Destination race and starting my bucket list!

This year I tackled my first destination run, it was in Chicago, the BTN Big 10K.  Since I had a half marathon under my belt I thought 6.2 miles wouldn't be too hard.  It was a 15 minute pace per mile which gave me wiggle room to finish it the time limit.  A friend of mine that went to MSU had run it the previous year so that's how I found out about it.  I graduated from Michigan State so the race meant a lot to me.  On January 1st, I signed up for the Freep International Half Marathon so I was planning on starting training soon anyway. Training was going well and I felt confident for the race.

While I looked for hotels, they were insanely high and a week before my race I found a hotel with parking that was cheaper and closer to the race so I switched.  My boyfriend came with me because I didn't feel safe going by myself.  He drove us down Friday so I could pick up my packet.  I always pick up my packet the day before if I can, it reduces my stress on race day.  Well everyone else that was coming from other states had the same idea so it took about an hour to pickup my shirt and packet.  I ended up walking around the store and bought a few racing items including a water bottle that said runCHI so I had a nice souvenir. The hotel had a gym and restaurant inside (another reason why I picked it).  I did my last workout before the race, showered and then we had a nice dinner there.  I always set everything out the night before the race and double and tripled checked.  I made sure my phone alarm and the clock alarm was set so I wouldn't oversleep.

On Saturday, I woke up on time and got ready.  I got to my corral with plenty of time so I warmed up a little and made sure my iPod and phone were all set.  Since it was in July, it was warmer than I would have liked and I think they classified it as yellow or orange (go at a slower pace and drink a lot of water).  The first 3 miles went well but the temperature got hotter and the pin in my foot decided to act up.  I ended up having to do walking breaks.  I was hoping to get a new PR for a 10K, but at this point I just wanted to make it to the finish line.  I kept track of my time to make sure I could make it.  At mile 5 they had a slip and slide if you wanted to cool off which would have been awesome.  There was a long line so I didn't want to risk it and so I kept going.  When I finally got near the finish line I had a little burst of energy so I booked it.  It wasn't my best time, but I finished the race.  BTN streamed the 10K race online so my parents got to watch me make it to the finish line. They saved some screenshots and sent them to me.  My boyfriend was cheering me too, but I still had my earbuds in and I have horrible hearing sometimes.  Right by the finish line was the Fan Fest, they had a ton of cool things to do: photo with the Big 10 Championship trophy, run sprints, photos with the mascots, etc.  I got my finisher's medal and all the runners got a free beer and sausage.  I didn't feel like standing in a long line so we started walking back to the hotel.  My foot was killing me at this point so we ended up taking a taxi back.  I tried to pace myself for the race but I think the heat was the main factor for having so many issues.

Anyways, I started to look at other races including out of state ones that I want to run at some point of my life.  I will have to post a list once I figure out them all.  My boyfriend was in the Marines and so I really want to run the Marine Marathon in the future!  I know with the lottery system it might take a bit to get in, I might consider trying to get a charity bib.  For now I'm starting to get back into running again.  If I run all year I get burned out.  I did sign up for my first race next year: the Paczki Run in Hamtramck.  The finishers get a paczki and a beer!  My dog Pasha might be running her first 5K with me :)  I put a link to the races if anyone is curious about them.  Thanks for reading!

So one time at bandcamp... I fell off a bus

I wish I could post more often, but I'm going to try once a week.  Since I live in Michigan and we already have snow on the ground, I like doing my workouts and runs inside so I don't slip and fall.  I know they have traction aids, but I would find a way to fall and hurt myself.  If I do run outside, I'm extra careful.  I've broken my right ankle from bandcamp (embarrassing story there) and broken my left foot because I'm a klutz. Crutches suck!!!

My actual story: In high school we loaded our luggage to go to bandcamp on the school bus and jumped out the back at the emergency exit... well my ankle rolled when I landed and yeah I broke it.  When we arrived at bandcamp I told the people my ankle was hurting really badly and they just pushed me forward and asked the next person how they were.  I marched an entire day on my broken ankle and finally went to a chaperone for help.  We took my shoe and sock off and my ankle was about the size of a softball.  I felt so bad for my parents, they were going to go out to dinner and have a nice night out, instead they got a call that they needed to come pick me up.  When they arrived, my parents took me to the nearest doctor and got an x-ray.  It was a broken growth plate at my ankle and I would need crutches.  That was probably one of my worst summers.  When my mom was younger she broke her foot and had the old school cast so she knew what I was going through.  I sort of lucked out by having an air cast, I could have had a regular cast but I didn't want it.  I didn't care to have it signed, I was already annoyed I wouldn't be able to walk normally.  I could shower semi-normally just had to be careful and not put any weight on that foot.  My ankle did heal up and I think I was only on crutches for the first couple weeks of school.

Second broken bone story.  In college, I had my own room which was awesome and had a shared bathroom with a suitemate, luckily no one lived in the other room so it was all to myself!  I have my klutzy moments and I slipped on my backpack strap and fell funny.  I heard something pop and had trouble putting weight on my left foot.  I limped downstairs and drove myself to an urgent care nearby.  They took x-rays and said I had a Jones fracture (one of the worst fractures I could get).  The area has limited blood flow so it would take long to heal up.  I did luck out by a cancellation for a surgery so they had an opening within a week so they booked it for me.  For my surgery, they had to put a pin in my left foot which would help stabilize and heal up quicker.  I couldn't put any weight on my left foot so I lost a lot of muscle in that leg.  Again, I choose a sports cast so I could take it off when I showered, I just had to put a bag on my left foot so no water could get in.  My dad got me a shower chair so that helped a ton!  It took about 8 weeks I believe to heal up.  I used to have blog entries of my progress, I should have kept them.  I had an handicap pass, but MSU's campus is huge and even when I could park in a handicap spot, sometimes I still had a ways to crutch my way over.  It was a pain, but I'm proud I got through it.  My doctor told me I could get my pin removed in the future but I would have to be on crutches for a month and no running for a while so he said if it doesn't bother you, leave it be.  My pin doesn't set off the sensors, just have to let someone know its there if I have to get an MRI.  In the first year I only remember my pin hurting once or twice in the cold.  Sometimes I have issues while running, the majority time I don't even notice.  I focus on where my foot lands and that seems to help a lot.      

Anyways, back to running.  I gained some weight being on crutches and once I could walk again I started going to my college gym and would workout a few times a week.  I thought a 5K was impossible and too afraid to sign up for any.  I always thought you had to run fast and couldn't walk them.  I got to a point of being able to run for a half hour on the treadmill without stopping or slowing down (I never recorded my distance, only how many calories I burned SMH).  The silver lining of it all, I started to enjoy running.  I didn't consider myself a runner, I just knew I could run for longer than 5 minutes.  

From #RunChat the other day, I'm thankful for many things including family and friends, I'm also thankful I that I'm able to run.  I have coworkers/friends that have bad knees that can't run and wish they could.  When you are on crutches you appreciate just being able to walk normally.  I have no idea if I would have gotten into running if I didn't break my feet.  I'll just have to wonder.   

If you do run outside in the winter be careful and just go slower, you don't want to end up with crutches like me.  If a sidewalk is salted with no snow or ice I run outside occasionally, just have to layer up.  I started running in 2013 and I did run a Jingle Bell 5K and they cleared the course of snow and ice so I didn't have to worry about that.  I had my best time, still working on a new 5K PR. 

Right now my main goal is to not have any running injuries this year.  I have been mostly strength training and logging a few miles on the treadmill each week.  I'm started to look at races I would like to run next year.  I don't plan on running any more races this year, I considered a turkey trot, but I have to work on Thanksgiving this year.  Oh well I'm getting holiday pay so that helps.  I would like to tackle a full marathon next year and maybe if I keep writing it in my blog I'll keep working hard and sign up for one.  I've also been looking at training plans and run/walk strategies to complete one, I know its possible just hope the pin in my foot doesn't act up.  I'm excited what next year will bring!  

Happy Thanksgiving everyone if I don't write another entry later this week!     

Adult Onset Runner

I was never an athlete or runner.  I played some sports up to middle school.  I hated doing suicides in basketball.  In high school, I only ran when it was mandatory in gym class.  Since I was in marching band, I only had to take one gym class instead of two.  I never had a desire to do track and field either.  I do like biking and swimming.  I was okay at volleyball, basketball, and softball but I knew I wouldn't make the varsity team so I focused on my academics and band.  I ended up being in the top ten for highest GPA's in my class so my hard work paid off.  My senior year of college I had a professor decide last minute she didn't feel like teaching a class so I had to pick up a few credits to still be a full time student so I ended up picking up a bowling, ice skating and a self defense class.  Those 3 were pass/fail so I could focus on my grades for my other classes.  Anyways, I took the bowling class in the fall and had a lot of fun.  I remember having ice skating and self defense on alternating days, the first week I couldn't even get out of my bed for most of the day.  I used muscles I hadn't used in years so I was super sore.  It took a few weeks and it got better.  I did get a gym membership with my college so I started going on the treadmill and running the inside track.  I still though a 5K was impossible at that point.

About 5 years after I graduated from Michigan State, my friend ran The Color Run and liked it.  I was interested enough that I signed up for my first race called the Color Me Rad 5K.  Since the race wasn't timed I thought it would be a good race to try and just have fun.  I knew some people just walk 5Ks so no pressure.  We ended up running/ walking and it was a blast!  I started to sign up for 5Ks even timed ones and they weren't too bad.  My best time was a Jingle Bell run in the winter, I think the cold helped me finish the race faster.  In 2014, I started to tackle bigger races and I survived.  I ran 2 10Ks and my first half marathon.  The Detroit Free Press Half Marathon gives you an 18 minute per mile cushion so if you're not the fastest runner like me, its still very feasible to do.  My average pace is 10-12 minutes per mile.  I hope to improve my time, but I know first I need to lose more weight.  This year I didn't run as many races, but I ran my first destination run in Chicago- BTN Big 10K and ran my second half marathon with a new PR!!!  

I'll go into my races in more detail later.  I'm a newbie runner and I enjoy doing #RunChat, #BQchat, and #Bibchat to learn from experienced runners any good tips and advice.  I am hoping to finish a full marathon next year so we'll see how that goes.