Minneapolis-Star-Tribune-runningkellometers

The 11 things thing has been going around the blogging world. I was tagged by Too Tall Fritz and A Sparklish Roar but I can't seem to find the blog post from ASR?

1. Favorite race/event & why? Shamrock Shuffle. It is a great race to kick off the running season and it is always very well organize, great expo, and free beer! 2012 will be my 6th year doing it! Did I mention the free beer?

Shamrock Shuffle 2010, crossing the finish line together with the Kates!

2. Were you a Princess or TomBoy? I was actually both, strangely enough. I liked to play sports, run around, and not brush my hair…but I also wanted things my own way! Maybe more bossy than princessy.

3. Who or What inspires you & why? When it comes to running, I think that a lot of people inspire me. My cousin, who I’ve talked about before, for all she’s accomplished in her running career. By Kate S., Kate LF, and Amanda who are all inspiring in their own way and crazy enough to run with me through the winter! By all my new friends I’ve made since starting this blog only a few months ago! There is so much inspiration out there, if you just take the time to stop and look at those around you!

4. Do you have more “online” friends or real life friends? Real Life, but the group of online friends has been growing exponentially since I started my blog!

5. 20 Year Class Reunion….Are you going, legitimately busy or you wouldn’t be caught dead stepping in the door? Meh, I still keep in touch with my really good friends from high school. And those that were kind-of friends are now Facebook friends. It would be fun to see everyone IRL though. :)

6. Do you prefer Flowers or Candy from the significant other or should they save the $? BOTH PLEASE! (going back to question #2) I love me some SPKs that my husband always puts in my stocking! In the winter months we don’t have the time or funds to go out on date nights as much as we would like, so I like that Toph gives me flowers on the one cliché day of the year.

7. If you were rich and famous and had the balls guts to name your kid something outlandish, what would that be? First and Middle name, please! I guess I’m not that outlandish to begin with and I like “old people” names anyways. All our children will probably have names similar to someone in their 90s.

8. You’re in a marathon, in first place, on world record pace…..You have to “go”. Do you stop for a port-o-pot, and possibly lose the race and miss the world record or do you go in the street for the world to see? I think to save face forever, I would have to stop and use the portapotty. I mean, haven’t we all seen that one pic of that one guy? I’m starting to gag just thinking about it.

9. Why do you run? Wow. This question is quite philosophical. I think I can answer this with another question. Why not? I love to run for many reasons. It helps me feed my addiction to SPK and Cheetohs. It helps clear my mind and relieve stress. I get to meet new people. I feel accomplished after a long run, strong run, PR… So many great things that outweigh the bad.

10. Favorite type of run: Group, Solo, Tempo, Long Run, Speed Work? I love all of these for different reasons. I guess you could just say that I love running in any way! :)

11. Most adventurous “out of character” thing you’ve ever done? I don’t think I do too many things that surprise people.


A lot of my blogging friends have already been tagged already. Here are some questions and feel free to tag yourself or just respond in the comments.

Enjoy and Happy Friday everyone!!!

1) What is your favorite time of day to run and why?
2) What is your favorite/preferred racing distance and why?
3) Biggest accomplishment in 2011?
4) Favorite brand of running clothes (shoes, shirt, shorts, socks)?
5) If you could have one pet, what would it be and what would you name it?
6) Favorite fruit?
7) Favorite candy?
8) Preferred method of refueling during a long run or race? (Gu, Gatorade, Clif Shots, etc.)
9) If it was a perfect world, would you ever consider moving to a different state to give running a try as a full time job (a la Desi Davila?)
10) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
11) Who's your favorite athlete of all time?

Tuesday was a crazy day at the office so I was happy to get home and unwind. I made another dinner idea from Pinterest (recipe here) and finished up an episode of Rizzoli and Isles before it was time for my run. When my husband got home from the gym, he told me that he ran 1.5 miles today. Considering he hasn't run a mile in about 6 years, I was pretty excited with this news. He and a friend went to the gym and his friend suggested they hit the treadmill after lifting weights. They did about a mile together but my husband kept going. I was proud of him for giving it a try. This gives me encouragement that he will actually complete the Warrior Dash this summer!

Another bit of good news came my way when I received an email from Run for Pi(e) that I won her Fuel Belt raffle! Of the three items, I received the R20 Revenge® 2-bottle belt! I told my husband this and he looked disappointed. He told me that he had to go return one of my Christmas gifts--apparently he bought me one. I'm happy he continues to embrace my runnerdiness.

At this point my stomach was settled and it was time for my run (note, it was 9pm). In traditional Tuesday fashion, I did some speed work. I have a 5k this weekend so I kept the distance lower. I did 400m reps, 1 jog and 1 sprint, for a total of 2 miles with average splits of about 8:30. It was drizzling but I was too lazy to go "all the way" to the gym so I decided to run outside-which definitely made things more interesting. My Nike Cyclone rain jacket kept the top of me dry, but my face was a different story. I felt good during the workout and felt the last 400m was my fastest. I'll have to check my watch when I get home to see if I'm right. When I was done and looked in the mirror and had mascara streaks all down my face. Thankfully I has no where else to go except for bed.

Yesterday I took a day trip to Memphis for work. I literally had the best BBQ sauce in the entire world at the Commisary. I don't like BBQ sauce normally, but I'm going to have dreams about this sauce. If you're ever in the area, I highly, highly suggest it. I went the traditional route and got pulled pork and french fries. (I determined it was one of those "when in Rome" kind of situations.) It is always hard to eat right while traveling so in going to try to take some pictures of what I eat the next time I travel. I think it will help force me to eat healthier if I'm showing the world what I'm eating! Accountability is always a great way to make positive changes. I'm also thinking about participating in the What I Ate Wednesday sensation on the Peas and Crayons blog. I find it much more difficult to eat green things (not including green frosted things) in the winter when I will sometimes go days without seeing the sun. Thanks office job!

Sam Adams Winter Lager

My flight home was delayed by almost 2 hours so I am definitely exhausted. Thankfully we were able to squeeze in a beer before the entire Memphis airport shut down (at 7pm). I have a lot of blog reading to check up on!

Also, special thanks to Skinny Runner for posting my horrible running pictures!

I sent out our Christmas cards last week and I thought it would be fun to show you what we picked. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all!

Being new to the blogging community, I was elated that Jodi (RunJodiRun) would like to feature me in her weekly Thumbs Up Thursday. Please head on over to Jodi's blog to check it out. If you're seeing this because you came over from Jodi's blog, welcome!

I can't believe today is December 1st. Today is also the beginning of the Frozen Tundra Challenge. Since I've planned on running through the winter and increasing the distance, why not sign up to win some prizes too!: 100 miles from December 1, 2011 through January 31, 2012. Prize winners are chosen at random if you complete the mileage. First Place Prize: Free pair of kicks from Fleet Feet Chicago, with the whole 9 yards (gait analysis, etc.); Second Place Prize:$50 gift certificate to Fleet Feet Chicago; Third Place Prize: race entry into Fleet Feet Sport’s 2012 Ravenswood 5K. Winners will be selected the week following the challenge in random order. To sign up, all you have to do is create a DailyMile account, if you don't already have one, and sign up for the challenge here. I'm still debating whether or not to sign up for a January half marathon. I recently found out about another one (F^3 Lake Half Marathon) later in the month on Saturday, January 28. It is the 3rd year of the event so there will probably be less hiccups than the Polar Dash. The medal comes with a bottle opener feature, gender-specific race shirt, and hot chocolate after the race. It is 90% full so I have to decide quick what I'm going to do.

Last night I went for a 5 mile run after my CCD class (I teach every religious education at my church every Wednesday night). I decided to run up and down the streets looking at Christmas lights! I had on all my reflective gear and head light. I snapped a pic of me in my gear, in the spirit of a true runnerd.

Road Runner reflective vest, Sharper Image head light

This is my absolute favorite time of year, so why not add some fun to my run?! I stopped to snap a few pics along the way...




I was hoping to see one of the houses as described below, based on the new internet-crazed photo, but no such luck...