Race Report: Sioux Falls Half Marathon 2016

The Sioux Falls half marathon was hard. Physically, yes, but emotionally even more so. My mom is my biggest cheerleader and spectator and the SF half is the race she never misses. Ever. During her last day on the planet, I told her she needed to start training as soon as she got to heaven, because I'd need her with me for my races. She responded that she'd be there (meaning at my races). Cue all the tears.

The week of the race I had a horrific cold, brought on partly by all the stress of the previous couple of weeks plus allergies, but there was no way I was missing my twelfth consecutive Sioux Falls half.

I got to the race start insanely early to take a group photo with my SFWR ladies. Look at that monster group! I remember when there was like... ten of us!

Going in to this race, I didn't have any real goals other than to finish. And then I stopped at the 605 Running Co. booth that were giving away a sweet prize for whomever could predict their race time the closest. So I wrote down my absolutely A++++ time prediction.

LOLZ.

When the race started, I was happy that it had a new start and route this year, because I would've completely lost it running around Howard Wood without seeing my mom there cheering for me. As it was, I still started the race crying all through the starting chute and out on to the street. Woof. This might be a rough day.

The first few miles were around the park and the historic district. The first two miles are nice and flat and then we start a decent climb in mile 3. I was taking in the miles, ignoring my pace (other than to make sure I wasn't starting too fast) and was just thankful to be running.

1. 10:29 
2. 10:37 
3. 10:38

Miles 4 and 5 were mostly downhill with some uphill stretches. Mile 4 has the longest downhill in the course (this year with the added benefit of running UP it at the end of the race, uff) and the one I'm always extra careful to take it easy on so my quads don't sieze up on me. At about 5.5 miles in we started our gradual way back up up up! This is also the spot that my mom is always at, and luckily the only part of the course that didn't change, so I knew there would be tears here and I was prepared for that. I'm sure this year she was there and was thrilled now to have to deal with the traffic of the race spectators. :P

4. 10:19

5. 10:28
6. 10:47

With about five miles to go, I was spent. Drained, emotionally and physically and just ready to be done. I put on some music to help tune out the world, and started to implement some walk breaks to bring my heart rate out of the scary zone. Uff. There was a decent hill in mile nine, and since I'd taken a little walk break earlier, I made myself run up 90% of it. Uff da.

7. 10:48

8. 10:42
9. 11:21 

Somewhere in this stretch I started to do "finish line math" to see what my finishing time was. I realized I was nearing my half marathon PW. And even that couldn't keep me from taking walk breaks. I was done-zo and if I had to walk the whole way to the finish line, so be it. (Spoiler alert: I didn't, but it sure felt that way!)

10. 11:22

11. 11:08 

 

Mile 12 was the slowest of the day and I remember being hot and ready to be done. Somewhere in mile 13 there was a lovely breeze at my back that was cooling and pushing me along, so I dug in and ran as hard as I could.

12. 12:22

13. 9:58
.26 2:05

I finished 13.26 miles in 2:22:59, just a mere 10+ minutes from my race prediction time. Ha. So close. 

The finish line was inside the arena, so my friends and family had a hard time finding me, as I didn't run with my phone. Emily and Megan found me as I was going to grab my phone at the bag check and told me that Kyle got yelled at by security for trying to bring the pug into the arena, thus missing my finish. 

It was a really hard day to run 13.1 miles (or 13.26, but who's counting) but I'm really thankful that I did it. Sometimes it's nice to prove to yourself just how capable you are of doing something that is hard.

An Update About My Mom

An update about my mama, previously posted on the page she created to keep people up to date on my dad and her health journey:

I apologize to everyone who is receiving this information for the first time via this message. My mom has touched so many lives so deeply that it would take me a few lifetimes to call everyone individually that deserves to hear the sad news.

My mom left us Wednesday night, August 24th. She fought a battle harder than anyone could, for much longer than anyone should. She knew it was the end, and was ready to go, but I think she waited around a little bit longer to make sure that we were ready to let her. Because that's who my mom is, stubborn and bossy, but the most self-less person the world has ever seen. If we had asked her to wait forever, she would have.

That day was filled with a lot of communication that I couldn't quite understand, but she did have some moments of real clarity. When I first saw her yesterday morning, and was upset, she woke up, hugged me and told me “It'll be okay.” And she's right, as always. It'll be okay because she's finally pain free and at peace. It'll take awhile for the rest of the world to truly feel okay, but it is comforting to know she was so at peace with the end so near.

My mom didn't want to have a funeral. And because she's bossy, we're going to go with her wishes. Instead she wanted us to have a giant party. At the moment I don't feel like celebrating, but we'll honor that in the near future as well.

In the meantime, honor her and her life in your own way. Go to the beach, put your feet in the sand, strum a guitar and sing at the top of your lungs, laugh so uproariously that other classrooms have to shut their doors to keep out the “distraction”, snuggle your pets, love a loved one.

It's such a beautiful life to live to be so dearly missed by so many people. She loved all of you so much. Thank you for all of the prayers and kind words, comfort and help you have offered and given over the last year.

Weekly Reads: Been Here All Along

There was quite a bit of buzz about the new teen book Been Here All Along, so I was excited to pick up a copy of it. It's a awesome realistic fiction novel with LGBQT themes. Some of my book buddies are over these kinds of books, but I'm just obsessed. I just think back to the time that I was a teen and there were NO BOOKS discussing LGBQT themes/issues/etc. so everytime there is a new, well written one, I'm like "YAY! This might help a reader who's struggling with their identity, or give insight to an ally" So here we are with another well written teen book.

My rating: 4 stars

Summary from goodreads:  

Gideon always has a plan. His plans include running for class president, becoming head of the yearbook committee, and having his choice of colleges. They do NOT include falling head over heels for his best friend and next door neighbor, Kyle. It’s a distraction. It’s pointless, as Kyle is already dating the gorgeous and popular head cheerleader, Ruby. And Gideon doesn’t know what to do.

Kyle finally feels like he has a handle on life. He has a wonderful girlfriend, a best friend willing to debate the finer points of Lord of the Rings, and social acceptance as captain of the basketball team. Then, both Ruby and Gideon start acting really weird, just as his spot on the team is threatened, and Kyle can’t quite figure out what he did wrong…

Race Report: 605 Race Series 8 Mile

This summer I signed up for the 605 Race Series. It was $20 per race, or $50 for all three races, no frills (or so they claimed!) with 4, 8 and 12 mile races on alternating Sundays leading up to the Sioux Falls Half. This race was the morning of the Olympic marathon, so I sported my best red white and blue for the occasion. I also put a screenlock image on my phone that said "DO NOT OPEN, MARATHON SPOILERS." I had friends over for brunch and a delayed viewing of the race.

My plan for the race was a modified version of my game plan for the upcoming Sioux Falls Half: first 2 at 10:30, second 2 at 10:00, 3rd 2 at 9:30 and last two at 9-9:15. It was a pretty nice morning for a run, despite being mid-August.

 I

I did a pretty good job sticking to the race plan for the first half of the race.

1. 1024

2. 10:25



























3. 9:54
4. 9:52

Quite a few of my running friends were volunteering along the race course, and were heavily stacked at the turnaround. Hence the mega smiles and THUMBS UP! hah.

The later miles weren't quite as speedy as I had hoped, but I was running as hard as I could muster.

5. 9:26
6. 9:37






The course ended up coming up just a little short, but I had a really strong finishing sprint with a 6:43 max pace. Whoa. Where did that come from?
7. 9:38
.75 9:01 pace 6:43 (short course)

 I had a final time of 1:16:03 for an auto PR. Whoop!

Weekly Reads: The Assistants

I had heard a lot of buzz about Camille Perri's The Assistants, so I snagged the audiobook of it from my library. SO GOOD! Perfect summer time read, fast paced, with some great Devil Wears Prada undertones. Such an entertaining read.

My rating: 4 stars



Summary from goodreads:

A wry and astute debut about a young Manhattanite whose embezzlement scam turns her into an unlikely advocate for the leagues of overeducated and underpaid assistants across the city.

Tina Fontana is the hapless but brazen thirty-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the all-powerful and commanding CEO of Titan Corp., a multinational media conglomerate. She’s excellent at her job and beloved by her famous boss—but after six years of making his reservations for restaurants she’d never get into on her own and pouring his drinks from bottles that cost more than her rent, she’s bored, broke, and just a bit over it all.

When a technical error with Robert’s travel-and-expenses report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her student loan debt with what would essentially be pocket change for her boss, she struggles with the decision: She’s always played by the rules. But it’s such a relatively small amount of money for the Titan Corporation—and for her it would be a life-changer . . .

The Assistants speaks directly to a new generation of women who feel stuck and unable to get ahead playing by the rules. It will appeal to all of those who have ever asked themselves, “How is it that after all these years, we are still assistants?”

Weekly Reads: Modern Lovers

Modern Lovers is Emma Straub's newest book. I picked up the audiobook version of it, and it was a lot of fun. Lots of different characters and their entertwined relationships kept me on my toes.

My rating: 4 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

From the New York Times‒bestselling author of The Vacationers, a smart, highly entertaining novel about a tight-knit group of friends from college—their own kids now going to college—and what it means to finally grow up well after adulthood has set in.

Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch (of sexuality, independence, and the ineffable alchemy of cool) to their own offspring.

Back in the band's heyday, Elizabeth put on a snarl over her Midwestern smile, Andrew let his unwashed hair grow past his chin, and Zoe was the lesbian all the straight women wanted to sleep with. Now nearing fifty, they all live within shouting distance in the same neighborhood deep in gentrified Brooklyn, and the trappings of the adult world seem to have arrived with ease. But the summer that their children reach maturity (and start sleeping together), the fabric of the adults' lives suddenly begins to unravel, and the secrets and revelations that are finally let loose—about themselves, and about the famous fourth band member who soared and fell without them—can never be reclaimed.

Straub packs wisdom and insight and humor together in a satisfying book about neighbors and nosiness, ambition and pleasure, the excitement of youth, the shock of middle age, and the fact that our passions—be they food, or friendship, or music—never go away, they just evolve and grow along with us.

Race Report: 605 Race Series 4 Mile

I woke up at 6am to eat some breakfast and head to town to do an early packet pick up and some warm up miles. I was really close to hitting 100 miles for the month of July so that helped me get there to do a couple of extra. I picked up my bib and headed out. It was so thick and muggy, and my head was completely full of mucus. Did that paint a vivid enough picture for you? Uff.

The warm up was a complete slog and I ended up only going 1.5 miles and being completely drenched. I did manage to get some monster snot rockets blown out during the warm up so I could breathe a little bit.

We all lined up for the race announcements and I was excited to see some of my runner friends. I found a couple of pals I thought I could try to stay with and/or keep in my sights based on our recent 5k race series times. 

We started out and I glanced down at my watch a couple minutes in to it to make sure I hadn't gone out too fast (as I tend to do, 7's? um... no thanks, not right now!) and was shocked that my labored pace was an 8:40. Uh... according to Mr. McMillan Running Calculator that should be pretty doable based on my 5k paces. Shoooooot. 

Mile 1 8:53

From there I decided just to run comfortably hard, and maybe my legs would loosen up and have some speed in them the second half of the race! (Spoiler alert: they did not have any speed or additional pep in the second half). I tried to just stay competitive in that I worked to catch people that were loosing steam in front of me.

 

Mile 2 9:15

At the turn around I glanced at my watch and saw 18:20, so my new goal was to finish around 36:40, as I knew I was fading and thought that might help me hunker down a bit. I leap frogged with a couple of gals during this stretch before one finally left me in her dust.

Mile 3 9:09

I tried to reel in a male and female that were in my sights during the final mile and tried to kick with .7 to go in the race. My mile split will tell you how slowly I must've been going for that first .3 miles. My legs just felt like lead.

 

Looking at my running form in the race pictures, I can totally tell why it felt like garbage. For some reason I've reverted back to my bad non-glute using running form. I like to refer to his as my sad panda form. Uff, my hamstrings ache just looking at it.

I finished the last .25 pretty strong, and even had a 7:20 something final kick.

Mile 4 9:08

.05 :21

My final time was 36:48 for a pace of 9:06. A PR. (auto PR, but whatevs)

 

Great start to a race series even if it was a last than fun race performance! That's a heckuva lot faster than I would've run on my own on Sunday in the humidity with a head cold!