Tri To Finish Cinco De Mayo Race Review....and Triathlon talk!

A little overdue, but life's been busy with a new infant and changing of jobs! There sure is a new normal of getting things done once you have a baby in the house...still adapting to that change. :) 

Anyways...

This past May, Ryan and I ran the Cinco de Mayo 5k Race at Swartz Creek Golf Course in Flint, Michigan. that was organized by Tri To Finish. Tri To Finish puts on events throughout the whole lower peninsula of Michigan and range from 5k's, 10k's, triathlons and duathlons. We had a great time at the Cinco de Mayo race. It was an awesome course with a few nice elevation climbs throughout and paved conditions. I especially enjoyed it because part of the course is included in the CRIM so it helped give me an idea of what to expect in August when we run that race. The starting line was well organized with the MC getting everyone pumped up for the start and the course well marked (always good!). 

This was a perfect race to get me back into the running game after taking the last year off during pregnancy and Aiden's birth. Ryan and I did really well too, so that's always awesome! Ryan got 2nd place in his age group and I got 3rd (out of 14) with time of 28:58, which I was happy about. I wish I had pushed harder at the end, but was reluctant that I would burn out since I hadn't been running as often as I had hoped and didn't know what expect with the hills. I'm really hoping to work on my pace and carve some off my time and maybe place even better by end of summer. 

Pre-race selfie!

Finish line

Awesome medals!

Age group finisher medals

After race with Aiden (Grandma and Poppa watched him). Sweet sombreros, huh? Race swag at it's best.

Overall, super fun race that was well organized. We really loved the medals, shirts and fun hats too (some runners dressed up and wore them - AWESOME). Also, had a mini-breakfast after race for runners to help re-fuel with food from a local mexican restaurant..bonus!

I'm super excited to say that I'll be racing in my first sprint triathlon EVER with Tri To Finish in September at Holly Recreation Area (which is gorgeous if you have never been there). I have a mixture of feelings of excitement and nervousness, but I'm confident that'll it'll be a great starter triathlon. I've started training for it and I'll be sure to update on that hopefully later this week or next week. :) 

How Are Your New Year's Resolutions Going?

It has been almost two months since the start of 2013. How are your resolutions going so far? Have you hit that "21 days to form a habit" point yet?

Source: them.

I've been sticking to mine pretty well, except for one of my large ones, "Blog once a week (at least)."
I've been failing hardcore on this one, which is ironic considering I wrote it on my blog. So thanks to Rob over at Rob Complains About Things for pointing out that I'm slacking on my resolutions.

Aside from the obvious, all my others are rocking out pretty good so far.

- Read 40 Books: I've knocked out 5 pretty stellar books so far, and am about to finish the 6th today (Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning...twisted and entertaining read). So I'm about 17% through that goal. Any good recommendations for some books to add to the list? 
- Swear Less: I'm trying to think before speaking a bit more instead of running out the mouth.
- Run a 10k: This one hasn't happened because apparently Mother Nature wants to torture me with more winter weather. So over it, but have been logging some solid gym and yoga time to keep in shape and build muscle and endurance.
- Get my 5k PR under 25 minutes: Will be a work in progress come spring and the above should help. I hate the dreadmill so until weather gets warmer that one will be put off a bit.
- Work toward being able to accomplish yoga inversions: Wham, Bam, I'm smacking this one outta the park! Pretty pumped at how I've been able to nail this one. #YogaADay, #InversionArmy, and #BalanceARMy on Instagram have been awesome for inspiration on this one.

- Blog once a week - FAIL. But I'm hoping to make some changes. I miss the catharsis that writing brings so I need to make this a priority. I need to stop nit picking and just write again.

Let me know how your resolutions have been going! Have you found anything or someone that  motivates you to keep going? It's never too late to start or begin again.

(Source: drowned-in-daydreams, via ego-x-deactivated20130119)

I Run Because...

In case you missed it, today is....

I plan on taking a nice, long run later this evening at a new trail that we discovered at Holly Recreation Area. This area has really helped renew my running again. In recognition of today, here's a brief list of the reasons why I run. I'd love hear your reasons as well so share below! :)

I Run Because...

- It makes me feel strong.
- My health depends on it.
- It's cheaper than therapy (both psychological & retail).
- The silence is needed sometimes.
- I'd rather be sore than sorry.
- Sometimes I just need to get away from life.
- It makes me feel healthier...and happier.
- It gives me something to work towards.
- It gives me energy.
- It gives me an excuse to buy cute workout clothes.
- Some of my best ideas come while zoned out running.
- My personal best is just that: mine.
- I can participate in fun races to raise money and get covered in mud.
- I really like to eat.
- I really, really like chocolate.
- I enjoy the scenery.
- I love the endorphin rush.
- It makes my legs look fab!
- I like the one on one time with the hubby.
- It makes getting dressed in the morning so much more positive.
- It's the best way to sight see.
- There's a freedom in just getting out and running with no destination in mind.
- It gives me an excuse to take a break sometimes.
- It's a great stress reliever.
- I love crossing a finish line and the positiveness of those also running.
- It makes my heart, lungs and muscle stronger for a longer and healthier lifetime.
- It decreases my chances of cancers.
- It increases my lifespan.
- It fights obesity.
- It gives me confidence.
- I can. You never know when that could be taken away.

Are you doing anything today to celebrate National Running Day? If you need some ideas here are 10 ways to celebrate. I'd love to hear what you love about it or any goals you've set.  My next big goal: Run a 10k! There's one in late August so I'm really considering it


Are there any specific reasons that you love running? 

I'm Officially a Warrior! Michigan Warrior Dash Recap

A couple weeks ago I had the awesome experience of Warrior Dash.  I had signed up for this 5k+ several months ago and had some reservations about it since I had never ran one before.  I’m by no means a natural when it comes to running so the thought of adding obstacles to a 3 mile run added a bit more worries to this race. I just have to say, I TOTALLY LOVED it. 

This event was a blast and I couldn’t have asked for a better 5k to break me into races.  And you know what, I think I finally understand what everyone means about the runner’s high and addiction of running races such as this.  I can’t wait to do it again and am super excited to see that they are already planning on coming back. 

The weather that day was great.  A bit on the hot side, but lots of sun and a slight breeze made it more bearable.  It was great to see that this event brought so much revenue into the Flint, MI, which it desperately needed.  The Warrior Dash brought in nearly 26,000 participating runners, and that's not including all the spectators!

Ryan and I were signed up for the noon leg.  We had originally signed up with some other friends, but unfortunately they weren’t able to make it.  We made our way to the front 25% of the line in order to try to avoid the backlog that we had heard about at the obstacles. For the first mile and half we ran together, but I was having issues with breathing since I was fighting an infection and could not breathe through my nose AT ALL so I encouraged Ry to go run ahead because I didn’t want to hold him back.  I needed to take a couple run/walk breaks to catch my breath between obstacles, which was disappointing, but I’m still pretty excited about the run.  I wish I had been able to trim my time down some, but I’ll take what I had.  Now I have another, more specific goal for next time.  I also met some great people along the way. Everyone was so supportive, friendly and really looking to have a great time.

Some of the obstacles found at our event were:

• Junkyard/tire run
• Blackout (so hot in there!)
• Raised nets to climb over (easiest if you roll)
• Teetering traverse (balance beams of a sort)
• Up and downs (jump over wall, climb under, etc.)
• Logs to climb over in water
• Peg climb
• Rope climb
• Tall net
• Fire!
• 2 mud pits (one was so deep/thick and smelled like poo and the end one was much thinner, but had to crawl low)

I have to commend them on a well put together and organized race.  It was so easy to register and get to where we needed.  The swag was pretty fun too! It was just a great day and so much fun to get down and dirty and spend time with great friends that we met up with after our race. If you never ran a race like this, I highly recommend it.  I know that I’m HOOKED!

The fun hats everyone got. This is before we've ran. Notice the white shirt!

And after. There was mud everywhere! 

I'm sad I missed his front flip into the mud!

The wash station.  Not that the mud really came off. My shirt was ridiculously dirty after 3 showers in that so I just dumped it.

My knees and shins got completely jacked up! Bruises and scratches everywhere, but it was worth it.
I like battle scars ;)

So many shoes were donated! I wonder how many pairs they have after all the races? All shoes get cleaned and donated to third world countries.

They had awesome, huge turkey legs for $6.  I was starving!

Two of my favorite college girls, Holly & Angie. I love them and it was so great to spend time with them.

This guy ran the whole race as the cardboard robot.  I can't imagine climbing nets with all that bulk.

Angie killed it! She beat all of us girls with her time. Nice job!

My favorites!

We spent a lot of time at the finish line watching people bomb the mud pit.

The question now is: What's next?  I need to find another challenge for myself to keep my running going.  I think I'm going to do a little web research tonight to look for another race to run. There is the Dirty Dog Dash in September in Pinckney, but I'm thinking that something local might be more feasible (less money and easier to get to). Maybe we'll do the Turkey Trot that is held every year in Detroit. Either way, we're at least signing up for something soon!  

How do you keep yourself going after reaching your first goal? Do you have any fun races/events planned? Have you ran anything similar to this?