I am just so so tired this morning, glad I'm not racing! Sounds like things are going well out there so far for Damaris and Lizzie, and I hope for Elina! I know I need more sleep running higher mileage, somebody just needs to explain that to the guy that falls asleep with the TV on at night and the dog that wakes up early every morning. I'm thinking about a short 10am nap.

I am supposed to run 11 with a bunch of minutes around tempo pace. It's almost 10 am and I haven't gotten out there yet. Our cold front is supposed to come through today and drop the dew point, so I think at this point I'm just going to hope that happens and run later this afternoon/evening.

Last night we went to this old car show thing they do in a parking lot not far from here. Not really my thing, but the boy seems to enjoy it. The first time we went we had dinner at the Mexican restaurant right there, and it was pretty awful. Most bland food ever. So this time we wandered down to this bar. I didn't have high hopes and it took awhile for the food because the bartender was the only one there so she had to go cook our food, but yum! I had a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and fried egg and DH had a cheeseburger. Both were super good and since neither one of use were drinking (other than diet coke), the bill was $12. Yes, $12. And we saw the end of the Astros/Yankees game there. Oh, I'm an Astros bandwagon fan now since my Cardinals kinda suck now and the Indians are out.

Too tired to scroll back and do personals. Hopefully later I'll be more with it.

karen

That. Was. Tough. Found the 2:00 pacer in my starting wave and tried to hang on to him, but it felt tough from the very start. Body was in shock from the pace+heat combo (I hadn't ran such pace for more than 2k since March and don't even get me started w the temperature - after ankle injury I hardly did any summer runs that would be close to +20*C; and any runs anywhere near those temps were 5 max. And yes - miniKK on board). So, looking back at the decision to try 2:00 - it was pretty much, meh, will give it a go and what happens - happens; not a rational decision. Despite that, up to 9k mark or so I felt I could do it - w a bit of struggle but doable. Got worse from there on and at around 13k mark I realised I have to let the 2hr goal go if I want to finish at all, so dropped the pace quite sharply, to around 10:15min/mile. Last 7k, even running comparitively slower, were enormous test of willpower - heat and the fast start (can only blame myself). About 2 or 3 times I was really close to saying - enough - but kept going and also told myself to not walk (except for water stations), because I know myself too well  - that would be game over. So, kept monitoring the pace to stay under the "second" time goal - 2:10. Had a little chat w a guy from Rotterdam, which made some of the kms go faster. Passed a basketball player (he said he's 7ft tall) and jokingly asked if I could hide in his shadow, to which the Rotterdam dude said that "if were you I'd just ask him to carry you" At one point near the finish I said in quite desperate tone "I am not bloody used to these damn temperatures" and a guy behind me answered "No one is!" (After discussing the race w locals at the finish area it turned out it's not usual for this time of the year for Amsterdam either. Normal temps would be 13-14, so what we had in Latvia 3wks ago or so).  Also, thank you, personalised numbers, because the guy at around 17th km who saw how tough things are going for me and shouted "Go Elina and the little racer!" was a HUGE cheerup Last 2k went quite fast and finishing in Amsterdam Olympic Stadium felt superawesome! (Stadium finishes rock in general). So, 2:06 finish time! For supercompetitive me it's actually nice to *not* reach the "stretch" goal, because in previous races it's been 3/3. Have to get used to this as well. Hubby ran the full in 3:20, so happy for him! His start was a lot earlier than HM start so he was there waiting at finish (well, 20th km) w a sign "You look great when you're sweaty and working out", which, as it turns out, he had traded from some ppl for 3 beers! He's the best He has tomorrow off too, so expecting lots of "everything hurts" hours under blankets watching movies/NHL replays, debating who's turn it is now to go get more Coke/tea/snacks. All in all I didn't regret doing this race at all We managed to catch the flight (no time for showers or anything) thanks to helpful locals. Apparently our Latvian blabber made them think we're Italian. The guy from US at expo said I have Irish accent, tho. Go figure Rest time! Will see if 2-3 recovery miles tomorrow eve (at normal goddamn temps!!!!! ) would be smart or it's better to take a "zero day".

I'm back! My RBs and I ran the Detroit international HM this morning. I did not see Damaris. 😄 Not my best run with the warm temp and humidity but still an awesome race.  Crossing the Ambassador Bridge into Canada is so cool.  I tried compression calf sleeves after the race and my legs feel great.  This HM was our last big race of the year, now we are on the lookout for a fun HM (or two) for next year. Thinking we would like one race to be a trail run.

Congrats to Lizzie and Damaris on your marathons and Kilmisters on the HM!!! Sorry Damaris, but when the marathon runners split off to the left I didn't feel bad about heading to the right.

Bad storm at the cottage knocked out the electricity today so I stopped and packed up the freezer on my way home from Detroit. Good thing the cottage is only 1/2 hour drive from the farm because I didn't have a cooler with me.  This crazy weather.

I have never heard of offices without assigned spaces.  Interesting concept.  The majority of our staff would not adapt well to this setup.  But we do not allow work from home because of the type of work we perform.

Karen, hope your cold front comes through.  I like warm weather but Texas sounds too warm and humid  me.

Sue, the costumes were great. I see why Snow White won. Congrats on AG win!

Diane, your walking program sounds like a good alternative plan. One of my RB's has some heart issues and closely monitors her HR. Today her hand swelled dramatically during HM and her HR dropped to 117 which is low for how hard she was running. She backed off and walked the last few miles.

Arimathea, was the tea a social event or fundraiser? 160 scones is a lot of scones!  I was sad to see our local coffee house close because they made the best scones.

Kats, that is odd about ordering food before the posted meetup time. Kind of like starting a meeting or movie before the posted time.  It doesn't seem very welcoming.

Hello, to everyone else!   I brought work home which isn't going to get done unless I get moving.

Kathy

4 easy miles for me. Should have skipped watching the end of the Ravens game.

DH's company has gone to the no assigned desks. He tends to work from home a lot. He's never mentioned not having a space when he goes to Chicago, not sure if that gets weird. I would assume people start to have their favorite space.

CrazySue, love the costumes!

KIlmisters, nice race! Impressive time considering the heat & the extra passenger. Congrats to DH as well.

Huron Heart, nice race! I saw a picture of the bridge and I don't think I would like that much. Heights don't bother me, but crowds and small spaces do.

Docket, nice race!

Lizzie, congrats on the race!

25.7 done. LOL. Race was short. Of course I am reading all over the Facebook page that they are standing true to it being the correct length. But...I don't think so. Maybe if it was just one person...SUCKS. I will have to do another WI race but that is not necessarily a bad thing  

My official time was 4:19 - CRUSHED. Even if I had gone the FUL 26.2 I still would have made my goal. 

I am not really good at race reports. But I will say this was the toughest race I have ever done. Not course wise..but effort wise. I can see why I don't do goal races, because they suck. LOL. Weather I am sure had something to do with it. This Virginiain isn't used to 30mph winds! Usually when we get those winds its a thunderstorm Becuase of the wind I started with the 4:30 pace group. I was hoping I could draft off of some of them for a while..and its a good thing I did because my stupid HEAPHONES would NOT work. Considering I bought them yesterday..uhm..it was obviously my iphone. Which apparently had an update to fix that issue that I missed. So I ran this entire race without headphones...new for me. Anywho..being in the pace group was nice because I was listening to everyone conversations Plus, without headphones I saw a lot of the Milwaukee sights..including the Millercoors place and it smelt like DELICIOUS BEER. OMG. I was craving it after that.

I started feeling like absolute CRAP about mile 17...my legs were done - I am thinking the wind just took everything out of me. I started getting a little dizzy and was just feeling "off". i kept going though. I kept pushing. About mile 17 I passed the 4:30 group and thinking about it now..I should have stuck with them for a little while longer. I hit the wall shortly after..but I did see Cathy around mile 20..I told her "I AM PUSHING" LOL! She was like, "huh?!" hahaha. I was exhausted at that point. Offically hit the wall around 21...this is when I could have used my HEADPHONES..because the thoughts running through my head were awful. i was about ready to cry..but I said SHUT UP LIZ AND GO! So...I made it!! I was shocked I made it in that time..but knew the course was short. Either way I stuck to the plan and did 4:30 until later in the race and then sped it up. Thats usually how I always do it! I heard someone in my pace group say..”I have to remember that its supposed to feel like this, hard”. I kept that in mind as I was suffering. LOL. 

I am thinking the issue with the course happened around 21-22 mile mark. We hit 23 WAY too soon. I thought maybe someone moved the sign and it would get corrected when we got to 24. Nope! At that point I was like SCREW THIS JUST GET ME TO THE FINISH LINE.

I am happy with the time but disappointed I felt so AWFUL. I am thinking I should have eaten more during miles 10-20...I think I only ate once. In fact after the race HCBF and I went to go grab coffee after the ..and we get into the coffee shop and are waiting in line and I turn to him and say.."I don't feel good at all" and I felt bad because he hadn't eaten..and he was going to get breakfast..but I could hardly stand up. I got orange juice and I went to the bathroom and started to pass out!!! I guzzled some OJ and HCBF practically had to carry me to the car..when we got home I cuddled up on the bathroom floor and had the shakes and freezing. HCBF was awesome. He sat there with me and rubbed my back and was trying to make me laugh. I took a shower and fell asleep for an hour and felt much better afterwords. 

I think the wind resistance had a lot to do with it too…I was pushing hard against it and not eating enough..just a tough effort!

We went to a friend of HCBFs after that and hung out for a while and then we just grabbed Italian! OMG Spaghetti and meatballs really hit the spot for me! That was the only thing I ate all day besides my running fuel!

Camille - I am sorry to hear about your mom. I am glad she is turning the corner. That is odd about your brother and sister.

Ginny - I think it was smart not to run in that heat! You wouldn’t have enjoyed it. I hope you have a good weekend with your friends!

Damaris - CONGRATULATIONS on a great race!!! Wow, impressive after you ran a great race last weekend.

Margaret - I am glad you are safe from the fires! How is the comeback coming along?

Marjorie - Good to hear from you!

Kathryn - I probably wouldn’t go to that meet up group anymore just for the fact that they didnt wait! That is kind of rude! Glad the massage was decent.

Tessa - Clotted cream?! What is that?! Nevermind I read your post from today! Interesting..I have never heard of it. Glad the tea was a success. Oh no! Poor Lizzie!!

Carol - I have had the Pittsburgh Marathon on my list but I can’t remember why I decided not to do it. Are you looking for another marathon?

Diane - Nice job on the walk!

Lori - HOW AWESOME that you saw Damaris!!! So cool

Susan - OMG I love the costumes!!! Congrats on the 2nd in AG!

Sandy - Wow, that must have been a hardcore workout on Friday! Nice long run yesterday - and 10 is long!! And MCM is next weekend! WOOHOOOO!!!! Are you ready? Do you have a goal of any kind???

Karen - YES…I would say you need extra sleep with all that mileage Oh wow that bar sounds awesome. Egg on a grilled cheese sandwich!? That would be interesting..I would try that! And for 12$ SCORE!!! Hopefully you were able to get that run in this afternoon.

Kilmisters - WOW, great job on the half!! That is very impressive! Especially with those temps and the extra person you are carrying. Really awesome, CONGRATS! And 3:20 for your DH?! GOOD LORD he is fast!!! Congrats to him as well! Hope you rest and eat and all that good stuff

Cathy - Awe, thanks. And I can’t stop saying how thankful I am that you were there! Meant a lot! I will remember that “I’m so proud of you” for a lonnnggg time. I’ve always looked up to you and how well you run and do the training to a T..so it meant a lot. I am wearing my bracelet right now! OH I found a cupcake

Run4kupcakes - I am with you on the big crowds in small spaces. Well, heights bother me too.

HuronHeart - Congrats on a great race!!! I think Detroit needs to be on my list..I would love to run some of the race in Canada! I love compression sleeves! I always wear them during a race. I feel like it helps prevent shin splints

Where is Laura? Oh yeah, camping. Hope you had a good time! Hope the weather wasn’t awful.

I am off to relax and eat a cupcake. Richmond Marathon is next! Wooot! 3 weeks. I am basically just going to taper again..I may try a shakeout run Tuesday since we are traveling Wednesday. We will see how my body feels tomorrow. Richmond will just be for fun..or will it?

Have a great night everyone! And the Facebook support and forum support is so freaking awesome. I love all of you! I could not have done this today if it wasn’t for all of you!!