I started running in April of 2011.
My first official 5k was in August of the same year. I have never looked back. I
have completed a handful of half marathons along with countless shorter races
ranging in distance from 5k – 10 miles.
For the past few years, my family
has participated in the Mankato River Ramble, a biking adventure. I love this tradition - except for one thing;
it has always fallen on the same weekend as the Medtronic Marathon and TC 10
Mile. This year, they fall a week apart. As soon as I became aware of that
information, I started plotting to get a spot in the 10 mile.
A friend had asked if anyone was
interested in entering the lottery as team. As soon as the lottery opened, I
started bugging her…what is our team name? Is it set up? Is it ready now? How
about now? My friend is a saint (you
should check her out - she owns Twin
Cities Jogging Tours).
On July 8, I entered the lottery.
On July 22, I received my congratulations letter.
On August 12, I officially hired a
running coach. My coach is awesome (you should check her out here or have a listen). Sara has run the TC 10
mile seven times (including this year). I felt more than confident training
under her mastery.
SHE MADE ME LOVE HILL REPEATS. Wait, what? Oh, yes!
Initially, I corresponded with Sara
over email and then we agreed to meet up in person to see if we were a good
fit. We hit it off immediately (runners hug).
With a little insight into my personality, Sara put together a plan for
me which we “shared” in google docs. This was great because I was able to make
notes about my workout: how it went, my effort, when I did it, how it
felt. Sara would in turn comment back so
I had instant feedback. In addition we had weekly check-ins (either by phone or
in person).
Sara is so encouraging and even
when she scolds, she is encouraging. One
week, I squeezed in two hard workouts in a row and she responded with, “NO! I mean, nice work! But don't do two
hard days in a row! Rule #1. If you have to skip a week, you have to skip a
week, and that's ok.” It is? Wow, how could you not love someone who treats
you like that?
Sara taught me a lot of things
including how to do hill repeats properly. What the length of the hill should
be, the steepness, the time it should take to get to the top, proper form, etc.
I started to look forward to my hill repeats every week. I even brought my
friends, who started to love them too.
Sara knows about the hills on the
TC 10 mile, she’s had a lot of experience with them and she wanted me to be
ready. She let me know there would be “some hills” and that she wanted me to be
prepared.
One day, I happened to catch the podcast and I heard her say that
the race is pretty much all uphill - except for the last bit – which is a
downhill finish. By the time, I heard her
say it; hills were just another thing to conquer one step at a time and I was
not afraid.
Have Fun, Don’t Die
During my last shake out run, I
intended to run five miles out my front door. It was the hottest part of the
day and windy too, but I really wanted to get the run in. My son’s girlfriend
was over for a visit. She also happens to run Cross Country. She asked me how
far I was going and as I headed out the door, she said, “Have fun”. I half
laughed and said (very unconvincingly), “Okay”.
To which she responded, “Well don’t die”. She went on to say that the
girls on her team say that to each other and my new mantra became: Have fun, don’t die, because surely I could accomplish at least that.
As I ran that day, I paid
particular attention to the world around me. I am a glass half full kind of
girl in general and joyful by nature, but I really needed that reminder. I
thought about how lucky I am to be able to run. I certainly don’t have to, I choose to.
I always run with only one earbud
in because I like to hear the world around me and I like to listen to my breathing.
That day, I enjoyed the music, the peace, my alone time. I appreciated the guy
I could hear yelling from inside his house, “Go, go, go, yeaaahhh,
touchdown!” I enjoyed the flowers and the
lady who stepped outside to smoke (yes, I use to do that – I know better now
and so I run instead).
By mile four the heat started to
get to me and instead of struggling, I chose to walk the last mile. However,
when I hit the last hill, I ran all the way up for Sara.
The Day Before the Big Race
All was well up until the day
before the race when I started to worry. I was afraid of being late. I even
questioned my readiness. What should I wear? Should I take advantage of the bag
drop? Where were we going to park? Should we take the light rail instead? I was so nervous. I decide to get some
support through my friends and so I posted my concerns to Facebook. While I was
writing my post, I remembered my mantra and I shared it with others. That in
itself helped, but in addition to that, my friends (runners or not) offered
nothing but words of encouragement.
I set my alarm and went to
bed. The next morning, I sprung out of
bed. I had set everything I needed out so that I wouldn’t have to think much or
wake up my hubby. I made a cup of coffee. I cannot eat before a race, it does
not matter the distance. I always have one cup of coffee plain and I sip water
on the way. I am sure to hydrate the day/night prior. I was ready to leave in no
time flat. Then, I had to wait for my ride. I am not at all good at waiting. I even
started to pace. My friend was on time, maybe even a bit early (to be clear -
it wasn’t her, it was me).
As soon as I got in her SUV, I blurted out, “I
am so nervous!” She asked why and I pouted, “I don’t know!” She is wonderful,
her name is Adrienne. She said there was nothing to worry about and she was
right. As soon as she said it, I decided to surrender to what was happening just
at this very moment.
She parked us ONE block from the
starting line in a parking ramp that has a HEATED lobby and an INDOOR - CLEAN
bathroom and it only cost FOUR dollars.
Isn’t she terrific?
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| Driving Miss Basket Case |
We took advantage of both the
heated lobby and the glorious bathroom. I had heard someone say that the elites
would be taking off at 7am, which would put corral 1’s departure at around 7:08
or so and since I was in corral 4 and also not in a crazy hurry to stand out in
the cold, we waited until shortly after 7am to head out.
At that time, we were
on a mission to find another friend named Becca. This was specifically
important because this was Becca’s longest distance race to date. Becca and I
did a lot of our training together (even the hills). I wanted to start the race
with her. Believe it or not, with a little luck (and a cell phone), we located
her among the sea of runners with plenty of time to spare.
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| Becca's Longest Distance |
Finally, it was time for our corral
to take the starting line. My coach warned me not to start out too fast. The
crowd made that objective easy as I think we travelled in a tight grouping for
about the first two miles (though I lost my friends right away). I was
surprised by how long it took the runners to spread out. It wasn’t because
there were a lot of walkers, but simply because there were so many people. The
pace was decent though so I didn’t stress out.
I tend to run a 6 min/walk 30 sec
interval but I skipped a couple walks completely and shortened all of the
others. I recognize the first monster hill as one that I had run on the
Moustache Run. I recognized the second monster hill as one that I had struggled
with during the MDRA Mother’s Day 5k. Not this day; I took those hills by
storm. There were a few more ups and downs but it seemed to eventually settle
into just a mild (never-ending) incline.
I am not one for cheering crowds. I
did not take water or electrolytes at any of the water stops. I kept my head up
despite the crowd and I ran down the middle of the road (sorry no high fives
today). At mile five a volunteer yelled out,
“You are half way there!” I found myself saying, “Shut the hell up”, but only
loud enough for me to hear (I know he meant well, but come on). I ran strong and
I wondered at what point would I lose my steam?
I enjoyed the signs, my music, and
my peace. I appreciated the volunteers. My favorite sign was one that said, “No
Walken Here” and had a big Christopher Walken head glued to it. That may have
been the first time in a long time that a cowbell did not come up with regard
to Christopher Walken.
I saw a couple of people that I
know cheering. I saw two, “Black Lives Matter” shirts. One was on a lady
running and one was on a guy walking down the sidewalk. I heard there was a
peaceful protest off the main route but I never saw it.
Before I knew it, I was running
passed the James J. Hill house and I knew the descent to the finish was all
that remained. With joy, I ran down the
hill and continued to run strong through the finish. This was the first long race where I felt
strong from start to finish.
I received my medal from a little
boy and headed for the water. I was given a thermal blanket and quite quickly,
I had more snacks than I could carry.
I stopped for a finisher’s photo,
all salty and flushed face. I laughed as the photographer asked the lady in
front of me if she wanted to get in with the guy who was waiting for his photo
to be taken. She replied “No, I don’t know him.” I think she should have gotten
in the photo anyway.
The race was well organized in
every way except for the finisher shirt retrieval, which seemed like a free for
all. Also, once I had my shirt, I must
have dropped it ten times. Who wants to carry a shirt around when you already
have a fistful of snacks? I passed on
the free beer and opted for the Caribou instead, the designated spot to meet up
with my friends.
We drank coffee, took some photos,
soaked it all in. We had fun, and we
didn’t die.
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| Me, Becca, Adrienne & Liz |
As I boarded the bus, I was already
dreaming about next year. As always, #IRun4Dylan
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| Me & My Beloved Dylan |
