We Did It!!!

*Here is the post about the Grand Rapids Marathon that I put on my family blog!!!!!!

Over the weekend, my dad and I ran the Grand Rapids Marathon!

That's right...the ole man and I did 26.2 miles together!!!  (As my favorite sign said, "Because 26.3 would be CRAZY!)

It was a great weekend all together.  We arrived in Grand Rapids on Saturday afternoon.  The kids (and Rob and Aunt Katie) napped while while we hit the expo.  Then, we all headed to the local "establishment" to start our carb loading with some pumpkin ale!  :)  After that, it was off for pasta for more carb loading.  And we ended the night with the highlight for the kids....HOTEL SWIMMING POOL!

I should mention that it was cold and SO WINDY on Saturday, so we weren't sure what to expect for the race.

My dad and I headed out early Saturday morning for the start of the race...in the cold and rain.  But there was no wind so we felt hopeful.  An hour or so later, by the start of the race, the rain had stopped and we got the absolute perfect weather for a race...cool, no sun, no rain, no wind.  It was great!

My dad and I had a great race.  I have to say, my dad is an AMAZING runner.  From about mile 16-mile 22, I contemplated stopping many, many, many times!  But he kept me going!!!  I am proud to say we never stopped once to walk except through water stops!!!

The Grand Rapids Marathon is great.  There are so many fun runners who do this race.  Some of the highlights were:

-Our shirts!!!  My dad surprised me with shirts for the race.  My dad's said WINK and mine said SMILE because the song we danced to for my wedding was "We go together like a Wink and a Smile".  I LOVED IT!!!!!!!

-Pickle Juice around mile 16 and 20 (sounded gross but it was refreshing and awesome)

-Wedding at Mile 16

-My Team Triumps (runners who are pushing wheel chairs, it was amazing and I was inspired...more to come on that soon)

-Reading fun signs (Marathon runners run 26.2 because 26.3 miles would be CRAZY).

-Port-a-potty madness....let's just say we almost missed the start of the race.

-Ray, our running buddy!

This is my 7th marathon, and somewhere in the 40s for my Dad I think, but I can say this was a highlight for me.  I would say very, very, very few people are ever able to do something like run a marathon with their dad..and I'll always cherish it!

I should mention, we didn't do too shabby either.  We finished at 3:43:27, which is about 8:30mins/mile average.  My dad finished 6th in his age division and in the top 297 of the 894 men who ran.  I finished 15th in my age division and in the top 78 out of 712 women.  My dad also qualified for Boston...again! 

Seeing our amazing fans at Mile 4

Our biggest supporters

3 of the best cheerleaders

Cheering at the finish

So cute!!!  (But how did NO ONE fix her hat?????)

26.1 miles into it!  :)

Off to the finish line!

My amazing family who sacrifice a lot so I can follow my passion of running!

The highlight of the trip for these two!!!!  :)

Thank you to everyone for all your support, especially our amazing fans who traveled 3 states to cheer us on!  :)

Do You DM????

Daily Mile. 

One of the greatest things I found since running.  It's a site full of runners (and bikers, walkers, swimmers, etc) cheering on other runners.  I heart it!

When I first starting running, I ran in Chicago with a group called CARA.  Me and hundreds of my closest friends out there running every morning.  I found so much inspiration and motivation through other members.

Now I'm a mom....in the burbs....with 2 kids.....and a crazy schedule.  So running with a group is out the window.  My hubby golfs.  My kids have dance, gymnastics, birthday parties, etc.  And we still try to have a social life.  So running is "whenever I can get it in."  Most times it's Sunday morning, but it may be Sunday evening, Saturday morning, or an awesome Friday night followed by wine and a firepit!  :)

So I have found dailymile.com.  I log my runs.  But I also find so much inspiration and motivation.  People actually take time to tell me "great run".  And I learn about so many fun races, racing gear, etc.

On Sunday my dad and I will be at the Grand Rapids starting line...and I have a whole bunch of DM friends who will be out there with me.  It would be cool to meet them!!!  If you run, you should DM!  You WILL be inspired!

What happened????

Kids. School.  Training.  Life.


I can't believe how long it's been between posts!  I apologize...life got away from me.

Next weekend is THE big run...Grand Rapids Marathon!  My dad and I have been training pretty well despite some injuries.  We ran 2 20 miles (one with major hills), a 19 and 2 18 miles, so I'm hoping we are ready!  I am nervous because I am used to running marathons under 3:40, but this time I'm just trying to finish...no time goal!  My dad and I trained together and our goal is to have fun and finish (and maybe he will place in his age group).

I'll be back soon!!!!!  If you are new, comment so we can chat!  :)  Happy Running!

Running Wish List

Have you seen the new Nike+ Sportswatch with Garmin?

It looks awesome!  My favorite feature is that you can just touch the screen to go to the next lap!  That'd be so nice right around mile 24 of a marathon when literally lifting your arm to set the next lap feels like a huge undertaking!

I think I'll give Nike a call and let them know how much I like it...maybe they'll send me on!  ;)

In other words, this weekend is my first half-marathon since having my second daughter.  Before kids, my goal was always under 1:45 for a half.  This time around, my goal is to walk minimally and have a lot of fun...and if I come in under 1:59:59 I'll be pretty happy!  Either way, I'll be ready for a cold beer after the race!

The race is Hawthorn Woods 1/2 and this is only the second year for the race.  The course seems pretty nice with lots of different things to keep me occupied during the race (trees, streets, homes, etc).  I'm looking forward to putting my racing shoes on and getting back out there...and then taking a few weeks off before my marathon training begins!

Happy Running!!!!

Be Someone's Hero!

Last night, the hubby and I went to see My Run.  My Run is an inspirational documentary about a man who ran 75 marathons in 75 consecutive days.

Let me start by saying I was very inspired by the movie.  That being said, it was not really a "running" movie and I'm not sure it should have been advertised as one.

I had my hopes for a great marathon movie, especially because the previews were all about amazing marathons (The Las Vegas Marathon looks so amazing, I want to do it in 2012). 

Without giving too much of the movie away, a 57-year-old man, Terry Hitchcock, decided to run from Minnesota to Atlanta (where the Olympics will be when he gets there) in honor of his deceased wife and to raise awareness of the struggles of single parents.  Terry was not a runner when he started, and really never became a runner.  He faced many many obstacles along the way, including a heart attack before he even started running, but he was determined to do 75 marathons in 75 days. 

Like I said, I don't want to give away the ending of the movie....but a serious runner knows how important numbers are.  If you say a "marathon", it means 26.2 miles, not 26 miles or 27 miles.....Terry would run 27-30 miles a day, which was amazing and I'm not trying to be critical or take away from his amazing accomplishment, but marathon runners want 26.2 miles!  Us annoying runners and our "numbers", I know, but that's why Garmins are runner's favorite technology, it gives us exact numbers.  Any runner who has had someone say "I ran a marathon today, it was 6 miles" knows that's like nails on a chalkboard.  All runs are not "marathons"....okay I feel better!  ;)

It was an inspirational movie about not giving up and finding the strenght within yourself to be someone's hero.  I was so inspired about his love for his wife and his committment to his children, although I wished his wife's memory would have been a bigger part of the movie.

To be honest, my husband and I were a little let down...not with the inspiration of the movie, but it just wasn't what we had expected.  We hoped to leave the theater inspired to run...and apparently the local marathons did too cause there were postcards for local marathons on all the cars when we left the theater, but it just wasn't that kind of movie.

I think someone who has never run a marathon before would be inspired to sign up for one!  However, what I took from the movie was to Be Someone's Hero.  Terry ended his journey disappointed that it didn't raise the awareness he hoped (in fact, they had Q & A after in which he admitted after the run he was checked into a hospital for depression)...but he is able to look back 11 years later and know that he made a difference in people's lives, and even if it only changed 1 person's life, it was worth it!

I have run marathons with charities before, mainly Alzheimer in honor of my Grandma, and I have also been a Girls On The Run coach, but if I can find a way to use my running to be someone's hero, that would take my running to a whole 'nother level!

Thank you Terry Hitchcock for reminding us all that running is mental and spiritual....and to be SOMEONE's hero!

Wanted: Motivation

Lately I've been in a running slump.

Treadmill.  Boring.

Mileage.  Boring.

Motivation.  Nada.

I know I have the marathon in October, but that's so far away.  So yesterday I decided to just find a half-marathon coming up soon and sign up.  There is the Chicago 1/2, but I wanted a smaller marathon so my family could come and we could enjoy it together without it being such a big, crazy production. 

I ended up signing up for the Hawthorne Woods 1/2.  I'm very excited.  It's small, has a great course, and is only like 30 minutes from my house!  So I officially have 5 weeks (and 4 weekends for long runs) before I run the race.  I did a 10 miler last weekend so I hope I will be ready in 5 weeks, but I'm a HUGE procrastinator so signing up at the last minute works for me.

My thoughts were: 
Weekend 1:  12 miles
Weekend 2:  8 miles
Weekend 3:  12 miles
Weekend 4:  5 miles (cutback weekend)

Then, during the week, I usually only run one or two days, but I'm hoping to motivate myself to run 3 times a week...somewhere between 3 and 6 miles a run depending on schedule, kids, etc.

So that's my plan....I'm definitely not running this for time (I usually am around 1:45 for a half marathon but will pretty much be happy under 2:00...hoping for between 1:50 and 1:55).

Ran 3.5 miles today on treadmill (8 minutes/mile) so my first day of motiviation was a success! 

I Can't Believe It!!!

I won a giveaway!!!  I have never won one before....and the best part is it's a great one! 

(See 2nd Contest Giveaway below)


I literally have been wanting to go buy a Camelbak water bottle for me and the girls...now I only have to buy one for the girls!  And the Northface Bag is adorable and perfect since I just purchased our pool pass for the summer!  And I have some "trouble" spots and need to work them out!

So THANK YOU Amy at http://www.inkedowl.blogspot.com/  so much!!!!!  And thank you to Jess at http://www.littlemissrunshine.com/ for the recommendation!!!!