Torchlight 5K!

What a fun event!

I will know better for next year.  It was hot (to be expected it's July in Minnesota)!  My good friend D and I did it.  I should have pushed myself more, I would have done better(Duh).  We left my house a little late.  My fault, I wasn't paying attention really.  This run did not loop back to the beginning, which is a little different, and not really a big deal.  We dropped one car off around the finishing area, and we parked another around the start.  We barely made it in time for the starting gun.



My good friend D on the left, and me at the start!



One of the fun things about the Torchlight Run, was that we were able to personalize our bib numbers if you signed up early enough.  Mine was Slow&Steady, and my friend D's was Turtle Pace - she has a thing for Turtles, and they kind of went together, so.. it's funny - no really.  Laugh! Also what was super neat, were the shirts (you can see it a little in the upper right photo).  They were SUPER soft with that vintage-y feel to them.

The finish was just after you crossed the Stone Arch Bridge, which was nice.  I did see a couple of girls literally making out.  Now, I don't care that they were girls, I care that you are SUCKING FACE in a public place.  I hate that - so gross.  Once we finished there were some goodies at the finish, and as a runner/participant, you had a couple free drink tickets to use.

My good friend D and I didn't stick around, she wasn't feeling well, so we basically just went to her car, and she dropped me off at the parking ramp I was in.  I paid at the bottom before returning to my car (like it instructs you to do) and it says you have 15 minutes to exit the ramp.  I took the elevator to my floor, get off, and hear a marching band.  A Marching Band!?

So I went to the edge of the parking ramp and saw a the parade was going on!  Oh man... if I had known/realized that it was going to be just starting by the time I got back, I wouldn't have paid my my parking pass, and would have just gone down to watch it.  The Torchlight parade is one of, if not THE largest evening parade.  And from what I saw briefly - they had a few marching bands, most parades seem to be all about advertising, floats/cars for businesses.  I miss marching bands. 

Next year I will know better for sure!

HeartBeat 5000!

The 10th Annual HeartBeat 5000 took place today.  The money raised helps support the cardiac care program and efforts at Children's Hospital of Minnesota. 

How did I get roped into this one, and more importantly - how did my good friend D? Well, my company is a partner sponsor, and it was offering free race fee.  I went to the site to see about signing up, and yes, I did fill out the info, but it hadn't asked for payment info.  Which yes, would make sense since my employer said they would pay.  But I wasn't thinking, I hit next, and BAM! I am signed up.  And so I text my good friend D, and says, please tell me you have nothing going on, on this date, and that you are completely interested in participating in two 5K's in 7 days.. told her to use this code to get signed up for free.  She half reluctantly agreed, and signed up to take on the HeartBeat 5000.

Side note: My company is one of the partner sponsors.  I would like to point out, we did not have company t-shirts on.  Which is HIGHLY interesting, as the Big 3 medical device manufactures were present, and 2 out of the 3 were very well represented. 

The HeartBeat 5000 had t-shirts.  So, no worries, I still got one, that I will not wear - ever.

Not really sure what my deal is, I do not want to do a race with out a t-shirt, or other fun little perks.  But I have no care to actually put the t-shirt on.  I figure eventually, I will take that collection of technical and t-shirts and make one of those fancy shirt quilts.  Let me just say, I have never made a quilt.  But it can't be that hard, right?

So did the race, used my handy Couch to 5K app on my nifty iPhone.  And according to that map of my 'run', it puts the distance at 3.43 miles, which is .33 miles too far that what I signed up for.  My average pace was set at 12:53/mile - so that was pretty cool!!! :)  *for a non runner*  But it was warm.

I am not going to lie, the end - SUCKED.  It was on the Stone Arch Bridge, and it was still open to the public, which included, a pack of bicycles, and a Segway tour.  So freaking annoying.  Dodging random pedestrians, bikers, dogs, leashes, Segway tours.. are you kidding me?  Really annoying.

AND also, there were warm waters available at the end.  SUPER!

The view from the bridge.

On a high note though, on the walk back to my friend's car, there was a garage sale.  I 'heart' garage sales.  Many a stories of riding around in my grandma's station wagon garage sailing. :)   BUT - at this garage sale, there was a double papasan chair!  And I had seen this on the internet, where you change the papasan chair into a canopy! WAY cool.  We were in my good friend's convertable, so we put it on it.  I scored the chair frame for 3 dollars. Super cool!

What's not cool, is that it turns out that chair would not fit in my car, no matter how we tried to work it.  The chair is wider than my car.. oy.. BUT, crisis averted, as my friend drove me to my house to drop off the frame, and then drive me back to my car so she could get back to her place and continue on her way.

So, one day, I will get around to making the canopy... but for now it takes up space in me and and the Boyfriend's basement of the duplex we rent.

We will see when I get around to it.. sorry Boyfriend.

Flash Run 5K!

Today I participated in a Flash Run - I am sure you have heard of a Flash Mob by now.  Unless you have been hiding under a rock. 

If you have been hiding under a rock, the idea of a 'flash mob' is a bunch of people coming together at a pre-determined time in a public place, and busting out in dance (sometimes choreographed? that part I am fuzzy about).  Generally someone will have a boom box, or something for music. 

But enough of that.  This was basically a bunch of peeps getting together and starting at the same time, to run roughly 3.1 miles.  I went with my good friend D.  (please note, she and I would like to be runners, but lack a little *okay a lot* of the drive and determination)  My friend D and I walked the course for the most part, there were some bursts of jogging, but for the most part it was walking.  She had been at an Aerosmith concert the night before, so she was feeling peachy keen.

Side note:  Generally she and I do not travel the distance of the course together.  We will start together, and meet up after completing the course.  BUT  I had foot surgery on both feet back in December, the foot doctor told me that I might be able to do the Valentine's Day 5K in February(duh).  Well that was a lie.  But my friend and I had done this 5K the year before, and we signed up (me and my wishful thinking) and she was kind enough to walk with me, in February, in Minnesota, when the temp was 1 degrees above zero,  around a lake, with a wind at 15MPH which is roughly 20 degrees below zero faherenheit (without the lake effect).  It took literally about an hour and a half.  It was too freaking cold to be walking.  But she did it with me, so I sucked up and walked with her.

Okay - so the walk (sometimes 'running') wasn't so bad.  We finished in like 50 minutes or something (allegedly - there was no time clock).  I used my Couch to 5K app on my nifty iPhone, and that's what it timed us at.

But the nice part about the day, aside from driving up to her house, getting her out of bed on a Sunday that seemed way too much fun, driving down to Minneapolis, I got to see the Stone Arch Bridge.  Well, AND 'run' across it. 

And as it turns out.. I had been on that bridge previously, with the Boyfriend, after eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which is more hype than anything else, so you can go ahead and skip that restaurant, and make noodles, use Prego at home, mabye some garlic bread, and enjoy it more.

Let me show you a photo of the Stone Arch Bridge - and the Famous Grain Belt Beer sign.

(learn more about Grain Belt here.)

Oh, and I quite enjoyed the B1G1 at Caribou Coffee with my friend too, and sitting in her backyard chatting it up talking about everytihng and nothing, and then heading home to the boyfriend.  :)

In the rare case that you were noticing that this day was Father's Day and I do not mention hanging out with my Dad.. I hung out with him the day before for the Patriot Ride(sponsored by Dennis Kirk) at his house. :)