So, time to dust off the ol blog again for a recap of today's race!
This year I decided to step back into my comfort zone and run the half marathon at the Fargo Marathon events. My training went pretty well, but I didn't have a strong feeling either way whether I would PR or not. For a PR, my time would have to be Sub 2:14. My secret goal for the race was 2:10, but I never really said that out loud, as that would have required me to run a 9:55 pace for the entire 13.1, and I didn't REALLY think I could pull that off unless I had a pretty perfect day of running.
So the location changed this year, and we ALL lined up on the bridge between Fargo and Moorhead, kind of a throwback to the first Fargo Marathon 10 years ago. It was a GORGEOUS, sunny morning. Crisp, cool air, bright blue sky, and so much excitement in the air.
There was a group of us who met beforehand and stood together before the start. We started the race with the 2:10 pace group, but again, I didn't think I'd be running 9:55 pace for very long.
So, mile 1 felt glorious! And then, I realized that my long sleeve shirt was going to be waaaay too warm (it was 35 degrees at 7am... but the sun warmed things up quickly). I did not have a tank underneath, so I was going to have to suck it up with the warm shirt.
And then, something strange happened. At mile 1.5 I realized I already had to pee. I figured if I ran a bit more, that feeling would go away as it usually does. It.did.not.
In spite of this, my pace was clicking along quite nicely- somewhere in the 9:46 range for each of the first 4 miles. My body was feeling GREAT, but my mind was already distracted.... by my giant, pee-filled bladder.
Side note: there was NOT a porta potty to be found during those first 4 miles. Perhaps that accounts for my fast pace as I was trying to get to a can as quickly as possible.
Guys... this is the moment where I'm gonna start dropping some major truth on you. What I haven't mentioned till now, is during that 4 mile quest for a porta potty... I was peeing in my pants. And I'm not even talking a tiny dribble here and there. I'm talking about a significant amount of pee.
THIS HAS NEVER EVER HAPPENED BEFORE. I have never even had to step foot inside a porta potty during a half marathon, let alone peeing my pants. And then peeing my pants some more. And then some more. And then when I was just 20 feet away from the porta potty.
Thank GOD for the decision to wear black capris. This would have been an incredibly public display of pants pissery had I worn shorts or something not of the color black.
I lost a couple of minutes off my time due to my brief pee-tour at the porta-potty. I got back out there, hoping the worst was behind me. My pace slowed to somewhere in the 10:20 range for the next couple of miles, but I was still feeling okay.
Water stop somewhere around mile 6- I grabbed a cup of water, started to drink and PEED again. I'm going to spare you a broken record, but this happened several other times during water stops later in the race. Luckily, there was less...uh... volume, than the 4 mile pants pissing.
I know I'm not the first to pee myself during a race, but this was so out of the ordinary for me and SO distracting. It took me out of my game big time. I stopped enjoying a large part of the race, and really, after mile 6 I was feeling hot, pissy (ha!), and super thirsty.
My thirst was out of control today! Again, this is something out of the ordinary. Usually I take one cup at a water station and am good to go. Today I double fisted each water stop and still felt like I was parched. I took a 20 oz bottle of water that a spectator was handing out and I drank that gone too.
So now, I was hot and thirsty, but had like a gallon of liquid sloshing around in my stomach. I took my time and walked through every water stop and I took a couple of other walk breaks as well. I think the last 5 miles all fell into the 11:00-11:30 range because of my breaks. At this point, I saw the 2:20 pace group and felt totally defeated, knowing I lost 10 minutes off my goal.
But the end was near and I did my best to finish strong.
Final time: 2:21:11. 10:47 overall pace.
Not every race will be a PR, and I'm just happy I got to run today. It really was a fun race when I wasn't peeing myself or melting in my long sleeved shirt! The crowds were amazing as always and the weather was perfect.
So, there's my embarrassing race recap. Let's hope for dry pants for future endeavors, okay?
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Friday, June 21, 2013
A blog re-appearance
So, actually I'm pretty terrible at keeping up with blogging.
But you knew that, didn't you?
I've been meaning to get restarted with blogging, but there has been so much running related stuff that's happened in the last 6 months, that it felt like an overwhelming task to try to get everything caught up in a blog post shorter than a novel.
Thankful for bullet points- because that's how we're rolling! A quick bulleted month-by-month synopsis of all that has transpired so we can get up to speed!
But you knew that, didn't you?
I've been meaning to get restarted with blogging, but there has been so much running related stuff that's happened in the last 6 months, that it felt like an overwhelming task to try to get everything caught up in a blog post shorter than a novel.
Thankful for bullet points- because that's how we're rolling! A quick bulleted month-by-month synopsis of all that has transpired so we can get up to speed!
- January 2013: Fresh off my meningitis vacation, I began to contemplate my goals for the year. Decided an even 1000 miles of running and 1000 miles of biking was going to be my lofty 2013 goal. Planned on training for the 1/2 marathon in May, but halfway through the month, I accidentally decided to train for the full marathon instead. I couldn't wait till Summer to start another marathon training. Began training for Fargo Marathon around the second week of January. Since we were deep into the Winter season, lots of treadmill running took place (barf).
- February 2013: Running, running, running. The roads and weather were uncooperative for outdoor running. Short runs took place on the 'mill, and long runs took place at a local indoor track. 8 laps= 1 mile..... Let's just say that 11, 12, 13 mile runs were... not exciting. Glad for the lap button on my Garmin because, let's face it, I'd SO lose count of laps without it.
- March 2013: The beginning of Spring, right? WRONG. Weather continued to be awful and some overwhelming apathy and frustration began to set in. Started to move some of the long runs outdoors, but they were definitely not ideal. Several runs involved jumping over piles of snow, stepping in massive icy puddles, and lots of frozen eyelashes. Body was holding up well with the training though and I felt good. Paces were starting to get faster (not blazing fast, but fast for me). March was my heaviest mileage month- ran about 130 miles!
- April 2013: Annnnnd the weather was STILL awful. Like, seriously??? It was cold, snowy (!!!), and just overall a terrible month for running. Started to sub one shorter run per week with a spin class, just to preserve my legs and to avoid the treadmill. As a result, my April mileage went down a little, but was still feeling strong when it counted. The longest of the training runs took place this month and they went surprisingly great! The dreaded 20 miler was done in conjunction with a half marathon that we (Stacie and I) ran in St Cloud. It was the Earth Day Half Marathon- a smallish, but well-organized race. Originally when we registered, we assumed it would be a nice Spring-time race. Instead we enjoyed 18 degree temps that eventually climbed all the way into the 30's. On April 20th! Oof. We ran 7 miles, had a short break to get to the starting line, and then ran the half marathon. There were some hills that surprised us, but the race was great! It was probably the best run I've ever had. Our average pace for the 20 miles was 10:45. Our typical long run pace is 11:30. Started to think that a 4:50 time goal for Fargo Marathon was a definitely possibility. A huge confidence boost!
- May 2013: Marathon Month! Taper Time! STILL COLD! I don't know how many times I made the bold statement "this is the LAST time I'm going to wear my lined running tights!" Enjoyed some early morning runs with friends and tried to finish out my training strong.
- Fargo Marathon- May 18th. I'm losing steam here, and won't give a fantastic race report, but I'll try to sum it up in very brief fashion. Weather forecast 10 days out was okay, but each and every day the forecast seemed to decline. By race morning the forecast called for 60 degrees, rainy, and humid at the start and maybe some sunshine and 70ish degrees by the end of the race. Let's remember that not ONE of my training runs occurred in anything warmer than 50 degrees. Every long run was 40 degrees or cooler. Not ONE run was done in humidity. Great. Race time temp was about 58 degrees and it had just stopped raining. It was indeed humid, but manageable. Goal pace was 10:45-11:00. First 15 miles were pretty good. Pace was on target. Could feel some blisters forming on my feet by mile 8, thanks to the humid conditions. Felt strong though. The temps started to creep up and my energy started to fade a little. Mile 15 happened and the sun came out... and it ALL fell apart for me. Pace started to drop with every mile and by mile 20, I was D.O.N.E. I saw a medical drop-out station and seriously contemplated quitting. Stacie ran by my side the whole time and she was still looking strong. She probably could have blazed on at the faster pace, but she ran with me instead. My mile splits started to dip into the 12:00 min/mile pace and then into the 13:00's. I SWEAR it still FELT like I was running 11:00's, but I'd look down at the Garmin and would be super discouraged to see that I was barely slogging a 13:00ish pace. It was HOT. I was getting dehydrated in spite of drinking lots of water and powerade. I ran through sprinklers often and shoved ice cubes in my bra. It was a huge mental struggle and it sucked. Lots of walk breaks during those last 6 miles. Knew my goal of 4:50 was WELL out of reach, but now it was a very real possibility that I'd finish slower than Twin Cities Marathon. I didn't though. Finished in 5:15:43 (TCM was 5:17-something). So... still a PR, but it didn't feel like it. I was pretty disappointed with how the race turned out, but after talking with a lot of other people who ran the race, they had similar experiences (good first half, bad bad second half). Weather is SUCH a wild-card in running, and it's totally out of my control. I'm proud that I stuck it out and finished it and I know that I have plenty more marathons in my future to try to nail a better pace. (Although around mile 20 I SWORE that there would NOT be another marathon in my future!)
- June 2013: And here we are, caught up to present time. And presently, things are rough in the running department. I began officially training for Twin Cities Marathon on June 3rd. Decided to switch things up with training and try a more aggressive plan that incorporated more speed work and more of the really long long runs. I *really* want to improve my speed and the only way to do that is to start doing faster runs. The first couple of weeks of training have been difficult. Weather has been humid and rainy, I had a bout of food poisoning that made me miss a run or two, and this week I've been sidelined completely with shin troubles. I'm trying to be smart about it as the marathon is still 16 weeks out and I have plenty of time to train still. So I'm TRYING to be patient and give my shin the appropriate amount of rest. I hate skipping runs, but I'm doing lots of spinning and outdoor biking to compensate for the missed runs. I know that the speed work is probably what is contributing to my injury and will have to re-evaluate my speed work once I'm able to run again. I might have to scale back the pace a little. This is a huge bummer because I've run virtually injury-free for the last year and a half, but I know that sometimes injury is a part of running too. I'm skipping my long run this weekend and will continue to ice and stretch and will see where I'm at on Monday. If there is still pain, I'm going to go to the sports chiropractor next week and see if that helps.
SO! That's the "quick" recap of the last 6 months. MAYBE I'll do a better job of blogging on a regular basis? That remains to be seen!
Have a great weekend! :)
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
2012 by the numbers! Holy cow!
I may as well do my end of the year review today, even though there is still 6 days left of 2012! Why now, you ask?
*sigh*
My fitness goals have been sidelined until January 2nd due to a bout with Viral Meningitis! What the, what????
Yep, after years and years of only getting minor illnesses like colds and such, I got hit with the double whammy of illness. First a 3 day bout with pretty severe Strep Throat followed immediately after with viral meningitis that landed me in the hospital for 5 days. For the sake of brevity, I'll leave out most of the details, but basically, though I'm feeling pretty well physically now and feel like I *could* run or do some other type of workout, I'm saddled with a picc line in my arm and have to do twice daily IV antibiotics till January 2nd. I'm not allowed to get the dressings wet or sweaty, which means no workouts for me.
The timing of these illnesses is incredibly poor. I have been working on making my goal of 800 miles of running for the year, and am THISCLOSE to reaching it... and will not make it because of recent events. How close was I?
Running total for 2012:
782.7
SO frustrating. My last run was a 6 miler on December 16th. I would have easily crushed the 800 mile goal by 12/31.
Oh well, I have even bigger and better goals for 2013, and will go into more detail in my next blog post. Let's look back at the stats for this year now, shall we?
Cycling
This was my first year of going out on my road bike. I was super fearful and skeptical at first, as it just seemed scary to ride with others on a bike that seemed so fast! I had no real "goals" related to cycling, but for fun, I set a goal of 500 miles for June-August. Mostly though the goal was that I just wanted to go out on a long ride at least once a week this summer. Now that Summer is long gone, I have been going to spin class at least once a week for crosstraining. I DID end up meeting that 500 mile goal and then spin classes have continued to add to my total!
Cycling total for 2012:
818.1 miles!
Best month:
June - 226.1 miles
Farthest ride:
June 24th- 53.8 miles
Running
Like I mentioned earlier, I had been working on an 800 mile goal... and came close. It wasn't a goal I had set out early in the year, it was really only a goal that I've technically been working on since after the marathon. I needed motivation to keep running even though I wasn't in training for something, so the 800 miles was just something I felt was achievable after looking at my numbers midway through October. And even though I didn't technically reach 800, that was one of the few goals I DIDN'T make. As it turns out, 2012 was a fantastic year for me! Let's review!
Running total for 2012:
782.7
Average miles per week:
15
Best Months:
August- 112.4 miles
September- 107.5 miles
Best Weeks:
August 19th- 35.1 miles
September 9th- 35 miles
Races
I ran quite a few races this year.... and I got a PR in each and every race, with the only exception being the Filthy 5k at the end of September as it was a slippery mud race that took place one week before Twin Cities Marathon! A recap:
3/16/12- St Patrick's Day 5k: 32:16 PR!
5/19/12- Fargo 1/2 Marathon: 2:28:59 PR!!
6/9/12- Lindenwood 10k: 1:06:13 PR!
7/19/12- Scheel's Run for the Red 5k: 30:26 PR!
9/1/12- Women Rock MN 1/2 Marathon: 2:18:51 PR!!!
9/29/12- Filthy 5k: 41:44
10/7/12- Twin Cities Marathon 5:17:46 PR (first full marathon!!!)
10/20/12- Fargo Mini Marathon (1/2 marathon): 2:14:09 PR!!!
11/3/12- Sandy's Donut Run 5k: 28:32 PR!!!!
Improvements since I started running in 2011:
Since I started running:
-Shaved 51 minutes off my 1/2 marathon time
-In Nov 2011, I ran a 5k in 36:49 (PR). In Nov 2012, I ran a 5k in 28:32 (PR)- over 8 minute improvement!
-In 2011, my average pace for long runs was 13:30 or more. In 2012, my average pace for long runs was 10:45-11:30
-In 2011, my average pace for short runs was 12:30 or more. In 2012, my short runs were somewhere between 9:50-10:30
-In 2011, 4 miles felt like a long run. In 2012, 5 miles felt like a short easy run.
-When I started running In January 2011, my weight was 180 and I wore a size 14. At the peak of my marathon training in October, I was 150 lbs and wore between a size 6 and 8. (I'm up about 5 lbs since the marathon due to holidays, etc).
So there you have it! Apparently if you keep at it, you keep getting better! 2012 was a GREAT year for me! I have run this year totally injury free, and the only hiccup took place in the past couple of weeks with my stupid illnesses.
Hope everybody has a GREAT rest of the holiday season and I will post soon about next year's goals!
*sigh*
My fitness goals have been sidelined until January 2nd due to a bout with Viral Meningitis! What the, what????
Yep, after years and years of only getting minor illnesses like colds and such, I got hit with the double whammy of illness. First a 3 day bout with pretty severe Strep Throat followed immediately after with viral meningitis that landed me in the hospital for 5 days. For the sake of brevity, I'll leave out most of the details, but basically, though I'm feeling pretty well physically now and feel like I *could* run or do some other type of workout, I'm saddled with a picc line in my arm and have to do twice daily IV antibiotics till January 2nd. I'm not allowed to get the dressings wet or sweaty, which means no workouts for me.
The timing of these illnesses is incredibly poor. I have been working on making my goal of 800 miles of running for the year, and am THISCLOSE to reaching it... and will not make it because of recent events. How close was I?
Running total for 2012:
782.7
SO frustrating. My last run was a 6 miler on December 16th. I would have easily crushed the 800 mile goal by 12/31.
Oh well, I have even bigger and better goals for 2013, and will go into more detail in my next blog post. Let's look back at the stats for this year now, shall we?
Cycling
This was my first year of going out on my road bike. I was super fearful and skeptical at first, as it just seemed scary to ride with others on a bike that seemed so fast! I had no real "goals" related to cycling, but for fun, I set a goal of 500 miles for June-August. Mostly though the goal was that I just wanted to go out on a long ride at least once a week this summer. Now that Summer is long gone, I have been going to spin class at least once a week for crosstraining. I DID end up meeting that 500 mile goal and then spin classes have continued to add to my total!
Cycling total for 2012:
818.1 miles!
Best month:
June - 226.1 miles
Farthest ride:
June 24th- 53.8 miles
Running
Like I mentioned earlier, I had been working on an 800 mile goal... and came close. It wasn't a goal I had set out early in the year, it was really only a goal that I've technically been working on since after the marathon. I needed motivation to keep running even though I wasn't in training for something, so the 800 miles was just something I felt was achievable after looking at my numbers midway through October. And even though I didn't technically reach 800, that was one of the few goals I DIDN'T make. As it turns out, 2012 was a fantastic year for me! Let's review!
Running total for 2012:
782.7
Average miles per week:
15
Best Months:
August- 112.4 miles
September- 107.5 miles
Best Weeks:
August 19th- 35.1 miles
September 9th- 35 miles
Races
I ran quite a few races this year.... and I got a PR in each and every race, with the only exception being the Filthy 5k at the end of September as it was a slippery mud race that took place one week before Twin Cities Marathon! A recap:
3/16/12- St Patrick's Day 5k: 32:16 PR!
5/19/12- Fargo 1/2 Marathon: 2:28:59 PR!!
6/9/12- Lindenwood 10k: 1:06:13 PR!
7/19/12- Scheel's Run for the Red 5k: 30:26 PR!
9/1/12- Women Rock MN 1/2 Marathon: 2:18:51 PR!!!
9/29/12- Filthy 5k: 41:44
10/7/12- Twin Cities Marathon 5:17:46 PR (first full marathon!!!)
10/20/12- Fargo Mini Marathon (1/2 marathon): 2:14:09 PR!!!
11/3/12- Sandy's Donut Run 5k: 28:32 PR!!!!
Improvements since I started running in 2011:
Since I started running:
-Shaved 51 minutes off my 1/2 marathon time
-In Nov 2011, I ran a 5k in 36:49 (PR). In Nov 2012, I ran a 5k in 28:32 (PR)- over 8 minute improvement!
-In 2011, my average pace for long runs was 13:30 or more. In 2012, my average pace for long runs was 10:45-11:30
-In 2011, my average pace for short runs was 12:30 or more. In 2012, my short runs were somewhere between 9:50-10:30
-In 2011, 4 miles felt like a long run. In 2012, 5 miles felt like a short easy run.
-When I started running In January 2011, my weight was 180 and I wore a size 14. At the peak of my marathon training in October, I was 150 lbs and wore between a size 6 and 8. (I'm up about 5 lbs since the marathon due to holidays, etc).
So there you have it! Apparently if you keep at it, you keep getting better! 2012 was a GREAT year for me! I have run this year totally injury free, and the only hiccup took place in the past couple of weeks with my stupid illnesses.
Hope everybody has a GREAT rest of the holiday season and I will post soon about next year's goals!
Monday, December 3, 2012
a return to Spring!
Oh hiiiiii there!
Remember when it was wintry for a minute? And remember when we were all like "wahhhhh SNOW!"
And then suddenly, it was as if we time warped right past Winter and jumped right into March.
And oh, I love March. I love March fiercely. So on Saturday in the 46 degree sunshine, I ran a spectacular 8 mile with my friend Michele. For the 90 minutes we were out splashing in the melty puddles, I pretended it was mid-March. I pretended that we were out on a training run for a Spring race. I thought about grilling and iced coffee and driving with windows down.
Call it losing touch with reality if you must, but oh it was a wonderful 90 minute vacation in my brain. It was a nice break from treadmill running and all the joysuck that entails.
And the following day was beautiful as well. And so was today. And really, the 10 day forecast calls for cooler temps, but NO snow! And it's December!!
Now, I know it's coming. I know that we won't have another super mild winter like last year. I know that I'm going run on the 'mill or freeze my bunsies off in the frigid Winter air. But for now, it's nice to pretend!
Other running updates and fun little tidbits:
At the end of October, I looked at my running stats for 2012 and realized that I could probably hit 800 miles of running for the year, so that's been a new goal that I've been working on. I have about 40 miles left to run by month's end to reach goal. NO problem. Why?
Because I'm doing the "Holiday Running Streak!" I read about this in a Runners World article and thought it would be a good way to keep motivated and moving over the super fattening holiday season. Run or walk at least 1 mile a day between Thanksgiving and New Years. So far, so good!
Last week I clocked my FASTEST EVER one mile runs! 8:03 followed by a 7:47 the next day. Holy cow. I thought my treadmill was going to explode into a zillion pieces. I thought my heart might do the same.
Speaking of treadmills... our warranty expired a few weeks ago. About 2 weeks ago I started running on it more regularly again. And then I noticed the belt started doing some weird slipping thing. Of course. Lucky lucky for us, someone suggested we call Sears and see if we can still take them up on an extended warranty. Yay! They said yes. $69 to renew the warranty and now we have someone coming out this weekend to fix er up. Without warranty, that would have likely cost us $400 for a house call.
Speaking of boobs. Oh, we weren't speaking of that. But speaking of it NOW- total wardrobe malfunction during my Springtime Saturday run. One second, the sisters were safe and secure in their super supportive home and the next second BAM! Explosion! Front zippered sports bra somehow came unzipped somewhere around mile 3. Whattheheck?? Almost ALMOST flashed some fisherguy who was hanging down by the river. Luckily I think I rezipped quickly enough to get things back under wraps. Whew.
So... with that piece of over-sharing.... I think we'll call this one done for the night!
Remember when it was wintry for a minute? And remember when we were all like "wahhhhh SNOW!"
And then suddenly, it was as if we time warped right past Winter and jumped right into March.
And oh, I love March. I love March fiercely. So on Saturday in the 46 degree sunshine, I ran a spectacular 8 mile with my friend Michele. For the 90 minutes we were out splashing in the melty puddles, I pretended it was mid-March. I pretended that we were out on a training run for a Spring race. I thought about grilling and iced coffee and driving with windows down.
Call it losing touch with reality if you must, but oh it was a wonderful 90 minute vacation in my brain. It was a nice break from treadmill running and all the joysuck that entails.
And the following day was beautiful as well. And so was today. And really, the 10 day forecast calls for cooler temps, but NO snow! And it's December!!
Now, I know it's coming. I know that we won't have another super mild winter like last year. I know that I'm going run on the 'mill or freeze my bunsies off in the frigid Winter air. But for now, it's nice to pretend!
Other running updates and fun little tidbits:
At the end of October, I looked at my running stats for 2012 and realized that I could probably hit 800 miles of running for the year, so that's been a new goal that I've been working on. I have about 40 miles left to run by month's end to reach goal. NO problem. Why?
Because I'm doing the "Holiday Running Streak!" I read about this in a Runners World article and thought it would be a good way to keep motivated and moving over the super fattening holiday season. Run or walk at least 1 mile a day between Thanksgiving and New Years. So far, so good!
Last week I clocked my FASTEST EVER one mile runs! 8:03 followed by a 7:47 the next day. Holy cow. I thought my treadmill was going to explode into a zillion pieces. I thought my heart might do the same.
Speaking of treadmills... our warranty expired a few weeks ago. About 2 weeks ago I started running on it more regularly again. And then I noticed the belt started doing some weird slipping thing. Of course. Lucky lucky for us, someone suggested we call Sears and see if we can still take them up on an extended warranty. Yay! They said yes. $69 to renew the warranty and now we have someone coming out this weekend to fix er up. Without warranty, that would have likely cost us $400 for a house call.
Speaking of boobs. Oh, we weren't speaking of that. But speaking of it NOW- total wardrobe malfunction during my Springtime Saturday run. One second, the sisters were safe and secure in their super supportive home and the next second BAM! Explosion! Front zippered sports bra somehow came unzipped somewhere around mile 3. Whattheheck?? Almost ALMOST flashed some fisherguy who was hanging down by the river. Luckily I think I rezipped quickly enough to get things back under wraps. Whew.
So... with that piece of over-sharing.... I think we'll call this one done for the night!
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Sandy's Donut Run 5k race report
I've become that person.
You know, the really obnoxious one who says things like: "I hate 5k's. I'd rather run a half marathon than run a 5k."
Let me explain.
I'm not built for speed. Not.at.all. Endurance I'm good with. Speed, not so much. This is why I think I'm in love with the half marathon. It's not as painful as a marathon, but it's still a nice test of endurance. It's long enough where I don't feel like I have to go crazy fast to feel satisfied. And, silly as it sounds, long races are kind of relaxing. It's long enough where you have some time to just enjoy yourself and settle into a pace.
So this is why I found myself cursing myself at the starting line of a 5k yet again this morning.
I always forget HOW much I don't like 5k's until I walk up to the start. And then I remember. And then I think, how come every 5k I run is in stupid weather? The last one I ran was in 95 degree heat and this one was in 30 degrees (though, given the choice I'd take 30 degrees every single time).
So there I was, donning my sexxxxxxxy black winter running tights, FUH-REEEEEZING my buttocks off, thanking god that I at least had a good handful of friends who were also running the race with me. And I mean, it's a DONUT run! DONUTS!!!! There were donuts promised to us at the end of the race, along with hot chocolate and coffee. YES!
For the brave brave souls, there was a "donut aid station" at the midway point of the 5k and 10k. If you stood there and ate a donut, they shaved a minute off your finish time. I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach that. But it's a nice thought anyway!
My goal for this race was to finally go under 30 minutes. I was *thisclose* to doing that at the Scheels 5k in July- rolled in at 30:26 in that race and was MAD that I didn't suck it up and keep running during those couple of moments when I thought I needed to walk.
The only problem is that I have really not done a ton of running in the past month. I have run a marathon, a half marathon, and a 1.5 mile run since October 1st. Sure, two very long runs in there, but no consistency with my running at all. The other problem was that I'd been battling a head cold all week and still wasn't feeling 100%.
But with nothing to lose, I decided to give it my best shot to break 30 minutes. I figured the worst that could happen is that I couldn't maintain the pace and would have to slow down.
I was glad that my friend Erin was going to run with me and hoped that would keep me accountable to my pace.
We lined up AT THE FRONT of the starting line. NO, not because we are super speedsters, but because this race wasn't chip timed, and I wanted the clock at the end to be my actual time rather than having it be off due to starting in the back. Not that the back was all that far back... there was maybe.... 200? 300 runners? Dunno.
And the "gun" (there was no gun. just a guy that yelled GO!) went off! And the next part of my report will mimic the frenetic pace of a 5k:
omigod this hurts so bad. ow ow ow ow ow ow ow. my ankle! my ankles! they hurt! wtf??? am I injured? should I have warmed up? ow ow! okay I feel better. whew. omigosh we're running an 8:15 pace! crap that's too fast! oh no! should I just keep running this pace? don't look at the watch! just run! run fast! holycrap it's cold out. my lungs my lungs!! they're on fire! is it bad that I can hear myself breathe? I hate this song! I hate this song too! where did all of these crap ass songs come from? JOCK JAMS! THAT'S MY JAM! Wheezing! Wheezing! OW OW OW! Woo hoo! 2 miles! wait! Watch says 1.6 miles! DARN! That was the 10k sign. WOO HOO! There's 2 miles! HOLYCRAPHOLYCRAP my lungs my LUNGS! Have to walk. NO NO NO run! just run slowly for a minute instead of walking! OW OW OW! I HATE THIS I HATE THIS! I'm gonna PR! but I still kind of hate this! my stomach hurts! my lungs hurt! I want to barf! HOLYCRAPHOLYCRAP. There's the finish line. runrunrunrunrunrunrun!!! HOLYCRAP 28:32.
STOP.
Wheeze.
Grab donut.
Throw donut away.
Wheeze some more.
Feel pretty gangsta for taking 1:56 off my last PR and breaking that mythical 30 minute 5k mark. For a girl who struggles to run a 10:00 mile, this 9:13 pace felt like an all out sprint.
That race hurt like a mother. And it was awesome. And I still hate 5k's. And I'm sure I'll run more because I'll forget the pain until I toe the next start line.
And I think that might be a month from now at the Jingle run. Glutton for punishment.
You know, the really obnoxious one who says things like: "I hate 5k's. I'd rather run a half marathon than run a 5k."
Let me explain.
I'm not built for speed. Not.at.all. Endurance I'm good with. Speed, not so much. This is why I think I'm in love with the half marathon. It's not as painful as a marathon, but it's still a nice test of endurance. It's long enough where I don't feel like I have to go crazy fast to feel satisfied. And, silly as it sounds, long races are kind of relaxing. It's long enough where you have some time to just enjoy yourself and settle into a pace.
So this is why I found myself cursing myself at the starting line of a 5k yet again this morning.
I always forget HOW much I don't like 5k's until I walk up to the start. And then I remember. And then I think, how come every 5k I run is in stupid weather? The last one I ran was in 95 degree heat and this one was in 30 degrees (though, given the choice I'd take 30 degrees every single time).
So there I was, donning my sexxxxxxxy black winter running tights, FUH-REEEEEZING my buttocks off, thanking god that I at least had a good handful of friends who were also running the race with me. And I mean, it's a DONUT run! DONUTS!!!! There were donuts promised to us at the end of the race, along with hot chocolate and coffee. YES!
For the brave brave souls, there was a "donut aid station" at the midway point of the 5k and 10k. If you stood there and ate a donut, they shaved a minute off your finish time. I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach that. But it's a nice thought anyway!
My goal for this race was to finally go under 30 minutes. I was *thisclose* to doing that at the Scheels 5k in July- rolled in at 30:26 in that race and was MAD that I didn't suck it up and keep running during those couple of moments when I thought I needed to walk.
The only problem is that I have really not done a ton of running in the past month. I have run a marathon, a half marathon, and a 1.5 mile run since October 1st. Sure, two very long runs in there, but no consistency with my running at all. The other problem was that I'd been battling a head cold all week and still wasn't feeling 100%.
But with nothing to lose, I decided to give it my best shot to break 30 minutes. I figured the worst that could happen is that I couldn't maintain the pace and would have to slow down.
I was glad that my friend Erin was going to run with me and hoped that would keep me accountable to my pace.
We lined up AT THE FRONT of the starting line. NO, not because we are super speedsters, but because this race wasn't chip timed, and I wanted the clock at the end to be my actual time rather than having it be off due to starting in the back. Not that the back was all that far back... there was maybe.... 200? 300 runners? Dunno.
And the "gun" (there was no gun. just a guy that yelled GO!) went off! And the next part of my report will mimic the frenetic pace of a 5k:
omigod this hurts so bad. ow ow ow ow ow ow ow. my ankle! my ankles! they hurt! wtf??? am I injured? should I have warmed up? ow ow! okay I feel better. whew. omigosh we're running an 8:15 pace! crap that's too fast! oh no! should I just keep running this pace? don't look at the watch! just run! run fast! holycrap it's cold out. my lungs my lungs!! they're on fire! is it bad that I can hear myself breathe? I hate this song! I hate this song too! where did all of these crap ass songs come from? JOCK JAMS! THAT'S MY JAM! Wheezing! Wheezing! OW OW OW! Woo hoo! 2 miles! wait! Watch says 1.6 miles! DARN! That was the 10k sign. WOO HOO! There's 2 miles! HOLYCRAPHOLYCRAP my lungs my LUNGS! Have to walk. NO NO NO run! just run slowly for a minute instead of walking! OW OW OW! I HATE THIS I HATE THIS! I'm gonna PR! but I still kind of hate this! my stomach hurts! my lungs hurt! I want to barf! HOLYCRAPHOLYCRAP. There's the finish line. runrunrunrunrunrunrun!!! HOLYCRAP 28:32.
STOP.
Wheeze.
Grab donut.
Throw donut away.
Wheeze some more.
Feel pretty gangsta for taking 1:56 off my last PR and breaking that mythical 30 minute 5k mark. For a girl who struggles to run a 10:00 mile, this 9:13 pace felt like an all out sprint.
That race hurt like a mother. And it was awesome. And I still hate 5k's. And I'm sure I'll run more because I'll forget the pain until I toe the next start line.
And I think that might be a month from now at the Jingle run. Glutton for punishment.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Fargo Mini Marathon (1/2 marathon) race report!
I've been hearing this phrase a lot lately by other running bloggers:
"Leave it all on the course" The idea of coming across the finish line with your gas tank on empty.
And today, I think I did that... or at least almost did.
Remember when I was all like "oh yeah, just gonna run this for funsies. Just gonna run a nice relaxed pace"
And then, remember when I was like "oh, well, maybe I'll try for a PR... will see how my body feels."
My last PR was at the Women Rock MN 1/2 marathon on September 1st. A time of 2:18:51 (10:36 pace).
So, I had my doubts today. At the Women Rock race, I was in prime cardio condition as I had been doing a ton of biking and running. I also ran that race with a pace group, which made it easy to just settle in and let them do all the hard math.
Trying to PR is a lot harder if you're only going to PR by a tiny bit (had no faith that I would get a monster PR even IF I was able to beat my last time). There is also the variability when you're running a race because the Garmin isn't usually right on with the mile markers (due to weaving around people, etc). So the average pace on my Garmin might not be a true indication.
So, I printed off handy dandy little pace bands to wear that would also help me out. I of course forgot them.
Anyway, so I was just not feeling super confident that I could make that PR goal. I made the plan to run with my friend Diane who had a similar previous PR time and was wanting to beat that. I was glad to have someone to push me and keep me a little accountable today since I didn't have the luxury of a pace group.
I woke up this morning feeling pretty nervous actually! I had my usual breakfast of 2 slices of peanut butter toast and a cup of coffee. I was feeling a little barfy, but I think it was just nerves. I haven't had this long a break from running since last December! It's been 13 days since the marathon and I had NO idea how my legs would hold up.
Got to Scheels Arena around 7am, even though the race wasn't set to begin till 8:45. Always like to be nice and early for races. Hung out with friends, took some pictures, and nervously awaited the start.
The weather was... meh. Okay I suppose. I was hoping for some sunshine, but it was overcast. The temp was around 44 degrees and the wind was... kind of ugly. South wind, maybe 10 mph, but the course we ran had us running into the wind quite a bit.
The 1/2 marathon was a pretty small race- maybe 800 runners? Much smaller than the Fargo Marathon events that I'm used to running. The course was.... interesting. No, not really interesting. More like... pretty boring. We basically ran through neighborhoods. Some nicer developments, so we got to see some nice homes... but still. We ran through cul-de-sacs and on bike paths. We twisted and turned A LOT.
Jay and my kiddos and a few friends were out at mile 5. Was so excited to see them! This was the first time that Max and Bea have been able to come out for a race. They made me signs. It was awesome. Other than that, not a ton of people were out on the course. It was kind of lonely at times out there in the 'hood.
My body felt great though. A little foot crampage for the first couple of miles and my knee bothered me for a mile or so around mile 6 (I think because of all the turns).
Had some breathing room with our pacing as we ran mile 1 in 10 minutes. We slowed down into a pretty even pace of around 10:25 or so and walked through the water stations.
And I'm not sure what kicked in for me, but I started picking up the pace around mile 5 or 6. I think what it was was that I was sick of looking at my watch all.the.time. So I found this couple that was running together and seemed to be running the pace I wanted to run... and then I just kind of ran right behind them for most of the rest of the race. Sometimes I looked down and saw that I was running 9:45 pace, sometimes we were running 10:30... but slowly my average pace was creeping down and down.
And I was scared. I was pretty scared that I would burn myself out and not have anything left for the last miles. But I got to mile 10 and was still feeling like I had gas in the tank. And then mile 11.. still good! Mile 11 1/2 or so... I felt a little sluggish. Took one more GU (a chocolate one). BAD move. I NEVER do 3 GU's on a 1/2 marathon- usually 2 is sufficient. But I thought I'd give it a shot and it made me feel pretty pukey for a few minutes!
The last mile was pretty tough. Not gonna lie. I kept telling myself- go. go. go. Leave it all out on the course. Leave it all on the course. you're not gonna die. yes you are. no you're not. leave it out there.
I had to walk twice in the last mile for 30 seconds or so, but by this time I KNEW I had my PR, so I felt okay with the quick little walks. And then I powered through that last 1/3 mile or so.
And then I finished. And then I saw my finish time: 2:14:10!!!!!! A pace of 10:15!!!!
A PR of 4:41!
And then my medal.
And then my bottle of water.
And then my.... beef stick? what a weird thing to have handed to you after running a half marathon.
And then some hugs and some photos and some noodle soup. Oh and potato chips. Why do potato chips taste SOOOOO amazing after a long run?
Pretty proud of this race because I really pushed myself. I wasn't sure I had this pace in me. Especially since my body is still technically recovering from Twin Cities Marathon.
No more big races now for awhile, and that's a good thing. May will be the next race- probably the 1/2 marathon. Until then, some small, fun races and trying to PR shorter distances.
Could I have pushed any harder? Maybe.... but I think I came close to "leaving it all on the course" today.
"Leave it all on the course" The idea of coming across the finish line with your gas tank on empty.
And today, I think I did that... or at least almost did.
Remember when I was all like "oh yeah, just gonna run this for funsies. Just gonna run a nice relaxed pace"
And then, remember when I was like "oh, well, maybe I'll try for a PR... will see how my body feels."
My last PR was at the Women Rock MN 1/2 marathon on September 1st. A time of 2:18:51 (10:36 pace).
So, I had my doubts today. At the Women Rock race, I was in prime cardio condition as I had been doing a ton of biking and running. I also ran that race with a pace group, which made it easy to just settle in and let them do all the hard math.
Trying to PR is a lot harder if you're only going to PR by a tiny bit (had no faith that I would get a monster PR even IF I was able to beat my last time). There is also the variability when you're running a race because the Garmin isn't usually right on with the mile markers (due to weaving around people, etc). So the average pace on my Garmin might not be a true indication.
So, I printed off handy dandy little pace bands to wear that would also help me out. I of course forgot them.
Anyway, so I was just not feeling super confident that I could make that PR goal. I made the plan to run with my friend Diane who had a similar previous PR time and was wanting to beat that. I was glad to have someone to push me and keep me a little accountable today since I didn't have the luxury of a pace group.
I woke up this morning feeling pretty nervous actually! I had my usual breakfast of 2 slices of peanut butter toast and a cup of coffee. I was feeling a little barfy, but I think it was just nerves. I haven't had this long a break from running since last December! It's been 13 days since the marathon and I had NO idea how my legs would hold up.
Got to Scheels Arena around 7am, even though the race wasn't set to begin till 8:45. Always like to be nice and early for races. Hung out with friends, took some pictures, and nervously awaited the start.
The weather was... meh. Okay I suppose. I was hoping for some sunshine, but it was overcast. The temp was around 44 degrees and the wind was... kind of ugly. South wind, maybe 10 mph, but the course we ran had us running into the wind quite a bit.
The 1/2 marathon was a pretty small race- maybe 800 runners? Much smaller than the Fargo Marathon events that I'm used to running. The course was.... interesting. No, not really interesting. More like... pretty boring. We basically ran through neighborhoods. Some nicer developments, so we got to see some nice homes... but still. We ran through cul-de-sacs and on bike paths. We twisted and turned A LOT.
Jay and my kiddos and a few friends were out at mile 5. Was so excited to see them! This was the first time that Max and Bea have been able to come out for a race. They made me signs. It was awesome. Other than that, not a ton of people were out on the course. It was kind of lonely at times out there in the 'hood.
My body felt great though. A little foot crampage for the first couple of miles and my knee bothered me for a mile or so around mile 6 (I think because of all the turns).
Had some breathing room with our pacing as we ran mile 1 in 10 minutes. We slowed down into a pretty even pace of around 10:25 or so and walked through the water stations.
And I'm not sure what kicked in for me, but I started picking up the pace around mile 5 or 6. I think what it was was that I was sick of looking at my watch all.the.time. So I found this couple that was running together and seemed to be running the pace I wanted to run... and then I just kind of ran right behind them for most of the rest of the race. Sometimes I looked down and saw that I was running 9:45 pace, sometimes we were running 10:30... but slowly my average pace was creeping down and down.
And I was scared. I was pretty scared that I would burn myself out and not have anything left for the last miles. But I got to mile 10 and was still feeling like I had gas in the tank. And then mile 11.. still good! Mile 11 1/2 or so... I felt a little sluggish. Took one more GU (a chocolate one). BAD move. I NEVER do 3 GU's on a 1/2 marathon- usually 2 is sufficient. But I thought I'd give it a shot and it made me feel pretty pukey for a few minutes!
The last mile was pretty tough. Not gonna lie. I kept telling myself- go. go. go. Leave it all out on the course. Leave it all on the course. you're not gonna die. yes you are. no you're not. leave it out there.
I had to walk twice in the last mile for 30 seconds or so, but by this time I KNEW I had my PR, so I felt okay with the quick little walks. And then I powered through that last 1/3 mile or so.
And then I finished. And then I saw my finish time: 2:14:10!!!!!! A pace of 10:15!!!!
A PR of 4:41!
And then my medal.
And then my bottle of water.
And then my.... beef stick? what a weird thing to have handed to you after running a half marathon.
And then some hugs and some photos and some noodle soup. Oh and potato chips. Why do potato chips taste SOOOOO amazing after a long run?
Pretty proud of this race because I really pushed myself. I wasn't sure I had this pace in me. Especially since my body is still technically recovering from Twin Cities Marathon.
No more big races now for awhile, and that's a good thing. May will be the next race- probably the 1/2 marathon. Until then, some small, fun races and trying to PR shorter distances.
Could I have pushed any harder? Maybe.... but I think I came close to "leaving it all on the course" today.
 |
| Diane and I! |
 |
| Sue and I |
 |
| Mel and I |
 |
| My cousin Tracy KILLED her first 1/2 marathon!! 2:07! What a rockstar! |
 |
| Julie and I! |
 |
| Me, Mel, Erin, and Jesse |
 |
| Me and my bling! |
 |
| Mel PR'd too, by like 20 minutes! We didn't match on purpose. :) |
Thursday, October 18, 2012
I think I'm kind of nervous!
I wasn't feeling worried at all about running the half marathon this Saturday, until the irrational thought just crossed my mind...
"What if I have lost my fitness since the marathon??"
I mean, it's only been 2 weeks since the marathon... it's not possible that I've fallen out of shape that quickly, right? I maybe wouldn't feel that worried, but I did have a good week and a half right before the marathon in which I hardly ran at all either.
Totally irrational to think I suddenly can't handle 13 miles, right?
"What if I have lost my fitness since the marathon??"
I mean, it's only been 2 weeks since the marathon... it's not possible that I've fallen out of shape that quickly, right? I maybe wouldn't feel that worried, but I did have a good week and a half right before the marathon in which I hardly ran at all either.
Totally irrational to think I suddenly can't handle 13 miles, right?
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