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Hey, remember me? It’s Amy. I haven’t been blogging. Or Tweeting. Or Facebooking. Or doing much of anything. Besides working and working out.

Let’s take a look back at 2011 (and we’ll throw in the ol’ 28 before 29 wrap up as well. Because clearly, I need to consolidate). Here are some highlights of 2011. Read ‘em and weep.

Extreme Races

2011 marked the second year in my quest to reclaim my life. And as such, I decided to be stupid and put my life in danger. I lost an hour of my life on a ski hill in 90 degree July heat Dancing With Dirt. I RAN THROUGH FIRE at the Warrior Dash. And I would do it all again. And I probably will.

RAGNARRRRRR

File this under “Other crazy running shit I did this year.” Ragnar was one of the craziest, most amazing experiences of my life. And I got to do it with my friends – and with my dad as a driver. It was BALLER. Epic. Etcetera and so forth.

Family Time

2011 was hard for me. My baby sister (and roommate) moved to Minnesota. I missed her something fierce. I still do. But I made the most of our time together this year, and have spent more time with my parents and brother as well. Of course, part of that is due to my living with my parents (just a few more months), but we are trying to have a family dinner/game night once a month. My family loves board games. It’s hard not to have Emily here, but I’m happy knowing she’s happy with her boyfriend. We spent the holidays with them and I look forward to many more special times with them and the rest of the family.

Running

While I didn’t accomplish my goal of running a marathon this year, I did run 3 half marathons, a handful of 5ks, a 10k and two relays. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I PR’d at the St. Louis Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and the Run Into the New Year 5k. I ran a half marathon in a friggin’ tutu (see above). I finished up the year with 633 miles (some walking and biking, but mostly running). I have some big goals for 2012. But more on that later.

Cheerleading

Once again, I was able to be an obnoxious amazing cheerleader for my friends. I’m pretty sure that if I could get paid to cheer for people at races, I would make a career switch. I had the most amazing time cheering for friends at races all year long. Half Marathons, Marathons, 50ks, 50 milers… I have some crazy friends and I look forward to much more cheering in the future. AND MORE MEGAPHONES.

Besties

I’ve been blessed with a great group of close friends. While we are all on different schedules, we try to get together as often as we can. We’ve had cookouts, game nights, fancy nights out, coffee dates, book clubs, slumber parties, races, road trips and quite honestly, more fun than people should be legally allowed to have. I could write a novel about these people (you know who you are)… I can honestly say I would be lost without these girls! #bestiesforever

Career Change

Three months ago, I started a new job. That’s right. I left the TV/News biz. I was ready for a change. I’ve worked in television news since 2003. I’ll be honest – it was wearing me down and I lost some of my passion for it. I also felt like I wasn’t going anywhere career-wise, so when a friend told me about an opportunity with Milwaukee Public Schools, I applied. Six months later, I was hired. (The process was exhausting!) I am now the Web Communications Specialist for MPS. It’s a new position for the district and I’m in charge of building, training and implementing new websites for the district’s 175 schools, along with managing the district’s social media presence along with numerous other “new” media tidbits. The new gig is hard work, but I’m loving the challenge. I feel like I’m right where I’m meant to be. Oh, and I HAVE MY VERY OWN OFFICE. WITH A DOOR. AND WINDOWS.

So, there’s that. A quick overview of 2011.

And let’s take a look at my 28 before 29… My latest recap was in October. You can read it here. Rather than rehash it all, I am going to condense it to the things I want to roll over into my 29 things to do before 30, rather than just the things I didn’t accomplish. My life has changed in the past year, and as such, my goals have changed. (29 before 30 list coming soon. Even though I turned 29 in November. Deal.)

  • Continue to work out, eat better, get healthy.
  • #2-3 are morphing into “Find and settle in to an amazing apartment.”
  • Run a marathon.
  • Get a tattoo (I made a pact with peeps to get one if I raised money for charity. I just have to get around to making the appointment!)
  • Write a book (or at least start).
  • Run 100 miles in a month. (While I accomplished 100 miles of activity in a month last year, this is still something I want to accomplish!)
  • De-Clutter (this is going to be a big theme for me in 2012).
  • Pay off debts (working on this, but I have a long ways to go).

I hope you had a great 2011. I’m looking forward to a fresh start in 2012.

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Race Report: St. Louis Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon

November 7, 2011 By 6 Comments

So, two weeks ago I roadtripped it to the STL with some friends to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis Half Marathon. It was pretty epic.

First, the road trip. Annie, Nadia, Bob and I met up at the State Fair park ‘n’ ride and before we left, Annie had to pee. So we drove down to the Pettit. We got refused. HOW RUDE. The guy wouldn’t let Annie use the ATM, either.

Our trip was off to a great start.

We finally got to a gas station which had A CALIFORNIA RAISIN!

We got back on the road and played “Who can check in to more funny places on foursquare while we drive?” We all won. Here are some of the beauties from the weekend:

Once we got to St. Louis, we headed to the race expo. I’ll tell you one thing, the Rock ‘n’ Roll series knows how to do an expo. I bought things I needed and some things I didn’t (per usual). After I said adieu to Annie, her sister Beth, Nadia and Bob, I headed west to visit one of my bestest friends, Holly. And her mom. And her THREE adorable dogs. We went out for dinner and had a great time that night, and the next morning watching a horror film and playing stupid games on our iPads, whilst cuddling with the dogs. It was a great visit.

Then I met up with Patrick and Lindsey (my friends living in DC) who are from STL and were home for the race. We sat and talked for HOURS. It was so great to catch up with them, talk about geeky stuff, journalism (and me getting out of the biz). I’m so glad I got to see them the day before the race, because I never found them on race day! (Which reminds me, I missed Sam from Sacramento too!!!) BOO.

Fast forward to an evening with three Munkwitzes. Thats Munkwitz overload. But awesome. I spent the night with Annie, Beth, Kim and Beth’s hubby Adam. Adam made us a great pasta dinner… of course we had to carb load the night before the race!

The next morning, we woke up and got ready for the race. I had gotten everything ready the night before, so there wasn’t much to worry about. I nibbled on my Clif Mojo bar, drank some water and anxiously waited to leave for the race. I wasn’t very talkative, but I wasn’t nervous, which was a new one for me. I had a feeling things would go well for me during the race. I was excited to do the race with all my friends from across the country, even if I didn’t see them, I knew they were there. ;)

We dropped off our bags at the gear check and headed to our corrals. I said goodbye to the Munkwitz girls and went to Corral 22 (second from the last, of course). It took about 30 minutes from when the race started to when I finally crossed the start line! That’s what happens when you have 21,000 runners!

It was such a beautiful morning, and pretty cool to run through downtown St. Louis. We passed Busch Stadium (where I stopped to get a picture of me flipping the Cards the Bird)…

Busch Stadium. And the bird, for good measure. Gotta support the brewers.

the arch…

And we're off!

… and a bunch of other cool buildings.

But now, on to the ACTUAL race recap.

The race started off really well for me. Except for stupid people who think that just because I’m fat, this was my first race. I can’t tell you how many times someone said, “Good for you! This your first?” I know they were being encouraging, but I took it as a dig. Yes, I’m fat. Yes, I’m slow. But I know what I’m doing.

In fact, about 10 minutes into the first mile, I realized I was going to have a split in the 12s. THE FUCKING 12s! I knew this would mean T-R-O-U-B-L-E for later in the race so I forced myself to slow down and walk a bit. After the first mile, I pretty much stuck to a run 5-6 minutes, walk 1 min interval ratio. Of course, I was flexible with the intervals due to the rolling hills and water stops… and maneuvering through groups of people. I was pretty proud of myself when, at about mile 5, I was encouraging a fellow racer (who WAS a race virgin)… telling him he had it and not to worry. He was asking about time limits and I told him that if he kept his pace going, he would be fine. Then he realized I was 5 corrals behind him and had caught up to him. I told him not to worry and that he was doing great… and I kept on trucking.

For the first time, I left the iPod and my Nathan handheld water bottle at home. I’ve recently become very annoyed by carrying water on long runs, and I knew there would be water every 1.5 miles, so I’d be fine. And as for the music, it was a Rock ‘n’ Roll race so there were bands along the course. I’ve also been avoiding the iPod during runs lately. I’ve been getting rid of everything except for my phone and shot blocks. And inhaler, of course.

Running without the iPod and water bottle was FREEING. It was also scary. I was alone with my thoughts. MY HEAD YOU GUYS. I had 3 hours of just me and my brain. I got a lot of thinking and soul searching done. It was a very, VERY personal experience for me. I don’t even know how to describe it. I dug deep into my soul, examined some priorities in life and even questioned if running was something I wanted to continue. At one point, I thought, “seriously, what the fuck am I doing?” Yes, I’d say I hit the wall alright. I worked through some things during this race. It was all very unexpected. Maybe that is why I haven’t written the race report for two weeks – I wanted to keep it all for me. And I’m not going into specifics for that very reason.

Woah. Back to the race.

I was rocking until the 8th mile (9th was even worse). It took 2 hours for the first 8 miles (incl. water stops and photo breaks), so I was PUMPED! I knew if I could keep things going, I was going to obliterate my PR.

And then, there were hills.

Well, they weren’t so much hills as they were inclines. Long, slow, drawn out inclines. My quads were on FIRE.

Things started hurting. I started getting snarky. Well, you know, more than usual. I took longer walk breaks (2-3 min). I wasn’t going to let a little pain keep me from beating my PR.

As I approached the finish line, (you could hear it before you saw it), I got excited. I was almost there. I turned the corner and sprinted the last quarter mile to the finish. I wanted to finish strong. And I did.

BAM.

PR by 9:08. Average pace: 15:27. The end.

Splits: 14:29, 14:49, 14:40, 15:46, 14:46, 14:38, 16:00, 16:56, 15:45, 15:57, 15:43, 16:04, 15:27, 13:40 (.25mi)

Annie tries to buy the Rochelle shirt off the waitress!
Don't mind if I do.

Oh, She's got talent alright.

I'm gonna steal Lola.
I can haz turtle.

The turtle! It's eating ANNIE!
Corral 22!
Potty time!

It's about to begin!
Corral 22, REPRESENT!

And we're off!

Busch Stadium. And the bird, for good measure. Gotta support the brewers.
ARCH

Feelin' good, Snooki poof and all.

The Fox Theater. And part of my finger. Not THAT finger.
Balloon arch! (and yes, I totally ran under it)
cute kids

"This sounded like a good idea 6 months ago" - I know the feeling.
Almost halfway done!
Look closely. The sign says rainbow's end. And the rainbow ends... well, you get the drift. It was the "gay" part of town.

BEST SIGN EVAR.
Wahooz!
Ice for the foot, beer for the gut.


Filed Under: milestones, Races Tagged With: , , , ,
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100 mi! Wheee! #chasing100

July 31, 2011 By 4 Comments

Do you see what that is just above “Jul ’11″? Oh yeah. That’s 100. 100-freaking-miles. One month. WOW. WOW. WOW.

I am still trying to grasp what I’ve accomplished (with your support and encouragement)! 100 miles!!! To think, just 11 days ago, I was at 48 miles for the month, and today I am celebrating my first ever 100 mile month.

2010 Amy thought that was a long ways off. 2011 Amy thinks her legs need a vaca.

As planned, I finished up my mileage during the Liver Life Walk yesterday morning with some friends. I was so excited and celebrated the milestone at Yo Mama‘s.

I’m working on a full writeup of the challenge – hope to post it this week. Thanks Tiffany for kicking my butt (errr legs).

Filed Under: goals, milestones Tagged With: ,
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5 miles!

July 27, 2011 By 4 Comments

Ohemgee. Tonight I had the most amazing run EVAR. Well, as amazing as it can be to run around in circles. I was dreading this run ALL DAY. When I got home from work, I even considered bailing on the run all together. Then I started thinking about how close I am to my 100mi goal. That was enough to guilt me into heading to the Pettit to run laps. It was very cold in there tonight, perfect running weather (indoors ha).

I went with the intention of doing 3 miles and calling it quits. But I got into a groove in the first half mile. I was in the zone. Left. Right. Left. Right. So after the first mile I decided I would go for 4 miles tonight.

As I approached 3mi, I realized I hadn’t yet seen my favorite Pettit walker – the #shakeweightlady*. Seriously, I love her. I was getting worried that I hadn’t yet seen her and told myself that I’d quit at 4 unless I saw her. If I saw her I would go for 5mi. Even thought the farthest I’ve ever ran without walking was 3.5 mi and that was on Saturday.

As I approached the 14th lap, guess who I saw?

The #shakeweightlady, wearing 80s floral hammer pants. I kid you not. It was a sign if I’ve ever seen one. So I powered on and rocked out 5 miles, doing negative splits for the last 2 laps. Fuck yeah.

Achievement, unlocked.

See also: long run for the week, complete.

* Background on #shakeweightlady: I see her just about EVERY time I run at the Pettit on a weeknight. She wears shape ups and carries not one, but two shakeweights as she walks around the track. Sometimes she holds them up above her head and shakes them. She kind of dresses like a trashy homeless person from the 80s. Lately, her attire of choice has included “juicy” sweats plus a tea-length stonewashed denim jacket. She has also upgraded from the women’s shakeweight to the men’s version. Here are a couple of pictures from when I saw her in April:

Filed Under: exercise, milestones Tagged With: , ,
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Ragnar Chicago Relay: Recapping Leg #25

June 16, 2011 By 4 Comments

This shall forever be known as the leg where Amy almost died.

I ran this leg on about 20 minutes of sleep. Yeah you read that right. 20.minutes.of.sleep. I was able to rest but only got about 20 minutes of actual sleep.

For the record, I do not recommend running 4 miles on 20 minutes of sleep when you have already ran 9 miles in the past 18 hours.

I did absolutely everything wrong prior to this run. I didn’t hydrate properly. I didn’t eat much. By 2am, we were exhausted and the thought of eating anything made me want to throw up. I knew I’d be relying on muscle memory and mental strength to pull this run off.

I got the slap bracelet from Marty and headed off in the misty fog for my final 4 miles through the City of Racine. The roads were quiet (it was 5 a.m. on a Saturday, after all) and I only encountered a handful of other Ragnar runners during this leg of the race. Most of the runners who did pass me looked about as good as I felt, which isn’t saying much. I saw (and did) much more walking on this leg of the race than any other. We were all running on empty. My legs felt like cement blocks. I had to will my legs to move. I walked more during this leg than the previous two legs combined, but I was still able to beat my pace goal for the race (and my recent half mary PR pace).

The course took us past the zoo and along the lakefront. I can’t tell you want a relief it was to see Lake Michigan! Yay! I’m almost done! I’m going to die! Wooot!

I couldn’t even tell you half the things I thought about during this run. I don’t remember. It was an out of body experience.

When I finished and passed off the bracelet to Matt J. I stopped dead in my tracks and bent over to catch my breath and stretch my hamstrings. Jordan H. put out his hand to give me a high five and I think I said something like, “I’m sorry, I can’t touch you right now.”

I couldn’t move. I needed to build up the mental strength to walk to the van. Tracey G. and Rochelle told me I looked so pale that they were afraid I was going to pass out or throw up.

I walked down the hill towards the van and made my dad take a picture of me. I have yet to see this photo, but I can assure you that it won’t be pretty. But it will probably be a favorite of all my race photos.

I got to the van and fell face first into the first row of seats (we had a 15-passenger van for the 6 of us plus driver). I passed out in that seat for at least an hour. I don’t really remember much. I know I told Tracey G. that I wasn’t able to move to send her off on her next leg and I also missed her passing things off to Anthony M Van H. for his last leg. At some point, the team stopped at McDonalds for some breakfast and I was able to talk long enough to ask my dad for a Sausage McMuffin with egg. He gave it to me and I ate it from my face in the seat position. I’m completely serious. I only turned my face far enough to eat the sandwich and only used my right had to open the package and feed myself. I was that exhausted.

The food helped revive me from my runner’s coma and I came to enough to wrap a blanket around me and cheer on Anthony M Van H. when he finished his final leg and passed things off to Jordan H. I was back to (almost) normal to see Rochelle off and meet up with the rest of our team at the final major exchange in Zion, Illinois.

Start Time: 5:10 am
Goal pace: 16min/mile
Splits: 15:17, 16:35, 15:47, 12:46 (.85mi 15:05 pace)
Average pace: 15:42
Total time: 1:00:23
Finish time: 6:10 am

Total distance: 12.82mi
Total time: 3:13:06
Average pace: 15:03
Goal pace: 16:00

Note: Read the rest of my Ragnar Journey here.

Note #2: This post will be updated with photos as soon as I can steal them from my dad!

Filed Under: Emotions, milestones, Races, Ragnar Tagged With: , , , ,
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