September 19, 2012 · 9:27 am

North Face Endurance Challenge 2012

The North Face Endurance Challenge weekend started on Saturday, when Steve and I volunteered as course marshals for the afternoon shift during the 50 mile, 50k, and marathon distance races.

Armed with radios to make things official, our job was to monitor the last road crossing that was 1.8 miles from the finish line to make sure runners got across safely.

It was the best place to be because most of the runners were super excited when we told them they only had 1.8 miles to go. Many of them had been running since 5am and were more than ready to be finished.

As it grew later, the runners were more and more spread out, so we had some time to sit down and take a breather.

Just before 6pm, we got the all clear that our job was done. We headed to our friend Joel & Sandee’s house for a pre-race dinner. Joel and Marty had both run great races at the 50k that morning, and the ladies were getting ready to rock the half marathon on Sunday morning.

For the last four months, I have been coaching my friend Cindy to complete her first trail half marathon. As my foot started to feel better, I decided that I would run the race with her as a pacer/coach. I wanted to do everything I could to get her to the finish line within her goal time.

Beer totally counts as pre-race carbs.

Sunday morning rolled around very quickly, and we were off to Ottawa Lake for the race. We met up with our group and snapped a couple of pre-race pics.

Steve was feeling a little outnumbered by the sea of pink around him as the only guy in the group. A nervous Cindy and I were ready to go!

We started at a nice easy pace to get warmed up before heading into the trails.

I knew there was a big hill coming as soon as we got off of the road, and I told Cindy that we were going to walk up part of it.

Once we were up and over the hill, we resumed running at a comfortable pace. We talked the first five miles away, and before we knew it, we were already half way done.

Cindy was not wearing her Garmin, which was our plan. I was keeping an eye on our pace the whole time to make sure that we were on track to come in under 2:30, which was Cindy’s goal. I would tell her what mile we were at if she asked, but I did not tell her anything about the pace other than to assure her that we were on track. In my head I knew that we were more than on track, and I was hoping we could keep it up through the finish.

We had a bit of a tough stretch when the trail got a little more technical and rocky in the later miles, but I knew that we would still be ok time wise despite some walking breaks. Right around mile 10-11, there is a long gradual incline before heading back down the big hill from the beginning. Cindy was really feeling it at this point and I was saying everything I could to encourage her, promising a long downhill and then a flat road to the finish.

When we got back out onto the road, I told Cindy it was time to dig deep for the finish. We had less than a mile to go, and it was the first time I told her that she was going to be really happy with our time. I could tell she was giving it everything she had as we approached the finish line.

We crossed in 2:20:15, nearly 10 minutes under her goal time, and I could not have been happier.

Cindy gave me the biggest hug at the finish line and it felt so good to know that I had helped to get here there. When I showed her our time, she was ecstatic and overcome with emotion, and I felt like a proud mama.

Congratulations Cindy!! (and I hope you don’t mind that I stole all of your pictures for this post Smile)

Post-race, the ladies posed for one more picture.

We hung around the finish area for a while checking out the different tents with shoes to try on and games to play for free stuff. The icing on the cake was entering a drawing and winning a pair of North Face trail shoes!

I can’t wait to test them out tonight on the trails. Overall it was a great weekend of running, volunteering, and hanging out with friends. It really can’t get much better than that.

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September 15, 2012 · 9:02 am

Never say never

Once upon a time, there was a girl who ran.

She ran and ran until just running wasn’t enough. She bought a bike and learned to swim.

She trained and trained and one day became an Ironman.

In that time the girl met a boy. The boy did not run or bike or swim. Try as she might, she could not get the boy to exercise.

That boy became her husband, and she realized that he would never run or bike or swim.

Until…he watched her that day become an Ironman.

And decided that he would be an Ironman too. Thus began his journey. They trained together, he became an Ironman, and so did she again.

Though the day was fantastic, she said never again. Too much biking, too much swimming. I just want to run.

And run she did. She took to the trails and didn’t look back until she had run 50 miles all in one crack.

When Ironman sign up day came, the boy was all in. The girl said not me, never again. Yet in the back of her mind she felt a fire that only burned brighter as the day went on. That night, staring at the screen, she was uncertain in how to proceed. The form was filled out, she was one click away. After much hesitation, she caved in a moment of haste. Still uncertain, there was no turning back. Here we go again, she thought. Here we go again.

Never say never.

Ironman Wisconsin 2013, here we come!

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August 14, 2012 · 3:44 pm

32 days

The North Face Endurance Challenge is a mere 32 days away. Earlier this year I put this race on my calendar with intentions of running my second 50 mile race. When I became injured in early June, I thought I may have to drop down to the 50k. Well I was out of commission for much longer than I expected,  and was hoping to be running in time to run the half marathon. I am now officially registered, and I cannot wait! It will not be a fast race for me. In fact, it may be a run/walk depending on how my foot feels. But I will be racing none the less and I can’t tell you how excited that makes me.

I have been running every three days or so, all trails, all at a super easy pace. My foot seems to be holding up pretty well. It gets tight every time I run, but it doesn’t get any worse afterwards or the next day, so I think I am on the right track. I am also getting treatments twice a week at work to get myself back into balance. The last thing I want is to go full steam ahead with my body all out of whack and end up right where I started. I am grateful to be running again, even if it is a just a tiny bit compared to where I was before. I have to admit it is frustrating to see my average pace so slow, but I know over time if I work hard and play things right my speed will start to come back.

Two weekends ago Steve and I did a 6 mile run/walk at my favorite place, Lapham Peak.

And this past weekend we met up with our friends Cindy and Scott at Scuppernong. I ran 7.5 miles before I forced myself to stop (see, playing it smart!), while Steve and Cindy continued on for a total of 12 miles.

Running friends are the best!

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August 1, 2012 · 8:36 am

Operation: total buffness

First, an update on the running front. It has been over 8 weeks since I injured my foot. I ended up having an MRI to see what the heck is going on in there, and it came back totally negative for everything. Great news, only I still have pain and now there is really no way to explain it. Since I now know there is nothing structurally wrong, I decided to give running a try. I have now tried it twice, with limited success. The first time was this past Friday morning. I still had mild pain and tightness in my foot, but I just had to give it a try. I woke up early and nervously headed out for a test run. I took it very easy, walking a full 1/3 of a mile before I started to run. I ran (if you can really call it that) for 1.5 miles, then walked the same 1/3 of a mile home. My foot felt tight and sore the whole time. I iced it right after, and waited to see how it felt. Saturday it was very sore, and I was very frustrated.

Sunday I headed down to Chicago to visit my brother and his wife (she is doing a clinical rotation there for med school and he flew in for the weekend). I walked around the city all day and had very minimal pain. I took a third rest day and Tuesday morning I decided it was time for another try. I did the same walking warm up, ran 2 miles this time, and walked a little at the end. Dare I say it felt a little better the second time around. Still tight, but manageable. I didn’t feel like I was really altering my stride at all. Again I iced right after, and for the rest of yesterday it didn’t feel any worse than usual. I am hoping that if I continue to take it really easy and get in a short run every few days, things will continue to heal. I am also fortunate to work at a PT/wellness clinic where I can get treatment for it. I need to get my body back into alignment so I can prevent any more injuries as I ramp back into training.

Well that was a lengthy update. Let’s talk buffness. I have never liked strength training. Coming from a personal trainer, that’s weird I know. I like helping other people strength train and reach their goals. I grudgingly do it (not often enough), but I mostly subscribe to the “do as I say, not as I do” approach. I would rather be outside running, biking, and breathing hard. For the first month after my injury, I was not allowed to do any exercise except for upper body and core strengthening. I decided that I would see if I could use the time to get totally buff. I started lifting weights before work 3-4 days a week. I borrowed some of the workouts in the beginning from Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer. The workouts are targeted to two muscle groups a day, like “back & biceps” or “chest and triceps”.” I skipped the lower body days as I was in the walking boot. I also did not change my eating habits at all (don’t take away my nightly beer!), so the results I got are from working out only.

As the weeks have gone on I have cut back a little bit, partially because I still don’t like strength training and partially because I can now bike and swim. However, I can now see the results from the first six weeks, and I am slightly more motivated to continue to work it into my schedule. I debated posting these photos on the interwebs for all to see, but whatever. I have posted way more embarrassing photos than these and I am sort of proud of the results, so there. The pictures on the left were taken on 6.18.12, and the ones on the right were taken 7.31.12, six weeks apart.

Front view – from noodle arms to packin’ heat

Side view – um, no wonder all of my shirts are now tight in the shoulders.

And my favorite, from the back.

So there you have it. I am going to do my best to continue to lift weights twice a week. I am hoping to see a little bit more definition as I ramp up the cardio with biking and swimming as well. I am also hoping that this new upper body strength will help to improve my running form, and maybe my swimming as well.

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July 13, 2012 · 6:08 am

5 weeks

It has been 5 weeks and 3 days since I have run. Not that I’m really keeping track or anything. I have not worn the boot since early this week. I have been trying to at least wear running shoes vs sandals for a little extra support. My foot is slowly improving. Sloooowwwwwwllllllyyyyyyyy…. It still feels tight on the bottom, especially at the end of the day. Fun side note: on Tuesday I looked in the mirror and noticed that my hips were way off. Now they are usually off, but I am talking right hip two full inches higher than the left and also rotated forward. I speculate it is from wearing the boot. Since it is so thick on the bottom, it jacked my entire right side up and out of whack. Thank goodness I work at PT clinic where people know how to put me back together and get my body lined up correctly.

I feel like I am watching racing season slowly slip out of my grasp. I was really hoping to be able to run the 50k at the North Face Endurance Challenge, but at this point I will be happy if I can run the half marathon. Let’s face it, at this point I would be happy to run at all. Period.

Ok, on to happier things. Like pink hair!

See? This is the kind of thing that happens when you take running away from me. I kind of love it.

I got to spend lots of time with my family over the holiday week.

As well as experiencing the most hysterical tube ride of my life. Seriously. I was crying from laughing so hard and had a sore throat from screaming so loud.

And because they tend to make everything better, kittens!

My cousins have two. Lilo & Stitch.

I want one.

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July 1, 2012 · 8:20 pm

The good, the bad

The good: My foot is feeling somewhat better. I have been going mostly without the boot since Wednesday, and it has definitely improved from when I first went to the doc.

The bad: It doesn’t feel like it’s anywhere close to running. It is making me crazy and sad. I still have pain especially on the bottom of my foot and it feels like it would flair up in two seconds if I tried running. I see the doc again tomorrow morning so we’ll see what he says.

The good: Summerfest. I got to go two nights in a row on Thursday and Friday, and saw some really good concerts.

Silversun Pickups:

The Foo Fighters:

Kelly Clarkson:

Train:

So much fun!

The bad: I had to wear the boot to both concerts, and it was approximately 124 degrees inside that thing. Yuck.

The good: Summer. Boating. Outdoor activities in the sweltering heat.

The bad: The sweltering heat. I don’t even know when the last time was that it rained. Our grass is brown, along with the entire state of Wisconsin.

The good: My brother and his wife are coming into town tomorrow and staying for a week. This makes me very happy and excited.

The bad: none.

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June 27, 2012 · 8:04 am

North Face Endurance Challenge 2012

One of the races I look forward to the most every year is the North Face Endurance Challenge. I have run the race for the past three years, the half marathon in 2009, my first 50k in 2010, and the half marathon again in 2011 just one week after Ironman WI. Did I mention I met Dean?

This year I was looking forward so much to running the 50 mile. Then this happened, making a 50 miler 80 days from today pretty much out of the question. I will be racing this year, hopefully the 50k but possibly the half marathon depending on how things go with my foot.

I am excited to be a part of the Endurance Challenge blogger team for the second year in a row, and am happy to help spread the word about this awesome race. One of the best parts is that there is a distance for everyone from the newbie trail runner to the seasoned ultrarunner. There is a 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon, marathon relay, 50k and 50 mile, all spread out over 2 days on September 15-16. I have installed a handy link to registration in the left sidebar, so go do it!

Will I see you there?

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