Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon Recap

Wow. I ran 13.1 miles two days ago! It actually feels quite longer than just two days.

I was really nervous in the days leading up to this race.  I had never run longer than 11 miles and even then, it was not all running. I was scared. I mean, I was really scared!

I spent all of the week leading up to the race reading up on how to fuel correctly for the race.  The weekend before, during my long run on Sunday, my legs froze up and I just didn't have the energy to make it to the end of the run. I actually had to have my hubby come pick me up from where I stopped. I didn't even have enough energy to walk the three blocks into the neighborhood. I was afraid of this happening at the race so I spent the week eating carbs and keeping track of my food. The scale didn't like my but my legs were happy, for the most part.

Also during this week, I had some pain in my left shin. I was worried that maybe I had injured myself during that long run on Sunday. It was just an achy pain that was persistently there and wouldn't go away. My run on Wednesday was to test out my leg to see if the pain stayed. It was hard the first mile but after that I was able to actually push myself. I felt no pain in this shin during the race. I was ecstatic!

Now getting back to the race.  The weather forecast was not looking good for Sunday morning. After dinner on Saturday night, I had a quiet night preparing for an early wake up call. I organized my things and was ready for the sky to be raining on me the whole way. That night, the thunder was loud and the rain was heavy. I was actually becoming worried that the race organizers would cancel the event due to the weather.  I thought I would have actually wished for it to be cancelled. But then I would have to find another half marathon to run in the following weeks. Thank goodness I didn't actually need to worry about this because as of 6am, the race was on and the rain was letting up for the day. Great! I had to change what I was wearing that morning.


My Mom and Dad took me down to Wayzata for the start of the race where we ran into my sister and my friend Becky. The clouds were actually starting to clear at this point and peeks of blue sky were seen. After a little bit of chit chatting and some hugs, I lined up with my pace group of 2hrs 30mins. My plan was to stay with the pace group as long as I could and would try to keep them in my line of site so that I could finish the race with a good time of under 3 hours. The pace group consisted of pretty much first timers and some walkers. Once we were let go, I was only able to stay with the pace group for maybe the first mile. They were actually keeping a much faster pace than what I had been training for and didn't want to tire myself too quickly. I decided quickly that I wasn't going to be forcing myself to finish this race in a certain time. I was really there just to finish the race!

The weather was humid and overall cloudy but the course is gorgeous. The route winds through very rich neighborhoods of Lake Minnetonka. Many of these houses are worth multi-millions and were nice to look at and dream about. The course was tree lined and not closed to traffic. I found myself bringing my biking terms into my running. When I yelled "Car Back" I got some strange looks from some of the runners ahead of me. Hey! I didn't want them to get run over by some lady in her Cadillac.

This race was really well supported. Being at the back of the race, I was worried that there wouldn't be any water left at the water stops. I really had nothing to worry about. There was plenty of water and Gatorade at each of the four stops. I took advantage of the stops for water and made sure I fueled at the same time. The fueling kept my legs from cramping. I only felt cramping once and I knew at that point I needed to take in more nutrients.

I had a great cheering section on my side. It was also great to see and hear total strangers sitting along the route to cheer us on. There was a group of kids at around mile 10 that were offering high fives to all us slow pokes at the back. It was uplifting. My cheering section consisted of my hubby, my mom and dad, my sister, my mother-in-law, and friends Christina and Becky. I got a nice ass slap from Becky right before the finish line and my sister ran with me the last mile.  Ann from Twelve-in-Twelve was at mile 11 like promised to push me through those last couple of miles. I knew I would need her there at that point because I was tired and I just made sure I pushed and ran right past her. She has been at two of my races now to cheer me on. I really hope to make it to one of her races to give the support right back.

I finished the race with a time of 2:46:57. My official times can be seen here.
Amy Albrecht @ Minnetonka Half Marathon 2012 | RaceDay
But the 10k time is not correct. I would say that timing mat was more at the 9 mile mark. (I thought it was the strangest place to put a timing mat.) I also have posted my Garmin information. I am really happy about the overall consistency of my splits.

I would recommend this race to anyone for a first half marathon. The course was gorgeous but was filled with rolling hills. The communication with race officials was good with the weather conditions. Parking was a little less than desirable since the Bay Center has been torn down and the parking lot was unavailable this year. I feel like this was my hometown race. It was nice seeing people I knew  and knowing the course.

I'm hoping to do another half marathon in the near future. I'm looking for one at the end of June or beginning of July.


So if you are contemplating a half marathon, I would say do it! It was challenging but so rewarding and worth all the training.

Btw, I'm running a Marathon

***Caution, there are some naughty words in this post.***

Did I tell you I'm running a marathon? I don't believe I did. This has been a post that has been coming I just haven't found the motivation to sit down and write it. But today is a good day so you're getting the news today. MY GOD I'M RUNNING A MARATHON! I am completely freaking out.

The date is October 7th, 2012. After my post about my 2012 events there was some questions as to why I just don't participate in a full marathon this year. Well, I had a whole list of excuses. There was the one about only running a 5k so far. There was the one about being too fat. There was the one about having other races planned for the year. I hadn't even ran a half marathon. How was I going to be able to run a full 26.2 miles in 9 months!? Thank you to Christian at The Maple Grove Barefoot Guy for being the first one to suggest I do something that scares the shit out of me. I didn't like a post he put on his Facebook page a couple of weeks ago. And quote "I'm enjoying seeing my friends attempt crazy awesome things they didn't think they could do. For the rest of you, your excuses and "I can't do it" attitude is annoying. Harden the fuck up. That is all..." I'm sure I'm not the only one this was directed to. Atleast I hope I'm not. (Christian and I went to high school together. He was two years older than me and a much better clarinet player. Please go check out his blog. It's witty and extremely informative, even if you are not a barefoot runner).

His comment really got me thinking, a lot, about what I'm doing here. Last fall's duathlon was a challenge but I knew, when I signed up for it, that I was a strong biker and the running was a doable distance. I knew I could do it.  A marathon on the other hand, I have no idea if I can do it. I'd like to think I can. I actually know I can do it. It's just getting over the self doubt that sit quietly in the back of my brain, ready to jump out at me when I have a bad day or when the running is just too hard. If I put my mind to it, I can do anything right?

The craving to be successful and cross the finish line is so strong it brings me to tears if I think about it too much. I know there are people that support me to that final moment. I need to rally these people around me. My family and my husband are behind me. My closest friends, my blogging friends especially Anne at Twelve-in-Twelve who will also be running this event, her first marathon as well. Read about her commitment here.  It's the people that doubt me that I need to let go of. I know people will judge me. I often think that they think I am too fat to run 26.2 miles and that I will never make it. I'm really not going to let this get to me because I don't see THEM getting up at 5am to run in the morning before work!

What are you doing this year that scares the shit out of you?

So here I am. Marathoner in training!

I Fought for 5k!

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning to a clean house, a huge amount of food in the fridge, and the wind blowing against the siding. That wind was telling me it was too cold outside to get out from under my covers, it was too cold to pull on my work out gear and get ready for the 5k I had committed to over a month earlier. I just wanted to stay under the sheets, cuddle with my husband, and dream about the upcoming Thanksgiving meal that was going to emerge from my oven. I even asked my husband if he wanted to skip out on the event. I can't believe I did that! As I stared at the ceiling, trying to talk myself out of the bed, I began to think about everyone else that was going out into the cold air and running or walking a 5k that morning. There were my parents, my sister, and the majority of the Pack. If they were braving the weather, then I could too.

After the stuffing was in the crockpots for my first attempt at hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I climbed the stairs to put on my warm clothing. I made sure to check the weather before I decided what to wear. It was windy and the air was was damp and cold. Hubby and I climbed into the car and started on our way to the Berbee Derby. I couldn't understand why he was trying to push me out the door nearly an hour before our race start. Once we got there, I was glad he did. The place was already swarming with cars! We decided to park about a half mile from the event start line so we would have an easy get away at the end of the race. I would have to say there were atleast 3000 participants between the 10k and the 5k race. I like these bigger races because I can blend in with the crowd and there are sure to be people in that crowd that I am faster than. It gives me a confidence boost.

Berbee Derby 2011

At the beginning of the race I thought that I was going to stick by my hubby the whole time because he was being a dear to participate in the event with him. But then again, I also wanted to see how hard I could push myself and see how far I could go. We placed ourselves in the last wave just ahead of the 5k walkers. In the end, it was the right place to put myself. Hubby ran with me for the whole first mile and then he started to walk. I asked if it was ok if I kept going and he said it was. So, I just kept going. Coming around one of the turns I noticed a big hill ahead. I briefly thought that the hill was going to suck and I was going to let myself walk it. But then I thought back to when I was running earlier in the summer and when I proclaimed that I loved running hills because conquering them made me feel strong! I took that hill, and the next two without stopping to walk. I also took each subsequent down hill quickly. I heard a dad telling his daughter to just let the down hill push her, to let gravity work with her legs and to not push against it. I took his advice and just sailed down the hills.

I fought through the mental battle of wanting to stop to walk. Thing I have read kept working through my mind. "You can do anything for five minutes" kept really sticking with me. My foot went numb, I just kept going. I sprinted at the end. I did! It felt good to put all my energy into going all out the last few meters. I finished and I didnt stop to walk. I fought for it! Hubby finished 5 minutes after I did. It wasn't my best time but I'm ok with that.