Brushing off some dust

Why, hello there.

As usual with any kind of blogging hiatus, I had about 10 different points in which I was going to come back here and post and something got in the way. So, here I sit, 6 months since my last post, coming back to this.

I am not going to completely recap the last 6 months. For one, it's too much time to properly fit in to one post. Secondly, most of the people who would read this either follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or in real life, so you know most of the details. In case there are a few who stumble here who would like the blank filled in, here are the major points:

Running:
~I officially finished my first marathon. It wasn't the race I had originally signed up for, the Walker North Country Marathon, but rather the Thunder Bay "Miles With the Giant" Marathon. I just had fun with it, dropping any notions of a time goal after training wasn't anywhere near solid or consistent. Official finish time was 3:58:21. I had fun, and the bug bit hard, I am gunning to find marathon #2.

~Went back to Marquette and ran the half there again. 1:54:10, ran it as my last double digit before what I thought would be Walker. Not thrilled, but it was a solid training run if you look at it from that angle.

~I hit my mileage goal for 2012 on 12/20. 1000 miles. At a few points, it looked like it was not going to happen without some monster runs in the later months. What I discovered was that even just getting out for a half hour consistently helped me get there more than anything.

~I ran my first official, non-NMTC, trail race. It was the Harder'n'He!! Half Marathon, and it truly lived up to its name. Killer hills, rocky single track, lots of falling. So much pain, but it was pretty great, too.

Life:
~My store helped produce the Superior Man Tri this summer. Craziness. Pandemonium. Chaos. But, I learned so much. And, when I got to put the finisher medal on the final finisher--a 74 year old man--it made the whole thing worth it for me. I can't see a 70.3 on my schedule any time soon, but it was really neat to see all the behind-the-scenes of a Triathlon.

~Honeymoon out west. I fell in love with Portland, OR. Head over heels. What a fantastic city. I also got to see the city in which my mother was born (Port Angeles, WA), and run along both the Willamette River and the Puget Sound, as well as see an MLS (Go, Timbers!) and a CFL (Go, BC Lions!) game. Such a great adventure out there.

~ (Obligatory mention of married life). So far, so good. We still like each other, we're still having fun. It hasn't been without a few bumps, but it wasn't anything different than we experienced as a dating couple or an engaged couple. I'll tell you what, though--it is nice to have that wedding in the rearview mirror. The event was awesome, but I was so over the planning portion. It's nice to just be able to enjoy being together and going about our life. My new name seems to be a bit hard to wrap minds around. Mispronunciations, forgetting about the fact I hyphenated, not being sure how to address envelopes to both of us... oh well. It is my name, and I like that I represent two pretty cool families with it.




So, now that 2013 is here, what is on the docket?
~Two mileage goals. First, I'd like to consistently put in a minimum of 100 miles a month. I know if I knuckle down, focus, and make sure I get out consistently this will be easy to attain. I just can't slack. Secondly, I would like to hit 1500 miles on the year. I almost feel as if I'm shooting a bit high on that, but I'd rather aim high and miss than aim low and not feel satisfied. Besides, if I'm shooting for 1500, which is 125 miles/month, then it makes hitting 100 miles/month almost a given. So, either or.
~Crack 1:45 for the half marathon. I'm going back to Bayshore and may or may not be going back to Marquette. That goal has been taunting me since Bayshore in 2011, and I'd like to finally check that one off my list.
~Marathon #2. For a while, I thought I'd be heading west for this and running the Columbia Gorge Marathon.  However, a long look at the finances and a chat with Brandon resulted in me shelving that idea until 2014. I'm currently researching fall marathons in Michigan, so I can have my family at the finish line of this one. (Running my first in Canada meant that I didn't get a chance to talk to my family until a few hours after I ran, which I was not OK with.)

And, so this post isn't entirely me talking at you, I leave you with a picture. Me crossing the finish line at Thunder Bay, officially adding my name to the ranks of those who completed 26.2:

And, I promise--somewhat more consistent posting in 2013.

"It's a New Life for Me, and I'm Feelin' Good"

Ladies and gentlemen, this happened:

Our wedding, much like every race I have ever ran, was completely worth all the stress, all the work, all the sleepless nights, all the everything. It was worth it because it was amazing. I could talk about the week leading up to it--the parties, the lack of sleep, the over-caffeination due to said lack of sleep, the panic when we found out we might have to wait until the following Monday for a marriage license (and the sweet relief when we were able to get it), but then I would be here for days. I will just say these things:

~I have an amazing family. I really do. They worked their asses off for a year and a half to pull this off, and I will forever be in their debt for that.

~I have truly great friends, who I could never live without, and being able to celebrate with them just made the whole event sweeter.

~Trail running, I feel, adequately prepared me for tearing 1/4 mile through the woods to where we hid our car while wearing a wedding dress and sparkly ballet flats. Mercifully, I didn't fall for once. 

~I am FINALLY Brandon's wife. I have only been wanting to be able to say that for the better part of 3 years, and I am still beside myself happy that I wasn't dreaming this time and we actually are married. 

Unfortunately, while I was in TC gearing up for our wedding, this happened:

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Massive, catastrophic flooding here in Duluth. Damage in the millions of dollars, tens of millions. Parks, roads, homes, businesses destroyed. It was killing me being back in MI in the sunshine and seeing this on the news, knowing that this time while I was watching coverage of a disaster, it wasn't unknown locations and anonymous faces I was seeing. I could point out every place I saw. I knew the things I was seeing. My new home was in trouble, and I wasn't there to help. Furthermore, my groom was still there. Thankfully, my friends and co-workers were OK, Brandon made it out (though he did have to caulk the wagons and ford a few rivers to do so), and both my homes in Duluth (the apartment and DRC) are OK. The trails are going to need some help, though, and I have my name on a list to do so. Life in Duluth goes on, and it will all be OK.

(Also, if you're in Duluth--there will be a benefit concert next weekend for flood victims as part of the Twin Ports Bridge Festival. $35 daily pass/$60 weekend, and all proceeds on Sunday go to a long term flood relief fund. Good music for a good cause = very much yes.)

Lastly--this is officially underway:

Hello, marathon training plan! Thanks, little sister!

In short--despite the chaos of a week ago, life is about as good as it gets right now. I'm married. I'm in marathon training. I'm back to my pretty awesome full time job. I have everything I desperately wanted 2 years ago. Life is so good.

"What If It All Goes Right?"

My last race as Lindsey Goss is in the books.

1:48:48. My first half in which I did not PR, but 7 seconds away from doing so? I'm more than OK with this, especially when you factor in the week that has been.
Before the race itself, tied in with packet pick up, is the Essentia Health Fitness and Health Expo. For us at the store, it's been weeks of getting ready, 3 days of pricing, sorting, and packing, and then 2 days of shoe slinging chaos. I worked somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 hours in the 2 days leading up to the run, and was at nearly 50 including the rest of the week before.
Yeah, I was tired.

Race morning wasn't too hectic. I had the forethought to get my packet right away Thursday and pack everything that night, including a drop bag to leave at DRC so I could clean up and change there rather than fight my way back from my apartment. Wake up call came at 4:00am, but I was already awake at 3:45 and just fighting it. I had some coffee, and toast with this stuff (which might be one of the best discoveries I have ever made):

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So good. I also had a small pouch of that which I ate on its own about 45 minutes before the run started. 

I will say this: I have never prepped nor ran a "bigger" race without my family there, and I really, really wished at least one of them was with me yesterday. I was a jittery, sleep-deprived, emotional basketcase. I lose 2 points in the "being an adult" category, but it's the truth.

I made it out on one of the first busses from the DECC to the starting line. True confession time: I cry before every race over 10K. It's odd, I have no explanation for WHY it happens, but it does. So I was the crazy lady with her headphones on, sitting in the 1 person seat in the back of the bus, quietly crying like a 3 year old for the entire ride. 

I was not a fan of the starting area, to be quite honest. I understand why they have to set up the way they do, and I will not cut them down for it, but I wasn't a fan. Sweatbags had to be dropped by 6:00am, so in the name of not literally chilling in just my race singlet and shorts for the next 45 minutes, I sacrificed one of my old cotton race shirts in the name of warmth. Also, they wanted us to be in the starting area by 6:15, and I wasn't sure where and how to go about warming up so a warm up was non-existent. Also, being that I was standing near the edge of the chute, I was constantly being pelted by people flinging shirts, bottles, and empty gel packets. (Pigs.)

This was nice: when they said the race started at 6:45, they weren't joking. 6:44:52, things kicked off. True to form, I had no idea anything started--the crowd started cheering and moving forward, so I went with them. I was about 1:40 back from the line. I was slightly bummed in that my Garmin seems to be punking out and wasn't holding a satellite connection until .1 out, so my splits weren't going to be right. That may have worked in my favor--I just glanced to see what my pace was from time to time and trusted the course mile markers. PS--balloons? Genius idea. You could see the markers quite a distance away. I was a fan.

I felt pretty decent up until mile 9. Gelled it at 6, alternated water and Powerade until 10. Between 8 and 10 I kept running in to my old boss from back in Marquette, and we agreed that we'd be good training partners for each other if only we were still in the same town. She finished about 2 minutes ahead of me clock time, but all things shaking out with gun vs chip time we finished with the exact same time. 

Anyway, I hit my usual wheels off at mile 9. I could tell I was slowing down significantly and I was not feeling good anymore. Though, I must have been hiding it well, because this picture does not show a woman who feels bad:

(This is coming by DRC and high-fiving all my co-workers. 2.6 to go.)

The last bit reminded me a lot of the Cherry Festival races, in that you're going through downtown and there are people everywhere cheering for you. Brandon waited for me at DRC, then biked down to catch me at the finish line, where even though I was rolling 8:40's by then I eked out a decent finish.

I should note here that as I came around on to Railroad St, a certain Journey song that I have adopted as my power anthem came on my iPod. I finished my last race as Lindsey Goss with "Don't Stop Believing" playing. It was perfect. 

The clock said just over 1:50 and my Garmin said just over 1:47, so I knew I was in the high 1:48-low 1:49 range. Brandon was tracking me on his phone and had my official time ready for me after I crossed. 

I was very, very happy to be that close to my PR. Training this spring was not the best, so to be able to match last year's times at this level of fitness is a good sign that something had been going right in there somewhere. 

Overall conclusion: I would definitely run this race again, with this stipulation: I will not run it again as long as I'm working at DRC. It's too much with the expo and race weekend store traffic to throw that all in. I'd like another crack at it when I'm rested and had good training under my belt. Also, going to work right after a race like that is just plain no fun. It was a good thing I was in the back just checking stuff back in to inventory, because I was one grouchy, nasty little lady.

So, with that--the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and my last race as Lindsey Goss is in the record books:

Marathon training starts Tuesday, and life as Lindsey Goss-Maurisak starts on Saturday. Bring on the next adventure!

"My Kind of Crazy"

Highlights from this week:

~Marathon training plan is officially in the works, courtesy of my sister, and will be kicking off post-marital shindig.

~NMTC Finale:

Photo courtesy Eve Stein

   In which it was uphill both ways, I ran a somewhat decent race (if not just had a fantastic prowl through the woods with a co-worker's wife/new friend), and left with a full pizza, a rather large tub of hummus, a bottle of tea, and this little bad-boy courtesy of the series finale prizes:

Heck yes, little Brooks flask!!

~I had a man who was an ordained minister of the church of Dudeism offer to marry a coworker and me, and then proceeded to flip his shit when he found out of my impending shindig and offer to officiate. Dude. Where were you a  year ago?? (Kidding. KIDDING! Pastor Carolyn is the best, there's no one else I'd rather have running that show. It would just be hilarious, that's all.)

~More new kicks!

   Brooks PureGrit before Taisha and I went and played in Hartley:

   Brooks PureGrit after Taisha and I went and played in Hartley:

Hooray, mud!!

So, here I am, on a quiet Sunday morning. I'm sipping my coffee before heading out for a 7 mile run, staring down the barrel of two crazy weeks. At the halfway point of the madness is a finish line. At the end is the beginning of the rest of my life. (OK, ew, that last one was cheesy. Sorry about that.) Along the way, there will be a 55 hour work week, a 3 hour bus ride and 3 hour flight, 2 smaller parties, and not a  lot of sleep. Either way, it's going to be madness. It's going to be fun. I'm ready to get this started. 

"You've Gotta Get A Little Mud On The Tires..."

One of the definite perks of my job is that day when a vendor or company rep asks for my size and hands me a piece of gear. The best of the best are the times when that happens and it's a pair of shoes.

Case in point, yesterday. Our Saucony guy was kind enough to give me a pair of Kinvara 3's. And they were pretty.

Despite all of my initial reservations about using a neutral shoe when I am a serial over-pronator (I mean, I'm a past user of motion control beauties like the Saucony Stabil and the Asics Foundation), I decided to take them out for a little spin that night.

Did I mention that little spin was the NMTC race in Superior? Did I mention that course had mudpits mid-calf deep.

My pretty shoes did not say clean long. However, I think a little mud adds a certain "je ne sais quoi" to them.

Coming up, I'll tell you the story of how a serial over-pronator ran a 3 mile race in a pair of neutral shoes and walked away to tell the tale.

(Photo credit: Eve Stein)

Off to breakfast with a co-worker! Have a great day, all!

"Don't Stop..."

One month to go.
One.

Whoa.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are almost there. So, I'm going to stifle any of the complaints that I had, hold in the thoughts--good and bad-- that I have been having, and just hold on to that. We are almost there.
It's like we've hit mile 10 of a 13.1, and we just have that last 5K to go. I know I can get through that 5K, as hard as it can be, as harrowing as it can be, even with my brain and my body just going crazy. I can get through that last bit, I can get through this last bit. All I have to do is do that same thing I've done after mile 10 of 13.1.
Keep your head up.
Stay positive.
Be strong.
Soak it all in.
Hang in there, it will be worth it in the end.

And this:

"I'm Chillin' on a Dirt Road"...

I think I've officially fallen in love with trail running. I know I've said that before, but I truly think it's for real this time.
Over the last 2 weeks, I have only run on the Lakewalk once. It has been SUCH a refreshing change of pace for me. Moreover, it's reminded me so much of being a silly high school kid, "bushwacking" through the back part of the school property with my best friend, just having a ball. It's helped me tap in to that deep, inner part of why I love this sport.
I tend to get too caught up in the numbers. Mileage logged. Pace during the run. I am definitely starting to loose sight of why I do this sport in the first place. Running on those trails, it comes back to me. I am definitely going to have to keep these trail runs up, despite the ever present danger of falling and scraping something (because heaven forbid I have some kind of visible scar in my wedding pictures. We wouldn't want me to, you know, actually look like myself or anything... that's another rant.)

I have also been doing the NMTC Spring Trail Series runs this year. That has been a really fun and awesome experience so far. Last night's was especially crazy--4 miles and change back in Jay Cooke State Park with lots of rolling hills and one massive one that made me bring out every profane word in my arsenal. Even some of the crazy shirtless boys at the front had to walk this monster. All that aside, the spirit of fun, camaraderie, and joy is present at these events, and I am really, really glad to have the chance to go out and run them this year.

In other exciting news, and in the immortal words of McLovin, "Oh my god, it's IN!".
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have officially turned in my registration form for my first marathon. In a double whammy of "holy crap", it also was submitted using my married name. Yes, she legally doesn't exist yet, but Lindsey Goss-Maurisak is registered for the Walker North Country Marathon on September 15.  To add to the excitement, and to make awesome use of the second entry that I had won, my co-worker will be running her first half-marathon there as well.  It's going to be awesome and I cannot wait!

That's what's new and good around here. Enjoy the day!