Faster Mommy's Top Christmas Gifts for Runners!

So I may be a month or so late in doing this post but better late than never right??

I have been asked A LOT, what do I get for my wife/husband she's/he's a runner.  I usually suggest things that I love and use so I figured I would share in case you are like me and JUST started shopping.

10.  For a newbie runner a Garmin is a fabulous thing.  The Forerunner 10 is a great entry watch and gets the job done without busting your budget.  For a little more advanced runner, check out the Forerunner 220 (which is totally on my wishlist).

9. Hydration!!!!  I switch between a Nathan handheld for shorter distances and a Camelback for longer distances.  Perfect gift!!

8.  Make your water count!!!  NUUN tablets make FABULOUS stocking stuffers!!!!!  While you are there, pick up a NUUN water bottle too!

7.  A foam roller, yes, your runner needs one.  You can pick the least evil looking one at your local sporting goods store.

6.  Headsweats visors!!  These are fantastic for men and women and they have some super rad looking ones!!

5.  See #5, but go to Sparkle Athletic and pick up SPARKLY ones for your fave sparkly gal.

4.  SOCKS, every runner needs socks.  Put them in their stocking, put them under the tree....and get a variety!  (Smartwool are fantastic for winter/wet running!)

3.  UNDIES!!!  Men and women need them, go pick out some fabulous running undies and stuff them in a stocking. (PS it is a tradition in our house that mommy puts underwear in EVERYONE'S stockings)

2.  Recovery sandals.  Something to wear after those crazy runs! I have PR Soles on my wishlist this year.

1.  You know runners LOVE to wear their medals for as LOOONG as possible....well now she can wear it all the time!!  Grab a Stella & Dot engravable with her distance and boom, wear all the time medal without being obnoxious!!!

Enjoy and happy shopping!!!!

Thanksgiving Day Wild Turkey 5K

Hey look at that, my post title rhymes!! Woo!!!

Ok on to the race re-cap.  Since we were traveling to Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving we decided to find a race nearby to run.  Our fave Outer Banks running company (www.runcations.com) was hosting a 5k, bam, decision made   So I signed us up for the Wild Turkey 5K, with plenty of grandparents and aunts around to help with the tiny princesses it was a fabulous way to kick off the holiday (and get a head start on burning off some of those calories we were going to consume).  And of course I hit up Hippie Runner for a Turkey Trotter headband!

Check out that rad headband!!

On race day we woke up early enough to get to the start with plenty of time and no traffic snags.  Up to Corolla, NC it is a single lane each way so traffic could easily back up.  We made a pit stop at Walmart (I had bought decongestant the day before but somehow misplaced it and thanks to princess #2 I was in the middle of a head cold) on the way, and even scored some Shopkins stuff for the stockings!

We arrived at the start at the Whalehead Club and picked up our race packets (bib and long sleeved tshirt).  We dazzled the volunteers with our race belts, they had never seen anything like it before.  Big Daddy uses one from Zoot (because it has nutrition loops) and mine is from BocoGear.  We hiked to the bathroom (which was pretty far from the start) and then dropped our shirts at the car.  With plenty of time before the start of our race we hung out and watched the Fun Run which included an entire family dressed like turkeys and a lot of adorable little kiddos.  After all of the Fun Runners we lined up at the start.

Ready to run!

Big Daddy thought we could keep our pace at about 8 minute miles, I felt ok with that but prayed the head cold that was heading toward my chest wouldn't hinder our super speedy plan.  And we were off on our first ever Thanksgiving run together (Big Daddy ran a race on Thanksgiving the first year we were married but I stayed home to cook)!  We maintained the pace pretty well.  Then he came.....a runner was going just a bit slower than Big Daddy and he was having a hard time not tripping over his feet so we powered around him.  Then he sped up, and stayed RIGHT behind us....and he was a heavy breather and his steps were heavy.  Ugh.  As we came up to the water station I was pretty sure we could lose him and we did, thank goodness!!!!  Not a quarter of a mile later he flippin' caught up to us again....seriously guy.  He stayed RIGHT behind us, like between us, it was awful and driving me bananapants.  I slowed down and veered off to let him go by, I couldn't take it any more and I was starting to have some issues from my dang chest cold.  My lungs were burning, it was horrible.  I felt like I could only get air in  about a third of my lungs.  I had to stop, which of course made Big Daddy upset (pretty sure he would be half dead bleeding from everywhere and still maintain his pace...I, however, am not a machine) and although he was trying to be encouraging it came out as pissed off.  Not great, I don't deal well with pissed off.  So I got back going just a few seconds later and tried to stay on pace and I did but then I had to stop again about half a mile from the finish.  I just could not handle the lung burning, it was awful...and of course Big Daddy was not happy again.

We crossed the finish line, got our turkey medals and walked over to the Sound to recover.  My Garmin didn't show a full 3.1 miles so I had to wait for the official results to be emailed to get my true finish time.

Inaugural Wild Turkey 5k Finishers!

We didn't stick around for any of the post-race fun, we headed back to Grandpa's house for showers, food prep, and a family football game!

Later in the day I finally got the official race results emailed and I PRed!!!!  My time was 25:22 which made my pace (even stopping twice) 8:10mm!!! YES!!!  Oh and bonus, I finished FIRST in my age group!!!!!  My first EVER first place finish!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST in my age group!!! WOOO!!!!!

Race date was November 26, 2015.

MCM10K and Marathon Race Recap!!

I had this great idea....sign up Big Daddy for the Marine Corps Marathon.  We would have been moved to the area by then (no travel) and he could sign up early, sounded like a good deal to me!! So I sat at the computer on the day he could sign up and got him registered for the 40th Marine Corps Marathon.  It was months away, he had plenty of time to train!

Fast forward to July when I registered for the Disney Princess Half Marathon and needed to submit an official race time, well conveniently there was a 10K the same day/time as the Marine Corps Marathon.  I signed up and we had a race date!

I trained my rear off (not literally, it's still back there) because I wanted to PR (personal record) the race and get a great corral placement for the Princess Half.  I stuck to a plan focused on getting your best time.  It had speed work in it which was great!  I got a little derailed when I filled in for a missing runner on a RAGNAR team but got right back on track after that.  I felt prepared, I decided on my goal pace and mentally prepared to race by myself (Big Daddy is always my racing partner).  

Night before the race I was prepping my gear, clothes, etc. and realized my headphones were NO WHERE to be found.  I can't run without music, seriously, it's in-human.  So off to Target we went to get me a pair of headphones.  Grandpa had come in to town to help with the tiny princesses so we headed off without them, a rare treat!

No kids at Target = shenanigans!

After getting all of our gear ready (including toss away sweatshirts since it would be cool and raining in the morning) we crawled in to bed for much needed sleep.  We had every intention of going to bed early but ended up in bed at our normal time (damn headphone run).  Set the alarms for 3:40am (are you kidding me???) and closed our eyes.

My flat mama for the race!

Good thing Big Daddy had some pre-race anxiety and got up at 3:32am because my phone decided to update it's software over night and my alarms never went off.  Not cool.  But we still managed to get up and get going with plenty of time.  Left the house at 4:45am to head to the Metro station.  I found a friend from my MRTT chapter on the train and we left the station for the Pentagon.  The marathon start was near the Pentagon so I left Big Daddy there and said good luck!!  A few of us from MRTT hooked up and headed for the 10K start which was near the Smithsonian Natural History museum.  

After seeing a DC rat and cursing the rain that was starting we made it through security (no lines!!) and headed for our first port-a-potty visit.  It was dark in there and thank goodness because when I went to use the hand sanitizer something fell into my hand and I am not sure I want to EVER know what it was.  Big Daddy was hitting the port-a-potties too and updating me after every visit, not sure that I needed to know but he was missing his running buddy (aka ME!). 

We gathered the MRTT gals running the 10K and a random guy to take a photo before heading to the corrals.  It was rainy, cold, and we were all getting anxiety (either about making it through the port-a-potty line or the actual race).

MRTT group pic (bonus point if you can find me!)

We all said good luck and headed our separate ways.  Since I was shooting for a time I headed up farther in the corrals than most.  I found my 50:00-59:59 corral and wiggled my way in, tossed my sweatshirt in a donation bin, and got ready.  Of course it chose that moment to start pouring rain....damn cold and wet to start.  My feet were freezing, despite my Smartwool socks.  Time to get this show on the road. 

Finally the cannon, or tank, or Howitzer or whatever went off and we started the shuffle toward the start.  Boom, across the line, Garmin on and I was off on my mission.  MISSION: PR your 10K

My goal pace was 9mm or under, I did a pretty good job of that and got out of the mass of humans pretty quickly.  Ok just a warning, rant coming again.....seriously people that I passed WALKING at 1/2 mile....you were clearly in the WRONG corral.  I get it, you want the extra time but seriously you are mucking it up for those of us RUNNING.  Get to the back and start in the CORRECT corral.  Ok rant over.

It rained through most of the race and my fingers were frozen but I kept going and sticking to my pace.  Big Daddy thought I could maintain an 8:30mm pace so I actually tried to keep close to that without going over 9mm.  Up and down, around, and through a relatively quiet course...the real fun was at the marathon.  A few people seemed to struggle so I yelled at them along the way "come on yellow shirt guy" "keep going orange shorts guy just 2 miles left" because I know what it would mean to me if I was struggling.  About a mile and a half left and I started having some pain in my lower left leg, not sure if it was a cramp or what but it was not good.  I pushed through it and kept on pace (it still hurts now....gotta get that dealt with and gone before I run again),  Coming near the end and of course race directors are some sort of a Satanic cult and put the end of every race UP HILL.  Ouch, I thought about Big Daddy and finishing the marathon up that hill...oy.  

As I came across the finish line I saw that clock was under 59 minutes and I couldn't wait to see my actual time.  I stopped my Garmin (which read 53:39 but the mileage was off) and walked to the medal lines.  I looked to the left and saw Arlington Cemetary, I thought about those that have given their lives in service to our country (being a military spouse this is NEVER far from your mind) and of course it got really dusty just then.  A Marine put a medal around my neck, shook my hand and I walked over for a picture (that I guarantee will look like total crap).  Moving on through the line to snag some food and mostly hunting a Gatorade (I have learned that I need electrolytes immediately after a hard or longer run and I was afraid to pack my NUUN tablets in the rain).  Thank goodness they handed us a bag for all of the stuff (banana, box of food, water, Gatorade)!  Then came the cool part, we got a MISSION ACCOMPLISHED jacket!!!  Sure it's not the best quality but I was excited since I thought they were only for marathon finishers!!!  

Since all of my MRTT buddies were behind me I headed over to grab my checked bag and then back to the finish to figure out where to wait for Big Daddy to cross.  I made it back and it was relatively empty by the gate so I stood there watching 10K runners finish, wheeled athletes finish, and the first marathoners come in.  MCM had a handy app so I could stalk, I mean track, Big Daddy and my other MRTT buddies running the marathon.  I stood there for 3 hours...good thing I did too, I had an AMAZING view of everything and when I left there was a dense crowd of people.  I was watching and watching and finally I saw him coming up that hill, chugging, that hill sucked.  I yelled my head off but he turns his music up so loud I wasn't sure he would hear me or see me but I saw him and got a great pic!  

Big Daddy about 30 yards from the finish line

After I could no longer see him I hightailed it out of there and headed for the port-a-potty (I had held that in for 3 hours, I needed to pee....yeah yeah TMI I know, but someone has to talk about it) and then to find him.  

After a quick (and not entirely pain less) walk toward the finish I saw him through the fence and we met on the other side where there was an opening.  With tears in his eyes he came and hugged me, which of course made me burst in to tears.  He said "I did it, I didn't think I could but I did" and then immediately asked how I did.  He was emotional (which he doesn't get very often).  We started to walk and talk about the races we had run and he and I said the same thing, "you were in my head the whole time".  I had him in my head telling me I could run 8:30mm and apparently I was in his telling him that he could do it.  He had some cramping issues and ended up using too much caffeinated fuel (so he felt weird and jittery).  Apparently there was a stop with Marines and Icy Hot....he yelled at the guy to spray his whole leg with it, pretty sure the guy thought he was nuts.

After some recovery walking, a banana, Gatorade, and more talking we decided we needed our free beer ASAP. We almost always have to rush home to the princesses so having Grandpa at home we sat and drank our beers.  It was lovely.  

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!

We did it, we both set goals and we both achieved them!!!  Add more bling to the medal rack and decide what our next race will be, and we will for sure be racing TOGETHER!!!!

Gear, gear and more gear!!

So all you need is shoes and some athletic clothes right???  In reality the answer is yes, in weirdo runner world the answer is ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

So what do you need? Well, here's what I use and I don't go overboard and don't mix it up too much for a race day.

The Shoes

  Obviously you need shoes, the best way to determine which ones is to get a gait analysis (check your local running store).  If you don't have a running store (or the potential to visit the Brooks Running people at an event) then go try on A LOT of shoes. I am a big fan of what feels good usually is (that being said just because your Louboutins are comfy does NOT mean you should run in them). I personally run in Brooks Glycerins and LOVE them.  Big Daddy runs in the same and has the same sentiment.

The Socks

  For me this depends on the weather, if it's freezing cold I'll stick to my Smartwool socks (thanks Ma!).  If it's any other time I usually like my Under Armour Big Logo No-Show socks.

The Bottoms

  I personally prefer to wear compression (think spandex) capris or full length pants.  I feel like it keeps the junk from jiggling and there is no chaffing with everything squeezed in to that sausage casing-like pair of pants.  I have been known to wear shorts in the extreme heat but I have been careful to only wear those that don't chafe or get that funny butt-crack-eating-your-shorts thing going.  That being said my preferred compression running bottoms (both capri and full length) are from Under Armour women (check out the Heat Gear for winter).  Shorts are a combo for me, I like the Under Armour and North Face running shorts (ONLY buy running shorts with the underwear built in, and thank me later).

Under the Bottoms

 Yes, running underwear exists and it is glorious.  Again, my fave brand is Under Armour and I LOVE the Pure Stretch Cheeky.  And now you all know about my underwear...rethinking this section immediately.

The Top

  Personally, I am a matcher, I like my top to match my bottom.  Just makes me feel complete and like I belong on a running commercial (I don't but it makes me feel like I do).  I mix up the brands and styles here (weather dependent) but stick to a lot of Under Armour.

Under the Top

  If you are a boy/man/giant manchild STOP READING RIGHT NOW....if you are a woman/mother/girl/Wonder Woman READ ON!!!  Boobs, yeah I said it....boobs.  Gotta keep those things strapped in tight (there is a muscle under there friends, keep it healthy and lessen the SAG potential)...I don't have a "big" problem so I stick to my favorite Target brand (Champion maybe?) sports bras.  I have heard a lot of people like Moving Comfort as well!

Technical Stuff

  Now that you're all dressed we can get to the rest...if you are just starting out you don't necessarily need to invest in a GPS watch.  You can use one of the fabulous phone apps that are out there (my fave is MapMyRun from Under Armour) to track your distance, pace, calories, etc.  If you are ready to take that leap then I suggest Garmin Fitness for a GPS watch.  The Forerunner 10 is a great entry watch that won't break the bank but still gives you the info you need.  I actually run my Garmin and MapMyRun at the same time, no idea why, just because I can I guess. I am ready to upgrade to the Garmin Forerunner 220 (and it's my birthday soon....anyone need a gift idea for me????), the automatic uploads to Garmin Connect hooked me.

Hydration

  Everyone needs hydration, when training you usually have to provide it for yourself.  During races if you don't want to carry it with you there are always fabulous water stops, I can't use them because I don't want to stop to drink water and I haven't mastered the running while drinking from a Dixie cup thing yet, I usually end up with water up  my nose.  So I suggest to use the same thing during training that you'll race with.  I do a combo of things depending on distance.  For longer runs when I will need more water I use a Camelbak Mini M.U.L.E. (designed for biking but it works PERFECTLY for me) and Big Daddy uses a Cambelbak Rogue (it is made for a longer torso).  For shorter runs I use a Nathan Speed Draw Plus Insulated and waist pack to carry my phone (the Speed Draw Plus has a pocket for your phone but I use an iPhone 6+ and that huge thing doesn't fit in it).

Fuel

  Longer training runs and races need fuel.  I have a new found love for the ClifBar ClifBlocks.  Each block has the equivalent to half a cup of coffee in caffeine (YESSS).  They taste like the fruit snacks we used to take in our lunches as little kids, delish!!  We have used the Sport Beans made by Jelly Belly and they are ok, but kind of taste like a rhino ran a marathon and squeezed his sweaty shorts in to the package and it leaked in to the beans (nice visual huh?).

Headwear

  I have several things I use and it mostly depends on my mood.  I love the Headsweats visors so I use that pretty often.  I also have a RUN HAPPY Brooks Running visor that I love and I rotate that in as well.  My other fave is headbands, and I recently started wearing the Hippie Funktional Runner headbands, they are rad.  Super cute and they stay put without giving me a headache (BIG deal for me, I have a tiny head and too tight gives me a headache but I have to keep this wild mane contained).  I would love to try a bunch more headband brands, itFit, BondiBand, etc. and see how they work for me!!  Big Daddy likes his Junk Brand one we picked up at the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon.

Race Day

  Not an every day training run accessory but on race day I use a race belt.  I tried Race Dots but was not a fan (they are super strong magnets that take the place of safety pins).  The race belt (mine is from Boco Gear and is super cute a girly and pink) holds your bib and doesn't get in the way, and no worry about those nasty little safety pins (safety my behind, I have stuck myself more times with those...ok getting off track - catch that running joke??).  Big Daddy uses one from Zoot with nurtrition loops.  The handy dandy loops hold his nutrition packs (aka gel/goo, whatever you call that nasty stuff) to make life easier.

Ok so here is my last little piece of advice, NEVER, and I mean NEVER (I used my mom voice there, did you hear it?) wear something in a race that you have not trained in.  It will end badly, and usually in terrible chaffing (eeeewwww).  Use what is comfy, use what makes you happy!!!

How To Know You Run with a Toddler

Ever wonder what it's like to run with a toddler in a stroller??  Let me enlighten you...

1.  Tiny princess yells "I DON'T WANT TO GO FOR A RUN" from the backseat as soon as she recognizes where you are driving.

2.  You arrive at start location and all of a sudden the tiny princess gets excited and yells "YAY LET'S GO FOR A RUN" from the back seat.

3.  It takes a small suitcase to bring all the things with you that you'll need on the run, for the tiny princess that is.  (Usually this includes a snack, drink, back up snack, toys du jour, lovie, and random rocks we find along the way.)

4.  Once you are finally ready to run (phone silenced, music on, Garmin located, water and fuel loaded, bathroom one more time, shoes checked, etc.) if you don't start fast enough the tiny princess starts yelling  GOOO MOMMY, GOOO impatiently (as if to say, get this going so we can be done Mom).

5.  And you're off....now you only have to stop and pick EVERY SINGLE FLOWER you pass on the way by, or face the wrath of the screaming crying tiny princess mourning the flowers she could have had.

6.  Mile three and the tiny princess is now bored and singing some weirdo song about anything that goes by you (or the last cartoon she watched, it's mind melting) that slowly degenerates in to just odd noises.

7.  Coming up to mile 3.81 of your planned 4 mile training run and Grammy calls......you answer and quickly say you'll call back.  Well, the tiny princess knew who you were talking to (how is completely beyond you, you had headphones in) and screams that she wants to show Grammy something so you have to FaceTime Grammy back (while running UP a hill at the END of your run pushing the tiny princess in her stroller filled with stuff) and spend the last 0.19 miles translating tiny princessese for Grammy instead of listening to that rocking song that was motivating you up that hill.

8.  Whew, you did it, 4 mile training run with the tiny princess but the problem now is you aren't back to the car so you have to walk......and the tiny princess has hit her limit on the stroller time and wants to get out but you want to keep her in...and the screaming begins again and the cycle starts all over as you load the tiny princess and her entourage of stuffed things and toys in to the car.

I'm exhausted just writing about it.....

RAGNAR DC - Race Re-Cap!!!

So what do you do when there is a Nor'easter about to meet a Hurricane????  Why go run a 200ish mile RAGNAR relay race of course!!!!!  

What a wild wild time, seriously it was amazing and challenging and terrible and awesome all at the same time....and I can't wait to do another one (with Big Daddy this time)!

Here goes, and this is going to be looong.

We left around 2:30pm to get up to the race check in. After some dinner we got our team checked in, picked up our shirts, and headed over to the safety briefing.  There was some time in between safety sessions so we popped over to the Brooks Running tent/boat/truck thing and got some rad swag from them (really really wanted that RUN HAPPY Island tshirt, but scored some sunglasses instead - didn't quite need those ;) ).  After our safety briefing we got out of there as fast as we could, it was starting to mist and get windy and we were cold.  Off to the hotel to get some (hopefully) sleep!

We arrived at the Days Inn in Cumberland, MD (if you ever get the chance to stay there, DON'T).  We start walking to our room down what suspiciously feels like the smoking hallway and low and behold we have SMOKING rooms....seriously???  Well, turns out the gal who booked the rooms (who was not running due to family commitments) booked smoking rooms inadvertently.  OOPS.  They stunk, BAD.  The wallpaper was peeling, everything was outdated and just ick.  The wall mounted bottle opener was a delightful touch though.  We all settled in to our beds and tried to sleep as best we could, most of us tossed and turned (the smoke smell was EVERYWHERE) and got some sleep but not as much as we wanted.  That 3am wake up call came MIGHTY early and we all got dressed and headed out to Sheetz for MUCH needed coffee.  As we walked in the guy standing right inside the door took one look at us and said "been partying too late huh girls?"....apparently we looked that rough and smelled that much like a bar, nope dude we are just getting this crazy train started.

3am is WAY too early.

Off to the start we go and I got the driving shift, I kind of drive like Mario Andretti at times so we kind of came skidding in to the parking spot Tokyo Drift style (not really but at 4am that sounded totally plausible).  We all got out and got our first runner ready to rock.  Reflective vest CHECK, headlamp CHECK, blinkie light CHECK, knuckle light CHECK, she was ready to go.  We had our team shirts on so we snagged another runner to take a pic of us at the start.

MRTT Mounds of Joy - Van 1 at the start

The very glowy start line

We got our runner to the start and waited for the wave to go off.  It was dark and cold but the energy was amazing, it was like Christmas morning for runners.  And they were off, and we were off to find the exchange for runner 2 who was terrified of getting lost in the dark (and I seriously do not blame her!).  It was a bit tricky to find because they hadn't manned it yet so it was on the pitch black other side of the parking lot.  We found it after christening some not yet opened port-a-potties (and some guy who yelled "I'm going to LIGHT IT UP in there!", thanks guy, we didn't need to know all that....what he really meant was with his headlamp....sure ya did dude).  And then we all stood and waited for our first runner to come in.  It was no easy feat to figure out which was yours, they didn't have someone calling bib numbers in to the exchange point yet so we just had to hope we could figure it out with the headlamps blinding all of us.  We got her in (after I claimed I could feel her presence) and got the exchange made and runner 2 was off....holy crap I was up next.

Leg 2 was not van supported (which meant the vans could not drive along the route) so we hustled over to my exchange.  My delightful anxiety started kicking in....anxious mostly about the unknown of this damn mountain.  

On our way to the exchange for leg 3

So I get all ready to go, it was cold so I had to change up my clothing plan (fortunately we knew that early enough I did it in the hotel before we left), filled up my CamelBak (I am really not a fan of belts and only carry a handheld on shorter distances), and put my safety gear on.  You had to wear safety gear during the hours of 6:30pm-7:30am.  I watched and watched the time and as soon as it rolled over to 7:30am I whipped that stuff off so fast it would make your head spin.  

Pre-exchange for my first leg!

So here comes our runner and I am getting ready to go. I think my auto pilot took over and I just went, music in, and foot turnover moving.  My van took off past me, honking and screaming all the way! I settled in to the pace I wanted to do hills at (10mm to save a little energy) after calming down my anxiety pace of 8:35mm.  Not so bad to start, a little hilly but nothing terrible.  Then we started going up, and up, and up, and up the mountain road from hell.  We weren't even 2 miles in and I saw a guy walking already, then I passed him (and of course guys HATE it when girls pass them) and he started running again, passed me, but couldn't maintain then walked again.  I steady chugged up that mountain road at my 10mm pace.  

My van caught a pic of me chugging up and up and up

At some point I thought to myself this road has go to flatten out at some point, and I finally saw it....the even flat part at the top, angels sung.  It was glorious, I picked up my pace to make up for my 3 miles at 10 minutes and stretched out my legs.  Then we started going up again and it was time to turn left....oh dear GOD what was THAT in front of us.  My voice volume is WAY up when I run so when I turned the corner and yelled "WHAT THE F*CK IS THAT" wayyyyyyy too loud I hope I didn't scare too many creatures, small children, or other runners.

THAT was what was in front of us....what I now lovingly refer to as Mount Fuqme (because that is what you say A LOT on the way up)

Ohhhh, so this was the You've Got To Be Kidding Me they were talking about.  Yeahhhh, it sucked, not gonna lie.  I walked parts, but I felt much better when I realized later on that a guy that had been walking next to me up Mount Fuqme was an Ultra team guy (those crazies run double the distance with a team of 6 vs 12).  I only walked what I absolutely had to, but I still felt slightly defeated by that damn mountain.  Finally up to the top and getting to go down some I picked up my pace again to about 9mm to make up for my walking.  At this point it was mental, keep your leg turnover going and control of your body on the downhill portions, almost there!  I passed people, encouraged and got encouraged along the way, and prayed the end was soon!!  It's amazing how you can meet Jesus out on a country trail running your behind off, praying you make it up the hill.  

Finally I saw that glorious ONE MILE TO GO sign, and thought to myself, anyone can run a mile!!!  And of course, the last few hundred yards were up hill.....why stop going up the friggin' mountain now?  As I came in to the exchange area there were bunches of vans and some random dudes started yelling so of course I went a little faster!!!  I found my exchange buddy, slapped on that bracelet, and got my medal (aptly named Capitol Punishment).  Whew, I did it, the hardest leg of the race and my first of three legs DONE!  

Right after I finished and put that rad medal on!

Showing that beautiful thing off!

Checking off my first leg!

Back in the van and on to the next exchange!!!  On the way we cheered for our runner doing a very hilly 5ish miles through what seems to be named Warrior Mountain - she was a warrior so we'll take it. We got our next runner ready to go and waited at the exchange, it was starting to rain pretty steadily at this point.  Exchange made and on to the next which was a make your own so we had no idea what to expect.  We got back in the van and started to drive and WOAH....it was muddy and turny and slippery and holy moly.  The road wasn't very wide and there were of course runners along the side, scary stuff but we took it slow and everyone made it out safe!  We found a spot to park safely (we did see a van sticking out in the road making it not too easy to get by) and figured it was close enough.  And not too far behind was our runner!  Exchange made, and runner #6 was out on her course!!!  On to the big exchange and time for van #2 to get rockin'!!  We found our second vanmates and got ready to watch for our runner.  They were calling out numbers but somehow missed ours so it took a few minutes to get them hooked up.  Runner #7 got going and we were off for a few hours!!!  Time for RAGNAR gear shopping, food, and a SHOWER!  I picked up a sweet trucker hat and a sticker for our beer fridge (although I easily could have bought EVERYTHING in there--can you say RAGNAR gear for Christmas??) and we headed out toward the high school we were stopping at for a few hours in search of food.  

We found a McDonald's and we all scarfed down some tasty wraps (PS, friendliest McD's manager ever, Brandy in Clear Spring, MD was awesome) and headed for the high school. It was just raining and windy and icky at this point so we all bolted in to the school as fast as we could while trying to keep our stuff dry (it was inevitably wet but we tried!).  They wouldn't let us in the gym until after the students were dismissed so we all looked crazy standing there with our pillows, towels, etc. waiting to get in.  I did hear one high school girl say "why are all of these homeless people in the school" and heard one awesomely snarky runner reply back "yeah, homeless people wear NorthFace jackets and $150 Brooks running shoes".  

They finally let us in and I paid my $1 for the shower (not sure how they tracked that but whatever) and got in line before it got nutty.  There were 3 single shower stalls and a group shower situation, I opted out of the prison shower and waited a few minutes extra to not have to worry about dropping the soap.  After the shower we all tried to rest, but well we are women, we talked instead.  There was lots of passing around of the roller (love the marshmallow one - and I need one, someone please buy me one The Stick) and I busted out my Tiger Balm.  That stuff was KEY to overcoming the knots in my calves from Mount Fuqme.   

At "no idea what time it is but we need to get moving" we got up and got our next runner (runner #1) ready to run.  This meant we packed all our sleepy stuff back up in the van...in the rain...and cold...and wind.  Ew.  We schlepped back in to the high school to wait for runner #12 to come in.  It was muddy at the exchange, it was windy, it was cold, it was raining (did I mention how much the weather SUCKED yet?) but we found our runner and got #1 back out there!!!  We drove off to the next exchange watching for her but never did see her.  

We pulled in to the next exchange and runner #2 was worried about getting lost again, I don't blame her, it was dark and through a country town.  The rain seemed to have slowed down, awesome.  Got the exchange done and I was up next so I got my gear ready to go.  While on the drive (through the course) to the exchange we noticed a particular intersection had several runners turning the wrong way so we flipped around and sat there re-directing runners (and especially knowing our runner was terrified of losing her way).  We re-directed about 10-12 before our runner came through, and good thing we sat there because we re-directed the girl in front of her and she was about to follow!  So at this point we only had about a half mile to the exchange and my anxiety monster showed back up.  I just wanted to get there and get out and stretch a few minutes because my quads were tight.  When we finally navigated through the parking area our runner was just around the corner...bummer.  So off I went and the course was hard to find so I managed to step right in a giant mucky grassy puddle.  It was POURING rain through my whole leg but I managed to keep my overall pace around 9:30mm so I was pretty happy.  BUUUUTT the whole damn 4.8 miles was UP HILL.  Seriously, we didn't have enough pain earlier in the day?? Fortunately it was all solid pavement and easy to follow. But I chugged and chugged and had 9 kills (kills are runners you pass, we weren't keeping track on our van but I had so many it was hard not to count)....well 10 if you count the tiny unfortunate frog that darted right under my shoe and got squished.  Poor froggy.  It was dark, about 10pm and there I was running about 5 miles...in the rain.  I thought to myself how totally nuts and totally awesome it was all at the same time.  So, finally I see that one mile to go sign (they are truly glorious) and that was the LONGEST mile I have ever run in my life.  I found my runner and told her I was coming in hot (I may have been loopy) and slapped that bracelet on and off she went.  We walked over to the van and got in and took off.  

We stopped briefly at a convenience store for some clothes changing so I took that time to call my mom who had been quite worried about me running in the dark, rain, and country roads.  She was quite happy to hear I added extra blinkie lights and knuckle lights to my get up and was safe and sound.  

On to the next exchange to get our runner!  It was pissing rain (as my awesome friend put it) and we were on some seriously dark country roads with no shoulder.  Through farms and cornfields we drove and she ran.  We found the exchange and got runner #5 going (she had found a buddy to run with which was totally awesome).  As soon as we got in the van runner #4 told us all about the cows mooing at her along the way ("you don't know how motivational a cow can be") and the corn fields....creepya$$ cornfields.  She apparently told every runner going by her or she was going by "we are running next to f&cking corn!!", that will live in infamy.  This was a longer leg for runner #5 so we found a place to park and quietly cheer her on (and along the route while driving as well).  Then we headed for the exchange to get runner #6 ready to rock.  We threw runner #5 in the van and headed for the big exchange to get van #2 started.  This exchange was a mad house.  It was a creamery so there was food, milkshakes, ice cream, etc. and lots of people lingering but not a lot of parking spaces.  I was driving so I got pulled in and parked and we went off to find our van #2 runner.  Exchange done and our runner safely back in the van we made the decision to drive on to the next big exchange and get some sleep in the van (there was no other choice....it was pouring rain).  

After a 37 mile drive in the rain through the windy country roads nightmares are made of we finally made it to the exchange and parked.  I had driven so I curled up on the front seat with my pillow and blanket and promptly passed out.  I think I slept for about 4ish hours because I actually woke up feeling ok.  After a visit to the bathrooms we were all up and slowly starting to get food, and ready to run again...our final legs!!!  After trying to figure out the timing due to leg #23 being cancelled due to unsafe conditions we got our runner out and ready to go.  We all headed over to the exchange and waited, and here she came.  Our runner started out the wrong way but we quickly turned her around and got her going.  And we were headed for the next exchange (seeing a pattern yet??  Hahahhaaha)!

While we were waiting for runner #1 to come in a guy came in yelling for his guy.  Apparently he had texted him letting him know how far out he was but the guy wasn't there.  His name was Mark and we all ended up yelling for Mark...I was super snarky by this point and I am pretty sure I ended up saying things like "Mark!!! You had ONE JOB!!".  Mark showed up and off he went to lots of jeers from the standing crowd.  And here came our runner with a huge smile on her face glad to be done!  Off runner #2 went and off we went to my final exchange!  I got ready to go and headed to the port-a-potties and then back to the van to get geared up.  It had stopped raining by this point but I still opted for my jacket to avoid the wind.  Here she came in and she was STOKED....she literally FLEW in to the exchange and slapped that thing right on.  And off I went.

MeeMaw flying in to slap the exchange bracelet on!

This was actually relatively flat and my shortest distance at just 3.2 miles (hey it's just a 5k!!) so I decided to bust out some speed and see what I could come up with.  Well the damn intersections (and another effing hill) thwarted me, not a horrible pace but nothing I would be super proud to post.  Whew, and I was DONE!!!!!  We still had 3 more runners to go though so off to another exchange!  This one was in a delightful parking lot of a strip mall, and we are pretty sure the ONLY strip mall in AMERICA with no Starbuck's.  

Exchange done and our second to last runner was off!!!  We hustled to the exchange since it was less than 4 miles.  Swapped that bracelet and our final runner was on her way!!  She had a hard 8.6 miles ahead of her so we found places to cheer her on as often as we could (and of course every other RAGNAR runner we saw along the way)!  She requested hot chocolate at the exchange so we wandered off to find a Starbuck's.  Someone, no idea who, bought me a Pumpkin Spice Latte for my nasty 2am drive and I said words I will never ever say again when she asked me what kind of milk "whole milk please, I need the calories", and yes everyone turned around in that Starbuck's and looked at me like I was nuts.

Holy crap I look exhausted.

Our last runner was a ROCKSTAR and came in to that exchange with a big smile on her face!!!   Van 1 was DONE!!!!!  We gathered our runners and went to look for an IHOP.  

Van 1-DONE!!!!

We found an IHOP in downtown DC close-ish to the finish line and went in the bathroom straight up homeless style and used the Shower Pill wipes we had to smell less gross.  We finally sat down to some food and ordered as fast as we could...the service was WAYYY less than stellar so it took longer than it should but oh well, we got food.  Two of our runner stopped in a store on the way to the finish (it was getting damn cold) to pick up a fleece (and we got to snag this cute selfie of runners 2, 3 & 4).

Runners 2, 3 & 4

Time to head to the finish line!!  We got a little lost getting there but made it (and saw this cool sign along the way).

Four score and 200 miles ago....

The rest of our team showed up (aka van #2) and we waited for our runner to go across the finish line!!  What a glorious sight to see when she came across the bridge!!!  We all headed across to the finish!!!  

MRTT Mounds of Joy are all RAGNARIANS now!!

Kind of bittersweet though when we went to the medal tent to learn they had run out of medals....SERIOUSLY?????? Some story about held up in customs, yadayadayada...we have no medal pics.  They gave us finisher glasses and decals and I headed for the BEER.  

I'm not a fan of Sierra Nevada but a few celebratory sips were in order and then we left, it was COLD and WINDY and starting to rain AGAIN.  

So that's it, we headed home to get de-funked and recover from one cRaZy race.  Seriously, I can't wait to do this again....it was awesome.  Big Daddy will for sure be with me for the next one, he would have LOVED it.  

A HUGE thanks to my awesome team for being awesome, FaVe Mom for taking care of the three tiny princesses so Big Daddy could get some work done, my Mom for being worried about me but still cheering me on, my Dad for cheering me on, my Aunt for encouraging texts, and all my friends for thinking how super nuts that race was (it was!).   

And thanks MRTT (Moms Run This Town) for creating a fabulous group of running women!!! 

Holy crap, I am running RAGNAR.

I had this race on my running bucket list....I figured some day the princesses will be old enough that Big Daddy and I could go out and run this with some friends.  Then I got a message from a friend who had a spot they needed to fill on their team.  After some thought, making sure Big Daddy would be ok with the princesses, and minor debating I agreed to fill in.  Holy crap, I was running RAGNAR.  

Not only am I running RAGNAR, I am running the hardest friggin' leg of the race.  If you don't know what RAGNAR is, it's a 200 mile, 24 hour relay race run with 12 runners in 2 vans.  Yes, I am nuts.  I get a special extra bonus medal for running this crazy leg (with a hill nicknamed You've Got to be Kidding Me) so that's worth it right??  HA!

Not only that but another runner can't make it so we are all splitting her legs and I added an extra 3.5 miles to my total...so we'll be 11 runners running 200 miles.  

I can't wait to get this race recap and pictures posted, should be loads of good tales!!!!  As one of my teammates has stated after all of us stressing about what to pack, kid coverage, etc.....for 36 hours, we are on an adventure.  

Road Shark Virtual 5 Miler

I was feeling some race withdrawal...I got another email (see a theme here?) about a virtual race.  I had never run one so I figured this one had a pretty cool looking medal and a fun theme so I signed us up.  Big Daddy is always up for a race!

Race packets were mailed and arrived with the extra goodies I had ordered....shark socks (hello who doesn't need those?!) and a shark headband thingy (I have no idea what the brand is).

My local MRTT group had gotten in to this run too and we had a group event set up to run it together.  Then my babysitter bailed...I think the 5am arrival time spooked her.  So we ran it alone, on a track, with the three princesses cheering us on.  It was hotter than Hades but we did it.  I felt heavy and slow (it was wicked hot-did I mention that?) and just not right (ack 10:01mm) but we did it!

I see more virtual races in our future and I was a big fan of how Gone For a Run did this one (I will be back for more).

Race Date: August 1, 2015

Runcations Firecracker 5k

We are now those people that look for a race when we go on vacation....well as long as you consider Cousin Eddie style camping in your father-in-law's driveway near the beach a vacation.

I picked out the Firecracker 5k after doing a little searching for Fourth of July races at the Outer Banks in NC.  I hadn't been running too much since we had just moved but this seemed like a pretty easy race...never ever make that assumption....

Since we were on vacation we picked up our race packet (aka tshirt and bib) on the way to do vacation things and the place was hard to find....hate that.  But let me tell you, the way they did their race tshirts was kind of ingenious, instead of a shirt for every race they did one shirt for their whole series.  Made sense to me!

They told us about the sharks at the Outer Banks but the not the T-Rexes!!!!!

So here we go race day...since we were Cousin Eddie-ing in our RV in the driveway the bigger princesses slept in the house with their Auntie and we took the tiny princess with us.  Loaded up and rolled out, it was a bit of a drive to the race (which was right near the Wright Brothers' Memorial).  We got warmed up, found an MRTT (Moms Run This Town - if you haven't heard of it, check it out IMMEDIATELY) friend also running the race, snapped a few pre-race selfies (yes I love selfies, don't judge), and got ready to go.  The tiny princess was still pretty sleepy so she was up for whatever.

Pre-race selfie.

The race started fine, the usual dodging the slow folks who think they need to be at the front (which was made extra fun with the added stroller) until we go out and settled in to a pace.  Then it came.....the unpaved uphill section, joy.  To make it even more awesome, it was an out and back so we got passed by the leaders....and of course the female leader was a skinny hot blonde (I hate you, not really...but kind of).  We made it up and back ok, the stroller did pretty well on the trail section.  Toward the end of the race you start seeing those runners that don't run often, or think they are immortal and have blown through all of their reserves and start doing the walk/run thing.  No judgment, just that they exist.  There was one, probably early 20s, gal that was running and then started walking so we passed her...she was not a fan.  She sprinted up beyond us again but couldn't maintain it so we flew by again, and then she sprinted again and I thought she had it that time...nope.  We flew by and she never passed us again.

We were almost at the end and there is something magical about the end of a race, there are people who don't know you cheering for you as you sprint across the finish with whatever reserve you have left.  Running with the stroller seems to earn me a few extras which I don't mind at all.  We finished and got our medals and went looking for the post-race recovery food....there was none, WTH!  So off to Dunkin Donuts we went!!

Post-race medal selfie!

The tiny princess enjoying her post-race Dunkin Donuts!

I don't remember what my race time was, it wasn't fast I do know that.  We had fun, did a vacation run and that's all that matters!!  After we scarfed our donuts we headed to the beach (where the aunties and big princesses were waiting) and immediately into the shark infested waters....we figured our post-run stank would keep them away (it did).

Race Date: July 3, 2015

Getting closer....Rock N Roll Series Country Music Half Marathon Race Recap

Another trip to Gamma's house!!  We had to be in earlier to pick up our race packets for this one so we got to spend a little more time at the expo.  Seriously, these are the BEST.  It's like a room full of all of your running buddies, massive amount of gear, super fun stuff, free samples, and more.  This one was pumping some great music so I danced through while the three tiny princesses looked at me like I was nuts....Big Daddy already knows I am nuts.  Brooks (PS I love my Brooks Glycerin running shoes....they rock) had a fabulous theme of Run Happy and gear to go with it...I snagged a visor with RUN HAPPY across it.  Big Daddy got a Junk Brand headband to keep his long flowing locks back (just kidding....it was for sweat) while he runs.  The tiny princesses were getting restless so we headed to Gamma's house for dinner and an EBB (early baby bedtime) since we had to be up really early to get down to the race start.

After our traditional pre-race dinner of grilled chicken Caesar salad we got our gear ready, tucked the kids in, and headed to catch some zzzz's.  We fell right asleep, but of course it only felt like 5 minutes of sleep.  Up and at 'em and ready to get moving!  A small simple breakfast, fill up the water bottles (I despise water stations) and we left to go find our way to the Tennessee Titans stadium where the race finish and parking was.  Again, super early arrival and unexpected cold left us sitting in the car staying warm.  Lesson learned again but with a longer race and no one to ditch outer layers with we dug through the car and came up with emergency rain ponchos.  They made for the perfect tossable pre-race keep warm thing (it was spring so the weather was due to warm up as the sun came up).  They kept us nice and toasty on the walk over from the Titan's stadium to downtown where the start was.

Rockin' our pre-race ponchos!

We found some port-a-potties (a race essential!) and made a pit stop before finding our corral.  Again I stupidly put in a slower time and regretted it...we waited for what seemed like forever.  I think we snuck off to the porta-a-potties about 6 times while we were waiting...we found a sneaky out of the way set with pretty much no line....it was amazing (and we directed fellow racers there too).  

Our pre-race pic

Finally up to the start it was like wading through a sea of people....annoying walkers who wouldn't stay to one side, people clearly in a lower number corral when they shouldn't have been, and just general chaos.  We got up to pace and it felt so much better but there were people to dodge EVERYWHERE.  Ok here comes a rant: if you are going to walk, get to ONE SIDE and stay there....preferably the right.  I get it, not everyone can (or wants to) run a half marathon, you are out there, you are doing better than sitting on the couch but get to one side and stay out of the way of those of us that can and want to run.  Alright, rant over (maybe not...there were more walkers later).  

There were some less than memorable "country" music bands and singers along the way, I could have done without them honestly, they kind of sucked.  I wasn't exactly expecting big names but they could have at least played upbeat music instead of love ballads....not motivating at mile 8.7 of 13.1.  

Once we got through the historic neighborhoods of Nashville we were in a little more suburban neighborhood and the street was narrower.  I swear at one point there were 6 people across and they were all walking.  Big Daddy had stopped at a port-a-potty early so I was on my own (knowing he can move a little faster and easily catch up to me) and I had to dodge these morons.  STAY TO ONE SIDE WALKERS....next time I might not be nice and I might go all crazy race lady on you....this time you escaped with just my evil eye roll and passive aggressive huffing as I scooted by you.

Mile after mile after mile and we were finally getting closer to the finish line and damn...this was the part that was going to suck....the Nashville hills.  Damn evil course designers....hills at the finish again.  I had been having some issues with my right hip and I did stop momentarily up one of the hills.  It was probably for about 5 seconds but it felt like a failure, I know it wasn't, but I felt less than awesome about it.  

About two miles from the finish line my phone rang.  I have a rule, I only answer the phone for family when I am running.  It was Gamma's number and she had the tiny princesses so of course I answered it....turns out it was Princess #1 asking if we were done yet....yeah no kiddo, I hung up.

My goal is always to cross the finish line up right, I did it!!  Haha!!!!  I wasn't last either!! YAY!!!  What was kind of rad was as we came toward the finish the whole crowd started cheering, we thought that was pretty awesome and made us feel special....turns out we were finishing our half marathon while the first female full marathon finisher was coming across the finish line...talk about feeling awesome (insert sarcasm here).  Our race time (official) was 2:14:32...but my Garmin showed several extra miles from dodging slow pokes.  Gotta get that under 2 hour half in soon!

After we got our medals we filed through the exit lines and collected what felt like a buffet of snacks and drinks.  Bottles of water, chocolate milk, bananas, cookies, granola bars, protein bars, and more....we really needed a bag to carry all of that mess...but it was delicious.  Best. Chocolate. Milk. Ever.

Country Music Half Marathon Medals!

We had quite a distance to walk to get back to the car and I was SO stiff.  We headed back to Gamma's and warned her that as soon as we got back we were ditching our shoes and diving (clothes and all) in to the hot tub.  I never felt so good after a race....the hot tub post race recovery method was a hit.  After that we hit the showers, got packed up and headed for home.  On the way home we did see a Krispy Kreme and that looked like a pretty damn good post-race recovery food so we stopped and I inhaled 2 original donuts immediately.  Yummmmmmmmmm.

I ran 13.1 miles...I earned this donut.

It was a good race and I would certainly do a Rock N Roll series race again!!  Nashville is crazy hilly and the biggest hills are at the end, you have been warned.

Race Date: April 25, 2015