Nice-Cannes Marathon Relay

I loved Nice when I went on my trip earlier this year so I was really excited to go back and participate in the Nice-Cannes Marathon. I joined a four-person relay team with my fellow classmates, Kush, Krystian, and Jonathan. While the exchange points were a little confusing, I loved running the marathon as a team. It was a great way to participate in the race without needing to train a lot for it. Kush had just completed a marathon so he was in great shape to run the longest leg. I ran roughly 8 km (~5 miles) at a great pace of 8:03 min/mile. 

The race course was beautiful, almost all along the Mediterranean Sea from Nice to Cannes. We were able to take the train along the coast to meet up at the relay exchange points and then to the finish in Cannes. 

In true INSEAD fashion, we had a few beers the night before the race. I'm pretty sure they helped us run fast.

The rest of my team before the race. We dressed like Frenchmen...

Some of the other students and I post-race refueling at an Italian restaurant. Overall a great trip and I can't wait to run another marathon relay!

Race Recap: Indy 500 Mini Marathon

This past weekend was a blast as some of my friends and I headed down to Indianapolis to run the Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon. I got a PR and finally beat my high school time and had fun along the way!

Ryan and I headed down on Friday evening and stayed with his parents in the Indy suburbs. Luckily, one of our friends in town picked up our packets so they were ready when we got there. I tried to go to sleep early but it was hard with the time change and race jitters. My sleep wasn't great but I was ready to go when we woke up at 5:45 am, which is 4:45 in Chicago time. I'm not used to waking up that early.

The great thing about events in Indy is that you can drive downtown without traffic and park right next to the start line for $5. Ryan dropped me off at my corral and then he waited for our other Chicago friends to run with the "fun crew." My corral was pretty crowded in the beginning but it loosened up after a couple of miles. I felt pretty good except that I kept getting cramps. I hydrated all week so I'm not sure what was causing it. Even though the forecast said cloudy with possible rain, the sun came out and I was pretty hot. I'm glad I wore a tank top! A lot of people had long sleeves and tights and must have been so hot.

The best part about the mini course is that you run on the Indy 500 track! It's a 2.5-mile track so you're on it for quite a while. Diana and Jess (pictured above) started before me and I caught up to them on the track as they were taking pictures kissing the bricks (start/finish line). I passed by and then Diana caught up to me again in mile 9. She helped me finish the race and I was glad because my legs started seriously getting heavy in the last mile and my stomach did not feel good either. I was glad when we crossed mile 11 and I realized that I had to get across the finish within 20 minutes to get my PR. Totally doable if I just kept running! The last mile was rough but we came across the finish line together and then took the great pic above. Thanks girls for pushing me along in the end! My official time was 1:53:50 with an average pace of 8:41. Like I said, I finally beat my PR of 1:55 which was at my first half marathon in high school, the Naples Half Marathon, over 10 years ago!

The rest of my friends from Chicago run the Indy Mini every year "for fun" and costumes are a huge deal. This year they dressed up as horse jockeys. They had stuffed animal horses, jockey jerseys, and hats with goggles. It was pretty legit! I had been training all winter for this race so I wanted to run it seriously without a costume but I still had fun waiting to see them cross the finish line. They came in about an hour after us and I got the pic above. Right before the finish, the whole crew lined up and trotted across the finish in true Derby style. They were certainly a crowd favorite!

After the race we hung out in the expo for a while. Lots of people came up to us and wanted a picture with the horse group. Costumes are the best! These were created by Cameron, my running friend who introduced me to Bright Pink. She is the best at homemade costumes! I'm trying to convince her to start a blog...

For the rest of the weekend, Ryan and I hung out with our friends above and also some other Indy locals we know from Purdue. On Sunday we went to brunch with his parents and I had a delicious eggs florentine and a well-earned post-race bacon treat. We then saw my friend Jordan and her adorable baby, and husband too. She's the one with the amazing black bean salsa recipe.

Now it's Monday and I'm still pretty sore from the race. I don't get sore from running often so I'm glad that I am because it means that I tried my hardest. My upper back is also sore, I'm not sure how that happened. I've got some strength training workouts coming up this week but I want to take a couple weeks off from running to recover. The bottom/side of my right foot is swollen and I'm really hoping it's not a stress fracture. Anyway, a fun race, PR, and good friends to make a great weekend!

Did you watch the Kentucky Derby this weekend?

Have you ever run a race in a costume?

Race Recap: CARA Lakefront 10 Miler

First of all, congrats to everyone who ran the Boston Marathon this morning! I'll be logging a run on the Nike+ app later today to support Nike's campaign for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Week 8 of Indy Mini Marathon training was light and ended with the CARA Lakefront 10 Miler on Saturday. It was a chilly but beautiful spring morning. Ryan and I drove to Montrose Harbor and got to the starting line by 7:30 am. I love that about smaller races is that you don't have to get to the race an hour or more earlier to get into the corrals. There were about 1300 runners and the course took us north a bit, over Cricket Hill, and then south along the lakeshore. I was cold at the start but warmed up within the first mile. And I'm glad that I didn't wear more layers because the sun was warming up towards the end of the race.

Ryan got this action photo of me (he didn't run). I took it easy for training last week because my ankles and calves have been in pain, and they did hurt during the 10-miler. I powered through the pain and kept my pace under 8:30, which was my goal, and my projected race pace for the half marathon in a couple of weeks. So I finished in 1:24:17 at 8:26 pace! This was a great time for me and a PR by over 10 minutes from my last 10-miler, the Cherry Blossom in DC in April 2011. 

The race was well organized and I really enjoyed it, besides the pain in my legs. The post-race party featured some interesting food samples, like macaroni and cheese and beef on a stick, I gave those to Ryan haha. I ran in to some CREW and RNCF friends and then we headed home, but not before stopping at the Over Easy Cafe for a delicious brunch!

Any tips for easing ankle/achilles/calf pain?

Did you run for Boston today?

Shamrock Shuffle Race Recap

Thanks to The Crew and Nike Chicago, I won a free race entry to the Shamrock Shuffle this year! This was my first time doing the shuffle and it was a blast! It seems like everyone in Chicago does this race to kick off the spring running season. I've been running all winter so this race was just a fun break from the long(ish) runs of half marathon training.

I went to the Shamrock Shuffle expo on Friday afternoon to try to beat the crowd. I decided to get my easy 4-mile run in by running from the L to Navy Pier (about 4 miles roundtrip). I got my packet and walked around for a bit. Tried a couple samples and bought some Nuun tablets because they are cheaper at expos and I love them for travel. I always love the view of the city from Navy Pier.

Ryan and I had some friends in town this weekend so I took a rest day Saturday to hang out and watch basketball with them all day. Eating fried bar food and drinking beer probably didn't help my time on Sunday but hey, it's March Madness! I did go home at a decent time, picked up a burrito and went to sleep early. But of course my friends came home rowdy and so my sleep was pretty interrupted. So I woke up Sunday tired and a bit dehydrated but I took all of my usual pre-run liquids and met Lindsay to head over to Grant Park.

I was in Corral C, which was so crowded that there was spill over to the outside. The first mile was very crowded and it was hard to go fast. I just wanted to enjoy the race and not use up a ton of energy weaving through people and risking injury so I stayed with the pace of the crowd, which was about 8:30/mile. The temperature was great once I warmed up and I'm still glad I wore long sleeve, long pants, and a headband even though I was a bit hot. I even wore some shamrock socks, which you can kind of see in the pic below. The course weaved through the loop and went by fast and before I knew it, we were going up that treacherous "Roosevelt hill" to the finish. I finished in 42:01 with an average pace of 8:27/mile. Not bad for a fun race and it was a PR since this was my first time running an 8k! This time was actually very similar to a 5-miler I did in Florida at the end of last year (post).

After the race I met up with The Crew (above) and we hung out, trying to pretend it was warm in the sunshine. We then headed over to the Resolution Crew Celebration with NTC Chicago. I was in the "get a PR" crew with Kate, since my goal is to get a PR in the upcoming Indy 500 Mini Marathon. We had a 5-week program leading up to the Shamrock Shuffle with running and cross training. I'm going to continue the pace of the program for the next 5 weeks of training! Below is a picture of our crew at Rockit.

Overall, I enjoyed my first Shamrock Shuffle and loved kicking off the spring race season with a fun race. I did skip my 11-mile long run this weekend so I'm trying to figure out if I should make it up this week or not. I already have to run 12 miles next weekend!


Did you run or watch the Shamrock Shuffle this weekend?

Do you make-up long runs if you miss them in a week of training?

Race Recap: Marco Island 5 Mile Hill Run

I'm home for the holidays in Naples, FL, and decided to get together with some of my high school friends to run a race. (Yes, I'm a Florida transplant to Chicago.) Saturday morning we drove to the southernmost part of Florida's west coast, Marco Island. I met up with my friend and old high school cross country running buddy, Jessica (below), and we got our bibs and warmed up. I was already sweating and hot after the warm up and dreading running 5 miles. After running in bitter cold, snowy Chicago for a couple months, 80 and humid was a shock to my system!

The first 3 miles went well and I was keeping a pace between 8:15 and 8:30 (I think - I didn't have anything besides my Nike Fuel Band with a watch on me). Then, the fourth mile was the hilliest. Who knew an island in Florida has hills? Apparently they are formed by shell mounds and we had to do the steepest hill twice. Florida (and Chicago) people are not used to running on hills and everyone was struggling on mile 4. I was also feeling very, very hot and pounced on the water when I saw the aid station. Mile 5 was flatter and I picked my pace back up once I saw the finish line ahead!

Jess and I also met up with Sam, another high school friend who just picked up running a year and a half ago. Her next big goal is a half! Jess did awesome (as always) and got 2nd in our age group with a time of 39:00. I did much better than I expected given the hills and heat and finished in 42:07. That's 8:25 pace! It probably would have been closer to 8:15 pace had it not been for that 4th mile that took me over 9 minutes. Anyway, a fun race and I'll do it again next year if I'm in town!

There's Jessica getting her 2nd place prize from Mark McGarity! He's the Lely High School (in Naples)  Cross Country coach and has one of the best teams in the district and state, also creator of this hilly course! With some online research I actually learned that this hill run is the oldest race in the Naples area (Collier Country). This was the 32nd running of it and it is also known as the "Toughest Course in Southwest Florida," and I believe it! The race is organized and sponsored by Gulf Coast Runners which is an amazing group very involved in the local community that holds many races throughout the year. They even give scholarships to young athletes and I got one of them in high school before attending Purdue!

Are you running any races this holiday season?

What's the toughest (not longest) course you're ever run?

Race Recap: Hot Chocolate 15K in Chicago

The Hot Chocolate 15K in Chicago yesterday was one of my best races ever! Not only did I PR at 1:16:17 (from 1:18:52 last year) but I also ran my best pace ever in a race, 8:11/mile! (Not counting track and cross country races in high school.) That's even a faster pace than my 4-mile race earlier this year! I really was going out there to just have fun and run a pain free race after the brutal Chicago Marathon three weeks ago, but I felt great, started fast, and kept the pace. I am surprised that I was able to run that fast because I have been training over 9:00/mile for the marathon. I think it was all of the crossfit endurance track workouts that I did over the past few months that really made a difference in me being able to do this race fast.

I went to the expo on Friday morning and it wasn't crowded at all. A big improvement from last year when there were long lines to get packets and it was outside in the cold. I registered with a fast finish time because the race was really crowded last year year for the first 2.5 miles because the 5k starts with the 15k. This year was a wave start so it was less crowded in the beginning and it was also nice to be in front! I wore my Chicago Marathon neon half-zip, which was perfect for the 40-degree weather.

The run started pretty quickly, with the same start as the Chicago Marathon along Columbus Dr. I did the first 2 miles at close to 8:00/mile pace and then I decided that I either need to slow down or try for another PR. I slowed down a little bit but kept close to 8:15 pace. Then, the miles flew by and I realized that I would easily PR! It was excited to know that because I wasn't planning on it. I guess I need to be more confident in my running, especially after marathon training for months!

The best part about the race was that my legs didn't hurt, and neither did my ankles. I truly enjoyed the race, unlike the last part of the marathon. I really only got tired in the last 2 miles but the thought of my PR kept me going. My legs were a bit sore after but I feel just fine today.

I ran into some fellow 6am crossfitters, Liz and Daryn, at the finish line. They also ran the Chicago Marathon a few weeks ago! We decided to skip getting chocolate and beat the crowd to brunch instead. It was a good idea because all the brunch/breakfast places got really crowded due to the race. Overall, it was a beautiful fall morning and a great race!

The Hot Chocolate 15/5k is continuing it's tour through the rest of 2013 and onto 2014! You can use code HealthyfitMUG to get a free travel mug with registration for any city!

Did you run the Hot Chocolate 15/5k yesterday? How'd it go?

Disclaimer: I am part of the Hot Chocolate 15/5K blogger program and got a free race entry and swag for writing about the race. All opinions and text are my own.

Race Recap: 2013 Chicago Marathon

Where to start?! Marathon race weekend was amazing and I'm kind of sad it's over. I had so much fun training with the NTC Lincoln Park Marathon Crew and fundraising for Bright Pink. I saw many familiar faces racing and cheering me on. Running 26.2 miles in my newest hometown and being a part of the Chicago running community has been a blast. Thanks to everyone who supported me during this journey and donated to Bright Pink, we raised a total of $1130.20!!!

I talked a little about going to the expo and having dinner with the NTC gals in my last post. So, I'll start with going to the expo again on Saturday. I didn't have much time to explore the booths on Friday so I went back to interact with the companies there and even made some new connections for reviews on my blog. Below are some of the highlights from the expo on Saturday!

I'm in the middle of reading Scott Jurek's book Eat and Run and he just
happened to be at the expo! Scott is a vegan and elite ultra-marathoner.

I stopped by the Swirlgear booth to say hi! I'm an ambassador so use
code 1035 for free shipping on awesome women's running apparel.

I relaxed for the rest of Saturday and got to bed early. I slept well until I woke up in the middle of  the night nervous and unable to fall back asleep, pretty normal for me before a race. I got up in the morning and made my usual rejuvelac blended with Vega Pre-Workout Energizer and spirulina. I also ate a Mark Bar on the train on the way to the VIP Chicago Endurance Sports resort, co-hosted with NTC. I loved this "resort" because we met up with the whole NTC crew and got private gear check. (Race-day security was pretty strict and they were searching bags upon entrance to the park so not having a bag going in was great.)

NTC Lincoln Park Marathon Crew before the race! So proud of these ladies!

THE RACE
We headed to the corrals and I even ran into my friend from college, Caiti. The race start is always fun, there's so much energy in the crowd! I started with the 4:00 pace group and kept with them until about the half. The first half I felt great and running through Lincoln Park was energetic. I saw all of my friends spectating around mile 8 and again just before the half. Ryan was with them and gave me a coconut water. It's much better than the gatorade served on the course.

My first half time was 2:01:59 so I was on pace to hit my goal of around 4:00. But then I hit a wall around mile 15 and slowed down drastically. It was very similar to the wall I experienced in the 20-miler three weeks ago. My legs felt like concrete and my ankles (especially the left one, which is swollen today) hurt. I eventually had to walk because I was barely picking up my legs. I'm not sure if this happened because I didn't put in enough mileage during training, didn't rest enough, or was too stressed out from work the week before (government shutdown....). I felt like my nutrition was good so it could have been a number of other things.

I saw my friends Grace and Gerald in mile 17 and Ryan with the rest of our friends in mile 20, who encouraged me to keep going (and gave me another coconut water). I ate some bananas and the rest of my gels. I still walked a little but I managed to (slowly) run the last 5k. Part of the reason was because my crossfit endurance coach Jon ran with me for a little bit. Big thanks to him! I needed the push!

I almost started crying when I saw the turn onto Roosevelt and then thought I might give up on that darn hill, but I finished that last 200 m strong and got my medal! Total time of 4:34:26, which is slower than my original goal but still a 20-minute PR from my last marathon in 2010! Overall, I'm happy with the race and the overall experience of training for and finishing this marathon.

At the CES/NTC resort after the race...4:34:26 PR!

Favorite signs

• Ryan's leaderboard (below)
• Grace's boost of start power (below)
• "The Government can't run but you can!"
• "Run fast, The Walking Dead premiers in just a few hours!"
• "Run fast, the Kenyans are drinking all the beer!"

Moments of inspiration

• Blind runner surrounded by a 3-person support team
• Guy running with a prosthetic leg
• Seeing my friends on the sidelines
• Finishing!

After the race

I got my stuff from the race resort, changed into my Five Fingers, and ate some food from the buffet. I also ran into some of the NTC girls and we all hugged each other. So proud of everyone! I headed home where Ryan was waiting for me with a burrito, I pretty much ate the whole thing in one bite. I then took a glorious nap on the couch and then headed to NTC for the post-race party. It was great to see the girls after the race and we even got some swag bags with champagne, race bracelets, chocolate, and a framed photo of the crew (same one as above), and free medal-engraving. I also bought the Nike half-zip long sleeve in neon below...star power! Training with NTC was seriously amazing and I couldn't have found a better running community in Chicago. All the NTC Lincoln Park programs and classes are free so you need to check it out!

Grace and Gerald came over in the evening and we had a glorious takeout sushi dinner with wine. Then we watched the season premier of Walking Dead and I went to bed and slept like a baby!

What now?
It's the Monday after the race and I'm sure that I feel the same as other people who just finished their biggest race of the year. I feel accomplished, satisfied, very sore, and little depressed that the journey is over. There's so much build up and now it's done! I've made a lot of friends training and I hope that I continue to see them. But "training" isn't over yet! This week is important for recovery. I'm getting a massage tonight (Groupon is the best), and then plan to do spinning and Bikram yoga in the next 2-3 days. I'll get back to crossfit later in the week but take it easy. Eating healthy and drinking fluids is important also to replenish!

The next race/goal
Now is a good time to set your health and fitness goals for the rest of the year and next year. Maybe you want to do another marathon? Or tackle an ultra? My goal is to do some halves and even a 5k next year and try to get a PR.

I'm also giving away a free entry to the Hot Chocolate 15/5k which is in Chicago November 3. It will feel great to fly through a shorter race and end the running season before winter kicks in. Click here to enter and you can use the free entry for ANY city, 5 or 15k. You can also use code HealthyfitMUG to get a free travel mug with registration. I did the race last year and it was great. Plus, I was able to run super-fast because I had been training for a half last fall.


What were your favorite signs/moments during the race?

What are your health and fitness goals moving forward?

Race Recap: BTN Big 10K

This Saturday Ryan and I did the BTN Big 10K! Although it was crowded, it was a fun race and we loved representing Purdue. My total time was 51:45 (8:20 min/mile) and Ryan's was 41:15 (6:39 min/mile), pretty good!

If you're not familiar with college sports, the Big Ten is the conference in the midwest and contains some of the biggest rivalries in the country. So naturally, this race was really fun because we were competing with alumni/students from other schools and showing our Purdue spirit. I "ran" into a lot of friends both from Purdue and other schools. Chicago really is a central location for the Big Ten schools so there were plenty of people from in-town and that made the drive here.

If it wasn't for the fun school spirit aspect of this race, I would have hated it! It was so crowded in the beginning and pretty much the entire way. There was a bottleneck of people getting into the corrals in the beginning so we weren't even able to get into our designated A and C corrals and had to start in E. Both Ryan and I were quite faster than the people starting in those corrals so we have to weave a lot. I eventually caught up to people my pace by the 5K checkpoint but Ryan said he was passing people the whole way...he really needed to be in corral A! So it was difficult for Ryan to run but he still got a great time! I was satisfied with my time too because I was aiming for 52:00 and I beat that! Plus 8:20 is a great pace for me. So despite the crowded and narrow race course and the difficulty of getting into our corrals in the beginning, we still had great race times!

I had a good race last weekend too at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. This race was a lot shorter of course and my pace was almost a minute faster. I felt good pretty much the whole was but I was starting to lose energy at the end. I didn't really eat much before the race and did even eat the chia gel I made for during the race. If it had been a longer race I would have taken it around mile 5. I'm working on some homemade combos for energy gels so I'll share them once I get the recipes right. Before the race I made a smoothie with rejuvelac, spirulina, frozen banana, and Vega Pre-Workout Energizer. I also ate one of my gels that had chia seeds and dates in it. I'm super-confident in my marathon training now that I ran two successful races!

The weather on race day was actually perfect for running. It was about 60 F and cloudy. I was chilly after the race so I changed my shirt and put on a light jacket. My Purdue socks were also quite a hit. It's actually been quite cold this weekend for July. It feels like spring or fall, not summer. Being from south Florida, I'm a warm weather person and I like the heat! I don't like that it's too cold for the pool!

The post race party was just as crowded at the race itself. We had to wait in long lines to get our bags from gear check and then also to get beers. That's why we got two each! I don't necessarily agree with the health aspect of it, but beer is a good way to replenish carbs after a race. Plus the after party was set up as a tailgate so drinking beer felt natural. That's our friend James on the left in the picture above. He ran the 5K and it was only his second race ever so he did great!

Despite the long lines for beer, the post race tailgate party was really fun. I ran into some old and new friends from Purdue and other schools. The race was mostly younger people but there were some older alumni too. The mascots and cheerleaders from each school were there too but I didn't run into Purdue Pete to take a picture! The mascots did a synchronized dance on stage at one point and it was pretty funny.

This was only the second annual race for BTN (Big Ten Network) so I hope that they can improve next year. It really is a great idea but the disorganization at the beginning and the mismanagement of crowds after the race were annoying. Regardless, I'll probably run it again next year!!

Finally, a special shout out to my friend and DG sister Neena who ran her very first race!! "Couch to 5K" is possible! I'm proud of her and she enjoyed it so I hope we can run more races together!

Please consider supporting me as I run the Chicago Marathon with Bright Pink. Donate here!

Did you run any races this weekend?

How do you show your school spirit? Go Boilers!

Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Chicago

Thanks to Jeana from Fab Fit Chicago I got a free VIP entry to the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Chicago last Sunday! It was a fun race with great music and I even got my best half time since high school, 2:00:59!

I only signed up for the race the day before so I really didn't prepare for it. On Saturday I was on my feet all day with some friends at the Taste of River North festival. I drank beer, ate unhealthy festival food, and stayed out pretty late (for a race). I was definitely tired and not feeling a 100% ready on race morning, but I think it actually helped me to not care that much. I usually stress out about races and can't sleep very well and am nervous on race morning. This one I just did for fun and had the mindset that it was a training race (for the full marathon). It was easy to have fun because there was music along the race course and lots of spectators. I especially loved running through downtown in the middle of the race because so many people were cheering us on!

Despite my longest run before this race only being 7 miles, I was able to run the whole way without too much pain and at 9:14/mile pace. I think that this means that CrossFit Endurance is working! This is encouraging as I'm training for the marathon. My endurance is better and my legs are stronger with more crossfit and less running, who would have thought?!

Did you run #RnRChi?

Please support my training efforts for the Chicago Marathon as I fundraise for Bright Pink! Donate here!

Race Recap: Elmhurst 4 on the 4th

Happy Independence Day! This is one of my favorite holidays because I get to celebrate freedom and this amazing country! As a first-generation immigrant to the United States, I can truly appreciate the opportunities that this country has brought me and my family and I wouldn't want to have grown up anywhere else. Today is a day for us to reflect on our history and remember that we must continue to prosper by never giving up on our dreams.

Well, what better way to celebrate America than running a race with your friends? Some of us crossfit endurance enthusiasts from River North CrossFit and CrossFit Posted (pictured below) got together this morning to run the Elmhurst 4 on the 4th. It was a great 4-mile race just outside of Chicago. Some of us registered day of and it was super easy and only $30 dollars. There were about 1000 runners so the race was pretty low key and casual, which is a nice break from the huge races I usually do in Chicago. A well-run race and I would definitely do it again!

Jon, Nigel, and me from River North CrossFit in Chicago and Mac from CrossFit Posted in Brookfield, IL

I really haven't done a short race in a long time so I didn't have a goal time. My goal for my pace was to be under what I usually run during long training runs, which is 8:40 - 9:00 minutes per mile. As you can see in my results printout below, my pace was 8:13, which is great! The Nike+ graph also shows that I started pretty fast and then slowed down, but still held my pace around 8:30. I felt pretty good overall and even came in the top half in my age group (27 out of 64) and for women total (145 out of 466).

Print out results from the race

Friend me on Nike+!

After the race we drove back to RNCF and did the WOD! I kind of regret it because I was dying and now I'm exhausted. But, at least I had a great day of workouts and can enjoy the holiday.

WOD: 7 rounds with partner
4 wall walks
17 burpees
77 DU's
20 lunges (with barbell)
13 sumo dead lift high pulls
partner runs 200 m while other works

I did 45 pounds for the lunges and SDLHPs while my partner, Katherine, did 65 pounds. I also had to scale with pushups for the wall walks and bar hops for the DUs because I was just too worn out already. The time limit was 40 minutes and we got through 6 rounds plus some. I'm pretty sure the WOD was harder than the race this morning!

How are you celebrating the 4th of July?

Don't forget to enter my Elite Dark Chocolate giveaway!!

Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon Recap

I know I'm late in writing this post but I went on vacation right after the race and so I'm catching up on blog posts this week! The Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon was nearly 2 weeks ago on May 4, 2013, in Indianapolis. My boyfriend and I drove down from Chicago to stay with his parents in the Indy suburbs. We had to wake up pretty early on Saturday to get downtown to the race start. Our local friends were nice enough to pick up our race packets so we didn't have to skip work to drive down early for the expo. I was surprised at how easy it was to park downtown, close to the race start, and for only $5 (this would never happen in Chicago). I was nervous about finding parking and getting in my corral on time. (Turns out they don't close the corrals a half hour before the race like the website said.) If you haven't been to Indianapolis before, you have to know that it is one of the best cities in the country for hosting big events. The Super Bowl last year went off without a hitch and downtown can really handle a large influx of people.

I started in Corral D near the front but Ryan signed up late and was in a later corral so we split up before the race. Ryan caught up to me right after the mile 2 marker. He's fast and finished the race in 1:32:04! I felt fine the first half of the race but then my legs started to hurt. I really didn't train enough this winter/spring because the weather in Chicago sucked and I was not motivated to run outside in the bitter cold. I also traveled for work the 2 weeks before the race, which did not help my training and clean eating.

Course map, the big oval in the top left is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

My pace picked up a little around mile 7 when the course took us around the actual Indy 500 track. This was my favorite part of the race and I imagined race cars speeding by and crowds cheering us on as we ran. In case you're wondering, it takes much longer to run around the track than the drive around it in a racecar. The racetrack is 2 miles around, so the racecars do 250 laps to make it 500 miles (we only did 1 lap).

This was the only picture of me taken at the race! Ryan had a million others! I guess the photographers didn't like my hot pink pants...

The last part of the race was a struggle for me and I had to stop and stretch and walk a few times (this really brought my pace down). I completely ran at least the last mile and the final stretch was my second favorite part of the race. It was down a tree-lined street and crowded with onlookers. There were also screens with video recaps of the Indy 500 races in past years. I finished at 2:08:33, slower than I had set my goal at, but that's OK. After I finished I met Ryan at our pre-determined meet spot. (We once lost each other for hours after a race and he had both of our phones, so now we always choose a post-race meet spot in advance). Ryan had already been waiting for me for a half hour so we didn't stay for the post-race party and went back to his parents house instead to eat brunch. His parents don't have much food in the vegan department so I ate eggs and toast and even had a piece of bacon. Hey, I'm allowed to eat whatever I want after a half marathon!

Race Fuel
Speaking of food, before the race I ate a pudding made of dates, bananas, and other good things (recipe is in Vega creator Brendan Brazier's book Thrive. I also had some Vega Pre-Workout Energizer mixed with Rejuvelac. During the race I had a Vega Sport Endurance Gel. I ate half the gel around mile 5 and the other half around mile 10. Eating the entire gel at once usually makes my stomach hurt. It's best to eat gradually as you sip water, but that's difficult to do during a race.

What I Wore
Everything I wore was Nike! Of course most of my running clothes are Nike because my sister works at a Nike Factory Store (I'm going to be sad when she quits her job). However, I also wore my Nike FlyKnits  and running bracelets (below) from NTC Lincoln Park. The orange bracelet is for NTC membership and the green/blue for running the Nike+ Virtual 10K.

My running good luck charms! (from NTC Lincoln Park)

The 500 Festival Mini-Marathon was a great race and I'll probably do it again next year! It's the biggest half-marathon in the country and probably the best organized (in my opinion). The security was more present at this race than others I've seen, likely due to the bombings at the Boston Marathon. There were many working canines sniffing around and helicopters in the area. There were also tons of runners wearing "run for Boston" and other Boston-themed shirts. It was very inspirational! This was my first time doing this race but I really enjoyed it so I'll probably do it again in years to come.

NTC Lincoln Park Nike+ Virtual 10K Recap

I wrote last week about how excited I was for the Nike Women's Marathon Virtual 10K and it was everything I expected, and more! Not only did I get to meet one of my favorite Olympic athletes, Shawn Johnson, and her trainer Jeanette Jenkins, I also got to run with some amazing Chicago ladies and even try out a pair of the new Nike FlyKnit Lunar1+ shoes!

This 10K was a virtual training event on Nike+ for those doing the Nike Women's Half-Marathon in DC at the end of April. The Nike Training Club in Chicago (NTC Lincoln Park) hosted the event for about 100 women. NTC Lincoln Park is an awesome venue for women that has a store with Nike apparel and FREE classes like yoga, NTC, and run club. Check out the schedule. The club is at 833 W. Armitage.

A few of the social media savvy club members (including me) were invited to the event early to try out a pair of the new Nike FlyKnit Lunar1+ (pictured above) and meet Shawn Johnson (pictured below). It was great interacting with these other ladies and sharing our running goals.

Shawn and Jeanette gave us bracelets to commemorate accomplishing a 10K. You get more bracelets for the half marathon and full marathon! The amazing lady on the left of me in the picture below is Jeana Anderson of FabFitChicago.com. She's been to pretty much every gym/class in Chicago and reviews them on her blog, you should check it out!

Photo courtesy of NTC Lincoln Park

Me and Shawn Johnson! Notice how far I had to bend down, she is so cute! I don't hang around a lot of celebrity athletes but I really didn't expect her to be so nice and down to earth. She was so enthusiastic about the event and being at NTC. And she is such an inspiration to all of us amateur athletes. I was honored to meet her and get to run with her!

Before the run we had a Q&A session with Shawn and Jeanette. I asked Jeanette what type of diet she prescribes for her clients and I liked her answer! She encourages the 80/20 rule, where 80% of your diet is healthy and 20% can be less-healthier things (like a cheat meal on the weekend). She believes in whole foods, lots of greens, juicing, and no sugar. I'm glad that even celebrity trainers are spreading the importance of diet in your overall health.

Photo courtesy of NTC Lincoln Park

I also met a couple of guys that are students at Purdue (my alma mater) and had contacted Shawn to promote their initiative, the ARK Project. ARK stands for Acts of Random Kindness and the founder and his friends are spending their spring break traveling to different cities and doing nice things for random people. How amazing is that?! 

Finally, the ladies got together to get pumped up before the big run! #letsturnitup!

Photo courtesy of NTC Lincoln Park

The 10k course took use through Lincoln Park and along the lake shore. I fell behind on the parts with mud/ice/snow and wasn't able to catch up to the first group but I still had a good run. I also could have done without the rain but I guess you can't complain about 40 degrees in Chicago. I felt bad for Shawn and Jeanette coming from LA! I was also surprised by how much I liked running in my new Nike FlyKnits. I haven't run in Nike shoes since high school but these felt great. They really mold to your foot and are extremely light and not over-cushioned. I'll keep you updated on how they feel over the next few weeks.

After the race we got to hang out some more and eat snacks. That's me and Cameron with Jeanette Jenkins! I wish she was our trainer! Cam is running the Indy 500 Mini Marathon with me, I'm trying to train to get to 8:30 pace so I can keep up with her.

To be able to participate in and write/share about  these types of events is why I write my blog. It's so great to have a club that empowers female athletes and I'm so excited to be a part of the NTC Lincoln Park family!

Have you signed up for any races this year?

Who is your favorite Olympic athlete?