Halloween Run

This morning Aimee and I ran 9 miles of the Bass Pro Half Marathon course that we will run next week. I don't think I have ever run a race that has so many turns in it, but that helps keep things interesting. It amazed me how quickly I was able to memorize everything before we went out the door this morning, but I sometimes can't remember what Aimee tells me two seconds ago. I told her that I just remember what is important to me (jokingly).

The run was really nice and we got to see some different parts of town than our normal runs. Springfield really has some nice places to run through, especially downtown, the MSU campus, and Phelps Grove park area. One additional highlight of the run was seeing a female completing the "Walk of Shame" Halloween costume edition. After the run Aimee and I took Marlie on his normal walk, but since today is Halloween he got to wear his spooky skeleton costume on the walk. All other dogs were jealous. See picture below for proof. Good luck to all our friends competing next weekend in the Bass Pro 1/2 and Marathon. Don't forget the Washam party block only one mile from the finish line. We will be cheering you on!

Washam 5K pics and MSU run

Hello all! I have made an attempt to send you the pictures (of you my dad and I took at the Washam 5K. Please let me know if this is not the case and they are not pics of you! I saw Rod this morning at the MSU run and he said that I had sent him a picture of Dustin and I. Ooops - I am really not trying to make sure everyone has a pic of us!! Please let me know if I sent you the wrong one.
By the way - Dustin took 5th place this morning and he said he felt really good running. We are getting our legs back! A car wreck outside of our house last night kept us up all night (again! We are going to know all the police in Springfield soon) so I told Dustin that I was just going to sleep in. He said that he would tell everyone on our blog that I lied about going blah blah blah. Anyways, I ended up going and I am glad that I did. The packet pickup was going extremely slow - as in 15 minutes went by without us moving forward just to pick up our packets that we had already registered for. It was getting to be time for the race to start, so I politely asked if they needed help. The lady said, "I guess so" so I stepped behind the table and officially took over packet pickup. I have been to so many races, I was even answering questions and getting people registered. Within minutes the line of 50+ people was gone and they started the race. I hope they didn't mind but I didn't want to be there until noon for a 5K!! People were starting to get frustrated.
Tomorrow is a 7 mile run, our longest since the marathon. Should be fun as long as it doesn't rain :)

Golf Course

This week was my fall break so I stayed the week in Farmington with the family. It was a very relaxing time; we went antiquing, shopping, golfing, out to eat, etc. I got to meet my bud Nikki for lunch at 12 West and wine at Twin Oaks. I even hung out at the Bauhaus, a new coffee shop in town to watch a few lectures, although the Holy Grounds is my favorite in town. Yes, I have started drinking coffee...Ugh! It is really hard waking up early and walking to the next room to your computer listening to professors for hours without falling asleep. I used to walk into a room full of high schoolers which was never dull. Now I need the caffeine :)
At home I ran the path around the golf course. It was so nice! Each morning I ran while the sun came up and it was about the same temperature each day. There was no one out (I ran around 6:45) and no worrying about cars running me over. It was very peaceful. Plus, we are still in our recovery schedule from the marathon so each day I only had to run 5 miles. It was running for pure enjoyment.
Dustin is running the MSU Homecoming 5K tomorrow AM. I decided since I spent some money this week that I would forgo the $18 entry fee and be a cheerleader. I owe it to Dustin anyways - I can't ever remember cheering him on at a 5k because I have always raced with him. I need to pay him back for my races that he came to before he had been bitten by the running bug :) (it didn't take long!).
As long as our recovery continues to go well, our next event is the Bass Pro 1/2 marathon on November 7th. We did the full marathon last year. I am also planning to do the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon in February with my friend Nikki (girls trip!). I REALLY would like to do the goofy - but we will have to see about that. Dustin can't run it with me because he will be in basketball season. We vowed to keep our travel expenses down this year since I am not working, but it is just so tempting!!!!! Especially since I finally have some time now. Catch 22.
Dustin also mentioned competing in a race where we run the whole thing together - just like old times. We will keep you posted :)
Good luck tomorrow D!!!

Washam 5K was a hit!

Thanks for all of you that came to the Washam 5K. It was a lot of fun and Dustin says it was the best yet. He was a little upset that nobody commented on his race number (299, 792, 458 m/s - do you know what this is? Hint: Dustin teaches science). Plus, we collected 53 canned/boxed goods for Grand Oaks Mission!! Some people commented that they forgot there canned goods. No worries, I am there every Thursday so just get them to Dustin or drop them by our house and I will deliver the goods :).
Qdoba was awesome! We are friends with the GM of Qdoba on Battlefield (by Buffalo Wild Wings) and the one on the corner of Kansas Expy and Republic road. He gave us a great deal on catering so that we could stay within our budget. Please thank him by patronizing his business (his name is Josh if you want to tell him how great it was)!!! I doubt anyone would mind buying/eating a Qdoba burrito/quesadilla/salad, etc for thanks.
If you have any suggestions on how to make it better for next year, please email me. We are open to any suggestions for more fun! Mom's cookies were yummy and a great help. Hopefully, if we are nice, we can recruit them again for next year. On the weather front (hehe), the temperature was so nice. It was a pleasant run, no matter which way you went around the lake, and it didn't get too cold sitting by the firepit later in the night. As soon as I get some school work caught up I will email you any individual pictures from our professional photographer that was on the course. We already have a design and slogan in our head for next year's t-shirts. We hope to see you all again next year!

Healing nicely

This week we didn't run Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. On Monday we went on our biannual Andy's walk (although I wish Orange Leaf was closer!) and it felt good to walk around. Wednesday we both got massages. Thursday we went for a very slow 4 mile run. Hopefully we got some of the deep lactic acid out. We don't run again until Saturday and then we will run again on Sunday. The mile total will only be about 13 miles, which is good. We would like to be healed and back in the game in time to do the Bass Pro Shop 1/2 marathon. Our focus right now is to run a few half-marathons. I want to do the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon - any other princesses interested in going with me? I also want to do the goofy challenge in January but Dustin has basketball that weekend and can't go. It would be a challenge; not anything I would do for a PR.
This is our week to relax and reward ourselves.
Looking forward to the Washam 5K. The weather is predicted to be awesome! High 79, low 50.
5k, Qdoba, the moms' cookies, beer, firepit, friends, and family. Does it get any better?
Btw - thanks for following...
~Aimee

Chicago Marathon

We are back from Chicago and had a great time! Chicago is my favorite US city and I think it may be one of Dustin's favs too. If you have read anything about the Chicago marathon, it got warm! The alert codes go from green to yellow to red (consider stopping) to black (shut down race; make you stop). On Saturday it was at green. For the race Sunday they changed it to yellow because of higher temperature predictions than expected. Dustin had finished and I was still running when they changed it to red because the temperatures got too high. A good marathon race day temp is around 40-50 degrees. When I got my phone after I crossed the finish it was 83 degrees.
Dustin did really well and ran his second fastest marathon time. Although he was 8 minutes shy of qualifying for Boston I believe he would have done it if it weren't for the heat! You can tell in both our times exactly when it started heating up! I ran well until about mile 12 when we got outside of the city and the sun was directly above us. I decided to just finish and enjoy the scenery for the rest of the race. I started walking through the water stops because I was so thirsty. Water made me giggle and I looked forward to someone spraying us down with hoses at each water stop (towards the end). Is it bad that I started salivating at a spectator's sign stating "cold brew", just to realize that it actually said "go drew"? lol I never walk during a race but I really took advantage of the city block-long water stops and it showed in my time! I ran my worst marathon time by 16 minutes. Oh well, it was fun and I felt good at the end. I don't feel that bad afterwards; Dustin has a bit of a limp - he ran much harder than I did!
In Chicago we passed by Ryan Hall on Michigan Ave (so cool!), ate Chicago-style deep dish pizza at the original Chicago Uno pizzeria (where deep dish began), had a pasta dinner with Team World Vision, spent 3 hours at an expo, ran along Lake Michigan (sat morning easy 4 mile run), drank 312 while playing bag-o, and shopped along Michigan Ave (got a new purse - thanks Dustin!). It was a great weekend! I will have to upload pics after midterms are over.

RAR!!!! It's carb-load time!

3 days before the race means time to load up on the carbs. Oh yes, Dr. "low carb" Atkins completely disapproves (although I think his patients will all die of organ failure from carb deprivation). Right now I am shoveling in a huge bowl of spaghetti while typing so I don't waste any time - NOT! Really all you have to do is eat a higher percentage of carbs at lunch and dinner than you normally should. I bet most Americans carb-load daily :)
Sounds like fun, right? Well, it is until you start feeling like your the Stay Puff marshmallow man or the Michelin tire guy ( I wonder if they are cousins or long lost brothers). Between the lack of calorie burning from taper and the carb load, you are estimated to gain 1-3 lbs before the marathon. Goo!
I can't wait for Chicago - I'm actually really excited about it. I think it is because I didn't stress myself out over times (since my body didn't want to either) for months. I just relaxed and put the miles in that I needed. As long as the temperatures quit climbing (pray for a crazy cold front) I think it will be a good race.
To run a marathon safely, you need to have built a running base for at least a year. Then you train for 4 months. You must stay healthy and race day conditions need to be good. There are so many factors that go into a marathon that you don't have to think about for a race such as a 5K or 10K. You can do anything for a short distance, but when you are running for hours the smallest things add up. You can run while it rains, but after a while you get soaked socks which leads to blisters and broken skin. Running attire makes more of a difference when you have to worry about hours of rubbing and chaffing. The wrong shoes could make you loose your toenails. Eating the wrong stuff leading to the race could get you extended time in the porta potty. These are things people don't think about. But, since we have had some experience, we don't really worry about it. We've got our tricks and now it is all about fun and competition. Chicago, here we come :)

Yum Yum

Qdoba Mexican Grill will be catering the Washam 5K with a hot taco bar. I've had it before and it is freakin awesome. Also, the moms (Ilene and Chris) will be making homemade cookies for dessert. Yum! Yum!

Random

Had whole wheat waffles this morning (letgo my eggo) with almond butter and bananas. Yum! That meal always fills me up. I am getting nervous about the amount of people that are going to be in one place at Chicago. I just don't like to feel enclosed by a mob smelly runners. It makes me a bit claustrophobic. oh well.
Now I am attacking a Blueberry Crisp Cliff Bar and it is awesome. I don't normally eat this much in the morning, but it sounded good and healthy. Mama Jean's has a crazy amount of different types of cliff bars far from the normal peanut butter or chocolate chip. Yum again!
This morning was 7 miles with 2 miles at race pace. Dustin and I both ran about 15 seconds per mile faster than our race pace. I tried to do race pace, but I don't have a good mental set for my pace right now. And, in the words of Ricky Bobby, "I wanna go fast".

Food for thought.

I thought of something this past week...

I have never been in a marathon with 44,999 other people. After Bass Pro I vowed to keep all marathon races under 5,000 participants. Believe me, I would not be running the Chicago if I wouldn't have qualified for the C corral. Dustin will be in B corral. It goes elite, A, B, C, D, and then open. There are only 12,000 people allowed in A-D corrals and you have to qualify to be there. I decide that would work for me :) Anyways, between the runners and the spectators (which I hear line the entire course!!) I will constantly be surrounded by people. Which brings me to my dilemma: what happens if I gotta do a farmers' blow? I guess we all just get to know each other really well. :)

I'm getting excited about Chicago. The forecast keeps getting warmer, which makes me a bit nervous. Pray for cooler weather please!

Washam 5K is less than 2 weeks away!!
~Aimee