Race Recap: Athleta IronGirl 5K

Today was the day I was supposed to run my first half-marathon. It was a race I was not totally prepared for and shouldn’t have signed up for in the first place. After a bout with shingles, I dropped down to the 5K and I must say, it’s probably one of the better decisions I’ve made this year. I felt nothing but relief and happiness with my decision, even while witnessing all the half runners getting ready for their race. Maybe one day I’ll be ready to tackle a half-marathon but not just yet.
So today was the day. Last year, I participated in the IronGirl 5K while my mom did the 15K. I haven’t been running much lately. Right now, I’m focusing on running short distances (like 1 mile short) and I’m going to slowly work my way up from there. I’m no longer putting a time limit on how far I should be running by a certain point. By taking that pressure off, running has become less of a stress-inducer and more of a stress-reliever.

My goal was just to beat last year’s time of 44:54 and I had a secret goal of PR-ing. The fact that I hadn’t been running much didn’t make me positive this would happen. So, at the very least, I wanted to run as much as I could.
I’m not quite sure of my times, but I do know I finished my first mile in about 11 minutes, give or take a few seconds. I don’t run 11-minute miles. Right now, I’m just shooting to run a mile in 12 minutes, so this is big for me.
I took a few walking breaks during the race. I took a 3-minute break after I ran the first mile, a short 1-minute break during the water station, and then another 3-minute break after I ran the second mile. Around Mile 2, my side began cramping up, right around my ribcage. I have such a problem with side cramps while running and haven’t found anything to help them. Usually, taking big gulps of breath and massaging the area helps a little. Luckily, I hit 2 miles and took a walking break before the pain got too bad and was just determined to finish this race. I desperately wanted to PR.

When my last mile started, I took it at a super slow pace. I didn’t want to go out too fast and have the cramping flare up again or get too tired to finish the race running. And while I swear that last mile was more like 4 miles than 1.1, I pushed through it and pushed myself to finish strong. This was actually one of the first races where I had to push myself to keep going. My mom left me in the dust about half a mile in and it was all up to me this time.
I crossed the finish line in 41:07, with a pace of 13:17. I took 1 minute, 7 seconds off my previous PR.

Umm…AMAZING! I was so incredibly proud of myself for getting another PR, especially since I haven’t been running much. I think by taking the pressure off me to run a certain distance at a certain pace by a certain time, I’ve grown to like running a little bit more. (I’m still not sure I want to say I love it.) I think I took on too much too soon and it burned me out.
IronGirl is a race you must do if you can. They have them all over the U.S. and it’s just such a fun atmosphere to be a part in. It’s all women of all age groups and fitness levels. The event was well organized and the energy is electric. As soon as I got over my pre-race jitters, I became excited to run this race and push myself, surrounded by women doing the same thing.
And I have to give a special shout-out to Katy whom I met last night! Awesome blogger, awesome girl, and a crazy-fast runner. I think I had just passed the Mile 1 marker when I saw her on the other side, closing in on Mile 2. Yeah. She’s fast. (And she placed 4th in our age group…while I placed 121st, ha.)
Oh, and a shout-out to my mom, who crushed her previous PR by 5 minutes. Incredible.

Race Recap: U.S. AmeriBank Brandon 5K

Good news! This will be my last race recap until late January! :)

I was pretty worried about how I would do during this race. Since the Turkey Trot, I had one run once and while it was a good run, I knew I wanted to better my time and wouldn’t be happy unless that happened.

The race was in Brandon, which meant a 30 minute drive for us. It was a little chilly in the morning, but not too bad. I would say it was in the low 50s around 6am, but headed into the high 50s/low 60s at race time. (My weather app told me it was 55 degrees at race time, but it felt much hotter. And I’m a wimp when it comes to cold weather so 55 degrees would have frozen me solid.)

My mom was running the half-marathon, as a training run for her full next month, so she headed off first at 7am. I was so nervous for her, knowing she wanted a good run after her awful trail run.

My race started at 7:30am and it was a pretty small crowd of people. I was worried that I would get behind quickly, like I did in the trail run, and not see anyone for miles. (Luckily, this didn’t happen. Although I was in the latter part of the group.) Before the race, I met Melanie! I hooked up with her through DailyMile when I saw she was running this race and it was cool to meet, although I didn’t see her afterward to keep chatting.
Boo!

The race was simple and flat. It wound through a shopping center, down a busy street, and through a subdivision, before looping back. I tried not to get too discouraged when I saw the leaders already heading back before I even finished my first mile. (The winner did it in 16:16. Crazy!)

Since I didn’t know if this race would have mile markers, I decided to employ a 12:2 run/walk ratio. The first 12 minutes were horrible, making me question my decision to want to be a runner, especially as I kept falling behind. But I kept running until I hit 12 minutes. About 30 seconds into my walk, I saw the first mile marker. Dang! At least I knew I was going at a pretty good pace.



Once my two minutes of walking were up, I began to run again, stopped for a few seconds at the water stop, and picked up my pace again. This interval wasn’t too bad, although I know I was going pretty slow. I was just focused on running and not stopping.

I took another two-minute walking break when I hit the second mile marker. I had a terrible side stitch that I had to keep massaging. I kept trying to run but it’s hard when it feels like a billion knives are poking you from the inside. I kept massaging my side until it felt like I could run with it and run I did! I ran all the way to the finish, maintaining a pretty good pace and sprinted to the finish.

Finishing time? 42:17. Another personal record for this girl!

 
One day, I will finish a race without looking like death. (Also, chip timing = my time was off by a little.)

For the past few days, I’ve been toying with the idea of training for a 10K or a half-marathon but I think I’m going to stick to 5K’s for the time being until I feel like 3 miles is easy. Right now, it’s still pretty hard and I want to be able to run the entire thing without walking. There’s nothing wrong with walking breaks, but I need to prove to myself I can run a 5K without them. I might shoot for a 10K this summer and maybe (this is a big maybe) a half-marathon next fall.

This was a great race and I would definitely run it again. I love any  race with well-placed mile markers, chip timing, and great spectator support. Even the people taking pictures were giving great support! One of them actually ran over a mile with my mom to the finish and made her keep running! The weather was great and I loved the tech tee I got. I need more long-sleeved ones and this one is perfect! I really can’t think of anything to complain about! They even gave out beer at the finish! :)

Answer me this: what’s the coldest you will walk/run in? For me, it would be anything under 45 degrees. That’s just too cold for this thin-skinned Florida girl!

Race Recap: Turkey Trot 5K Wingding

I know I said I wasn’t going to blog until Tuesday, but I lied. In the month of December, I’m participating in reverb10, where I’ll be using prompts to reflect on the year I’ve had and prepare for the one coming up. I’m really excited about it so check it out!

Anyway, I’ve decided to blog today (and tomorrow, and I’ll be posting another letter to that elusive future husband of mine on Monday) so I have time to write everything I need to write before December rolls around.

Onto today’s post! Today, I ran my fifth Turkey Trot and when I say “ran,” I do mean RAN!

My alarm went off at 5am, which is such a godawful hour for your first day of vacation, but get up I did. I tried eating a granola bar beforehand but I was just too nervous. Luckily, my race was at 7am so I knew I would be OK. I managed to drink a little water, though. That’s something!

My mom and I made our way over to the race start around 6:30am. I realized while making our way over that a) I was starving and b) I had to pee. Luckily, there were Porta-Potties by the race start! Score! And the lines weren’t too bad! Double score!

The race began a little after 7am and we were pretty far back from where the race actually began so I kept my eye on the clock as I passed it to know when I actually started the 3.1 miles.

Here’s my mileage breakdown, thanks to my mom’s fancy Garmin:

Mile 1 – 12:11
Mile 2 – 14:20 <—3 minute walking break
Mile 3 – 14:26 <—3 minute walking break
Mile .1 – 2:38

The first mile was by far the toughest. It’s always hard for me to find my groove in the beginning, but I was determined to make it to the first mile marker. I have to say, I loved how crowded it was. Call me weird, but it’s just fun to race with all these people and my last race wasn’t crowded at all and I was walking by myself for 90% of it. The pushing and shoving is a little annoying, but it was tame this year thankfully. Still, check out that pace for my first mile! I am a rockstar.

I took two 3-minute walking breaks that felt more like 30 seconds. But they were much needed and helped me catch my breath. The only thing that sucks about walking breaks is finding your groove again when you start running.

But I ran most of this race, finishing with a new PR at 43:35. I am extremely proud of that time, even though it may seem like a super slow pace for some runners. I hope to become faster in time but right now, I’m just focusing on running my best race and doing just a little bit better each time.

After running the 5K with me, my mom went and ran the 10K, finishing in 1:18, which meant she ran for two hours today. (She’s also run 26 miles since Sunday – simply crazy!)

It was one of my best runs to date and I’m signed up for two 5K’s in December, one on the 5th and one on the 8th. I think I’ve caught the running bug.

Race Recap: X-Country 5K Trail Run

I'm not going to lie, I was nervous about this race. I've never done a trail run before and I normally run on pretty flat paths. The last hilly race I ran took me 50 minutes to complete. I was hoping to do good, push through the pain, even though I had a few bad runs leading up to this day.

My mom was running the half-marathon, which started a half-hour before mine, so I had to say good-bye to her and wait in anxious anticipation for my race to start. I was incredibly nervous about disappointing myself.

My goals to begin the race were:

• Run in under 40 minutes
• Run each mile, letting myself having 2-3 minute breaks in between
• Enjoy the course and scenery

I'm sad to report, I made none of these goals. I didn't have a good race and didn't enjoy myself in the least. I hated the trail. I had to dodge roots, uneven terrain, and horse poop. For a good mile, I was shuffling hay under my feet. And due to the fact the race didn't start until 8:30am and I had no food in my body, I became weak almost instantly. I really need to work on fueling and hydrating better for my runs, especially on race day. I was also still dealing with some chest congestion, which meant a lot of yucky coughing and clearing my throat.

The first mile of the race was relatively easy. It was on flat road and while most of the runners were ahead of me, I felt like I had a good pace. As much as I wanted to catch up to the other runners, I know I had to keep my own pace. I have this competitive nature that doesn't really match up to my running ability. It's a problem.

I took a break once I got past the first mile, but then we started running on the trail and it was tough. My ankles began hurting immediately, due to the uneven terrain and having to watch my step for overgrown roots and horse poop. I never feel like I got my groove back after that. 

It was a tough race and I'm trying to find solace in the fact that it was my first trail run and there were a lot of serious runners. I'm talking zero body fat, running 6-minute-mile-marathon serious runners. It was the first time I had ever felt intimidated at a race. I'm used to fun races like the Turkey Trot with more first-time runners and lots of walkers. I was out of my league at this race, shown with the fact I was quickly at the back of the pack within the first 15 seconds.

I started running again probably half a mile towards the end and really started hauling when I turned a corner and saw just 44:00 on the clock. It was a horrible, awful, miserable race but I WAS GOING TO PR! I was scared to look at my iPod Touch to see the time so I waited until I hit the finish line. My final time was 44:13, which is a good 41 seconds ahead of my previous PR. It makes me wonder what damage I could do to my PR on a flat, easy course. (Also, this course was more like 3.3 miles.)

I'm probably never going to do a trail run again. I didn't enjoy the trail at all, and couldn't even take in the scenery because I was so annoyed with all the mess. I know it was partly because I had never even walked on a trail like this and partly because I hadn't fueled correctly. Trail running is hard. And it's not for everyone.

My next race is on Thanksgiving, which will by my fifth Turkey Trot. Originally, we weren't going to do it but we have a sentimental value tied to this race. It's a nice way to get some activity in before a day of gorging. And I know the course by heart. I know that it's well-organized, with each mile marked, and plenty of spectator support (they even have bands playing through the course!). I never realized how much I love spectator support until the past few races I've run which has had barely any. And since I managed to PR on my first trail run, I'm pretty determined to hit below the 40-minute mark on this next one.

Have you ever run a trail run? If you have, did you like it? If not, would you ever (after my scary recap!)?

Race Recap: Turkey Trot 10K

On my first day of my Thanksgiving break, I was awake at the crack of dawn to do something I really, really didn't want to do. I had signed up, along with my mom, to participate in the St. Petersburg Times 30th Annual Turkey Trot.

I wasn't looking forward to it. I had tried everything to get out of it. I thought I had my way out when my mom's iPod suddenly wouldn't charge the night before the race. Alas, she managed to run without it. And I had to go.

I was too nervous to eat anything beforehand. I had a bad, I'm-so-nervous stomachache an hour before the race. I was so afraid of failing.

But I did the race. I crossed the finish line. And it was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

Mile 1: Run
Obviously, my first run was easy as pie. Well, for the first three minutes. I started running with my mom but she quickly sped ahead of me and I had to set my own pace. I should mention that I haven't been running often. I did manage to run 3 miles in July but I've only been running half-mile's since then. I'm definitely not in 10K-race shape. But I wanted to run at least 3 of the 6 miles. It was hard, with tons of people passing me by. But I set my own pace and focused on the songs playing in my ears. It was also helpful for the people standing outside their houses, cheering us on! When I finally saw the Mile 1 marker, I lifted a fist in the air. I've never been so excited to see a sign in my life! I felt as if the first mile went on forever and I kicked my pace up to a sprint. And I managed to sprint to that marker. It was such a great, exhilarating feeling! I ran a mile!

Mile 2: Walk
I have short legs. Therefore, a short stride. Therefore, tons and tons of people passed me. It was fine when I was running, because I was setting my own pace. But walking? I get very annoyed when people pass me when I'm walking...and they're walking. I did see a lot of interesting people on the race during Mile 2. I saw a girl attempting to run in tight jeans and flats. Yes, that's right. Tight jeans. And flats. Who runs in flats? I think she managed ten steps before she stopped. And I silently laughed at her.

And then my theory that my stride is short because my legs are short was voided when I saw a lady, about two or three inches shorter than me, pass me. I called her Lady Long Stride and made a face behind her back. It made me feel better.

But I did enjoy walking the second mile. It gave me a chance to catch my breath and focus on the next mile. And I couldn't wait to pass the people who had just passed me.

Mile 3: Run
It was so, so, so hard to begin the third mile. My entire body felt like it weighed 300 pounds. I was so sluggish and lethargic. I really didn't believe I could do an entire mile.

But then something amazing appeared before me: a water station. Three big gulps of agua later and I was a new woman! No, my speed didn't pick up but my spirits sure did. I stopped thinking about how hard I was breathing or how much my calves ached. I just focused on getting to the third mile marker and completing this mile. I focused on the words playing in my ears. I focused on the scenery. I focused on the people I was passing (including Lady Long Stride). I focused on the people cheering me on from the sidelines. During this mile, the trail started twisting and turning. For the first 2 miles, it had been on a straight road so I liked all the twisting and turning. It made the path a little more interesting. And I sang a little "Hallelujah" when I came upon the third mile marker. I sprinted towards this one, felt as if my entire body was on fire and my heart would come pounding through my chest, and made it. Wow.

Mile 4: Walk
I have never been so happy to walk in my life! That third mile was killer on me but it was exciting to know I was halfway finished! We were walking in a beautiful neighborhood and it made me wish for my camera. Obviously, I'm rambling right now because there wasn't much happening in mile four. Nobody interesting to talk about. No pain to lament about. Nothing incredible happened. I just walked. And thought about how I was going to write this blog post. Yep.

Mile 5: Walk
Hm? Have I given up? Am I too tired to run anymore? Well, yes and no. I decided to walk Mile 5 so I could run Mile 6. And I knew I wouldn't be able to run Miles 5 and 6. So I walked this one. I was at peace with my decision and enjoyed the scenery and the people once again. And still, I've got nuthin' interesting to say about walking Mile 5. Nuthin'. During Mile 5, though, as I was walking down a street, I could see the top of the rest of the street. In other words, there was a big hill coming up. A big one. Oh, dear.

Mile 6: Walk/Run
As I began running Mile 6, I felt so sluggish and swollen. My hands were swollen twice their size. And then I encountered The Hill. Not just any hill. Imagine putting your treadmill on a 50% incline. Now try to run. Oh, em, gee. Horrible. I tried to run, I really did. But it hurt so badly that I had to walk until I got up the hill. After turning onto the street, I started running again. But at a very, very, very slow pace. I swear it took me 5 minutes to pass a speed walker. But I ran, even when it looked as if the mile was neverending.

And then, halfway into my last mile, my mom showed up! She had finished her race and I was running so slow, she managed to walk with me for a while. I tell ya, slow! But still running and my heart rate was POUNDING! And when I finally saw the finish line, I was on fire. I ran full speed to it and finished in 1 hour and 36 minutes.

I finished the race. I "ran" a 10K. Maybe I didn't run the whole thing but I still finished it. I was so proud of myself. I didn't think I could do it. I didn't think I had enough stamina. But I did do it.

I was super sore after the race and the following two days but it felt good. I worked my muscles out. And I was able to eat all the turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and cupcakes I wanted - and not feel guilty.

And I kinda want to do another 10K...soon.