2015 Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K RESULTS

Ohmygoodness, this post took me all day to put together, and in the eleventh hour, Blogger stopped working for some reason. It was super frustrating, but everything is good to go now (I hope).

Like last year, I have to truncate this post, because of the long list of names (it messed up my blog feed a couple of years ago). So I apologize if you're viewing this on a reader, because you'll have to click through to view it.

First--the winners of the prizes! The odds of winning one of the prizes were much better than when I do a typical giveaway. The Garmin, for example, had just over 200 entries; if I had just posted it as a giveaway, rather than a virtual 5K prize, there would be well over 1,000! Here are the winners:

Aqua Jogger belt- Michele Anderson
Fitbit Zip- Jennifer Curry
Garmin Forerunner 10- Megan K.

Congratulations ladies! I've sent each of you an email. Great job on hitting your 5K goals, and I hope you enjoy your prizes!

I put together a slideshow of the pictures I pulled from Facebook and Twitter. I didn't include the Instagram ones, because Instagram makes it really difficult to save photos. What I hoped would be a quick project ended up being one big mess...

After downloading each photo (one by one), I put together the slideshow. Then when I went to upload it to Blogger, it was too large. So I tried to upload it to Vimeo, and the music was copyrighted. I was so frustrated (and this was now approaching 7:00 pm) that I just uploaded it without music. So, it's totally boring without the music, but if you'd like to see most of the photos here in one spot, it's worth watching. Maybe just play some upbeat music while you watch it ;)


2015 Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K from Katie Foster on Vimeo.

Here are some fun facts about the race: There were 922 people that signed up (the actual number should probably be slightly lower, due to a few duplicates), and 486 finishers (who filled out the race report; actual number may be slightly higher). So roughly 53% of the people that signed up actually completed the race, which is pretty good! I was hoping for 50+%. The majority of people did the race outdoors this weekend (last year, the treadmill won--likely due to the polar vortex!).

Here are some blogs and/or race reports from several finishers:

Allison N
Katie Syriid
Karen
Carrie
Debby
Jodi Piaskowy
Rene & Chris
Christina M
Anna
Laura Roeseler
Calleigh
Teresa Walker
Melissa Haynes-Gehrke
Audrey Nissen
Tiffany
Thomas Graf
Julia Grigorian
Brittany Martin
Mary
Tamara & Bradley Shazam
Iva
Caroline
Narcesita
Martha Kaiser
Jen Haught
Selena
Alisha
Celeste Edenloff
Bree
Christy Bergheim
Julie Levenhagen
Maegan Dockery
Meghan T


And finally... here are the results!

Female 0-15
Jen R	0:35:32	Lancaster, PA
zaya koegel		syracuse, new york
Female 16-20
Julia Grigorian	0:28:00	San Diego, CA
Michelle	0:56:42	Bremerton, WA
Female 21-24
Haley G.	0:28:51	Clemson, SC
Allison N	0:30:00	Ohio
Susan	0:32:30	Ontario, Canada
Melissa Neary	0:34:00	Cheyenne
Brooke Severson	0:37:50	Westminster Colorado
Meredith D.	0:37:50	Missoula, MT
Emily	0:38:46
Aly Rivers	0:40:00	Ripon, WI
Tiffanie W.	0:40:27	Minnesota
Brittany Wade	0:40:30	Monroe, Louisiana
Camille P	0:43:53	Salem, Oregon
Rachel Opatowsky	0:44:01	Anaheim
Lacie Zerbarini	0:46:47	Torrington, CT
Kayla Jochims	0:47:33	South Dakota
Maegan Dockery	0:48:42	Rome, GA
Samantha Nehls	0:48:55	Milwaukee, WI
Kaitlyn	1:20:00	Perth, Western Australia
Ashley		Athens, Georgia
Audrey Nissen		Phoenix
Alba Soltero		Texas
Female 25-30
Kristen	0:22:30	Killingworth, CT
Katie N	0:23:48	Hudson, Il
Stephanie Wisiewski	0:24:19	Duluth, MN
davis_6311	0:26:51
Kara	0:26:51	Louisville, Kentucky
Leah Buckman	0:27:31	Kapolei, HI
Angela M B	0:27:49	Los Angeles, CA
Jodi Piaskowy	0:29:17	Valparaiso, IN
e3writing	0:29:23	Toronto, Ontario
Sarah T	0:30:01	Illesheim, Germany
Marine B.	0:30:05	Paris/France
Courtney H	0:30:10	Denver, CO
Allie P	0:30:24	Massachusetts
Jennifer Callahan	0:30:43	Tacoma, WA
Rach D!	0:31:00	Boston MA!
Caitlyn Droski	0:31:00	Bozeman
Carolyn	0:31:30	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alison	0:32:01	Brisbane, Australia
Alicia	0:32:03	San Francisco
Kim	0:32:06	Loveland, OH
Karen Bean	0:32:20	South Beloit, IL, USA
Tessa M	0:32:20	Portland, OR
Shelley Hall	0:32:34	Stow, OH
Ashley	0:32:50	Providence, RI
Stephanie N	0:32:51	New Stanton, PA
Sarah L	0:32:58	Fayetteville Arkansas
Chris Hayes	0:32:59	Baltimore, MD
Dominique James	0:33:11	Shreveport, LA
Megan Sopko	0:34:07	Toledo, OH
Amy @notaharespace	0:34:19	Maryland
Kayla Tolstyka	0:34:20	Bay City, MI
Claire Holman	0:34:22	Milwaukee, WI
Glory W.	0:34:50	Independence, MO
Kylie	0:34:51	Minneapolis, MN
Ilana	0:35:16	Baltimore, MD
Iva	0:36:00	Queensbury, NY
Angel W	0:36:02	San diego
Christina M	0:36:24	Chicago, IL
Rachel Oetting	0:36:29	Independence, MO
Runner5SJ	0:36:50	UK
Christie Schoeneman	0:37:00	Danville, IN
Nicky Blasier	0:37:17	Sturgeon Bay/WI/USA
Amber E	0:37:24	Portland, OR
Erin R.	0:37:40	Virginia, USA
Kathleen C	0:37:50	Missoula, MT
Kristi McCrery	0:38:00	Fort Collins, CO
Sarah	0:38:03	Connecticut
Victoria	0:38:14	Washington, DC
Beth B	0:38:15	Oklahoma City
Amy M	0:38:28	Cumming, GA
Kate	0:38:29	Nebraska
Katie V	0:39:00	Palatine, IL
Jenny Villwock	0:39:12	Oshkosh, WI
Leah miller	0:39:17	Florida
Christina O	0:39:30	Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Ali B	0:39:32	Vermont
Alisha	0:39:44	Beckley, West Virginia
Asma	0:40:00	La Crosse, WI
Lyndy Rayborn	0:40:04	Jackson, MS
Jennifer Ledyard	0:40:04	Mentor/OH
Brittany Marten	0:40:07	Athens, Alabama
Sally Lomily	0:40:43	Reston
Ashley Koralewski	0:40:53	Thief River Falls, MN
Meghan T	0:42:12	Snohomish, WA
Cheri Hibbert	0:43:53	Wyoming
Ashley Morales	0:44:00	Austin, TX
Dana Papst	0:44:10	Pittsburgh PA
Amanda Karnitz	0:48:55	Milwaukee, WI
Cassie	0:50:00	Richfield, MN
Debby	0:50:42	Sioux Falls, SD
Gloria F	0:51:27	Chicago, IL
Becky	0:52:16	NE
Emily Farrell	0:52:22	Kokomo, Indiana
Jennifer Clemo	0:53:02	Creswell, OR
Nichole G	0:54:25	Plattsburgh, NY
Grace	0:54:56	Boston, MA
Aaron G.	0:55:35	Flower Mound, Texas, USA
Rebecca G.	0:55:47	Flower Mound, Texas, USA
Jessica	0:58:00	North Carolina
Sarah M	0:59:31	Warner Robins, GA
Danielle Sims	1:00:07	Duncan OK
Chandra	1:02:03	Calgary AB Canada
jen s	1:03:00	Raleigh nc
Roxanne R.		New Mexico
Melissa Carney		Cleveland, Ohio
Mari		Sparks, nv
Erin Harmeyer		Independence, MO
Luci
Trista brown		Satanta KS
Rachael		PA
Monica		Washington, DC
Sarah		Fuquay Varina, NC
Laura LaBerteaux		El Monte, CA
Female 31-34
Lisa N.	0:24:20	Winter Park, FL
Ashley	0:25:00	Chicago
Leanna	0:25:09	Vancouver
Lyndsey H	0:25:21	Akron, OH
Alison	0:25:30	Royersford, PA
Laura DeFeo	0:26:05	Washington, DC
Serena	0:26:41	Seattle
Karey E.	0:26:58	Blachly, OR
Colleen M.	0:27:27	Denver, CO
Lisa Posner	0:27:37	Norwood, MA
Kara Bissonnette	0:28:18	Vermont
Robyn	0:28:29	ann Arbor michigan
Devon Whelan	0:29:00	Colorado Springs, CO
Nicole	0:29:47	East Brunswick, NJ
April	0:30:00	Detroit mi
Rachel Shatzer	0:30:18	La Plata, MD
Gina Crisafi	0:30:31	Madison, WI
Tera E	0:30:32	Macon, GA
LIz Stomski	0:31:16	Lansing, MI
Stephanie Woodbury	0:31:57	North Saint Paul, MN
Rachel Hansen	0:31:58	Idaho
Jessi Mouqué	0:31:59	Brussels Belgium
Tiffany	0:32:00	Ontario, Canada
Martina_in_China	0:32:03	Shenyang, China
Elizabeth Gunn	0:32:56	Richmond, VA
Janelle Thompson	0:33:14	Topeka, KS
Beth Hamilton	0:33:32	Wexford, PA
Lauren P	0:33:39	Columbus, Ohio
Carey Bower	0:33:51	Toronto,ontario
Monica	0:34:07	Greensboro, NC
Jennifer Curry	0:34:10	Lynbrook, NY
Ellen	0:34:17	Seattle, WA
Calleigh	0:34:57	Australia
Rachel M	0:35:04	Kansas City
Kristin Godin	0:35:15	Nashville, TN
Mara Schneider	0:35:42	Roseville, MN
Nicole Buerkle	0:35:45	Plevna, MT
Michelle	0:36:05	Illinois
Leona	0:36:37	Clermont, FL
Krystal Chewning	0:36:59	Simpsonville SC
Breanna Sackrey	0:37:14	Breckenridge/MO/USA
Carmen M.	0:37:51	Atlanta, Georgia
Jen Mitchell	0:38:00	Danville, VA
Julie Levenhagen	0:38:15	Surprise, AZ
Mandy M.	0:38:36	Dayton, Ohio
Samantha Spencer	0:38:49	Ellensburg, wa
Andrea Peabody	0:38:56	Reading, MA
Niki Kraus	0:39:12	Oshkosh,WI
Amanda Brown	0:39:25	Illinois
Bree	0:40:00	Dearborn/MI
Kristi A.	0:40:57
Kristine	0:41:30	Reinbeck, IA
Rebecca Floyd	0:42:22	Athens, GA
Jodi Bailey	0:42:30	LOUISVILLE
Meg Berger	0:43:06	Michigan
Corrie	0:43:52	New Orleans, LA
Corinne	0:44:04	seattle
Laura Roeseler	0:45:15	St. Louis, MO
Heike	0:45:56	Hamburg
Mary	0:46:05	Tennessee
Diana H	0:46:28	Pennsylvania
Amy Jaynes	0:46:56	Tyrone, GA
Lisa Dahl	0:47:08	Rural Snowy Illinois!
Emily DeRouchie-McMahon	0:49:50	New York
Kelly Sharrett	0:50:11	JONESVILLE
Amanda S	0:51:00	Melbourne, FL
Alisha Howard	0:51:12	Fruita, CO
Melody	0:52:12	Swartz Creek, MI
Rachel	0:53:06	Götteldorf, Germany
Tiare Escobedo	0:54:08	Corona, CA
Amanda Eadie	0:54:37	Houston
Tina Stevens	0:56:00	Kentucky
Tracy	0:56:05	Northwest Territories, Canada
Lisa	0:56:46	Utah County, Utah
Betsy	0:58:00	Boston, MA
Martha Berry (EmJayBee)	1:05:00	Texas
Erin Haas	1:15:00	Plainfield
Cherlyn Tom	1:20:51	Tempe, AZ
Heather B.		Rome, GA
Katie Aldana		Rockville, md
Laura Z		McFarland, Wi
Amy DuGas
Amy Hoffman		Cranberry Twp
Allyson Cathey		High Point, NC
Brandi Achey		Neosho, MO
Prairie Smallwood		Cheyenne, WY
Brandi Jones		Rockford, Iowa
Megan		Sevierville, TN
Jodi Murton		Central Lake, MI
Jennifer Humenny		Washington Twp, MI
Female 35-39
Brie R.	0:24:22	Iowa
Margaret Bussan	0:24:45	Lancaster, WI, USA
Charlotte Humburg	0:25:10	Lawrence Kansas
regina	0:27:06	washington, dc
Lisa Whitney	0:28:00	Reno, NV
Jenna	0:28:12	Colorado
Laura Clark	0:28:21	Fort Wayne, IN
Angie	0:29:00	Indianapolis, IN
Sara C	0:29:52	Rochester NY
Emilie F	0:29:57	St. Paul, MN
Teri	0:30:17	Lindsborg, KS
Whitney Comer	0:30:33	North Myrtle Beach, SC
Mary Ross	0:30:41	NY
Karen Sonnet	0:30:55	Falls Church, VA
Laura Smith	0:31:00	Amherst, NY
Steph	0:31:28	London, ON, CAN
Kristin N	0:31:34	Cincinnati, OH
Cora	0:32:28	Wethersfield CT
Mandoziz	0:32:40	Rose Hill, Kansas
Amber B	0:32:49	Anchorage, AK
Sarah Threlkeld	0:32:57	Renton, WA
Angela Armstrong	0:33:00	Waukesha, WI
Meredith	0:33:00	Asheville, NC
ginny wurttemberg	0:33:15	suwanee, ga
Christy W	0:33:37	Muscle Shoals, Al
Staci F	0:33:37	Bloomington IL
Amy Burkitt	0:34:08	Piketon, Ohio
Betsy	0:34:25	Cheltenham, England
Laura Z	0:34:25	Ambler PA USA
Jen buhler	0:35:00	Niverville, mb, Canada
Alicia Young	0:35:33	Ira, MI
Maria Pap	0:35:42	Thessaloniki, Greece
Erica	0:35:48	near Detroit, MI
Amanda D.	0:35:56	British Columbia, Canada
Jodi Tahsler	0:36:16	Palm Springs, CA
Vilia Garcia	0:36:16	Harlingen, Texas
Anna	0:36:21	North Carolina
Girlchild78	0:36:28	Frederick, MD
Mary	0:36:42	San Jose, CA
Mary (Runs To Get Waisted)	0:36:52	Portland, OR
Angie	0:37:03	Missouri
Danielle!	0:37:10	LaFayette, GA
Tanya Holland	0:37:27	Royal Oak, MI
Chrissy Gehman	0:38:01	Emmaus, Pa
Lars S.	0:38:10	Birmingham, AL
Heather P	0:38:22	Harrison Twp, MI
Jennifer G	0:38:26	Near Rochester, NY
Amanda Rutkowski	0:39:41	Rochester, MI
Stacey DeVries	0:39:43	Traverse City, MI
Lindsey Hall	0:39:59	Houston, TX
Lindsay Knapp	0:40:00	Battle Creek, MI
Amy	0:40:05	Colorado Springs, CO
Suganya	0:40:06	Hyderabad, india
MarciaT	0:40:26	Indiana
Jennifer Brown	0:40:33	Bothell, WA
Ronna Watkins	0:41:00	Bentonville, AR
Leah	0:41:07	Winona, MN
chrissy c	0:41:20	McCordsville/Indiana
Rachel Espinosa	0:42:00	Highlands Ranch, CO
Amy Bettwy	0:42:10	Kansas City, MO
Clair McLaughlin	0:42:57	Sevenoaks, United Kingdom
Julie	0:43:00	Springfield, MO
Jenny Sayler	0:43:00	lenexa, KS
Jodi Ingram	0:43:18	Morristown Tennessee
Kendra	0:43:24	Alberta, Canada
Annalee	0:43:26	Alabama
Kara R.	0:43:30	Bloomington, IL
Jessica C	0:43:34	Raleigh NC
Kris Faul	0:44:53	PA
Valerie	0:45:00	Indiana
Narcesita	0:45:00	Monterrey, México
Julie	0:45:08	San Antonio, TX
Lisa Edwards	0:45:56	Boynton Beach
Jolene O'Dell	0:46:00	Michigan!
Angie44301	0:46:00	Canton/Oh/USA
susan cheek	0:46:00	jonesville nc
Amy Thoma	0:46:36	Cincinnati, Ohio
Marie Ash	0:46:40	Fishers, IN
Karen	0:47:00
Jen Haught	0:47:32	Raleigh, NC
Rachel Suydam	0:47:32	Raleigh, NC
Angel Montoya	0:47:33	SL,UT
Melissa	0:47:55	Tehachapi, CA
Jen Larson	0:48:36	Shakopee, MN
Tiffany H.	0:48:51	Napa, CA
Laurie	0:49:02	Cashmere, WA
Caroline	0:51:00	Montreal (Canada)
Carli Stoller	0:51:03	Omaha, Nebraska
Diane	0:51:12	Helena, MT
Susana	0:52:13	Michigan
Selena	0:52:21	St. Catharines/Ontario/Canada
Jennifer	0:52:39	NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR
Tomie Vowell	0:54:00	Pearl City, Hawaii
Erin	0:55:01	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Stacy Deel	0:56:59	Charleston, WV
Suzi	0:57:47	Washington State
Jen Latham	1:00:39	Canton, MI
Jaime Penney	1:01:04	Weyers Cave, Virginia
CassieCass	1:03:13	Monterey, CA
Sonja	1:15:00	Minnesota :)
Emma		Portland, Oregon
Carrie		Durand, WI
Heidi Yeager		Valencia, PA
Rachel P Franzese		NORTHVILLE
Danielle Modrzewski		Stevens Point WI
Rebecca		Coldwater KS
Jennifer Bass		, Michigan
Liz		Grand Rapids, MI
Tara		Cleveland, OH
Megan K		Arizona
Female 40-44
Megan B	0:26:41	Jensen beach, florida
Deb Michaels	0:26:47	Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Wendy Jourdan	0:26:58	Charlotte, NC
Jodi McCoy	0:27:41	Canal Winchester, Ohio
Melissa Quinley	0:27:44	Silver Spring, MD
Heidi	0:28:23	Nebraska
Stephanie	0:28:35	Waterloo, IL
Heather Gosch	0:29:37	Rapid City SD
Kristi Norman	0:29:39	Atlanta, Georgia
Alicia N.	0:29:52	Rochester, NY
KellyP	0:29:53	SC
Dawn H	0:30:13	Highlands Ranch, CO
kathleen s	0:31:13	Philly suburbs
Paige	0:31:21	Kuna, Idaho (Boise)
Kim Burger	0:31:40	Ringgold
Melissa Hayes-Gehrke	0:32:00	Maryland
cathy	0:32:45	Cedar Rapids, IA
Lesleigh Ashby	0:33:31	Elk Ridge
Mig C.	0:33:59	Cicero/NY/USA
Nicola	0:34:01	Kingston, ON
Mandy	0:34:14	Vancouver, BC, Canada
Martha Kaiser	0:34:34	Phoenix, AZ
Laura Morford	0:34:36	Houston Tx
Tonya Markert	0:35:43	Rockford, IL
Pam Kocke	0:35:46	New Orleans, LA
Laurie Berrios	0:37:00	Kingston
Tamara Shazam	0:37:09	Kenmore, wa
Celeste Edenloff	0:37:10	Alexandria, MN
Gigi Becker	0:37:17	Huntington Station
Tammy Allen	0:37:24	Three Rivers, Michigan
Tiffany	0:37:25	Sparks, NV
Jennifer Bauer	0:37:48	Arden Hills
Andrea Hossler	0:38:00	Fostoria/Ohio
Amanda O'Connor	0:38:10	Denver, Colorado
Kim Dailey	0:38:11	Big Lake, MN
Kerry	0:38:50	Columbia SC
Dawny	0:40:00	Spokane wa USA
Gillian	0:40:00	Calgary, AB Canada
Zofimar	0:40:00	Slovakia
Michelle	0:40:07	Kansas City, MO
Jodi	0:40:41	Newton, IA
Julie B.	0:41:26	Montreal
Barbara Downs	0:41:39	Dunkirk, MD
Linda Kuil	0:41:59	Shirley, NY
Pati	0:42:00	NYC
Cindy Bingham	0:42:41	Seattle, WA
Chantalle	0:42:49	Canada
Kim Perry	0:43:04	Flintston, Ga
Erin Sutton	0:43:07	Franklin Indiana
TRACY S.	0:45:03	Pearland, TX / USA
KatieSyriid	0:45:28	Abbotsford BC
Benedicte	0:45:41	Wind gap/pa/usa
Michelle G.	0:46:00	Maumee, OH
Tricia Winslow	0:46:13	Mebane, NC, US
Tonia R	0:46:30	Ohio
Jody Ryan	0:47:00	Ridley Park PA
Cathy	0:47:01	San Marcos, CA
Karen	0:48:00	British Columbia, Canada
Erica Landfair	0:49:38	Portland, Oregon
Amber	0:49:44	Prosser, WA
Jennifer Vandenberg	0:51:00	Chahalis, WA
Cathy B.	0:54:02	Idaho
JJ Latte	0:54:05	Ottawa, Ontario
Elleny	0:59:38	Wageningen, The Netherlands
Holly Cornwell	1:01:28	Cayuga, NY USA
Kari Ann Carpenter		St John USVI
Shawn V
Linda Nelson		Eastern NC
Angie Veith		Rushville, IL
Mary Horsechief		Texas
Danette Stiteley		Stevens Point WI
Jolynn		Rocklin CA USA
Jeanie		Rockford, Illinois
Female 45-49
Denise G.	0:28:01	Middleton, MA
Kimberly in NC	0:29:14	Wilson, NC
Angela dyer	0:30:06	Lula ga
Joan B	0:30:12	Plano Tx
Michelle Sawatzky	0:30:25	Isle, MN
Jennifer Farrand	0:31:39	Frankfort
Carmen Wille	0:32:52	Sacramento, CA
Denise	0:33:00	Washington, DC
Lin Steele	0:34:05	Pahrump, NV
Amy Crawshaw	0:35:16	Leuven, Belgium
Shanon Merkel	0:39:21	Clovis,CA
Mia W	0:41:03	Lake Worth FL
Carrie Ward	0:41:41	Fargo, North Dakota
Gina Elisalde	0:42:07	Aptos, CA USA
margaret	0:42:16	Kingwood, Texas
Tammy Buckner	0:42:27	Jacksonville, FL
Rhona's	0:46:24	Whitby Ontario Canada
Corry Bimson	0:47:00	Regina,SK,Canada
Cherie	0:48:36	Annapolis, Maryland
Anna	0:51:47	Illinois
Martine	0:53:04	Long Beach, CA
Tiffany	0:58:29	Bowie, Texas
Rene	1:03:00	Loveland, CO
Carol S		Huntersville, NC USA
Wanda Brooks		Franklin, VA
Kristi H		Minnesota
Christy Bergheim		San Diego, CA
Melissa Cummings		Social Circle
Female 50-54
Rebecca S	0:25:20	Springfield, Missouri
Joyce Schmitt	0:28:18	Haubstadt, IN
Loretta farb	0:34:11	Columbia, MD
Elise	0:34:25	Tampa, FL
Lorenda Faist	0:34:28	Chelsea, MI
Melanie	0:38:00	Santa Cruz, CA
Michele Anderson	0:42:00	Pottstown PA
Elaine	0:43:00	Bells, TN
Connie	0:43:00	Lincoln CA
Suzanne	0:44:50	Champaign IL
Sheri Montgomery	0:49:22	Killeen
June D'Amour	0:50:00	Los Angeles, CA
COLLEEN	1:02:12	MICHIGNA CITY IN.
Lise in Indy	1:14:10	Indianapolis, IN
Rhonda Hall	1:41:35	Manistee
Connie		Lincoln CA
Holly		Denver, Coloraado
Jeanette Fields		Elmore city ok
Mary Odom		Georgetown, Texas
Nancy P.		Illinois
Female 55-59
Betsey Massee	0:29:32	West Hurley, New York
Theresa Walter	0:29:58	Doran, MN
Maggie	0:32:44	Dunedin, FL
kristina	0:32:59	south carolina
Rhonda Wills	0:34:30	Seaside
Tracy West	0:39:36	Ohio
Bobbie Mauk	0:39:38	Gilmer, TX
Dede	0:44:16	Arlington, VA
Helen Canning	0:46:27	Minnetonka, MN
Loretta S	0:48:15	Chino, CA
Jane Nehls	0:48:55	Milwaukee, WI
Teresa Walker	0:51:39	Port Moody, BC. Canada
Judy J	0:53:00	McKinney, TX
Maggie	0:57:16
Jarmila Carrie		Sacramento, CA
Female 60+
KATHY S.	0:32:07	Pearland, TX / USA
Corky	0:38:00	Charleston SC
Sue (Katie's Mom)	0:49:38	Newport MI
Lynn Watson		Phoenix, AZ
Male 0-15
Caleb	0:40:07	Kansas City, MO
Jacob Cornwell	1:01:28	Cayuga, NY, USA
Male 25-29
Thomas Graf	0:23:42	Miami, FL
Joseph Neary	0:30:00	Cheyenne Wyoming
Robert Blasier	0:38:08	Sturgeon Bay/WI/USA
David Dockery	0:49:11	Rome, GA
Male 30-34
Nathan Messer	0:22:34	Carleton, MI
Jason Murphy	0:26:40	Cumming, GA
Drew	0:29:25	Sioux Falls, South Dakota
joshua Mitchell	0:38:00	Danville, VA
Chad	0:40:03	Maryland
Male 35-39
Jason Brown	0:52:13	Peoria, Illinois
Male 40-44
Joshua Nelson	0:32:50	Waterford
Jason	0:34:24	Brookline MA
Mike Secrist	0:35:14	Pittsburgh
Bradley Shazam	0:36:13	Kenmore, wa
Mark Maupin	0:39:54	Yukon, OK
Shawn		Rockford, Illinois
Male 45-49
Loma F	0:55:03	Bloomington IL
Chris	1:03:00	Loveland, CO
Steve Meyer		Caledonia MN
Male 50-54
Greg S		Huntersville NC USA
Male 55-59
Jay Gunn		Franklin, VA
Age group unspecified
Charles J	0:27:30	Tennessee
KathyD	0:30:23	Haverhill MA
Francesca	0:37:00	Atlanta, Georgia
BJ	0:39:00	Alexandria VA
Cathi		Texas
Lisa J		Tennessee

Congratulations to EVERYONE who participated! I can't say it enough: I love that I have so many people who celebrate my birthday with me each year :)

I've spent WAY too much time doing blog stuff the past few days, so I'm going to stay away from the computer tomorrow. I need a mental break after the technical issues I dealt with today. I have a really unique new puzzle to work on, so hopefully it'll be done and I can show it off on Thursday!

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Motivational Monday #95

Happy Motivational Monday! This weekend has been a blur--it went by so quickly. I've been trying to keep up with email and all of the virtual 5K posts, but I've gotten behind. Hopefully I'll get caught up over the next couple of days!

It has been AWESOME reading about all of the people who ran the virtual 5K this weekend. Congrats to all of you who participated, and thank you so much for celebrating my birthday with me! There were lots of PR's, first-time finishers, and people who braved bad weather to get it done, and it was fun to read about.

Here are a few Motivational Monday stories to start your week:

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Dana has always enjoyed the Motivational Monday posts, and told herself that she would submit a photo if she ever completed a full marathon--and that day has come! She and her sister, Darcy, ran the Charleston Marathon last weekend. It was each of their first marathons, and Dana's goal was to finish regardless of time, while Darcy's goal was to finish under 5:00. They both met their goals! Dana finished in 5:44:30, and Darcy finished in 4:59:28. Dana just started running in 2011 in order to help lose weight, and she got hooked on it!

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Sarah did the "Rebel Challenge" at the Star Wars Half-Marathon weekend--that's a 10K AND half-marathon in the same weekend. Even more exciting, she PR'ed both races! She was thrilled to have finished the half with a great state of mind; just a week prior, she'd had the "worst half of [her] life", and vowed that after the Star Wars half, she'd be done for good. Thankfully, the exhilaration of a PR changed that ;)

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Karen has lost 35 pounds over the last 15 months, and has grown to LOVE running! When she first started doing the Couch to 5K plan, she despised running; and whenever the little voice on her Couch to 5K app would say, "Start running" she would growl, "SHUT UP"; but she ran. And by the time she finished, she actually liked it! She finished her first 5K in July with a time of 28:48, and then went on to complete a 10K training plan, and eventually was up to 8 miles! Her next plan is a 10K trail race in April.

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Alice just completed her first half-marathon! She set a goal of 2:30, and finished in exactly that time. She was hoping that her finisher's pic would be one of her holding her medal, but she had to resort to a selfie--in the medical tent! She was falling over, dehydrated, and exhausted, which led to some seizures and an ER trip (she has epilepsy). She is very proud of finishing, and that epilepsy hasn't stopped her! She is training now to run Ragnar Wasatch Back on an Athletes vs. Epilepsy team, which is fundraising to support the Epilepsy Foundation. (Alice's blog)

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Last January, Emily started off the year with a 5K and Polar Bear Plunge into the Pacific Ocean. The 5K was a tough race, as it was only her third ever, but she resolved to get faster. She did the Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K a couple of weeks later, finishing in 53:17, and decided to commit to doing 14 races in 2014. She started tracking her food on My Fitness Pal, and bought a Fitbit to track her activity. Over the course of the year, she lost 20 pounds, and is thrilled to be able to start seeing a difference in how she looks! She hopes that by losing the weight so slowly, she'll be able to reach her ultimate goal. (Emily's blog)

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Congrats to everyone on a great week! If you have a photo you'd like to submit for Motivational Monday, here are the instructions for doing so. Also, I'm collecting submissions for the 100th MM post (roughly 5-8 weeks from now). I'll be sharing before and after photos/stories of people who have lost 100 or more pounds! So if that is you, and you'd like to share, just use the subject "100" when emailing. I've loved reading the stories so far!

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2015 Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K race report

A huge congrats to everyone who did the third annual Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K today! When I woke up this morning, I was kind of dreading going to the pool to "run" for the 5K, so I had the thought to see if I might be able to run it on the treadmill--not fast, but just to test out my ankle and see if it's better yet. I hadn't had any ankle pain in a few days, even when I tried to make it painful by pointing my toes, so I hoped that it would be good to go.

Today marks three weeks since my last run, which is officially the longest I've gone without a run since 2010. Even after my body lift surgery, I started running at two weeks and five days post-op. I got dressed to run, and set up the treadmill. I promised myself that if I felt any pain at ALL, I'd stop running and just do the run in the pool as planned.

I started running, and pressed Start on my Garmin. And instantly, I felt the twinges of pain in my ankle. I stopped the treadmill, and had a good, long cry. I spent all of 2014 trying to get excited about running again, and in November, I finally started to get pumped up for 2015. I made all sorts of running goals--really ambitious ones--and was so excited to start training! And now I'm injured, so I can't work on them. It's SO frustrating!

Right as I was feeling really sorry for myself, as if on cue, my phone rang. I hardly ever get phone calls (everyone texts now), and I was thrilled to see that it was Thomas. He had just run a half-marathon in Miami this morning, and was calling to wish me a happy birthday. That cheered me up, so I quit feeling sorry for myself and packed a bag for the pool to do my deep water run.

Jerry had to work today, so I took the kids with me. There really isn't a way to run 5K in the pool, so I just did my otherwise scheduled pool run--5 minute warm-up, 4 x 5 min. hard running with 1 minute recovery between intervals, and 5 minute cool down. It wasn't exactly exciting, but it felt good to be doing something. Doing five-minute intervals are HARD. That's a long time to push my legs in the water! The workout went by pretty quickly, and then I sat in the bleachers so the kids could play longer. I wish I'd have thought to have had them at least get a pic of me for my 5K, but I didn't even think about it.

When I got home, there were TONS of posts from the Virtual 5K up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It was so fun looking through them! I love that my family participates in the Virtual 5K each year--and I was really excited ton see my younger brother, Nathan, do it for the first time!

In his words: "I went out way too fast, so only the last 3 miles sucked!" ;)

My sister, Jeanie, and her friend, Tonya, got up at 4:15 this morning to run their 5K together at the gym. Jeanie had to squeeze it in before work, but Tonya got up that early voluntarily on her day off!

My brother-in-law, Shawn, ran his 5K today as well:

I got a text from my older brother, Brian, who ran the 5K with his wife, Becky, this afternoon:

They are apparently having a "date night" in Florida tonight (they live in Minnesota). The things you get to do when you're a pilot! haha

My mom was even up bright and early to do her 5K on the treadmill...

Jerry worked a 12-hour shift today, but as soon as he got home, he jumped onto the treadmill to do the virtual 5K as well. He pushed himself pretty hard, and finished in 26:45!

This 5K has become a fun tradition that I hope to keep doing each year. And next year, hopefully, I'll be able to actually run it. Maybe even a treadmill PR ;)

Noah had a big surprise for my birthday that he's been working very hard on. My mom has been taking him to JoAnn Fabrics for a cake decorating class (Noah loves watching Cake Boss, which is what gave her the idea). Today, when I went over there, Noah gave me a birthday cake that he decorated entirely by himself:

I was just coming from the rec center, which is why
I look rather frightening ;)

Isn't it great? He is very proud of himself! He said the lettering was the hardest part.

Okay, if you did the Virtual 5K today, please make sure to fill out the Finishers' Form. I'll leave that open until Monday at 8:00 pm, and I'll post the results on Tuesday. Meanwhile, make sure you check out all the fun pictures and stories from others doing the race today. If you go to my Facebook page, and look at the left side where it says "Posts to page", you can find all of the posts that others wrote about the race today. (I wish they were more prominent, but I can't figure out if Facebook will allow me to change the layout, so that's the best I can do for now). You can also use hashtag #RfCVirtual5K on social media like Twitter and Instagram to see other pics.

A huge thank you for all of the birthday wishes, and for all of you that participated in the 5K! Once again, it was a big success :)

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2015 Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K Finishers' Form

Tomorrow is the big day--the third annual Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K! There are 861 people signed up(!) so I am super excited about seeing all the photos and race recaps tomorrow. There were several pictures posted today on my Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram, so make sure you check those out :)

If you haven't already, you can print off a bib. (If you need a logo for social media, use this one--it has a white background, rather than the transparent one like the other logos).

Once you've finished the 5K, please come fill out the form below. Even if you don't want to enter the drawing, it's fun to see how many people actually completed the 5K versus the number who signed up! If you can, please post a picture and/or brief race report to my Facebook page, Twitter, or Instagram. (You can use hashtag #RfCVirtual5K)

Hope you all have a fantastic 5K run/walk! Tonight, I'm celebrating my birthday with Jerry by playing Keno. Maybe I'll win big ;)

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Final details for the 3rd Annual Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K

This Sunday, I'll be 33 years old. For the past couple of years, I've started my birthday with the Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K--a "fun run" to celebrate turning a year older. This Sunday will be a little different, considering my ankle injury is preventing me from running; but I'll still be participating by doing a deep water run ;)

Thanks so much to all of you who have signed up so far! I'll leave the sign up open until Saturday night. You can find that post here: Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K sign-up.

There are two reasons for signing up: 1) So you state your commitment to actually doing it! and 2) To be eligible to win a prize.

I bought three pretty awesome prizes this year. (A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a reader--who wants to remain anonymous--asking if he could donate $100 toward prizes for the Virtual 5K--how generous is that?! He was clear he didn't want this name mentioned, but I just wanted to say a public thank you! I wouldn't be able to get all three of these without that help.)

Without further ado, here are the prizes you have the opportunity to win for participating in the Virtual 5K:

The first is my very favorite running gadget--a Garmin Forerunner! This is the FR 10. Noah just got one for Christmas, so I've had a chance to try his out a bit. This is perfect for someone who doesn't need all the bells and whistles, and just wants to know his/her pace, distance, time, etc. It's very user-friendly, too. This can be used for walking or running, so you don't have to be a runner to use it!

This next prize is a gadget that I love to use to keep me active throughout the day when I'm NOT running. This is a Fitbit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker--an activity monitor that gives you the number of steps you've taken, the calories you've burned, and distance traveled throughout the day. You can use the website or app to compete with your friends (a little competition always gets me moving!). This is the same model that I have. (I will buy this after selecting a winner, so that I can have it directly shipped to the winner)

Finally, this prize is something that I've become very friendly with over the past week. Since I'm not able to run right now, I'm doing deep water running with a flotation belt. This is the model that I use-- the Aqua Jogger Classic. Aqua jogging is a great exercise for pretty much anyone; it's no-impact, so even people who are injured or have a hard time with other exercises may find that it works well for them.  (Again, I'll buy this once I select a winner)

I hope at least one of these prizes will interest all of you doing the 5K this weekend! Like I'd mentioned on the sign-up post, you choose a goal for the race--it can be simply to finish, or you can choose a goal time--and if you meet the goal you set, I'll enter you in the drawing for one of the prizes. I'll do three separate drawings, so when you submit your race results, you can choose which drawing you'd like to enter. (Whether you meet your personal goal or not is all on the honor system--I trust you).

Here are the instructions for the race ("race day" is on Sunday, the 25th; but if you have to do it Saturday, that's fine, too).

1) Enter your info on the sign-up form by Saturday night. (If you forget what you stated as your goal, you can just sign-up again).

2) Print out a race bib. (This bib is the size of a typical race bib--so if you print it at 100%, it should be good.)

3) On Sunday, run or walk 5K (3.11 miles) wherever you'd like: outdoors, on your treadmill, a track, etc.

4) Take a picture! I love to see the pictures from all over the world where people are running. If you don't want your face to be public, then take a pic of your shoes, or your surroundings, or treadmill, whatever you'd like.

5) Submit your results on the form here on my blog by Monday at 8:00 pm EST. The post will be up on Saturday night. It will just ask a few basic questions, including your finish time (if you don't time it, then you can just select "untimed"). On the form, you can state whether or not you met your goal, and if you did, then select which prize drawing you'd like to enter.

6) This is optional, but I'd love for you to post your pic on my Facebook wall with a brief race report. It's fun to read about everyone's experience! You can let us know if this was your first or fiftieth 5K, if you did it in extreme temps, if you share a birthday with me, whatever you'd like to share. Going through the pictures on Facebook was my favorite part of last year's event. It's super inspiring!

You can tag your photos with #RfCVirtual5K on Instagram and/or Twitter, also. (My username is "runsforcookies" on each of those.) Just FYI, if your Instagram or Twitter account is private, I won't be able to see/comment on the photo--wish I could! Just please don't think that I'm ignoring it.

I'll accept the race results on the form until Monday night, and I'll randomly select the prize winners on Tuesday at 1:00 pm EST.

If you want to make a t-shirt, here is the logo download. It's the same as the bib, only without the green border around it. I had a shirt made last year, and I love it! :) (Note: Mine is a little different from the download above. Stephanie helped me with the 2013 one, and I can't edit it to save my soul, so I had to make a new one. Also, the file is much bigger than t-shirt size, so you won't use it at 100%. You can size it however you'd like.)

Okay, I think that pretty much sums it up! Three more days until I'm 33--yikes!

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Update on the deep water running

Even though I haven't written much about it this week, I'm still going strong with the deep water running. I've gone to the rec center just about every day, and I learn a little something new about the water running (a.k.a. "aqua jogging"--I hate using that term! haha).

The first time I went, last Thursday, I spent 45 minutes in the pool with the Aqua Jogger belt on, just trying to get comfortable with using it. I focused on my form, and tried to replicate running on ground as much as possible.

On Saturday, I went to the pool with Jerry and the kids, and had the intention of aiming for two hours to simulate a long run. We brought the underwater camera, and the first half hour or so was spent trying to get a good video and/or pictures for the blog.

I got a couple of good videos, but I am just too embarrassed to post them! My loose skin--well, let's just say it was very evident in the videos. When I watched the videos, I just kept thinking that I looked like a basset hound--like my skin was made for someone twice my size! My form wasn't all that great, either, because I was still learning. So maybe I'll do another video soon, and just post it, regardless of the loose skin issue. I already posted a picture of my thighs somewhere on my blog, and it doesn't look any worse than that. ;)

Anyway, I only lasted 60 minutes before I was just bored. I realized I was going to have to go into the "runs" with a plan--intervals or something to keep me from being bored. On Sunday, I took the kids and one of their friends to the pool, and I planned out short intervals:

5 minute warm-up
25 x 1:30 hard with 30 second recovery jog
5 minute cool down
(Total of 60 minutes)

Instead of measuring intervals by distance, like I do normally, I have to do it by time while running in the pool (because running a quarter mile in deep water would take a hundred years. Minimum.) I set my Garmin to do all the counting for me, so I just had to switch speeds whenever I felt my watch vibrate on my wrist.

Running hard in the deep water is... well, HARD. It was really tough making it through the 90 second intervals; and then 30 seconds flew by as I recovered. I checked my pulse several times during the workout (my heart rate strap doesn't work in the water, unfortunately), and was surprised how high my heart rate got. The intervals got my HR up to 160-ish. That's 85% of my maximum--what it would be during a tough outdoor run.

Something I learned in all the reading I've done is that your heart rate is aways going to be lower in the water than it would be out of the water. Here is a quick blurb about it:

"A useful rule of thumb is that heart rates during water running are about 10% lower than during land running. If you get your heart rate up to 140 beats per minute in the water, that is roughly equal to 154 beats per minute during normal running. The temperature of the water affects your heart rate during deep water running. Your heart rate will be lower in cool water and higher in warm water. In addition, two studies have found that women have slightly lower heart rates and oxygen consumption than men during deep water running. This is thought to be due to women’s generally higher bodyfat content and resultant greater buoyancy than men." (source)

So my heart rate of 160 would have been equivalent to 172 bpm, which is about 5K race pace for me! After that workout, I realized that you really get out of the deep water running what you put into it. If you run hard, it's going to be a HARD workout; if you just "jog", it's more like an easy neighborhood stroll. This is nice, because that means anyone can do it.

When I got home, I started reading everything I could find about deep water running, and I was thrilled to find a Nine-Week Water Running Schedule from Running Times! I'm going to loosely follow that plan until my ankle is better. The one thing I want to include, however, is a long run--so on Wednesday's steady run, I'm going to go much longer than the time listed. Preferably 90-120 minutes.

Yesterday, I went to the pool by myself after the kids were in school, and did the first Tuesday workout.

Because the workout was only 28 minutes, I decided to give it my all. Holy hell, that was HARD! Those 2:30 intervals were killer--the muscles in my legs were screaming during each interval. My "recovery" consisted of pretty much just floating there, trying to catch my breath before the next interval. Thirty seconds flies by when you're recovering!

My legs were actually shaky as I walked to the locker room. I felt amazing. And I truly believe that I earned every single one of the 5 PointsPlus Weight Watchers gave me for that short workout. That nine-week plan consists of a ton of intervals, so I am going to try and make each workout count by putting in good effort.

I'm going to the rec center tonight for a "long run", and Jerry is going to come keep me company. I just ordered his Aqua Jogger belt two days ago, and it already arrived today! I had to wait 10 days for mine to arrive. I'm glad I had Jerry try out my belt at the pool, because we discovered that he's a "sinker". Jerry has a pretty low body fat percentage (anywhere from 6-10%, depending on his weight at the time)--and according to the Aqua Jogger website, if your body fat is low, you may sink while wearing the classic belt. So we had to order the "Pro Plus" belt for Jerry, which will hopefully hold him up! ;)

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