TODAYS TO DO LIST:
TOMORROWS TO DO LIST:
AHHH I’M RUNNING MED FREAKING CITY TOMORROW! I’LL BE DONE BY THIS TIME! (let me retract that.. I better be done by this time!) No time to post. I have to be at work in 20 minutes! You’ll be seeing plenty of pictures soon!!
How gross is that? I can’t remember the last time I had all 10 toenails.. there are always a few that have gone black and fallen off, or are halfway grown back. Right now I have one that is just hanging on for dear life.. it’s completely black and I’m definitely feeling it after TODAY’S RACE 
I wish it would hurry up and fall off already!
So, here goes Erika’s Little Big Race Report:
I woke up at 6:20 with the sun, but then, remembering that I went to bed just six hours ago, I tried to get a little more sleep before I had to get going. Got back up at 7:04, did the usual contacts in/brush teeth/wash face thing, and checked the temp quick before getting dressed. 40 and sunny, light breeze, high of 60 by 3:00. PERFECT racing weather. Got the mug of coffee (very important) poured and breakfast going. I’m not usually a breakfast-before-run person, but racing is different than running, plus I knew it would be a while before I’d get a chance to have real food. I heated up about 6 Chik’n Nuggets.. which you might be like “WHAT? For breakfast?!” but seriously.. these are like my favorite pre-run fuel. They don’t really fit the carb/protein/fat ratio that’s supposedly “ideal“.. but I’ve been running for a long ass time and I just do what works for me.
My dad and I got to Minehaha Park by 8:15.. got my bib, met up with Bobby (see below pictures..) and his girlfriend, and we (Bobby, myself, and GOMER) headed out for a warm up. OK so keep in mind my total mileage for today was supposed to be around 12 as my last “long run” before Med City (NEXT SUNDAY!!).. so anyways did 1 mile easy with B and 1 more easy on my own.. made my last bathroom stop.. went back to grab my dad.. and then we headed up to the street where the starting line was. At that point it was 8:56 so we had good time.. until suddenly the damn horn went off! I whipped my sweatshirt off as my dad was like “Drop and Go Erika.. Drop and Go!!” and GO I did.. Here’s me coming in the last 100 meters.
Unfortunately I didn’t hit Gomer until like half a mile in. I thought I did, but guess not. And I apologize in advance if I come off as bragging, but I had way too much fun, so I’m gonna brag away.
I passed the 2nd leading woman at mile one, and the 1st woman at 1.5.. and after that I was right at home hangin in with the guys 
Chatted with several people along the way, but after 3.5 I was on my own for the rest of the race. That’s one crappy thing about small races – if you’re not with a pack, there’s no one there to compete with (outta sight, outta mind), do you really are responsible for pushing yourself. I passed one last person with about .75 to go, and came in strong at 44:00 even. Unfortunately, I had too much left at the end, but that’s what happens when you’re not used to racing that distance.
This picture would have been SO GREAT if it was like a quarter of a second earlier! The finish line was about 25 feet ahead of me.
Me and Mr. Bobby. I was the first woman finisher, and 6th overall. Bobby was 4th!! And for finishing first, I won an iPod!
A tried and true TURC pose. (TURC stands for The University Running Club.. I met Bobby on one of the first trail runs of the year.)
Here are my race freebies (that made it home, as opposed to in my mouth) The two shirts are basically the same – the red one shows what the back looks like.
Up close: two vanilla Boosts.. a Power Walker hat (sorry.. this will be donated. I’m not a walker).. my iPod (not donated.. but I’m selling this one. I don’t really want/have a need for an iPod).. a big delicious apple.. a whole foods granola bar.. and a target knockoff of a Zone bar (strawberry yogurt flavored).
Overall, the race was really fun – fun being my key word because by no means is it a PR for me for 6.2 miles, but since it was so small I got to enjoy being the first female finisher. After I collected all my freebies, I sent them off with my dad, and he drove down to Dunn Bros where I was going to meet him. I got in 5 more miles easy, and ended my run at the coffee shop! It worked out perfectly!
After Dunn Bros, my dad and I decided to stop at the Farmers Market before he dropped me off at my mom’s.. but those pictures are for a different post I’m headed off to work right now, and I’ll be there till close.. so hopefully it’ll be super busy since it’s so nice out! It’s a little cool.. but not too bad. Hope everyone has a LOVELY Sunday! (my absolute favorite day of the week btw!)
Well.. it has been one HELL of a week. HELL as in not all bad.. but pretty dang intense. I’m still working on catching up on sleep and getting all the homework done, but at this point I feel like everything will turn out in the end! This post is covering quite a few days, so I’ll just tell a few of the week’s stories with pictures:
So I was headed out to get groceries, and I remembered I had a coupon from Lund’s for $15 off a $50 purchase, and a free reusable bag! I don’t really support Lund’s in the long run since their wayyy over priced. (lol – have you ever heard me say “from my trip to Whole Foods.” Nope!) Anyway, I get to the checkout counter, and open up my purse.. NO COUPON! And it was the last day it could be used! Story of my life. Despite being overpriced, just about everyone there is really friendly. They gave me the bag anyways
It folds up really compactly, but you can fit in a TON! And it seems like a bag that will hold up, even thought it was a freebie!
On a later grocery trip, I was at the Co-Op, and I found out they had a little sale rack back by the restrooms! (Hence how I “found” it.. hehe) One of my absolute FAVORITE cereals is Kashi Vive. Actually the only Kashi cereal I like. Well the Co-Op’s distributer is not going to carry it anymore.. sale shelf it is, and three boxes for me! I also got a box of white peach Numi tea and a box of Sugar Cookie tea left over from the holidays. Everything was only $1.49 each!!
For my Arch Studio class I had to go to the Walker Art Center and copy an art piece or architectural space. It was a fun assignment.. but just even a simple painting took two hours to get a good rendering of it! This was from the New Suburban Landscapes exhibit.. I was most definitely not supposed to take a picture! Shh!
Just a pretty picture of last night’s stir fry dinner. The highlight was definitely the wilted spinach.
My first attempt at baked tofu!! A success!! It looks kinda rubbery or something, and maybe it was kinda rubbery.. but it was SO GOOD! Thanks for the tips Leng!!
My Grandparents and one of my mom’s brothers’ family came down on Saturday for a celebration – my Gpa’s 86th birthday!! I love him to death. Couldn’t ask for a better grandpa. My mom has always been great at setting table, and I just wanted to give her props because she always makes it look so nice!
And finally.. a two for one! Wasabi peas: a) My favorite snack. b) a little carrying container/purse! Hahha.. this is what happens when I have free time. We used to go through SO many containers of these, and then realized we could by them in bulk at the Co-Op. SO MUCH CHEAPER! I made one of the old cans into a little lunch tin! I gotta figure out something to do with all of the other cans we have!
This morning was my last 20+ run before Med City! I got in 21 with some people from run club. It went fine.. but no where near as fun as running with Andy! Probably because 20 with them takes a lot longer than 20 with him. Anyways, I’m feeling good and ready for the marathon! I’m debating doing this one half next weekend.. but it would be the morning after the PROM so I’d be going on like 3 hours of sleep. Ha.. could be fun
Fear not my blogging buddies – I’m still alive! But HOLEY SMOKES! It’s been a busy day! Let me start with the run..
So yep – 18 miles indeed. The rest of the group did 16, but since I’m running Med City too (which is one month earlier than Grandma’s) I should be at 18 by now. For those that didn’t/don’t know, I’m running Grandma’s Marathon (June 21st), and Med City Marathon (May 25th). Med City is sort of just for kicks.. and the crowd is no where near as great as at G-ma’s.. but I’m still looking forward to it. Except for the whole first half is hills.. that I could do without!
The route we did today is one I never want to do again. Seriously. Running the lakes, you can do 18 miles in no time, and you’re like – What? I’m done? This route was on paths that are meant for bikers for the most part + it was early + cold = pretty damn secluded. I love solidarity at times, but on an 18 miler I want people! 
Oh. And there were NO bathroom stops along pretty much the whole thing. I can go to the bathroom three times before I leave, but my bladder cares about [---] this much. I still have to go. That picture (above) is The Depot coffee shop ~mile 7 that saved my bladder life. Good thing I stopped because that was my last chance till ~15.
One thing I need to work on is hydration while running + my sports bean/gu/supplement usage. I’ve done about a bajillion halfs, and I don’t use anything for those, but a marathon is a different story, and I know I should be drinking gatorade and doing energy replacement during the run. I’ve long ago found that Gu and I are not friends. Sports beans are OK.. but I have trouble using them because it’s just something you should do vs. something you need to do. Does anyone else run into this problem? Any advice?
Anywho, enough about that. I finally bought a lunch bag! And you’ll probably look at this thinking – Sperly! That’s a purse! But dangit I DON’T CARE because it suits my needs and I love it and it’s what I want I gotta shorten the strap, and then I’m good to go.
So post long run, my mom and I drove around Minneapolis for FOUR hours (and bless my mom’s heart for doing the driving!) for a field study I have to do for one of my classes. We still have four more hours of driving. And then I get to write a 12 page paper about it. Shoot me now. Sweet. First half of the semester we did St. Paul and it took ELEVEN hours. :O
Rest of the day I walked to Dunn Bros (above drink!)/worked/met my pops/stopped at co-op on walk home. Then I went to McDonalds with my madre Hah I feel so counter productive. Co-Op -> McDonalds. Whatever dog.. I’m a happy camper!
Just a little heads up, and I really hope this doesn’t come across as rude: If you leave me a question, and you’re like a name I’ve never seen before or you don’t have a link.. I’m much more apt to answer it if you say a little something about yourself. Even if it’s just like “hey! I’m a runner too. I was just wondering …” vs. like “do you ever rest”. I hate internet and texts because there is no tone of voice, so sometimes I take things personally when it should really just be a simple question. Again – really hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way! I really am a nice person! Just a little sensitive..
Haha I just consumed an entire 8 serving container of hummus while writing this post. (Not plain of course. With veggies!) How’d that happen? I clearly don’t write the title till the end!
