While out on my snowy 8-mile run this morning one thought kept going through my head: Someday I will become an ultra-runner. I don't know necessarily when, but someday-hopefully in the near future- I WILL complete an ultra-marathon. I want to be that hardcore. And you know, I like to get what I want.
Carry on.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Marathon Relay Recap
*Repost from FitMilwaukee.com.
What's that you say? How did the marathon relay go? Well if you managed to avoid our bombardment of tweets and Facebook statuses this weekend I'll recap a bit for you. First of all, the race was an absolute blast. Our two teams ran strong the entire 26.2 miles. Fit Milwaukee Team 1 had a finish time of 3:32:34 and Fit Milwaukee Team 2 came in at 4:04:01- 28th and 49th places respectively out of 68 teams. Not too shabby! Combined together we make two lean, mean, marathon running machines. What was so special about this event though, was that it didn't matter whether you ran a 6 minute mile or a 15 minute mile- the spirit of camaraderie at the Pettit Center was absolutely contagious that afternoon. Sure, there were elite runners there who blew our times away but the great thing about the sport of running is that ANYONE can participate. All levels of runners were there and they were all incredible.
For the race, each team member was responsible for completing just over 6.5 miles. Our strategy was to break this down even further into two 3.25 mile legs. This way it wasn't as daunting to those who had never ran that far yet and you also got a good amount of rest in between the two sets. 3.25 miles worked out to 12 laps around the track- which meant 12 times by the awesome Fit Milwaukee cheering section. The support from the people who came out to cheer us on was amazing and gave each runner an undeniable lift. When the last couple of runners crossed the finish line the feeling in the room was electric. I have no doubt that some of those great individual pace times would not have been achieved without the energy from the crowd.
All in all this was a fantastic race and you can be sure that Fit Milwaukee will be there next year as well- hopefully with even more teams. Much thanks to The Pettit Center and race director Chris Ponteri for putting on such a fantastic event. And also thanks to our official race documenters, Jim Raffel, Scott Feldstein, Brennan Stehling and Kay Collins for the photos and videos. Speaking of which, you can check out the lot of them here:
Race photos from Scott Feldstein
Race photos from Kay Collins
JIm Raffel's video mashup of the indoor marathon relay:
Jim also had some kind words about Fit Milwaukee in general that you can view here.
Once again, congratulations to everyone who participated and let's keep the movement going!
This is my "How many laps do I have left? face.
What's that you say? How did the marathon relay go? Well if you managed to avoid our bombardment of tweets and Facebook statuses this weekend I'll recap a bit for you. First of all, the race was an absolute blast. Our two teams ran strong the entire 26.2 miles. Fit Milwaukee Team 1 had a finish time of 3:32:34 and Fit Milwaukee Team 2 came in at 4:04:01- 28th and 49th places respectively out of 68 teams. Not too shabby! Combined together we make two lean, mean, marathon running machines. What was so special about this event though, was that it didn't matter whether you ran a 6 minute mile or a 15 minute mile- the spirit of camaraderie at the Pettit Center was absolutely contagious that afternoon. Sure, there were elite runners there who blew our times away but the great thing about the sport of running is that ANYONE can participate. All levels of runners were there and they were all incredible.
For the race, each team member was responsible for completing just over 6.5 miles. Our strategy was to break this down even further into two 3.25 mile legs. This way it wasn't as daunting to those who had never ran that far yet and you also got a good amount of rest in between the two sets. 3.25 miles worked out to 12 laps around the track- which meant 12 times by the awesome Fit Milwaukee cheering section. The support from the people who came out to cheer us on was amazing and gave each runner an undeniable lift. When the last couple of runners crossed the finish line the feeling in the room was electric. I have no doubt that some of those great individual pace times would not have been achieved without the energy from the crowd.
All in all this was a fantastic race and you can be sure that Fit Milwaukee will be there next year as well- hopefully with even more teams. Much thanks to The Pettit Center and race director Chris Ponteri for putting on such a fantastic event. And also thanks to our official race documenters, Jim Raffel, Scott Feldstein, Brennan Stehling and Kay Collins for the photos and videos. Speaking of which, you can check out the lot of them here:
Race photos from Scott Feldstein
Race photos from Kay Collins
JIm Raffel's video mashup of the indoor marathon relay:
Jim also had some kind words about Fit Milwaukee in general that you can view here.
Once again, congratulations to everyone who participated and let's keep the movement going!
This is my "How many laps do I have left? face.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Speedy McGavin
Running my first leg of the indoor marathon relay at the Pettit Center yesterday. Thanks to Kay for the photo!
Hopefully I'll get some photos of the whole team up soon. Yesterday was a totally awesome Fit Milwaukee lovefest. I am a lucky girl.
Hopefully I'll get some photos of the whole team up soon. Yesterday was a totally awesome Fit Milwaukee lovefest. I am a lucky girl.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009 Top 10
I'm totally copying some friends of mine and doing my own Top 10 list for the year. (Disclaimer: My family is always above everything on this list and blah blah blah so they don't have their own individual slot but for the record they are tippity-tops.)
10. Volunteering I spent most Fridays this year helping out in Ava's kindergarten class. At first, 30+ kindergartners in a small enclosed space was overwhelming but now it's the best thing when one of her friends spends the night at my house and still calls me "Miss Tracey". Plus, I get to pretend I'm Billy Madison every time I ride the school bus on field trips. In the last two months of this year I also started volunteering at the food pantry in Bay View and I stepped up to be co-leader for Ava's Daisy Scout troop. We'll see what new adventures that will bring.
9. Seeing my BFF graduate nursing school. Steph used to always go on about how she had never graduated anything before. Well she can't say that anymore! The speech she gave at the pinning ceremony had me, and many others, in tears. I'm like a proud proud mama when it comes to her accomplishments and now my best friend of twenty years is a freaking nurse!
8. Kentucky Road Trip It may sound a bit weird but Jason and I go on vacations specifically to eat. This year we drove to Louisville and had one of the best meals ever at the Seelbach Hotel. Yep, four star dining in Kentucky. Whoulda thought? Touring the Woodford Reserve distillery was the icing on the cake. Now if only we could bring home a barrel in 2010.
7. Eating Well. I can't say this enough times but I'm so glad that I finally started appreciating good food. Some of my favorites this year were the of course Seelbach, Carnevor, Lake Park Bistro and the James Beard Foundation dinner at Bacchus. We also enjoyed places like Hinterland, Mr B's, Saketumi and Balzac. Good times. (Also, good thing I like to work out so much.)
6. The Presidential Inauguration in D.C. This was one of the most amazing things I've ever been a part of and I'm so glad we were able to to take the girls with. I will never get over how full of joy that mob of a million people was and it was beyond worth it to be smooshed for a few hours. When I see photos or video of that day on tv it still seems unreal that we were there. This has been a rough year for our country but I have faith that we will pull through and recapture that feeling of hope and elation again. Rock it, B-rock.
5. Blogging I found my blogging voice again! It started with Milwaukee Moms and now Fit Milwaukee really seems to be taking off. We have so many plans for fitMKE in 2010- from the weight loss challenge to sponsoring our own race. Everyone working on it is pumped. Much thanks to Brennan for brining everyone together to work on the project!
4. Becoming a "Real" Runner You knew this was coming. Although I ran my first 5K in September of 2008 I dont feel like I really came into my own as a runner until this year. At my last count I ran 10 races since April from ( 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon) and I'm getting ready for my final race of the year this morning. I'm so glad that I challenged myself to do this and it's been so rewarding in every sense. I've logged 1,000 miles since I started keeping track on April 1st so who knows what's in store for next year?
3. The Badgerland Striders I don't know if you know this about me but I'm a total hermit. After living in Milwaukee for four years I've always felt like I've had a hard time making friends until I joined the marathon build up runs. I was SO nervous that first Saturday like I was a little kid. Turns out our little group of 10 minute milers stuck together all summer, through thick and thin and crossed the finish line together! I love that Anne and I have kept up the Saturday long runs post-marathon even in the freezing cold and I can't wait to meet up again with some of the others again to start training for the spring marathon.
2. Lakefront MarathonThe absolute highlight of my running year. I can never thank my bestest running buddy Anne enough for convincing me to do it. I doubt I will ever feel like I did at the finish line again when I saw that little crowd of people holding signs with MY name. I'm sure going to try though.
1. The Internet. (Specifically Daily Mile and above all Twitter.) In case I haven't said this enough, I'm a total introvert. This year the Internet really brought me out of my shell- not only online but in real life. Every day I login to Daily Mile and am inspired and motivated by the people I've connected with on there. And Twitter? I've met some of the most amazing people this year on Twitter that I can't even begin to name them all because I'm sure i"ll leave somebody out. I've been fortunate to meet many of them outside of just on the computer screen and I hope to meet many more in the coming year. Milwaukee Tweeps are the best! Holla.
10. Volunteering I spent most Fridays this year helping out in Ava's kindergarten class. At first, 30+ kindergartners in a small enclosed space was overwhelming but now it's the best thing when one of her friends spends the night at my house and still calls me "Miss Tracey". Plus, I get to pretend I'm Billy Madison every time I ride the school bus on field trips. In the last two months of this year I also started volunteering at the food pantry in Bay View and I stepped up to be co-leader for Ava's Daisy Scout troop. We'll see what new adventures that will bring.
9. Seeing my BFF graduate nursing school. Steph used to always go on about how she had never graduated anything before. Well she can't say that anymore! The speech she gave at the pinning ceremony had me, and many others, in tears. I'm like a proud proud mama when it comes to her accomplishments and now my best friend of twenty years is a freaking nurse!
8. Kentucky Road Trip It may sound a bit weird but Jason and I go on vacations specifically to eat. This year we drove to Louisville and had one of the best meals ever at the Seelbach Hotel. Yep, four star dining in Kentucky. Whoulda thought? Touring the Woodford Reserve distillery was the icing on the cake. Now if only we could bring home a barrel in 2010.
7. Eating Well. I can't say this enough times but I'm so glad that I finally started appreciating good food. Some of my favorites this year were the of course Seelbach, Carnevor, Lake Park Bistro and the James Beard Foundation dinner at Bacchus. We also enjoyed places like Hinterland, Mr B's, Saketumi and Balzac. Good times. (Also, good thing I like to work out so much.)
6. The Presidential Inauguration in D.C. This was one of the most amazing things I've ever been a part of and I'm so glad we were able to to take the girls with. I will never get over how full of joy that mob of a million people was and it was beyond worth it to be smooshed for a few hours. When I see photos or video of that day on tv it still seems unreal that we were there. This has been a rough year for our country but I have faith that we will pull through and recapture that feeling of hope and elation again. Rock it, B-rock.
5. Blogging I found my blogging voice again! It started with Milwaukee Moms and now Fit Milwaukee really seems to be taking off. We have so many plans for fitMKE in 2010- from the weight loss challenge to sponsoring our own race. Everyone working on it is pumped. Much thanks to Brennan for brining everyone together to work on the project!
4. Becoming a "Real" Runner You knew this was coming. Although I ran my first 5K in September of 2008 I dont feel like I really came into my own as a runner until this year. At my last count I ran 10 races since April from ( 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon) and I'm getting ready for my final race of the year this morning. I'm so glad that I challenged myself to do this and it's been so rewarding in every sense. I've logged 1,000 miles since I started keeping track on April 1st so who knows what's in store for next year?
3. The Badgerland Striders I don't know if you know this about me but I'm a total hermit. After living in Milwaukee for four years I've always felt like I've had a hard time making friends until I joined the marathon build up runs. I was SO nervous that first Saturday like I was a little kid. Turns out our little group of 10 minute milers stuck together all summer, through thick and thin and crossed the finish line together! I love that Anne and I have kept up the Saturday long runs post-marathon even in the freezing cold and I can't wait to meet up again with some of the others again to start training for the spring marathon.
2. Lakefront MarathonThe absolute highlight of my running year. I can never thank my bestest running buddy Anne enough for convincing me to do it. I doubt I will ever feel like I did at the finish line again when I saw that little crowd of people holding signs with MY name. I'm sure going to try though.
1. The Internet. (Specifically Daily Mile and above all Twitter.) In case I haven't said this enough, I'm a total introvert. This year the Internet really brought me out of my shell- not only online but in real life. Every day I login to Daily Mile and am inspired and motivated by the people I've connected with on there. And Twitter? I've met some of the most amazing people this year on Twitter that I can't even begin to name them all because I'm sure i"ll leave somebody out. I've been fortunate to meet many of them outside of just on the computer screen and I hope to meet many more in the coming year. Milwaukee Tweeps are the best! Holla.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Happy 6th Birthday Ava!
Here's the video I made for Ava's birthday. I didn't get a title sequence on it yet so that's why it's black at the beginning but otherwise, enjoy!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Don't Be A Jerk, It's Christmas
This is so my favorite Christmas Song right now! I am such a sucker for Spongebob. "Tis the season to be jolly, not jerky....
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Making Christmas
I am a Christmas-making MACHINE! Once I set my mind to something I tend to overdo it and holiday preparations are no exception. It's not that I'm necessarily trying to be Supermom but once I get in a particular mode I just go into ultra-mega-overdrive. This week I decided that Thou Shalt Be Christmatized and attacked my surroundings appropriately. Christmas lights up on the porch? Check. Candied pecans in the oven? Check. Christmas card photo and 2010 calendars printed, gingerbread house decorated and Christmas tree bedazzled? Checkity-check-check. Mom: 1 Christmas: 0. Wait. That doesn't sound right. Let's just say we are all winners! Oh and did I mention that I ordered almost all my gifts online already? Double win! I'm not trying to gloat, I just figure that I'm going to be coming down from this high soon and I want to remember this feeling when my cats have torn down the tree and I haven't wrapped a single item at midnight on the 23rd. Until somebody invents a way to bottle efficiency I'm savoring the moments I can get. Now if you'll excuse me I have some peanut blossoms to bake.
*This post is from MilwaukeeMoms.com.
*This post is from MilwaukeeMoms.com.
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