I quit at still feelin good at 22 laps. 33 and a half miles. A distance PR!
…week 60.1… Sept 144.1. Three distance PRs…the week before Twin Cities. Dumb? Probably. But I’m keeping my TCM goals the same –
A. 4:30
B. Sub 4:40
C. PR (<4:42:40)
D. Have fun with MK and hope people understand our costumes*.”
To say I was nervous about hitting any of those goals would be a ginormous understatment. My training not where I wanted it to be (I’ve totally butchered my double training). This isn’t a Ms Ritz faker where I claim I might not finish but then I PR by 10 min. I knew I was in PR shape, but that was before running my butt off just 7 days earlier. Before that, I was fully expecting to PR by a min or two…but not coming close to my A goal.
Well, getting to Minneapolis was a bigger fiasco than it needed to be.
< Rant>
#1 I missed my flight out, (I got to gate at 9:22, scheduled departure was 9:29…was nicely reminded to be there 15 min early) and for those that missed the moronic story, I missed it because I had to turn around to make sure my garage was closed (It was, but I once left town for a week and left it open so now I’m paranoid). I was rerouted through Newark and that flight was delayed, the sat on tarmac, took extra long in the air due to headwind, sat on tarmac at MSP because we took so long they didnt have a gate for us….by the time poor MK picked me up I was a wound up mess!
< /Rant>
How wound up was I??! Well, I had a secret surprise from Super Loopster LadyCapulet – She made arrangements with the hotel to get us a round of drinks at Happy Hour. I was so wound up I FORGOT WE HAD FREE BEER!! Sorry to Christine and sorry to the Loopsters that missed out on her nice gesture.
However, being around the loop buds made everything all right. Friday night was awesome!
Typical Friday Night for a Loopfest!
MK and I love construction barrels!
DReyna, Bsquared, MeganKate, Me, Some Kraig Guy, Runnin Brotha
Shake out run Saturday morning out felt ok. We were right at or just below a 10 min mile, which for everyone else is a walk in the park, but for me is a pretty brisk pace, esp since I had forgotten to use my inhaler before the run and the air was dry and cold.
I lived.
Notice the MN native and the TX native wearing the exact same thing??
After a shower (little spoon doesnt have to shower, but big spoon does. Who knew?) and a quick bite to eat, we were back in the lobby to witness some stick borrowing…
Anyone else pee their pants witnessing this conversation on Facebook??
Hoped in the TOmobile for an adventure to St Paul for the Expo
Whole lot of fun going on down there…
Those people down in the Expo had no idea the real show was in the lobby!
I like this pic because JB is in it
Post Expo included dinner, pictures, Target, and a game of identifying Loopsters by their butts.
Viking hats and gun racks, what else does a girl need?
Between the Target trip and a hilarious conversation between me, MK, and the kid working the front desk….I laughed harder in those few hours than I have in a long time. I love Loopfests!
Morning came very early, and I went to meet Tracer in the lobby to borrow some pants…and we got to see all the elites roll by! Too cool. About 30 minutes later we were all down in the lobby….in full costume.
If you didnt watch Saved By the Bell. Here’s a crash course on Screech and Violet
Good luck, my heart!
The group got separated walking from the hotel to the Metrodome. Bangle, MK, and I decided to cheer for the 10 Milers with the hope of seeing some Loopsters. We did not, but it was still a great time.
We were meant to run together….MK, D, and I all had the same shoes!
Inside the Metrodome, we finally spotted some familiar faces. We chatted and took pictures until the made an announcement for us to head to the start. Bag check was conveniently located between the dome and the start and it moved really quickly. Seriously impressed with the organization of this race.
Cold….but what a gorgeous morning!
The start line of a Marathon is still such a surreal feeling. Even though I dont race them and TCM was #9, marathons are still amazing and it wasnt that long ago I never thought I could do one.
Corral 2 Loopettes!!
The first few miles were a blur. Actually, the whole race is a blur, which is why it’s so hard for me to write this report.
I remember running through downtown, past the church with the bells ringing, past spectators and spotting Greg with the vuvuzela, gorgeous neighborhoods, and trees so incredibly beautiful I wondered why I lived in a place with mild winters because our colors suck.
Dave and Road Warrior came up behind us at one point, looking incredibly strong. We told them Zam was up ahead and they took off to catch her. I love loop races…
We hit the first 10k and it felt like nothing. I had MK on my right and DReyna on my left and it was almost like they were carrying me. Spectators would yell out “Nice Hair” and D would say “Thanks!” which, much like the gun rack joke, always made me laugh.
Close to the halfway point a 21 year old ran with us for a while. He said he was more of a Boy Meets World fan and that Saved by the Bell was before his time, making us feel like old biddies.
Soon after we saw JB….he gasped when he saw us and took off running with all of his camera equipment (think Doc Brown in Back to the Future…when he’s running around trying to get everything set up for the lightining to strike the fluxcapacitor at 88 mph…except the gasp was in JB’s cute voice). I told the kid that JB was our personal photographer…pointed to him running ahead to get the shot. I dont think the kid believe us until a few seconds later there was JB….and he got the money shot. Thanks JB!!!
21 year old Flash is impressed with our celebrity status…everyone else around us is miserable.
By the half point, I knew my garmin was way off already….but if we go my Garmin time, I saw 13.1 at 2:12. That’s was a PR (one I need to try to break soon – it’s from Jan 2010!!). We crossed the actual 13.1 mark at 2:14….right on track.
After that it’s another blur of people cheering and beatiful views of the lakes. I heard the drums Dave mentioned in his report, saw a bunch of guys with a sign that said “Free Beer for Quiters,” and saw Greg with the vuvuzela and VBelvins’ family.
Even my nemisis – Mile 17 flew by (seriously, that’s the worst mile for me…9 more miles to go???). We picked up SomeKraigGuy around this point. I had only recently found out he was doing the marathon. He was facebookin the whole time and having as much fun as someone at mile 18 of a marathon he hadn’t trained for can have. Infact, none of our misfit group was properly trained (you know it’s a trainwreck group when I have the most training!) so it was awesome we were all together.
Hitting the bridge to St Paul, MK’s foot started to bother her. I had another Ibprofin and offered it to her along with an S!cap. I was terrifed of dropping the only pain med I had…and was relieved when I made the transfer….but then MK dropped in. DOH!
We picked up Forwil pretty soon after the bridge and the thought of a quintuple bangle pump was making my mind drool. We plowed through the Paul Ryan Finish line at 19.6…and the inflatable wall at 20.
Mk’s foot was really bothering her. Her BF was biking the course and offering enouragement when he could. We were taking walk breaks, but pace had only dropped by a min/mile and we had banked a lot of time. We had made such awesome progress I wasnt even concerned about time anymore…as long as we covered the last 10k in 1:17 or less, I was going to PR.
Thanks JB for another awesome pic!
Around 22 the wheels fell off. MK was hurting…bad…and D couldn’t walk and stat running again due to her hip. When MK was able to run, she was super speedy and I was struggling to keep up. We were a mess.
But a hot mess, right??
At one point I was walking…D was somewhere ahead and MK somewhere behind and I passed MK’s BF. He causally said, “I thought we were chasing a PR?”
I said, “Oh, I already got that,” which sounded really cocky and I thought about back peddling on that comment when I realized he was probably telling me to go get my PR because he’d take care of MK. Truly a great guy, that one.
It was hard to go on, but during Afton I was so miserable and the girls waiting on me just made me more miserable. Plus there was beer up ahead so I grabbed a cup and caught up to D. The next few miles flew by….before we knew it we could see the Cathedral…and an amazing downhil view of the Capitol with screamin fans taking the already amazing crows support to a whole new decibel.
D and I passed all those mofos in the last half mile 🙂
Can we say 9 minute PR??? Yes, Yes we can. Official time 4:33:46!
I actually hit 26.2 at 4:30:xx….Darn tangents. But I’m happy to hit my A goal pace dead on.
I seriously could not have done it without my lovely companions. Thank you to MK and Deirdre….you two are the absolute best. Esp to MK…I dont know any one else who would dress up in costume twice in 365 days and help me PR a marathon. Heart of gold! I love you.
POST RACE – Keeping this short because I’ve bored you enough! (and my memory gets a bit fuzzy and the night progresses….)
The shuttle bus back to Minneapolis dropped us off by the Metrodome, which was tailgate centrail. Apparently some people thought I was joking when I said I wanted to bum a beer and a burger….
SCORE! first guy I asked invited us to all hop the fence (ok, we crawled over it)!
The also gave us food….I thought we were at a trail race for a second…
Typical trail race spread. Except those gummi bears are soaked in vodka…
Post shower, time for beer and burger in the hotel lobby!
The ultimate Bangle Pump!
After hours later the party moved to Rock Bottom…
I’m the meat in the JB/RB sandwich!
The LBC reunion (with MinneDan as the replacement KevHash)
Prob my fav group shot…MK and I originally planned on taking our finish photo like this 🙂
Post post race was at the Otter’s Saloon. And I thought Philly’s Karaoke bar was a dive…
Before the Loop invasion…Old man on a flip phone….guy singing “As the world falls down” by David Bowie. Labyrinth fans understand why I was expecting Bluto to come crashing through…
After the Loop invasion.
I’d include more…..but most of you have seen the pics on Loopville. I’m already nostalgic about the whole weekend. It was fabulous and if you werent there, we missed you. I would have loved to bring dolls for all of you, but there was just too many people missing!! Though I do have to give a special shout to my Philly sorority roommates….and the girls who were supposed to bunk with us at TCM at any point….you were missed like crazy!!
Next up – JJ and I do the dumbest thing that’s ever sounded like a good idea 8 months ago – Double Marathon!! 11/3 and 11/4, hoping I live…as I really wanna make it to Marshall!
Jenster's Adventures 