Fall Goal Completed! Brewers 10K in the Bag!

My goal I set this summer was to run my first 10K this fall. A friend and I were going to run the Brewers 10K together, but she got injured. Then I was like "crap I guess I better do this thing myself". There was no way I was backing out, another chance to run on the field at Miller Park, yes please!

 

Friday after work I drove up and back to Miller Park, it's about a 2 1/2 hour round trip with packet pick up, but not a bad trip. I got to Miller Park and there were tons of signs pointing out where to go. Packet pickup was at the club level, a place I have never been but always wanted to. It was not crowded at all, they were smart and had 2 days of pick up. I got my bib, directions, T-Shirt, and in our goody bag was a bobble head. I have never been to a race where you got a bobble, granted they were left over from the summer giveaways but still awesome.

I got to see the Brewers apple

Said hi to Bernie and headed home

Saturday, I got up at 4am to get ready to head to the ballpark. My wonderful husband made the journey to see my first 10k with me. We had to get there by 6:30 as the roads were closing at that time since race start was 7:10am. It was chilly out but not too bad. When we got there we headed into the stadium to get ready and stretch. It was nice they had the ballpark open for family to watch the runners. This was my first run with my name on the bib, I felt so cool.

 

I'm ready to run!

After numerous bathroom trips, I headed towards corral K. Not sure what I put as my pace but corral K was so far back it did not even get a sign! I chatted with some ladies in my corral and before you know it we were moving towards the start line. Everyone walk to the line, which was nice so we could conserve energy. As soon as I crossed the mat, I hit the Garmin and was off. The first mile was crowded, the half marathon runs did not split from the 10K group until 3/4th into the first mile. My first mile ended up being a bit slow.

 

Mile 2.5 we got to run through Miller Brewery, it was so cool running down the street where I am normally walking on a tour.

Mile 5 with brewery in background

Originally they said water would be every 2 miles or so, it was nice to see it was at every mile. I wore my Nathan's belt so I only had to stop twice at a water station. Mile 4 I noticed a girl next to me, I thought she was trying to pass me. Turns out we ended up pacing each other the whole rest of the run and crossed the line together. We turned to each other on Miller Park field and thanked each other for pacing, I was so lucky to find a silent motivator. As we ran through Miller Park, I looked for Justin but could not find him, it turns out he did end up seeing me!

Here I am with my pacer friend Nicole running through Miller Park

 Surprisingly I barely had to stop and walk, I think I only stopped twice for a short period of time. I felt really good the whole race and probably could have kept going. That's a good sign right? Heading out of Miller Park we rounded the corner and up a hill towards the racing sausages waiting for us with Bernie at the finish line. I started to speed up and me and my partner sprinted for the finish.

Finishing strong, great pictures from Marathon Foto

Super cheesy "I did it" shot



I finished my first 10K in 1:11:24 and was very excited, I far exceeded the time I expected. I grabbed my water, snacks, and of course awesome medal!

 

Love that it has Miller Park on it

Found Justin and we headed to get our free beers and relax for a bit.

I finished and I did not come in last!

 

Miller Park



Awesome husband!

 

Had to take the medal shot

All in all loved this run and will either do the 10k or mini marathon next year. The Brewers hosted another great run and I am so glad I did it! Next up, possible half marathon... gulp.

 

 



Adventure Amongst the Corn- Our Fall Tradition

 

 

Saturday we took our annual trip to Richardson's Adventure Farm in Spring Grove, IL. We only live about 25 minutes away so it is quick and easy to get there. This year Bonnie and Carter were able to join us and it was Carter's first time at a corn maze.

Waiting for Bonnie to arrive to start our maze adventure

We headed in the big red barn to pay our admission and then explained to Carter what the corn maze was.

 

Justin and I have been going to the maze for many years. This year's theme was the Beatles 50th anniversary. They did a great job and the maze was really cool. 

Entrance to the corn maze, it's huge!

 Richardson's is not just a place to go to a corn maze, they have added so much cool stuff over the years! You can rent a campfire to sit with your family around, go on hayrides, zipline, Zorb, pet animals, see pig races, and more. You could seriously spend the whole day here. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there and felt we got our monies worth.

One of the campfires, it smelled so good!

Bonnie and Carter checking out the goats

 First stop was the animal area to see the goats, alpaca, and rabbits. I pet the goat of course but Carter did not seemed to interested in petting, he just wanted to observe them and look at the trucks.

Took this picture from one of the bridges

 They have 2 bridges and an observation deck so you can climb up and look at the vastness of the maze and property.

 

Looking out from the bridge, so much corn!

Bonnie punching her card at one of the stops

As you go through the maze, you get a card that you can punch as you find all 20 stations. They also have a quiz maze, farm mystery hunt, and a color maze.

Carter was such a good boy and seemed to love the adventure of the farm. He sat in the stroller for a bit and walked quite a bit of the maze. He did such a good job in the maze! 

Great picture of us at the farm! yes that is a Buccaneer jacket, don't ask. :) 

 It took us an hour and 20 minutes to make it the 2 mile route we took through the maze. After going 5 plus time (yes they change the maze each year) Justin has become a pro at reading the check post map. After completing the maze we headed over to watch the pig races. We got there just in time and saw two race.

Carter loved the piggies

They were so little and cute, eventually they will be big!

All the pigs had names and most were Beatles themed.

 Once the pig races ended we walked around to see what else there was to do. We took Carter over to the jumping pillows to see if he wanted to do it. It was great that they had one for big kids and one for little kids, he went to the 48 inches and under pillow.

Seemed a little unsure of the jumping pillow

Bonnie helping him figure it out

 After the pillow Carter went and played in the playground for a bit. Once he was done we headed back to the Silo to buy our traditional bag of kettle corn, they make some of the best kettle corn there! I also bought this cute scarecrow rice crispy pop and a corn maze patch.

German sausage holding our kettle corn

Cute scarecrow!

 

 

We bid farewell to the maze for this year, well Bonnie, Carter, and Justin did. I will be back to the maze Oct 20th to participate in the Run Through the Maze 5k, can't wait!

 

Have you been to a corn maze before? Do you have any fun fall traditions?

 



Grayslake Running Club Fall Frolic 5k Recap

 

So last month I decided to join the Grayslake Runners Club. I have not had a chance to run with my club yet, but once I joined I figured I should sign up for the group's 5k. I had planned on wearing shorts and a tank today but the weather had other plans. It was 50 when I left the house so capris and a long sleeve tech shirt it was. I should have went short sleeve, the last mile I sweated! I got to the run about 30 min before start. It's a local race so there was no need to get there too early. They had lots of tables set up with sponsors and even some breakfast treats. I passed on all of it because I never know how my stomach will react.

 

At 8:50 we started to line up at the start. They had signs marking out your pace so you knew where to start, I love when races do that! I stood between the 9 and 10 min mile, even thought I am around an 11. I did not want to be stuck near the walkers. 9am sharp we took off! The course was pretty flat and in a nice tree lined neighborhood.

 

I started out way to quick from the start, but was able to hold the pace the whole first mile, I finished mile one at 10:33, my fastest race pace. Mile 2 I started to slip a bit and completed that one at 10:58. I ran solid for the entire 2 miles and walked twice for about 30 seconds between mile 2 and the end. My breathing got to me some around mile 2.5 and I was a bit out of breath. Also about mile 2.75 I felt like I had to go to the bathroom BAD, good thing that went away! As we were approaching the finish, I looked at my Garmin and saw I was almost to mile 3 and hustled the rest of the way to the finish. I PR'd with a finish of 34.03! Not bad for someone who has not really ran in 2 weeks!

 

All in all the GRC did a great job and this was a great 5k. I will certainly do this one again if they have it next year. Next Sat is the big 10k in Milwaukee I have been looking forward to. Hoping to do one day of 6 miles this week then take it easy the rest of the week.

 

 

Did you participate in any races this weekend?

 



Dells Vacation Part 3 More Water Park and Moosejaw Brewing Company

 

Tuesday we spent more time in both water parks, it was great to have the extra day to relax. We did manage to get an increase of cuts and bruises on this trip. I flipped backward in my tube in the wave pool and scraped by elbows. We also bumped shins when we went down the mammoths, amongst many other scraps and bumps. We also managed to get a bit of a tan in the wave pool. Never had time to make it to the fitness center but every slide had 70 plus stairs so we got quite a workout!

 

The one interesting thing of the day was we managed to go on the Hurricane with this lady and her 6 year old daughter. The girl was so little I did not think they would let her on, but they did. As soon as we flew down the slide into the funnel I grabbed that little girls hand and clamped on so she would not go anywhere. When it was over she was scared but loved it!

 

After hanging out in the water park all day, we went to try a new restaurant to us, Moosejaw Pizza and Brewing Company.

Love these moose mobiles

Cutest delivery cars

Loved the decor



Cute moose hats for sale



What to order?



Loved the light above our table

Great picture the waitress took

Water in mason jars



My beer an apricot ale, so good!

Justin had a milk stout

It's a burger, eat it!



The Rachel, a turkey reuben

 Great service, great beer, and good food at Moosejaw. The restaurant was packet for a Tuesday night and now we know why. We will certainly go back!

 

The beer is brewed upstairs

 Day three wrapped up with episodes of Full House, the Nanny, and Friends.

 

Wednesday we checked out, bought some chocolate at Goody Goody Gum Drops and left Glacier Canyon relaxed and sad to leave the Dells. We were happy to be heading home to see the kitties. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts so I can pick up one of my fall favorites, Pumpkin K Cups and Pumpkin Munchkins. What a great summer vacation, even if it was end of summer!