Sunday, October 20, 2013

Fargo Mini Marathon Take 2!

Yesterday was the second year I have participated in the Fargo Mini Marathon. The race was the autumn sister event to the Fargo Marathon in May, and consisted of a 5K, 10K, and half marathon.  I chose to participate in the half marathon which went through the beautiful neighborhoods of Shadow Creek, Osgood, and McMahon.  I hate to admit that I "winged" the race, but I did!  After the multisport season ended, I did some running but not as much as I should have to prepare for a half marathon. My focus had instead shifted towards getting back into the swing of things at my crossfit box!

I knew I wasn't going for a PR on this flat and fast course, but instead a finish. Needless to say, I pulled out a time of 2:07:17, which was just about 7 minutes and 30 seconds over my half marathon PR.  I was satisfied!!  My mom also decided to compete in the 5K event.  This was her third ever 5K with the other two being small local races. She ended up fourth in her age group with her run/walk strategy!  WAY TO GO!  I think the race bug may have bit her now too!  :)

Last year I thought the event was pretty awesome. A huge vendor expo the day of the race, great race swag, and finisher medals that were second to none. I was a little disappointed this year as the expo was gone, along with the awesome medal. Don't get me wrong, the hockey puck is a unique idea since the finish is on the blue line in the Scheels Arena. However, I am a sucker for a nice race medal!  The course was still great and very safe with Fargo and West Fargo PD doing traffic control at the major intersections. The volunteers also did a great job on the race course.  A bag check and pacers would make this event even more outstanding!

Post race with our finishers' hockey pucks!


Thursday, October 10, 2013

The Granite Games: Putting Crossfit On The Map In St. Cloud, MN

The past weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at The Granite Games in St. Cloud, MN. The crossfit competition attracted over 500 athletes from around the United States.  Twenty of the individuals have participated in the "CrossFit Games", which you may have seen on ESPN at one point or another. WOW, talk about being able to witness some amazing talent and strength!  It was rather humbling watching athletes from the scaled division all the way up to the elite perform the intense WODs. My volunteer position allowed me a front row seat to see all the action!

Ready to spring into action!

You are probably wondering what my job was for the day.  Well, I was on the "WOD Setup Team."  My day consisted of arriving at 6:15 AM on Sunday and being briefed on the details of the two WODs that were to be undertaken on the final day. The event kept my team very busy and on our toes. The first WOD consisted of toes to bar, back squats, and deadlifts.  Between each heat we had a few minutes to run out and wipe off all the equipment in order to keep the schedule on track. There were also four divisions- elite, as RX, scaled, and team.  In between each division we were required to roll out different weights and properly set up the bars!  Every eight minutes we sprung into action to prepare for the next heat and/or division. The first WOD took us all through the morning and into the early afternoon. 

Elite females tackling the first WOD on Sunday.

Next up were the finals!  This WOD consisted of a 500 m row, wall balls, chest to bar pull-ups, ground to overhead, pistols, burpee box jump overs, single arm overhead kettlebell squats, heavy cleans, and shoulder to overheads!  Yes, that is all!  These heats took a little longer and had a 20 minute time cap. Setup became even more interesting as all the bar work caused many athletes to tear open their hands and bleed. Our team was busy wiping up blood, disinfecting equipment, and even picking up the occasional piece of skin.  After tear down and cleanup, my volunteer day ended at about 9 PM. 

The finals!

Our WOD setup team was amazing and worked together well!  We lifted a lot of weight ourselves no additional workout needed for me that day to setup and provide a class act for the athletes competing. I was able to watch friends from my home box, Crossfit Fast Factory, compete along with friends from Crossfit Mendota and Crossfit 701!  I don't have the crossfit competition itch yet, but it may happen one day. 

Checkout more details and results of the event at: www.thegranitegames.com


Monday, October 7, 2013

Burning Up The Trails!

What would this past weekend be without another race of some sort!?!  "Definitely not complete" is the answer that comes to mind. I promise my race season will slow down soon at least I won't have an event of some sort every weekend.  On the docket this past Saturday was the Timberdash 5K Trail Run at Lake Maria State Park. And yes, I do love the great state parks of Minnesota!

The event was my first competitive trail run. That being said, I can probably count the number of "trail runs" I have done on one hand. I thought the event would be a great way to get a taste of trail running and support a wonderful cause. The proceeds of the event benefit the Crisis Nursery of Wright County. It was amazing that there WERE proceeds to donate as participants received an awesome technical shirt, medals, and one of the better post race refreshments for a 5K race I have seen!  And get this...registration was only $25!  Oh yes, don't let me forget, one additional perk is a day pass to the state park!  Can it get any better?

Due to the recent rain we have had in the area, I was a little concerned about the trail conditions. However, the trail was pretty amazing considering. Of course we runners needed to be careful for the occasional rocks, roots, and slippery leaves. I only ran into one spot that was muddy, but it was easily traversed.  The course was challenging with hills a plenty. Initially we had some wonderful downhills.  They were wonderful until I realized we would have to climb those same hills to the finish. Uff da!!  Spoken like a true Norwegian!

I finished the course in 34:02 and ended up 24th out of 166 females.  The top female time was 27 minutes with some odd change. Not to shabby for a girl who rarely does trails and doesn't do a significant amount of hill training!

The Timberdash was also the first race 13-year old Emma had ever participated in, and she rocked it.  Emma is the daughter of my friend Paula!  Paula also rocked it!  I love seeing children of all ages introduced to events such as these!  It allows them to see the importance of wellness and fun of physical activity. 

A taste of the fall colors by the registration booth. 

Gotta love a fire pre and post race!
 
Finishers!!  Paula, Emma, and I!