half-marathon | Suburban Vegan

Posts Tagged ‘half-marathon’

4 Jun

Minneapolis Half DNF

Posted by Kristen in Running, travel. Tagged: DNF, half-marathon, pizza. Leave a Comment

There was one other time that I didn’t finish a race. It was last fall at the Crystal Lake half, but I was just doing it as part of a training run and I ran 7 miles before the race started. Plus I was still injured. After run-walking back to the finish line park, I just walked back to my car. But this was a real race. My spring A race that I trained for. I have a million and one excuses, but it is all my fault and I learned from my mistakes. I have a new race ready to go on 6/24.

Excuse #1: breakfast. I ate too much in the morning and not enough the night before. I forgot to pick up a peanut butter builder bar (my usual long run meal), so I got this bagel at the breakfast buffet. I didn’t eat it all but it was still about 100 calories more than what I usually eat and only 45 minutes before the start.

Excuse #2: water. I didn’t drink enough of it on Saturday and was dehydrated.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Excuse #3: temperature. I wish the half and full marathons started together. Starting at 6:30 would have made a huge difference. In the sunny spots, it was vert hot at 8. The humidity was bad, too.

Time – Temperature – Dew point – Humidity

6:30 Marathon Start:

Excuse #4: the 1:40 pace group. I thought I would try running with the 1:40 pace group. It was a little faster than what I trained for, but it would be nice to run with a group. Except, the 1:40 pace group, which was supposed to be doing 7:38, was really doing 7:30 and that was 15-20 seconds faster than what I trained for. I let them get out of my sight after mile 4 and just tried to focus on running a 7:45, but it was too late.

I stopped for about a minute before stopping my watch, stretching my calves (as if that was going to help).

After the race, we went to Cafe Luce, which offers vegan pizzas (gluten-free is also available).

The post race pizza that made everything better; the Rustler with rinotta (not ricotta) cheese. I don’t care for pineapple (and I did scrape some off), but this was so good!

The peanut butter bar that helped me create an awesome marathon schedule.

7 Apr

Eggshell Shuffle Half Marathon

Posted by Kristen in Running. Tagged: Easter, half-marathon, Race Report. 2 Comments

After disappointing conditions at March Madness, I decided to try again for a Chicago Marathon C corral at the Egg Shell Shuffle. It was a flat course; the weather was perfect and the course was on a scenic paved trail through Busse Woods. I needed a 1:45:59 for a C corral, but I wanted to break 1:45 (my new year’s resolution).

I finally got to try out my new Oiselle armwarmers, but I got too hot by mile 2 and had to take them off. They are fun to wear though. And they go well with the stripey simplicity tank.

I started out a little fast and had to tell myself to slow down on several occasions. Miles 2-8 were pretty consistent and enjoyable. Mile 9 was out in the open and we were running into the wind, so that was a challenge. Once we got back into the woods, it got a little easier. By mile 10, the point I usually feel like quitting, I knew I could make it under 1:45. I could even slow down a bit. The desire to quit hit me at mile 12.6, but it’s easier to push yourself 1/2 a mile than 3.1 miles. And so I made my goal with 9 seconds to spare!

After the race, there were two Easter egg hunts. One for kids and one for adults. Twenty-five eggs had fancy prizes, but I just got candy.

However, the race did give out shorts instead of t-shirts and a festive medal.

18 Mar

St. Patrick’s Day, Madness Race Report & Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Posted by Kristen in Baking, City, Running. Tagged: Chicago, half-marathon, Race Report, St. Patrick's Day. 1 Comment

We are having crazy warm weather in Chicago. This worries me for two reasons: global warming and if it’s 80 degrees in March, will it be 105 in August? But I’m not going to lie, after a couple weeks of snow, this weather feels amazing (except when you are running a half-marathon, more on that later).

On Saturday, we made our way downtown with thousands of other people dressed in green t-shirts and tank tops to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. First stop, Native Foods for half-priced beer and a Classic Deli Reuben: thinly-sliced deli-style Native Reuben Seitan piled high on grilled marble rye, topped with homemade sauerkraut, Native Horseradish Cheese and a slather of Russian dressing, and served with a side of lemon-dill potato salad. Yum!

Next up the green water: the fountains at the Daley Center.

This is my fourth St. Patrick’s day in Chicagoland, and I finally saw the green river. It was much brighter than my pictures.

March Madness Half-Marathon

Two weeks ago, when I ran this course in the snow with gloves, tights, hat, and a jacket, I was hoping it would be warm enough to wear a sleeveless shirt and my new armwarmers. It was way too hot for armwarmers. It was too hot for a shirt, too (but I kept that on). I had the ambitious goal of qualifying for a C Corral at Chicago and I needed a 1:45:59. On this hilly course in this heat, that was not realistic. It started off well; I was on pace for a 1:45 until mile 10. But there is a big hill before getting to the mile 10 marker that knocked me out and I was never able to recover.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I made Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes for the Hillstriders post-race party: chocolate Guinness cupcakes (from Sticky Fingers Sweets) with whiskey chocolate ganache filling and Baileys Irish cream frosting.

22 May

Splish Splash Half-Marathon

Posted by Kristen in Running. Tagged: half-marathon, pizza. 1 Comment

This morning was the Splish Splash half-marathon in Gurnee. My friend Anne and I signed up a couple weeks ago when I received notice of a 50% off deal from Schwaggle. How can you pass up a $27 half-marathon (even if you ran a marathon three weeks ago)? We decided just to do it for fun, rather than race it, but both of us felt good this morning and we went out faster than “fun run” pace. Unfortunately, it got really hot and humid around mile 11 and our pace slowed significantly. I also dropped 2 of my 4 clif shot bloks on the ground!

There was a post race Luau. Of course, it was meat-centered, but they had a lovely display of fruit, a couple salads and stir-fry veggies. I also had a margarita. It was an odd meal for 10:00 in the morning, but when you’ve been up since 4:30, it’s somehow okay.

Anne and I both came in third in our groups. We stuck around for the awards ceremony and got our special medals (which say nothing about placing in an age group). It wasn’t a very competitive race, but it was still fun to place in an age group.

The finisher medal is on the left with the blue ribbon and you’ll just have to take my word that the medal on the right is for third place.

After the race, we drove back to McHenry, so I stopped by Meijer and Nature’s Cornicupia. I was craving a TLT (tempeh bacon, lettuce & tomato sandwich), so I bought some tempeh at Meijer and found reduced-fat vegenaise at Nature’s Cornicupia.

For dinner tonight, we had pizza and wine. I cheated and bought crust at the grocery store. H likes thin crust but I’m not very good at making it. I made a Middle Eastern inspired pizza with Za’atar, olives, red onions, pine nuts and tomatoes. I also made a pesto and potato pizza inspired by this recipe from my sister’s blog. Instead of cheese, I used chopped spinach. I sprinkled soy parmesan on both.

Suburban Vegan Stories of Survival in the Land of Meat & Dairy

Posts Tagged ‘half-marathon’

Minneapolis Half DNF

Eggshell Shuffle Half Marathon

St. Patrick’s Day, Madness Race Report & Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

March Madness Half-Marathon

Splish Splash Half-Marathon

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