Run Faster...

Moonshine, banjos and feral dogs. This should be interesting...

Ragnar TN or BUST!

After only two days, week one at the new job is officially in the books. Technically, I have work to do while I'm out of the office this weekend, but my mind is already in Ragnar-mode.

I am currently at the airport, waiting for my flight (ew, Southwest) to Nashville for SWAT for Ragnar Tennessee. As much as I enjoy being a part of a Ragnar Relay team, I think I have come to enjoy working the events even more. Is that weird?

I wish I could say that I am flying to a beautiful, tropical, destination, but Nashville will have to do this weekend. Tennessee is a beautiful state, don't get me wrong, but the daily high is only in the 50's this weekend, with the nights dipping into the 30's. Brr. At least it will be sunny. There has been a serious lack of sunshine in MN the past few weeks and I am in desperate need of some vitamin D!

I was SUPER spoiled at Ragnar GR that my shifts were all during the daytime, so it's no surprise that for Ragnar TN they have me working straight through the night. Seriously. 4pm Friday until 5am Saturday. Seeing as I am NOT a night person, this should be interesting. 

If you need me, I'll be piloting the struggle bus from Chatanooga to Nashvile this weekend...ALL ABOARD.

Let's do this!

Race Recap: Ragnar Chicago 2012

This time last week we were loading our gear into a 15 passenger van about to embark on 30-some hours of  sweaty awesomeness. (Note: That would have been true if I had published this the day I started the damn post. Blogging FAIL.)

Being the only Madison locals on the team W and I decided to host a team dinner.  Carbo-loading feast for 13 people, no problem. Truth be told, I probably made it more work than it needed to be, but that's how I roll.

  

Before the hungry runners arrived  

Being the only Madison locals on the team W and I decided to host a team dinner.  Carbo-loading feast for 13 people, no problem. Truth be told, I probably made it more work than it needed to be, but that's how I roll.

I opted for penne with sauce and ground turkey (suckas, you thought it was beef didn't you?!), followed by my all time favorite dessert, homemade strawberry shortcake. There was salad and bread and all things a runner needs before tackling Ragnar.

Food was eaten, conversation flowed, fun was had (I hope), until the mosquitoes descended upon us and we all fled for safety.

I don't even think I made anyone sick. ;)

Fast forward to race day.  Van 2 was nice enough to pick up W and I on the way to exchange 7 in Lake Mills. By 11am when we headed out it was already getting HOT which did not bode well for my running...

Van 2: B*tches Be CRAZY

I work hard to avoid photographic evidence of me running because, well, it's not pretty. So you'll just have to take my word that I ran.  


Leg 7 started at Lake Mills HS headed down the street a bit before turning onto the Glacial Drumlin trail. I really couldn't complain about my leg because legs 6, 8 and 9 were WAY worse, but it still sucked.  The trail is a very forgiving crushed gravel, but there was not nearly as much shade as I thought there would be.  It was like 1pm'ish and HOT already and let's face it, I am just not a good hot weather runner. I sucks the life out of me and I just haven't built the mental toughness to push through it.  Leg 7 ends with ~3/4 of a mile, mostly uphill, on the side of an unshaded county road. Nothing says 'KILL ME NOW' like running on the side of a black-top county road in full sun in HOT weather.


Leg 7: 4.7m 53:28 (11:22 avg pace) 

W before his first leg.

Apparently I stopped taking pictures at this point...

After we finished our round of running we headed to Noodles for some food (which, not shockingly, didn't sit super well with me) before heading to Martin Luther HS to catch some z's.  This break last year we had enough time to eat, catch a few hours of sleep and get ready to run without feeling rushed.  This year after eating we had barely enough time for a cat nap before we were back at it.  I maybe snoozed for 30 or so minutes thank sin large part to the asshats yelling in the parking lot.   

Leg 19 started at Martin Luther HS and headed to Franklin HS.  Last year this leg followed the Root River Parkway and was flat and fast and fabulous. Since they changed the exchange for 2012, this year it headed out from Martin Luther HS and straight down 76th straight for 2'ish miles.  By straight down I really mean straight up, as in uphill. For 2 miles. Granted it wasn't steep, but it was constant for 2 fucking miles. It was 20-degrees cooler than earlier, but those first few miles took a lot out of me.  Eventually we turned off of 76th and made our way onto a multi-use trail of some sort through some park. The trail was awesome with some rolling little hills, twists, turns and whatnot.  What sucked was turning off the trail and finishing the leg running uphill. Again.  What also sucked was that the leg was almost 1/2m long.

Leg 19: 5.49m 58:49 (10:42 avg pace)

The cooler temps, and by cooler I mean in the mid-70's, felt downright chilly after the heat of the day.  It was refreshing but cool when not running.  We finished up our round of running at the YMCA in Racine at 5 or so in morning, watched the sunrise, and then promptly passed out on the grassy median in the parking lot for an hour and a half.  After that little cat nap we made our way to the next major exchange for pancakes and little relaxing before we started another steamy day of running.

I started my final leg, leg 31, around 9:30 from North Chicago HS.  Last year this leg wound its way through a neighborhood before making its way onto a crushed gravel path for the majority.  Not so lucky this year.  This year I had the pleasure of running the first half on sidewalks in the full sun and heat of the day.  I made my way through some Naval base, base some Seamen (hey-o!), and eventually onto a multi-use path.  Holy balls, Saturday felt even hotter than Friday.  There was a point during the run I started to get the chills, which is never a good feeling when it's wicked hot out.  Luckily my van was able to stop a few times and refill my water/hose me off because every step was a challenge. There was never enough shade.  But it was flat, so there's that I guess.  I finished at Lake Forest HS, which ps, has the most amazing front lawn I have ever seen. Like take off your clothes and roll around neked on the grass amazing. Seriously. Only by the time I finished I was too overheated and miserable to enjoy it.  I have never been so happy to be done running.

Leg 31: 5.1m 1:01:04 (11:58 avg pace)

I feel even worse for my teammates who had to run as the day got hotter.  Saturday seriously became a death march.  We did our best to pace to our runners and take care of one another, but it was almost too hot to matter.  W spent some quality time tossing his cookies at Northwestern after his leg.  And poor Maureen had the longest, hottest leg of them all to finish it off.

Trust me, these medals were well earned.

We wrapped it all up at Montrose Beach in Chicago.  I wish I could say we celebrated and got epic at the finish line, but really we all just wanted to be done with it.  We were ready to be out of the heat, clean, and off our feet. That's not to say we didn't love (almost) every minute of the experience, because I know that I did. And that W did. And that I adore the ladies of Van 2 so flippin' much.  But enough is enough already!


I'm disappointed in my running this year. Not just at Ragnar, but this spring in general has been a let down.  I'm still at it, working things out, hoping for a break through.  But in the meantime, I'm going to savor the memories, the friendships, the laughs...and start plotting an planning for next year.

Ragnar Chicago 2013, I'm coming for you! Here's hoping for cooler temps in 2013!

#RagnarCHI 2012: The Cliff Notes

All I have the energy to say today is that Ragnar Chicago 2012 with Team Awesome was, well, AWESOME.

And that I spent *a lot* of time wearing nothing but a towel.

#RagnarCHI 2012

Oh hai. HI. Remember me?  I've been on a  bit of blogging hiatus these days, sorting things out, living life, etc.  But how can I not come out of hiding to tell you about Ragnar Chicago, which is finally here!!


In little more than 8hrs Team Awesome will be descending upon our casa for an evening of van decorating, carbo loading and camaraderie.  For some of us it will be a long overdue reunion, for others it will be the first time we meet.  Other way, it will be awesome.  Team Awesome.  And by the end of this crazy ride we will all be the best of friends.  Or the worst of enemies.   However it shakes out, it will be epic. And AWESOME. Obviously

A-W-E-S-O-M-E. 

Awesome. 

Awesome. 

TOTALLY.

Yes,  I have been dying for an appropriate time and place to use this cheer since, like, high school cheer camp.  And if I could find an indiscriminating pic of myself as a high school cheerleader I would totally post it. But since I was high schooler before the interwebs exploded and picture all went digital, thankfully those things don't exist.  :)

But I digress. Story of the day. Back to Team Awesome.  If you're interested in following this weekend's #RagnarCHI action, Twitter is the place to be. Seriously, get on it if you're not. And if you're on it go ahead and give @TeamAwesome12 a follow.  While you're at it, go ahead and give my awesome teamies a follow too:

Laura @laurakkraft

Jenn @Jenn_if_er

Kelsey @chelseykelsey

Sara @mkemom

Renee @rshill37 

Maureen @rushourunner

And if you're reading my blog and not following me, @katietris, then you are missing out.  It's like an inside look into the snark and sass of my life, with gratuitous puppy pictures, and some running. End shameless self promotion.

OH! And in case you are a procrastinator like me and are still packing, or trying to figure out what to pack, head on over to Blognar, the official blog of Ragnar, for the little something I wrote about packing. What? More shameless self promotion? Yeah, it happens. It is my blog after all. :)

Training off, RACE ON! 

The next thing I knew it was October!

I don't even know if anyone stops by this place anymore it's been neglected so long. For all like 4 of you who previously read my musings, I thought I'd attempt to recap the last 3 or 4 months for you.

Everyone warned me that the time would FLY by but I just don't know where it all went. It seems like just yesterday it was spring, I was running, I had free time, things were mellow and good.

Then June hit.

It's probably a lot more fun if I show you were I've been....

The chaos all kicked off with Ragnar Chicago Relay. Well worth the lack of sleep and sore muscles. I've made some truly amazing running friends. xoxo!

Then my BFF came to visit from NYC and we made our annual pilgrimage to Summerfest, complete with tickets to see Britney Spears!

W and I then moved our kitchen mini-remodel full steam ahead! Those flower tiles HAD to go.

Note: No actual before pictures were taken because the kitchen was SUCH a disaster. Ugly, messy, and in disrepair. Shudder...

Flowers GONE! But drab cabinets and weird green walls remain...

Nothing a fresh coat of paint on the walls and cabinets can't fix!

(I'm trying to track down a picture of the other half of the kitchen....you know, where the cabinets are...)

Kitchen remodel finished, complete with custom bench designed and upholstered by yours truly, chalkboard paint wall, and a new spice cabinet!

Now if only the new floor and counter fairy would swing by Claire St.

The weekend remodels were intermixed with working events like the Robbie Ventura Gran Fondo

And Centurion Wisconsin.

Which was immediately followed, of course, but Trek World!

I found time to sneak in another race and joined the Pavement Pirates last minute for the Ragnar Great River Relay.

Where I earned my "Make it a Double" medal for doing both Chicago and GR in one season. Huzzah!!

Before I knew it I was off to Vegas for Interbike 2011.

I mean really, who doesn't want to spend 7 days in Vegas the week before getting married...

All the house cleaning and home reno was not for naught though as we hosted our rehearsal dinner in our bcakyard on our fabulous patio.

Then we said some vows...

...took some pictures....

...and had a party!

Followed almost immediately by hopping on a jetplane and heading to Kona to work the Ironman World Championship.

And yes, I was close enough to snap a pic of Chrissie crossing the finish line and regaining her title. OMG.

Don't worry, I had a chance to enjoy a Hawaiian sunset or two.

I realize so much of this is worthy of posts all their own, and I promise to do just that, but not now. I'm almost out of time on my lunch hour, and, well, I am still trying to get caught up from the last few weeks.

Ragnar, A Race Recap

In the weeks leading up to Ragnar I had a hundred and one different reactions to the upcoming race. Excitement, fear, regret, apprehension, and so on. Seriously, what I had I gotten myself into? I was on team of all ladies, none of whom had ever met in person before. AND with every passing the day the team rooster was changing. What if I hated the girls? What if they hated me? What if I like them and they couldn't stand me? What if I let them down?

There, I said. My biggest fear was letting this team of perfect strangers down.

Just in case they turned out to be a bunch of serial killers, I recruited Ryan and W to come along. They were going to volunteer in the morning and then follow us along the route. Cheering us on, hanging out, pacing if needed, and just generally being my awesomest supporters. But in the days before the race W decided he didn't want to come along. Sure, he'd still meet us in Chicago and charter me home but he wasn't interested in being part of the process. Jerkface.

Did I mention that the week of Ragnar was my first week in my new job? And that there were like fifty jillion things that had to be dealt with ASAP. I found myself working 10+ hour days trying to get everything done. I wasn't getting in my runs because I was so stressed about being off of work. As I put up my out of office Thursday at almost 7pm I left almost in tears in the midst of a panic attack. There was no way I should be taking Friday off...

Too late now. That same day we found out that one of our runners was out with strep throat (ew) and another had a badly sprained ankle and would be able to run of her legs at best. We were already down to 10 1/2 runners...there was no way I was going to bail. So instead I stayed up until the wee hours packing, unpacking, and repacking, all the while texting Kritta looking for reassurance that these ladies (well, the ones she knew anyways) were cool and that I could do this. I big pink puffy HEART Kritta!!

Friday morning rolls around and soon enough there is 15 passenger van pulling up in front of my house. For there being ONLY 4 ladies in the entire 15 passenger van...it was overflowing with stuff. Like out of control. The lady behind the wheel, our almighty captain Jenn, was make-up'd out and looking fabulous despite apparently being out way too late and feeling a little hung over. Renee was running somewhat of a mobile command station with our race binder, her phone all a buzz with Twitter and text updates (PS-it was like 8am). Maureen was cool, calm and confident, generally quiet at this hour of the day but that didn't last long. And Laura. Poor Laura looked like a deer in headlights! So quiet and I'd say overwhelmed...

So there we were, van 2 of Online Relationship: Renee, Laura, Jenn, Maureen and I.

Talk about an awkward picture of me...

It didn't take very long at all for me to decide that these 4 women were amazing and we were going to have a wicked good time.

Since we were van #2 we had plenty of time for a McDonald's stop before making our way to the 6th exchange in Lake Mills. We got there, checked in, and eventually, albeit briefly, saw our other van. Before I knew it it was my turn to run...

My Ragnar race was CycleOps Powered!!

I felt spoiled as I started my first leg of the race. Just 2 or 3 short blocks and I was lucky enough to find myself on the packed gravel goodness of the Glacial Drumlin trail. For the better part of my first leg I found myself on the flat cushy gravel path. I was running just slightly faster than my projected 10:30pace and I felt good. Going into Ragnar I decided to a Galloway approach to my legs: run mile, walk a minute. Right around the 4th mile I turned off the path and onto the shoulder of a county road. Not only had I left the forgiving path but I was headed up hill...not steep but looooong. Ugh. 4.78 miles and 51 minutes later I wrapped up my first leg. I handed off to Maureen who took off like a nat outta hell!!

Being short runners meant swapping runners around a bit, so Kelsey joined van 2 for a leg or two. Maureen flew through her first leg and handed off to Kelsey who kept things moving right along...or was it Laura...it got kind of confusing keep track of the extra kegs and who was running what.

While we were waiting at the next exchange to send Jenn off on her first leg I ran into Kritta!

Someone handed off to Jenn...who handed off to Renee who rounded out of first runs. From there we stopped by Noodles for some pasta-y goodness before settling into the comforts of the Martin Luther HS parking lot. We had roughly 3 hours to nap and get ourselves ready for our night legs.

I was the first of our van to run that night. There was a lot of hub-bub about running at night. Granted I was running at midnight and not 3 or 4 in the morning, but I was stoked about my night leg. I started out down 76th St by the Southridge mall made a right and a left and found myself on the desolate, dark blacktop of the nearby Root River Parkway. With the exception of the beam my headlamp, and the occasionally blinding reflection off of a runners vest, it was dark and quiet and I LOVED it. My night leg was only 3.7 miles long, so just under 40 minutes later I found myself handing off to Maureen again.

Maureen cruised through her miles like a hot knife through butter and handed off to Laura who handed off to Renee for Renee's first of two night legs. Renee handed off to Jenn, and had just enough time to inhale some food and water and get ready to run her 2nd leg...One more swap from Jenn to Renee, who dug DEEP to make that last leg happen. We cheered Renee in and sent van 1 on its way.

From there it was time to snag a few hours sleep, eat some breakfast and get our last legs over with.

I kicked it off with my last 4.8 mile leg. At this point we were in Waukegan, and once again I was the lucky duck that got to run almost all of my miles on a packed gravel path. Score. I was struggling come this leg. I was sore, my ankle was puffy and stiff. I was ready to be done. I wasn't able to hang onto my 10:30 pace of my last 2 legs and found myself walking more and running slower. I wrapped up my final 4.9 mile leg in 57 minutes. The first words out of my mouth were something along the line of "the only way this would be better is if I could shower," and wouldn't you know that my leg ended at a YMCA that was letting us shower. Thank you Jeebus!!

Maureen was off on her first leg...which was LONG (which meant I actually had time to shower). She came in and handed off to the ever consistent Laura who cruised through her 6 or so miles in an hour and handed back off to Maureen for her second leg. Yes, second. After running something like 10 miles in her last leg Maureen still had it in her to run another 4+ mile leg. Maureen ran it in and handed off to Jenn, who hung in there for her 8+ mile leg and handed off to Renee to bring it home!

Re-enacting crossing the finish live.

36 or so hours later we were done. DONE. DONE!!!! Not only did I run farther than I had in 2yrs, but I did it with a team of ladies I didn't know. AND I kept my cool, despite being surrounded by an overwhelming amount of estrogen and running on little to no sleep.

To say I'm proud of my accomplishment is an understatement

Van 2: Renee, Laura, Maureen, Jenn and I

I don't know that I could have done this race with anyone else. We gave it all we could for one another, and even when we were pooped we dug deep and gave some more. We cheered one another on. We gossiped. We laughed. We were AWESOME!

Thank you Renee, Jenn, Maureen and Laura!! I cannot wait to race with you ladies again.

Next on the agenda is what I learned at Ragnar, wedding woes, and my running roadblock...stay tuned!

My how the time flies...

Last I was here I was frettingabout the impending Ragnar race...and that has long since come and (sadly) gone. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in living life I forget to blog about it, and I think that's ok.

Before I get down and dirty with my Ragnar recap, I feel like I should catch ya'll up to speed....

Much of the month of May was spent in a funk. I has previously interviewed for a position I really wanted, but had yet to hear anything. I was stressed, I was tired, I was CRABBY. In the midst of all this I spent a week in Houston for Ironman Texas with my would be boss (if I go the job). Talk about stressful. To add insult to injury, I am a sweater. Like drippy, swassy, nasty mess sweater. And I don't know if you got the memo, but Houston ain't cool. There I was, pit stains and all, trying to impress my potential future boss when all I wanted to do was curl up in a tub of ice water and take a nap. FML!! I did get to spend some time with the likes of tri superstars likeLinsey Corbin, Tyler Stewart and Michael Lovato (and of course all of the other IM roadies who I rarely see these days), so not all was lost.

(left) Michael Lovato manning our trainer blender smoothie experiment.

(right) The Corbins and Stewarts catching up.

Home from TX I had a little time to play catch up around the house...do some laundry, buy some groceries, plant my garden. I would LOVE if it I was able to maintain my garden this year...and not attempt to do that on crutches. Because that sucked summer.

Then. Look at those itty bitty lil plants.

2wks ago...it's even bigger now!

Before my bags were even unpacked from TX W and I decided to undertake our biggest DIY home improvement project to date: a brick patio. Behind our house we have a small cement patio area, but it's not really big enough for a table or even for chairs for more than 2 or 3 people. Being that we love to be at home and outside when the WI weather permits, creating a useable outdoor space was high on the list of things to do. We debated between a patio or a deck. We priced out options and got quotes. And then, on a whim, decided to do it ourselves.

Let me tell you a little secret. W is many things, handy IS NOT one of them. He tries so hard and he means so well, but all I can do is thank D-O-G every time we finish a project with all of his digits in tact.

So yeah, patio. It was big. And A LOT of work. Thank goodness for long weekends and fabulous friends who are willing to help!!

The space trenched, graveled, and (almost) retaining walled out.

Ryan taking Roberta the Bobcat for a stroll through the yard...my poor yard. :(

4+ days of back-breaking labor and two very baggy eyes later...the patio is done!

That brings us to June, which is almost over now. Wah. Where is the time going?!? June has been a much better month than May was. We've been to two weddings, one of W's friends and one of my friends (which means I could wear the same dress-SCORE!). I try not to go all bridezilla up in here, because, well, there's enough crazy bitches out there. I think the Bare Naked Ladies said it best when they said "It's all been done before," but I digress. Sandwiched in between the weddings was Ragnar which is arguably one of the coolest things I have ever done. And being that it was good, bad and ugly all wrapped up in a 15 passenger, Ragnar certainly deserves a blog post all its own. Last weekend was WIBA and ToAD...and that means next weekend is the 4th of July.

Pretty soon we'll be getting hitched. Yikes.

Oh, and did I mention I got the job? 'Cause I did. :)

RAGNAR!!

Oh hai, it's been a while. I just wanted to stop by and say it's official. I am signed up and ready to rock 'n roll at RAGNAR in June!! That's right, I am one of the newest members of Team Online Relationship.

And I. Cannot. Wait.

So far I've gotten to know a few of the gals through the interwebs. You know, the Twitter, Facepage and such. And if these couple of ladies are any indication of how cool the peeps are, I am stoked!

AND THEN I saw the RAGNAR Double medal, and I want it!

Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement a few weeks back. It's amazing, and inspiring, that there is such a great community of athletes out there.

And PS-who's in for the RAGNAR Great River Relay?!

RAGNAR?!

Last summer, post-surgery, I optimistically sat and wrote trainings plans and race schedules to include all of the things I wanted to do last fall, winter, and for 2011. Most of those plans were quickly squashed by a long-slow recovery and a cautious physical therapist.

Needless to say, my plans to coordinate a RAGNAR team for the Chicago relay in June (and the Great River relay in August) went right out the window along with everything else. For those of you living under the proverbial rock, the short of RAGNAR is that it's a series of 2-day, ~200mile, 12 -person relay races. Pretty sick, if I do say so myself.

Wellll, I never got around to putting together a team. BUT yesterday I stumbled across a team of Twitteratti looking for a 12th team member. It sounds like 11 running gals from around the Midwest (and beyond) created a team and plan to run together. How friggin' cool is that?! Did I mention my love of the Twitter? Because I pretty much want to send it flowers and chocolates and maybe even ask it to marry me. But I digress. So this group of runners, the majority of whom only know each other through Twitter have made a team and are looking for a 12th.

How perfect is that?!

But...

The downside to running with a group of people I don't know is that I feel like I would be the weakest link and that relative strangers (who haven't been through the last almost 2yrs of injury with me) may not understand my weaknesses and woes. I truly believe I can be trained and ready to the relay, albeit slowly, but is that enough? Granted, the runner they are looking for has 3 moderately easy legs, all in the 5 mile range. I know I will be able to run more than 5 miles in one go, because shit, I can just about do that now. But is 3-5mile legs in 24hrs? Will that be too much? Will I re-injure myself? Will I let my team down?

I *really* want to do this. I have even written up a very doable, but conservative, training plan to get me to the relay. But I just can't keep the self-doubt from creeping in...