my bowels.  i was really needing to find another potty pronto!  i finally came upon another aid station with potties and handled my business... unfortunately i was there for almost 2 minutes this time!  very disheartening as i watched my hopeful PR slip away.

i got out of there as fast as my legs would carry me and finished out mile 11 at 9:36!  ugh... this was gonna hurt me for sure!

i really picked up the pace as best i could for the next 2 miles.  i figured if i could really push it i could try to make up at least some of the time.  which was now almost solely my focus only to be diverted while running around discovery world as it was pretty and new to me.  i really liked running on the wood walkway surrounding the facility so i took note of it.  as i rounded the building i knew i was maybe 1.5 miles from the finish, and i pushed as hard as i could until the end.

saw the camera and readjusted my face

 as i ran the final stretch i noticed several people who had finished and i was mentally trying to check their bibs to see if they were 5K finishers or half finishers... unfortunately my brain couldn't figure out what color bib was for which... the pain in my body was so intense that i started to cry.  

what pain looks like

i just wanted to finish as strong and fast as i possibly could.  i needed to beat my previous fastest time and i was angry that i had to make TWO bathroom stops on the course.  as i rounded the turn to the finish i saw the clock turn from 1:45 to 1:46 and i kicked it into high gear.  as i did this i heard a man making a TON of noise behind me as he pushed himself with all he had.  i can't remember if he finished before me or not but i think so... i think his sprint was stronger than mine, and as soon as i heard my name and crossed the finish line i burst into tears.  i ran that last bit at a 7:32 pace.  it was hard and painful and worth it!

i saw my husband and son.  i cried into my husband's chest as i collected myself from my effort.  i made my way down the finisher's corral gathering bananas, pretzels, milk, water, and cliff bars.  as i came out of the corral i hugged my son and husband again and smiled.  I DID IT!  i managed to PR and i'm counting it even if it's just a breath over 2 minutes.  my garmin counts my moving time at 1:44 so imagine if i didn't have to bathroom break?!?  i could have CRUSHED my goal!  next time...

the course support was great.  the volunteers were amazing and energetic which is oh so necessary when doing something hard.  it's nice to hear someone tell you to push through or that you're doing great when you feel like shit.  i liked getting to see the city on foot and that was the best part.  it is an entirely different experience than driving.  more visceral and real.  there's an attachment to it that you can't get in any other way.  running is freedom and life.  the world looks a whole lot different when you're running on it than any other way of traveling except maybe walking.  connection.

all in all i liked the course a lot.  the challenges were necessary and (while painful) made the course fun.  i like being pushed to my edge to see what i've got.  this course did that for me and for that i'm grateful.  there is nothing so rewarding as working hard towards a goal and attaining that goal.  i am stronger for this race.  if the weather cooperates i would certainly do this race again... but ONLY if the weather cooperates.  after all, we all know how i feel about winter racing.

finisher's "after tears" smile

and done!

Lakefront Discovery Run 15K

Lakefront Discovery Run 15K - October 29, 2016
time = 1:13:48
pace = 7:56
placed 8th in my age group (40-44) out of 91
placed 38th in women out of 595
placed 138th overall out of 1048
link to strava data

i want to start this post out by talking about beetelite.  i picked some of this up from REI a couple of weeks ago.  i tested it out on a couple of runs, and (to my amazement) there really was a noticeable difference in my performance and how my body felt while pushing it.  it doesn't taste that great (all REI had was the cherry flavor so that's what i got), however the taste is completely inconsequential when looking at the results.  as we all know that consuming beetroot juice (or beets in general) has been known to increase performance.  beets are full of antioxidants and good for all kinds of things from lowering the risk of heart disease to boosting endurance to combating constipation.  they just don't always taste that amazing.  when i found this product i thought... let's try it.  so glad i did!

the last road 1/2 marathon i ran was rock 'n sole in 2015 where my pace averaged out at 8:25, and honestly... this was the best i could do.  today's race went so much better!  honestly, i didn't start to "feel it" until mile 7 i guess.  that's when i really had to dig to keep up the pace.  i was doing all the pep talking at that point too.  letting myself know that i was almost done.  that i just had to work through the last couple of miles and so on.  verdict?  yes, beetelite works!

moving on...

the weather turned out to be PERFECT for me!  i hate, despise, and loath cold weather racing.  have i told you guys that before?  the only reason i signed up for this race was because of the promise that we could wait inside the warm building prior to the start.  turns out that wasn't necessary as it was around 55 degrees when we arrived and warmed up from there.   my son max was volunteering with my friend (and fellow oiselle volée teammate) laura.  we arrived at 8am so max could get to his volunteering position at the start/finish line.  one of the really cool things about this race is that they actively encourage costumes. it IS nearly halloween so it fits.  yes, as is evident from the above picture, i am a party pooper and don't dress up.  this is strategic tho'... i cannot run in things i'm uncomfortable in and we all know that i RACE to win not to have fun.  i suppose that sounds kind of stupid but it makes perfect sense to me.  when i run a race i am doing it to see what i'm made of.  to test my limits.  to leave everything i have on the course.  i run all the other days to have FUN... that's not what race day is about for me.

bunny laura, me, and gorilla max

i did all my normal pre-race routine things and pretty soon it was time to begin.  we all lined up and the race director got up on a ladder, said a few words, and then counted down with little fanfare and we were off.

the course was really nice.  we ran past the summerfest grounds along the lake past the art museum, up the hill by the war memorial, and then veered right onto the oak leaf trail.  we followed the trail up to lafayette hill where we hopped off and onto terrace avenue at the top of the hill.  followed that around back to the oak leaf (still at the top of the hill) and ran that for awhile.  this part is a beautiful paved trail that runs through lake park.  we ran through lake park to lincoln memorial drive and that was a most welcome descent.  we then continued to follow the oak leaf along the lakefront where the sun had come out in full force.  man!  was it hot all of a sudden.  the lake was beautiful and calm tho' so that made up for the sudden burst of sun drenched heat.  i'm going to say that this might have been the prettiest part of the whole run.

the whole time i was really focused on my strides.  i have learned that if i lengthen my strides i take less steps and effectively reduce my cadence.  i think this is important for me because i used to take a million steps and it was not energy efficient.  lately i've really been focused on my strides and have found that when i lengthen them and it seems i'm slowing down (because i'm taking less actual steps)... i ACTUALLY am going FASTER with less effort!  it's a beautiful thing!  so i focus on that and try to also focus on my back foot having a really strong push off to propel me forward.  so far so good.

once we got back near discovery world we ran out into lakeshore state park (the oak leaf turns into the hank aaron state trail at this point).  i was hurting by then and just trying to maintain my pace at while tricking myself into believing that i wasn't in any discomfort. i followed everyone (and i mean EVERYONE) in front of me through the park and towards the back of the marcus amphitheater.  there were two women directly in front of me that thought we were going the wrong way.  the one was telling the other that last year they turned around right at the loop we had just passed, and headed back the same way we had come so she was confused about where everyone was going.  however, because there were so many people in front of me i just continued to follow.  i have never run this race before so i had no idea who was right.  i figured that there wouldn't be that many people all going to wrong way... man, was i wrong!

turns out there were (at the very least) 50 or more people who all went the wrong way!  it only added a tenth of a mile to my distance... other people said it was longer, but i'm going with what my garmin says.  a 15K is 9.321 and my garmin said 9.4 so not a big deal.  i would have been more worried if we cut the course and since that didn't happen... who cares?

i finished as strong as i could running the final 1/2 mile in with a 7:50 pace.  it was pretty hard to maintain, but i just kept telling myself that i was nearly there and to push as hard as i could so i could be done.  i'm pretty proud of this finish time.  i didn't honestly think it was possible.  my goal for this race was to run it in 1:20 or under.  i absolutely exceeded my expectations there!

me, bettina, & sheila ~ oiselle volée team members

the finish was really crowded.  lots of people in costumes milling around who had finished running.  they had a lot of snacks but no bananas or any of the regular type finish items i'm accustomed to so that was a little disappointing.  there were lots of chips and cookies tho'... if you like that sort of thing.  i had some water and then ran into sheila who is also a fellow volée teammate.  we stood around and talked for a bit and i got to meet another volée teammate, bettina.   it was nice to finally get a chance to talk to these fantastic ladies for more than a couple of seconds.

max and i ended up heading to the car so he could get out of his costume (it had gotten much much warmer) and so i could change out of my running shoes into something more comfortable.  i don't know what the deal is with this new style of shoe, but i'm having an issue with my toes on my left foot.  they hurt after runs and i'm pretty sure i'm going to lose a nail.  i might have to look into different shoes if this doesn't change.  this is only my 2nd pair but i sort of feel like i had the same issue with the last pair... maybe not.

anyway... this race puts on a huge after party.  they had the boogie men playing and offered up more food that had to be purchased for $5.  the awards were really cool.  the top finishers received a disco ball trophy and the top age group finishers received medals with disco balls.  very nice!

yes... those are uggs.

all in all i would absolutely do this race again (contingent upon the weather, of course!).  the course was pretty easy and fun.  it was well organized (minus the detour snafu), and my only complaint is not having foods i would eat after a run.  a banana or two would have been nice as all i had was a handful of potato chips... not my first choice for nourishment after a hard effort.  i'm so glad the day turned out the way it did.  such beautiful weather for the end of october.

lakefront discovery run = a success!

and we're off!

fake it 'til you make it... trying to look strong in the last 1.5 miles

Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon - 26.2

Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon - October 4, 2015

time = 4:01:45
pace = 9:14
7mi = 57:59 (2 min faster than last year)
13.1mi = 1:54:06 (30 sec faster than last year)
20mi = 2:55:57 (4 min & 3 sec slower than last year)
placed 40 in my age group (40-44) out of 167
placed 291 in women out of 1083
placed 899 overall out of 2281
link to strava data

to say that i'm disappointed with my results would be an accurate assessment.  i went into this race with three main goals and one final death march goal:

1. to boston qualify
2. to beat my time from last year
3. to finish in 4:00 or under
4. to finish at all

i started with the 3:40 pace group because there wasn't a 3:45 and i figured... what the hell?  i could bank some miles and then let them go if i felt that i couldn't keep up.  the weather was perfect!  50 degrees, overcast, and very little wind to speak of.   my shin felt really good the whole time so i was pleasantly surprised.  i was running really comfortably at this pace and holding my own... it was glorious!

at mile 6ish i knew that concordia was coming up and that i would need to use the bathroom so i picked up the pace in hopes of not losing my pace group when i inevitably stopped at mile 7.  unfortunately i did not put enough space between us before i sat down, and i lost my pace group. i'm not sure if that slowed me more mentally or physically.  i feel like losing them definitely effected my pace in that i tend to slow down when i get into my head.  at least when i'm following someone i keep up.  so after i lost them i slowed by a barely noticeable 20sec per mile.  while i could afford that... it certainly hurt me.  at mile 13 i stopped again for a bathroom break and to switch out my empty water bottle for a full one from my husband (as is evident by my mile 14 split).  it was really great to see my husband and son all the times i saw them along the course.  shortly after i saw my family i saw a few more friendly faces:  ami and todd.  it's really nice to see people you know when running a race.  it is encouraging.

at mile 18 i am still on par to finish ahead of schedule and ahead of last year's time.  not a boston qualifying time, but i can make goal 2... and this is when it all started going down hill.  my left hip started to really bother me.  it was becoming more and more painful with each passing mile beginning somewhere around 10.  by 18 it was a challenge to run normally and at the pace i had been holding.  so rather than let that get the best of me i started pulling over to the side and stretching my hip and walking a little here and there.  this significantly effected my pace.  by the time i hit 20mi i was trying not to cry.  i reassessed and gave up goal 2.  now it was a fight to the finish in under 4 hours.  i was playing mind games with myself... telling myself that 6mi is nothing.  i run that all the time... piece of cake.  i can do that in less than an hour.  little did i know that my body had other plans.

every time i would walk or want to walk i would tell myself that i should just run or keep running because then i will get there faster and be done faster and then i will be done altogether.  it's funny the things we tell ourselves when we are in pain to keep going.

i was making deals with myself.  bribing myself.  it was quite humorous.

the last 4-5 miles were brutal.  every time i would walk i would cry it would hurt so badly.  so i would start to run and that looked comical like a cross between that drunk squirrel that everyone posts on the internets and someone that shit their pants and is wearing shoes 3 sizes too small at the same time.  the inner dialog assessment of my body at that moment went something like this:

"man, my left hip hurts, the back of my right knee feels like there might be a tear, hmmmm what the hell is wrong with my left foot?  is it broken?  damn that hurts... why does my right foot hurt now?  what is going on... did i break my left foot?  what is going on with my ankles?  why do they feel like that?  are they giving out on me?  what the hell?!?  am i going to make it to the end of this thing?  it hurts more to walk so i'm not doing that if i can help it..."

and on i ran.  one mile left to go and i'm walking and decidedly NOT crying and the 4:00 pace group passes me.  fuckers.  i start my hobble run and hope it turns into more of a real run.  i am determined to run it in no matter how much it hurts.  i keep running as i watch person after person pass me.  as i watch 26.2 come and go i start cursing the course.  it is LONG goddamnit!  now i have to run .2 more!  i want to cry!

i come into the finisher shoot and there are so many people.  i really just want to be done so i can stop and my hip will stop screaming at me.  i just want to stop.  i see the clock... 4:01... damn.

so my last goal... the obvious one that there's no way i would fail at unless i broke a limb... just finish.

and so i did.

i am fortunate that i can run.  i am fortunate that i can accomplish the things that my body and mind allow me to accomplish.  i am so very proud of my accomplishment today even if i didn't quite hit the mark i was aiming for.

i look so much stronger than i feel in this
photo!  last 4-5 miles

not exactly sure but i think this was around mile 7
when i still felt pretty damn good

i look better than i thought here.
this is the last 4-5 miles

and... finished!  looking stronger than i
anticipated.  so happy to be done!

so much happier looking now that i'm done running

InStep Trail Races - 1/2 Marathon

InStep Trail Races - 1/2 Marathon - September 19, 2015

time = 2:03:16 (42 seconds faster than last year)
pace = 9:25
placed 1 in my age group (40-44) out of 9
placed 5 in women out of 46
placed 23 overall out of 93
link to the strava data

interestingly i also received the masters award this year which (i think) means that i was faster than everyone 40 and older... or something.  not sure but i got a pretty sweet plaque out of the deal so that's awesome.

my sweet masters plaque

it rained on and off all night friday and i woke up to some rain happening at 3am.  i moved to wauwatosa from delafield so the weather can be totally different from here to there, but i had checked the doppler the night before and knew it would also be raining in delafield.  it was supposed to stop by the time of the race so i was not concerned.  before bed i took 2 imodium because i've been having a lot of problems with my gut on runs and wanted to avoid any issues whatsoever.  i had a goal for this race (2 hours), and i really didn't want my stomach interfering subsequently ruining that for me.  my alarm went off at 6:20am so i would have enough time to not have to rush.  took the dogs out, got dressed, had some juice, vitamins, and a banana.  once i handled all that morning business i headed out to lapham.

i got there around 7:30am.  it was low 50's, but was supposed to get to the mid-50's by race start.  it was cold.  i found dave since he was volunteering, and we chatted for a little while.  i ran into a bunch of other friendly faces and had some hugs and pictures.

at 8am i watched the marathoners take off... my friend nic killed it again with a 3:33:22 winning finish time.  it's always exciting to watch a race take off.

at 8:24am i lined up at the start.

at 8:30ish... we took off.  i had planned to run comfortably but still harder than normal.  i have completed the black loop 3 times in under an hour over the summer so i was feeling quite confident that i could maybe beat my time from last year.  all the overnight rain had made the prairies really wet and there were some puddles.  as we hit the first climb i was feeling really good.  my plan was to just motor along, try and run the whole of "gut buster", and not be pooped out once i made it to the top.  i managed to do all of those things and then get to BOMB DOWN the next mile of downhills.  so fun!  there were some mud puddles along the trail but they were easily avoided.  i really expected the trail to be much muddier than it was.  the temperature and cool wind that was whipping around now and again made for excellent conditions to run this race.

my strategy was to run everything that i could, and walk the couple of hills that i customarily walk... namely the one directly before "the wall", i also get to walk "asthma hill", and lastly one just before a long incline next to the tower.  i finished the first loop in 1:01:03.  not too bad but not exactly what i was hoping for.  i was definitely not bombing downhill as fast as i have been known to do which i believe directly contributed to adding some time.

moving on to loop two... i walked A LOT of "gut buster"... i simply couldn't make myself go any faster or harder up that damn hill.  everyone in front of me was long gone and there were really only a handful of people that were running a relatively similar pace as me.  none of which looked to be in my age group... and we all know that my goal is to win in my age group. lol!  running up that hill proved to be harder than i thought the second time around.  i tried... i really really did!  i commiserated with another male runner near the top who started walking just before we crested.  we lamented our misfortune of being on that hill a second time while alternately celebrated our good fortune in not having to run it again since we were only doing the 1/2 marathon.  silver lining people... silver lining.  finally got to the top and bombed my way down the other side.  it was glorious!

i run this loop so often that i know it like the back of my hand and can tick off the miles without even looking.  it is certainly an advantage in that i know exactly where i am and how much further i have to go.  it's a beautiful thing.  i think it makes it easier to run a race when you know what comes next.

by the time i hit "two tier" i felt so done.  my quads were burning.  oddly, my right shin (that i've been having so much trouble with these past weeks) was nearly painfree. whatever mike did at PT last week must have been well worth it.  even so... i walked A LOT of this hill.  in fact, i didn't even bother to try to run very much of it.  i figured i was nearly done and no amount of running now would make much difference in my time.  i suppose i could have maybe shaved off a minute on that hill... maybe.  although, the trade off might have been that i wouldn't have had the energy to bomb down the following hill... "magic carpet ride".  because "magic carpet ride" is longer than "two tier"  i'm going to believe that my choice to walk then run was the right choice.

i finished the final prairie strong and came into the finish with a smile on my face.  it was really great to see the faces of friends at the end.

i love this race.  i love this park.  everything about it is great.  it is well put together, great race director, and the volunteers are fantastic!  best of all it is so fun.  if you didn't get out there after last year's race report... you will really have to try your best to get out there next year.  there is a race distance for everyone now.  they even added a 5K this year... so there's that!

receiving my masters award

Summerfest Rock 'n Sole 1/2 Marathon

Summerfest Rock 'n Sole (1/2 Marathon) - June 13, 2015
time = 1:50:22
pace = 8:25
placed 16th in my age group (40-44) out of 264
placed 205th in women out of 2021
placed 644th overall out of 3344

when i checked the weather last night there was a 32% chance of rain at 7am.  when i re-checked at 4:45am this morning it had gone up to 100% chance of rain at 7am.  what a bummer.  so i checked the doppler because... doppler.

there was a huge storm headed our way from the south but veering east and planing to end up over the lake.  it looked as tho' there would be a downpour right at the start of the race.  i was not at all happy to see that.  krista is again in town from colorado to run this race (like last year) so we decided to carpool again.

when we arrived downtown traffic was pretty backed up and it took about 20 minutes to get parked.  as soon as we were parked it started to drizzle.  now, drizzle is no big deal... it was this "downpour" i was worried about.  we got our running prep on and headed towards the port-o-potties.

me & krista - photo by john g.

on the way there we ran into my friend john g. who was one of the event photographers!  it was nice to see a friendly face and he got a pic of us to boot.  hugs and introductions were had, and we moseyed on to do our business before hitting our corrals.  the potty lines went quickly and it was about 15 minutes until go time.  krista's corral was right there so we said our goodbyes and i started towards my corral.

when i got to my corral i expected to run alone and was contemplating my goals when i looked to my left and saw rani!  yay!  so i went over to her and we chatted.  we both were really happy to see each other and it turned out to be a no-brainer to run together.  while we were waiting to begin there was this woman in front of us.  she was very fit.  she looked like she didn't eat much but spent a lot of time maybe lifting light weights and/or running/jogging.  she was doing some VERY VERY dynamic warm ups to the tune of kicking people in her immediate vicinity.  rani and i were discussing the merits of such a venture in such a small space.  we agreed that it was odd.  this woman was an odd duck for sure.  she was in full makeup and swinging her legs like there was no tomorrow also... massaging her glutes like it was going out of style.  we couldn't decide if she was super elite or the complete and utter opposite.

when it was time to go that woman took off like a bat out of hell.  it was drizzling and i am happy to report that my choice in long sleeves up top and shorts on the bottom was a good choice.  i was appropriately dressed for once.  yay me!  our pace group started off WAY TOO FAST and we lost them within the first 2 miles.  oh well... so much for a 1:45 finish.

we caught up to dynamic woman within the first mile.  guess she took off way too fast and all that leg pendulum-ing did nothing for her.  we passed her shortly after that and maintained a lead for some time.

the miles ticked by and as always running over the hoan was beautiful.  the rain had stopped and the fog was so thick that nothing beyond the bridge was visible.  each time i run this race the experience is so different.  the next notable runner was a very colorful woman in hokas who stayed just a few paces ahead of us from the bridge on.  why she is notable will come later in the report.

mile 6-7 from the bottom of the bridge to lafayette hill was pretty uneventful except for rani's knee causing her a significant amount of pain.  she decided she would make the decision to bow out (aka slow down) after we crested lafayette hill.  once we made it to the top she said go so i did.  i needed to find a potty anyway.  so i took off and hit the potty near st. mary's.

lost 2 minutes there (mile 8) and took off sprinting.  caught up to rani less than (i think less than) a mile later where she told me that dynamic woman passed her.  i took off and just focused on my pace and passing people one by one.  i wanted to finish strong and since mile 10 is lincoln memorial drive and a big down hill... i knew this was going to be a good split!  i just kept focusing on form, breathing, and ticking off the next person in front of me.  sure enough that mile split was a 7:49.

keep it moving and keep breathing even... i've got this!  i feel great, my legs feel great... everything feels great!  oh my god!  look who it is... dynamic woman is a few people in front of me so i keep ticking them off, and i effortlessly pass her.  i leave her behind and never see her again.

this stretch is totally flat which is wonderful.  i just keep running and keep trying to pass the person in front of me.  my watch beeps and i look at it... ugh.  8:08.  pick up the pace!

i try to move a little faster and IT WORKS, but i'm starting to feel it.  i've done ZERO speed work this year and it's starting to wear on me.  i'm really trying to keep picking off the person in front of me.  a lot of these people started off really fast and are paying for it now.  i really want to finish strong!  i really want to PR, but i know that's not going to happen.

mile 12 beeps off.  7:52.  not bad... keep pushing!  so i keep pushing, but so do a couple of other women.  we play frogger for awhile with me winning some and a couple of other women winning some... only one mile left and i'm running up on the very colorful woman in the hokas.  i finally caught back up to her!  so i decide to push harder... it's only one more mile!  i can do this.  when i pass her she exclaims: "hey!" so without missing a beat i raise my right hand and wave to her over my right shoulder.  i can't even waste a moment turning my head or my pace will suffer... she laughs and i'm glad.

i am running as hard as i can which is still not hard enough for a PR.  it is all i can make my body do. my toes hurt and i'm pretty sure i'm getting a blister on my right foot just between my big toe and the ball of my foot.  i keep telling myself it's just a mile... i can do this!

unfortunately i am not as fast as i feel and i finish out the last mile at a 8:07.  still respectable but not good enough to meet my goal of finishing in under 1:48.  i came into the finish with a smile tho' and i am really happy about that.  normally i feel so awful at the finish that the pain on my face can be read from a mile away.

man, i guess i didn't look as good
as i felt at the finish line

beastmode or beefneck? finish face

walked it out to the end of the finish shoot, and read my text messages.  found out where krista was and then i saw rani in the finish shoot!  we hugged and she finished strong in spite of her knee.  only a 5min difference between the two of us so she did excellent!  then i saw the colorful woman and tapped her on the shoulder!  i told her she did a great job and we laughed about my passing her and the wave.  i love runners and how connected we are!

finished with a smile

rani, her boyfriend brian, and i stood around and talked a little bit and then we went to our cars.  i stretched it out and got ready to head back and wait for krista.

krista finished strong around the 3 hour mark and we unceremoniously met at the end of the finish shoot and headed to the car.  by then we were both done.  we did a little stretching at the car and headed home.

this race is always fun.  i really enjoy the course and will probably do it ever year if i can.  i love running over the hoan bridge and i think it will be all that more amazing once the repairs are done and it is completely open.  my hope is that they will go back to the original course and we will get to run an out and back on the bridge again.  june race in the books... now to prepare for dances with dirt in july.