tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20180759406835604522024-03-12T19:42:30.490-05:00JerBear SharesJerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.comBlogger1562125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-40041512473841690432019-11-11T15:38:00.000-06:002019-11-11T15:39:51.543-06:00Race Report: Good Life HalfsyLast weekend, I ran my 42nd half marathon in Lincoln, NE, four weeks after the Twin Cities Marathon. I signed up last spring planning for it to just be an easy fun run. As the weeks went by after Twin Cities, it became more and more apparent that I needed to take it super easy to recover properly from the race. The weekend prior to Good Life Halfsy I was mentally preparing for a DNF the following weekend. My left hip flexor and right knee had been bothering me, and I hadn't run longer than an hour (with walk breaks) since TCM. Gulp.<br />
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We drove to Lincoln after work Friday night so we didn't get in until late o'clock and went right to bed. The next morning we woke up, checked the temp and decided we didn't need to do a shake out run. Can you see how committed to a solid race performance I was?? We found brunch and a pitcher of mimosas and all was right with the world.<br />
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After brunch we made our way to the expo (walking, see above: mimosas).<br />
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There wasn't much we wanted to see or look at, I debating buying a stocking hat but didn't want to spend $20 on a reminder of a terrible race (spoiler alert: I regret not buying that hat, UGH). And I was super excited to see that Jeri from six months ago went ahead and purchased a pint glass that came with a free beer at the expo. Since I was planning to buy one as soon as I saw the beer station, I was pretty excited. Melissa was feeling like crap from her cold, so we found a comfy spot on the floor to park ourselves while I drank my beverage.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mXyK997C7mY/XcnQrwAow_I/AAAAAAAAMwg/l-Etbb-fuZovG1-cFh2Rq5PLzKlxg5WjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_3f3c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mXyK997C7mY/XcnQrwAow_I/AAAAAAAAMwg/l-Etbb-fuZovG1-cFh2Rq5PLzKlxg5WjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fullsizeoutput_3f3c.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-neaNmj9fkyk/XcnQljVd0UI/AAAAAAAAMvk/wX1sWfwQAhsOi7Vb2cKkW09o8EHoYmTEACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-neaNmj9fkyk/XcnQljVd0UI/AAAAAAAAMvk/wX1sWfwQAhsOi7Vb2cKkW09o8EHoYmTEACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8351.JPG" width="179" /></a><br />
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We met some new friends that saw my TCM finisher shirt and wanted to chat, and before too long we were back on a walking mission to find coffee. Perhaps the shake out run should be replaced with walking to get multiple dehydrating beverages? Will continue to conduct research and report back.<br />
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We made our way back to the hotel, Melissa napped and I worked on coaching stuff, and eventually it was time for dinner. Possibly the best pizza of my life, and the slowest service. Uff da.<br />
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And then it was off to bed, with a late alarm that felt even later due to the time change. Yes please!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LgbfXBd4j-Q/XcnQlQ_bZcI/AAAAAAAAMvg/AwIyJOybfRsq2iM6EzD9vSj92gRzE4TugCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/8290F37D-9AC0-438D-BD5D-B1CF21725176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LgbfXBd4j-Q/XcnQlQ_bZcI/AAAAAAAAMvg/AwIyJOybfRsq2iM6EzD9vSj92gRzE4TugCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/8290F37D-9AC0-438D-BD5D-B1CF21725176.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R6j87yQLAa0/XcnQs-UY6GI/AAAAAAAAMws/1I518u7VLMYhDE7CSsptTsUquGH9_6VAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_3f62.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R6j87yQLAa0/XcnQs-UY6GI/AAAAAAAAMws/1I518u7VLMYhDE7CSsptTsUquGH9_6VAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fullsizeoutput_3f62.jpeg" width="240" /></a>Before the race, I told Melissa that I expected to be around 2:17 if I was feeling good, but would probably be closer to 2:23. My plan was to take it as an easy long run, knowing that was my best chance for completing the miles without feeling like total garbage. She had been sick leading up to the race, and I just wanted her to run with me, but I knew, even if she was sick, she wouldn't likely want to run an 11 minute pace. Luckily for me, it was perfect race weather. Mid-30s, light breeze, sun while we were standing around (17 minutes!!) for the race to start and clouds during the run. Of course I was in shorts and a tank, and that was perfect. I was chilly standing around waiting to start, and was starting to get warm the last 5k. That's ideal for me.<br />
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We started off and I was thankful to be running and warming up finally. I had my watch on HR to just monitor that I was maintaining an easier long run effort, shooting to keep it in the 130s as long as I could. I was surprised at how many rolling hills there were the first few miles. So many people had said that it was a gentle downhill course that I was surprised by the rollers, but there wasn't anything crazy. My heart rate would go up a bit and then settle back down. After the first mile dinged, I consciously slowed down, knowing that I wanted to keep things closer to the 11 minute mile mark.<br />
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1. 10:24<br />
2. 10:38<br />
3. 10:45<br />
4. 10:43<br />
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When I race a half, I usually break it up into 5 mile 5 mile 5k segments. When the first five miles were done, I was surprised that I was feeling pretty good. I don't think I picked up the pace on purpose, perhaps this was a decent downhill stretch, but somehow I felt even better with a little swifter pace. Ok then. At the halfway point I was at 1:09, putting me at a 2:18 finishing time if I evenly split the race. FYI I never evenly split a race. It's either negative or a monster blow up positive split, but always nice to have a bit of a check in here. At mile 7 I calculated that if I could run the final 6.2 miles in a 10 minute pace, I could run the same time I did for the Sioux Falls half, 2:12, or maybe even faster.<br />
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5. 10:35<br />
6. 10:19<br />
7. 10:16<br />
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I felt good enough and knew that even if my body wasn't up for it, with about an hour left in the race, I couldn't die that hard, right? It was around this time that I noticed how springy my legs felt. Like maybe I was secretly wearing a pair of Vaporflys and they were catapulting me toward the finish line. Nope, just my regular New Balance 880s..... Why couldn't my legs feel like this for TCM??<br />
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I continued to run by effort, my watch was still only showing me HR and I would see my pace for each mile when it'd ding off, although I did miss a couple of those because I was just having fun pushing the pace and taking in my surroundings. I realized during the run, I don't run a whole lot of "new to me" races. So it was interesting keeping my eyes up to see where we were running.<br />
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8. 10:06<br />
9. 9:25<br />
10. 9:24<br />
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With a 5k to go, I really tried to turn up the heat, but I quickly learned it was already on high, so I focused on just continuing with the effort without fading. I took my second GU around mile 9 and hoped that give me the extra boost necessary to push me to the finish.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Na8kUD8gqiw/XcnQn10ucxI/AAAAAAAAMv8/pxXiWVei7F826cIuUFuXpo1S52Wg26vhgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Na8kUD8gqiw/XcnQn10ucxI/AAAAAAAAMv8/pxXiWVei7F826cIuUFuXpo1S52Wg26vhgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8419.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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My heart rate was getting pretty high the last 4 miles, which makes sense because I had really picked up the pace. Usually when it hits the 170s my body and brain are like, holy shit, pull back. But for some reason it didn't feel terrible. I suspect the cooler temps had me handling it better than normal. Heat+high heart rate=death, quickly for Jerbear.<br />
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11. 9:32<br />
12. 9:34<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-muaBcTrMSXc/XcnQkXZcgYI/AAAAAAAAMvU/YMjZsRVp0GUq7IcpEhaqSbUKChakLdL_wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/096DE7CE-C246-4AFB-A2B0-948354360342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-muaBcTrMSXc/XcnQkXZcgYI/AAAAAAAAMvU/YMjZsRVp0GUq7IcpEhaqSbUKChakLdL_wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/096DE7CE-C246-4AFB-A2B0-948354360342.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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The final mile there was a pretty big climb and I vaguely remember Kristin telling me about this hill when she did it last year. I was committed to coming as close to 2:12 as I could so I powered up the hill, dodging walkers to the best of my ability. We got to the top of the hill and I took off like I was running the 200 meter dash. It was probably obnoxious to see, but I really wanted to finish strong and I knew I was going to be super close to being under 2:12.<br />
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13. 9:23<br />
.12 :47 6:38 pace<br />
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I stopped my watch and chuckled, as this is the second time in the last year ish that I've had a dead 6 minute pace sprint to try to come in under some arbitrary time on the clock.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COsQIKBb6-Y/XcnQnAPIcsI/AAAAAAAAMv4/xjakVShD5KolsdEb0BfIF_oboTKFqQKtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COsQIKBb6-Y/XcnQnAPIcsI/AAAAAAAAMv4/xjakVShD5KolsdEb0BfIF_oboTKFqQKtQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8417.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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2:11:58 for a pace of 10:04.<br />
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Shortly after crossing the line I found Kristin and Melissa waiting for me and we got to take some pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oHfaOwxt6T0/XcnQl8mBY0I/AAAAAAAAMvs/UUOnLMKxXE00QkupJxvQyoDoAW8gK_rqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oHfaOwxt6T0/XcnQl8mBY0I/AAAAAAAAMvs/UUOnLMKxXE00QkupJxvQyoDoAW8gK_rqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8377.JPG" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WFGXVoLm6pk/XcnQl954JgI/AAAAAAAAMvo/w9nO-dV4gI48POv-8f8vJn61LAydGjUzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="425" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WFGXVoLm6pk/XcnQl954JgI/AAAAAAAAMvo/w9nO-dV4gI48POv-8f8vJn61LAydGjUzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8378.JPG" width="239" /></a><br />
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I had wanted to get my free beer after, but I started getting REALLY cold now that I had stopped moving and I knew Melissa would be turning blue before too long, so we took off.<br />
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After changing quickly we found a place to get tacos and margaritas, and then picked up some more coffee to keep me awake on the drive home. </div>
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I love race weekends! Oh, for the record: I beat my SF half time by 9 seconds, but who's counting. :P</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QhrqJTSjwY/XcnQsjdo6GI/AAAAAAAAMwk/jhf1zsZLjbQBGldEhggjKI--kV758Y2ywCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_3f5c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QhrqJTSjwY/XcnQsjdo6GI/AAAAAAAAMwk/jhf1zsZLjbQBGldEhggjKI--kV758Y2ywCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fullsizeoutput_3f5c.jpeg" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tlPuVkr5IY/XcnQs4mJxWI/AAAAAAAAMwo/6u65CuMud-8ULLxkwYSrrGgAkPOHNs1MACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_3f5f.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8tlPuVkr5IY/XcnQs4mJxWI/AAAAAAAAMwo/6u65CuMud-8ULLxkwYSrrGgAkPOHNs1MACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fullsizeoutput_3f5f.jpeg" width="240" /></a>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-53751843294950004272019-10-14T05:00:00.000-05:002019-10-14T15:37:24.756-05:00Race Report: Twin Cities Marathon 2019<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-84diC74-NFE/XaTQY9bIO5I/AAAAAAAAMss/ZG2AyYLwR9kUDLPbo6_UlIhN_vgqrohQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20584769-B7B1-4B04-AD7B-15DFA9175572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-84diC74-NFE/XaTQY9bIO5I/AAAAAAAAMss/ZG2AyYLwR9kUDLPbo6_UlIhN_vgqrohQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20584769-B7B1-4B04-AD7B-15DFA9175572.jpg" width="256" /></a>The morning of the race, we woke up at 5:30 a.m. and I started eating my Picky Bar breakfast. I was really thirsty throughout the night, but avoided drinking when I'd wake up because I didn't want to have to pee constantly. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my stomach was. Maybe my focus on my stomach issues the last couple of weeks was paying off!!<br />
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We got on the bus to the start line at 6:30 a.m. and it took less than 15 minutes to get there, which led to 75 minutes of waiting around to the race start. I was pretty excited and was okay being there that early, but I think Melissa may have froze to death waiting.<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Nun388diRE/XaTQdDpgByI/AAAAAAAAMtM/4coXnqfeIhouZgReMyotsk4dBDB2ojjhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_7935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Nun388diRE/XaTQdDpgByI/AAAAAAAAMtM/4coXnqfeIhouZgReMyotsk4dBDB2ojjhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_7935.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
I wore my sweats while we hung out and tossed them in my bag to be dropped after I found one final bathroom and did some glute activation drills. Melissa and I got in our starting corral and were ready to rock! She had planned to stay with me for a mile or so just to make sure she didn't go out too fast. I had gone back and forth about whether I should let my watch auto lap like normal or if I should manually do it at the mile markers. Last year it got pretty messed up within mile one, but I opted to leave it. When it beeped way before the mile marker, I opted to lap it again when I actually hit mile one so it'd beep closer to the mile markers going forward.<br />
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I was so hungry early on, while we were waiting to start I actually had hunger pangs. Yikes. I opted to take my first GU at mile 2 because of this, and was nervous if that would make my stomach feel not so great. I skipped the first few water stations since it was pretty cool to start, and found a glass shortly after I took my first GU. And just like last year, I developed a side stitch on my left side. Last year, this side stitch developed into a whole host of digestive issues, so I was hoping for the best, but fearing for the worst.<br />
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It was around this time that I ran into a fellow blogger, Heather who ran up to me and asked if I was Jeri and introduced herself on the run. I'd been following her training on Strava, and was really excited to see her out there. Her goal was quite a bit quicker than my A++ goal, so when she was ready to run ahead, I let her.<br />
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Melissa had left me shortly after mile 1 as I expected and I was running an easier pace than I had expected. While trying to find a rhythm, I saw my HS BFF Nikki and her family around mile 4 or 5! I knew they were planning to be out spectating, but I wasn't sure where they'd be on the course. At the same time they were cheering for me, Melissa came up behind me. Without thinking I blurted out, "What the hell are you doing behind me?!" She had stopped for a bathroom break and had caught up to me, she quickly went off again ahead.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-59BnMO5w2c4/XaTQbAKJQPI/AAAAAAAAMs8/2WyPr2ahJPEdmbbNrrPzNj-8wrbtMJXzgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_6625.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-59BnMO5w2c4/XaTQbAKJQPI/AAAAAAAAMs8/2WyPr2ahJPEdmbbNrrPzNj-8wrbtMJXzgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_6625.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br />
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1. 10:22<br />
2. 10:01<br />
3. 10:20<br />
4. 10:08<br />
5. 10:06<br />
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After the first few miles were slower than the 10:00 pace that I had planned for, I tried to speed up a little bit closer to goal pace. And my side stitch was just unrelenting. Usually when I get a side stitch it's because I'm dehydrated, so I decided to take 2 water cups at the next station. When I glanced at my HR at mile 8 I was a little startled at how high it was. I had expected my heart rate to be in the high 130s or low 140s based on the easier pace I was running, but it was 160. Uh.... usually my heart rate doesn't ever get above low 150s, even for a 3 hour run. Maybe it'll get in the high 150s if we're doing a cutdown with the last few in the 9's...... I tried not to panic, but let up off the gas at that point... I still have a long way to run! I decided that going forward, I would walk through the water stations to make sure I was taking in two full cups of water in hopes that would help with both my heart rate and this darn side stitch. I took my second GU and first salt tab at mile 7.<br />
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6. 10:11<br />
7. 10:10<br />
8. 10:10<br />
9. 10:29<br />
10. 10:27<br />
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I don't remember exactly where I saw Nikki and her family next but I did make a point to joke with them that I was able to pick them out of the spectating crowd by seeing Adam's grey goatee on the course. Hah. It was around this time that I realized that today's race was just going to be a finish 26.2 miles sort of day. I was calculating a finish time but knew if I was feeling this cruddy this early on in the race that it could be a very long day.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkJ47kNINu8/XaTQcEdeZwI/AAAAAAAAMtE/lcQyGC7TmOo4k2-wXV2UPSoNro0FTRDkACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_6627.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkJ47kNINu8/XaTQcEdeZwI/AAAAAAAAMtE/lcQyGC7TmOo4k2-wXV2UPSoNro0FTRDkACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_6627.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qmf9cXgcKI8/XaTQhGo3FQI/AAAAAAAAMts/cUzjzBTPv5I-0gn1Wt-YtO9CvO7T9acmACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8062.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qmf9cXgcKI8/XaTQhGo3FQI/AAAAAAAAMts/cUzjzBTPv5I-0gn1Wt-YtO9CvO7T9acmACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8062.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br />
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I switched my focus for the day to just having fun. Chatting up other runners. Commenting on people's signs. Giving high fives to any and all children along the course that wanted them. I took my third GU and second salt tab at mile 12. I also decided to throw the chance of digestive issues to the wind around this point and took a shot of pickle juice as my calves were starting to feel on the verge of cramps. It tasted heavenly.<br />
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11. 10:18<br />
12. 10:48<br />
13. 10:59<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qSOrVpz7S0k/XaTRZdsUoSI/AAAAAAAAMuo/vLtuDycGksss0HvFrIXu7s76vs22af9PQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_3e14.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qSOrVpz7S0k/XaTRZdsUoSI/AAAAAAAAMuo/vLtuDycGksss0HvFrIXu7s76vs22af9PQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fullsizeoutput_3e14.jpeg" width="247" /></a><br />
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Around the halfway mark, I realized that I needed a walk break more regularly than every water stop, as the stations were still every other mile at this point. I gave myself .05 walk break at the top of every mile for quite a while, which led to two walk breaks for the miles that had water stations in them.<br />
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14. 11:02<br />
15. 10:55<br />
16. 11:39<br />
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This stretch of any marathon is hard. You've already ran for 16 miles and you STILL have another ten to go. I started taking walk breaks whenever my heart rate would feel really high and yucky, which was way too often. In hindsight, I should've brought enough salt tabs to take two every 45 minutes like I typically do for a long run. The cooler temps that were forecasted were basically negated by the intense sun as soon as it was up and in full force. I also should've brought an emergency GU. I usually take a GU about every 45 minutes on a run. I equated that to every 5 miles based on my goal pace for the race, but really ended up taking them every 55-66+ minutes as the race went on and my pace got even slower. But hey! I didn't have any stomach issues AT ALL so I'm going to celebrate that win!<br />
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17. 12:14<br />
18. 12:20<br />
19. 12:21<br />
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The fun hill started at mile 19 and I made myself run up most of them. Of course that meant I would have to walk when I got to the top so my heart didn't explode, but I could actually hear my running buddy Chris tsk tsk me for walking up the hills, so I tried really hard not to. Around this point I ran back into Heather, and could tell she was having a rougher day than she had hoped. I got a second wind, even though my splits don't really show it, and enjoyed running over the bridge toward St. Paul. Most importantly: THERE WAS A WOMAN WITH A PUG ON THE BRIDGE. I repeat: A WOMAN ON THE BRIDGE WITH A PUG. So obviously I stopped and asked if I could pet her pug. And then there was a whole team of guys cheering people on, so I hammed it up like crazy and let their cheers propel me for quite some time.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LK9zbES68uM/XaTQiy-KcdI/AAAAAAAAMt4/SuqLY9jZkt0xM7iuL8b0KkPRnXbfnaLSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_3d29.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="746" height="216" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LK9zbES68uM/XaTQiy-KcdI/AAAAAAAAMt4/SuqLY9jZkt0xM7iuL8b0KkPRnXbfnaLSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fullsizeoutput_3d29.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W-OqAIJ1nqQ/XaTRZ2320UI/AAAAAAAAMuw/IoljOYIFyZAmFMUSmy0Xx3XSu0jItydVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_3e15.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="750" height="209" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W-OqAIJ1nqQ/XaTRZ2320UI/AAAAAAAAMuw/IoljOYIFyZAmFMUSmy0Xx3XSu0jItydVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fullsizeoutput_3e15.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This right here... is a cooked Jerbear. Uff da.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And THEN, possibly the only reason I finished the race, honestly, there was a spectator handing out small gatorade bottles shortly before mile 20. I chugged half of it, and thought about tossing it, but decided carrying it, as annoying as that would be, would probably pay off. I drank the whole thing within a mile's time and that coupled with some shade and the quick math that if I didn't pick up the pace, I'd be looking at a marathon finish time that started with a 5, gave me the kick in the pants I needed.<br />
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20. 11:21<br />
21. 12:36<br />
22. 11:50<br />
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By kick in the pants, I should clarify that I didn't actually speed up at all, so maybe I should rephrase it to the will to live?? Or maybe I used up that kick in the pants busting out some choreography to N'Sync's Bye Bye Bye, I'M NOT SURE!<br />
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Hah, I knew I'd see Nikki around mile 24 so I just put one foot in front of the other to try to get to her. This is the part of the course where there are spectators lining up on both sides of the course, honestly that can be said for almost the entire course from start to finish, and so many people were cheering me on by name, since it was printed on my bib. I tried to thank everyone and I so appreciated the encouragement, because I really needed it.<br />
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Finally I saw Nikki, and said something along the lines of "You're coming with me, let's go!" So she joined me for a block or so, and I'm so glad I asked her to jump in. I was struggling so hard and told her that, and she told me I was amazing, and I was going to finish and she was proud of me and it was everything I needed to hear in that moment. I gave her a big hug, knowing that they weren't planning to go to the cluster F that is the finish (I did not blame them, and needed them at mile 24 much more!) and continued on.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e46cfxndMgQ/XaTQhZE5ZOI/AAAAAAAAMtw/GPclQ_ldKl4txHZRUzyZm7D7AlMnWVoCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8064.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e46cfxndMgQ/XaTQhZE5ZOI/AAAAAAAAMtw/GPclQ_ldKl4txHZRUzyZm7D7AlMnWVoCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8064.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-je-_YYZIyJc/XaTQiR7_rUI/AAAAAAAAMt0/JZdbJRnr3Osld3XxpwpkISJqUueFdrzLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8065.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-je-_YYZIyJc/XaTQiR7_rUI/AAAAAAAAMt0/JZdbJRnr3Osld3XxpwpkISJqUueFdrzLACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8065.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_DClhR5jwpY/XaTQjCKUleI/AAAAAAAAMuA/CFsIf1tv21E0UjDWBRf1q8tlOpfidONjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_8069.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_DClhR5jwpY/XaTQjCKUleI/AAAAAAAAMuA/CFsIf1tv21E0UjDWBRf1q8tlOpfidONjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_8069.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br />
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I love that our running form is in step 100%. Before running was my favorite thing ever, Nikki and I lived in our gym playing basketball, practicing so many hours of the off season. <3<br />
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23. 12:10<br />
24. 12:13<br />
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The final two miles seemed to stretch on forever, and I swear my mental math was telling me I needed to run 10 minute miles to come in under 5 hours. Well apparently my brain was lacking some very important oxygen, because I did not run 10 minute miles to finish yet I came in just over 4:50. And I'm really good at math, not to brag.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_9CWS75WLI/XaTRZfCu3rI/AAAAAAAAMus/-hsx3h1fUQ8GTiOxuIG3J9Q9VWsLEaz0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_3e0c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="723" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_9CWS75WLI/XaTRZfCu3rI/AAAAAAAAMus/-hsx3h1fUQ8GTiOxuIG3J9Q9VWsLEaz0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fullsizeoutput_3e0c.jpeg" width="229" /></a><br />
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Around this point, I saw a spectator holding a sign that said "YOUR MOM CALLED. SHE SAYS SHE'S REALLY PROUD OF YOU!" And I started crying, of course. The amount of voicemails I have saved on my phone from her saying this after races she couldn't attend is kind of obnoxious and I cherish them dearly.<br />
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I really tried to pick up the pace during the last 5k, and I probably did, but I kept having to stop to get my heart rate to come down. It was really annoying. I was leap frogging with lots of people and could've swore that they put the finishing stretch much further away than last year. :P Finally we approached the final stretch. The final mile of the race was probably the first full mile I had run with no walk breaks since mile 8 or 9. I didn't have my usual sprinter's kick, but I think I was just enough freaked out about how poorly my body was feeling, I didn't want to be that headline in the next day's paper about a runner collapsing just before the finish line. Is that too dark??<br />
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25. 11:27<br />
26. 11:35<br />
.5 4:32 (8:50 pace)<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jmCCe7QrS5Q/XaTQaiG2mII/AAAAAAAAMs4/1jLJCuOOmmIleEIxAKFAjQ_1-y7AiCtmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/F827FB38-7F28-4F53-BAFD-33DFE61B554B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1281" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jmCCe7QrS5Q/XaTQaiG2mII/AAAAAAAAMs4/1jLJCuOOmmIleEIxAKFAjQ_1-y7AiCtmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/F827FB38-7F28-4F53-BAFD-33DFE61B554B.jpg" width="256" /></a><br />
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I finished my 9th marathon, 26.5 miles in 4:52:57 for a pace of 10:59.<br />
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Once I finished, I could not wait to get my shoes off. My feet hurt so bad. I think they were super swollen from whatever was going on with my hydration/electrolyte situation. I was so incredibly sore. I couldn't find Melissa and almost had a breakdown on the phone because I just wanted to sit down. Luckily I found her, and plopped myself down on the hill I would call home for what felt like hours after.<br />
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This little lady almost snagged another PR (just a minute shy) after a major medical set back late this summer. I'm so proud of her and can't wait to be there when she PRs by 20+ minutes next year. For real.</div>
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We attempted to recreate the post-Skedaddle race photo once I was back to standing again.<br />
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And I made Melissa take a picture of my face so I could see if it was as salty as it felt. The answer: yes.<br />
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And eventually meandered over to the beer tent to enjoy our post-race beers. My. mantra for the last 14 miles of the race was essentially, "this is a lot of work for a free beer" so it seemed only fitting to cash in on that hard earned beverage.<br />
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And then it was time for our walk back to the hotel. I love staying at the finish line. It's so convenient!</div>
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Some reflections:</div>
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<ul>
<li>I am so thrilled that my stomach felt good all of race morning and throughout the race. I was diligent about taking my daily probiotic for 10 days leading up to the race, and really cut out foods and beverages that tend to upset it--caffeine and Qdoba's quest, namely. I also cut out my night before beer as I've suspected that may have contributed to issues in the past.</li>
<li>I'm not sure if this is why I was so hungry at the start, but I didn't eat a ton the day before the race. Again, I think I was so nervous about upsetting my stomach that I may not have eaten enough to support the energy I needed for 26.2 miles! </li>
<li>I don't think I was hydrated well enough going in to the race. I brought my water bottle to the race start, but barely drank anything. Because I had to use a portapotty at mile 2 in 2018, I think I was afraid that would happen again. I was <b>really</b> amped up on the forecasted cool temps and neglected hydration, especially with how thirsty I was when I woke up. I think next training cycle, I will experiment running with a hydration vest so I can take fluids whenever I need it and can tell how much I'm taking in throughout.</li>
<li> Sometimes you just have a bad day. And that's okay. I really made the most of my experience trying to lift up others and just have fun. When I first started running marathons, if I had a day like this I would've had a 26.2 mile pity party for myself and had been devastated for months after. I'm bummed, but I do know that my training will come together on a most excellent day, and I'll earn a shiny new PR! Hopefully next fall! :)</li>
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<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-13710912991945766922019-09-13T05:00:00.000-05:002019-11-24T20:33:59.877-06:00Race Report: Sioux Falls Half Marathon 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MDe77RvjNWo/XcnZbkUbLbI/AAAAAAAAM0I/i0jYydxwq1ExCFxGX57m9u1lTL1IBVX_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/B21C6D7B-F447-4149-A38A-A198EF640148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MDe77RvjNWo/XcnZbkUbLbI/AAAAAAAAM0I/i0jYydxwq1ExCFxGX57m9u1lTL1IBVX_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/B21C6D7B-F447-4149-A38A-A198EF640148.jpg" width="256" /></a><span id="goog_635598079"></span><span id="goog_635598080"></span>The Sioux Falls Half Marathon was set to be our last big scary workout leading up to the Twin Cities Marathon, 18 miles with 13 at marathon pace. Gulp. Melissa and I planned to do 5 miles before the race, and she stayed the night to make the morning easier. Luckily she stayed over, because I woke up to her shaking my big toe as my alarm had been going off silently for 20 minutes. GAH!<br />
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We drove to the race start, and it was raining. We set off on our warm up and warm up it was. It was chilly!! I didn't pay attention to our pace because it was so pitch black out, but near the turn around point I realized we were running really slowly, like 11:10-11:20s. And Melissa mentioned she wasn't feeling very well and her HR was crazy high. She was trying to decide if she should run the race or not. Based on how she was feeling and some medical issues she had been dealing with, I strongly encouraged her to not start the race. I know how hard it is for her to run super easy, especially in a race scenario, and I was worried that she'd put herself in a bad position health wise. But I also REALLY wanted to run the race with her. She decided not to race, and we were treated with torrential downpours when we finally made it back to my car. Uff. I said goodbye to her and hustled into the Premier center to find a bathroom and drop by bag.<br />
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The race started and it was still raining but I was already soaked and dripping on people so it was NBD. Shortly after starting the race, I knew I needed to use a bathroom. Luckily I found one in mile 2. I think I was in and out within 47 seconds. What was Shalane's record? Coming up on the portapotty, I saw my good running friend Tom and had hoped to catch up with him later. I'm writing this report 2 months removed from the race, so the details are a bit spotty. I can't even remember what my race plan was going to be. I think my goal was to run around 2:05, but clearly my legs weren't having that.<br />
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1. 10:37<br />
2. 11:32<br />
3. 10:16<br />
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I was really bummed that Melissa wasn't out there with me, but I was super impressed as to everywhere that Kyle was on the race course. It's like he's finally gotten this race down. Every where I looked there he was ready to cheer me on. Wahoo. Miles 4 and 5 had decent downhills, so I think the effort was relative, just a faster pace because of the downhill portion. <br />
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I enjoyed running through the falls, got a little teary eyed running by my mom's "spot" but was thankful she wasn't out spectating me in the crummy weather. She had a habit of commenting on how NICE the weather was on years I was cooking my insides while running, so we clearly had two different views on the nice weather. I think she finally got the hang of if it's nice to spectate in, Jeri's probably have a rough day. :P<br />
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4. 9:37<br />
5. 9:30<br />
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6. 9:54<br />
7. 9:57<br />
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I continued to leap frog with my friend Tom, catching him around mile 6 I think. It was nice to have some company for a bit. I remember thinking (not when I was with Tom, just while running) that I had way more fun in 2018. Running and laughing with Melissa, and running super fast at that, was significantly more fun than running what felt like hard, but didn't show very fast as far as my watch was spitting out.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CuBnMMBB7dA/Xcna-Y67PYI/AAAAAAAAM2E/gA7EUmCuXashD8gfPW6cyU2y2Vbil1jkwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_7599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CuBnMMBB7dA/Xcna-Y67PYI/AAAAAAAAM2E/gA7EUmCuXashD8gfPW6cyU2y2Vbil1jkwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_7599.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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8. 9:46<br />
9. 9:58<br />
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There is a long slow hill in mile 10 which....sucked as you can see, but I just kept powering up it. I like how this course mirrors the TCM course, so it's great prep for how your legs will handle the final hilly miles of Twin Cities.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lboQORddy2M/Xcna5qhW7KI/AAAAAAAAM1Y/x6d8VXzXW4ABtcqE9elp_55aDnEPquh1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_0993.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lboQORddy2M/Xcna5qhW7KI/AAAAAAAAM1Y/x6d8VXzXW4ABtcqE9elp_55aDnEPquh1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_0993.jpeg" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qVDYeZNWHyg/Xcna5UcZMxI/AAAAAAAAM1Q/8AcVNdwK5s8ocstEa1sESjB7aJdxVYkoACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_0995.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qVDYeZNWHyg/Xcna5UcZMxI/AAAAAAAAM1Q/8AcVNdwK5s8ocstEa1sESjB7aJdxVYkoACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_0995.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br />
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And mile 11 is a nice downhill. The last two miles I ran as hard as I could, but couldn't seem to find another, faster gear. Even my finishing kick was just... meh. Even though I'm pretty sure I was giving it my all. I guess that's what racing on super tired legs looks like! Meh. Hah.<br />
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10. 9:59<br />
11. 9:42<br />
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After I saw Kyle the final time, I really tried to crank up the pace to finish strong. My heart rate wasn't all that tired, but my legs were just ready to be DONE. 9:30s-9:40s doesn't look that slow but I think my effort was closer to sub 9.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VMPH48y2bww/XcnZn0YSrqI/AAAAAAAAM0k/h5V946_CQzorzkCxTkaFtdxOHyZKqiF_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_7703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VMPH48y2bww/XcnZn0YSrqI/AAAAAAAAM0k/h5V946_CQzorzkCxTkaFtdxOHyZKqiF_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_7703.JPG" width="213" /></a> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sofQLKnrL3c/XcnZoNge3yI/AAAAAAAAM0o/m1Lpl-qheO4XeiYdzgRPyDS6L7GP-hAsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_7704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sofQLKnrL3c/XcnZoNge3yI/AAAAAAAAM0o/m1Lpl-qheO4XeiYdzgRPyDS6L7GP-hAsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_7704.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
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12. 9:43<br />
13. 9:35<br />
.23 1:57 (8:32 pace)<br />
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I finished 13.23 miles in 2:12:07 for a pace of 10:00.<br />
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<span id="goog_544948060"></span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-79195991286647756202019-06-26T05:00:00.000-05:002019-06-26T05:00:01.593-05:00Marathon Training Begins<br />
Week one of marathon training is done. check! I was talking to my running friend, Kristin, and she was asking if marathon training had started already. And I told her yes and that I was so excited about it. It quickly dawned on me that I wanted to start training for a marathon approximately 4 hours after Twin Cities was complete last fall. And then my body wasn't having it.<br />
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I am beyond excited to put in some hard work and see where my fitness can be in the next 4 months.<br />
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One of the runs that I look forward to the least was on the schedule on week one (I should fire my coach! jk, I am my own coach). I had 8 miles with 4 at tempo. Not only do I hate tempo runs, but they are so much harder in the summer heat and humidity. I adjusted my tempo pace slightly to accommodate for the heat, and set out thinking if absolutely necessary I could do a few minute recovery in between the first 2 and second 2 miles.<br />
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As I was running I realized that I often give myself an out on these kinds of runs--stretching at the turn around, recovery jog, retying a shoe, stopping for water, etc. The point of these runs is the continuous harder effort to allow the body to learn how to push out the heaviness that accumulates in the legs during these faster paces. I typically sell myself short when I give myself an easy way out. So I put my head down, and worked. And I survived, and felt like a bad ass for it.<br />
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Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-67968834497896044722019-06-21T05:00:00.000-05:002019-06-21T05:00:07.869-05:00Current Obsession: Headspace AppI have been upping my meditation game lately. I've been struggling with some anxiety issues this past spring, and I know that meditating, for me personally, helps to alleviate some of my symptoms. At one point, I had a streak of 40+ days going, only to fall asleep and forget to meditate. Grumble grumble. I'm well over 1k minutes meditated.<br />
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I would personally recommend the Headspace App, as they have a bunch of different categories of content, as well as nice quotes and notes that make you think throughout the day. I also like that you can set up a reminder to alert you to meditate.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1yxqCGO98q0/XQWJVVuv_0I/AAAAAAAAMqQ/7sReWK5CPOIC-jg7hyDSDGDSgmu0enCAQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_5790.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1yxqCGO98q0/XQWJVVuv_0I/AAAAAAAAMqQ/7sReWK5CPOIC-jg7hyDSDGDSgmu0enCAQCK4BGAYYCw/s320/IMG_5790.png" width="180" /></a>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-31315426393288950812019-06-18T05:00:00.000-05:002019-06-18T05:00:01.101-05:00Weekly Reads: Love and Luck<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519640543l/32333026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519640543l/32333026.jpg" width="213" /></a>I've been meaning to read Love and Luck for the last year. It's a companion book to Love and Gelato which was amazing, and I'm traveling to Ireland this summer. I finally got it to the top of my TBR stack, and I absolutely adored it. Most of the locations visited in the story I also get to see in two months, and it was such a great story.<br />
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My rating: 5 stars<br />
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Summary from Goodreads:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.</span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-21140902537879190872019-06-17T05:00:00.002-05:002019-11-24T20:33:48.007-06:00Race Report: Run for their Lives 10k<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I added one last run to my spring/summer schedule as a bit of a reception run since I was sick leading up to the Fargo half. I had hoped that some of my fitness would hang on to have a decent 10k day. Plus my running friends Tom and Sara put on the race in a nearby town for a great cause.</div>
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I had thought I could run the 10k around 8:15-8:25 pace. Based on the warmer temps and humidity, I dialed that back to 8:40s, thinking that would be comparable. LOLZ. Reminder to Jeri: you do not race well in the heat. Especially if you've yet to really run in the heat. Got it?</div>
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So as previously stated, I started off conservatively. And about a quarter mile into the second mile I started to feel like toast. Not exactly great when you have FIVE MORE MILES TO RUN. I pushed likely way harder than I should have, and in mile 3 I knew I needed to slow way down to finish.</div>
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I think I started walk breaks around the 5k mark, which is impressive for a 10k when you've run a million marathons and half marathons. Derp. </div>
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1. 8:40</div>
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2. 8:53</div>
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3. 9:40</div>
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Luckily in the 4th mile we started to meet up with the 5k runners, so there were significantly more people around. And we were all walk running out there in survival mode. I saw a couple of running friends from the Friday morning coffee run and caught up to them, and the gave me a second wind to push through to the end. I didn't realize they were doing the 5k until after.</div>
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4. 10:10</div>
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5. 10:44</div>
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6. 10:16<--this was me picking up the pace to finish. :P</div>
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.08 :39 for 8:09 pace</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">This smile is a lie</td></tr>
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You will rarely, if ever hear me say this, but thank goodness for a short course! I took all sorts of sweaty post-race hugs, and chugged so much water and gatorade because I was feeling light headed and unsteady on my feet.</div>
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I survived, and it raised good money, and I got to see lots of my running friends, but it made for a not so great evening out to celebrate Kyle's bestie's wedding! Uff da.</div>
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<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-82149696891480498352019-06-17T05:00:00.001-05:002019-06-17T05:00:11.739-05:00Marathon Training Plan TweaksToday marks day one of marathon training for the Twin Cities Marathon, take 2! I'm again training myself, although I am realizing that how I coach myself is not how I coach other runners, and I could probably stand to have someone who can comfortably tell me no when I have a harebrained idea, but that's neither here nor there I guess.<br />
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I've created a training plan that is pretty similar to last year's, with some tweaks. Last year's plan started after the 4th of July. Last year I did Grandma's half marathon, took some time to recover, and then had some cranky knee flare up. Last year's was planned at 15 weeks, but ended up at 13 weeks. This year's will be 16 weeks.<br />
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I also have one additional 20 miler, as I have an extra couple of weeks of training. It's always so brutally hot training through the summer for a marathon that it's nice to have a bonus 20 miler for confidence if the others are just brutal. I did discover on my long run this weekend that I'll likely have to do 1 or 2 of them on my own. AHH!!! Fingers crossed I can line someone up for part of them at least.<br />
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My last tweak is some additional hill work. Last summer, I (or should I say Chris) did a good job of incorporating hilly routes into our Monday night runs. I felt so strong on the hills of TCM, that I want to do that again, but I'm also planning some hill specific repeats for some strength based workouts.<br />
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I'm really excited to dive into marathon training and do the WORK to get that marathon PR in 16 weeks!<br />
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<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-35032218239007498732019-06-11T05:00:00.000-05:002019-06-11T05:00:02.698-05:00Weekly Reads: Denis Ever After <div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I volunteered to read this book for the Teen's Choice book committee that I serve on. I love a good murder mystery. I failed to realize that this was told from the perspective of a ghost, and that was a really cool angle. I listened to it mostly on audiobook, and then when it got toward the end I needed to read the book because I just had to find out what happened. Totally unexpected ending!</div>
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My rating: 4.5 stars</div>
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Summary from goodreads:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Denis Egan is dead. </span></div>
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1505370973l/35068613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1505370973l/35068613.jpg" width="211" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">He’s okay with that. It’s been five years since he died, and the place where souls go is actually pretty nice. Sure, there are some things about his life and how it ended he can’t quite recall, but that’s how it’s supposed to be. Remembering could prevent Denis from moving on to whatever’s next. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">However, something is standing in his way. His twin brother Matt can’t let go of him, and as long as the living are holding on to his memory, Denis can’t rest in peace.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">To uncover the truth about what happened that day five years before, Denis returns to his hometown and teams up with Matt. But visiting for too long has painful consequences for Denis, and Matt’s renewed interest in his brother’s passing is driving a wedge between his still-grieving parents.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Can the two boys solve the mystery of Denis’s death without breaking apart the family he’s left behind?</span><br />
<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-44801253702620543942019-06-05T05:00:00.000-05:002019-06-05T05:00:02.255-05:00Melissa's Fargo Half Marathon Race ReportMelissa is one of my good running buddies. We did the bulk of our long runs together for the Twin Cities Marathon last year, and since then, I've been giving her training plans to follow, partially because then I have a built in running buddy, but mostly because she has such potential as a runner, I really wanted to see how fast she could get this spring. So yes, I guess there are bonuses to being my running buddy if you're in need of a coach. :P<br />
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I asked her if she wanted to write up her race report from the Fargo Half Marathon, because she had an <b>awesome</b> day despite really cruddy conditions. Prior to this spring, Melissa's half PR was a 1:56 ish set at Mankato just a few weeks after her first full marathon. I knew she was much faster than her time showed, so we spent a lot of time slowing down her long runs, slowly increasing her weekly mileage, keeping the majority of her miles really really easy conversational pace, and then tackling some hard workouts on workout days. She set a couple of minute PR at the Skedaddle Half Marathon in April, with the pacing plan that she should feel like she was really holding back almost the whole time, as her A goal was Fargo.<br />
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Go Melissa!<br />
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My race plan from my BRF Jeri:<br /><blockquote type="cite">
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5x8:45<br />5x8:15<br />3.1x8<br />Time=1:49:48<br />I of course NEVER look at the weather before a race but I know Jeri does so after hearing people say, “it’s going to rain and be windy,” I asked Jeri. I know she has been looking for the past week <img alt="😊" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f60a" data-image-whitelisted="" goomoji="1f60a" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f60a" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /> and it was easier to ask her. She confirmed! </div>
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I was aware of the wind because let’s be honest, it’s Fargo, but I was NOT expecting the cold and rain! I was hoping for warmth! </div>
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Anyway, race day came and I slept AMAZING but I could not <img alt="💩" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f4a9" data-image-whitelisted="" goomoji="1f4a9" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f4a9" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /> and the weather was cold, rainy and windy like everyone was saying. At that point I decided today was probably not going to be a PR because of the weather and I was worried about a stomach cramp! We left the hotel and I started joking about how “beautiful” the weather was because we can’t change it and I wanted to have fun since I wasn't going to PR.<br />After talking with Jeri, I decided go go out a little more conservative. </div>
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My first mile was 9:04 and after that I kept looking at my watch and 8:30’s were coming up and I felt so good <img alt="😊" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f60a" data-image-whitelisted="" goomoji="1f60a" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f60a" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /><br />Mile 2: 8:34<br />Mile 3: 8:33<br />Mile 4: 8:33<br />Mile 5: 8:26<br />After mile 5 I still felt strong and no stomach cramps <img alt="🤞" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f91e" data-image-whitelisted="" goomoji="1f91e" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f91e" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />. I made sure to stop at 3 water stops for some Gatorade because I have trouble fueling during a race and the thought of GU’s make me want to vomit. </div>
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Don’t worry- I’ve learned after a few terrible races that I have to eat breakfast, especially when I struggle fueling during. I’ve found a bagel with PB, honey and half a banana works pretty good. </div>
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Ok back to the race!<br />After mile 6, I was like “I can do this!” I picked up the pace mile 7-9.<br />Mile 6: 8:26<br />Mile 7: 8:15<br />Mile 8: 8:18<br />Mile 9: 8:20<br />Then that darn wind seemed to find me and I I can’t remember what mile, but I’m pretty sure 10-11, I stopped at a water stop for Gatorade because I didn't want to bonk! </div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Mile 10: 8:29<br />Mile 11: 8:28 </span></span></div>
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At the water stop I found Glenda and she yelled, “Go Melissa, Go!” So I did!</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Mile 12: 8:06<br />Mile 13: 7:49<br />0.12: 6:47 </span></span></div>
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Of course that gave me a huge boost! I took off and looked down at my watch and saw the time and realized, I’m going to PR and I still feel so strong!<br />I finished with a time of 1:50:10. Dang 11seconds! Right Jeri?!? But it was a PR by 3.5 minutes from Skedaddle so I’ll take it. Jeri was once again right when she said, “you are gonna PR!” </div>
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The best part of this (other than the monster PR, obvs) was sitting in the locker rooms after the race looking up everyone's official times and seeing that Melissa ran a 1:50:10. Without thinking, I remarked, "You couldn't find 11 seconds, Melissa!?!?" totally joking, but it was pretty funny. Honestly Melissa doesn't run very well in the cold (unlike me, ha) so on a good day, I actually had her pegged closer to a 1:48. We'll switch our focus to marathon training here shortly, but we also signed up for a half a month after Twin Cities, so I wouldn't expect this half PR to stand into 2020. </div>
Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-53988892927147118312019-06-04T05:00:00.001-05:002019-06-04T05:00:09.377-05:00Weekly Reads: To All the Boys I've Loved Before<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372086100l/15749186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372086100l/15749186.jpg" width="212" /></a>Let me start this by saying, that I LOVE that Netflix has become the platform for fantastic teen books to movie. Jenny Han's <i>To All the Boys I've Loved Before</i> has been on my TBR pile since 2015, according to my goodreads account. I committed librarian sacrilege: I watched the movie before I read the book. GASP. I never do this. Like ever. But I needed something cute to watch and I'd been hearing so many great things about it that I had to watch. And it was lovely. And I immediately had to put the book on hold at the library. Of course it had a nice long hold list on it because of the excitement about the movie so it took awhile.<br />
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Totally worth it.<br />
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My rating: 4.5 stars<br />
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Summary from goodreads:<br />
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<span id="freeText12693622943378556548" style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-53179028893765167202019-06-03T05:00:00.000-05:002019-06-03T05:00:00.516-05:00Fargo Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
To say that Carter, Melissa and I had a good time celebrating in Fargo, would be an understatement. So much good food, so many good drinks, and so many belly laughs. A weekend that was good for the soul!</div>
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<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-90520881232835952522019-05-31T05:00:00.001-05:002019-05-31T05:00:07.776-05:00What's Next?<br />
Leading up to Fargo half, I suspected that race day wouldn't be a 100% effort for me. To mitigate my disappointment, I started to think of a back up plan if that was the case. I had planned to do a 10k for fun-ish in early June, and have since decided that it'll be my official substitute goal race for the spring (even though that's probably summer at that point). My marathon training will start in later June, so this gives me an opportunity to still have another attempt to post a race time that'll help me project a fall marathon goal race time.<br />
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Now fingers crossed that it doesn't feel like summer on race day! If so, I may drop to the 5k, which would still be fun.</div>
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There's also a 5k the following weekend in my little town that features bacon and bloody Mary's post race. And the money goes to help with Junior Achievement. So why not race on back to back weekends? My thoughts exactly!<br />
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And THEN Strava and NYRR announced a 1 mile virtual race challenge. Well that sounds like fun too. So sometime during this 8 day span, I'd also like to do a 1 mile time trial. LOLZ. This'll either be the most fun 8 days or the worst idea I've ever had.<br />
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Stay tuned.</div>
Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-71690409851308573162019-05-30T05:00:00.000-05:002019-05-30T05:00:04.264-05:00Running Book Review: Running with the Buffaloes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last fall during marathon training, my running buddy Chris lent me <i>Running with the Buffaloes</i> after I mentioned that I wanted to read it but my library didn't have it. Of course, he lent me a copy that was signed by both Chris Lear AND Adam Goucher. He's clearly not a librarian; you do NOT lend out signed book copies! Because of that I only read it at home, keeping it next to my bed so it wouldn't get damaged. Thus it took me FOREVER to read it. It was really great to pick it up when I needed extra running motivation.<br />
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I finally finished it during my coaching certification weekend, and it 100% lived up to all the hype. It also desperately makes me wish I had ran cross country in college, and also makes my mind spin as to how a coach would coach that many runners and be able to get them all the peak during the national championship while also managing all of the injuries along the way. I would love to be in Wetmore's brain for a season, that's for sure.<br />
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My rating: 5 stars<br />
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Summary from Amazon: <br />
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In R</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">UNNING </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">W</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ITH</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> T</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">HE</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> B</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">UFFALOES</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, writer Chris Lear follows the University of Colorado cross-country team through an unforgettable NCAA season. Allowed unparalleled access to team practices, private moments, and the mind of Mark Wetmore--one of the country's most renowned and controversial coaches--Lear provides a riveting look inside the triumphs and heartaches of a perennial national contender and the men who will stop at nothing to achieve excellence. The Buffaloes' 1998 season held great promise, with Olympic hopeful Adam Goucher poised for his first-ever NCAA cross-country title, and the University of Colorado shooting for its first-ever national team title. But in the rigorous world of top-level collegiate sports, blind misfortune can sabotage the dreams of individuals and teams alike. In a season plagued by injury and the tragic loss of a teammate, the Buffaloes were tested as never before. What these men managed to achieve in the face of such adversity is the stuff of legend and glory.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">With passion and suspense, Lear captures the lives of these young men and offers a glimpse of what drives a gifted runner like Adam Goucher and a great coach like Mark Wetmore. Like Lance Armstrong's </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">It's Not About the Bike,</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> R</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">UNNING</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> W</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ITH</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> T</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">HE</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> B</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">UFFALOES</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> is at once a glowing celebration of a sport and an inspiration to anyone who has ever had the courage to beat the odds and follow a dream.</span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-68615800358948276482019-05-29T05:00:00.000-05:002019-05-29T05:00:17.189-05:00Weekly Reads: Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531317720l/40645629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531317720l/40645629.jpg" width="211" /></a><br />
I loved Jeff Zentner's <i><a href="https://jerbear8.blogspot.com/2017/10/weekly-reads-goodbye-days.html">Goodbye Day</a>s</i>, so I was really excited to read <i>Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee. </i>It didn't disappoint! It was such a quick read about friendship and family relationships. Definitely worth a read!<br />
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My rating: 4 stars.<br />
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Summary from goodreads:<br />
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<b style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">A contemporary novel about two best friends who must make tough decisions about their futures--and the TV show they host--in their senior year of high school.</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Every Friday night, best friends Delia and Josie become Rayne Ravenscroft and Delilah Darkwood, hosts of the campy creature feature show </span><em style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Midnite Matinee</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"> on the local cable station TV Six.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">But with the end of senior year quickly approaching, the girls face tough decisions about their futures. Josie has been dreading graduation, as she tries to decide whether to leave for a big university and chase her dream career in mainstream TV. And Lawson, one of the show's guest performers, a talented MMA fighter with weaknesses for pancakes, fantasy novels, and Josie, is making her tough decision even harder.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Scary movies are the last connection Delia has to her dad, who abandoned the family years ago. If </span><em style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Midnite Matinee</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"> becomes a hit, maybe he'll see it and want to be a part of her life again. And maybe Josie will stay with the show instead of leaving her behind, too.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">As the tug-of-war between growing up and growing apart tests the bonds of their friendship, Josie and Delia start to realize that an uncertain future can be both monstrous...and momentous.</span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-60632474813307216322019-05-28T05:00:00.004-05:002019-05-28T05:00:05.031-05:00Race Report: Fargo Half MarathonThe week of the Fargo Half marathon was rough. I was back to running like normal, but every run felt so much more labored than it should. High heart rates, still hacking up all sorts of stuff, just generally not how you want to feel on race week. I did everything I could during the week to speed up the process--lots of sleep, hydration, eating healthy nutrient foods. Friday's shake out run was around an 11 minute pace but didn't feel nearly as easy as an 11 minute pace should feel. Woof.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUnVigMVaeM/XOh7497mJ4I/AAAAAAAAMno/wdD8KxD6mVUhMWLRGuArZSBpKIV3z3p-ACLcBGAs/s1600/5F1AB43B-5114-45EB-9467-8FAB34E1F998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUnVigMVaeM/XOh7497mJ4I/AAAAAAAAMno/wdD8KxD6mVUhMWLRGuArZSBpKIV3z3p-ACLcBGAs/s320/5F1AB43B-5114-45EB-9467-8FAB34E1F998.jpg" width="256" /></a>Regardless, I was so excited to travel to Fargo with Melissa and Carter. Melissa and I had done so many runs together this spring, and I knew she was ready for a huge PR, and I was excited to hang out with her and Carter post-race to celebrate. Plus a ton of Sioux Falls runners were also going up for the full and half. Wahoo!!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IJUpyLyklzk/XOh74kqj3nI/AAAAAAAAMoQ/fc3TPI_EROkY0B5YG83LZi08Tx597r7tgCEwYBhgL/s1600/B797C708-934F-47F2-80FA-B21FE2E106D2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IJUpyLyklzk/XOh74kqj3nI/AAAAAAAAMoQ/fc3TPI_EROkY0B5YG83LZi08Tx597r7tgCEwYBhgL/s320/B797C708-934F-47F2-80FA-B21FE2E106D2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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All of race week I was contemplating race plans for Saturday. I thought best case scenario, I could maybe sneak in just under 2 hours if I was magically feeling really really good. For some reason, I didn't think to plan a strategy for if I didn't magically feel really good. Note to self: that might be something to consider if I ever come down with a 10+ day sickness leading up to my goal race day.<br />
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Race morning it was pouring rain. I went to bed not 100% sure what I was going to wear. It was cold, rainy, and the final 5-6 miles were going to be into a strong 20-30 mph wind. I finally landed on a tank, tights and gloves. We were so lucky that we got to start in the Fargodome so we were dry while waiting for the race to start.<br />
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We did some stretching, I did my glute activation exercises, and before too long it was time to line up. And somehow we were back in the 3:00 half marathon group. We finagled our way up closer and were ready to rock.<br />
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The race started, and I thought I'd try to keep the pace around 9:30-9:45. I tried to dodge puddles the best I could. It became pretty apparent, very early in the race that I wasn't going to feel "magically really good." But I was feeling well enough that I knew I would complete 13.1 miles, which was honestly a concern as the week was going on, and a 5 mile felt like a struggle. My heart rate was pretty high for the pace I was running, honestly my effort felt closer to a 9:15 (shockingly this was my goal pace for my ORIGINAL pacing plan, pre-illness, so I guess that's something). I decided pretty quickly that today's run might be more of a long run pace, and that I should be thankful that I felt well enough to run a half marathon.<br />
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1. 9:44<br />
2. 9:49<br />
3. 9:56<br />
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The miles ticked off pretty fast at a slightly sub 10 pace. Despite feeling cold in mile 1, I started to feel very comfortable temperature-wise shortly after, but I was happy I had on gloves. My hands would've been freezing. I took my first GU around mile 2, as my stomach was pretty cranky race morning, per usual, and I thought I could use an extra boost early. Somewhere around miles 4-5 I started to get a little bit in my head. Just ruminating on how hard I worked this spring to hit a fast half marathon time, and how out of my hands being sick was. I started to throw myself the tiniest of pity parties when I ran up on a woman who was thanking absolutely everyone in sight. "Thanks for volunteering! Thanks for stopping traffic! Thanks for being out here to cheer us on!" And it reminded me of some advice that I, myself, have given; when you're having a bad day, flip it, don't make it about you, but show some gratitude. I didn't have enough energy to be as positive and uplifting as she was, but I hung on to her for a couple of miles, feeding off of her positivity. Thank you lady wherever you are!<br />
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4. 9:52<br />
5. 9:51<br />
6. 9:53<br />
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Unsurprisingly, once I stopped the negative thought spiral, I started to feel better. I passed my friend with a new pep in my step, and started to seek out faces in the crowd. I didn't have anyone spectating me, so I started to look at signs of those who were out spectating. Seriously: worst weather to spectate in. As terrible as it was to run in, it would've been TERRIBLE standing around waiting to cheer people on. Kudos to those that were doing it! Around this time, there was a loooooong out and back where we could see the runners ahead of us. YAY! I love this part. I was looking for Carter and Melissa. Carter saw me, then I saw another Sioux Falls runner, Joy, as well as so many others. I got nervous that I didn't see Melissa hoping that she was having as great of a day as I thought she would have. Once I was on the "back" portion of the run I was looking for my runner Sarah to cheer her on, but didn't see her. Something about this out and back gave me a second wind and without realizing it, I had picked up the pace ever so slightly. I checked in on my heart rate and saw that it actually hadn't climbed up at all, just hanging out even as can be since the race start. I did a quick assessment and realized that I was feeling good enough to pick up the last 5 miles to hit a faster finish "long run" effort. New game plan: go! I took my second GU around mile 6. I also took 2 salt tabs at 45 minutes. I wasn't going to risk a calve cramp on a cool day like I had suffered through at the Skedaddle half!<br />
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7. 9:50<br />
8. 9:46<br />
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Unfortunately for me, this new plan was implemented as we started going into the wind, so that was an added challenge, but I was just excited to pick up the pace and see how I felt. I had previously been looking at a finishing time of just slightly sub 2:10 with my 9:50s, so I was excited to have a new math problem to ruminate on for a change. :P Running nerd, check! Weirdly the new sped up pace wasn't affecting my heart rate at all; I had thought it would surely spike it, but that I could handle that for about 45 ish minutes, but I wasn't really putting in extra effort, just focusing on a quicker turnover. I took my 3rd GU at mile 10 and took my last 2 salt tabs (that had started to disintegrate in my pocket) around 90 minutes.<br />
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9. 9:34<br />
10. 9:18<br />
11. 9:36<br />
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With a couple of miles to go, I really tried to get my time down to a 9 pace but it just wasn't happening on mile 12. I found some good pump up music on my iPod and tried to just focus on my legs turning over faster. The final mile I listened to Eminem on repeat at least 3 times. Maybe I should just listen to that song on repeat for a whole race?? When we approached the Fargodome, I was ready to kick it in and finish as strong as I could. I had forgotten that they make you run around the Fargodome, so seeing it was deceptive. I tried to maintain a strong finishing kick, but I kept running up to groups of people that were shoulder to shoulder through the final fenced in area. Finally with the portion into the fargodome, I was able to pick up the pace a bit and finish strong. This time I didn't run the final 3 strides with my finger on my Garmin like a yahoo, so that's progress I guess.<br />
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12. 9:25<br />
13. 8:51<br />
.17 1:27 (8:33 pace)<br />
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I finished my 40th half marathon in 2:06:53 for a pace of 9:39.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa scored a 3 1/2+ minute PR!!</td></tr>
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I had myself a nice little negative split, which was cool to see.<br />
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Fargo sent us a link with our race photos, which my phone struggled to download. Then later that evening the photos were pulled, only to be put up the next day with the images available to download for $4 each. I re-checked my email, and it definitely said, "<span style="background-color: #eceded; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Download for Free and Share your images on Facebook or Twitter. Save them – and print whenever you wish.</span><span style="background-color: #eceded; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"</span><br />
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All of my friends got their pics, but I'm out of luck this time. And since I look like a drowned rat in all of them, I wasn't going to pull the trigger on paying for them all this go around. So just imagine me looking like a gazelle out there. :PJerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-24871467684284413372019-05-21T05:00:00.001-05:002019-05-21T05:00:07.657-05:00Weekly Reads: Rabbit & Robot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516807124l/38193408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516807124l/38193408.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
Anytime Andrew Smith comes out with a new book, it gets added to my list to read. And I know it's going to be a weird, wild ride. I absolutely love the cover of <i>Rabbit & Robot</i>, and the premise had me super excited. Unsurprisingly, it was a super weird, wild ride. Definitely read if you're a fan of Smith's books or if you need a strange read to capture a teen boy's attention (probably HS aged).<br />
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My rating: 4 stars<br />
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Summary from goodreads:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Cager has been transported to the </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Tennessee</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">, a giant lunar-cruise ship orbiting the moon that his dad owns, by Billy and Rowan to help him shake his Woz addiction. Meanwhile, Earth, in the midst of thirty simultaneous wars, burns to ash beneath them. And as the robots on board become increasingly insane and cannibalistic, and the Earth becomes a toxic wasteland, the boys have to wonder if they’ll be stranded alone in space forever.</span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-35224865924176744622019-05-20T05:00:00.000-05:002019-05-20T05:00:05.425-05:00RRCA Coaching CertificationMid-May I traveled up to the Twin Cities to geek out all things running and coaching at a RRCA Coaching certification. I went solo, which is totally not my thing, but something I'm getting better at. I had been fighting a cold all week, so when I got to the hotel I ordered in food, spent time working on my coaching clients since I knew I wouldn't have my typical Saturday afternoon time to work on things, and went to bed early.<br />
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Saturday morning I was up bright and early and ready for Day 1! I arrived, and was given a HUGE spiral bound book and was ready to soak up all the information. I didn't know anyone in the group, but there ended up being a couple of guys that were from Sioux Falls originally, which was nice, as well as some who had done the Sioux Falls marathon in the past, and had plans to come back this year!<br />
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Day 1 was so good; lots of information. Luckily it was reaffirming a lot of the principles of trainings that I have read over the years. I do think if I had come in as a fresh newer runner, I would've been very overwhelmed with information. Phew.<br />
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Day 2 was more great information, touching on running form, injuries and then working on training plans in a group, which was a lot of fun. I love learning from other people and hearing the "why's" behind their decisions to do things differently than me. Unfortunately after lunch, I started feeling really terrible, and by the time I had gotten home from the cities at about 9pm, I felt like I had full on influenza--chills, body aches, racing heart. Blech. Luckily for me, (and everyone in that room), I just had an insane bronchial infection that shouldn't have been contagious. I would've felt TERRIBLE.</div>
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Now I have a 100 question exam that I have to score an 85% or higher on to pass. I've started working on the test and it's not as easy as I thought it'd be! Some of the questions are looking for a very specific answer that was discussed on slide 97 of 500 at some point during our 17 hours of instruction. Coupled with my post-training fevered brain. :P</div>
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Regardless I've very thankful to get the opportunity to take my coaching to the next level and represent 605 Running Co. to the best of my ability!</div>
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<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-38335604561581291872019-05-17T05:00:00.000-05:002019-05-17T05:00:04.040-05:00Race Goals: Fargo Half MarathonI wrote the below goal post before I was sick for two weeks in between the Skedaddle half and the Fargo half. So obviously tomorrow's race goals have adjusted. Regardless of what the time on the clock says when I cross the finish line, I'm excited to be doing a race weekend with running friends and super thankful that I didn't get this obnoxious sickness before a marathon. Uff da!<br />
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My main goal for 2019 is to run a marathon PR in October. But since it's impossible to focus on one single goal for an entire year worth of running, I opted to work on a speedier spring half. Since my training was not 100% for the Skedaddle Half, I put all of my eggs in the Fargo Half basket. So I have some big goals!<br />
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Without further adieu, my race goals:<br />
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<b>A Goal:</b> Sub 1:55. This is the goal that I've had written and posted to my bathroom vanity since January. I am all in on attempting to run this time, for better or worse!<br />
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<b>B Goal</b>: Run as fast as I can if it's not sub 1:55. Don't freak out that I'm not hitting my goal and still bust my butt to run as fast as I can on the day I'm given.<br />
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<b>C Goal</b>: THERE IS NO PLAN C. :P<br />
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I'm feeling strong, and that I've put in more miles for this half marathon than I ever have before, so I'm excited to see how that plays out!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">throwback to 2011's Fargo marathon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">amazing drawing by <a href="http://cheeseblarg.blogspot.com/">Jodee Rose</a>!</td></tr>
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Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-47487311184763135782019-05-14T05:00:00.002-05:002019-05-14T05:00:12.794-05:00Weekly Reads: Opposite of Always<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I sampled the first five chapters of <i>Opposite of Always</i> and couldn't wait to get my hands on the book. I normally am not interested in stories--books, movies, or otherwise, that allow for redos in life, but this one was so well done, and really had me invested in the story and the characters. Definitely a must read if you're a fan of teen books, or just books in general. SO GOOD.<br />
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My rating: 5 stars<br />
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Summary from goodreads:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Jack Ellison King. King of Almost.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">He almost made valedictorian.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">He almost made varsity.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">He almost got the girl . . . </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Froot Loops and their favorite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack. Jack’s curse of almost is finally over.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">But this love story is . . . complicated. It is an almost happily ever after. Because Kate dies. And their story should end there. Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Beautiful, radiant Kate. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind. Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do—and let go—to save the people he loves.</span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-76161592731115897882019-05-13T05:00:00.000-05:002019-05-13T05:00:04.447-05:00Let's Register for ALL THE RACESIn the past couple of weeks I have said goodbye to a lot of my hard earned monies by plunking down some race fees, namely all to Pink Gorilla.<br />
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Immediately following the Skedaddle half marathon, we were presented with sign up for 2020's race. And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't sure what my spring race plan was. Hmmm.... I know my fall 2020 race plan, but nothing was up my sleeve for next spring. It should come as no surprise that it didn't take much arm twisting for me to sign up for the 2nd annual adventure for the Skedaddle. They did such a phenomenal job putting on the race, how could I pass it up?<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P-V2dfB2EUE/XNSYJgyXB8I/AAAAAAAAMmc/haDqLb2XxjoL4-53lkr9vZS8Mw50hGWpQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-05-09%2Bat%2B4.14.04%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="727" height="265" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P-V2dfB2EUE/XNSYJgyXB8I/AAAAAAAAMmc/haDqLb2XxjoL4-53lkr9vZS8Mw50hGWpQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-05-09%2Bat%2B4.14.04%2BPM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Also, as I was going through my goodie bag from Skedaddle I found the race flyer for the Good Life Halfsy, a half I've wanted to run for years. Last year it was just 3 weeks after Twin Cities and I thought that'd be too close for me, but this year it's 4 weeks after. A quick text to my running buddy Melissa, and there goes some more money your way Pink Gorilla!</div>
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<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-11317604247264345972019-05-09T05:00:00.000-05:002019-05-09T05:00:04.267-05:00Weekly Reads: Five Feet Apart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am so over sick teen books. In fact, I refuse to read them anymore. But then I heard that Cole Sprouse was starring in the movie version of <i>Five Feet Apart</i>, so I had to pick it up. And man, I was sucked in, immediately. I absolutely adored this book and will definitely need to catch the movie, but probably on DVD not in a theater with others to witness my ugly crying.<br />
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My rating: 5 stars<br />
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Summary from Goodreads:<br />
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<i style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Can you love someone you can never touch?</i><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Will’s </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">exactly</i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?</span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-18881951327770631582019-05-08T05:00:00.000-05:002019-05-08T17:34:43.243-05:00Race Report: Sioux Falls Skedaddle Half MarathonThe forecast leading up to race day was a little alarming. And then it snowed the Saturday before. Since I wasn't full out racing the half, I was a little up in the air about what I should wear, trying to opt on the warmer side than normal. The windchill was 28, so I opted for a long sleeve and lighter 7/8 capris. Melissa and I met downtown at 6:30 a.m. and I was shocked at how good my stomach was feeling. It probably has something to do with no nerves due to a workout vs. a race but if I could have a stomach like this on all race mornings, I'd be really happy.<br />
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We hit up the portapotties, I did my band work, we dropped our bags, and headed out for a warm up at 7 a.m. We did a mile and strides and then it was time to line up for the race. I was thrilled to not be going back into the portapotty line!<br />
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I said goodbye to Melissa around the 9 pace, and made my way to the 10 pace. My workout for the morning was 4 miles warm up ~10 pace, 3 mile at 9:00 pace, 1 mile recovery, 2 miles at 8:45 pace, 1 mile recovery, and 2.1 miles at 8:30 pace. By my calculations, this had me around 2:03:20. That'd be a pretty good workout day!<br />
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The gun went off, and I kept my ear buds out, hoping to absorb some of the energy of those around me and really be able to see and hear the spectators.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kw_hCBFxTjk/XMY-9mnyKzI/AAAAAAAAMj0/pIB4-gYZ5vYtt5jjsjBwfagPpTakbDebQCLcBGAs/s1600/skedaddle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kw_hCBFxTjk/XMY-9mnyKzI/AAAAAAAAMj0/pIB4-gYZ5vYtt5jjsjBwfagPpTakbDebQCLcBGAs/s320/skedaddle1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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I had to watch my Garmin pretty closely during those warm up miles. My body was ready to go! Which is interesting, because most of my long runs are 10:15 wish pace, so it was nice that 10 felt as easy as it did.<br />
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The first 3.5 miles we were running on streets that I've never run on before, which was pretty interesting and cool. It's crazy to think how many miles I've logged in Sioux Falls and to discover routes I haven't been on. I was shocked and thrilled by how many spectators were out lining up on the course to cheer us on. We got to have a behind the scenes tour of the zoo on another route I've never run on, as we made our way to the bike trail. I took my first GU at mile 3.<br />
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1. 9:57<br />
2. 9:53<br />
3. 9:47<br />
4. 9:48<br />
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My legs were really itching to go, so I was happy when my watch beeped mile 4 and I was off! It was a little challenging as there was some congestion as we made our way to the narrower bike path, but I wasn't concerned about easing in to the workout pace as necessary. I was feeling so good and strong. I kind of felt like an asshole flying by people, but it also gave me some extra oomph, so sorry.... I think. There were some portions in this stretch that I was slightly puzzled by running into the wind. I knew the forecast was calling for wind out of the south and east, and I was 99.999% sure I was running north. But then I remembered we were on the stretch of the bike trail that is an anomaly in which you run into the wind no matter which direction you go, sometimes even on a still day. It's.... a thing.<br />
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5. 9:08<br />
6. 9:05<br />
7. 8:59<br />
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My first recovery mile, I really struggled to slow down. I felt like I was recovering, but I was also nervous that I was going to really regret not hitting closer to my goal of 10:30 on the recovery mile.<br />
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8. 9:29 (aka not a 10:30, derp)<br />
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I caught up to some friends during the next set of harder miles and the wind got UFF DA, hard. My effort was significantly harder than the previous set of faster miles, but my pace didn't indicate that. One of the things I've been working on in my meditation practice with my running is distraction; recognizing when you're distracted in your meditation practice and gently bringing your mind back to the breath, and then translating that to the run. Mentally, it's really hard to keep your mind "on" for a whole race. I really tried to focus on this and reign in my brain whenever it would zone out and my pace would slip. Definitely still a work in progress.<br />
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9. 9:05<br />
10. 9:13<br />
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I was counting down the tenths of a mile to hit mile 11 for a little break, committed to enjoying that recovery mile this go around. Except that into the wind, it felt even less recovery based. And It was during this part that I started leap frogging with some people that I had passed, who were now passing me back as I slowed up. I knew this would be a challenge, but I was kind of excited to practice checking my ego, and doing <i>my thing</i> as planned without worrying about anyone passing me, or feeling weird for essentially putting on the breaks with 3 miles to go, when the final 5k is usually when I try to turn on the rocket ship gears! I still didn't slow it down to the 10:30 as previously planned, but I did a little better than the first go around.<br />
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11. 9:49<br />
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The final 2.1 miles I was ready to rock and go all out. I ran by the Trail Sisters water station and it was so fun to see so many familiar faces. Side note: I didn't have any family on the race route for Skedaddle; Kyle was out of town, and I forgot to invite my in-laws, so I didn't have anyone I was expecting to see out on the race route. But the number of times I had friends, running buddies, 605 co-workers, etc. cheering for me was INSANE. I felt like I had a 13.1 mile cheering section. Seriously. My heart is beyond full for this running community.<br />
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The last 2 miles is a route that we typically run on the Wednesday night group run, so I took advantage of the downhill of the switchbacks, knowing we'd have to climb out of the Falls and that'd make my "goal" pace more challenging. Honestly, I hadn't looked at the new race route, and wasn't 100% sure how we were going to get out of the Falls, so that was a fun surprise once it was visible in front of me. Ha. Around 12.5 my left calf, which had been cranky in a weird, new spot on Thursday's run, but was fine on Thursday, fully seized up and brought me to a halt. I quickly hobbled over to the side of the road to attempt to stretch it on the curb, and apologized profusely to the guy I caught off in the process. SORRY DUDE, for reals! My brain was deprived of oxygen and clearly wasn't thinking.<br />
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Unfortunately the curb didn't do anything to loosen it up, it was LOCKED. Luckily I only had about a half mile to go, so I kind of limped along, attempting some high knees as the toe off of my left foot seemed to be what hurt the most. I had checked my watch a couple of times the final 5k and realized I should be close to 2:03-2:04 if I was able to hold a 9 pace, which pre-calf cramp I thought should be a lock even into the wind, but totally shut down any sort of pushing the pace after the calf cramped up. I am SO THANKFUL that this happened with about 5 minutes of running left. I honestly don't know what I would've done if it happened any earlier. I may have posted a DNF it hurt so bad.<br />
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12. 9:00<br />
13. 9:41<br />
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Since I did poor research on the race route, I wasn't actually sure where the finish would be, so at the 13 mile mark I wasn't sure if the race was going to be really long or where I was headed. I turned a corner, and it was basically RIGHT THERE. So I kicked it up just a little into the finishing stretch.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">don't ask why I ran the remaining 3 strides with my finger on my Garmin.</td></tr>
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.12 :58 8:15 pace<br />
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I finished 13.12 miles in 2:04:01 (according to the official results, 2:03:59 according to my Garmin [insert eye roll here]) for a pace of 9:26. I really wish I had looked at my watch a little and done some finishing math to kick it in 2 seconds faster. :P I guess that's the down side to not fully racing. Derp.<br />
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I saw Melissa who ran a PR!!<br />
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And Chris who also ran a really strong half post-LA Marathon. And snagged a 3rd place AG award.<br />
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And then I attempted to stretch my calf on the curb some more and then just resigned to limping around to grab our bags, photos, brunch and beverages. Luckily for me, Melissa went the extra mile to help me out because I was moving so slowly.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Te_fBv9D1iw/XMY-R68NtKI/AAAAAAAAMi8/gen0O7aW1pEYjxjGj4sCBKz6Sya0Eo3YgCLcBGAs/s1600/41973EDB-978F-4B7C-97B0-BF59773CC251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Te_fBv9D1iw/XMY-R68NtKI/AAAAAAAAMi8/gen0O7aW1pEYjxjGj4sCBKz6Sya0Eo3YgCLcBGAs/s320/41973EDB-978F-4B7C-97B0-BF59773CC251.jpg" width="256" /></a><br />
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It was such a phenomenally put on race, and I'll definitely be back. I hope that next spring we have a normal winter and they're able to use their original race route, because I think it would be a lot of fun. It's so cool to have a race like this in Sioux Falls, and I'm proud to be employed by 605 Running Co. who did a LOT of work to make this race a reality.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ly_c1p2XysU/XMY-UTOPZeI/AAAAAAAAMjY/OX9biPudRzwT88aV7kUoYRRE0NAYT-WsgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ly_c1p2XysU/XMY-UTOPZeI/AAAAAAAAMjY/OX9biPudRzwT88aV7kUoYRRE0NAYT-WsgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5531.JPG" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/---AaoHxaTCI/XMY-R7zhCUI/AAAAAAAAMjE/G1wOERtHfTgmF61PGbA7KIVrsBb2H6PigCLcBGAs/s1600/F78A009D-EAD2-4BD4-A767-16B4E041E24F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1349" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/---AaoHxaTCI/XMY-R7zhCUI/AAAAAAAAMjE/G1wOERtHfTgmF61PGbA7KIVrsBb2H6PigCLcBGAs/s320/F78A009D-EAD2-4BD4-A767-16B4E041E24F.jpg" width="256" /></a><br />
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On the calf cramp front: I brought my salt pills, but thought the weather was cool enough to skip them. I'm hoping that was the cause of it, and fingers crossed that it'll loosen and be just fine after some extra TLC.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k5Ev15goOYU/XMY-VEAAfnI/AAAAAAAAMjc/TUReQVjQbuYb6f6Zli6FNbXVAh4sxNqzACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_6337.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k5Ev15goOYU/XMY-VEAAfnI/AAAAAAAAMjc/TUReQVjQbuYb6f6Zli6FNbXVAh4sxNqzACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_6337.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wind? What wind??</td></tr>
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<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-76381964015545464252019-04-16T05:00:00.000-05:002019-04-16T09:13:07.374-05:00Race Report: Chilly Cheeks 5 Mile<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NMRPaxrRKgs/XLXfP-R-gII/AAAAAAAAMhY/JHXNJD83PQgcfRjvO_wGpIc6Fa4M0OyGACLcBGAs/s1600/2B8ADB4D-1410-4AC4-91AD-97B07779176F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NMRPaxrRKgs/XLXfP-R-gII/AAAAAAAAMhY/JHXNJD83PQgcfRjvO_wGpIc6Fa4M0OyGACLcBGAs/s320/2B8ADB4D-1410-4AC4-91AD-97B07779176F.jpg" width="256" /></a>Leading up to Chilly Cheeks 5 Mile I had every intention of running it as a tempo run. Originally this spring season, I had both the Skedaddle half and Fargo half slated as my A goal races. With a rocky, rough winter, I have shifted my focus to Skedaddle as workout and Fargo half as my goal race to optimize some training. Since Chilly Cheeks was originally planned as a tune up/race predictor for Skedaddle, it didn't make sense to race it.<br />
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Fast forward to race week, and I was reminded that I won my AG the previous year. Ugh. Well now I want to race! Toeing the line of the race, I still had no clue what I was going to do and figured my body would tell me in the first mile or so. My goal pace was literally somewhere between 8:15-8:50 pace. Hahah.<br />
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Melissa and I did a really easy 3.5 mile warm up, and I was surprised at how labored my breathing was. There was heavy, low-hanging fog and the humidity was stifling. Then we did strides. And suddenly my legs felt gooooooood.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yeusxzn4DdI/XLXfTKB_u1I/AAAAAAAAMh4/yyQ99y-CISksAb0dwTAQk5ydq6qDgjc1ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yeusxzn4DdI/XLXfTKB_u1I/AAAAAAAAMh4/yyQ99y-CISksAb0dwTAQk5ydq6qDgjc1ACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5216.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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We started off the race and the strides transferred over to the race start. I looked down and my GPS said I was running a 6:58. Whoa Nelly!! I eased off and kept a couple of my running buddies in sight, somewhere in that first mile (lolz) I realized that I had gone out way too fast and should've gone out at the slower range of my goal pace (as planned) and either stuck there or gradually sped up if I felt good. Instead I suspected I was in for the opposite progression.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gjIWIZBDAsw/XLXfUDRMhMI/AAAAAAAAMiA/QEiD1Z5gTZE_aM50gdbjljhvfj5zPnmwgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gjIWIZBDAsw/XLXfUDRMhMI/AAAAAAAAMiA/QEiD1Z5gTZE_aM50gdbjljhvfj5zPnmwgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5220.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>Mile 1 8:34 pace</b><br />
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It was really hard to tell who was running the 5 mile and who was running the 10 mile since we all started together due to a new race route because of all the extreme flooding along the river. I had hoped that my competitive nature would kick in for at least a couple of miles of the race to pull me along, but every time someone passed me, I told myself it was a 10 miler, and let them go.<br />
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<b>Mile 2 8:45 pace</b><br />
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At mile 2 I shut down the harder effort and just ran. I got to see a lot of running buddies at the turn around which gave me some extra pep in my step, and then I made it a point to cheer on all the incoming runners after I hit the turn around. Thank goodness that gave me something else to think about!<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C8AK7atlFPY/XLXfQu9vhvI/AAAAAAAAMhg/Y9SnMoUesIM7mcL7_EQLhZmaxKjgbV_5ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C8AK7atlFPY/XLXfQu9vhvI/AAAAAAAAMhg/Y9SnMoUesIM7mcL7_EQLhZmaxKjgbV_5ACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5209.JPG" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nBsJPidnu1s/XLXfRO_7mrI/AAAAAAAAMhk/Rc88fEiLzuMGUNOm91adgmCc7mfWzqoyACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nBsJPidnu1s/XLXfRO_7mrI/AAAAAAAAMhk/Rc88fEiLzuMGUNOm91adgmCc7mfWzqoyACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5210.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ix2zMzHhZI/XLXfRVZJPzI/AAAAAAAAMho/G-1R3R-74UgrYdZvjLPYYZ41LVrodmq1wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ix2zMzHhZI/XLXfRVZJPzI/AAAAAAAAMho/G-1R3R-74UgrYdZvjLPYYZ41LVrodmq1wCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5211.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<b>Mile 3 8:56 pace</b><br />
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The last two miles I was just ready to be done. I wasn't racing, I wasn't even hitting my tempo paces, and I just didn't feel like being out there. I may have gotten in my head a bit at this point. For me, it's really hard to do a race and not <i>race</i> and I need to remember that when I sign up for things. I either need to volunteer my time to still experience the race, or actually listen to my pacing plan at the start and not crash and burn. The humidity didn't help, but I was just 100% defeated.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f0nsUWk0-zM/XLXfUem4cFI/AAAAAAAAMiE/wWAMG3rmJfkhcnsI3QPpuSBlGGlhZQ1ZgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f0nsUWk0-zM/XLXfUem4cFI/AAAAAAAAMiE/wWAMG3rmJfkhcnsI3QPpuSBlGGlhZQ1ZgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5221.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>Mile 4 9:07</b><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VHiWW102EbY/XLXfUniQ5xI/AAAAAAAAMiI/HtVbpCVeUXw30Yi7hY0A1G_YEJ7iI7pPQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VHiWW102EbY/XLXfUniQ5xI/AAAAAAAAMiI/HtVbpCVeUXw30Yi7hY0A1G_YEJ7iI7pPQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5222.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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In the final mile, the lovely Deb caught up to me from the 10 mile and was looking strong and fierce. She started giving me encouragement because I think she could tell that I was d-o-n-e. She's literally the best human. I hope you have a running friend like Deb, truly. She gave me a last little pep in my step to at least finish the race with a slightly harder effort. I didn't have much left to give but just focusing on stronger form for me usually results in a quicker turnover and a quicker pace. I told myself I would kick in to a "sprint" finish with a half mile to go but I couldn't even convince myself of that.<br />
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<b>Mile 5 8:54</b><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kTBk6y79G94/XLXfR4yfAAI/AAAAAAAAMhs/mdOVuzAFoos6fo6NGLp5f9_WLHkYQJxdgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kTBk6y79G94/XLXfR4yfAAI/AAAAAAAAMhs/mdOVuzAFoos6fo6NGLp5f9_WLHkYQJxdgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5212.JPG" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DkuP-1UMmNQ/XLXfTJhGI1I/AAAAAAAAMh0/MA5qXj4DeoU3I2zBshqtkV3jWyPdxF40gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DkuP-1UMmNQ/XLXfTJhGI1I/AAAAAAAAMh0/MA5qXj4DeoU3I2zBshqtkV3jWyPdxF40gCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5213.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
The amazing race director Karen did give me a shout out as I was coming up the finishing stretch which was fun, and made that .1 extra of the course tolerable. :P jk Karen.<br />
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.1 :51 seconds, 8:33 pace<br />
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I did 5.1 miles in 45:09 for a pace of 8:51, and an almost perfect positive split.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KDNPZ2WsQqE/XLXfT0cnCoI/AAAAAAAAMh8/PBoSy4hrXj4uoJABtEPmFvf5wOnIFrcmwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KDNPZ2WsQqE/XLXfT0cnCoI/AAAAAAAAMh8/PBoSy4hrXj4uoJABtEPmFvf5wOnIFrcmwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5219.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GAiH1Ifs_hM/XLXfTPTy8gI/AAAAAAAAMhw/wBE_DwLloww9E0jksSlQrN-_pLmGkV-EACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GAiH1Ifs_hM/XLXfTPTy8gI/AAAAAAAAMhw/wBE_DwLloww9E0jksSlQrN-_pLmGkV-EACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5214.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVAeWne6OI0/XLXfP2WB67I/AAAAAAAAMhc/pXt6TnjLL0gyVWUEHVrOB6ZmvDWYp79ogCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVAeWne6OI0/XLXfP2WB67I/AAAAAAAAMhc/pXt6TnjLL0gyVWUEHVrOB6ZmvDWYp79ogCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5205.JPG" width="240" /></a>My running buddy Melissa met me at the finish line since she had finished a decade before me, and wanted to know how it went, but I made myself take a little walk break out to catch my breath and leave my crappy attitude behind me. When I caught back up to her, she had done AMAZING. I gave her a pacing plan, and unlike me, she followed it to a T, kicked butt and was 2nd female. </div>
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We did our cool down run together after before awards and chili consumption. Despite a crummy performance, I always love Chilly Cheeks and will definitely be back again next year. Hopefully I'll do a better job of listening to my coach. Haha.<br />
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<br />Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2018075940683560452.post-49191367318832977022019-04-02T05:00:00.000-05:002019-04-02T05:00:01.103-05:00Weekly Reads: Two Can Keep a Secret<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Two Can Keep a Secret </i>is the newest book by <i>One of Us is Lying </i>author Karen McManus. I was excited to get my hands on it. It was a really good mystery with missing and murdered teens and a massive whodunnit. I had several guesses throughout and I was wrong the whole way.<br />
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My rating 4 stars<br />
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Summary from goodreads:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.</span><br />
<br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.</span><br />
<br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.</span>Jerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07020972795844203824noreply@blogger.com0