Thanksgiving Day Run

We drove up to Sheboygan, Wisconsin on Wednesday night after work. It is so nice to be able to stay with family! My sister and her husband have a beautiful home and are always so willing to let us come and stay.

Thursday came rather fast. The weather was awesome. It was in the 20’s with a light breeze. We got up, got dressed and drove to the YMCA to register for the 10K. Let me tell you how cheap this was. We chose the no t-shirt option and paid $12.00 each. We waited in the car for a while and then we decided to go inside the YMCA to use the bathrooms. It was very nice not having to use a port-a-potty! This race was also a 2-mile fun walk/run for families. I found it enjoyable watching the kids and parents get excited. I found it very fun to watch the parents bundle up the kids in snow suits, boots, and mittens.

Chief and I went outside around 9:15 to wait for the start. I didn’t get too cold waiting. They had a strange start. There was no gun, no sirens, no one said “go” (that we heard). At 9:30 am people just started to run. And run we did!

Chief got in front of me and I was chasing while fussing with my watch. I have no idea if I started it when I began to run or if I hit start when I crossed the timing mat. Since we were chipped I didn’t really care too much. I just like to have an ideal of my mile splits. The race was an out and back along Sheboygan’s Lake Michigan coastline and nearby neighborhoods. I kind of wanted to stay with Chief as long as I could. Being that he got a head of me so quick it took me a mile to get on his heals. Unfortunately for me that is when I got to the bottom of the big hill. Chief is very strong with hills and I am not for two reasons: ITB and hills just suck! The course was not flat. There seemed to be endless rolling hills. I couldn’t get back to Chief but could see him in front of me for most of the first part of the race.

My splits seemed fast. I saw Chief go around the cones at the 5K-turnaround. As we passed by each other he gave me some encouraging words. When I got to the 5K-turnaround, the guy shouted “26:28”. Could he be serious? I looked at my watch and we matched. Holy Cow I never ran a 5 K this fast! I could no longer see Chief so it was up to me to keep up the pace. At mile 4 there was a small water station. After I gracefully choked on my drink, I decided to see how hard I could push. I felt so tired. My heart rate was around 93-95% and I really wanted to be done. I was happy to see mile 5. I latched on to some guy and toward the finish he thought we should “take it”. We picked it up and I saw Chief cheering me on the side of the road. I crossed at 53:07. Later I would find out that my pace was 8:33. Holy crap. Chief did well also. His chip time was 51:21. (Thanks for pacing me babe!)

Other than wanting to puke I felt okay. My knee held up and I was warm enough. What more could I ask for? How about water? Nope, they did not have enough water at the finish line. There was Gatorade and two kinds of Donut Holes but no water! They need to change two things about this race: more water at the end and a person at the start with a megaphone, starter pistol, whistle, air horn, etc., just to let us know when it is time to go. I guess that is why the race was so darn cheap.

After the run, we went to my sister’s to shower and pack up the car to head up to Manitowoc for Thanksgiving dinner with Chief’s family. We had good eats and “feats of strength” – Chief arm-wrestled his nephew. We are lucky to have a great family to stay with. This time we slept over at my other sister’s house. They recently moved to this very pretty home. I enjoyed staying there because it gave me a chance to catch up with my niece and nephew. I wish I lived closer. They change so fast and I really had a blast seeing the kids again. Friday morning came early and I got up at 4:00 am to drive to Green Bay and shop with another sister, niece, and mom. My niece and I had a fun time in the back seat snacking on jelly beans, pretzels, Pringles, and what ever else we had brought or bought. That night we drove back home to Illinois. We don’t usually get home for Thanksgiving because I normally work the day after. I am glad we had the chance this year. It was fun.

Keeping Busy

It is definitely getting chilly outside. You know you like to run when you get up at 4:50 am, turn on the weather channel to see the temperature and wind report, spend 10 minutes figuring out what to wear and then finally get out there and run. This is now my routine on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I have built up the distance and speed to run with Chief and TL. We do a 5-mile loop starting at TL’s house. If I feel okay at the end, I add a little bit and run home. It is really awesome that JJ is able to run with us too. I think the trick was building super slow. The problem is that I get so competitive with myself that I want to keep adding distance or running more frequent then I should. Take today, we ran 8 miles in 81 minutes yesterday at Waterfall Glen. I was ready to run with the boys this morning even though my knee is a little sore and I am physically tired. Chief woke up with me and said he would go with us if we would walk. So, we walked and I enjoyed talking and looking at the neighborhood. I think the boys like the break as well.

Yesterday the run was great at WFG. We got there at 5:45am. Chief bought a headlamp from REI and it worked really well. He lit up the path for all three of us. Dusty got a new running jacket (looks like a yellow Superman cape). He is a little guy with less fur than JJ so we are careful with cold weather and running him. He ran in his little jacket and he had absolutely no issues. When Chief got home, Dusty followed him to the den to hang it up. It was really cute.


Today I am returning to “Hot Yoga” class with my friend. She invited me last weekend and it was my very first yoga experience. I loved it. I am not flexible but that didn’t matter. I just did as much as I could. I admit when I was done I felt so relaxed. I got home and wanted to sleep. Today, I need to drink more prior to class. I think that will help me not feel so dehydrated later tonight.

This is Thanksgiving week and I have a lot to do. Normally, I work the Friday after Thanksgiving so we make a dinner for just us two and put up the Christmas tree. This year we are headed up north and I already have some time constraints. After working and a manicure on Wednesday, we will be driving to Sheboygan to stay with my oldest sister. We are planning on doing a 10K turkey trot in Sheboygan on Thursday morning. Then we have to drive to Manitowoc and get our butts going to be at Chief’s family gathering. We are staying at my sister’s house (different than the one referenced above) and she has her dinner at noon, which we are invited to as well. I told her we would just snitch a piece of turkey because we have to be at Chief’s brothers house by 2 pm for dinner at 4 pm. I will be going shopping with some of my family on Friday morning. I have never done the day after shopping thing. I am not a real lover of shopping but I wanted to spend some time with them. We are driving to Green Bay and Appleton for this. My mom’s dinner is on Saturday night, but we will already be back in Illinois because we are picking up a friend at O’Hare Airport on Saturday afternoon. Sunday, I will be getting started with Christmas decorating. Wow, we will need a vacation after this.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

My 10K Race Report

On Sunday Chief and I ran a local 10K. I was worried because my knee was sore from probably too much spinning and I was also concerned about the weather. It was suppose to be windy, cold, and a chance of snow.

The day started early. Chief got going and took the boys for their walk. I got to "sleep in" until 6am and had to figure out how to dress. I had bought a few new cold weather running things as a birthday present but I wasn't sure if it was quite cold enough to wear them. With the temp being around 38 I decided on layers of 2 wick shirts and a pull over Sport Hill running jacket. I had my gloves, hat, and a layer of tights. I do have a heavy pair of tights but the zipper has dug into my Achilles and I haven't been brave enough to wear them again.

We got to the race, picked up our timing chips and waited in the car. About 30minutes prior to the race we decided to find a potty and wait in the tent for the call to the line. I was a little chilled waiting. I loved watching people before the race. I felt like a dork because I don't have a ritual. It was obvious to me that there were some very serious runners. I saw some use foam rollers and the stick to loosen up. I saw people doing crazy stretches and some weird duck walk thing. I was getting nervous. Why was I here? What did I sign up for? This was crazy. It was early, cold, and I just wanted to be done and go home.

We finally walked to the start. We went to the middle. The gun went off. Funny, how as soon as the gun went off my nerves went away. I told Chief to run ahead and have fun. I knew I was going to be slower and I didn't want to drag him down. Truth be told I am pretty much a loaner when I run. I don't mind running alone.

I was running comfortably. I felt that I was warm enough. I took off my gloves at the half way point. I started to realize that I was turning out 9 minute miles. I got to where the 5K and 10K course splits. For a moment I thought about bailing but I didn't. I figured I was out I might as well get in a good workout. It was with 2 miles to go that I knew I could get this race done in under an hour. I just kept telling myself to keep turning my legs. Keep the pace. Only 9 minutes until the next mile. I picked up some dude and he was running faster than me. He spoke Spanish and he would wave for me to pass him. I told him I was coming but I couldn't catch him. I was just past the 6mile marker and I saw Chief. It was cool to see him at the finish line. I ended up running in 56:12. I was so happy with my run and I am glad that I didn't bail at the 5K split!

They had great post race treats: bananas, apples, oranges, bagels, soup, hot dogs, McDonald yogurt parfaits, coffee, hot chocolate, and hot cider.

I chilled pretty quick so we grabbed a bite and left. I was pretty tired for the rest of the day. My legs were tired at spin on Monday and Tuesday my knee was sore with running. I went to spin today and it wasn't too bad. I hope to run with Chief and TL tomorrow. They plan on doing 5 miles.