The Top 5 Reasons to Run Gazelle Girl in Grand Rapids, Michigan on 4/19/20

February 10, 2020February 9, 2020 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / Leave a comment

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Gazelle Sports in regards to the upcoming Gazelle Girl half marathon . All opinions expressed in this post are my own. I only work with brands and companies that I stand behind and trust, but I wanted to be 100% transparent about our partnership.

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Gazelle Girl is a female only race and weekend experience in Grand Rapids, MI on April 19, 2020. This race was started in 2012 by Gazelle Sports to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Title IV and to celebrate women’s health. This race was founded on the belief that healthy women contribute to an overall healthy family. 2020 will be the 8th anniversary of this unique race and we hope many of you can join the fun! 🙂

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Need even more reasons why you should run? Read my top reasons to run Gazelle Girl below!

Top 5 reasons why you should run Gazelle Girl this April

It’s an all female race. Yes, you read that correctly! You must be female to participate in the race. If you’re a male reader I’m really sorry, but consider encouraging all your female family and friends to run the race, or sign up to volunteer! 😉

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100% of the proceeds go to charity. Charity runners are not a new phenomenon in our sport, but how many races can you think of that contribute ALL their proceeds to charity? 😱 I cannot think of a single one. Until now with Gazelle Girl! Some of the charity partners include: Gazelle Sports Foundation, Sole Sisters, Make-A-Wish, and Women at Risk International, just to name a few. You can choose which of the 2020 charities you want to partner with and feel good knowing you are helping women and children in Western Michigan and beyond. How rewarding is that?

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There are multiple distance options. Does a half marathon sound like a fun challenge or intimidating? No matter the answer to your question Gazelle Girl has you covered! In addition to a half marathon, there is a 10k and 5k option. Whether this will be your first ever race or your 50th, we have you covered with training group options and training plans. Whether running Gazelle Girl will be your first race or a race will you earn that coveted new PR, we are excited to celebrate with you! And if you are in Chicago specifically, reach out to me for ideas of groups to train with. 🙂

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It is easy to travel to based on its location in Grand Rapids, MI. Most of you live in Chicago and the greater midwest. Grand Rapids is just under a 3 hour drive from Chicago and easy to access from other midwest states via I-196. This is the perfect distance for a little weekend get-away race without having to spend too long traveling. And if you live outside the midwest, Grand Rapids is easy to travel to via the Gerald Ford International Airport. Make a weekend out of the race with the Weekend Experience option complete with happy hours, a city lights tour, yoga, and a shakeout run, just to name a few of the fun events.

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It has a super rad expo (expotique) and finish line experience. At the expotique you can check-in for your chosen race, add in a late entry if spots are still available, and shop for some for some beautiful and limited edition apparel. The website will be updated soon with more information about the expotique! Post-race, join all the other amazing women who ran with you in a fun finish line party complete with gin-cocktails and delicious food.

expotique Gazelle Girl

I, unfortunately, cannot run the Gazelle Girl this year due to my already full spring race schedule :(, but I plan to run it next year! I cannot wait to cheer for all of you who are running from afar and to hear all about your race weekend experience after you cross the finish line! Stay in touch about your training and if you are in the Chicago area maybe we can share a few runs! 🙂

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So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up NOW! The prices for the half marathon will increase to $95 on March 9th ($55 for 10k and 45 for the $5k), so you better act quickly. 😉

Have you run Gazelle Girl before? If so, how many times? If not, are you going to sign up for it this year?!👇🏻

Review: Hot Chocolate 15k 2019

November 26, 2019November 27, 2019 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I’m reviewing the Hot Chocolate 15k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

BibRave was kind enough to give me an entry to the Hot Chocolate 15k on Sunday, November 3, 2019, so I could run it for the first time! 🙂 I know I’ve lived in Chicago for 5 years and it’s a little sad I have not run it, but if you are a long-time reader of Black Bean Queen you know that I have spent my fair share of those years injured… Anyway, let’s discuss the race weekend!

Packet Pick-Up

I went to packet pick-up on Saturday morning with my friend Emily after our team long run and brunch. I only ran 6 miles easy since I had not been running much in the nearly three weeks since the Chicago marathon. The packet pick-up was at McCormick Place and it was not as crowded as we expected. Neither of us were in the mood to go to every booth, so it was just a quick trip to grab our packets and do one lap. I also picked up my friend Meghan’s packet so she would not have to come all the way to Chicago two days in a row. I’m nice like that. 😛

Emily and I after the race!

Pre-Race

I woke up at 4:30 am, ate my usual lonely packet of oatmeal, and then changed into BibRave gear for the race. The race was in Grant Park, which is within a mile of where I live, so I was happy I did not have to leave hours before the race. I did have to leave somewhat early to give Meghan her packet and run a warm-up with her, though. I met her and her husband at a Dunkin Donuts. Meghan pinned on her bib, ditched some layers with her husband, and we started jogging to the start line.

I was hoping to find my friend Emily before entering the corrals so we could run the race together. We both planned just to take it at an easy to moderate effort since neither of us had run much since the Chicago Marathon. Emily, unfortunately, got caught up at the gear check and then all of a sudden, the announcer said the corrals were going to close in 10 minutes. I was still with Meghan and naturally, we panicked because we did not want to be forced into wave two. Even though I planned to take the race easier than Meghan, Emily and I still wanted our spot in corral A with Meghan. Meghan and I started running through crowds of people to make our way into corral A. We made it with a few minutes to spare! I hate being caught behind crowds of people at race start lines- it makes me panic a little (real cute, I know 🙃), so I’m glad we made it into A!

I stayed to the far right of the corral in my bright orange shirt in the hopes that Emily will make it in time and find me. I texted her, but no such luck. Meghan started doing a few drills and stretches while chatting with me. I just stood there fixing my shoelaces and checking my phone to see if Emily was coming, so not really doing anything to help my race preparation. 😛 Meghan suggested that even though I’m coming off a marathon and haven’t really been running, why don’t I just try to run with her since Emily wasn’t going to make it in time? She thought I could do it! I wasn’t so sure, but I said hey I guess I’ll just try to stick with you as long as I can…

Meghan and I after the race!

The Race

Suddenly the starting gun went off and we easied into the race. For the first few miles, Meghan and I were literally chatting, laughing, and not taking ourselves too seriously, while still running a solid effort. Our pace was good, around 6:50/ mile and it was pretty windy. I surprisingly did not feel very winded. We hit the 5k around 21 minutes and it honestly felt more like a 23-24 minute 5k, so I was surprised. And yes we were both wearing watches, but you know how crazy the GPS goes in downtown Chicago, so we were not certain what our actual pace was.

I hung on to Meghan until the 10k mark. That’s when my lack of running post-Chicago marathon caught up to me and I felt tired, so I slowed down. I’m not proud, but sometimes I just don’t want to fight. This was supposed to be a fun race anyway. I spent the 10k- 15k just keeping my cool and hoping to average sub 7 minute miles. I saw my sister-in-law and husband just before the last 400 m and then I made a new friend in that final stretch, so him and I finished together. We apparently ran the same time at the Chicago marathon, so it was fitting in a way to finish the race together (even though I blew up during my marathon and ran much slower than I was capable of running…the marathon and I have some serious unfinished business, but I digress). Although technically he finished about 30 seconds faster than me in the 15k, but must have started further back. Anyway, shoutout to Paul if you somehow read this blog! 😛 I finished in a 1:04:00 (6:53 pace), which was good for 4th place in my age group and about 1 minute and 20 seconds behind Meghan.

Post-Race

It was a pretty cold November day, so I finished the race freezing. I went with Meghan to grab our chocolate goodies, although I did not want to and could not eat them (#veganproblems). Only a big cup of coffee sounded good to me. We waited for our husbands to arrive with more layers and took a few photos. I also finally found Emily, who just laughed at me for not taking the race as easy as I said I would- #typicalAmanda 😛 We did not linger in the post-race party because it was so cold and because of Emily and I had a second race to get to: the November project 13 x 1 mi relay with our Heartbreakers team. The reason I thought it was a good idea to do two races in the same day is a story for another day or check out my instagram post about it.

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All in all, the Hot Chocolate 15k was a fun race. The course was flat, lots of crowd support, and it was well marked. I’d love to run it again when I’m in better racing shape and go for a sub 1 hour 15k!

Have you ever raced the Hot Chocolate 15k in Chicago or another city? If so what did you think?

Review: Run Mag Mile 10k 2019

September 24, 2019September 24, 2019 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 3 Comments

Disclaimer: I’m reviewing the Run Mag Mile 10k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

BibRave was kind enough to give me an entry to the Run Mag Mile 10k on Saturday September 7, 2019, so I could run it for the first time! 🙂 I know I’ve lived in Chicago for 5 years and it’s a little sad I have not run it, but if you are a long time reader of Black Bean Queen you know that I have spent my fair share of those years injured… Anyway, let’s discuss the race weekend!

Packet Pick-up

As is tradition for most Chicago RAM races, packet pick-up was at Fleet Feet Old Town. I went on Friday late afternoon, since I did not have class and was already in the area. It was a little crowded, but I was in and out quickly. It was a little confusing when I showed my race registration to claim my bib and they told me my bib was already picked up…but this little snafu was solved quickly. I just had to go to a different spot of the store to grab my bib since all the elite bibs were pulled ahead of time apparently. Which bring sme to my next point, I was seeded as an elite for this race and that offered me some cool perks that I was not expecting, such as a separate bag check, an elites only tent, preferential placing in the start corral, and snacks/beverages! I was also a little surprised to be seeded as elite because I consider myself to very much be an aspiring sub-elite runner at this moment in time.

Pre-Race

I live within a mile of the start line of the race, so I decided to jog over with my husband who came to spectate for moral support. I was not as early as I wanted to be because I had to ummm….go to the bathroom before I left, but hey, better at home than a porta potty when given the option, right? 😛

Anyway, I quickly ran to the elite tent to check my bags and ditch my layers. I could not help, but feel out of place. All these legit athletes were with their coaches talking race strategy, changing into Nike Vapor Fly or Next %’s and here I was by my lonesome checking that my Saucony Kinvara’s were laced up tight enough…But I reminded myself that I belong there and it’s not a fluke! I am getting faster! And I did run competitively in college and never reached my potential due to injury and burn-out, so why not now?

I made my way to the start corral to do some strides and drills. The weather was perfect, not too hot or cold and hardly windy! I felt decent considering all the 50 mile marathon training weeks on my legs leading into this race. This race was just for fun and to change up my training, since the Chicago Marathon is the goal race! I did not taper for it whatsoever, so going into the race my legs were quite tired. 😛 My goal was a sub 40 10k because that’s been a goal of mine for a while and because my workouts during marathon training indicated this was possible. Read more to see if I reached that goal!

I loved that I got to start at the very front of the corral as an elite, because start lines stress me out. Especially after my experience at the Boston Marathon 5k where I lined up at the proper spot, but no one else did…and then I ended up weaving in and out of slower runners all race. I prefer to be as close to the front and by the least amount of other runners as possible, but I know that is a wish most of us share 😛

The Race

I did a race recap on Instagram, so here’s a slightly longer/more detailed version of that recap:

-Miles 0-2: Woah, I’m going low 6 pace- this could be bad…or good 😂 But I feel strong. I am glad I saw my friend Elin cheering (& congratulated her on her engagement the night before 💍) & later my hubs because they both gave me a boost ♥️ Plus, my husband snapped some cool running photos without me having to ask him (see below)! He’s a true IG husband through and through :P⠀Around this point a few corral A runners, mainly males began to catch up to me.

-Mile 3: Okay, with a 20 flat 5k, a sub 40 is possible, but I need to negative split 😬 I was hoping to be under 20 minutes, but because I took out the race a little hot this did not surprise me at all. More corral A males were gaining on me and the top elite female group was 1-a few minutes ahead of me and then the rest of the elite females were behind me at this point.

-Mile 5: Woah, I’m tired & basically alone. Can I still push? You’re falling off pace Amanda- get it together…😑 ⠀

-Mile 6: So tired 😓 Keep that dude from corral A in your sight…Oh man a 6:35 mile… now you need to basically sprint to have any hope of sub 40.

-Mile 6-6.2: I saw the clock say 38:25 at mile 6 & I knew it would be close 🤞🏻 I think I was a little aggressive pace-wise in the beginning of the race. But I gave it everything I had the last 0.2 miles. My husband apparently saw me when I made this realization and start to kick it in because I took two more photos (below)…

I ended up at 40:20, which was 21 seconds over my goal and an nice positive split of 20 flat for the first 5k and 20:20 for the second 5k , but I’m still proud of myself for this effort on tired marathon legs! A 3 minute 10k PR on tired legs gives me hope for future races! 🏃🏼‍♀️

Post-Race

My good friend and fellow Heartbreaker teammate Emily also ran this race on tired marathon legs and earned a PR, so naturally we took a photo together!

Then, they had beer, canned Moscow Mules, and other goodies for us post-race. I went to find my warm-ups because I was surprisingly chilled post-race. The weather on this late summer race felt more fall-like than today’s weather to be honest, but we are only two days into fall, so I guess we need to give it time.

Overall, I cannot wait to run the Mag Mile 10k again. It was flat, fast, and fun! 🙂 Have you run the Run Mag Mile 10k before?!

The BibRave Chicago Summit and Rock ‘N Roll Half 2019 review

August 8, 2019August 9, 2019 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 4 Comments

Disclaimer: I’m reviewing the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago half marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

It may surprise some of you, but favorite part of being a BibRave Pro is not the opportunity to try different brands or races, but the community of people that I have connected with across the United States and world. 🙂 I love that we all run different paces and live in different places, but we all share a love of running, writing/blogging, and encouraging others.

What made the weekend of Friday July 19th-Sunday July 21st so special, though, was the opputunity to hang out with some of the fellow pros and staff in real life. 🙂 Our slack channel is great and a source of nearly daily chuckles for me, but there was nothing like that weekend of real life fun and chuckles. 😛 So without further ado, let’s dive into my experience at the BibRave summit weekend, from group runs to the Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon!

Friday July 19th

Started off the morning with a super hot team run, but it was awesome. It was nearly 90 degrees at 10 am when we all went running. We all met at Washington Square park and then ran 4 miles as a team. I ran to the park, though, so I ran about 7.5 miles total for the day.

We ended the run with a little swim in the lake, although I’ll be honest, I never jumped in. 😛 I knew I was taking the “L” home and didn’t want to sit on the train in my soggy clothes. haha

A few hours after the group run, we went as a team to the Rock ‘n’ expo to pick up our packets. My husband joined as well, even though he’s not on BibRave. 😛 We got some cool swag and took some goofy photos.

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Then it was time for the Orange Carpet dinner, one of my favorite events of the weekend. The dinner took place a City Winery in the west loop of Chicago. I had always wanted to go, but had never been. 🙂 We all put on as much orange as we good find, hung out as a team, had some tasty snacks and delicious wine. I probably had more wine than I should have, but it was worth it. 😛

Saturday July 20th

After the City Winery event and an unintentional late night, I accidentally overslept my alarm to make it to the team shakeout run. I’m THE WORST. 🙁 I woke up 15 minutes before the run was supposed to start. :/ I know all the people that did the shakeout run had a blast! 🙂 I decided to just take a rest day to rest up my legs for tomorrow’s half marathon.

We then went to the Cub’s game as a team for an afternoon game. I love that we all wore our BibRave summit t-shirts- we definitely stood out at the game with our sea of orange. 😛 I could not resist still wearing my Cubs hat. It was still crazy hot out, so I made sure to chug water the whole time and was grateful we sat in the shade.

After the Cub’s game I went back home to finish my homework for my summer class. It was due that evening, so I was cutting it close post-Cubs game. Crisis averted, though. 😛 Due to my homework, I missed the team podcast recording event post- game, but all the Pros that went told me it was fantastic. 🙂 I opted for an early bedtime in anticipation of waking up at 4 am for tomorrow’s half marathon race. As many of you already know, Rock ‘n’ Roll was somewhat of a goal race for me, but I knew with all the hot weather I needed to adjust my goal, event hough I’m stubborn and I did not want to.

Sunday July 21st

Race morning started very early- around 4 am. I had to make sure I ate breakfast this time, so I would not repeat the fueling mistakes of last year’s rock ‘n’ roll race. Although, not much could have been done to overcome my lack of training going into that race. haha. Anyway, I had some bland oatmeal and dates and checked the weather as I ate. Thankfully, the weather showed race morning was going to be cooler than the nearly 100 degree weather we had experienced the previous two days, but the humidity was crazy high. I realized I probably needed to adjust my goal of sub 1:30, but I really did not want to.

Around 5:50 am my husband and I jogged over to the start line so I could make it for a BibRave photo/ pump up chat. I easily found some of team BibRave because orange is not exactly a color that blends in. But not knocking orange- I love it! 🙂 I then made my way into the A start coral with my husband and we met up with my friend Jeff. I also saw Katherine Switzer in the corral near us, but was too shy and starstruck to say anything. Soon enough the 6:30 am race time arrived and we were off!

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know my thoughts about the race, so you can skip to the end of those post. lol. If not read below:

I was disappointed with my race result, despite the PR. 🙁 The only thing that made me smile on race day was hearing so many people cheer for me, running with friends, and hanging out with friends post-race. From the BibRave corner just before mile 6, to the Heartbreakers and 3Run2 cheer squads around mile 7, I know without those crews I would not have had much fun. Also shoutout to Lydia, my summer internship mentor and fellow Chicago runner who got this awesome photo of me around mile 7 (before I started struggling).

I know I am too hard on myself, especially because I met my B & C goals, but not my A goal. My C goal was to have fun. My B goal was a PR. And my A goal was sub 1:30. Maybe I should have adjusted my A goal given the hot weekend and humid race day weather, but I was fairly confident it was within my reach based workouts, especially on hot days the last two months. I should have known it was a bit of a reach goal because I was injured until early 2019 & my training has only really picked up the last few months… Here is a look at my 2019 running going into the race:

🔹January : 14 mi
🔹February: 32 mi
🔹March: 73 mi
🔹April: 54.5 mi
🔹May: 140 mi
🔹June: 200 mi

I know I fared better than many others in the heat/humidity on race day, but I’m competing with myself -not others. And if I’m being honest I fell short 😫 I held onto 1:28 pace until nearly mile 10, but then I felt very fatigued, overheated, & I stepped off the gas. As a future dietitian, I admit I probably should have taken in a gel during the race and not just water, so that was mistake number 1. But then I also mentally gave up around that point- I tend to give up/step-off the gas once running gets painful & that’s exactly what I did yesterday. In my training, I’ve had the same issue on hard workouts days, which I primarily do alone. Some people are good at grinding out repeats solo & it’s a great skill to have, but it is for sure a weakness of mine 😅 I sometimes miss my HS/college team because even if we weren’t always the same pace, we did the hard workouts together & that helped motivate me/push into the discomfort zone that you need to go to on workouts sometimes to get better at running. It helps you race stronger 💪🏻 All the more reason I should join a team! But a few weeks after this race, I can say I am likely joining a team- more on this later! 🙂

So, my takeaway from this half marathon is that I need to work on my toughness in workouts/races even when I’m in pain 🙃I’d love to do more hard workouts with others to help me push the pace, but I also need to work on it during solo efforts. But also a 1:32:11, 3rd in my age group, and a nearly 2 minute PR on a hot/humid day is not so bad. I know a sub 1:30 is in the bag on a more favorable day weather-wise! I can walk away from this race knowing that I learned a lot of important lessons and that all I can ask. Also, shoutout to my husband who was not fazed by the tough weather whatsoever and ran a 1:15:01 good for 57 second PR and 2nd in his age group. But also certain on a cooler day I bet he could run closer to a 1:13 half marathon!

After the race we had fun hanging out with old and new friends over beers in the post-race party. I realized that there was no sense in being upset, my race was over, and no one had a stellar day. It was so fun to meet friends like Matt, Naomi, Austin, Todd, and Jeff for the first time, as well as hanging out with older friends like the BibRave Pros and Michael.

After hanging out the post-race party for a while, my husband and I made our way home to shower and eat breakfast. We missed the rain! Once the rain died down we headed to Public House for a little BibRave Pro post-race party. It was low-key, but fun to see everyone before they headed back home (I was the only Chicago resident at the BibRave Summit haha).

I am so grateful for team BibRave for an awesome Summit weekend! And special shoutout to Knockaround sunglasses , Aftershokz , and Rock ‘n’ Roll for sponsoring it! 🙂 I cannot wait for the next summit!

Did you run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago half marathon this year?! If so, how did it go for you?

Shamrock Shuffle 8k 2019 review

April 1, 2019 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I’m promoting the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

After not making it to the start line for the 2018 Shamrock Shuffle due to illness, I was excited to not only receive an entry for the 8k race, but to make it to the start line healthy 🙌🏻 I also convinced my husband to run with me as per usual 😉 Well, not with me, with me, because he is a lot faster than I am! As I previously mentioned, my training has not been stellar with my busy student schedule and I’m still easing into hard training post injury. I only did two fartlek workouts going into the race and I averaged 15 mi/week. My goal going into the race was to have fun and run 7 min miles. I was definitely surprised with my race result to say the least! I ran 33:15 (6:42 pace) for the 8k, which is not too shabby for such low mileage and little workouts. My BibRave friends and I decided not to enter the team competition, so I accepted a place on the Recreational Oiselle IL team and our team came in 1st! The results are age-graded, so my time did not put me on the scoring team (top 4), but it was still fun to run on a scoring team like the good ‘ol cross country days.

My Garmin was not working, so most of the race I had no idea of my pace and just tried to maintain a “comfortably hard” pace. Plus, I found myself distracted by all the race views and reminiscing on when I ran the same streets for my first marathon last October. 🙂 Anyway, when I hit the 5k in 20:39, I realized I was running sub 6:40s, even though I thought I was running 7 min miles. Then, I got a side stitch around mile 3.5 and slowed down considerably (or so it felt) 🙃 I am not sure if it was the oatmeal and dates I ate 1 hour before the race start (I usually need 2-3 hours to adequately digest) or my lack of training, but I told myself to jut try and hold on for less than 1.5 more miles, despite the pain.

Chicago Road Runners, a local running club, snapped the picture of me below trying to focus through the side stitch pain. lol. I was able to bring it home and only add 8 seconds per mile to my pace, so I am proud of that. And I’m seriously proud of what I was able to do in this race considering my circumstances. I think with hard work and consistency, I’ll be able to chase some of my upcoming (and lofty) running goals! 🙂

I have my sights on a sub 30 minute 8k in future years and I know I have to put in the work to achieve that goal. I cannot just coast by on 15 miles per week! Although, Ashlyn is helping me train more seriously and consistently starting now (Do I really have to do 400 meter repeats this week? :P) So hoping that helps me achieve my goals at my half marathons in May and July-do not worry there will be a blog post all those in the near future 😛

Other race notes:

-Expo/packet pick-up: The packet-pick and expo were held at the McCormick Center, which was coincidently the same weekend as a Comic-Con. So it was crazy crowded 🙃 experience at the expo last Saturday was fine, though. I was able to pick up my packet and swag, chat with some brands, and force my husband to take the below picture with me. He loves when I make him take pictures 😛

-Parking/transit: The race starts at Grant park and parking can be both challenging/expensive, so I recommend public transit, biking, or running to the start. My husband and I walked/jogged to the start line, since we live pretty close to downtown.

-Gear Check: This race had gear check, so I was grateful to be able to warm up in layers and then ditch my warm-ups at gear check. Although, after the race it took gear check over 10 minutes to locate my bag…that was frustrating and an unusual experience. Usually my experiences with gear check are smooth. I found out the worker just put my bag in the wrong section. I got a little short with the workers because I was chilly post race and I feel bad, but sometimes we are not our best selves post-race when we are hungry. Or maybe that’s just me?! I doubt whoever worked the gear check reads my blog…but if you do I am sorry for being short about my misplaced (and later found) bag. It was not a big deal!

-Start line: Unlike the Chicago Marathon (which also starts at Grant Park), it was super easy to get into my corral. That experience at the Chicago marathon was kid of stressful, I will not lie! I barely made it to the back of my corral (C) at the marathon. But at the Shuffle last weekend it took less than 5 minutes to get into corral A. I noticed a lot of corral jumping and lack of regulation at this race. It was stricter at the marathon. All around me there were people who should have been in corral D, but were in A with my husband and I. Oh well, though 🤷🏼‍♀️

-Swag: The swag this year was SWEET! I am obsessed with the hat. Although, I wish I did not need to run in such a warm hat now that it is the beginning of April, but also at least my hate is cute🤣I’d be fine waiting to wear it again until next winter, though 😛 We also received dry-fit short sleeve tops that I plan to rock all spring and summer. The medals are AWESOME (see above!). Mariano’s had a lot of free post-race eats at the finish as well. I took everything I could hold from mixed nuts, to fruits, to granola bars. I was grateful that they had a lot of vegan options. I actually forgot my post-race beer somehow 😭 But, we did get oat milk cappuccinos with my sister-in-law after the race, which made me feel better. haha.

-Post-race/Meet-ups: After the race we had a nice little BibRave met up in Grant Park. It was so fun to hang out with Mark and Ben again. And to meet Melissa for the first time. She even brought her dogs and they were the cutest! I missed Zenaida this time 🙁 Maybe we can photoshop her into the picture below? I love that BibRave connects me to so many amazing runners across the country, but nothing beats actually hanging out with them in real life 🙂

I also FINALLY got to meet Amanda (not me 🤣) in real life after becoming Instagram friends, so that was awesome. I cannot wait to hang out and run more of the same races!

Overall, the Shamrock Shuffle 8k was an awesome race! It is flat, fast, and it’s such an obscure distance, it is almost a guaranteed PR. The swag is worth it and I love how everyone gets decked out in shamrock and green attire. It is the race that signifies that start of the Chicago racing season and one that I plan to run again!

Did you run the Shamrock Shuffle this year or in previous years? What did you think?

It’s the Shamrock Shuffle 8k race week: training update & goals!

March 20, 2019December 11, 2020 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 1 Comment

Happy Wednesday friends! I cannot believe it’s already race week 😱 Time is flying this year and I think it is because I am in school and we just had midterms 😛

I’ll be honest and say my training has not been going great. With my busy school schedule, work, and the long commute it has been tough. I am doing the best I can! Sometimes the best I do is a little core or lifting, rather than a run. But, the fact that I am running injury free is a reason to celebration in it of itself 🙂 I’ve been averaging 5-20 miles per week since I’ve recovered from injury in late December. I’ve only done 2 or 3 speed workouts. My longest run has been a touch over 8 miles. You can see just how little I’ve been training below or if you follow me on Strava, you know 😛 Although, I’ll be honest, I sometimes forget to update Strava, but as of recently it is up-to-date! No judgement on my lack of training please, I am well aware 🙃

My last two weeks of running (or lack thereof 😂):

Monday 3/4/19: OFF

Tuesday 3/5/19: OFF

Wednesday 3/6/19: 6 miles with a 2 mi w/u, ( 2 min on, 2 min recovery jog) x 6. Paces were 6:40, 6:35, 6:31, 6:21, 6:18, 6:15, and then a c/d for the remaining miles

Thursday: 3/7/19: 6 miles with Ben

Friday 3/8/19: OFF

Saturday 3/9/19: 8 miles with Janna and Marisa

Sunday: 3/10/19: OFF

Total miles: 20 miles

Monday 3/11/19: 7.8 miles with Danielle

Tuesday 3/12/19: OFF

Wednesday 3/13/19: OFF

Thursday: 3/14/19: OFF

Friday 3/15/19: OFF

Saturday 3/16/19: 8.2 morning miles with Marisa

Sunday 3/17/19: OFF

Total: 16 miles

My goal races are the Chicago Spring Half in May and RnR Chicago in July, so this 8k race is honestly just for fun. But of course I still have a goal for my first post-injury race this year 😉

So what is my goal for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k?! Well, first and foremost the goal is to finish! Any race finish after injury is a celebration. I am corral A and that means you are supposed to be able to run under 7 minutes/mile. So that is my second goal, a 7 min/mile pace or faster. This could be tough with my lack of training, but we will see! I would have loved to go after a 6 min/mile pace for this race, but that I just not realistic at this point. That will be the goal once I have a several months of solid training under my belt. 😛 Moving forward my goal is to run more days/more consistently (even with my crazy schedule) because I have the Boston 5k in less than a month and the Chicago Spring half will be here before I know it 🙂

Regardless, I am excited to run the Shuffle with so many of you! I am going to expo on Friday 🙂 Let me know below if you are running the Shuffle and if so, which day you are going to the expo 👇🏻

Athlinks: the online race results social platform

May 26, 2018 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / Leave a comment

Disclaimer: I am reviewing Athlinks as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Just when I think that the social media around running can’t get any better: Hello, Strava, Bibrave, Garmin…it does! The latest and greatest in running social media is the relatively new (to me) website called Athlinks!

So, what is Athlinks? It is an online platform that let’s you claim your race results, compare yourself to others, and add yourself to the start list of most races. All you need to sign up is a Facebook account or you can use your e-mail address. Once you sign up you do have to use your name, location, and birthday, though.

The reason for needing all this information is simple: it will be easy to determine if it is you or not when claiming your race results. Plus, if the results you claim are determined to be yours, then they will be added to your profile! Your profile will show your personal records, stats, location, and rank. For this reason, you can use Athlinks to scope out your competition and follow them similar to Twitter. If you love data like me you will find it all very interesting! 😉

The only thing I do not like about my profile is that my 5k PR is wrong. A lot of my college race times are not on Athlinks, but generally Athlinks will have most, if not all of your race times, so I am probably in the minority with this issue. That 5k time is from a Turkey Trot I did during during Thanksgiving break my freshmen year of college. It is a decent time, but my actual PR is faster! I have not done many road races, post college, due to years of injury, so I guess that means I need to run (and PR) another road 5k to replace that time 😉 I’m not competitive or anything…😂

(I only have 15 races on my profile and only 3 in the last year- but if I can manage to stay healthy for a reasonable stretch of time I plan to add many, many more! I love competing!)

How to claim: When I got married last year I went from having an uncommon name to a very common one. Thankfully, Athlinks lets you claim race results under more than one name, which I was grateful for because a majority of my race results were under my maiden name! It was a little tricky to find race results under my married name initially, but if you use the advanced search mode (pictured below) it is pretty easy! Once you search your name, you can apply additional filters by birth date and location.

(None of those results above are mine, but I find it fascinating that my name has so many unclaimed results. I’m waiting for the day I run the same race as someone else who has my name. I’m sure it will happen soon :P)

Rivals: Once you start following other people, you will notice that if you have at least one race in common with them they will be added to your “rival” list. My current rival list is small and I’m looking for more, so please add me if you have run any of the same races that I have!

(Of course my husband is kicking my 🍑! Fun fact: his one loss is a Turkey Trot in 2012 that we ran together with some family and friends where we all crossed the finish line at the same time. I guess they opted to give me the place ahead of him just to be nice in the official results. 😛 )

Adding yourself to the start list: Another fun feature (and way to scope out the competition) is to add yourself to the start list of upcoming races. You can also indicate a goal time and change your goal time at any time. As a competitive person, I naturally like this feature 😉 The races you add to your start list will also be added to your profile.

(My next three races with goal times subject to change. I have a faster, scarier time in mind for my first marathon, but I’m not sure I will update that anytime soon. 🙈 We will see what happens as I start training!)

Do you have an Athlinks account? If so, please request me or comment below with the link to your Athlinks profile. I’ll follow you back and if we have any races in common we can be rivals 😉 If you do not have an account, what are you waiting for?! Make one! 😛

Illinois half marathon review

May 5, 2018 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 7 Comments

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Illinois half marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I had the fortune of running the Illinois half marathon on April 28th. I say fortune because with my injury history there is no guarantee that I will toe the line for the races I sign up for. :/ Luckily, I made it to this race in one piece..although I was unlucky enough to pick up a cold a few days prior to the race. 🙁

I credit making it to the starting line to my amazing coach Heather! She helped me get up my mileage after a stressful job ended, I solidified my new career path, I started two part time jobs, and I missed many runs due to illness the week of the Shamrock Shuffle. 25-30 miles per week is not ideal for half marathon training, but that is MUCH better than my mileage was while I was teaching. Heather made sure all my miles counted and provided me a good base for my further out races (like my 1st marathon in October 😉 ). Despite having a cold, I am happy to say I crossed the line in 1:34:06, good for a 6 minute PR. The highlight of the race weekend, though, was my husband’s massive 26 minute PR in the marathon. He finished in 2:42:57 good enough for a 2019 BQ!

Other race notes:

Expo/Packet pick up: My husband and I encountered wicked Friday late afternoon Chicago traffic and an hour into the trip knew we were not going to make the expo in time. Thank goodness for our friend Mikey (who ran the 10k race) and saved the day! He picked up the packets for us and then delivered them to us at dinner at Biaggi’s.

Parking: Parking was free and easy to find. We were able to leave our hotel, drive, and park in less than 20 minutes. Definitely a huge pro to have a low stress parking situation!

Waiting for the start: It was a little chilly so I wore a “throw” shirt, but everything was easily marked with signs. I made my way seamlessly to coral A. I actually run into fellow BibRave Pro Zenaida on my way to the start line, so that was pretty cool! We chatted, wished each other luck, and took a picture.

Once I was in corral A I ran into another fellow Bibrave Pro, Kim and I met fellow instagram runner Katherine in real life. It was nice to run into some familiar faces!

Last start line note: there seemed to be enough porta potties and the lines moved quickly. I didn’t use one, but that’s always a pro in my book!

Race course: The course was flat and fast! Perfect course for a PR. It went though campus, nearby neighborhoods, and a park. There were tons of spectators throughout the course, which was a nice morale boost. There were ample aid stations. I only took in water, because I don’t fuel for half marathons, but they also had Gatorade and GUs. I also remember one aid station that offered sliced oranges. I’m not sure how to eat while running (hence one of the many reasons I’m not ready for an ultra. lol), but it was a nice gesture.

The energy toward the finish was unreal! The last mile of the race you made your way toward to finish in the stadium and it was so cool! I was in awe of how beautiful the campus was and excited to be close to the finish. 😛 I can imagine that people who attend/attended University of Illinois for college felt emotional at the finish! I know if I ever return to my alma mater to run the race that finishes on our track that I will get emotional. The stadium finish was hands down my favorite part of the race! 🙂

Post race/after party: At the finish, in the stadium, I was wrapped in a heat sheet, offered water, offered a sports drink, and offered a stretch from the Athletico station. There were also ample opportunities for photos, which I took as I waited anxiously for my husband to finish the marathon. I took some photos with Mikey after his 10k, Kim, Katherine, and alone while I waited. I also got stretched out at the Athletico station which felt awesome on my tight hips and IT band.

Once my husband finished in an astonishing 2:42:57, we took a few more photos with and without the PR bell. The PR bell had received a lot of love at this point and was broken…we took photos anyway, but that is why we are laughing 😛

After the photos we made our way to the post race party to check out the beers and snacks. My husband got a beer and there were a lot of snack options! None of us were hungry at that point yet or we would have eaten something. Mikey and I cooled down and then we all headed back to the hotel so we could all shower before check out and the long drive home.

Swag: Every finisher got a sweet medal (regardless of race) and free finisher photos. For running the half I got a dri-fit long sleeve shirt and my husband got a quarter zip for running the full. Our hotel was super cute and made us little good luck goodie bags as well, but I forgot to snap a picture 🙁

Athlinks: At the Illinois Half Marathon race, I was able to run a new half marathon PR, even with a cold! 🙂 So of course I claimed my shiny new PR on Athlinks. I’ll be sharing a post about what Athlinks is later this month. You can see my claimed results here! Athlinks is an awesome way to track all results for your races. I also use it to figure out what goals I should shoot for my next race by adding myself to the start list. I definitely suggest creating an account and claiming your results too. Share your Athlinks profile link in the comments below and I’ll follow you! 🙂

Overall, it was fun and well organized race! It’s flat and fast which is perfect for obtaining a PR or BQ. I definitely want to return!

Did you run the Illinois half marathon (or a different race distance) this year? If not you really should register for next year! I’m already thinking about it 😉

P.S. check out my Illinois half review on Bibrave. It is a great place to go when you are looking for races to run because you can read about the experiences that other runners had at that race in the past! 🙂

Top 5 reasons why you should join me at Run for the Zoo on Sunday June 3, 2018

March 31, 2018 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 3 Comments

Disclaimer: I’m received a free entry to Run for the Zoo as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

This will be my first time running Run for Zoo and I’m not sure what took me so long to sign up! 😛 When I first moved to Chicago about four years ago I even lived across the street from the zoo and would regularly take a lap through the zoo in the middle of my runs…at least until I got injured 🙁 What can I say, I’m a sucker for cute animals🦁🐵 If it weren’t for all my injuries over the last few years, I’m sure I would have run it sooner! YOU SHOULD RUN IT THIS YEAR WITH ME!!! Need more convincing?! Check out my top 5 reasons why you should run the Run for the Zoo below. And if you read the whole thing I’ll even give you a discount code (or you can scroll to the bottom right away for the code, but I’ll know you didn’t read)!😜

Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Run the Run for the Zoo:

1. The course weaves through the beautiful Lincoln Park Zoo! If you have run many races in Chicago ,you know that is is a treat because most races occur on the Lakeshore Path. Granted, the Lakeshore Path is gorgeous, but it’s fun to shake it up. 🙂

2. Multiple race options. Do you have a competitive side? Do you have a little one at home? Or trying to convince a reluctant spouse to try running for the first time? This is the perfect race for all three options! There is a 5k, 10k, and the Safari Stampede race for kids ages 3-6. There is chip timing, it is a USTAF-certified course, and there are wave start times, so you can go for that elusive PR OR take leisurely walk-run through Lincoln Park Zoo. The choice is yours!

3. Proceeds from the race go directly to Lincoln Park Zoo to keep it up and running for FREE 365 days a year!

4. You will receive fun swag and attend a post-race party! All finishers get a tech T-shirt with the new an improved logo, plus admittance to a fun post-race party with a DJ, free beer (for those over 21), and snacks!

5. I’ll be there! I’m running the 10k for the first time and you know you’ve always wanted to meet the Black Bean Queen in real life 😉😜 And yes the Black Bean King (AKA my husband is also running) Plus, if there’s interest I could host a shake-out run the day before or a warm-up the day of the race. Just let me know on social media or via e-mail!:)

This is a picture of my husband and I is from Zoo Lights in December 2017. It is a free month long event during Christmas time that is open to the public. It is made possible through generations donations and proceeds from events such as Run for the Zoo. Just incase you needed a 6th reason to run 😉

Have you done Run for the Zoo before?! If so, what’s your favorite part of the race? If not, are you joining me at the race this year?! Sign up by using the code “BIBRAVE” for 10% off your race entry!

Illinois half marathon training weeks 1 & 2

February 19, 2018 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 4 Comments

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Illinois Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I can’t believe I’ve made it through the first two weeks of Illinois half marathon training! It has been tough to balance training with my (relatively) new teaching job…Things are going well training wise, though, and I really hope it stays that way! I’m nervous because of my injury history, but I am optimistic, especially after I wrapped up week 2 yesterday! So without further ado, let’s take a look at my last two weeks of training! 🙌🏻

Week 1: Monday February 5th -Sunday February 11th

-Monday February 5th: REST

-Tuesday February 6th: 3 miles @ 7:42 on the treadmill followed by strength work

-Wednesday February 7th: REST/XT

-Thursday February 8th: REST

-Friday February 9th: Unexpected day off work (snow day) resulted in a fun, but snowy/slippery 5 miles @ 7:59 pace

-Saturday February 10th: 4 miles @ 7:31 pace

-Sunday February 11th: REST

WEEKLY TOTAL: 14 miles

Week 2: Monday February 12th -Sunday February 18th:

-Monday February 12th: 3 miles after school at 7:18 pace followed by stretching

-Tuesday February 13th: REST

-Wednesday February 14th: 3 miles @ 7:07 pace. I ran by feel, but ended up with a run that was almost at tempo pace…

-Thursday February 15th: Late and dark 4 miler at 7:49 pace. This run didn’t feel great…

-Friday February 16th: REST

-Saturday February 17th: 1 mile w/u, 3 miles @ goal half marathon pace (6:49, 6:54, 6:48), and 3 mile c/d

-Sunday February 18th: 5 mile recovery run @ 7:39 pace followed by yoga

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WEEKLY TOTAL: 21 miles

Tonight’s question: What races are you training for this spring? Will any of you be joining me at the Illinois half marathon? They also have a 5k, 10k, full marathon, and marathon relay! So there’s a race for everyone!🤗 Use the code “2018bibravebonus” code for $10.00 off your entry if you want to join me!😉

Amanda Wagner Nutrition

Fueling Veggie Athletes & Plant-Based People

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