Bloomington St. Patrick's Day 5k {March 18, 2018}

2018 Bloomington St. Patrick’s Day 5k

Bloomington, IL//1:00 pm

-21:27 (6:55 pace) *with stroller/Gabey!*

-1st in F35-39 AG (out of 44)

-6th Female of 818

-43rd out of 587 total finishers

(my 4th race of the 2018 season)

With this race always being the first one of each year where most (if not all!) of the Often Running Racing Team is in attendance, it is always kind of a stressful one for many of us! I know I dealt with some anxiety (why?!) leading up to the race, but did my best to keep my head on straight Sunday morning leading up to the race.

Last year I ran a 20:34 at this race (also pushing Gabe!) which is my standing Stroller 5k PR (my solo PR is 20:20, set at Evergreen in August 2017). I knew I wasn't in sub-21-minute shape going in to this race, but I hoped to (a) be faster than the 5k I ran the day before in Davenport, Iowa (I wanted to "negative split" my weekend races! Ha!) and (b) get sub 22/as close to 21:00 as possible.

Planning to get to the VFW where the race starts around noon (for the 1pm start), we left our house around 11:40 and went to pick up our friend Tanya on our way to the race. We joined our crew at the back of the VFW in our "usual" spot and got to work on our usual pre-race preparations. Clint, who had asked someone to pull his race entry shortly after filling it out because he didn't feel up to racing...ended up registering for the race after we arrived (he had packed clothes and shoes "just in case"...oh Clint...you keep us guessing ;)).

The weather felt like an amazing gift after the "wintery mix" of precipitation and 34 degree temps we dealt with the previous day at the St. Pat's 5k we ran in Davenport! I went out for a little warm up, shooting to do around a mile and a half. Clint joined me for a quarter mile and ran a quarter mile back to the start to get in a half mile total warm up (he had already run five and a half miles out on the trails at Comlara that morning).

Family pic pre-race, pre-warm-up, pre-nap

I felt good but not great during my warm up. My stomach was in knots - hard to tell if it was anxiety or just general GI distress (the name of my game all too often) or a combination of factors. My right knee felt a little achy, but not terrible. When I got to 3/4 of a mile out, I turned around to run back to the start to get in a mile and a half for a warm up. It was nice to actually feel WARM during the warm up, as opposed to the previous day!! Gabe fell asleep before I had even finished a mile - and I prayed and crossed my fingers that he would stay asleep for the remainder of the race. He's never slept through a race before - but most of the time, races are in the morning and this afternoon/nap time race was a different story!

After the warm-up, Gabe was OUT for the count!

 We took our place at the left side of the starting area (the first turn on the course is a left-hand turn so I wanted to be as close to that side as possible).

Look at that starting lineup (esp. the tired guy on the right!!)

4 of the 5 ORRT Ladies pre-race - I am a fan of this crew

As we got situated, I noticed that the starting guns (yes, plural!) were not far from where Gabe and I were standing. I got a little bag of fruit snacks prepped in the back of the stroller, assuming that the gun shots would wake him up as we started off! Before long, the shots rang out and we were off...somehow Gabe actually managed to stay asleep through the blasts! I guess he really got super worn-out during the previous day's festivities with his cousins! I'll take it!

I watched Clint sail off quickly with a big group of other fast runners. I did my best to settle in to a pace and joked with friend/teammate Gary who was right next to me for the first tenth of a mile or so to hurry up (I tend to always take off too quickly - with Gary right behind me for a few strides before ultimately passing me).

I took the first of the eleven turns (yup, I counted - unless I counted incorrectly, of course!) in the race and headed to the left before taking another left hand turn through a neighborhood.  I did my best to make wide turns and to stay out of other runners' ways.  I heard both Paul and Joe (other teammates/friends) behind me and tried my best to cheer them on a bit here and there. Mile 1  was over in 6:52, according to my watch, but according to the guy shouting off splits to my right directly before a right-hand turn, my first mile was in 6:42. I laughed and said out loud, "Well that's way too fast for me today!" Regardless, I ran a sub-7 mile for the first time in a while - swell!! 

My favorite part of this course is the turn around mile 1.3 or so where the course turns back on itself on the same road so you get to see the fast guys as they speed on by. I gave Clint and some others a cheer and watched with envy as they cruised on through the course with beautiful, graceful, speedy strides! Ah, to be that fast!!

Somewhere after the halfway point, we ran down a familiar-looking street...it didn't hit me where I was until I heard a voice saying, "Go Rachel!" I looked to my left and saw my friend Jamie and her husband and their two sweet girls cheering from their front porch! Too cool! Thanks for the cheers and the sweet pic, guys!

Mile 2 was over in 7:15.  "Ok, Rachel, time to buckle down and do work," I told myself. I really felt like I had let myself slack off on that second mile.

The third mile includes a long stretch of a slight incline that probably doesn't feel too bad to the average person, but I feel like is dang torture pushing the stroller. I willed my arms to stay strong and I picked out a few people to try to pick off as I ran up the slight hill. I saw Tim and G + J who cheered (thanks for the pic below, Timmy!)...I grinned and gritted my teeth and powered on.

The final right-hand turn down to the final 6/10ths of a mile or so beckons a mentally tough part of the race - it's the final stretch, yes, but it is also longer than it seems. It can be a challenge to stay 6:58...woot! Back under 7:00 and faster than my 2nd mile! Not exactly negative splits, but I'll take it!

I saw Clint cheering me in to my right and he yelled at me to get off my heels. Come on now, Coach!

I crossed the finish line with a still-sleeping babe in a clock time of 21:26.7. The final 0.06 according to my watch was in a 5:56 pace (not quite as impressive as my final 0.11 according to my watch in yesterday's race ;))....but still kinda fun to be sub-6 if even just for a few seconds!!

After I crossed the finish, I jogged around a bit with Gabe to do a bit of a cool down before joining some of the rest of the team at the finish to hand out water bottles (here's looking at you, Gary and Paul and Steve and Clint!)

Gabe was still sleeping, but I had to get Dan Anderson to stand next to him for a quick pic!
Can't believe he did the race like this!

We headed back inside the VFW for the awards ceremony and chatted with friends for a while. I snacked on some sweet potato/coconut oil chips (BYO! Ha! It's whatcha gotta do when you are on a "special" eating plan) while Gabe snoozed away in the back of the LOUD room. When someone started talking on a microphone, though, he startled awake and got really freaked out - like "where the heck am I?!" Poor, sweet, disoriented babe!

This year's race was held in honor of an Army Ranger who died in Afghanistan. His mother spoke for a bit and shared about his service and about the loss of her son. It was honestly hard to listen as I stood there and held my own little (almost) two-year-old boy as she spoke of the loss of her twenty-two-year-old boy. I cannot even begin to fathom the pain!

Age group award winners each received a neat pair of socks with the initials of the Army Ranger who was honored at the race - pretty special!

The weekend's age group awards...

When I went back to review some times I'd run in previous years, I saw that I ran a 21:31 in 2015 which was my very first race as an Often Running Racing Team member. I remember (and I texted this to some friends/teammates before this year's race!) that I was a bundle of nerves during the week leading up to the race. With it being my first race as a ORRT member, for some reason I had put a lot of pressure on myself to do well and I was PRETTY convinced I was going to trip/fall/otherwise make a fool of myself. While I was a little bit off of my then-current PR of 21:09, I was satisfied with my race and pleased with getting 2nd in my age group and scoring a sweet pair of red, white, and blue USA socks (that I still enjoy wearing to this day!).  I also ran the race in 2016 when I was 33 weeks, 2 days pregnant and managed a 28:33 (in Gabe's 11th race!). Sadly I missed out on the sweet/kinda weird drawstring bags made out of cotton sweatshirt material that were presented to the age group winners that year ;)!

For fun, I decided to start a little graph of this year's Stroller 5ks. I plan to (hopefully!) add to it as the year goes on...and HOPEFULLY we will see those times drop as the year moves forward (but who knows!!).

BIG THANKS to Mitch for allowing me to be on the Often Running Racing Team for this (my 3rd!) season. Thanks to the spectators extraordinaire for the cheers and fun pics (including, but not limited to, Sharon, Jamie + the Garrison Fam, Tim + the Van Hoof Fam, and Toddy + Soph).  Thanks to my teammates for the support, pushes, advice, camaraderie, laughs, etc. Thanks to Saucony for the awesome-looking and ever-trusty gear (busted out my GREEN NYC Freedoms for this race, but of COURSE!). Thanks to Coach Clint for the guidance. Thanks to Gabe for the tolerance...and the stroller zzzzs in this race ;).

My main man, around mile 2.5 (Thanks for the snap, Sharon!)

Next up...BOSTON?!

CASI St. Patrick's Day 5k {March 17, 2018}

2018 CASI St. Patrick’s Day 5k

Davenport, Iowa//10:00 am

-22:11 (7:08 pace) *with stroller/Gabey!*

-3rd in F35-39 AG (out of 136)

-16th Female of 905

-98th out of 1532 total finishers

(My 3rd race of the 2018 season)

Our friend Aaron Van Lauwe, who I am "informally coaching" as kind of an experiment of sorts (maybe Wells and Wells Coaching could be a thing someday, eh?! ;)) had his sights set on this spring 5k and suggested that we come up to the Quad Cities and do the race as well. Around the same time that we had started considering participating in the race, my sister let us know that Koo Koo Kanga Roo was going to be performing at a children's museum in Bettendorf, Iowa not far from where she and her family live later on that same day. TWO great events in the Quad Cities on the same day, plus getting to see my family?! Count us in! So, we made plans to head up to the Quad Cities on Friday night for the Saturday morning race and Saturday afternoon concert. Clint Gabe is quite obsessed with Koo Koo Kanga Roo and we were pretty pumped to be able to give him that "experience."

This race also happened to be the same weekend as/the day prior to our local Bloomington St. Patrick's Day 5k that is one of our Often Running Racing Team team races - so we had already been planning on doing this race as part of our team responsibilities/commitments. However, we love novelties - doing two 5ks on back-to-back days? Sure! I decided to try to do both of them (as long as Gabe was cool with it ;)) with the stroller - never had I ever done two stroller 5ks on subsequent days! Since my body has been less than cooperative with volume lately as far as long runs/Boston training goes, maybe I can beat it into submission with some 5k pain. Ha! We have both done a fair amount of races in the Quad Cities area, but we had never done the CASI St. Patrick's day 5k and were excited to try a new event.

Friday, Clint ended up taking a half day (I was already off on Spring Break!) which was really nice because it meant we got to leave earlier than we were anticipating (we originally planned on leaving around 5:30 when he got home from work, which would have probably ended up being more like 6 or 6:30 knowing our track record...ha!). We drove to my parents' house first and dropped Gabe off, who was all too happy to hang out with Gram and Pa for a bit. We then drove on to Davenport where we picked up my race packet...and Clint ended up registering for the race. Surprise (eye roll, wink).

Ok, I can't even really begin to explain HOW EXCITED I WAS that at packet pickup there was a booth advertising a variety of other Quad Cities races, including one of our faves - the Quad Cities Marathon. AND - at this booth they had a bunch of leftover Quad Cities Marathon GLOVES that they were giving away for FREE!!! I am a dork, I know, but the gloves that they gave participants at last September's Quad Cities Marathon and Half Marathon were AMAZING. I LOVE mine - they are actually so warm that they are TOO warm at times! I was afraid I had lost one of mine this winter after a run, but thankfully ended up finding it. But now...both Clint and I have BACK-UP pairs of the best gloves ever and we have FOUR pair in our household! This is the kind of stuff I get worked up over, guys. Thrilling!! :)

After gathering our things, we headed back to my parents' house. First, though, we made a pit stop at one of our favorite Quad Cities places - Natural Grocers. We stocked up on a few things and then went to join Gabe and my parents. We prepped some dinner (kinda late at this point, but oh well), played for a while, and then headed to bed.

Race day morning we woke up and Clint prepped his coffee. We "admired" the gross-looking cold/rainy weather outside while we got our things together.  As usual, I let Gabe sleep as long as possible before getting him up...he ended up waking up on his own around 7:30 with a simple shout out to "Mama! Dada!" from his room at my parents'. We ended up leaving a bit later than we had hoped (the story of our lives ;)) but got out the door between 8:15 and 8:30 (we had been shooting to leave around 8 to get to downtown Davenport before 9 for the 10am race start). We ended up getting to a parking garage not far from the start around 9:10 which ended up being just fine. We got the stroller situated and headed for the race area. We had to double back when I realized that I had left the all-important fruit snacks for Gabe in the car. BIG error!!!

After gathering the snacks, we headed back toward the starting area again. In addition to being just plain cold (around 34 degrees) and windy, it was starting to sleet...amazing!! HA! We got Gabe situated inside the stroller with the weather cover on top and arranged some toys and snacks for him inside his "bubble." Clint and I then jogged around a few blocks for a 0.6 mile "warmup of sorts" in the nasty "wintery mix" falling from the heavens prior to jumping into the starting corral. As we stood there, I looked around a bit for Aaron but was certain we wouldn't see him among the crowd of 1500+ participants. By some twist of luck, all of a sudden - there he was, to Clint's right!

Clint's festive, shiny new green Saucony Triumphs...
because who doesn't like a bit of "wintery mix" to break in a new pair of shoes?! ;)

We situated ourselves in the starting area about 5 or so rows back. Clint, at that point, still hadn't decided if he was sticking with me and Gabe or if he was going to run his own race. That guy ;)...such a funny one. In my head I knew the odds were slim that he would stick back with us - but I was game for whatever happened. Considering my current fitness level (not as high as it was at this time last year), I was hoping to stick as close to 7:00-minute miles as possible.

I wished the boys luck and got ready for "go" time. When the starting signal went off, it became woefully apparent that we had not situated ourselves nearly close enough to the front of the corral. I found myself having to really hold back to not run over any ankles and had to loudly (and as politely as I could muster!!) say, "excuse me!" "coming through!" and other similar statements a few times as we made our way down the first street and through the first turn to the left and second subsequent turn to the left as we entered 3rd street. I saw Clint streak off past me...no patience for the crowd, for sure. Ha!! See ya, Cleent! ;) The bulk of the course was spent running first west on 3rd Street and then making a sharp turn around to run back east on 3rd street before heading back down to the start/finish. In spite of the crazy navigation required, mile 1 clicked off in 7:07.

Around 1.25 miles, I hit the turn around and made my way back down 3rd street INTO THE SLEET AND WIND. Uuuuughhhhhh. I was grateful, for Gabe's sake, that I had put the weather shield on the stroller but, MAN, that thing makes the stroller feel like a TANK as I push it!  Mile 2 was over in 7:12. I was actually kind of impressed with my relative consistency.

With a large portion of the race running back on itself on the same street, there were lots of people-watching opportunities. It was fun/funny to see many people had broken out their St. Patty's Day best for the event. WOW - some people really get into the costume thing! I love it. Ha!  Also, it was fun to hear some of comments people made about seeing a stroller runner (one kid said to his mom, "WHY does she have a BABY with her!?" Good question, kiddo! :)).

Shortly after making the 4th of just 5 turns in the race, Mile 3 clicked in 7:22. Honestly, these splits (while positive instead of the desired negative) were pretty dang consistent. I eyed a girl about 50 yards in front of me and decided to buckle down and see if I could catch her. I caught her literally as we crossed the finish line. My clock time was 22:11. Later I was utterly astounded to see the final 0.11, according to my watch, was in a 5:39 pace. WHAT?! Ok, I realize that it was just a tenth of a mile, but for ME this is crazy fast. Kinda cool!!

After crossing the finish line, I continued on to do a tiny little cool down - trying to get in the habit of letting my body cool down like a "real" runner (even if it is just for a bit). After 0.4 miles (basically just a jaunt around a block), I joined Clint and Aaron to chat a bit before heading up to the tent where they had set up the post-race snacks. Aaron told us that he had clocked a 21:04 which is a 5k PR for him (about 20 seconds over his previous PR set last October) - SWEET! Of course, HE did all the work...but it was kind of encouraging that my advice/informal coaching had resulted in a 5k PR! I'm excited to see what he will continue to do as he works toward his next goals!!

Aaron headed out to run his cool down to his car that was parked about 2 miles away before heading out to drink green beer with a friend. It was good to see him for a bit, though!  I was thrilled to see some of my favorite Kind bars in the boxes of post-race food - the Pressed Pineapple Banana Kale Spinach bars...a pretty random sight at a post-race party. Usually there is a bunch of stuff I can't eat (pizza, sandwiches, cookies). We printed out our results and were pretty entertained to see that we had both gotten 3rd in our respective age groups!

Cool to both get 3rd!

Kinda neat, considering this was a big race (bigger than we are used to, for certain!).  We stuck around to collect our awards during the awards ceremony and then made our way back to the parking garage and then to my sister's house to clean up, eat some lunch and get ready to see KOO KOO KANGA ROO!

Dada gave the little guy a lift so that he could see the show better!

Clint helped hold the parachute for the concert-goers to rush under at the end of the show.
Gabe is all, "What the heck is going on?!" 

We played in the museum for a bit after the show. Gabe loved the "fufuflies."

This concert wore him out...and inspired him to rip off his shoes and socks prior to passing out in the car afterward.

After the show, Gram and Pa came over to my sister's family's house for
playtime, reading, and dinner before we headed back home to BloNo.

After the race, I didn't feel very worse for wear (my Achilles pain has really been minimal lately*, though my knees are still acting up) - and felt somewhat confident that I could at least stay upright to finish a 5k in our hometown the next day! I was excited by the idea of successfully completing two stroller 5ks in 1 weekend and made a loose goal for myself of "negative splitting" the weekend and running the next day's race faster. Seeing as it was a local-to-us event and an Often Running Racing Team event, I wanted to be able to do my best at it, too. Stay tuned...

Next up - Bloomington St. Pat's 5k!

*Thanks to a variety of factors, I decided to try the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) diet. Basically, this is an elimination diet that requires a person to stop eating a ton of stuff - including grains, legumes, nightshades, sugars, and dairy. It supposedly helps heal your gut and decrease inflammation in your body and is recommended for people who deal with autoimmune diseases. I have celiac disease (I was diagnosed in 2008) and therefore do not eat gluten (truly never - no cheating). Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease and sometimes other food intolerances run hand in hand with the gluten intolerance that celiac disease is known for. Honestly, I have known that other foods "bother" me (namely dairy), but I am pretty stubborn about it all because food is delicious and elimination diets are HARD WORK. Long story short, the inflammation in my achilles is almost nonexistent since eliminating sugar. I hate to admit it - but, for my body, there might be something to this food intolerance stuff (more than just the gluten thing that I have known about for almost 10 years now). As of the day I am writing this (Monday, March 19), I have been doing the AIP diet for 14 days. I definitely don't plan on doing it forever...but I am using it as a way to try to figure out how to be the most healthy that I can be and to see what works for my wonky body. There are many details that I am not including here, but this is the short version!

Miller Park Zoo Stampede {March 3, 2018}

2018 Miller Park Zoo Stampede 5k

Peoria, IL 10:00am

-22:17 (7:11 pace per mile) *with stroller/Gabey!*

-1st in F26-35 AG out of 43 (weird age group range again - just like the Frosty 5k in Peoria in Jan! Is this a new thing or something?! Ha!)

-4th Female of 155

-22nd overall of 279

(My 2nd race of the 2018 season)

This race was informally on my radar because I thought running with Gabe through our local zoo would be fun - I thought he might get a kick out of seeing some animals during our run, and I was pretty sure from previous years (I volunteered in 2016 with friends Tanya and Amber while I was pregnant with Gabe!) that the age-group awards were something animal-related which could be fun to give to Gabe.

However, this day was also my good friend Jillian's daughter Ruby's big 4th birthday! She had planned a little birthday party/concert trip that included herself/Ruby/Ruby's little sister Nadya (my goddaughter), our friend Susan and her son Asa, and myself + Gabe. Of course I didn't give the race another thought and was instead SUPER pumped for the concert (Laurie Berkner in Peoria!). I was SUPER sad/disappointed (though not nearly as much as Jillian and the birthday girl!!) when Laurie apparently got stuck in NYC in a snow storm Friday night prior to the Saturday morning Peoria show and the show got canceled! WAHHHHH!!!! Jillian ended up quickly planning a substitute musical party that involved the wonderful Meryl Brown at her music therapy business in town that would go down on Saturday afternoon. Therefore, I had Saturday morning unexpectedly "free." Well...why not go for a nice little jaunt through the zoo, after all!?

Saturday morning, we woke up and got ready to head out to Miller Park, where the race was held.  Clint decided to come with us (thanks, Dada!) which was really nice. As we drove to the race, I thought about my plan/goals for the day - really, I just wanted to get in a good/quality tempo workout and I knew that running in a 5k race situation would ensure that I pushed the pace for at least those 3 miles.

Prior to the race, I needed to make a visit to the bathroom...but the downstairs bathrooms were super crowded. I was happy that the "secret upstairs bathrooms" were NOT crowded so Gabe and I enjoyed a moment of silliness in the bathroom before heading outside to run.

I went out for a mile warm-up through Miller Park, nice and slow, and Gabe enjoyed getting to view the large train near the entrance of the park ("CHOO CHOO! CHOO CHOO!").  We made our way into the starting area and lined up near Julie Sibley and chatted a bit.  A girl who looked fast-ish had lined up behind me/to my right and I could tell she kept looking at my stroller with irritation. I turned around, smiled, and kindly said, "Do you want to get in front of me?" She nodded and I scooted a bit to the side to let her past. Communication, people! You help me and I'll help you! I know there are many people who get annoyed by strollers in races but I really do try to do my best to anticipate other peoples' feelings and stay out of peoples' way (even if it includes things like going wayyy to the outside on turns since most people naturally want to take the inside).

Soon enough we got the starting signal and we were off! I did my best to break out of the starting corral as quickly as possible, as usual, and to navigate around the crowd of runners without getting in anyones' way. We turned to the right and looped around the zoo parking lot and over past Gabe's beloved train. Mile 1 was over in 7:05. Satisfactory. As has become my MO lately, I just wanted to keep things as "close" to 7:00 as possible.

I felt things slowing down during mile 2...I just didn't feel any get-up-and-go, but I tried to keep pushing.  Mile 2 was over in 7:21.

Somewhere in the third mile there was an ascent that really isn't TOO steep but was enough of an incline to be annoying. As is typical whenever there is any kind of incline when I am pushing Gabe, I curse my decision to push the stroller and will my arms to somehow stay attached to my body.  The uphill challenge is rewarded by a descent down around the lake and around the back of the pavilion before the course goes into the actual zoo for just a bit. I pointed out some sort of elk-looking creature to Gabe (??) before rounding the final curves and heading out of the zoo to the finish. Mile 3 beeped in a slower 7:31 (I will say, navigating the stroller through the hairpin turns inside the zoo portion of the course did make for a challenge).

Nearing the finish line, cheered on by some sort of dino-creature! :)

The final 0.1 was in a 8:25 pace, however I didn't stop my watch right away as I crossed the finish and definitely slowed down...so who knows what it actually was. My 22:17 clock time/7:11average pace was just over 30 seconds behind the Frosty 5k that I ran with Gabe five weeks prior (21:44) which was kind of disappointing but I shook it off...it is what it is!

After crossing the finish line, we continued on right away to get in a mile cooldown to be sure to get in 5 total miles for the day.  After our cooldown, we made our way into the very crowded pavilion where I got a nice stretch-out performed by a PT group that was there (felt great!). After that, we hung around and I ate a banana with Gabey while we waited for awards. I was excited to get 1st in my age group (a large age group again!) and to earn a little painting done by a snow leopard who lives at the zoo - cute/fun!

On our way back to our car, Gabe insisted on visiting the playground for a bit and of course we had to oblige him (though it wasn't quite as warm as it looks in the pics!).

After some playtime, we headed home for lunch and a nap for Gabe. After naptime, we went to Ruby's birthday party where Gabe had an absolute blast. It was so wonderful to be able to celebrate a special birthday with great friends. The party also happened to be at the same place where we had Gabe's first birthday and where he took music classes all summer last year. It was fun to be "back"!

Next up - a St. Pat's weekend 5k two-fer!

Year-In-Review {2017}

And...just like that...2017 is history!

I've been working on this "year-in-review" post here and there over the past month or so...I posted a review of 2015 and of 2014 in the past on this blog and I regret not doing one in 2016...but I am sure my limited posting during that time period had something to do with nearing the end of pregnancy and being super-focused on that aspect of our life and not-as-focused on running/blogging/the like.  Anyway, I am the kind of dork who likes to go back and read old posts to remind myself where I was and how I got to where I am...and I actually found myself re-reading race reports about particular races this year prior to running them again just to remind myself how awful awesome they were!  So....I've made putting this post together for the benefit of my future self a priority and am sharing it in case there's anything that can be gleaned from it by anyone else (info regarding a race of interest or whatever!).

Without any further ado, here is my wrap-up of 2017...

JANUARY

I was excited to, once again, join the Often Running Racing Team as a member for the 2017 season - my second season as a member. I ran with the team for the first time in the 2015 season, however I did not run with them (officially anyway) in 2016 due to giving birth in April of 2016 and spending most of that year getting used to being a mother AND getting back in shape during my postpartum period.  

For some reason, asking to re-join the team caused me a bit of anxiety (or more than a bit!), but somehow I worked up the courage (spurred on by Clint!) and asked our fearless leader Mitch in the fall of 2016 if I could re-join in 2017.  He graciously allowed me to be a part of the group again...and I was excited to hit the ground (literally!) running in 2017. 

Shot of the Often Running Racing Team from our December 2017 photoshoot with Seanan AlYasiri

My first race "back" as a team member was the Frosty 5k in Peoria, IL.  I was hoping for big things - it wasn't my first post-partum race, but it was my first race back on the team.  I was quite excited to come away with a 20:46 which was an 8 second PR at the time!  It was a cold, crisp day and I still remember making the second to last turn when I could see the finish line with about two tenths of a mile left - my lungs and legs were BURNING!! It was a great day with some fun friends - Clint and I actually left Gabe with some friends (thanks Kris and Mike!) back in Normal and traveled up to do the race sans baby which was nice.

Race One:  Frosty 5k

Total January Miles:  I logged 118.3 miles during the first month of 2017, which was the most miles I had run in a month since August of 2015 (my first month of pregnancy and the last full month before my early September 2015 marathon).

Other Notable January Accomplishments:  

1) I was awarded the "Comeback of the Year" award at our Bloomington-Normal Lake Run Club year-end banquet for my post-baby race performances after Gabe's birth in April of 2016. This was a really big compliment and it was a fun honor to receive this award.  We had a great time at the banquet with a table full of friends and are looking forward to the one celebrating the 2017 season here soon at the end of January 2018.  Last year we brought Gabe (he was 9 months old at the time - and pretty quiet and immobile)...but we will not be able to play those cards this year! Ha!

2) My world got rocked a little when I was let go from my part-time job at Easterseals. I had worked for Easterseals for 9 1/2 years - I started in 2007 right when I graduated with my masters and it was, at the time, my "dream job" working as an outpatient pediatric speech-language pathologist. In 2011 I started working at Metcalf (the school where I currently work) and stayed on part-time at Easterseals (it was actually called Easter Seals - two words - back in the day ;)). I have worked for them in a variety of capacities (and volunteered extensively for many events, most notably serving on the Run the Woods 5k/8k committee since 2008)...but then suddenly and unexpectedly in a rather "interesting" (read: insulting and disrespectful) fashion I was notified that the company was not able to continue to employ me (and a few of my fellow part-time employees). Long story short, this was a big slap in the face and really messed with my general morale for a while. However, I have retained some very good friendships and professional relationships that were made at Easterseals in spite of the circumstances, for which I am quite thankful.

FEBRUARY

I didn't run any races in February, however I worked hard on building strength and endurance as my big A-race neared.  I was gunning for the Illinois Marathon at the U of I on April 22, which was also going to be Gabe's first birthday.

I got the stomach flu for a few days, but was able to power through a very-strong-for-me 10-miler after kicking the flu to the curb.  I loaded Gabe up in the stroller on Saturday, February 5 and went out to run with low expectations.  I ended up running 10 miles at an average pace of 7:50 which was very encouraging.

Another standout run during the month of February was the LOVE RUN, hosted by the one and only Holly-Rae Van Hoof. We ran 12 hilly miles out near her home and then rewarded ourselves with lots of love-ly eats afterwards. PLEASE make this happen again, HR! It was a definite highlight of my year! Great training, great fellowship, great food...some of my favorite things. OH...and gluten/dairy free OATMEAL CREME PIES!!

Total February Miles:  111.9 miles

Other Notable February Accomplishments:  Longest postpartum run (18 miles at 10 months postpartum)

MARCH

March has become one of my favorite months of the year - because I get a week of spring break with my boy!  It is also the month that ushers in the St. Pat's 5k which is a great area race that brings out lots of local runners for a festive Sunday afternoon adventure.  I was cautiously optimistic about this race and was excited to push Gabe in the stroller for this one, too. I was thrilled to come away with ANOTHER 5k PR...20:34, besting my previous 5k PR set at the end of January by 12 seconds!  It felt really awesome to be able to do this while pushing my little guy.

{An aside - This was my very first stroller race of 2017 ... though not my first stroller race, ever. Our very first stroller race was the Dog Days 5k on July 16, just under two weeks after my first postpartum race - Park 2 Park 5 Miler on July 4, 2016 (I ran that one solo, report here).  In 2016 I ran 3 stroller races with G - Dog Days 5k, the We Care Twin Cities Half Marathon, and the Oglesby Turkey Trot 3-miler, which makes St. Pat's my 4th stroller race.}

Race Two:  St. Pat's 5k

These Pro Compression socks are some of my FAVES.

Later on in the month, Clint and I decided to run the Run for Hope 10k on a TOTAL whim. It is a Sunday morning race and we literally drove to the race and registered mere minutes before the race-day registration closed. And - I won overall female (in spite of a bit of "controversy" that I found out about the next day from some others due to displeasure that I ran pushing a stroller and may have had an "unfair advantage)! To be completely honest, while I joked about this "situation" with friends (and continue to!)...this whole thing really bothered me. Anyone who has run pushing a stroller knows that it is in no way an advantage...and I don't include Gabe in my racing as a way to obtain "trinkets and accolades."  I simply love to run, love the camaraderie of racing, and absolutely love sharing life and its adventures and friendships with my son and husband.

Race Three:  Run For Hope 10k

1st Overall Female and 1st Overall Male - it is always fun to share the honors with a friend!

Total March Miles:  163.7

Other Notable March Accomplishments: 

1) Our big, silly kitty Richard got out on March 2...after some sadness and lots of help searching for him, he came back in the middle of the night two nights after his big "escape" - Clint got up to use the bathroom in the night and Richard walked up to our back door! As annoying as that cat can be sometimes - we were really glad to see him return. Gabe LOVES his Richard!

2) Holly-Rae and I ran one of our biggest marathon training runs together on March 4 - 20 miles from Shirley, IL to Towanda following Route 66! Coach Clint dropped us off in Shirley and then picked us up 20 miles away. I remember it was a really windy day and we were DEFINITELY spent at the end of that big run. We also came away from it feeling really strong - thanks for the company, HR!! This also closed out my biggest week, mileage-wise, of the training cycle.

3) Gabe, Clint and I (and some other friends) spectated Tanya out at the Clinton Lake Ultra on March 25 - and Amber, Holly-Rae, and AP and I went for a run out on the hilly roads while TG raced, too!

APRIL

April....oh April!  I looked forward to the arrival of April this year with excitement and anxiety.  Not only was it the month of my Moment of Truth (the Illinois Marathon - my A-race of the year!), but it is also Gabe's birth month!  Parents, I am sure you can relate when I say the whole baby-turning-one thing is pretty surreal and crazy!

Before all that, though was the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon.  I wasn't "supposed" to PR at this race...it was simply supposed to be a good tune-up for my big marathon.  But - I ended up feeling pretty amazing and pushed the envelope and came out with a PR and 2nd in my age group. What a day!! The age group awards were gold-colored stainless steel water bottles - LOVE! What a great, functional award - I used that thing with pride right away and continue to love using it today!

Race Four:  Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon

I didn't get too crazy during taper time for my marathon, because I had Gabe's big birthday to focus on. Ready or not, both events arrived more quickly than I ever anticipated.  Why on earth did I run a marathon on my baby's first birthday AND plan a party for him that same afternoon!? I am crazy, I tell you what! It all ended up just fine and beautiful and memorable and all that jazz...but it did get a little crazy! HUGE thanks to all who helped with both events, in particular my mom who drove down to babysit Gabe while I ran!

And...the best race of my life...

Race Five:  Illinois Marathon

It was pretty perfect, from start to finish. I ran faster and more strongly than I thought was possible. I really thought sub 3:30 was possible, but "pushing" it. 3:23:07?! A dream day. Now, though, it's made me realize that I really don't know what my limits are...and I want to keep pushing to find what they are. I do so love that silly marathon distance. It's my favorite, hands down.

Total April Miles:  130

Other Notable April Accomplishments:  

1) Clint and I celebrated our "first" of our yearly anniversaries on April 1 - our second anniversary! Let me tell you - those two years felt as if they FLEW by and it "felt like yesterday" since we had snuck up to the courthouse in Peoria for our secret April Fools' Day wedding!! Love you, my partner in crime, Clint!

2) April 22, 2017 was our son Gabe's first birthday and marked one year of postpartum life for me. I ran 1015 total miles during that first postpartum year, which is something I am really proud of. I started running again at just over a month postpartum (4 weeks, 6 days), so I accomplished 1015 miles in about 11 months.

And...speaking of our sweet boy...let me take this time to spam y'all with some of my faves from our family picture shoot that took place in early April with our favorite Cole Wilson/Christopher Cole Photography...

 

Being his mama is the best thing...a true blessing

Truth be told, he was actually less than pleased during most of this photo shoot...and the day afterwards he got diagnosed with an ear infection! Poor baby was probably miserable, darn it all!

3) The weekend after Gabe's birthday, this mama went off for her very first Moms' Weekend in Chicago with some girlfriends! I was definitely anxious about making the trip but am SO glad that I did. It was a great weekend with some awesome, sweet girlfriends (Jillian, Susan, Jen, Adelle, and Katie) - and I hope to make a similar repeat of the trip this year! It was so nice to shop, eat some amazing food, and chat about girl-y/mom-y things. One morning I went off to a hot yoga class solo and on the walk back to our hotel I happened upon an AMAZING smoothie bowl joint where I got some post-workout breakfast. It was all a heavenly, luxurious experience for sure!

MAY

Gabe was just two weeks old at last year's Lake Run, so he and Mama spectated as Dada ran (I remember feeling disheveled and massively sleep-deprived)...but I definitely missed running it!  I was excited to get to run it again this year and looked forward to bringing Gabe along for the ride. I had won the 12k at this event back in 2015 (pre-pregnancy) and, pie in the sky, was thinking it might be fun to repeat that feat. It wasn't to be, though. Even though my time was a bit faster than my time in 2015 (earning me a 12k PR, even with the stroller!), area speedsters Carrie Mack and Aimee Dziekan bested me and I wound up with (a still respectable!) third place.

Race Six:  Lake Run 12k

One of my favorite pictures of me racing with Gabe this year

Later on in May, I decided to hit up Fleet Feet's Memorial Mile to see what I could bust out on a hilly mile course.  I ran it twice - once in the "elite" heat and then again with Gabe/the stroller in the "recreational" heat. It was, honestly, a blast!

Race Seven:  Memorial Mile

Total May Miles:  131 (123.5 stroller miles = my highest number of stroller miles in a month!)

Other Notable May Accomplishments:  
1)I ran a 5:54 mile during a track workout on the ISU track - while pushing Gabe! This was my fastest mile, ever...and I wonder if I will ever be able to do that again!

Gabe at a track workout with Dada in May

2) May marked the last month of the school year...and ushered in 2.5 months of "summer vacation" aka working only part time and being mostly home with Gabe! We used the opportunity of more time together to attend two weekly events that we attended most weeks during the summer - Tiny Melodies music classes at Developing Melodies on Tuesday mornings in Bloomington (classes purchased with Gabe's birthday money!) and Sign and Stroll events in Peoria. The Sign and Stroll events were held on Thursday mornings on the riverfront in Peoria - some weeks we went with or met up with friends there, but most of the time it was just Gabe+Mama time! We enjoyed walks together along the riverfront followed by a fun group time of singing/signing/stories hosted by Communication Junction.

Tiny Melodies class at Developing Melodies -
our good friends Ruby and Nadya also attended these classes which was awesome!

Sign and Stroll on the riverfront in Peoria!

Gabe loved to clap and bounce along to the songs and stories at Sign and Stroll!

3) I was hired by SPICE of marcfirst in Normal as a part-time contract SLP and began the pre-employment process in May. I joined my good friend Jillian who had started working at SPICE after enduring a nearly identical "situation" with Easterseals back in January - and have been so grateful for her encouragement, our new boss's welcoming spirit, and the whole new situation in general.  I started working with clients in June.

JUNE

A really great way to start summer racing was to get 1st overall female with Clint getting 1st overall male at the Toluca Double Diamond Dash 5k - it was our first time running this small-town race and we had a lot of fun.

Race Eight:  Toluca Double Diamond Dash 5k

After running that new-to-us event, we ran an old favorite - The Steamboat Classic 15k on our very own Holly-Rae's birthday! We had the privilege of driving her to the race - and sharing some birthday gifts with her while we drove. Holly-Rae, we are so grateful for you and your friendship - and for your entire family!

Race Nine:  The Steamboat Classic 15k

Classic race photos...HA!  Yes, this race hurts as much as these photos portray.

 

Total June Miles:  98.2

Other Notable June Accomplishments:  

1) June marks the start of Heat Wave, a womens' summer running group sponsored by the Lake Run Club and Often Running. This was my third summer helping out as a group leader and it is one of my favorite things to be a part of each summer.

Matchy-matchy with two of my fellow Heat Wave leaders, gal pals Amber and Holly-Rae!

2) Clint, Gabe and I had a great time volunteering at the three summer evening 5ks Fleet Feet put on this summer - the first of these events was in June! It was fun to be out there as a family cheering on runners - and also to have the privilege of not suffering running through the heat for the moment ;) !

3) June brought Gabe's FIRST INDEPENDENT STEPS (at approximately 14 months old)!!!  June also brought Gabe's first Kids Run for Fun event! We went to one last summer, but he rode in the stroller and just "cheered on" the other bigger kids and his cousin Macy. This year we were privileged to watch him go from needing to hold our hands/be carried through his 200-meter "race" to, by the end of summer, being able to do a {small!} portion of the event independently!

Wells Family at Gabe's first real Kids Run For Fun

JULY

No better way to start off a month than by running a race, right?! July 1 brought our first-ever attempt at the Downs Freedom 5k in our friends the Van Hoofs' hometown.

Race Ten:  Downs Freedom 5k

Three days later, we continued the 4th-of-July-themed running with a return visit to the Park 2 Park 5 miler running from one park (Miller Park) in Bloomington to another park in Normal (the Normal Cornbelters' stadium).  Hooray, Freedom! Hooray, America!

Race Eleven:  Park2Park 5 Miler



And, all of a sudden, it was time to "celebrate" one year of postpartum stroller running with a return to the Dog Days 5k! Gabe ran this with me last year as his first race outside of the womb with Mama and it was special to once again be able to run this race together (on a similarly hot, dog-days-of-summer-esq night!).

Race Twelve:  Dog Days 5k

July's biggest claim to fame in my world is, of course, The Bix. "Let's Bix Again Like We Did Last Summer" is kind of my motto. Yeah, #sorrynotsorry, I am obsessed.

Race Thirteen:  The Bix 7 - So my biggest dorky-running-related-regret of the year is never writing a race report for the Bix!  If you know me, you know how much I love the Bix (check out the race website here). This year was my 14th time running the race (my 14th consecutive Bix, even!) and my 16th time completing the course.  Honestly, I kept putting off writing my report/race recap because I wanted to write a really GREAT report with tons of detail...but instead of carving out the time to write it, it just never got done.

Leading up to the race, they host "Bix at 6" training runs on Thursday evenings on the actual race course in Davenport, IA and I went up to run one with my sister Megan this summer! I wanted to push Gabe in the stroller on the crazy-hilly-awful course, but strollers are not allowed in the race...so Bix at 6 it was!  The Bix at 6 events are free events that are open to anyone and are typically attended by thousands (seriously!!) of runners - and people who live along the out-and-back course are out in their yards handing out water and ice and fruit, and some even turn their sprinklers on into the road for hot, sweaty runners to run under!  There are two official water stops (one at the halfway/turnaround) and one earlier on in the course that you end up passing again during the second half.  People are even just out spectating this spectacle! I am thinking a BloNo runner group field trip should occur next summer to head up for a Bix at 6!

The last time I had the opportunity to attend a Bix at 6 event was back in June of 2007 when I was wrapping up my medical externship as the final requirement of my speech-language pathology masters degree program at Trinity Medical Center in Rock Island, Illinois. Some of my coworkers were running and invited me to join in the fun. I was all-to-eager to join in, of course (that July would mark my third completion of the race).

My sister (who lives in Davenport) met up with me and Gabe on Thursday, July 13.  Here's what I wrote in my Garmin log regarding the experience: "The Bix is no freaking joke. The course is a hilly beast and is one many love to hate....I was so glad to attend a Bix at 6 event this summer and to bring Gabe! Pushing the stroller on the Bix course was a big challenge but I am so glad to have had the opportunity to "share" it with him! ... I saw a few other people pushing strollers out there as well. I saw a man doing the course in his motorized wheelchair with a big grin. It was all really awesome. Gabe loved me pushing him/the stroller through sprinklers on the course - and snacking on ice cube chips I fed him to help him stay cool! Fun fact - my PR on this course is 52:01, set in 2015 when I was at my fastest pre-Gabe. My time last year (2016) was 55:33 (at 3 months postpartum). So, my time today of 53:12 (7:36 pace) was my second fastest Bix course time! I'm looking to go sub-50 at the actual event in 15 days. Without the stroller, I am thinking it is within the realm of possibility! Megan (my sis) has only been back to running after two months after a long haul of health issues. She ran the course in a 9:22 pace - her goal was to do it in 9:30s! It was a great night all around." Afterwards...we refueled in the most appropriate way: with delicious Mexican food!

before...

after

 

happy to be dooooone!!

Our friend Aaron (who lives in the Quad City area) also ran! (Aaron is seen here in the blue shorts.)

So, fifteen days later when I returned to the course on race day I was able to absolutely kill it. I got my PR and my coveted sub-50. I got a 49:39 which is a 7:06 average pace per mile. Here's hoping I can smash this next year and get my average pace under 7 minutes.  Big shout out to Clint here for not only being an awesome coach and helping me reach this big PR - but for putting up with my Bix obsession and accompanying me to this race since 2014!  Get ready for a lifetime of Bix-ing, Mr. Wells! :)

Bix time History:
2005- 1:05.23
2006- 1:09.02
2007- 1:09.01
2008- 1:10.25
2009- 58:36 (FINALLY UNDER AN HOUR!)
2010- 56:42
2011- 59:00
2012- 58:03
2013- 56:46
2014- 56:46 (Identical to the previous year?! Craziness!)
2015- 52:01 (PR for two years!) (Race report here)
2016- 55:33 (3 months postpartum)
2017 - 49:39 WOOOOOT!!!

Total July Miles:  139 - biggest mileage month in 2017! (But not my biggest lifetime mileage month - that was in August of 2015 when I ran 150 leading up to the Last Chance BQ2 Marathon)

Other Notable July Accomplishments: I really can't think of anything in particular...I ran a lot...hung out with Gabe a lot...visited our Quad Cities family...worked on my two doctoral independent studies (that may or may not have really stressed me out a time or two :))...helped edit a friend's doctoral project...worked a bit at SPICE...swam with with my boy...and generally did my best to ENJOY summer and time with family and friends!

AUGUST

Running-wise, the month started out with a bang! I ran a 20:20 (PR!) at the Evergreen Lake 5k! I was really hoping to FINALLY go sub-20 (a big goal of mine), but I wasn't able to quite get there this time. Still, I was very happy with the results...and, man, reminded how badly 5ks HURT!!

Race Fourteen:  Evergreen Lake 5k

Me with my best boy

After the race, Clint and I went up to the Quad Cities where we dropped off Gabe with my parents and headed to Iowa City for one night to celebrate our two-year anniversary (our "second" wedding/large ceremony with family and friends was on August 1, 2015!). We had actually planned to go to Chicago and stay in a nice hotel, have dinner in the city, catch a yoga class, etc....but then decided we didn't want to deal with that much driving (about three hours from my parents' house) and that we would just keep things simpler and head to Iowa City (about 45 minutes away). We had a great time - used some hotel points for a free stay, found some great places to eat including a cupcake place with gluten free cupcakes, and went for a run in the morning that ended up being near the University of Iowa's cross country course, so we jumped onto that for a bit of our run! It was a great (though short) get away.

Total August Miles: 97.4

Other Notable August Accomplishments: 

1) TROPHY NIGHT - the final Kids Run For Fun event of the summer was on Friday, August 11 and Gabe was (and still is!!) pretty dang proud of that trophy.

One of the mid-summer Kids Run events

GABE'S FIRST TROPHY!! I just can't get enough of that smile!

2) August marks the re-start of the academic year. It was EXTRA-big-and-crazy-feeling and, frankly, stressful for me this year because I had a lot of anxiety regarding preparing to teach my very first undergraduate course.  I ended up getting kind of sick ("under the weather") and my running suffered (which is really understandable now, looking in the rear-view mirror!). Can't do it all, can we?! Unfortunately mid August ushered in a kind of "running funk" that lasted really through the end of the year (on and off). Looking back, my body was probably just telling me to sloooowwww down! As I write this post and reflect I am realizing just HOW busy this year really was!

3) On the evening of Friday, August 18 after work, Clint and Gabe and I were sitting around outside on our driveway (seriously - HA!), trying to think of something to do.  It jumped into our heads that it was the evening of the Danvers Days 5k...and that Paul and Steve were running it! We jumped into the car and drove out to Danvers (about 20 minutes from our home) to spectate...and I actually ended up jumping onto the course and running with Paul for about a mile and a half...with Gabe in the stroller and with me wearing jean capris and Toms! HAHA! What a fun, silly night we had!

SEPTEMBER

Race Fifteen:  Quad Cities Half Marathon

Total September Miles:  88.6

Other Notable September Accomplishments:

1) Labor Day weekend we traveled up to Michigan to spend three days with my family as a mini-vacation. We had a similar trip last summer (August of 2016) and had a great time - but we were even more excited this year since uncle Dan and aunt Laura could join us (they live in California and it is, understandably, not nearly as easy for them to get out to visit the family here often!).  We got in some quality runs with my dear sister Megan and had a lot of time for relaxation, which was great (especially after my stressful August).

2)  On Tuesday, September 19 I spoke on a panel of four local runners at Often Running on the topic of "How To Have Your Best Race Yet." While I felt absolutely inadequate to speak with any authority on the matter, I did have a fun time speaking (in spite of some nerves!). I posted a wrap-up of what we spoke about here.

OCTOBER

Ahhhhhh...OCTOBER!  This month has always been one of my favorites {FALL!!} and it is definitely one of the most special months of the year for our family - Gabe's half birthday, Clint's birthday, my birthday (and it is also the month of my mom's birthday and my parents' anniversary!).

I headed to my parents' where I met my grad school roommate and good friend Brooke to hang out at Augustana College's homecoming. Though we didn't get close until graduate school, we did go to Augustana College together, both majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders! We planned to attend the CSD alumni brunch - and I took the opportunity to register for the Homecoming 5k, something I had never done but had always wanted to do!  Megan met me there the morning of the race and we both ran it - it was a yucky day, weather-wise, but thankfully the rain that had been forecasted held off! I had planned to bring Gabe and push him but my mom convinced me to leave him with her...a great plan I soon realized and appreciated!

Race Sixteen:  Dome Dash 5k

The following weekend, keeping up with the theme of collegiate homecoming 5ks, I hit up the ISU homecoming race!

Race Seventeen:  Town and Gown 5k

Thanks, Clint, for this great shot - one of my faves!

Total October Miles:  73

Other Notable October Accomplishments:
1) Clint returned to the Hennepin Hundred event the first weekend in October, this year doing the 50-miler (last year he did the hundred...I wrote about my experiences spectating and pacing the end of that beast here!).

I was realllllly proud of this shirt I had made for this occasion -
ask us who has the current marathon PR in the Wells household!! Hahaha!!

Auntie Megan, Macy and Charlee came out to spectate Uncle Clint, too! We had a great time!

The girlies were pretty excited to run in with Clint to one of the aid stations

Family! Grateful for these memories together!

2) I turned 35 on October 28 and Clint turned 33 on October 25 (oh, and Gabe celebrated his half birthday and "turned" 18 months on the 22nd)!

Behind the scenes shot from Gabe's 18-month photo shoot

3) We celebrated Clint's birthday with a 10-mile family run - I joked and called this "cramming for the test" as the Indy Monumental Marathon neared (and my training had been less than marathon-worthy leading up to it!).

NOVEMBER

November was a really big month in some ways...I learned that I could "fun run" a marathon and get a sub-3:45 while smiling and laughing and taking pictures.  We had an amazing weekend at the Indy Monumental event - thanks, again, to my mom for watching Gabe for us at our home. Thanks, too, to all of our area friends who made it such a great weekend - it was like a running-group field trip with so many of "us" there! Definitely a highlight of the season.

Race Eighteen:  Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

I also learned I could chase a marathon with a 10k the very next day...

Race Nineteen:  Canal Connection 10k

...And then...I learned that that all wasn't probably the best idea (SURPRISE!) and I sustained some knee soreness the Tuesday after the big race weekend that has now lasted until the end of the year and rolled into 2018.  In spite of it, I didn't let it shut down my participation in my favorite Turkey Trot...

Race Twenty:  Oglesby Turkey Trot

And then just two days later, I rounded out the month with my first-ever time participating in the Festival of Lights East Peoria Illinois River Trail Classic 4-Miler...talk about an awesome/FUN race!! I spectated the team last year at the race (with Gabe!) and after getting that front-row seat, definitely desired to participate.  I wasn't disappointed!!

Race Twenty-one:  FOLEPI River Trail Classic 4-miler

Total November Miles:  66.9

Other Notable November Accomplishments:  
1)  I had the fewest number of miles for any month in 2017 this month (66.9)...but I had the most races (4).  I actually only ran TEN days this month and took 13 days completely off in the middle of the month, thanks to my right knee giving me fits (patellar-femoral syndrome)

2)  On November 17, I FINALLY started a regular strength training routine again (authored by Coach Clint).  I have been sorely lacking in the strength department and I know that if I want to be a better, stronger runner I need to do some serious strength training. We don't have a gym membership (and frankly I can't imagine how I would manage treks to the gym on top of everything else going on right now), so my strength training incorporates things we have at home (resistance bands, adjustable dumbbells, and a new weight bench - Clint's Christmas present from his parents!). But, I am happy to report that I have actually been consistent with the weight training and have gotten at least two strength workouts in per week since starting...and am closing out the year with about 13 strength workouts under my belt.  Most of these are done in the living room with the beautiful sounds of Koo Koo Kangaroo emanating from the TV to keep Gabe occupied. Whatever you have to do to #getitdone, right?!

3) Canal Connection marked the "end" of Clint's wild 9-week-long "challenge" during which he completed: 

-Lake Evergreen 50k, 
-Fox Valley Marathon (his FIRST road marathon on an insanely hot day),
-Quad Cities Marathon, 
-Hennepin 50 miler, 
-Indy Monumental Marathon, and 
-Canal Connection 10k. 

Having the privilege of being along for the ride for that craziness was something else ;). I am certainly proud of my wild running-man! I am looking forward to seeing what super-human feats he accomplishes during 2018!

DECEMBER

December was ushered in similarly to last year - with our soon-to-be-famous BRRC 5k on the first Saturday of the month.  I can't thank each of our participants enough for coming to spend that morning with us (and for supporting our efforts to collect some money for our local Adopt-A-Family program).

Race Twenty-two:  BRRC 5k

The Saturday after our little BRRC 5k, we had a day-date at the Da Deer Run Run chased by a lovely late lunch with the the Van Hoofs - what a fun day!

Race Twenty-Three:  Da Deer Run Run

One of my fav race shirts - I actually have been wearing it so often that when Clint wore his the other day, Gabe looked at it and said, "Mama!" while pointing. HA!

We closed out the running year with a great weekend December 16/17 - on Saturday, we had a team photoshoot at Often Running followed by an impromptu run by a few of us, and that dinner we had our team holiday dinner at Thai House.  The next day, a bunch of us ventured up to Varna (about an hour from BloNo) to Mitch and Carol's house to run the HILLS out at Wildwood. I pushed Gabe in the stroller for one hilly 5-mile loop - which was a little insane but also awesome! Shout out to HR for helping me push that stroller up the three beastliest hills!!

Team Dinner at Thai House

Wildwood Warriors

Teamwork makes the dream work!

Total December Miles:  89.6 - and, with this, my milage is on an upswing!

Total Miles for 2017: 1307.6 - my largest year of mileage ever in my lifetime!

Other Notable December Accomplishments: 
1)  I had the honor and privilege of accompanying AP on one of his "AP Runs This Town" runs! {In short, our good friend AP made a plan back in August to run every single street in the town of Bloomington! He accomplished this goal as of 12/30/2017!} At 11:00 am on Saturday, December 30, 2017 I met up with him and Holly-Rae and Tanya at Brookridge Park in Bloomington and ran just over 10.5 miles with him for his final run of his self-imposed challenge.  While I wish I could've joined him for MORE of his 75 runs/629.99 total miles...I am glad SO I did have the opportunity to run with him this one time! What an amazing accomplishment, AP!

Taken somewhere on the State Farm Corporate South campus as we Ran This Town!

2)  December marked the end of the academic semester - and my very first semester teaching an undergraduate course!  Yes, this has nothing to do with running...but it does affect my running as it was a big part of my life this year.  I was really nervous about teaching for the first time and, frankly, not sure that I was cut out for it.  However, I grew to love it.  I looked forward to time with my students and it was SO amazing to watch them learn and grow and change over the course of the semester.  Although opening the file that was sent to me at the end of the semester that contained the students' feedback regarding the course caused me some serious anxiety - I was STUNNED to receive some really great reviews from my students. This was absolutely rewarding and encouraging.

3) I received two As in the two doctoral courses I was enrolled in this semester.  This semester marked the end of eleven semesters (or 3.5 years) of work toward my doctoral degree in Special Education.  I have earned 47 credit hours and at the end of this coming spring semester I will have earned 56 credit hours (I am enrolled in 6 credit hours/two courses, plus am finishing up an incomplete course from last summer). I will take my comprehensive examinations in the summer of 2018...after which it is Dissertation Time!

4) I applied to be a brand ambassador for Huma Gel - my very favorite run nutrition item - and was accepted a week ago!  I'm looking forward to supporting this brand in 2018 and to using it to chase more PRs and big goals!

5) Celebrating Gabe's second Christmas with our immediate family, extended family, and various friends was pretty special. Here are a few highlights:

Seeing Santa with Mama at a party...Gabe was skeptical but Santa gave him a thumb's up! (HA!)

Our family's Christmas card (one of my favorite things each year is sending and receiving holiday cards!) -

Designed by Holly-Rae (BIG THANKS!!)... after I told her what I envisioned doing with this "family photo fail" :)

(Back of card)

Very special Christmas Eve celebration

He got his very own jogging stroller on Christmas Morning!

Gabe enjoyed sharing one of his favorite gifts (from Grandma and Grandpa Wells) with Olivia

This boy's love of reading has increased drastically this year!
One of his most-uttered requests is "Read! Read!"

Gabe put his new "cell phone" in the cupholder of his new tryke (independently) - hysterical.

Snacking while Dada reads in matchy pjs

Do not be deceived...it wasn't all fun and games...hehehe!

6) One of the most memorable runs we had this month (nay, year?!) was on the morning of Christmas Eve...we left Gabe sleeping with Gram (we were at my parents' home that weekend) and left to go out to our beloved Hennepin Canal for ten snowy, icy miles while the falling, stinging snow did its best to do us in:

Runners be crazy

Speaking of PRs....
New PRs:
This year I earned PRs in 10 of the 11 (strictly-running) race distances I have ever completed (I am NOT counting triathlons - I haven't completed a triathlon since 2015)! It is SO empowering to come back from pregnancy and post-partum life FASTER and STRONGER...something I truly didn't think would be possible. AND...four of these PRs were actually set while I was pushing Gabe in the stroller!

5k: 20:20 (Evergreen Lake 5k/Hudson, IL/August 5, 2017) My 5k distance PR was actually whittled away at 3x this year - with gradually faster PRs set in January, March, and August
4 mile: 27:32 (FOLEPI River Trail Classic/East Peoria, IL/November 25, 2017) *Set with stroller*
5 mile: 35:34 (Park2Park/Bloomington, IL/July 4, 2017) *Set with stroller*
8k: 39:02 (Da Deer Run Run/Hudson, IL/December 9, 2017)
10k: 44:30 (Run for Hope/Bloomington, IL/March 26, 2017) *Set with stroller*
7 mile: 49:39 (Bix 7/Davenport, IA/July 29, 2017)
12k: 53:18 (Lake Run/Hudson, IL/May 6, 2017) *Set with stroller*
15k: 1:08:22 (Steamboat Classic/Peoria, IL/June 17, 2017)
13.1: 1:33:39 (Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon/Springfield, IL/April 1, 2017)
26.2: 3:23:07 (U of I Marathon/Champaign, IL/April 22, 2017)

(*The only distance I did not PR at this year was the mile - my current mile race PR is 6:17 which was set in July of 2014. I did run a 5:54 mile in June this summer - but it was during a track workout with Gabe in the stroller and not during a race, so I am not counting it as a true PR)

This year, I am looking forward to *HOPEFULLY* seeing more PRs with paces in the 6s.  Currently my 5k PR and my 4-mile PR are both in the 6s (6:33 and 6:53, respectively). However, at distances longer than that my paces jump to the 7s (5 mile PR pace is 7:07 and 10k PR pace is 7:10).


Notable Race Placing:
Overall Female:
1 - Run for Hope 10k/March
2 - Toluca Double Diamond Dash 5k/June
3 - Evergreen Lake 5k/August
4 - Dome Dash (Augustana College Homecoming 5k)/October

"Larger" Races/standout performances
~7th Overall Female at the Steamboat Classic 15k in June/Peoria, IL
~2nd Place F30-34 age group at the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in April/Springfield, IL
~3rd Place F30-34 age group at the Illinois Marathon in April/Champaign-Urbana, IL


Pacing:
The three times I had the privilege of running with two different people as they chased some of their own goals were pretty special and were absolutely some of my highlights of this year.  I hope to have more opportunities like these in 2018.
~I ran with Holly-Rae when she earned a 5k PR at the Downs Freedom 5k in June and when she earned a marathon PR at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in November.
~I ran with my sister Megan in her first half marathon after a few years (during which she was running shorter distances and having babies and living life!) in September at the Quad Cities Marathon event.


Lessons Learned in 2017:
1. Becoming a mom does not mean you have to quit chasing dreams that are not "related" to your child.
2. Becoming a mom does not mean you will become slower or weaker.
3. Getting older does not mean you will become slower or weaker (I am 35 and in the best shape of my life!).
4.  Our children watch e-v-e-r-y move we make and try to imitate our behaviors, so make sure your behaviors are worth imitating!! (Example: We call our cat Richard "Dick Dick" because, well, Dick is short for Richard right?! And...well...also, Richard can be kind of a "Dick." What do you think Gabe calls Richard now? Yeah - "Di Di!" HAHA!!)
5.  Life is short - and our relationships with family and friends are of the utmost importance. Don't let there be any question for people you care about of how you feel about them.
6. I do not truly know what my limits are - I haven't found them yet and I look forward to chasing them down.
7. I love the marathon - it is truly my favorite distance.
8. The podcast, "I'll Have Another" with Lindsey Hein is an awesome way to pass the time on the treadmill AND it has some amazing running truths that are passed on by some great female runners. Check it out! It's taught me a lot and I can wait to listen more throughout the coming year - it has really made me think about increasing my mental toughness and I LOVE to hear from other women, particularly those like me who are moms in their mid-30s and who are absolutely KILLING their marathon times. It has really made me think about what COULD be possible with my running. Who knows, right?!

Looking ahead...
I truly always love the late December/early January period of each year and taking the opportunity to look at where I was and dream/make plans regarding where I want to be at this time next year.  A bright, clean, new year full of opportunity lies ahead...

I haven't registered for any races yet in 2018 other than the Boston Marathon (oh THAT little thing... ;)).  I will definitely plan to do all of our Bloomington-Normal area race team circuit races (or at least as many as we don't have conflicts for) and I would like to do a few others...but I don't have anything specific in mind...really, I am just focused on big things in the months of April and October in the coming year...because our family's BIG running-related goals in 2018 are:

1) I am running Boston in April
2) Clint is running TWO 100-milers in October.
(*Clint's goal is not secondary to mine ;)...it is simply listed second because my race is during the first part of the year and his are during the second)

BOSTON...
My A-race this year is Boston, no doubt. This race has been a dream of mine for a long time and I honestly can't believe it's actually going to be happening this year (in less than four months, no less!).  Most people I talk to say that my goal for Boston should be to FINISH and to ENJOY the race and not to worry about time goals or PRs.  Honestly, I know I am blissfully ignorant since I've never run the course.  But - I do really want to do something big there. I want to PR and I want to run ~3:10.  A 7:14 pace would give me a sub-3:10 (3:09:39) and this is the goal I am currently clinging to.  This might sound big and crazy and maybe it's not even realistic at this point, but I am going to try.  There - it's out there!!

After Boston...
I am not sure! If I don't PR at Boston, I might look for another marathon later on this year.  If I do PR at Boston, I might look to tackling a 50k. THAT sounds big and scary for sure, but it is something that has been in the back of my mind for a while - I haven't ever done one and ultra-marathoning is a big part of who Clint is, so it would be fun to be able to share that with him. We'll see.

This brings me to...

My Goals for 2018

1.  Be the best wife and mom I can be, first and foremost. My family will always come first.
2.  FINISH Boston...and earn a marathon PR!
3.  FINALLY break 20 in a 5k (so close with my 20:20 PR!)...probably in the late summer or early fall.
4.  Support Clint through his two 100-milers in October...in whatever forms he needs!
5.  Finish my doctoral course work (spring) and comprehensive exams (summer) and get started on my dissertation (fall).
6.  Incorporate more regular strength training into my weekly training to be the STRONGEST I can be in 2018!
7.  Run a sub-35:00 at the Park2Park 5-miler on July 4, 2018.
8.  Run a sub-49:00 at the Bix 7 on July 28, 2018 (this will be my 15th Bix...better make it BIG!).
9.  Run 1500 miles total in the year.
10. Pace two people to PRs at any distance.
11. Run some sort of epic stroller race - I think running a stroller marathon would really be amazing if I can find one that works schedule-wise (and one that allows strollers...marathons that allow strollers can be hard to come by I've learned through my research!!).
12. Write regular reports/posts of all of my 2018 running shenanigans (certainly NOT leaving out the most important race of the year again...ahem...Bix!!).
13. Continue to be involved in our local running community by volunteering (and I hope to expand my volunteering to even more events this year!) and mentoring other runners (such as through the Heat Wave program in the summer months).

If you read all of this...I can't really believe it :).  However - here's to a great 2018 for all of us!  Here's to chasing dreams, crushing goals, discovering new things about ourselves, and to strengthening relationships with family and friends along the way.  This "hobby jogging" thing is pretty special to me, but it isn't the MOST important thing in my life.  I am forever grateful to my supportive husband (with whom I have a "dual relationship," since he's also my coach :)!), my tolerant, hilarious and sweet son, my incredible family and friends, and to God who for some reason has blessed me with the physical ability to do these "crazy" things.  I am also so grateful to Mitch Hobbs for the privilege of being a part of the Often Running Racing Team - it is truly like a second family and I love being a part of this special group of humans with all of my heart.  Thank you to each of my teammates for being who you are - I am grateful for the lifelong friendships I have gained and for the way we can challenge one another to be better - in training, in racing, and in life in general. I can only hope I am worthy enough of all of the support...and vow to keep doing my very best in all things! Running is certainly not the most important thing in my life, but it is AN important thing that helps me to be a better "me" in the rest of my life. I look forward to watching how it continues to complement my life as well as how it will continue to shape me as a wife, mom, and friend.

Much love to you (yes you!),

Rachel

#RunningFamily

Some additional 2017 randomness...

Silly pic during a random group run through Uptown Normal - had to stop for a sweaty pic by the mural!

2017 shall be known as the year of the Banana pics, of which this was the first...

"Look where your sister is holding that banana! Do you think she did that on purpose!?"
...........

PS I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Underwear Run...now a three-time tradition, we rang in 2015 this way (bottom right picture) on Paul's 50th birthday, had a year "off" in 2016, brought it back for 2017 (bottom left) and then did it again to ring in 2018 with our largest group yet! Nothing says Happy New Year like stripping down to your underwear and running a mile(ish) in negative 32 degree windchills (this year's actual windchill), right?!

See you next year!