Weekly Recap: Peak Week of Marathon Training Ending with a Capitol Run!

This week was my peak week of marathon training for the Outer Banks Marathon. You know what else it was the peak week of? Fall colors in Minneapolis! Pictures cannot even capture how gorgeous the Twin Cities are right now. Every day that I drive down my street, I am seriously in awe of how pretty it all is.

These are just a few of the vibrant trees along the river on my long run yesterday. Stunning. This is EVERYWHERE in the Twin Cities right now.

So yes, being peak week of training, it was a full week of running!

Here's how things turned out at the Right Fits in Fitness this week:

Monday: 8 miles of running in the morning, C2 vinyasa yoga class after work at Corepower Yoga. Can you believe it? I actually made it to yoga. I took Nielle's class at the Edina studio and it was PACKED full, which also meant the already heated studio was even hotter than normal. I hadn't taken a hot yoga class in so long that I had to take a lot of breaks, but I still enjoyed the practice. She's such a great teacher.

Tuesday: Tuesday was my birthday and what better way to celebrate than with a track workout!

The workout was a tough one- about 2 miles to warm-up, 1600 at 5k pace, 400m recovery, 3 miles at tempo pace, 400m recovery, 1600 at 5k pace, and then 2 miles to cool-down for about 9.5 miles total. Whew! We celebrated afterwards with Pizza Luce. Happy birthday to me.

Wednesday: 7.5 miles easy with Matilda.

Thursday: 8 miles with 30 minutes at tempo pace (with Matilda- my tempo pace is still her "You call this running?" pace). After work, I took a 1-hour strength/kettlebells class with Ericka Darst at Balance Fitness.  Ericka taught the 10-week strength class I took over the summer at the Calhoun Beach Club, and now she has taken over Sarah's class at Balance. She is great! Seriously, come check out her class on Thursday nights at 6 pm. You will love it!

Friday: Complete rest day.

Saturday: 22 mile Capitol run! I actually went the wrong way around one of the lakes so I ended up with 22.75 miles. Here's how we did this- Dustin and I dropped a car off at the capitol in the morning and then came back to the Calhoun Beach Club. From there, we ran 22 miles of the Twin Cities course (separately of course- he's much faster than me!)

I took a quick selfie with THE bunny around mile 6 of my run.  I love this guy.

Though we were both running alone, we did have two very awesome friends who were on the course with Gatorade and water for us. Thank you both SO, SO much! It made the experience so much more enjoyable to have those support stops to look forward to. Even on a cooler day, the fluids made a huge difference. I did run with my fuel belt, but I filled up my bottles at the stops and took my GUs with the water they provided. More than anything, they provided a mental boost that really kept me going.

I am so grateful to have good running friends who will give up their Saturday morning to help out their friends. Thank you!

Dustin made it to the capitol over a 1/2 hour before me and was enjoying some chocolate milk and snacks that we left in a cooler in the car by the time I arrived.  Did I mention that Saturday was also our wedding anniversary? Six years! We celebrated the way most couples do...running 22 miles.

#anniversaryselfie 

Even though I ran alone, this was probably one of my best capitol runs ever. I wish I could pocket up the way that I felt yesterday and save it for race day.

Sunday: 5.5 easy miles with Matilda and Dustin. Gorgeous fall day.

In summary: SIXTY miles of running, 1 yoga class, 1 strength class, and 1 complete rest day. Feeling strong!

So what's happening in Fitness Fashion at the Right Fits?
I think I have finalized my marathon day outfit- woot, woot!

What I wore for my 22 miler yesterday worked perfectly, so I will wear the exact same thing on race day. I plan to wear these Oiselle roga shorts in "fast red", this Oiselle Scantron Tank top in turquoise, a trusty Serena sports bra by Moving Comfort, one of my many BIC bands, and my Brooks Ravennas.  Outer Banks will be pretty toasty, so I'm not worried about being cold. Fingers crossed that the temps drop a little bit, mmmkay?

That's it for the week from the Right Fits. I hope you had a wonderful week and enjoyed the "peak" colors outside!

How are the fall colors where you live? Did you do anything fun in fitness or fitness fashion this week? Please share!

Fitting Remarks: A Reflection on my Training and a Goal...

My 16^th marathon, the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio. is a week from today.

The other day my sister asked me about the course, and I told her that this marathon is really hilly. She said, “oh, so not a PR then?”

(FYI….runner lingo- "PR" is personal record. Some people call it a “PB” or personal best, but I call it a PR)

Back to my sister's comment- "not a PR." 

Well, why not? Why not a PR? Why is everyone so afraid of hills? 

I have trained really hard. I can still PR. I will still PR. 

This is your race. 
This is your opportunity. 
Trust your training

When I reflect back on my running journal, it seems as though my training went pretty well.  I mean, I only missed one long run when we were in Utah on a ski trip, but otherwise I successfully completed every other long run over the past 18 weeks.  There were no issues, no melt-downs, and no failed long run attempts.

I ran on hills. I killed hills.

I ran tempos. I ran track workouts.

I ran multiples times on a beach vacation in Turks & Caicos, when I was tempted to just lounge… 

I ran at high altitude in Park City, Utah. 

I ran A LOT on the treadmill during this terrible winter. 

I ran in temperatures well below zero.

I ran in the snow. I ran in the sleet.  I ran in the rain.

I was healthy. I didn’t suffer any injuries.  Sure, I went to see Dr. Crabtree at Uptown Natural Care a few times for some A.R.T. and Graston on my IT band, but fortunately I stayed on top of that issue throughout the training season. 

I foam rolled, I practiced yoga, I strength trained, I barre’d, I worked my core (remember the plank challenge?)

I am ready.

Of course, there are still 7 days between now and the marathon, and a lot can happen in 7 days.

I could get injured (hopefully unlikely), I could get sick (sometimes pretty likely during the taper. A lot of runners get sick during this time).

Then there’s marathon DAY- the weather could be terrible…HOT, rainy, windy. Or maybe it just won't be my day- I have had that happen many times in the past- I trained really hard, but my hard work wasn't reflected on race day. 

But no matter what happens on May 4^th, I can look back at my training and be proud of myself.

"It's not about having the courage to finish a marathon, it’s about having the courage to begin."

"Getting this far- just getting to the starting line- is a challenge in and of itself. The marathon is merely the reward."

I have to thank my friend Kelly for training with me- we did nearly all of our long runs together, and she gave me a lot of advice (combined with information from the McMillan Training Calculator- if you’re not using this for your training, you should start!) 

On her own, Kelly has run a 3:25 marathon- twenty minutes faster than my goal for next Sunday, so I feel as though she is running this race for me. I want to thank her, no matter what happens on May 4th.

Oh right...I mentioned my goal.

So here are my goals in the order of most awesome goal to the worst.  

If #1 doesn’t happen, then I’m hoping that #2 does.  If #2 doesn’t happen, then I’m hoping for #3, and so on and so forth.

#1. Run a 3:45

#2. Run a 3:4X – anything with a 3:4X something is just fine.

#3. Run a PR (my PR is 3:55)

#4. Don’t run worse than Kelly’s worst marathon (She has never gone over 4 hours. I can’t be her first…)

#5. Finish.

#6. Don’t die

Fingers crossed, my friends. I have had too many "bad" marathons. Its time for a good one.

There will come a time during the marathon when I have to choose how hard I am going to push myself.   How strong will I be when the going gets tough? (because yeah…it will get tough. It will get really uncomfortable...)

Will I be able to look at myself in the mirror on Sunday afternoon, and honestly answer the question, “Did I give it my all? Did I do my best?” I want to be able to say YES. I gave 100%.

Okay, okay, Jess, enough with the #sobrave  #inspirational  #motivational crap, right? 

It’s just a marathon. Millions of people run them every year. And 3:45 isn't even that impressive.

That’s right. It is JUST a race. It doesn’t represent who I am. My finish time doesn’t determine my value as a person…If I don’t achieve my goal, I will get over it. Life goes on.

Even so…that doesn’t make me want to achieve my goal any less!

P.S. There is no runner tracking at Flying Pig, so the fastest way for you to find out if I achieved my goal is for me to tell you, and I'm planning to post the results here first.  So, before I post to my personal Facebook or text anyone, or anything like that, I will post to the blog as to which of the goals was attained- 1, 2, 3, 4,5, or 6.  Be sure to check here first!

Weekly Recap for the Last Week of March: Capitol Run, Kate Spade, and Lululemon!

Hi all, I hope your weekends are going swimmingly. Today is a gorgeous 60 degree day in Minneapolis.  Since this is the first day this warm since last October, of course everyone is out and about and enjoying the nice temps. Apparently, the trails around the lakes are crazy- or so Dustin tells me. I am trying to be smart, and taking today as a non-running day after a 20 mile run yesterday, but Dustin did a run with Matilda, and reported back that the lakes were crazy busy. Be forewarned! I think we're all just ecstatic that it finally feels like spring.

So, yes- I did a 20 mile capitol run yesterday. Most of the time when we do a "capitol run" its a full 22 mile run before the taper. However, Flying Pig is a few weeks after the Boston marathon, and the capitol run was organized primarily for the Boston training group. Kelly, Dustin, and I (the Flying Pig runners) just tagged along for our 20 miler. It was kind of nice to skip Lake Nokomis for the "shortcut" to the capitol. It made 20 miles feel easy!

Do you recognize Dustin's jacket for the lululemon warehouse sale?

Okay, other than the 20 miler, how did this week turn out in fitness?

Monday: After a lot of hard miles the week before (ending with the Irish Run 8k on Sunday and a barre class in the evening) I decided to take Monday off of running. Instead I took a C2 class at Corepower Yoga, which felt great. I was definitely sore and my muscles needed the stretch.

Tuesday: A non-running day on Monday left my legs ready for a big running day on Tuesday! Kelly and I did 10 miles with 5 repeats of the "winter hill", a.k.a. a hill over by Lake of the Isles that is 0.75 long (or 1.5 miles round trip). We kept tempo pace on the way up and tempo pace on the way down. Of course, tempo pace was easy-peasy on the way down; not so much on the way up! The workout ended up being nearly 8 miles of hard effort, which left me pretty beat the next day.

Wednesday: Even though I was tired from the hills, I managed an easy 5.5 mile run with Matilda. I didn't wear my Garmin, and I let her stop and sniff as often as she liked.

Thursday: 8.5 miles in the AM with Kelly in the rainy/fog mix. Legs were still tired from the hills.

Friday: Complete rest. Much needed!

Saturday: 20 mile long run. I felt pretty strong throughout this run, and the sun was shining and the weather wasn't so bad. Kelly and I have been running together quite a bit lately, so we decided to bring "Chat Pack" cards to ask each other questions to help make the miles pass quickly.

I highly recommend these fun little questions for long runs. Buy them HERE.

Best running buddy!

We had two organized support stops (which were AWESOME!) along the way as well. A big thank you to the volunteers who came out to give us Gatorade, water, candy, etc. at these stops. It really helped!

Our last mile to the capitol was our fastest- we finished strong, which was a great feeling. 

Sunday: Hour long barre class at the Barre in Edina. Lots of arm and core work. My quads weren't in the mood for some of the leg work, so I took it easy on that part. I love the classes at the Barre, as they really burn out your upper body!

I think I did a good job of balancing hard running workouts, yoga, and rest this week. Next week is another tough week with two track workouts, and then the Ron Daws 25k on Saturday, so I am going to really be careful to make sure I'm getting enough sleep, foam rolling plenty, and eating right.

What's happening in Fitness Fashion this week?
In Fitness Fashion this week, of course the highlight for me was the lululemon warehouse sale. I scored a lot of items for a price that fit the bill! Read all about it HERE. So fun!

What's happening in Fashion this week?
In Fashion, I posted to Facebook about a flash sale online at Kate Spade, where I snagged this bag: 

It was originally $315, and I got it for $99! I think it will be a great bag for work or play this summer, and I can't pass up a deal that good.  Apparently, Kate Spade has these flash sales every once and awhile, and they only last for a few hours. You can sign up to get the notifications for future flash sales HERE.

Well, that's all from me for the weekly recap.

Did you check out the Lululemon sale? Find anything good? Please share!

Dustin and I actually stopped by the sale again this morning after my barre class, just to see what was left. There was slim pickings, but I did pick up a few more Bitty Bracers for my friend Susie, at a really great price- only $30 for two of them!

Weekly Recap and the Calhoun Beach Running Club Capitol Run!

By Jess in Minneapolis

September is here, and fall is creeping up on us. I bet most of you are tapering now if you're doing a fall marathon. Cheers to the taper!

My first week of the taper panned out pretty well. Here are the details:

Monday: Yoga! Hot Power Fusion at Corepower Yoga at St. Louis Park with instructor Joseph. Felt amazing!

Tuesday: 8 am miles solo

Wednesday: Surly Furious Five Miler again at Theodore Wirth (i.e. trail run)

Thursday: 8.5 miles at a real live track! One of the run club members is a coach at a local high school, so we were able to access the track to do some legitimate speed work. Four one-mile repeats, with one lap (400m) in between, cooldown/warmup of about 2 miles

Friday: C2 at Corepower Yoga- i.e. Vinyasa Flow

Saturday: 15 miles (tag-along long run to the Capitol Run, see below)

Sunday: 4 easy miles with Matilda

Total: 40.5 miles, 2 yoga sessions, no complete rest days, but lots of rest

It’s amazing how much more time I had for yoga during the taper. I guess when you’re not trying to max out on running, you actually can take a breather every once and awhile!

I went from 60 miles last week to 40 this week. This means that my total mileage decreased by 30%, which is pretty standard for the taper. This week, I’ll probably only run 30 miles, or another 25% decrease, or 50% of my max week. 

I try to keep this tip in mind for the taper:

Cut back the mileage: Decrease your total weekly mileage by about 40% starting two weeks out. During race week, reduce your overall mileage by at least 60%. For example, a runner whose weekly training mileage peaked at 60 miles (like me!) should run 36 miles the week before race week, and no more than 25 in race week. During the last four days before the marathon, don’t do any runs of more than three miles. If you’drather take the last two days completely off, that’s okay too. Don’t worry about mileage during race week- you’ll get your fill on Sunday morning!

Next week, (the week before Berlin), I’ll run easy 3-5 milers, but I am going to focus on sleep. I know that jet lag could be an issue for us, so I want to try to go into the traveling time well-rested.

2013 Capitol Run:

This past Saturday was the ever-popular Calhoun Beach Running Club Capitol Run. I wrote about it last year HERE, but if you missed that post, you may be wondering, "what is a Capitol Run?"

What's a Capitol Run???

A Capitol Run is an awesome, well-organized CBRC training run to the state capitol building! This run involves 20-22 miles of the Twin Cities Marathon course; FYI- the Twin Cities marathon ends at the capitol in St. Paul. It's one of my favorite marathon finishes so far! 

For the training run, runners are given the option to run 20 or 22, depending on their individual training.

The CBRC capitol run starts at the Calhoun Beach Club. The club's location around mile 4 of the course is truly ideal.  Runners had to sign up ahead of time on a google doc online. Volunteers dropped their vehicles off at the capitol around 6:15 am that day, and rides were coordinated back to the club so that everyone would have a ride home after the run as well. Planning such an event required a lot of time and logistical savviness! Yet thanks to the good people at the CBRC, everything went smoothly (again this year!)

Since I did my max long run last week, I only had 15 miles on the schedule, but TCM and Chicago marathoners had 20-22 on their schedules this weekend. Dustin had volunteered to provide a support stop at mile 7, so it worked perfectly for me to hop into the run there, and then take a “shortcut” to the Capitol.

The Capitol Run is a great opportunity for Twin Cities Marathon runners to get familiar with the course and the “hills” of Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Several other running groups in the Twin Cities also organize capitol runs this day as well, though theirs are slightly different. For example, Lifetime Fitness’s running group does an out-and-back course from the capitol and back. The Calhoun Beach Running Club runs from our club (on Lake Calhoun) to the Capitol. Our version does take a little extra planning, as everyone who makes it to the capitol needs a ride back afterwards. Fortunately, there were plenty of volunteers willing to drop their cars off early in the morning at the Capitol, and everything went smoothly (thanks in part to Dustin’s hard work planning the event!)

I felt a little like a “cheater” having only done 15 miles instead of 22, but I had my fair share of a tough long run the weekend before, and I was happy to have an easy 15 miler instead. Thirty runners participated in the CBRC Capitol Run this year, and it sounded like most everyone had a good day. The weather was so much better than last weekend, which definitely helped a ton!

I ran my “cheater” Capitol Run with a newer run club member, who was pretty diligent about keeping us on pace. She actually runs 8 min/miles on marathon day, but she is a strong advocate for the SLOW pace on the long runs. She believes that she recovers a lot faster, and is less likely to get injured if she is smart about keeping a relaxed pace on the long runs. Therefore, she started around 9:15 min/miles, eventually picked it up to 9 min/miles, and then finished strong around 8:45 min/miles. It felt great to me to finish feeling great, and I definitely didn’t need much time to recover. Perhaps there is some truth to her methodology!

Nice work runners! 

Now enjoy your taper.

Fitting Remarks: The Taper

By Jess

It's taper time! Several midwestern marathons fall on October 7 this year: Chicago, Twin Cities, Steamtown, Milwaukee Lakefront marathon, and more! 

That means we're all tapering...

I found these 12 tips for tapering on "Complete Running"

1. No more long runs: Your final long run should be no less than 14 days before the marathon. If you’ve missed some of your scheduled long runs, it’s too late to make up for it now. Anything above 15 miles now will most likely hurt your performance on race day.
2. Cut back the mileage: Decrease your total weekly mileage by about 40 percent starting two weeks out. During race week, reduce your overall mileage by at least 60 percent. For example, a runner whose weekly training mileage peaked at 60 miles should run 36 miles the week before race week, and no more than 25 in race week. During the last four days before the marathon, don’t do any runs of more than three miles. If you’d rather take the last two days completely off, that’s OK too. Don’t worry about mileage during race week—you’ll get your fill on Sunday morning.
3. Maintain the intensity: Even though you are cutting back on your mileage, it’s important to maintain the intensity of these workouts. Run at close to marathon pace, so your body is accustomed to the effort level you will demand during the race.
4. Avoid the hills: Don’t run any hills during race week—it helps your legs recover more quickly. It’s just like with the mileage: you’ll get plenty of hills on race day.
5. Choose your weapons: Decide what clothes you will wear on race day. Pick comfortable shoes, socks, and running clothes that you’ve already worn on a long training run. DON’T wear anything new on marathon day, unless you want to have a graphic chafing story to tell your family about afterwards.
6. Gain a few—but not a lot: Since you are running less, pay close attention to your diet. It’s normal to gain a few pounds as your muscles stockpile the glycogen they will need during the race. But gaining more than five pounds will make you feel heavy and sluggish. Eat a bit less than usual, with well-balanced meals, and don’t start any fad diets.
   Remember, carbo loading doesn’t mean overloading. The night before the race, just eat a regular sized meal with a higher percentage of carbohydrates than usual. On race morning, eat a small portion of a bagel, banana, or oatmeal to top off your tank—but don’t load your stomach to the brim. Twenty-six miles is a long way to run with a stomach cramp.
7. Wake up early: If you’re not accustomed to running in the morning, try a couple of morning runs, so your body gets a taste of exercising at that time of day. Marathon start times are frequently at 7 a.m.—and if you’ve never run at that hour, it can be a bit of a shock. You might as well get it over with prior to race morning.
8. Eliminate extra activities: If you do any cross training activities, don’t do them during race week. Don’t do any unusual activities that might cause muscle soreness afterwards. This isn’t the time to catch up on housework or repair projects. If you have extra time on your hands, just get more rest or take a nap instead.
9. Cut your toe nails: Do it five or six days before the race. Trust me on this one.
10. Be paranoid: It’s fairly common for runners to get minor illnesses while tapering, so stay away from sick people. Wash your hands after touching anybody. Just make like Howard Hughes for a couple of weeks, and you’ll be assured of staying healthy.
11. Visualize success: The mental side of marathon running is extremely important. Beginning today, picture yourself running relaxed and strong, and having a great race. Repeat this scenario each day. Be confident in your ability to succeed!
12. Enjoy yourself: Yes, you should take the precautions above, but don’t get so overwhelmed with worry that you forget to enjoy the experience. Think of how far you’ve come in your training, and resolve to have a great time on race day.

Good luck to all of you on your taper!

Featured Fit: The Calhoun Beach Running Club Capitol Run!

By Jess

At the end of each official marathon training season, the Calhoun Beach Running Club organizes a "Capitol Run."

{the Twin Cities Marathon finishes here!}

What's a Capitol Run???

A Capitol Run is an awesome, well-organized CBRC training run to the state capitol building! This run involves 20-22 miles of the Twin Cities Marathon course; FYI- the Twin Cities marathon ends at the capitol in St. Paul. It's one of my favorite marathon finishes so far! 

For the training run, runners are given the option to run 20 or 22, depending on their individual training.

The CBRC capitol run starts at the Calhoun Beach Club of course! The club's location around mile 4 of the course is truly ideal. From there, 30+ of us headed out around 7:15 am, on a beautiful, clear September morning. The temperature was in the mid-50's, the sun was shining, and excitement was in the air!

My husband has recently taken on a "leadership" role in the club, and he did a lot of the organization for this event. I think he did a great job, and I'm not just saying that because he is my husband! Runners had to sign up ahead of time on a google doc online. Volunteers dropped their vehicles off at the capitol around 6:15 am that day, and rides were coordinated back to the club so that everyone would have a ride home AFTER the run as well. Planning such an event required a lot of time and logistical savviness! Yet thanks to the good people at the CBRC, everything went smoothly.

As for the run-

Support stops were located at miles 6.5, 12.5, and 17.5. They were manned by other CBRC members who weren't training this season (or this particular weekend). For example, Amber and her husband manned the first stop. She just ran the Sioux Falls Marathon last weekend (as you can read about HERE) and didn't need to do another 20 miler so soon! The second stop was managed by the wife of a run club member, and the 3rd by another Sioux Falls marathoner. 

Powerade, ice, water, fruit, jolly ranchers- each stop had plenty of goodies to keep you going. 
Some stops had music and/or canine friends for a tail-wagging vote of confidence for the runners!

{This handsome fella attended one of the support stops with some woofs of cheer!}

For TCM runners, especially first-timers, this capitol run provides an opportunity to become familiar with the marathon course, and to experience the hills leading up to Summit Avenue (they can be tough!) as well as the glory of the capitol finish. Knowing what to expect on marathon day can really help to ease any nerves before the big day.

At the end of the run, each runner has to run UP the capitol steps and touch the doors; otherwise it doesn't count!

{Kelly and Susie make their finish COUNT!}

This year, there were other run clubs doing similar capitol runs, so there was a lot of energy out on the trails. The weather was great, the support was well-spaced, and it was a great culmination of the training season.

Side note: The other club that had a big presence that day was the Lifetime Fitness running club. Their version of the capitol run was an out-and-back run from the capitol. It was open to the public (for a fee), with segregated pace groups, and busses from their facilities. Our capitol run is only open to members, is a point-to-point event, and is included in the membership dues.

No matter which club you ran with that day, it was great to have the other clubs out there, and I have to admit I appreciated the Lifetime signs pointing us in the right direction at a few points on the course!

{Here come the ladies- the finish line is steps away!}

{Meggan and I take on the stairs!}

Nice work Calhoun Beach Running Club. 

Now it's time for the taper!

Fits Do Race Reviews: "Get Ready to Rock 20 Mile"

By Jessie

Yesterday was the "Get Ready to Rock 20 Mile" race in White Bear Lake.

(Is it really a "race" if it's 20 miles long? I'll call it a supported long run!)

Website: http://www.finalstretch.com/running-events/get-ready-to-rock/info/

The event also includes a 5k and 10k, and deems itself the "ideal training race for the Twin Cities Marathon or 10 mile." The timing is quite perfect, as it's 4 weeks out from most fall marathons.

These two ladies sure look like they are ready to ROCK!

In the past, the Calhoun Beach Running Club would run the "Bear Water 20 Mile" as part of our training schedule. However, this year, our coach changed things up a bit, and put the "City of Lakes 25k" on the schedule instead.

Unfortunately, the City of Lakes 25k was on Sunday morning.  With Abby's wedding last night, a lot of us did not want to have to get up early on Sunday for a race! So our thoughtful coach found another option for us, in the "Get Ready to Rock 20 Mile!"

It's notable that there are two 20 mile races in the same small suburb of White Bear Lake, MN: the "Bear Water 20 Mile" and the "Get Ready to Rock"- I guess White Bear Lake loves a good long run!

This race started at 8 am. It was quite small, with just over 200 participants...(My fear was that I would get LAST place- it was a possibility!)

Cost: Cheap! The 20 Mile race is only $35. The 10k is $27, and the 5k is $25.

Course: One common complaint about the Bear Water 20 mile (the other White Bear 20 miler) was that it consists of two loops of the exact same course....  Yes, you run the same 10 mile loop twice. You actually cross the finish line, and have to go around again for another 10 miles. It's mentally quite tough!

Luckily,  the Get Ready to Rock 20 Mile followed a kinder course. The below map doesn't accurately reflect it but there are still two loops of a lake but only a smaller 6 mile lake (Bald Eagle Lake), and you don't have to actually pass over the finish line to start the second lap.

The course circled a beautiful lake, and was relatively flat. Runners were kept to one side of residential and country roads, but I never felt that the traffic was dangerous.

Go Caroline!

Jen and Ellen representing the CBRC!

Mile Markers: One small complaint- the mile markers were quite a bit off. Most runners have Garmins these days, but if you didn't have one, you would be pretty confused/frustrated if you were watching your clock for pace.

Mile 5? More like mile 4.5!

Spectators: Due to the small size of the race, there were limited spectators. A few families came out in their front lawns to cheer, but only a few. The CBRC had its own cheering squad though, as our friend Theresa came out just to cheer and take pictures! It was great to have her at several spots on the course.

Go Dusters!

Mason and Pat- still smiling!

Meggan and Jessie trying to stay close to the pacer.

Yes, PACERS at a tiny 20 mile race! 

A nice perk!

Support: There were adequate support stops, with Gatorade, water, and Hammer gels, placed every 2 miles. They were manned by local high schoolers, who may have been  little more interested in looking at Facebook than handing out water...but since it was a small race, it was okay. The Gatorade was quite potent, and a few of us did find a bug or two in our water! There were also limited Porta Johns on the course. Some runners had to resort to a pit stop at a the local bait and tackle store along the way...Thanks to the nice owner of that store!  I would say that the support was the race's weak spot.

Swag: No medals, but bright orange technical tees.

Finish Line Goodies: Oranges, bread, Muscle Milk (yuck!) Gatorade, water, bananas

Weather: I know that a race director can't control the weather, even though I'm sure they wish they could! But for September in Minnesota, the weather wasn't too bad. It was in the low-60's at the start, and the mid-70's by the finish. I would still suggest that they move the start time to 7 am, because it can be much hotter than that in September. The extra hour would help a lot. This year, however,  it was a nice morning for a run. Even so,we all were still dehydrated and coated in that post-run saltiness that only runners know!

Rating: I give this race a 8/10. Overall, I enjoyed this race more than the Bear Water 20 mile, and I would do it again next year. It's really great that we have so many options for "supported" long runs during marathon training, and even though I preferred this White Bear option, I would still recommend either race as a useful addition to your fall marathon program. A 20 mile "race" offers a great rehearsal for the actual marathon. You can test out your marathon gear, your pre-race fueling, and more, without the pressure of the additional 6.2 miles!