Lake Run 12k {May 6, 2017}

Lake Run 12k

May 6, 2017

Start: 8:30am

Finish Time: 53:18 (7:08 pace)**

(PR of 1:39)

Overall Ranking: 16/188

Female Ranking: 3/89

30-34 AG: 1/10

Sixth Race of 2017 (third with stroller)

So Sunday, the day after the IL Marathon, I realized that the darn ol’ Lake Run was just TWO WEEKS away!  I ran my mouth (or fingers, I guess) and had typed in my race report that I wanted to try to be the top female finisher in the 12k (Exact quotation: “I was the top female finisher in 2015. I hate to be greedy, but it would be awesome to repeat that performance! It scares me to put something like this kind of a goal 'out there' - but I think I need to start being more brave”). Insert eye-roll here. While I am not exactly poo-pooing my performance that year (I know I should be proud/satisfied...and I am), it was on the slower side of Lake Run 12k Top Female finishes, historically.  I won with a 54:47 (7:21 pace) that year.  That’s all good everything, but the winner last year/2016 ran a 50:33 (6:46 pace) and the winner the year before my win (so 2014) ran a 51:30 (6:54 pace). So, yeah, I should’ve thought things through a little more before putting THAT crazy/unrealistic desire out there!!

Somewhat going along with that topic (running my mouth/fingers), at some point I commented that I wouldn’t be running again post-IL Marathon until the Lake Run (so, in effect, taking two entire weeks off).  Well, that lasted all of three days.  My crazy brain and body was itching to run Monday!  I was running again on Wednesday with an easy-peasy little stroller-pushing’ 5k (with the last mile at 7:44/my marathon pace).  So, yeah, in other words I never really know what I am going to be doing. Clint! Get me under control!

The week of the race, once I realized how stupid my comment about wanting to win the 12k was, I thought about doing the 7k instead (out of embarrassment, truth be told). All along I had planned on pushing Gabe in the race even though I had multiple people offer to watch him (thank Tim for me, Holly-Rae ;)).  I genuinely enjoy pushing Gabe and I really don’t think it slows me down all that much. Ok, let’s be honest. It probably does. But it’s ok/worth it.  I also, for just about one hot minute, considered registering for the third distance - the half marathon.  Yeah, no.  On Thursday I finally bit the bullet and registered - for the 12k, my fav Lake Run distance (ok, the ONLY distance I have ever run at this event).

With race start being 8:30 AND local, we didn’t have to wake up as insanely early as we had to for some previous races (here’s looking at you, IL Marathon/Champaign and Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon/Springfield!).  I had my alarm set for 6am and rolled out of bed around 6:15am. I showered and then ate some breakfast (thanks, Chef Clint, for preparing it as usual!), packed my bag, and then got Gabe up and ready to go.  We headed out around 7:25 (later than we wanted, as per usual) and got to the race site at 7:49 (I remember because I commented to Clint that we had exactly 41 minutes before the start as we made our way down to the starting area).

Note to future-self if I happen to read this race report next year as I am prepping for the Lake Run - LEAVE EARLIER!!!! We parked our car like a million miles away from the start! Ok, maybe not a million - but at least a half mile! It took a little longer than what is ideal to make our way down to the race start and get ready, but it really all worked out ok. We chatted with friends and used the porta potties. Running besties Amber, Holly-Rae and I went out for a nice, easy 1-mile warmup, running by other running bestie Tanya who was doing a more-responsible longer warm-up. Someday I need to be “responsible” and do a longer 2-mile warmup and add some strides and dynamic stretching in like Clint instructs….buttttt for all of my races lately I have been cutting things way too close to race start and leaving myself only enough time to do one mile. Oh well, one is better than none right?!

Lake Run, here we come!

I made a final pit stop to empty the bladder (being a good post-bladder prolapse patient…my PT says the seemingly simple task of frequently emptying ones bladder can stave off many “issues”! Ladies, you hear me!) and made my way to the start. I smiled confidently as I pushed Gabe/the stroller to the front of the line-up. This is the most uncomfortable part of stroller racing. I KNOW people look at me with irritation but, trust me, it’s a whole lot less invasive if I just start up there as opposed to starting toward the back and doing my best not to run into peoples’ poor ankles. I set Gabey-baby up with one of his fav applesauce pouches and awaited the starting signal.

Oh crap. I had forgotten that they use a freakin’ CANNON to start this race. Uhhhhhhhh…. The SLP-mama in me started to mentally hyperventilate about the potential damage to little G’s hearing. I quickly strategize that I would lean my body over the stroller and cup one hand over each ear as best as I could to at least muffle the sound somewhat. As soon as the cannon blasted, I would jump up and blast out of the start as quickly as I could to get out of peoples’ way…and start my watch.

They lit the cannon…I leaned forward and cupped my little boy’s precious ears as he slurped on the applesauce, unsuspecting.  I held my watch in my teeth…oh yeah, important note, I had made the decision with Clint to run this race “blind”/without my Garmin on my wrist….BUT I still wanted the data, so I had planned to start the watch and then drop it into the cup holder on the back of the stroller so that it would gather my splits.  After a few seconds (that felt like minutes!), the fuse burned down and the cannon blasted! Gabe didn’t even jump (WHEW!), I sprang up and simultaneously hit “start” on the watch and rushed forward as quickly as I could with the stroller. As we took off, I dropped the watch face-down into the cup holder on the left side of the stroller handle. There was no way I would be able to see anything unless I put forth lots of extra effort - good.

We started off at what felt like a quick clip. I felt like I was moving fast but not TOO fast. I could see the leaders (a bunch of dudes + the ever-inspiring Carrie Mack) just a few yards ahead of me and settled in. I chatted with some of the runners around me, all guys, including the familiar face of Eric Fortune. He joked, “Huh, I wonder if Andy Kubiak will with the 12k” as we watched Andy round the lake to the right…at least like 200 yards in front of the rest of the runners, still speeding up. HA!  Gabe, clutching his beloved applesauce pouch in his hands, took the spout of his mouth to talk and wave to the other runners. He chattered and waved while I gave him back my typical encouraging motherese, “I HEAR you, buddy! You’re talking to the RUNNERS! Tell them HI! They are so FAST, aren’t they?! OH LOOK at the WATER! Oh there’s a BIRD! He says TWEET TWEET up in the SKY!” Yeah, yeah, I shouldn’t wast my precious running-energy on talking/narrating to my bebe…but you just can’t take the speech-language pathologist out of the mama and you can’t take the mama out of the runner…so you get what you get ;).

I heard the first mile 1 beep on my watch and took mental inventory of things - I was feeling  pretty dang good! (Mile 1 - 6:53)

The leaders were still in my sights (but by no means within striking distance) after I finished the first mile but most were out of sight by the time I hit the second mile. Things felt generally good, though it was driving me a little bit crazy not knowing what my pace was. I really wanted to ask someone but soldiered on “by feel.” I knew that if I could keep the same people around me I was probably keeping a pretty steady pace. Probably.  Soon my watch beeped again.  (Mile 2 - 7:04)

Man oh man, those little rolling hills on this course are NO joke. I had run a tempo workout with Clint on this course a few weeks back - my final tempo workout of my marathon training cycle. Monday, April 11 the three of us headed out to the lake where we completed the Clint-prescribed workout of 2 miles easy, 4 miles tempo (6:50-7:00), 1.5 miles easy. I remember really struggling through the 3rd and 4th tempo miles in particular (tempo splits - 6:54, 6:50, 6:55, 7:00). I reminded myself of the fact that I had run THAT hard WITH the stroller in basically the same conditions as race day.  Therefore, I COULD and WOULD push through to the end for a course PR! BEEEEEEP (Mile 3 - 7:06)  Looking back, I am kinda disappointed in myself that I couldn't get closer to an average pace of 6:55ish the way I did during that tempo run...but I guess that tempo run was on legs that hadn't been torched on a marathon two weeks prior so I should be satisfied ;).

Somewhere during my 4th mile, I heard gal pal and bad-A runner Aimee Dziekan’s voice behind me yelling, “RACHEL! RIDE THE STROLLER DOWN THE HILLS!!!!” I laughed and turned around momentarily to give a strong-arm gesture and yelled back, “WOOO HOOOOO YOU KNOW IT!” At this point I was SO happy to hear her voice - it gave me a mental push (SHE’S CLOSE ENOUGH TO SHOUT AND HAVE YOU HEAR HER - HURRY UP OR SHE WILL CATCH YOU!) as well as a much-needed relaxing funny moment during moments of pain.  I saw her (thanks for wearing bright yellow-green, Aimee!!) somewhere behind me - maybe 200 yards or so?  I wondered if I would be able to hold her off until the finish… Sometime during this mile I saw Tim Van Hoof, my friend Holly-Rae's hubby, and their cutie-pies Gracie+Jack set up with a cheering station basically in the middle of a terrible, terrible ascent. I yelled at them that I was thinking about passing the stroller off after all!  But…I kept on pushing.  Soon enough, another beep (Mile 4 - 7:08).

The course curved around to the right and I thought about how I was REALLY READY to be all done with this race. Man oh man, it HURT! Beep…(Mile 5 - 7:03).

Thanks for the pic and the cheers on the course, Andy!

I knew that soon I would be making the right-hand turn onto the longest straight-away of the race…whenever I get to this point on this route I remind myself that it is ALMOST over.  Well, I made the right-hand turn into the FREAKING WIND and felt like I was pushing my stroller into a stinkin’ WALL. HOLY OUCH. As I made the turn, I peered back over my right shoulder to see if I could spot Aimee.  Yup.  A yellow blur was not far behind me.  At that point I made peace with the fact that she would be catching me, but I still did my best to hold her off for as long as I could.  RAWR AIMEE!  At some point, I recall feeling a presence behind my left shoulder. I glanced back and noticed that a guy in a red shirt was tucking behind me … drafting! HA! Seriously, though, way to use your resources guy! I am pretty sure that the stroller+I did offer him up a bit of relief from the wind for a bit. No skin off my back - I had to fight through it one way or the other. Someone else might as well benefit from the battle I had to fight regardless of my surroundings! ;).

As I ran down that sixth mile marker, Tim and the kiddos drove by in their familiar black Jeep.  As they passed me, I waved as Gracie and Jack leaned out the open back window and yelled at us, “GO GABEY! GO RACHEL!” It was so silly-adorable and I was grateful for the push!  I definitely feel the love from those Van Hooves! ;)

Somewhere right around the sixth beep (Mile 6 - 7:19), sweet Aimee pulled up alongside me and fellow area runner Kevin Hanrahan. Kevin and I had been running back and forth together for much of the race. When she pulled up, she even stuck around to chat with me a bit instead of just blowing by me like she could ;). Thanks, Aimee!!  Aimee and Kevin both pulled away from me after mile six and I continued to fight on through the blasted blasting wind.  Soon, it was time to turn left - and earn a bit of temporary relief from the wind.  I cruised along over the bridge and made a right…back into the wind and UP that darn final hill.  The seventh beep couldn’t come quickly enough (Mile 7 - 7:19).

I turned to the right again and was welcomed by a little less wind…almost home! The final turn is left - back into the wind, but at least here you can SEE the crowd and the finish AND there is some cover from the houses and trees. I tried to pick it up and push it in faster, but my legs and arms were pretty darn exhausted. I crossed the finish with a smile and grabbed a water bottle as I was welcomed back by familiar faces - teammates and other area runners.

Total- 53:18 (watch said 53:26 - took me just 8 seconds to stop it in the cup holder;))  Final 0.49 by my watch was at a 7:17 pace. So much for finishing with a stronger pace! Oh well…I really didn’t have much left!  As usual, Gabey was an angel (true to his name!).

It was WEIRD to cross a finish line and not have Clint there waiting for me!  This ONLY ever happens if he is running a longer event.  After I crossed and got a snack (dates and figs FTW!), I walked back on the course to spectate/cheer for others and to see Clint cross.  I stood and chatted with area super-star runner Carrie Mack for a bit, congratulating her on her win in the 12k and her super-great race (sub 3 hours!) at Boston a few weeks ago.  We watched two guys cross the finish of the half in 1:15. I was REALLY surprised but just figured they were faster than I realized.  Before long…there Clint was, in all his glory! As he rounded the final corner, I cheered for him and started running after him. I shouted, “You better run faster or we will catch you!” Some lady who was running the 7k or 12k turned and looked at me like, “WHAT?!” I smiled and nodded toward Clint - hope she knew I was yelling at him and not her. I tried to stay with Clint but alas I couldn’t hang, not even kinda. I backed it off to walk/slow jog it in, pretending like I never was trying to keep up with him in the first place. Oops.

I was super proud of his finish - 1st in his age group and 2nd overall in the half with a nice sub-1:30 (in spite of not really focusing on training for this distance!)

After I caught up with him we chatted with friends, teammates and other area runners and helped cheer people in/pass out a few waters at the finish. One of the best parts of the Lake Run is seeing so many familiar faces. It’s such a fun and festive event - everyone is usually in a great mood and all pumped up for SPRING and RUNNING and FRIENDS oh and the beer (I always forget about that since I don’t care about it ;)…I’m always like, “where is everyone?!” ohhhhh……beer garden….).

Little angel-boos!

WHAT I LEARNED:

• Pushing a stroller for 12k is hard.  Pushing a stroller for 12k over hills is harder.  Pushing a stroller for 12k over hills in the WIND is hardEST!
• I STILL need to incorporate some strength training into my weeks. (*insert eye roll*)
• I can manage a watchless 12k (Though I do wonder how things might’ve been different had I worn a watch. Would I have pushed harder at some points if I knew how much my pace had dropped those back miles? I don’t know!)
• I love the strong women in our running community. I already knew that though. (Ok, ok, the strong men are pretty cool too) But in all seriousness, the camaraderie of strong women has lately begun to mean even more to me - women who push one another to achieve higher levels of strength (both mental and physical) as opposed to being rudely competitive and condescending are where it’s at. HEALTHY competition is one thing - when it pushes us ALL to be better. The nasty stuff that makes everyone feel awful and even sick-y - not so cool. Glad to be on a team with STRONG women and to enjoy camaraderie with the other STRONG women in our running community!

WHAT IS NEXT:

• Steamboat 15k (June)! (sans stroller!)
• Park2Park 5-miler (July)! (with stroller!)
• Enjoying as many Tues/Thurs/Weekend group runs with my running crew as I can! (with stroller!)
• Helping to lead an area summer running group for women on Monday evenings (with Gabe!)

THANK YOU TO:

• You know, all the usual suspects….Mitch, Saucony, teammates, Coach/Chef/Hubby Clint and Gabe! Y’all are amazing!!

**So weird - 7:08-7:10 pace seems to be my current jam.

1)  Run for Hope 10k with stroller March 26 - 7:10 avg pace

2)  Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon without stroller April 1 - 7:08 avg pace

3)  Lake Run 12k with stroller May 6 - 7:08 avg pace

Looks like I need to start pushing myself out of my default/comfort pace!

Fun times with this guy!

Often Running Racing Team {love these guys}

Daddy + Son :)

Clint with his sweet age-group award: a Lake Run/Destihl pint glass!

Oh c'mon Tanya. Be proud. You did great!!! :)

Gary had to get some practice wrangling a baby boy...preparing for his own baby's arrival in just a month!

When a half marathon isn't enough...you run home to make it 24 miles for the day. HA!

Year-in-Review {2015}

What a year it's been!  Lots of BIG things happened in the (Matyasse-)Wells household.  Here's a (not-so) quick run-down month-by-month--

JANUARY

I penned my "New Year's Resolutions Goals" for 2015 in January and am happy to report that I did pretty well with them.  In my "Goodbye, 2014" post, I included the following:

Goals for 2015

1-Run a sub 21:00 5k

2-Run a sub 1:40 half marathon

3-place in my age group at Tri-Shark (local sprint triathlon in June)

4-Complete a sub 6 hour 70.3

5-Run my 11th marathon sometime next fall in any amount of time

6-Get married 

7-log all of my training miles so I can report back on yearly totals at this time next year :-) 

*if goals 1-5 interfere with goal 6, they shall be discarded ;-)*

Results:

1- CHECK

2- CHECK

3- CHECK

4- Nope :) (I didn't do any 70.3-distance events this year)

5-CHECK

6-CHECK!!!!!

7-CHECK (I think)

86% is a B, right?! I think that's pretty good :).

January included my first PR of the year...at the 5k distance set at the Frosty 5k in Peoria with a time of 21:09.  Not quite able to check #1 off of my list of goals yet, but darn close.  This race was a great confidence-booster and a good way to start off 2015. I had fun with soon-to-be-teammates (and already-friends) Andy and Paul at this race and at this point was pretty certain a sub-21:00 5k was well-within my reach this year.

FEBRUARY

February didn't see much action, race-wise.  I concentrated on building my base, sights set on my big spring goal:  a sub 1:40 half marathon at the U of I in April.  I think it was sometime during February that I mustered up the courage to have a chat with Mitch about being on the Often Running Racing Team.

MARCH

March was my first official month on the Often Running Racing Team! My first race in the team uniform was the St. Patrick's Day 5k in Bloomington. Let me tell you...I was a nervous WRECK leading up to this race. Visions of tripping in my new race kit danced in my head. In spite of my nerves, I pulled off a 21:31...not a PR but a respectable time and good enough for second in my age group and earning me a pair of socks (that Clint ended up wearing since they were too big for me ;)).

2nd in AG in my first race as an ORRT member!

Fun fact: in one of the pictures on my blog post (link in the paragraph above) you can see our now-friend AP running past me on our final push toward the finish line.  We didn't know each other yet...but would meet shortly after this race when he starting coming out to our Often Running Thursday Night Running Groups!

After Metcalf's spring break, I started my first season as a track coach!  Apparently many (??) years ago, Metcalf had a track team but this had fallen to the wayside in more recent years.  A group of parents and administration wanted to get a team up and running (ha!) again and so we've been chatting about the possibility of a team for the past couple of years.  In March...we held the very first practice with our new Metcalf Wildcats Track Team!  I fumbled my way through guiding a great group of kids...and was so thankful to have support from assistant coaches Molly, Kris, Maddy and Tara as well as from our Athletic Director Mr. Paxson!

March also featured the Starved Rock Marathon Relay. I ran with a group of Metcalf friends...as well as a loop of the relay with teammate Joe.

My "relay" team: Ginnell, Marilyn, Laurel and myself! We opted to run one loop all together so we could chat as opposed to running the loops one at a time as a true relay :). We had a great time!

Teammates Carol, Gary, Mike, Paul, Clint and myself before the start of this cold-but-fun adventure.

I was very excited for my first month on the team with these fast guys! 

APRIL

April brought my first BIG PRs of the year. First, I broke 21:00 in the 5k distance at the Easter Seals Run, Walk and Roll event in Peoria (and I got to hang out with random-stranger-turned-pal Jennifer Blackorby :)).  I clocked in at 20:54, a PR of 15 seconds below my previous PR set in January!  I refer to this as an "accidental PR" because I truly didn't mean to run as hard as I did...I just felt great so I went for it!  Clint had advised me (like a good coach!) to be reasonable with my pace since what I was REALLY gunning for was a sub-1:40 (and a PR) at the U of I half marathon the following weekend.

Thankfully, my efforts in the 5k didn't ruin my half marathon that next weekend.  I pulled off a 1:35:43 at the U of I Half Marathon event.  To date, this continues to be one of my favorite running memories.  I ran this race entirely with Clint.  Crossing the finish line with him was pretty great...and the emotion of the moment may have brought a few tears to my eyes that I artfully hid at the time :).

Paul, Steve, Andy, Clint and me before the big race at the U of I.

I had the privilege of attending my first bridal shower at my aunt's home in April! Thanks to my aunt Linda, my sister and mother and to everyone else who helped put on a fun afternoon get-together :-). It was a very special day. 

Me with my sister (and baby Charlee...just over a month before she made her big debut!)
and Jennifer and Macy Jo at my shower.

In April, Clint and I also celebrated the first anniversary of our first "not-a-date." Seeing as we are now anticipating the due date of our son this coming April of 2016...April is a big month for the Wells family! :)

Up to something?!

MAY

In May, I had the privilege (and utter surprise, frankly!) of being the first female finisher in the Lake Run 12k!  I was even interviewed for the Pantagraph (our local newspaper), ooh boy...new territory for me! ;)

Molly (sporting one of our new Metcalf Track shirts! WOOT!), myself and Clint prior to the start of the Lake Run!

The evening after spending the day at a big track meet (Sectionals if I recall correctly!), we also had our engagement party in Peoria with a bunch of great friends. Big thanks to Jillian for heading this up and to everyone else who helped out and attended.  It was a great night!

Sometimes we get dressed up! Our engagement party was SO much fun!

Me with 4/6 of my lovely bridesmaids (and 2 little babies in utero! :))

Clint with 4/5 groomsmen...such gentlemen ;)

Later on in May, Clint and I traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee and did our first triathlon relay together...the Olympic distance at Challenge Knoxville.  I swam+biked and Clint ran.  We had an absolute blast (...though if it weren't for me, we would've had a top 3 finish :). Clint had an amazing run!) competing and spending time with friends and my Challenge Triathlon Team teammates there.  Seeing as we had two families close to us expecting babies around this time...I was kind of nervous to travel so far away but it ended up working out perfectly.

This is one of my favorite pictures of us...teammates in every sense of the word!

At the end of May we welcomed good friends Jillan and Lynden's new daughter Nadya and just six days after that we welcomed our new niece, Charlee Mae!  We also had a fun time getting engagement photos taken on a COLD spring day out at Lake Bloomington and in Uptown Normal.

Visiting Jillian and Brand-new Nadya Quinn (NadyQ!) in the hospital. Little did we know we were practicing for what will be OUR turn at this very hospital just ~11 months from the time this picture was taken!

Sweet Charlee Mae with Uncle Clint and Aunt Rachel at just one day old!

Big thanks to Christopher Cole Photography for our fun {and beautiful!} engagement shoot!

In professional news, May marked one year since I had begun working on my doctorate degree in special education here at ISU.  One down, many more to go :).

JUNE

June 5 welcomed back one of my favorite parts of summer, the Lake Run Club Kids Run for Fun events!  I started helping with these events each Friday night during the summer of 2014 and was excited to come back and help out in 2015 (even though I had to miss the last night - Trophy Night! - due to being on our honeymoon later on in August :)).

Me with a bunch of goons ORRT members volunteering at the first Kids Run of the year.

June 6 I completed the Tri-Shark sprint-distance tri.  While 2012, 2013, and 2014 were triathlon-rich seasons for me, this was the only triathlon I completed (other than the relay in May with Clint) in 2015.  Unfortunately, I never got around to writing up a race report for this event...but I had a really great day!  I got second in my age group and had so much fun being out there with other area athletes.  This race is truly one of my favorites.  My splits were as follows:

Swim - 11:03:09 (1:51/100m)

T1- 1:19.1

Bike- 41:35.9 (18.8mph)

T2- 1:08.7

Run- 22:40.5 (7:19/mi pace)

Total- 1:17:48.1

Thanks to Kelly for the fun pic of me getting my wetsuit "stripped" in preparation for the bike!

My swim was faster than I expected seeing as I tend to be at or slightly above 2:00/100m by default.  I think the only swimming I did prior to this race was the Oly-distance swim at Knoxville. Ha!  My bike was actually a bit disappointing because I had been consistently riding at faster than 19mph for that distance.  Turns out one of my brakes was rubbing...which I discovered AFTER the race.  My run was great...I felt strong and confident and moved up quite a bit in my final placing thanks to the run.  I was happy with the 1:17:48 finishing time, which was a PR of around 3 minutes I believe.  I also snagged 2nd place in my age group and it was fun to sport my Challenge Triathlon Team jacket up on the podium!

Podium, baby! :) Maybe someday I will get 1st in my AG at a tri?! :) Goals!

June brought my return to the Steamboat Classic (I had run it twice previously but it had been a few years. Last year I attended just to spectate Clint).  I had the surprise of receiving an award for being in the top 25 of my gender with 19th place...pretty cool!  This is a big race with a fast field so this was a really big honor for me.

Often Running Racing Team at the Steamboat Classic

I also started volunteering with Heat Wave, a women's running group that met on Monday nights. This meant a tough choice for me: I had to decide between attending my usual Monday night yoga classes or Heat Wave.  I decided to take a break from my regular yoga classes (which was sad!) for June-August and helped lead a group of Heat Wave ladies and I am so glad that I did.  I met some great women and I had a lot of fun.  Rachelle Leuty, you lead a really great group and I hope to be a part of it again next summer in some capacity! :)

At the end of June, I hosted a 35th anniversary/60th birthday party for my parents with my siblings! We were excited to have so many family members turn out for a great celebration of my parents.  It was a beautiful summer day spent at a park where we went frequently when I was younger.  Sadly Clint couldn't join us because he had to work part of the weekend, but he had his own fun...an epic (mostly) solo 70.3 training day!

Matyasse Family :)

Party Fun!

Clint sent this pic after he wrapped up his 1.2-mile swim and 56-mile bike...time for that half marathon, baby!

JULY

July brought some of our favorite running memories of 2015:  Park2Park 5-Miler, the Matyasse-Wells Triple Crown (yes...three races in one day and featuring a visit with our pal Aaron Van Lauwe!), and the Bix7 (one of my top two events of each year...this year's Bix was my favorite yet as many of our ORRT teammates and OR Thursday Night Running Group friends joined us!).  It also brought my bachelorette party adventures (featuring painting at Merlot and a Masterpiece and dinner at Reality Bites with my bridesmaids Megan, Jillian, Jill, Brooke, and Jen ...minus one...my SIL Laura who lives in San Diego).  Wedding planning started taking over our lives a bit as we realized it was truly crunch time!

So glad to spend a fun day with some of my favorite ladies this summer! :)

The last day of July was our wedding rehearsal/whirlwind set-up day...

AUGUST

July was great, but August was even better.  August 1 brought our wedding day and with it, the Wells Wedding Run 13.1 and 5k.  This run is truly one of my favorite memories of the year (and my life, really!) and we are both SO grateful to everyone who ran (and biked!) with us as well as to everyone behind the scenes who helped out so that the run could be a success.  My amazing mother drove our sag support vehicle, featuring water and a variety of snacks.  My great friends Jillian, Adelle and Jen managed to pull off making our reception venue even more beautiful than I thought possible while we were out running.

I get to marry Clint Wells today?! Cool!

Yup...one of my fav pictures of some of our fav people for sure...love my lil sis ;)

Joy!

First "dance"...neither of us are really dancers ;)...do not be deceived here...this was not some sort of romantic moment with us staring and smiling into each others' eyes. Rather, we were laughing at (with!) each other in our "mutual weirdness" :).

We ventured out on our honeymoon on Sunday, August 2 and spent the next 9 days out west in beautiful Utah and Colorado.  In true Wells-style, we covered 100+ miles on foot with our daily runs/walks/hikes during our time there. Clint came back weighing less...while I came back the exact same as before leaving.  Turns out it was probably partially due to the fact that Baby Wells was already in the works!  We found out we were expecting for certain on Tuesday, August 18 but kept it *mostly* a secret until October.

Yoga in the mountains? Yes, please!

Such beauty! We can't wait to return to the mountains.

This is the very first in the series of photos Daddy Clint is working on...me on Day 1 (well not really Day 1...but rather on Tuesday, August 18--the first day that we knew for certain we were expecting our little one!)

Morning honeymoon coffee in CO!

I ran my first "pregnant race" in August...Painful Elimination (I didn't write a race report for this one, but you can click on the link if you'd like for more info on this crazy race!).  In short, the race consists of a 4.25-mile trail loop that runners run up to 12 times.  It starts at 6am with everyone running their first loop. The second loop starts at 7am, third at 8am and so on.  You run until you can't any more (or until you take longer than the allotted hour to complete a loop). I ended up running 5 loops of this race for a total 21.25 miles before calling it for myself...quite a day!

One of the first laps of Painful Elimination...running with AP!

Oh.....we also gained a new family member in August:

Olivia is just about as thrilled as she looks here ;).
Welcome to the jungle, Richard Parker!

SEPTEMBER

September ushered in Marathon Season!  I proceeded into September with a bit of trepidation.  Being newly pregnant, I didn't want to be foolish and push things too hard.  However, I also knew that I had worked very hard and was in the shape I needed to be in to run a sub-3:35 (my current BQ standard!) marathon.  Since everything was proceeding with the pregnancy the way it should've been and the doctor said that running was fine...we went ahead and drove up to Batavia for me to have what ended up being the best race of my life.  I am so grateful for Clint's coaching, advice and guidance through my training and on race day!  The Last Chance Boston Qualifier (BQ2) was an amazing experience and I was thrilled to walk away with a 3:33:16.

I will never forget this moment.
Thanks, Clint, for making it possible...
and for making me believe it was possible!

The day after my big race, I spectated Clint in his fall ultramarathon (as well as our friends AP and Tanya). I had almost as much fun that day as I did running my own race the day prior!

My inspiration!

I volunteered at the finish like of a 5k event supporting our local McLean County Autism Society in late September and had fun seeing a number of families and kiddos that I know.

OCTOBER

October featured Run the Woods, where Clint and I snagged "First Family" honors (thanks, Kevin, for coining the term ;)). He was the first overall finisher in the 8k trail run and I was the first overall female finisher in the 8k.  As friend and fellow committee member John Pratt called me up to give me my award, I was pretty sure he was going to give away our baby news (still a secret at that point, but he was one that did know) as he said into the microphone, "Rachel, is there anything else you want us to know?" Ha, no thanks John ;).  Run the Woods is one of my favorite events of the year, and not JUST because I have served on the race committee for the past ~5 years...big thanks to all of my ORRT and OR Thursday night running people who came out!

Yup, there's a baby in there too!

October also brought the Chicago Marathon...and our public pregnancy announcement.  This was my second time running a marathon as part of Team Believe, a team of marathon runners who runs to raise funds and awareness for Easter Seals of Central IL.  It was a MUCH SLOWER (intentionally) marathon than the BQ2 the previous month but was still a great experience.

DONE!

Clint's birthday weekend featured the ISU Town and Gown 5k (my first time running this...he spectated :)) on Saturday the 24th and the Allerton Park 5.7-mile trail race on Sunday the 25th (Clint's 31st birthday! :)).  We celebrated our birthdays together by having Sunday and Monday off of work together which was really nice.  We visited Rader Family Farms near our home and picked out pumpkins...that ended up rotting on our apartment floor before we thought about carving them (our fault, not the pumpkins' ;)).  Oh well.

NOVEMBER

November started out in a big way with Canal Connection on the 1st.  I had gotten first in my age group at this race in 2014 but wasn't expecting big things this year since I was just starting the second trimester of pregnancy at this point.  I managed to get 1st for the second consecutive year (out of 43 in my age group!).  Big thanks to one really speedy lady in my age group who got an overall award and was therefore taken out of the age group ;) (if she were included I would've gotten 2nd out of 44...still awesome!).

We had a great time with a big group of running friends at Rachelle and Ryan Leuty's home...THANKS for being amazing hosts, guys!  I ate too much and stayed up too late...that's how you know it was good ;).  I also think we all actually kept our phones (mostly! ;)) put away all night and as a result have no pictures of this event. Wild!

I added a (new-to-me) race that had been on my radar but I had never really thought seriously about it before...Furrow Euro.  Well, wasn't that just a great idea?!  This race featured our first snow of the season...and what a snow it was!  3.1 miles of cold and wind and snow at 17 weeks pregnant. What the heck was I thinking?!  It actually was a lot of fun...and I was surprised to grab 3rd in my age group (out of 7) in spite of taking it REALLY cautiously.

Thanksgiving brought my second running of the Oglesby Turkey Trot.  I need to remember to read this report again prior to the race next year so I remember how dang hilly it is!  Holy crap, somehow I had *forgotten* about that this year...until I started in on the second mile.  EGADS!

DECEMBER

We had a great time in early December at our Often Running Racing Team holiday dinner at Destihl. It was awesome to have our ENTIRE team all in one place at the same time!  We are sad, of course, to say "good-bye" to Nigel but we know it's only good-bye as a teammate and we will surely see him around at races and the like!

December 11th marked the halfway point in our pregnancy...crazy how fast it seemed to get to that point!  I also made a night-before-decision to run Da Deer Run Run 8k XC race at COMLARA on December 12.  This was my first experience with this race...and it was tough! I think it would've been tough had I not been pregnant :).  

December 25th is a great day for our family for a number of reasons.  First, the obvious - it's Christmas! Second, it is the first anniversary of our engagement! Third...we will be 22 weeks into this pregnancy! I'm really looking forward to celebrating the holidays this season with my family and friends.  Last year's Christmas/New Years celebrations were bittersweet as we, as a family, mourned the loss of 3 of my 4 grandparents who each passed away in 2014 (two of whom died over the holidays).  It will be impossible to celebrate without remembering the struggles of last year, while also remembering to celebrate and acknowledge the privilege of having those wonderful people in our lives for so long.  This has been a good reminder to me to never take for granted the time that I have with my dear family and friends.

2015 SUMMARY

I PRed in almost every distance I ran this year (all attempted distances other than 10k I believe).

PRs

5k (20:54)

4 mi (28:52)

7 mi (52:01)

15k (1:08:53)

13.1 mi (1:35:43)

26.2 mi (3:33:16)

Sprint tri (1:17:48)

Age Group Finishes (mostly 30-34 age group; some 30-39 age group)

Top Female Finisher (3) - Easter Seals Run Walk and Roll 5k, Lake Run Club 12k, and Run the Woods 8k*

1st in Age (5) - Frosty 5k, Fisher Fair 5k, Dog Days 5k, Canal Connection 10k*, Da Deer Run Run*

2nd in Age (3) - St. Patrick's Day 5k, Town and Gown 5k*, Oglesby Turkey Trot (3 mi)*

3rd in Age (2) - Park2Park 5 miler, Furrow Euro XC (3.1mi)*

* = run while pregnant

Looking ahead...

This brings me to my 2016 Goals!

1. Finish the all-important race to the finish line of this healthy pregnancy and delivery a healthy baby boy around April 29! This is the ultimate priority and takes precedence over all else for 2016 (well, other than maintaining my happy marriage that is :))

2. After running the best I have in my life and managing 13 overall or age-group finishes in 2015, I would be lying if I said I didn't really care about racing well in 2016. I know "well" is going to have to have a different meaning for me this year, though. I have NO idea what the final half of pregnancy will be like...much less the labor, delivery, and recovery situation.  Plus, after all of that, we will have a little one vying for our time and attention!  All of that said, I would like to try to get 2 top 3 age group finishes in races {of any distance} in the second half of 2016.  We'll see!

3. Complete a marathon in August, September, October or November.  I was in the best shape of my life, marathon-training-wise, in September in spite of being 7 weeks pregnant.  With Clint's guidance I had trained wisely and worked really hard toward my initial goal of a sub 1:40 half marathon in the winter/spring and then through the late spring/summer toward the goal of PRing my marathon and running a Boston Qualifying time.  I want to try to get this fitness back.  I know it will be VERY different post-baby, but I've seen women do it...and some come back after childbirth even faster than they were previously. I'm putting this goal in writing because I want it to happen. I am not saying I will run a BQ next year, rather that I WILL "get back on the {marathon} horse!"

4. Run (at minimum) the following races (in addition to a marathon): St Patrick's Day 5k (March...yup...I will be LARGELY pregnant! :)), Dog Days (July), Bix7 (July), Run the Woods (October), Allerton Park 5.7mile Trail Race (October), and Canal Connection (November)....and volunteer (with baby in tow? :)) at at least some Kids Run For Fun events this summer.

5. Run confidently with a jogging stroller!  Oh boy. I may need some tutorials! :)

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2015 has been a big year full of exciting life changes for me (and the hubby!)...as well as much stronger running than ever before in my life.  Even though it's often the BIG things that we talk about the most with others, write about, share on social media, etc....it's the little every-day things that I am the most grateful for.  Waking up each morning with my very best friend, sharing quite moments together in our tiny cave of an apartment (moving next year will be bittersweet for certain!), spending time with our dear sweet nieces, (almost) daily chats and text messages with close friends, runs (and some rides!) solo or with friends on our beloved Constitution Trail, enjoying coffee dates with Clint at Coffee Hound or 3030, Jillian at CH, or Megan at Dunn Brothers, hitting "submit" on a big paper for a doc class, hikes with Clint (at our local parks as well in the mountains!), and of course seeing my Metcalf and Easter Seals kiddos meeting goals and milestones ... these things (and more!) are some of my favorites from this year.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention that spring 2015 also brought the safe return to the States of my brother, Dan, who was in the Middle East with the Marine Corps...and therefore bringing a very joyful ending a very tense period of time in our family.  

I'm looking forward to 2016...with all of the joy, challenges, friendship, love, baby snuggles, sleep deprivation, and peace that is/are sure to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, All!

~Rachel

Everyday moments of 2015....