Walk Run Wag 5K

Walk, Run, Wag for MADACC 5K - July 13, 2019

time = 25:52
pace = 8:19
placed 1 in my age group (40-49) out of 6
placed 6 in women out of 62
placed 15 overall out of 99
link to strava data

i signed up for this race on a whim.  i've been feeling pretty good lately and thought why the hell not?  it's right down the hill from my house and for a good cause... so i ran.

it's a pretty tiny race and turns out... had the exact same number of finishers as the last time i ran it back in 2014.  i was a hell of a lot faster in 2014 tho' and try as hard as i could this time... there was no way in hell i was going to clock a 7:35 average for this race.  granted, i'm 5 years older and man... i'm slower.  i'm even a bit embarrassed to say that i actually WALKED during mile 2 for a bit there...  yes, i walked in a 5K thank you very much.

2 women passed me while i was walking and that second woman... well, she was someone's grandma so i started running again.  no way was i gonna let grandma beat me.  so i ran as hard as i could for that last mile and 1/2 and smoked the grandma by a few minutes.  i count it a win.

it's hard to wrap my head around my slower "fast" but i'm hoping that i can bump that up still.  i know that as we age we naturally get slower but that doesn't account for all those folks older than me that are hella faster than me so i still have to try.  

all in all i feel like i did well.  i tried as hard as i could and can safely say i did my best and that's all i can hope for.  

next race up is High Cliff Ultras 25K... we'll see if i can finally make it there this time.  i've DNS'd twice due to injury so i just have to stay injury free for the next couple of weeks.   here's to staying injury free!

updates, goals, and butt covers

hello friends!  just a little update is in order it seems...

i was out of commission from february 1, 2016 until august 15, 2016.

within that time i managed the following mileage:

• february = 23.5 miles
• march = 7.1 miles
• april = 15.5 miles
• may = 9.2 miles
• june = 0 miles
• july = 8.5miles
• august = 60.1

i gave myself the goal of 600 miles for the year as i thought that was doable given that i'd have 5 months to complete it barring any recurrence of the injury that put me on hiatus.  i am so very please to report that i surpassed that mileage on yesterday's run!  it looks like i'll be ending 2016 with a bang and probably closer to 700 miles.  i've been steadily increasing my mileage and pace.  i've added in some races because i was feeling so great!  we all know i don't race in the cold. lol!

wisconsin has been so mild throughout these fall months that racing was viable.  now that my "race season" has come to a close i am just going to run miles until february when i start training for iceage.

that means treadmill will be back in rotation.

i do also want to say that i picked up a super sweet pair of down quilted butt covers.  i've been seeing a down filled running skirt for the past couple of years, but it didn't interest me.  i didn't like the idea of being restricted in my movement by a skirt because they always looked so narrow.  so when i was trying to figure out how to keep my butt and hamstrings warm this coming deep freeze i googled "down running shorts".  lo and behold lululemon used to make some!  i got these babies off of eBay the other day...  i'm so excited to try them out once they get here!  they cost a pretty penny so they better be worth it!

lululemon "hot" shorts

the job hunt is still going strong.  oh... i guess i haven't talked about that tidbit.  i lost my job back in september and have been on the search ever since.  i had an excellent interview on friday which i hope pans out.  cross your fingers for me!

hello stranger

it's been a long time.  i know i know... i know what you're thinking.  where the hell have i been?  did i fall in a sink hole? well... the answer is nope.

no sink hole.  i've just been super bummed since i couldn't run.  so i've been spending a lot of time doing other things such as letting various physical therapists poke and prod me, watch me run, point out my flaws, give me stupid exercises that didn't work, and then peppering that with pathetic attempts at running.  in between all of that i also did a lot of pouting and i started rock climbing again.  that was a lot of fun.  the climbing not the pouting.

so i started climbing 2-3 times a week until i got mind-numbingly bored and burnt out on the whole thing.  i did, however, get certified to lead climb so that was pretty terrifying and cool all at the same time.  i got to climb outside for the first time at devil's lake (which incidentally coincided with a 1/2 marathon i was supposed to be running but had to drop out of) so that was great fun and also bittersweet because i really would have much preferred to be running the race instead.

i pinched a nerve in my back and stopped climbing altogether at that point and picked up crossfit instead.  it was at about the same time that my primary care physician told me that i had to stop running completely in order to let my leg heal.  HA!  as if...

so i've been doing crossfit (well baby crossfit actually) for just over a month now, and last week i ran 20 miles.  TWENTY FREAKING MILES!  woo hoo!!

i think it's safe to say that i'm back!  i'm running well and pain free.  i've been strictly running trails.  i've been shown these lovely trails along the river by my house and on the east side by the climbing gym.  they are so much fun!  trails are my JAM!  it's amazing how much easier 7 miles on a trail is compared to 3 miles on a road.  so much more fun too.

so i'm hitting up badger crossfit 2-3xs a week to keep my body strong because it seems like it's the only thing getting me running.  running is necessary to my wellbeing.  physical and mental.  i need it to be well.  i like climbing, i like crossfit, i like other things... i LOVE running.  i am so fortunate that i can run again.

so that's what's been going on with me... what's going on with you?

long time no see

it feels like not much has happened since devil's lake but actually a lot has happened.  we moved to tosa from delafield so that's something pretty big.  i am continually surprised by how close everything is and how challenging it is to try and get a long run in the city.  i basically run from my house on the hank aaron as far east as possible (to the lake) and then have to run along the lake until i get the mileage i'm looking for.

 i've found a few trails and routes (all paved so far) and unfortunately the hank aaron heading west is closed in a section until 2018 for the freeway construction that goes over the trail.  i was really looking forward to running that way so i'm thinking i'm going to try it again and attempt the detour... see where it leads me.

i've also just learned today of a short gravel trail that is about 3-4 miles in on what has become my usual route.  i'm very excited to find this trail and check it out.  

i just signed up for the tosa fest 5K.  i haven't run a 5K since may and i guess it's about time.  i'm pretty excited because this race is just blocks from my house.  i don't like the 5:30pm start time, but whatever... could still be fun.  probably won't be my fastest 5K since i'm a faster (better?) runner in the morning.

next weekend i've got the strider 1/2.  mostly i've just been puttering along.  after ice age i feel like ever other race is just a professionally timed run.  i feel competitive about it but not like last year.  after i accomplished the 50K it doesn't seem like any of these other races are as important as they once were.  

i'm not sure what my 2016 goals will be.  i can't decide what my focus should be.  part of me wants to run long but part of me wants to focus on getting faster and to get faster i think i need to incorporate more 5K races into my race season.  if i do that then the longer races will fall to the wayside.  i'm really considering iceage again as my A race for 2016.  i'd like to shave some time off and with an injury free body i really believe i could have run that faster than i did.  

so that's what's been going on with me.  back in the city and couldn't be happier!

badgerland striders 1/2 marathon

badgerland striders 1/2 marathon - august 23, 2014

time = 1:50:35 (1:51:12 last year)
pace = 8:26
placed 11 in my age group (40-44) out of 66 (9 out of 61 last year)
placed 65 in women out of 441 (58 out of 408 last year)
placed 226 overall out of 838 (226 out of 792 last year)

weird to get 226 again this year. also weird that i ran faster and placed lower in my age group...

awesome striders' medal

there's some fast old ladies out there.

so i did a couple of things different for this race which proved to be disastrous. i used a new nuun which has caffeine in it.  not sure if that contributed to the problem or not.  i'm guessing not but it's hard to tell at this point considering the disaster that i call my stomach.  i stupidly opted for an aleve which is an nsaid. i haven't taken an nsaid since ragnar and we all know how well that worked out.  basically, nsaids wreak havoc on my intestinal tract.  i also took an imodium assuming that they would cancel each other out yet i'd reap the benefits of both.  yeah, um, not so much.

the products i use that are beneficial and wonderful are:

• x2 performance - 1 2oz bottle
• 2 capsules of sports legs
• 1 tablet of nuun in my water bottle

i'm going to assume that the nuun was fine and that my gut problems completely stemmed from the aleve.  

my splits

so... the run.  the race started out and i was supposed to be running it as a training run.  i decided i was going to keep it slow, steady, and run at a comfortable pace.  i decided on 8:20 as a good pace and began there.  i kept it there and ran.  at mile 2 my friend jim from the LPTR group passed me, and admittedly it was all over for the "training run" at that point.  oh, who am i kidding... i was never going to be able to contain myself and run this as a training run.  so jim passed me and i spent the next mile catching up to him.  we ran together until about mile 4 when i realized there was no way i was going to make it any further without peeing.  thankfully there was a port-o-potty conveniently up ahead at which point i ducked off to go.  moments later i was off again.  interestingly enough mile 4 was my fastest mile at 7:48.  i could see jim ahead of me and spent the next couple of miles catching up again.  i think i caught up to him around 6 or 7.  we then ran the rest of the race together which was really great.  it was around 77 degrees with 95% humidity.  very foggy and so wet!

my stomach started letting me know how uncomfortable it was around mile 10.  by mile 11 i had to take walk breaks.  i wasn't sure i was going to make it to the end without hitting a bathroom which was so disappointing!  thankfully this course is almost completely flat so it goes very quickly.  

jim stuck with me the whole time bless his heart!  it's pretty awesome that even with the walking we still managed really good splits!  i'm disappointed with the last 3 miles, but it really couldn't be helped.  i just keep thinking about how i could have shaved at least a whole minute off my time if i had not had the stomach issues!  what a stupid idea to take the aleve!  admittedly, if jim had not been there to encourage me on i may have walked that whole last mile... or stopped at that last port-o-potty.  i'm so grateful that he was there.  i finished strong and with a PR from last year.  so... good enough for me.  next year i'll do better.  

this is such a fun race.  the weather was so gross that i just was so happy when it was over.  they fed us sausages, potatoes, and of course beer.  i don't drink beer so whateves to that.  they also had the standards... bananas, water, some sodas, and oranges.  the start and finish is at the estabrook beer garden which wisconsinites really love (obviously).  

my poor toes

i've been running in my shoes for over 300 miles now.  this is notable because when i got home today and got my shoes off i realized just how badly i need to replace them.  ugh... blood blisters.  i will be losing a nail for sure.  my poor toes.  runners toes... oh yeah, so hot.   yup... those are my toes fresh out of my shoes.  don't worry... i have since lanced the blisters and painted the nails so they look presentable.  geez louise...

Walk, Run, Wag for MADACC - 5K

Walk, Run, Wag for MADACC 5K - June 21, 2014

time = 23:48:94
pace = 7:40
placed 1 in my age group (40-49) out of 14
placed 4 in women out of 85
placed 15 overall out of 128

there is conflicting information regarding this finishing information.  the preliminary results put me at 3rd in my age group and i was totally happy with that!  after all that i've been going through with my leg i was just so pleased to be running pain free and FAST!

the story my garmin is telling - look at those splits!

let's go back to the beginning for a moment tho'... the weather pretty much was sucking.  it was 60 degrees which was awesome but you wouldn't know it considering it was overcast, windy, and threatening to rain at any moment.  it was so humid that the chill in the air made it seem at least 10 degrees colder.  i sat in my car talking to my sister until the absolute last second.  actually, that's a total lie... i sat in my car until about 9am and then went to the bathroom, got back in my car for a bit, got back out and asked where the start was, and then got back in my car until about 5 min until the start.  once at the start i was feeling pretty good but no one was starting at the front.  it was so weird!  everyone was about 3 or 5 feet away from the start.  i really didn't want to start in the front because i tend to take off too fast and then putter out at the end.  always with the positive split which is a no no in my book.  so we all line up and when the announcer says to get closer to the start line people moved up but not really so there i was... right in the front.  *sigh*

we took off and after about 3 tenths of a mile i notice i'm going sub-7... i dial it back and let a bunch of people pass me because i know that i cannot maintain that speed for the duration especially with how my leg has been.  we ran out on the parkway and it was pretty beautiful.  after that we did a weird little turn around and headed back the way we came.  we turned off into a neighborhood and looped around back onto the parkway.  it started drizzling in the last mile but it was ok because i was hot at that point.  in the last mile i was running right next to a guy who spit in front of us both.  i admonished him because he got me with it and we chatted for a moment about kids because as i was admonishing him i also said it was ok because i have kids.  he told me about his 4 week old and i said to get used to the spit and vomit.  he told me about getting peed on and we then talked about how hard it was to run that fast.  he complimented me on my speed which was nice because i felt like i was dying but not as bad as really dying because i was still able to hold a conversation with him.  i pulled away from him and decided to stay ahead of him the rest of the way.

on the parkway it was really cool because we were heading back as the people with dogs were heading out so we got to run past all the dogs and runners.  i was just so glad to be holding a sub-8 pace and it felt hard and effortless at the same time if that makes sense.  hard in the sense that my body was working and effortless in the sense that it was pain free and my body was absolutely capable of holding that pace for the duration.  i kicked it into high gear when i saw the finish line.  i did (as is evident by my splits from my garmin) run the last 2 miles slower than the first but i think that might have been because i was speedy gonzales and running sub-7 at first.

my garmin tells a different story than the
"official" results

afterwards i was chatting up some little boys (read: probably in their 20's) and one of them said that they were pacing me at the start because he looked at me and said "she's a runner so i'm going to stick with her".  that felt good.  i know that i'm a "runner" but i don't really always feel like a REAL runner.  i don't know what i mean by real runner but different than what i am i guess.  it was nice.  the funny thing is that all those boys passed me right away because that was right about the time i realized i was going too fast and dialed it back.  i often wonder what the outside perception of me is when i'm running races.  i always feel like i need to be faster or like i'm not doing good enough.  i always strive to be better than i was the last time and it is really hard sometimes.  maybe i'm too hard on myself, but i'm very competitive and my desire to win is strong and goes deep.

as i said before, the results were very confusing in that the preliminaries put me at 3rd and then there was a bunch of running around by the officials and they got a new print out and came back and handed me a pretty little medal with 1st place on it.  i'm not exactly complaining, but i didn't want to have a medal i didn't earn so i e-mailed the officials when i got home and asked to make sure.  i was assured that it is mine.

in this printout i'm listed as 1st in my age group
but this is the one that excludes top 3 overall

if you look at the print outs tho' it is easy to see why it is confusing.  it seems what they did was count the top 3 overall separate from the age groups so while i came in 3rd in my age group if you counted the top 3 overall together with everyone else i would be in 3rd... by counting them separate i was 1st instead.  is that how it's normally done?  i don't even know.  i've never seen it done like that i guess.  i always thought that the top 3 finishers got their medals and that they counted in their age groups as well.  maybe i'm wrong.  i have no idea really.

in this printout i'm listed as 3rd in my age group
but this one is inclusive of the top 3 overall.  see?  confusing!

i guess i'm just glad that i finished in the time i finished and did so well.  makes me feel good that my leg is doing better and i believe we're on the right track with treatment.  this race was really fun and for such a great cause. i really like what MADACC does and i'm so glad i got to support them with this run.  i had fun and i wish my husband would have been able to be here with our dogs for all the afterward fun.  maybe next year.  instead i came home and ran an additional 8 miles to make the 11 i had on my schedule for today.  while my leg didn't hurt during the 5K it did begin to feel not so good during the 8.  i'm happy with my performance on this run too tho' because i managed to maintain a pretty steady pace for most of it and it felt pretty good the whole time even tho' my leg was hurting some.  all in all today was a total success!

that dude (1304) won in his age group - 60-99.  he is 72 years old.

he finished this race in 23:52 which was only 3 seconds slower than me!  he was fast!

Run Like a Mother (5K)

Run Like a Mother (5K) - May 11, 2014
time = 25:22
pace = 8:10 average
placed 9th in my age group (40-44) out of 64
placed 29th in women out of 420
placed 29th overall out of 424

i had a great running streak from saturday to monday and then it seems that those 3 days of just over 6 miles was overdoing it because on wednesday when i wanted to run again... i simply couldn't.  my leg hurt so badly that i couldn't even do a little jump on it without pain.  i went for a long dog walk with the husband and then thought that it would be loose enough after that for a short run.  not so much.  got home and took off for my run and didn't even make it down the driveway.  went to PT on thursday and i feel really defeated.  all the PT did was give me some exercises to do at home and quite frankly i don't think that's going to do anything for my issue.  so here i am today after not having run for the past 5 days and i try to run a 5K.  i am so slow now and it is really disappointing.

i'm trying to be optimistic and positive.  i'm trying to cut myself some slack given the current circumstances but i'm really pissed off.  i'm pissed off because no one seems to have an answer on how to fix me.  no one has been able to say to me... i can help you fix this problem in x amount of time and you'll be back to running your normal pace pain free in x amount of time.

so basically i have nothing to look forward to but more of this weird numbness and non-pain and weakness and nerve stuff.  my heal is numb right now... my heal!

so this morning when i got up for the race i was pretty indifferent about it.  i wasn't sure i was even going to bother going because i feel like i'm settling into this slower race pace and i don't want to get comfortable here.  once i got moving this morning tho' i decided that i would probably regret it if i didn't go and i've been getting more and more bummed out the less i've been able to run so i figured all the activity and the other runners would do me some good.

i got my boys up and we all left for the race.  the 1 miler kid race was first and the kid that won it did it in 5:58!  insane!  kids are so fast!

when it was time for the 5K to start suddenly i had to go to the bathroom.  3 minutes to start and i need to go to the bathroom?!?  sheesh... in and out in a jiffy and i'm at the start line.  no one wanted to be at the front so there i was... in the front.  of course, i took off too fast and was clocking under a 7 minute mile out of the gate and when i realized it i dialed it back.  good thing too because by mile 2 my leg was hurting.  not exactly hurting but feeling tight and weird.

still feeling fresh

by 2.5 miles there was a double loop which i managed to slow down down down for and then i got stuck behind a 2 deep team that was clocking a 8:30 mile (yes i checked my garmin).  while i was stuck behind them i was debating staying there because it was comfortable or trying to get around them because i can run faster.  i stayed behind them and then when the water station came up i decided to stop, walk, and drink some water.  i NEVER stop in a 5K so that was deeply disappointing.  This was an out and back which i always like because i enjoy seeing all the people in the race as well as seeing who is in front of me.  i finished strong and am a little afraid to see the pictures because (of course) i wasn't working on my "race face" as i was uncomfortable and my leg wasn't feeling good.  i really just wanted it to be over as i was thinking about my lack of endurance the whole time.  i need to figure out how to build my endurance while not aggravating my leg further.  i just don't know what to do about that.       

my beautiful children on mother's day

these beautiful faces

afterwards my boys were right there and that was wonderful!  we went to brunch at juniper 61 where my little brothers are chefs and had a lovely meal.  all in all it was a worthwhile experience and i would do it again.  hopefully faster.

the shirt, the bib, the medal

only one mile left to go

still trying to be positive

almost done

the finish!

Run Like A Mother (5K)

Run Like A Mother (5K) - May 12, 2013
time = 23:34
pace = 7:35
3rd in my age group (40-44)
placed 19th over all (all women)

yesterday i ran 9.23 miles in lapham peak. i decided that training for the 1/2 coming up in a month is more important than winning the 5k i would be running the following day... so i got my mileage in even tho' i knew i was racing the next day. even so... i think i did quite well given the fact that my legs were totally fatigued throughout the entire run. it was cold (40 degrees) so i was layered up and subsequently over dressed for the race once it began. i think that accounted for my being a bit slower than i would have been if i had been dressed appropriately. i FELT a lot slower than i ACTUALLY was. i was really surprised by my pace when my app spoke to me after mile 1. by mile 2 people were passing me and i thought i was slowing down considerably but really it was just by seconds. still... in a race situation that makes all the difference.



as my splits show... i was slower and slower as the race went on. oh well... it was a fun race given the circumstances. wish i would have been faster but it felt good to get out there and run fatigued. i like to push my body and see what it can do in any given situation. i like to know that it can perform even under less than optimal circumstances. i've been feeling not so great this last week so it's good to know i can pull it out when i need to.

running is so fun! happy mother's day to everyone!

my son did the 1miler kid run and came in second! he was even running on an injury incurred yesterday during a lacrosse game! pulled quad muscle. such a trooper! second place! wow! ran a 7:12 min mile!