Shamrock Shuffle 2011 Race Report

Subtitled: After this I'm going to take a nap.  Or I would if it weren't already 4:15pm.

I was excited about doing this race because it's my first test of fitness after a long winter on the treadmill, ice skating around campus, and having long runs restricted to less than an hour and a half so I didn't die of exposure.  Also- despite the mega hill at the very beginning and end of the course - this race has been good to me.  You can read past race reports here and here.  

Daniel and I got up at 6 new time this morning because we had to be downtown to do set-up at church at 7am.  I came dressed in my running gear and had a good warm-up lugging things around, setting up folding chairs, stuffing bulletins, etc.  I snarfed down a bagel at 8am when the pastor showed up with them.  We're probably technically not supposed to eat until all the work is done, but I wanted to have as much time to digest as I could before the start of the race.  We finished with everything by 9am and I headed out to the race start while Daniel stayed for the service.

I met up with Jamie, Kerri, and Linda (who make me wish my first name started with an I or an M) where we took pictures (well, I didn't take any pictures but I hope to snag some from them).  We chatted, wished each other good luck, and headed for the starting line.  I got up pretty close to the front.  Not the very front, but I decided to be gutsy and let myself be in the position where I'm the one being passed, not the one dodging slow people for the first mile.  It was fairly cold in the wind, and I didn't regret wearing tights, three tops, a pair of gloves and a pair of mittens.

The race starts with a slight downhill, turns, and you hit the first big hill.  Up, up, up, then down, then up up again and a long down hill.  This is the easy way over the hill and I hit the first mile at 8:00.  Unfortunately this and the second mile are the only splits I know because I accidentally set my GPS to record only the time and not the distance or pace.  The second and third miles are flat and familiar territory for me.  I hit mile marker 2 at 15:17 and the 5k turn around at 23:54.  At that point I started looking for the other gals.  I missed Jamie, but I saw Linda and Kerri both going strong.  I was still feeling good and my goal was not to push too hard before hitting the hill again.  We crossed mile 5 and it was up up up again.  This is the hard, steep way.  You feel like you're only doing slightly better running than walking.  But then you get to come down down down the other side.  You turn another corner and there's the last .2 miles on a straight way.  This is the only part of the race I was disappointed with.  I really should have started my kick to the end as soon as I saw the finish line.  In the past I'd had problems starting my final kick too early and nearly blowing chunks up right before the finish line.  But I'm in better shape now, and I need to work on pushing harder from farther back and gutting it out to the finish line.

In the end my time was 48:07 (coulda woulda shoulda on those 8 seconds).  Even that wouldn't have been a PR, but I would have liked to see 47:XX again.  I think part of the problem was that I couldn't see a clock as I was coming down the last straight away.  Seeing it tick toward 48min might have inspired me to push it out a little harder.  In any case, it was a course PR by 1:23min from last year and- if my fatigue is a good indicator- a hard effort from me.  I have some longer distance runs on my schedule for the rest of the spring, but I'm feeling motivated to scope out more 10ks for the rest of the year.  It really is my favorite distance.

Have a great Sunday, all!

Berbee Derby Race Report

Although it was around freezing or a little below, this was definitely the warmest BD I've ever run.  I was glad I wore my Toasti Toes, but wearing capris, a short sleeved shirt covered by a long sleeved shirt, wool socks, a double glove mitten combo and a fleece head band- other than waiting for the race to start- I was comfortable to almost too warm.  I left the house at about 7:20, stopped for gas and a flushing toilet on the way, and parked on the far side of the race start at about 8:15.  I hung out in the car until 8:30 and then headed out to warm up a bit.

Google suggested I search for "baby yak" and
I'm glad I did. 

After I got out of the car, I turned on my Garmin and... dead battery.  I think using the light to check my split times in the early morning really drains the battery.  Oh well... it's not like I usually change my running based on my splits.  My 5-10k strategy is to run as fast as I can without feeling like I'm going to yack and then push it to yack territory once I can see the finish line. 

We lined up at the start, sang the national anthem, (in which the singer got two words wrong - it's perilous fight not light and the flag waves o'er - not for- the the land of the free).  Yeesh, I'm too young to get grumpy about things like that.

The race started and I followed my normal pacing strategy.  The course is a little rolling with a net downhill on the way out and a net uphill on the way back (at least that's how it feels to me).  I hit the mile 1 at 7:30.  Just a little bit after mile 1 Dano and Art from Team in Training passed me and I yelled "hi".  Mile 2 was another mostly downhill though a neighborhood and onto a country road.  I passed that mile marker at 15:00.  I started seeing the fast runners started coming back the other way at about mile 2.5, and the turn around was right before the 3rd mile marker, which I passed at about 22:3?.  

The turnaround put us running uphill-ish and into the wind.  I'm sure if I had my Garmin, my splits would reflect that.  One kind of funny thing happened at this point.  I came up behind a man and woman running together.  The woman looked at the man and said, "Now this is the part that's really motivational because we start to pass people."  At that moment I ran past them, and the man said, "I see what you mean.  That was great!"  I also heard (but didn't see) Linda (who ended up with a big PR!) yell from the other direction. 

At mile 3.5ish we turned onto a bike path that rolls through a wooded area (including open hunting ground, which always makes me wish I'd thrown on my orange hat before I left).  I hit mile 4 at around 30:30 and figured that as long as I could hang in there and hit mile 5 before 40 minutes I could definitely finish in under 50.  I didn't want to start picking up the pace too soon because I remembered there being a huge hill at the end, and I was not going to break 50 minutes if I wasted 2 actually yacking on the side of the road.  

I hit mile 5 at 38:20 so I was pretty good going up the last hill (which was not as bad as I'd remembered) and then pushing it into the finish line for an official time of 48:10.  Not a PR, but not that far off from my PR on a much hillier course.  (I still maintain that the Bellin is a loop course that manages to be 100% downhill).  

I know so many runners are all about the marathon, but to be honest, the 10k is my favorite distance and it seems to be the distance that likes me best, too.  For that reason I think I'm going to focus my speedwork over the winter on 10k stuff (using my Runner's World FIRST book as a guide).  My next race after coming out of winter hibernation is the Shamrock Shuffle 10k, and it would be pretty awesome to PR in that race because it has a monster hill that you have to go over on the out and back part of the course.  Plus 10k training is way more winter-friendly than trying to be outside for hours doing a marathon training long run.  

And with that I need to go be thankful that I didn't have any competition for the washing machine even though it looks like all of our neighbors are home and we are probably the only ones who celebrate Thanksgiving.  Happy Turkey day, all.        

     

Girls on the Run Race Report

I can do it in two words: cold and wet.

But if you want more:

The highlights:

• The race was surprisingly well organized.  When I drove up it looked like total chaos, but picking up my race bib and bag was really fast and easy.
• GOTR is a great organization.  I did dance and softball when I was in elementary school, but I'm sure I wouldn't have been motivated to run/walk 3 whole miles- especially not in the cold rain- at that age.
• Picking off one elementary schooler after another going up the second hill.
• Beating everyone under the age of 12, which exceeded my original race goal of beating everyone under the age of 8.
• Checking "5k" off my list of race distances for the year.
• The fact that my old 5k PR was so slow that even in nasty conditions I was able to eke out a tiny PR.

The lowlights:

• The weather.  Two cold, rainy races in a row is enough for me.  I'm going for just cold at the Berbee Derby.
• The start was kind of chaotic, but I was able to sort of sprint out in front of it.  
• My time: 24:07.  Rain, cold,  hill, not my day, whatever.  I've decided the nice thing about having run 9 races so far this year (I will finish 2010 with 10, woot!) is that I don't have to care that much about any individual race.  I have confidence that I can run in the low 23 range but not with 10 extra lbs of weight from soaked clothes and shoes.

 And that, as they say, is that. 

Fall 15k Race Report

I guess I'll start my race report with my run yesterday.  I slept in until 6am, and then went out for an easy 5mi in drizzling rain.  Since this wasn't an A race, I didn't try to taper, but on the other hand, I didn't want to leave myself feeling sluggish this morning.  Otherwise Saturday was about chores, although I did go to a free yin yoga class at the local studio which was having an open house.  


Yin is my favorite kind of yoga because it doesn't require you to have any skill or flexibility whatsoever.  You just flop into poses for a long time and hang out until something starts to stretch.  Some people find it boring, but I think it's awesome.  Yoga is number one on my backup list of other things to be obsessed with if I ever have to quit running.

This is a picture of either 1) Someone doing yin yoga or 2) The beginning of this week's CSI Miami where the prima ballerina is found murdered backstage before the opening night of Swan Lake.


This morning I got up and it was gross and wet again.  I drove out to the east part of town to Warner Park for the race.  It was a decidedly low-key affair.  No timing chips.  Most people hadn't pre-registered.  I hung out with Kerri and some of her fellow TNT-ers until we were sent out into the rain to wait for the race to start.  No one knew where to line up or which direction to face, but someone came over and got us generally in order.  


The race started a little late because of all the same-day registrations, but it didn't matter too much.  Again there was no timing chip or mat, and some people seeded themselves... inappropriately, but the first part of the course was open enough to pass people.  There were tons of puddles and my shoes got totally soaked in the first few minutes.  After a short run through a parking lot we ran onto a sidewalk along a street.  This was kind of pain because it was hard to pass people and because you had to do a lot of puddle jumping because so much water was pooling at the end of the sidewalks.  Still my first mile times were a respectable 8:06 and 8:00.


The third mile went back into a neighborhood.  I admit to not paying attention to the scenery.  I was more concerned about fording the mini-rivers and not tripping, etc.  It started raining pretty hard at about this point.  The course had a few small hills here.  I finished mile 3 in 8:03.  We passed the relay trade-off and I saw Kerri and the TNTers again.


Miles 4-6 were hillier.  This was the "hardest" part of the course although I'd say the course was just hilly enough to make things interesting.  There were some decently tough uphills but then they were balanced out by long downhills where you could recover.  My next three mile times were 8:25, 8:10 and 8:20.


At mile 6.2 we passed the relay trade off again.  I was still feeling really good, like I was in rhythm and was saving up energy to speed up in the last mile.  Mile times for the last 3.3 were 8:07, 8:43 (I don't remember this being hilly, but I guess it was) and 7:55 + 1:50 for the .3.  I was able to speed up during the last mile, and I actually got raced by another woman in the chute.  I pulled ahead of her in the last stretch but she sort of snuck in in front of me at the end.  Which was kind of annoying that she beat me by 1 second, but on the other hand, her being there made me push myself through the end in a way I wouldn't have otherwise.  I yacked a little bit at the end, and I dedicated it to MM. 


My overall time was 1:15:42, for an 8:08 average pace.  Pretty good for me for a "non-goal" race.  Other than being really wet and really cold, I didn't feel too beat up immediately after the race.  I got kind of nauseous again after lunch, though, and dosed up on my favorite no-fail anti-nausea treatment.

    
Oh yeah.  Not sure what I'll do exercise-wise tomorrow.  I don't feel too tired right now, but I might have better workouts the rest of the week if I take tomorrow off from at least running.  I'm looking forward to seeing the age group results when those finally come out.  Next up, the Girls on the Run 5k in November.  
   

Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon Race Report

First off, I want to thank Kerri, Matt and Amanda, and Daniel for coming out to cheer me on during the race yesterday.  Even though I probably saw each of you (except Daniel of course) for less than a minute, I really really appreciate that you cared enough to come out and support me.   And thank you to Jamie and Jason for letting me hang out with you before the race started and telling the medical people you'd watch me and make sure I didn't wander off after the race.

Second, I want to give a huge congratulations to Jamie (Running Diva Mom) for her outstanding run yesterday.  Before the race she was saying that she wished she was going to run as fast as Jason and I were planning to.  Well, guess who had the fastest time of the three of us??  She did!!!  You can her race report here.  Congrats, Jamie.

On to my race report.  We drove over to Milwaukee in the early afternoon and went to the expo to pick up my race stuff.  The race shirt was pretty cool.  It kind of has a biker feel to it.  I put it in the wash this morning so I can wear it once I'm ready to start running again.

We didn't do too much browsing around at the expo- we mostly just figured out logistics for the next day, and I talked to the 3:50 pacer guy.

After that we went back to the hotel and watched through the 3rd quarter of the Tennessee-LSU game and walked across the street to Benihana for dinner, which was a fun distraction.  The weather was windy and fairly cold when we walked back from dinner, and I started waffling on what I was going to wear the next day.  After dinner we went back to the hotel and watched Florida get smacked around by Alabama for two quarters.  Daniel went down stairs to watch the rest of the game and I tried (somewhat successfully) to get a good night's sleep.

Then it was up at about 5am.  I finally decided to wear my skirt, t-shirt, mittens and maybe a throw away shirt (that I didn't really want to throw away but could live without) and put my warm-up clothes on over that.  I had some coffee and a Clif Bar and then headed down to get on the bus.  There weren't many people on when I got there, but there was sort of familiar looking young woman wearing a polkadot Bondi Band.  My brain was still a little fuzzy because it was so early but I thought, that has to be Jamie .  And thankfully- because I would have really freaked out a stranger- it was (and of course her husband Jason with her)!

We rode way north of town and were dropped off at a high school where we chilled out in the cafeteria and used the bathroom multiple times before the start of the race.  Big bonus points to the race organizers for having someplace warm (it was probably in the 30s before we started) to hang out before the race and indoor bathrooms (plus portapotties).  I didn't have to wait in line for more than maybe 5 minutes any of the three times I went before the race.

At 7:30 we gathered outside seeded by time.  My favorite pace sign- the one behind the 6 hour group- was "same day".  We listened to someone talk before the start about something, heard a bizarre jazz rendition of the national anthem, and we were off.

I started off with the 8:50 pacer, which felt really slow and easy at the beginning.  We were on gently rolling farm roads.  The morning was absolutely beautiful.  Just a little sunny and cool.  We got some fall leaf color action and a few glimpses of Lake Michigan every now and then.
 
Mile 1: 8:43
Mile 2: 8:33
Mile 3: 8:43 Man playing the accordion in his front yard with huge speakers to blast the music.  He had quite a set up
Mile 4: 8:28 I decided to go a little ahead of the pacer.  I'm naturally faster on the downhills and I didn't like having to slow down so much on those.
Mile 5: 8:26  Had a gel according to plan
Mile 6: 8:42
Mile 7: 8:41 The Concordia mile (which may have been the mile before- I can't remember or find a map that shows it) was probably the most fun mile of the race.  Lots of crowd support.  It went by really fast.
Mile 8: 8:48
Mile 9: 8:44
Mile 10: 9:11.  I think there was a small uphill here.  I also saw some crazy lady with a sign that said "You are so hot"  I think she was at the Madison Mini, too :).  Had a gel according to plan.
Mile 11: 8:51
Mile 12: 8:36
Mile 13: 8:52.  I crossed the 1/2 marathon marker at 1:55:03- right on track for a 3:50 marathon
Mile 14: 8:48

And here's where it starts to get hard:
Mile 15: 9:03   Had a gel according to plan.  Stomach said "this was your last gel."  Drank Gatorade for the rest of the race.
Mile 16: 9:07
Mile 17: 9:19
Mile 18: 9:37
Mile 19: 9:25
Mile 20: 9:55
Mile 21 10:00
Mile 22: 9:55
Mile 23: 10:05 The course rounded a corner and we got a huge downhill and a beautiful view of Lake Michigan.  Definitely the best view of the course (other than the finish line :) and my wonderful spectating friends and family).
Mile 24: 9:50
Mile 25: 10:29  Saw Jamie here.  I kind of hit the wall around here (obviously) and was super excited to see how well she was running.  I wanted to turn it on and run in with her but it just wasn't happening.
Mile 26.2: 10:39 + I was able to push it out coming down the chute, but I was definitely ready to be done at that point.  I saw Daniel and Matt and Amanda cheering and I wanted to smile and run fast (which was probably like 10 minute mile at that point) for them.

Here's me, still wearing my mittens for some reason even though it was 50 something degrees out at this point.

I felt kind of woozy after I finished so a helpful volunteer took me to the medical tent where they tried to get me to eat or drink something (my stomach was not having any of that!), and it was super hot in there, so fortunately I saw Jamie and Jason and the volunteer released me to them to make sure I didn't wander off somewhere.

I saw Daniel, Matt and Amanda and went to talk to them for a minute.

Noooo space blanket.  Too hot.

With Daniel.  Awww.  I'm glad these pictures turned out. My outfit makes me look like I escaped from the home for adults with special needs, but at least my skin isn't red and blotchy.

I sort of tried to eat and drink after the race but I felt pretty crappy until we were on our way home.  That night I made up for my lack of appetite during the day by having a wonderful celebration sushi dinner.

 Daniel, I want you to know I picked the picture that was most flattering of you for this.  Even though it means I look like an 8-year-old.

Overall, I'm really happy with the race.  Marathons are hard, and I feel like I gave this race my all.  Even though I didn't hit my pace goal, I did PR by a few minutes, and you can't be upset with that.  I do think my performance yesterday indicated I need to do two things for next time: 1. Add in some progression long runs to work on hanging in there when I feel tired and 2. Work on my nutrition strategy.  It wasn't fun to feel like barf toward the end of the race.

The End.

 

Madison Mini Race Report

The abbreviated version:  I guess I took your advice to heart because I feel like I ran the best Madison Mini Marathon I was capable of running on August 21, 2010.  I finished in 1:53, four minutes off my PR, but given the temperature/humidity and course I'm very happy with the result.  I truly feel like I gave it my all and then some during the last mile, and what more can you ask for?

The long version:  It was warm this morning.  And humid.  I chose to park a little farther from the race start and had no problem finding a space.  I walked over to the race start, did the porta potty thing, and it was time to line up.  I stood just a tiny bit in front of the 1:50 sign (the eternal optimist).  The race started right on time.

Mile 1: 8:03.  A combination of adrenaline and downhill.
Mile 2: 8:04.  More downhill.  We ran down State St. during miles 1 and 2.  A group from the marching band was playing, and there was a big crowd cheering.
Mile 3: 8:27. That's more like it.  The course flattened out and went over a few hills.
Mile 4: 8:19.  Into the Arb.  This was the beginning, flat and easy part.
Mile 5: 8:28.  Still the flat and easy part of the Arb.
Mile 6: 8:49.  Getting into the hillier part.
Mile 7: 8:44.  Hilly Arb.
Mile 8: 8:20.  Turn into a neighborhood and start a looooooong downhill.  Saw Kerri's boyfriend who was waiting to cheer her on later.
Mile 9: 8:51. Some uphill some downhill.  Saw my bosses on one of the downhills.
Mile 10: 8:23.  On the UW campus in familiar territory.
Mile 11: 8:55.  Saw Daniel (this was right by our apartment).  Hitting the wall a little.  The yellow flag was out so I guess it was getting hot.
Mile 12: 8:59.  Um, yeah...
Mile 13: 9:10.  Basically it was all I could do to finish those last three miles.  I'd felt pretty good up to that point, but I was finally out of juice.

Finish time: 1:53 on the nose.  8:37 min/mile average pace.  I think that was pretty decent considering it was 70+ degrees at the start with 90% humidity on a somewhat hilly course where I stopped at every aid station for Gatorade/water (except the first).  I know that's a lot of qualifications, but it's my long way of saying that even though it wasn't a PR race, I feel happy with my performance.

I also want to give a shout out to Jessica, who finished her first race post-baby this morning, to Kerri, who can now wear her 13.1 Bondi Band with pride, and to Jamie, who finished a heartbreaking 43 hundredths of a second behind her sub-2 hour goal (I think it counts!), and to Linda and Heather, whose last names I'm not sure of so I was unable to look up your race results.

And now... since it's Saturday when I'm actually writing this... I'm going to relax.
 
  

Week in Review - The Vindication Edition

After two less than stellar races, I'm back in action.  I had a great race on a great course and nailed my goal time and had a huge (almost 2 minute!) PR, finishing in 47:37.  If you are ever close enough to Green Bay to run The Bellin, I definitely recommend it (Jessica, I would so go with you next year.  Or any other Madison runner who is interested).  It's huge but well run.  The crowd support is amazing.  It's fairly inexpensive and the proceeds go to a great cause.  And it's the only loop course in the world that's a net downhill.  I think it was designed by M.C. Escher.

It played into my strengths as a runner because the uphill parts were very gradual and there was one huge downhill mile in the middle of the race.

My mile split times were:
7:31
7:36
7:14 (holy downhill, Batman)
7:40
7:51 (slowed down a bit, but this was the gradual uphill part)
7:51
7:20

By the middle of the race, I was pretty sure I was going to PR, but I didn't know by how much.  My 5k split time was 23:21, which is also a PR.

I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty excited.  One the one hand, this is a huge boost going into marathon training.  In fact, that time qualifies me for a "preferred start" at the Madison Mini at the end of August.  On the other hand, it makes me wonder exactly why I signed up to do a marathon because I think I like shorter races a lot more.  I really like speed training, and I'm not super crazy about long runs...

Sometimes I feel like there's this message that you're not a "real runner" unless you run marathons, and I regret letting myself buy into that.  However, I know I didn't sign up for the marathon just because I felt like I "should".  I know I did it because- just like 99.9% of other runners- I want to qualify for Boston one day.  I feel like my running is really improving, and I think that I could do it- probably not this training cycle- but maybe next spring???  Anyway, I'll have happy running dreams tonight.

As for the rest of the week:
Su- 5m easy
M- 6mi easy
T- Strength
W- 6mi easy
R- Strength, yoga
F- 4mi easy
S- Bellin!    
  

Madison Half Marathon Race Recap

First off, congratulations to Jamie who beat the heat to run an awesome marathon!

As for me, the only thing I have to say about the race is that it was hot.  Way hot.  I watched the 1:55 pace leader drop out of the race hot.

I got downtown about 6:15 am and had no trouble finding a place to park.  I took a bathroom break and walked around to see the finish line and the starting line for the marathon.  By then it was time to line up for the 1/2 start at 7:20.  I lined up a little bit in front of the 1:50 pace group and was ready to go.  The first few miles were great.  Flat or slightly down hill and basically shady.  My mile splits were:

8:02, 8:19, 8:10

Miles 4-7 had some rolling hills, including Observatory Hill during mile 4.  Note to race planners:  Runners are not sad if you don't plan the course to go up Observatory.  I slowed down a bit, but my pacing wasn't too bad.  It was hot but not horribly so. Splits were:

8:31, 8:24, 8:36, 8:34

I saw Linda cheering during mile 7, and it gave me a huge boost.

Miles 8-13.1 were not fun.  I'm pretty sure I saw the girl running in front of me in that picture receiving medical care by the side of the course later on.  It was hot.  I got angry at the world at mile 8.  We started running past houses and people sprayed us with hoses and sprinklers.  This improved my disposition.  My mile splits were:

8:54, 9:13, 9:58, 9:51, 9:30, 10:03.

I just fell apart.

Strangely I'm not that upset about the whole thing.  I got passed too much at the end, but I passed a lot of other people- some who were probably walking the whole way back.  I didn't quit as much as I would have liked to at mile 8.  I need to work on running uphill.  My finish time was 1:58:22, which is more than 10 minutes off my goal, but under the circumstances I think it was an okay time.  Other than the hill thing I don't think there was anything wrong with my pacing or preparation.  I just wasn't prepared for the heat.

But there will be other races other days.  I'm getting back into my normal workout schedule running 5mi easy yesterday, and I'm back in the gym for weights today.  And back to work.  Have a great Tuesday, all!

Week in Review- Lake Monona 20k Race Report Edition

All good things must come to an end, right?  Well, my great race streak did yesterday.  My splits tell the story better than I could with words:

Mile 1: 8:01
Mile 2: 7:58
Mile 3: 8:16
Mile 4: 8:15
Mile 5: 8:12
Mile 6: 8:17
Mile 7: 8:21
Mile 8: 8:35  Crash
Mile 9: 8:45  and
Mile 10: 8:45  burn
Mile 11: 9:02  into
Mile 12: 9:26  the
Last .44: 8:42  ground

Finish time: 1:45:55 (8:32 min/mile).  There was a chip finish, but no chip start, so that time includes a few seconds getting to the starting line.

 My very sweet co-worker and her boyfriend were in the neighborhood and stopped by at the end of the race.  I'm putting on a good show for the picture but you (or at least I) can tell by looking at my face that I'm not doing so hot.

So yeah, the first 7 miles were pretty all right.  The last 5, not so much.  Mile 12 in particular was not the highlight of my life.  My legs just would not go.  I've been thinking about what went wrong in this race, and I've come up with 5 factors, listed in no particular order.

1. Went out too fast.  It doesn't look like it, but the first part of the course was really hilly.  I think even though my pace wasn't out of control fast, I think it was too fast for the nature of the course.

2. Temperature.  This was definitely the warmest race I've done since we moved to WI, and probably the warmest run I've done since last summer.  Yes, it was only in the high 50s or 60s, but remember, Wednesday and Thursday of last week we had overnight freezes.  I'm way more used to running at 30 degrees in heavy clothes than I am in a tank top and shorts at 60 degrees.

3. Hydration.  I stopped and drank at every aid station, but I think my body is just not used to sweating that much and needing that much water.

4. Training.  Plenty of speed work (as you can see from the first half) but not enough volume.

5. Racing two weeks in a row.  My body and mind are just not used to giving 100% two times in such a short interval.

So what does it all mean?  I think 8:15 is still a reasonable goal pace for my half marathon at the end of May.  I have at least 3 more long runs to do in what will hopefully (please, God) be warm weather to work on both my endurance and tolerance to heat.  It will start at 7am instead of 9am.  It won't be the week after a race.  The course will (maybe?) be flatter.  Looking at the course map, I can't tell if we have to run up Observatory Hill the hard way or not.  Otherwise I think it will be flatter than yesterday's race.  So that's how things stand for me right now.

Quick recap of the rest of the week:
U- Yoga
M- Strength training
T- 6mi in 55:10 (9:12 min/mile)
W- 6mi in 55:36 (9:16 min/mile)
R- Strength training
F- 4mi in 36:44 (9:11 min/mile)
S- Lake Monona 20k 12.44 mi in 1:45:55 (8:32 min/mile)

I briefly entertained the idea of running this morning, but a lot of my parts still hurt.  Better to take a day off now and get back into the swing of things sooner than to get injured and be out for awhile.  Plus I'll cross train by cleaning, doing yoga, and working all afternoon at Love Madison (which I'll talk about more tomorrow).

There were three other things that happened yesterday that were definitely successes.

1. Massage- Awesome.    How could it be any other way?
2. Dinner- The cheese sauce in my spring vegetable carbonara became cheese sauce, not scrambled eggs!

3. Due to some serious coupon-age and a 40% off everything sale at Ann Taylor Loft yesterday, I got this top

this top

and this skirt

 for $30 total (with tax!)

Pretty good deal, I have to say.

Well, this post has rambled on long enough.  Time for me to get moving.  Enjoy your Sunday!

Week in Review- CrazyLegs Race Report Edition

I'm happy to report the CrazyLegs 8k race yesterday was a resounding success.  I met all the goals I laid out that morning.

1. Be Zen about the weather.

Actually I didn't have to.  It sprinkled a tiny bit before and after the race and was a little chilly and windy, but there was nothing to complain about.  It was actually a great day for a race.

2. Have fun

Definitely.  First, I loved the wave start.  There were tons of people in front of me, but they were always moving as fast or faster than I was.  Sure I passed people and was passed, but there were no road blocks as there can be in races where people line up wherever they please.

Second, I got to meet up with two fabulous runner/bloggers: Jamie from Running Diva Mom, and Linda from Mom Running from Cancer.  You should check out both their blogs to read their race reports.  A major shout out to Jamie who smashed her goal time AND is planning a 20 miler today on the treadmill.  You might not guess it from her pink Bondi band, but she's pretty hardcore :).

It was fun to have someone to share the afterglow of the race with.  Thanks again to Linda for brining a camera and to her son for being the photographer.

I love this one where you can see the stadium bleachers in the background.  This was my first time in Camp Randall.  20,000+ people ran or walked in the race plus the spectators made this truly a community-wide event.

3. The time goals

I'm happy to say I met all my time goals.  When I stopped my watch, I had 39:01 minutes (just above my A goal of 39 min), but when I checked the race results this morning, my official time was 38:59.  YAY!  When I checked my time I found out that not only did I meet my time goal, I won first place out of everyone with my last name.

My splits were: 7:31, 7:58, 7:32, 7:58, 7:48, which weren't perfectly even but reflected the up and down nature of the course.  I was happy that all my mile times were faster than an 8 min/mile pace.  I don't have much else to add other than I pushed myself hard, but overestimated how far the finish line was when I made my final kick.  I definitely could have picked it up a bit before I did.  Otherwise, it was a good race effort for me.

This week is all about recovery and getting ready for my 20k race this Saturday.

Here's the boring recap of the rest of the week:
U- Strength training- dealing with a sore shin
M- 6mi easy in 58:05 (9:41 min/mile)
T-  7mi in 1:03:56 with 5x2min fast (paces for intervals were 7:08, 7:11, 7:21, 6:57, 7:29)
W- 6mi easy in 57:23 (9:34 min/mile)
R- Strength training, yoga
F- 4mi easy in 36:17 (9:05 min/mile)
S- CrazyLegs!!


Brining the totals to:
Run: 28 miles
Yoga: 1x
Strength training: 2x


The rest of the day yesterday was pretty full.  I talked to my parents, baked fudge drop cookies for the kids in my small group at youth tonight because this is my last night with them (D had 1.5 for breakfast this morning and pronounced them good), 

cleaned up the house, and then it was time to drive over to Milwaukee to see Marc Knopfler.


Pictures and recording were a no no, so I don't have any of that to share with you.  The concert was good.  I don't know many Marc Knopfler/Dire Straights songs but the rest of the audience seemed to really be getting into it.  In fact, when a guy two rows in front of us stood up to cheer, the woman he was with reached up and groped the heck out of his butt.  I know if I were a musician, that's precisely the sentiment I would want to inspire in my audience.


Anyway, it was a late night getting back and an early morning getting up for church.  I briefly entertained the idea of getting up early to run, but then I realized that was stupid.  My body needed rest and sleep more than it needed to get up at 5:30 for a sloooowwww 5mi run.  As I said, this week will mostly be about recovering and getting ready for next Saturday.


Have a great Sunday, all!

And there was much rejoicing

As you might guess from the title, my race went really really well yesterday. The short story is, on a tough course, on a fairly windy day, I ran a 31 second 10k PR and fiiiiinally broke 50 min for the 10k, finishing in 49:30.

Here's the long story.

Traffic was bad and we got there later than we'd planned. Packet pickup was easy, but I didn't have time to warm up before the race start.

Mile 1: We took off slightly down hill. I passed a lot of people who should have started further back in line. Then we headed up the monster hill. Going out it wasn't too bad because it's less steep. You crest one hill, have a little break going downhill, and then have one more uphill part before you start down a steep decline. Mile 1 time 8:10. Also, at this point I noticed that my GPS was going off waaaaay before we hit the mile marker. This made me a little nervous.

Mile 2: Pretty flat. We got some wind coming off the lake, but because we were running parallel to it, it didn't really slow me down. Mile 2 time: 7:25. I was a little concerned by this because I was afraid I'd blow up on the way back. I was feeling "in the groove" though so I just hung with it. GPS went off way before mile marker again.

Mile 3: Still flat. Almost to the turn around. Passing a lot of people. Some chaos at the water stop because wind was knocking the cups over and spashing water everywhere. Mile 3 time: 7:33.

Mile 4 and 5: Pretty much the same as mile 3. We got both head and tail wind as we were coming around the lake. Mile 4 time: 7:48. Mile 5 time: 7:45.

Mile 6: Back over the monster hill. This way is steep. The race got tough for me here because I got passed by a lot of people going up the hill. I just kept telling myself "even effort, you'll catch them on the way down". And for the most part I did. It's funny that as uncoordinated as I am, I pass a lot of people on downhill stretches. I felt a lot better after the downhill, but I had no idea what my time was at that point. I'd only been checking my watch at the mile markers, and I knew I was somewhere around an 8 minute mile. We turned the last corner, and I saw the clock at 49:4X. I was completely shocked that I had the chance to break 50 min for the first time, so I picked it up and finished hard, passing people right at the end. Mile 6 time: 8:24. Last .2: 2:30.

Overall official stats were 49:30min (7:58 min/mile average) finish, which I was very very happy with (not to mention surprised). My GPS tells a slightly different story. I guess I wasted a lot of time/distance passing people at the beginning, because it shows I ran 6.35 mi in 49:35 (7:48 min/mile). If that's true, I ran the same pace as my 5k PR in the fall on a tougher course. Pretty good improvement. Either way, I guess I'm not so out of shape after all.

I have one more shorter race in April, but the next big one will be the Madison 1/2 Marathon in May. I'm hoping that this is just a taste of what the running year has in store for me.

Today is a rest day from running. I'm doing some strength training in the morning and hopefully some yoga after work.

Take care, and have a great Monday! Thanks to all of you who stuck this post out to the end to share in my excitement.

Berbee Derby/ Thanksgiving recap

I had a really nice Thanksgiving yesterday. Of course I missed seeing my family, but it was nice to have a peaceful day with D by myself. It was just the right balance of relaxing and productive that I enjoy when I have time off.

The morning started with a COLD 5k race. Not too much to report. My finish time was 24:51, which put me in the "happy" outcome for my race goals. I think that's a pretty good description of how I felt about the race. I pushed myself hard the whole way and was able to give a kick and pass people at the end (which has been a problem in the past). I totally smoked two 10-year-olds right before the finish line, haha. But it just wasn't a PR day or a PR course, and I'm fine with that. The more I race and push myself the faster I'll get. Overall I think I'm ending the year on a positive note.

Then we went out to lunch and had a delicious meal. We came back, chilled out for awhile, and then canned marinara sauce. I can't believe how many tomatoes it takes to make just a few jars of sauce (also, freezing tomatoes is not a good idea). I am thankful for mass production and grocery stores. After canning, we watched Up and I ate my leftovers from lunch.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and will continue to have a good long weekend. We are off today (unpaid for me- Thanks state of WI :( ). We are avoiding all retail establishments and will hopefully enjoy a relaxing day exploring the Twin Cities.

Literacy Run 5k

I had a great 5k race this morning! I finished in 24:11, which is almost a minute faster than two weeks ago. Granted it was because this course was much flatter, but it was still exciting. I placed third in my age group, too! Not much to report other than

1. I biked to and from the race start, and I think that worked well as a pre-warm up and cool down. Plus I didn't have to deal with parking/leaving.

2. I didn't puke!!! I felt like I wanted to after I stopped, but I didn't throw up. I think the trick for me is that there is this line when I'm racing, and If I push past that line, it's all over for my stomach. So every time I felt like I was crossing the line, I backed off just a tiny bit.

3. My splits were quite even: 7:48, 7:51, 7:52 and who knows for the .1 because I never remember to hit "stop".

4. I think I really like the 5k distance. I like the speed training, and I like running hard but not that long. I'm actually considering adding in another 5k at the beginning of Nov and changing to doing the Berbee Derby 5k (rather than the 10k on Thanksgiving). It would be totally sweet to break 24 min by the end of the year. Also, I loooovvvee the totally, completely exhausted feeling I have after a good, hard run. I seriously want to crash right now.

But- I'm not crashing because I have a pan of brownies to make for our youth group progressive dinner tonight, and I have about 6 loads of laundry crammed into two running downstairs.

In other news, I had a great time at Jessica's baby shower yesterday. Her family is very nice, and her sister and sister-in-law really know how to throw a party (ie make great food and cake).

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Zoo Run Run

It always amazes me how tired I am after racing a 5k. It's just three (.1) little miles, but I'm dead tired right now. As tired as I would be after having done a 12 or so mile long run. Maybe more. I guess that means I pushed myself.

Anyway, I actually met both my conservative (less than 26 minutes) and "good day" (less than 25:30 minutes) and finished in 25:05, which was an 8:05 min/mile average pace. This was really good for me considering that the middle mile of the course was really hilly. Other than that, I was consistent with my pacing and ran the first and third miles in 7:59. I wish I could have pushed just a little bit harder at the end, but I have that getting sick thing that keeps me from giving the kick that my body has but my stomach doesn't.

On a completely different topic, we cleaned out the garden yesterday. D picked all the carrots.



And I got the squash.



This is all of it, including the monster zucchini and space ship squash I picked earlier.



I'm going to be honest with you and say that I have absolutely no idea how to cook any of this. Except the zucchini. That big one is currently spread out in 5 pans of zucchini bread. I don't even like zucchini bread because I don't like zucchini, but I figured it would be easier to give away this way, and I had a lot of flour and sugar that were just hanging around. Here's the recipe I used if you do like zucchini bread. I did the lemon flavor for two loves and cinnamon for the other three.

I think we are going to give the pumpkin looking ones away to our church small group for fall decorations. The rest... I dunno. I don't know what I'm going to do with all those carrots, either. We do eat carrots pretty well, but dang... that's a lot of carrots.

Anyway, I hope you are all having a fabulous Sunday. I would totally take a nap right now except I don't want to burn down the apartment.

Memorial Monday

I'd like to take a moment to remember all the men and women who have died in service to our country, including my cousin Chris who was killed in Iraq in 2007.






Fitness



I ran the Madison Quarter Marathon yesterday. I got there early enough to see the marathoners start, which was exciting. Way back when we moved to Madison, my goal was to run that marathon, but between the winter and my hip problems, it just wasn't to be. But it was a beautiful morning, and both of those things seemed long ago and far away.

Anyway, I'll start with the good things about the race. The shirts were nice. It was very well organized. There was plenty of parking, and it was very easy to get in and out of the parking lot without having to pass through runners still finishing the race. The course was very nice, flat, well marked, and full of spectators. Both the marathon and the 1/2 marathon had pace teams. All in all, a great, smaller race.

The negatives pretty much all had to do with me, haha. I went out way too fast and kind of died at the end. The fog at the start of the race burned off, and it was much warmer by the time we finished. I think part of my problem, too, was that I had an apple and peanut butter in the morning before the race, and those aren't really quick energy foods.

I finished the race in 54:17 (it's 6.55 mi), which is an 8:14 pace. Not great, but not awful. My 10k time was right under 52 minutes, which again is not great but not awful. Really that race was too long for the training I've been doing. I just don't have enough endurance to knock out a more than a 10k right now considering the longest run I do each week is just about 10k. I still want to race, though, and I'm going to look for some more 5k options this summer.

Food

Brat Fest



Yes, that is a semi converted into a giant grill.



And that wasn't the limit to the excitement. Here are some of the other highlights:


Budweiser Clydesdales


Guy from the UW marching band balancing a trombone on his face.


The Weiner Mobile.

There was also a carnival.

We didn't buy any brats, but it's a huge charity fundraiser, and a big part of Madison culture, so it was my duty to take D. Plus it was 1/2 a mile (or 8 miles! according to D) from the race expo.

Fun

D bought a bike this weekend so we've done a bit of riding around. Here's a picture of me in my natural habitat: Babcock Ice Cream.



Today we're planning to work in the garden and go out to Little Norway in the afternoon if the weather stays nice.

First 10k of the year

I ran my first 10k of the year this morning- the Shamrock Shuffle- and it actually went very well.

As you know, there were a lot of reasons I didn't have high hopes going into the race: I've been fighting off a cold and/or allergies, I was concerned my training hadn't been up to par, the course had a humongous hill you had to run over going out and coming back... But I'd paid to do the race, and I figured I'd try to run it anyway- not slow, but not trying to kill myself to finish fast either.

The weather was beautiful. Sunny, cool, a little breezy. I wore shorts! And these pictures prove it. Those things on the lower half of my body? Those are called legs, and this was the first time they'd seen sunlight in a very long time.




D came along and hung out at the library while I was running. It was nice to have someone keep track of my stuff and take a few pictures. I didn't do any "after" shots because my nose runs a lot when I run, and that stuff has to go somewhere, which is usually all over my clothes. Yuck. Not a Kodak moment.

Anyway, I felt like I ran a good race. It wasn't a PR race (mostly because of the course), but I had even mile splits and kept an even effort with the hill. Miles 1 and 5 - the ones with the big hill- I ran in about 8:30-something and the other miles I ran at slightly under 8 min/mile pace. I finished in 51:04, faster than I thought I would.

This race gave me good insight into how I should feel at the beginning of a 10k: pretty easy. The 10k (at least for me) is not a fly and die race. More like a half-marathon, I have to get in the groove and just hang on there until the finish. If I go out pushing, I'm not going to make it until the end. I can hold that push for about a 5k, but after 3 miles, it's all over. I definitely need to hold back for a 10k.

My next scheduled race is the Two Pi Mile 10k in April. If the course is the same as last year's (flat), I think I have a pretty good chance of breaking 50 min for the 10k. Honestly I think I could have done it today if it weren't for the hill.

I'm so happy with the results of the run, and it makes me excited to start training hard outside. Tomorrow will be a swim and lifting day, though, because I don't want to get carried away and hurt myself.

Hope everyone else had a beautiful, warm nearly spring day.

Ending the year on a high note

I ran the Berbee Derby 10k Turkey Trot this morning. I'm pretty sure this will be my last race of the year because it's going to start getting really cold pretty soon. I was honestly not that excited about the race because I've been feeling kind of "off" the last couple days (even though I've had good workouts), but I had some friends who were racing and this was to be my 8th race of 2008 so I was committed to going and running.

Probably because my last two races didn't go very well, I was even considering hanging back and running with friends just for fun, but when the race started, something in me just clicked, and I took off. I tried to tell myself not to look at my watch until the end of the race because I was sure I would be dissappointed, but I did glance down right at the 5k mark to see I'd finished 3.1 in 23:40- a big PR for me. Unfortunately I slowed way down from there. I still finished in 50:01- a PR for sure- but still in the 50's. It wasn't a perfect race, but it was scenic, fun, successful, and a great way to start Thanksgiving.

Here were my mile splits - try not to laugh too hard to my monster bonk at the end (there was a big hill, I swear it!)- 7:34, 7:42, 7:37, 8:05, 8:22, 8:53.

It was a gently rolling course, which I liked a lot and makes me start to wonder if the Country Music Marathon is right way to go. Decisions, decisions. I really need to get an idea of what I'm going to do about this whole spring marathon thing so I can plan the rest of my race schedule.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Dissappointment

Well, my 5k today did not go very well. I thought I felt good and prepared. I thought I pushed myself. But I finished in a pretty abysmal 26:10ish. Even worse than the Homecoming 5k. It was on grass and they did have us run up this Indian burial mound deal, but still... I used the course as an excuse last time. It seems pretty lame to do the same this time.

It's funny because, even though I'm slightly dissappointed, I'm not really that upset about it. I guess I should be happy that I'm not ruining my day dwelling on it. I just need to use this as motivation to train harder during the week and get prepared for the Burbee Derby. I was thinking about doing the 10k, but right now I just want to do well in a 5k because I feel like that's what I've been focusing on this fall. That race is basically my last shot before the end of the year.

Well, I'm going to go watch the UF/GA game and work on some ornaments.

_____________________________________
Workout:
2.4mi warm up
3.1mi race
2.5mi cool down

Homecoming 5k

So after being sick, and taking time off, and going out of town, and taking more time off, this week I've finally started to feel better and actually prepared for a race. I did a couple fartlek runs, 2 spinning classes, one pump and tone class, yoga, and an easy 8 mi run yesterday. I'd planned to do a couple other races in the last two weeks, but feeling generally crappy kept me from actually registering and running for them.

Anyway, since I've been feeling better, I got it together to run the UW Homecoming 5k. I thought that no matter what I'd definitely PR because my 5k PR is pretty slow compared to my 1/2 marathon time. But it didn't happen. I blame the course because I finished the race with someone who ran the same 1/2 marathon in about the same time as me and because I felt like I really pushed myself through the race. I was passing people all the way until I had some bad (skip the next few words if you're squeemish) dry heaves, and a few guys ran by me in the end. The course started out going straight up a large hill and was fairly hilly the rest of the way. Had we just gone along the Lakeshore path I think that level of effort would have landed me a sub 25min definitely- maybe even close to 24min. As it was, I finished at about 25:40. I was pretty unhappy with the time and the almost puking, but the more I think about it, the more I think I should be happy with my effort, and not worry about the time.

It is going to result in me changing my race plans a bit, though. I was originally going to run a Turkey Trot 5 miler on Nov 1, but I'm switching to do the 5k to chase that elusive sub-25min (maybe even sub 24-min) time. And if it doesn't work in this next race then I'll try again at the Burbee Derby on Thanksgiving. If I'm happy with my 5k time in the next race, I'll do the Burbee Derby 10k.

Great 1/2 marathon

1/2 Marathon

I meant to get back on and write about my 1/2 marathon for some time now, but it just kept getting away from me. I was a little worried about how the race would go because I had a little respiratory thing earlier in the week before the race, but after taking some easy days, I felt great. Everything about the race went perfectly. The weather was wonderful, the course was flat, I did a great job with pacing... I couldn't have asked for a better day. I tried to run not fast but "purposefully", and I was able to hang in there the whole way. My lap times were:

1- 8:27
2- 8:26
3- 8:17
4- 8:09
5- 8:17
6- 8:05
7- 7:54
8- 8:16
9- 8:19
10- 8:21
11- 8:19
12- 8:21
13- 8:18

For an official time of 1:48:41 (8:19 min/mile). It's pretty amazing to me that I ran this entire 1/2 marathon as fast as my last 5k. I'd really like to try to qualify for Boston next year. If I can keep making progress like this I think it might be a reasonable goal.

I was pretty wiped out after the race and needed to take a few days off to get my energy level back up. I need to remember that hard, well run races need adequate recovery.