2019, July - REWIND

Looking back at July, it was a month of hodgepodge things! 

July 4th - For the past several years I've done a 4 mile race that is near my house. It is so much more convenient than driving downtown AND this race gives out finishers medals. The downtown race does not. So I get dressed in my festive 4th of July outfit, drive over and walk up to the registration table to get my bib. My name is nowhere to be found within the participant list and I couldn't find my confirmation email either. I guess I had planned on registering but never got around to it. I could have done "day of" registration but opted to just go home and run on my own later. I guess it's better to show up for a race that I wasn't actually registered for instead of forgetting that I was registered and NOT showing up!

July 11th - I went to a course preview run down in Mooresville, IN. The race will take place in the Fall and runs through an apple orchard. I'll be honest, I did not enjoy this course. Similar to a trail run, the surface is uneven, part of it was gravel rock and you also had to watch out for apples on the ground as well! But it was fun to visit this apple orchard which has been in business for 50 years. And the best thing of all, we each got an apple cider slushy which was AMAZING.

July 13th - I completed the Christmas in July half marathon. You can read about that here: Christmas In July Half Marathon

July 14th - five of us from Speedway Running Club drove to Shelbyville, IN to participate in an event called The Melt Down. This race consisted of three 5Ks in a row. You could do all 3 or just 1 or 2 of them. And yes, as the day progressed it got hotter and it felt like we were melting. It was fun to do this with my friends but I doubt that I'll ever do it again. Shelbyville is about 45 minutes east from where I live, they changed the age group categories for each race and we got a sticker medal. 😞

 

The most fun was having brunch afterward at the Cow Palace!

July 16th - MAKE IT TO BREAK IT: GetGo was in the Stadium in an attempt to break a "Most People Making Sandwiches Simultaneously" world record. Although we did not break the record, this was pretty cool to participate in. And who doesn't want to rock a hairnet! The sandwiches were distributed into the community by Gleaners Food Bank.  Man vs. Food host, but Adam Richman was the MC of this event and was very kind and generous with his time afterward. He talked to everyone and took pictures and signed autographs.

Doesn't everyone look stunning in a hairnet?

Sandwich assembly items and the wrapped-up finished product

July 18th -  RUN(317) event on Mass Ave. Once again it was really hot 🔥 and so the race was not officially timed. We always try to make the best of every situation so we walked and talked and stopped for Jello shots! 

 

JULY 19th - I became a last minute volunteer at the OBERUN which was taking place downtown Friday after work in Military Park. I didn't have any desire to run this since it was a beer run. Getting a free beer at the end as one of your perks for participating will never be a draw for me. But I had friends that were running it and they were in desperate need of more volunteers.

July 27th and 28th - IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio

You can read more about my husband participating in this event here: IRONMAN 70.3

2019, June - REWIND

June was a comfortably busy month.

JUNE 1st: I met a group of women downtown for a run and then brunch. I was confused about where I was supposed to park so I missed the official start of the run so I did my own thing and then caught up with them for the brunch portion of the morning.

JUNE 2nd: a friend of my husband's mentioned that they had a 6-week old barn owl that they were caring for until they could get it down to the Indiana Raptor Center where it will be part of the educational program there. We were invited to come out to see it if we wanted to.  YES, PLEASE!!! That was such a cool experience.

Working on eating a dead (previously frozen) mouse

So majestic 

JUNE 4th: I signed up for a Boot Camp class and this was our first morning. My friends Angela & Vee registered as well. And with a 5:30 AM start time its a good thing they are also attending because that will help keep me accountable. I'm not a fan of getting up that early. I did make it to the majority of the classes. It met every Tuesday & Thursday morning.

From our very first class (outside!) 

to the last June class in the gym.

JUNE 5th: was Global/National Running Day and since this "holiday" always takes place on the first Wednesday in June it was also a Speedway Running Club night. I made personalized running bibs for the girls that I went to NOLA with and then some generic bibs for the rest of the club to have. The club was offering a discount on their membership so I finally became an official member.

JUNE 9th: was the SHE Power Half Marathon. You can read more about that here - SHE POWER Half Marathon

JUNE 13th: was the RUN(317) Broad Ripple race. While I'm not really a fan of the Broad Ripple area - streets are narrow, parking sucks - I did have fun on this course.

JUNE 17th: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPEEDWAY RUNNING CLUB! 
SRC celebrated it's 4th birthday and we had a big pitch-in. Lots of people attended and it was so much fun.

The 3 of us each won a prize! 

It was a NOLA reunion minus Esther. 

JUNE 29th: This was the date of the 4th Indy Ultimate race. 
I've participated all 4 years and you can read more about this year's experience here: Indy Ultimate

2020 JANUARY

I kicked off a new year and a new decade- although I guess there is controversy about when a decade actually starts - by not having a lot on the calendar but having fun at those things that were scheduled.

January 1st - we kicked off the 465 Virtual Challenge. The goal of the 465 Challenge is to complete at least one virtual loop around Interstate 465 in Indianapolis which is 53 miles. This challenge runs from January 1st thru February 29th. To make it one loop, you would need to average .88 miles a day. You can complete the miles however you choose: running, walking, cycling, swimming, etc. There is no right or wrong and - like all virtual races - it is on the honor system. There are also 2 "sub-challenges" within this event. The 24 Hour club - for people who completed the 53 miles in a 24 hour period. Most of those folks have been cyclists. The other group are the Loopers - if you make it around twice (106 miles), you are a Looper. I was confident when registering, I could at least complete 2 loops. Time will tell how many I finally complete.

Naturally my very first run needed to be 4.65 miles!

Within the Facebook group I try to stay active but not overpost. On Mondays, I post a #MondayMotivation to the page and then on Wednesday's I created a "Little Susan" that visually tracks my progress around a map of 465 that I enlarged and put on my wall. People say that they have enjoyed watching my/her progress!

On January 22nd, I was able to report that I had started my second loop. 

So Little Susan began running with a pennant that had the number 2 on it.

I don't do many virtual races but one of the thing I've loved the most about this one has been the Facebook group of participants. Everyone is so incredibly encouraging to one another. It has been amazing to be part of that.

January 4th - the RUN(317) ambassadors had a post-holiday Holiday Party at Tracie's house and it was a blast. I adore these people and am incredibly thankful to be part of the group! 

But "no shoes worn in the house" was enforced!
Rules are rules

January 8th - we had our first official RUN(317) meeting of 2020. There are some exciting changes coming this year and I can't wait until we can tell everyone about them. 

January 11th - I noticed on Facebook the night before that there was still a need for a volunteer at a night-time trail race at Eagle Creek Park. Volunteering for races is good running karma and since I didn't have anything else going on, I agreed to help. The people that did this race definitely are mentally stronger than me. First of all, I'm not really a fan of trail races and certainly not at night. But the weather for this one was awful. It had rained almost all day on Friday and continued to rain on Saturday. This didn't make pleasant conditions for me either. By the end of my shift, I was wet and cold! But I really did enjoy being out there helping to keep those participants safe. 

January 23rd - this date marked 100 days until the Indy Mini Half Marathon on May 2nd. I was contacted a couple of days prior by a staff member at the 500 Festival stating they wanted to feature me on this day since the race will be my 100th INDIANA half marathon. 😎 Naturally, I was okay with this. You can read their blog post here: 100 Days Until Susan's 100th Indiana Half

And that pretty much sums up January 2020. 💋