Minneapolis Marathon: 2012

Running the Minneapolis Marathon was a back up plan for me after I fell during a Zumbro 100 training run  upon the course in late March. While training in the months following that fall I learned that I was only able to run 30-40 miles before I felt the familiar disc pain.  Instead of sucking it up and then hurting myself further I scratched my 100s off of the summer schedule.

Really, I am just happy to be able to run each day. After the five month layoff this past year I am thrilled to be able to run  a marathon!

Without any speed training I wasn’t sure what I would be able to do for Minneapolis Marathon.  I had been logging long slow hours in training for the 100s.  I decided I’d run Minneapolis slow and easy and use it as a baseline of where I’m at marathon wise, then focus on marathon training during the next four months and take a stab at a faster Twin Cities Marathon.  I think I will look up my Boston Qualifier time and perhaps plan a little trip out East.

I enjoy Team Ortho races very much as the organization is impeccable, the volunteers are amazing, the swag is top notch and the races aren’t crowded. Yet. There were less than 1000 in the marathon, sweet!

Race start was 630 AM. I woke up before 4 as usual. I just don’t sleep well since my hysterectomy and wonderful menopause. Plenty of time to dress, eat and pack for the race. Instead of the oats that I normally ate in the past for races I opted for a hunk of chicken breast and half of a sweet potato along with coffee. 

I arrived to the race site by 530, a good hour before start time. Time to lube up my feet, attach my number, get my gear in order.

We were able to use The Depot Hotel for the bathrooms and such, very  nice. The start wasn’t even crowded. I wandered around the avenue, walking up to the start, checking out the different pace teams-with only 1000 people running the marathon it wasn’t crowded at all.  There were huge gaps of space.

It was going to be a warm day, a high of 80 was forecast. I was sure to wear Skinceutical’s SPF 50, hat and glasses and I carried my own water bottle and gels.

The course had been altered due to flooding at Pike Island. We ran past the Guthrie Theatre, around the Dome,  along the Mississippi, into Fort Snelling State Park, finishing at Bohemian Flats along the river. It really is a nice course-plenty of water and gels at the aid stations, tons of volunteers.

I just took it all in, checked out the relay runners-one group was dressed in full hockey attire. When I began to feel hot I thought of them. When I began to feel tired I thought about the fact that I had been going to run Kettle 100 this day, and my friends running FANS 24 Hour Run. I didn’t feel quite so tired anymore!

A few times I heard JULIE BERG yelled out.  I looked and saw Donna Rae waving at mile 4 and again at mile 18 as she was running the race, too.  There were a few out and back sections where we could see the other participants. At mile 14 Brook passed me up and I saw Marie riding along the course on her bike at mile 24 or so. Very cool!  Very fun!

I reached the halfway point at 2:11, figured I’d finish before 5:00 and I was fine with this. I wasn’t sure how 5 hours of pavement would feel to my discs but I hadn’t any pain yet so I just went with the flow.

By mile 20 I was feeling the heat and turned on my iPod. It felt good to listen to some music and turn my thoughts off.  The 430 pace group was just ahead so I decided to run into the finish with them. I plodded along, enjoying the sights, enjoying the downhill cruise into the finish.

As I crossed the finish line I was handed a bag of food:  chips, banana, salted nut roll, popcorn and a bottle of water. So convenient, instead of  walking all over the finish looking for water!  A medal was placed around my neck and I spotted the bus next. I walked up to the bus, waited about 2 minutes in line and rode the bus back to the start where my car was. That took a whole 7 minutes.  I didn’t feel the need to hang around the finish to eat burgers and drink beer, ha!  I was anxious to get home and spend the Sunday with my family. 

Great race, great day!

Sprint. Jump. Pull. Push. Press. Squat. Sprint. RUN.

That's CrossFit. Sprinting, jumping, pulling, pushing, pressing, squatting and more sprinting. I love it. I'm having such a great time!  I began with two sessions a week and then found myself attending three each week and last week I attended 4. Sweet progression.


I am PRing in everything. My strength amazes me. When I compare myself to others in the box, which I try not to do, I am pretty close to the bottom, but when I compare myself to where I began, I am certainly getting better. My disc damaged side is much weaker and I really struggle with that..but I'm doing the best I can. 


I find CrossFit much more fun than lifting for 45 minutes at the gym, by myself, same lifts, same thing. With CrossFit I am still lifting heavy but doing so much more!  The workouts are varied, fast, incredible moves that I have never completed before.


Steve and Troy built me a jump box!  Yes, a box which I jump onto. It's 20 inches tall, wood, portable. I haul it from the garage to the grass. When I first completed box jumps at CF I was afraid, I held Susan's hand because I was sure I was going to kill myself.  It was a 14" box!  I moved to 16" and now am not afraid of a 20". They will be building me a 24" box soon, I am sure!


We are running a competition right now. Last Saturday we completed "FRAN" which consists of thrusters and pull ups. I completed my workout in 13:30. We had our time recorded, our body weight, our weight lifted, measurements. In 4 weeks we'll see how we progressed. I love it!


On Memorial Day there is a "MURPH" workout contest at a box in St. Cloud. MURPH consists of this:


1 Mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run


7 members of our box are entering and I think I'm going to as well. It will be difficult, but if it was easy I wouldn't be interested. I have to register by May 7 so I need to decide. Quickly.


I'm increasing my mileage on road for the next few weeks as I have the Minneapolis Marathon the first week of June.  I enjoyed it very much last year and since I'm out for Kettle 100, Minneapolis Marathon will do :)

Team Ortho Minneapolis Marathon Photos

Minneapolis Marathon

This past Sunday I ran the Minneapolis Marathon as part of the Team Ortho Monster Series that I entered. Last year I ran a few of the Ortho races and really enjoyed them. I entered the series this past January as an alternative to the Ultra Gnarly Bandit Series incase I had a hysterectomy, which I did, and the series has been a lot of fun.

Minneapolis Marathon was race III out of V.

Summer arrived in the Midwest this past weekend. Most of us from the area haven’t had any heat training yet this summer as the past five weekends have been in the 50s with rain. Friday arrived with summer! 86 Friday, 85 Saturday and Sunday, it is 94 today!

What a way to acclimate, on race day.

I normally love to run in the heat but I have to admit, the heat helped to brutalize the Minneapolis Marathon for me!

I had a few goals for the marathon. One, I wanted to run the first half faster than the Get Lucky Half Marathon in March and two, I wanted to feel good at the half. That would show me any progress I’ve made on endurance these past weeks. If you read the race report for the half you will remember that I felt like death during that half marathon. I couldn’t breathe, I was dizzy, I was a mess. Of course it was only 7 weeks or so post op.

As all Team Ortho races, parking was a treat. $3 parking in a lot less than a block away to the start/finish, hand directed to my spot. So amazing!

This was the second year for the Minneapolis Marathon and I hadn’t run it before. There were 4800 registered for either the relay, half marathon or marathon.

I liked the 7 AM start, for me earlier is better. We were able to use the facilities at The Depot Hotel, using nice clean toilets, hot water..what a treat! I walked over to the start and lined up near the 10 minute mile pacers. It was already 65F and felt nice, no sleeves necessary. I was trying a new sunscreen for racing, Skinceuticals, which my friend Alicia recommended. I am beginning to show sun spots and certainly don’t need anymore sun damage. This sunscreen is a physical block that is also water/sweat proof. I had been wearing the brand under my make up but hadn’t had the opportunity to try out on a sunny hot day.

The start was at the Depot Hotel, running through the Warehouse District, down Plymouth Avenue, to the Stone Arch Bridge. I had never walked down in that area and it was so pretty. Cobblestone roads – which weren’t so great to run on – but didn’t last very long. We ran through beautiful neighborhoods that I hadn’t seen before. It was a 6 mile loop over and back across the river and then we headed back near our starting place before heading out on the out and back marathon run. It really was a pretty loop and most of it was nicely shaded.

There was a relay taking place within the race which was a new event to me. Every 6 miles or so there would be a big RELAY sign with cones directing the participants to their hand off area. It was fun to see new fresh runners with lots of speed burning up the course for a few miles.

The stretch along West River Road was mostly shaded with a few long sunny spots. Whew, those spots warmed me up quickly. I felt like it was 90F already and really it was about 75F at this time.

I have never stood under any of the sprinklers at the summer marathons, but yesterday, I soaked myself under each one. I was that hot! After a cool soaking I felt new life in my body as I continued to run along the course.

Along West River Road was the half marathon turnaround and once the half marathoners left the course, wow, did it thin out! All of a sudden the course was wide and clear with a few runners here and there. Less than 900 finished the marathon.

I was able to reach both of my goals: at the half marathon I felt good, just hot, and I was 12 minutes faster than I was at Lucky 7 half marathon. Good enough!

I continued on and really began to get hot on this exposed section. I was carrying a 24 oz water bottle that I was filling at the aid stations and gulping down a couple little glasses of power aid or whatever the available energy drink was. I was taking a Hammergel every 35 to 40 minutes, I didn’t take any S or ECAPS. I was wondering if I should have brought some along with all of the heat.

We made a u turn and then entered the Fort Snelling State Park. Wow, I didn’t even know this existed. We ran downhill on a shaded path deep in the woods for over a mile, then hit a sandy trail through the park that was still shaded. 6 nice wooded shaded miles through the park. I liked it, although it was quite hilly. This was an out and back so it did get a little crowded in areas. I noticed that many of the runners coming back were looking pretty tough. The heat was taking it’s toll. I finally reached the turn around and headed back out of the park. As we exited the park we took a sharp left and the trail went straight up a huge hill! I could only laugh at it. I began to walk up the hill, sweat falling into my eyes when I realized the sunblock was working very well. It didn’t sting my eyes and it wasn’t wearing off. Good deal. I also noticed that it felt good to walk up this hill, using other muscles after the downhill running earlier.

I was just looking forward to hitting the 20 mile marker. I was hot and tired. I wasn’t sore at all, I wasn’t out of breath or dizzy, I was trying to be happy that I felt pretty good and that I have the endurance back. Speed is another thing.

Eventually mile 20 came and went, I just looked for the next mile. At mile 23 I filled up my water bottle and then noticed the 430 pace group coming up the way. I walked out of the aid station, waiting to run the last three miles with the group.

I came into the finish line at 4:34, I felt nauseous by now and had a bad stitch in my side. I thought about my friends running FANS and Kettle 100 and was just glad that I only had a marathon for today!

I had only a short walk to my car where I had a cooler holding a recovery shake and quinoa salad. I could stomach the shake but ate the salad later in the day when I was famished!

No pain or stiffness today, no bleeding or cramping during the race, all is good. The next race in the Monster Series is the Minneapolis Duathlon. Something new for me! I’m looking forward to it.

The Twin Cities Marathon is in 4 months. I’d like to run another Boston Qualifier. I have the endurance down, now the speed workouts begin.

Today is swimming and biking in preparation for the Graniteman Tri in 8 weeks. Another first!

Minnepolis Marathon Training Run

Yesterday morning I headed off for St. Louis Park. The second training run for the Minneapolis Marathon/Half Marathon was going to begin at the St. Louis Park Lifetime Fitness. The distances going to be run were 6-10 miles.

As I approached the St. Louis Park area I realized how much it has changed since I used to live near the area..um, 20 years ago! How can that much time have passed? How can I be old enough to say I lived near somewhere 20 years ago?

For one thing, I used to work right off Wayzata Blvd, now known as 394. The building is still there, but the Company moved downtown, where I also worked until 8 years ago.

Steve and I bought our first home in New Hope, lived there for about 5 years before selling and building out here..in Orrock Township, 60 miles from the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

So back to the story. I'm driving around, noticing that Park Place Blvd now has much more than Park Place Hotel residing upon it's asphalt. There are now about a zillion more hotels, strip malls, townhomes, apartments .. amazing. Eventually I came across Lifetime Fitness and followed 100 other cars into the lot. I can't imagine that all of these people are here for this free training run. It's 735 so I figure there must be a popular class offering at 8 AM at the club..or something. There is plenty of parking so I find a spot and head to the club. On the way to the front door I notice the Minneapolis Marathon feathers from along the course so I know I'm at the right place.

Lifetime Fitness. OK, I have become a hick. It's huge. I sign a waiver as I am not a member, am at the club only for the free training run. I follow the arrow onto the 'turf' where we are going to meet. I pass a restaurant, a massage therapy center, a huge pool, a supplement shop..hello, this is not a mall, this is Lifetime Fitness. I see the weights area. OMG, I want to work out here. There are only a few people and hundreds upon hundreds of free weights, racks, machines..amazing. I may have to visit in a few weeks again to see what all if offered. Wow. No, this is not Anytime Fitness but I'm sure it is not $20 a month, either!

I find myself in with a mob of people, all wearing running attire, I have to be at the right location. I'm on turf. There are a bunch of cardio machines around me and a running track. Not many people using the gym but a zillion here for the training run. Posted around the turf are signs "6 miles or less" "Boston Marathon Group" "330 Marathon Goal" etc. People are milling about and I am just standing around with my jaw wide open amazed at all of these people here. I begin to notice Lifetime Fitness RunClub jackets and realize I must be at a Lifetime Fitness RunClub training run. Maybe this isn't the free training run with Team Ortho for the Mineapolis Marathon after all. Maybe I am supposed to be in a different part of the gym Oh boy.

A woman introduces herself, Lauren from Savage. She's very friendly so I begin to pepper her with questions: is this the free training run for Team Ortho of the Minneapolis Marathon? This is really FREE? There are pace leaders, coaches here, is this really FREE? There is an expo taking place after the run for cripes sake..StartLine, coaches, Garmin, etc. This is amazing. She explains to that this is the Lifetime Fitness Run Club kick off for the spring marathon training program. They meet three times a week for structured running, lectures, etc. She explains that Lifetime Fitness invited Ortho here to complete their training run with the Liftime group. Cool. I explained to her what I was doing here and asked if she knew Amy from Team Ortho, who invited me. She didn't know where she was in the sea of people at the time. We chatted a bit and I was just amazed at all of the people. There were 100's of people. Really. 100s. I realize that I have never run in a group training run as a participant before. When I first began to run I didn't realize this type of program was offered. Maybe it wasn't 12 years ago..I don't know. Not in the Big Lake area! It still isn't! I also realize that I may be an introvert...this may be to much socialization for me.

I mosied around for a few minutes, found myself approached by many others..some of which asked for an introduction of myself and then produced business cards and such. I met many people that offered services: chiro, massage therapists, trainers. There was a lot of meeting and greeting, networking going on. I was asked my blog address and if I was on facebook and linkedin. I may have been hit on a couple of times. It's been so long that I forget what that is. Strange. I went home with a pocket full of business cards.

The group was called together and an explanation was given of the route/distances. Maps were handed off, the routes consisted of the lakes, city roads, depending of the length of your run. I went off with the 6 miles or less group. It was a beautiful, crisp, sunny morning. We had one coach lead us and another at the end as sweep. The run was great, relaxed, meeting many of the runners and talking about the excitement of the first marathon with the beginners. I said over and over to enjoy the process, don't worry about next week and running 7 or 8 miles, or 13 and eventually 20. Just enjoy today! Enjoy breathing deeply, feeling the sun on your face, feeling your body move. The marathon will come, enjoy the process of getting there!

Our run was awesome. The coaches were great. The participants had a fun morning. I really had a fun time and wished I could have then tagged along with the 10 mile group. I had to be at work at 12 in St Cloud, had to stop off at home to shower so I didn't have a lot of time to hang about afterward to enjoy the Expo.

What a great way to ease into marathon training. All of the expertise is there, there are others who are matched with the runners ability and you will have someone to chat with to make the run a bit more enjoyable.

I am heading south for spring break so won't be able to make next week's run. You can get all of the details here.

Minneapolis Marathon

I've been blogging for quite a few years. As Trail Runner magazine put it "Julie Berg began blogging before everyone was blogging"; I guess that is the truth. Only recently have I noticed that bloggers are given free merchandise, services and affiliate dollars from others as an exchange in receiving publicity via the blogger. I wasn't sure how these bloggers received these freebies but I though it was pretty cool. Alas, I had never been contacted by anyone to receive anything free other than POM juice. Until this past week.

Amy of Team Ortho Foundation contacted me, asking if I was interested in a free entry to the Minneapolis Marathon as well as free shwag - fleece shirt and hat - in exchange for blogging about the training runs prior to the race. Amy read my post relating to The Polar Dash, this is how she found me. She stated that the posts I would write were not required to be positive only; that the only requirement was I would blog about them. Well, of course I agreed. I had been hoping to run the Series because as I stated earlier, I love to promote a local race and the finishing medals are top notch. Top Notch.

The Minneapolis Marathon is a new marathon which will be celebrating it's second birthday this next June. I think Minnesota really needed another marathon during the summer season.

Grandmas has been the only marathon choice for many of us in the beautiful summer months and, unfortuately, the City of Duluth has taken advantage of the runner and his/her pocketbook by price gouging. Don't get me wrong, I love Grandmas Marathon. It was my first ever marathon and I went back to run it another half dozen times. Our family would stay at the Best Western Edgewater, right on London Road. This made it so easy for for my family to watch me as I ran past. The only downfall: $$$$$. Big bucks. The hotels in the City require a three night stay. THREE NIGHTS! In 2000 it was a two night minimum. By the time I ran the race in 2006 it was three nights. Needless to say, the last time I ran Grandmas I drove up in the AM, drove back home in the PM, leaving the family behind. We easily dropped $1500 for the Grandmas weekend. It is now just too expensive for our family of four to visit Duluth during my Grandmas Marathon weekend. I now have to go solo.

So there is a new kid on the block. Team Ortho - same directors of the Polar Dash which I wrote about earlier-and was so impressed with - have put together the Minneapolis Marathon. The race is held Saturday, June 6. Early registration would get you in for $69. Price increases as time goes on.

What's real cool about the race orginaization is that they have FREE training! Yeah. FREE. Each Saturday, from tomorrow the 20th, through the end of May, you can particpate in group training runs. They will provide water, sports drink and gel. I am not kidding!

Tomorrow's run is 5 miles at 8:00. You can find directions/details here. I can't make it tomorrow but I will be there next week. I'm looking forward to it!

A coworker of mine, Rachel, ran her first marathon here last year and had a great experience. I'm looking forward to running my 40th marathon here in June.