Ferguson Twilight Run 2015

This race was very tough. I started out fast, but just after the first mile, I started run/walking. Seriously. My legs felt super heavy. I actually thought to myself that I could just quit the race entirely.

But, I'm stubborn.

That above it the shittiness that I went through. I actually got in a good stride after the 3.5 mark, and that's because it's downhill. The first 3 miles is basically a whole lot of uphill.

My fav. part of the race. The lady pointed at me and said, "You just ran a 10K."

I finished in 1:00:23. So glad to have this race done. It was great to be out in Ferguson though, and kind of surreal running by the Police Department. I always thought this town was quaint, and the news just makes it sound so ugly. I love Ferguson (but I kinda hate running it, too hilly, lol).

Lovely.

Cowbell Uncorked 100k 2015

I ran this relay last year, and it was a blast. You can read my post here: Uncorked 100k Relay 2014.

I didn't think I was going to get to do the relay this year since it's pretty hard to get a team together. This year instead of 4 runners, it was 5. I was able to find a team looking for a runner the Tuesday before the race.

The race was a bit different than last year. We each ran the same legs: a 10k and two 5ks. The start/finish to each leg was at the same location. Last year, we had to drive to each start/finish, and all runners ran different legs and had different distances. This year, we set up "camp" for the day. I really enjoyed the base camp... it was nice to be "off road."

We started the race at 7:30 am, and I was the 3rd in line. The first leg was down a pretty steep hill, out on the Katy for 3 miles, a loop around Augusta, and back. It was so humid when I started. Plus I was running a bit too fast, so I was feeling it. My first mile was 8:42 and my second mile was 8:45. I then hit the hills in Augusta and slowed down. On my way back to the base camp, it started to lightly rain.

Transition.

It then started to pour...and it rained hard basically the rest of the relay. Therefore, we had to hang under the shelter. There were a lot of other activities that I really wanted to do, but the rain kept me away. One of our teammates could only run the 10k, so we only had four runners for the last 2 legs. Therefore, two runners had to run one of the legs twice. Luckily, that wasn't me. :)

The second leg, it poured hard. The trail was so soggy, so I did walk quite a bit. They shortened the distance from a 5k to 2.7 miles... which was my distance. Soon after, they shortened that leg to 2.3 because of the trail conditions. I had a blast running in the rain and in the mud though.

2nd Leg.

The third leg was hard. My legs were super heavy and I was tired. It was another out and back down the Katy, but in the opposite direction from the first leg. I kept telling myself that it was only a 5k. I managed to keep an okay pace.

I was the first runner to finish my legs. It was so nice, especially since I was the finisher in last year's relay. In the end, I ran 12 miles in 2:00:32. It took the team 9:57:19 to finish the relay. It's crazy how fast it goes.

The team was super awesome! I hope I can do this again next year!

Team Guided by Grapes, minus 1.

????

Oh Dear God... what did I do?

Whyyyyyyyy?

Dopey Challenge:
5K
10K
Half Marathon
and
a F'ing Full.

Yay.

The Color Run

I've been wanting to try the Color Run for a while now... However, I'm getting a bit sick of all of these cheesy 5Ks popping up everywhere. Like the DJ run? WTF is that? The Glow Run, Rave Run... blah.

Before photo

This race isn't timed... and it's the same route as the New Years 5k and basically the St. Patrick's Day 5mi. They were letting us go in waves, and people were walking right out of the gate. I knew this wasn't going to be speedy, but this was a completely different crowd from the prior Sunday for the Go! It was good to see a lot of folks out there doing a 5K.

I ran the entire Market bitch hill. It was challenging because it was pretty humid out, plus there wasn't hardly any incentive to run since so many people were walking. We ran through the first color station at mile 1, and there were volunteers spreading the chalk, well, I think it was chalk. It was so gross. I tried to not inhale it. I honestly don't know how the volunteers can do that for 1-2 hours. From there on, I did a lot of walk/running. My husband ran this with me, and he wasn't feeling great running either. There were four color stations total.

At the end, there was a glitter "shine" station. I finished in 33:38. If it were timed, I'm pretty sure I would have placed rather well. Oh, and they handed out medals. As we were leaving, people were still starting the race!

We didn't go to the post party. I didn't want to be near the chalk anymore. I'm really not trying to be a Debbie Downer, this race was just different for me.

Finish photo

Go! St. Louis Half Marathon

I have actually never ran the Go! Half Marathon... I mean, I kind of have. I've done the marathon once and the relay twice. When I heard that they changed the course, I had to sign up. I love running the Eads and figured a MO-IL race is kinda cool.

I went into this race with very little training. I was consistent with my running, but I was only doing 3 mile runs. I did do a 5 mile and a 6 mile. And that's it.

So the day before the race I had a bloody mary, a beer, and a glass of wine. Needless to say, I was not taking this race very seriously.

Race Start

We couldn't have asked for better weather. There was an overcast sky, with a gentle wind. No humidity and perfect temps. I started out kind of fast and just rolled with it. It started out rather flat and had a nice downhill into Illinois off the Eads. But, crossing back over the MLK, now that was a bitch hill. There was a short, gentle rain, so that helped. We started to make our way over to Soulard and I was getting myself ready for the Broadway hill. Ughhhh. We climbed the hill around mile 9 and I was so tired.

Mile 10

I tried to keep going b/c I knew I could possibly PR. But... my mind took over and I told myself it was okay to walk just a bit. My legs were feeling incredibly heavy, and then I realized maybe I should have trained for this.

I saw Josh at mile 13 and ran over to tell him that I just missed my PR.

Damn!

What if I did train a little for this? Like just do one 10-miler? Conditions were perfect. I should have PR'd. Oh well, woulda, shoulda, coulda...

I loved this race. I loved that I started with no pre-race jitters.

Finish Line

I finished in 2:05:55. My PR is 2:03:57. How awesome is that finish line photo...lol.

Race finish!

Splits

St. Patrick's Day Parade Run

This is my 4th time running this race. It's a hilly monster, but I managed to get a PR on the course!! There were multiple times that I wanted to walk to catch my breath, but I just pushed through it. I'm really hoping that this is the year for the sub two-hour half marathon....

Before:

Eric, Me, Josh

After:

Run for your Beads 5k

I always love this run because it's around my neighborhood. These are streets I'm always running, so I know the terrain quite well. But.. since the run is held in Jan/Feb, it can be very cold. We were blessed with lovely running weather, starting out around 41 degrees.

Josh and I rode our bikes down to the race start at the Farmers Market. I felt silly wearing my tutu on my bike!

Pre-Race

The race starts out up hill and ends down hill. I wasn't paying attention to my pace, and then around mile 1.5 we got to a hurricane stop. I felt the need to stop since it was a Mardi Gras themed race. But, the hurricane was nasty, so I handed it off to Josh. Ended up walking a tenth of a mile. DOH. Looking back, why did I do that?? It was even on a flat.

My favorite part of the race is running through Anheuser-Busch Brewery. It's straight up hill, but it's always memorable.

AB Brewery

We had some nice down hill segments, and then off to the finish. I know I always look horrible in my race photos... and here I just look like a big dork. That tutu was really hard to maintain, it kept wanting to creep up! Drrr.

Race Finish

This may be my last time running in a tutu.

Anyways, super happy with my results... even though I walked for that disgusting hurricane. I didn't even notice how fast I was running.  I should have paid better attention to my pace.

Hurricane No Bueno!

And we got to celebrate with better tasting hurricanes at the finish!

Post-Race Hurricane