I run, you cheer. Pretty clear, right?

This post is a request that anyone I know get up early on a Sunday morning, drive to Minneapolis, and cheer for me while I run 10 miles with thousands of other women! Sounds fun, right?!

In less than 2 weeks I will run my first 10 mile race at the Women Run The Cities (WRTC - http://www.womenrunthecities.com/) event. The race begins at 8:00am Sunday, September 25th. The Start Line, and more importantly the Finish Line, is at Minnehaha Falls Park just off of Hiawatha Ave (Hwy 55) in Minneapolis.

I have been running at least one 5k each month this year, and my goal is to complete one a month for the whole year. It is truly with the support of my friends and family that I've kept on pace (pun totally intended!) to accomplish this goal. In addition to pushing myself at these monthly races I've registered for additional runs as well. This 10 mile race is by far the longest race I've ever accomplished. Even my running in Ragnar was not quite like running this 10 mile race.

It is because this will be such a challenge for me that I am asking people I love to get up early and come cheer me on! The people in my life have been so supportive of me all year long and I'd love to see familiar and smiling faces along the way, and at the Finish Line!

If you're like me, then you'd be interested in cheering at a couple places throughout the race route. To help you figure out approximately where I'll be I've put a pace map at the bottom of this post. My goal is to run 11:00 miles, with an overall finish time of under 2 hours. These mile markers (the numbers circled) and the times at the bottom right are just an opportunistic estimate of where/when I'll be.

Who: You and me
What: Cheering and running (respectively)
Where: Minnehaha Falls Park and on the West and East River Pkwys http://www.womenrunthecities.com/WRTC-CourseMap2009.pdf
When: Sunday, September 25th at 8:00am
Why: Because you love me and I'm a wee bit crazy!
How: With all my might!
My plan is to have Hot Hubby take me out for bacon and eggs after the race and the more the merrier!!!

The Best Thing

Yesterday I ran in a 5k in Minneapolis called the Say Thanks Run which benefits the MN Military Appreciation Fund.  It was a beautiful morning with temperatures in the low 60's and the sun shining brightly.  But the weather wasn't the best thing about this race.

The run was in conjunction with the rededication of Victory Memorial Drive, a WWI memorial in Minneapolis.  There were veterans of all ages there admiring the new memorial and gorgeous parkway.  Two veterans played Taps, then sang the National Anthem right before the start of the race.  It was a very prideful and touching moment for me.  But the rededication wasn't the best thing about this race.

The course was a very simple "out and back" down the parkway.  The street was lined with gorgeous oak and maple trees, that I could estimate to be over 75 years old.  There was a very, very small incline on the way out, which made for a very, very nice decline on the way back!  There were less than 400 participants, and everyone was very encouraging.  But the atmosphere wasn't the best thing about this race.

Just after the turn I noticed a runner right next to me and he yelled some encouragement to one of the other runners who hadn't turned yet.  They must have been friends as the 2nd runner yelled back "Keep up the good work Jerry!"  I turned my head to see a gentlemen twice my age about to kick my butt.  So I say, "Go get 'em Jerry.  Kick my ass!"  He laughs and says, "I could be your grandfather."  I remind him that age doesn't matter when you're running less than 10:00 miles.  Jerry kept me going for just over a mile strong.  I didn't want to let that man down.  We bantered back and forth the whole way.  

My legs started to get cramps though, and I needed to slow down a bit.  Jerry told me to slow down a notch, but for not too long.  I would guess that he finished at least a minute before me.  When I crossed the finish line I was ecstatic!  I had beat my previous PR, and had finished in 30:09!!!  This was largely due to Jerry's encouragement!  I pushed myself like never before!  But achieving my PR was not the best thing about this race.

The BEST thing about this race was the fact that I got to run it with my friend, Captain Jackie S. Jaspers.  Jackie enlisted with the Marines shortly after her first year of college and has been on too many deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.  There were countless nights that I spent worrying about her safety, and the safety of everyone in her deployment.  But she is amazing, and is finally home, living in the Twin Cities!  She is no longer enlisted, but active in Guard.  

The best thing about yesterday was the fact that she was with me.  That I can thank her in person for her service to our country.  I get to make memories with her like running 5ks together, and beating PRs together.  Jackie beat hers yesterday too!  She is a kick butt runner and I love watching her succeed!  

Thank you Jackie.  Thank you MN military personnel.  Thank you to all of our troops!

Got... nothing

Ugh, creative genius, where have you been?  I've got nothing for ya folks.

On the upswing though, I'm still running those monthly 5ks!  AND I registered for a 10 mile race in September.

Wait, what?!  I paid money to run 10 miles?!  I thought I might be losing my mind, but now I'm certain of it.  Oh, and the other day I actually enjoyed running up and down hills in a quazi-figure 8 style on paths near home.  Seriously have lost my mind.

I'll come back soon.  Back from la la land!

Songs for Run #1

A few people have asked me what was on my playlist for my first 5k of 2011.  It's listed below with a few comments.  One thing I'll say about every one of these songs is that the beat is just great for me to run to.

Enjoy!

1. Hey Ya! by OutKast - The line "Lend me some sugar, I AM your neighbor" puts a huge smile on my face.  What could be better than smiling through a run in 12 degree weather?
2. Country Grammar (Explicit version) by Nelly - "Hot Shit" opens this song.  And I'd like to think that I was hot shit for even beginning this crazy goal!
3. Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe - "Never trust a big butt and a smile"... well, I'd love to have the big butt minus the big midsection.  And I've been told my smile is a very nice ASSet.  
4. What's Your Fantasy by Ludacris - Because one of my favorite fantasies involves me looking smokin' hot.  Running is helping me get smokin' hot!
5. All These Things That I've Done by The Killers - Okay, here's the thing...  If you aren't running while listening to this song, then you're really not listening.  There's so much passion, and so many things this song could mean to you personally.  It gets my blood moving, and says to me "Seriously Lisa?  RUN!"
6. Game Over (Explicit version) by Doomtree - Doomtree is a new group for me.  But this song caught my attention with the line "It's all been done, it's all been fixed, it's all the same."  Has it all been done?  "Welcome to the future, rap won't save you."
7. The Next Episode (Explicit version) by Dr. Dre - Alright, I like Dre.  I love Snoop.  Dirty Rap is my thing.  But this song was a total bust for me on this run.  It was too slow for me, and didn't have a message to deliver as the other songs did.
8. P.I.M.P. (Explicit version) by 50 Cent - Again, I like the Dirty Rap.  But it was too slow for me, there wasn't a message that I could find, and all I wanted to do was sit down and enjoy drink!
9. Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam - Now this one is a little hard to explain.  Actually, I get a little emotional explaining this one.  It turns out, this song happened to be on my iPod shuffle last August.  I had put a bunch of rock songs on the device to listen to while running for the Ragnar race (which is an experience I STILL haven't been able to blog about).  Of the songs I dumped on there, Yellow Ledbetter was one of them.  I decided earlier in the day that I'd like to mix up my music for each 5k this year, but that I would do my best to have Yellow Ledbetter be the last song I hear.  

I got less than 15 seconds into Yellow Ledbetter last weekend.  Less than 15 seconds into the song I wanted to end my run with.  I'm proud of that fact.  I underestimated myself.  I proved myself wrong.