Race reports aplenty

*Whoooooooosh*
(That's me blowing the dust off of this here blog. Poor, little neglected blog.)

So while I've been sucking at blogging this summer, I've been enjoying the hell out this summer. Here's a quick recap on the big races.

1. Omaha Women's Sprint Tri
I biked once and swam zero leading up to this race. As usual, I just do this race because it's right across the street from the hospital where the boys were born, and my entire family comes out to cheer.

This is hand's down my favorite race picture of all time.

I had a top 60 swim, top 50 bike, and top 10 run. Ha! A perfect reflection of my training. I did get 4th in my AG and an invite to Nationals in Vermont. Ha ha. Small races are so flattering.

2. Omaha Oly Tri

I ended up doing this race because I had a long run on tap, but without my running buddies, I didn't want to run alone. So I figured this would be a great three hour workout instead. Genius, right? Not that I'd biked or swam since the previous race.

I had such FOMO (fear of missing out) last year, so while totally under-prepared for 2/3 of it, I knew I had the strength and fitness to survive. The race itself was beautiful. Perfect weather, great course, fun fun fun. I finished second in my AG and really happy.

3. Sioux Falls Marathon

This was my A race of the fall, and to say it was a disappointment would be an understatement. It was my first marathon as a mom, and I'd put a lot of time and sacrifice into training. Well, the race itself was crappy, but everything else was fantastic. Sioux Falls was lovely, the race was organized and flat, and I got to meet the coolest chick in the history of ever.

Jeri is even funnier, sweeter, funner, and more adorable than she is online. She was kind enough to welcome me into her home and cart me around all weekend. Thank you thank you.

Here's the short version of the race: I went out too fast, got tired in the middle, and wasn't mentally strong enough to keep from falling apart. The course is flat and scenic, but it can be pretty isolating. With no one to shame you into not walking, it's far too easy to give into the temptation. I blew up my goal and far past four hours.

This is what one looks like 60 seconds before a tearful, dramatic, melt DOWN.

This smile is a lie.

4. Omaha Marathon

This marathon was only two weeks later, but I was determined for redemption. My plan was simple: Stick with the 4 hour pace group like glue. I know I'm physically capable of a 3:45ish marathon, but I guess I'm not mentally strong enough yet.

The morning was cold, calm, and perfect. This was taken around mile 7. See that yellow pacer guy? I was on him like white on rice. Like, we were knocking elbows. Sorry, dude. I was on a mission.

I ended up losing the pace group after a huge downhill near mile 13, running with a coworker 13-18, and finishing the rest on my own while keeping the pace group behind me.

Finish time: 3:57, 7 minute PR, and this smile pretty much says sums it up:

I was SO DAMN proud of myself. My splits were really consistent, I only walked through water stops, and I enjoyed ALL of it.

My mom dropped me off and returned to cheer me at the finish. Bless her heart, I love her. Here's a few gems from the morning:

"Niki, it's 39 degrees! You're going to freeze in that outfit. Here, I have a sweatshirt in the trunk. You can just tie it around your waist when you get hot."

(As I'm sitting in an exhausted pile after the finish) "I see chocolate milk over there. You can walk around and pick up all the snacks you want. Take all the time you want. Enjoy it.! I'll just sit right here and wait for you."

So that's what I've been up to this summer. Oh, and being a mom.

The boys are two now, and life is beyond wonderful.



So now what? I'm giving serious consideration to Kansas Half Ironman next spring. I've always said I needed some training buddies, and I think I may have found them. The lack of time is what's killing me. We'll see how the winter goes.

What else? Well, this is the end of ye ol' XC2 blog. I started blogging four years ago while training for my first marathon, and it seems appropriate to end on a great marathon performance. Thank you so much to everyone for reading, commenting, and providing me with the inspiration from all your blogs over the years. I'm still reading and following everyone, so I'm definitely still around.

And to anyone who's found this blog looking for pregnancy running or twin pregnancy running, feel free to email me with questions.

Where I'll be:

A.) Twitter! Want to see picture of food, my kids, and me? Twitter is the place to be.

B.) Bottle Fed Parents- A new blog! Razz, Vanilla, Nitmos, Amy, and I got together to do a little blogging about parenting, life, and the joys of being an adult. I'm the newest parent and sunniest of the contributors, so it'll be fun to watch my spiral into the crusty, jaded, self-medicating pro just like the boys.

Bye folks. Thanks again. It's been fun.

Three race reports

So much for my goal of blogging at least once a month. Let's just pretend May never happened. Which is actually kind of funny since I ran a lot in May including three races. Three really great races! So in honor of National Running Day, here's some quick race reports.

1. Lincoln Half Marathon
This race kicked my ass last year. Pure and simple. This year, I altered my plan. It now included running more and runner further prior to the event. Crazy concept, no? I should be a coach or something. It's clearly not that hard.

The bottom line is that I love this race. The course is flat and fast, the crowd support is great, and the weather is usually pretty perfect. Oh, and they have cups of water with straws. Yeah, it's as wonderful as it sounds.

The only downside to the race is that I'm in much better shape (mentally and physically) in the fall. I'm still working on my campaign to get the dates of the Omaha marathon and the Lincoln marathon switched.

Final time was 1:53:30. It's a course PR and 12 minutes faster than last year, so I was very pleased with that. It makes me optimistic for the rest of the year. I need to toughen up though.

 The race finishes up on the 50 yard line of the Husker football stadium. I don't care if you like football or not, it's damn cool.

I chatted with a TON of friends before and after the race, so as always, Lincoln was a success.

2. Work Conference Fun Run
I go to a few conferences for work, and our biggest one included a fun run. I work for a federal contractor, so I knew the race would include several active military people attending the conference too. Active military people are FIT. I had no idea what to expect or how many people would participate.

The conference was in St. Louis, and the race was around the arch. Having never been there before, this thing was simply amazing.

Anyway, it was a 5K with 100+ people. I've done the race several years ago, and it was much bigger, and more of an official race vibe than years past. We even had race bibs and a blow up finish line. I started near the front and took off with the gun. I didn't really have a plan (not that I ever do). Some guys took off, and I tucked in behind.

I ended up passing quite a few of them as they pealed off and slowed down. I kept the pace comfortably hard since I wasn't about to go balls to the wall around potential clients, lest I yak on their shoes.

I never saw any women come up, so after two quick loops, I WON! I think I was sixth overall and first woman. Woo hoo!

Oh, and I set a new PR! 22:11! Woo hoo! Plus, I got plenty of props from hottie Army and Air Force guys that I beat. God bless America.

My biggest victory of them all was incorporating MY WIN in the post-conference news story I had to write. That's why I'm the Marketing and Communications Manager, people. A professional humblebrag sent to the 8000 people in your company? That takes real talent, thankyouverymuch.

3. Boys Town Memorial Day Run
I've been doing this five mile race off and on my whole life. For some reason, this race is always hot, windy, humid, and hilly.

Who needs a new racing uniform? I DO! Lululemon-- call me! I'll wear your stuff!

My mom and Aunt walked part of the course with the boys while I ran. They settled on spot to cheer me on. I didn't realize where they'd be, so I freaked out when I saw them. HIIIIIIIIIII! Pretty sure I confused them greatly and frightened everyone around me.

I ended up running the whole time with Raz. Our goal was 40 minutes, and we ended up almost exactly that. Go us!

Their faces say, "DOOOOOWN!" but their hearts say, "go awesome, fast, wonderful, pretty, Mommy!" Trust me. You just don't speak toddler.

In conclusion, I love love love this time of year. I'm running well, racing a ton, and spending every free moment outside. The boys are at a super fun age too. The things they say are so funny, they learn new skills lightening fast, and it warms my heart to watch their relationship grow. I'm thankful every single day that they have each other, and I'm thankful that I get to be their mom.

 More race reports to come. Including my total triathlon hack job last weekend...

My first trail race-- WHERE I WON!

*knock knock*

Is this thing on?

My original plan was to blog a race report from my first trail race in February. Then it rained/snowed and got postponed since they didn’t want to tear up the trails. I suppose I could have blogged about other things, but my life just isn’t that interesting. I run, I work, I mom, I wife, and I love every second of it. See, now you’re caught up on my life. Oh, and here’s a picture of my kids because they are freaking adorable.

Anyway, the trail race was rescheduled for Sunday at 1:00. I’d never run a mid-day race before, and the preparation was an absolute disaster. Despite The Husband encouraging me to focus on what I needed to do, I couldn’t shut off the mom switch. (That’s what you do as parents of twins. If you’re home, you’re helping.) The boys had hidden my sunglasses during a fight, I could only locate one sock, someone wanted me to read a book, someone else had dumped out my water, I’d forgotten to eat lunch-- AHHHHH!

I finally left the house frazzled, stressed, and late. This trail race seemed like a much better idea in February when I’d signed up. I’ve never run on trails before, and I had hoped the early season date would bring out some other rookies. Based on the other previous races in the series, I knew it would be really small. (25-30 people.) “Really small” can be good or bad. Good=you might win! Bad=you might be DFL! A few of the people seemed to be geared up and legit-looking. I was not one of those people.

Everyone was organized and friendly from the start. Wild Hares Racing put on a fantastic race. I found a SUPER nice group of friends at the start. They’d asked me to take their picture, and I socially latched on as payment. I tried to keep the pre-race spazzing under control as I found comfort in chatting with a very pretty girl who was also running trails for the first time.

“Five miles, the course is marked with tape/cone, ready…set…go!”

I bounced out toward the front and tried to settle in. Three things became immediately obvious:

1. Trail running requires a tremendous amount of concentration so you don’t fall on your face.
2. Garmin doesn’t work in the woods when you’re doing a million switchbacks.
3. People are right ahead and right behind you!
4. Dear God, do I always sound like this when I breathe?! (I’d purposefully gone sans music. Seemed safer and more polite.)

It was the exact opposite of how I run on the roads. I felt naked and out of my comfort zone. Totally. I passed a few people and decided I was running at a decent pace and suddenly really enjoying myself. The race director was out on a bike, and he said some nice, encouraging things too.

There were several hills, and for the most part, I did well with footing. Only tripped once and a half. I took my time going up and down the super steep parts and over the creek since I could feel my ankles and back getting tired and unstable. Suddenly, we were .2 miles from the finish and back to civilization. (Actually, the trail park is right in the middle of town. It just winds all around a square mile area. It’s super close to my house, and I had no idea it was even there.)

Anyway, I was the female winner! WOO HOO!

Okay, there were only a handful of woman racing, but still. Weeeeeee! I was expecting a giant trophy or huge medal, but alas, an envelope full of cash would have to do.

After we cheered for the other people to finish, everyone hung around to munch on food and chat a little. Maybe it was the small numbers or maybe trail people are just like that, but these people were REALLY nice. They have some local trail groups that seem like just the thing I’m looking for this year. You see, this is The Year of Trying New Running Things. I want to make friends, run faster, break out of my comfort zone, and travel to new places.

Is trail running going to be my thing? Not sure. Maybe. It's not how I usually run, but maybe that’s a good thing? Maybe this is the change-up I need? Maybe I’ll learn to love dirt? I'm not exactly a "run through the creek" kind of girl. I do sweat; I don't do mud. But maybe I could? (Anyone that knows me is shaking their head no.)

At this point, tomorrow at 11:00 will really drive how I run and race this year. 11:00 is the NYC marathon lottery drawing. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to run this. Like, my trip is already planned in my head. Pleeeeeease random.org! If I get in, I’ll likely do three marathons this summer/fall and seek out some new running friends to break up the miles. On the off-chance (okay, the major chance) I don’t get in, I’ll do one marathon and try to get back into triathlons or possibly trail running.

Either way, race season is here, and I love it.

Running (for Sherry, with co-workers, and on the trails?)

Run for Sherry
If you're part of the running/blogging community, you heard about Shut Up + Run's virtual run for Sherry. Sherry was a Montana woman (SUAR's cousin, actually) who was abducted while on a run one day and didn't come home. The whole story is beyond heartbreaking. Beyond. But out of all that sadness, SUAR created a movement of strength, hope, and love. Runners around the world ran for Sherry on Saturday, and I was proudly one of them.

It was 8 degrees, but it was sunny and calm. Perfect. I left my Garmin and headphones at home and just ran. I stopped at my favorite spot on a hill for a bit to face the sun, breath in the crisp air, and just soak in the moment. Thank you for organizing the event, SUAR. You're amazing.

Running with co-workers
I was in Denver this week for a conference, and I was able to get in a couple good runs. Day 1 wasn't the mountain run I was dreaming about, but it was a great attempt at nature for a downtown.

Day 2, however, was the real winner. One of my mucky-muck co-workers is a runner and triathlete. He and another guy were planning to run and invited me to join. Score! A.) It got me out of boring conference stuff, B.) more running!, and. C.) it was a great opportunity to chat with said mucky-mucks.

One of the guys only went a few miles, and the other guy and I ended up going 10 miles and talked the whole way. He'd obviously smoke me in a race of any kind, but I definitely held my own at a great pace. I made him work and earned his running respect.  The whole thing couldn't have worked out better. Running is the greatest. Personal AND professional benefints.

Trail race?
The more I read about people doing trail runs, the more jealous I get. It just sounds so pretty. Well, imagine my surprise when I stumbled on a trail race in 10 days that's minutes from my house. Minutes! I had no idea there were trails there. Granted, I don't think it's major climbs or rocks or roots, but who cares? I'M SO EXCITED!

Just like the time I bought a bike and decided to become a triathlete six days later, I'm going to trail race without ever having run on a real trail before. Weeeee!

Freeze your thorns off virtual race report (and tagged!)

The Boring Runner Adam was hosting a virtual race this weekend with a very cute race bib.

He lives in Arizona where it's hot and sunny all year, so I kind of hate his guts a little bit. Thankfully, he was granted a bit of a reprieve since it was mid-30s and sunny here. I got cozied up and dusted off the kitchen corner self-timer pose for the occasion. 

It was really windy, but I'll never complain about a day in January that isn't miserable cold with a foot of snow. Since my current routine is running as far and fast as I can Saturday and Sunday, paired with maybe 1-2 midweek runs, I'm plenty "tapered" by the weekend.

The race was a 5K, and I counted the ones in the middle of today's eight miles. Thanks to 1.25 miles with a fantastic tailwind, total time: 23:42. The rest of the run was wonderful too. I'm so so so ready to officially train and race. Thanks for hosting a fun event, Adam!

It's supposed to be mid-50s next week, so I'll be taking these peanuts on a few stroller runs after work for sure.

Hey, maybe we'll just skip winter all together?  I could handle that.

On a totally different note, I've been tagged! Very exciting. Thank you, Xenia.

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this’. You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

Random things about me:

1. I can't handle dishes in the kitchen sink. It stresses me out.
2. I refuse to use yellow highlighters.
3. I find both beer and wine nasty. Vodka on the other hand? Yes, please!
4. My closet is organized by sleeve length. It must be organized by sleeve length.
5. I don't type the letter P with my pinky. (I had a broken pinky during freshman computer class, so I learned how to type without it.)
6. My Christmas tree is still up. February or bust!
7. Since being pregnant two year ago, I can't drink milk or eat restaurant chinese food. Both grossed me out then, and they still gross me out now.
8. I've eaten the same thing for breakfast, seven days a week, for years.
9. I eat the same turkey sandwich for lunch 5-6 days a week.
10. I don't turn down cupcakes or pizza.
11. I had a television show in middle school, and I've done commercials my whole life.

Xenia's questions:

1. Which movie/tv show/character most resembles your life? Christina Applegate on Up All Night, I guess.


2. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? You'll always get credit for passion and effort.

3. What was your ultimate dipshit moment (so far)? Well, turning my back on the boys eating dinner tonight was pretty dipshitty. Food everywhere.

4. Marry, f*ck or kill: choose either group – (a) Val Kilmer (current, not young version), Kevin Federline and Russell Brand; (b) Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton. Kilmer- marry, Federline- f*ck, Brand- kill. He's obnoxious and filthy, so that one is a given.

5. Which country would you most likely be arrested in and/or shot at and why? Pretty sure my goodie-two-shoeness would travel with me around the globe.

6. Which person (alive or dead) would you most want to bitchslap? Pretty much every mom on Toddlers & Tiaras. (But please never stop because I LOVE that show.)

7. Which special talent or skill do you wish you had? I would love to be able to sew. I have a whole pinterest board with projects I'll never be able to do.

8. Who or what would you consider to be your archenemy? Jessica Simpson. Less so now that the world isn't enamored with her stupidity and holding her up as some role model for young girls.

9. Pop or soda? Pop, and I haven't drank it since 7th grade.

10. What’s your favorite holiday? Christmas, hands down.

11. How would you prefer the apocalypse to go down? I hope it all blows up like fireworks.


And I'm going to answer Raz's questions instead of doing #4-6. I'm such a narcissistic, rule-breaker, I know.

1.Right handed or left handed? Right handed. (Although I hit left-handed when I played softball in college.)
2.Favorite TV show? Big Bang Theory.

3.Starbucks order? I don't drink coffee, but I always get their strawberry/banana smoothies when I travel.

4.Biggest running pet peeve? I know a lady who doesn't work, has kids in school, and runs on a treadmill every day. That makes me crazy. Go. Out. Side.

5.Mac or PC? PC. Mac's scare me.

6.What is one guilty pleasure on your iPod? One? My entire iPod is a guilty pleasure. Probably the half dozen Ke$ha songs are the guilties. Throw some glitter make it rain.

7.Will the world end in 2012? How? I hope not. I'll be pissed that I saved money for my kids' college education instead of spending it on dumb stuff.

8.What's the most illegal thing you've done? Absolutely nothing, sadly. Well, my son stole some blush from Target last week. I didn't realize he had it until we got home.

9.What's the last book you read? I'm still working on The Happiest Toddler on the Block.

10.What's the last app you downloaded? An app for when babies want to play with your phone. Although I'm still desperate to find an Instagram-equivalent for blackberry.

11.Write your own question and answer it. (sorry, that's the "lazy teacher" way of asking questions) Wow, that IS lazy.

11. Dream vacation spot? Hawaii. So very very Hawaii.

Oh yeah, I forgot I have a blog

November 11th was the last post? Ouch. I've been reading blogs, I promise. I just don't have that much to talk about. (That and I started on twitter. I heart twitter. So much easier that blogging.)  Here's what I've been up to:

1. Raising year and a half year old twins.
2. Running as much as I can.
3. Working.

That's it. Clearly nothing exciting to blog about. But, I don't want to abandon the blog entirely. Even if no one reads it, it's at least a diary for me.  So here's what's rattling around in my head these days. (Nino pictures sprinkled throughout for interest.)

What I learned in 2011
This was my first full year running as a mom, and I pretty much learned that it's hard. Certainly not impossible, but hard. Part of my problem is working mom's guilt. Part of my problem is being an outside running snob. I have no problem running when it's dark and cold, but I'm obviously not going to take the boys with me like that. Then when I go by myself, I feel guilty leaving them since I do that all day. We hit a real sweet spot in the summer/fall of a ton of stroller running after work and in the mornings. I'll just have to wait for that again.

I also discovered that I can't JUST stroller run and expect to be ready to race. Learned that the hard way. Twice. Finally, I remembered how much I love running. It really feeds my soul and makes me feel like me. A potentially challenging thing when you're pulled in so many direction as a mom, wife, daughter, friend, employee, etc.

What I'm doing in 2012
Interesting question. It will go one of two ways:

1. The year of the marathon
2. The year of the triathlon

I've entered the lottery for the 2012 NYC marathon. Despite the very low odds of selection, I've read The Secret and am confident I'll get in. I mean, I really REALLY want to run this. Like, I'm using my 11:11 wish on it EVERY day. That's commitment because I have a ton of stuff to wish on. Selection notification is the end of April, and I'll be pissed if I wasted three months of wishes on something that didn't happen.

If When I get in, I'll probably run a couple marathons around here this summer/fall. It's been a few years since I've run a full marathon, so I need a few smaller tune up races in the comfy midwest before being scared to death of big, bad New York. Plus, I can't hang all my hopes on a November race. Too much pressure at the end of the season.

Now, should I not get selected into New York (as if), I'll probably focus on triathlons. My only regret in life is not doing an Ironman before having kids. I had nothing but time back then. If anyone out there is thinking about doing something they always wanted to do and they don't have kids yet, do it! Do it right now!

While I know an Ironman won't happen this year, it will happen some day. This year might be the year of sprints and oly's with a half IM in 2013. Maybe. I need to find some time to bike and swim though.

Racing in 2012
Deciding between 1 & 2 will determine my race schedule, but I know for sure that I'm doing the Lincoln Half Marathon in May. This was the first year in a long time that I got my shit together enough to be prepared. I don't train as well in March and April, but so long as I don't hate my life during the final 33% of the race, it'll be an improvement over last year.

I'll also run the Omaha half or full in the fall to see if I can best my PR from last year. If Lincoln and Omaha switched dates, that would work out much better for me. I don't really care for the Omaha course, crowd support, hoopla, etc. However, the date is perfect. I'm in fantastic shape in September.

And finally, if I don't do NYC, The Husband and I talked about taking a vacation around a race. That sounds like crazy fun, so I'm looking forward to doing some research.

So in conclusion, that's my boring life. I love reading about all the racing and training everyone is doing. It definitely keeps me motivated and gets me really exciting for spring.

B&B Off-road Race Report

I've heard about Omaha's Beer and Bagel race for a number of years.  It's very popular.  Mostly because there's beer and bagels at the end and you get to run through the woods.  I've never run it, but when some friends were coming to town to race, I joined in on the fun.

The morning was cold but sunny.  God I miss summer.  Anyway here's me lined up at the start.  That's me up front in the lilac top praying for warmth.

Actually, let's back up a little:

1. I got my wisdom teeth removed the Wednesday before the race.  Recovery has been interesting.  My teeth are fine, but still, 10 day out, I have a killer head ache.  I'd prefer to stop taking ibuprofen around the clock, but pain throbs up from my jaw, around the ears, and straight to my temples if I don't.  Add in twin toddlers who are unbelievably testing my patience right now, and well, sorry liver, I'm taking the damn drugs. 
2. Speaking of that lilac top, I found out the day before the race that Omaha has a mini Lululemon store.  Um, LOVE!  A friend posted she was there on twitter, and I couldn't get in the car fast enough.  The shirt is adorable and perfectly long. The sleeves not only have thumb holes, but they fold over your hands like infant shirts so they don't scratch their faces.  Perfect.  It wasn't cheap, but I used my birthday money.
3. What?  Birthday?  Yeah, TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!   Feel free to send presents throughout the entire month of November.

This race picture cracks me up.  I'm so fast that my head couldn't be contained in the frame.  It does give a lovely close-up of my new birthday shirt and capris.  (It also establishes my sustaining membership into the Itty Bitty Titty Committee.)

Anyway, back to the race.  The route was four miles on a golf course and through the surrounding woods.  Now, I don't do trail running.  I'd love to try it, but there just isn't any place around here to do such things.  That, and I'm kind of a scaredy cat who's convinced a forest monster could come eat me if I were alone on trails someplace.

There were some serious hills, serious uneven terrain, and serious people congestion.  I could handle the course fine, but it was tricky to navigate around people.  I prefer a giant road instead of a skinny little path behind people walking three across.  Oh, and we had to run through calf high, cold water twice.  I felt so outdoorsy!

34:16

8:34/mi

age group: 21/321

women place: 74/1263

I was pretty pleased for my first trail run.  I wish we had more, heavily populated trails around here, because I could see myself really enjoying running like that.  The post-race festivities were super fun.  Loud music, beer, and tons of people hanging out on a perfect Sunday morning.  A large cupid shuffle dance party even broke out.

I just happily hung out with friends munching on bagels.

They had a Sasquatch out on the course, so I had to get a picture with him too. 

So that's the perfect end to my 2011 racing season.  A fun morning with great friends and new running adventures. I'll definitely be back to race this again next year!  

And finally, just because this is adorable:

Bath time really is the perfect way to end the night.