Running can be fun...Say What?

Runner number 2 is back!

Okay so as my partner in crime said, the fun runs are the way to go! This semester we have run in two different runs. We had both heard about the color runs via some friends of ours who had either run one themselves or who was planning on running one themselves. Let me say this about the Color Run....IT'S FREAKING AWESOME!!!! It was so much fun! It really is the "Happiest Race on the Planet!" We got all signed up and the only reason the race was happening was because people in Chicago begged for a fall race, so lets just say that we were pumped! Now as my partner mentioned how every kilometer a different color of "magical fairy dust" was thrown at us. Lesson learned, cover your mouth when running through the color sections. At the end the color explosion was so cool to watch! All the different colors exploding into a giant cloud of awesomeness, was really fun to see from a distance and to be in the middle of.  We were both covered in color, my hands were black, my face was purple and orange, and i had about four different colors in my hair. It took forever to come out and to get it all off my body, and it didn't even come out on the first try. I think it took about a week to get rid of all the colors, but it was well worth it.

Now for the Monster Dash! What my running buddy says is true....I had been complaining about her getting me into the half marathon and then I was the one convincing her to join this 5k. The look on her face was priceless, especially because I knew that she wasn't too keen on the whole idea of the skulls on all of the apparel that went with the race. I have to admit, the fact that there were skulls on everything kinda escaped my notice. Finally I convinced her to join in on this first of the fun runs. So we got all signed up and got our free hat, free jacket, and our bib numbers and we were off to head back to campus. And let me tell you it was a funny sight watching her put on the jackets and admitting that it was actually a nice running jacket. OH! I almost forgot about the costumes! Yes, we did dress up as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and the costume judges were quite impressed with my Minnie Mouse voice (I was so excited). Seeing all the crazy costumes that people were running and walking in was quite an experience.

Anywho, running for fun is quite an awesome thing, and I learned a few things along the way as well. First, don't judge a race by the apparel because it could turn out to be a really fun race. Second, the color run will make your snot pretty colors for about a week, and it will get stuck in your ears. Third, SIGN UP FOR FUN RACES!

Adios from Runner 2.

The FUN runs!

Yes I said running can be fun. You just gotta know the races to register for and you're on your way to a blast! Sometimes literally.
On October 14th, my partner and I were at it again, but this run was only a 5k (about 3 miles). This was the Color Run! At every 1k checkpoint, a runner/walker was blasted with color! Orange, Yellow, Blue and Pink were our check points. Also, each participant was given their very own color packet for the end of the race to throw at the Color Festival. They also threw out free packets to those lucky enough to catch them (which I am proud to say my buddy and I were both able to get extra!)
Now, you have to understand that the Color Festival produces this HUGE color cloud that sweeps over everyone. By the end of this even, we were absolutely covered from head to toe in a multitude of colors. The hardest part of the entire event was getting the stuff off after. My armpits were blue for days and my scalp took about two weeks until I didn't find anymore discoloration. But it was totally worth every bit of magical fairy dust!
Another race we decided to do has a funny story behind it:
We're at the expo to pick up our race packets for the Chicago Half and just ambling around. We come across this big orange booth with skulls everywhere! A lady starts talking to us about this run, and my good friend gets really excited and says, "What do you think? Let's do it!" Yes, this is the same friend that had just spent a week chewing me out for getting her into the Half in the first place! Haha. Well, as exciting as another race sounded, I couldn't get past all the skulls on their merchandise (especially the jacket with the entirety of one sleeve decked out in skulls that you got for free when you signed up). So she's all into it, and all I can say is "But there's skulls down the sleeve." Well, we ended up signing up for the Monster Dash 5k and walked out about 15 minutes later wearing skulls down our sleeves. The reason the Monster Dash is a "fun run" is because it's just a big costume race! There's even a judged competition for them. We went as Mickey and Minnie. And it was so much fun because we also got candy for the trick-or-treat locations along the route :)

Lessons that I learned:
      1) Close mouth when running through the color zones on the Color Run!
      2) Your snot turns pretty colors after the Color Run.
      3) Always remember to take your inhaler before checking in your bag to gear check (which I
          forgot to do at the Monster Dash)
      4) Finding fun runs to do makes it so much easier and enjoyable to stay in shape :)

I'm not a runner....so what am I doing on this blog?

Hey y'all! I am the second crazy person who decided to run the Chicago Half Marathon. And like my partner in crime said she did guilt trip me into running it by telling me how many people in Africa would get clean water. But I did sign up against my better judgement. So I called my mom and told her what I had decided to do and I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy....but she was all for it. So I downloaded the training schedule and went to work. Unfortunately I could not follow the schedule and run every day because of my work schedule, but I tried to hit all the big runs. I should also mention that I too ran the half for Team World Vision and I raised a pretty good amount of money for people who needed clean water. 

Race day was fast approaching and my partner in crime and I had started running together at school, and let me tell you she was a slave driver. She never let me quit, for which I am glad. Unfortunately marching band had given me shin splints so I often had to walk because they would start acting up.

Race day came and we were pumped! We had taxi pick us up at 5:30 in the morning so that we could make it to the race in time to stretch and warm up with the Team World Vision runners. Once the race started I did pretty well in the beginning and didn't have to walk until about mile 4. I kept a decent run walk pace for the rest f the race and would stop occasionally to stretch my shins and calves out. I sprinted the last quarter mile to the finish line just so I could say that I did. In hind sight I probably should have stopped and had one of the medics stretch out my calves.....but its too late now!  Anywho, back to the finish line, after I crossed the finish line I started crying out of happiness that I had actually finished the race. 

Now that I have told you about the race let me go back and tell you that I am not a runner. I hated running with every fiber of my being. I could barely run two miles without wanting to pass out. So if I can go from barely being able to run two miles to being able to run 13.1 miles in under three hours. So grab a friend, sign up, and get to running, and do it for a cause. Because let me tell you, it is one of the most amazing feeling ever!!!!!

Adios from Runner 2

First Timer: Here we go!

So not only is this my first blog (so take it easy on me), it's my first time running long distances! Woohoo!
Okay, so as I'm sure my partner in crime will agree, this is all my fault. Everything always is, but this time I got us signed onto a team (TEAM WORLD VISION!) to run 13.1 miles with only about 3 months of training.
Good thing we were made to take wellness lab last semester :)
First, I'd like to state that I like running; might even love it! I like it even more now.
I started officially running in the 3rd grade when I began soccer, and then continue running through my senior year of high school with track. The funny thing here is that I was a sprinter. Long distance: bad news. I had just enough stamina to run my guts out for 400 meters and that was it. So I even thought of myself as crazy when I joined the Chicago Half-Marathon, but I wasn't about to be crazy alone.
I walked up to my friends and smiled (sincerely) at them and asked if any one had thought about running it. Most of them didn't even know what I was talking about. (There had been a whole presentation on it in chapel just that morning.) So I gave them the run down. They brushed it off pretty easily and told me that I was out of my mind, which I was but for good reason.
Now seeing as this is the blog "Team of Two Runners" obviously I convinced one of them. And she insists I guilted her into it by saying, "Think of how many children you can save!"
So we began training but had to leave school and go our separate ways, so we ended up training mostly on our own.
Well, my experience with training is this:
 Don't get head colds; you can't breathe. And if you can't breathe, you can't run.
 Don't injure your feet in any form or fashion. (I was our for 1.5 weeks thanks to a sprinkler head that bit my toe.)
 When it gets hot in the summer (like it really does in the South), run in the mornings! I still remember the day I found out (the hard way mind you)  that it was too hot to run in the evenings anymore.
 If you have breathing problems, complain to your doctor. Apparently, I have had exercised-induced asthma for who knows how long. Inhalers work and make it enjoyable again.
 Best thing you can remember: "When it gets hard, smile." It truly does help :)
 Other than all that, just keep going at it. It's hard, not gonna lie. But it's totally possible too.
 And find a drill-sergeant sort of friend who will yell at you to keep going. (To drill-sergeant friend: be as nice as possible in encouraging them...don't actually yell)

Well after all that came race day! It was fun. TOTALLY WORTH IT! And we raised a ton of money for clean water in Africa.

Who knew that all my coaches needed to do was find the proper incentive, and I would have run anything for them :) Shhhh! Don't tell them.

Over and out: Runner 1