My First Ragnar Trail Relay

Back in 2012 I was asked to join a Ragnar Relay team in the Adirondacks and then I ran again in 2013 for Cape Cod. Those two experiences were placed in my life when I needed a boost with running motivation. Earlier this month, after a 6 month running "funk" I ran my first Ragnar Trail Relay in New Jersey for the NYRR's! Another  life-changing experience!

 

If you love trail running, camping, the outdoors, and friends, run one!! We ended up with crazy cold and wet weather, but still had a blast! Here is a view of our campsite before other tents arrived:

 

Our start time was around 9:30am and each runner runs 3 different loops. A red (longest), yellow, and green (shortest) loop. I was on a team with 6 other runners so we had to come together and pick up the extra legs. I volunteered for an additional night run which brought my total mileage for the weekend to 21.5 muddy, wet miles. The next two photos are from the red loop which was my final run of the weekend.

 

 

Those trails are no joke, especially in the dark! One tip, if you plan to run one of these, bring an extra headlamp or bright flashlight. I was able to see so much better at night using a seocnd light. 

One of the things I loved about this race was that we had a home base. During the traditional Ragnar Relay everyone lives in a van and you honestly don't sleep much. We all were able to get a few hours of sleep in our tents between runs which was a great bonus. I also love that Ragnar Village has so many things to do: Bonfires, Salomon shoe trials, goodies, food, massage, and so much more! You can also hang out near the transition areas with your team to cheer on all of your teammates! 

 

Was I sore at the end of this weekend? YES! Was my heart full of adventure and friendship? ABSOLUTELY! I wish I could afford to run them all the time!

 

Did I mention the unique medals? Not only do they open beer botttles, but all of the medals placed together create a Ragnar message on the back that always connect you to your team. Love! 

 

 

Pittsburgh Marathon Weekend

The Pittsburgh Marathon weekend is by far my most favorite weekend of the year related to running. I have finished as a marathoner in 2009 and 2014, and as a half marathoner (with Brad for his first half!!) in 2015. This year I signed up for the Steel Challenge which included running the 5k on Saturday and either the half or full on Sunday (in my case the half).

 

On Friday after work Brad and I headed down to the expo at the convention center. I finally got to meet Elle! We follow eachother on Instagram (@ellej8200) and she was volunteering at bib pickup that day. After chatting a bit I picked up both bibs and browsed around the expo. I ended up buying some Hoka trail running shoes (nervous and excited about this purchase), tried AboutTime protein pancakes from a Pittsburgh based company (DELICIOUS!), shopped at Fresh Factory for Pittsburgh gear, and enjoyed all the amazing vendors that were there!

 

On Saturday the 5K started near the Pirates' ballpark which is conveniently 2 miles from where I live. I literally rolled out of bed less than an hour before the start and met up with Elle where we decided to run together. 

 We weren't trying to go crazy with pace to save our legs but we did end up running negative splits and I had an overall 5K time of 33:54. Afterwards we hung around the finish and saw lots of people we both follow through social media. I'm always running out of state and I never get to spend time with local runners so that was a lot of fun to connect with fellow Pittsburgh runners in person!

 

Sunday was half marathon day! I ran into my old neighbor Emily while waiting for the T to head into town. She was running her 3rd full marathon and killed it! Her uncle was running his 105TH marathon- can you even IMAGINE?! I met Elle outside of our corral to run together and her friend Alicia (they both run for Team RWB) also joined us. We took a few pre-race photos as it started to rain right before the start.

This race (like most of mine are), was all about having fun! It rained for the first few miles and then let up for the remainder of the race. One of the coolest parts of running the Pittsburgh Marathon and half is running over all the bridges and different neighborhoods. So much energy through the city with bands, fuel (beer!), and general crowd support. I saw my uncle in West End so we grabbed a photo and most of the on course port-a-potty lines were so long we decided to go in the woods. Hey, you do what you gotta do! 

 

We all were running with some sort of injury or nagging discomfort so it really helped to have us all motivating eachother at different points on the course. We finished in one piece and were super happy about that! 

 

After saying good-byes to Alicia, Elle and I picked up our Steel Challenge medal for completing 16.2 miles over the weekend.  

The finish line festival at Point State Park is really great. The vendors and booths circle the entire park so even if you didn't run you have plenty to eat and do. 

I'm already excited for next year and am contemplating tackling the full marathon again because I have really been missing the second part! Much thanks to Alicia and Elle for getting me through 13.1 miles with a smile on my face and for many of the pictures that appear on this post. You ladies ROCK!! 

Congrats to all of the runners who participated in any of the races this weekend. Pittsburgh is not an easy course to run! And Pittsburgh Marathon, you hold an incredibly special place in my heart. I'm 100% sure many others feel the exact same way. :) 

 

Inaugural Star Wars Darkside Weekend

Hey Disney! I kinda looove your races! There is so much to tell from this past week so I'm going to use mostly photos to tell the story. 

Brad REQUESTED to run the half marathon in Disney but when we went to register the challenge was sold out and we could only get into the 5k and half. It worked out well because we ended up staying with my parents who live an hour from Disney and spent time with them between running races.

Day 1 Wednesday: We drove all night and dropped the dogs off at a kennel Wednesday morning. That day was used to hang around my parent's house in The Villages and nap. We had fajitas off the grill with all the delicious toppings for dinner.

Day 2 Thursday: This day was all about packet pickup at ESPN Wide World of Sports. They are so organized and excellent at accomodating thousands of people. After the expo we went back to The Villages to have lunch on the water with my parents and take a little boat ride around Lake Sumter. Then it was to bed early because... Disney race starts :)

Day 3 Friday: The 5K was great! It was my first time running that distance with Disney so it was a lot more crowded than I'm used to. We stood in a 30+ minute line to meet R2D2 (complete with all the noises) and decided not to wait for anymore after that due to running out of time. After the run we got our medals and decided to wait in a 45 minute line to meet Darth Vader. WORTH IT! After the race my parents took us on an awesome airboat ride and I got to hold an alligator!

Day 4 Saturday: We spent the day park hopping from Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom. The highlight of my day was getting the biggest hug from my favorite Tigger! 

Day 5 Sunday: Our last full day in Florida was the half marathon. We arrived around 3:30am and were able to meet up with my friend I met on instagram Erica. We met once before but actually remembered to get a picture this time. She's awesome and I love running races in Florida because I get to see her! 

We met lots of Star Wars characters along the course. They had so many out there so the lines were never too long. Brad had a really good time out on the course too. One thing about Disney races is they go really fast, even though we are out on the course so long to take pictures. 

I really loved this race weekend for my 17th half marathon. I'm also soooo proud of Brad for completing his 2nd half marathon!!! Woohoo!! Words cannot even express how proud I am :) Thank you Disney for constantly putting on spectacular race events!

Achilles Pittsburgh Race Recap

Awhile back I heard about the Achilles Pittsburgh Hope & Possibility Race and ended up using my blog and instagram as a way to promote the race. I was pretty excited to have a few friends sign up to run (even one from as far as Philly!). 

All week I was stalking the weather hoping the snowflake would disappear from my iphone, but it never did and we woke up on race morning to 32 degrees and snow. Brad and I arrived about an hour before the race but couldn't bring ourselves to get out of the warm car. 

About 30 minutes before the race we ventured outside towards the starting line where they had heaters outside under tents to keep runners warm and dry while waiting to run. I thought that was a great idea.

The race had lots of booths set up for an auction and information. 

Brad, my friend Maddy, and I headed over to the starting line of our first race, the 5k. Maddy and I were running the challenge so after the 5k we had a 10k about 15 minutes later.

Brad and I ran together for the 5k and my only goal was to avoid stepping in puddles. Within the first mile I stepped in a big old puddle and my shoe remained wet and cold for the rest of the morning. Offff course :) 

The course was an out and back course starting from the North Park boathouse. I liked it because there weren't any crazy hills and they offered water near the turn around. One thing that was confusing were the mile markers. I had my Garmin so I knew exactly where we were, but the mile markers weren't labeled with the actual number of the mile we were on and there were other markers for the 10k mixed in. For someone who is new to racing this could be confusing.

After the 5k I chatted with my friend Kristen while waiting for the 10k to start. Then I said good-bye to Brad while he stayed warm in the car (I was definitely jealous!).

The 10k start was on an uphill and looped back to the boathouse before running the 5 mile loop around the lake. The weather seemed to only get worse with the wind blowing the snow so hard into our faces that it was hard to see. 

I struggled with the 10k but I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one. Between my wet shoe and the wind I just had a hard time really pushing the pace. 

I did it though and it was great seeing everyone at the finish! 

Maddy and I got medals for completing the challenge.

I had to take a picture of the frozen, snow covered bagels! Who would have thought the weather would be like this for an April race?! 

Overall I thought the race was great. Nobody can control the weather and I thought they did everything they could to keep things going in a timely manner and keep the runners warm. I would love to run it again and it's for a good cause!