Hey, all! Thanks for entering the Spartan Race giveaway!! We have one FREE race registration to give away to any Spartan Race in the US. Without further ado, the random number generator selected #5.
#5 is Drew!! Congrats, Drew!!
Drew – please email me at amanda@tootallfritz.com to claim your FREE Spartan Race entry!
For the rest of us, we have been offered a 15% off discount code to ANY Spartan Race by following this link HERE. Enjoy!
** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
Lots of winners today! Thanks to everyone who participated in this raffle for Ronald McDonald House Charities for the 2014 Chicago Marathon. We raised $230 and I only need $770 to go to meet my commitment. Your help is much appreciated! For anyone who is till looking for a guaranteed entry into the Chicago Marathon, RMHC still has spots available. For anyone who would still like to donate to my fundraising effort on behalf of this great charity, please donate HERE. Thank you, all!
I have 5 prizes so selected 5 unique #s.
Winners are #3, #24, #33, #34 & #20.
#3 – Erica Agran – Small New Balance Incredible singlet
#24 & #20 – Ms. Nicki – Large New Balance Incredible singlet & the Injinji prize pack.
#33 & #34 – Sharon DeVault – Medium New Balance Incredible singlet & Emergen-C prize pack.
Congrats, ladies!! Please email me your mailing addresses!!
Lastly, we need to pick a new winner for the 13.1 Chicago giveaway. Our original winner is super sad but can’t seem to get time off work to travel to the CHI. Sorry for Ms. Kari but I’m pretty sure the new winner will be super psyched. Are you the new winner?? If your name is MEG SEPPI, you’ve won! Meg, please contact me for details on how to register for your FREE race. This is one of the best half marathons in Chicago, congrats on the win.
** May Luck Be With You In ALL That You Do ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
Time to get this party started! It’s Shamrock Shuffle weekend and spring is on the way whether it likes it or not. The Shamrock is the official kickoff of the Chicago racing season that culminates with the Chicago Marathon. This year the Chicago Marathon will take place on October 12, 2014. And it will be massive, just like always.
The marathon will bring world-class athletes, rising stars, talented age groupers, experienced marathoners and beginners alike. So many want to come here, to run the streets of Chicago. For the very first time in the Chicago Marathon history, the marathon has gone to a lottery system. Yes, there are so many people who want to run the Chicago Marathon that we actually crashed the system last year. Therefore, it has been decided that if one would like to run in 2014, they need to have guaranteed entry via a charity (like RMHC and yes, we still have spots available!!), a legacy of 5 CHI marathons or more, or a super fast time (3:45 for women, 3:15 for men). Everyone else hits the lottery and good luck to YOU, if that’s your chosen path.
For me, I can’t imagine NOT running the Chicago Marathon since its in my backyard, so I decided to run with Ronald McDonald House Charities once again. They are an outstanding organization. I believe in their cause and am always amazed with the number of families they help every year, both here in Chicago and around the world. It wasn’t a difficult decision at all for me to sign up with them again for 2014.
So today, I’d like to start the fundraising process and am beginning with a raffle. For each $5 donation to my RMHC fundraising page HERE, you will get one entry into this raffle. What do we have for the raffle?
1) A jumpstart to your next Super Hero costume with a New Balance run singlet featuring the Incredible logo! You’re INCREDIBLE! I know it. You know it. All your friends know it. Now tell the running community at your next race! 3 run singlets available. Women sizes: S, M & L – 3 winners. If you want one of these babies, let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to mention which size you need! Value – PRICELESS 
2) Injinji – Over The Calf Compression toe sock prize pack! The Injinji socks have become a stable in my run world. You won’t catch me very often sporting something other than Injinji. I particularly like the over the calf compression style for long runs and marathons because they hold on my toe protectors so nicely, and help my crazy feet stay blister free! I have every color they have made thus far and can’t wait for them to come out with more colors/styles!! For you, I have a two pair, pink & purple { BIG THANKS to Frogger for donating the purple ones!!}. Size medium, which works for women shoe size 9-11.5 and men shoe size 8-10.5. I’m also tossing in an Injinji hat because I know once you start wearing these babies, you are going to love them as much as me and you’ll want to shout it to the world at least when it’s raining. One winner for the entire prize pack. Value – $118.
3) Emergen-C prize pack! As optimistic as I want to be about spring being on its way, I’m honestly scared that this winter may NEVER end. Aby and I have lived off Emergen-C all winter long, taking it daily, and we’ve faired particularly well compared to most. This is also what I use when I taper for a marathon to ward off the “sickies” in those last couple of weeks before the big race. This prize pack has 2 boxes of Tangerine flavored drink mix packets (30 packets per box), 2 boxes of Raspberry flavored packets, one Emergen-C Headsweats visor & one over the shoulder bag. One winner for the entire prize. Value – $86.
Okay, that’s the roundup for this raffle! If you are interested in supporting RMHC, donate HERE. If there is something above that you would like when your name pops up AS A WINNER, please make sure you tell me in the comments below. The raffle will go from now until Friday, April 4, 2014 at 9am at which time 5 winners will be selected via a random number generator. Good luck and thanks to all of you who have helped me and RMHC in the past, and those of you who choose to support the cause this year! Remember no donation is too small! One entry into the raffle per $5 donation. If your name comes up more than once, then you will receive more than one prize. Good luck!
** Running For A Cause ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
The 2014 theme for the Little Rock Marathon was “epic” with a comic type Super Hero flavor that was pushed hard all the way until and thru race day. I can’t say that I’ve ever encountered a race that delivered a better PR campaign. And I’ve certainly never ran a race that delivered above and beyond what the PR campaign promised, until I ran Little Rock. I was impressed with so many aspects of the race starting the moment I found the race website and how it was designed to fit the theme. I loved the race booklet they sent prior to the event to create hype leading up to the big day.
I loved how the booklet fit right in with the theme and was formatted in comic book style giving us a glimpse of what to expect. I particularly liked getting a heads-up to look for the lipstick “aid” station in the 25th mile before the finish.
Little Rock is a 9 hour drive from my home (south of Chicago) and to be honest, I had NO IDEA what to expect from the town itself. No, Little Rock was never on my “to be seen” list of places I wanted to travel. No, I didn’t really know anything at all about Arkansas. I made the trip because of the race, because of the good things I had heard about it from other runners, because of the large number (270+) of Marathon Maniacs who were attending and because of that wonderful PR campaign that really drew me to the race and the town itself. And I must admit, Little Rock was a pleasant surprise with a beautiful River Walking Trail, lighted bridges, lots of restaurants and bars in the River Market District, President Clinton EVERYTHING (parks, library, museum, bridge), beautiful homes, historic landmarks & monuments, and an old Street Car Electric Trolley, which was one of our favorite things about the town. Street car on the left. Julie M & Judy F inside the street car on the right.
We had a lot fun before the race even started and that was an unexpected treat. The expo was a great size with lots of vendors, keynote speakers and plenty of time to pick up packets prior to the race. The event also offered multiple race distance options for the entire family.
The theme continued with a tricked out start line in comic book style.
The race directors even dressed up like super heroes and stood on top of start (by the right flag) and started each of the corrals the morning of the race. In the pouring rain. At 3-4 minute intervals. It took us 22ish minutes to get across the start line and begin our journey thru town. The first mile was crowded as always but the road soon opened up and we were on our way! Temps at the start were in the 50s with rain so we were pretty tight from shivering in the rain while we waited to get started; however, after 4 miles or so we were loose, warmed up, the rain gave us a short reprieve and we were READY TO RUN! We wove thru town, ran across the big bridge and saw Capitol Building.
By mile 6, we had already tacked a few hills, I was feeling good and starting to get antsy.
The real test of the marathon is patience. I’m not a fan of waiting. In fact, I really can’t stand to wait. This is the reason why marathons and I don’t really get a long. BUT in Little Rock I was with friends and the goal was to have fun. I had zero expectations and I’m not really sure they did either, if they did they were quiet about it. We knew the weather was going to be an issue. We knew there would be hills but we had no idea what to REALLY expect. So we were patient. We didn’t dawdle but didn’t run fast, just kept eating up the pavement, stopped for a potty (or two) and just kept moving. When I noticed a hill, I just put my head down and ran up without looking beyond the pavement in front of me so that it didn’t drain me mentally. Then the rain came faster and harder. Then the wind came. Temps started dropping A LOT (all the way down to 30 degrees by the finish). We passed the Governor’s Mansion and Julie excitedly waived to the man in a blue raincoat who she SWEARS was the Governor, himself. We ran down streets with lots of history and amazing houses. We passed a priest who stood in the rain, blessing runners with Holy Water and we made a B Line over to him so that we could be blessed because it seemed stupid to pass that up. And then it got cold. Like really cold. Around mile 10 or 11 the wind really picked up and the rain had us soaked to the bone. Our hands were red and we could hardly move our fingers. We made a consorted effort to wiggle our fingers, shake our arms and get the blood flowing cuz we knew how fast things could go “south”. Some of our marathon friends took the turn off for the half because they were so cold that they were starting to go hypothermic but we just kept our heads down, eating up the pavement as much with our eyes as our steps. We couldn’t see much thru the rain anyhow. I tried to take a few pictures but they all looked like this photo of the historic Central High School. Cloudy and foggy thru the rain.
So we kept moving. Not quickly but not dawdling either. We didn’t walk thru water stops, just slowed til everyone could get in fluid and fuel. We had to help each other a bit with our fuel cuz our fingers were so frozen we couldn’t get into our belts. Or open the packages for the gels/chews. Our pace seemed solid though and our spirits were high. We loved the course. We loved the houses. We loved seeing so many Marathon Maniacs and yelling support to as many as possible. It was fun. We were honestly having fun. There was a decent amount of entertainment. The course was diverse and interesting. Aid stations were well stocked with water & Gatorade. There were food stations with pretzels, bananas, oranges, jolly ranchers, & GU. There were surprisingly a lot of spectators considering the weather conditions (wind, rain, thunderstorms, and a promise of hail and freezing rain to come). It was all good until mile 20 when we saw the first sign that said that the race was canceled and we needed to get off the course.
We were in disbelief but kept running. Then slightly past mile 20 there was a very nice older man who was very aggressive about getting us off course. He was able to redirect some runners, while a few of us stopped to discuss the situation with him, then stepped off course to check the radar on our phones and decided to keep on running. By this time, it was pretty bad honestly. And not many people were running, most were moving at a slow walk, frozen with tight muscles. Spouses and half runners were coming back for the marathoners and bringing them warm clothes and rain gear. We were instructed MANY, MANY times that the race was canceled, that buses were in route for us, that aid stations would be closing, that roads were opening, that traffic control was shutting down, that we should take shelter due to approaching storms. But there wasn’t anywhere to go. We were on a path (see the photo above with the lady holding the sign), on the riverfront without any buildings in sight. No buses in sight to “pick us up”. It was just us and the weather and we needed to keep moving for our own safety. So we ran! It was finally at mile 24 when a police officer with a bullhorn was shouting at us that if we continued it would be at our own risk. We had the option of staying on the riverfront and heading to the finish or crossing over the road, walking thru the trees, and heading toward a Walmart {which was not visible} where buses were supposedly waiting to pick us up. At that point, we headed toward the finish. There wasn’t any lightening. Yes, it was still raining and the wind was really blowing hard. Yes, we were frozen to the bone. Yes, our muscles were cold and cramping. However, we were determined to finish and to be honest, we couldn’t see the buses and we didn’t necessarily believe they were there waiting on us. It was too damn cold and wet to go with the unknown. I’d like to think that it was an educated decision on our part to go with what we knew and we knew that our hotel and car was at the finish. We knew our drop bags with warm clothes were at the finish. We knew that big ass medal was at the finish. What we didn’t know was that we had two massive hills to conquer in order to get there! But we made it. And the lipstick station was still open in the 25th mile, even if those poor ladies were frozen and shivering! Thanks, L’Oreal for the lipstick stain!
And it was an official finish. And we got that big ass medal. Done, baby!!! WhooooHooooo!
I can’t say that I’ve ever been so happy to finish a race! LOL! It was an amazing day. It was a great race. I’d definitely go back and not because of the medal but because of the event, the people, the town, the course, the fun. If you haven’t yet ran the Little Rock Marathon, I’d strongly suggest putting it on your list! So much fun!! And thanks to Julie & Judy for going with me because friends make any event so much better!
** Running For Fun, Cuz That’s What It’s All About ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
Everyone was super excited about the Sunburst Races giveaway! I hope you still join me on May 31st, even if you didn’t win!
Without further ado, the winner of the Sunburst Race giveaway is #37.
Number 37 is rl262
Congrats, Mr. rl262! I’m sorry I don’t know your name but please email me at amanda@tootallfritz.com and we will get you registered for the Sunburst race of your choice!
Everyone else who would like to run the 2014 event, please register HERE!
I’ll see YOU in South Bend on May 31st!
** Happy Running ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
It’s no secret that one of my all time favorite race series is the Sunburst Races in South Bend, IN. This is a great location for me because it’s close to Chicagoland but also close to my parents home so that they can help with the kiddos. The timing is also good and avoids holiday conflict by running the weekend AFTER Memorial Day. There are multiple race distances to suit the entire family (Fitness Walk, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon & Full Marathon)! The course is scenic and relatively flat. And last but not least, the finish is inside the stadium on the 50 yard line of the Notre Dame Football Field.
Runners and football fans alike, love, Love, LOVE this event. One of my favorite aspects of the event is that it’s convenient for those of us who tend to “fly in and out” of races as well as those who like to stay for a while and enjoy the local atmosphere. Downtown South Bend offers an array of activities from the College Football Hall of Fame, to several restaurants/bars, to the Chocolate Café by the South Bend Chocolate Company, which is a favorite for my family.
I have ONE entry to the Sunburst Races to give away to one lucky person. The entry is to the race of your choosing! Join me in South Bend on May 31st and see why so many people love this race! Giveaway starts right now and will run until Tuesday, March 4th at 9am when I will draw the winner via a Random Number Generator.
To be eligible for the giveaway, you MUST comment below. You can earn a second entry to the giveaway by liking the Sunburst Races Facebook page HERE, just let me know that you did so in the comments section. Good luck!!
You can read last year’s race recap HERE if you want more Sunburst details.
Not required for this giveaway but please feel free to follow along via Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram for everything TooTallFritz!
**What’s Better Than a GREAT Race? Running that GREAT Race for FREE! ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
Despite the warm up we had last week, the cold returned to the Midwest before any of us could even get used to any possible spring like conditions. It was nice while I lasted? Maybe. I’m not even sure at this point. However, I did decide to haul it up and out on Saturday morning to put in some real miles. On the road. Away from the safety of my treadmill. It was a balmy 20 something and while I wasn’t frozen, I was none to warm either BUT the sun was shining and that was a big win! It was a glorious day and I was happy to be outdoors and running with the wind some good friends! It was so much fun that I decided to go take a peak at the trail, hoping that the two spring like days we had last week started a massive thaw cuz I want our trails back! Some thawing occurred, yes. But we have a long way to go as you can see below. That’s hard packed ice.
I dug in the archives to get a historical perspective of trail conditions around this time over the last couple years. Same trail, about 3 miles east on March 6, 2013 is pictured below. That’s a fresh dusting of snow. Runnable. Pretty safe. Beautiful. I remember last year being on the trails most of the year. I also remember calling the Village of Frankfort and the OPT committee to ask if we could get a section plowed. I’ll spare you the details and just let you know that the trail will not be plowed. Ever. They are committed to leaving the trail “natural” in whatever state the conditions provide so that it can be used for seasonal activities. Respectable.
Another section of the same trail, 1.25 miles east of the snowy black & white is pictured below on March 7, 2012. Now that looks like it was a good winter to run. 
I know that eventually the snow and ice will melt away on the trails but as for now, I’m dreaming of springtime. Not running in circles in a subdivision. Not running every single mile on the treadmill. Just long stretches of open trail that is clear and dry. Until then, I’ll just be thankful for the sun on my face and all of those amazing runners who run outside every week, no matter what. I even took Aby out to join them on Sunday so that she too could get an outdoor run under her belt in prep for the upcoming track season. It was only 11 degrees and the sun was hiding so wore our brightest outfit to make sure that traffic could see us at all times. Hehehehe!
** Dreaming of Spring ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
This was a good week, workout wise. I’ve been in a bit of a wintery rut and decided to kick that to the curb by starting to focus on one of my favorite races, the Shamrock Shuffle 8K! This brought the realization that I was NOT ready to run fast and I needed to start reintroducing some speedier run sessions so that I don’t hurt myself in the Shuffle!
As a result I started a fresh training cycle via the Run Less Run Faster app on my iPhone. This forced both a speed workout AND a tempo session this week that I was dreading but then actually enjoyed. While the initial speed session didn’t go perfectly, I feel as if the tempo session was decent. No perfect, but good. Which means that my pace isn’t that far off, I just need to get used to spinning these long legs a “little” faster!
I also managed two StairMaster sessions, which I am dubbing as “hill work”. Since I’m running on the treadmill, and since its super hard for me, I just zone out with a 1% incline. All the time. No hills. No fun iFit live workouts thru some mysterious mountainous areas. Nope, just flat running with a teeny-tiny incline of 1%. I’m hoping the StairMaster workouts will give me a tiny bit of strength for whatever hills I might encounter in Little Rock.
I also was able to brave the snow and our drifted roads to hit both 5am CrossFit sessions this week. #WINNING
CrossFit Day 52
Push Press – 5×3 – 73#s
Tabatas – Perform 8 sets of the particular exercise before moving to the next station. Each set is timed and you do as many reps as possible in the allotted time. The time frame for Tabatas is 20 seconds “on” for the movement, 10 seconds rest = 1 set. Repeat x8, then rotate to the next station.
CrossFit Day 53
Front Squats – 5×3 – 73#
WOD – 5 Rounds
Then we finished off the day with 2 minutes worth of planks. I had to do 5 different sets to get the full 2 minutes: 40 seconds, then 20 seconds x 4.
DONE!
I’ll be pounding miles on the treadmill this weekend! I hope you have a plan to get in your workouts too! It’s so much easier when I have a plan and stick to it.
** Making It Happen, Even During the Snowiest Winter EVER ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
Just like you, these cold wintery days are taking their toll on my good humor. I’m not sure why because I do most of my workouts inside since hubby changed jobs in August of 2013. Yes, it’s been a long ass 6 months, in case you were wondering. My outside runs are few and far between and yes, I may have just signed up for another marathon so that I’m guaranteed at least 1 outdoor run within the next six weeks. So if you are heading to the Little Rock Marathon on March 2nd, LOOK FOR ME!!!!
Last week brought back “real” workouts for me. A couple short runs on the treadmill and the return to CrossFit. This week, I’ve been at both the TUE & THUR CrossFit sessions PLUS I ran 7 miles on the treadmill Monday night AND I hit the StairMaster on Tuesday night. Yes, I’m feeling like a total stud for making the most out of my indoor workouts. Plus I love the StairMaster and it’s nice to have an excuse to use it rather than just pounding out miles on the treadmill. Say HELLO to me in my dining room home gym as I stair away.
On to the week’s CrossFit workouts.
CrossFit Day #50 – Back Squats – 6 x4 – 73#
WOD for time – 200 Single jump ropes, 75 Kettlebell Swings (26# – and DANG was this hard), 50 – 10# medicine ball “side to side” sit-ups, 25 handstand push-ups.
The side to side sit-ups might be new. I don’t remember doing them before but I envision them to be very beneficial to my spongy core. Assume the sit-up position. Come up to crunch position but only lift the feet slightly off the floor. Then move the medicine ball from side to side, touching it on the floor each time before pivoting to the opposite side of your body.
CrossFit Day #51 – WOD “Jackie”
Bam! Another awesome week of workouts and I still have a couple days to go! What are you up to this week?
Unrelated side note – When I woke up this morning, I found this by my purse. Aby made it for an Art Club project and I am IN LOVE! Great job, “baby” girl!
You’ll find this sign on one of my kitchen cabinet doors for the next year or so. #KeepingItClassy
** Keep Calm and RUN FASTER ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
I’ve been on a little hiatus since the Dopey Challenge. I needed a break. The plan all along was to get thru the Huff 50K & Dopey and then take some time off and really not do “much” for the remainder of the month of January. And I was looking forward to it. What I didn’t realize was how much my body would NEED that break. I started getting a bit of a clue when I had a pretty severe Plantar Fasciitis flare up on the first day of the Dopey Challenge. Yep, during the 5K. Initially it took me off guard because it basically came out of nowhere but it didn’t take me long to realize that it was text book PF. I was fine while running but when I stopped OMGosh things got ugly fast. And when I sat down, the getting up and getting moving was super painful. It felt like I was walking on spikes. Not ideal but at least something I could self diagnose. Also something I was familiar enough with that I could be pretty certain that completing the Dopey Challenge most likely wouldn’t do much additional long term damage.
Then I got a head cold/sore throat combo that was a bit of a nuisance. Brought that new friend home with me from Disney. It took a week and a half to clear up (thanks to some electro acupuncture by Dr. Alexis). I felt good for two days. Then the stomach flu hit. Yep, the stomach flu. SO.MUCH.FUN. Okay, it sucked but my body was tired and why not get it ALL out of the way while I was in rest mode anyhow, right? Right!
Now I’m feeling AMAZING except for the heel pain that Dr. A is slowly but surely kicking to the curb. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill last night at 8:22 pace. Then I hit CrossFit this morning! I’m so happy to be back to being active. I still don’t plan on doing anything big this month but I’m moving and that makes me happy. 
CrossFit Day 49 (and if you are really counting, CrossFit Day 48 was on January 2, 2014 but the WOD has been lost in the windy tunnel of the TTF brain. Ooops!).
WOD – Jack. Hello Jack. So nice to meet you. Thank you for kicking my butt on the first day back to CrossFit in 21 days. Thanks for reminding me WHY I CrossFit in the first place. Thanks for reminding me that I am weak and I want to be strong. Thank you for starting me off on my quest to be a strong runner in 2014.
20 minutes – AMRAP:
I did 11 rounds. I was very focused on trying to get at least 10 rounds completed because at the half way mark I was into my 6th round so I didn’t want to lose ground. I was super happy to be able to complete the 11th round, even managed a few extra push presses even though time was basically up. I really tried to stay focused and wanted to keep pushing because it is a new year and I think it’s important to focus on new goals and try to improve. Plus, what’s the point of getting up early for a 5am class if I’m not going to push it? I don’t want to waste my time or anyone else’s. I want to get better. I want to get stronger. I want to run far and FAST when the opportunity arises and I really think the key to staying healthy is strength and cross training. For these reasons, I dedicate 2014 as my year of strength. I want be be strong physically and mentally. I want to be a better person. I want to handle LIFE better. I want to be strong inside and out.
** On a Quest to Be Strong ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
TooTallFritz 