12 down 0 to go (Reindeer Run!)

Getting this last one in before the year is over! What a racing year! (Look for a highlights post coming soon!)

My 12th and final race this year was the Reindeer Run on Fort Meade on December 15. The weather was nice and chilly, but I remembering all my past races I didn't wear extra layers! Just my blue t-shirt and running tights. And I was still a bit warm by the end!

Not only was this my last race this year, but insert drummer roll here............. I broke 30 minutes in a 5K! Just by a touch at 29:52, but I am so glad I was able to reach that goal this year!

I ran this race with my BRF (best running friend) and we agreed this 5K was very well done. The packet pick up was inside the field house which was great since it was so cold outside. They had antlers (and bells, but they ran out of those) for all the racers and crayons and coloring books for the kids. It was a very family friendly race. I loved seeing the parent/child running teams all along the course. The course was pretty easy and quite flat which makes for fast times even in the cold. 16:56 was the winning time by a 27 year-old gent. That is quite speedy for 3.1 miles!

Post race food was delicious Panera bagels and cream cheese, along with cookies and candy canes. They those big orange gatorade tanks for water, but tiny little cups. I'm sure it was to avoid spills, but I felt like I stayed next to them for way to long rehydrating after the race. They seemed to be quick putting up the stats which was really great.

Speaking of stats: My time was 29:52.6 for an average pace of about 9:57 per mile. I was 22 out of 43 in my age group and 159 out of 334 overall!

Things I learned from my 12th race:

1. Layers that are easily remover while running are key. Arm warmers may be my new best friends.
2. Being right next to someone at the finish helps my push just a little harder. Thank you to the guy just in front of me in that last 100 feet. I'm not sorry I passed you though. 
3. Races in colder months should have warm drinks at the finish. Tea or hot chocolate would have been AMAZING after cooling down. Next time I should keep a thermos in the car, just in case. 
4. Always carry extra safety pins in case you need to MacGyver your timing chip to your shoe. (ones that tie on your laces are hard to use on shoes with NO LACES)
5. People running near my with their shoes untied makes me terribly nervous. I don't know how it took so long for me to realize this, but twice in this race I tapped people to alert them of their untied shoes and when they didn't seem to mind and kept on trucking I became very nervous for them!

Well that's it! All 12. Next year I am taking on a different 12 X 12 challenge. Look for more about that early next year!

Happy New Year to All!!

High Heeled Run (aka Miss Piggy goes to Annapolis)

I added in an extra fun run in November because a high heel run is something I have wanted to do. Luckily, they seem to pop up a lot in October and November with October being Breast Cancer awareness month and high heel runs generally raise funds to support organizations working to fight breast cancer.

Healing in Heels Dash for Breast Cancer was on November 11 at the Annapolis Towne Centre. The race was an up and back on one side of the boulevard. By the time I got to the turn around, I was done with running in heels! 550 doesn't seem so far until you're about 200 in and wondering why this was a good idea. Haha. It is much more difficult to run in heels then I thought it would be. Yes, I knew it would be difficult, but I didn't think about how off all the running mechanics would be. The Dad and the kids came to watch (and enjoy some post race food) and the Dad told me the two first place finishers (both guys...yup) had definitely practiced how to run in heels. They apparently had better form then the rest of us. Haha.

Bad form, great fun!

There was a costume contest associated with the run and the winner received a year supply of Saucony shoes (four pairs!) So I decided to run as Miss Piggy. She's always so classy in her heels.

Got Squeezed?

To keep with the year theme of raising support and awareness from the Colon Cancer Alliance, I added a decal to the back of my shirt also. During the month of October, the CCA promotes "Screen THIS too!"

Piggy and Barbie

Sadly, I didn't even come in second in the costume contest! I knew there would be at least one guy in drag in the top two, but I didn't count on Barbie showing up in her box to run. Nice Job! Barbie won. As it turned out, Barbie in a Box is the director of Breast Cancer Center at Anne Arundel Medical Center which was the beneficiary of the race.

As we finished the race, Save the Coconuts had a few fun items for racers: a shot glass and a treat.

Yup.

This race had the best post-race food of any race yet! A few of the restaurants in the Towne Centre were out with food samples for the racers and spectators. While listening to the live band, Gordon Biersch provided beer to those with a race number (the Dad drank mine,) Cadillac Ranch had some delicious sliders, Philly & Flash offered up some amazing loaded fries, and Paladar served creamy coconut flan and thick hot chocolate. And of course there was water for everyone. So filling we almost didn't need to go to dinner! It also looked like there were a few boxes of "usual" post race food that they didn't need since the restaurants really provided a great spread!

Things I learned/relearned from a High Heel Race:

1. Don't run in heels without practice unless being chased by something/ someone or one of the kids is about to fall off something way to high.
2. Feather boas are a very popular accessory at this race. Boas and tall socks.
3. I really enjoy dressing up for a race! This was so much fun. But it is hard to see over that nose and impossible to eat or drink with it on! I'm taking suggestions for next year. Any ideas???
4. Having spectators you know (husband and kids) makes the race even more fun. I love to hear them cheering on the side. And then the "Mom, you weren't very fast" at the finish is always nice too. Haha.
5. Post-race food will make me sign up to run in heels again!

We had told the kids we would eat out at a restaurant after the race, so we moseyed up to Cadillac Ranch for dinner. I still had most of my costume on and was recognized but some other spectators who cheered a bit. Now that was nice!

I also ran this race as part of the Virtual Run for Sandy Relief. A couple of bloggers put together a Virtual Run for the month of November to help raise funds for the Red Cross to aid with Sandy Relief in New Jersey and New York. According to an email at the beginning of December, the effort raised $1,426! Awesome!!

11 down 1 to go (aka Turkey Trot)

Wow, I am really behind. Sorry about that! Onward!

The GS Turkey Trot 5K in Odenton, MD on November 17th was a nice, simple course on routes I've taken as fun runs! It was really great to run a race closer to home that didn't require travel.

A mom friend and I walked/jogged over to the starting line hoping for some pre-race warm ups, but either we missed them or there weren't any like we had hoped. It was quite chilly, but we both stashed our coats with the ladies at check-in since we knew we would heat up during the race. It was probably between 30 and 40 degrees which made for great running weather.

The course was well laid out and well marked by volunteers. At each of the water stations (2 for a 5K NICE,) I didn't see a trash can or tarp for cups so I ended up carrying my cup until there was a volunteer I could hand it too or found a trash can. Part of the race course ran through the Piney Orchard Nature Preserve on the paved trail. There are also a few wooded trails throughout the preserve as well which make for some nice trail running in the spring and fall. (I have yet to try them in the winter with its ice and snow...)

This race was a smaller community race, but they still had over 100 participants. Due to the smaller size, and this being the inaugural race, they did not have race timing available. I'm not sure how they calculated the "official" race times they posted because according to the times I finished at the same time as my mom friend who finished right behind me by about 20-30 seconds.

I crossed the start line 9 seconds after the clock started and crossed the finish at 30:53 giving me a 30:42 5K time! I'm getting really close to breaking the 30 minute mark! According to the "official time" I clocked in at 29:49, but sadly I know that's wrong. I did come in 43 out of 122 though I have no idea how I did with in my age group.

Things I learned from this close to home race:

1. It is nice to see people you know from "just around" at a race. Definitely get that feeling at a smaller community race.
2. I don't like not having a timing device apart from the app on my phone in a race. It makes the race feel to much like a normal run to me. Though I do like running in a group, it really gives me motivation to keep up and not slow down. 
3. It is really nice not to have to get in a car to go to a race. Makes for a nice warm-up and cool down too. 
4. Unless it is below 20, I should run in a short sleeved shirt. I was way too hot by mile 2 and could have done without the long sleeves.
5. I love running races with people I know, but that last half mile we are in it to finish and I don't mind breaking out at slightly different speeds. Kick it in to the end!

Some how we missed the awards for the top finishers and the best costume (there was a guy as a turkey, I bet he won.) Post-race food was pretty standard and happily included Girl Scout cookies. I was hoping for a little cookie love in the registration bags, but no such luck. 

Will Run For Flesh! (Zombie Transformations and Turning Humans)

In February of last year, the Dad and I signed up to be Zombies on October 27th at the Saturday RUN FOR YOUR LIVES race in Darlington, MD just north of Baltimore. The Dad was SUPER excited, which is why we signed up so early. I'm glad we did too because the zombie shifts are what sell out first from the race. They had so many people signing up and on the "wait list" they opened a second race day on Sunday. Which unfortunately was canceled by Howard County due to Hurricane Sandy.

One of the perks of being a zombie this year was a free race which we ran with a friend of the Dad in the 11 am wave. (All about my race recap here.) So we all started our zombie transformation with a freezing cold PVC pipe shower to rid ourselves off the thickest layer of mud and gross from the race. Refreshing.

Undead Only

Then it was back over to the Zombie Transformation Center, the ZTC, to change into our zombie costumes and get in line for make up. The Dad and I just pulled old clothes from our closets but our friends came prepared with scrubs. There were zombies dressed as doctors and nurses, prom queens and brides, a farmer, a few nuns, some in fatigues, and even Princess Leia.

We heard about one of the zones before us all dressed as a wedding: bride, groom, bridal party, officiant, and even a baker with a brain cake. So creative! Not only the zombies dress up, we saw some very creative racers as well. A banana, a panda, super heros, guys in tutus, but the best by far was the group of guys dressed as King Arthur and his sidekicks from Monty Python, complete with coconuts and galloping. I'm told they didn't break character through the whole race! I wish I had a camera while zombing.

Stumbler

Standing in line for make up, you can have parts of your zombie outfit shredded and even pick from their zombie wardrobe if you don't have your own zombie attire. After adding holes and shredding shirts and the bottoms of pants, we waited to move on to make-up. They brought in a team of professional make-up artists to help apply all the zombie faces. Some people had plastic wounds attached to their faces and neck, but none of our little group did. There were two separate make-up tracks, the stumblers and the chasers. Chasers, like the Dad, had a base coat and red accents and then blood splatter. Stumblers (this was me) received an airbrush base coat to dull and flatten out the face and then airbrushed contours around the eyes, cheeks, and mouth. Then it was on to spot splatter where they used a thick bristled brush and flicked the bristles towards my face so the make-up would splatter. And like the chasers, the stumblers had blood flecks and wounds added.

Chaser

After our faces were all made up, they hoisted a blue tarp between two trees and zombies lined up to be sprayed with light and dark mud and have handfuls of blood tossed on us. The guy tossing the blood seemed to be having a pretty good time pelting all of us with handfuls of goopy, red syrup. The blood looked really great against those zombies in white, especially the zombie brides.

Bloody and Gross!

I like how it looks like my hand is going to reach out and get you.

Even Zombies need love, right?

Since we were they last group of zombies for the day, and they had a bit of blood left over, before we headed out to our zones they had us stand in a big huddle and flung the remaining blood on the group as you would toss a bucket of water after washing your car. A poor lady in front of us got an eye full and finding a clean sleeve to wipe some away was harder then you might think.

Each zombie received two bottles of water and a bag of snacks for during our 3-3.5 hour shift. We were scheduled from 2:40 to 6, but being the last group we were out there until the last person finished through our section and I have no idea what time that was!

While in our zone, zone 12, our goal was to take as many final flags as we could. There were a few people who had more then one flag (I saw one guy with all 3 still,) but most people had one or none by the time the reached us. Those people in groups would try and protect their friends who still had flags and it was always great when you could grab one of those. Some people didn't want to play by the rules and would roll their flag around the flag belt, a few tied the flag to the belt and there were many who had shirts long enough that they hid all but the tiniest tip of the flag. Add on all the water and mud and those flags were hard to get! There was a lot of karate chopping while people tried to smack zombie hands away from their flags. One guy I tried to take a flag from swung his arms so violently he hit me in the face. I think he made my nose bleed, but with all the fake blood it was hard to tell. (He did apologize though, he didn't mean to hit me.)

By the end of the shift, I had pulled about 20 flags and felt quite accomplished as a zombie.

Cleaning the make-up off without running water wasn't happening. We were able to get the top layer or blood off, but all the flecks and most of the black around my eyes needed more scrubbing then I could do in the fading light and with a wet paper towel and baby wipes. (We looked great heading in to WaWa to grab a drink on our way out of town, haha. The cashier told us he had been busier then usual that evening and he didn't look at us that strangely so I'm sure he had seen a few other zombies before us.)

After stopping to get our free beer (well the guys got beers, not my thing so much,) our plan was to head out to a restaurant for dinner, looking all zombie-fab, but the bus line back to the parking lot was LONG. So the guys got a spot in line and we ladies went to the food vendors to get some hot food. They had a lot of choices and the prices were pretty reasonable. I was so hungry (lunch was a bag of goldfish crackers, I could have planned that better) and the cheeseburger and fries were delicious. I'm sure they weren't as wonderful as I remember, but it was just what I needed!

The bus line moved relatively quickly, they had a great system in place and plenty of buses to keep the line moving. It wasn't long after we finished eating that we got on the bus. Let me tell you sitting down on that bus was amazing. I didn't realize my legs were so tired!

In the days and week after we were all a bit sore, but we had such a great time and we are already thinking up some costumes for next year!

10 down 2 to go (AKA The Obstacle and Zombie Race)

**First, thanks to Kate Reckner for taking photos and then letting me use them!!**

Nice and chilly October morning, the Dad and I drove up to just north of Baltimore to Darlington for a Zombie Infested 5K Obstacle Course run called RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! This was a race unlike any other I have run this year. The obstacles were challenging, but not so tough that I didn't feel I could conquer them. Each racer gets a flag football belt with three red flags, your health, and the zombies aim to take those flags. When you lose all of your flags you are "dead" and can run through the zombie sections without worry. At the finish, there are separate chutes for the living and the dead, though I think it's just to tally hoe many people make it through "alive."

Because we were scheduled to be transformed into zombies in the afternoon we had a few perks like a separate parking lot (can't be infesting those humans to early,) separate gear check and port-a-potties, and we were able to run the course for FREE. Zombie transformation can be found here!

Human Cages!!

So the race starts with everyone one of three long tunnels with a cage like gate at the start: Appetizers, Entree and Dessert. Since we were able to choose which part of the meal we wanted to be and we went with Desserts hoping for tired slow moving zombies (they were all still pretty quick.)

Scary Zombie!

Right out of the gate, you step into a cloud of fog and turn the corner onto a field full of zombies. The first zombie we saw was a woman in a white robe, pajamas, slippers and almost white pupils. Most definitely a frightening way to start a race. I made it through the first section of zombies with all 3 flags. Woohoo! Full life!

Run fast, they want your brains!

The course is run at Camp Ramblewood in Darlington and the entire course is on grass and trails. One thing we didn't realize is how hard it would be to sprint through the zombie areas. I was always catching my breath right before the obstacle after the zombies because I am not a fast runner. Sprinting is not my thing.

Besides the zombies, the other obstacles included jumping over walls (I'd say they were about 4-4.5 feet high, so it was like trying to get out of the swimming pool, without the water,) crawling under and through tunnels of various kinds, shimming under barbed wire, a maze, mud pits (so, so, so gross running after being covered in muddy water,) crossing a river (unexpected and very, very cold,) a smoke filled house with some kind of shocking action that I missed whoops, and the last two obstacles were a huge water slide and a muddy slide under and electric fence. Definitely a lot of things I have never done before, but it was so much fun. After the first mud pit, you stop realizing how dirty you are. I didn't realize how gross we got until I was able to shower back at home.

One of the various tunnel obstacles.

Of all the obstacles, I enjoyed the river crossing the most actually. I like cold swims and minus the gross leaves, mud, and sticks you could feel passing in the current, it wasn't a bad swim. And if helped get a little of the mud off of me. They had a rope tied to each bank to help with crossing and there were two guys in full rescue gear in case anyone needed help. One of them kept running and jumping into the water trying to get others to do the same. I wasn't that daring maybe next time, haha.

The Dad and I ran the race together and I am so glad that we did. Since we weren't being timed (as zombies later our free race didn't include a timing device,) we were able to enjoy the course together and had a really great time. Definitely more fun to do with someone or a group! On the 2nd to last obstacle, the big water slide, the Dad lost his glasses at the bottom in the big pool of water. After we asked the people at the top to wait so we could search for them, he found them in less then 2 minutes. Quite a feat, considering you couldn't see in anything in the water because it was so full of mud. Being able to see, made being a zombie much easier later.

The Dad's friend on the huge water slide.

Just after he slide through. 

No shocks for us!

Neither of us made it through alive, but the Dad made it close! He lost his last flag in one of the last zombie zones. This was just what I wanted since we really were becoming zombies after the race.

I couldn't figure out why the Dad was so clean, but he slide on his back under the fence. 

After finishing, we went to the "showers" to clean off some mud before heading over to the Zombie Transformation Area. The showers were a long piece of PVC pipe with holes ever foot or so with water pumped through. Freezing cold water. The tennis courts and the grass outside of them were really wet, muddy and not a place to really get clean. But, we were able to get the thickest layer of mud off.

Definitely something we will do again! Such a fun race and a GREAT workout!

Since we weren't timed, I don't have any stats for this race, but here are five things I learned:

1. Mud isn't that bad. And playing in it really reminds one of being a kid. I highly suggest it!
2. Running a race without a timed goal makes the race very enjoyable. There is nothing to worry about, nothing to beat. The only goal is to have a great time and enjoy the course and the people around you. Truly awesome.
3. I am not good at jumping over walls. By far the hardest part for me and made much harder when both me and the wall are covered in slippery mud. I made it over all the walls though!! After every wall, I felt a sense of accomplishment in overcoming each one. 
4. Racers of all shapes, sizes and ages run the zombie race. And LOTS of people dress in costume. (Check the zombie post for my favorite costumed group!)
5. I was more nervous about losing a flag at every obstacle, then I was in the zombie areas. I was always checking to make sure I didn't accidentally lose a flag. It would be terrible to lose one outside the zombie area! 

I think we are ready for the zombie apocalypse now! At least we know we will be covered in mud, tired and hungry after less then an hour of being chased by the zombie horde. I hope they don't know how to climb and we can build a tree house to escape. Now I just need to learn how to build a tree house. 

Check the Zombie Transformation Post to see how it is to be part of the undead!