Races that I have run:
9/3/2005 Milford Larbor Day 30k-
This was my first attempt at racing... anything! It was a 30k, which is around 18 miles. I was SOOO nervous
going into this! The run went really well, I felt GREAT and finished with a smile on my face, 6th
in my age group with a time of 2:43:58.
9/2005 North Country
Trail Run 26.2 miles - 5th woman finisher in 4:12:14, my very first marathon
(and race for that matter!) was a very tough trail marathon- LOTS of hills, dirt, roots, stumps... I got pretty dirty and
had a GREAT time. My kids were 2.5 and 1 year old. They came with me along with my mom and husband to cheer me on. This was
one of the proudest moments.
10/2005
Detroit Marathon- I ran this not even a MONTH after my previous marathon and with zero training on
pavement. I was not used to the pavement and after running a 1:55:19 for the first 13 miles my knees were KILLING me
and I finished in A LOT Of pain, barely able to run in 4:12:14. I learned a lot from this race. Like if you are going to run
a road race, TRAIN on pavement!
4/1/2007 Martian 10K- My first 10k.
I was still nursing my 6 month old baby girl I got a stitch in my side from my sports bra being so tight. I finished
7th woman overall with a time of 47:26. I did NOT enjoy this 10k as much
as the longer distances- it was a lot more painful! But I was proud of my time.
4/29/2007 Running
Fit Trail Marathon- This was run in Pinckney, MI on a very tough trail. The trail was 13 miles
that we ran twice. Chris, my husband ran this marathon with me (with basically NO training, but that's a whole different story!)
I trained really hard for this race, starting in January with my 3rd child was 3 months old. When I ran this she was 7.5 months.
I was so angry with I AGAIN got a horrible side stitch from my sports bra that lasted about 13 miles. Other than that I felt
awesome! It was a VERY hilly and very tough course- NOT for wimps or those who easily give up. I finished in 4:26:13. I was 7th woman overall and 2nd in my age group.
5/2007 Dances With Dirt 50K in Gnaw Bone Indiana-
This was my 1st 50k!! (that's 34 miles, people!) I was 3 weeks past my Running Fit trail marathon and in the
best shape of my life. Chris, me and our 3 kids traveled down to Gnaw Bone, Indiana and stayed at the Holiday Inn the night
before. I was SO NERVOUS when Chris drove me to the start. It was hilly and tough- river crossings, scaling steep hills and
climbing over huge fallen trees. It was SO beautiful and a great experience. I finished in 6:10:49- 14th
finisher overall and 3rd female.
7/28/2007 Grand Island Trail Marathon- This
marathon was run in the upper peninsula of Michigan. In a town called Munising on a tiny Island ( I believe it is called Grand
Island!) . We actually had to take a ferry to the start (no cars are allowed on the island) and it was very, VERY beautiful.
We ran near cliffs that over look the beautiful Lake Superior, on the sandy beaches and through the forests. This was
a VERY tough marathon for me. For several reasons. (a) My little baby girl woke up with a fever of 104 that morning- my husband
Chris told me to go ahead and run the race, I'd be home by 10am and if she still had a fever we'd take her into the emergency
room. (so I did, and she still had a fever when I got back and we took her to the emergency room... she ended up being fine,
just a virus.) But I was still so stressed out about it and felt so guilty. The biggest reason I did so poorly was I DID NOT
EAT ENOUGH prior to running this! I hit "the wall" at about mile 13 and trudged through the next 13 miles in agony.
This race had nothing available to eat except power-gels (and you can only get so many "gels" before you want to
puke!) and also some very horrible electrolyte beverage. I finished in 4:47:56, something
like 56th woman overall. Yuck. And then once I finished I had to wait for the ferry to come and get me and then take the bus
back to our 5th wheel where Chris and the kids were waiting for me. THANK GOD there was a nice woman at the finish who gave
me an orange or I would have perished, for sure!
8/2007- 8 HOUR Howl at the Moon Ultra run/walk- This was an 8 hour ultra that I walked with my Mom.
You basically walked a 3.5 mile loop as many times as you could in 8 hours. My first plan was to run it, but in the end I
walked with my mom. We ended up walking about 27 miles- A Marathon! I was so proud of my mom, who almost suffered from heat
exhaustion! It was a HOT (90 plus degree) day. Chris and the kids and mom and I drove our 5th wheel down to Danville, Ill.
the night before. After the race we got a flat tire on our truck driving back to the 5th wheel. My mom usually changed
all her own tires but was so tired after the ultra she called someone else to come and do it. A great memory. Mom went on
to walk it again in 2008 with my Sister in Law Krysti. It was going to be our yearly event but Mom unfortunately passed away
from Stomach cancer on 9/2/2009. I love you mom!
4/2008
Harbison Forest 50K- This was a fun 50k. I ran it with practically NO training- just my
regular runs and I threw in a couple 4 hour trail runs to get ready. We lived in Charleston, SC at the time and drove the
90 min to the Harbison National Forest. It was a small run (as in not a lot of runners) Also on a hilly trail- very beautiful.
I could tell I was NOT in my best shape. BUT, I was able to run the whole thing and finish in 6:23:03.
I also met and chatted with Ray Krolewicz (who was one of the TOP ultra runners in the United States in
the 1980's! Ray Krolewicz has run over 400 ultramarathons,
winning over 80 of them. He's a former American record holder for he most miles in 48 hours (216 miles, since broken by others),
and has run a number of 50 mile and 100K events at a sub 6:50 (sub 3 hour marathon) pace, but has never ran a sub 2:30 marathon.
During the decade of the 1980's, he ran at least one ultra marathon every month of the decade. ) And
yes, I got to chat with him for a while and he gave me valuable information on Ultra running and training. Very cool.
7/15/2009 Hickam Airforce Base Half Marathon- This
race I ran about a month after my family and I moved to the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It was held on the airforce base. Again,
I really didn't do any "formal" half marathon training. I just ran my regular runs (which were between 6-9 miles
in length a few times a week) we were living in Kaneohe and my running route was pretty hilly so I am sure that helped me
out. I placed 2nd in my age group with a time of 1:47:38(thats's 7:45 per mile) . I was
pretty proud of my time , for it being my first half marathon.
3/2010
- Straub-kapi'olani Hawaii womans 10k- This race is special to me because I ran it 14 wks pregnant
with baby #4. I suffered from horrible morning sickness for the first 18 wks (AND BEYOND!) of my pregnancy so I didn't
run much before this race and was sick later that same day after I ran it. But I did it and I felt really good running it-
My time was 55:32. I was the 165th woman out of 2,062!
