Girls on the Run 5K

The Girls on the Run 5K was Sunday, November 21st and it went really well. We've had GOTR at Emerson in the past, although it was always a separate program put together by parents for some of our older girls (middle school). This year, I brought the program to Emerson for 3-5th graders and was thrilled to see 8 of our girls thrive within it. I was very excited to run the season-ending 5K celebration with the girls.

In addition to being excited to see our girls through to the end of their first running program, I was also excited to return for personal reasons as well. The GOTR 5K is the very first race that I ran last year. If you remember from much earlier posts, my sister talked me into walking a 5K last October and from then on I was determined to run one. In training for a December race, I talked Pat into running the GOTR race with me last year as our very first one. So, this day held a lot of meaning for me.

I met the girls early and they were very surprised and excited to see me there. I think the main part was that I was in running tights, a long sleeve tech shirt and a headband - not normal clothes they'd ever seen me in. I don't think they recognized me at first :) We hung out, stretched, and chatted with parents before it was time to begin. This race took on a whole new meaning to me this year as I was here for moral support to my girls and to let them know how proud I was of them and that it's okay to walk some if you need it.

It was nice to chat with parents as I discovered that many of them were runners themselves and were thrilled to share their running stories with me. Four dads ran with their girls; with the GOTR coach, her mom, and me, that made 7 adults running with our girls and numerous others cheering us on the sidelines. For me, it was one of the first times I felt companionship in other runners as I typically run all of my races alone - definitely a plus for all involved.

The race went great; I started off with a few of our girls, lightly jogged with one, and then was able to get into a groove by myself about a mile into the race. It was so nice seeing so many girls out there. I even ran into a handful of girls I knew from summer camp! In contrast to last year, I was able to run the entire time and have breath to cheer on all the other girls (last year, I ran solo, listening to an ipod and just trying to finish with a walk break at mile 2). I made 'friends' with a girl who was on my pace most of the race - she would walk for a bit, then sprint, then walk again. She'd drop behind me then shoot past me and every time we passed, she smiled as I gave her encouragement - it felt amazing!

Overall, it was a great day. The cool thing about the GOTR 5K is that it's so friendly and laid back; they aren't timed and emphasize just getting out there and completing what you put your mind to.

I couldn't help but time myself though, and I finished one minute slower than last year's same race: 33:20 :) But I'm totally okay with it and very happy for this very different race experience. I hope we get a new team this spring so we can do it all again!

The above picture is one of the GOTR coaches running with one of our girls and her dad. Much smaller and a bit ahead of them is another one of our dads running with his son (a GOTR brother).

I'm still a runner :)

Now that it's been more than a month since my first half marathon, I still consider myself a runner. After my ice bath, I never felt any pain after the half marathon - it was amazing! I felt better after 13.1 miles than I did after the Crim's 10 miles (although that race had much more hills than the Detroit Half Marathon).

Since then, I've still been running and have actually been enjoying running outside in cold weather. When in the summer, I had to wait for certain times so it wasn't too hot out to run, now I have to time my runs right so it's not too dark :) I also have been working on increasing my winter running gear so that I don't have to do laundry every other day.

Even on Turkey week, I squeezed in 5 runs and they each felt amazing! I just can't get over how great I feel after a run. As hard as it is to get out the door, I always feel amazing when I get back.

The best run I've had since the half marathon by far was my run in Mt. Clemens yesterday morning. It was my first run in our hometown ever and it was amazing. I ran for 4 miles around Pat's mom's neighborhood - which is one of the nicest in the city. It was so much fun reminiscing all the memories from living there and hanging out with friends as I passed so many people's houses.

Skip this part if you're not from MC: I ran up S Wilson from Carol's past Stouter's and Gies' house. Turned the corner at Cass and came back down Moross. They're really fixing up the oldest house in MC, it looks great! Down our old block of Moross was fun as I listed off all the houses that I knew: past the Lang's, Hug's, Beller's, Sarver's, Gramer's, Jon's... it was so much fun! They still haven't fixed the sidewalk a few houses down from ours where the best puddles were after it rained. Our old house now has a fenced in back yard and I couldn't see the tree house we built. I continued down Moross all the way to Bellview, turned and went up Beuland past Rosco's house and up Lodewyck past Mrs. Baark's and Grandpa's houses. The new house on the corner of Lodewyck and Church enormous - I'd love to see the inside. I rounded out the rest of Lodewyck and turned back south onto Miller. Took that until it ended at Robertson and ran down to South street past the synagogue. Skipped Queen street and jumped back across Church next to the HS and down to Smith street. I was amazed to see how different Smith and South are as compared to the rest of the neighborhood. Past the Callanan's house and Stark's to turn the corner at Bellview and headed back home. The only problem with this route is that the last mile was all into the wind. It made the end tougher than the first 3 miles, but it was nice to still check out everyone's house to keep me distracted. The blue house (that is no longer blue, but you know what I mean) at the corner of S Wilson and Bellview was littered with all sorts of tacky Christmas decorations already. I was excited to see that the McNally house wasn't decorated yet in the same fashion :)

It's always exciting to try a new route, but this one was the best. I'm looking forward to going back home for Christmas and doing it again!

For now, I plan to run 4-5 times a week and in January get back on a half marathon training plan. I have two half marathons in my sights for early 2011: March 20th on Grosse Ile and April 30th in downtown Mt. Clemens.

The Grosse Ile race I read about in an issue of Runner's World. A girl around my age who was born with cystic fibrosis and found refuge in running is putting on her very first half marathon with all proceeds going to cystic fibrosis in her home town of Grosse Ile. Being that we visit Grosse Ile often as Pat's Aunt and Uncle live on the island, I thought this would be perfect. I emailed the girl Emily directly and now am all set and excited to run that great course with her in March.

For more info about Emily and what she's doing to help patients with CF, check out her website: http://www.outruncf.com

I found out about the Mt. Clemens half at the expo for the Detroit Half. As I was walking through a sea of people and booths, I saw a screen with a picture of Metro Beach on it. This is the beach we grew up with and isn't that popular, or so I thought. It drew me to the booth where the lady shared info about a new healthy initiative taking place in Macomb County. They're putting together a half marathon and 5K in April called the "Let's Move Festival of Races" that begins and ends in downtown Mt. Clemens - just minutes from my parents' house! I'm so excited to be able to run a familiar course in a race - I've never had that experience before.

If you're an east-sider and want to check it out: http://forms.journalregister.com/micentral/letsmove/race.asp

I'll keep you posted on how it's going, but now you know what I have in mind so I have to follow through :)

Detroit Free Press Half Marathon

I DID IT! I finished my first half marathon this morning and it felt GREAT! I've had my heart set on running a half marathon since I began running last October and even though I've had a bit of an injury setback, it felt great! Before hurting myself on August 28th at the 10mile Crim race in Flint, I had hoped to finish a half marathon around 2 hours and 30 minutes. I had to change my expectations a bit with my injury and lack of being 100% prepared for this race, but I hoped to finish within three hours today.

My day began at 4:30am to get up, carb up for breakfast and make a fruit protein smoothie for the road. I got to Detroit by 5:30am and parked at Pat's casino (Greektown) to take the People Mover over to COBO. It worked out great since I was able to avoid traffic and make it to the race with time to spare. I was able to relax, stretch, use actual bathrooms (not porta potties) and mentally prepare for the race.

I went in with a basic idea to run two miles and then walk 1 mile for the entire race. I didn't want to hurt my knee or foot again and wanted to be sure I could finish. Well, that didn't exactly happen. I crossed the start line at 7:15am and ran the first 7 miles without stopping. They felt so great, I didn't want to stop. The first three miles were in Detroit, then across the bridge to Canada completed the 4th mile. This was the most gorgeous part of the entire race - we watched the sun rise on the bridge. Absolutely beautiful!

Miles 5-7 were through gorgeous residential Canada and full of enthusiastic spectators. I couldn't get over how beautiful Canada was - we were running on the river road which was a gorgeous park on the water and residential across the street. Beautiful houses with great landscape and decorations, nothing like Detroit. Just lovely.

When we reached the tunnel to come back to Detroit, I made myself walk this mile so that I could finish the second half of the race. Once we exited the tunnel, I ran mile 9 then did a mix of running and walking for miles 10, 11 and 12.

Just after a water/gatorade station at mile 11.5ish, I came around a corner and saw a sign that said "Go Rosie Go" and had a shamrock on it. I knew the sign couldn't have been for me since no one knew I was running in the race. Then I heard a familiar voice cheer me on! I was shocked to see my sister Coop rooting for me. She gave me the strength and desire to finish hard. I came upon the 12 mile mark and decided to go for it and give it my all.

I turned up the heat - stopped walking and started jogging, but it felt like a sprint at that time - for the last mile.1! My left knee was killing me, just like after my 10 mile race in August, but I really wanted to finish the last mile running. At about mile 12.5 we passed the Lafayette Coney Island and it was then that I finally decided to eat that for lunch! Around mile 9, I started getting hungry and planning what I wanted to eat after the race. The mile after that we ran past a mariachi band in front of Honey Bee - the home of the most delicious mexican food and grocery. I digress in food...

So I finished the last 1.1 mile running down Michigan Ave in front of a million spectators. The feeling of crossing that finish line was surreal. On one hand, I couldn't believe it was over - time seemed to fly by. I don't even remember what I was thinking about the first 7 miles, it was great and so much fun, just mindless running. On the other hand, I had so much pain in my left knee, I knew it had to end soon before I collapsed.

I crossed the line and looked down at my watch: 2:57:43 - I made it in the time frame I had in mind and was so proud! I took a picture with my new medal, ate some crunchy bar they gave me (which was so delicious, but I don't know if that was just because I was starving) and started stretching out my legs.

After the race Coop took me out for a victory coney dog and chili cheese fries at the famous Lafayette coney. It was the perfect ending to a great day. I was really glad Coop came out and we were able to get together after the race. I couldn't have imagined a better race day.

So after my drive home, ice water bath and 2 hour nap, I still feel amazing! Yes, my knee still hurts and going up or down stairs is brutal, but I'm completely okay with that.

The hardest decision is what half marathon to do next - I have three in mind, but they're so close together, I'm not sure which ones to choose. I guess that's a good problem to have!


Right after the race with Coop's poster


After the deliciousness of Lafayette Coney!

Half Marathon Tomorrow!

I'm so excited about the Detroit Half Marathon tomorrow! I went down to COBO to the expo this morning and it was so energetic. Even though I won't be able to run the entire time since I haven't been able to adequately train after my knee/foot injury, I'm still excited to run/walk it. It's going to be a beautiful day and I'll still feel good afterward. Next year, I'll either run the entire half marathon, or perhaps even run the full! Who knows??!!

What's crazy about today is that even though I've been off the training plan for the past month, I'm so pumped up and have already planned out my next few races, including at least two more half marathons! I can't explain how energetic and friendly and helpful everyone is at the expo - from booth reps to volunteers to the thousands of runners all around you. It's contagious and I love it.

So that's it, I'm totally back into the game. I even bought a runner's fanny pack - nothing like my mom used to have, but small and discreet to hold my car key, license, phone and even race bib. In reality, probably just my key and bib for tomorrow. I'm just so excited. I'll let you know how it goes :)

My first running injury :(

It finally happened - I hurt myself running. Nothing huge like a broken bone, but pain no less. After running the Crim, I did some brief stretches and hit the road to get back for Brian's bday lunch. Once I arrived at my parents' house after the hour ride, I almost fell onto the ground after my left knee gave out. I walked it out to stretch it out and still had to rush around to get ready.

For the next day, I had knee pain on the outside of my left knee upon walking and especially going up stairs. After that day, I never had knee pain again - it shifted to my left foot. For the next week, the outside part of my left foot was so painful every time I put weight on it. The good news is that I had that week off from work as well. So, I was able to rest, relax, elevate and ice it. Once the pain didn't go away, I went to Probility (a sports injury rehab place) for a consultation as they have a free runner's drop-in day scheduled once a month. They told me that nothing looked out of ordinary and with some rest I should be fine.

I tried to run on it a couple of times - the first time I only made it a half mile before I had to turn around and walk home. The next time, a week later, I only made it 2 miles before the pain began. At that point, I called my MD and got an appt. She was afraid I had a stress fracture in my foot. After an x-ray and a couple days of waiting, the x-ray was negative and I should be fine.

So, four weeks from running the Crim, I finally ran my first 3 miles without pain last night. It felt really good and I'm hoping that I'm done with all pain from here on out. The time I took off from running to allow my foot to heal was brutal and it really made me realize how much I enjoy running. Now I'm excited to get back into it. I know now not to over do it and to train properly to avoid injury :)

As great as this news is, the Detroit Half Marathon is in three weeks and I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not. I don't want to push it and get another injury, but I've already registered for the race and have been looking forward to it for so long. I haven't quite figured it all out yet. I plan on getting back on track in my plan, building up miles slowly. We'll see; for now I'll just be excited to be able to run again!

The Crim 10 Mile Race

After having a week off from work, I ran the Crim 10 mile race in Flint on August 28th. I was pretty nervous as my furthest run until then had been 8 miles. I was so busy my last week of work that I didn't get all my runs in and super lazy during my first week off, so I wasn't 100% prepared for this race. Even so, I wanted to push myself to see if I could do it.

I spent the Friday before the race shopping at Birch Run, our biggest outlet mall, getting some new school clothes. After the mall, I checked into the hotel and then headed downtown Flint to check in at the Expo. It was fun to have a whole day to myself.

The next morning since my hotel didn't have breakfast, I headed to the hotel that sponsored the race. I was too cheap to pay what they wanted for the night, so I stayed somewhere much cheaper and just stopped in for breakfast :) I felt like such a rebel! But, I'm sure they'll live without the english muffin and banana I ate.

Once fed, I headed to the start to get ready. They let the Kenyans go first - let me just state that they finished 10 miles in less time than it about the time it takes me to run a 5K. Then they set off about 30 guys that have been running the Crim since it started 34 years ago. Then the really fast people lined up and then they had a military wave of people and finally us regulars.

It was awesome that there were so many people there - over 10,000 - it really kept you motivated and going. Of all the races I've been to, this one had the most fans/spectators along the way, including multiple bands!

The first two miles were through what seemed to be the hood of Flint and then we broke into some hilly areas. I made it easily through the first 6 miles and then it got hillier and seemed never-ending. I admit that I took some walk breaks on the hilly parts, but I ran through the last mile and finished strong.

It was a great race and I felt phenomenal afterward. I was so proud of myself at the end. It was tough, but I'm glad I did it. I then had to dash off to get to Mt. Clemens to go out to lunch for Pat's brother Brian's birthday. It was a fun day!

Pat's Promotion

I can't believe I've failed to mention Pat's recent promotion. He's been dealing Black Jack, Craps and Roulette for almost 3 years at Greektown Casino, after a year of dealing at Casino Rouge in Baton Rouge. About 4 weeks ago, he received a promotion to a dual-rate. This position means he's half-time a dealer and half-time a floor manager, responsible for 4-6 table games at a time. He had to wait for what seemed like forever from the time he interviewed until receiving the job offer.

After a week of training, he's been on the job for three weeks now. The main difference is that he has to wear a suit to work every day. Pat only owns 2 suits - the one he's had forever and a nice black one we bought for the wedding (the boys all bought good black suits instead of renting tuxes). Since this position was full-time 5 days a week, he certainly needed more clothes. This is the one time Pat actually looked forward to shopping for clothes - this man still owns clothes from high school that he loves and refuses to get rid of. So, for him to clean out his entire closet and donate a bunch of clothes is huge for him. We then went out to buy 4 new suits and a good sport coat. And after a shipment of awesome ties from his brother, Pat now has an awesome new wardrobe. It's still weird getting used to seeing him in a suit each day, but he loves his job.

Check out the huge donation pile.


The good news is that he's now full time and get benefits! Pat's new schedule is Wednesday through Sunday from 7pm to 3am. In fact, he has to leave home at 5:30pm to get to work on time and I don't get out of work until after 6pm. So, we only see each other for a few hours on Sat and Sun after he gets up around 1ish before he goes to work and then on Mon and Tues, his off days after I get home just before 7pm. It took a little while getting used to, but so far, it works. I'm just so proud of him for taking the step to apply for this position and so happy it worked out for him. So far, so good!

8 Miles!

8 miles is so far my longest run and I've done it twice! The first time it felt absolutely great and I didn't really believe I had accomplished that all by myself. It took until the second time of doing it to make it real for me. It's been pretty exciting going through this training plan entirely on my own and has definitely been very rewarding. After my second 8 miler, I now think I actually feel like a runner! It's been a long time in coming, but it feels great. I'm still too nervous to join any sort of running group or club, but maybe after I finish the half-marathon I'll feel 'elite' enough to do so.

I'm already thinking of running a marathon next year :) It's crazy, especially since I'm only up to 8 miles and have to get through the 13.1 of the half marathon first, but I think that's the next logical step. Pat actually got me interested in triathalons, but that might be for the year after the marathon, considering I don't swim or currently own a bike :)

Either way, I'm excited to get to mile 8 for my long run and see where we go from here! Now I'm just bummed that it's so hot out and I have to wait until almost 8pm to go out and run. I'm looking forward to cool fall nights in Michigan (before it gets too dark).

I'm registered for a 10 miler in Flint on August 28th and I'm looking forward to that. I figure if I can get through 10 miles, it's just a simple 5K after that!

Congratulations Alan & Nicole!

Two of my high school friends got married on Friday, July 16th and I was honored to stand up in their wedding. I can honestly say that this wedding was one of the most fun days of my life! Nicole is the best and most laid-back bride I know and she let us pick any black dress we want for the wedding party.


Here's three of the four bridesmaids, Heidi, me and Emily. Tina was missing for this one :(


This is a fun one of me, Nicole, my new friend Troy and his wife.


Most fun wedding part EVER!

Congratulations Alan & Nicole! Can't wait to relive the fiesta at the house warming Jungle Juice party at your new house!

Gopher the Gold 10K

I ran a 10K on Saturday, July 24th in Shelby Township (about an hour from our house, but near my parents' house). My niece had stayed with us for the week and came to summer camp. We had a blast! From putt-putt to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, there wasn't a night we didn't do something fun. And, I got her talked into coming on my evening runs with me. With her on her scooter, she certainly kept me motivated to finish the 4 mile routes. I brought her home Friday night and stayed at my parents' house for the 8am 10K in the morning.

It had been raining all week and Saturday started off sprinkling. While we finished registration, it was barely sprinkling. I even went back to my car to put on sunscreen, being optomistic about the day. Another runner laughed at me and asked if I had bug spray. The race finally began and it was nice and cool, which was welcoming since it had been so humid all week. Miles 1 and 2 were just fine with little sprinkling. Then the skies opened up for mile 3, which felt pretty good at the time as the course just finished a large hill.

Mile 4 brought us into the trail part of the run, which was definitely different. I've never ran on a trail before; only flat paved roads. With all the rain and the many people that ran in front of me, the trail was a muddy mess. It was fun but I was getting tired. I kept waiting for the Mile 5 marker to show up, but it never came. As soon as I finally got out of the woods (which seemed like forever), I was mentally exhausted knowing I have another mile plus ahead of me.

However, as I turned the corner out of the woods, there was the finish line. I had ran 2 miles in the woods, not just the one I thought I had. All of a sudden, I felt a surge of energy and finished the race in 1:12:24. Yes, it was 5 minutes slower than my first 10K, but I still loved it! I took the scenic route home to my parents' and hung out with them all afternoon.

It was a great race and I'm looking forward to Running the Crim 10miler on Saturday, August 28th.

Wedding Pics

Now that's it been almost three months since we got married, I finally have some great pics from the photographer to show everyone. Enjoy!


Getting ready at my parents' house


Pat and his brothers before the ceremony


One of my favorites!


With my parents


With Pat's mom



I have about 2100 more, but these ones took long enough to upload!

Whiskey Run

After having a blast at Paul & Sabrina's wedding last night, I got up early this morning to run my 'long run' that I skipped yesterday. I was feeling pretty good until about mile 4, when I started to burp whiskey. As much as I love Jack Daniels on the way down, it is much less fun the next morning :)

However, in a weird way, it kept me motivated to finish the run and get home. Since I planned out a large loop route, all I wanted to do was finish the loop and head home faster to get this gross taste out of my mouth! So, the Jack actually helped my run - I would have never thought of that. I don't think I'll incorporate this into my training plan too much though.

America's Rockin' Roller Coast!

Pat and I had a little lazy Sunday planned, including finishing up our registry at Bed, Bath & Beyond. However, after looking at the weather and being so excited to actually have a day off together, we hit the road to Sandusky for our first trip to Cedar Point of the year.

The most exciting news is that we are now proud season pass holders! We can go whenever we want now!! And, it's only two hours from our house :) We had so much fun and there were no lines! We were able to ride the Millenium Force 4 times in under an hour!! Best trip ever!

You Got the Right Stuff, Baby!

Yeah, that's right, my sisters and I saw NKOTB! This was hands-down the best concert I've ever been to! (keep in mind I've only been to 2, maybe 3 concerts in my life) We spent the evening in Windsor and had a blast! Yummy dinner, beautiful river walk and gorgeous casino. I've never been in a casino before that wasn't disgusting. The boats in Baton Rouge, a few in Vegas and the Detroit Casinos are just gross! All full of smoke and dirty looking. But, Caesar's Windsor was absolutely GORGEOUS! If I ever find myself wanting to gamble, I'd certainly cross thr border.

The concert was held in the collisseum and it was awesome! The New Kids look just like they did when I was a kid. So hot and buff! They put on a really good show and we had a blast! At one point, Joey came out in a tux with tails, with no shirt on! He was so ripped and now I know I was right in having a crush on him when I was a kid :)



What a great girls night out!

Registered!

I did it! I just registered for the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon on October 17,2010. I have no excuse not to prepare and train now. I'm so excited!! Just 4 months and 12 days to go!!

A fun long weekend

Pat and I don't get much time off together, so when we do, we use every minute! I had a four day weekend and we spent Friday driving all around southeast MI buying various fun things: a new laptop, a bedroom dresser and coffee table from IKEA, a garbage disposal from Home Depot, and even driving downriver to look at patio furniture. We never found any outdoor furniture that we liked, but it was fun to have the whole day to spend doddling around. We had to leave the dresser and coffee table at IKEA since they wouldn't fit in our car and we left the laptop at Best Buy for them to do the startup software. So, after buying all that, we actually came home with one mixing bowl :)

Saturday my parents came over to help install the new garbage disposal and let us use their van to pick up the dresser and table from IKEA, it was perfect! All went well and Katie and Ra'naa came over later for a yummy dinner BBQ. Pat really is the best chef around! And, I got to use all my new serving dishes from Sayulita :)

Sunday, Pat had to work a day shift, so I had the entire day to myself to get things done. I really needed it, since I've been so lazy after getting back from our honeymoon. I hooked up our new wireless printer - so cool! - and completely rearranged the living room furniture - which of course, required a trip to pick up a longer coaxial cable so I could move the TV. Overall, I love the new living room, it seems much bigger and allows a lot more light in the room :) Pat agreed once he got home after 3am.

Monday we headed to the nearby metropark for a picnic. I had packed everything the night before (even freezing half of a laying-down bottle of koolaid!) and was ready to go when Pat got up. We had our picnic lunch, played some catch and then hit the path for 34 minutes of rollerblading! It was so much fun! Pat is a way better skater than I am, but I love doing it, so I'm okay with being behind him all the time. We rollerbladed down the path about 1 1/2 mile when it started to rain. It felt great though, since it was so hot. So we turned back and skated the rest of the way back to our car in a downpour. We were in good spirits though :) Our plan for after rollerblading was to swim, but the rain only got worse, so we came home for a nap :) Fun day indeed!

Burns Park 5K

This race took place on May 2nd and I planned to run the 10K to keep me from stressing about our wedding that was taking place that coming Saturday. Well, I was exhausted and hadn't really been running much lately, so I only ran the 5K. I think the problem was that I was intimidated from the beginning since the loop was a 5K and the 10K was just running it twice - those always mentally break me down. Also, there weren't many people at all running the 10K - less than 300 it seemed, so I was so nervous about being the last one. This was also a hilly course, but the 5K felt good. After finishing that race in 33:15, I ran back to my car to go home. I was bummed that I hadn't finished the 10K, but a 5K is better than nothing!

Martian Marathon 10K

I did it! I was so intimidated to attempt the 10K, but it went great! After running my 5Ks around 30 mins, my goal for the 10K was 1) to run the entire time and 2) finish between 75-90 minutes. It was in Dearborn and was a large loop around the city. It was a gorgeous day and there were lots of runners out that day. There was a marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K. The cool part was that we ended the 10K route with the half and full marathoners. When I thought I was getting tired, I just looked at the people running by who were on mile 20+. As soon as I saw mile marker 5, I had a new surge of energy and finished the race in 67:04.4 :) It felt great, I loved the entire thing - it was my favorite race so far!!

I have no pics of any of the races as I run them all by myself :/

Running Fit 101 Class

In prep for the upcoming 10K, I finally decided to take Running Fit's Running 101 class. There is a store right by work, so it was convenient. It met once a week for 5 weeks and we had a group run and then a class. I can't say I got a lot out of the classes, but I enjoyed the group runs and like my new shirt! It was great to have a group to run with and we ran 3+ miles each time. It felt great!

The coolest part of this class is that the first class a New Balance rep was there and let us test drive a new pair of shoes for the run. I always thought running stores were trying to scam us with $100 shoes, but after running in them, I was sold! I bought myself a new pair before the next week's class :)

I might take their half-marathon prep class, but I still don't consider myself a real runner and am still a bit intimidated by everyone. We'll see how that goes :)

Shamrocks & Shenanigans 5K

This time, I talked my entire family to coming to the 5K in Ann Arbor for Shamrocks & Shenanigans on March 14, 2010. Pat, my mom and dad, sister Katie and her bf Tommy all came out together. Pat and I started running and the others walked and ran a bit throughout. The course was a loop that we ran twice for the 5K distance. There were a lot of people there and I hadn't run much or trained properly since the Dexter Holiday Hustle. I finished this race in 33:20 and was exhausted at the end. The hills on this course were brutal, but it still felt good to run the entire thing without walk breaks.

Holiday Hustle 5K - Dexter

The Dexter 5K was the first one I was training for and took place on December 5, 2009. It was cold, but I was excited for my first timed race. I hated every second of the race and couldn't wait for it to be over. My goal was to at least match my 32 mins from the GOTR race, but I secretly wanted to be under 30 minutes. As I crossed the finish line, I was ecstatic to see the time of 29:59.06! At that point, I remember loving the race :) Either way, I felt great afterward and was very proud of myself.

Girls on the Run 5K

As I was preparing for my first 5K in December, I decided to try the GOTR 5K with some of my girls from school to see how I was doing. I even talked Pat into running it with me. It was a fairly easy course around St. Joe's campus and untimed. It was all about girl power and getting the girls motivated to keep on going. Pat and I started out together and then met at the finish line. The course was kind of thin and bottle necked at the beginning, but I ran the first 2 miles through before stopping for a short walk break. I finished in 32 minutes and felt very proud of myself. It felt great!

The Beginning

I first started running after I walked the Big House, Big Heart 5K with my sister Colleen on October 4th. We walked a 5K in just under an hour and after that I put my mind to running a 5K. I trained on my own, following a run-walk program and it wasn't long until I was totally into it. I did all my training on the treadmill at the gym, watching junk tv - it was great!

A New World

It hit me today as I was out on my first run of the month that I need to start a blog. Something to track my training for my first half-marathon. I started running in October and really enjoy it! I've lost 30 pounds and competed 4 5Ks and 1 10K since then.

After taking most of this month off from running as I got married, I'm now excited to get back into it and prepare for Detroit Free Press Half Marathon on October 17, 2010. Hopefully by tracking my progress online, I'll keep myself motivated for the next 4 1/2 months. I'm pretty sure I'm the first Hacker to do so - as far as I know :)