Category Archives: race reflections

Sep15

Red Deer Super Spartan-Race Recap. “Have I Gone Batshit Crazy?”

Posted on September 15, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

My husband and I headed up to his old stomping grounds of Red Deer, Alberta, on Friday, September 6th, for the Red Deer Super Spartan which would be held the following day. The weather report was grim—-rain, showers, clouds, unseasonably cool weather. As we drove from Lethbridge to Red Deer, we could see the clouds making faces at us, and the lovely downpour that greeted us between Airdrie and Red Deer made us a tad concerned how we would fair the next day.

We headed out to Heritage Ranch at 8 am Saturday morning. I have ran near here during the Red Deer Half Marathon, but never through all the horse trails. Heritage Ranch was a short 10 minute drive from Dan’s parents’ place, and it is quite an odd location—-we came in through a newer neighborhood and parked on the street, walked to where the check-in would be and it was all RIGHT THERE. Imagine if you looked out your bedroom window and you saw half-naked, spandex-clad soon-to-be-muddy people, heard ridiculously loud belongs-at-a-crossfire-gym music, and witnessed mass confusion of mobs of people at package pickup….that was the Red Deer Super Spartan at 8:20 am.

Dan and I had never been to a Spartan this early in the morning, and the area was so congested that it didn’t help the situation. We met up with his cousin Erin and us three waited in line for about 25 solid minutes. Some times it was very frustrating as you saw volunteers not being able to check people in or find their names….there was no packet pickup offered the night before so I think that was most of the issue. Once we had our bibs and packages, the rest was pretty smooth. We took turns going to the marking station to get our number put on us in marker, while the others held line for bag check….got to use the porta potty once…check out the finish line area (where they put the rope climb as basically the LAST obstacle! Ugh!) and then it was only ten minutes until our 9:30 start!

Because of how Heritage Ranch is set up, you literally could only see the start and finish area of the course, and you had no clue what to expect on the course. When the countdown finished and we set off, we barreled through some very narrow horse trails. Some of the first obstacles we hit were the over/under/through wall, stacked bales of hay that we had to crawl over, buckets of soil we had to load and carry, and even some naturally occurring horse poop!

My biggest achievement in this race was finally being able to complete the monkey bars. My last two Spartan races I slipped off almost immediately, and pretty much psyched myself out of being able to do it. Since Dan scurried across real quick, Erin and I stood there a moment before starting. Erin is not tons taller than myself, but her arm span is ridiculous. She started and got her momentum and went three bars at a time! I started and was just doing one at a time, but once I saw her ahead doing the three, I got some momentum myself and double-barred it to the end. I was so pumped when I jumped off it just fired me up!

The trail running was challenging, but having Erin be our leader most of the race was really helpful. She thrives during trail races and is used to running with the exposed roots, rocks, uneven surface. You couldn’t see any obstacles from inside the thick covering of trees so every time you spilled out of the woods, you were greeted with a surprise. One of the surprises was not just muddy water to walk through, but a 40 foot body of water we had to swim across, which I would describe as a cross between a creek and a small river. It was fairly calm, but the idea of not having your feet be able to touch the bottom was new! They did have life jacket provided if someone needed it. Dan opted to use a regular front stroke, while I just doggy-paddled across. Erin got a little freaked out once submerged, but then made her way over.

Sooner than we expected, we had reached the finishing obstacle area. The mud wall to climb over was extra tough this time due to the ropes being absolutely covered in sludge. Erin and I both had to do burpees at the rope climb, so when Dan finished it successfully, he told him to finish ahead of us. He did not have to do burpees as an obstacle punishment at all this course, which is a first, since he usually fails the spear throw. Erin and I finished together with a jump over the fire, finishing with a time of 1:27:46, covering a distance of 13km!

We really enjoyed this course, and had a fantastic time running it. The longer distance was an advantage for me over Dan, since 13km is a normal distance for me to run. This allowed there to be larger spaces and breaks in between obstacles, so I was able to get into a good stride multiple times. So what is next? Well…Erin and I are 99% sure we are registering for the Spartan Beast in Sun Peaks, BC, on September 28th. We have gotten addicted…some may say we have drank the kool-aid—and upon completion of the Beast, I would join the Trifecta Tribe. Have I gone batshit crazy yet? Maybe. But I am having the time of my life!

Sep1

Race Recap-Edmonton Half Marathon

Posted on September 1, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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I ran my first Edmonton Half Marathon two years ago in August 2011. It was a disaster. I had been on vacation (to Disney World, duh) and gotten back on a Friday night. I headed up to Red Deer for a night with the in laws, then to Edmonton Saturday to spend time with Dan’s cousin. Sunday was race day, and all the lovely vacation food and beverage that was still in my system messed with my capability to run the race well, thus running it in 2:34:09. A disaster.

So when I registered for all my races this year, I naturally ignored history and signed up for Edmonton again. It was originally slated to be run on August 18th, two days after I would return from my 16 days in Disney World—–familiar set up, right? Well, race organizer had to switch the race to a week later due to a scheduling conflict, so I had a little over a week from my return from Disney to prepare mentally for this race.

For my stateside friends, or people generally unfamiliar with Canadian geography, Edmonton is the capital of Alberta (not Calgary), and is located about 5 hour north of Lethbridge, a little south of centre of the Province. Everything else North of Edmonton is a lot of space….national parks, oil fields, etc.

So onto the race itself. Well, first, the expo. Rumor was that the race organizers were having trouble dealing with Northlands (the start/finish line sponsors, huge exhibition grounds) this year, as this is why the original date got switched, due to a scheduling conflict. Also, the expo and packet pickup was usually at Northlands Park, an incredibly easy to access location. It got switched to a hotel in downtown Edmonton, conveniently located in the middle of construction. It was a nightmare to get to. My friend Kelly and I managed to find our way there, but didn’t spend too much time at the expo. Kelly started running half marathons just in the past 9 months or so, and trains with a group from The Running Room in Edmonton, so she saw a lot of people she knew there—a few of the people she runs with were the Pace Bunnies for race day.

Before leaving the expo, we also bought our parking pass, which did not allow in-out privileges. This was by no fault of the race organizers, but this was Northlands adding something else to charge people up the ass for. I know for a fact two years ago I did not pay for parking. I paid for parking in Calgary, but that race was downtown with limited space, and you had to be at the Stampede Grounds before 6 am to get into parking….so that seemed acceptable. If we didn’t buy the $5 pass that day it would have been $12 on Sunday. Ridiculous. But, we needed it so our husbands could come back and watch us at the finish.

The morning of the race offered excellent race temperatures. I actually had to wear a short sleeved shirt instead of just a tank top! Kelly and I were both a little slow going in the morning, as we had the bright idea the day before to go to the West Edmonton Mall indoor watermark. Probably not a great pre-race quest, but we had a blast and its not like we are champions or something! Anyway, got dropped off at Northlands around 7 am, with plenty of time to use the restrooms, stretch, and get prepared for our 8 am start. The full marathon started at 7:30 am, and we viewed it from inside the Northlands race track building.

The Edmonton course is always billed as “fast and flat” and our shirts stated this too. The total elevation change in the entire half marathon course is a whopping 12 meters. This is what actually got me nervous as we waited to start, since in all fairness, anyone used to the general high elevation in Alberta should be rockin’ this course. But, we saw two years ago, you can self-destruct at any time.

We made the mistake of not getting down the the start chute until the last 9 minutes. There was no way I could get up farther in the pack to where I wanted to be (in between the 1:45 and 1:50 Pace Bunny). So after the gun went off, I spent the first half a mile of the race slowly making my way through the pack. The race was an out and back course, that led us into Chinatown and downtown Edmonton, then through some gorgeous neighborhoods, and back. Below is the course map, and it is similar, if not identical, to the one two years ago.

I have lamented this before, but the one thing I really struggle with is a consistent pace. And this race was no different, in that I start out faster than my average pace should end up being, and I do this for about 5 km. I then start to slow down to where I ideally want my pace to be, but end up going way slower for miles 7-10 than I want. I hit my half marathon wall of frustration at around mile 9. It is always my slowest. I have ran enough in my life I should be able to know what 8:15 min/mi feels like and stick with it, but I am still working on it. Also, I forgot my Nike Sportwatch in Lethbridge, so I had to use the Nike+ app on race day, which I do have to say is awesome, but since I had my phone in my fuel belt pocket, I didn’t have a visual to look at, just the voice cues.

With my complaints about my pace, when I get to the last 3 miles I can always put on a smile and know the end is near. I haven’t fully decided if I like out-and-back courses better than a route that is all different, but it is nice going back over something you did earlier that morning, and being able to picture how much further you have left. Since I am not from Edmonton and don’t visit often, it is not like I know the area and landmarks well, but since I ran past the beautiful overlook of the river at about 2.5 miles, when I returned past it I knew I didn’t have much to go! I rounded into Northlands and was able to see my husband and Kelly’s husband behind one of the gates. I think Dan, my hubby, was surprised to see me actually finish in a decent time, given the vacation the first half of the month and our day at the waterpark. My chip time when finishing ended up being 1:51:58, which is my second best half marathon time ever! A far cry from the 2:34:09 two years prior! I conquered Edmonton!

After receiving my medal and some water, I trekked back to the Northlands entrance so I could watch for Kelly. I highly recommend anyone who finishes a race and feels up to it, to go back and cheer on some fellow runners as they finish. I know I appreciate as a runner having the cheers from strangers. And I could tell that many runners enjoyed having those words of encouragement, and me telling them its just a “right turn and a left turn into the finish line!” It was also neat because as I was walking out to watch for Kelly, runners who were coming in to finish were congratulating me for already being done—it was pretty neat. Kelly came in and set a PR for herself, finishing at 2:11:50! There were 1719 participants in the half, with 998 of them women! Kelly finished 417/998 in our gender, and I was 114/998.

I had a great time at the Edmonton Half Marathon, and would consider doing to again, as the course is gorgeous, it really is fast and flat, and it is a great race location since we have family and friends to visit. This really could be a PR course for me if I trained for it in mind, so I might set my sights on that next August, since I won’t be doing as many races as this year.

(Also, I got to meet quickly with one of my fellow Dopey Challenge runners who is part of the same Dopey Training Group as me on Facebook! Saskia lives in Calgary, and we were able to meet up after finishing the Edmonton Half! It was great meeting you and hopefully you do come down for the Lethbridge Police Half Marathon in two weeks! Otherwise, see you in January!)

Aug22

Spartan Race Calgary-Race Recap

Posted on August 22, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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Dan and I participated in our second Spartan Race on August 18, 2013. This race was held in Calgary, Alberta, and was classified the same as our first Spartan Race, which is a Spartan Sprint. And while the race had many similar obstacles and was undoubtedly a Spartan Race, there was some small differences we noticed in the race setup, feel, and overall experience. I am going to talk about that today.

We live in Lethbridge, Alberta, which is approximately an hour and a half from the south end of Calgary. Dan and I set out on Sunday morning at 8 am to our Spartan Race, which was held at a BMX course in Calgary off of Glenmore Trail. It took us just about 2 hours to get there—a perfect day trip distance. Unlike when we did the Montana Spartan, we did package pickup on race morning. This went smoothly, however, we both realized how much we enjoyed doing the pickup the night before Montana, as it was set up at a sporting goods store, and there was live music, food trucks, beer, and practice spear-throwing for charity. This was just a standard pick up, but I guess that’s what we get for doing just a day trip.

The Calgary Spartan was a two day event. Last year when they hosted the Spartan I believe it may have also been two days, but the numbers this year were twice as many. When I looked at the results, Saturday had 5186 registered participants and Sunday had 3668! Montana was one day. A Saturday, and had 3396 results posted. I wish I could have seen what the setup was like for Saturday, because Dan and I noticed a few things on Sunday that let us down. First, food—there were only two food trucks. One in the packet pickup area and one down near the course. And when we were done racing and hungry the one in packet pickup was closed already. In Montana there were about four food trucks lined up all day pumping out food for the athletes. This was a let down, as in Montana we hung around for a long time after and enjoyed food and drinks and took tons of photos. At least Calgary was just a day trip anyway, because when we were done there really wasn’t much to do.

Another thing that is more of a petty complaint is the beer gardens. Now, this may be due to different laws in Alberta versus Montana. But, the beer gardens had one thing–coors light. I know Molson is a sponsor, so a Molson product is expected, but come on!! COORS LIGHT? We had our one free beer after the race, Dan could barely drink his, and we left. Montana had Tamarack Brewing Company and another local brew available and it was awesome. We spent money on more drinks after our one free because they offered quality beverages . This again may be due to location and laws involving alcohol consumption.

So far it sounds like I am a complaining bitch and we didn’t enjoy ourselves. That is far from the truth! Our heat time was at 1:00, so at 12:30 Dan and I headed down near the start chute so we were ready to walk to the starting line when they allowed us. While we didn’t go into this being “competitive” we did want to be at the front of our heat so we could get to the first obstacle ahead of a backlog of people. We lined up and about 5 minutes before our start time the emcee did his Spartan spiel. Spartan Race Canada must use someone different than Spartan Race US, or the guy we had in Montana must have been at the Hawaii race that was occurring that same weekend, because this guy was weak. He was reading from his script to pump us up, and had this been our first race I am sure it would have. But the man we had in Montana—-oh boy. That guy was a pro. But, whatever—that is just a fine detail.

At 1:00 our heat started and we barreled out the gates and down the first BMX hill of dirt. Dan told me to make sure I didn’t fall right away. Thanks. This course was completely different than Montana, which makes SpartanRace pretty sweet. In Montana we had the picturesque mountains that doubled as ridiculous obstacles to run up and down. Here we had the up and downs of a BMX course, with all the dusty moguls and poor footing. It posed as a different challenge!

I made it to the first obstacle, the cinder block pull, as Dan had just finished it. He was willing to wait for me, but I waved him to just go on alone. I knew I needed to be taking the race slow as 1) I had just gotten back from my 16 day Disney vacation on Friday and only sort of ran once while there and 2) I have a half marathon on Sunday in Edmonton and didn’t want to hurt myself. So I went solo on this race after about the first 8 minutes, and it made the race different. I didn’t have my husband to whine to was the first difference, but more noticeably I didn’t have him to help me over the 8 foot wall. The nice thing about Spartan Races is that even if you don’t know anyone and are doing it solo, people will help you out if you need it and that is great. A woman gave me a boost to get to the top of the 8 foot wall, and after I got over it, I came back around and helped her out. So if you are nervous about doing one of these races solo, don’t be, because people will help you if you need it! And if you are doing it for pure enjoyment and completion, I suggest taking your time and helping others along the way.

Many of the obstacles were similar to ones in Montana, but not exact replicas. There were monkey bars again this race, but the bars were closer together this time and the length of the challenge was shorter! Also, since we were a Sunday heat, and thousands of people had already done it, there was caked on mud EVERYWHERE! So one thing to think about when picking a heat time and day is how used the obstacles may be by the time you compete! Same with the traverse wall—which I was able to complete in Montana, but in Calgary I fell off immediately. In the picture below, you can see how caked with mud my husband is and how the bottom half of that wall looks! So even if you find success in an obstacle at one Spartan Race, it isn’t guaranteed at another, as circumstances are always going to be different!

One different obstacle in Calgary was a balance beam. It was a zig-zag of boards where you had to walk on the approximately 2 inch thick side. I saw many guys fall off right away and have to do the 30 burpees as punishment. Dan told me later he was close to falling off on that, but focused on making it to each corner and pausing. I hope to see more balance obstacles at our next Spartan Race, though, if they are covered in mud I might not find success!

Dan finished in a really fast time of 37:12 and placed 162nd out of 3525 finishers from Sunday! Thing is, Dan didn’t train. So yes, we can hate him for that, but the 5 km distance was just right for someone who doesn’t run regularly, as it was short enough to get him through. His strength are the obstacles. He only failed at the spear throw, so he only had to do burpees once. He has the ability to do all upper body strength obstacles no problem—even the tricky rope climb over the mud pit. I guess all his lugging of landscaping materials all day doubles as strength training! Anyway, he is now actually motivated to start taking these races a little more serious! Case in point—yesterday I went on a 4 mile Dopey Challenge training run and at 3.5 miles, who do I run into but my husband! He said this is the most motivated he is ever going to be so he might as well take advantage of it.

With his fast finish, he was able to see me suck terribly at the rope climb and the spear throw. It was great having him at the last four or five obstacles to cheer me on and give me hints! After finishing, my time was officially 54:04, which is 1371st place overall. I am hoping that when the results get posted over to the main Spartan Race site they have different category placings, but it seems like the Canadian races don’t do that. Dan and I got a picture together afterwards, and it does show how caked on with mud we were! While I know there are other “mud runs” out there, this one isn’t necessarily about just jumping in mud pits. This race has extremely challenging obstacles, and depending on the landscape of the course, you may get more muddy one race than another, and some races maybe not at all.

Would we do this race again? Yes! Would we recommend this race to someone? Yes! And while I know I had my complaints about the Calgary setup, know that had this been our first Spartan Race experience we would have given it a 10 for sure. Dan and I just had a ridiculously amazing experience in Montana that is now what we have as our holy grail of Spartan Races, so any Spartan Race we do now will unfortunately be compared to that. Our next one is on September 7th in Dan’s home town of Red Deer, Alberta. And this will be interesting, as it is a Super Spartan, not a Sprint. This race is listed at being 15+ km, which means it will be well over 8 miles…a distance Dan has never ran. So his lack of running may catch up to him at this race, but with Super Spartans, you don’t just have a longer distance, but you have more obstacles. Dan will do this race solo, and has an earlier starting time than myself. I will be running with my friend Amie, who has never done a Spartan race at all! She is even shorter than me (I am 5’3″) so we will be hurling each other over tall obstacles! My 6’0+ sister in law is also doing this race with her friends, so I may need to use her heir to help me out!

If you don’t know what a Spartan Race is, head over to the Spartan Race site

Jun25

Race Medal Personalization—Beyond the Norm…

Posted on June 25, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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Back when I was in high school and had a letter jacket, my parents always took my medals to Alberti’s in West Allis, Wisconsin, to get sewn on. If you know anything about West Allis, Alberti’s is just what you would expect—-a local trophy and award shop that is always kind of in disarray, doesn’t have a website, but has been opened for years and operates efficiently, with great prices and excellent service. When I started running road races in university, I wanted my medals to be engraved with my finishing time. Alberti’s did that too!

Below is an image (best I could take) of a mess of my early medals with the times engraved. Alberti’s charges about $3 or less per medal. They are very clear and aligned!

This was fine for my first 7 medals. These were all races I ran back home while in the Midwest. Thing is, I moved to Alberta in late 2008 and still continued doing races. As I completed these races I would take a piece of masking tape, stick it to the back, and put the time on it. I had been in Alberta for about three years when I decided to try and find my own Alberti’s here in Lethbridge. I did some research, found a trophy store, and headed over. They seemed so confused on why I wanted them to do this, and did not even have a standard price to give me! I know the amount they quoted per medal was around $8 each, and many depended on the surface they would engrave on. The thing that threw them the curveball was this beauty below:

Only in Calgary would the full marathon medal be a belt buckle. It always is. And it’s awesomely ridiculous. Anyway, this shop that won’t be named said their machine could not do the curve of the buckle. I left beaten and unsure what to do. Will my medals ever be engraved?

Fast forward to the next time my mom visited. Well, lets say her suitcase was a bit heavier on her way back to Wisconsin, as she was taking the medals back with her. A few months later during my next trip home, there were my medals, all engraved. Even the belt buckle! (I know it’s very hard to see in the picture with the glare, but below the date is my god-awful time from that race. Mountain elevation caused major upsets in my stomach that day!)

Now, I have my collection of medals I have been getting so far this year. As I am typing this today, I message my mom for the Alberti price information….she warily answered, and then asked “are you telling me I have to bring more medals home in July?” (She is coming out to visit on Saturday for a month). No, I won’t do that to her this trip…I am just going to wait until I go home next and bring home quite the box myself!

What have I decided to do while I wait for all my medals to be engraved? My future step is to have a display built in the guest bedroom for the medals to hang nicely—-many online shops make these, and so do sellers on Etsy. I am opting to have my husband build me one with reclaimed lumber. There will be pictures when that is done, but probably won’t be until landscape season is over, as that’s when he will have time to make it to my specifications! Until then, I decided to start embroidering my times on the ribbons of the medals. Sure, my earliest medals already are engraved, but by embroidering the time in you can visibly see it as it hangs. And since I haven’t been able to run since my Septoplasty surgery, I had some time to kill and decided to go back to my Girl Scout arts and craft roots.

To quote my husband, after he saw my first medal I embroidered “that looks a lot better than I expected!” I’ll take that as a compliment!

Jun16

Race Recap-Millarville “Run to the Farmers’ Market”

Posted on June 16, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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Firstly—Happy Father’s Day! I hope everyone who had the chance to see their father today gave him a huge hug and told him how much they love him. I thought about my dad all day long, and celebrated him by going golfing with my husband. My dad would have loved to be out there with us golfing on a day like today. I also found this gem, which was hand crafted by myself in 1992 (I clearly remember bringing it home from school and realizing after it was laminated, that I forgot my dad’s beard….Oops! Love you Dad!)

Now onto my race recap! Yesterday, I ran my fifth half marathon since the beginning of March-the Millarville Run to the Farmers’ Market. It was my first experience with a true “rural” route, and it was fantastic. Below are two shots of the landscape right near where the race route was! The way the day before was going, though, I wasn’t so sure how it would be. Note the hail that was smashing my car windshield as I was traveling up to Millarville:

I made it to the package pickup, which was at the Millarville race track. This is where the largest outdoor market in Southern Alberta would be kicking off the 2013 season the following day, and where the half marathon would be finishing.

I then took off towards Black Diamond, Alberta, which was where the start if the race would be and where I would be staying for the night. I booked a room at the Black Diamond Hotel & Bar. The check-in being at the bar didn’t turn me off, but when I went outside to find the access to the hotel rooms, I admit being a little hesitant:

Have no fear, though, as the rooms were actually very nice! They were huge too, and had a fridge, microwave and Keurig, with K-cups! That made me very happy because I knew I wanted a cup of coffee in the morning and wasn’t sure where I would get one! I went through a walk down Centre Avenue, where there were your typical small-town coffee shops, barber, thrift store. There was a perfect little gem across the street from the hotel—Blue Rock Gallery. I was in this store for about 30 minutes. They bring in work from close to 200 regional artists and craftspeople. You would not have expected a store like this in a town like Black Diamond—it was incredible. If you want to check it out, go to Bluerock Gallery

Alarm went off at 6 am, and I was psyched and ready to go. I had seen a portion of the course as I made my way from Millarville—a rolling country highway. The hills weren’t anything I hadn’t experienced before, so I felt confident as I walked to the start. I got to the start with a little over ten minutes until the 7:30 am gun time. This is where I made my first mistake—I went in line for the porta potty. Now, anyone who does any type of race knows if you need to go, you have to make sure you do this well enough before race start. I didn’t really have to go, but I thought I may, so I wasted 8 minutes in line,and didn’t even get close to the front. The announcer over the loudspeaker was announcing “2 minutes till start time!” when I decided to forget about it and get ready to race. I think this mental block threw me off as I began running!

My first mile was ridiculously fast. But it didn’t feel great, something was wrong, and I slowed myself down for mile two. We had already found ourselves on some long straight aways with some slight inclines, and the weather was a bit warm and sticky. I felt off. For miles 3-5, I kept talking to myself, trying to convince myself that going slow would be ok—that maybe I should just take this one as a jog. But then I started getting mad at myself, slightly disappointed. I had felt ready to go at 6 am, and now that I wasn’t mentally into the race, I was letting my mind play tricks with me, trying to convince myself to take the easy way out.

It was at 6 miles that I got my shit together. All of a sudden, I was able to dig out that energy and gusto I had thought I lost. As I approached the turn onto the country highway, Racetrack Road, I honestly told myself out loud that I could beat my Calgary time from three weeks ago, of 1:54:22. This was the first big straight away on rural road, and I had guessed it to be around 2 miles of visibility in front of me. I let myself focus on the last visible point, the top of a hill, and kept checking the mileage on my watch, it kept me distracted, as I wanted to see how close I was to my guess. Turned out to be approximately 2.5 miles of straight visible road! By then, I had started counting down my miles….only 5 to go…4….3. When I got to the final 3 miles, I started to race and push myself. I gave myself the challenge to do a better 5k time in this final stretch than I did out of the gate. I pushed through and finished the race in a time of 1:52:10!

I didn’t let the fact that I didn’t get a personal record this race bother me. I was proud of my time, as it was the second fastest half marathon time I have ever run. My 1:47:22 from Red Deer is going to be tough to beat, so I need to just be happy when I know I finished a race strong. I was even more happy with that I was able to push through and make the last half of the half count! My final 5km was what I needed to feel confident, and the race ended on a huge high note. Plus, knowing that I would be receiving an incredible handmade finisher’s medal really did keep me moving even when I was feeling a bit off! It was overall a fantastic race—a beautiful course, great swag, excellent volunteers. I would recommend this race to any runners next year, and I would also recommend checking out the market in Millarville—-I wandered through it after finishing, and it was superb! Dare I say it would be worth driving two hours on a nice Saturday in the summer to spend a morning at…it runs from 9:00-2:00 every Saturday this season!

I have not mentioned this on here yet, but I am now taking about three weeks off from any running, and do not have a race until August 18th. Tomorrow, I go in for a Septoplasty turbinate diathermy. This is basically an “inside nose job” as I have a slightly deviated septum. The major issue is a scab that has housed on my septum for approximately 7 years. It is difficult to breathe out of my right nostril, and if I attempt to leave the scab alone, my nose hurts, is dry, and I am overall miserable. I will be posting more about my surgery, the aftermath, and if it makes any changes in my physical activity abilities. Until later—-thank you for reading and supporting me in my endeavors!

Jun9

Medals and Race Bibs are NOT Created Equal, but I have Started Saving them Anyway!

Posted on June 9, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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My first ever race I registered for was the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 5km in December 1999. A team from my high school was always formed through student senate, so I took part. When I first started doing these shorter 5km races, I always looked forward to the usually long-sleeved t-shirt that came with registration. When I started doing longer races, shirts were always part of the entry fee, but they got more prized—they would say “marathon finisher” on the back, or they started to be made out of sweet tech material. The finisher medals took over as the thing I looked forward to at the end of a race, and these were sometimes reasons I would or wouldn’t register for something. The one thing that all these races share that I never looked forward to, though, was the race bib.

The race bib is your number for the race, and really it is a way for the race organizers to label you as a participant. It helps with organization on the day of the race, as sometimes different colors or number ranges signifies the race you are in (10km, half or full). Now in the digital age, these bibs help photography websites identify the runner if they take pictures at the event.

In my early years of running, I never thought of hanging onto the race bib. It usually got tossed straight in the garbage after I was done. It was until my first race in Canada, the Calgary Full Marathon in 2009, that I for some reason decided to save my race bib. I think part of my reason for saving it was because it was my first race in Canada since moving here, but it was also a different bib other than the generic ones you would normally get. Ever since that race, I would come home with my bib, head downstairs to the guest bedroom, write my time on the back, and file it behind the Calgary bib, which was ironically placed behind my old Wisconsin license plate.

I have now saved my racing bibs since that event. They are mostly now all Alberta races, since I haven’t had many races back in the USA since moving. And while these bibs aren’t as fun as the bling you get at the end of longer road races, they do prove to hold on to memories. I am stuck in how to best display these, if I should at all. This year, I have used the bibs to fill up an ugly empty bulliten board space in my classroom. I have my medals I have earned so far this year below, but every time I do a race and add a new bib to the empty space, it also provides pride in finishing the race.

Last weeks’ race, the Coulee Cactus Crawl, provided the most generic of bibs. Just a single 1 in the centre. I had seen a fellow blogger’s race bib post a few weeks ago and it got me thinking about my race bibs. I decided I needed to have fun with this one and bling it out.. This gave it more personality and fun! While the bibs may not be as cool as the medals, I have now decided I need to start having fun with them!

Jun2

Race Recap-Coulee Cactus Crawl, AKA the Hardest Race I Have Ever Ran

Posted on June 2, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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June 1st marked the fourth race weekend in a row, with myself previously doing the Spartan Sprint, Woody’s RV Half Marathon and the Calgary Half Marathon.. So naturally, I thought it to be a good idea and run a 20+ mile trail race in the coulees of Lethbridge. Yes, I did know what I was getting myself into—-the coulees and landscape of Lethbridge is extremely cross country and challenging. But I figured I was up for the challenge.

I went into this race telling myself this was for completion, not time.. I was fine with that, as looking at previous years’ results, there were many DNF (did not finish) results in the solo categories. You can enter this race as a solo runner, or as part of a relay team with up to five runners. The way the five legs were set up created a few repeat areas in the course, as relay transition areas were located on flat areas at the top of the coulees. These spots also had water, which I used to refill my hydration belt, and a good resting point, which I took advantage of for a few minutes each time I reach a peak.

The weather in Lethbridge had been questionable all week and inconsistent—some days reached 80 degrees, and other evenings we would have a hailstorm. The weather at the high noon start time of the Coulee Cactus Crawl was in the mid 60s, reaching the 70s, with very little cloud coverage. For a short 5k, this would have been fantastic. The cloud coverage didn’t show until about 3.5 hours in. But, regardless, the race started at Fort Whoop Up at noon, and away went all the first relay members and all the crazy solo runners.

I felt pretty strong the first leg and ran all the hills, until I hit the incredibly cruel climb to the college parking lot where relay exchange #1 was located. No exaggeration, but this incline was about 50 meters at a 75 degree angle of elevation.. Once to the top, you checked in with the volunteers, who recorded your time (no chip timing). People in the exchange area then realized how much of an idiot I was, because my bib had a black number that was between 1-30. All relay e members had red numbers greater than 100. Runner #1 checked her sanity level, got some water, and barreled down the hill to continue on leg 2.

The long and short of the race was that as I moved on, I knew for my own survival and wellness, I would need to walk up any steep-grade hills as I felt necessary. Some I could run the first time I met them, and then later, I would have to power walk. Yes, I had done some of these “obstacles” before on marathon club runs (the wooden stairs by the Sugar Bowl are a bitch) but there were some very narrow, unstable areas that I had to be cautious around, mainly because I wasn’t use to these extremes. I did see some fantastic areas of south Lethbridge that I did not know existed. I plan on using these trails in the future with my husband and dog, as the views were gorgeous and breathtaking. I have a new appreciation for individuals who call them selves trail runners, as it takes a different level of athleticism to complete this type of course competitively!

By the time I finished, 4 hours 56 minutes and some odd seconds had passed. The course totaled 21.5 miles, as told by my Nike+ GPS watch. If you are curious of the route, elevation, and craziness of this route, click the link below, as it shows my turtle-like paces through the terrain:

Andrea’s Coulee Cactus Crawl Run-2013

I ended up not finishing last, which was fantastic. I was one of four women to run the race solo. I even got a medal for finishing 2nd in women under 40! (There was only two of us, but hey, I will take what I can get!)

This race was a great experience, and I am happy I registered and mustered on through.. I got to see parts of the city I live in that I never knew existed. I gained a new appreciation for runners who partake in trail running and ultra-race events. I also want to thank Runners Soul for putting on this fantastic event, as the concept of being able to do a relay race through this beautiful landscape is fantastic. Also, the chance to run it as a solo idiot is fantastic too 🙂

May26

Race Recap & Fundraising Update-Calgary Half Marathon

Posted on May 26, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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Today marked my sixth race out of eight weeks. Yes, I am sort of going crazy. But, this year is all about going big. All or nothing at all! I went into the Calgary Half Marathon riding high on my major personal best accomplishment in Red Deer last weekend (1:47:22) but this is the first time I have ever ran two marathons two weekends in a row-one week rest! I have now learned some of the limits of my own body!…but here is my experience (this will be short because frankly, I am about to fall asleep!…)

I first experienced RUN CALGARY in May 2009. I participated in the full marathon this year, and it was the worst race of my life.. I have yet to do a race reflection on this race, but lets just say my first experience racing in elevation proved to be trying to my stomach. I have always had this nervousness about trying to do a race in Calgary again. Last year even, when my husband and I did the Energizer Night Race in Calgary, my stomach hated me too. Third time had to be a charm, right?

Package pickup was at Calgary Stampede grounds, the same location as the start and finish of the race. Well organized expo! Quick and easy package pickup, great shirts, good selection of vendors, and a great preview of the race medals! (I tried taking a photo of all five medals but since it was encased in glass, the 10km race medal got all funny looking. Sorry!

Race morning my alarm went off at 5 am. I stayed at my friend’s place on the north end, so I was out of the house by 5:25, and made a quick stop at Tim Horton’s for my morning coffee. to the Tim’s on Centre Street down near the McKnight exit on Deerfoot….your coffee at 5:30 am should not taste like the burnt pot from the previous night at 9 pm! Day!. Anyway, made it down to Stampede grounds, parked, and killed some time. I anxiously walked around, toured the warmth of the grandstand where I found legit restrooms, and met up with my friend Krystal from marathon club.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi of Calgary started off the race at 7 am. The full and half began together, with the 10 km at 7:30, and the 5 km not until noon. I had my hopes set on beating my half time from the previous week, and for the first four miles this seemed possible. Running in an urban setting has its benefits—heavier crowds of people and groups cheering you on, a relatively flat and fast course, and lots to look at. Krystal and I stuck together for the first 7 miles or so, but it was back at mile 6 I started feeling both my quads start to tighten. This was the issue on mile 11 in Red Deer last week, but this week is happened much earlier. I tried to muster through, but by mile 8 I knew I couldn’t keep up with Krystal and for my own wellness I needed to slow down and not race this one as fast as I had hoped.

The last 5 km of the race was a steady decline and we ran through one of the best neighborhoods, as far as local support goes. Some crazy mid 20-early 30 year olds were all lined up blasting Gangham Style and dancing like nobodies business. It is in stretches like these that I feel no pain and I just go for it. I knew way back at mile 6 I probably wasn’t going to get close to my Red Deer time, and I then spent the next 7 miles telling myself it was OK. By the time I finished at 1:54:22 (exactly 7 minutes slower than last Sunday) I had come to terms with the fact I cannot simply PR every race I run. And I can honestly admit, I was happy. I had conquered Calgary, with little stomach pain…..just a little, but I will spare the details.

I managed to find my other friend Whitney, who ran Red Deer last week also. Her race experience this week was similar to mine time wise, and hers last week was also similar to mine. We both had felt the effects of doing a two-in-a-row. Myself, Whitney and Krystal did all manage to get a picture together before funneling through the masses and onto the freebies. It was an amazing race with excellent volunteers and event organizers, gorgeous day, beautiful course….basically the perfect race!

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tired.. I kind of want to just go to bed right now (it is 8:15 pm and sleep till Saturday. This is what I felt like at mile 8 of my half marathon during the 49th Calgary Marathon Weekend. I mustered on through, but for once in my running life, I listened to my body and played it safe, as I knew the wear I have been putting myself through during this journey has been harder than ever before. While I am slightly disappointed in my time, I am more happy than I would have normally been if it had been any other year.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE! If this your first time reading my we page, welcome!You will want to read the PURPOSE link at the top of my page to better understand why the hell I am doing a web page. You will also want to look at the CHARITIES tab to find out more about the two heart disease research organizations I am fundraising for (American Heart Association and Heart & Stroke Foundation. CANADA has now taken the lead over the USA in fundraising! We have now raised $655 for the Heart & Stroke Foundation in Canada, just edging out the $635 for the American Heart Association! My close friends and family know that I am a born and raised Wisconsinite, and lived there for 24 years until moving north to Alberta, Canada. This is part if the reason why I decided to issue this friendly competition as I fundraise and run in memory of my father, Andrew A. Lammers! He was the reverse, however, being born in Quebec, Canada, and then living most of his life in Wisconsin! Thanks to all the generous donations from my family, friends and co-workers!

May19

Race Recap-Red Deer Half “Running: Cheaper Than Therapy”

Posted on May 19, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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I will admit right away that the quote above, “Running:Cheaper Than Therapy” was seen by my own eyes on someone’s shirt at the Red Deer Half Marathon. I think it may have been Nike….not sure, but I am going to track it down and order it stat. If anyone has seen these in stores, let me know ASAP. This is my new mantra.

I have done the Red Deer Half two other times–in 2010 and 2012. I haven’t done a “Race Reflection” post on either of these yet, but the past years I ran this race, I ran a 1:54:19 and 1:56:06, respectively. I choose to do Red Deer on my May Long Weekend because 1) I don’t like camping, and everyone else goes camping on Victoria Day weekend and 2) the location is convenient, as my in-laws live in Red Deer and 3) my husband goes on a boy’s trip this weekend so I have nothing better to do!

The course stays pretty much the same year to year. The race starts near Lindsay Thurber High School, which is about 9 blocks from my father and mother-in-laws. It heads toward Kerry Wood Nature Centre, then onto the Mackenzie Trail system right on the Red Deer River. You wind up and down quite a few daunting hill climbs, go around an island near Heritage Ranch, take a loop at Bower Ponds, then they rudely have you finish by climbing up Michener Hill for about 150 m, at I would say a 55 degree incline. The race ends winding down Michener straight to the finish.

The morning was damp, with weather forecasts for thunder showers all day. I got up at 6 and had my breakfast, only to head out for a two mile warmup. My sick reasoning for this was because I am doing the 20 mile Coulee Cactus Crawl in two weeks and I wanted my total mileage today to be 15…My friend Joe had suggested this. Good thing he did, because while it was only 50 degrees, the humidity in Red Deer is something I am not used to anymore. Lethbridge is dry and arid (yes, you can have Canadian cities be arid). I had to take off my long sleeve layer before race time, which I am thankful I did. I met up with my friend from marathon club, Whitney, at the start line. I also said hi to my husband’s cousin, Erin, who was doing the full. She is my age and was shooting for Boston qualifying. (She got it! Just barely, but it counts. Finished with a 3:34:24. I met her at the start of the hill and ran with her up it for support. She said without me there she may have walked!). At 8 am, the half and full marathon started. There were a little over 950 competitors in total, with 801 doing the half. Whitney and I took off and stuck together for the first 2.5 miles. We were really booking it, and then she started to just step back behind me. I kept on moving, and as each mile passed, I got more and more nervous—-I was running dangerously…..was my pace going to break?

Since I am familiar with this course, I think I had an advantage. The advantage was I knew where the “dead spots” were and where I would have to find some internal push to get me through. There was many spots where awesome volunteers were located, (IMHO, one of the best road races as far as number of stocked aid stations go! Water and gel almost every 5km!) locations where local musicians were playing (heard a great cover of “Born to Run” and lots of easily accessible spots for everyday spectators.

To make time pass I started calculating what I needed to run the last 5, 4, 3 miles and so on, in order to beat my PR of 1:53:52. I knew by the last 3 miles I was going to definitely beat it, I just wasn’t sure by how much. I could have taken a slow jog the last three miles at 10 min/mile and be ok…but I kept my short ass legs moving. At mile 11, though, my right hip started to tighten. I had worn KT Tape on my right and left quads due to the fact my left one was still very, very sore from The Spartan Race last week. I had an emergency massage on Thursday, which helped greatly, but I had my sister-in-law help me apply this tape the night before the race, just to be safe. My legs were feeling heavy, my hip was starting to sting, and I was starting to regret the two miles I ran at 6:50 am.

Mile 11 and 12 were quite a bit slower than all my other splits, but in the last mile I knew I would regret if I slowed down. There was a hipster band playing on Michener Hill as I ran up it—-it was easier than the last two times I had done this race, and I thank the Runner’s Soul Marathon Club for training me on so many hills this spring! One thing I regretted from the last two years is that after climbing this hill, I did not take full advantage of the downhill to the finish. I did not let this happen in 2013!. I strode it out down the hill, and once I saw my mother in law, father in law and my dog Snoopy waiting down on the last turn, I lit it up like I was 17 and doing the 800 meter run….but I think I would have kicked my 17 year old self’s ass! Before I hit my stride, I nerdishly yelled Happy Birthday Snoopy! and waved to my dog (like he gave a rat’s ass he turned 6 that day) and I gave those final steps hell. In Red Deer, you run over a timing mat before the final straightaway and this tells the announcer who is coming in. Hearing him say the information I provided in my registration, which included my name, that I am doing many races this year, and that I am running in memory of my dad allowed me to not care about the pain my leg was in!

I finished with a personal best of 1:47:22.. I honestly did not know it was possible for my body to do this.. I have spent the last 10 years running road races, but I am now finally starting to race in road races.. The competition in the 20-29 female category was ridiculous—127 competitors, and first place was 1:28:15. I ended up being 14/127 in my category, 32/498 in my gender, and 113/801 overall. I was the happiest I have ever been after a half or full marathon.

A week ago after the Spartan Race, my mom and I were discussing how much dad would have loved to do that race. He would have loved the obstacles! My mom made an interesting statement, that if dad was still alive, she doesn’t know if I would have done that race…if I would have kept doing all the races I have done over the years. I slowly started to change my main interest from dance to running since my dad’s passing, and it wasn’t necessarily planned that way, but it has became that. And obviously, this website was done in his honor. It’s just interesting to think about everything that has happened since April 25, 2004. It crazy to me that just by focusing my competitive drive into this website, into my dads memory, that I am doing things in running I never though I could break. Running is cheaper than therapy….but really, it is the best kind of therapy…give it a try!….

May12

Race Recap-Spartan Sprint…..I Am A Spartan!!

Posted on May 12, 2013 by mscurlgurl78

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This weekend I participated in my first obstacle course/mud race—a Spartan Sprint. Last August, my husband and I were spectators when our sister-in-law participated in the Calgary Spartan Race. This is when we decided we needed to do one of these. We travelled down to Bigfork, Montana, for our Spartan experience. And I speak for both of us by saying it was well worth the drive!

Upon arriving on Friday, we headed to the Sportsman & Ski Haus in Kalispell for our packet pickup. You were not required to pick up race materials the night before, but it was recommended. It was here that we got to also partake in food samples from local vendors, try our hand at the spear throwing, enjoy some live music, and have some local brews. Dan did the spear throwing twice—-the first time he attempted it like a javelin and failed. After watching some kids successfully throw it, he realized he needed to throw it like a kid—-just grab it and chuck it. It worked! Too bad the next day at the race it didn’t work like that!

Saturday was race day. We were staying at Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge. It was a dude ranch. Seriously. And trust me. I did my City Slickers “helllloooooooo” impression multiple times. The lodge was gorgeous. Honestly, one of the prettiest locations I have ever been. We had a fantastic breakfast that morning and headed out to our VIP parking at 10:30 am. Since we already had picked up our bibs and headbands the night before, we proceeded to the “marking station”. This is where they branded us with permanent markers and stamps, writing our heat time and bib numbers anywhere and everywhere. Since our heat wasn’t until 1:15 we had plenty of time to walk around the spectator grounds.

Race heats were every 15 minutes until 1:30. Approximately 250 runners were in each heat. The guy working the start line was really great at pumping up each group as they started off. Immediately after the start you would hit your first mud bog and up the steep inclines you would go. This course was incredibly hilly—I would dare say mountainous. There were parts where you simply couldn’t run because you had to hike through brush and debris, over rocks and stumps. The views in parts of the course were absolutely breathtaking. Totally picturesque views of Flathead Lake. But, no time to stop and gawk!

The obstacles that we had a glimpse of beforehand were the rope climb, sand bag carry, cargo cross, over/under log bridge, gladiators, spearman, barbed wire, slip wall and fire jump. Below are some photos of the spectating area and parts of the courses that were visible.

Finally our 1:15 heat began! Dan and I set a plan that we would stick together, as some of the obstacles needed him to be with me for help. We were also going to stick with my running pace when we could run and our goal was to do it in under 2 hours. Yes, the course was 4.9 miles. And yes, I can run nearly 5 miles in around 45 minutes on a normal workout day. But this would prove to be not your typical 5 mile jog in the woods. Any of the climbing walls we reached Dan would go on the ground and I used his back as a step. It really helped—but him calling me stumpy didn’t! Being 5’3″ is tough for this race! If you cannot complete an obstacle you must do 30 burpees to buy your way out of the obstacle. I unfortunately had to do three sets, as I did not complete three obstacles. The first one I should have been able to, and that was the monkey bars. But when I grab the first bar and contemplated swinging, my hands were so slippery I had to drop. I also struggled and got most frustrated with the rope climb. Dan was used as a ladder again to get me hoisted up and I got all the way to just below the top knot, but after three tries of getting my legs up to this pinnacle, I had to slide down. Pretty much crashed into Dan. Both of us did not get the spearman challenge either. You only got one shot, so that is what made it really tough.

We finished together at 1 hour 50 minutes 6 seconds. We were both very happy with this! Dan could have probably shaved off ten minutes if he did not wait for me to do the burpees the two times and for me to finish obstacles, but he did say he thinks the breathing time he got as I was completing stuff really helped. He did give me a hard time about me only having 1 speed, as I wasn’t ever “sprinting” but I was doing my half marathon pace. Oh well, I was nervous about running out of fuel!

With every Spartan Race being a new and different course, you won’t be able to try and beat a time you got from a previous race. But that is ok—-many of the obstacles are the same from race to race, so my goal the next race I do is to succeed in the obstacles I could not complete. A co worker and I are registered for the Super Spartan, an 8 mile race, in September in Red Deer. That race will present different challenges than the one in Montana, as the running distance will play more of a part. There will probably also be additional obstacles! This race was all about completion and just having an awesome experience. I couldn’t help but wonder if my dad would have been all over this type of race and how he would have done. i know the long distance running wasn’t his thing, but most of those obstacles he could have just torn through! I did not do any specific training for this race other than my running, but now I know what I need to work on for September. So if any of you see me at the playground with a bunch of five year olds going across monkey bars and doing burpees, you know why!

Je Me Souviens-To Infinity & Beyond!

Running, Disney & Dad–My Journey Continues…

Category Archives: race reflections

Red Deer Super Spartan-Race Recap. “Have I Gone Batshit Crazy?”

Race Recap-Edmonton Half Marathon

Spartan Race Calgary-Race Recap

Race Medal Personalization—Beyond the Norm…

Race Recap-Millarville “Run to the Farmers’ Market”

Medals and Race Bibs are NOT Created Equal, but I have Started Saving them Anyway!

Race Recap-Coulee Cactus Crawl, AKA the Hardest Race I Have Ever Ran

Race Recap & Fundraising Update-Calgary Half Marathon

Race Recap-Red Deer Half “Running: Cheaper Than Therapy”

Race Recap-Spartan Sprint…..I Am A Spartan!!

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