Boa Retirement

One of the best parts of wearing a boa is the molting!  You leave behind a small part of the fun with each feather that falls.  Sometimes I'd find boa feathers in my car WEEKS after the last time I wore a boa.

Boa feather on the field at Kinnick Stadium 

GO HAWKS!

The unfortunate part of leaving a bit of the fun behind is that eventually the boa is less full, and will eventually need to be retired.  I am planing on retiring my very first Iowa Hawkeye boa on January 28th.  After running the Securian 10k in St. Paul, I am heading to White Bear Lake to participate in the Polar Bear Plunge.   I will be wearing my boa as I jump into the lake!

It will be a bittersweet (and chilly) moment!  This boa has been along for some seriously fun times...

KINNICK

Camp Randall - During a Hawkeye win over the Badgers 20-10

GO HAWKS!

Tailgating with the Luther boys

With friends that feel more like family 

On the wedding day of two amazing people!

Tomorrow when I jump into White Bear Lake, the boa is jumping with me.  It will be the last time I'll wear this one.  What a fun, fabulous, fantastic event to retire it at!

New Year - New Goal!

Happy New Year!!!  We rang in the New Year celebrating the marriage of two amazing people!  It was a fun night to reflect and hope for the future!

One of the things I reflected upon was the fact that I did not meet my goal of running 250 miles before 1/1/11.  I was high on just finishing Ragnar.  It was summertime in MN.  And I put out a lofty goal for myself.  In all honesty, I really believed in myself and thought I could do it.

I was motivated and excited.  I started out a bit weak by just walking the dog every day.  But around 30 days into it, I realized that I needed to get my butt in gear (literally).  I stepped it up a bit, then ended up with shin splints.  So, I altered my methods to include "miles" on the elliptical machine and stationary bike.  But still, I didn't work as hard as I should have worked.  In the end I was 68 miles short of making the goal.  I missed my mark.

On the positive side, I have hope for the future!  I worked hard towards the end of last year, and that propelled me into working hard at the beginning of 2011.  I've come up with a new goal, and I'm even more excited about this one!

My goal is to run at least 1 5k every month in 2011!  There will be some months that I run more than one race (for example, in August I'll also be running Ragnar).  And I'd also like to run a 10k this year as well!  But the goal is to run at least one 5k each month.

Below is a list of possible races.  I'll update as I register for each one, and hope some of you will join me!  You can be sure that I'll be wearing a boa from time to time, because after all... Everything is better with a boa!!!

• January: 
• Saturday 1/15 at 4:45pm - Kick Your Resolution Run in St. Louis Park.  REGISTERED!!!
• February: 
• Sunday 2/6 at 9:45am - Freeze Your Buns Run in Hamel.  (I've been told this is kind of a lame run, but FREE pancake breakfast... uh, yes please!)
• Saturday 2/12 at 9:00am - Hearts 'r' Running in St. Paul.
• March:
• Saturday 3/12 at 9:15am - 100% Irish for a Day.  I've done this one before, and it's a blast!!!  
• April:
• Saturday 4/9 at 8:30am - Run the Valley. 
• Although it is a GREAT race, I'm more than likely NOT going to run the Get in Gear on April 30th.  I have cheered at this race a couple of times in the past, and I think I'm going to continue cheering for this one!
• May:
• - Nothing I saw immediately caught my attention in May.  Will need some suggestions here!
• June:
• Saturday 6/11 at 8:45am - Lederhosenlauf 5k.
• Saturday 6/25 at 8:00am - Plymouth's Music in the Park.  It's so close to home, I'd walk to the run!
• July:
• Saturday 7/9 at 8:15am - North Memorial Whiz Bang Run.  Doesn't the name sound fun?!
• Saturday 7/9 at 8:15am - Hackensack Sweetheart Days.  Ahhh, so sweet!  Out of town, but could still be fun!
• August: - Nothing I saw immediately caught my attention in August.  Will need some suggestions here!  
• RAGNAR!!!
• September:
• Saturday 9/10 at 10:01am - James Page Blubber Run.  I've heard this is AWESOME!
• October:
• Saturday 10/29 - Monster Dash
• November: - Waiting for more race info to come out!!!
• December: - Waiting for more race info to come out!!!

I'm open to race suggestions!  Please let me know about fun and interesting races in or near the Twin Cities!!!  

And remember... I'd L-O-V-E for you to join me!

It IS better with a boa

Even Big 10 football players know it's better with a boa. The Hawkeyes are 7-0 on the season, and are kicking some serious butt.

See those two hot chicks in this picture? THEY are wearing boas. THEIR team wins! Duh!