Louisiana

Thayne and I flew to Baton Rouge Friday evening and left the airport to absolutely beautiful weather! We headed to a restaurant that had some local bands playing and enjoyed our evening. Saturday we headed to the expo and went on a really neat tour of the USS Kidd. The weather was seriously gorgeous and was looking to be perfect racing weather Sunday morning.

I was right! Sunday morning brought bright skies, no wind and hovering around 42-45 degrees. Perfect conditions!

Before the race started I was a bit more nervous than usual. My last few half marathons hadn't been my best feeling, regardless of my times. I had now had about two months since my last race to regroup and focus on training vs racing. I wanted to push and see what I could do, but that always brings about the possibility of failure.

I knew this course was fairly flat, but it was also one that I wouldn't see Thayne during at all. It's nice to know WHEN I'm going to see him to know I'll get an extra boost if I really need it. 

In the start corral, ready to go. Supporting Racing 4 Rett!

Louisiana Half Marathon course.

The race started and I ended up surrounding myself with people who seemed to be about the same speed as my current PR (last March in Arkansas, 1:35:56). We headed out of downtown Baton Rouge and found ourselves by a very nice park and lake. The breezes off the lake felt amazing, even though the temperature was cool that morning.

We passed through the LSU campus, and at this point I was so focused that I didn't even realize we were there! Around half way we found ourselves back at the lake and rounding the other side. There were a lot of spectators around this side who came out of their homes (beautiful!) to cheer. There were a few small hills around here, but nothing serious.

Around 10 miles I knew that the rest of the course was how we started. I could tell I was running pretty close to a PR, but wasn't quite sure what I'd end up with. Having a 5k left can mean just about anything, really. It's still plenty of time to "blow up."

I was still feeling pretty good at this point! Usually somewhere between 9 and 11 miles I have a really tough mile or so, then seem to gather myself up and have a second wind coming into the finish.

There were a lot of spectators the last few miles which really helped keep me going strong. I remember a few girls telling me they loved my skirt! (Thanks, Sparkle Athletic for keeping us looking fashionable while staying sporty!!) 

Coming into the finish I knew I'd get a PR... I just wasn't sure what I'd hit. I sprinted as hard as I could towards the finish line and wound up with a new PR of 1:34:58! Almost a full minute off my time from last March! My overall pace was 7:15, and I was 15th woman to finish overall. Wow! I also took 2nd in my age group, but ended up being bumped up to 1st because she ended up being 3rd female overall.

Free finish line photos are the best!

Happy with a new PR!

Medal and state capital.

After the race Thayne and I went back to the hotel to get warm and clean up before we headed back to the post race party. Now I thought the race was amazing, but they know how to party in Louisiana! Each runner received tickets for 8 food samples and 2 beers. Thayne and I split the food samples and were actually full! The sizes were definitely bigger than just samples.

Hey hey! My award for 1st place in my age group!

Louisiana ended up being a huge success of a race, and a really fun weekend. I'd highly suggest adding this one to your list if you're able to travel and run. I definitely started out 2016 with a bang!

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Nevada

My mom, sister and I decided we needed to get away for a girls weekend to Vegas, baby! And why not add a 5k and half  marathon while there?! I flew into Vegas from Milwaukee and my mom and sister met me at the airport about 20-30 minutes later from KC. 

Ready to Rock N Roll!

We checked into our hotel, hopped onto the tram and headed straight to the expo on day one! My mom and sister hadn't been to a really big race expo yet, so we spent our fair share of time walking around and exploring all the vendors. We tried some "food," had a massage with a BFF and a few new rollers, and played a few games to try to win entries and who knows what else.

We also happened to see a booth with the Army National Guard trying to challenge anyone to pushup, pull-up and plank competitions. If you know me... you know I can't pass up a competition! 

I had to meet or beat 6 pull-ups to win a free t-shirt, so I figured I'd give it my best shot! Immediately after I said yes, I had a huge surge of adrenaline and it felt like my heart rate was sky-rocketing! 

Regardless, I was able to complete 6 full pull-ups and another half a dinky one. They were nice enough to still give me that t-shirt!

After we left the expo we walked up and down the strip to explore a little bit. My sister was the only one of us who had been to Vegas before so she showed us all the necessary sights. There was so much walking already!

Struggling to get that 6th pull-up!

Friday we decided to do a quick run from our hotel to the "Welcome to Vegas" sign. It was such a beautiful, sunny morning too! What a perfect day for a quick run.

"Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas!"

We spent the rest of Friday doing some more exploring of the strip, hitting up a few penny slots (literally the only gambling we did!), and checking out the hot tub, spa and sauna in our hotel. That evening we also decided to attend a Cirque du Soleil show. They are some serious athletes. I don't know how they are capable of about 90% of the moves they did! If you haven't seen a show before, I'd highly suggest attending one. It's so neat!

Saturday morning we prepped for the 5k right away. We knew we weren't planning on coming back to our hotel room until after the race that evening. Our sparkly skirts and bright colors matched perfectly well with the rest of the Vegas strip anyway! We took an Uber outside of the strip area and found a neat little running store. After spending some time shopping around we decided to get some pedicures. I know, I know... You're not supposed to get your feet massaged, lotioned, and nails trimmed the day OF a race but we just couldn't help it!

We headed to the 5k start a little early to try to meet up with some friends of my sister. They are in the same running group in Kansas City. The sun was going down so we also decided to have some fun with the big blow up Garmin guitar and the light up "light sabers" they were handing out!

Having a blast!

Get that jump picture in!

The 5k started and our whole point was to just have fun! The course was about a mile out and back, then through a big field with a bunch of blow up arches and lights. Since it was mostly out and back we were able to see everyone's costumes. We definitely weren't the only ones dressed up. We also saw Meb run by! After the race we grabbed some pizza on the way back to our hotel and crashed. We were pooped!

Sunday morning we woke up and just weren't really feeling like walking around much, knowing the half marathon was that evening. We decided to have breakfast, then catch a movie instead of exploring more. The only bad part was what we chose for our pre-race meal... popcorn!

As we left the movie theatre we noticed the temperature really had dropped and the wind picked up. We packed up our post-race bags and headed to the start line area. Kid Rock was playing on the stage behind us, but we didn't feel like staying close to the stage.

I was supposed to line up in a corral closer to the front than my mom and sister, so I headed there. I had heard that Meb would be starting in the third corral (which is where I was supposed to be!) so I searched for him only to hear the announcement that he started with the first corral! Ah!

Once the race started I took off! I wanted to run with the group who ran with Meb for a little bit! I ended up catching him around mile 3 (that sounds so funny... I caught Meb!)

Half marathon ready!

That's pretty much where my race went downhill. We were on the strip at this point (after running to the Vegas sign and back) and the wind had really picked up! Between that, the not-so-great fueling, and walking about 10 miles each day my legs and stomach were already toast. I tried to keep my mind off things by looking around the strip, being entertained by the spectators and listening to the music of the bands on course. 

We turned around and headed back with the wind around 10 miles in and the skies opened up! It was raining and cold... in Vegas! What was going on?! I was struggling mentally and physically and starting the trudge/ walk/ run/ cry to the finish. It was a long last 5k for sure.

My Meb selfie at the finish line! Such a great guy.

But... finish I did! What was neat is that my mom and sister were passing by the finish line about 6 miles into the race as I finished! There were SO many start corrals that they didn't start until about an hour after me, which means they were just starting as the wind and rain began.

Even with having to walk, I finished in 1:46:48 (8:09 pace). Meb had passed me in the last quarter mile, so I saw him at the finish line and was able to catch a quick selfie with him! We had tried during the race but they were all very blurry.

After the race I walked the MILE (it seemed like) long finisher chute, grabbed my clothes and headed into the Bellagio Hotel to change clothes and grab something hot (French onion soup!) to warm up while I waited for my mom and sister to finish. Once they finished we Uber'd back to the hotel... we were so tired! Nevada is done, and onto the next one!

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Wisconsin, take 2

Going into the inaugural Milwaukee Running Festival I had a completely different mind set. I was going to be able to take it easy! I've never really gone into a race before knowing I was going to be able to just have fun (not that racing isn't fun) because I was a pacer! Let me tell you this now... I loved being a pacer.  I definitely love finding my limits and chasing down new PR's, but it's so much fun to be able to help other runners reach their goals as well! It was an absolute blast helping people break 1:50 (8:23 pace) in a half marathon and I hope to do it again sometime.

Milwaukee Running Festival half and full marathon courses.

This race was going to be something very different for Milwaukee. Living next to one of the Great Lakes, most of our races take place right on the shore line in a few of our amazing parks. For the first time, runners were going to be able to see our city in a different way!

I've now lived in Milwaukee for a little over three years and have never gotten to run through the city, mostly because I don't want to have to worry about traffic and stop lights while I'm running. 

A few days before the race I went to a pacer meeting, met my fellow 1:50 group leader, grabbed my pacing shirt and picked up our sign that we'd carry to let the runners know to hang with us!

Goal. Stay on pace!

I typed up a pace band and taped it to the middle of the stick that was holding our sign. This way we could compare our mile splits and be sure we were staying on track.

So, the night before the race I prepped just like any other night before a race/ long run to make sure I'd be able to do my best for the runners. However, race morning came around and my watch.wouldn't.start. WHAT?! It worked fine yesterday! I charged it a bit! It was turned on when I went to bed! What the heck?!?! I panicked. I knew no one else in the city (who wasn't running this race) that had a GPS watch! 

I called the pacing captain and she said to do my best going off my feel (OMG) and that's why each pacing group has two leaders. Still. Not comfortable with that! But it was time to learn to let go and make do with the situation that was given to me!

Surely the runners won't lose me!

Luckily I met a few friends around the start line who were also running the race. Dane and Tracy were some of the first people I met in Milwaukee and are amazingly generous. So generous that Tracy offered to have Dane borrow her watch as he ran the half marathon and Dane let me borrow his GPS watch. Tracy was running the 5k and didn't have any big goals for the race, so didn't mind not having a watch. THANK YOU GUYS!

They seriously saved the day (because of course my pacing buddy's watch couldn't connect to GPS for about the first two miles.)
 

Anyway, the rest of the race went off without a hitch. It was really fun to just let loose and have fun. We talked to the runners aiming for 1:50 and kept them on goal. We sang, we laughed, we danced... anything to keep our runners entertained and not thinking about running. We kept our paces pretty spot on and we had a large group of people with us through the first 10 miles. We told our runners to stay strong, the warmup was over and now the race began!

Time to have fun!

Done and dusted!

We ended up coming into the finish just a little bit ahead, but our watches seemed to have the course a little bit short (12.9 miles). We talked with the other paces, and it seems like that was the general consensus. All of us seemed to be on pace through 12.5 miles and then BAM! All the sudden it was mile 13! We weren't sure if we should keep chugging along at our pace (which would have us end in the upper 1:48's) or take our time and dance down the street to still finish in 1:50. So... we did a little bit of both and finished in 1:49:29.

I can't wait to pace again! I hope I get another opportunity because it's some serious fun.

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