Flint Ridge 10 Mile

 I ACTUALLY RAN A RACE!

And it felt so good!!!

I love trail running, but I don't think I'm very good at it. I'm too cautious. I've done this race once before and I remember really liking it because it was relatively flat and not all that difficult. However, I don't remember all of the horse poop. Holy horse poop!!! I felt like it was a poop obstacle course. 

They did a staggered start by corral and runner. I was in group 3 out of 6, and I probably should have started in a later corral as I kept getting passed. But I was having a pretty good time and just really appreciated the race support and the weather. It felt really good to race again.

And I did better than I did back in 2015! In 2015, I finished the course in 1:49:27. This year I did it in 1:42:43. I placed 12/15 in my division (F 35-39) so I didn't do all that well.  

COVID-19 2020

Because of COVID-19, most races have been cancelled/postponed. I've done 4 virtual races. 

Tenacious Ten (April 4) - - I was really looking forward to doing this race in Seattle. I was supposed to meet up with a friend and we had a whole weekend planned, but obviously that didn't happen. I ran from home to Tower Grove Park and back home. I ran the 10 miles with a time of 1:34:52 (9:29/mi pace). 

Stay Home Virtual Half Marathon (April 18) - - Vacation Races put on a fun virtual event with the following tagline:

Run where you play have to run because you can't go anywhere else right now.

It was only fitting to start and end this race at home (home - Tower Grove Park - Forest Park - Downtown - home). I accidentally went a little long on this one... 14.19 miles. I finished with a 9:46/mi pace.

SeaWheeze - - Super bummed that we weren't in Vancouver this year for our annual SeaWheeze extravaganza! Oh, I missed it so much! But, I ran both distances: the Half Marathon (August 16) and the 10k (August 20). For the Half, we ran the Katy Trail. The Katy can be a big mind game for me, but I actually felt really good! It's like a never ending tunnel! I finished with a 9:36/mi pace (I ran 13.30) - 2:07:48. 

For the 10k, I ran the Forest Park loop. We actually had a cool August morning, so it was very pleasant! Again, I ran a little long (6.36 miles) with a 9:08/mi pace - 58:09. Even though we weren't in Vancouver, lululemon sent me some Vancouver vibes! This is why I love lululemon, they are awesome.

More Catching Up...

On November 8, 2019, we lost our sweet puppy dog Simon. I didn't feel like doing much, but I just kept on running to try to overcome my sadness. I was registered for the Skippo on November 2, 2019 and obviously I didn't make that. Here are some recaps from the races I did make:

Wizard Run - November 23, 2019
I definitely had to do this Harry Potter themed run. The course was in Forest Park. We got to select our shirt color (I went with Gryffindor, duh) and also got a wand. I ran this 5k with a time of 24:58. I grabbed some Butter Beer (yum) and we got in the car to leave, but I thought there was a good chance I could place. I went back to check my place and actually placed 1st in my division (1/176)!

Webster-Kirkwood Turkey Day Run - November 28, 2019
I did the Double Helping again this year, which includes the 3 mile and the 6 mile races. Weather was good, but no course PR(s) for me. I finished the 3 mile race with a time of 25:23 and the 6 mile race in 54:52. I wish they would show how the Double Helpers place each year...

NHL All-Star 5k - January 25, 2020
I decided to go all out for this race. The course was downtown, a course I know very well. I was trying to go for a PR. I even ran with my friend James to help hold pace. We ran the first mile together in 7:42. I knew a big hill was coming and I wasn't going to be able to hold that pace. I told James to go ahead without me. I got an 8:21 on the second mile and an 8:17 on the third. I finished with a time of 25:00... no PR.

Missouri Lottery Run for your Beads 5k - February 15, 2020
Ah, my most favorite race of the year! My home turf. Weather was perfect. I was nervous at the start because I knew I was going to push it and therefore kill myself. I was hoping for a PR, but same story, no PR. BAH! I finished in 25:02. I placed 2nd in my division (out of 109). Runners who place get a lottery ticket. I won $50 on my ticket! Winning! I love the hurricanes at the finish. Mmm!

Catching up...

Run for the Hills 5k
I received a free entry to run this race. This was my first time doing this race. It was held on September 21, 2019 and it was still a bit warm outside. My favorite thing about this race are the shirts! They have a Blues theme and are super cute. I felt pretty good for the first two miles and the third mile was pretty tough. I pulled back on that third mile, but I'm still happy with my split.

Mile 1: 8:00
Mile 2: 8:24
Mile 3: 8:33

I finished with a time of 25:47 (8:18 pace). I placed 5/32 in my division.

Blue Note 5k
This race was held in Forest Park. I signed up because you could add on super cool Blues goodr sunglasses. Yes, please! I don't think I've ever ran such a large 5k race here in St. Louis before. There was a ton of people (4,000 runners)!! The best part of this race was getting a photo with the Stanley Cup before the start! I was a bit too conservative on the downhill portions... I just didn't care to push it. I just wanted to make sure I ran the uphill segments, which I did! I really liked the medal too... It was the Stanley Cup :). Go Blues!

Mile 1: 8:31
Mile 2: 8:15
Mile 3: 8:23

I finished with a time of 26:32 (8:32 pace). I placed 28/672 in my division. Top 95.8%!

Arches Half Marathon
This race has been on my bucket list for years. You run a segment of UT-128, which is one of the most beautiful scenic roads in America. We started this trip in Santa Fe. I didn't worry about the elevation until I ran 3 little miles in Santa Fe (roughly 7,000 ft above sea level) and felt like death. Then I started to get pretty scared about running 13.1 miles in Moab (4,000 - 6,000 ft). I did some more short runs on the treadmill at our hotel in Santa Fe and it got slightly better, but I had to slow down my pace considerably. Looking back, I'm so happy we started our trip in Santa Fe so I had time to adjust to the altitude. I told myself to take it easy, walk at the water breaks, heck, walk if I needed to.

The day starts super early. We had to be at the shuttle pick up location by 6:30 am. Then they shuttle you up river, drop you off a little after 7 am. Then you wait in the cold until the race starts at 8:30 am. They did have fire pits and hot chocolate. I didn't want to take off my warm clothes and drop my bag until last minute, and then it turned into a rush to get my bag into the van. I made it with not a lot of time to spare!

I loved this race! Especially the first half. It was all pretty much downhill and the scenery was epic! The last half was much more challenging! Super hilly... pretty much in full sun. I'd see a hill in the distance and get a bit worked up, but then I kept reminding myself how amazing it is to be able to run this course and that I was okay. I ran every bitch hill! It may have been a slow climb, but I did it. I ran the entire course, walked the water breaks, and I felt good. When I crossed the finish line I kept coughing, I think because of the altitude. It seems like a lot of other people were doing the same. We finished at a ranch and it was so beautiful. I finished with a time of 02:05:58. I'm super happy with this time! I don't ever expect much on vacation races.

KT82

KT82 - June 1, 2019

I'm finally blogging about the "KT82"... which turned into the SIU-E Cross Country Relay. A couple of days before the race, the director announced that they had to move the race off of the Katy because of flooding and instead of cancelling, they decided to move it across the 'other' river into Illinois on the SIU-E cross country course. Instead of traveling with the runner, we'd be stationed at a base camp.

We all had to park in a parking lot and then we'd be shuttled to the base camp. We kept joking that this was like the Fyre Festival because there was a long ass line to drop supplies on a truck and another long ass line to get on the shuttle... it just seemed like a cluster. We sent our first two runners on the shuttle while we waited to put our supplies onto the truck. We made it to the base camp about the same time that our first runner finished. We finally got set up and then it was a pretty good time!

My first two legs were on the Madison County Trails. Pretty flat... I felt good during my first 4 mile leg. Got through my second leg, a 6 miler, pretty okay too. The last leg was actually on the cross country course and that was challenging. My legs were tired and the grass was longer so I was unsure about my footing. Team was awesome as always!

SeaWheeze 2019

I just ran my 8th SeaWheeze! This is my absolute favorite race. Lululemon really goes all out and makes each and every runner feel special. This year we stayed at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. It was so amazing. I feel like now I have to stay there every year. Great room, great location, and lots of perks like free bike rental and juices for the race. The pool was just okay... I much prefer the pool at Westin Bayshore or the Four Seasons. But everything else was top notch!

We arrived on Wednesday around midday and went straight to Cactus Club Cafe, my fav! I might have got a bit too drunk... I all of a sudden really wanted to go on a sea plane. We went to our hotel concierge to book a tour, but they were full for the rest of the evening, but we were able to book a tour first thing the next day. We got some bikes from the hotel and biked around Stanley Park. Another one of my favorite things to do in Vancouver!

Thursday morning we went on our sea plane tour. I was now sober and a bit scared to fly, but it was so much fun and not as scary as I thought. It was comforting for me to be able to see the pilot. We got to see a lot of Vancouver!

After the sea plane tour, we grabbed the hotel bikes and biked False Creek. We run a bit of this bike route during the race... but I haven't been on several segments. It was really nice! Also, it was way less busy than Stanley Park, which can be overwhelming busy at times.

Thursday afternoon I went to Boob Truth. I thought I was going to get measured for a sports bra, but instead they put a sensor on my chest and then I had to run for 1 minute. They showed me the movement of my boobs and then recommended a few sports bras. It was okay. We then grabbed our race packets and that was super easy. We got the usual - a bag, water bottle, some nuun, and new this year... a race bib. We also got some freebies - the Sage peppermint halo and a couple of new lulu products: dry shampoo (for me) and deodorant (for Josh, but really for me). I also got to see the LegaSea wall with all of our names on it. I love being a part of this group!!

Friday is my favorite part of SeaWheeze (this is basically my Christmas - - in terms of being a kid and being super excited for Santa to come). I got the first wave to get in line - 6 am. I was originally in the first wave, which was 6:15 am, but they moved several people into a new 6 am wave because I guess too many people were in the 6:15 am wave. I got in line around 5:15 am and of course there was already a line forming. They let us into the building around 5:45 am and we waited there until 6:45 am. I have never been this far up in the line before... it was great! I was in the first wave into the store. As we were entering the store, we were greeted by the race pacers and it was so so awesome. I gave so many high-fives! I grabbed everything that I thought I wanted and then waited for them to call my group for the reflective gear (which was also new this year, they gave us a card with a group name. We had to wait for our group to be called to get in line for reflective. I think I was group 3 or 4). I got the reflective clothes that I wanted and then had to go figure out what to put back.

Josh ended up getting some reflective too!

After shopping, we went to the same place we go every year after shopping... Cafe Crepe. It's our tradition. Then back to PreWheeze to get my hair braided and my nails painted. This year we had to register for a time to do this, and it was such a breeze! I usually don't do it because the lines are way too long. After that it was yoga with Ryan Leir. Ryan Leir made me fall in love with yoga. This year has been rough for me because of my neck injury and I have literally done ZERO yoga this year. I can't believe this when I say it out loud. I used to be so devoted to my practice. So anyways, this yoga session with Ryan Leir was really special to me.

We had dinner at our favorite restaurant (CCC) and then it hit me that I had to run 13.1 miles the next day... ugggg. I was not in the running mood at all. I tried to go to bed early, but it wasn't easy.

Race morning breakfast was 5 timbits from Tim Hortons. Not a lot of food. I should have planned this out a bit better. Race weather was okay. It was cloudy and not too hot or cold. I really wanted a sub 2 hour race. I started off okay and thought I was running fast, but every time I looked at my watch I wasn't really moving fast. I guess my legs were tired from all the pre-race biking.

Obligatory Race Photo

I'm not exactly sure when I fell apart... but I experienced random bouts of pain during the majority of the race. Really sore left shoulder, painful right knee, stomach pinch, felt kind of puke-ish at times. I just wanted to give up basically the whole race. But I was strong mentally, so I have to give myself credit there. My motivation - - I did NOT want Josh to beat me. We started at the same time and I knew he wasn't too far behind me (when I saw him at mile 5.5 at the turn around point). I was going to be pissed if he passed me. Finally around mile 11.5 I allowed myself to walk up this bitch hill. I just didn't have much energy left. I'm not exactly sure how I got to the finish... if I walked a bit, but I'm certain I ran most of it. I finished with a time of 02:05:47, which is not a course PR, but it's my second best.

For whatever reason, this course is super hard for me. I think it's because of how congested it is so you are constantly weaving to pass people. It makes it tough. Also, I wasn't very well nourished. Oops. It's always hard for me to get enough food morning of a race during race vacations. I need to be better at that.

After the race, it was more biking and a lot more eating! Sunday morning we had planned to do Grouse Grind, but we both woke up with very sore legs. So that was a big fat nope! Instead we got the hotel bikes out and biked Stanley Park again. It was early enough so it wasn't too busy. Weather was beautiful too.

I love SeaWheeze. See you next year for #9!

Race recaps from previous SeaWheezes:
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

Catching up...

I've been horrible at blogging. I know I'm the only person that reads this blog, which is fine because I really only blog about these races for me. So here we go...

Kirkwood-Webster Turkey Trot(s) - November 22, 2018
I again did the Double Helping, both the 3-mile and 6-mile races. I managed to get a course PR on both legs!! I even talked Josh into doing the 3-mile race with me this year. 

3-mile: 24:15
6-mile: 51:11

St. Patrick's Day Parade Run - March 16, 2019
I tried again for a course PR... didn't happen. I could blame it on extreme neck pain that I've been experiencing since December 31st... sucks. I also didn't do the Run for your Beads 5k during Mardi Gras and I LOVE that race. Anyways, I didn't start fast enough to get a course PR. 

Mi 1 - 8:00
Mi 2 - 8:09
Mi 3 - 8:33
Mi 4 - 8:24
Mi 5 - 8:08

I know, not bad and this is such an improvement from 3-4 years ago. 

2019: 41:40
2018: 41:17
2017: 41:16
2015: 45:37
2014: 46:19
2012: 1:01:09

London Landmarks Half Marathon - March 24, 2019
Now this race probably deserves it's own post... I LOVED THIS RACE. Everything about it. I got in on a lottery. I guess they didn't think someone from St. Louis would go to London for a race. They mailed the race bib and shirt a week or so before the race. There was no expo, which I liked because I didn't want to add that to the list of things to do in London. 

Obviously, we walked a ton around London the days before the race. There was also a huge Brexit protest the day before the race... roughly 1 million people out protesting. The night before the race, there were still a lot of people in Trafalgar Square, which was where our hotel was and where the race would start the next morning. The morning of the race, it was like a new day. The trash was all cleaned up, a big blue sky (which was the first blue why we had seen in London. Luckily, we didn't get rain during our entire trip!). 

The race start was a bit different for me. We all kinda hung around Trafalgar Square until it was our time to go. I was in wave 3: the Mexican wave. I didn't quite understand the Mexican part... the other waves included things like cheetah, diamond, chocolate, etc. Anyways, they called the Mexican wave and off I went to the start line.

I thought there would be different start times since there were 7 waves all with its own start times. Nope... there was one start gun and off we all went. The race course zig zagged all around London. I absolutely loved this course. There were so many people out cheering for the runners, mainly because this is a huge charity race, but I never once got bored. Also, the route was pretty flat so it just felt easy. Plus there was so much to look at! I went into this race telling myself to not push it. It's a vacation race so there was no need to go all out. 

I ended up finishing with a time of 1:56:55, which is not a PR but I feel a very good time for a vacation race. 

I would love to do this race again, but the lottery is quite competitive. 

MoDOT Work Zone Awareness 5k - April 13, 2019
5k's are incredibly tough. If I could pick between a half marathon and a 5k, I'd pick the half marathon. I went into this race wanting to place. The route is super hilly and well, rather boring. It's along the I-64 outer roads. However, the roads were closed exceptionally well being a MoDOT run race and all. The race started at the MoDOT Transportation Management Center so that's pretty neat for people that have never been there (lots of cameras showing road conditions across the region). 

The first half of the race was glorious. Mainly downhill and I was flying! 

Mi 1: 7:27
Mi 2: 7:52

Then... we had lots of hills to climb. Ugh, I wanted to give in and walk but I also really wanted to place. 

Mi 3: 8:34 (blah, but at least I was still in the 8s).

I ended up placing first in my division (F 30-39)! 1/15, so I'm super proud of myself. I finished with a time of 24:53, which is also a 5k PR (previous PR was a 24:57).