Race Report: University City 10K

How do I get myself talked into these things?  This one went something like this . . . I was having lunch with my friend Katie who said "Marcy and I are going to run the UCity 10K, why don't you do it too?"  Sure, why not!  And then Katie bails--with good reason--but I'm already registered and committed.  Commitable may actually be the more appropriate phrase.

The day was hot and the course was hilly.  I did a mile warm up before the race down Delmar to the shop and back.  I also made sure I was at the front of the field.  This is a new habit for me since I never have considered myself much of a runner and didn't really think I belonged up there.  I also was able to find Marcy.

The course started on a slight uphill that was about 1/4 long.  My original plan was to stay with Marcy for the race and let her pace me through.  We got the start and were off.  I stayed on Marcy's shoulder and followed her as we weaved through the field.  (There was a 5km that started on the same course).  We were almost to the top of the hill and my legs were itching to open up so I went around Marcy and started stretching out my stride.  I prayed I didn't pay for it later.  I had some watch malfunction (i.e. operator error) between mile one and three but I think my first two splits were around 7:34.  The first two miles of the race were all on Delmar, which was mentally draining to me.  I was ready to turn and see something else.  I grabbed a cup of water just before mile two and kept going.  The course was rolling hills throughout and mostly shaded for the first four miles.

At mile three I realized my pace had slowed (8:01) but I felt comfortable with what I was doing and knew it was something I could sustain for the rest of the race.  Between mile four and five I was passed by a handful of girls.  Two of them passed me, but not at a pace that I couldn't sustain so I sped up a bit and got in behind one of them.  I stayed just off her left shoulder and worked to stay with her.  A few times I felt like I could push harder, but held back a bit.  One of the two girls pulled away and a little after mile five, I pushed passed the girl I was following.  I turned the final corner and saw the finishing arch and the mile six mark.  I worked on speeding up a little and finishing strong.  I was hot and tired at the end, but not dead.  In my mind I had wanted to run it in 45, but knew that was a big stretch.  My time was 48:39.  I was 78th overall in the race.  19th out of 240 women and 6th in my age group.

Here's a little video of my finish.

Crossing the line, happy to be finished.  *photo credit: John Musselman

Race Report: Eagle 5K Sprint

I decided since the race was in Columbia that I would run to the race as my warm up.  It's about 1.7 miles to the high school, so it's a perfect distance.  I felt great on the warm up.  The sun was out, the wind was light and the temps were in the low 30s--perfect running weather.

Within a few minutes of getting there, I ran into my Wednesday night ride group.  There are three ladies in the group who are really fast runners so I knew I would be challenged in the race.  Right before we lined up, they described the coursed--It would have three hills on the way out and two on the way back, and go right by my old house.

Toni and I moved to the very front of the group.  There were about ten middle and high school boys standing on the front line already.  The horn blew and I took off working to move my way around the kids.  Within 150 yards I hit the first hill and I continued to move up, trying to find someone to pace.  We turned into the park and headed over past the pool.  A guy passed me and I worked to stay with him for a while, but when we crossed Main Street I couldn't sustain his pace.  From there it was down into my old neighborhood.  

Right after my old house, my watch beeped for mile one.  No looking--keep pushing!  On the third uphill on the way out, Dana caught me.  I moved in behind her and let her take me to the turnaround.  She took water at the aid station and walked.  I chose to keep going.  When I turned I saw that Toni wasn't that far behind either.  

I was about .2 miles past the turn when Dana and Toni caught me.  I was very tired at that point but continued to fight to stay with them.  As we went back past my house, Toni started to pull away.  I didn't have it to stay with her.  Dana and I stayed together up the final hill and across Main Street.  It was on the downhill she pulled away and I had to let her go.  

Knowing the roads so well, I knew exactly how far I had left to run.  If I could maintain the effort through the park, I could manage the downhill and finishing straight.  My chest was burning at that point.  Tennis courts --- done.  Baseball field ---done!  There was the downhill.  I could see Toni and Dana near the bottom.  Push, push, push. I made the left into the park lot and saw Toni finishing.  I gave my last effort and worked to close in on Dana.  I wasn't able to do it.  Toni finished in 22:00, Dana in 22:21, and me at 22:25.  I was third out of 151 women and 16th overall for 360 runner.  That's :16 seconds faster than the February 5K on a much more challenging course--pretty happy with it.  Plus for me it was staying with Dana and Toni--when I started running/riding with this group, I was no where close to their league.

Race bling!  Woot!  I'm pretty proud of this one.

Bella and Boo with their race bling.  The princess is going to be a heck of a runner someday.

Race Report: Run for the Chocolate

Sunday was crazy cold--18 degrees with a wind chill of nine at race time.  The sun was shining though, so that seemed to help some.  I didn't warm up very long pre-race, choosing to hang with Steph instead.  I question whether my short warm up hindered me, but I am happy with the choice I made.  The good thing I did do was to make sure I started at the front of the field.  There were supposed to be more than 1,000 runners there and I didn't want to have to weave in and out of a lot of people.  So after a good luck hug from Steph, I made my way to the front of the pack.  My goal for the morning was to run sub 24.

The horn blew and we were off.  I tried to gauge how fast the runners were around me and who I should try to pace off of but it was hard.  I just tried to concentrate on finding a pace, rhythm that was comfortably hard for me.  I found a good stride and just focused on moving forward.  Within no time we hit the water table at .5 mile, I still felt really good and pushed on.  The race was really fun for me in that I knew volunteers at almost every intersection, and having them cheer kept me smiling even it when my legs started to hurt.  At the one mile mark, it was hard not to look at my watch, but I wanted to run the entire race on feel and see what I could do.  It felt like forever from mile one to the turn around. 

I made the turn and started heading back.  I started feeling very fatigued, but told myself to look forward to seeing everyone I knew on the way back.  I passed Steven and he told me I was in 7th place for the women.  I knew I had to keep pushing.  At the two mile marker I wanted to stop and walk so badly because I was just tuckered out but I knew I was sitting in a good spot. It was about then I came up on Lauren and Matt.  Lauren began yelling for me just like she did at Louisville.  For the moments I heard her, my legs felt incredibly light.  Matt even grabbed my arms and "escorted" me for a few meters.  It's so awesome to have cheerleaders along the race course!

I made the left turn to head back over the highway and a girl passed me.  I tried to push to stay with her, but couldn't hold on to her.  After that it seemed like just a snap to .5 mile to go mark.  Once I saw that I knew I could keep going.  After the highway I made the right to the finishing straight and another woman came up along side of me.  There was about 400 meters left and I tried to stay with her--that only lasted for about 50 meters and I couldn't push any harder.  I saw the clock at that point and realized that it was at 22 minutes and just focused on finishing out.  My time was 22:41.  I ended up 2nd in my age group (56 in AG), 9th in women and 31st over all (846 racers).  My splits were pretty consistent, 7:20, 7:24, 7:25 and 7:00 for the .1. I'm amazed at how I did.  I would have never thought I could maintain a sub 7:30 pace that long.  I'm incredibly happy with my results

Sunday afternoon I looked up my last 5K time from October, 2008, it was 25:02 and at that time, it was my PR.  I've come a long way in less than four years, especially considering I haven't been focusing on the run at all.  I have another 5K coming up in two weeks, I'm hoping I can sustain my success through it!

44/365: 'Twas the Night Before a Run

I learned a few secrets about morning workouts a long time ago. The biggest one is to remove all excuses. I have all my gear ready for my workout before I go to bed. My clothes and heart rate monitor sit ready on the counter in my bathroom. My shoes and other items are out in the kitchen. I've found that by having it all out, there is little to prevent me from doing what I need to do. I can't claim that my shorts weren't clean or that I couldn't find a hat. If I think the weather is iffy, I will go so far as to put out two sets of clothes, one for outdoor and one for indoor. Plus, if for some reason I don't go, my gear then mocks my laziness, my lack of mental or physical toughness.

My Love/Hate Relationship

Even now as I sit and think about it, over 12 hours ago, my morning run seems dreadful. 45 minutes of pounding the pavement, raising my heart rate, and torturing my feet. Now don’t get me wrong, I love to workout. I love the sense of pushing my body as hard as it can go and then pushing more. I love the feeling of hitting the wall and then finding my second wind. I love the slight muscle ache when I’ve really hit it hard. I just hate running.
I hate getting up before the sun and 95% of the county. I hate the treadmill on the days that I can’t make it outside. I hate the blisters on my feet and the knots in my calves. I hate the dry skin under my nose because I have perma-snot from being out in the cold. I hate the way I feel as I trod up the seemingly endless hill. I hate running.
I am not a runner by nature. I didn’t grow up running track or cross country. Hell, I don’t think I could even run a full mile until three years ago. I can’t debate the difference between training shoes and a good pair of racing flats. I started running because I was fat. I’m not talking obese fat, I’m talking about middle age spread, PTA mom girth. I needed something to prevent me from becoming what I’ve seen so many other women my age become. I started to run. I wish I could say that as the pounds came off, it became easier. I wish I could tell you that I fell in love with the sport and religiously followed the elite distance runners. It would all be a lie. I even cancelled my subscription to Runner’s World because I hate running.
So where does my love for this awful sport come in? I love what running does for me. I love that I can put on a pair of shoes, without much forethought and head out the door. I love how my legs look now that I’ve been at it for three years. I love that I can conquer hills on my bike because I’ve improved my overall fitness. I love that I can pick up a pair of skinny jeans and know that they’ll fit. I love that over the course of an hour I can burn 600 calories. I love that, if I choose, I can sign up for a 5K and place well in my age group. I love how I feel when my run is done.