Even though this date says May 19, 2011. As I am writing, it is actually May 19, 2012. It's been almost a year since I've actually published a story but it's been a very hectic year. Now that I have some time, I'm doing some catch up to the current date.
Sorry if you have been following this blog and looking for some new stories. I hope I can keep this up to date now.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Lake Monona 20K
How I got suckered into this Lake Monona 20K race, I don't know. Well, I guess I do. A month ago, I thought it would be a great idea to sign up for this race with some persuading from my sister's boyfriend, Andrew. But I also thought I would have a month to train for this race.
My training for this race? The ACS race, a 10 mile run and Crazylegs race. Nothing else. Boy, was I in trouble.
I headed down to the race with an empty stomach since we had no milk for my cereal ritual. Mistake number one. Joshua was exhausted from work so he slept in and was going to meet me at the end of the race.
I got there and only knew of one person running this race...Andrew. So I kept an eye out for him. Miraculously, we saw each other before the race. So we ended up starting together at the back of the pack.
About two miles into it, I hear an 'Uh-oh'. Andrew was having problems with his leg so he had to stop and stretch it out. I continued on without him.
It definitely was a pretty race. We ran through Monona's neighborhood and out onto a trail. As we were on the west side of the lake running up John Nolen Drive, you could see the east side of the lake and the city of Monona.
I was still feeling good at 6 miles. My 10K time...55 min and 46 sec...about the same as the ACS run. The seventh mile was another story.
I was now on the north side of the lake and my right leg was not feeling the best. Mistake number two...I should've stopped and stretched it out. Instead, I decided to push through it and ran even though I felt my leg going numb.
I could feel myself slowing way down. Before I was passing people, now people were passing me. There was this one dude that I saw that kept stopping to walk then when I caught up to him he would start running again and so on. Then he figured out, hey this chick is about my pace. So we ran together in silence just enjoying each other's motivation to not stop. But eventually he had to and I looked back to give him a good luck smile.
So I continued on...all of a sudden out of nowhere I could hear heavy breathing...it's Andrew!!! He looked a lot better than me. We exchanged a few words then told him to go on since I wasn't in the best shape.
Back to myself again...then I ran into the sponsor's mascot. Quaker Steak and Lube's Chicken mascot. Ugh...I hate mascots. I tried to pass him but my legs would not go any faster. I ended up running next to him for a mile then let him pass me since I was creeped out by him. It was amazing though, how many people who were driving stopped to take a picture of him. Ick, if I could burn all mascot costumes, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Two miles to go...at least that's what one volunteer said but it was closer to three. Thanks jerk!
One and a half more miles to go...all downhill from here...at least that's what another volunteer said. NOT!!! Thanks jerk!
Yes, it was downhill from where that volunteer was but then it went uphill again. I pushed as hard as I could. I rounded the corner and saw the finish line...ahhhh yes! I sprinted as hard as I could, from what little energy I had left. But when I saw Joshua, a big smile appeared on my face. I gave him the biggest high five that I could and crossed the finish line.
My time...1 hour, 58 minutes and 36 seconds. My second 10K half, a horrible 1 hour 2 minutes and 50 seconds. Overall, a 9:33 pace. Not awesome but not horrible. What was awesome was having Joshua greet me at the finish line and hand me a nice cold Gatorade bottle.
Then I went to the grass to pass out...not really. But my leg was super numb and I couldn't feel it so I made Joshua give me a massage and stretch that leg out. As we were doing that, the guy that I was running with finished and came over to thank me for running with him. It didn't need to be said as it's a runner's guide to be thankful to be running with someone to help motivate each other.
I limped over to where Andrew and Linda was and we headed toward the refreshment area. Andrew and I got some wings and some beer while Joshua had gone to my car to grab my sweats. Thank goodness since it was getting cold out. Unfortunately, Joshua couldn't hang out with us since he had to go to work.
So Linda, Andrew and I stayed to have more beer and listened to some music. But soon, we were getting tired so we headed out.
When I got home, I immediately passed out on the bed. I didn't wake up again until my alarm went off to wake me up for work. Why I decided to work, I have no idea.
This was a really fun run. I hope to do it again next year. But maybe this time, with more training :)
My training for this race? The ACS race, a 10 mile run and Crazylegs race. Nothing else. Boy, was I in trouble.
I headed down to the race with an empty stomach since we had no milk for my cereal ritual. Mistake number one. Joshua was exhausted from work so he slept in and was going to meet me at the end of the race.
I got there and only knew of one person running this race...Andrew. So I kept an eye out for him. Miraculously, we saw each other before the race. So we ended up starting together at the back of the pack.
About two miles into it, I hear an 'Uh-oh'. Andrew was having problems with his leg so he had to stop and stretch it out. I continued on without him.
It definitely was a pretty race. We ran through Monona's neighborhood and out onto a trail. As we were on the west side of the lake running up John Nolen Drive, you could see the east side of the lake and the city of Monona.
I was still feeling good at 6 miles. My 10K time...55 min and 46 sec...about the same as the ACS run. The seventh mile was another story.
I was now on the north side of the lake and my right leg was not feeling the best. Mistake number two...I should've stopped and stretched it out. Instead, I decided to push through it and ran even though I felt my leg going numb.
I could feel myself slowing way down. Before I was passing people, now people were passing me. There was this one dude that I saw that kept stopping to walk then when I caught up to him he would start running again and so on. Then he figured out, hey this chick is about my pace. So we ran together in silence just enjoying each other's motivation to not stop. But eventually he had to and I looked back to give him a good luck smile.
So I continued on...all of a sudden out of nowhere I could hear heavy breathing...it's Andrew!!! He looked a lot better than me. We exchanged a few words then told him to go on since I wasn't in the best shape.
Back to myself again...then I ran into the sponsor's mascot. Quaker Steak and Lube's Chicken mascot. Ugh...I hate mascots. I tried to pass him but my legs would not go any faster. I ended up running next to him for a mile then let him pass me since I was creeped out by him. It was amazing though, how many people who were driving stopped to take a picture of him. Ick, if I could burn all mascot costumes, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Two miles to go...at least that's what one volunteer said but it was closer to three. Thanks jerk!
One and a half more miles to go...all downhill from here...at least that's what another volunteer said. NOT!!! Thanks jerk!
Yes, it was downhill from where that volunteer was but then it went uphill again. I pushed as hard as I could. I rounded the corner and saw the finish line...ahhhh yes! I sprinted as hard as I could, from what little energy I had left. But when I saw Joshua, a big smile appeared on my face. I gave him the biggest high five that I could and crossed the finish line.
My time...1 hour, 58 minutes and 36 seconds. My second 10K half, a horrible 1 hour 2 minutes and 50 seconds. Overall, a 9:33 pace. Not awesome but not horrible. What was awesome was having Joshua greet me at the finish line and hand me a nice cold Gatorade bottle.
Then I went to the grass to pass out...not really. But my leg was super numb and I couldn't feel it so I made Joshua give me a massage and stretch that leg out. As we were doing that, the guy that I was running with finished and came over to thank me for running with him. It didn't need to be said as it's a runner's guide to be thankful to be running with someone to help motivate each other.
I limped over to where Andrew and Linda was and we headed toward the refreshment area. Andrew and I got some wings and some beer while Joshua had gone to my car to grab my sweats. Thank goodness since it was getting cold out. Unfortunately, Joshua couldn't hang out with us since he had to go to work.
So Linda, Andrew and I stayed to have more beer and listened to some music. But soon, we were getting tired so we headed out.
When I got home, I immediately passed out on the bed. I didn't wake up again until my alarm went off to wake me up for work. Why I decided to work, I have no idea.
This was a really fun run. I hope to do it again next year. But maybe this time, with more training :)
 |
| So happy to see Joshua at the finish line... Racing towards him to give him a high five! |
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| Excited that Joshua made it to see me finish :) |
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Crazylegs 8K
Crazylegs is here again! Last year, it was my second race ever and I ran an awesome time of 42:14. This year, however, was a different story.
All month long since the ACS run, I haven't been able to get out running since I've been busy with school and work. So two days ago, in order to get a long run in before next week's 12.5 mile run, I decided to go for a 10 mile run.
I felt sore yesterday but today when I woke up for Crazylegs, I felt even more sore. My quads were killing me! Oofda...this is gonna be interesting.
Joshua and I got up and did our separate rituals when getting ready for a race. Joshua on the couch playing video games. Me eating my cereal and stretching out, especially those quads.
We left a little bit early from our apartment since Joshua wanted to go get some bananas from the store. As we were leaving the grocery store, Joshua started having problems with his contacts so we had to go back to the apartment for him to change into his glasses. I'm getting anxious cause I feel like we're gonna be late.
Time to go meet my friend Melissa and her sister-in-law Sarah near the finish so we could carpool it to the starting line. We managed to meet up with no problems and headed down to the starting area. I still had my parking sticker from my old TV station job that expired that day so I made good use of it and parked in the lot just a block away from the starting area.
The race started at 10AM and we got there around 10:30 but we still weren't late. Our wave still had not gone off. One of the people in our group had MM so we all started there but they were only on N at the time we arrived. We just hung around by the sidelines and stretched out and when we saw the MM wave go by, we just hopped into the back of the pack.
We figured out where we were going to meet right before our pack left the starting line. That would've been bad had we not figured that out considering there were over 12,500 runners and a couple thousand walkers.
So off we go! Running in MM, I got stuck behind a couple of slow people and couldn't pass in the beginning. We turned the corner and encountered the first uphill. This was where I was able to start passing people. I stayed by the outside so I could jump onto the sidewalk to pass then back onto the street.
I lost sight of Joshua but I wasn't worried. At mile 1, I felt someone poke me and I looked back and there was Joshua. We ran for a bit together until we encountered the BIG hill called Observatory Hill. That's where Joshua left me.
As I was going up that hill, I could feel my quads burning so bad from the run two days ago. But at least I ran it all the way up as I passed people who had to walk it. After that hill, I knew it was going to easy breezy from there...somewhat.
The next challenge was the turning point area. Seeing people running the opposite way was hard cause I knew I still had some ways to go before the turning point. I got jammed in this area since it was basically a trail, not a street so it was more of a tight squeeze to pass people.
Once I got back out in the open area, I was able to pass people again. Almost there. Mile 4. Only one more mile. The first 2/3 of that mile was somewhat easy minus the wind blowing in my face but as soon as I turned the corner for the last 1/3 mile, there was another hill to conquer.
I pushed myself up that hill, and as soon as I did that, I sprinted the rest of the way to the finish line. My time...45:57. Not exactly the best nor the time I wanted when I first signed up for the race. But after running those 10 miles two days ago and being super sore, that time was awesome!
Joshua had been done and was watching for me so we met up easily. We headed towards the meeting area to wait for Melissa and Sarah. Boy was it crowded. It took us at least 10 minutes to get to the spot.
I went and got some beer to rehydrate :) And went back to get some more for when Melissa and Sarah would meet us. By the time I got back, they were there already. Perfect timing!
Brrr...was it cold sitting in those stands. The wind just picked right up and the sun disappeared. We went back into the concession stand area to get more beer and to warm up. The beer was dwindling down. We were one of the last people to get another round of beers. We walked to the exit finishing up our beers and started the walk to Melissa's car to take us back to our car.
Once we got back to our apartment, Joshua got ready for work and I passed out. I woke up just in time to get ready for work and reluctantly left my to go close for 9 hours.
Second Crazylegs under my belt. Next year, I'm hoping to run closer to my first year's time.
All month long since the ACS run, I haven't been able to get out running since I've been busy with school and work. So two days ago, in order to get a long run in before next week's 12.5 mile run, I decided to go for a 10 mile run.
I felt sore yesterday but today when I woke up for Crazylegs, I felt even more sore. My quads were killing me! Oofda...this is gonna be interesting.
Joshua and I got up and did our separate rituals when getting ready for a race. Joshua on the couch playing video games. Me eating my cereal and stretching out, especially those quads.
We left a little bit early from our apartment since Joshua wanted to go get some bananas from the store. As we were leaving the grocery store, Joshua started having problems with his contacts so we had to go back to the apartment for him to change into his glasses. I'm getting anxious cause I feel like we're gonna be late.
Time to go meet my friend Melissa and her sister-in-law Sarah near the finish so we could carpool it to the starting line. We managed to meet up with no problems and headed down to the starting area. I still had my parking sticker from my old TV station job that expired that day so I made good use of it and parked in the lot just a block away from the starting area.
The race started at 10AM and we got there around 10:30 but we still weren't late. Our wave still had not gone off. One of the people in our group had MM so we all started there but they were only on N at the time we arrived. We just hung around by the sidelines and stretched out and when we saw the MM wave go by, we just hopped into the back of the pack.
We figured out where we were going to meet right before our pack left the starting line. That would've been bad had we not figured that out considering there were over 12,500 runners and a couple thousand walkers.
So off we go! Running in MM, I got stuck behind a couple of slow people and couldn't pass in the beginning. We turned the corner and encountered the first uphill. This was where I was able to start passing people. I stayed by the outside so I could jump onto the sidewalk to pass then back onto the street.
I lost sight of Joshua but I wasn't worried. At mile 1, I felt someone poke me and I looked back and there was Joshua. We ran for a bit together until we encountered the BIG hill called Observatory Hill. That's where Joshua left me.
As I was going up that hill, I could feel my quads burning so bad from the run two days ago. But at least I ran it all the way up as I passed people who had to walk it. After that hill, I knew it was going to easy breezy from there...somewhat.
The next challenge was the turning point area. Seeing people running the opposite way was hard cause I knew I still had some ways to go before the turning point. I got jammed in this area since it was basically a trail, not a street so it was more of a tight squeeze to pass people.
Once I got back out in the open area, I was able to pass people again. Almost there. Mile 4. Only one more mile. The first 2/3 of that mile was somewhat easy minus the wind blowing in my face but as soon as I turned the corner for the last 1/3 mile, there was another hill to conquer.
I pushed myself up that hill, and as soon as I did that, I sprinted the rest of the way to the finish line. My time...45:57. Not exactly the best nor the time I wanted when I first signed up for the race. But after running those 10 miles two days ago and being super sore, that time was awesome!
Joshua had been done and was watching for me so we met up easily. We headed towards the meeting area to wait for Melissa and Sarah. Boy was it crowded. It took us at least 10 minutes to get to the spot.
I went and got some beer to rehydrate :) And went back to get some more for when Melissa and Sarah would meet us. By the time I got back, they were there already. Perfect timing!
Brrr...was it cold sitting in those stands. The wind just picked right up and the sun disappeared. We went back into the concession stand area to get more beer and to warm up. The beer was dwindling down. We were one of the last people to get another round of beers. We walked to the exit finishing up our beers and started the walk to Melissa's car to take us back to our car.
Once we got back to our apartment, Joshua got ready for work and I passed out. I woke up just in time to get ready for work and reluctantly left my to go close for 9 hours.
Second Crazylegs under my belt. Next year, I'm hoping to run closer to my first year's time.
 |
| Linda randomly caught me as I was running into the stadium. I'm the one in the blue. I guess it's easy to spot me when I'm one of the few Asians. |
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