I have no idea how the bulk of the year will unfold as far as running this year, but I have settled on two races to train for: Drake Road Races half marathon (in April) and DAM TO DSM 20k (in June).
I am 0 for 2 on Drake. The first time I was supposed to run it, I took a DNS because of weather. Last year, I took a DNS because I injured my Achilles during training. Will the third time be the charm this year?
I’ll start a 10-week half marathon training plan in early February for Drake. Follow me on Instagram if you’re interested in that journey.
Dam to Dam was the first race I did after moving to Iowa. (DAM TO DSM, is the fka: Dam to Dam, now under new management.) There is a lot of history and heart eye emojis surrounding the original Dam to Dam. For me, however… I won’t sugar coat things: it was awful. The uncomfortableness of summer temperatures and humidity here was unexpected, and I was ill-prepared to thrive in those conditions. Read my 2016 race report of Dam to Dam. I volunteered at the race the following year and downright swore off ever participating in it again because standing in the heat serving tacos was just as miserable as running through cornfields and streets smelling of stale beer (*puke*).
I like eating words, however, so here I am registered (thanks, DSM Hummingbirds!). With a few Iowa summers now under my belt, I’m hoping that I will be able to manage whatever weather conditions are thrown my way.
Bee tee dubs: if you’re interested in running DAM TO DSM, I have a $5 discount! Use promo code HUMMINGBIRD at registration (before February 1, 2019). Thanks again to DAM TO DSM for providing me entry to check out their inaugural race event.
It’s no secret in my circles that I love chocolate milk. Sunday morning, I ran a Chocolate Milk Chug Mile (very on brand for me) — AND I PR’D MY MILE RACE! I don’t share too much anymore about my running (and my associated running struggles), but wanted to share this celebrious event. Today was a great day for a run in Iowa!
With all the love I share about Iowa, I’m going to start this post about the thing I hate about Iowa: Gravel roads. Close second: “B” roads. And if you don’t know what THAT is, then you’re not from Iowa and I strongly advise you to NOT take that scenic route.
Enter at your own risk, aka: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Also, that car is probably definitely stuck.
I hate driving on gravel roads.
I hate the dust that lingers after someone nearby has driven down a gravel road. Or the dust that’s flown in your direction when someone speeds past you.
I hate when my GPS thinks it’s a shortcut.
I hate that the speed limit on them is an ungodly 50+ mph.
And I 100% HATE running on gravel roads.
And gravel shoulders. And gravel trails.
Fuck me, why would I sign up for a race that includes gravel roads on its course?
Iowa, that’s why.
Or because I didn’t look at the course map beforehand. Choose your own adventure.
For what it’s worth, the view at the top was amazing in Vinton, Iowa. Word of advice: Look up race info should you ever get the motivation to run here. Swear at the dust and rocks a little. Wear a buff as a mask. And then look around you. Marvel at its quieted landscapes.
And then swear at yourself because you signed up for a race, dumbfounded, thinking that Iowa was flat. LOLZ, RIP YOUR QUADS. I’ve lived here three years and I still make up swear words at these hills.
Choose your races wisely. And also run in magical Christmas tree forests because those are THE BEST.
Is their motto, like, “all we need is u” because TRUST me, they have enough. Somewhat intuitively, however, I am able to spell “Dubuque” without the help of Google. I think…
Ahem.
Aside from passing over state lines on a drive to Wisconsin last summer and my initial entry into Iowa as a permanent resident, I never stopped to hang in Dubuque. That changed last weekend when a friend and I found a fun trail race located in the Mines of Spain park… recreation area. We decided to make a little overnight adventure out of it.
Dubuque is about a 3-hour drive from Des Moines. Much corn. Very Iowa Scenic. We got into town in the evening and had already settled on where we would have dinner: L.May Eatery.
Cutely and appropriately situated on Main Street, the restaurant was buzzing when we arrived. It was fairly busy for a Friday night and despite not having reservations, we were seated quickly. There was so much available for me in the way of gluten-free menu options: I started with a yogurt curry cauliflower appetizer, ate nearly a whole gluten-free pizza by myself titled “You’re in Dubuque” (natch), and a CHEESECAKE (yes, also gluten-free!) that I happily shared with my friends because it was a GIANT slice.
L.May also had a great wine list and an adorable outdoor dining arrangement (which was full on the evening we visited). Service was top notch – our server even entertained me by wanting to take pictures of all my food because ALL THE GLUTEN FREE FOODS! I would make a trip back to Dubuque purposely to eat here again.
Saturday morning was an early rise for the Mines of Spain trail races. We opted to drive to the start location (the race also offered a shuttle from a nearby hotel). Packet pick-up was available on race morning at EB Lyons Interpretive Center at the recreation area, and we found the parking to be plentiful.
Initially I had signed up for the half marathon distance, but since my training has been… well, total POOP, I dropped down to the 7-mile race. That was great foresight because while the Mines of Spain was beautiful, OMG there were so many steps. The elevation changes made for a fun and challenging race and I finished in 1:38 (my slow ass is merely enjoying the view and the glute burn these days).
The race had a super fun after party immediately afterward with free Zevia cans (yay!), free pizza (no gluten-free, far as I knew) and grapes (GRAPES! SO AMAZING!), and beer provided by 7 Hills Brewing (definitely not gluten-free, though that coffee beer smelled amazing). For some reason I opted out of the shirt again – and of COURSE I loved it (same thing happened to me at NewBo last year). Happily, I was able to pick up a MoSTR branded shirt from the “freebies” table post-race to commemorate my run. There were quite a few door prizes given away, too – no winner-winner brewery dinner for me. All runners also got a pair of free socks and a magnetic koozie!
We hung out for about an hour before a quick shower (and late check-out) at the hotel. On our drive home, we initially considered driving up to Dyersville to see Field of Dreams (something on my Iowa Bucket List!) but ultimately decided it was too much for our time-crunched and burning-glutes weekend. We opted for burgers in North Liberty at BeerBurger on the drive back to Des Moines. YES MORE GLUTEN-FREE NOMS. Not only did they have gluten-free buns for the burgers, let us not bypass the most amazing side dish: sweet potato waffle fries that is served with marshmallow fluff dipping sauce. If you know me, you know how important marshmallows are in my diet.
Shhhhhh, I was hungry. As immortalized in this “Yes, I am basically always eating” selfie.
Probably the biggest move for the blog was my inevitable exit from my 30s — and growing out of this blog a bit. I’m still trying to find my peace and place in it, but it’s likely 2018 will bring with it another rebranding and change in URL.
That said, I covered 942 miles in 2017 — so close to 1,000! And 429 miles over my previous mileage total! I had 5 months of over 100 miles. I finished 3 marathons and my first ultra-marathon (50k); I also finished 5 half marathons. I crossed off 6 new states. In 2017 I traveled quite a bit, which is not something I plan to continue at the same frequency or voracity next year. I’m only registered for two races in 2018 so far and confirmed my deferral transfer to this year’s Night Hawk 20-miler in Kansas (in June). I don’t want to train for a marathon for the first half of the 2018, and I’ll reassess at mid-year if I want to run any road races at all after Drake. I realized that trail running is really my happy place, and I want more of that joy in my life.
January: The year started off with the Capital Striders (our Des Moines running club) Mitten Run, and kicked off marathon training for me. And then my treadmill broke on January 2 (and was inoperable for over a month). Grrrrr!
March: I got married! And then at the end of the month, I traveled down to Texas to do my first Ragnar race with Internet “strangers.”
April: I road-tripped to do the Illinois Half Marathon – where I PR’d my 5k – and had my second fastest half marathon time (it was a great weekend!). I ran the Hawkeye 25k (which I don’t think I’ve reviewed?). I took a DNS on the Drake Half because I was over the weather. I’m signed up for Drake in 2018 and plan to make it my half marathon goal race (despite the course); it’s where I’ll be training all winter long, so I should be used to those hills by April.
May: Ran the inaugural Women’s Half here in Des Moines as part of my 20-mile long run. It was my last race in my 30s… and then I turned 40. And then we traveled to Burlington over Memorial Day so I could run the Vermont City Marathon — and achieved a shiny new marathon PR!
June: Deferred Night Hawk and took most of June off to recover.
July: I proved that I was TOTALLY NUTS! in the Nuthouse Challenge in Minnesota (a 10k, 5k, and half marathon over two days), and then traveled to Chicago the following weekend for the BTN Big 10k. I found a wonderful July 4th 5K in Earlham and ran with friends.
August: No races in August!
September: I had another big PR at Capital Pursuit – beating last year by 9 minutes and having a really kickass race overall (averaging 9:32 pace and ran the last two miles of the race sub 9-minute). I took another road trip to do a Labor Day double-header Half Marathon Weekend (Rockin’ Chocolate & NewBo half marathons). AND I started Grad school (hello, stress!). September was also my highest mileage month of all time – running 137.2 miles!
October: October was kind of a bummer month, as I started feeling the effects of overtraining and stress both mentally and physically, and I couldn’t keep up with the imbalance of work/school/training. HOWEVER, I finished the Chicago Marathon, and completed a 50k with the GOATz in Omaha — my first Ultra. Both races I still need to recap. I also celebrated my one-year anniversary of trail running by running To Grandmother’s House We Go 10k again (and beating my finish time from 2016).
November: I finished my final marathon of the year at Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa. I also returned to my Thanksgiving tradition of running a morning Turkey Trot.
December: I took a DNS on Hitchcock Experience 50, since my training took a nosedive and I felt terrible running Route 66 and didn’t want to risk injury. While I finished Sycamore 8 trail race, I was feeling many of the aches and pains that I had at Route 66, and knew I made the right decision to stop training.
For most of December, I have been doing a whole lot of NOT running, and it’s been really good for me mentally – I feel like I’m ready to start running regularly again in a couple weeks. In the meantime, I have been doing ALL OF THE CROSS-TRAINING and enjoying the change of pace.
I couldn’t let 2017 end without getting another Iowa race recap completed. The NewBo Run half marathon was race two of my double Labor Day half challenge and my 14th half marathon overall. And, strangely, my last half marathon of the year. Geesh… has it already been 4 months since Labor Day?! As the Rockin’ Chocolate was the day before, I intended to take this one easy and enjoy the experience (best I could) while hanging out and catching up with my friend Chelsea (see her race recap here). I followed along with her run-walk method, but halfway through my legs couldn’t handle the abruptness of the stopping and walking motion, which resulted in me basically doing a slow shuffling while waiting for her to catch back up when it was time to run again. My legs were positively DONE after this race – and we still had to drive back to Des Moines afterward!
Feeling a little “Grumpy Cat” this race morning.
Registration + Cost: Registration was online through GetMeRegistered and only cost me $25. For a half marathon, that’s an incredible deal! (I can’t remember if it was a special discount.) You can pay extra for the shirt or opt out; I chose the latter to save the $5 and OF COURSE I wanted the shirt after I saw it. The ever-awesome Angie mailed me one (and a sticker) post-race and trust me when I say it’s my most comfortable shirt in my collection and I wear it all the time.
Bib #096 or 960?
Packet Pick-up: Having never been to Cedar Rapids before, I wasn’t quite sure of the NewBo City Market location to pick up bibs – or how far away from that location we should park. After nearly having someone back into my car in a street spot a few blocks away (free meters on weekends), we opted to drive closer to the market and park on a side street. The risk of being in a new city and parking on a street are the unknown laws – and we DEFINITELY saw cars being towed that were parked in lots around the market (we were safe on the street). So, don’t park where there are OBVIOUS signs not to.
Already feeling warm…
Weather: It was WARM. Completely opposite than the prior day in Madison.
Start Line: The start area was a block away from the market (where packet pick-up was) and “following the crowd” was easy enough. The start felt very energetic!
Thanks for the pic, Ang!
Course + Elevation: One of the biggest concerns on race day (outside of the heat) were active train crossings. As in, yes, you may get stopped up on the course by an actual train and have to wait. That… almost happened to us (near the end of the race) but was only an individual locomotive entering the industrial area – thankfully, not at full train speed. HA! I trained for trains!
All that out of the way, the first part of the course was on open country road with no shade and rolling hills – not the easiest thing mentally or physically when you finished a half marathon already the day before – some farm animals to pass the time, if you’re into that (but also adding another roadkill opossum to my BINGO card). I couldn’t wait to get to the Sac and Fox Trail portion of the course where it was shaded and beautiful.
THUMBS UP FOR SHADE!
Aid Stations: This race does NOT supply Gatorade and I was unprepared for that – and particularly concerned with the heat not having the extra electrolytes. While I understand that it’s an expense, based on my previous race experiences, I thought maybe the race would readjust given the expected temperatures or at least have available at the finish. If I remember correctly, there was one gel station on the course.
At the first aid station, the front racers for the 10k were coming up around the loop… and basically colliding with us “back of the packers” who had to cross over from the left to the right to reach the water stations. It was confusing, and frankly, dangerous. The poor volunteer was also unable to keep up and I handed my cup over to one of the faster runners who was (unfortunately) yelling for a water. After the fact, I wondered if that was not our aid station at all and was for the back portion of the course coming in.
Ever grateful for our buddy Josh grabbing this finish line pic for us!
Finish Line + After Party: NewBo really puts an emphasis on their local businesses, and several highlights are included in the post-race party: kolaches, pretzel rolls, breakfast burritos – all from different places – and of course, beer. Finishers got a plastic cup at the finish line to fill at a Lion Bridge Brewing tent (which I can’t have; there’s water if you need it 😆) OH! THEY HAD A CIDER! Which was awesome! But they wouldn’t give me that in place of a beer, so I had to buy ANOTHER cup (for the Arts Fest happening on that same day, which I could walk around with) AND pay for the drink. The cider was delicious, FWIW. PS: There was also Sangria available, which followed the same rules as the cider/cup purchasing above.
We went back to the hotel after the race and returned to the City Market to check out the vendors (and eat a lot of things), stroll the ArtsFest, and then had lunch (and some kind of neat Grapefruit-looking cider) at a local pub.
Random BS: I know we were “slow” finishers but C’MON, save some kolaches for ALL the runners! And if you were a spectator and ate a kolache, I am internet shaming you. I personally cannot eat one, but I will speak out for my fellow hangry runner. I was so excited about the finish line Czech baked good that I was raving about them to my friend. And she didn’t get one. I took her later to Sykora’s in the Czech Village to make sure she didn’t leave Cedar Rapids without one.
Chelsea is our honorary Iowan – running NewBo as part of her 50 State Quest.
Swag + Medals: One of the big draws for me was this finisher’s medal — despite it nearly chipping my tooth putting it over my head. 😆 (I need to work on my moves a bit.) It’s a piece of pottery on a string essentially and I positively LOVE that it incorporates the shape of Iowa into its design. Age group winners get a special piece of hand-crafted ceramic pottery. It’s that extra special touch that I love about small races!
OVERALL The Great: The medal is a must-have, unique item! The Good: Since I display my bibs, I was happy to have a race-specific one – despite this being a small race. The Bad: This race needs more kolaches. I never imagined the day that I would have to write that. It’s like Czech osud and I’m sure my ancestors would be very proud of my fight for baked goods. The Ugly: No gatorade on the course – plan ahead!
TL;DR: You should add this Iowa race to your summer schedule. I would definitely go back and run again.
BONUS BONUS: Free race pics! Also, very opposite of Grumpy Cat.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2:41:13
53rd in 40-49 Age Group
499 overall
To Grandmother’s House We Go is another repeat race for me — held the last Saturday in October at Brown’s Woods — in fact, it was my FIRST trail race last year and celebrates my one year of running trails!
So, naturally, I wanted to PR the course.
The race has three distances (depending on how many loops you want to do) up to 15k. Since I completed the 10k last year, I wanted to test my trail fitness from the past year. Which… the weekend after running a 50k, my finish time was basically in the hands of my legs (that sounds weird, but let’s go with the idiom). My training so far has included SO MUCH slogging through miserable long miles and enduring races that felt defeating and humbling. Last year’s race was also humbling, and I was in a very, no-good, bad mood. I was focused to have a different experience. And I did!
The weather was a LOT colder this year (last year I wore shorts!), though the trails were just as dry. Packet pick-up was easy the morning of the race. There is a small lot at the trailhead, but most have to park down the road in a separate lot – which also fills very quickly; any spillover parking is on the road leading away from the park, but all within a reasonable walk (even on a chilly day). Also reasonable? Registration! Run any distance for $30 (there’s a $5 discount for Capital Striders’ Members) or $40 on race day. There is a small race pool, but I WILL TAKE IT!
I kept looking for the hills that kicked my butt that I could barely hike up last year — they never came. I logged a whole mile on the trails under 10 minutes… which, have I done that ever on the trails?! I FELT SO FAST. I was having FUN. I even dressed in a sorta costume. Everything last year was not.
I finished the 2016 race in 1:14:08… Not only did I PR the course, I beat last year’s time by nearly 6 minutes, and I got 2nd in my Age Group (40-49). Since there are no finisher’s medals for this race, I was excited to take home an age group award.
I feel like I might be going into Chicago Marathon undertrained, and it is stressing me out. I can’t turn back time and fix the weather or erase my excuses, and yet I haven’t done a single 20-miler this cycle (I did three 20+ runs when training for Vermont City). There are some schools of thought that believe an 18-miler is enough; and, well, I have just about the same amount of mileage leading up to the marathon as my last. While I mentioned before that Chicago is only a training run, jumping from 18 miles to 26 miles… well, my body is probably not going to like it. That 50k later this month? My body might dislike that even more. Basically, I feel like I’m kind of failing at being a runner right now. I can only hope that the back-to-back runs I’ve been doing on weekends will be enough.
I’d be remiss in not mentioning that my right knee is acting up again this week. It hasn’t bothered me at all while running, but I feel discomfort in doing functional movements and squatting (even readjusting while sitting on the couch). Foam rolling my quad helped a bit, but I can’t find the connection other than when I use my right leg for weight bearing or to push off — like, walking up or down the stairs. Seems to be more troublesome going up, and getting out of a squat has more discomfort than going into one. When you have three cats, it’s impossible not to be constantly squatting! It has put me on notice.
WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Monday – Rest Day
Tuesday – 4 miles, treadmill
Wednesday – 10 miles, Trail Rest Day – Wednesday looks to be a big homework night for me every week; I’ll probably make it my strength workout going forward.
Thursday – 8 miles 10 miles – This was Wednesday’s workout, treadmill
Friday – Rest Day
Saturday – 20-22 miles Ran out of time; finished 13.75 miles on trails. I also went to a bouncy house place for a 3-year-old’s birthday party and played around on the obstacle course stuff for an hour. That counts for exercise, right?!
Sunday – 10 miles 16 miles
Elk! Bison! Iowa fall weather!
DO OVER:
With grad school started, I realize that running 5 times a week will not work at this point; so, I’m committing to 4 runs per week (and realistically know that some weeks I’ll only get in 3). I REALLY need to get back into my weekly 2x strength workouts (echo, echo, echo…). After Chicago will be another cutback week to “taper” for the 50k. I need to reassess my training plan and goals at that point to make sure that I’ll be prepared for Route 66 Marathon in November and the 50-miler in December. While the 50M is still two months away, I’ll only really have a solid month more of training. I also need to start training with hiking poles. OMG WHAT AM I DOING?!
*deep breath*
WHAT’S ON TAP: Wilson’s Orchard has a Spiced Up hard cider that is perfect for fall. Any other fall-flavored ciders on the market (that I can get in Iowa)? I’d really like to try a pumpkin cider.
SEPTEMBER MILEAGE TOTAL: 137.2 miles – biggest mileage month ever! WEEKLY MILEAGE: 43.7 miles MILEAGE FOR THE YEAR: 793.81 miles LAST RACE: Capital Pursuit (10-miler) UP NEXT: Chicago Marathon next weekend!
I love that Chicago Marathon gifted something special to celebrate the 40th birthdays together. This was amazing of the race to do this!
I’m training for the Hitchcock Experience — a monster of a trail race here in Iowa in the Loess Hills (Iowa is not flat!) — and my first 50-mile race. I ran the half marathon last year and absolutely loved the challenge of that course. So I’m taking on the ultra distance (there is also a 100-mile option).
Week #8 was a cutback week, and I took it to heart — only running three days (I was supposed to do five) and half-assing two of them. My weekly mileage was only 16.1 (I was supposed to do 36). To be fair, I was stressing out about grad school and my biopsy (which happened last Friday) which is, thankfully, benign; however, I still need to somehow schedule surgery to have the mass removed (I have my consult with the surgeon next week). In any event, my body apparently like the rest, as I PR’d my 10-mile race on Sunday at the Capital Pursuit by NINE MINUTES. What the?!
WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Monday – Rest Day
Tuesday – 4 miles Rest Day
Wednesday – 8 miles, Trail 5 miles, Trail
Thursday – 6 miles + Kickboxing 1 hurried mile on the treadmill before Kickboxing
Friday – Rest Day
Saturday – 8 miles NOPE
Sunday – Capital Pursuit 10-Mile Race
WHAT’S ON TAP? Chicago Marathon… eeek. And preparing for grad school starting next week. Double eeek.
WHAT’S FUN?
Our local lululemon store and associated “Sweat Life” group hosted a kickboxing workout this week at Farrell’s (location on Hickman in Urbandale). I had so much fun! And I am positively HOOKED and cannot wait to do their 10-week challenge after my ultra training wraps up in December (it was fun to hit things again haha). Even more amazingly, the gym/lululemon gifted us our own pair of hand wraps and gloves — so I’m already geared up! There’s another location even closer to my house and I realized that a few of my neighbors go regularly (one teaches classes, too).
SEPTEMBER MILEAGE: 83.2 miles WEEKLY MILEAGE: 16.1 miles MILEAGE FOR THE YEAR: 739.81 miles LAST RACE: Capital Pursuit UP NEXT: Chicago Marathon
the week:
Within the last couple weeks, I’ve had two separate mammograms and an ultrasound, and the doctors saw *something* in my right breast. I had my boob biopsied on Friday, so I’ll know Monday what/how I need to deal with that. Fun Fact: during the procedure, they implant a tiny titanium clip (that happens to be in the shape of the breast cancer ribbon). I’m feeling OK, if a little bruised and sore in that area.
But in better news: I got accepted into grad school! I start my master’s program on September 25, and while I’m a little stressed out to get everything started so soon (you know, considering ultra training and unexpected medical things), I am positively thrilled to continue my education in sport psychology.
seven things, seven days:
1. Officially received my one-year certificate at work! (Gimme that 401k match, plz.)
2. I also got a new manager (my 6th in a year-and-a-half) and re-organized into a new team.
3. Doing the FAFSA for the first time in two years was just as annoying. Also, why in the world do I need to add my husband’s income from 2015 when we only got married 6 months ago?
4. Went to a kickboxing class at Farrell’s this week (thanks to our local lululemon store), and I am obsessed! When ultra training is done, I’m definitely going to do the 10-week Challenge (and will also probably do a couple drop-in classes over the next few months).
5. How much time do I have to waste?
6. I don’t know. I’ve failed A LOT in the kitchen, and it has nothing to do with fear. {via Lifehacker Skillet}
7. Exercise is a waste of time… Ehhhhhhh, I’m not sure that I totally agree with this – why create MORE barriers to getting people to work out? First, we all have different motivators, and a goal can be as simple as “I’m going to to the gym three days a week.” It’s OK to JUST SHOW UP. Frankly, this type of ALWAYS ON thinking is probably going to cause burnout. And he sort of hints that you can only have success if you have a coach, which… ick. Thoughts? {via Entrepreneur}
