MIMM - Short Weekend Recap

Hi everyone!  Today will be a short post just to share some pictures from the weekend.  I'll be writing more about the race and my experience tomorrow, but for now here are some pictures!

The expo was really small, but past Biggest Loser contestants were there.  I was there when Rob from the most recent season was talking.

I think I need this shirt:

For dinner, we went to la bella in Erie - great pasta and salads.  All of their dressing is homemade and tasted great!

I got the Ragu Bolognese with meatballs (unnecessary because the sauce was SO meaty!)

We also made sure to stop at Tim Horton's for a double double..my favorite!

Beautiful sunrise over the lake at the start!

The race course was beautiful but brutal for me (it's completely flat and I'm used to tons of hills!).  Here I am at mile 12!  (Thanks to my mom for the picture!  Unfortunately Dan hurt his back and couldn't make it so my mom skipped a party she was supposed to attend and came with me!)

Finisher!!! My official time was 2:05:59.  It's a new PR, but I didn't hit my goals.  I'll talk more about what went wrong (and right) during my training and the actual race tomorrow!  The medal was great though! 
Linking up with Katie for MIMM!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 8, 2015 at 6:08 AM

    Congrats on the PR! I always thought running on a totally flat course would be the easiest, but when you're training on hills, your muscles are so used to the variation, the flat terrain can be even more difficult to cover. I'm looking forward to your recap! Hope you have a fab Monday : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:26 PM

      Thank you! You described it perfectly. Definitely a lesson I learned the hard way :)

      Delete
  2. Morgan @ Morgan Manages MommyhoodJune 8, 2015 at 6:48 AM

    Congrats on your PR! That pasta makes me reaaallllyy want pasta right now. It looks awesome!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:26 PM

      Thank you so much! And it was great..and I still have leftovers :)

      Delete
  3. Heather [is probably running]June 8, 2015 at 8:22 AM

    Congratulations on your PR, but I'm sorry you missed your goal for the race. I look forward to reading your detailed race report!

    Also, you make mile 12 of a half marathon look so relaxing and easy. I'm pretty sure I am about dying at that point!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:28 PM

      Thank you! My goals were probably a bit ambitious for this point, but I know I can get it next time :) and thank you so much- but the sunglasses were hiding my pain and tears!

      Delete
  4. UnknownJune 8, 2015 at 8:28 AM

    Congrats on a new PR, looking forward to hearing more about it

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jenny @ apples and kaleJune 8, 2015 at 8:34 AM

    Congrats on the PR!! I agree, this weekend was short! Too short! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:32 PM

      Thanks Jenny! It was a beautiful weekend at least :)

      Delete
  6. Lauren | Just a PinchJune 8, 2015 at 8:36 AM

    Congratulations on finishing the race with a PR. Even if you didn't meet your goals, I'm still very impressed :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:32 PM

      Thanks Lauren! Sometimes I just have to be happy with finishing :)

      Delete
  7. SuzyJune 8, 2015 at 10:07 AM

    Hey, do you guys have Tim Hortons in the States now or did you travel up north for the race? I LOVE the ceiling in that restaurant. Congratulations on the race. Looking forward to reading about it soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:34 PM

      Some areas have them, like northern PA and new York. I wish we had them in pittsburgh..they have the best coffee!

      Delete
  8. UnknownJune 8, 2015 at 10:12 AM

    Congrats on getting a PR even when it was brutal for you. You are such an inspiration! I can't wait for all the details!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:34 PM

      Thank you so much Jennifer..that means a lot to hear that :) you inspire me as well!!

      Delete
  9. Gina DailyJune 8, 2015 at 10:54 AM

    Way to go on the new personal record! How do you manage to look so cute at mile twelve!!??
    Gina || On the Daily Express

    ReplyDelete
  10. Alanna @ Madeleines & MarathonsJune 8, 2015 at 11:44 AM

    Congrats on the PR! I love the turtle shirt, so cute! I love watching the sunrise/set over the lake! I grew up in a small town about a half hour from there. My husband's whole family lives in Erie so we visit there pretty frequently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:36 PM

      That's so cool! I love Erie and its only 2 hours away so I should go more often :)

      Delete
  11. LesleyJune 8, 2015 at 12:00 PM

    Great job on the PR! And that pasta looked really good.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Meredith @ Cookie ChRUNiclesJune 8, 2015 at 12:33 PM

    Congrats on the race! Can't wait to hear the recap. Even if you didn't hit your goals, you still finished and that's really an accomplishment we runners often overlook.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:38 PM

      Thank you, and you're exactly right! It's not like I could have won anyways, so I ended up with the same medal I would have gotten even if I hit my goals :-P

      Delete
  13. Jennifer @ Run Jenny RunJune 8, 2015 at 3:29 PM

    Congrats on your PR. I love the ceiling of the restaurant you went too, the Ragu Bolognese looked so good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 8, 2015 at 3:39 PM

      Thank you! I loved it as well..I want a ceiling like that in my future house!

      Delete
  14. HoHo RunsJune 8, 2015 at 6:40 PM

    Congrats on the PR! I love the lighthouse medal. I can't wait to read your recap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gretchen BraunJune 9, 2015 at 10:19 AM

      Thank you! I love the lighthouse as well..so pretty!

      Delete
  15. Mar @ Mar on the RunJune 8, 2015 at 8:30 PM

    Congrats, that's awesome!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Relationship Rules I Broke (and WEDDING PHOTOS!)

Image
Happy Thursday everyone! Today I have a different type of post to share today.  I don't talk about relationships or my dating life much on the blog, but I'm switching it up today!  I got married last Friday, and I thought it would be fun to share some relationship rules that I broke while Dan and I dated. I'll also be sharing some wedding pictures!  We got married at the Butterfly Falls at the Hidden Valley Inn in Belize (more on the Inn in upcoming posts!), and the pictures turned out absolutely amazing.  Since we had a "just the two of us" ceremony, there's not much to talk about the actual wedding.  In lieu of a full post on that, I'll be sharing some background information on our relationship, along with wedding photos and some #ThrowbackThursday pictures.  I hope you enjoy (and I promise- back to running stuff next week!) Guys are immature, so date someone older I've always read in magazines (which, by the way, have the worst datin
Read more

Towpath Half Marathon Recap

Image
Hi everyone and Happy Tuesday!  Today I'll be recapping my race this weekend, the Towpath Half Marathon.  Overall, I had a great experience at the race and would definitely recommend it!  Before I dive into the mile-by-mile recap, I just wanted to give some overall thoughts and reviews of the race as a whole. The Towpath Marathon features three races- a full marathon, half marathon and 10k.  All three races are in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, but all run different courses.  The half and 10k start at the Brandywine Ski Resort, while the full starts at the Boston Mills Ski Resort (where the expo is held). The course is mostly on a narrow crushed limestone trail that is relatively flat.  There are a few sections that were paved and a few small walking bridges that provided the only real inclines.  It's really hard to pass people (particularly near the turn where it's two-way traffic) since the trail is so narrow. There are a lot of water stations, and each o
Read more

Review- Group Power

Image
Happy Weekend everyone!  Today, I'll be doing a review of another group exercise I do at my gym called Group Power !  Let's get right into it. First off, the description in our program guide is "This 60-minute barbell program strengthens all your major muscles in an inspiring, motivating group environment with simple, athletic movements such as squats, lunges, presses and curls." I don't exactly look like this when I'm curling..but you get the idea! Let me tell you, this is one intense workout!  For the entire 60 minutes, we're constantly moving and lifting and by the end I'm a pool of sweat!  We work out all the major muscle groups - Legs, Chest, Triceps, Biceps, Glutes, Shoulders, and Core with light to moderate weights.  We also use a step to do exercises like chest presses and split squats. For each song, we focus on one muscle group, and do a variety of exercises with lots of repetitions, set to the beat of the music.  The tempo of the
Read more