A Running Adventure

This page has been pretty lonely for the past few months. I am a huge beer enthusiast, but am also a huge running enthusiast as well. Right now I am in the midst of training and have been a little less inclined to explore the vast arena of craft beers. Don't get me wrong, I have had some delicious brews over the holidays but have focused my efforts on running. So, I have decided to take this blog in a new direction and write both about my love of beer and my love for running.

For the past few months, I have been in training mode for the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile race. It is in Texas the first weekend of February. My first attempt at the 100 mile distance was in June 2010 at the Kettle Moraine 100 mile. I made it about 88 miles and DNF'd (Did Not Finish). It was the hardest and darkest time for my running. I was mentally bruised by that DNF and was scared to run another race. I would go out for a 10 mile run and my mind would constantly tell me that I wouldn't finish that 10 mile training run. It was so hard to continue running, but I knew that I would get over the head games and get back to the sport that I loved so much. I fortunately have an extremely supportive group of friends (the CHUGs) and they constantly encourage me to keep running. It took me until October to run the Glacial 50 miler in WI. I made sure I ran slow and steady, since the only goal was to just finish. I finished that race and it got my head back in the game.



I decided to give the 100 mile distance a fair fight and give it another shot, now that those mental demons were gone. My training has been very different to my training for the Kettle Moraine 100 mile. I run multiple times per day and I run my miles fast and run 50-60 miles per week. I have incorporated strength and massage in my routine. With the weather conditions, I do most of my running indoors. I feel that running a couple hours on a treadmill is a bigger mental excercise and it's really helped me become more mentally focused and strong. Also, when I think about the race I just get excited. I'm not concerned about not finishing, but I just visualize starting those last 20 miles and enjoying them. I've never been this excited about a race and I've never wanted to finish a race more than this one.

I have already scheduled my 2011 races and I currently have 3 100 mile races lined up and a 24 hour race as well. The 24 hour race will be held on the track at my high school I'm going back to Kettle Moraine in June and fully expect to kick its butt. I mean, it's only right for me to get a little pay back! I hope you enjoy my running journey and I will keep you all abreast on the latest craft beer as well.

-The Running Beer Girl