Screaming Banshee 2019 Photos 83 Mile Drive The 2019 Screaming Banshee Half Marathon was awesome but very tough for me.  I debated switching to the 5K or 10K for a week leading up to it.  I hadn’t made up my mind by race day.  I hadn’t made up my mind by start time.  I still considered switching races as I passed the 5K and 10K turn on the course, but I didn’t.  I haven’t run a lot at home in the last two weeks because I’ve been resting a mechanical bull induced muscle strain.  My biggest goal for the 2019 year was not getting better with my times.  I wanted to go an entire year without a major injury.  I am 30 days away from that goal.  I’ve only had a few minor flairs ups this year that I controlled with PT and mileage cutting.  I have a few half marathon traditions.  I try to run eight miles on the Tuesday before and bowl the night before the race.  I didn’t do either before Screaming Banshee.  I ran my longest half time.  I left with my head still high because I did what felt li

   Great Race by a Dam 2019 Photos 79 Mile Drive The 2019 Great Race by a Dam was awesome with some of the best race staff.  Many runs I have done recently have had great race names.  The town of Dimondale is Holt’s sister city.  Our drive to Dimondale was almost identical to Dragons in the Woods.  We passed the same McDonald’s we got Luke a yogurt at the day before.    I met a few local Dimondale ladies while waiting for the bathroom before race start. They told me how their grandmother had been at Bath High School back when the janitor explosion occurred. They knew so about the town’s amazing history.  It is so awesome they have lived in Dimondale their entire lives.  I have a picture of them in my album for this run.  They are sisters that are now both in the 60-65 age group category.  They joked about competing against one another.  They do Great Race by a Dam together every year.   The course was a scenic semi-hilly run through town past an amazing old cemetery with a crypt!  I lo

   The Zombie Dash 2019 Photos 142 Mile Drive The 2019 Zombie Dash was my ultimate redemption run!!! I have run The Zombie Dash more times than any other run.  My first year running it was my first 5K.  The second year I ran it I had a fractured ankle which caused me to walk. On top of walking, I got lost and ended up walking a 3.62 mile course. I got last place (another great first to add to my running memories)  My past Zombie Dash times were not my best and I have been wanting to get an official time under 30 minutes since leaving The Zombie Dash in 2017. I was very nervous this year with a thigh muscle that’s been acting up since my mechanical bull rodeo in Montague.  The Zombie Dash fell on a weekend with two other 5K’s.  I knew I was going to be exhausted.  At least this 10K split had a nine hour gap between races.  I did something a little crazy and got into the first wave this year.  I was scared to be out there possibly alone. My first year I used fellow runners as my shield a

   Dragon in the Woods 2019 Photos 78 Mile Drive The 2019 Dragons in the Woods holds the title for best overall awards!  Their huge wood carved dragons standing on a wood base with a personalized plaque are the best overall award I have seen yet!  I wanted one so bad but I knew my chances were slim.  I looked up prior year female winners and there were actually two years I could have competed for one and come in close.  That surprised me and gave me a tiny glimmer of hope. I usually end up getting to check-in at runs with less than 10 minutes to spare.  I somehow got the time wrong in our favor.  We ended up waking up an hour too early.  We got to Burchfield Park at 7:50am with a race start time of 9:00am.  We got awesome teal long sleeve tech shirts with dragons on them.  The start was a short walk from the pavilion.  It was an uphill start with a lot of tree roots.  It was a very dense woods with tight trails between tall grasses.  I gave it my all but it wasn’t enough for a wood dra

   St. Patrick's Fall Festival Race 2019 Photos 100 Mile Drive I got an unexpected run and new city after making an appointment to see a home in Portland.  After setting the appointment with the realtor I looked at what was happening in town that weekend and I was surprised to discover there was a run in Portland Sunday morning in addition to a St. Patrick’s Festival.  I looked at the 5K course and noticed it went right past the house we were interested in seeing on the Portland Riverwalk.  The morning of the run we woke up a few hours earlier so Luke and I could run the Portland St. Patrick's Festival 5K before our house showing.  I would have loved to run their half marathon with a longer course through more beautiful scenery on the Portland Riverwalk, but Screaming Banshee half was coming up soon.  My half marathons have to be spread out to avoid injuries.  I couldn't risk the mechanical bull muscle strain being agitated or re-injured.  It is has been doing really well. 

   Run Scream Run 2019 Photos 19 Mile Drive 2019 Run Scream Run was a redemption run!  It was symbolic that I ran 6.2 miles because I made up for the 5K I couldn’t finish last year in combination with running a 5K this year.  This year I successfully I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!!!  Crossing the finish line was my only goal. There were no costume or age group wins today for me.  I made a really funky costume on the spot just to have fun.  I miraculously set a personal best on my 10K time by 37 seconds!  (Seconds count a lot in the running world) I have no explanation for this.  I hadn’t run all week because the mechanical bull did a number to my right thigh last weekend in Montague.  It was scared I would get injured again today, but a week of rest seemed to heal it well.   Everything brought back memories on the course.  I ran past the same curve and bush my leg gave out at last year, past the same water station I stopped for help.  I was nervous seeing those spots.  After I got past bot

  Art Run 2019 Photos 196 Mile Drive I got another inaugural run in the books with the 2019 Montague Art Run!  This run came into being through dad and Sue’s invitation to a weekend trip at The Double J Ranch in New Era, Michigan.  They were limited to a few weekends in October and I just so happened to find a run 15 minutes from the hotel on the weekend of October 5th which worked for them.  This is how my mind now functions.  If we plan a mini family get-a-way or get asked to go somewhere in Michigan I try to find a run near the area. ^_^  Montague only does one run a year that I’ve found and I was able to pair it with a fun mini vacation.  Our family is extremely thankful for dad and Sue’s generosity inviting us to the resort over the weekend.  We are also beyond thankful that Andrea and Jake could watch Corky Friday night.  It helped us out so much! We usually take Corky with us on every run or trip but this time he couldn’t go.  The Double J Ranch did not allow dogs. We got great