getting back on track..

..and NO, I don’t mean in the way that it seams everyone else has been talking about. I don’t need a diet cleanse after the 4th of July weekend (although, there were some yummy delicious things involved!).. I’m just kind of at the point where I just need a life cleanse.

Hah - wow. Could I sound more dramatic? I’m not trying to be.. but hopefully putting this in writing will be a good step in moving forward. (And because I do everything in photo form.. it will of course be accompanied with pictures. Some of which may be irrelevant.)

Sperly’s Lovin Life Lowdown: Phase 1- Detox

Everyone has bad habits.. whether we admit to them or not. And if you don’t like the words “bad habit”, lets just say there are some things we could all do better at in life - I have my fair share of those things. Maybe this should be Phase 2.. because Phase 1 would have been like recognition and claiming responsibility or something along those lines.. but I didn’t think of that till now, so too bad. Here are the things I’ll be workin on for the next… while.

1. Sleeping. I’ve accomplished all of my new years resolutions, except for getting back on track with a decent sleep schedule. I used to go to bed after the sports on the local news, and ever since 2nd semester last winter I’ve been staying up until like 12:30 or 1:00.. or later. And then waking up still at 7:00 because my body is incapable of sleeping past sunrise. I’ve had to reset/change my sleeping patterns before due to a new job or a different class schedule.. and for some reason this last effort has efficiently FAILED. Work on it.

2. Letting go of my mom’s relationship decision. I have no say in who she dates. Why she dates them. What they do. When they do it. I don’t get to pick if she choses to get married again. My parents aren’t getting back together and I know that. Missing our family 4 and wanting it back are two different things. I can miss it, but they’re not getting back together. I may not love my mom’s boyfriend, but I love my mom. Work on it.

3. Letting go of my own relationship non-relationship stress. After my last relationship ended I was really enjoying being single.. but to be honest I’m not exactly feelin’ that right now. I’m torn because I want a relationship, yet at the same time I only let myself get to a certain point before I close myself off and don’t allow one to develop. My outlook on relationships has been jaded, and I don’t know how to get around that. And especially considering my current situation - I’ll be leaving in two months. That’s not time to start anything serious. But I don’t know that I’m enjoying being on my own. Aah! God knows what’s up, and he’s got a plan, so I need to leave it to him and let life take it’s course. Work on it.

(This photo is from 4th of July 1 year ago when I was up at my bf’s grandparent’s house on Lake Michigan. It was so much fun! We’re still friends. )

4. Stay excited about going out to Boston. I do love the school. I do love the city. I love architecture and I know I’m passionate about it. Every now and then though, I remember that we can’t really afford it, and I’m leaving behind a full ride at the U of MN. And then I remember that I’m going to be hundreds and hundreds of miles away from my home and my family. And then I think about how much I’ll miss the lakes, and how bored I’ll be running the Charles (I clearly have my priorities figured out). I need to find a way to stay excited about this, because if I don’t go now, I never will. Work on it.

5. Being a better person all around, to everyone. I feel like I’ve been more irritable/fake with people than I used to be, and that’s NOT ME. I’ve still kept my promise (to myself) about not talking about people behind their backs, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking just as (if not more) bitchy thoughts them (whoever “them” happens to be at the moment). It didn’t use to (used to?) take a conscious effort to be a legitimately nice person to everyone. Despite how much I gritted my teeth, I could always find the good in someone, and remind myself that God made them too - we’re all human. Maybe I’m just irritable because of the major sleep debt I’ve been in? Maybe more sleep will help? I sure hope so. Work on it.

I’m only going with 5.. because I feel like more than that and I’m being over ambitious.. I like setting goals in smaller steps. Plus, everything is better in odd numbers (flowers, candles, cookies) (OK I lied.. being the 3rd wheel SUCKS).

I honestly have no clue where this post is headed, and what a future follow-up post will be, but there you go.

In Other News..

I’m flying out to Boston on Sunday (wayyyyy early in the AM), and I’ll be there through Thursday. (Or Friday - take your pick. My flight gets in at like 12:08 in the morning on Friday.) I’m SO EXCITED! Sunday/Monday I’ll be staying in the dorms on campus, and Tuesday/Wednesday I’ll be staying at the Colonnade Hotel. I’m not sure which one I’m more excited about - the Colonnade is pretty sweet!! It’s right by campus though, so I’ll be getting used to commuting from “home”.

I had my highest mileage week.. um, ever.. last week. 72! Unintentional, but felt fine. (And please [do I even need to say this?] - no anonymous “you shouldn’t run that much” comments. It won’t get posted, and you’ll be wasting your time.)

(There’s a ME in there.. running at Harriet. I love these photos.)

My mom’s BF is coming.. TOMORROW. For 2.5 weeks. Please see above for my feelings on that.

(bahhaaha.. kidding. Hope mom can take the joke.)

Well, I’m gonna have to sign off here folks. Time for a shower and my bathroom cleaning/laundry duties for the night. I apologize for posting so infrequently, but I’ve been working every day (look forward to a very photographic TF post coming soon!), + running, + friends and family, + prepping for Boston, and I just don’t have a ton of free time. Be back soon!

psh.. I don’t need to be “tagged”!

Umm.. so nobody tagged me.. but it’s almost midnight, I can’t sleep, and I wanna play. Only one word answers allowed.

1. Where is your cell phone?  table
2. Your significant other?  who?
   
3. Your hair?  pony
4. Your mother?  sleeping
5. Your father?  downtown
6. Your favorite thing?  sun
7. Your dream last night?  brett?!
8. Your favorite drink?  agua
9. Your dream/goal?  2012
   
10. The room you’re in?  dark
11. One hobby?  laughing
12. Your fear?  loss
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?  smiling
14. What you’re not?  passive
15. Muffins?  oatmeal
16. One of your wish list items?  boy
    
17. Where you grew up? diverse
    
18. The last thing you did?  microwave
19. What are you wearing?  pjs
20. Favorite Gadget? Gomer
    
21. Your pets? Senegal
    
22. Your computer? infected
    
23. Your mood? goofy
    
24. Missing someone?  yessir
25. Your car?  stick
26. Something you’re not wearing? contacts
27. Favorite store?  Target
28. Like someone? contemplating..
29. Your favorite color?  green
30. When is the last time you laughed?  11:58
31. Last time you cried?  saturday

Grandma’s non-race race report!

Honestly, I don’t feel like I need to say anything more than

Grandma’s Marathon was a BLAST!

But of course I will. Not a race report.. but I will take you through the my Grandma’s experience from start to finish!

My mom has run Grandma’s Marathon 7 or 8 times. It always used to be over Father’s Day weekend, so we would pack up practically the day after school was out, and head up to Breezy Point Resort in Two Harbors for the whole week. The entire trip was full of flashbacks from past year’s Grandma’s adventures.

This time though started a whole new chapter in my book of Grandma’s memories. This time, the trip was for ME. No Breezy Point resort (although I do hope to continue that tradition in the future..), and no week long vacation (that one would be nice too), and this time, I wasn’t a super fan - I was a runner!

And I say runner - not racer. If you don’t remember me talking about it back at Med City time.. my plan was that if I BQed at Med City, then I would just take Grandma’s easy and have fun. If I didn’t, well I didn’t really want to consider that, but there was always as a backup! Luckily, I took care of qualifying early on, and so for Grandma’s I decided to pace two of my favorite buddies from my Running Club! These two lucky guys would be D and M, together forming team MED. D’s previous PR was a 4:30something at Twin Cities last year, but that was his first marathon, and for those who don’t know, Twin Cities (the same day as last year’s Chicago) was KILLER HOT. D has improved so much since then! M on the other hand had run Fargo back in mid May, and Med City at the end of May.. so this was marathon #3 within about six weeks! M’s previous PR was like a 3:45 I believe (over in Fargo).

pre-race

D and I drove up on Friday afternoon. After getting through some annoying traffic on 280 (can’t wait till the 35W bridge is open again!) the ride was pretty smooth the whole way up. We had fun looking over at other cars and guessing which contained runners on their way up too. The 26.2 bumper stickers were a dead give away, but so were the vans that had grocery bags in back with bananas peaking over the top! We went to the expo right away to get our packets, and we were in and out in no time!

Dinner was FABULOUS and at Pizza Luce in downtown Duluth. During race weekend, most restaurants wont take reservations, so we weren’t sure if we’d get in. We planned that we’d all meet at 6:00 at the restaurant, and we were probably seated by 7:00! That’s really not that bad considering the amount of people that were there.. and especially not bad because we had a table of about 20! That included about 13 runners and some family members who tagged along. I think the majority of us runners got spaghetti, myself included! It was delicious as always. I <3 Pizza Luce. We also got ice cream on the way back to the hotel, because that’s just what you do and it’s my standard night-before-a-race (actually night before.. every day) deal. It was also delicious. As always. I <3 ice cream.

We stayed at a hotel about 10 minutes outside of downtown Duluth. Almost every hotel has a 2-day-minimum kinda deal.. which is sort of ridiculous. Along with ridiculous are the RATES! $216 a night.. for a hotel that any other time would typically be like under $100. I don’t really care though.. the room was comfortable, there was good water pressure in the shower, we were across the street from a shuttle to the race start, and they had coffee. We clearly know what matters.. Along with D and I were four other people in our room - N (another girl from our running club), Big Bryce (the BF of a girl from our RC), and two guys who were the acquaintances of a friend of an ex girl friend (’s dog sitter’s neighbor from Tennessee. Or something along those lines.) There were only two queen beds.. so the acquaintances got sleeping bags on the floor. Plus, they were only running the half.. sleep doesn’t really matter if you’re only doing 13. (Haha kidding. Sorta.)

Saturday morning started at 5:00 am. There were shuttles from the mall across the street at 5:30 and 6:00.. and we opted for the 6:00 because unless you’re really concerned for some reason that you wouldn’t get there in time.. why go stand around outside for an extra half hour when you could have that extra time to sleep? The hotel had continental breakfast open at like 4 already.. so I headed down there after I got dressed. Of course, most the runners down there brought their own trusty breakfast along.. we just all wanted the coffee.. to “clear things out”. It was hilarious.. everyone has their own little tricks for getting things goin in the morning. There were people standing there doing toe raises as they watched the morning weather, and one chick was running up and down the hall.

We walked across the street to the mall at 5:45. It was weird to have it be so sunny already! I’d say it was about 60 degrees already? Not bad. While we were waiting, I had my trusty breakfast of soy nuggets and coffee. I also grabbed an english muffin from the breakfast room.. and decided to eat that on the bus. The ride was quick, and before we knew it, we were in Two Harbors at the start!

This is when you know.. you’re in for a good time. There’s music playing, people laughing, the whole atmosphere is just FUN! We jumped in line for the porta-potties right away, made it through the line, went to go find M, and drop off our sweat bags. M was getting nervous because he came on the 5:30 bus.. and he was probably thinking “WHERE ARE THEY!?” I’d be thinking the same thing if I was waiting around and my team wasn’t there yet!

(Left to Right: N, ME, M, D)

We jumped over the fence for the chute so we could make it up to the 3:30 group. That’s what both M and D had in mind for a goal time.. although I say “had in mind” very loosely. Both of them just really wanted to run and do their best, and if that meant taking it back, then that meant taking it back! I know D is capable of running a 3:30 marathon, but he just doesn’t race enough to know how much he has improved. M was shooting for a 3:30 because that’s his qualifying time for Boston!

do work!

The race started right on time at 7:30, and off we went! We stayed on pace (actually ahead of pace.. because M and D both walked through the water stops) up until mile 16. At that point, I could feel that both of them had been fading - I was in that always-one-step-ahead-of-ya position.. but I didn’t want to ask them if they wanted to tone it down because this was their race.. and I wanted them calling the shots. Both of them decided to take it back a notch at that point, and shortly after, M told D and I to go head. We continued on.. but still slowing down.

I was having so much fun.. the crowds at Grandma’s are AMAZING! Such a different experience than Med City. For the first ~18 of the course, they are spread out along the county road, mostly at or around the aid stations. Once you get into Duluth though, they’re pretty much constant! Oh - my dad!! I forgot to say that my dad drove up, at 3:00 in the morning! Trooper. I wasn’t sure where he would pop out, and I only saw him twice on the course, it it was great to hear his voice! Around mile 22 I saw him the 2nd time, and ran up and jumped in his arms and gave him a big hug, and then took off again. I thought I had a right to be tired.. but man-o-man, this guy deserved a nap! (Which luckily he got..!)

The last 10K was definitely the hardest for D. He didn’t hit “the wall”.. but maybe more like a fence. He was just sorta losing steam. It didn’t help that there were now water stops at every mile between 19 and 26, because that meant more walk breaks, which meant more times where it’s harder to get going. I kept tellin him, “The faster you run, the faster you’ll be finished!” Lemon Drop “Hill” was at like 22.. and I could tell D wasn’t thrilled about that one. He did a really good job though on the way down - dropping his arms and opening up his stride. OH MAN I said some ridiculous things along those last six miles trying to encourage him on! Something along the lines of..

“Dominate that hill D! It’s yours!”

“This is the strongest mile of your life! Make it yours!”

“Find your Kenyan! Dig deep.. it’s in there!”

At which point he probably just wanted to say “Shut up Erika! I’m trying!” but he didn’t and he just took it all.. haha now we get to look back on it and laugh. Afterwards, he said it was helpful, even though he couldn’t talk and say anything back, so YAY for good effort and not stopping even though I sounded like an idiot.

In between 25 and 26, I was turned back yelling something [good and encouraging] at D, when all of the sudden, M came outta nowhere! I was like “Mighty M! Where’d you come from!” (We all have nicknames by the way.. Mighty M, Dashing D, Extreme Erika, Namaste N.. etc. I don’t know if they want their names online, so I’m sticking with letters here.) I wanted to all finish as Team MED!! But D told us to go ahead.. he was still truckin though! M and I pulled up a little, and crossed the line together. He was hilarious, and amazing! He kept saying “Stop speeding up! My legs can’t go any faster!” and I was like “I’m not going faster! You’re going faster! C’mon - you can do this!!”

M and I both finished in 3:42:xx, and D came in at 3:43:xx. D PRed by over 45 minutes! And while M didn’t qualify for Boston this time, he’s just that much closer! They’re both running TC (yes - I’m jealous!) in October, and I know they’ll both do stellar!

post-race

Post race was fabulous (as it always is at Grandma’s!) We got our medals, shirts, drink tickets, (and I got a carnation! I guess this was only for the ladies.. a nice gesture but I ended up thrown it away.. :/ I’m not gonna carry around a flower for the entire time afterwards.) We took a Team MED picture (see above!) in front of the Grandma’s backdrop.. knowing that none of us would get it since they’re like $$$! Then we went to grab our sweat bags, get water, stretch, (lie down in D’s case), find family, and relax!! For the runners, there was ice cream, yogurt, fruit, bagels, sandwiches, water, bottled dirty bath water Ultima, and MASSAGES (with a killer long line). We didn’t end up getting a massage.. but I really wanted one!!

We also met up with N, who finished around 3:48:xx!! My dad found me, and after many hugs and laughter, he went off to sit, enjoy a beer, and actually go back to the car and nap. He had only gotten like 3 hours of sleep!! I also ran into Mary - the woman I ran the majority of Med City with! She finished in 3:05, and did AMAZING! It’s funny how when you’re trying to find someone, you can’t for the life of you, but when you’re not looking you seem to run into everyone you know!

After we all rested up a bit and got rehydrated/refueled, we went down to the water front with M’s son (who also happens to be named M in this case) to wade into the chilly waters of Lake Superior. Chilly is an understatement - it’s freaking FREEZING. But it felt sooooo good. I wish I had been smart like N and brought along my SOCKS (I gave them to my dad in a second bag once I switched into my flip flops), because then I could have stayed in much longer! The water felt AMAZING on my legs, but it HURT your feet. Like, BAD.

D, N, and I wandered around/through all the post-race festivities, used up are drink tickets, and then decided it was time to head back to the hotel. I had gotten 2nd in my age group, and was told I was going to be getting an award. Sooo I wanted to rush back to the hotel, take a speed shower, pack up my stuff, and make it back in time for the awards ceremony at 3:15. We did just that, but it turned out then that the HALF awards started at 3:30, the MARATHON awards weren’t until 4:15. And then, after sitting through all of that, I realized that they were only giving out an award to the first place winner in the 19 and under age group, though they were giving an award to the top three in every other category. Lame. I felt like an idiot sitting through that whole thing.. and then not getting an award. I don’t get the reason behind that.. but whatever though - good to support all the other runners. Plus I saw so many familiar people/heard so many familiar names of people my mom used to run with! It turns out, the girl who took 1st in my age group was less than 30 seconds ahead of me. Not like I would have left Team MED to get her had I known.. but c’mon. Oh well, I can be happy to know that my Med City time smoked her! To give you an idea what the field is like.. Lamech Mokono, the top male finisher came in at 2:13:39, and the top female finisher, Mary Akor, ran a 2:38:50. 10 of the 12 top males were from Kenya

( Mathew Chesang, winner of the half, came in at 1:04:48!!)

My dad and I headed home after the awards. We didn’t even get on the road till like 5:00, and with a stop for dinner along the way we didn’t get home till after 8:00. I drove half way home because my dad was still sleepy, but it was actually really nice to be behind the wheel - kind of relaxing. If I could have gotten into the Big Tent, I for sure would have stayed on Saturday night. I think it’s dumb that they can’t just X people who are under age. I’m clearly not the only one under 21 who ran! I can go to clubs and bars here in the cities, I just can’t drink! It seams pretty common sense to me.. I think that’s something Grandma’s should reconsider for next year.

Somethings they don’t need to reconsider are the cups of ICE, and the COLD WET SPONGES. Those were amazing. Someone needs to tell Twin Cities to get their rear in gear and do that too! Overall, the whole experience was a blast! It was worth every single thing, and certain people reading can go ahead and take the hint. I can’t wait to race Grandma’s in 2009! I’ll be countin down the days!

The next day (Sunday) was a big open house at my home.. something we’ve been preparing for for WEEKS! It definitely added to the stress that I wasn’t around on Friday night/Saturday day to help out. I was fabulous though - everything went smoothly and tons of people came! My mom worked her but off and I appreciate everything she did so much! The food was great, and the weather held out. Both D and M came too! We went for a short run once everything died down, and there were only a few people left. Team Med, reunited

A little tide-over..

Does anyone else call a snack a “tide-over”? Or is that just my family..? I’ve used that term before and gotten a “whaat?”, but I swear I didn’t make it up. Anyways, this is a bit of a tide-over of a post.. because I’ve clearly efficiently FAILED at blogging lately. I can’t even put into words how busy and chaotic the last month has been. But I have SO MUCH to share and I’m SO excited about it! It’s just going to take some time to upload photos and get everything together.. so in the mean time.. (And of course.. in photo form - Gracias Señor Filckr!)

1) LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER? Yikes.. I think all the way back when I saw Run Fatboy Run with the RunClub crew!

2) WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? I just started Three Cups of Tea. It’s Northeastern’s pick for this year’s Honors Reading Project.

3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Scrabble. I’m a beast (This one is actually my photo from a game with my mom. She’s kind of a beast too.)

4) FAVORITE MAGAZINE? Self and Runners World (although I get annoyed by RW as often as I enjoy it!) (another one of MY photos! Remember my beach adventure post?)

5) FAVORITE SMELLS? Pumpkin Pie and/or Amor Amor by Carachel

6) FAVORITE SOUNDS? The sound of a light rain.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Feeling cold. Or alone. Especially cold and alone. (Wow. Depressing picture.)

8 ) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE? Was that real? (hahha!)

9) FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE? Ohh Noodles. Hands down. But that’s only because we don’t have Au Bon Pain in the Midwest.

vs

10) FUTURE CHILD’S NAME? Charlie. And better believe it’ll be a girl. (That’s a fact.. not a request.) (hahah why was this photo captioned “My Dog Charlie”!?)

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D… Go to Greece, open/design a smoothie bar/bakery, build my own home (see this post from my U of MN arch blog)

12) DO YOU DRIVE FAST? Well.. I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket..

13) DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? One pink teddy bear. (same style.. but think bear)

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? Cool. I have this strange attraction to dangerous weather.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? My mom’s old (92′) manual green Honda Accord. First and only - still goin! (taken this last winter.. almost got towed thanks to Minneapolis’ lack of snow emergency route warnings)

16) FAVORITE DRINK? Agua. Fresca. Pumpkin Shake. (the caption of this photo was “I have an unhealthy addiction”. Bingo!)

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD… finish my scrapbook that I haven’t worked on since the end of my sophomore year. (With the help of Martha Stewart Crafts. She is actually my idol.)

18 ) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Clearly. You can’t have a broccoli tree without the trunk.

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? I couldn’t. My mom would kill me.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN? None.. same house my entire life! I will miss you dear Grand Rounds!

21) FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Gymnastics and Figure Skating, hands down. (Carly Patterson = cold piece.)

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? She is amazing, super creative.. andddd comes up with the greatest shake combinations ever!! Plus.. she has a Magic Bullet, which earns major cool points.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED? Carpet. Don’t have space under my bed!

24) WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?? Mmm yes. But it’d be fun to try out a different ethnicity I think.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? Morning for sure. (Calhoun sunRISE.. not sunset.)

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP? Tofffuu scramble por favor.

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? Between the volleyball courts and Thomas Beach at Lake Calhoun.

28 ) FAVORITE PIE? Pumpkin. Homemade. Vegan. Mine.

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Vanilla. But I’m not boring, I swear. Either soft serve.. or with soda on top! (Best of both worlds. Vanilla ice cream AND Fresca.)

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST? Tagging is banned over here at RRR. But if you have any care to participate in this lil guy.. feel free!

A Taste of What’s to Come..

bamf

That’s me

I feel like the best runs are always the ones you least expect to be good. I don’t necessarily mean “best” as in like.. course PR.. I mean like you finish (forcedly.. because you really just want to go forever), and you can’t get over how much FUN it was! You want to tell everyone.. and chances are you do tell everyone. But unless they’re a runner and they’ve done it themselves, they probably just think “Wow, that chick is nuts!”

Well.. that’s me, and that’s yesterday. If you’ve been watching the weather, you know the midwest has been getting hit with some ridiculous stuff lately. Yesterday, the skies had finally cleared out (for the morning anyways), but there were these amazing gusts of wind at like 40mph. For some reason.. being hit with a 40mph gust of wind is way different than like a 40mph SUV. Good thing too, because there was no way I was passing up on this windy adventure.

I left Gomer at home, because on a day like this, you’re obviously not going out for a time. This one was for me and Señora Naturaleza. I had no real distance in mind.. at first I thought I should keep it close to the house in case conditions changed, but once I got out there, well, I got out there.. you know how it goes. I did bring my cell phone which feels totally lame, but I was trying to think in mom-mode.. and decided it wouldn’t hurt. Safety first kids.

I wasn’t the only one who had a windy adventure in mind! I’m sure the wind surfers at Calhoun were having a hay day! I also passed this guy when I was at Harriet.. he had the wind at his back and I was running into it. We just gave each other that grin that says “yeah.. I’m hard core” and a big ol high five when we passed. I saw him again on the other side of the lake when the roles were flipped - way too much fun! I had the wind pushing me at probably like a 6:20 pace, but my feet barely felt like they were hitting the ground! I really did feel like one bamf. [BTW, I just figured out what that stands for.. after seeing it for like a year! I was always too embarrassed to ask. Same situation for DF (dear friend? haha nope!) and FE (first ever..? but I knew that was wrong). Shout out to Karyn for finally making it register in my head!]

This is from a similar adventure I took this last winter with my DF (that would be my understanding of DF.. dear FRIEND!) Ali. It was like -25 with windchill.. and WIND was most definitely accurate. My clothing included: under armor, 2nd long sleeve, jacket, spandex, wind pants, socks x2, ski mittens, gator, hat, shoes, yak trax (best winter addition you can make to your running collection). We were debating ski goggles.. because we literally had our gators pulled up to our eyes, and our hats pulled down to our eyebrows. The snow was like a foot deep.. not plowed.. we would have been better off in snow shoes. And it was blowing all over the place! We passed a man running with a plastic SLED held out in front of him to block the snow! It was a blast!

Back to present day, my run ended a little after 9 miles, and believe me I could have gone forever if I didn’t have somewhere to be by 1:00. The clouds came back. The wind died down. I wouldn’t have traded my run for anything.

That would be hail. The weather has actually been NUTS this past week.. not to mention frustrating! Bad weather => getting called off at work. No work => no money. It’s not like I spend my paychecks right when I get them or anything (future post material. I hate money. Spending. Discussing. Dealing. Getting. It’s sort of a problem).. but I feel like I need to be making/saving as much as possible with my [lack of] financial aid package for next year.

I’m praying the weather holds out today, despite the disgusting forecast of storms and rain all week! It’s supposed to be hot too - 81 and humid. “Sweating buckets” doesn’t even come close to describing me post-run on a day like today!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Things have been hectic around here to say the least. Not even worth getting into.

I ran the downtown half for kicks last weekend. I was there volunteering anyways, and had really wanted to do it but I heard it was full. Wrong! Gotta love race day registration. I ran a 1:36:01, which is no PR but I’m OK with it.. given I didn’t go out in race-mode. Came in 1st for my age group, 3rd for the ladies, and 25th overall. Best part - TECH SHIRTS!! Anderson Races and Team Ortho seriously put on the BEST races in the Twin Cities. If you ever get the chance to take part in one.. I suggest you go for it! My dad and I went to Starbucks after for a refreshing frappaccino - it was a HOT day!

Well.. plenty to do around here. I gotta go deliver a few things to some neighbors, and get a start on the day! Hope the weather holds out for everyone to enjoy a nice weekend!

i suppose i should get to this..

So I’ve been “tagged” like 4 different times.. but I keep putting it off. I’m not playing by the rules and not tagging anyone else because I’m basically the last person on earth to get around to doing this, but if you haven’t been tagged - go for it - you’re it!

5 things you’d never know about Erika:

1. Whenever someone in a movie winks, I always wink back. I like physically can’t resist it. I even tell myself like “OK.. don’t wink. Don’t wink.” and then that left eye snaps closed and open before I can do anything about it! Haha I always double check around me right after to make sure no one saw.. “What a wierdo..”
2. I drive barefoot. In the summer that is.. For some reason flip flops + driving don’t work for me. I think it’s because I drive a stick.. so I have to constantly push in on the clutch, plus my teeny feet don’t let me keep my heel on the floor. Otherwise my shoe gets stuck. I don’t like take off my tennies or something though just TO drive barefoot. That would be extreme.
3. I have my bellybutton pierced. At 18, that’s like - OK.. you’re not special - but knowing ME (what I mean to say is, knowing my MOM), it’s kinda a big deal. She took me on my 13th birthday to get it pierced. It’s funny because I had asked for SO LONG (which is even more hilarious because I was what - 12?!) and she always said no, and then on my birthday, it was like, OK, I’ll go with you! I got it done at a place called Lucky Linda’s out by Valley Fair. My BFF came with, and I’ll never forget the size of her eyes when she saw the needle!
4. Speaking of piercings.. when I was in 8th grade I used to run a little underground piercing business. I did all the holes on my ears, including my cartilage, and I probably pierced like 10 other girls ears total. Like girls I didn’t even know. They’d come to me through a friend of a friend or something, and be like “my mom won’t let me pierce my ears until I’m 16.” And I’d be like “psh.. I’ll take care of ya! Lemme grab a needle.” Kids. Do not try this at home.
5. I have an african parrot named Jadin. I am allergic to cats, cats and dogs, cats, dogs, horses, gerbils, bunnies, horses basically any animal with hair.. and a bird was a good way to go. My first pet ever was a turtle named Elizabeth, who my dad found stranded downtown on his way home from work. (I think I was 4?) We let her go in Lake of the Isles. She was probably eaten by a bird the same day.

And here is my list, in photo form:

Dang.. hottie allert.

Check out my sweet ride.

Lucky Linda’s was also a tattoo parlor.. very clean and sterile and good. I’d recommend them to anyone!

Only I pierced into ice.. not a cork. ??

Hah so this is the only photo I didn’t get off flickr. Sorry it’s so dark.. I hope you can still see how adorable these lil guys are! Jadin is on the left (I believe..) and the other birdy is Kiwi. One of my friends has the same breed of bird, and whenever one of us goes out of town we always babysit for the other lil squeaker! We’re not sure if they’re the same or opposite sex.. so we’re always a little apprehensive about putting them together for too long

IN OTHER NEWS:

No running wrap up this week. My mileage is teeny.. and they’re all basically just short easy runs. Despite the fact that my legs feel great, I think a little recovery time is important.

I went to the Twins/Yankees game last night.. and despite the fact that we lost (but only by one!) it was still super fun. It was yet another photo documented adventure.. and that will be coming soon.

Something that was referenced in this post will be making a reapperance sometime hopefully soon!! Ahhh if you only knew what it was and how freaking excited I am You will be surprised. Trust me.

Well kids, time for me to check out. I’m meeting my friend to go down to the lake, and then I have a full night of waitressing ahead of me! Hope everyone has some decent weather to enjoy this weekend, and if not, what a perfect excuse to stay in for a movie night! Adios!

Gomer (go’-mer): Hebrew - to complete.

[EDIT EDIT EDIT - PICTURES ADDED!! - EDIT EDIT EDIT]

So I’m starting this post a little after 9:00 on Sunday night.. knowing it will take me a good minute before this is “publish ready”.. not to mention just to think of all the things I want to include in here! Don’t feel obligated to read the whole thing.. just look at pictures and highlights if you want.. but this is more for me than anyone else.. I really want to remember this one! I’m not even sure where I should begin on my

MED CITY MARATHON REPORT:

When I posted on Saturday morning.. I was just about to head out to work. Well I got to work.. and it was like a freaking circus! Literally.. there were SO many people up front in the window/running that it was ridiculous. Definitely more people than needed, and especially for a lunch shift. My boss was quick to let me leave knowing that I still had a lot left to do to be ready! I love job. And my boss.

So I hopped back on my bike and headed home.. got myself packed up.. and made a quick CostCo/Trader Joe’s trip before my dad came to pick me up! Dad came, packed everything in to the Jeep, and started the adventure down to Rochester. My dad had called earlier and left me a voicemail saying “I’m bringing my bike!” and I was thinking like Hmm.. papacito they’re not going to let you bike on the course. Well he knew that too.. but given the course, it would be easiest to catch me in the most places if he was on his bike.

So we get to the hotel in Rochester right.. and we’re at the front desk. I’m just gonna say right now I’m actually an idiot. Like.. honestly. I may secretly be Kenyan inside, but I also must be a blond. (Wow.. lets see who else I can offend? Time to stop.) Um.. without even unpacking the jeep.. I all of the sudden I smacked my hand to my forehead and was like “I forgot my effing shoes.” Minus the eff.. sounded more like something that rhymes with buck (because that’s about how much I’d pay for my BRAIN at that moment). Seriously Erika?? I can remember extra Gu for other people.. and I left my own damn shoes. I had my old old running shoes (that I just wear for walking) but those are WAY expired. Like run-in-and-cause-injury expired.

While I met the guys from my run club for our pre-race dinner.. my dad drove BACK an our and my mom drove OUT half an hour to meet and give him my shoes. I honestly have so much love for my parents. I pray that I would do the same for my kids (some day) - they’re seriously amazing. My mom was pissed at first.. but then she realized the situation. She’s a runner - she knows what’s up. Dinner was at Victoria’s and it was freaking fantastic. I got the best pasta EVER. And was absolutely stuffed. And would do it all over again (just maybe not every day) Mmm apparently I wasn’t too stuffed for ice cream cause that’s what my dad and I hit up when he got back from the EmergencyShoeRun.

Two of the guys + one girl in the photo were doing the relay (minus one leg of the team who wasn’t at dinner), and the rest of us were in it for the whole shabang. On our walk back to the hotel from dinner I snapped a photo with The Man at Soldiers Field (where we would finish). Apparently I think I’m some pretty hot stuff..?

So post-ice cream I wanted to head back to the hotel because I wanted a good night’s sleep. The race had a 7:00 am start, and the last shuttle for the start left at 6:20. I actually went to bed at 10:00 fairly easily.. had the traditional everything-goes-wrong dream and had to get up once to pee.. but other than than that slept a solid 7 hours before the alarms went off at 5:00 am. After a good cup of coffee and breakfast, (btw - pre-long run breakfast for me is chik’n nuggets. It’s not traditional pre run food by any means.. but it’s what I do!) I met the rest of the marathoners down in the lobby at 5:45 to go catch the bus. We made it to Byron (the start) in plenty of time for [multiple] pit stops, sweat bag drop-off, all the usual. There were those nature valley crispy granola bars (+ lots of other stuff) at the elementary school where we started.. so I ate one of those on a whim. 26 miles is sorta a long way

It was already 60 degrees and humid by the start, but it could have been much worse. It was forecasted to be thunderstorming - something I can certainly do without. But even still.. I was in just a sports bra (+ tube-sock sleeves.. that trick’s a keeper!) already right off the bat. This guy who was running did a great job with the national anthem, and at 7:00 on the dot we were off.

HIGHLIGHTS:

I’m not gonna go through mile by mile with my splits or any of that (unless someone cares..) but my slowest mile was mile 3 at 8:02.. when I tried to pull myself back to make sure I didn’t go out to hard.. didn’t last long. That was my only mile in the 8s. My fastest mile was mile 26 at 7:02. I most definitely ran negative splits.. and it felt good the entire way through. Gomer’s (my garmin) time was 3:15:19 for 26.33 and my chip time was 3:20:53. Everyone was all up in arms about the finish times being off.. so I’ll call it 3:20 for piece of mind and be happy. I was the 2nd female finisher overall and am pretty freaking ecstatic! My Boston Qualifying time was 3:40.. so I will most definitely be running Boston since I’m moving there this fall!

The woman with me in almost all of the pictures on the course is named Mary, and I picked her up somewhere after my pit stop mile 6.7. We ran from there all the way to the finish.. and she didn’t even have to go the whole way! She was only registered for the 20 mile training run (she’s doing Grandma’s too), but finished the entire 26.2. She is absolutely amazing.. and that’s all I need to say.

During race pictures:

I think if you click on them you can make them bigger..

Mile 8 - Water cup clenched in one hand, a wave in the other, and a smile on my face! This was the first place I saw my dad, and just a little ways after Mary and I started running together.

Mile 10 - Look how grey it was!! I guess I should be thankful - I’m sure it kept the temps down.

Mile 12 - Already? I honestly didn’t even know what mile I was in for the majority of the race!

Mile ~13.3 - this would be right after the spot where the half-marathoners turn off.. and also the same place we’d return to for the finish. Couldn’t believe we were already half way done!

Mile ~19.5 - Heading down the street for the last “turn around” before we headed for the finish. After the turn around (at the end of this street) I opened up my last pack of sports beans. My pops also handed off a teeny water bottle to me (gotta love the amphipod!)

Mile 23 - only a 5K left!? I thought about the little 3 mile loop I used to do in my neighborhood when I was just beginning running.

Mile 25 - glanced at Gomer and realized we were going to come in under 3:20! We picked it up a little bit.. my split for mile 26 was 7:02

Post race pictures:

Andy - myself - Mary. Andy was waiting at the finish area. Where did I put my medal?

Myself, Adam, and Breanne. We all PRd!!

Us + Andy.. who ran the half and took 2nd (also!!) with a freaking amazing time of 1:17.

Let me stress how important it is to MOVE and STRETCH and MOVE SOME MORE after you finish. If I hadn’t kept walking around afterwards I’m 100% sure this picture would not have been able to happen! I don’t know what I did that was so right but I’m like super mobile and walk-down-stairsable. Bending over to touch my toes - no problem. Sitting down onto the toilet (don’t laugh - you know what I’m talking about!) - no problem! Yeah, I feel a little sore. But I’ve felt more sore after a tough 400s workout on the track than I do right now (day after)!

The whole gang at “Cheap Charlie’s”. The place had a plaster pig on top of the roof. I don’t think I would eat there. Ever..? Cheap is definitely a proper description.. Anyways.. most important thing to say is everyone did fabulously!

Why is it that Applebee’s is always the go-to place for post race? Cause it’s fast. And cheap. And amazing. And my dad can get a good cold beer on tap

And here my friends.. I completes my first “official” marathon’s race report. Some day I’ll print this out and make it into a little booklet to look back on. Myself (and Gomer ), along with many other runners completed a great marathon and had a fabulous time. Grandma’s is 26 days away, and I know that this is just one of many many more to come!

in a rush!

TODAYS TO DO LIST:

1. finish packing
2. work 12-2
3. drive to Rochester with dad
4. pick up packets with Andy/drive the course
5. dinner at Victoria’s with RC crew
6. take Tylenol PM
7. sleep

TOMORROWS TO DO LIST:

1. breakfast
2. coffee
3. 26.2
4. sleep

AHHH I’M RUNNING MED FREAKING CITY TOMORROW! I’LL BE DONE BY THIS TIME! (let me retract that.. I better be done by this time!) No time to post. I have to be at work in 20 minutes! You’ll be seeing plenty of pictures soon!!

fan. freaking. tastic.

Not gonna lie.. today was like the most lazy amazing fantastic day I’ve had in a LONG TIME. It reminded me how thankful I am to be DONE with school!! A lot of my friends are still in school right now.. and my mom is still in school (she’s a teacher.. hi mom!! (she reads..)) so today was a solo adventure. Which was FINE with me because I didn’t really have a plan, and didn’t really want one! After the gym this morning.. it just sort of hit me: I could do ANYTHING I WANTED! So let me take you on an adventure

After the gym I came home and showered. Then I decided I wanted to make a smoothie, but we were out of yogurt. SO I biked on over to Lund’s, and proceeded to buy enough to make my backpack as big as I was. It was rather precarious biking home.

Got home, made smoothie.. remembered I need to sell this iPod! (BTW, if any of YOU want to buy it.. you better lemme know asap!) So I made up a flier and biked on over to..

Dunn Bros to post it on their bulletin board! This is actually an old picture.. I didn’t have my camera with me. But I did get an iced soy chai that was pretty fanfreakingtastic. I also walked across the street to the Co-Op and put a flier up on their board too.

Then I went to the Library because I couldn’t bike with my chai.. so I needed to waste some time. I checked out the latest two issues of Runners World.. but not before having to pay an effing $34 fee for overdue items.. HALF OF WHICH WEREN’T EVEN MINE (cough*MOM*cough.. we’ll be talking). Went home, made up some food, put on tanning lotion/sunscreen.. and WENT TO THE BEACH!!

OK.. not the beach.. but I laid (layed? nope.. Hmm it still looks wrong though) out at the lake. Calhoun of course And yikes.. not the most attractive picture, but LOOK AT THAT SUN! LOOK AT THE BLUE SKY!! Ahh-mazing.

Here’s my little sunny heaven: got the phone.. the literature.. the drinks.. and the music. Which I didn’t need or end up listening to because..

this chick brought the beats. Mmm actually she wasn’t that good. Like really.. not that good. But hey, can’t blame her for trying right?! Gotta practice somewhere! This is looking over towards the volleyball courts.. and it’s like my favorite place to lay out - between the courts and the beach! WHAT? Be amazed. Minnesota does have beaches.

This is looking the other direction (east?). There are always people here playing frisbee or football and whatnot. The guys in this picture were fine.. but like 5 minutes later 2 other guys came and thought they were a little too cool with all their big boy swear words. Seriously? Man.. I hope I act like that when I’m like 28.

This guy’s my favorite. I run this lake all the time.. but I’ve gotta say - I’ve never just decided to stop midrun and plop down in the sun and chill for like 20 minutes. I might have to try it some time..

And time to pack up and head home. I was sorta sad to leave, sorta thankful. It was actually NOT really bikini weather.. it was pretty damn windy and I was kinda cold. But I’m stubborn determined to work off my shorts/sportsbra tan. Its a constant struggle to get rid of those, since I run a lot more than I lay out in my swim suit. SWIM SUIT!! Ahh my ex boyfriend still has my swimsuit at his house! And nooo, don’t let your mind wander to the gutter. He has a hot tub. I had to shower. Everything was kept PG.

Well kiddos.. time to head off to RunClub. Afterwards, we’re all going to my work (Tin Fish!!) for drinks!! SOOO.. I hope everyone can find one day this week to just relax and enjoy. I’m definitely thinking there will be more of these days in my near future.

Next post.. FOUR DAYS TILL MED CITY!

7 toenails to go.

How gross is that? I can’t remember the last time I had all 10 toenails.. there are always a few that have gone black and fallen off, or are halfway grown back. Right now I have one that is just hanging on for dear life.. it’s completely black and I’m definitely feeling it after TODAY’S RACE I wish it would hurry up and fall off already!

So, here goes Erika’s Little Big Race Report:

I woke up at 6:20 with the sun, but then, remembering that I went to bed just six hours ago, I tried to get a little more sleep before I had to get going. Got back up at 7:04, did the usual contacts in/brush teeth/wash face thing, and checked the temp quick before getting dressed. 40 and sunny, light breeze, high of 60 by 3:00. PERFECT racing weather. Got the mug of coffee (very important) poured and breakfast going. I’m not usually a breakfast-before-run person, but racing is different than running, plus I knew it would be a while before I’d get a chance to have real food. I heated up about 6 Chik’n Nuggets.. which you might be like “WHAT? For breakfast?!” but seriously.. these are like my favorite pre-run fuel. They don’t really fit the carb/protein/fat ratio that’s supposedly “ideal“.. but I’ve been running for a long ass time and I just do what works for me.

My dad and I got to Minehaha Park by 8:15.. got my bib, met up with Bobby (see below pictures..) and his girlfriend, and we (Bobby, myself, and GOMER) headed out for a warm up. OK so keep in mind my total mileage for today was supposed to be around 12 as my last “long run” before Med City (NEXT SUNDAY!!).. so anyways did 1 mile easy with B and 1 more easy on my own.. made my last bathroom stop.. went back to grab my dad.. and then we headed up to the street where the starting line was. At that point it was 8:56 so we had good time.. until suddenly the damn horn went off! I whipped my sweatshirt off as my dad was like “Drop and Go Erika.. Drop and Go!!” and GO I did.. Here’s me coming in the last 100 meters.

Unfortunately I didn’t hit Gomer until like half a mile in. I thought I did, but guess not. And I apologize in advance if I come off as bragging, but I had way too much fun, so I’m gonna brag away.

I passed the 2nd leading woman at mile one, and the 1st woman at 1.5.. and after that I was right at home hangin in with the guys Chatted with several people along the way, but after 3.5 I was on my own for the rest of the race. That’s one crappy thing about small races - if you’re not with a pack, there’s no one there to compete with (outta sight, outta mind), do you really are responsible for pushing yourself. I passed one last person with about .75 to go, and came in strong at 44:00 even. Unfortunately, I had too much left at the end, but that’s what happens when you’re not used to racing that distance.

This picture would have been SO GREAT if it was like a quarter of a second earlier! The finish line was about 25 feet ahead of me.

Me and Mr. Bobby. I was the first woman finisher, and 6th overall. Bobby was 4th!! And for finishing first, I won an iPod!

A tried and true TURC pose. (TURC stands for The University Running Club.. I met Bobby on one of the first trail runs of the year.)

Here are my race freebies (that made it home, as opposed to in my mouth) The two shirts are basically the same - the red one shows what the back looks like.

Up close: two vanilla Boosts.. a Power Walker hat (sorry.. this will be donated. I’m not a walker).. my iPod (not donated.. but I’m selling this one. I don’t really want/have a need for an iPod).. a big delicious apple.. a whole foods granola bar.. and a target knockoff of a Zone bar (strawberry yogurt flavored).

Overall, the race was really fun - fun being my key word because by no means is it a PR for me for 6.2 miles, but since it was so small I got to enjoy being the first female finisher. After I collected all my freebies, I sent them off with my dad, and he drove down to Dunn Bros where I was going to meet him. I got in 5 more miles easy, and ended my run at the coffee shop! It worked out perfectly!

After Dunn Bros, my dad and I decided to stop at the Farmers Market before he dropped me off at my mom’s.. but those pictures are for a different post I’m headed off to work right now, and I’ll be there till close.. so hopefully it’ll be super busy since it’s so nice out! It’s a little cool.. but not too bad. Hope everyone has a LOVELY Sunday! (my absolute favorite day of the week btw!)