Fits Do Race Reviews: The Urban Wildland Half Marathon

Two Saturdays ago (August 2nd), I ran the Urban Wildland Half Marathon.

I “previewed” this race in THIS POST, and in THIS POST I talked about what I did to pump Erin up for the race.

Spoiler alert...Unfortunately, my sister didn’t reach her goal of running under two hours this time around, but I have all the confidence that she can do it next time! But it was just too hot and humid on race day. 

In fact, we were right on pace for the first 8 miles (9:10, 9:05, 9:14, 9:12, 9:18, 9:00, 9:06, 9:18…) but then she needed to walk a bit (and then I think she might have given up a little mentally. She agrees!)  I tried my hardest to keep her positive and be a good pacer, but it wasn't the day for a PR for her. The last five miles were significantly slower: 10:28, 10:22, 10:26, 10:33, 10:05.

We came across the finish line around 2:06, which wasn't what we'd hoped for, but I'm okay with it. I enjoyed running with her. We don’t get to see each other that often (she lives outside of Chicago). Running 13.1 miles together was a great opportunity for us to catch up, though  I did most of the talking, especially in those last 5 miles!

Anyways, the race itself is really a great half marathon. It starts at 7 am sharp at the Richfield Ice Arena. There were plenty of porta-potties there and water available as well at the start.

The Course:

The course is partially trail/dirt and partially pavement/residential. The parts through the nature preserves are nice and shaded. The course has a lot of twists and turns, which keeps it interesting. There are plenty of half marathons that are just an out-and-back (particularly along Shephard Road in St. Paul <-- here's looking at you, Team Ortho) and those courses can be a little tough mentally. But this course was much, much better. Highly recommend it.

Support:

I was actually surprised by the number of people cheering along the course. People came out with sprinklers (so refreshing) and signs, which is impressive for a half marathon in the ‘burbs. There were also plenty of support stops with both water and Gatorade.

Finish Line:

The fresh oranges at the finish line are the things dreams are made of! Or at least, the dreams of runners during a hot race. They were so good.  

There was also water, Gatorade, and cookies. The finisher's shirts were handed out at the finish and you could quickly look up your official results too.

Even though the weather isn't generally on my side, I still recommend this half marathon. It's a good one!  I will be back next year. See you there??

Weekly Recap: Mill City Running Store and Urban Wildland Half Marathon

I'm going to try to be a little consistent here with the blog. Every Sunday, you can expect a weekly recap. On Tuesdays, you can stop by for "Tilda Tuesday" where I'll post a picture or two of my vizsla Matilda- I need to keep all my new dog-loving readers interested, and I'm always happy to share pictures of Matilda! 

On Fridays, you can expect "Fitness on Fridays" where I'll share some tips for running and whatnot. Any other posts- race reviews, etc. will still be sporadic, but I'm hoping a little consistency will help you know when to stop by for what you're looking for!

With that said, let's delve right into the Weekly Recap.

What's happening fitness this week?
Monday: 7.5 miles in the morning
Tuesday: 8 miles with 5 hill repeats at the CBRC This was a really bad run for me. For some reason, I was nauseated going into the run, and I really suffered through this one. I still am not sure what I ate that day (or didn't eat?) that made it such a bad run, but it was brutal.
Wednesday: 1 hour kettlebell/strength class at Balance Fitness
Thursday: 7.75 miles in the morning
Friday: 1 hour barre class at The Barre
Saturday: Urban Wildland Half Marathon <-- Recap to follow!  Unfortunately, my sister didn't get her goal this time, but we stuck together and had a lot of fun.

Sunday: Complete rest (well, we spent about an hour walking around the dog park and a few hours walking around the Uptown Art Fair, but no real exercise)
Summary:  4 running days, 1 barre, 1 strength, 1 complete rest

What's happening in fitness fashion?
In fitness fashion this week, I finally stopped by Mill City Running in NE Mpls on Saturday. What a great local running store! I purchased another pair Oiselle Roga shorts while I was there (check them out here)

I also picked up some huma brand chia energy gels. One of my running friends has been using these and recommended them. They are a lot more natural than the GU's that I usually use. The ingredient list includes apple puree, evaporated cane juice, filtered water, brown rice syrup, ground chia seeds, sea salt, citric acid and cinnamon <--- not too shabby, definitely not all artificial like other energy gels.

What's happening in fashion?

You need to act fast, as the Nordstrom's anniversary sale ends tonight! I have ordered a few different items, including THIS DRESS and THIS BLAZER. I also bought THIS DRESS that I wore on Saturday for my friend's 30th birthday celebration. 

My sister was in town on Saturday night (she left this morning). She wore a black and white maxi that she received in her Stitch Fix box.

We had dinner at Hola Arepa on Saturday night (so good!) and then headed to the Loring Pasta Bar for the birthday celebrations. 

Well, that was my week...I hope you also had a lovely week!

Did you go to the Uptown Art Fair? Run any races? Please share!

Fitting Remarks: Race Ready: Time for Some Self-Talk!

My sister is here, yay!

Our packets for the race have been picked up. We're ready for the Urban Wildland Half Marathon tomorrow!

I took the day off of work and started my day early with a quick barre class at The Barre. Then it was lots of errands, such as the grocery store to stock up on bananas and gatorade, and then off to packet picket!

Packet picket was held at the Richfield Ice Arena. Since I was there early in the morning, it was pretty dead. I was able to pick up packets for Dustin, my sister, and a few friends in less than five minutes.

After packet pickup, I took Matilda to the airport dog park for an hour or so to wear her out (one of her top places in her Guide to Minneapolis!)  Vizsla lovers, here is your daily dose of dog pictures!

Tilda got her exercise in, and then it was time to head to the airport to pick up Erin!

After I picked her up at the airport, we were both a little hungry for lunch. We grabbed Matilda and her leash, and then walked over to Turtle Bread Company for a quick snack. How quickly a few hours passed as we caught up on life...Before we knew it, Dustin was back from his work day.

We still had some time to kill before dinner, so we decided to check out the Sculpture Garden for some requisite Minneapolis pictures.

and another one...

For dinner, we enjoyed our carbs at Punch Pizza - best place to eat before a race! Now we're just relaxing before hitting the hay.... 

I put up a few motivational signs in the guest bedroom for Erin to keep her pumped up for tomorrow.

She was also greeted with a little basket to pump her up for the race. 

She said she's feeling a little nervous, but I have confidence in her. Her training for the Milwaukee marathon has been going really well. She's been doing speed training and hill work with her running club, as well as barre and yoga for her cross training. I think she's got this half marathon goal in the bag!

Such a large part of race preparation in the mental preparation. I shared a lot of mantras in THIS POST <-- (reading this tonight to pump us up!)  Our bodies are physically capable of so much more than we know, but we often fail to achieve our goals because we get scared. We doubt ourselves and let our minds defeat us. 

I definitely let my mind destroy me at the Flying Pig marathon this year. On the other hand, I had a really good experience at the Ron Dawes 25k earlier in the spring by really working to keep my negative thoughts at bay. At that race, I really focused on not getting down on myself. If a negative thought came into my head, I pushed it out and just kept telling myself "you're so strong, you're so strong." Seems silly, but honestly it worked for me to focus on positive thoughts. 

Of course, you need to have done the physical training too, but its just as important to prepare your mind with positive self-talk.

It's all about confidence. You need to TRUST YOUR TRAINING. 

So, to my sister Erin- YOU GOT THIS!

Fits Do Race (Pre)views: The Urban Wildland Half Marathon

Hi all!

Thank you for all the love on Matilda's Guide to Minneapolis- apparently you guys love dogs! You're not coming here for Fitness, Fashion, and Fitness Fashion- you're coming here for a daily dose of vizsla!

Now that I know, I'll try to post plenty of pictures of this face more often...

#vizslaselfie

She forgot to mention that she also loves the Apple store in Uptown- dog friendly!

Anyways, I'm checking in to let you know that I'm running the Urban Wildland Half Marathon this Saturday, or "Urban" as its known within my run club.

Are you running Urban?  Sure am!

In fact, my sister is coming to visit to run it with me! She has a time goal in mind, and my plan is to pace her to achieve that goal. I haven't ever paced anyone before, but I am excited to do it.

I have run Urban twice- 2010 and 2011. Year 2010 was the year that the bibs were biodegradable into seeds that you were supposed to plant (it's a very "green" race). Unfortunately it rained during the race, so the bib basically disintegrated while we ran- so much for that idea...

Then,  year 2011 was a super humid August morning, and I had a pretty awful race. With that said, Urban Wildland is a really well-run and pretty (and flat) half marathon that I enjoy, as long as the weather cooperates.  The race starts at 7:00, and the forecast for this Saturday says low 60's at at the starting time, so that seems promising.

The race is held in Richfield in the Woodland Nature Center, and the course is well supported with plenty of support stops and a varied terrain.

From the website, "Both courses begin and end in Vets Park, behind the Ice Arena (636 E 66th St), cover very flat terrain, and pass through shaded residential neighborhoods, past neighborhood park, and through three natural areas: Wood Lake, Richfield Lake, and Vets Park.  The half marathon course is certified by the USATF." 

A large group from my running club, the Calhoun Beach Running Club will be racing Urban to see where they are in their training for a fall full marathon. A lot of half marathon PR's have been set on this course, and I'm really excited to (fingers crossed) help my sister set one too!

Online registration is closed, but you can still register on Friday at packet pickup if you're interested, and there's a 5k too if that's more your cup of tea. 

Will I see you there? Are you running "Urban" this weekend?