THE CRAZY HAMSTER HAS MOVED!

The Crazy Hamster has founds it's new home!

You can now find me at http://CrazyHamster.Run

After several years of hanging out here, it was time to move on to bigger and better things!  There were things that I wanted to do with my site that I was not able to do, so we made the move over to WordPress!

It's been a few months now and it was recently brought to my attention that the redirect that was originally put in place to send you to the new site.  I figured that it was time that I posted this here and then you would know where to come to join the party!

We are doing all kinds of fun stuff - What I Eat Wednesday is Back, with a new healthy recipe each week, you will always find recaps of races and other events that I participate in, plus a few more surprises that are in the works...  you might find a few guest bloggers in the future, as well as other Crazy Hamster Adventures (places that we have found that you NEED to know about and check out).

One thing that will never change is the fact that I promise to keep it real, but keep it fun and healthy!

Please head on over to http://CrazyHamster.Run and subscribe so that you don't miss any of the adventures!

Love ya all!!

Amy
aka Crazy Hamster

What was I thinking? Have I lost my mind?

As I sit here tonight, running through lists in my head, I can't help bu wonder if I have gone completely crazy!

Last winter I saw a post on Facebook for a local run.  Once that I had never even thought about running in the past, it was one of those races that only the dies hard crazy runners did.  A few years ago I recall watching a clip on the new about these crazy runners who were out running for crazy amounts of time, some out there from sun up to sun down!

It was the Titletown Ultra Series on the campus of UWGB.

Instead of your "traditional" Ultra where you choose your distance (generally 50k, 50 Miles, 100k or 100 miles) you choose your time/duration.  The Titletown Ultra Series offers you a 6 hour, 8 hour or Solstice (sun up to sun down) option.  REALLY?  15 1/5 hours?  More power to them!

However, this time, I found myself looking at it differently.  Not as insanity or craziness, but a new challenge.  I've run anything from 1 mile runs, to Half marathons, obstacle course races and color runs.  But was this my next challenge?

Somehow, Lisa and I ended up chatting about this race.  could we really do it?  Even if we walked most of it, it would be a great challenge to see how may miles we could cover in (an unfathomable) amount of time.  

When we started talking about it, I am trying to remember correctly, but I THINK part of the conversation when something like this:

Me:  I think we can do it!

Lisa:  I am sure we could... wait, are you thinking 6 or 8 hour?

Me: Um... 6 hour

Lisa: but 8 hours, is only 2 more hours, only 25% more time.  We can do 8

Me:  Yes, but... yeah I guess we could finish 8...

Lisa: We don't have to run it all...

This went back and forth and to this day we are not sure who talked who into it, but we decided that we were going to do the 8 hour event!

Then she realized she couldn't do it!  Something about a family vacation... this was y easy out.  My opportunity to back down from the challenge.  To say I'd just wait until next year to run it with her.

Funny thing... when you are a runner, you have runner friends.  When I started talking to other friends of mine about what I was signing up for, most friends would come right out and ask you if you were crazy...  That you were insane... But runner friends are different.  They were the extra push that I needed to send in my registration, motivating me, inspiring me and even telling me that they would run with me.  It was then I realized, that this was the challenge that I needed.  Something new, something beyond what I was comfortable with.

What! Hold it!

What was I thinking?  I have never run a FULL marathon before!  My longest race, at this point has been a Half Marathon!  Yes, 13.1 miles is a lot of miles already.  Now, here I am considering an 8 hour event!

Where were the people that were supposed to talk me OUT of this?  Oh, that's right, I have decided to surround myself with positive people!

With the encouragement from Lisa and several other friends, I signed up for the race... the 8 hour option!

My next step was to reach out to a friend to help with training.  I signed up for personal training sessions and Andy started working on a training plan with me.  I was determined to make it through this event!

That was over 6 months ago.

Since then a few other friends of mine have also signed up for the race, have joined me on numerous training runs, run countless loops on the trails where the race will take place (thanks ladies for those 5:30am Saturday morning runs!), were chased by geese, followed by turkey's, and so much more.  Andy has done everything he could to keep me on track with training, working my many other events earlier this year into my training plan.

Over the last 6 months, even tho she wasn't going to be able to be there, running with me on race day, Lisa put in her fair share of miles with me!  Getting up early to join me on training runs, impromptu afternoon runs on the trail, listening to me grumble at work that I felt like I was hungry ALL THE TIME and more.  Thank you Lisa for encouraging me to face this challenge head on.

But now, here we are, 1 day before the big day.  What they heck was I thinking?

In less than 24 hours, I hit the trail for 8 hours. Tracie will be out there with me along with about 90 other crazy runners.

We have put in the training miles, the strength training, the cross training and so much more.

But that doesn't mean that I'm not freaking out a little!

Did I do everything I needed to?

Do I have the right fuel packed?

Did I remember to pack my extra shoes?

Which running skirt do I wear (Yes this is an extremely important question!)

Do I have extra Bondi Bands packed>

What it...

What about..

Did I...

The questions are endless.

But deep down, I know that I am going to go out there tomorrow, hit the trail and complete the miles.  Will I hit that looming 50k mark?  You better believe that I am going to try!

I'll be back after to fill you in on how the morning went... that is once I finish, eat ALL the food and then sleep for 2 days!

Titletown Ultra Series - here I come!

Inspiration comes in the form of a sea of red!

This past weekend marked the 40th Annual Bellin 10k Run.  The first event was held in 1977 with a total of 881 participants.  Since then, the race has grown by leaps and bounds!  Over the years this has grown to be one of the largest 10k's in the country.  This year it drew in nearly 17,000 runners, including a field of elite runners from around the world!

One of the high point of the weekend was the Friday morning kickoff fun run.  Run with Greatness.  This event is a fundraiser for myTeam Triumph (mTT) and gives anyone who attends, the opportunity to run along side some of the greats, such as Meb KeFlezighi, Joan Samuelson, Uta Pipng, Risper Gesabwa and more.  Sometimes, running at a sub 8 minute mile is worth it, just to get that epic running selfie with and elite runner!

Although this opportunity was priceless, it was not what the weekend was about!  The best was yet to come!

This year, after several years of volunteering for mTT, I decided that it was time to step up my game.  I was going join the fleet of Angels and run at least a few events.  This year one of the events I chose to run was the Bellin 10k.  Shortly after I signed up to run, my friend Lisa decided that she wanted to join me!  We had been looking forward to this weekend since before Christmas!

We were selected to run as Angels for Captain Justice!  We were also joined by another new Angel, Krista on this epic adventure.  Because we all have busy schedules, the 4 of us finally got to all meet each other less than a week before race day - 3 days before in fact!  But that didn't matter, we came together for one reason...

To make Captain Justice fly!

Bright and early (6:15am) Saturday morning, a sea of red converged in front of the hospital to prepare for the days festivities! This was history in the making.  This year, mTT had a record 40 Captains running this event!  Yes!  40 Captains for the 40th annual Bellin 10k!  Combined with their 120 Angels and countless other volunteers, that was a lot of red!  

Everyone came together for a reason...  for a purpose... united together to run the streets of Green Bay on this HOT Saturday morning in June!  At the start of the race, it was already approaching 75 degrees and by the time we finished it was pushing 85!  

One amazing perk of running with mTT for the Bellin - our Captains get RockStar corral placement!  We start right behind the wheelchair division - in FRONT of the elite runners!  Most runners may never have the opportunity to "toe the start line" at a race, unless it's a small, local race with only a few hundred people.  With the way that we were lined up in the staging area, as the sea of red moved around to the start line, Captain Justice ended up right at the start line!  The best seat in the house!  So not only was he starting ahead of the elites, he was one of the 1st athletes to cross the start line!

When I said, sea of red, I was not kidding!  This picture only give you a glimmer of how much red was out on the course!  Unless you have your eyes closed, there is not way you can miss this flood of Captains and Angels crossing the start line!

We headed out, knowing that we were going to take it easy, walk when we had to, and make sure that we had fun!  Another cool thing about the Bellin 10k is the community support.  Since the course runs through both business areas as well as residential streets, there are people out lining the streets everywhere!  Almost the entire course is lined with spectators, chilling in their front yards in lawn chairs to cheer on runners,  putting out their sprinklers so runners have a chance to cool off a bit, and even handing out freezie pops!  Yup, right before we hit mile one, there was a mom and her kids on the sidewalk passing out freezie pops to any runners who wanted one!  It didn't take Justice long to say he wanted one!

For the next 5 miles, we ran, we walked, we laughed, we played in sprinklers, we say Green Bay Packer players (who were giving high 5's as we ran by!) and more!  We all agreed that the one thing that kept us all running - Justice's giggles each time we ran through a sprinkler!  This young man loves water and you could easily see that!  He would see a sprinkler coming in the distance, slide his CD player under his pad of paper and then cover the whole pile with his ziploc bag of markers!  He had this routine all figured out!  Before we knew it, we were at the park, meaning the finish line was just around the corner~

Huge perk again this year - FREE race photos!  Although we did not get many photos from on the course, finish line photos like this, are perfect to sum up what the weekend is all about!  Working as a team to make our Captain's fly!  Approaching that finish line with the massive crowds cheering and hearing Justice name announced over the loud speaker was one of the most rewarding moments EVER!

In the end, this experience was something that will never be able to be replicated.   No matter how many races I run with mTT, this one will always hold a special place withing, because it was the first!   I am already looking forward to training for the next one, but I am also not going to rush to put this day behind me!

3 rookie Angels and one amazing Captain!  Thank you Justice for being the one to encourage us, motivate us and allow us to be your wings!   The weather may not have been what we wanted, but that was a small issue in terms of the magnitude of the experience!

This right here, it why I do this!  Seeing that smile on Justice's face when that medal was put over his head was priceless!   Not too long before this photo was taken, Justice's mom made the comment that is is always so hard for her to get a picture of him smiling.   

Apparently it just takes a race medal to bring one out!

Thank you Captain Justice!

So, if you are looking for something to do that just might change your life, this could be it!  The amazing relationships that are created and built through this fabulous organization are tough to duplicate elsewhere! Offering your time, energy and legs to give athletes the opportunity to do something that they would otherwise not be able to do, is something thing that I don't think you can fully understand until you experience it for yourself!

Road Trip - Destination Indy!

When you get the call to work the race expo for the 2nd largest half marathon in the country, you don't say no!  After months of waiting, Tracie and I were ready to head to Indy for some fun!   6 hours on the road with this girl makes the time fly!  Listening to Beiber and Adele will never be the same again!

By the time we got to to Indianapolis, sleep was all that I had in mind!  But the Thursday morning, I was up early and ready to go, so I headed out for a running tour on the downtown area!  What an amazing, beautiful city!  I was out early enough to miss the crazy morning hustle and bustle.  Once I made it to the trail heading towards the zoo, it was just me, my thoughts and the small critters scampering around.  Next thing I knew, I needed to head back.  I had planned on 3-4 miles and by the time I got back to the hotel, I was at 5.5 miles.  One does not get "lost" on a run, they just discover new places to visit!

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent  wandering around town, getting ready for the expo and all kinds of shenanigans in between!   The state capitol building, Memorial Circle and of course, No trip to Indy is complete without a stop outside Lucas Oil Stadium - of course the building was closed so we couldn't get a peek inside, but anything was better than nothing!

When we realized that we could actually visit the observation tower and get a birds eye view of the city, we knew where we were heading!  When we got there, we were greeted with 2 options.  1. purchase a ticket to take the elevator up 2. walk the stairs for free!  330 steps?  Game on!

OMG!  You don't realize how far 330 steps is until you start heading up them!  But we were not giving up the fight.  In the end, we made it to the top in less than 5 minutes!  The view was well worth it!  After we caught our breath, took a few photos and enjoyed the view, it was time to head back down!

One of the awesome things about working the race expos is the awesome people I see and meet.  This year, I got to see  Boston Marathon champion and Olympic Medalist Meb, as he was in town to run the Half Marathon.  This year he was running "with the people"... starting at the back of the pack, to give everyone a chance to run with him.  They even had a contest at the Expo - guess how many people Meb was going to pass while he was running his Half Marathon.  

My highlight of the weekend tho?  For all you American Grit fans out there, I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Brooke Van Paris (aka BeastModeBarbie) while she was shopping the booth!  What an amazing, down to earth, yet extremely inspirational woman!  Hearing her story, direct from her, is enough to inspire anyone!  This was her first road half marathon and she killed it!  Although I didn't get a chance to get a photo with her while she was shopping, since I was so busy (one of the downfalls of working one of the most popular booths at the expo), but she sent me this photo, wearing one of the BondiBands that she picked up from the booth on Thursday!  Since the day I met her, I've been doing some reading on more of her story and what it took her to get to where she is, I am more than inspired!  Her Never Give up Attitude is amazing!

Side note: I also just found out that Brooke just qualified for the 2016 Obstacle Course Race World Championships in Canada this October!  Way to go Brooke!!!

After the expo on Thursday, I met up with Tracie and we were on a mission to find dinner and then some sleep.  However, on the way to find food, we spotted a horse drawn carriage that we HAD to go take pictures of!  While Tracie was taking pictures of the carriage. I managed to capture this photo of a pup introducing himself to (hopefully) a new friend! 

\

After working all day at the expo on Friday again, when the alarm went off at 5:15am for the race, I really just wanted to stay curled up in bed! I was tired!! But it was race day!  Before long, it was time to take the short walk to the heart of downtown to the start line!

After running the half marathon here last year, it was exciting to be back at the start line again this year, even if I was "only" running the 5k.  Tracie was going all out and signed up for the Mini Challenge - running the 5k and then heading straight back to the start corrals to run the half marathon!  For those of you that know me, this would be a challenge that I normally would be all over.  However, since I was working the race expo for 2 days and being on my feet all day, I was not sure how my legs were going to be. so I opted just for the one (short) race.

In the end, even tho I was running on limited sleep and tired legs, I was very happy with my race. I felt strong, the weather was perfect and I was running in a dress for the first time!  Just a week before this trip, I got my first dress that I ordered from Skirt Sports.  I was not sure how running in a dress was going to be and yes, I broke one of the cardinal rules of running - I tried something new on race day... running, wearing something that I have never worn to run in before.  

Thankfully my chance that I took paid off.  I think I was more comfortable running this 5k than I have for any other race!  Yes, I am a Ambassador Captain for Skirt Sports, because I love their products! I live in my SS whenever I can. I can tell that this dress is quickly going to become one of my go-to pieces of clothing this summer, both for running and every day comfort wear! 

We can be our own worst critics, don't fall into the trap

Many times, we are often more critical of ourselves, forgetting to see the big picture. Last week I received the link to my FREE race photos from the Oshkosh Half Marathon. Yes!  Free race pics!  It's not often that I actually get race pictures that I like, let alone ones I would want to pay for!  So when I saw that these ones were free, I had hope.

I hated them!  

I looked like I was dying!

I saved off a few of them and posted them to one of the Facebook running groups that I follow, to share my "Pathetic" pictures. 

After a few comments from other group members I stopped and realized I fell into the trap. I looked at those pics and saw every flaw.  But now I decided that I needed to share these here also.  We all need to remember that one picture, one moment, one day, does not define who we are.  It is just one grain of sand that is part of the beauty that is created by the beach!

I saw the pounds that I put on when I was sick earlier this year. 

I looked exhausted.  My shirt kept crawling up...

I knew how much my feet and legs just wanted to be done. 

I was missing the bigger picture. 

I was a runner

I was strong and determined. 

Only I knew how hard I've worked to get to where I was

I'm a mom, a wife, a sister and a friend. 

Oh yeah... I actually have pretty good running form (thanks Nate and Lisa for helping with that over the years with those Running Assessments!)

After stopping to think about it, I really have a better appreciation for these pictures.   

5 years ago, I couldn't run a mile, now I'm training for my first Ultra Marathon. 

I have a family that supports my running adventures (yes they often think I'm crazy, but they still support my crazy ideas, dreams and desires)

I have met some of the best friends I could ask for because of these running adventures. 

I may never get that "perfect" race photo, but each "imperfect" one helps to remind me how far I've come. I will probably never win a race, but that's not what it's about. It's about being true to myself, running MY race and pushing myself to be the best version of me that I can be!

Don't get so focused on the little details that you forget to see the whole story!  You are stronger than you give yourself credit for!

Can a single race really change your life?

Yes, it can.  In more ways than one!

A few weekends ago (June 12-13th - sorry it's taken me this long to get this posted!) I had the opportunity to run the Chicago Raganr with a team from the Chicago area.  12 of us joined forces to run about 200 miles, from Madison WI to Chicago.  When I joined this team, I actually only knew 1 person on the team.  Jenn and I "met" via Twitter a little over a year ago and actually got to meet face to face last fall when I was in Chicago with the girls for the Women Rock Half Marathon.  I met a few others on the team back in January when we got together for dinner, just so everyone could meet each other.  But in reality, I didn't really know any of them!  And yes, for those of you that recognize the dates of the event, I was running across the start of WI, with 11 strangers, on my Birthday!   

So, here I was, Thursday afternoon, driving to Chicago to meet up with people that I really don't know, to spend 2 days in a van with them.  I will admit, I felt every emotion during that 3 hours drive!  Fear and nervousness for the fact that I am going to be stuck, for 2 days, with 5 other people that I really do not know (plus the other 6 people on our team traveling in the other van).  Stressed and apprehensive... would I really be able to complete all 3 of my legs with the pace that I want?  Nervous for the fact that for the first time EVER, I am going to have to run at night!  I am sure there were others in there too, my head was an interesting place to be that afternoon.  However, all of those emotions were also mixed with excitement for this race that we have been planing since last fall.  Determination to put all of my work in the gym over the last few months to the test and push myself to new limits, doing somethign that very few people have the chance to experience.  It was going to take a lot of mental toughness as well as physical strength to get through the next 48 hours!

Sleep did not come easy on Thursday night but I got in what I could.  When the alarm went off at 4:15am, I momentarily forgot where I was... and then reality hit!  It was time to go!  Thankfully Jenn has the coffee already going and her husband was up and ready to take us over to meet the rest of the team. When we got to Michael's to load the van, any apprehensions that I might have had vanished.

After a early morning, rainy drive to Madison, we made it to the start line about an hour before our scheduled start time, so we had plenty of time to pick up our race packet, go through watching the safely video and find the restrooms.  We were hoping that it was going to stop raining before our team started but Christy didn't get so lucky.  She was going to have to deal with some rain on the first leg of our adventure.

The start line in Madison

In the end, the rain let up shortly after we started out journey and it was the start of an amazing adventure!

Van 1 crew ready to run!

Now, I could sit here and go on for 3 days about all of the crazy adventure, the laughs, the u-turns, the lack of sleep and everything else, but I honestly don't even know where I would start.  The weekend was beyond amazing and unless you are a runner and have actually experienced a Ragnar event, you will never be able to to fully grasp the magnitude of this event!

Highlights from the weekend:

* We lost track of how many u-turns we had to make (We think our "kill" to u-turn ratio for our van was about even!)  and for those that are not familiar with the term... kills refer to how many people you pass on the course... and by the end of the weekend, our van had plenty of both!

* During Ragnar Weekend, real food is purely for survival and energy.  I don't even think I tasted the sub I had Friday afternoon for lunch!

Jimmy Johns to the rescue after a crazy morning!

* I lost count of how many Clif bars, homemade energy bars, bottles of water, bananas, bags of beef jerky and jelly beans were consumed in our van over the 2 days!  I will also never look at Oreo's and M&M's the same again... and did you know that Oreo's have to be eaten in pairs?  You can't eat an odd number of them!

BEST Jerky EVER

* Running at night, while a little unnerving, is actually fun... except when you have to cross a major highway (thank goodness for public safety officials at the intersections to help get you across!) But this was by far one of my favorite runs in a long time.  It made me face new challenges, get out of my comfort zone and just go!

ready for the night run!

* You really can run and survive on no sleep!  No matter how hard you try, stretching out in the back of a mini van CAN be comfortable, but I don't know how much sleep you will get!

* You might start out your adventure as strangers, but by the end of the weekend you will have created lasting friendships with these people that you now consider family!

The ladies of Team Where's the Finish!

* Many people will END their birthday celebration not knowing where they are.  I started mine that way!  At just after midnight on Saturday morning, we were somewhere between Waukesha and Racine.  I really don't know where!  All I know is that when the sun came up on Saturday morning, 2 of our van-mates were sleeping on the ground next to the park, the rest of us were "waking up" in the van.

* You never know when you might run into someone you know along the course!  At one of the later exchange points, I ran into one of John's coworkers... apparently they started 3 hours AFTER we did, but by Saturday morning, they caught up to us.  I saw Justin at 2 exchange points, but after that, we never saw each other again

Always nice to see a familiar face!

* However, I ended my birthday race weekend, crossing the finish line, on the beach, in Chicago with 11 of the greatest running friends I could ask for!  I ran my entire birthday weekend and would not have traded it for anything!  It was an epic weekend that I can't wait to repeat again one day!
 

In the end, once you get home from your Ragnar adventure, you get some sleep and start getting back to "normal" life, you quickly learn that "normal" has a new meaning.  The last 2 days will have changed your life.  You just spent 2 days motivating, encouraging and pushing each other, you look at challenges differently, you have a new extended family, and running with friends brings out a whole new meaning.

 After a crazy 2 days, we all headed home, never to forget the weekend we just spent together.  I ran 14.2 miles, walked another 15 (best guess anyway), slept for about 30 minutes and have ZERO regrets.  I have gained amazing friends, look at challenges differently and am ready to take on new challenges with a fresh attitude.   To be honest, before my Ragnar weekend adventures, I think I was stuck in a rut.  I dreaded my long training runs, my heart was not in it as much as it was before.  After this weekend, the fire has been restored!  I am ready to tackle my half marathon training (Women Rock Super Starlet Challenge in MN here I come!) and am actually considering training for a triathlon (yes that means I actually have to learn how to swim!).

 

 Chicago Ragnar Team Where's the Finish - THANK YOU for an awesome birthday weekend!  Can't wait to see everyone in October!  It's time to get the family together again for a reunion, reminisce about our adventures and start planning for the next one!

What have you don't lately to challenge yourself?  Go out there and do it, it could just change your life!