I'm Ready to Be a Warrior!

Last year Ty and I ran a race called the Gorilla Dash (basically a less difficult version of the Warrior Dash) on a whim.  We ran a 5K in the morning and there was a booth set up to register for the Gorilla Dash going on that afternoon.  Since we ran the race in the morning we could get a discount at the Gorilla Dash.  Ty talked my mom and dad into doing it with him and I agreed to do it as well.  It was designed for 6 person teams and one obstacle was a Humvee pull which was difficult with just 4 people!  We had a blast, especially running through the mud pits!  After we finished I couldn’t wait to do another one and Ty was hooked on obstacle course races.  He started searching and found quite a few near us.  We registered for the Warrior Dash and Hillbilly Mud Run and Ty was looking into the Tough Mudder.

I was so excited for both races, but found out I was pregnant shortly after we registered.  I called the doctor and he advised I not run them.  I was actually pregnant when I ran the Gorilla Dash, but didn’t know it.  I was disappointed, especially when I was standing around watching everyone else, but I knew it wasn’t safe to do in the first trimester.    

So I’ve been really looking forward to the Warrior Dash this year!  I added some strength training to my workouts to prepare for the obstacle portion of the course.  I’m not big on weight lifting and have a hard time sticking with it.  So I’ve already started slacking.  I was lifting with free weights which I would do in front of the TV at night after Carter went to sleep.  I also added in some planks.  I did planks religiously during pregnancy, just hadn’t picked it back up yet.  Running with Carter in the stroller really works my core and my arms, so I’m hoping that will also help.  Not to mention lifting Carter and carrying him around, surely that’s helped too.

I'm excited to be part of it this year.

We’ll see how the Warrior Dash goes and maybe next up on the list of obstacle races will be the Tough Mudder.  Ty and my dad did it in October 2012, more about that race here.  I wasn’t interested initially due to the segments with electrical shocks and the pool of ice water, but after seeing videos from their race, I’m thinking about it.

If you are interested, you can read more about the Warrior Dash here and the Tough Mudder here.

I'm linking up with Ashley for Move It Monday!

Race PRs

As a runner when I find another running blog or meet someone who runs I'm always curious about their times and I get excited when I find someone whose times are comparable to mine. I really enjoy pages on blogs where the writer lists out her fastest times. I was recently looking at one such post and felt inclined to write one of my own, listing out PRs overall as well as pregnant and after having children. I feel it will show my progress and change as a runner through huge life events as well as help me track my times. Some of my pre-pregnancy PRs I know I will never touch so it's nice to have post-baby PRs to focus on. Here are my fastest times pre-baby, pregnant, and post-baby listed out by distance.  There's something about the 10k distance.  For some reason I never run it.  I've run so many 5ks and half-marathons I couldn't even guess the number, but I've only ever run maybe five 10k races.  I had a hard time even finding race times for that distance, so I think the time listed is my PR.

5k

Pre-baby:

18:27 (2007 MSSU Stampede)

Pregnant 1st Trimester:

23:11 (2014 Zoo Run at 13 Weeks)

Pregnant 2nd Trimester:

23:05 (2014 Jingle Bell Run at 23 Weeks)

Pregnant 3rd Trimester:

23:54 (2015 Runway Run at 28 Weeks)

Post-baby:

20:59 (2014 Get Busy Livin 5k)

2007 MSSU Stampede last quarter-mile.

Finishing the 2014 Get Busy Livin 5k.

Finishing the 2014 Jingle Bell 5k pregnant with Elise.

10k
Pre-baby:
42:something (I haven't run very many 10k's and unfortunately the only ones I've run were small and didn't have online results.  So I'm going off running notes I took years ago that don't have much detail.)
Post-baby:
49:52 (2013 Aquarium Run, my 4th race back after Carter was born and the only 10k I've run since)

Posing with Carter after the race.

Half-Marathon

Pre-baby:

1:31:35 (2007 Mighty Mo Half)

Pregnant 1st Trimester:

None Completed

Pregnant 2nd Trimester:

1:56:44 (2014 Prairie Fire at 14 Weeks)

Pregnant 3rd Trimester:

2:19:57 (2012 Route 66 at 32 Weeks)

Post-Baby:

1:36:51 (2013 Jenks Half)

Running the 2012 Route 66 Half Marathon pregnant with Carter.

Finishing the 2013 Jenks Half Marathon.

Finishing the 2014 Prairie Fire Half Marathon pregnant with Elise.

Marathon

Pre-baby:
3:40:05 (2008 Route 66 Marathon)

Running the 2008 Route 66 Marathon (my first and fastest marathon).

Other Favorite Races

Wedding Day 5k:
My mom came up with the idea of running a 5k the morning of our wedding.  We ran the race out at the trails where Ty proposed to me.  I ran the race with Ty and it was the most time we had alone during the entire day.  The race ended up being one of my favorite memories from the day.

Gorilla Dash:
This was my first obstacle course race.  Ty wanted to sign up for it after running a race that morning.  At first I thought he was crazy, but he talked me into it along with my mom and dad.  We all ran together as a 4 person team and it was a blast!

 
Tough Mudder: 
Another race Ty wanted to do that I thought he was crazy for doing!  This one was an 11 mile obstacle course race.  Jeremy and Thomas also ran it and it was a blast running all together!  The most memorable moment for me was making it across the monkey bars!

GBL 5K

 We had all been really excited for the Get Busy Livin’ 5K.  Saturday morning we woke up to constant rain.  My mom had planned to walk the course with Carter but I was worried about him being out in the rain.  I really didn’t want him getting wet and cold.  Ty quickly turned into McGyver pulling random objects from his car and was able to use a bungee cord to fasten an umbrella to Carter’s stroller.

My goal for the race was to run faster than my time of 23:18 from last year.  I finished in 23:06, just barely beating that time.  Good for 2^nd out of 70 in my age group.  At first I was disappointed I hadn’t run a little bit faster, but the course had lots of turns which really slowed me down!

We had quite the showing with my older brother, Jeremy, winning his age group with a time of 19:57.  My dad also won his age group finishing in 22:46.  My younger brother, Thomas, was 21^st/59 in his age group and Ty was 44^th in the same age group.  Mom was 15^th/18 in her age group walking due to her recent knee scope.

Like last year we had planned to run the Gorilla Dash, an obstacle course race, later in the day.  We were disappointed to show up at 3:30 for the 4:00 heat only to find they had closed the course early.  I guess due to the rain they didn’t have many racers, so they shut down.

Linking up with Ashley for Move it Monday: