Last Run of 2012

This morning I woke up, put on lots of layers, and headed out for my final run of 2012. Lately, I have been opting not to time my runs, but I did use run keeper so I would know my distance. It was nice to have a "wandering" run, to not have a predetermined route. The time was slower than I wanted, but the run itself felt good. I ended up running 3.5 miles, a nice distance with which to end the year.

In a lot of ways, the last day of a calendar year is just like any other day. There are routine tasks that still need to be done. Children to feed, grocery shopping that is waiting, and laundry to be ignored. I know most people use this time to look at the year past and seen what it brought them, as well as as to look to the new year as a new start. New goals to make, new resolutions and opportunities. Certainly 2013 holds those for me as well, but I am happy that my resolutions of years past have stuck. Sure, I want to continually improve in my running. I have new adventures to which I'm looking forward. But overall I'm happy to continue in this running journey already carved out. It's the adventure I don't worry about not achieving because it is so much a part of my daily life. Do I have a resolution for 2013? Not really. Hopes? Goals? Adventures planned? Absolutely. Just like any other day of the year. 😊

Happy 2013 Friends!

And, as always, Happy Running!

New Accessory!

I literally jumped for joy when my new license plate frame came in the mail. It's pink! And it's about running! Now I just need to add back my 13.1 and 26.2 magnets. I've had this car for two and a half years and haven't put them on there. It's time. I'm already signed up for a half marathon in 2013. I'm getting the itch to train for another marathon. Maybe. I still really want to run Chicago. Could 2013 be the year? I'll have to decide soon. The race sells out quickly.

"Watch out for the runner"

"Watch out for the runner, kids. Let her pass," a dad said as I ran by during today's 3.2 mile run.

Runner. Not jogger. Not woman-who-looks-like-she's-about-to-go-into-cardiac-arrest. Runner.

Here is my pet peeve, people. Don't refer to my pace as "jogging". I may be slower than you, I may be faster, but I am definitely running. Because that's what I do. The dad at the park nailed it. And he was considerate to have his kids move to one side of the path so I could pass. Cheers to the dad!

And cheers to running!

"Hey, Fatty!"

Four mile run today. With about a mile to go, a car full of teenagers drove by me. As they did, the kid in the passenger seat rolled down his window and yelled, "Hey, Fatty!" at me. Words can build up or tear down. It's amazing how quickly I let his words cut me. A teenager I don't even know and will probably never encounter again, yet I let his taunt echo through my ears and speak to my self doubt.

Here's my request. Be kind. Speak love, or don't speak at all. You may never know the impact of your words, so choose wisely.

💙
SuperJulia

Awesomeness is Secret Handshakes

I am so excited about my first Christmas gifts this year! They are the perfect calendars for a superhero runner like me!
Expect tips from both in 2013 😊

Running Princess

Saw this on Facebook with the caption "Forget the glass slipper. We will always pick the running shoe."

With as much as I like my current running shoe (Mizuno Wave Nirvana 8), I agree.

And I like the idea of a Princess who's a runner. :)

Rudolph Ramble 8K

When I registered for this race it seemed like such a good idea, a fun race in December to keep me motivated to run through the cold winter months. Then I forgot I had registered. With the end of the year push at work, the added activities at home, and general busyness of life, the race snuck up on me. Thank goodness for reminder emails. And thank goodness for race day pick up.

With late fall and early winter races, there is the advantage of later race starts because the sun doesn't rise as early. Can't say I blame the sun, not being a morning person myself. To be downtown in time for picking up my number, I "only" had to get up at 6 a.m. Good thing I was able to sleep in until 10:30 a.m. on Saturday! :-) Normally, I prefer races that have a technical t-shirt, but I was pleasantly surprised with this cotton tee with a very cute Rudolph.



Rudolph Ramble 8K



After picking up my number, I happily spent the next hour waiting in my car. Sunday was not the coldest day I've run outside or the worst weather conditions, but given the choice, I still opted for waiting inside rather than outside. About 30 minutes before the start, I meandered back over to the start area. By this time, there was a coffee truck serving (selling?) warm beverages, a live reindeer for picture ops, and Santa (also live) in his sleigh for more picture ops. I opted out of both photos. Volunteers were also handing out Rudolph noses, which I took but didn't wear, and red antlers, which I took and wore proudly. I thought it added nicely to my already "lacking all fashion sense" running outfit. (What you don't see in this pic are my black running tights under a camo skirts...yeah...I'm not winning any fashion awards...)



Rocking my Rudolph look



Field of Antlers

Holiday races are fun for people watching. There was an oddly dressed spectator dressed like Dracula who looked like he was interrupted while shaving. Only the lower half of his face was white, very confusing. I saw him later with a bike helmet and chalked it up to not wanting white makeup on his helmet. But still, Dracula? At a Christmas race? Dracula aside, there were a lot of fun holiday socks, one Santa, at least one elf, a sugar plum fairy (I think), and two girls dressed up as Ralphie in the pink bunny and leg lamp from A Christmas Story. I wish I had snapped a picture of them. They were the most unique costumes out there.

This race was limited to the ~1600 participants. However, being run on the lakefront path, it was still an elbow-to-elbow race. I seeded myself in the 10 min/mile, with a stretch goal of sub-10s. The beginning of the race went better than expected given the number of people fighting for position. It had rained overnight so there were puddles to dodge and muddy ground to consider when passing in the grass. I felt pretty good that I had established a good pace. I worked on not surging too much when getting around people so as to not tire myself out. I also worked on not stepping on anyone. Tightly spaced races can be tricky. In general, people don't have brake lights or turn signals. Although one woman would wisely point to the direction she was planning to go. I didn't employ that technique, though I did try to at least check before darting one way or the other. After about a mile in, we were still side-by-side but were able to establish a decent running space. The first mile went well for my sub-10 goal, even with the crowded start. For the remainder of the 8K, I just needed to maintain. I hadn't looked at how many miles an 8K prior to the race (it's 4.97097), I just knew it was between 4 and 5. I felt pretty well on target at each of the mile markers, but without knowing how far past the mile 4 marker I had to run, I definitely had a mental game from mile 4 to the finish. Promptly after finishing I felt sick with a metallic taste in my mouth. The metallic taste I attribute to the zinc I've been taking to (hopefully) avoid catching the cold my coworkers and kid have. The sick feeling...well, if you don't feel like you're ready to throw up at the end of a race, you probably haven't run hard enough. At least that's what I'm telling myself. ;-) Fortunately, one of the food items the race organizers gave us as we finished was a ginger cookie. It was soft and yummy and ginger always settles my stomach. I left the race feeling satisfied with my run, feeling as if I had achieved my goal of sub-10 min miles. It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that I knew for sure. And I was quite pleased. :-)

Blew away my sub-10 min/mile goal

Hot Chocolate 15K

I was so close to a PR. So close! In fact, I thought is had one until I looked up my time from two years ago when I last ran this race. Turns out, this year I was 10 seconds slower. 10 seconds! Ugh! Ten seconds aside, I'm happy with how the race went. It's a big race. The last race I ran was the 10K. I believe they capped registration at 750 people with only a couple hundred actually registering. The Hot Chocolate had 40,000 registered for the 5K and 15K. That's a whole lot of people! The organizers grouped us in corrals according to time and did wave starts. It took me, way back in corral Q, over an hour past the gun start to actually cross the start line. Fortunately, this isn't my first rodeo, so I was prepared for a wait.
There are advantages and disadvantages to running with that many people. One of the main advantages is that you're never really running alone. There's always someone next to you to pace with, someone behind you to push you on, and someone in front of you to strive to catch. One of the main disadvantages is that your never really running alone. There are people to hold you up when the drop suddenly to a walk. You're always elbow to elbow.
I haven't decided yet if I prefer the big city races or the smaller neighborhood races more. Each of them have their appeal. What I do like is the feeling of gathering with fellow runners to do what we like to do, run. What I like best about the Hot Chocolate race is the chocolate fondue that all finishers get. Yummy, warm chocolate fondue with a banana, marshmallow, and Rice Krispies treat to dunk into the chocolate. Mmm! Goodness! The hot chocolate they gave us to drink left a lot to be desired so I pitched that.
Overall it was a good day. I had a good run on a gorgeous day in my hometown big city. Only thing that could have made it better was a second helping of chocolate fondue at the end. Oh, and to have been 11 seconds faster. ;)