HangWithMerida
And away we go!
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2017
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- 827
Hope you got your new PR today. Can’t wait to hear. And good luck tomorrow!
In Every Run That Must Be Done; There is an Element of Fun (comments welcome)
- Thread starter Naomeri
- Start date
Naomeri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
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- 5,432
TC Loony Challenge: Day 1, Race 1 (10K)
I got up and got ready on time, despite having lots of trouble sleeping last night. I made good time driving to St Paul, got to the ramp where I had reserved parking, only to find out that the ParkWhiz app doesn’t bother checking the hours of the ramp before selling passes, so they sold me access starting at 6am, while the ramp doesn’t open on Saturdays until 7am
So I had to find somewhere else, and not knowing St Paul well, I went to the only place near the Capitol I knew and it cost $30!! I should be getting a refund from ParkWhiz, but it’s still really really annoying.
But, at least I made it to the race with plenty of time to spare and got to see the sun start to rise.
They put the gear check on the complete opposite side of the Capitol from last year, and that was annoying, because it was further from the starting chute and I had to give up my sweatshirt sooner. The wind was a little chilly, but I knew I’d be fine once I started running. We got about 15 drops of rain during the first mile, but the weather was great otherwise. The 10K and 5K start lines use the same chute, but the 10K start line is further onto the course than the 5K. After the starting gun (and a could-have-been-better rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner), everyone started running way before the line (like, a minute at my speed sooner than necessary) and that was exhausting and annoying. Then came the actual start line, and the real exhausting and annoying part: Cathedral Hill. I’m convinced this hill is the devil and that’s why they built a cathedral on top of it
And like an idiot, I voluntarily ran up it twice in the same day.
After the first mile, the crowd thinned out enough to be comfortable and things were good. I should’ve brought my handheld water with me, I was wishing for water between the water stop at 1.5 and the stop at 5 (which was just the same stop, but on the other side of the street). I tried to be a little conservative on speed in the first half, and really let go in the second half. I was playing leap frog with various people, and some I left in the dust at the last water stop, and a couple I passed in the finishing chute because I’m stubborn and I wanted to “win” I finished at 8:33, which gave me 12 minutes to rest before the 5K started. I drank about half a bottle of water in that time, which was probably about a quarter of a bottle too much.
I totally crushed my old PR (1:22:10) by 5:20!! So after I finished the 5K, I got to ring the bell!
2022 workout data to date: 261h 30m 0s of exercise; 110,505 active calories burned; 134,817 total calories burned
I got up and got ready on time, despite having lots of trouble sleeping last night. I made good time driving to St Paul, got to the ramp where I had reserved parking, only to find out that the ParkWhiz app doesn’t bother checking the hours of the ramp before selling passes, so they sold me access starting at 6am, while the ramp doesn’t open on Saturdays until 7am
So I had to find somewhere else, and not knowing St Paul well, I went to the only place near the Capitol I knew and it cost $30!! I should be getting a refund from ParkWhiz, but it’s still really really annoying.But, at least I made it to the race with plenty of time to spare and got to see the sun start to rise.
They put the gear check on the complete opposite side of the Capitol from last year, and that was annoying, because it was further from the starting chute and I had to give up my sweatshirt sooner. The wind was a little chilly, but I knew I’d be fine once I started running. We got about 15 drops of rain during the first mile, but the weather was great otherwise. The 10K and 5K start lines use the same chute, but the 10K start line is further onto the course than the 5K. After the starting gun (and a could-have-been-better rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner), everyone started running way before the line (like, a minute at my speed sooner than necessary) and that was exhausting and annoying. Then came the actual start line, and the real exhausting and annoying part: Cathedral Hill. I’m convinced this hill is the devil and that’s why they built a cathedral on top of it
And like an idiot, I voluntarily ran up it twice in the same day.After the first mile, the crowd thinned out enough to be comfortable and things were good. I should’ve brought my handheld water with me, I was wishing for water between the water stop at 1.5 and the stop at 5 (which was just the same stop, but on the other side of the street). I tried to be a little conservative on speed in the first half, and really let go in the second half. I was playing leap frog with various people, and some I left in the dust at the last water stop, and a couple I passed in the finishing chute because I’m stubborn and I wanted to “win” I finished at 8:33, which gave me 12 minutes to rest before the 5K started. I drank about half a bottle of water in that time, which was probably about a quarter of a bottle too much.
I totally crushed my old PR (1:22:10) by 5:20!! So after I finished the 5K, I got to ring the bell!
2022 workout data to date: 261h 30m 0s of exercise; 110,505 active calories burned; 134,817 total calories burned
Naomeri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
- Messages
- 5,432
TC Loony Challenge: Day 1, Race 2 (5K)
Well, I’ll have to give myself an A- for goal completion today. I definitely completed the first half of my A Goal, but missed the second half by a little. Partly because I’m an idiot and forgot to account for mileage variance in my pace calculation, partly because the 5K was really chaotic in the first half, with people and children running everywhere, and partly because I’d just set a 10K PR 12 minutes before the race started
I took an extended walk break in the beginning of mile 2 to catch my breath, walk up a little hill, and eat some gummy bears. After that, I was ready to run fast again. Just not quite fast enough to overcome the walk break. And that’s ok, because I still ran 9.45 miles (according to my watch) in 1:57:56.
After the race and pictures, I found a food truck that had Belgian waffles and root beer floats. I think the waffle was ok, but the root beer may have been a mistake, based on later events that don’t need to be detailed.
Based on how I did today, I’ve decided to set goals for tomorrow’s 10 Miler (calculated using 10.25 miles to allow for variance):
A Goal: Finish in 2:20 (13:40 pace) My 10 Miler PR is 2:13:32, but I’m not going to try beating that on tired legs.
B Goal: Finish in 2:30 (14:38 pace)
C Goal: Don’t die
As I’ve said, there’s no real time limit for this race, so I can walk the whole thing if I’m tired.
2022 workout data to date: 261h 30m 0s of exercise; 110,505 active calories burned; 134,817 total calories burned
Well, I’ll have to give myself an A- for goal completion today. I definitely completed the first half of my A Goal, but missed the second half by a little. Partly because I’m an idiot and forgot to account for mileage variance in my pace calculation, partly because the 5K was really chaotic in the first half, with people and children running everywhere, and partly because I’d just set a 10K PR 12 minutes before the race started
I took an extended walk break in the beginning of mile 2 to catch my breath, walk up a little hill, and eat some gummy bears. After that, I was ready to run fast again. Just not quite fast enough to overcome the walk break. And that’s ok, because I still ran 9.45 miles (according to my watch) in 1:57:56.
After the race and pictures, I found a food truck that had Belgian waffles and root beer floats. I think the waffle was ok, but the root beer may have been a mistake, based on later events that don’t need to be detailed.
Based on how I did today, I’ve decided to set goals for tomorrow’s 10 Miler (calculated using 10.25 miles to allow for variance):
A Goal: Finish in 2:20 (13:40 pace) My 10 Miler PR is 2:13:32, but I’m not going to try beating that on tired legs.
B Goal: Finish in 2:30 (14:38 pace)
C Goal: Don’t die
As I’ve said, there’s no real time limit for this race, so I can walk the whole thing if I’m tired.2022 workout data to date: 261h 30m 0s of exercise; 110,505 active calories burned; 134,817 total calories burned
Naomeri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
- Messages
- 5,432
TC Loony Challenge: Day 1, post race
After I got home, I got cleaned up and tried to find something simple and solid to eat. After a couple hours, we headed out to The Arb to check out the fall displays so I could keep my legs moving.
They must’ve had a bumper crop of tiny pumpkins because they had them tucked around just about everywhere
There were some pun-derful scarecrow displays
And some beautiful fall color
I even found a chipmunk to pose for me! (No, I didn’t give him the berry he’s eating—I don’t feed anyone else’s chipmunks
)
Speaking of chipmunks, or rather, gophers, there was a giant plush Goldy (since it’s the University of MN Landscape Arboretum):
After I got home, I got cleaned up and tried to find something simple and solid to eat. After a couple hours, we headed out to The Arb to check out the fall displays so I could keep my legs moving.
They must’ve had a bumper crop of tiny pumpkins because they had them tucked around just about everywhere
There were some pun-derful scarecrow displays
And some beautiful fall color
I even found a chipmunk to pose for me! (No, I didn’t give him the berry he’s eating—I don’t feed anyone else’s chipmunks
)Speaking of chipmunks, or rather, gophers, there was a giant plush Goldy (since it’s the University of MN Landscape Arboretum):
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RuntheMouse
DIS Veteran
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- Apr 11, 2022
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- 1,335
Great job on your PR! Hope you have as great of a race today.
JAMIESMITH
DIS Veteran
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- Jan 26, 2011
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- 2,070
Congratulations on the new PR!
striker1064
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2018
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- 2,370
Congrats, great job!
Naomeri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
- Messages
- 5,432
TC Loony Challenge: Day 2, 10 Miler
So, if not for dumb luck, I totally would’ve missed my race today. I forgot to set my alarms for this morning, but my stupid, wonderful brain managed to wake me up just 1 minute after my first alarm would’ve gone off and saved the day. I got to the start right on time (and my pre-paid parking ramp was open, so that was nice too) It was colder today than yesterday, and I really really didn’t want to give up my sweatshirt to check my gear bag, but I also didn’t want to wait too long to get into my corral, so I sucked it up and froze for a half hour.
There were about 8500 people in the 10 Miler, but I don’t know how they split us up into the 4 corrals, numbers-wise. There were a lot of people in my corral. I think I started right in the middle of the crowd.
I was having occasional pain in my right foot for most of the race, but I think it’s just because my shoes are at the end of their life. They’re my favorites, so they have the most mileage, but they’re being downgraded to walking shoes from now on. I also ended up with a small blister, but otherwise, I’m feeling pretty good. I tried to extend my running segments on the downhills so I could walk the uphills without losing too much time. I knew there were several miles in the middle of the race that were basically all uphill. Once I got finished with all that, I was able to really speed up on the flat parts. This was also where the spectators started really turning out.
The Twin Cities Marathon apparently gets about 300,000 spectators, but the 10 Miler only shares the last 6 or 7 miles with the marathon, so we don’t get as many. And I guess people really get into it and plan big parties—I saw at least 4 houses that had rented bouncy houses (including 1 shaped like a cow on its back
) I also saw a lion, a giraffe, a squirrel, and a bunch of sharks (all humans in costume, cheering us on). The squirrel had a human friend with 2 acorns on a rope for runners to slap as they ran by (and yes, I obviously went out of my way, to the opposite side of the road, to smack the acorns).
There were also 3 different people with powerup/boost signs that I had to hit or run over. In my opinion, not enough of my fellow runners were having enough fun. My opinion is: when you’re running a 2+ hour 10 Miler, you’re not setting any records (besides personal ones), so you might as well have as much fun as you can. And if some little kid and their mom go to the trouble of drawing a Mario mushroom powerup on the course, I’m absolutely going to run over it, (and throw in a speed boost so the kid knows that it worked) I have a bunch of on-course pics that I’ll share in another post.
I’m perfectly happy with how my race turned out. I knew with the elevation gains, I wasn’t going to set a PR on tired legs, though I was only 4:27 over, so I did pretty well.
I decided not to get another waffle or root beer float today, and just stuck with potato chips and water (with my DripDrops rehydration stuff mixed in) and I was more settled for the rest of today. I got a couple post race pictures, and caught the light rail back to the start and my car.
(Ignore the PR sign, they had the time sign in front of the wrong backdrop for some reason)
On the way home, I decided I wanted a little more food.
2022 workout data to date: 263h 47m 59s of exercise; 111,617 active calories burned; 136,161 total calories burned
So, if not for dumb luck, I totally would’ve missed my race today. I forgot to set my alarms for this morning, but my stupid, wonderful brain managed to wake me up just 1 minute after my first alarm would’ve gone off and saved the day. I got to the start right on time (and my pre-paid parking ramp was open, so that was nice too) It was colder today than yesterday, and I really really didn’t want to give up my sweatshirt to check my gear bag, but I also didn’t want to wait too long to get into my corral, so I sucked it up and froze for a half hour.
There were about 8500 people in the 10 Miler, but I don’t know how they split us up into the 4 corrals, numbers-wise. There were a lot of people in my corral. I think I started right in the middle of the crowd.
I was having occasional pain in my right foot for most of the race, but I think it’s just because my shoes are at the end of their life. They’re my favorites, so they have the most mileage, but they’re being downgraded to walking shoes from now on. I also ended up with a small blister, but otherwise, I’m feeling pretty good. I tried to extend my running segments on the downhills so I could walk the uphills without losing too much time. I knew there were several miles in the middle of the race that were basically all uphill. Once I got finished with all that, I was able to really speed up on the flat parts. This was also where the spectators started really turning out.
The Twin Cities Marathon apparently gets about 300,000 spectators, but the 10 Miler only shares the last 6 or 7 miles with the marathon, so we don’t get as many. And I guess people really get into it and plan big parties—I saw at least 4 houses that had rented bouncy houses (including 1 shaped like a cow on its back
) I also saw a lion, a giraffe, a squirrel, and a bunch of sharks (all humans in costume, cheering us on). The squirrel had a human friend with 2 acorns on a rope for runners to slap as they ran by (and yes, I obviously went out of my way, to the opposite side of the road, to smack the acorns).There were also 3 different people with powerup/boost signs that I had to hit or run over. In my opinion, not enough of my fellow runners were having enough fun. My opinion is: when you’re running a 2+ hour 10 Miler, you’re not setting any records (besides personal ones), so you might as well have as much fun as you can. And if some little kid and their mom go to the trouble of drawing a Mario mushroom powerup on the course, I’m absolutely going to run over it, (and throw in a speed boost so the kid knows that it worked
) I have a bunch of on-course pics that I’ll share in another post.I’m perfectly happy with how my race turned out. I knew with the elevation gains, I wasn’t going to set a PR on tired legs, though I was only 4:27 over, so I did pretty well.
I decided not to get another waffle or root beer float today, and just stuck with potato chips and water (with my DripDrops rehydration stuff mixed in) and I was more settled for the rest of today. I got a couple post race pictures, and caught the light rail back to the start and my car.
(Ignore the PR sign, they had the time sign in front of the wrong backdrop for some reason)
On the way home, I decided I wanted a little more food.
2022 workout data to date: 263h 47m 59s of exercise; 111,617 active calories burned; 136,161 total calories burned
Naomeri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
- Messages
- 5,432
TC Loony Challenge: Day 2, 10 Miler Photos
Sunrise over the Mississippi River
Crossing the Mississippi River
Fall is finally here, and I think views like these are probably why this was voted one of America’s prettiest marathons
Turkeys! They seemed a little confused about all the people running past and taking their picture.
Garden piggy statue
Someone along Summit Avenue was a little confused about what state they were in
Sunrise over the Mississippi River
Crossing the Mississippi River
Fall is finally here, and I think views like these are probably why this was voted one of America’s prettiest marathons
Turkeys! They seemed a little confused about all the people running past and taking their picture.
Garden piggy statue
Someone along Summit Avenue was a little confused about what state they were in
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
- Messages
- 1,472
Awesome job! Sounds like a fun course.
HangWithMerida
And away we go!
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2017
- Messages
- 827
Congrats on the 10k PR!! And all the other successful races this weekend. I love all the trees changing colors along the course. The crowd support sounds great. I also try to hit the signs and stuff, even if I am going for a PR. I’m not setting world records over here, and it doesn’t slow me down to stick my hand out. I won’t run across the street or anything but if there is one along my path, you better believe I’m getting a power up!
Naomeri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
- Messages
- 5,432
29 Days Until: Wine & Dine Weekend
Today was my first run since the races over the weekend. I can definitely still feel the fatigue in my legs, but it went all right. My right foot is still a little sore, but it’s getting better every day. It was a little chilly, due to a nasty north wind, but still better than summer weather!
I’ve adjusted my paces according to my 10K time from Saturday, and they seem to be more in line with what I’ve been training at anyway.
I got a few pictures of chipmunks on Tuesday.
Flit
Ace
And Rocky
I also worked my magic on the deer again—they let me approach to about 15-20 feet away.
2022 workout data to date: 266h 15m 3s of exercise; 112,664 active calories burned; 137,418 total calories burned
Today was my first run since the races over the weekend. I can definitely still feel the fatigue in my legs, but it went all right. My right foot is still a little sore, but it’s getting better every day. It was a little chilly, due to a nasty north wind, but still better than summer weather!
I’ve adjusted my paces according to my 10K time from Saturday, and they seem to be more in line with what I’ve been training at anyway.
I got a few pictures of chipmunks on Tuesday.
Flit
Ace
And Rocky
I also worked my magic on the deer again—they let me approach to about 15-20 feet away.
2022 workout data to date: 266h 15m 3s of exercise; 112,664 active calories burned; 137,418 total calories burned
Naomeri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
- Messages
- 5,432
27 Days Until: Wine & Dine Weekend
It’s almost starting to feel like winter in the mornings! It was 37°F, with a feels like of 31, for my run this morning. Luckily for me, I snagged a really nice Brooks cold weather pullover at the TC Expo last week. The best thing about it for me is that it’s really short, so it actually stops at my waist and I don’t have to deal with it riding up when I run like my other running jackets (I usually just fold the bottom under to solve the problem, but it’s annoying). It’s also got a watch window in the sleeve so I don’t have to push the sleeve up to check my stats, just open the window.
My heart rate got a little out of range, but I mostly felt good. I wore my Guide 15s, and I’m really liking them. I think I’ll be able to wear them for the W&D half. After my run, I had some breakfast, got cleaned up, ate some lunch, and then spent 2 hours moving leaves around. Having woods in the backyard is great for wildlife interaction and observation, but it sucks once the leaves start dropping.
The scenery was absolutely beautiful this morning. I love the color of the sky in the fall.
For anyone not following the costume thread, my grandma finished the missing piece of my “skeleton-in-a-running-costume” costume for me: a sports bra with shiny rainbow fabric. I bought the bra and the fabric, and she helped me make a pattern so I could cut out the fabric. Then we pinned it on and she did the sewing. I’m so happy with how it turned out!
Flit was the only chipmunk hanging around in the cold yesterday, but he let me get a couple nice pictures.
2022 workout data to date: 269h 47m 37s of exercise; 114,104 active calories burned; 139,154 total calories burned
It’s almost starting to feel like winter in the mornings! It was 37°F, with a feels like of 31, for my run this morning. Luckily for me, I snagged a really nice Brooks cold weather pullover at the TC Expo last week. The best thing about it for me is that it’s really short, so it actually stops at my waist and I don’t have to deal with it riding up when I run like my other running jackets (I usually just fold the bottom under to solve the problem, but it’s annoying). It’s also got a watch window in the sleeve so I don’t have to push the sleeve up to check my stats, just open the window.
My heart rate got a little out of range, but I mostly felt good. I wore my Guide 15s, and I’m really liking them. I think I’ll be able to wear them for the W&D half. After my run, I had some breakfast, got cleaned up, ate some lunch, and then spent 2 hours moving leaves around. Having woods in the backyard is great for wildlife interaction and observation, but it sucks once the leaves start dropping.
The scenery was absolutely beautiful this morning. I love the color of the sky in the fall.
For anyone not following the costume thread, my grandma finished the missing piece of my “skeleton-in-a-running-costume” costume for me: a sports bra with shiny rainbow fabric. I bought the bra and the fabric, and she helped me make a pattern so I could cut out the fabric. Then we pinned it on and she did the sewing. I’m so happy with how it turned out!
Flit was the only chipmunk hanging around in the cold yesterday, but he let me get a couple nice pictures.
2022 workout data to date: 269h 47m 37s of exercise; 114,104 active calories burned; 139,154 total calories burned
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