Pre-registering & Post Nasal Drip

Last night I decided to drop off my registration form with fee at the running store before my Beloved and I went out on our date.

The free sock incentive (in addition to the tech-shirt) for the first 100 pre-registered participants had me hooked. I'm a sucker for race gear I don't have to pay for, but when I woke up this morning with a sore throat & a copious amount of sinus drainage a degree of regret settled in.

It seems there is some sort of correlation between pre-registering for a race and my being bit by the plague monkey. This is not the first time this has happened.

I'm hoping that taking tactical measures in beating it will work. Tea, Colloidal Silver and Kleenex have come to my aid. If I'm not totally knocked out I still plan on racing. It's only a 5k I should be able to handle it. Even if it involves snot breaks. Eww, I know.

As a side note, blowing your nose takes a little more thinking when it's pierced. I forgot this morning and almost tore it out. Ouchie.

I'll keep you posted on the plague monkey progress or lack there of.

Temps & Tights

After a dismal start to some sort of training regime this month I finally pushed myself out the door for a short 3mile run yesterday. Continuous rain, piles of work, a healing tattoo that even tech shirts stuck to and a handful of other excuses had been hindering me prior.

Thus there was no gentle transition from the 50+ degree weather to the 20s. Two weeks of laziness on my part equaled 30 degrees of acclimation. Sigh.

Since I spent the better part of last fall and winter on a dreadmill (as the TE ladies refer to it) I am determined to acclimate myself to the cooler temps this year in an effort to avoid hamsterity. As much as I enjoy running towards a wall while watching interior design & remodeling shows, there's no comparison to hitting the pavement or trail.

I knew becoming comfortable with the cold would take some time, but after the first mile I had adjusted to it and to the fact that someone other then my husband & fellow runners had seen me in my running tights.

There are certain things you accept when you become a runner or triathlete. One of those things is the performance of your tech gear coming before your vanity. There are athletes out there that can make these articles of spandex look elegant. I am pretty confident I am not one of those people. And that's okay because running well, unhindered by slapping pant legs, is more important to me.

If I can continue to drum up the ambition to get outside and run I think training this winter will be a lot more enjoyable. It may take a few additional pieces of cold-gear for it to be comfortable, but such as it is.

Thursday I will be running in the "Full Moon 5k" put on by The Dick Beardsley Running Co. Finally race that is in the evening. I'm looking forward to it! There's a chance to win some of the cold-gear I need so we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll win something other then a tacky coaster this time. ;)

As to the remainder of this week: My new Mizunos are on their way and I'm excited to get them.

I have a pair with speed laces on them already which I love. To think of all the time I lost tying shoe laces part way through races. Going back to traditional laces for anything, but the Filthy 5k (when I wear my yucky shoes anyway) just isn't much of an option. Now I just need to decide which type to use on this pair. It's another case of function before fashion. :)

Genesis 24:58

Today I did something I've been thinking about and designing for roughly two years. My first tattoo. It is an honor to mark a piece of the Lord's work in my life on my body.

Did it hurt? Sometimes. Overall it was more irritating than painful. No near tears. It was worth it.

The reason behind the design comes from Genesis 24, the story of Rebekah and how she came to be with Isaac. The man leading Rebekah on the camel is an example of the Holy Spirit. In verse 58 Rebekah is asked a pivotal question that would change her life forever. "Will you go with this man?".

This question has transcended into my own life in a very real way. There are many times in my walk with God where I am asked will I continue to follow His leading or not. I pray I always have Rebekah's answer, "I will go."

Now for how it applies in a physical sense... most people who don't run marathons or do triathlons say "I could never do that." For most of us it's not a question of can, it's a question of "will you". That is where the inspiration for the gears came from.

I plan on going as far as the Lord has set out for me, in spirit and in body. :) This tattoo is a symbol of that.

What came first?

Saturday night I went to bed chilled. The special kind of chill that tends to stick with me most of the winter months.

After a beautiful autumn ride that morning the thought of snow hadn't really occurred to me. To be honest I was more excited about my running tights fitting over my bike shorts and
contemplating the warmer gear I'd need for the next trips out on Tangerine.

Come 4 a.m. Sunday morning I had different thoughts. 50-60 mph gusts were thrashing against our apartment hard enough to wake both Jeremy and I up. Uhg.

We checked the bedroom windows to make sure they were completely closed and locked.Sometimes they whistle like it's more windy outside than it actually is, but such was not the case. It truly was that windy. The sleep following that initial stir was fitful.

What we didn't see on our window panes when we checked them earlier is what we woke up to later that morning. *Snow*

The sight neither excited nor disappointed me. Which is odd. The prospect of strapping on my board and wanting more time on my road bike collided. Usually snowboarding rivals quite a lot, but this year it is different. I realize now that I have a problem, which isn't actually a problem at all: Too many passions.

By noon the dusting of snow we received had melted. More time to ride, my bicycle. For now.

With snow already having fallen you'd think that the trees here would be barren and the grass a dull shade of green, but the cool weather seems to have brought out the color.

Here are a few photos from the path I typically run on (taken today).


As to the start of this week, Yesterday was another attempt at Pilates. It gave me a headache again. Which either means I'm forgetting to breathe or not doing the exercises right. I'll find out soon enough. Classes are three times a week so that gives me plenty of opportunity to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Other then that, Jeremy and I have been feeling run down so far this week. Unfortunately that's not from running, but more than likely some bug going around. We are doing our best to take it easy. I shoot a wedding on Saturday and need to be healthy.

Again another conflict of passions. Sometimes work trumps training. No complaints. :)

Architectural "Art" Meets Boulder Holders

Today I had the chance to shoot some engagement photos downtown. While I driving around looking for spots I was surprised to see the array of bras strung together draping from rooftop-to-awning of the Hotel Donaldson. It was both hilarious and in an odd way beautiful.

Just thought I'd share the shot. Enjoy!

Red River Run - Race Report

Yesterday Jeremy and I participated in the Red River Run. (He did awesome!)

Last year it was a beautiful race course along the river with autumn colored leaves scattered everywhere. So, when I found out that the course had to be moved due to flooding this year, I was a bit bummed.

Winter is undoubtedly on it's way and I'm cherishing what is left of fall. Fortunately, the new race course was just as lovely. Unfortunately, the camera battery went dead before I could capture it. But, here are a few shots we got before then...


Why do I look like a bandit/convict?

1.) Because I can.

2.) Because there is a costume contest at this race.

3.) This is the only reasonably priced costume I thought made sense to run in.

Did I win the contest? No. But I did get a tacky coaster with a road-runner painted on it. :)

Obviously my toes continued to heal throughout the week enough for me to run. To my knowledge this is the last longer distance race of the year in this area so I was really happy to be able to run the full 15k.

In comparison to the other races this season the attendance was sparse. Decent turn-out with 222 runners, but when you spread them out over a 5k course and a 15k there aren't many racers around you.

It was a quiet 9.3 miles which meant a lot of time alone (good prayer times) with only my internal dialog urging me onward. I don't mind races like this, but from the beginning I was somewhat worried that I may not be able to find a fellow runner to pace myself with & that my time would be poor because of it.

Much to my surprise I actually ran faster averaging a pace of 10:07. Giving me a total time of:

Red River Run 15k

1:34:17

I guess my mental stamina and physical determination are stronger then I realize. I certainly wore myself out, but it's an awesome feeling finishing the race to the sound of your husband cheering you on & knowing that you held nothing back. :)

Tougher than nails, well toenails...

Thanks to the lively crew at Beyond Running here in Fargo I have some fun video from last weekend's Filthy 5k. This clip is at the last and most slick mud hill on the course just before the finish. I'm (in the orange jacket) at about minute 7 on the video if you'd like to watch me claw my way up, but it's just as entertaining to watch everyone else try too. :)



At the start of the race they instruct you to just enjoy yourself (which I did) and not expect a PR because of the terrain. Judging by the standing water in the grassy areas, I knew that the ground on the woodsy part of the course wasn't going to be pretty. I was right, but they were wrong about the PR...

2nd Annual Filthy 5k 30:01:74

One of these days (hopefully this fall/winter) I will drop under the 30 minute mark for a 5k, but for now I'm just excited that with each foot-race I've done so far this year my pacing has become faster and faster.

Anywho, The Filthy 5k lived up to it's name this year. So much so that they had to cancel the water truck they had scheduled to spray down the course (see I knew they had been scheming). As it turns out the continuous rain showers we had all week did the trick.

Jeremy and I arrived early giving us some time to scope out the new course route and visit with other racers as they arrived before the race began. For some reason a few of the ladies there missed the memo about it being a "filthy" 5k and you could see the apprehension on their faces as they contemplated getting their nice white shoes and pretty tech-gear all muddied up. As for me I was ready in my ever so sexy (HAHAHA!) running tights and old shoes that are 1/2 sz. too small.

After the Mustache contest had taken place we all lined up at the start for what would indeed be an interesting race. (What racing and mustaches have in common, I still haven't quite figured out, but it was a laugh anyway. I was tempted to compete.)

Most of the trail ended up being single file with a few wider sections for we faster runners to make our way around those running at a slower pace. Overall it wasn't as crowded as I worried it may be considering the race numbers went from 42 last year to 125 this.

What felt true to me last year held true this year. I absolutely love trail running! Even when it's so wet along the trail that your shoes make lovely farting noises from stride to stride. It was difficult to keep my pace and not walk any portion of it, but I managed to hang on until the final mud slicked hill that involved some crawling. My heart-rate maxed out at the top. After a few deep breaths I was able enough to slowly & feebly sprint the final 500ft. Whew!

At the finish I was awarded with the best medal I've gotten yet. Soap on a rope! :)

Like Jeremy said in his blog post, this is a race that we will mark in our calendar a year in advance so that we are sure to be around for it. It's a blast.

Thanks again to Beyond Running for putting together another fantastic race this year!

In other news:

I was able to fix what was broken successfully. My camera and memory cards are now functioning properly thanks to a new card-reader. Please note *If your compact flash cards come up as DCII instead of DCIM on your computer and all the files are corrupted/unreadable then the card no longer works in your camera, it's probably something wrong with the card-reader. Such as bent pins or something along those lines. Unfortunately getting back those images might not be possible ( Such was the crud in my wknd) but at least it doesn't mean buying a new camera body.

And: The pain that I woke up to at 4am Sunday morning from an ingrown toenail on my left foot has subsided enough to allow me to continue running. Finally! I was able to get a 6mile training run in yesterday and while there were twinges of pain here & there it was manageable. I probably wont get a pedicure when on vacation again. I can't help but think that it was because of that, that I got the ingrown toenail to begin with. Since I have started to feel the same pains starting in my right big toe it makes me suspicious. Epsom salts, rubbing alcohol, tweezers and a good nail trimmer are so very nice.

We'll see how the rest of this week turns out. Hopefully/Prayfully my toes will continue to heal so that I can still run the 15k on Saturday. If I ended up only running the 5k or shooting the event that's *okay*, but certainly not my preference.

I'll keep you posted!