Resting the joints

Wenzyl, excited to be out in the woods!

 Today Wenzyl, Woody, Cocobean and I all headed out for a hike in the woods, which ended with a refreshing swim.  As much as I love running... taking a break from it is a nice change of pace. 

Swimming with my buddy

There is something so refreshing about swimming in a lake.  I personally don't like swimming in a pool that's loaded with chemicals, a lake is just so natural.  I will admit I'm not a huge fan of weeds.., my vivid imagination gets the best of me, and I freak out a little on the inside.  However I do eventually get over my fear and take the plunge.  After hiking and working up a good sweat, jumping into water is especially appreciated. 

 I think Wenzyl was slightly confused when I was swimming her.  I haven't done so since last summer, I feel like she had forgotten what it was like.  She was almost on top of me, as if she were protecting me.  It was sweet, although her nails hitting my skin underwater didn't feel that way. 

Simple beauty

I'm planning on heading out for a bike ride a little later.  It's a hot beautiful day, and I don't want to be inside!

Here are some pictures from our hike, hope you're all enjoying the summer! 



need I say anything?



Woody stealing my towel , he tends to gravitate towards the plush things in life! Kris I thought you'd enjoy this one!



All things serve a purpose



Cocobean




Wenzyl




ready to swim!






26.2? Been there, Ran that!



Spaghetti Dinner Friday before the big race

 Friday afternoon, Zack and I packed up the Sube and headed for Duluth.  I always look forward to "people watching" at the DECC,  browsing through racing gadgets, and munching on snacks.  Abe met me, along with his girlfriend Sarah.  We pushed our way through the crowds in order to pick up our race packet.  Abe had to stand in the "ill prepared" line because he forgot his "green ticket" they send you when you register for race, that you need in order to pick up your packet.  Luckily a photo ID did the job, however I still had to poke fun!  On our way to the "chip line" where you scan your chip like at the grocery store check out (just to make sure it works)... Fox 21 decided to pull me and Abe aside for an interview.  Abe, the slick little man that he is, decided to get himself out of the situation and left me to the embarrassment of being on T.V. 

I found a great little magnet bumper sticker that says, " 26.2, "Been there Ran that"... I couldn't resist.  I also purchased a cute necklace that simply stated 26.2.  I realized as I was purchasing these little things... how much running is a "culture".  The two things I mentioned are only tiny pieces of what else is out there, and runners were going nuts over this stuff!  It just comes to show that running a marathon, or a half marathon is something to be darn proud of!

As I made my way home, I had flashbacks of living in Chicago, the cars were bumper to bumper... it was insane!  Although, this made me even more excited for the next days festivities!  We had a spaghetti feast at my parents home in Cloquet, along with salad, garlic bread and birthday cake for Zack, my brother Donny, and my Dad (All of the early June birthdays).  Abe Curren, Jon Hallie, Zack, my brother Jess and soon to be Sister in law Holland, my brother Donny and Sister in law Kristie, my two nephews Alec and Devon, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Jerry and I all enjoyed the feast!  It was so nice to have the whole family together. 

0500 on the morning of the race!  Abe found his socks... he is now happy! 

We made it an early night, I made my way upstairs to prepare for an early morning wake up call.  Saturday morning, I heard rain pouring down on the window sill outside.  It was a cold morning, which made me extremely happy.. although the rain was concerning me.  My sweetheart of a husband, woke up bright and early with me, and drove me to Duluth to catch the train that would take Abe and I 26.2 miles up the North Shore in the pouring rain.  We lucked out and got one of the vintage train cars, which was comprised of old windows, seats and trim.  It also had two bathrooms which was extremely convenient before reaching the starting line. 

When the train stopped so did the rain.  Abe and I got off the train and headed towards the starting line.  We were so excited!  This year the train was the "gun" for the start... it took us over 7 minutes to get to the actual starting line.  The sea of people was surreal.  Abe and I ran 11 miles or so side by side... at one time, we were sharing IPOD buds, laughing hysterically.  The race went really well.  My favorite part is reaching Lake Ave (Pizza Luce) this is where my husband waits for me.  He's tall, and sticks out of the crowd, so I start looking for him about a half mile before I get there.  Seeing his smiling face, makes the 25 miles worth every step!  His support is something that I treasure and feel so blessed to have.

Abe crossed the finish line at 4 hours and 37 minutes, and I crossed in 4 hours and 47 minutes.  We both really slowed down the last 5 miles, which took us about an hour!  I guess our bodies had enough!  Jon Hallie, did the half marathon and he crossed with an awesome time of 2 hours! 


Here are the links to our race times if you're interested:

Abe- http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=2616&race=355    
Cory-http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=7045&race=355
Jon- http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?rid=14852&race=356

It's hard to explain what it's like when you cross the finish line to a marathon.  I would encourage you to train for a race so you too can experience such an amazing thing.  The feeling you have inside is like nothing I've ever experienced.  It's a "natural high" some would say.  Here is a picture of the metal we received this year. 

After the race, I decided to get some food (strawberries, orange, bagel, yogurt, chips, nutty bar) and head over to the massage tent.  Unfortunately, they ran out of wraps, so I literally froze.  I got out of line, went to get my running bag and made my way over to Little Angies.  My hubby, Abe and Sarah were waiting for me.  We chowed down on some yummy Mexican and then went our separate ways. 



All refreshed after a hot tub and shower

 This year was a memorable running season for me.  Having the opportunity to run with Abe who's a long time friend was truly amazing.  I'm so proud of his accomplishments!  I hope to run another race with him in the near future. 

I also had the opportunity to run with my friend Will, even though he didn't do the race with me, I know he was still there cheering me on... and growling!  

Riding the cross train

I ventured out for a 10 mile bike ride this afternoon, in hopes to stretch out my legs from our 22 miler yesterday.  It was a really nice change of pace, literally. I worked up a good sweat, which I guess should be expected with a temperature of 84 degrees and no cloud cover. 

The things I love about biking:
1. You cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time
2. You can relax when going down hills
3. You have a fresh breeze blowing in your face, which allows for a good intake of mother natures perfumes and a natural cooling effect.
4. You can carry a lot of equipment with you, (especially if you have a panier) such as a large water bottle, camera, rain gear and snacks.
5. It's different from running

As I covered ground today, I pictured our footsteps on the trail from yesterday.  I thought to myself, we ran this plus 12 miles?  It's bizarre to think about even doing such a thing, even more bizarre knowing that I did it?  Being on the bike today was refreshing to say the least.  I'm giving my body a break for a few days from running, unfortunately I'm suffering with two blisters on the tips of two of my toes. This makes it difficult to run.  I'm thinking of taking a dip in the lake tomorrow! 

Happy Running, Biking, Swimming, Moving!

What toenails?

I don't think we realize what we're getting ourselves into?

0900 this morning, Abe, Will and I headed out to the Mesabi trail to punch out 22 miles.  The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  Luckily, there was a nice cool breeze that kept us somewhat "sane" over the miles. 

Over all, I felt pretty good... I hit my "wall" at about 20 miles.  Thoughts that consisted of "why am I doing this again?", or "am I crazy?" ran through my head faster then my feet were hitting the pavement.  Once I crossed the 22 mile mark though and came home to my wonderful, thoughtful husband preparing a large feast for us; it all went away. 

I listened to my IPOD a lot this run, (which is unlike me) although I think it was a good thing, it allowed me to focus more on my body and not what was coming out of my mouth in conversation.  The 3 of us split up around 8 miles, met up again at 11 and pretty much ran separate the rest of the way.  Even though I didn't "see" Abe or Will during those times, I still new that they were out on the trail, suffering just as I was, this in itself, kept me moving.  I stopped four times to fill my water belt, walked up two hills, and used the bathroom (aka poison ivy infested woods) other then that, I moved my body the WHOLE TIME!!!  It took me 4 hours and 7 minutes.  I felt myself really slowing down at the end, the heat got the best of me, I'll be honest.  The sun was relentless and at times I felt like going into the woods to just shelter myself from it.  It was as like the sun literally drained my body of the energy that I was replenishing it with.  Thank God for sunscreen!  I kept up a good sweat, at one time, I wasn't sweating, until I hit my last water station.  I drank, (probably too much) and was on my way.  Shortly after, I felt myself starting to sweat again, which was good being I was essentially overheating. 

It was great to see so many other people enjoying the trail today.  There were a lot of other runners on the trail, (Go Carrie Thorvig!!), bikers (one of which found it necessary to drink a Budweiser while attempting to ride his bike), and walkers. 

As the trail maneuvered its way through the little town of Bovey, the smell of hot dogs was in the air from a baseball game in the near distance.  This made me excited to get home!

I have no idea what he's doing?

When running a marathon, it's a common "known" that near the end of the race, runners are being wiped of all of their available energy stores.  They run more sloppy, doing anything to conserve the little energy they have left.  Some actually look like they're in pain, and most likely they are.  The downfall with training and not running an actual marathon is the people you pass by, don't have any idea how many miles you've ran.   At one point, I wanted to yell out, "I've ran 20 miles", I'm sure I looked like I was out of shape by the way I was running and how slow I was going (not that anyone cares), but still... it's an urge that I almost carried out at one point.  I did find joy inside when I ran by bikers two different times during our run, they.... knew!

Zack, Will and Abe enjoying lunch!

We enjoyed watermelon, burgers, sunchips, beans and stella beer... perfect way to end a long run.  After a two hour nap, I feel amazing!  Time to head out for a ride in the convertible! 

Well this was our last run before the big race.  I'm really praying for cooler weather, although I do feel that I'm prepared for hot conditions after today. 

Happy Running!

Breathing Water

This morning Wenzyl and I went for a run on the trail, and a damp run it was.  The Humidity according to, weather.com was 82%, and the temperature was sitting a balmy 70 degrees.  This made for extremely sticky conditions, which I personally DO NOT LIKE!

With the race around the corner, I find myself praying for cool weather more and more.  It's amazing how the temperature and humidity can have a negative effect on your performance.  Unless, you're Will Richter that is, he enjoys the "hot and sticky" and encourages extreme forms of exercise in such conditions.  I still don't understand where he is coming from?

I do have to admit, aside from the uncomfortableness of the humidity, and sweat pouring out of my pores, the smells of the earth are extremely heightened when it's humid out.  I'm not sure if this is because things become more stagnant due to all of the moisture in the air,or maybe it's my imagination?  I felt like I could smell every flower budding in the woods, every piece of bark and pine cone on the forest floor, each blade of fresh grass, and (my favorite smell) lilacs.  Breathing this in, I feel, rejuvenates me.  Almost like getting an aromatherapy massage... all of the smells allow you to relax as they penetrate your senses.  Luckily, I was able to focus on this, and not the fact that I was dripping from head to toe with sweat.

Will, Abe and I are gearing up for a 22 miler on Sunday.  I'm hoping the weather will cooperate.  This will be our last long run before the big race!  Bring it on!

If anyone reading that is thinking about possibly running a marathon or half marathon, I would encourage you to show your support on June 18th in Duluth.  You will see so many different runners, young, old, small, big, fast, slow... the list goes on.  The fact is, they're all out there running, for their own reasons.  If they can do it, SO CAN YOU!

Happy Running!