Haunted Hustle Results

Oh my gosh!  I had a great time.  This was the first year of this local race and it was wonderful.  I will definitely sign up again.

My goals were to

Have a fun time!

Take pictures - somehow I am taking my camera with me.  It just fits into my handheld pocket.  

Keep a good pace - under 10 min miles

Have fun!
And I accomplished all of them - especially the double fun! 

I was up early - to eat and get ready. The race started at 7:45 and I arrived and parked by 7:10. I headed over to use the port-a-pottie . . . . which was NOT easy with this dress on - I was worried about exactly where all of the material might be located at any given moment while using the port-a-pottie. I was very careful to make sure I knew exactly where my sleeves were! When I first arrived at the race I didn't see many people in costume and was actually a little bummed out about it. It was actually quite breezy at the start and I decided to walk back to my car and wait a little while longer before heading to the start. Well I guess the costumes all arrived as I was waiting in my car - YEAH!!!! I headed over to the start at about 7:35. Here are a couple of pictures. 

Me at the start!

 People in front of me!

 

We headed out - 1/2 marathoners and marathoners! Costumes and no costumes! Mile 1 - 3 flew by. That was really the only part of the course that was hilly and other than one relatively steep hill - it was mainly just rolling neighborhood streets. I knew that Kerri - from Running for Life! HERE was working the water station at mile 3 and 23(of the marathon). As soon as I approached I started yelling Kerri - one of the water station people said she was further down the line. I hollered Kerri again and there she was. I stopped and had a photo op with her.
I love her green hair - it would have looked nice under my witches hat! 

After mile 3 - we headed into the Pheasant Branch Nature Conservancy - a beautiful area to run. Because it was an out and back - it was a little difficult to pass people - you just had to scout ahead to make sure there were no oncoming runners and then make a dash. There is where I first saw Jamie, from Running Diva Mom, HERE. She saw me first - I think the witch hat gave me away. We cheered for each other and then continued on. She had already turned around in the conservancy and was headed out - while I was just headed into the Conservancy . . . dang she is fast - she got another PR today - AWESOME running Jamie! 

As we approached mile 7-8 (I think) I knew I had an opportunity to see Jamie again. Runners were going both directions on the path and I figured I would get my camera ready (out of my pocket on my handheld - which I have to say actually worked pretty good - it was a snug fit - but it fit) - and watch for Jamie.  Sure enough - there she was - running strong.  Here is an action shot of Jamie. 

Looking Good Jamie!

Next up was mile 8. A co-worker lives really close and she was going to be at the turnaround on mile 8. I kept my camera out and there she was with two of her three children. 

Thanks Angie for showing up - having this to look forward to seemed to make the run go faster!

Now onto the last 5 miles. Nothing special - I felt pretty good - I walked through the water station at mile 9 to make sure that I had a good drink of water - I have Gatorade with me - but had just eaten a GU and wanted water to wash it down. These miles brought us back into town with more cheering and more activity (I love activity to distract me). 

As we headed into mile 12 - I got a side-stitch. I just kept telling myself - it wasn't much further and before you know it - there was the finish! 

Race Results  - 2:07:41 (personal record), average pace 9:51.......Yea!!!!

I had a great time.  

Here are another couple of photo's from the race

The Hambugular - the guy carried a McDonald's bag - it was pretty funny!

These two were near me for quite a bit of the race - but I finished in front of them ;-)

The Haunted Hustle - AM

:WEATHER DATA:  Temperature 43 - 46, with winds from the SSW at 12 mph - temp feels like 37 - 41.  That pretty much sums up the weather for the race.  So I THINK I will be OK as far as having my costume on and not overheating.  I am currently going back and forth between capri's or shorts  and long sleeves or short sleeves . . . I have the capri's and a long sleeve tech shirt on - but I think I will change into the shorts and keep the long sleeve shirt.  I am planning on taking both with me so that I can change my mind.  ;-)  

So here are my goals for this race.

Have a fun time!

Take pictures - somehow I am taking my camera with me.  It just fits into my handheld pocket.  

Keep a good pace - under 10 min miles

Have fun!

Check back for my post race report!  

Witch me luck!

Costume . . . can I do it?

so the question is . . . can I run 13.1 miles in this dress?  The hat will have to be tacked to the dress so that it hangs off my back . . . 'cause I think it will drive me crazy.

I am going to try!

Haunted Hustle 1/2 marathon - SATURDAY

Today is actually a self imposed rest day - no running and I actually slept a little too late to take the dog on her walk . . .  trying to write a quick blog update instead.


The weather has been crazy windy here in Wisconsin.  Yesterday winds were clocked at 70 miles per hour on the UW campus.  Our neighbors willow tree fell on their house.  (A roof that is less than 1 month old . . .   ;-(

  


The Haunted Hustle 1/2 marathon is Saturday.  Since it OBVIOUSLY has a Halloween theme I have been sporadically thinking about what I might be.  I keep on going back and forth between wanting to wear a costume and not.  I just don't know about wearing a costume for 13 miles.  I am not the strongest runner and certainly don't want to be BUGGED by my costume.  ?????   
My two choices are a witch or pumpkin.  I have a witches dress and hat . . . it is a long dress - but I can make it into a shorter version so that I can run.  I would also be able to wear capri's and a regular shirt underneath.  I would need to figure out some way of attaching the witches hat to the dress, so that I could have it on my back during most of the race.  My other idea is to be a jack-o-lantern.  I would have to sew a top, making it big enough to be filled with some small balloons to add size - but not heavy bulk.  I already have a piece of appropriate fabric.  I would them wear the same black capri's and shirt.  


So here is the question - has anyone run in a costume?  Am I crazy to be considering a costume for 13 miles?  I know you are not suppose to try something different for a race . . . but what the heck!  


I will post a picture of the dress and hat this evening.  Got to hop in the shower and get ready for work.  


Have a great ghoulish day!  

Love and Justice

Last evening I had an opportunity to attend a fund-raising event for a local charity - A Fund for Women. This program awards grants to women and girls in our community. When the fund was started in 1993 research indicated that less than 5% of all grant funds given across the United States were given to projects for women and girls. I find that number shocking.


It was a fun evening. The program was actually quite wonderful. In the past there have been speakers, but this year there was entertainment in the form of a play regarding women's role in the 1800's in Wisconsin and a video performance of a Women's Anthem sung by 100's of women - followed by a group of girls from the Madison Youth Choir performing the same song. It was a wonderful song and the melody is quite haunting. The song has been playing in my mind all evening and morning. So I decided to google it and sure enough - found it on YouTube.

I found out that Kavisha, an Australian folk performer, was commissioned by Victorian Women's Trust to write a Women's Anthem "Love and Justice" to celebrate 100 years of women's suffrage. The video, as seen below, has Kavisha conducting the 400 plus Victorian Women who premiered the song on November 29th 2008.



I have included the lyrics.
Enjoy

LOVE AND JUSTICE   ©   K.Mazzella/Peer

The moon is hidden in the clouds
the fire light is dying
in the dark slum and street
men women children crying
no work today means no pay and no pay means we're starving
mother I'm with child again
I feel like I am dying

A pen, a pen your weapon be
my fine courageous women !
let's sign our names a thousand times for freedom that's hard winning
no more let fear and anger rule with heavy hand of violence
the moon is shining in the sky as we break the silence

chorus
Love and Justice be my flag
I'll live my truth what e're will be
I swear that I cannot rest till there's equality
Love and justice be my flag
I 'll live my truth what ever comes
so many rivers to cross till our journeys done

All who toil the weary earth
see beyond your measure!
women are real gold  for all of us to treasure
for every heroine that's named there are a thousand nameless
who live to make a better day with acts of love and justice!

Daughter, sister, mother, wife
when you rise so shall others
happiness will fall upon son, father, husband, brother
in home and in the market place
town and countryside
let our laughter spread its wealth, it's surely our birthright!

Oh ! I had the strangest dream
it came one starry midnight
Men and women all joined hands in peace and loving friendship
all broken hearts were mended
all broken bodies healed
River, mountain, rocks rejoiced
the bells of freedom peeled!

Hump Day

Hump Day update:  I started the day with a two mile run with Sophie.  I pressed the snooze a couple of times this morning and just wasn't going to get out of bed in time to get any distance in this morning.  2 miles was going to be it.  The Haunted Hustle 1/2 marathon is just over a week away - and although I did get an almost 12 mile run in last Saturday - I really want to get a mid-week run of 5-8 miles in.  So today I decided to run at lunch.  It actually worked out great.  The run went really well - if only I could keep this pace up for longer than 5 miles . . . I ran 5.1 miles with an average pace of 9:13.  I don't usually run at lunch - but really need to consider this more with winter coming.  As I have gotten older I really don't like running in the dark on potentially slippery surfaces.  I bought a head light a couple of weeks ago and have only used it in the evening for a walk.  I actually didn't need it this morning . . . because I slept late and wasn't out there running in the dark.  Oops!

Last night I finally did some sewing.  I had some pants that needed to be taken in - and hemmed.  I wore these pants last winter with pins in them - yuck - and finally got around to getting the sewing machine out and taking them in.  They were also too long to wear with my "comfy" shoes - I could really only wear them with heels - and that just doesn't work very well.  My feet complain so much after I wear heels - I almost always wake up at night with toe and foot cramps after I have worn higher heels ( and trust me these are not that high).  And the reason I needed to do some sewing last night was that I stopped at Chico's and did some shopping after work.  I have never been to a Chico's store . . . but found 2 jackets, three shirts / tops and a belt . . . and everything except the belt was on sale.  I figure that the middle of October is past the time to put away my summer khaki's and get back into wearing my fall and winter clothes and needed these pants to wear with the new clothes.

Rest of the week is pretty busy - for me.
Thursday evening I am attending a dinner in town for A Fund for Women - a fundraising event which  support grants to women and girls in our community.
Friday evening a co-worker is playing in a polka band at Essen Haus - a German restaurant/bar in town and some of us from the office are attending.
Saturday my hubby's brother will be in town visiting and we need to watch the BADGER game.
Sunday - last long run before next weekends Haunted Hustle 1/2 marathon.

Peace and have some great runs out there!

Teach me how to Bucky!

Badgers vs Ohio State

Badgers WIN Game!

hubby and I have 50 yard line tickets for the 6 PM start

temps are suppose to be perfect - low 60's dropping to mid 50's 

It is a great evening for a FOOTBALL GAME.

The student section flooded the field after the Badger WIN!  It was awesome!

Blog Action Day 2010 - WATER - Cherish it!

Blog Action Day 2010

Topic: WATER

I read about blog action day on Robin's blog, Running Circles around the Turtles -  HERE. I thought it might be fun to participate given that the topic is Water. The idea is that everyone involved writes about the same subject . . . obviously this will result in tons of different ideas and opinions.

Cherish Water.

Take a look - Water is all around us. Water is probably the most recycled product we have on earth. The whole evaporation - condensation - precipitation cycle happens over and over again . . . providing us with water to live - water to grow - water to produce.

Is there anything as satisfying as a tall cold glass of water . . . especially after a long run? All we have to do is turn the faucet and obtain a drink - no waiting - no wondering if it is safe - no running out - it is always sitting there waiting for our needs. Do you think about how lucky we are? Do you think about the people across the globe, living without a clean water source? Think about that the next time you take a shower and all that clean water is going down the drain.

Are you conscience of the water you consume?

• Do you shut the water off while you are brushing your teeth?
• Do you let the water run while rinsing dishes you washed by hand?  
• Do you wash you car in your driveway and let the water wash down the storm sewer?
• Do you water your yard and let much of the water spray on to the street or sidewalks?
• Do you run your dishwasher when you only have a few dishes to wash?
• Do you turn on the washing machine to wash only a couple items of clothing?
• Do you take excessively long showers?
• Do you think about the water that goes into producing everything that you buy, whether that be an automobile, food, clothes, furniture, running shoes, paper . . . I think every person, animal, plant and product that we create needs water. Amazing when you think about it . . . isn't it?

Living in Madison WI - we are basically surrounded by water. The downtown area is built on an Isthmus - Lake Mendota on the north and Lake Monona on the south. At it's narrowest the Isthmus is about 1/2 mile wide.

 Downtown as seen from Lake Monona

Aerial view of Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, Lake Wingra, Lake Waubesa and Lake Kegonsa

We talk a lot about water quality of the lakes. We also talk about run-off and keeping fertilizer and leaves out of the lakes. Any water in the streets, runs through the storm water system and ends up in the Lakes. At our house - I am sure our neighbors sometimes think we are crazy - but we rack the leaves out of the street and onto our tree lawn (that area between the sidewalk and street). We also pull the car onto the lawn when we wash it so that the water returns to the earth, instead of running into the lakes.

Before you buy a new shirt, pants, chair, car, bike, toy, shoes or food - stop and think about the water used to produce the product.

Before you turn on the faucet - stop and think about the water that we use.

Saving just a little can make a huge difference.

 

After all, we all live on the same planet - our home - Mother Earth . . . common ground!

Autumn Leaves and Haunted Hustle Half Marathon!

Autumn in Wisconsin . . . The leaves are changing and dropping like flies.  After Monday mornings 4 mile run with my partner Sophie I was sitting out on the front porch brushing her and trimming her nails - it is our Monday morning ritual - it sounded like it was raining . . . the tick tick tick of leaves dropping to the ground.  This last week we have seen the trees brighten to an almost glowing state.  My living room windows over look this tree and last week the room glowed.

Now - a mere one week later - the tree is almost bare.  On Sunday we racked and blew and racked but will need to do it again.  Even though the weather has been beautiful - winter is just around the corner.

Here is a picture of one of trees in our front yard.

White Ash

Oct 7 - yellow / purplish - glowing in the sunlight

Oct 10 - dropping on the lawn

Oct 14 - one week later the leaves are all on the ground!

The leaves are pretty much raked - there are still a couple of piles in the yard that need to be moved to the tree court.  We even rake the leaves back from the street -  we are very conscience of letting things (including leaves) travel through the storm sewers since that simply flows into our lakes!  

Running Update - afterall - this is a running blog!!!!!                      Reading about all of you fellow bloggers running marathons this fall got me wanting to run another half marathon this fall.  I was on a waiting list for a half marathon - the Haunted Hustle on October 30.  I just got the news last week that I was accepted.  Yea!!!!  Two weeks to get ready - YIKES !!!!    I have continued to do at least one long run on the weekend - anywhere from 7 - 10 miles . . .  but this weekend I am going to commit to running 11 + miles.  It might not seem that much further - but for me it will be a challenge.  

This morning I ran 2 miles with Sophie and then ran home from work, which is 6 1/2 miles.  So 8 1/2 miles for the day at a 9:40 pace - that distance doesn't usually happen during the week, usually I just don't want to get up that early in the morning and I hardly ever will run after getting home.  So running home after work was a good way of getting an extra 6 1/2 miles in.  It was a beautiful run home - temp was around 60 - perfect running conditions.  

Tomorrow will be a rest day - I'll take the dog for a walk in the morning - but no running.  

This weekend is the UW Badgers vs Ohio State football game and we have 50 yard-line tickets!  So hoping the Badgers can pull out a win.  It is a 6 PM game and I am so looking forward to it.  

Go Bucky!    

Peace - enjoy the day!

10-10-10-10K report

First off - Major Congratulations to Kerri, at Running for Life, HERE - , who I met at a blogger meet up, organized by Jamie before the Madison Mini Marathon back in August, ran her first Marathon today - Chicago - Way to go Kerri.  I can only imagine . . .   it was all I could do to run 6.2 miles today . . .  not 26.2   ;-)

Jamie, at Running Diva Mom - HERE,  hosted a virtual 10K in celebration of 10-10-10.  I figured I would keep with the spirit of the event and run it on the 10th - even though she was nice enough to let us run it anytime between Oct 1 and Oct 15.  Little did I know it would be this warm.  I am not complaining . . . we have been so lucky to be experiencing out of the ordinary warm and dry weather the last week.  It has been gorgeous - absolutely gorgeous.  Saturday we had a record high temperature of 85 and Sunday, race day, the high was 82, we missed hitting a record high on Sunday by a couple of degrees.  FYI - the average high for this time of year is 63.  Last week I was running in 40 degree temperatures and even some high 30's . . .  Sunday, it was 70 when I started my 10K.   :-)

Throwing me off slightly was the fact that my running partner, Sophie was spending the weekend with my son and his girl friend  . . .

I got out right around 9:30 - 

temp: 70 degrees - 

sky: clear blue - 

leaves: bright red & yellow & dropping

Here is a pre-race shot - take notice of all the leaves - later on in the day we blew and racked leaves and today there are just about as many on the ground . . . .
I was actually thinking about running 10 miles and simply stop my garmin at 6.2 . . . but after a couple miles I decided that I would instead just run the 10K and leave the longer distance for another day.

I actually looked up the route that I used for Tall Mom's Virtual Run back in March - figuring that it worked out perfect.  The run went pretty good.  I had a slower mile 4 - but then picked the pace back up with the remaining couple of miles.  It was beautiful weather - my ipod was loaded and I had my handheld with me.  I debated on taking my camera - decided at the last minute to leave it on the porch.  At mile 6 - here comes one of Madison's fire trucks around the corner . . . Madison has 12 fire stations and the station near our neighborhood is #10. . . . so there on the front of the fire truck was a huge #10.  I just had to laugh and I so wanted a photo of the truck.

Here are my mile splits:
1 - 9:16
2 - 9:34
3 - 9:11
4 - 9:43
5 - 9:27
6 - 9:19
.2 - 8:39

Total time was 58:21

Here is my photo in honor of 10-10-10-10k.  

thanks Jamie for organizing this virtual race.

Weekly recap

Although it was a very busy work week I still got my runs in and feel great about that. 

Here is my week in review.  Since the temperatures are changing - I am going to start recording the 7AM temp's and tracking them along with my weekly running mileage.

Sun:  7.5 mile run - avg pace: 9:54 - temp 43
Mon:  2 mile walk - temp 36
Tues:  2 mile run - temp 44
Wed: 6 mile run - biked to work - 1.5 hr yoga class - temp 49
Thur: 2 mile walk - temp 54
Fri:  2 mile run  - temp 42
Sat:  10 mile run - no garmin - temp 41

Miles RUN - 27.5  Only 273 away from 1,000

The cooler temp's have been a welcome change from the heat and humidity of summer but there is a fine line between cooler and COLD!  This morning as I write this post the temp is 34.  In January, 34 would be considered pretty  nice - but on Oct 3rd - 34 is cold.  These first cooler/cold mornings are hard to figure out what to wear.  Once winter gets here it is easy . . . but until my body gets adjusted to the cooler temps - it is sooo easy to over dress . . . and there is nothing worse than being too warm after a couple miles.

I bought a new pair of running pants and gloves this week at REI.  I also bought a head light.  I have always been an early morning runner and have simply run in the dark.  But as I get a little older - I like to see the pavement . . . so I am going to be trying it out this week.  I will let you all know how I like it.

I am sending out positive thoughts to area runners participating in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee Lakefront Marathons.  Julie from Julie's Running Blog, here and a co-worker Mary Anne are running the Twin Cities.  And a big shout out to Jamie from Running Diva Mom, here and Chelsea from Early Runner, here who are both running the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon.  All 4 of these women were probably questioning their running outfits this morning due to the cool temperatures.  Good Luck!

Getting ready to head to church.
Hope you all have a great Sunday - enjoy the Fall temp's and changing leaves.