HOT! HOT! HOT!

We are in the middle of a crazy heat wave.  Days and days.  In fact Saturday, it was 45c/113f with the humidity.  Unbelievable.  Thankfully it wasn't quite that bad for the River Run on Thursday evening.  It was still bad though - for me anyway.  It was 33c/92f.  I slogged along and told myself I would just be happy with not being last and being under 45 minutes.  Mission accomplished.  I was not last. Close but not last and I finished in 43:17.

My face was beet red for hours.

After that, I raced home to shower because my sister is in town with my adorable niece and they were coming over for a late supper.  

My next race is speeding towards me on September 8th.  A 10 km.  Gulp.  I don't have really high hopes for a new personal best because the weather this week is such that I'm pretty sure I won't be running.  30+ every single day.  I could weep!

Thankfully with my lunch classes at work, i'm able to keep a base fitness level happening.  At the race on Thursday I was able to run at least 5 minutes at a time so at least I wasn't back to running one minute walking one minute!  I know some people love it but I can't wait till the end of this heat wave!

Out of the Fog

I've spent the last few weeks in a fog.  Eating like it's an Olympic sport and I made the trials.  Gaining weight like it's also an Olympic sport and I've won the gold medal.  And couching like it's also, you got it, an Olympic sport.  The new triathlon.  Eat Gain Couch.

BUT!!!  Today was a good day.  It started off like all the others.  But then I got to work to an early morning email that the race dates and course for the Fargo Marathon had changed.  GULP!  In an instant flurry, I was booking a new room at the hotel I had already booked at.  Then thought about it for a moment, reviewed the new course and then hunted for a new hotel.  Within moments I'd booked another one.  Just in time to watch that hotel climb in price by $85 over 8 hours.  I got in there just in time.  Nothing like the feeling of getting a hotel walking distance to the start & finish line for badass price.  Then I started getting excited about the race. It's a ways off and I have other races before it but this one got me excited again.  I will be registering for the half marathon again.  Definitely hope to better my time.  DEFINITELY.

Twenty minutes later . . . because I was doing this blog post and I went to get that screen shot from the site, I noticed that the dates were different.  I quickly went to the Fargo FB page and saw they just announced that they changed the dates back!!!  OMG!  So much for my good deal hotel room!  Thankful that I didn't book an even cheaper NON-REFUNDABLE rate.  I got the same hotel for a good price.  Not as good as originally but still good.  Phew.  I'm not canceling the other one for months.  Till I'm sure this is the last change.

Anyhow, so where was I - yes!  I was getting all excited about running again and then I went to a workout class at lunch, Core & More.  It felt so good to be active.  It was hard, I felt huge, it's humid and hot here.  But I felt good.  Looking forward to Zumba at lunch tomorrow.

I also made some changes to my race schedule for the rest of the year.  I added a 5 km and a couple 10 km's and I scrapped the half marathon and am doing the 10 km instead in October.  I wouldn't be ready and it was a relief to change it.  I feel good again.  And tomorrow evening is my next 5 km race.  It will be tough because I haven't run in a month and it will be hot but I'll get it done and it will only help my confidence.

That's all for now!

Big ((HUG))!

Untitled.

Making me a canvas painting.

My 26 year old sister just announced that she's pregnant.  Ouch.  For the second time.  Ouch.  With twins.  Ouch f*cking ouch.  You know what I've got?  40.  I'm turning 40 in 4 months.  I have no idea why some people get what they do and why others don't.  But it's a pill so hard to swallow, it leaves a giant lump in my throat.  I'm happy for her if she's happy.  And don't get me wrong, I will be the Auntie that loves them the hardest, like I do this little sweet pea to the left as you've all known.  My FB page leaves no doubt.  And this is going to feel like shit for a while so in the meantime . . .

Another Race Recap!

Shorter this time, I promise.  I forgot to mention this race in my catchup post.  It wasn't until I transferring my Garmin info into dailymile that I remembered.  This was the Manitoba Marathon on June 16th.  I did this race as a relay in 2009 and it was a horrible, terribly hot experience and I swore I would never register for the half or more on this race.  But here I go in my excitement to do 13 races in 2013 and I registered for the half in a moment of weakness.    After my experience at the Fargo Half, I was so dreading this race.  I was still doing it but dreading it.  Then a few days before the race, a co-worker came up to me and asked if I knew about race kit pickup.  We looked it up together and I noticed under the FAQ that that afternoon was the last chance to change events.  OMG.  I checked the forecast yet again and saw that it was supposed to be hot, humid, rainy.  Same as Fargo.  I thought about it for an hour and called and changed my race from the half to the 10km.  I instantly felt overwhelming relief.  I was now looking forward to this race.  And it turned out to be the right decision.

My speedy friend Nicole picked me up that morning and we headed across town to the race.  It started off a little gray and by the time we got there, it was bright and sunny.  This year, they only had shuttle access to the site.  We parked and the line for the shuttle was so incredible long, we weren't waiting.  We opted to walk in.  Add 3 kms.  We figured we'd take the shuttle back after.

Again, I was hoping for a personal best here.  I was actually hoping for 1:15.  I was on target to do that and then the sun hit me.  This is a flat and shadeless course.  What little bits of shade there was, I took advantage of.  The last 2 km's though was wide open and I kept getting slower and slower.  I ended up finishing in 1:21:02.  Not 1:15 but still a personal best by about 4 minutes or so.  I'm okay with that!!!  My friend Nicole finished her half in an amazing 1:42.  WTF!!!  She is such a motivator for me.  She is this totally fit, running, bike riding, spinning, weight lifting little dynamo.  She's in fantastic shape and she's earned every little bit.  Once I crossed the finish line, I made my way up to the stands and kept my eyes peeled for her so I could record her crossing the finish line.  She blew past about 6 people in the last 30 feet of the race!!  We then watched until the first female and male marathon finishers crossed.  It was actually emotional watching people cross because this race is on Father's Day every year and there's a lot of kids running with their fathers and they cross the line holding hands, arms in the air.  What a fantastic moment for the Dad and an awesome memory for the child.  We walked out to the shuttle buses and again, the lines were crazy so we actually walked back out to the car again!  Add another 3 kms!  Great day though.

Guide Runner & Blind Runner --and I could only keep up with them for the first few km's.