The Insanity Continues...

Nine days until the Wisconsin Marathon. Why is that insane? Because in 3 days I'll be running the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. :)

Julia sent the motivational pre-race email and said "Have an Awesome Marathon - Remember you have...." Between that and the Awesome Sauce, I'm golden! :)

Indianapolis Marathon

This was Julia's first marathon, and I have to tell you how proud I am!! She is a total rock star!!

First of all, it was a perfect day for a marathon, about 60 degrees and mostly sunny (all though I did not care for the head wind toward the end). Unfortunately it was not a perfect marathon for me. As we were getting in to Indy, I began to feel queasy. I told Julia that I didn't feel so well. So, I rolled down Roxy's window (Julia's car's name), and realized--oh, yeah--I'm gonna barf. I completely defiled the outside of the car, and some how got vomit on my armpit (how does that happen?!?). We got to the parking lot and I felt somewhat better. After all, I have done the rainbow yawn during a training run before (on Lake Shore Drive), so I should be fine, right?

We got in to our surgical gowns (thank you, Barb!) and headed to the start. We were a little late due to the port-a-potty lines (Hoosier Potty!--say it out loud. It's funny.). Julia wanted to jump in, but I wouldn't let her...I didn't think it was a good idea to go with the 8:00 group. I think she was a little nervous, and I did everything I could to calm her down.

We began the race and even though I had spewed a 1/2 hour before the race, I felt ok (only a little nauseated). In fact, we were on perfect pace for the first 1/2 of the marathon. I knew I could make it to the first half...and at that point I was still feeling pretty good. One completely random thing, was that we saw these two guys with what seemed to be a karaoke machine crooning to the runners...guess which two celebrities they were impersonating? Oh, that would be Elvis and Meatloaf. Seriously the most bizarre combo I've seen, and the "monster ballads" they were singing only made me want to run away, not run better!

Any who, at the half the 1/2 marathoners split off and the course got really sparse. But Julia and I remained on pace, and aside from almost stepping upon squirrel road kill that freaked both of us out the race was pretty uneventful.

That is, until mile 17.

I told Julia that I was tired and needed to walk a bit and to go on with out me. The truth? I was feeling pukey again. I hurled 3 times in mile 17 (FYI--Gu looks pretty much the same going in as it does coming out). Once, near a water stop, where a paramedic asked if I wanted a ride back to the start. I responded with "No, I just want to throw up."

Y'all know me--I'm much too stubborn to not finish. And after expunging the contents of my stomach the third time I was feeling a bit better. I walked a little and continued on. I saw Julia after she had hit the turn around and she looked really good. I continued to the turn around and as I got to the sign, it blew over. Ugh!! Really? Can this race be anymore perfect!

I kept going in a walk/run. I got to the 20 telling myself--"It's a 10k--you can run a 10k--you'll be done in 1:15." By the time I got to 22, I was talking smack to the course. "4 miles--any idiot can run 4 miles!!" And finally at 23 "A 5k? Come on, you've done this drunk and hung-over!" At 24 I could feel myself really needing to push, and I remembered Elaine and her walk run plan that had helped her at Big Sur. I told myself, "One minute, you can run for 60 seconds. Then you can walk one minute."

That's what I did for the remainder of the race. (Except, I always ran any down hill). Once I hit 26, I decided I would run the last .2...and finished with a 9 minute PR time of 5:39:03 (12:56 av pace)!! Oh, yeah and upon crossing the finish line--I promptly ralphed. Fantastic.

Julia was cheering for me...until she ran over to pat my back and make sure I wasn't going to die. She kicked my ass, running her first marathon in just over 5:30. I'm so proud of her! I felt so bad I couldn't stick with her due to my yakage. I didn't want to let her down...(or hork on a marathon course, for that matter). I still think she's amazing!!

I was helping her stretch after the race, and I said "The next time I decide to do something stupid like this, remind me how AWESOME I am!!" I did it--2 Marathons in 6 days! And I PRed in both!! I can officially apply to be a Marathon Maniac!My next question: When's the next one?

Chicago Marathon 2008

Ah, the Chicago Marathon. I was so pumped! It was hard to keep the first half slow and on pace...I kept being asked to slow down. For the first 7 miles or so, I had a Chicago Bears balloon. I lost that at some point. I kinda missed the "Go Bears" after it was gone. Here I am at some point...clearly it's early because I'm still smiling!But then the humidity got to me and I just couldn't keep the pace or catch my breath. I really was struggling to breathe around the United Center and then again in Pilsen. It was so hot, I took my shirt off and ran the last 7 miles in my sports bra (and ya'll know, I don't do naked in public).

Then I decided that I needed to have some fun (because isn't that what it's all about?). In Chinatown, some kind souls gave me a Budweiser, and that's when I discovered that the beer was much colder than the water or Gatorade! Then I found some guys South on Michigan Ave who were watching runners...they gave me 2 Miller Lites (one I drank with them, and one I took with me). And then some others on Michigan that traded out my empty Miller Lite for an Amstel Lite that made it across the finish. It was nice to hear people cheer "Yeah, Beer Girl!"You can see, I did finish (5:48:11--13:18 av pace), with my beer, my medal and a shiny mylar blanket (I *heart* all those things!)It was about a 10 minute PR, but I'm still glad that I get a do-over this weekend...there's supposed to be cooler weather in Indianapolis...and I get to run it with Julia! Yeah road trip! I'm also strangely proud of the fact that 1/2 of the marathon photos taken on the course have me holding a beer and running, and that my visor is coated with salt...At least you know I was having fun!!

Thank you to everyone for their support! And a special thanks to all of you who were on the course cheering for me--you rock!

My Super Hero Cheerleader

Aw!! Thanks Super Julia!!
You're the best! I love the sunshine on the sign!

My Furry Cheerleader

This was too cute not to share...looks like Conrad will be cheering me on, all the way from Florida on Sunday! See? If a dog can make a sign for me, what's up with the rest of you?! :)

R2R

After all that carbo-loading, we were up bright and early for the 20 miler! For those of you not familiar with the route, it starts at Foster, heads up to Hollywood and then down to the South Shore Cultural Center at 71st Street. It began with some warnings (yellow/moderate), but my runners were ready to go (or at least they pretended they were)!

I of course felt the need to practice actual marathon conditions. And as you all know, this means finding beer along the course! You can see that some tailgaters gave me one...
That's right, 11.5, with Soldier Field in the back ground, and wearing a pacer's shirt...I stopped with some tailgaters to have a beer. I'm sure someone in the CARA office is very proud.

Sometime after 10:30 the flags were changed to red/high risk level. I slowed my pace down about a minute per mile for the last 5 miles, but I still finished in about 4:07. I'm so proud of all the runners in my group! They all did so well--especially in this heat!

We did have one runner go down...Melissa finished and headed straight to the medical tent. She was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. We got her to the ER and 3 liters of fluid later she started to feel better. While I was pretty much useless in the medical capacity (Let's face it, I was trying not to puke every time she was stuck for an IV), I did try to entertain her by singing her songs and trying to find all the possible impressions I could do with the mylar blanket. (You'd be surprised how many you can do with that thing...Elvis, Chipotle Burrito, Batman and my personal favorite Jiffy Pop!)

Aside from the massive amounts of time in the ER and missing the Bears game it wasn't too bad of a day, it certainly was a memorable!

The Happiest Race on Earth!

Sunday morning was the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon! We were a touch late getting to the start (missed the flame throwing, up close and personal), but we were just in time for our wave to go. We were in Corral B Wave 1 (yes, I do feel the need to brag that I was in the second corral wave one!) and we were ready to run!

Since it's Disneyland, we of course had to stop during the race for pictures! Here's Barb and I (in matching Minnie Mouse outfits) near the castle.

In the park we found Tinkerbell and Peter Pan.
And Belle, but where was Beast?
Somewhere along the way on a random Anaheim street I found some hula dancers and took some time to learn to do a little dance...Watch me groove!
And these ladies totally cracked us up! I love their signs!
Me mounting the freeway entrance; and yet Barb looks so chill.

Clearly there's always time during a race to hug a giant blue monster--I love Sully! Unfortunately, there was no Mike Wazowski. :(
Mrs. Incredible with 2 incredible chickies. (I'm such a cheese ball!)
This may not be the "Bungee Rat" that was flirting with me from the parade the day before, but he still deserved some love!
Barb, truly is Goofy and needed her picture taken with her race namesake.
Here we are standing by the statue that matches our "Coast to Coast" Medals! (Of course we had to get the Sleeping Beauty's Castle in the background!) Ah, the Disneyland...The Happiest Race on Earth; definitely a good way to spend Labor Day weekend. :) (Even if my flight was cancelled and re-routed through a hurricane in New Orleans!)

Thrid Tri's a Charm

Glenview Triathlon!!

Can you say "Kickin' ass and takin' names"? This tri went really well! I came in 12th in my age group!! And Elaine came in 8th!! She was amazing! I don't know how she does the run so fast...I wanna be her when I grow up!

I rocked the swim for a change. Turns out, I'm a master at pushing off the walls. It really helped me out--I actually passed 5 people! I learned that trick from Pete...he's a genius! I really used it to my advantage and finished in 6:30. My bike was pretty good and my run was about average--not much to complain about.

When I was running to transition, I heard "BETHIE!!!" and realized that Tina and Pete were there watching the race! I'm so pumped that they came out to watch. It really meant a lot to me to have 'fans'! Thank you, guys sooo much for coming--You're the best!! (And T, your little one legged cheer thing still makes me smile!)

I'm pretty pleased with my performance. I'd definitely do this little race again--it was such a fun time! Next year, I have to talk Tina and Pete into doing it with me!

The Danskin Tri

Yesterday was Danskin, it was good and bad...Open water is HARD to swim! And biking wasn't much easier with 20 mph winds and my chain falling off at mile six, but I still had a good time.

A pic of the start beach...many women ready to swim.

This is Sue, Elaine and I ready to swim.--Tri Buddies!

Elaine's husband took this pic of our wave swimming...and it totally cracked me up!!

I was very happy with my transitions. I felt really good about swim to bike. I almost cut my first transition time in half--ROCK STAR!!
Must get shoes on...
On my way with the bike... This next photo, is my favorite race photo ever-- Finish time 1:48:29Here's Elaine and me with our medals. Elaine rocked this race! I'm so proud of her! (She's so awesome!)

I still have some things to work on (SWIMMING!), but I'm still pretty proud of myself. If you had told me even a year ago that I'd be doing triathlons, I wouldn't have believed you...who knew!?

I Tri-ed

Yeah!! I'm officially a Triathlete!Today I finished my first triathlon, the US Women's Triathlon Series, in Naperville. I did the race with my friend Elaine.

We are both marathoners, and this was our first trathlon. The start of the race was delayed an hour due to lightning and thunder. Here's us waiting for the swim to start...

So ready to go!!I did the 1/2 mile swim in 15:23...I'm so proud of that since I just learned to swim in February. I learned in the bike portion that I need to tuck my shoelaces into my shoes! My lace got caught in the chain...I was hoping on one foot, almost like a dog peeing on the fire hydrant!I liked the run, but could have done the transitions better(both of them). I also didn't like that there were no clocks on the course. I think I could have run better if I had taken the time to put on my watch.I really had no concept of time for this race. I am happy that I felt stronger as the race progressed. That's a great feeling...when others are dying and I'm happily going along slower, but steady.

Triathlons also require so much more crap than running. Elain ended up getting this huge back pack to store all her stuff, she looked like a little turtle trying to carry it...so cute.

My over all time was being an 1 hour 54 minutes...and I'm happy to say I didn't drown! Danskin, here I come!

The Flying Pig

Pigs have flown, and I have run a marathon (the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinatti, Ohio, to be exact!). That’s right, in just over a year of taking up running, Bethie has completed her very first marathon!

Now, this marathon had the potential to be the worst marathon ever. First of all, the marathon started late. Turns out that there was an extra alarm fire at mile 22 and the race course had to be re-routed, adding an extra quarter mile to it (No problem, after 26.2, why not make it 26 and a half!).

Then this awful woman yelled at me around mile 6. Now, I know I’m not the fastest runner in the world, so I run to the side of the course (this is a pretty common practice). This woman screamed at me and told me to get out of her way and that I didn’t belong on the course! I was so surprised, I couldn’t even move!! I’ve never seen a runner be that rude in my entire life!! Other runners started yelling at her because of her rudeness. Ugh. If this had been my first race, I would have been crushed! Fortunately I know that runners are a jolly bunch and that she was just an anomaly. But seriously, if she was that worried about her time, she wouldn’t have been passing me at mile 6, she would have been a head of me already. Second, it wasn’t as if there wasn’t an ENTIRE road blocked off for runners. Finally if she was that serious of an athlete, she would have been running Boston a few weeks ago. Besides, she was wearing head phones that were banned on the course. I think the running gods or karma are going to bite her in the ass later. Really, that kind of behavior is just bad juju.

Other technical problems included me loosing ALL the Cliff Shots that were pinned to my race belt. (Note to self, don’t pin them like that again!!) I’m used to taking one every hour/every five or six miles…so that put me a slight mental disadvantage. My inhaler ran out at about Mile 8 or 9; and on that hilly course that wasn’t fun. There was also some very really chafeage issues. I was walking funny more from the skin that was ripped off my body, than from muscle soreness.

Barb and I came upon this guy who fell out on the side of the road. The dude was seriously purple. It wasn’t good. Chest compressions were given and the paramedics came. I don’t know if the guy made it or not, but it sure was scary.

In spite of these negatives, I really did have a blast! First of all, it was an all new distance for me…I had never run over 20 miles before. Second, I wore a shirt that said “Bethie’s First Marathon”. It was great to have people cheering for me! So motivating! Barb and I also got the crowd into our singing…we started singing the chorus from Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” at mile 13… (“Oh, we’re half way there! Oh-O! Livin’ on a prayer!! Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear…) Many of the water stops had themes…parrot heads, pirates, and assorted bands. Girls on the Run gave me a balloon to wear. And of course, Barb and I spent the race entertaining ourselves through stupid comments and songs.
There was also several unsanctioned beer stops along the way. Mile 21 was run just like a regular water stop. Just grab a beer and run. J The one at mile 14 was awesome! They had the “Runner’s Lounge”. I sat on the couch and had a beer. It was great!

I did dedicate some of the miles to people as I was running…it made the race much more meaningful. But the last mile, was just for me. I hit my wall just after mile between 25 and 26. I kept telling myself that “Someday, I would not be able to do this, but today was not that day.” So, I kept repeating to myself “Today is not that day. Today is not that day.” I had so much crap on my sun glasses I couldn’t see the finish line. I thought I was going to kill Barb when she pointed out the finish line, and I couldn’t actually see it. But, lo and be hold, I took my glasses off and there it was! I finished strong…You would have thought I won the damn thing. I ran across the finish line with my arms up, Kenyan style. It was awesome!

Gophers and My Dirty Little Secret

I have a dirty little secret. I love doing it. I love convincing others to do it. I even love watching it on tv. I even use the internet to get it.

I hear admitting you have a problem is the first step. So here it goes:

My name is Bethie and I am a Track and Field junkie.

Whew! I guess that wasn’t so bad! :)

But seriously, I’ve always loved watching Track and Field. Maybe it’s the fact that I was on the Track team from the time I was in the 4th grade until I was a sophomore in college. I really do love everything about it—I’m just a jock at heart.

Anywho, I was checking out some of the indoor season races/championships and I came across this video from the Big Ten Conference Meet. First check it out. It’s actually the second race that I want you to see…the Women’s 600 meter race (about 45 seconds in). I’m sure you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it.



OH MY GOD!! DID YOU SEE THAT?!?!

Seriously, I can’t believe this didn’t happen to me! Most of you know the stories of my extreme klutziness. I won’t even go into the mishaps that occurred when I was still on a track team. I googled this athlete to find out who she was; and I have to say: Heather Dorniden, YOU ARE MY HERO!! You seriously kick ass! Words can’t describe how completely awesome you are!!! Sure you completely biffed in a major race and got trampled wildebeest style by other runners (who I’m positive were wearing shoes with spikes on them!) but you got up and finished the race!! Not only did you get up and finish, but you closed the 50-some meter gap and WON in the last 200 meters of the race!!!! HOLY CRAP!!

Heather Dorniden, I officially name you the Mayor of Ballsville—You Rock!!

I participated!

Today I got a letter in the mail from CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association). It says: "Congratulations! You have won a CARA participation award for your completion of CARA Circuit and registered races in 2007."

I have to admit, I am a little proud of myself. I'm certain anyone could get this one, because if I can do it, anyone can. The criterion is that you run either 107K in CARA races or at least one race from the following categories:
-5K or 4-miles
-8K, 5-miles, or 10K
-10-miles;
-Marathon, Half Marathon, 20K, 25K, 30K, or 50K

I got it a 5k, 10k, 10miler and 1/2 marathon combo. (I was too lazy to count my mileage and check to make sure they were all Cara Registered/Circuit races.) Barb and my Mom say that I should go to the banquet, I'm still undecided. The two things in it's favor is that the restaurant where it's being held is quite yummy, and the certificate that I'm sure that comes along with it, would be fun to hang in my classroom. Any thoughts?

A Whole New Level of Crazy

I think I may have done something stupid, and it's a mere 2 weeks before I run my second ever 1/2 marathon. I registered for a marathon.

A whole one. 26.2 miles.

I'm not sure if I'm excited or freaked...I'm certain in a few weeks when I start regular training runs over 7 miles, I'm gonna feel differently.

When I signed up, I was pretty pumped. I did sign up for the CARA winter training program. But now, I'm starting to get worried, they keep sending emails stating that people participating should have a strong running base...and that base mileage average keeps going up. It started at being able to run 6 miles comfortably and now it's up to 9 comfortably. Then I thought the first run was 5 miles, I now find out it's actually 7 miles. I signed up because I recognize I need support to train for this...why are they freaking me out? I'm a penguin for pete's sake!! I don't wanna get kicked out of the training runs because I'm too slow or not a strong enough runner!

The first run is January 5th. I think I'm more stressed about running with real runners on a training run than I am for the 1/2 marathon in Disney.

Regardless of my training, I will be participating in the Flying Pig Marathon (because I'll run a marathon when pigs fly!) in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 4th, 2008. If I die, the funeral will be the following week (plan your schedules accordingly).

Who wants to be my buddy?!?!

I've heard it before, "Bethie, you really need a hobby." But I guess I have to face the facts, running has actually become my hobby. (I really have changed a LOT this year!!)

Anywho, I was puttering around on line and I found this race called Muddy Buddy Ride & Run. I was intrugued; after all the tag line was "Two Buddies + One Mountian Bike + One MONDO MUD PIT = The best time of your life!"

It's a 6 to 7 mile race where done with a buddy. One starts on bike and the other runs, at each of 5 obsticle points you switch running or biking and do the obsticle. You continue leapfrogging through the race until the end. You must finish together by crawling through a GIANT MUD PIT!!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!?!?!

I NEED to do this race!! I will be stalking this site until they post the dates for the 2008 Chicago Muddy Buddy Ride and Run.

The important question is: Who wants to be by buddy? Come on, I know I must have had some one out there at 'mud pit'! :)

(Seriously, people! I know someone out there wants to be my 'Muddy Buddy'!)

A Race & The Battle of the Titans

I had a wonderfully busy Sunday! While I was not a participant in the mess that was the Chicago Marathon, I did run a leg in the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee...we had an all chick team called Hell in Heels. I made our very awesome team shirts! Here are the girls...


The first leg was run by Michelle, I ran the second followed by Nichole and Barb was our anchor. Aside from Michelle, who apparently loves the heat and humidity, we did't run very well. Our time was 4:16 with a 9:47 split. It really was brutally ugly to run. I really wasn't feeling well, and it turned out nether was anyone else. Then sadly, when we walked back to the car, we found this...
Someone actually broke into Michelles truck and stole Nichole's purse! How awful!! And the car was parked infront of a major street! UGH!! Some people just suck. And furthermore, the Milwaukee system for filing a report was awful. I was on hold with 911 for 20 minutes. What if that was a life threatening emergency?!?! And the guy on the phone was useless. How can you outsource an emegency system?

Anywho, after a much needed shower and a quick bite to eat, Barb and I continued the road trip up to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Behold, the frozen tundra (that was actually quite the opposite of frozen).

So much excitement!! Look! Barb and I found Beer!!!

For the record they have ENORMOUS brats that are longer than the bun and ever so yummy. Better than that was fried cheese curds which were little golden pieces of crack. AMAZING. I have to say, Packers know how to eat! It even beats the garlic cheese fries that are in Cleveland.

Here are my boys warming up!! GO BEARS!!

Did you see us on TV? Our sign rocks!! (Yes, that is glitter that you see) Even the Packer fans loved it!
Look! I made friends with the 5 other Bears fans in our section. (We've got to stick together you know). The other two Bears fans were being assholes...I didn't want to play with them.
The first half was dominated by the Pack, but as you know there are two halfs, and the Bears were hungry and took advantage of Green Bay's mistakes...but you saw the game. I was freaking out at the two minute warning when Farve was marching down the field (everyone knows how dangerous that can be!). However, thanks to some double coverage, Farve didn't make it and Behold: The most beautiful scoreboard ever!!

Check it out!! BEARS BEAT GREEN BAY IN LAMBEAU FIELD!!!! (Almost brings a tear to a Bears fan's eye) It was almost too much happiness for one little Bears fan to take (I said almost).

13.1 Reasons to Smile

I did it!!! First ½ Marathon!! (insert happy dance here Woo-Hoo!!)

This morning was the Chicago Distance Classic and while there’s a strong possibility it’s due to a runner’s high, I never thought I’d run 13.1 miles and have this big of a smile on my face!! (Still doing the happy dance)

It wasn’t all smooth sailing; I did hit a few speed bumps. The first slight problem was around mile six…my iPod ran out of juice. After I quit swearing, I started singing to myself in my head. (Did you know “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the “Alphabet Song” have the same tune? My profound discovery around mile 7). The second came between miles nine and ten...my lungs decided that they had had enough. If I didn’t slow down to walk they were going to revolt with an asthma attack. While my legs wanted to keep going, I decided that a nice little walk break was in order. The last problem didn’t present itself until much later in the day…the sun wasn’t up at 4:30 when I woke up, but sunblock would have been a really smart choice (not that my sports bra burn line isn’t sexy). Two out of three of those bumps are fixable… Memo to me: 1) Charge iPod, 2) Slather on the SPF.

It was a great race! Thank you to everyone who sent their advice and well wishes for this race…as well as telling me that I’d do all right (Chris), and not die (Barb), or even that I’m crazy (Mom). I’m a little sad I have to wait until January before I run another 1/2 marathon. But until then I have a big honkin’ penguin medal, a little bit of bragging rights, and an excuse to keep doing the happy dance!


PS---Happy Birthday to Meghan!!!

I Heart Tiger Balm

Today was the Downers Grove 10 miler—and I rocked!!

Of course I was slower than most, but I didn’t get lapped until Mile 4…not bad! I finished the race in 2:05: ish (will update when times are posted). That’s a 12:30 mile pace. I was just happy to finish! But when I saw the finish clock, I was so happy with my time! This is the farthest distance I’ve ever run!

It was a course with some rolling hills. Some of them I needed to walk up (along with the water stops), but for the most part, I ran the majority of the race. Really, the biggest problem was the squished cicadas making parts of the course slippery... and the grossness of one hitting me in the face while I was running (EW!--pay no attention, to that earlier post, I've seen 'em--they can go away now!)

This race really makes me feel better about the half marathon. I just need to keep up with my training and I’m feeling pretty confidant I won’t embarrass myself!

And now, I’m so ready for next year’s Soldier Field 10 Mile! I want to do it because it finishes on the 50 yard line of my beloved Bears Stadium…I guarantee you, after I cross that finish line I’ll be making grass angels on the field! :)

Thanks, Barb for the countless pep-talks and awesome Running Mix!! I couldn’t have done it with out you! And thanks to Mom and Jack for waiting at the finish line to cheer me on…it got a little lonely out there!! And of course to Tiger Balm…for making my legs just a little less achy.

More things I do...

On Sunday, I completed my first 10K... I discovered what people mean when they say they hit the wall...that was between miles 4 and 5 for me. Anywho, I finished!! 1:21:33 which was a sad 13:10 mile spit, but for the record I wasn't in last place even for my age group. (close, but not dead last!)

And now, I've done something stupid...you've heard me say this before, and this time it's more stupid. I registered for the Chicago Distance Classic. It's a half marathon downtown. EEK! It's just 10 weeks away... Training plan...need to find a training plan...

Barb, what have you done to me?!!

Mad-City Runs

This weekend was the Madison Marathon! No worries, I'm not the crazy one doing that...I left the 26.2 miles to Sarah and Barb. We headed out on Saturday night, and thanks to our gracious host Darryl we had a place to stay!

I ran the 6K, so I was done much sooner than Sarah and Barb. I walked around Bratfest. I even found a shirt that said "Will Run for Beer, Brats and Cheese" (totally made for me!) I also made some friends! This woman raises CCI puppies, just like mom! Look! He finished the half marathon!! :)


Sarah finishes strong...and as you can see--She's AWESOME!

Here's all three of us happy to be finished, and yes this is Barb's first Marathon as a doctor!

It was a fun weekend--Thanks again to Darryl!!